Rufus has a new nickname.
Meet Mr. Bleppington.
Category Archives: L Rufus Alexander
Fellowship
Contrary to what you might have thought after watching last week’s video, Lefty and Rufus actually get along well most of the time.
Even dinnertime is generally peaceful, now that they’ve arrived at a regular routine. Granted, the routine is “Rufus chows down on Lefty’s gooshy food,” but as long as they’re okay with it, we’re not going to interfere.
Oddly, Rufus seems to prefer Lefty’s gooshy to his own, but much as he loves his own krunchiez, he rarely touches Lefty’s. To be perfectly clear, they both get the same dry food, and the only difference between the wet food bowls is a little added water in Rufus’.
But I digress.
Despite the occasional spat, they hang out together and watch out for each other. Rufus guards Lefty when the horrible cat-eating monster (i.e. the vacuum cleaner) visits. In return, Lefty keeps an eye out when they’re sleeping.
Take a closer look at Lefty’s face:
Have you ever seen a better example of “Mess with my buddy and I’ll mess you up”?
Share this:
120 Seconds
I think the video below sums up Rufus’ and Lefty’s relationship.
As a wordsmith, I find it disappointing that no commentary is necessary.
Share this:
Cuddle Buddies
Just a brief post today, for reasons.
But I had promised to try and post video of Lefty and Rufus indulging in mutual grooming. And I do keep my promises.
One has to admire Rufus’ patience with his companion.
The Fellows are a bit distant, I’m afraid. No zoom on the camera. So, to make up for that, here’s a snippet of them sharing the mushroom condo, at the other end of the camera’s range.
For some value of “sharing” anyway.
Share this:
How to Handle Change
Some people never change.
Take MM, for example.
This is not a cat who’s happy to see me. Even though I’d just filled her food bowl, exactly as Maggie and I have done for the past seven months or so. Cleaning the litter box is often performed with a soundtrack of hisses.
She’s mellowed enough to take cover in one of the shelters when it’s particularly wet or cold, but that’s not much a shift.
Then there are those who try something new, give it up, and come back to it.
After an extended period of terrestrialism–completely voluntary, I assure you–Sachiko has resumed her acrobatic ways.
It’s probably a misperception, but I tend to believe she’s spending more time balanced on one of the banisters than on the ground.
We’re hoping it’s a phase. Not that we begrudge her indulgence of her aerialist tendencies, but the truth is, she’s not as svelte as she was the last time around, and we’re concerned about the ramifications of a misstep.
And then there are those who revel in change.
After something of a slow start, Lefty seems to be turning into quite the fan of indoor living. He adjusted to a mixed gooshy/krunchie diet rather quickly and picked up the art of the litter box faster than MM. After that, though, progress was slow for several months.
But ever since we let him out of the cage, he’s been enthusiastically trying out new things. As in the picture above, he’s finding great joy in nesting in the blankets on the futon. Curiously, however, he’s still not at all interested in having a cushion in any of his caves–we often find one or another condo pillow in the middle of the floor. (Not yet available: video of Lefty and Rufus sharing the futon and exchanging ear-washings. Hopefully I can pull it off the camera in time for next week’s post.)
And, speaking of the middle of the floor, the other thing we often find there is Lefty himself. Sometimes by himself, keeping a watchful eye (sorry) on the activity outside the room, but more often in company with his buddy Rufus.
Share this:
(Mostly) Quiet Moments
A few quick updates on the gang.
Kokoro will take any opportunity to sprawl on my lap, even if it means sharing with Rhubarb. Since the weather turned colder and wetter, she’s been even more enthusiastic. The weird thing, though, is that the colder the weather, the more she melts.
‘Nuki needs his toenails clipped and he’s got no qualms about using that fact when he demands attention. He hasn’t quite figured out that his threats would have more gravitas if they didn’t include those cute pink toebeans.
Lefty continues to be cautious about bipeds. He spends most of the time in his condo, and if we catch him outside, usually retreats immediately.
However, he’s realized that once we turn off the light, we rarely come back into the room. So he’s often at the food bowl before we even finish closing the door. His fastest time from light off to nose-in-bowl is three seconds, although the average is closer to six.
When humans aren’t involved, Lefty seems to be a rather mellow fellow. At this point, he’s met most of the others, at least briefly, and Rufus spends every night and most of the days with him. And so far, all the encounters have been peaceful. No threats issued from between the bars in either direction.
But Lefty takes relaxation almost to Rufusian levels. Most cats I know would be uncomfortable in this situation. Not Lefty. He glanced out of the condo when Rufus climbed on top of the cage, then went back to sleep.
Two formerly feral fellows sharing a peaceful moment. What could be better?
(Lefty does love that poor catnip lemon, by the way. He’s all but disemboweled it and keeps it close to the condo at all times. But oddly, the pumpkin doesn’t get much love. He’ll play with it occasionally, but he always comes back to the lemon.)
Share this:
New Cave
The fuzzies have a new lair. To nobody’s surprise, Watanuki tried it out as soon as it was unpacked.
He must have found it satisfactory because he didn’t waste any time getting back inside when we put it in its permanent location.
No, he didn’t ride upstairs in it, but I think he might have tried if we hadn’t waited until he was distracted by food.
‘Nuki’s infatuation with it lasted all of a day and half before he went back to sleeping on the bed.
Which just gave others a chance to try it out.
Yes, the TV Cave has the Rufus Seal of Approval.
Share this:
Fringe Benefit
If recent posts have given you the impression that Watanuki is being more of an asshole than usual, you’ve gotten the right message.
Unfortunately, Rufus has been the main recipient of Mr. Knuckles’s counter-social behavior. As a result, he’s been spending time in Maggie’s office.
See, that’s Kaja’s territory.
She rules the room with an iron paw and steel claws, only barely hidden beneath the velvet fur. More importantly, ‘Nuki isn’t allowed in there.
There’s been some hissing and some aggrieved looks, but by and large, it’s been peaceful.
Not all catnip and sunlight, but relatively peaceful. From Rufus’ perspective, it’s much quieter than the rest of the house.
As a fringe benefit, Rufus has also been establishing better relations with Kokoro, who’s been spending time in Maggie’s office for much longer than he has.
They’re not best buddies, but they’re coexisting nicely.
And cutely.
Share this:
Patience
Those don’t look like Rufus’ toes…
It appears that somebody has staged an invasion. But who would be so dastardly?
Silly question.
Who but Mr. Thugbutt would be so evil as to take over Rufus’ mushroom? Nobody, of course.
To be fair, it’s not really Rufus‘ mushroom. After all, the mushroom not only predates his arrival in the household, it’s been here longer than Sachiko.
But since it’s in the room Rufus considers his, the mushroom must also be his. (Which means Rufus also owns a computer, a printer, and several thousand books. None of which he’s ever shown any interest in, fortunately.)
No, of course Rufus didn’t fight for the mushroom. He’s a Mellow Fellow, and a pacifist of almost Gandhian proportions.
He knows ‘Nuki will vacate the ‘shroom eventually. And until then?
What cat can resist a sun-warmed spot on a comfortable cushion in front of the window? Certainly not Rufus.
Share this:
Stuffed
Rufus has a new hangout.
Well, okay, it’s actually an old one. Just about the first place he went when we started letting him explore the space outside his transitional cage.
But we’ve recently rearranged the room and made the mushroom more accessible, and he’s taking full advantage.
And yes, we realize it’s probably supposed to be a tree stump, but really, with that domed cap, it looks more like a mushroom.
And besides, mushrooms are funnier. Especially when they’re cat-stuffed mushrooms.
Anyway, that dubious look is rather atypical for the normally mellow Mr. Alexander. But at the time I took the picture, he’d just finished a round of territorial negotiation with ‘Nuki, so any unusual activity was cause for suspicion.
Normally, Rufus is considerably more relaxed when acting as mushroom filler.
Yes, he was snoring. And the mushroom acts as a resonator. I won’t say the walls were shaking–but they may have quivered a bit.
