Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Bowl Bullying

What I've noticed is that CC comes down from her spiral staircase in the AM to eat breakfast with me. Then INKY comes over to the feeding station and CC cries and walks away. Then INKY "needs" to eat. When he finishes, CC goes back to eating and drinking. Then INKY "needs" to go right back and eat AGAIN! This goes on and on...as if they are each trying to claim the feeding station. Sometimes they do eat together (we have 2 bowls near each other) but I still can't help but think this is some kind of food intimidation game. There is another feeding station located elsewhere in the house where they all eat from time to time. But I'm thinking we could use ANOTHER separate feeding station. Problem is, in South Florida we have so many bugs it is difficult to monitor so many bowls for ants etc. The only other convenient place I can think to set up another station is not far from the front door (where I often see ants coming in!). I know that food should not be placed near litter boxes. When I feed them their wet food (once a day) I make sure to spread the bowls out all over the house so there is no competition. CC usually doesn't even come down for that and JP doesn't like to eat until much later when he can try to lick the crusted on crumbs from the bottom of the bowls. Our house is already under the control of the cats: litterboxes everywhere (from previous SPRAYING incidents a few years back) and cat trees, toys, structures ETC! allover the place! This is more strange feline behavior!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Fling-a-string


Excuse the low photo quality. I had to snap this one quickly with the crackberry. INKY is demonstrating exactly how he destroyed his new toy. My friend Bill received the fling-a-string toy for Xmas and it drove his cats bonkers (in a BAD way). You hang it over the doorknob and a battery powered motor causes this elastic pulley to rotate in circles. Not pictured is a piece of string which comes around every second or so. If you click here you can see a pic of the whole toy and watch a video of some cats playing with it. Well, Bills cats were so upset with the toy. It only frustrated them and made them cry for hours after turning it off. He lent it to me to see what my kitties would do. Well, JP played with it for over an hour. He looked like he was on acid. By the end of each play session he was on his back staring up at it in awe (look at the colours, man!). But some of the REAL DANGER is that unlike the dumb cats in the video, my cats (especially JP) can catch the string no problem which stops the rotating of the elastic so that the string can be chewed off and ingested. I had to carefully supervise each play session to be sure the string wasn't getting eaten! I might as well have just been playing an interacticve game with the cat in the first place. That would have been healthier for their stomaches and minds! So, when I returned home from the Florida Flute Convention (no, I never went to BAND CAMP), I found the string exposed (the toy must always be turned off with the string positioned in the back where kitties cannot get to it - even though they are going to keep crying when you turn it off either way). My husband claims I left the string on the front side before I left for Orlando. I don't think so. Not my MO. So, while cleaning the litterbox the other day, I found some colourful string stuck in a poop (kind of graphic...sorry, but that's life with the cats). Then I noticed last night that INKY is able to pull the elastic pully down so that he can get to the string. I was going to take the fling-a-string toy away last night but I didn't want to hear the crying. Figured I'd wait until the kitties fell asleep then sneak the toy away. Well, I awoke this morning to find a little stub of string hanging off the front of the toy! Inky had done it again! He ate more of the string. I quickly gave him and Spike (JP wont eat it and the girls dont play with the toy) some Petromalt to help them digest the string. This toy is evil! It messes with their little minds and even their stomaches. I took it away and offered to buy Bill a new one - even though I don't think any cat should have one. Bill says its a toy for lazy cat owners. I say irresponsible cat owners.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

cold weather


Ever notice how cats go crazy in the cold? First of all, I had 45 lbs of cat sleeping on me last night. No, not one superfat cat, just 3 chubbers that add up to 45 lbs. That was cute and comforting but it leaves my body feeling like I got hit by a truck for a day or two after. Then this morning I wanted to bike to Starbucks (in 50 degree weather or so! brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Pretty cold for Miami!) and INKY was going after CC and Scooter and CC was going after Scooter (redirected aggression?), so I had to linger long enough until the tension dissipated. When I returned home from my chilly breakfast adventure, INKY wanted to play. I played silly stick (also known as silly string - it's a fishing rod type toy that has been chewed down so that only about 3 inches of string hang off it. INKY love love loves this toy!!!) a little, but didn't have the patience to really play PREY with him...so, he started going for Scooter Mercilessly. I had to lock Scooter in the studio for her own safety. I sprayed Felliway around so that INKY wouldn't mark the spots where the girls had been. Then INKY started going for Spike under the bed and poor Spikey was crying so I went and got him to save him from my ebony terror!
CC spent some time on my lap today. She does most days. She's become quite a lap cat and a mammas girl.
Then....I spent some time this afternoon trying to clean up the pee from where JP (and INKY, of course!) got upset about the roofers. I can't wait to get rid of this nasty carpet altogether! I want to go down to the Cement floors. That'd be way cool. I'm so sick of smelling PEE! I never had this problem before INKY!!! Good thing he's cute and smart and gorgeous and I love him to death!
Anyone out there on facebook? I just joined (not exactly sure why yet...). Please friend me - and my cats. Thanks.