Kevin's Watch

Audience response:

My kid looks at your avatar, Sorus, then looks at me and asks, "What kind of cat, again?"
Me: "Turkish..." (intentional pause)
Him: "...Face-latcher?"
Me: "Facehugger!"

"Turkish Facehugger" is the best description!
Is Kara a Turkish Van?


Oh, also, the kiddoes and I were properly impressed with Fred's persistence, SD, and were wowwed (horrified) by the huntsman spider story, skyweir!

Linna Heartlistener wrote:
"Turkish Facehugger" is the best description!
Is Kara a Turkish Van?

That's my best guess. She's a rescue, so it's difficult to say for certain.

It's been pretty cold the past few nights, so she's been living up to her nickname.

One of my two cats no longer lives with me, last year when we moved she disappeared that day and turned up weeks later at a house some distance away, where my former neighbor recognized her and took her to her house as we were in the US for a few months by then.

By the time I returned to Nigeria, Patches had lost her sight pretty much completely, not surprising for a 23-ish year old cat. We decided it would be better for her to stay where she was, since she had learned her way around.

A few days ago the woman messaged me and said that Patches had not turned up last night and she was worried. After work I went to the house and after a while of searching I found her wedged behind some pipes at a neighboring house, a little scratched up. I brought her home.

She drank and drank water (something I've noticed wounded cats tend to do) but didn't eat till the next day. She looks like a very old cat now, but still likes to walk around, and still fond of attention.

How I wish Patches could talk, what stories she would have to tell! For any cat to reach 23 years is pretty exceptional, and in Africa it is downright miraculous.

23 is impressive. I've never had one make it to 20, though a couple have come close.

Cats are weird, and there's no one-size-fits-all solution to making them get along, though it usually works out. You're definitely doing the right thing by giving them their own separate spaces. I'd say the next step would be to work on reducing the fear/stress level of the older cat. Feliway (synthesized pheromones) is pretty amazing. I've found it also helps to offer positive reinforcement (praise and/or treats) when they're getting along.

I've always had multiple cats, but my newest cat (adopted nearly four years ago now) was the first one to offer a real challenge in the inter-cat drama department. She's a total sweetheart with me, but she was raised with dogs and my other cats were intimidated by the way she interacted with them, and the more intimated they were, the more she would bully them. They'll probably never be BFFs, but they've learned that she won't 'hunt' them if they don't act like prey.

Nanothnir wrote:...The new cat is as sweet as she can be and loves being held, being kissed, and perching on my shoulder as I walk around the house...

That is cute!
When I was a kid, we had about five adult "barn cats" at one time or another, and one litter of kittens.
Only one cat of ours ever perched on shoulders - a slim, lightweight little tortoiseshell we named "Spumoni." (because my sister had once read a story of a cat by that name who would perch on his owner and dunk his tail in the human's morning coffee.)
And we nicknamed her "the Spubonic Plague," because she was so friendly she could be a pest.
I really didn't expect any cat to enjoy leaping on to humans' shoulders and balancing there while they walked.

Sorus- Ah! I'd never thought of that... a cat raised with dogs ending up with a personality where she ends up intimidating other cats..

Facehuggers tend to be a little doglike even under normal circumstances. They're sometimes called swimming cats, for self-explanatory reasons.

Yeah, mine all mostly tolerate each other, but there are frequent flare-ups. Little Penny is a right bitch sometimes.

Took all three of mine to the vet this weekend at once. Time for their shots, so figured it would be cheaper to do it in a single consultation.

It was, marginally, but it still cost plenty. And of course, 3 cats in the same car...wasn't much fun.

--A

Hahaha ... yeah not many kitties like car rides eh..

Not all dogs do either for that matter ... we have a Maltese that is so chill in the car .. and a collie that stresses .. a lab that is cool with it IF she can be on your lap. Which of course she cant

Bane of my life, damned kitties. So cute though...

--A

Yeah they totally use their cuteness against you

Its all part of their emotional arsenal

Skyweir wrote:Hahaha ... yeah not many kitties like car rides eh..

I've lucked out with all of mine - they range from not minding to actually enjoying it. Which is good, because the vet is a 30-min taxi ride away. I was super worried with one of my old ferals when I first moved here because she was about 15 at the time and had never been in a car and it would have been bad if she got sick or freaked out halfway there. She spent the whole ride looking out the window - all big eyes, not sure if she blinked at all. Didn't want to miss anything. It was surprising because she was such a shy and timid cat who had never expressed any interest in the outside world, but I guess she felt safe in the carrier and it was all just fascinating to her. She was the only cat I ever had to would watch TV - actually sit and watch a whole movie or TV episode like she was following the story. Who really knows what goes on in their minds?

If anything...



(I frequently wonder what they think, and how much of it is just us anthropomorphising them...)

Harley brought a seriously gigantic rat in yesterday...I suspect she found it somewhere already deceased, partly because rigor was already set in, and partly because she's just not good at killing things yet, so she almost always brings them in alive.

This one was way out of her league, and also she wasn't that interested in it, so probably found, not hunted.

--A

Ahhh .. the joy of kitty gifts

Theres a hilarious kitty YouTube series about kitties .. it is seriously funny .. well made me lol quite a lot .. but yeah arguably doesnt take much

But truly its funny .. search .. Dear Kitten .. cat lovers and owners will totally get it .. I think there are about 8 of them and Ive watched them all.

Theres one on kitty gifts and it nails it

Haha, I'll check it out.

--A

Oh, Dear Kitten is da bomb-diggity!

And is the voice over guy Tuvok... cos it really sounds like him

Avatar wrote:If anything...



(I frequently wonder what they think, and how much of it is just us anthropomorphising them...)

I am definitely guilty of anthropomorphizing, but I do think they're smarter than we give them credit for. Mine understand quite a few words, while I'm still guessing what meow means.

This one time, Min came up while I was on the computer and started chirping at me. I told her it wasn't time for food yet. Chirp? No, you have crunchies in your dish. Chirp? It isn't time for your brush yet.

She then stared at the floor like she was watching an invisible bug run back and forth, then looked pointedly at the shelf where her laser pointer is, then back at me like "Capiche, moron?". Moron capiched.

LOLs soooo funny
Geesh ..

Oh, they communicate alright. They're usually quite good at getting across what they want. I just wish it worked both ways...why won't they listen when I say "don't cross the road" or "don't bring in flipping huge rats" or anything like that?

--A