Lucius and the Pointsetta Plant

Superstore bought CatMom a Christmas present this year! Yes. CatMom would never have bought a pointsetta plant for herself, but Superstore deemed her a suitable candidate to receive a free and absolutely gorgeous Christmas red pointsetta plant. The flower was half as tall as CatMom, and a full as a person. When CatMom brought the plant home, she initially put it in a closed off room. Lucius's petparents don't buy plants which could be dangerous for their cats.

When this pointsetta plant came in the home, CatDad exclaimed, "CatMom, that pointsetta plant has to go if your kitten gets into it."

CatMom's Lulu has certain behaviours he does just to get his petparent's attention. Knawing at a pointsetta plant would fit into his behavioral regime.

CatDad did research. If Lulu ate some pointsetta plant, he could vomit. Okay. It was decided if CatMom watched the pointsetta plant, and put it to bed each night, so that Lulu could not eat it in her absence sleeping, then the pointsetta plant could stay.

The next day, CatDad talked to his co-workers. They confirmed, the past combined experiences of people there, well, cats got sick from, but did not die from pointsetta plant exposure.

Okay. That was dinner conversation that night. CatMom was caring for her new plant.

CatMom came up with a bright idea. She moved her Madagascar Jasmine right direct in front of the window, and this meant putting it on the counter, to maximize the sun upon her leaves. CatMom washes her leaves down, to permit better sun penetration. She was concerned as a couple leaves fell, and CatMom felt she was not getting enough sun exposure.

Then, she placed her plant stand under the Pointsetta plant. From now on, we will maintain the capitals. CatMom was building her connection to this new plant. The plant stand now held the Pointsetta plant up away from the cats. Next, CatMom placed the plant near to the window, concerned about winter sunlight, and 8 inches away from any near cat perches. After an incidence of cat interest, CatMom moved the plant stand 1 foot out from all nearby objects.

Lulu tested. He does these things in the direct line of sight of his petparents, as the whole point is to get their attention. Lulu stood on the intermediate point of two chair backs. He climbed there first, as is his parkur personality. He tippytoed and balanced on the two chair back perch and he reached out the best he could to get to the plant. He had already had his time of rubbing his face on the leaves when the plant was less adequately secured. He reached out as far as he could to get into the plant. From his perch, Lucius took a nice large 5 clawed swipe and he pulled a couple inch piece of bright red leaf matter on his claw as it passed through the full body of the pointsetta plant. His fishing was rewarded. Then, just as quickly, Lucius flicked his paw, and the leaf matter disappeared. The petparents looked all around. They think he put it back into the plant.

CatMom checked where the leave had been cut. There was white juice balling up on the leaf.

Lulu did not get sick. However, his interest had been satisfied. He has succeeded in getting the plant.

CatMom and CatDad both told him, "That was an impressive swipe, Lulu."

Lulu's interest in the Pointsetta plant has waned. This is good, as CatMom has now two plants to care for. The plant remains out and up and inconveniently located from cat interest.

The likelihood is that CatMom has a permanent plant now added to the household dynamic. That's good, as fresh oxygen is a nice thing to have.

Besides cats rubbing on the leaves, all cats are not encouraged to bite the leaves as part of their exploration of the plant. They know the difference. When they are chided, they know what CatMom is insisting. They are not to eat the leaves. If they purposely show interest in the plant, it is usually a request for catfood.

The habit of approaching the plant to get other types of attention, all that has dropped. The Pointsetta plant is making its home here. Lulu is allowing the plant to stay.

Since CatMom loves red and vibrant life, she very much appreciates this Christmas gift from Superstore. Thank you!

Donna's Poetry Release November 2012

This is a release to Kindle this afternoon.

Here's the Kindle product page: B00AAOPJUC

I will also be releasing this to CreateSpace Monday.

Lulu's Mouse Takes a Dunking

Lulu has a new brown soft-bodied mouse. He has been playing with it fervently. He could not help but baptize it in his water bowl in his PetParent's bedroom. CatMom picked up his mouse, and slightly squeezed it. It was wet right through. That little mouse was now one of Lulu's many favored toys, as he baptizes all his favorite toys.

He brings the toy, dumps it into the water, and then with paws, claws, and teeth, fishes it out. When it is on the floor, he goes, "There, I got it." He looks around with satisfaction. He puts it in again. He takes it out again. He needs to do something while his petparents sleep. "Those humans sleep more than us cats do, I am sure of it. I have no idea why they like to sleep in the morning."

Lulu quietly plays entertaining himself.

CatMom puts up with wet mice around her feet on the floor. She knows that the water is clean anyway. She changes the bowl regularly. She knows all good toys get a dunking.

Sometimes, CatMom wishes her kitten would drink his water, rather than play with it. In his case, if the water is just poured, he may drink it. Then, as soon as his thirst is satisfied, he must use it as a toy.

The brown mouse is an excellent deterrent to get Lulu to not attack CatMom's feet. In the morning, CatDad throws the brown mouse away from CatMom's direction to get Lulu into active play. CatMom appreciates this!

Pet Parents Advice to Parents

These Pet Parents have given advice to their friend parents of toddlers. How could that be? It is quite surprising how much advice a pet parent can give a friend who has a toddler with behavior issues. Many behavioral issues are comparable.

CatMom used Shoo to help train her Lulu to not bite and puncture her furniture. Her friend's child - a young boy, chewed on the couch. CatMom offered her friend, "Hey, do I have advice for you. You can too use Shoo. Your son will not like to bite the couch. Though, I have no clue of the safety of the chemical for a child." CatMom's friends all love her and live with her. They were surprised there was a product for this. Yes, for a moment, they thought about buying it. That's because their little guy was just as steadfast as Lulu in chewing the couch.

CatMom noticed the child also wanted to exit his home as much as Lulu. She offered, "Grab him while you are exiting the door." She remarked the similarity. Her friend parents acknowledged that one too was a similar behavior. The child loved to grab the knob and help open the door, so he could run outside.

CatMom's friend's child - loves to wander around. CatDad had put in many hours trailing his cat to supervise him out of doors. We were at a lake. CatDad gave the same manner of attention to the child. Together, they wandered an island. He and the child made it far, all the while the child felt safe. Even today, the child jumps and smiles when he sees my husband. He has good memories of explorations out of doors with him. He runs and grabs his leg.

Our friends know our parenting skills are built from owning cats. They accept our advice anyways. That must be love. They are willing to entertain our life expertise built just from that richness that we have.

Cat's Impact on the Use of Technology

When cats settle in, you tend to not interrupt your activity just so they stay in place and content for longer. Last night, it clearly was time for bed. The cats were so cute. We decided to stay and watch the movie we should have turned off for 10 more minutes just for them. We find we do this for a number of different things. It includes watching television just a bit longer, or being at the computer just a bit longer. It is like you will break the moment.

Now, we realize routines must be met. Cats can fit into our routine and we can fit theirs. However, if there is flux room, we co-adapt. The cats love to be with us and sometimes the moment is too lovely to break.

The best nights are when the whole family are all together in one room. Those are the best moments. We breathe a little ah moment as we look at the felines spread nearby. Martius sits on CatDad. Lulu is above CatMom's neck. Thomas is in a catbed a few metres away.


Hmmm, that reminds me, we were at a good point in the movie. I wonder if they would mind if we all move there. Excuse me. The end of the movie awaits.

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.

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.

Would I Kiss the Face?

Would I kiss the face
That swallowed a fly
I would kiss the face
That swallowed a fly
One just went by
Wouldn't you know it
He swallowed the fly

I kissed the cat
I put on the deck
And in a second or so
He caught a fly
He saw one go by
He's so satisfied

I kissed the cat
Because he did cry
Mom I want out
To get that fly
Mom did not see
She picked him up
You can go out
I kiss you first
And you can go out
No sooner did she
Open the door
She saw in a flash
He caught a fly
He was so satisfied

I kissed the cat
Who swallowed a fly
How would I know
He'd see one go by
Well that's the way
When you have a cat
They hunt all day
They catch their treats
They swallow the flies.

Now if Catmom could eat
Just a couple flies
And be just as satisfied
She would be surprised
She thinks he's sweet
He looks so happy
He swallowed a fly.

Would you like to hear Catmom sing this? Click here. You are going to a multi-media page on my website.

Excuse the beginning - it was the first time I used this software. It's the best of 3-4 trials.

You notice I publish drafts here. I will improve my recording or redo a few bars which I did not like and reload the file.

Lucius the Unlikely Pollinator

CatMom's Dad brought her an Easter present! She received a bouquet of yellow flowers she still does not know the name of. She was so excited to put them into a vase.

CatMom has 2 Easter lilies and this bouquet of flowers and yet one other cat-friendly flowering plant: the Madagascar Jasmine.

The Jasmine vine is in the shape of an "O". If Lucius can, he jumps through the middle of it for fun. CatMom arranges things around to keep the road clear. She knows he likes this.

Well, there was a new bouquet last night. The Easter present. They are beautiful and vibrant.

Lulu jumped up on the counter. He moved near the flowers, interested by their colour and smell. We kept picking him up and putting him down beside something to take his attention away.

CatMom had recently remarked, "Those flowers are perfect for having cats. These stems are so long and the flowers are so tall, that cats can't possibly bite them."

Lulu, for the third time, came near the flowers. Lulu meerkated and then reached up with all he could do with his paws. He ran his paws through the tops of the flowers. He pulled his paws fingertips along the pollen and through the petals four or five times in a matter of seconds. Two petals from the bouquet wafted down.

Lulu is my unlikely pollinator. Animals must also have some role in pollination. They are not as important as bees and fruit flies, but for some plants they might make the difference.

If Lulu is willing to pass the pollen from the pistol to the stamen, so be it. Good boy, Lulu!

Lulu Likes Orange Crush But Dislikes Diet Coke

Lulu participates when I drink a canned pop. Whether it is open or not, he knows where the liquid comes out. He puts his paw around the top of the can trying to turn it towards himself. His paw leaves little markings across the light humidity on the surface. I told him, "Not yet, Lulu. Mom is going to open it in a minute."

I don't want to be tugging back and forth between us when I drink my Orange Crush, so I get a plate and a cup. I pour mine into the cup, and about a tablespoon or two on a plate and push it toward him fizzing. "There Lulu," I say, "What do you think?" He puts his face close while it fizzes. He gets his muzzle so close, he has to lick off the pop from the fur on the edges of his mouth.

CatDad, sitting beside me, said, "CatMom, you might want to withdraw a bit, as he is going to spray you with his paw in the Crush." Not at first. He just put his paw in and then licked the liquid off a few times. Then, once he had investigated flavor, then. Yes, then, he put his paw in and shook it well enough to cover the table near end to end. CatDad was right. Imagine that.

Then, Lucius turned his attention to my quickly disappearing drink. He tried to come check it out. I drank it, and set my empty cup down. Well that is no fun! He then took to beating the Orange Crush can six times around, and finally abandoned it on its side.

The next night, CatDad opened a Diet Coke. Lulu and CatDad were together on the counter. CatDad snapped the tab. Lulu came forward to check it out. CatDad offered it to him, so he could sniff it. Lulu did not like it. He withdrew from the smell emitting his direction. Within 5-6 seconds, Lulu came forward and attacked CatDad's Coke. He hit it 4-5 times with a paw to kill it.

Alas, Lulu prefers Orange Crush. He thinks Coke is worthy of being attacked. Considering how many drinks Lulu is willing to explore, Coke must have been very bad. Or is this natural feline sense? I won't be offering him Coke on a plate anytime soon.

CatDad Plays Shadow Games With Lulu

Dawn it is obvious, the Lulu cat plays with all manner of light coming in the windows. He also plays with any reflections generated from cooking or blending instruments, even spoons, watches, or pot lids.

Evening, as light and shadow builds, Lulu attacks his own tail shadows. Then, he refocuses and settles back looking at CatDad. CatDad works around his environment creating shadows for Lulu to attack.

CatDad secretly begins an event. He moves about creating shadows on the floor. Lulu perks up. He is staring with intensity. He began by looking at the shadow. Then, he triangulates the source. He stares at CatDad. CatDad fesses up. "Ok, Lucius, it's just me."

He starts again. He has found a new wall face to create shadows on. The game begins again. For a minute or two, the cat is watching the funny shadows. He looks around, and CatDad is acting all crazy.

"Ok, CatDad, that was obviously you."

In between sessions, Lulu gets the pat down. He is pet extremely. All his fur faces the right directions. He settles in. His settling means it is time to all get settled in. We play Johnny English a second time. Lulu hugs CatMom's neck and watches just above her.

Share a Vanilla Pudding Cup with Your Cat

Across my family, not just myself, but others have all shared in moments of catparent and cat community pleasure. This is when you save the last teaspoon or and leavings of the pudding or yogurt in the cup with the cat. Mom shared her Vanilla Pudding cup with her cat. My brother shares his yogurt with his cat. We share both - either product with our cat. The little cup and its aluminum top are a visual signal to the cat that it is time to share.

The little creature prances over to you while you eat. They sit and watch you eat in great expectation. Then, you've eaten. They can tell amounts. They head nudge you, "Hey, save me some." Then, the catowner's spoon becomes the cat's and they eat all the remnants the catparent can collect from the sides and bottom of the cup. Once done, they engage in serious licking and cleaning. True love is emitted from their eyes in petparent appreciation.

This is one of the best moments of communion with one's cat. Sharing a Vanilla Pudding cup, there could be nothing better. Prrow! Happy Valentine's to PetParents and Cats! Share a Vanilla Pudding cup today!

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What If You Camp With Your Cat?

I know someone who camps with their cat. They have a van camper and a regular RV site. They have trained their cat when they travel that the van or (recreational vehicle) RV is home or point 0, 0, 0, 0. The cat investigates the world and must come in at night time.

The catdad has Temptations cat treats. Each night, at nightfall, he calls to his cat and shakes the bag of cat treats. The cat has a hunting and exploration range of about 300-400 metres. His catdad calls her in right at the time he expects coyotes to be coming out. When she comes in it is time to settle into sleep for the night. He shakes the cat treats. He calls his cat's name. "Zoe," he says. "Come, Zoe."

His cat comes bounding in from the distance. He comes over hills, through grasses and bushes. He runs with 8-12 foot bounds in one step. His catdad is exceptionally impressed his cat does this. When his cat has arrived, he opens the door to either his van or his RV, and pets his cat's head and gives him 6-8 cat treats for being an obedient cat. This cat could do with a lot of excercise much like our Lucius. His age is between Lucius and Martius. He is a marbled black, grey, and white tabby. His tummy is all white from the neck to the tail. This is one of my family's cat. I am one of his relatives, so to speak. This brings to light that there is hope to vacation with your pet. In Canada, camping is one of the popular types of vacations. It is nice to know cats can adapt to regular camping routines.

Imagine the Control of a Cat Claw

Imagine the control of having a cat claw. I don't need the control. I am not a control maniac. I am just saying - imagine having the control of a cat claw. Our little cat occasionally inserts a few claws. Then, his movement moves or conditions ours. We move counter the force of his claw or in such a way that it does not go deeper. His movement is friendly. There is no danger. It is a soft latent sort of direction that moves us like a product down an assembly line. He is the production coordinator.

Would we not all want that kind of control? We look at our cat as a small sweet-tempered carnivore. Imagine having all his cat hunting skills and having this small additional gift too. He drags his claws across our skin ever so softly, bumping or skidding along. He has such a small but effective implement.

Although I have been at times concerned my cat would not fair well with a magpie, as he demonstrates control, strength, and mastery of grip with his claws and using them to control us once in a while, my fears are melting away. He will be fine. Not all times one is grabbed by a set of claws do they go in. They are a persuasive directional force leading us to not move in unsavoury directions. The cute little cat has both pet parents coordinated into his master plan.

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Lucius Van Lancelot

Lucius Van Lancelot is a Young Cat Warrior

Lucius Van was bought a lance by his CatDad the day he was brought home from the pet store. CatDad wanted Lucius Van to have his own special possession, one that had no smells or remnants of any other cat than him. CatDad gave him one of his favored weapons of war.

This lance is basically an 18 inch piece of plastic which was originally bought for the feathers and tinsel on the end of it. At the beginning of its days, it was beautifully decorated. Now, with the age of battle upon it, it looks tattered, worn, bears no feathers, and has three or four pieces of tinsel left. It looks like a de-feathered bird.

Since his arrival home, CatDad and Lucius Van have played a lot with Lucius' lance. CatDad walks about or turns while he is swinging the end of the lance. There was no string on this particular cat weapon. Both had fun practicing for battle. As the feathers and tinsel diminished though, Lucius began to notice CatDad's strategies and began to attack at the level of the end of the plastic lance (the handle of the toy). CatDad had to come up with new strategies of training.

Lucius Van spends his morning and early afternoon hours raging about the house doing all the required practice to keep up his cat-fu skills and maintain core body strength. Lucius values Middle Age combat techniques which were valued by King Author's court. He engages his brother Martius in wrestling. He does aerobic excercise hurdling objects including his brother in practice jousts which don't include his lance.

To Keep Up His Cat Warrior Skills Lucius Jousts

Alas, there were times CatDad had to work and attend to other things. His practice with Lucius led Lucius to fully understand how to use his lance. As a creative and intelligent cat, Lucius picked up his lance and carried it in his mouth as he ran across the house end to end. The streak of Lucius lightning was preceded by his lance. He discovered he could run into things with his lance and it would resist and sometimes fall. Then, he would pick it up and keep going. This is how Lucius self-entertained. Lucius hit walls, furniture, and baseboards. The process gave him a fake combattant he could play with.

As time went on, Lucius discovered something else. He could joust with his lance and get the tip of it under things. He would joust the bath mat and the front entry carpet. The tip would go under and he could then adjust for the imaginary enemy. He began this new type of training. He would run with his lance in his mouth, hit the mat, and fight to get control of his lance back from the enemy.

Please don't get the impression that CatDad left him alone all the time to permit him to be psychotically changed. CatDad has to work sometimes. So, when work breaks arrive, CatDad and he would shift to a new cat training strategy which did not include the lance. He might say shift to throwing a soft ball to give Lucius some other type of exercise.

During Jousting Lucius Van Tore His Lance to Shreds

Much of what is left of this cat weapon of war is the handle. It looks like it has a metallic accent on the very tip. As Lucius would play and tear at the decorated end, inevitably he tore off peices with each battle he engaged in. The lance is more or less indestructable, but the decoration has been torn to shreds.

The process of tearing it to shreds was not overnight. It was slow. The bits of attention getting light shimmer products and feathers were effective in drawing his eyes to the end of the lance for quite a long while. Mostly during periods of self-play with the lance, pieces were torn off the end. CatMom would run and pull the stuff out of his mouth as she was worried he might swallow it. She would make her "ah-ah-ah" sound and run and grab him and reach down his throat to pull out the feathers and tinsel.

What the toy did train him to do is think he had to attack feathers. It was almost a relief that pieces tore off as there was less to worry about for CatMom. It is a good thing that Lucius is a creative cat and gradually found new uses for his lance.

It is Time to Retire this Lance for a New One

His pet parents feel bad. The toy is not attractive as it used to be. These toys must be meant to be replaced. CatDad went searching for a new lance for Lucius Van at Christmas time. He could not find one which was exactly like the one he bought before. His first toy was $14. Now, they were made with replaceable tops that connected part-way back. This shortens the lance. The ends are replaceable. These toys are now $20.

CatDad has not bought one just yet as he is not sure the lance on it is suitable to Lucius' type of play. It's nice to have feathers, tinsel and all, but is it going to maintain his interest in the long run? CatDad is actively looking for another lance for Lucius. He's not found the right one yet. He has to find a good quality lance that will meet both his and Lucius' expectations and quality demands for long term lance practice.

Looking Back to the Arrival of Lucius Van

If one recalls the original scenario, CatDad was not sold on an unevenly marked tabby. It took awhile before CatDad through play fighting and seeing Lucius roll and rest on his back that he really noticed he had full stripes somewhere on his body. What is nice is CatDad did buy young Lucius Van a lovely gift even though he was not sold on him at first.

With all the months of battle now bonding them and bonding Lucius and Martius, Lucius - even if he did not have stripes has earned them. He is a 6th degree cat-fu artist trained in multiple combat styles including the art of ancient jousting from the times of King Author. He won CatMom's heart instantly and CatDad's through sessions of battle proving his valor and endurance. He's going to be able to protect the whole pride with his battle skills.