Tag Archives: feline behaviour

Snugglepanther!

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I believe I’ve mentioned from time to time that Lefty has come a long way from the original raging, fearful bundle of fangs and claws he presented as when we first abdopted him from the yard. He still has his moments of hoomin-suspicion, but for the most part he’s a cheerful, cuddly creature.

His latest favorite pastime is to wait until I lie down on the bed, and then snuggle into my armpit.

I give him skritches and pettings, he gives me purrs. Works for both of us.

Until my fingers get tired and I stop patting. Then he reminds me that he’s still got those claws.

It’s a slow motion slap, taking a good five seconds or more, so I have plenty of time to resume the active cuddling before he makes contact. And even if he reaches me, he doesn’t dig the claws in, just rests them on my cheek–or tangles them into my beard.

Reflective

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The end of the year is traditionally a time for reflection.

Watanuki isn’t generally one for such introspection, but he’s been known to lapse into the occasional contemplative mood.

Note not just the furrowed (and furry) brow, but also the elegantly crossed paws symbolizing deep thought.

Granted, in his case, it’s likely to be thoughts of mischief and/or thuggery.

But at least he’s thinking, rather than doing.

The Damp Isn’t the Worst of It

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You may have heard that it’s been wet in California lately. I’m here to confirm that the rumors are true.

We’ve had rainfall of biblical proportions*.

* Overstatement. It hasn’t rained continuously for forty days and forty nights (though it does feel like it). But there have been record-setting quantities of precipitation, and I suspect that more than a few residents of the Bay Area wish they had built arks.

Yesterday was the worst so far. Not in the quantity so much as in the special effects department. There was just a tiny bit of thunder and lightning* to go along with the rain and hail.

* Understatement. Multiple thunderstorms with massive, multi-second, literally house-shaking rolls of thunder.

We’ve been fortunate (picture me knocking on wood at this point). No flooding (other than a leak in the garage roof, directly over the spot where our phone line comes in), the foundations are still solid, the storm drains in our area are keeping up with the precipitation, and we haven’t lost power.

But I can say with no fear of contradiction that Bay Area felines aren’t used to thunder and don’t have a clue what to do about it.

Hiding seems to be a popular choice. Sachiko and Lefty disappeared into the master bedroom closet the first time the house shook and didn’t reappear until nearly dinnertime. Emeraldas vanished into an undisclosed location and wasn’t seen until this morning.

G’aw curled up in the Rose Cottage in the back yard, tucked his ears under his stomach and appeared to sleep through the afternoon storm.

‘Nuki, self-proclaimed master of the universe, slunk into my office making pitiful meepling noises and required a good fifteen minutes of snuggles before he calmed down enough to sink a couple of claws into my leg.

Kokoro’s been around long enough to have seen and heard it all; she woke up when the thunder hit, looked around, and went back to napping. Smart lady.

To be fair, Bay Area humans aren’t all that great with thunder either. My reaction has been to hold my breath, waiting for the lights to go out. Hypoxia was a real risk.

Reports say we’ve got at least another week of rain. Here’s hoping it doesn’t include thunder.

Ottergirl Strikes

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I believe I’ve mentioned before that Kaja and her littermate, Rhubarb, spend most of their time in Maggie’s office, but they do sometimes decide a bit of whole-house exploration is warranted.

I’ve also noted that Kaja’s days as Little Miss Ottergirl, going wherever she otter not* are largely past.

* In particular, it’s been a long, long time since she’s tried to walk up the underside of the staircase.

Occasionally, rare events intersect.

Prior to Kaja’s arrival on top of the washing machine, that space had been occupied by half a mincemeat pie. Fortunately, Maggie was able to remove the pie before it wound up decorating the mighty huntress’ hindquarters*.

* That Maggie also managed to get this picture before Kaja decamped (de-washered?) is nothing short of amazing. Yes, photo credit to her.

An Uncommon Trio

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I know I just said, or at least strongly implied, that I wasn’t going to post pictures of cats on the bed. But this one is unusual enough to be an exception.

Most often, if there are three cats on the bed at the same time, it’s either Watanuki, Yuki, and Lefty (The Big Bruiser Boys Brigade)–in which case they’re all on separate corners–or it’s Yuki, Lefty, and Emeraldas snuggled up together.

Behold the variance.

I interrupted some serial grooming here: ‘Nuki was washing Yuki’s neck, while Yuki was cleaning Em’s ears. Important work, no question, so it’s not surprising that Em stalked off shortly after the picture was taken, muttering darkly about impertinent bipeds who can’t mind their own business.

Of course, she did come back about half an hour later–after ‘Nuki had migrated to the foot of the bed–and began grooming Yuki herself. But her point had been made.

Was It Something I Said?

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I’m not sure how they wound up like this. Less than half an hour earlier, all four cats were snuggled together–the weather has definitely turned colder, and feline snuggling levels have gone way, way up.

Did Em get stroppy? Maybe, though I didn’t hear any feline politics.

It’s probably not a “she who smelt it, dealt it” situation: none of the cats seems particularly bothered when someone emits an unpleasant odor.

It can’t have been a male bonding ritual, because nobody had a drum.

Just one of those “you’re a hoomin, you wouldn’t understand” things, I suppose.

Quirks

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We all have our little quirks, felines as much as us two-legged sorts.

For example, Kokoro has a habit of complaining loudly before drinking.

Sachiko bunny-hops down stairs.

Watanuki burrows under any blanket handy (all the better to lurk in hiding until a vulnerable set of toes arrives).

Lefty, on the other forepaw, detests being covered. Even the tiniest corner of a thin cloth settling on his haunches will trigger a rapid leap away from the offending article.

None of which, of course, prevents him from creating a warm nest amidst the blankets, especially when it’s been pre-warmed by a biped butt.

Shall I?

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For reasons too complicated to explain right now, we keep a baby gate closed across the door to the bedroom. ‘Nuki, Lefty, and Em jump it with impunity, but Sachiko is less willing to do so. She’s perfectly capable, and has done it many times, but given her druthers, she’d rather sit in front of the gate and make goo-goo eyes until a hoomin lets her in or out.

So, a rare view of her looking over the gate, trying to decide if it’s worth the effort, or if there’s a hoomin around to do her bidding.

(Spoiler: After I took the picture, I did open the gate for her.)

Such an Elegant Gentleman

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It’s been four and a half years since Lefty took up residency–highly involuntary residency–in the catio.

At that time, I said “And if we thought MM was unhappy in the catio, Lefty took matters to previously unconsidered depths. He complained. He prowled around, shoving shelters out of his way, and generally created chaos. Nor, to be blunt, did he get along with MM. She wanted him in the catio even less than he wanted to be there.” And I also said “If he’s still relatively chill, we’ll see if we can persuade him to adopt an indoor lifestyle. It’ll be a long haul, and an awkward one … But it’s worth a try.”

And here we are. Much less awkward and certainly much less quicker than we expected, that scarred and scared bundle of teeth and claws has become an elegant, cultured panther-about-the-house.

Don’t let that solemn look fool you. He’s not pondering the whichness of what, he’s considering the best approach to extorting another chunk of fish from our dinner.