Herd your cats here

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Awwww.....I wants me a Maestro....he sounds so sweet and goofy and cuddly.

M.

He is all those things, but he has his feisty, defiant side too.

When he was little and scolded away from forbidden places like the kitchen counters (or inside the fridge!) he would back off but not without a whining meow remarkably similar in tone to a five year old saying, "But Daaaaaaad, I wanna go up there!" When he hit adolescence, it changed to more of a sassy, sulky, lower-pitched meow that sounded more like a teenager saying "Geez, would you get off my case already?" Nowadays he mixes it up. Observing the evolution of his vocal repertoire has been quite an experience.

He is intensely sweet and cuddly, but on his own schedule. He will duck away from petting (or block your hand with a paw) if it's zoomie time and he is being the mighty hunter, bane of toy mice and jingly balls. Mighty hunters don't snuggle.

He is a goofball 24/7.

What a cutie! Youngest evil cat is still stuck in adolescence and she's going on 4...

[FishProf]

I had to rearrange my office ( 3 reasons; 1) My zoom background looked like the interrogation basement from Meet the Parents; MY desk/monitor height was causing neck problems; and 3) Smolt needed a better Remote schooling environment), and now the Thundercats have decide that my desk is THE PLACE TO BE, but only when I am here.  It is sweet, but annoying. Elektra wants to sit on my lap, or my wrists when I am typing.  Nox like to chase the mouse cursor. 

The have grown more affectionate, in the most inconvenient way possible.

[mamselle]

Remind me why a cat would be concerned with human convenience, again....?

;--》

M.

[brixton]

Didi (Chinese for "Little Brother" )came to our house back in September.  I've been an absent fora member, but did want to report on my new addition.  He is the sweetest, most head-strong, super  friendly,  He  was identified as an Ocicat at the vet.  (To me he was just a shelter cat.)  I guess they have Siamese and Abyssinian, making them both athletic and clever, a dangerous combination.  But it his settling in well and making good friends with his older sister, Pi.

[mamselle]

Welcome Didi!

And hi, Pi!

M.

[OneMoreYear]

Ricochet has continued to attempt to learn the art of lap-sitting. It appears that she has concluded that one of the dangers of lap-sitting is that she might fall off the human's lap.  Thus, her new procedure involves:
1. jump on and off humans' lap several times
2. stand on human's lap showing butt to human
3. flop awkwardly on human's lap
4. grab human's pants with freshly sharpened claws and dig into human's legs while laying on lap in order to stay in place
5. Continue to use claws to hold self in place while getting head scritches for up to 5 minutes
6. hear a noise
7. bolt off human's lap making sure to dig claws into human's leg during take-off
6. calm down from stressful lap-sitting experience by jumping on top of armoire and staring at a wall.

I must now add Band-Aids to my shopping list.

[smallcleanrat]

Ricochet has continued to attempt to learn the art of lap-sitting. It appears that she has concluded that one of the dangers of lap-sitting is that she might fall off the human's lap.  Thus, her new procedure involves:
1. jump on and off humans' lap several times
2. stand on human's lap showing butt to human
3. flop awkwardly on human's lap
4. grab human's pants with freshly sharpened claws and dig into human's legs while laying on lap in order to stay in place
5. Continue to use claws to hold self in place while getting head scritches for up to 5 minutes
6. hear a noise
7. bolt off human's lap making sure to dig claws into human's leg during take-off
6. calm down from stressful lap-sitting experience by jumping on top of armoire and staring at a wall.

I must now add Band-Aids to my shopping list.

Aww...I'm sorry humans are being clawed in Ricochet's new endeavor. But I would like to applaud her decision to expand her kitty cat skill set.

Trying something new (especially something kinda scary) takes vision, drive, and courage. So, I say good for Ricochet.

I hope, in time, she will find the whole lap experience more enjoyable than scary, and that the forbearance of her humans is rewarded with many happy moments with Ricochet (lap-cat-in-training).

[OneMoreYear]

Ricochet has continued to attempt to learn the art of lap-sitting. It appears that she has concluded that one of the dangers of lap-sitting is that she might fall off the human's lap.  Thus, her new procedure involves:
1. jump on and off humans' lap several times
2. stand on human's lap showing butt to human
3. flop awkwardly on human's lap
4. grab human's pants with freshly sharpened claws and dig into human's legs while laying on lap in order to stay in place
5. Continue to use claws to hold self in place while getting head scritches for up to 5 minutes
6. hear a noise
7. bolt off human's lap making sure to dig claws into human's leg during take-off
6. calm down from stressful lap-sitting experience by jumping on top of armoire and staring at a wall.

I must now add Band-Aids to my shopping list.

Aww...I'm sorry humans are being clawed in Ricochet's new endeavor. But I would like to applaud her decision to expand her kitty cat skill set.

Trying something new (especially something kinda scary) takes vision, drive, and courage. So, I say good for Ricochet.

I hope, in time, she will find the whole lap experience more enjoyable than scary, and that the forbearance of her humans is rewarded with many happy moments with Ricochet (lap-cat-in-training).

Thanks, smallcleanrat. We also hope she will eventually enjoy lapsitting, but, if not, that's OK too. We'll keep following her lead. Her littermate and housemate, Ninja, is a highly experienced lapsitter on her adopted human (my SO). Clearly observational learning is not in Ricochet's repertoire. She is more of an experimentalist.

I'm so happy to see the update on Maestro. He sounds like an amazing kitty. Wonderful that you can comfort him now. You are clearly his human.

[mamselle]

A well-known musical piece by a master composer, on the subject of...well, you know....

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJDtCw0MTNU

Cats.

M.

[smallcleanrat]

A well-known musical piece by a master composer, on the subject of...well, you know....

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJDtCw0MTNU

Cats.

M.

Ah...I remember the first time I heard this.

I had downloaded a compilation album called Altus: From Castrato to Countertenor onto my iPod.

While working in the lab, I was listening to these gorgeous arias and cantatas until suddenly I'm listening to coloratura meows. I set down my work, ripped off my gloves, and picked up the iPod to check screen, thinking "what IS this? A cat...duet? A cat duet!"

It was a good day.

[Thursday's_Child]

A well-known musical piece by a master composer, on the subject of...well, you know....

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJDtCw0MTNU

Cats.

M.

Ah...I remember the first time I heard this.

I had downloaded a compilation album called Altus: From Castrato to Countertenor onto my iPod.

While working in the lab, I was listening to these gorgeous arias and cantatas until suddenly I'm listening to coloratura meows. I set down my work, ripped off my gloves, and picked up the iPod to check screen, thinking "what IS this? A cat...duet? A cat duet!"

It was a good day.

Thank you for posting that, Mamselle.  It made my day!

[Puget]

My kitchen has a row of high storage cabinets above the regular upper cabinets. Panther Boy likes to get on top of the fridge and then paw at the doors of the ones above there until he gets one open enough to slip in (those ones are empty). Today the door closed behind him and he stayed quietly inside (he can easily push his way back out when he wants to). Little Calico wandered around the kitchen meowing at me, clearly quite perplexed about where her brother had gone! I finally stood on a chair and opened the door so she could see him-- he's still up there, peering down like, well, a panther in a cave. Now that she knows where he is, Little Calico has gone back to contentedly playing with a pompom and a paper grocery bag.

[mamselle]

She's clearly her brother's keeper...

;--})

M.

[OneMoreYear]

Ricochet likes to nap on top of our tallest bookcase. It's one of her safe spots, where she allows us to pet her.  I have to stand on my tiptoes and reach to pet her. Today, as I was petting her, she scooted closer to the edge, so her butt was hanging slightly off the bookcase. She then got overly excited and apparently forgot where she was and fell off the bookcase onto my head (seriously!), grabbed my hair for some traction, then landed on all four paws, and bolted under the bed. Though I am a little scratched up, she seems no worse for wear.  An hour later, she jumped on top of the bookcase again, and meowed at me to pet her. We managed that time to have a petting session without any further excitement.

[smallcleanrat]

Ricochet likes to nap on top of our tallest bookcase. It's one of her safe spots, where she allows us to pet her.  I have to stand on my tiptoes and reach to pet her. Today, as I was petting her, she scooted closer to the edge, so her butt was hanging slightly off the bookcase. She then got overly excited and apparently forgot where she was and fell off the bookcase onto my head (seriously!), grabbed my hair for some traction, then landed on all four paws, and bolted under the bed. Though I am a little scratched up, she seems no worse for wear.  An hour later, she jumped on top of the bookcase again, and meowed at me to pet her. We managed that time to have a petting session without any further excitement.

Ricochet is really living up to her forum name.

It's cute that she has her designated pet-me spot!

Cats can be so poised and dignified and graceful...but they also seem to have enormous potential for pratfalls and general ridiculousness.