Wow! Amazing Cat Survival

Check out this news story about Percy the cat who rode 400 miles in a place you'd wouldn't expect and survived!

The World According to Cats

Here's an interesting article from MSN about cats and how they see the world according to science. It's an interesting, concise article, but fun to read.

Cats-Rulers of the World

On the Verge of Death

Right around 5:30 p.m. every day, our cats almost die.  That's when I come home from work and feed them.  But for them, waiting those extra few minutes for me to put things down, take off my coat and settle in seems like an eternity.

Running to the back door, the cats immediately start meowing, standing on their back feet trying to unlock the door with hands they don't have and feigning their demise if not fed within the next few seconds.  With forlorn eyes they stare at me and meow pitifully echoing feelings of emaciation and imminent death if their food bowl isn't filled with delicious food NOW!

Their meows carry the message of being on the verge of death if thou (me) dost not fill their bodies with nutrition sooner rather than later.  To wait to eat another second is a crime against felinity.  My name will become hated and despised on cat TV across the nation as one who cares little for the lives of fuzzy creatures in that I make them wait far too long to eat their evening meals. Should I wait another second or two, they would persuade me to believe their bodies will keel over, furry mounds of death dotting my floor and they'd expect me to live in misery the rest of my life knowing I allowed them to die within one minute of my arrival home.

The scratching continues, the meowing escalates to a crescendo, the eyes widen in sheer terror of possible death due to malnutrition and dehydration, so at 5:30:30 p.m. I drop everything, open a can of cat food, set it outside and watch as the human-like creatures begin eating without any hint of concern over the anxiety and guilt they've bestowed on me.  They look up from their bowls through the back window and glance at me as if to say, "what do you want? We're eating."

Cats. Dogs. Equal Intelligence.

Here's an interesting article discussing the intelligence between cats and dogs.  Seems that cats may be just as smart as dogs and humans according to new studies.  Read on.  What do you think?

Huddlefuzz, Spud and Pumpkin

You might remember the account in the Bible of the three Hebrew boys who were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a pagan idol.  Well, did you know that they all had two names?

The boys Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.  The Babylonian chief court official, Ashpenaz, by order of King Nebuchadnezzar, then changed the boys names to Babylonian names. They were then known most commonly as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

So, why bring this up?  What's it got to do with cats?  Well, it seems pretty common that in most households, animals may have a given name but based on their antics and behavior they often receive silly names or "pet" names as well.  Thus, the account of the three Hebrew boys got me thinking.

We have three cats named Baby, Piggy and Sassy.  Baby is really a baby in the sense that he feels he should be treated and coddled as if he deserved everything.  He's needy.

Piggy was named for his curled tail which resembled a pig when he was little. He's very loving, protective and adventurous.

Sassy is the only girl.  She's calico and when she was born she gave early indication that she would be in charge, be first and everyone would do as she said. Thus her name because of her sassy attitude.

Over the years that we've had them, they have all received other silly names.  So, while we were sitting playing cards the other day, new names popped into our heads based on their current activity.

Baby was outside in the cold looking in the window.  He was huddled tight trying to stay warm when the name Huddlefuzz popped into my head.  Then we saw Piggy laying in front of the fireplace. We laughed and said if he was named potato we could call him a baked potato.  And then the name Spud came to life.  And over the last year, Sassy has gotten bigger and lazier.  Being a calico, she has the coloring's of a pumpkin.  Thus, the new name Pumpkin became reality because she really is rounder than she used to be.

As any animal lover knows, pets can have multiple names that they answer to and that we know them by.  Years ago a so called "expert" said animals did not comprehend their names.  How untrue that is! Our cats know all their names and whether one person calls them one thing and another calls them something else, they know who they are and come running when called, most of the time!

Pokemon Go Saves a Kitten

Here's a heart-warming story about a tiny kitten that was found while someone was playing Pokemon Go.  Check out the pictures that accompany the article and how it all turned out.  With regard to the kitten, it can really be said, "Gotcha"!

The Cathouse

Well, it's happened.  My wife, the cat lover, couldn't stand the fact that the cats had nowhere to sleep or rest outside in a protected area, especially if we were gone and it was windy or raining.  So, we bought this dog/cat house. Did they like it?  

The first few days they sniffed it, walked around it and ignored it, as cats do.  But as the days went by and they realized this new "thing" wasn't going to move, attack them or leave, they decided it might be okay to venture inside.  So they did.

Since we also put a nice cushy pad inside the house, they've now decided laying in there is cool. And, of course, it's now become a race to see who gets inside first.  Although there's plenty of room for all three of them to use it, only one at a time goes inside and blocks usage from the other two.  In fact, two of the three use it quite often.  The third cat, Piggy, has decided that it's quite the cool structure to be used, not inside, but on top. When the sun shines or the weather is dry, the roof of the cat house is his lookout point, sun-bathing arena, pop the other cats on the head as they walk by platform. 

All-in-all, it has grown on them, not literally of course because then it would crush them, but figuratively.  When the wind is howling or the rains are blowing, if the spoiled little fuzzes happen to be outside, most likely you'll find one of them inside the cat house peeking out the door watching the world go by and waiting to come inside the biggest of all cat houses, our home, which for some reason they seem to think is theirs!  We're just glad they like the little house which we purchased, at the behest of my wife, just for them.  

Selfish little things!  These entitled little beings better be thankful.  Right!