A neat picture I got today at lunch. I was at the stove, turned around, and there they were in a chorus line watching me fix lunch. They knew it was mine and not theirs, but still worth watching. This picture is angled and not quite a true perspective, with Brio a little larger than he really is and Pilgrim a little more distant, but I was afraid to shift to get a straight shot, because I was afraid they would move. Mystery, Pilgrim, Pharaoh, and Brio. Mystery also looks somewhat larger than he is, but that’s a constant. Mystery is half hair.
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If you had tried to pose them, you would never have gotten this. What a great pic!!! Brio just looks like he is full of beans.
Brio is the reason I snapped this shot so quickly, even at a less-than-desirable angle. If you have a chance to see Brio still, it is only for a few seconds. He is a riot. Whenever they get treats, Brio plays with his treats for a bit before eating them. He’ll travel a good 10-15 feet per treat.
At the moment of this shot, I was, as mentioned, cooking lunch, which they found highly sniffable.
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Here’s the cat hut from a day or two ago. It definitely is getting use from outdoor cats. In warmer seasons, they like to sprawl on the porch, but not in winter. Note Cory in the middle hole.
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Do you know their other hideout places outdoors? When my 2 decide to spend the night outdoors, I’ve tracked them to an unused tool room in the barn where I leave the door open.
There’s lots of cubby holes in there where they hide. But after one cold night outside they usually scurry inside when I call them in the late afternoon.
They’re fine. They have other shelters here and there, some that I’ve done, some just with the way the place works. They love that cat hut, though. Cory actually has been an indoor cat back years ago. She specifically chooses to be outside. She’s tried both and votes out. Back when she had her ear amputated and had half her head sewn up, I tried to get her to recuperate inside, and she adamantly refused. She never, ever tries to run in when I’m going through the door, even when she’s right there on the porch and even though she knows what in is.
Good old Emily Dickinson, may she rest in peace, was the same way. I tried several times to retire Emily indoors in her final years. Nope. She wanted outside. She made it up to at least 16 out there (I don’t know how old exactly she was when I trapped her in the city and exported her to the farm). And as for keeping warm, although there is definitely shelter, they also have unbelievably thick coats. When Bagheera had to be shaved a year ago for an abscess, he had over an inch of very dense, tightly packed hair. You could clearly see it at the line of shaving.
Here’s Cotton this afternoon. I had taken a fairly long walk clear back through the woods, and I met Cotton as I was turning around for home. I told him to be sure he didn’t get lost that far away from the place. He just looked at me with that “I know what I’m doing” look that cats give. Actually, I’m pretty sure he was tracking me. He was quite happy to accompany me home.
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Today I was reassessing Pilgrim. I’ve been trying to make myself not do it daily because that’s too tight a time table and to give him a couple of weeks on the new system. I do think that his weight loss has stabilized. This was a slight change anyway, not like he had ribs sticking out, and he has never acted differently. He is one of the most interactive with me and is quite a character, a very fun house cat to live with, so any change in behavior with him would stand out more than with a more reserved cat. I haven’t seen anything. I think he was just not eating as much because there was often a kitten at the bowls (there are two bowls). He never has been that food motivated in all the years I’ve known him. So we’ll just keep up the daily wet food to give him something that holds his interest more.
He has, of course, figured out the new system and jumps on the counter to wait for his personal half a can while the entwining mob howls below as I’m fixing it.
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Sarge (lower right) turned up for afternoon feeding. Glad to see him; I hadn’t in a few days. He is a hobo, just appears now and then. I’m glad he got a good meal in this weather. The blue bowl is warm water. With it this cold, I take a good drink out several times a day. The creek is live, but the creek is quite a hike for a cat. Everybody seems fine, and they all have luxurious coats, are in good weight, and have shelter. I was apologizing to them for this week but also telling them this, too, will pass.
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I bought some canned food at the store because I felt sorry for the farm cats. They are all in good weight, and I even saw one hunting yesterday in the back yard, but still. Nobody around when I went out, but they will come to call. They are still near, just holed up. The indoor cats can see the porch, and their expression when the other cats got canned food was priceless. They are getting canned food (better quality, actually) at the moment due to Pilgrim, and they considered this robbery. I told them when I came back in that they are more privileged than many other cats in America, but they didn’t believe me.
Here is a double tuxedo nap.
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The cats are coming out yesterday afternoon and today. Over the last several days, they had been visible the bare minimum, but they are now lingering, looking around, testing it. And there is plenty of shelter available, the hut and other spots. They don’t have to be out sitting in it. But they think the weather is heading up from here. I’m ready for spring.
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Satin definitely thinks the weather is breaking. He was out rolling in the snow today.
And just as a memory of how far he’s come, here is the dumped litter shortly after discovery. Satin is the tabby. Pharaoh the runt is at the top of the basket. I cannot tell Bagheera and Panther apart in this shot.
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Attempting to add a video. I’m not sure if this will work; COTH had a cat fit the other day at me linking to a video that had absolutely no restrictions on it and which the owner didn’t mind being shared.
Anyway, cats make housework more fun. If your housework is boring, try adding cats. Brio is the one at the beginning of the video, but Pilgrim is the one to keep an eye on.
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Didn’t work. But someone has cute feet and appears to be very tall. lol
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I know it was working at first, because a few people watched it. It seems to be working at this minute. Maybe it just floats in and out, like Brigadoon.
Apparently, the issue is that COTH’s new format just doesn’t like me.
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Project on a morning break. I got the Russian horse hung. (It is the Russian horse literally, as I discovered after ordering this kit online that it is from Moscow, including Russian on the directions.) There will be something else on this wall, too, within at least the next decade. The cats helped me. Mary here is inspecting the hammer. By far the most intricate counted cross stitch I’ve ever done to date. I’ve posted pictures of my craft cats watching me play with string each night. Thought I’d share a finished item.
By the way, keep trying on the video above. It is apparently currently phased in. Maybe you can catch it on the nod, like a horse photo finish where the nose is down at the right time.
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I love the cross stitch. It came out very nice.
And it’s cracking me up how the other cats are watching Mary check out the hammer.
I was having a turkey sandwich for breakfast. Three cats were on the table, all nicely obeying the Second Feline Commandment and wearing halos. Solo was on the heat vent in the floor. Brio was chasing a toy, which he does like a dog throwing itself a ball and then chasing; he can easily cover 30 feet in just a few seconds in one direction before turning.
I came down to the last bite of my turkey with Swiss, and I pinched off some turkey and also a bite of Swiss for Solo, who loves cheese. I then finished my portion and said, “Here,” just conversationally, not that loudly. Immediately, the three cats on the table advanced, Solo got up from the heat vent in progress and jumped up, and Brio came flying in from the direction of the living room. Alas, Brio, the one I’ve said reminds me of Teddy Roosevelt, overestimated his braking ability. He tried to slam to a stop on the table, skidded instead, and slid clear off it. He shook himself and jumped back up, but by then, all the treat was gone. This bothered him, but only for a few seconds. Nothing in life can dampen Brio’s spirits for more than a few seconds.
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Today, we had pruning of fruit trees. This turned into quite a game, because the cats thought it was a game. I had to work hard not to catch paws as the cats snatched at the clippers and at the moving branches.
And Cotton in a tree - not a fruit tree, obviously. This is a large old silver maple that is such a great-looking climbing tree that if I weren’t such a klutz, I would be tempted to climb it myself.
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It might be time for the morning treat. From left, Mystery, Atticus, Pharaoh, Psalm, Mary, Solo, Brio’s back feet, and Pilgrim on the counter (Pilgrim is an epicure, and he prefers to avoid the feeding frenzy on the floor when treats are actually taken out and scattered. He knows I will put one up there for him.)
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Ah, Brio. Everything, absolutely everything, is a game. Even cleaning the litter box. When I scoop, he jumps in and chases the scoop. Then when I add new litter periodically, like this morning, that’s even more fun. He wants to play in the litter fall, like a kid in a waterfall. He will rocket into the box and try to get right under the litter pouring out of the container. Of course, I don’t think that licking litter off would be good for him, so if I don’t quite get it stopped in time, I dust him off. Which is petting the kitten. Purr. Filling litter boxes consists of me pouring, stopping partway as Brio shoots in, darting to a different box, pouring, stopping partway as Brio arrives at that one, racing to another box, pouring, etc. All around the litter boxes until they all have enough new added. Brio thinks this is a marvelous game. I don’t myself, but he is entertaining.
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