Time to Get Up

Chester, our cat, is an intelligent goof.  Not only does he know how to breath into our CPAP machines to start them so he can have air blowing on his face, he also speaks his mind. 

Just the other day, unbeknowst to us, he went into the bedroom and tried to start the CPAP machine.  (We unplug them now so we don't come home from work to the roar of air in the bedroom from machines that have been running all day.) In so doing, Chester stood on the bed control and raised the bed to the full upright position. Below, you can see the bed in the "normal" mode, and the bed in the "Chester mode". Whether he did this intentionally or not, when I hollered at him about the bed, he came running in and immediately meowed in a "I didn't do it, it just happened" manner.  Don't tell me cats don't know what they're doing and can't understand.  They know very well.   

Normal Mode - Chester approaches

Chester Mode

                                               

 

Mama Fuzz Takes Kitten to the Hospital

Animals are amazing.  Although they live and act based on instinct, there must be some level of comprehension and intellignence humans don't understand. Over and over, animal stories tell of situations where animals have perceived they, their offspring or even humans needed help and then they sought it out.  Here's one of those examples of a cat in turkey that found medical help at the hospital for her kittens.  

The Fuzzy Story

Peek-A-Fuzz and Other Goofy Felines

Peeking Cinder

As anyone who has a cat knows , they can be quite the goofy balls of fuzz.  They have unique personalities, strange and quirky little behaviors and their own routines for feeding, playing and doing whatever cats want to do.

Check out a few of the pictures of our cats, below, to see what kind of antics they enjoy expressing.  And keep petting those cats and keeping them healthy!

Chester waiting for breakfast

Cinder guarding her toy spring

Oh no! She turned into a Cinder

Chester peeking from the dryer

Cat Caching

My cats are finicky. I've tried so many different kinds of cat food and they'll try it once and then, for some reason, the food becomes heinous and they won't eat it.  The thing that really baffles me is that they'll get some new food, like it, and then they try to bury it!  What the heck? Why would they like the food, try to bury it and then later eat more? I did a little research and found out that most likely what they're doing is "caching" their food, or covering it like wild cats do to protect it from predators and then eat it later.  

On the site, blog.chron.com, I found just such an article which quoted from the English natural history author, Reverend John George Wood regarding this act by cats as far back as 1853.  This is what the quote said.

"She delighted in covering up the remnants of her food with any substances that seemed most convenient. She was accustomed, after taking her meals, to fetch a piece of paper and lay it over the saucer, or to put her paw into her mistress’ pocket, and extract her handkerchief for the same purpose. These little performances showed some depth of reasoning in the creature, but she would sometimes act in a manner totally opposed to rational action. Paper and handkerchiefs failing, she has been often seen, after partly finishing her meal, to fetch one of her kittens, and to lay it over the plate, for the purpose of covering up the remaining food. When kitten, paper, and handkerchief were all wanting, she did her best to scratch up the carpet and to lay the torn fragments upon the plate. She has been known, in her anxiety to find a covering for the superabundant food, to drag a table-cloth from its proper locality, and to cause a sad demolition of the superincumbent fragile ware.”

Well, my cats don't have kittens, so they haven't tried to bury their food with their kids, but it just goes to show the peculiar things animals do.  Check out the full article regarding "caching" here.  

Global Cat Day - October 16, 2020

Today is Global Cat Day.  Check out the Alley Cats website for more information.  Enjoy the Fuzzfest!

Leading a Double Life

Nilo or Angelo?  An intinerant cat leading a double life.  Living with one owner, then living with another. Back and forth he goes.  He's got the best of both worlds and families to take care of him in both places.  Notes exchanged between families via his collar.  This is a unique story and one that has probably been repeated by other felines time and again.  Check out the full article complete with pictures here.

My Friend Charlie

On April 5, 2020, we had to put Charlie down.  He was around a year old.  Charlie was a goof and always loved to play. He also loved to get into stuff which was his demise.  Charlie found a card with shiny ribbon and buttons on it, and unbeknowst to us, ate them.  During the day on Sunday, April 5, he started vomiting.  We thought maybe he ate something that didn't settle right, but that wasn't the case.  By 9 p.m. that night, he had not quit throwing up, he wasn't drinking and he never used the catbox. We took him to an emergency vet clinic in Renton.

After an examination and x-rays, we were given the horrible news.  He'd eaten the items mentioned above and they were in his intestines.  They were bunching up and would not pass through, but rather they'd cause more and more problems, possibly even perforating his intestines.  The only option was surgery, but due to the complexity of it, it would cost $7000 to $10,000.  There was no way we could ever afford that.  Plus, because of the surgery and possible damage already done, he might end up with more medical issues throughout his life. So, we made the heartwrenching decision to mercifully have him put down. 

I've had cats over the years, but for some reason, Charlie had picked me as his bud, although in the beginning he was skittish and wasn't that much of a bud to me.  However, he became such.  I'd come home from work and he'd be on the cat tree rolling upside-down excited to see me.  He talked with me all the time and especially at night when he wanted to play with his springs.  He was a big cat, so when he raced through the house with Chester and Cinder, it was thunderous.  He jumped higher than any other cat I've known, at least 5' or more. And when he got goofy, he'd do these weird flips and rolls along the wall and made goofy, playful sounds to get attention.  He and Chester loved playing in their tube.  He would grab the ball attached to the end of the tube and race down the hallway dragging it behind him. And he was strong. You could literally play tug-o-war with him and he would not give in.  He was tenacious. I miss him alot.

Chester was his pal. Since Charlie's death, Chester has become more clingy and sometimes depressed.  He misses Charlie too.  He's getting better, but you can tell he knows something is amiss.  I don't know if cats can remember, but I think he knows Charlie is gone.

It was a sad, sad day, but we have a year's worth of memories regarding Charlie. And we have pictures.  Still, filling Charlie's paws will be impossible.

Charlie as a kitten

A close up of Charlie the kitten

Charlie on his tray for breakfast

Charlie and Chester in their favorite play tube