Herd your cats here

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Now that it's cooled off at night, Lady Jane has decided that she needs to sleep on the bed.  But we are NOT allowed to move or disturb Her Ladyship.
I wake up with my legs cramped up due to being scooted into a weird position by a 6 pound cat.  How?!

Six pounds? We must have bowling-ball-butt cats over here. They're all 12 pounds and up!

[FishProf]

It starts.

Yesterday, Thor (still a kitten, technically) squared off with the Lady Nox (who has been a real monster to the boys since they came home) and he kicked her butt.  Fur flying and much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

While the fur has settled, dominance remains very much up in the air.

MrsFishprof is upset, but I am enjoying the animal behavior experiment playing out in my living room.

Stay tuned!

[the_geneticist]

Lady Jane is the "daintiest of dainty cats".  Her brother, Sir Puck, aka "Sir Chomps a Lot the Bold" is nearly twice her weight.  And feels HEAVY, even the vet said he was surprisingly hefty for his apparent size. 

Oof, cat squabbles for dominance are always dramatic.  Lady Jane insists she is "Top Cat".  Izzy Kitten does not believe this to be true.  Either that or she speaks a different dialect of Cat and hears "Oh, let's play!" rather than "Go away, you horrible beastie!"

All three cats try to claim the top of the cat tree and the preferred wooden rocking chair.

[Puget]

Lady Jane is the "daintiest of dainty cats".  Her brother, Sir Puck, aka "Sir Chomps a Lot the Bold" is nearly twice her weight.  And feels HEAVY, even the vet said he was surprisingly hefty for his apparent size. 

Oof, cat squabbles for dominance are always dramatic.  Lady Jane insists she is "Top Cat".  Izzy Kitten does not believe this to be true.  Either that or she speaks a different dialect of Cat and hears "Oh, let's play!" rather than "Go away, you horrible beastie!"

All three cats try to claim the top of the cat tree and the preferred wooden rocking chair.

Panther Boy is likewise an enormous cat, whereas Little Calico is well, little. Despite this, she is the boss. They mostly are good buds, but if he plays too rough or takes her spot she hisses and bops him on the nose and he almost always immediately flops over in submission pose. Sometimes all she has to do is stare at him and he surrenders. It's pretty funny to watch! He never seems to mind and never hisses back.

[OneMoreYear]

Nina was the runt of the litter when we got her (barely the 2 pounds required for a spay), which Ricochet at the time was almost 3. Now, as adult cats, Ninja is no longer a runt, and weighs in at almost 12 lbs, which Ricochet is only 7.  Ricochet is a world-class sprinter, so her constant training keeps her lean.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Elder evil cat is about 14 lbs and LONG. He can stand on his hind legs and open doors. Youngest evil cat is short and stout- 12 lbs! The vet said she needs to drop at least a pound.

Lately she's been bothering elder evil cat (trying to pounce on him) and he's licked most of the fur off his back front legs. Vet suggested getting a pheromone collar since the licking isn't due to an infection. We also got her a new toy to distract her, but what we really need is a young playmate so that the old man can get some peace!

[Volhiker78]

We have constant cat mind games between our 14 lb tuxedo, Booboo, and our 11 lb tabby, Lil.  They've never gotten along and usually stay on their side of the house. But the family room in the middle is in constant play. Mostly they stare at each other but Booboo sometimes gets mad enough that she chases Lil. Lil is much faster and more agile and can usually get away easily. Occasionally she gets cornered and then she lets out ferocious shreaks and hisses.  Only once was there a physical fight and both cats came away with claw injuries.

We've given up trying to get them more used to each other. The only time that I can remember them tolerating each other was during a ferocious thunderstorm.  Both cats got nervous, crouching down low near each other. At least they had the good sense to realize if the house blew away, they had bigger problems than getting on each other's nerves! 

[the_geneticist]

We have constant cat mind games between our 14 lb tuxedo, Booboo, and our 11 lb tabby, Lil.  They've never gotten along and usually stay on their side of the house. But the family room in the middle is in constant play. Mostly they stare at each other but Booboo sometimes gets mad enough that she chases Lil. Lil is much faster and more agile and can usually get away easily. Occasionally she gets cornered and then she lets out ferocious shreaks and hisses.  Only once was there a physical fight and both cats came away with claw injuries.

We've given up trying to get them more used to each other. The only time that I can remember them tolerating each other was during a ferocious thunderstorm.  Both cats got nervous, crouching down low near each other. At least they had the good sense to realize if the house blew away, they had bigger problems than getting on each other's nerves! 

Ha! The "any port in a storm" mindset.  Izzy has claimed the spot underneath our bed as hers, but all three will smoosh themselves underneath if there is something scary like a thunderstorm or us hosting a party.

[Puget]

I moved the bird feeder to a branch just outside the window where the cats' window seat is. The feeder is getting constant heavy use as the weather's gotten cool, and it's like I've installed a big screen TV with a premium cable cat channel.

[statsgeek]

Woke up the other night to find Yin/Yang boys were not in the bed...hmmm....what are they getting into?  Got up to investigate and, long story short, the bug they'd cornered ran right over my foot - indirectly waking StatSpouse.  The ensuing chaos and a lingering case of zoomies from all the excitement ended all thoughts of sleep for the night.  We went to bed early last night. 

[FishProf]

The Careful What You Ask For Files, ep.271.

I brought the new boys to the 3rd floor for a sleepover, as they haven't taken to bed-sleeping yet (but have PhDs in couch-lap napping).   Oops.  Loki is ambivalent, but Thor thinks this is an invitation to a purring, head-butting, drooling loveapalooza.   I learned my lesson.

Alas, so did he, as he's been back the last 3 nights in a row.

[OneMoreYear]

We tossed a cloth bag on the couch last week, and Ricochet has decided that she lives there now. If she's not eating, using the litter box, or having zoomy time, she's in the bag. If the bag is open properly, she hangs out in the bag; sometimes you can just see her ears poking out. If the bag has fallen closed, she hangs out on top of the bag. Seriously, it's not a very large house, but there is more than one room and more than one piece of furniture. But, nope, she'll be in the bag, thank you very much.

[mythbuster]

We went to Costco several weeks ago and they packed our stuff in one of those produce boxes with an open top. Mr. Buster made the mistake of leaving it in a corner after we emptied it. It has now bee claimed by the cat and we are now stuck with a box from an apple farm in the corner of our kitchen. He carries all his stuffed mice there to defend them from the dog. So I get the deal with the grocery bag!

[the_geneticist]

Buddycat claimed an empty cardboard tray from a case of bottled water as a preferred napping spot.  I thought "I'll get him a cat bed!" and tossed the tray.  He sulked for a MONTH before he decided to try the cat bed.  I should have just kept the cardboard.
Embrace the cloth bag.  It's her lair of solitude!

[paultuttle]

Buddycat claimed an empty cardboard tray from a case of bottled water as a preferred napping spot.  I thought "I'll get him a cat bed!" and tossed the tray.  He sulked for a MONTH before he decided to try the cat bed.  I should have just kept the cardboard.
Embrace the cloth bag.  It's her lair of solitude!

Sheldon Cooper: "That's my spot!"



:ducks and runs: