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.
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.
