Everyone has ambitions in their life, and aside from your own personal ones, you follow those of your children. Often however, these are a little difficult to determine. This morning I had a little inspiration as to what might be the ambitions of our cats.
Marley seems to have settled into the life of the alpha cat in our house. He has new found things to do such as playing with the others, going outside (we only recently allowed this) and, now maintaining the proper order of things in the house. He exerts his authority several ways. First, he sleeps at the foot of our bed, and although he will occasionally allow Lucky with us, he doesnt allow Powder Puff except up at the top of our bed. He feels he has the right to jump up and monitor the job I am doing in putting together the feedings. He has learned to stay out of my way when he does this now, and stays up just until he is sure that I am making HIS food, then jumps down to receive.
Im less sure what Lucky wants to do with his life. He is certainly the most outgoing of the bunch, is a bundle of energy, and has become a force of nature in the house. He still acts like an adolescent, so much so that Ive determined that Lucky's first name must be "Happygo" He certainly hasnt selected the life of a domesticated cat yet, although that will be part of his life. I could see him going away to college and joining a caternity where he would certainly be the life of the party. He is an avid hunter, but isnt a killer, and is one to be watched and envied, but Im not sure he is a born leader. I can see others following him by example, but I dont see him taking on the responsibiity of leadership. In the military he would probably be in the special forces. He might end up as a sports figure, and most likely it would be a rugby or lacrosse player. But I think we need a little more growth to see where he is going.
Powder Puff clearly has ambitions, despite being quiet and mostly meek. She also has a little of the devil in her, and is willing to play, but pretty much only on her own terms. I have noticed a few of her ways that leads me to believe that she has ambitions of becoming a super model. First, she is lean and sleek, and maintains her self with adequate rest and exercise. Second, she eats very little. She often acts very hungry but then doesnt eat a lot. She comes to the table acting ravenous but then eats just a little meat and polishes off the gravy. She wears dark eye (and nose) makeup although at her age it isnt well applied. But the thing that really set off the light bulb in my head is what she does first thing in the morning when all the cats gather in our room while I get up to get them breakfast. The boys watch attentively and prowl a little while I get dressed. But although they are all very hungry, Powder Puff walks right in and over to the scale which she immediately gets on and checks her weight. Its apparently so important to her that she stays sitting on the scale until I start walking out of the room. My assumption is that she wants to know exactly what her weight is before breakfast so that she can carefully know what to eat. I havent noticed any signs of anorexia or bulimia (thank God) except for that associated with a hair ball event, so at least it isnt to an extreme. Of course, she is the youngest, and may change her mind as she grows up - I know Im still uncertain.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Illusion of control
Just when you think you've made progress with domesticating your cat it seems that the tables have been turned. We've had to work with Powder Puff to stop her sharpening her claws on our nice wicker laundry basket. Its been nice to see a pretty good reduction in the times she does this. But this morning it dawned on me that all we've really done is give her another tool in the game of dominating the Hines household.
After a week or so of vacation from his alarm clock duties (I think someone showed him my note about this and he changed to show me that he wasnt so predictable) Marley has come back with a vengance. Yesterdays coup de gras was a leap directly onto my full bladder which really got my full attention even though I was pretty drowsy. Todays tactics were quite different - much less impact but repeated, I mean REPEATED runs across my body. This was a gentler way of waking up but just as annoying. Regardless, it wasnt having enough of an effect. Suddenly, there was Powder Puff, sharpening her claws again, and it had the desired effect. I told her to stop and got up to be sure.
As Im padding my way to the kitchen to start the day with my number one priority (feeding the cats) I realized that I had been suckered. Powder Puff saw that Marleys alarm clock method didnt have effect and took the matter into her own paws.
This just points out to me that much of our control of our lives is just an illusion. When you realize that your own cats are effectively gaming you, you see that you arent as independant as you thought.
After a week or so of vacation from his alarm clock duties (I think someone showed him my note about this and he changed to show me that he wasnt so predictable) Marley has come back with a vengance. Yesterdays coup de gras was a leap directly onto my full bladder which really got my full attention even though I was pretty drowsy. Todays tactics were quite different - much less impact but repeated, I mean REPEATED runs across my body. This was a gentler way of waking up but just as annoying. Regardless, it wasnt having enough of an effect. Suddenly, there was Powder Puff, sharpening her claws again, and it had the desired effect. I told her to stop and got up to be sure.
As Im padding my way to the kitchen to start the day with my number one priority (feeding the cats) I realized that I had been suckered. Powder Puff saw that Marleys alarm clock method didnt have effect and took the matter into her own paws.
This just points out to me that much of our control of our lives is just an illusion. When you realize that your own cats are effectively gaming you, you see that you arent as independant as you thought.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Great Gecko Roundups...
For the most part its really interesting to see all the flora and fauna here in central Florida. Since we have lived here in most of the seasons, we are starting to get a better feel of things. So far, spotting an Ibis, the white bird with a long, slim curved beak still is a delight to us, as is daily sightings of pelicans and lots of other birds.
The squirrels here are thin and small, but recognizable as generally the same as the more macho ones we had in Maryland. Ive even seen mice eating the seeds from palm trees.
Geckos and other small lizards are around everywhere outside, but we value them for their contribution to insect control, and dont mind them as long as they stay outside. Weve also seen snakes and other creatures that we would just as soon not, including one tiny slim snake who took some time to find a way out of our pool. Needless to say, I check the water before swimming now.
But its the interchange of these creatures with our cats that can be a little disturbing. Youve heard of the Lucky snake episode and Powder Puff trying to get 15 feet up the coconut tree to get something as yet unidentified.
Geckos seem to be fair game though. Lucky seems to get them fairly frequently, and we have seen him with their hind legs and tail sticking out of Lucky's mouth all too often. Once, as told before we also saw him trying to spit out a gecko that had obviously bit Lucky's tongue as a method of self preservation. So far all the geckos we have seem them with have gotten away - they are clearly a temporary play thing for the cats. Lucky brings them to our glass door, and with the legs and tail sticking out of his mouth waits patiently for us to notice. When we tell him he cant bring it in the house he drops it, and every one is happy.
Now Powder Puff has done the same thing although its a little more dramatic when she does it since the dark gecko stands out against her white coat. The effect is pretty startling actually. Its hard to blame the cats, after all they are just doing what is in their nature. So far, nobody seems to be hurt. The geckos generally either get away or run away if they have been released. Once one played dead for a while but ended up moving after the crowd died down.
So we are still trying to teach the cats that the inside of the house is to remain a gecko-free environment, even if they are bored and want live playthings.
The squirrels here are thin and small, but recognizable as generally the same as the more macho ones we had in Maryland. Ive even seen mice eating the seeds from palm trees.
Geckos and other small lizards are around everywhere outside, but we value them for their contribution to insect control, and dont mind them as long as they stay outside. Weve also seen snakes and other creatures that we would just as soon not, including one tiny slim snake who took some time to find a way out of our pool. Needless to say, I check the water before swimming now.
But its the interchange of these creatures with our cats that can be a little disturbing. Youve heard of the Lucky snake episode and Powder Puff trying to get 15 feet up the coconut tree to get something as yet unidentified.
Geckos seem to be fair game though. Lucky seems to get them fairly frequently, and we have seen him with their hind legs and tail sticking out of Lucky's mouth all too often. Once, as told before we also saw him trying to spit out a gecko that had obviously bit Lucky's tongue as a method of self preservation. So far all the geckos we have seem them with have gotten away - they are clearly a temporary play thing for the cats. Lucky brings them to our glass door, and with the legs and tail sticking out of his mouth waits patiently for us to notice. When we tell him he cant bring it in the house he drops it, and every one is happy.
Now Powder Puff has done the same thing although its a little more dramatic when she does it since the dark gecko stands out against her white coat. The effect is pretty startling actually. Its hard to blame the cats, after all they are just doing what is in their nature. So far, nobody seems to be hurt. The geckos generally either get away or run away if they have been released. Once one played dead for a while but ended up moving after the crowd died down.
So we are still trying to teach the cats that the inside of the house is to remain a gecko-free environment, even if they are bored and want live playthings.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Ghost Visitations
Powder Puff on the sofa.
After we bought this house, we didnt get to move in immediately. When I would stay here before we moved in the house was dark and mostly empty. Every so often I would be quietly moving through the house and would be startled by a ghostly image just outside one of our sliding glass doors. In the instant before I figured out what it was, my adrenaline would kick in and I would often jump. Each time I could get a good laugh at myself when I realized it was Powder Puff (at that point just a stray that we would see sometimes). Something about her white coat glowing from the room light was eerie.
The scene had a little of the Ichabod Crane to it as well. Powder Puff has a black marking over her nose and part of her face. The contrast is such that for a while I thought she had been born with no nose and just a hole in her face.
She was desparate for love, but being also very fearful, so it took her a while to actually come up to us. However, once we moved in, she was around a lot and stayed just out of reach.
What a change in viewpoints. From a scary disfigured ghost to a soft, cuddly sweet girl. She is still quite jumpy which makes us think she has been abused, but she has come into her own with us.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
A Lucky Day
Today I thought it might be instructive to provide what I think is a pretty accurate description of a typical day for our cats. You will notice that there are the same activities that we all have in a standard day - tasks, appointments, personal time, etc. Because they arent people though, there seems to be quite a lack of pre planning (aside from routine events which, like eating, are important). SO here is my attempt to describe a typical day for Lucky, from his point of view:
Dark: continue prowling and sleeping as necessary
Pre-dawn: be sure Marley is doing his job of getting Dad up so he will feed us
Dawn-ish: dont go far from Dads room, and keep a wary eye so that I dont miss him getting up
ALL Sensors go to full alert for any signs of Dad getting up
Check in on Marley's efforts to get Dad up
DAD's UP!!!! Quickly let him know that we need to eat. Rub up against his legs to show him we wanna eat, ...er... I mean that we love him
Help Dad find his way to the kitchen... OH NO, why is he in that room with the lights and the fan noise? we may NEVER eat!!!
Heres Dad again, and he is going towards the kitchen!
Watch Dad as he gets the food ready. Be sure to be ready to get to any food that gets put down. Maybe I will be first !
Eat at last! Eat fast, someone might try to steal my food.
Hey, my bowl is empty, how did that happen? Check to see if there is any of Marleys food left, check to see if any of Powder Puffs food is left. YUCK! how can she eat that stuff, lemme see if I can bury it.
Time for adventure. Marley looks like he has settled down, so I think its time to pick on Powder Puff.
Surprise attack on Powder Puff, then chase her until she gets away
Surprise attack on the rug by the front door
Sprint around the house
Surprise attack on Powder Puff, chase her until she goes into her shark cage, then avoid her quick slashes if I get near.
Whats Marley doing? still loafing - charge at Marley full bore to see if he is ready to fight. He's not, so stop at the last second and pretend I wasn't doing anything.
Run around the house until Dad figures out I need to burn off energy, then adventure into the outside world when he lets me out.
[at this point I'm not sure what Lucky does. I will spot him occasionally but I think he just enjoys burning off some energy.. And there can be surprises. Within the last week he caught a small snake and did his best to avoid the snapping at him while pouncing on it, picking it up in his mouth, etc. He also was seen with a gecko in his mouth, head first, where upon the gecko must have bit him on his toungue and Lucky reacted strongly, trying to spit out a gecko attached to his tongue. Eventually he returns and settles into his routine]
Sleep soundly - repeat as necessary for the rest of the day
Wake up and attack Marley. Wrestle and bite, get away and jump back on, run from Marley then whirl around and attack. Repeat as necessary throughout the day.
Watch for opportunities to attack 1) Powder Puff 2) the front rug 3) the rug between the hall and the family room 4) Marley in any order. Repeat frequently.
Practice attack strategies - running around, climbing to the top of sofas chairs, etc, hiding under the sofa cover, etc
Watch for any time Mom or Dad go to the kitchen since they will surely feed me some more
Watch for dinner
[repeat breakfast meal time]
More wrestling, fighting and chasing with Marley and Powder Puff
More sleeping
After Mom and Dad go to bed, more sleeping and prowling.
So thats a typical day for Lucky, who at this moment is trying to hide his completely black body on the white pool deck at the intersection with a small wall as he waits for the dragonfly to get in range.
Dark: continue prowling and sleeping as necessary
Pre-dawn: be sure Marley is doing his job of getting Dad up so he will feed us
Dawn-ish: dont go far from Dads room, and keep a wary eye so that I dont miss him getting up
ALL Sensors go to full alert for any signs of Dad getting up
Check in on Marley's efforts to get Dad up
DAD's UP!!!! Quickly let him know that we need to eat. Rub up against his legs to show him we wanna eat, ...er... I mean that we love him
Help Dad find his way to the kitchen... OH NO, why is he in that room with the lights and the fan noise? we may NEVER eat!!!
Heres Dad again, and he is going towards the kitchen!
Watch Dad as he gets the food ready. Be sure to be ready to get to any food that gets put down. Maybe I will be first !
Eat at last! Eat fast, someone might try to steal my food.
Hey, my bowl is empty, how did that happen? Check to see if there is any of Marleys food left, check to see if any of Powder Puffs food is left. YUCK! how can she eat that stuff, lemme see if I can bury it.
Time for adventure. Marley looks like he has settled down, so I think its time to pick on Powder Puff.
Surprise attack on Powder Puff, then chase her until she gets away
Surprise attack on the rug by the front door
Sprint around the house
Surprise attack on Powder Puff, chase her until she goes into her shark cage, then avoid her quick slashes if I get near.
Whats Marley doing? still loafing - charge at Marley full bore to see if he is ready to fight. He's not, so stop at the last second and pretend I wasn't doing anything.
Run around the house until Dad figures out I need to burn off energy, then adventure into the outside world when he lets me out.
[at this point I'm not sure what Lucky does. I will spot him occasionally but I think he just enjoys burning off some energy.. And there can be surprises. Within the last week he caught a small snake and did his best to avoid the snapping at him while pouncing on it, picking it up in his mouth, etc. He also was seen with a gecko in his mouth, head first, where upon the gecko must have bit him on his toungue and Lucky reacted strongly, trying to spit out a gecko attached to his tongue. Eventually he returns and settles into his routine]
Sleep soundly - repeat as necessary for the rest of the day
Wake up and attack Marley. Wrestle and bite, get away and jump back on, run from Marley then whirl around and attack. Repeat as necessary throughout the day.
Watch for opportunities to attack 1) Powder Puff 2) the front rug 3) the rug between the hall and the family room 4) Marley in any order. Repeat frequently.
Practice attack strategies - running around, climbing to the top of sofas chairs, etc, hiding under the sofa cover, etc
Watch for any time Mom or Dad go to the kitchen since they will surely feed me some more
Watch for dinner
[repeat breakfast meal time]
More wrestling, fighting and chasing with Marley and Powder Puff
More sleeping
After Mom and Dad go to bed, more sleeping and prowling.
So thats a typical day for Lucky, who at this moment is trying to hide his completely black body on the white pool deck at the intersection with a small wall as he waits for the dragonfly to get in range.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Important things...
One of the first things I face everyday is caring for my loved ones. I dont include the people I love in this, because for the most part, I dont face them first thing in the morning. Of course, if I was being completely honest, what I want to talk about isnt the FIRST thing in the morning with them since they impact me before I get up, but today we will address my first moments after rising from bed.
Life used to be pretty straightforward - I had one cat to take care of, and he brought such a force of personality into my life, that I didnt really need more. He is a "Sylvester" looking black and white cat who we think left his mother before he should have, and found his way to us via a circuitous route. His name is Marley, and is the biggest and oldest of the cats.
Six months ago we moved to Florida, and our yard was the gathering place for a number of stray cats. Luckily, there was none of the problems I would envision with strays being around, and they had the advantage of keeping the pest population under control.
Over time, two of the cats adopted us, and, to make a long story short(er) we ended up taking them in, and getting them fixed, shots and registered. Both of these cats were malnourished in food and in emotional support, and they crave both. There is an all black 2 year old named Lucky, and a mostly white, blue eyed beauty named Powder Puff since that is what her fur feels like. In retrospect, the merging of the 3 cats into our household went well, but we had some adventures along the way. But now my morning ritual with them has settled into a routine.
At first, I assumed that their actions in the morning showed that they thought I am an imbecile, but that since they needed me to provide care, they were willing to work with me. For example, it seemed pretty clear that they felt I didnt know how to find the way to the kitchen, and it was incumbent upon them to help me in this significant challange to my capabilities. When I first wake up they all merge around me, trying to ensure that I am alert enough to know they are there and to get my attention. As soon as I start to move they split up, one sticks with me and the other two move towards each of the possible exits. As I move to one of the exits, the cat nearest that one heads off to provide me with something to follow, under the apparent assumption that otherwise I might get lost. The one nearest me then makes sure they have my attention by rushing past me, tangling with my feet which may trip me but regardless makes me look right at them as they run ahead, to ensure that my small brain hasnt lost focus in what direction Im going. The third cat, who seems kind of disappointed that I didnt pick their route, moves into the vacated position of the one who was with me. We proceed in this fashion, with the cycle repeating itself at every intersection where I might have a directional choice until I finally am able to locate the kitchen so they can be fed.
This is pretty much how I have thought of their perspective of our first interaction of the morning. Recently however, Ive begun to view this a little differently, and it makes the start of the day a little more buoyant.
One day it came to me that they are behaving more like groupies around a rock star. They are excited to see me when I get up, they flock around me and try to get my attention, they all want to be part of the entourage as I move around the house, and they realize that I have the power to give them something that they really want and need. They are willing to go with me no matter what route I take, and seem to be crawling all over one another to stay with me. The stopping and waiting ahead is just so they dont lose sight of me and potentially not stay near me.And the whole time they are attentive to my every action.
Thats a much better way to think of it.
Life used to be pretty straightforward - I had one cat to take care of, and he brought such a force of personality into my life, that I didnt really need more. He is a "Sylvester" looking black and white cat who we think left his mother before he should have, and found his way to us via a circuitous route. His name is Marley, and is the biggest and oldest of the cats.
Six months ago we moved to Florida, and our yard was the gathering place for a number of stray cats. Luckily, there was none of the problems I would envision with strays being around, and they had the advantage of keeping the pest population under control.
Over time, two of the cats adopted us, and, to make a long story short(er) we ended up taking them in, and getting them fixed, shots and registered. Both of these cats were malnourished in food and in emotional support, and they crave both. There is an all black 2 year old named Lucky, and a mostly white, blue eyed beauty named Powder Puff since that is what her fur feels like. In retrospect, the merging of the 3 cats into our household went well, but we had some adventures along the way. But now my morning ritual with them has settled into a routine.
At first, I assumed that their actions in the morning showed that they thought I am an imbecile, but that since they needed me to provide care, they were willing to work with me. For example, it seemed pretty clear that they felt I didnt know how to find the way to the kitchen, and it was incumbent upon them to help me in this significant challange to my capabilities. When I first wake up they all merge around me, trying to ensure that I am alert enough to know they are there and to get my attention. As soon as I start to move they split up, one sticks with me and the other two move towards each of the possible exits. As I move to one of the exits, the cat nearest that one heads off to provide me with something to follow, under the apparent assumption that otherwise I might get lost. The one nearest me then makes sure they have my attention by rushing past me, tangling with my feet which may trip me but regardless makes me look right at them as they run ahead, to ensure that my small brain hasnt lost focus in what direction Im going. The third cat, who seems kind of disappointed that I didnt pick their route, moves into the vacated position of the one who was with me. We proceed in this fashion, with the cycle repeating itself at every intersection where I might have a directional choice until I finally am able to locate the kitchen so they can be fed.
This is pretty much how I have thought of their perspective of our first interaction of the morning. Recently however, Ive begun to view this a little differently, and it makes the start of the day a little more buoyant.
One day it came to me that they are behaving more like groupies around a rock star. They are excited to see me when I get up, they flock around me and try to get my attention, they all want to be part of the entourage as I move around the house, and they realize that I have the power to give them something that they really want and need. They are willing to go with me no matter what route I take, and seem to be crawling all over one another to stay with me. The stopping and waiting ahead is just so they dont lose sight of me and potentially not stay near me.And the whole time they are attentive to my every action.
Thats a much better way to think of it.
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