Pet Parents Pride Themselves on Reading Their Cats

CatMom and CatDad like to think they can intuitively know when their cat Thomas is inclined to bite. Indeed, 90% or more of his bites never succeed. They are rather like warnings. As petparents, they try to determine the desperation of the bite, and what it means. Sometimes, his bites are mere nibbles. It's nothing to worry about. CatMom's favorite cat bites from Thomas are ones where he only uses his front teeth. However, that bite is a whole lot like grooming, and so it technically should not be considered a bite. She gets these bites as adoring nipples while she grooms her cat.

Catbites which are moderate are those where Thomas just wants to not be pet. As Thomas has aged, maybe he has arthritis. We are not sure. There's certain spots on him which are sore. So, if you go to place your hand on his sore spots, he gives you a moderate bite. It's enough to say, "I don't feel good there, so please don't hurt me."

Catbites which are more intentional are those for play. All holds are lifted with these. And really, almost all of these never break the skin either. (Those are saved for if you put your hand into a cat fight between your cat and a stranger cat.) These bites are play bites. Thomas is attacking his hand prey. Thomas needs to keep up his cat-fu training, and this practice is important. This is sparring. So, Thomas and his petparents play - on the bed, through the shower curtain, etc. to get Thomas active.

As his petparents, CatMom and CatDad really do like to think they can determine and evade all Thomas's catbites. They are pretty fast. They are blindingly fast. They know their cat. He tries to bite them, but unless they choose to let him bite them, which they've done too, he usually does not bite them successfully. CatMom and CatDad read the bite, and either carry on in play, or divert their cat's attention by petting him where he likes to be pet, and he instantly forgets there was a play fight.

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CatDad Becomes BeeDad For a Night

Tonight, we were cleaning up. It's a bit cold out. We took recycling out inside and outside the house. A gorgeous furry black and white bee was downed near our home. He was on the cement and being exothermic could not get enough energy to fly away. The bee was on his back. BeeDad put his shoe near the bee and the bee put his legs on BeeDad and then held on. BeeDad flipped the bee onto his feet. Then BeeDad brought the recycling bucket and had the bee climb on the top edge. BeeDad brought the bee away from the windy cold place he had been and placed him near our home, to benefit from residual warmth. Then, BeeDad came to show BeeMom (technically) the Bee he saved.

BeeMom agreed to keep the bee on her patio. Then, once BeeDad came in, she further suggested he move the bee to her new plant pots, full of plants which could be cover till the bee had a warm day to fly away. This bee likely is a loner bee who has her home dug in the ground. BeeMom has seen a few around. So, BeeDad went to move the bee and the bee recovered enough to fly away.

Both BeeMom and BeeDad rejoiced with a coffee. They talked and were very thankful the bee had recovered enough heat that she was able to fly. BeeDad asked, "Do you think she will pollinate a couple extra blooms this years so we get more fruit?"

BeeMom said, "I hope so, Dear. You do deserve if for rescuing the bee."

So, there's one more black and white bee around our home. BeeMom will try to capture her picture on the May flower blooms nearby. Hurray for the Bee!

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How Does Your Cat Get In a Chair?

Lulu finds the hard way everywhere. This morning, he decided to get in a chair to lay down. He was sort of playing with his brother at the same time. So, Lulu goes behind the chair. He jumps to the top (he puts the tip of his cat fingers and claws 40 inches up on the top bar of the chair), pulling himself in such a way one would think it would tip. I hold the chair expecting such. Then, when he finally makes it to the top, he tip toes about it balancing on a thin bar for a minute. Finally, he settles into the seat, slowing settling in, with a stray paw out at his brother here and there. Just making it to the top of the chair is an ab workout. This morning he is being a parkour cat.

He stays in the chair for 2-3 minutes, leaning against it, peering out at his brother nearby. Martius is below him, anticipating engagement. Lulu sort of ignores him, knowing that he is more comfortable than his adversary. In between long moments of sinking into the chair's comfort, he throws energetic paw movements out at his brother to let him know he is not really done. He'll be back.

Lulu finally jumps down for further play. Now, the chair sits empty. The two race off in butterfly dance mode. One jumps on the other. There's a tiff. The other one takes the advantage. The two could not live without each other, as life would be so boring without their play partner.

I still wonder why it is Lulu climbs a cliff face rather than the normal route to sitting in a chair. He gets his feet on the seat and reaches to the tips of his paws to get the top of that back and pulls. Then, you see him accomplish his chin up, and slowly with effort he pulls himself all the way up. Where does he get the energy for all that? If I were a cat, I would jump into the seat from the front.

On occasion, if we hear a bang, we check for chairs tipping here and there. We figure he's doing acrobatics somewhere. Once we ran to find out what the bang was and we finally decided it was a chair righting itself. Yes, there was movement and chaos. It just happened to fall back in order.

Thomas Plays Bedmouse

These days, Thomas is spry. As Thomas has no claws, he compensates in his fighting strategies with more biting. That's what he has to do to communicate. Typically, in the morning, as we are just groggy and waking up, and particularly before anyone heads to serious work, Thomas would like to play a round of bedmouse.

What does this do to the sleepyhead? Well, you might get a bite on a stray hand or thumb. He does his initial sweet cuddle, but five minutes or so in, he turns his attention to play. After you say hi, you play. So, CatDad groggily pet his head, and chomp he got it on his thumb. That woke CatDad up. It sure did. CatDad was just a bit grumpy for a bit. He did not play bedmouse.

Other days, CatMom plays bedmouse. After Thomas and her are both up, she pulls all the sheets tight on the bed. She calls Thomas. "Bedmouse!" He jumps on the bed. They fight sort of. The goal of bedmouse is to move your hand around underneath the comforter in such a way that Thomas must use his ears and jump on the target. He usually gets the target. The best part is his enthusiasm. We've played bedmouse with him since he was a kitten. Most of his life, he has not had claws, so his teeth were the only concern for shredding cloth.

Now, Thomas has two other little furry friends who also want to play bedmouse. CatMom does not encourage it, at least with her good bedspread. She puts on old blankets to play with the clawed kittens. Mostly, she encourages this game with Thomas. He's the most fun to play it with.

She loves how his ears point to the target. Then, he pounces. He lands on her fingers under the sheets. Sometimes, she uses two hands on two sides of Thomas. He puts up with it, but it is distracting. He prefers one hand at a time. Each time he strikes her, CatMom cries, "You got me. Good boy."

After CatMom has clearly received 8-10 battle wounds (just joking), she asks Tomcat if its time to go downstairs and have coffee. She sets him up again, so he looks royal on his bed. She smooths the sheets around him. She tells him, "I am going downstairs. Do you want to come?" And off she goes. The day has begun for Thomas and CatMom.

Can a Cat Tell Their Parent Off?

You bet. CatMom decided to take the catboys out in turns. She thought that one at a time would be enough to handle on her own. She took out Lulu first. He was in love with the outdoors. He wanted to roll in the dirt. Now, normally, CatMom would not mind. The local cats used a portion of our property for a catbox. It is a bit of dirt we should get rid of and move to the dump. It is extra content. So, that is what CatMom was upset about. She does not want him to get parasites.

So, after ten minutes of redirectly Lulu, she took him in. She took out Martius. Now, Martius listens very well. He comes back frequently to check on me and rub his face on my shins. Anytime I verbally redirect him, he immediately listens. Yes, he is a pleasure. Martius and I had our 10-15 minutes outside, till I told him it was our turn to go in.

When we came in, CatDad was desperate. He told me, "Now, you've started something. I'll never get out the front door again." What is that...exaggeration? Hyperbole? Lulu did complain to me when Martius and I came in, for five minutes or so.

The next day, CatDad told me Lulu meowed non-stop while Martius and I were outdoors. He looked at CatDad with intense looks telling him, "I know you know how to open that door. I know CatMom is out there right now. Why won't you let me go to CatMom? I just don't get it!" Our kitten has developed a new trait. When he meows to tell his petparents a specific message like this, he does not close his mouth. He was very agitated. He did one long meow that seemed to cover five minutes.

CatMom now realizes why CatDad said what he did. Can CatDad make them a tent to go in outdoors for a while? We must be able to work something out. CatDad has managed to get out the door. It has not been too much of a challenge.

The Labradoodle Is a Lovely Dog

I went for a walk the other day. A kind dog owner lent me his dog for a visit. The dog was quite big, with sort of curly hair. He or she had just returned from a day at the spa - just groomed for the arrival of nice weather.

The owner encouraged me to visit his dog. He told me this dog is an excellent choice for people who are allergic. This dog does not cause allergies. The breed is a non-shedding breed as well. This means his pants are always clean (unlike me, though my cat fur is extra heat for our cold winter).

This breed handles being alone well. The dog is independent. That sounds like a cat - some cats. It is a good single dog as well as one that can be at home during the day. The breed is a mix of a poodle and a labrador. The look of the dog very much fits the mix. It has the fur of a poodle with ginger accents and the size of a labrador. This one was white.

Cat Café

In Japan, little surprise, the homes are too small to permit pets. The culture has come up with an accomodation. They have cat cafés. There you can come and eat your lunch. You can buy lunch. Then, you pay to have your creature comforts met. So, for example, you like a particular cat or set of cats. You pay for visiting time with the cat. They have a full array of all types of cats.

Okay, we do not do that here. As a cat lover, if we had such a thing, I would eat there. I love seeing other's animals, like in a petting zoo. I am thankful many dog owners share their dogs with me. Animals are great.

I think if we had a cat café here, there would be some sort of outcry. Are we there? I am not sure. However, circumstances lead to innovation. I am glad that Japan has made this possible for those who would like to see and visit cats. I don't know if they have them for dogs.

Lucius and His Forts

The first day I went in to see Lucius, I stopped at his window in the pet store. There was the little grey marble striped kitten, who from my perspective was striped in soft grey and cream. He had been in his little 50 inch by 40 inch space, and he had turned his catbed upside down on top of himself to create his cat fort. He was oh so self-actuated and so cute and small.

I had him brought to the pet bonding room, and we looked him over. From his back, he looked like he had fewer stripes. CatDad, who loved Martius, inspected him closely. I don't see any stripes on him. It's true. Now, we've had him for a while. His stripes are much less predominant from the top, than from sitting down beside him, or turning him upside down. Thus, CatDad, who did not get down with CatMom and the kitten, could not see how super-gorgeous he really was. Oh well, CatDad is very adamant. Yet, I already said, "I'll take him." It was already done. We had basically agreed Martius needed a brother. Lucius, just like Martius, had been left all alone in his little window. All his brothers and sisters had all been adopted.

CatMom has never ceased being in love with her cat Lucius. At this moment, he is assessing how to turn her chair patio covers upside down to make himself a cat fort. CatDad has a soft spot for him too. CatDad builds Lucius cat forts, so he'll go and stay in them. Yes, we make some with bed sheets and pillows. Those work out great. Then, we make some with sofa cushions. CatDad made an extended effort the other night, building a cat fort of three pillows and the sofa. Lucius really liked it, and he stayed in there for a whole movie, occasionally peaking up at the movie screen to catch the latest action. While CatMom and CatDad ate popcorn, they would occasionally check on their cat to see if he really liked his cat fort.

CatDad did good. He did really good. Lucius looked very happy. He was covered from all sides but one. He was sort of invincible. CatDad did say, "It's because he does not have another Lucius around, like him." It's true. He's going to continue being the kitten here for awhile. I know the pattern, and I've decided he can continue being our kitten for several more years. He deserves to be the invincible kitten for at least several more years.

Meanwhile, we will continue to build him more and more interesting cat forts. We will even build his friends, the pigeons, a place to stay, just beyond his reach. We will not merge the two feathered and furred domains.