WereBear is back with an update on Bud and Lou and to answer your burning cat questions.
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Bud undercover
New year, new discoveries. Like them or not, we all need to keep developing by acting on our continuing realizations. This goes for cats, too.
I shook up the household by adopting pair-bonded kittens. It didn’t take them long to charm most other beings. Still, even though fall has turned into winter, we still have two Isolationist Cats who refuse to enter Kitten Country.
And that’s okay. As I shared in a recent post:
The kitten brain is like a butterfly house. Beautiful to look at, always in motion.
Lou and Bud with a puzzlebox
Kittens can be disconcerting to cats who are happiest with a sense of orderly scheduling. But there’s also another element, a psychological one. Just as intense contact with children reminds us of our own childhoods, so it is with cats.
The two Isolationist Cats had a rocky beginning, as rescues often do. Olwyn adjusted readily to baby Mithrandir, whose Gamma meekness and ability to self-play kept him unobtrusive.
Bud and Lou are the opposite. They approach other cats and invite play. They will flank with mirror moves like an Impossible Mission Force. They are Alphas, so their friendship is bold and assertive. This makes shy cats like Mithrandir feel pressured. It makes bossy cats like Olwyn feel one-upped.
Lou enjoying his kingdom
So, while Mithrandir will come to the door and ring the temple bells for entry, he has yet to come in. Olwyn is happy spending time in the bedroom with Mr WayofCats, who is still recovering from a serious setback from a year ago.
I’ve often seen how a well-adjusted cat will seem to regress when presented with a kitten. I decided it was more than uncertainty about this new little being. I think it’s also about what the little being helps them remember about their own kittenhood.
While RJ was held as evidence in an abuse case, it hasn’t affected his big muffiny heart, or his social outlook. He adores kittens, and giving him two at once has put him on a kitten-wrangling career high.
Tristan getting some adoration
On the other hand, Olwyn is a tortoiseshell cat with abundant Tortitude. She maintains she was never really a kitten, and arrived ready for World Domination. While Mithy’s feral caution and Gamma shyness keeps him unready to make a decision: and cross a threshold.
At three weeks old, Tristan had several bad hours after his abandoned mother abandoned him. (Three weeks later she abandoned his sister, who also got a home.) But since then, he’s been Prince of the City.
His main problem with the kittens was about being invited to play when he hadn’t studied them yet. We replaced an aging cat tree with a new one, just for him. He can sit on it and watch the kittens work all their toys and race up and down their own cat tree.
Once he had a strategy, he thawed. Now, they gazelle-leap over him on the regular. If he doesn’t feel like playing, he has places to go. Though when I told him I saw him playing with the kittens, I got a press release pointing out they were chasing him, and he was letting them.
Which doesn’t necessarily mean he is actually playing with them. They are, after all, clueless beanheads. My frequent reminders that “they have no sense” soothes Tristan. They are supposed to be puzzling, and after all, he likes puzzles.
As I told him, Bud and Lou will be delightful sidekicks who want to play Cat Tree Games. I got them for him.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Discover the Way of Cats: BLOG My book: Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them Get the latest kitten pics on Twitter.
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In my cat world, after a year and 2 months, Gabe seems to have finally decided to become his own cat. He demands his place on the bed now, which is often sprawled (how is he sooo long?) from my hip to my shoulders, with a paw touching my cheek. This has sparked a bit of jealously with Zander, who will now take that spot when available. I let that go on for a few minutes with each and then send them on their way because it’s impossible to sleep like that. They are still best friends. Emma tolerates him and Gabe has stopped trying to win her over and is satisfied to know she won’t kill him in his sleep.
The cutest thing, I believe he has a crush on Scout. I often find him lying next to her on the bed (brave, because Danes are not known for their spatial awareness) and wherever she is, he is close by.
I have a few BJ pet pix to post this week, and I’m happy to post yours. Send them my way.
How are everyone else’s critters doing?
Respite open thread
germy
My cat has developed a nasty looking pimple or something under her chin. On the bottom of her chin. She’s had this before but it always went away on its own. This time it’s bigger.
I wash her food dish and use stainless steel. I thought about swabbing under her chin with hydrogen peroxide, but I’m afraid this’ll draw her attention to it and she’ll start scratching it.
WereBear
@germy: Tristan’s head can het itchy with stress. A factor?
And I like using peroxide, tho I know vets frown on it. But it doesn’t hurt and it’s not antibiotics.
WereBear
TaMara: Gabe needs friends like Mars needs women. I’m happy for him.
zhena gogolia
@germy:
My cat used to get those. I can’t remember what we did for it. I think the vet gave us some ointment.
zhena gogolia
When I got to TaMara’s part, I thought it was all one essay, and I was like, “How many cats do you have????” Then I remembered that Gabe is TaMara’s.
Tom Levenson
I for one think Burning Cat is the festival in the desert that America needs. My only Burning Cat question is when and where…
zhena gogolia
And ALL THESE PICTURES ARE EVERYTHING! I love them!
WereBear
Not quite too many.
Keith P
I got a pair of half-siblings last year, and then maybe a month later, and old, abandoned female, and those kittens took to her with a quickness, particularly the male. She really doesn’t care for them much (she only wants to eat and sit on my lap), but she’ll groom then when the shove their foreheads to her, and I catch them all sleeping in a big nest sometimes, so it worked out.
raven
We’ve been putting a diaper on Lil Bit at night and she hasn’t messed in 6 weeks. We went out last night and put it on her and, when we got , I picked her up to take her out and ripped it open sending doggie poop all over the hallway. There’s a real lesson here.
germy
@zhena gogolia:
Was the cone of shame involved, or was it just ointment?
If it doesn’t improve in a week or so, I’m calling the vet.
schrodingers_cat
@Tom Levenson: Will Tikka be presiding over it?
zhena gogolia
@germy:
There was no cone — that wouldn’t have been possible with her.
As I recall, it was kind of seasonal. She got them in spring when she sat in the window and pollen was coming in.
I don’t think the ointment did much good, actually. But you should definitely have a vet look at it.
Jeffro
Greatest resolve and come back in history – way to go Chiefs!!!
Baud
@Jeffro:
No, this was.
history.com/this-day-in-history/buffalo-bills-pull-off-greatest-comeback-in-nfl-history
WereBear
@Keith P: I’m so glad everyone are friends.
@raven: I think the lesson is “don’t do that.”
Cheryl Rofer
Cheryl Rofer
Some good news from Australia
germy
A few weeks ago my wife and I were enjoying a chicken dinner. Our cat walked by and so my wife gave her a piece of white meat.
Ever since then, every time we sit down to eat, our cat comes and sits and stares at my wife. Today, the cat jumped up on an extra chair at our table, as if waiting for a dish. Purring loudly.
She got nothing, unfortunately. Our dinner this evening was spicy.
Kelly
Here’s a recent pic of Phoebe and Martin. Martin was 4.5 lbs at his vet visit this week. Don’t know what Phoebe weighs but she’s kinda round in the middle.
imgur.com/a/M0qZmLS
Baud
Mnemosyne likes playing with trolls the way cats like playing with their prey.
germy
@Cheryl Rofer: I bought some scratch pads a few weeks ago, and what a difference it’s made. She hasn’t scratched our furniture or rug at all. Loves scratching the hell out of the scratchbox, and loves lounging on it.
WereBear
@Kelly: Such a cute little guy! Tristan can collapse his spine and resemble a beach ball, or elongate to cover me from waist to ankles with the tail.
Shapeshifter.
CarolPW
@Cheryl Rofer: @germy:
TopCat makes a sisal flat scratch thingie. It’s embedded in a wood frame, and is heavy enough a cat can’t move it all over the house. Hek was not a fan of scratching posts, but loved scratching on anything on the floor. If there wasn’t anything on the floor that met his needs, he found something that would and put it on the floor (often my leather wallet). He loved the flat sisal surface, and it lasted for years.
Mnemosyne
@Baud:
I realize that I’m having about the same effect as the cat in this video:
youtu.be/si4go3Hraq8
germy
@CarolPW: The brand I got is “Imperial Cat – Scratch ‘n Pad”
It comes with a bag of catnip to sprinkle over the pad. Our girl really loves it.
I’d like to buy one of those circular toys, the kind the ball goes round and round in. But I suspect she might ignore it for the box it came in.
Dan B
We put down our Oscar just after Xmas. He had trouble breathing and xrays showed 3/4 of his lungs had no air. It was a 4 hours of terror for him at the ER vet.
We just got a beautiful light grey striped kitten, 6 months old, mostly feral being fed by my partner at his rental house. Oscar would have attacked him so it was safe to bring him here at last. He’ll play, or relax on the rug, if my partner is in the room and we’re both sitting down. He used to nuzzle my hand when he was restricted to upstairs and under the bed or in the cat tree on top of the filing cabinet, ie: eye level secure box. Now he goes downstairs to sleep and keeps out of reach or runs away in panic. He hangs around my partner and snuggles but if my partner is gone he won’t be near me. He got on my partner’s lap when he was downstairs yesterday afternoon!
This grey kitten is the most playful we’ve ever had and expert at losing toys. I hope he can learn to trust me and get scritches. It seems like it’s going to take a lot of patience.
debbie
@Baud:
Are cats really that sadistic?
raven
@debbie: UGA put a camera on an outside cat and they are stone killers.
zhena gogolia
@Kelly:
Haha. She’s seen it all, and he’s surprised by life itself.
germy
@Dan B: I’m sorry to hear about Oscar. I wish you luck with the new kitten.
Mnemosyne
@Dan B:
This is going to sound like weird advice, but it worked with our late semi-feral: we would lay on our backs on the living room floor and just hang out — read, watch TV, whatever. Laying down with our bellies exposed seemed to make us much less big and scary, and we were careful not to react with anything other than soothing words if Annie came near us to sniff us. It took a few weeks, but it did seem to help.
Oh, and playing with one of those long sticks that has a toy on the end was helpful, because she could play with us without needing to be within arms reach of the scary hoomans.
germy
@raven: My cat apparently lacks the killer instinct. A mouse got into the house one time, and I found it sitting quietly while my cat sat quietly staring at it. I picked the mouse up by the tail and dropped it outside and it ran away. My cat just wanted to watch the mouse.
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
germy
@Mnemosyne:
Rolling over and showing one’s belly is cat language for “I trust you and like you.” My cat will do it when my wife or I pass by her. She’ll flip over and show her belly and stare at us. It’s the ultimate sign of trust.
Our cat will do it sometimes for visitors, but only if they’ve been around a few times and demonstrated they are good humans.
debbie
@debbie:
Apparently, wombats often host other species:
germy
@debbie:
debbie
@germy:
Keep reading. That bat is something else!
West of the Rockies
I enjoy your breezy writing style, WereBear. Your enthusiasm and knowledge shine through in a fun way.
Barbara
I lost track of all the kitties in the post, but it sounds like every one of them is lucky to be in werebear’s orbit and vice versa.
WereBear
@Dan B: Maybe get down on the floor with him so you are eye level again?
Mary G
I bought one of those puzzle boxes for my cats. The dumb cat couldn’t figure out how to get a treat out of it and got frustrated. The smart cat flipped it over so all the treats fell out. Team work!
germy
@West of the Rockies: WereBear has a real gift for writing, and an amazing, perceptive sensitivity to the feelings and motivations of felines.
raven
@germy: On the pipe?
WereBear
@debbie: I have always had a soft spot for wombats. How can you not?
WereBear
@West of the Rockies: thanks!
Kent
@Baud: Also against a Houston team!
Mary G
Cat-related:
Barbara
@Kent: And yet, Watson apparently had the best offensive stats of his career. Not his fault the D couldn’t contain Mahomes.
Kent
@Barbara: That Jadevian Clowney trade isn’t looking too smart right now.
raven
@Barbara: They were gassed, especially Watt.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@germy: my terrier and my late cat also seemed to have no idea what to do. I woke up one morning to find a field mouse swimming in the dogs water bowl. The dog and the cat were watching it from across the room Looking terrified. I grabbed the bowl and released the mouse in the woods ?
Jeffro
@Baud: um ok Boomer
(been dying to say that totes forever)
Jeffro
@raven: ESPECIALLY Watt!
Jeffro
@Barbara: They went with a bad plan of double-covering Tyreek Hill on most downs, leaving everyone else on their own.
Tyreek ain’t the only threat from KC!
Baud
@Jeffro:
I wonder what the young assholes will do when the Boomers appropriate that phrase.
Kelly
@zhena gogolia: His jumping improved a bunch this week. He leaps on and off the furniture and windowsills now. Also likes to run and jump onto the my recliner to get it rocking and hang on to the top while the rocking settles. Clearly figuring out how to maximise the rocking.
WereBear
I’m having trouble with replies getting hung up in moderation so do click on Mary G’s link for the teapot. It’s gorgeous.
WaterGirl
@WereBear: Did you by any chance use a new email address today? If you use a new address, then no matter how many times you comment, nothing will show until they have all been released. After that, though, you should be good.
I released everything a little while ago, so you should be good now. The comments get slotted in for the time you wrote them, so everybody should go back upthread in order to catch all of WereBear’s comments.
planetjanet
I am looking at hiring a pet sitter to help out my mother, who is aging and not doing very well. Mom can feed the cats but is not good at keeping the litter clean. She has two cats. I am hoping a pet sitter and come in and take care of the litter and make sure their water and food is properly available. How often would the pet sitter need to come by to do this?
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
I adopted two separate rescue kittens this month. One is almost six month old little tuxedo Curren, the second is a almost seven month old floofie white and gray spotted big kitten Hugh. Curren is a hand raised orphan from the local pound. Likes people, tolerates and sometimes bullies the dog. Hugh the floofball from a private rescue likes the dog loves people and would like the other kitten except the little guy is by turns playful and then bites the big guy on the neck hard (dominance move as I recall). Keeping them separated except for an hour visit each day that stops when Curren the tuxedo gets his Alpha on…time will tell
debbie
@WereBear:
I had no idea they were so large!
Dan B
@Mnemosyne: Thanks for the advice about ferals scared of big hoomins. We’ve gotten him unafraid of the feather toy at last. Standing up is very scary for the little grey one. I’ll see if I can persuade partner to lie on the floor although he does lie on the couch for TV viewing.
WereBear
@debbie: i didn’t either. They were kitten sized when we adopted them at 3.5 months. ?
Kelly
@WereBear: Martin can fall asleep curled with his back or belly out. He’ll have his back feet touching his head with his belly out and kind of a half twist. Mobius loop cat?
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@germy: my first picture of my husband meeting our new giant floofball kitten at the rescue is of husband lying on his back with the kitten standing on his chest.
Dan B
@WereBear: Thanks! Mnemosyme had the same so I have two bits of advice to explain to Partner.
sab
My sister had a great homemade toy idea. She takes those little subscription cards that fall out of magazines. She cuts little strips halfway across them widthwise the whole length. Then she tapes a piece of string to an uncut corner. She rolls the whole thing up so it looks like a badminton shuttlecock. Then she waves it in front of the cat. It works best around doors and corners. The cat stalks it. Our cats love to play with it.
StringOnAStick
We’re still being trained by our “super chewer” about what not to leave within her reach, which includes any clothing, kitchen towels, sometimes hand towels but so far she leaves my bath towel alone even though it’s within reach. I know she’s acting out of her having been orphaned at two weeks because it looks like nursing behavior.
Today I learned how to restring a cellular shade because she ate through the original string that somehow fell down into her space; We usually keep those tied up out of reach, but 2 year old kitties can get to things if they focus. Compared to her sister she’s still a kitten-like bean head (her sister is a laser focused problem solver), so hopefully at some point she grows out of it. There does seem to be less chewing though that might be lack of opportunity though. She’s such a fun and funny girl but with one bad habit.
Just One More Canuck
@germy: our cat(Elsa the wonder nut) plays with it occasionally but mostly it’s a place for her to sit and watch us when we are getting ready to go out (it sits about an inch off the floor but that is fine by her)
beckya57
Rocky, our Maine Coon kitten, is obsessed with the dishwasher. Keeps trying to jump into it. ??
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@StringOnAStick: I loved my orphan tuxedo kitty but wish he did not love sucking on my big toe ? I can not go barefoot around the house anymore.
WereBear
It is the best box in the world!@beckya57:
WereBear
@planetjanet: once a day would work for that kind of thing.