Herd your cats here

[Larimar]

Yay for kitty cuddles!

[clean]

Is it cold there (was she trying you out as a water bottle)?

Otherwise, congratulations on being Kitty Approved.

[OneMoreYear]

We had a major event in StatLand yesterday.  You may recall that last June/July, we adopted our FosterFail girl (about 2 yrs old) as well as two unrelated kitten boys - I'll call them Yin and Yang here.  Yin and Yang have been lap kitties from the first day, but FosterFail girl has not.  She's gentle and sweet, and likes to be petted (on her terms, of course), but is not a cuddle-kitty.  Well, yesterday, I was trying to talk on the phone without disturbing StatSpouse, so I sat down on the bed and FosterFail girl got up from where she was sleeping at the other the end, and crawled into my lap and curled up there!!!!  Her first lap!!!!  Even though she didn't stay long, I'm still thrilled and am now convinced we'll make a lap-kitty out of her yet.

Yay! She trusts you.

Woohoo! Her 1st lap! One of the 1st times Ricochet attempted to awkwardly flop on me, I tried to get a picture with my phone to document to milestone.  Or course, my slight movement scared her, so it is a picture of her tail. I hope FosterFail will learn that laps are good and make a successful transition to lapkitty.  Ricochet continues to occasionally awkwardly flop on me, but I think the transition to lapcat is not in the cards.  However,  she is now sitting on the other side of the couch instead of perching on top of the armoire! We take victories where we can get them.

[mythbuster]

It's been a busy week here at the Buster house. As I write this, kitten zoomies are flying around me! FishProfs suggested names made me laugh so lets go with Lewis and Stitch for fora names for these two. Lewis as in Carl Lewis- Mr. Orange is proving himself quite the athlete! and Stitch (as in Lilo and) for our charcoal grey guy with too many toes and claws.

I've spent much of the past week acting as distracted toddler mother to all of my pets. Spicy, our dog, has now become very protective of me and wants to be able to see where I go at all times! The issue with this is that my home office is in the "cat zone" and so simply checking my email at first really stressed the dog out. But she has slowly calmed down and we are sure to give her extra love and reassurance.
She has met the kittens through a window and is quite calm watching, until they begin to tumble and play. We think she wants to join in, but her 60 pounds versus two 4 pound cats makes use very cautious.  Over the Christmas weekend we will try some limited interactions across the baby gate- likely with one cat a time so it's easier to wrangle.

The kittens have rapidly settled in and are showing personalities distinct from our previous cats.  The zoomies right now are as they do battle for the one stuffed mouse we happened to have in a bin of old cat toys. Our previous cats has no real use for stuffed mice. And my giant microbe stuffed Listeria has now lost all appendages as he's the perfect size for the kittens to wrestle with.  Seeing Stitch cart that around in his mouth is adorable, as it's wider than he is.

So all is relatively well in the Buster household.

[nebo113]

Mother and her feline are in Winter Quarters with me, in their own suite.  Feline was restless, so I suggested that Mother put the heating pad on the bed and turn it on.  Feline in heaven!!! 

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

We bought a new heating pad for SO's bum knee. Unfortunately, the cats figured out how nice it is to lie on it.

In other news, why do the cats have to bounce around the couch only when I am trying to concentrate on something? It's like they know...

[mamselle]

If there's snow outside, and you can be sure they'll be safe, you could try letting them out to wear them out for a bit...

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t773h9UolY

They're always kittens at heart....

M.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

If there's snow outside, and you can be sure they'll be safe, you could try letting them out to wear them out for a bit...

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t773h9UolY

They're always kittens at heart....

M.

Cute. No snow here. They're all taking a nap now. I guess they destroyed enough in the house for one day.

[mamselle]

Indeed. There is a quota...

I came home from a 4-week research trip to Europe to find my cat standing on a kitchen table whose papers, books, and tablecloth had clearly, systematically, been torn apart to protest my absence.*

The glare amidst the mess was unmistakably defiance.

"You don't DARE punish me!" it said...

M.

*Friends and paid caregivers had been in daily to provide sustenance, clean litter, and companionship....this kitty was not ignored

[clean]

The glare amidst the mess was unmistakably defiance.

"You don't DARE punish me!" it said...

You have it backwards!! You were the one being punished!!!

Cats (at least mine) would sit with their backs to you and periodically lick/clean their shoulders.

That was to let me know that I could look, but I was not yet going to be allowed to scratch them, or that they would rub on me, even if their shoulders could use a rubbing.


Just in case you see this one, sometimes as punishment, they would poop outside the box, or worse, poop on the mat outside the shower.  Those were sure signs of punishment!

[mamselle]

Well, yeah, I sort of figured I was the one in the corner, so to speak....

Thankfully, this one was not given to inappropriate placement of unwanted fecal matter...!

An earlier kitty, on the other hand, demanded an ultra-clean litter box at all times....or else...

I drew the line at getting up when I heard him scratching on the box at 2 AM, however.

M.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Yep, Elder evil cat did a 'protest poop' on New Year's Eve... right under the front room window. Granted, he did have a box there in March after his surgery, so maybe he had good intentions. While he decorated the rug, we were working in the kitchen and had him locked out (baby gate). He has a habit of headbutting it to force his way in for food (which is what we thought we wanted at the time).

Maybe he was saying 'So Long' to 2020?

[OneMoreYear]

We purchased a new loveseat for the living room, as our old couch springs gave up the ghost.

Ninja and Ricochet have expressed their appreciation for their new scratching post.

[Larimar]

An official Scene of Extreme Cuteness from yesterday:

Twerp and Calico snuggled up together taking a long nap in a basket of clean laundry.


Despite all of what's going on in the world... there are cats.


Larimar

[statsgeek]

"Despite all of what's going on in the world...there are cats." 

Amen.