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As most of you know, I’ve been lucky enough to adopt one of the late SouthernDragon’s kitties, a little black Manx named Nagi.
Just as SouthernDragon described him to us on Caturday, Nagi is a happy mix of love and mischief. He has slept on my head like a hat, knocked dishes out of my kitchen cabinet, escaped the house through a tattered screen not once but twice, and generally fouled the domestic felicity of the two older resident cats, Abner and Gracie, with his kitten-like antics.
Nagi’s days are spent curled up directly under the heating vent in front of a big picture window overlooking the yard where birds, squirrels, and deer keep his interest along with the teasing spite of Abner enjoying the freedom of Outside. At night, Nagi likes to sleep in bed under the covers with my arm securely around him, and if I don’t cuddle him just right, he’ll have no part of sleeping on the bed.
My two boys are crazy about Nagi, who they have renamed Shadow. I figured SD wouldn’t mind that we renamed him, especially since Nagi is the Lakota word for shadow. The older boy’s job is to exercise Nagi, either with the red dot or our homemade cat dancer. The only problem is that the feather bits of the toy got eviscerated and all that’s left is a long white piece of elasticized string. To Nagi, that seems to be the most interesting part, and he jumps around wildly chasing the tiny thread as my son drags the cat dancer through the house.
Abner and Gracie have been less welcoming. I can’t say I blame them. Nagi is a bundle of kitten energy compared to the older cats who just can’t seem to tolerate his high energy lifestyle. We’ve had a lot of hissing and growling incidents, all of which are from the older cats directed at Nagi. For his part, Nagi deliberately annoys Abner by playfully chasing him around the house, but Abner loathes this game and usually takes a swing or two at Nagi to stop his fun. Gracie avoids any and all contact with the unwelcome intruder.
Overall, Nagi’s integration into the cat family has been a lot more difficult than expected. I’d like for everyone to get along without complaint, but we’ve got some work left to do.
How have you handled troubled cat relationships at your house?
98 Comments
Good morning, People of the Cat, and thanks to ysd for filling in for Margaret!
Loved the update and the photos, especially the one of Abner and Nagi. Can just see one of your little ones in one of the shots above, and he looks really angelic :)
SD would be so happy, and I think he would wholly approve the boys’ calling him Shadow. Can just picture him making Abner and Gracie’s lives a waking nightmare! Hopefully time will take care of the adjustment problems.
Curious about the wall surface behind Nagi in the top photo. Is a wainscot of some sort? Really like what I can see of it.
Heading out for a short hike and hope to see you all later,
Ohmmmm
Hiya, ysd!Ididn’t know your boys had renamed Nagi! So do you call him Nagi and the boys call him Shadow, and is he confused? Or you’re just calling him Nagi when you talk to us?
Great pix. Can’t say I’m surprised Abner and Gracie aren’t happy. I had two elders when this current batch of kittens were born right here, and they simply took to the kitchen counter to keep out of the little guys’ way, and they stayed there.
Tim heals all, though. I’d say if you’re not having real fights, with rolling and claws out and damage being inflicted, it will settle down evenetually. How long eventually is…that’s hard to predict. Sometimes a new cat has to be rehomed because it never settles and the interaction is too violent. But it doesn’t sound like that’s the case.
Now, I gotta run. Got a bunch of cleaning up still to do…folks coming over to MY house – OMIGOD!!! — to work on cases. I’ve warned them, but…I think the pee smell is gone/reduced considerably, but I no longer trust my congested nose. So I’ve washed all the bedding and covers for the sofa, sprayed with Febreze on the end that has been attacked and am about to vacuum and scrub the nasty spot again.
Then I just have to move some of the clutter out…I can’t stand it myself, but while I’ve managed to reduce some and tidy some recently, it isn’t enough. So now I’m motivated.
Hopefully I’ll drop by late in the afternoon.
Your post is great, and the pictures worked! Good on ya! Richard would be proud (of you and Nagi).
Good morning pupses.
One cute characteristic of Nagi I didn’t include is his “look”. Abner backears. Gracie glares in anger. Nagi lowers his upper eyelids a bit and darts a sarcastic, half-bored look that is clearly meant to put the Hooman servant in her place. It’s a dark, ironic kind of look. Heehee.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73310045@N07/8502648268/in/photostream/
I’ve actually never been in the situation of adding a new feline to another group of felines.
I have added a full grown dog to a household that already had 2 dogs, a cat, and a rabbit and that was no problem at all.
It’s always tough to integrate new cats with older ones.
Our Siamese calico, Stinker(13 years old), and her tortoise shell sister,Fuzzy,
did not welcome our two new kittens three years ago. They now tolerate each other and all have staked out their territory and comfort zones.
We also have an orange tabby and a tolerant Golden Retriever, so my house is a zoo. :)
I have been missing SD lately particularly after Richard Wolff was so eloquent on Bill Moyer’s show this weekend.
Love that picture, ysd! That’s almost a Basement Cat look, isn’t it? Perhaps a Dark Lord of the Household.
JClausen, thanks for the reminder. My pbs station runs Moyers Sun.
evening early,and I’m always forgetting it’s on.
BBL
Hi Om, I’m so glad you think SD would approve of the name change. I actually really like Nagi as a name and would have been very happy to keep it, but the boys need to take part in the care and keeping of him, so we needed to call him something the boys could relate to. I still call him Nagi in the quiet moments we have together. Mr. calls him Bob after is bobbed tail. LOL.
The distressed white background behind Nagi is my shabby chic bed. But…I am planning to put in some white beadboard around my casual dining area. We put white beadboard in the bathroom years ago, and I absolutely love it. Also planning to have Mr build a beadboard surround for the fan over the stove to hide the ugly.
I’m always worrying about the smell of cat in my house too when I have people over. The problem is that when you are in a space a lot of time, you stop smelling the smell of it and become deaf of it. I can’t smell coffee any more, and I’m always afraid my house reeks of cat and I can’t smell it!
No integration of cats happening directly here, but Mcat was aware of the stray/feral, very nagi looking cat outside the window last night about 7 PM. He/she is thin bodied, mostly black but seems to have a frosted silver tipped glow to the whole coat. At least that’s what the fur looked like in the moon light.
M was up on the desk by the window in a hurry, low throaty growling to be heard. I turned on the inside light so the outsider could see us and when I arose and headed for the door it was gone down the drive pretty fast. I have to wonder what else I might attract if I put a little food out as a prelude to trapping.
Dear yellowsnapgragon, I’m so happy to hear of Nagi’s new home (funny, i typed hope first) and don’t worry, cat’s do come to an amicable arrangement sooner or later. Here’s some videos – too cute! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/22/cats-meeting-kittens-for-the-first-time-video_n_1612126.html
The dog didn’t try to snack on the rabbit?
The good news is that nobody at our house is getting hurt in cat fights. I just wish they would learn to love each other and nap together.
eek, remove the apostrophe!
I’ve been missing Marx in the Morning too. I’ve considered starting up a discussion group again, maybe on Saturdays when Professor Wolff is doing Economic Update on the radio. Unfortunately, sometimes I sleep through the beginning. Heh.
Yeah, we are seeing some improvement in the cat relationships already. Abner and Nagi will snooze on the same horizontal surface, as far away as they can get from each other. Still, when I pet Abner and Nagi walks in the room, Abner will growl.
Are you considering adopting the silvery black kitty or just trying to figure out his origins? MCat will need extra vacuuming to show your undying devotion. Heh.
Thanks for the videos. I watched the first one and the kitten was adorable, all Halloween on the resident cat. My screen keeps freezing up when I try to watch the others.
Oh, now that I have. There are 2 black cats in the neighborhood plus one tabby and all of these have spent time outside looking in on Dan’l and vice versa. Dan’l is not happy when he sees one of these no matter the day or night
The rabbit actually spent most of its time in its cage outside the front door
Three tries phoning to likely neighbors with the barns, dairy cows or horses boarded near hereby and no response, at least a TNR and a chance to see the gender and/or disposition before making that decision
Messages left, this thing left tracks last night that I’m about to follow in reverse as soon as we have a lite lunch. 1 1/2 inches of fluffy white over night, there is a clear trail today.
There is a ballsy neighbor Tom who teases Abner with no mercy. I think part of our marking issues is that the cat will come up to the sliding glass door on our deck and thumb his nose at Abner.
As soon as the black left, M was down and over to examine her food bowl. LOL!
Poor baby is out in the snow. Good luck and let us know what happens…
Out hunting in the snow, it was just below freezing last night, this thing has some place to hunker down, because we’ve had two, week long stretches at near -20F. In a pinch it could have survived in the old hay in a collapsed barn on this old farm.
Hola, friends of animals and all caturdiners.
This is a topic today that is purrfect for me. I believe I mentioned some weeks back that a stray had turned up here. How did I find her? Well, I happened to be outside when all of the resident cats were On Guard staring intently outside the cat fence. I had to investigate the source of their focus and found a small tortoise shell under the porch next door. I brought her inside the fence and introduced her to the little room under the house where the laundry is located. I have to keep it warm there to keep a part on the washing machine from freezing, so there’s a radiant heater that is mostly on during the cold months. She has been staying there for these weeks without trouble.
However, last week a tom (apparently) with a collar and tags suddenly showed up, came into the yard and began to attack the male cats, which is totally Not Cool here.
I took the kitteh to the vet when I went to pick up the meds for Mr. Sadness last week, and she is not chipped. I imagine (no proof) that she could be the reason the nasty male has come around. I have not been able to get near enough to him to find if his collar has info that would establish his bona fides, so I decided to bring her inside, to the Pride of Mr. Sadness. Yeah, that.
We have had a little screeching and scrambling, but she is small and has found a defensible location that most of the other cats can’t get into, but of course, if they want, they can keep her there where she won’t get food or access to a litter box.
I believe she will be accepted eventually. Little is the most unhappy, though Miss Sissy, who I think may actually be near the bottom of the pecking order, is happy to terrorize her, as needed.
My neighbor has been calling her Lena. I can’t call her Baby, as that is the vaunted title of Maybelline only. Little is taken too. So she may have to be Tiny or Teeny Lena.
Because we have a space where The White Cat used to fit, and a spare plate for the meals. Heh.
That photo could perfectly be labeled, “the Stinkeye” I think. LOL. Sorta like Suzanne’s LQQK.
So Teeny Lena has been admitted into the general cat population? I kept Nagi sequestered in the bedroom with his own food and box to tamp down the disagreements early on. It was about two weeks before he was allowed run of the house, but still we have some unpleasantness.
I’ve wondered if a little bit of rescue remedy would help in our water bowls, but I don’t think our issues rise to the level of needing herbal help. Is Teeny eating from a community bowl?
Heheh. Yeah, there is an element of stink in his look. It’s like he galled by the stoopit he has to tolerate in his staff. Silly thing.
my previous living situation was my two cats, my dog, and roomie’s seven cats. it was… tricky.
Druscilla, my grrlcat, is very aggressive and haughty and believes all must bow down to her. but surprisingly, she mostly got along with her new roomcats. Daweed, my boicat, is a puddle of love sponge and gentle and needy. surprisingly, he turned out to be the asshole.
several of the cats in that house were declawed, mine are not. it was part of the adoption contract with the rescue outfit i got them from never to declaw. so Daweed started picking on one of the declawed ones, a real sweetie grrlcat, and we ended up having to separate them. i felt bad about it, but she slept in one room of the house that had lots of sunbeams and her own potty area and when her daddy came home she was the first cat he loved on.
it was rough, and to be honest, likely one of the reasons why that living situation ended.
cats are not dogs. in the wild, i’ve read they are pack animals, but if they’ve been raised in a certain way and then that changes, they will become violent and establish hierarchies violently. mine are quite impressive, they “hunt” as a matched, near telepathic pair, like rajas of old who had trained tigers. you do NOT want to be a smaller furry thing or injured bird in this house. they will kill you.
the only advice i have is the spray bottle. it’s what i use for Discipline time. when one of them does something wrong, all i have to do is shake the bottle at them, and the desist. they hate getting sprayed with water a lot and i’ve mostly trained out all their bad behaviors, like knocking shit off shelves or getting pissy with the dog when he accidentally knocks something over and spooks them.
i’m proud of my dog and must brag on him, too. he is soooo gentle with cats. Dru has gone “creature from alien” on his face a couple of times, and he has resisted his natural impulse to crush her with his tank sized jaws. he’s a Good Boy.
…oh, and kudos for taking in a fellow firepup’s cat. that’s Awesome.
and so are you.
The dry food is in community bowls, but The Breakfast and The Dinner are on individual plates, as I believe SD suggested, and I followed when I started feeding The Wet Food, because Mr. Sadness needed it, or so I thought.
I can’t have Mr. S being pushed off his plate, and the other cats could easily do it if I don’t keep them at their own place when he eats. He is a Big Puss, and he will easily be intimidated not to eat his meds. I really have to keep an eye on him when he has his breakfast/meds or Miss Sissy or The Mutt will totally move in on him and he’ll walk away. I have been giving a little milk to the cats, at Miss Sissy’s insistence for a month or so. I had a bit of sour milk left over from the trip to TX and gave it to them to get rid of it. She bugs me for it now. Of course I am a pushover too, and it is just a few teaspoons in the morning, in part to keep Mr. S at his plate until his meds are gone. I brought Teeny into the kitchen this morning to make sure she got food since I don’t know if she had enough yesterday. She is entirely sweet.
Meow!
My parents introduced a female kitten into a home that already had a five-year-old toy doggie (some kind of Schnauzer mix, we think). The dog was no problem — the psychopathic older brother was the real problem.
Tim? that wizard from the monty python movie, you mean? wow. his powers are awesome. ;-)
i enjoyed even less sleep than normal yesterday, thanks to a visiting grey and white cat outside, bapping on the window and spitting and hissing, as mine did the same. i was almost enjoying real REM sleep, when i was awakened to WWIII. i was all like, “oh, crap. is there an armadillo inside the house or something?”
i predict this will happen again. mine are ready to Battle all comers.
Mr. S is the only male at our house since Biggie died. My neighbor has 2 males, and there is at least one male from another house that comes to our yard causing a variety of troubles, though not fighting so much. The one with collar and tags, I am not sure where he lives. I followed him to a locked compound the other day, not sure if he lives there, but it is sufficiently across the street and down the block that he should not really be coming here, it seems to me. I have never seen him before this week when he showed up and seems to return here for Troubles. Very irritating as we don’t have fighting here, all the cats get along without a lot of Teh Crazy, just some occasional chasing and attempts at bossing.
Oh, the spray bottle! Abner hated the thing with a passion unlike anything I’ve seen. To be honest, I wish I’d never used the bottle with him because I think it made him aggressive and angry. Abner sometimes attacked he bottle when I left it out. YMMV, though. Every cat is different.
Although I had cats, usually at least two or three, until I wound up with allergic/asthmatic grandkids, I never knew until the past few years about the cat hierarchy (who is the “alpha” cat) that exists in multiple-cat households. Indeed it is quite well documented, but I was totally unaware of it.
This is a good description: Top Cat: The Feline Hierarchy in Multi-cat Households.
I would guess that wherever Nagi was in the Dragon Household hierarchy, that’s been totally disrupted for both him and the residents of the YSD Household. It may take time for the hierarchy they all favor to shake itself out.
This is a really cute website, with lots of info, presented with humor:
Catster
oh, they get pissy if i use it on them, no doubt. Daweed won’t come to my lap for like, 48hrs after he’s been sprayed. Dru is smarter. she just runs when i start shaking the bottle, and ceases what she was doing. all in all it’s an amicable situation when Mommy Needs to Discipline. i have well behaved cats.
i still remember the day i adopted them. it was late in the afternoon in DC winter; i was doing journalism stuff there. my Big Girl (the most beautiful Prussian Blue ever) had died four months past. i was lonely, but i had this stupid idea in my head that i needed a “mourning phase” with no pets. my roomie agreed that a cat was ok, and so i went down to the adoption fair that this totally militant queer hosted twice a month. gosh, he was Serious… not about gay issues, but cats. you should see the contract i signed. the interview to determine my worthiness to be a cat owner was 45min long.
at the end of it, i won him over by saying, “look, honey. just give me the cats that are hardest to give away. i’ll take any of these kittens.” i also teared up telling him about my previous babies, like a good queer. he liked that.
he was Kind and recognized that i am a Gud Servant. he gave me the two who didn’t have earmites. let me recommend to all considering adoption. adopt two. two are as cheap as one and when they are siblings, they will get along, problem free.
adding, it turned out that the “hardest” to adopt out, in his experience as a rescue cat dood, are the… wait for it… black cats.
fucking racism. wtf.
LOL. If you do something a cat likes once, they insist it is a habit…
I remember thinking that I wished Nagi was my cat back in the time of Caturday. No one can replace Richard, but in his absence, Nagi couldn’t be more loved.
Uh oh. That article makes me feel guilty for introducing so much stress into the household. First, a new cat, then construction and furniture moves. Poor cats are probably exhausted.
I louvre me a sleek, smart black kitty with lots of cattitude. When we adopted Gracie, and Abner before him, we went through a fairly rigorous interview process including a questionaire about the kind of cat we were looking for. I remember a volunteer there told us she couldn’t believe how much training was required to teach her how to pet a cat. I was happy to hear that though.
Except for Maybelline, I have not had a cat I picked. She came when I could not get over my grief over LuLu, months on. I would go regularly to the adoption places, and leave in tears. Finally, for my birthday, I decided to adopt just about anything. Maybe was a baby, and I adored her like nothing else. I think the only reason I was not bereft over her death was b/c she had decided to come inside for a few months and I got to love her a lot in what turned out to be her last days. She knew, I didn’t. I loved her so much. She knew she was my baby, of all the cats.
I really have the best cats, they truly are about as perfect a bunch as could be imagined. No one marks, they get along, they don’t bug me for food or wake me up or drive me crazy when I am in bed. I would be over the moon if Mr. Sadness would let me touch him.
One thing I have been doing lately with him that seems to grab his interest is to just mouth my words to him. No sound, just my mouth saying the things I have said out loud all the time. I am hoping his rapture at this will lead to more contact. I have been able to touch his tail occasionally lately. This is not really new, he still moves away from my hands, no matter how careful I am not to do anything suddenly or unexpected. He loves Lucy (a black cat, she is the 4th one who has lived here), and he will snuggle near her even when she is near me. The ferals sometimes never get it. Miss Sissy is the most feral of all. She is the only one who has never been on the bed with us, though she will sleep on the bed by herself or with another cat. That is the most movement I have gotten with her after 12plus years.
My previous companion was a little black kitteh. She had been gone just over a year when I decided it was time and went to adopt Dan’l on the Saturday over a long weekend t give the extra day for us to get to know each other. I had to agree to the no de-clawing altho it was not a difficult decision (LS had her claws all along). I purposefully adopted an adult but was warned that he did not play well with others and was best to be a singleton
Back from our little hike (2 mile stroll in the woods, really) and a bunch of errands. Picked up a couple of packets of seed at Lowes. Swiss chard is not really my favourite leafy green, but I thought if I grew it I could harvest it when it is young and tender, perhaps I’ll like it better? Also found a packet of corn salad seed. I’ve never tried it but I think some pups were discussing it once, and anyway, the name makes me grin. Corn salad. A leafy green. Go figure :)
Arry and Mottyl have some routines that they love. One is ice hockey. Whenever we use the ice dispenser in the fridge door, chips and pieces of ice fly everywhere. Used to really annoy me, before the cats. They race around batting the ice chips and have the best time. Anywhere in the house, if they hear the dispenser they come flying.
The other routine is putting their front paws in the bathroom sink when I’m brushing my teeth. They bat at the water stream and lick the water off their paws, but Mottyl has started patting Arry on the head with her wet paw. They also like to sleep in the two bathroom sinks.
They are such good companions.
Thank you for taking this over today and thanks for the Nagi update.
That’s hilariously cute about the ice chip games!
So good to hear all about Nagi’s adventures in his new home. Sounds great for kids and the cat.
I have been SOOOOO lucky with my strays and my adoptions. I have pretty much thrown cats together 5 times and had no problems after brief separation protocols at the beginning. My first stray mounted a weeks long campaign hanging out with my 2 cats before he eventually got sick and I eventually adopted him. He took to chasing my little one (1/3 his size) up and down the stairs which I found *quite* alarming but when I played the worried momma and yelled “hey” they would stop and the little one would look at me saying “what? I’m having the time of my life!” I never saw teeth or claws bared. They didn’t sleep together, but that’s what I am for! I marvel at how peaceful it all was.
I also had 2 FLV (?) cats in the house with cancer and in spite of dire vet warnings that made me feel the household was unclean and should be quarantined my little cat never caught the illness (as my own research suggested she wouldn’t).
Funny Mr. Merlin story: we went out for a late night walk in the snow the other night and he rolled on his back on the flattened snowy path ~ just like it was lovely grass or ashphalt or brick (all nice for rolling around on, dontchaknow. He’s a snow cat but that was something to see.
Mr. Merlin has made friends with a local cat that comes around … so cute. But the other night there was some interloper than came by and he hissed and scrambled and paced until I let him out to sort his territorial rights out. He came back safe and sound. He’s the biggest cat in the neighbourhood after all. And he *is* a wizard in disguise, so that helps.
I use the water bottle spritzer … but I am pretty lenient. Just don’t want any real damage done … Mr. Merlin runs when I shake it and I have been using it to teach him the meaning of “no.” He now gives up his (annoying) begging if I deliver a firm “no.” Progress.
Happy Caturday to all and all the creatures ~ thanks for the PUYC tradition.
I HIGHLY recommend this week’s Moyers’ episode with Prof. Wolff ~ had me hanging on every word. Worth finding online to watch at the website.
Hi, reader, so good to see your fonts and hear about the kitteh antics at your house :)
Love the story about the chase up and down stairs! I have a photo that I’ll try to post here in a few that reminds me so much of your experience. I thought Arry was going to kill her little sister one afternoon, but when I yelled at her -they gave me the kind of look that I’m imagining you got!
Ice hockey! How adorable.
My pleasure, ma’am. Getting the pictures to post was fantastically easy, although I swear I had tried to do it a trazillion times before today with no luck.
I’d read a lot of cat training (yeah, as if) advice that said the water bottle can be very effective, but it really didn’t work well for us. I haven’t seen the Moyers episode yet, but I may watch it later tonight since Downton Abbey is over for the season.
The shot of Arry mugging Mottyl (not) is here, I hope.
Hi Margaret, any Neko stories this week?
Caption: just walk away, Hooman. You saw nothin’
Great picture.
Have it bookmarked to read tonight, thanks for the reminder. Another one of the many gifts SD gave us.
LOL!
It’s absolutely the only negative thing I allow ~ only because I don’t want my glasses to end up on the floor (or worse) *just* because I won’t get up to feed *someone* at 5 am. I would be all for stopping immediately if a cat reacted badly to the spritzing and just shaking it works for me now. It can be a battle of wills: my first cat as an adult (me, not the cat) was a purebred Abyssinian that *never* accepted my authority and eventually went to live with my ex-boyfriend, whom he did accept as master.
Do catch the Moyers’ episode!
A good way to honour the White Cat, not letting her bowl stay empty.
Oh.MY.God. What a gorgeous pair of *innocents.* LOL.
I came to realize that Horatio ran only fast enough to keep up with Colette. If she slipped or tripped he showed down. It was *pure* fun ~ my initial nerves aside. He could have easily done her a lot of damage. But he was very gentle with the girls. The neighbourhood cats, not so much. After a nasty puncture wound in his ear that got infected, he had to spend his remaining days walking on a harness to get his nature fix. He didn’t mind at all- he was a tuxedo: his attitude, was “ok, reader, what do you want me to do now?” My other cat would race around the park while we walked. Those were sweet days.
I have often had to feed each cat in a separate room or -horrors- one on the counter to keep all the special diets and meds separate. And make sure the little one got her share without any bother. I think that helped keep all the peace.
707070707!
Hi, folks, anybody still around? My work session is over, and I’ve been reading commments.
Some great stories today. Ice hockey? My cats flee the kitchen when they hear me pick up the ice tray, because cubes sometimes drop on their heads. Well, once…that’s enough to induce fleeing ever after.
The water bottle – yeah, I used it with some of my cats. I remember with my first cat, when I was utterly cat-ignorant and was reading everything I could find, a water pistol was recommended.
Tried the water pistol, but it kept leaking when laid down, so I swtiched to a spray bottle. I’ve seen many an instruction not to let the cat see you using it, so they won’t associate it with you and be mad at you, and also so it seems like “retribution from Ceiling Cat,” that comes out of nowhere when you’re misbehaving.
I’m so glad Nagi has a loving lap and a loving arm to cuddle him, under the covers.
I just wish we could have done something like that for all the others. I so hope they’re doing well; I worry about them from time to time.
*innocents* is right *g*
Love the names Horatio and Colette. How cool that he liked (or tolerated) the harness. Our tortoiseshell Tigris would walk us on a harness and lead, didn’t seem to bother her, either. She thought she was a dog, anyway, and before we made them all indoor kittehs she would follow us for blocks while the Airedales walked us around the neighborhood. Those were good times, too. Nice memories.
I’ve got to say bye, y’all. Have a great evening, and thank you again, ysd for a great PUYC.
ohmmmm
Exactamente, what you said: I worry excessively that I simply can’t smell the pee odor in the house. Especially as I’ll be thinking the smell is finally gone, and suddenly, without a single cat having made a move at all, it’s as if the odor “comes up” with a bang, and I have to get up and scrub, spray, or light candles.
I lit several candles in the area where we were to work, and opened the windows in the bay window, near the table which I cleared off (that may have taken the longest!) Sheesh. The place looks moderately attractive now, but I’m not sure about the smell. Neither person would admit to smelling anything (one has a Bengal cat herself, and some stories! and also has had pee behavior). They didn’t run from the house, though, and we got some work done, after I settled down from my nervousness about hosting.
We even drank some wine; got Hector to open a bottle I’d bought on a whim months ago and kept in the back of the fridge.
I do think I detect some odor now, but the weather’s getting damper, and cooler, and I’ve closed the windows. sigh.
I think some is the beat up sofa, which has often been a target, and hope to get rid of it and replace it in a month or two, if we can bring in enough money. ; )
Glad I saw you as I was shutting down! Don’t know if I told you all that Nancy ended up adopting Gabby? The little orange kittie who hid in the sofa every time she came to feed them and missed the transport to Georgeanne’s? Nancy kept him at the vet hospital a couple of weeks, looking for the perfect home, then decided that SHE was the perfect home :) Her big dog Max loves Gabby, and her cat Homie and Gabby pretty much just ignore each other. Very happy ending.
My first Merlin followed me down the block to a meeting one night and waited for me. Sweet. SD liked the story of that Merlin *showing* up to join me one evening when I went out to watch the fireworks. Sweet cats.
*clapping* for Nancy, Gabby, Max, and Homie – what a family!
Oh, good!! I’m so, so glad! I worried about Gabby, too, hanging out at the vet hospital with no home.
Thank you for telling me. I so wanted to take Sita, the fairly recent calico. Had I had enough money and owned my own home, I would have pushed that harder. As a renter, I’m at my limit.
I feel better knowing that.
Forgot to say in my above post that one of my visitors said to me, “I thought you had cats?” Because they had, naturally, fled under the bed when the doorbell rang. Even after they left, they were cautious about coming out. Haven’t seen visitors in awhile.
Actually, there was so much turmoil as I ran around carrying things out to the garage and cleaning up and sweeping (and finding balls and catnip toys), they had pretty much headed under the bed before anyone arrived.
After awhile, Pushy came out, making his little cry and carrying a ball in his mouth. He seems to want to be loved on when he brings me a ball, so that’s what I did. ; )
hi, tejanarusa ~ they sound like friendlies! wine *always* helps. I am beyond nervous entertaining so it’s been years ~ we should be easier on ourselves. sounds like a good meeting.
so adorable when they carry stuff around! I have taken your cue and have been playing with Mr. Merlin more. we both need it, he AND I. he approves of my improving companionship skills. :-)
Very, very sweet kitties. Yes, I can imagine SD really liking that story. He had such a big heart. For someone so able to bring down the hammer like lightning, or plunge the room into a deep freeze with a word, he was the kindest, most gentle soul. A true enigma.
Thanks, yeah. I was never much good at entertaining, and since this cat pee problem – smack in the middle of the floor in front of the front door – I just haven’t let anyone in.
Of course, this wasn’t really entertaining, it was work, but still. Got things cleaned up enough that the first thing that struck both visitors was my wall of books.
It is rather nice to have the clutter cleared and the place clean…of course, much of the clutter from the dining and living areas is now in the bedroom, on the far side of the bed. ; ) Maybe this will jump-start my intentions to get rid of some of this stuff for good. Luckily, I had been dusting and tidying some in the last couple weeks, so there was a start. This winter I was tired, tired, tired, as well as sick a couple times, and housekeeping went to worse-than-usual.
Now THAT is a compliment! House must have smelled wonderful.
((Pushy)) I always smile when I think of him carrying that little rubber ball in his mouth and making that little cry :)
I know you would like to have given Sita a home. It might have caused a real uproar at your home though, after just assimilating Big Boy. Very good and kind thoughts.
Oh, good! Play is good for all of us, isn’t it? I am convinced after approx. 20 kittehs that playing with them is the way to their hearts. Also to better behavior, because they’re worn out!
OmAli, what you said is so true. Such a gentle heart, and yet, tough as needed. Who would have guessed, after all, that an ol’ hippie sailor (well, that’s a contradiction, too, I guess) would have such a soft heart toward cats?
So glad to have had a chance to know him. And all you guys who gathered in this spot he created for us to talk about our fur babies without annoying the non-cat-lovers, plus some off-topic stuff, too.
So very true. I know we made him very happy, too.
Ok, really need to go now. Nice memories. Thanks for the time today, everyone.
*poof*
We just had a Nagi escape. Luckily, he didn’t run up the hill this time. We cut him off and got him inside. Out of breath. Lil guy is like lightening.
Yeah, Pushy’s my big sweetie. It’s taken me awhile to figure out what he wanted with the ball-bringing. Patchy and Charlie brought the ball so that it could be thrown, so that they could run after it, and bring it back to be thrown..etc., etc.
But Pushy seems to want to be scooped up and petted and talked to. I would throw or roll the ball, and he would just look at me without moving. (stoopit hooman, doesn’t she get it?)
You’re right, the great cat rescue took place soon after Big Boy moved in, and that was a delicate balance. Still is, sometimes.
ROFL! I see the chase…the cutting off at the pass…
Did you maneuver him back in, or were you able to pick him up?
It’s darn hard to catch a cat if it really doesn’t want to be caught. Congratulations on achieving the feat!
Worn out! Yes, indeed. LOL!
The cats are like any *one* ~ they/we want to know that some *one* sees us and accepts us as we are and ENJOYS what we enjoy. And has our interests in mind. The playing is a very positive part of that dynamic, I am realizing.
And *I* just got a gentle paw at my elbow to NOT stop petting please. That’s new.
Such interesting dynamics among your crew! And absolutely heartwarming to read about Big Boy ~ I have been lurking often and I really was so pleased and quite amazed after all your time with him. He’s a lucky boy.
And, yes, SD did keep us nicely in line! We’ll have to do that for ourselves, now, in his honor.
Cool! Honestly, I know we hoomans think lots of petting and holding on lap is the way to kittehs’ hearts, but I think it works the other way around. When you are their reliable playmate, they are inclined to love on you and accept loving from you.
I love that you got that gentle paw! So glad that’s happening for both you and Mr. Merlin. 3> it!
We are back for the evening. My teen had a 4 person HS project and I needed to transport. M is outside, just got a brush and vac out in the garage with the human door open, her summer haunt. In a half hour I’m setting out a small dish of kibble as I think the little black is around our old barn somewhere.
Tracked it in a couple circles and it didn’t seem to be leading off to any of teh neighbors. Called my friend to borrow the Hav-a-Hart live trap. If we see the black go after the food in our porch light, will set the trap in a couple days. Tuesday overnight is our next forecast precipitation event.
He’s the number one cat now ~ we are adjusting. I’ve had “the paw” for food but not for petting. I think he was overly focussed on food. And I had to trim some spectacular claws, so I did do *my* part. I am pleased.
Stray homecoming watch! We are on it! Best of luck to you and the kitteh.
Mr stood on the driveway and managed to herd him right back into the house. It was a lucky episode.
I get the, “I’m not sitting and posing here at my half-filled bowl of kibble for a picture,” kind of look.
Sometimes it is the, “don’t you forget it is time for the wet food, nonq?
Best laid plans, I have enough field mice around here to empty the kibble set out for the visitor, so we’ll see.
Thanks for the post ysd, the best for you and all the caturfolks. You all got me to tears a couple of times reading through earlier.
How can you miss someone so much, whom you never even met in person? I keep trying to turn those feelings into activism though, so all is good. Hope that made sense.
Probably the same storm that’s headed into NW Indiana. Forecast for heavy snowfall and freezing rain with ice accumulations Tuesday and Tuesday night, possible snow accumulation 3 to 7 inches possible.
As long as it comes and goes away before I have to go to Indianapolis on Saturday, I don’t mind much. I’m making another batch of soup tomorrow, and have a sewing project to finish. Discovering I don’t much care for sewing fleece!
I’ve often wondered the same thing. We are family here, in a way.
Seconded.
Yep. I miss Richard all the time, someone I never even met. It’s good to hear others say it too. It’s hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t hang out on these threads how much Richard meant to me. *moment of silence for our dear friend.*
Richard and Jane have been nothing less than spiritual and intellectual mentors to me. I first interacted with Richard when he had a cat named Gigi who was having some vet issues -way back before Caturday, even- and I felt a connection because I had a cat named Gigi too. I admired him but I had no idea he had so many cats, so having a Gigi was *maybe* not so surprising. Obviously, I was looking for a way to connect with such a cool person(ality).
If you’re still here…thirded, or whatever comes next. We all feel that way. Close to tears myself at a couple of posts today.
I’m glad to hear everyone say they still miss Richard, too, because sometimes I feel this pain that he isn’t there to tell or ask something, and I still feel that “I can’t believe it” sensation. It seems so crazy because of that “never even met him” part. Thank goodness we all have each other to share it with.
I like to think he knew how much he influenced so many of us.
And I watched Moyers with Prof Wolff and thought of Richard every damn minute.
Yellosnapdragon, thank you for this lovely post and hosting today. Great stories, lots of regulars with their kittehs stopping by…it’s been lovely, even tho’ I seem to have a (ahem) watery eye again…
Got some work to do before I go to bed early, to get up early, so I’m off.
Nonq, keep us posted on the mysterious black kitteh (know you will).
Good night and good week, everyone.
We were lucky to have known him. Truly.
Thanks for stopping by. You know, I was thinking to myself earlier today that I wish I could ask Richard what to do about the cat situation here. Sigh.
Good night everyone and thanks for sharing your kitty news.
This is making me cry, too. For a long time I haven’t wanted to write about him. Just hurt too bad and I know this will sound crazy but I felt as though if I didn’t hold on as tightly as I could, or if I even wrote his name, he was going to slip away through my fingertips and be gone forever…
He won’t though, because he still lives in all of us, because we hold him in our hearts.
Good night, friends. Good night, Richard.
Lovely words. Lovely people & kittehs. Thanks, everyone. Take c
care.