Tag: cats

Were the cats fed?

The last one to bed feeds the cat. Some nights, it’s difficult to know who the last one to bed will be. I am usually the first to bed, though. I sleep for a few hours and then wake up to use the bathroom. If I hadn’t heard anyone feed the cats, I will text my kids. One night, “Were the cats fed?” got a response of “Yes. Twice.” Each of the kids thought that she was the last one to bed so she fed the cats. The cats didn’t correct her. They even tried to tell me that they hadn’t been fed when I got up, so they were trying for a third dinner that night. I guess they forgot that the humans talk to each other.

Scaring the pup, by Mistake

Molly is my constant companion when I am working on schoolwork in the garage. This works out well, until I take a break. If I decide to stop to do laundry, she follows me over and helps by standing on the dirty clothes so I can’t pick them up. If I try to go to the bathroom, she either has to go out, too, or she follows me into the bathroom.

I decided to stop to take a shower. Molly decided she needed to supervise. After the shower, she decided to race me out to the garage to get back to work. Molly did not realize that my daughter was out there, doing laundry. I heard a loud yelp and my daughter laughing. Molly had run past her, then saw motion and realized that she was not alone.

Molly is a scaredy cat. I have rescued her from spiders, lint, the cats, etc. I never thought I would have to rescue her from my daughter. Thankfully, she settled down as soon as she realized that there was no real threat.

Makeshift Wrestling Ring

Two cats and a dog think they share my bed. The cats pretty much are only there when I am not, but the dog will go up any time, as long as the kitties aren’t in her spot.

Today, it was time to put the sheets back on the bed. I sent the dog to the garage. I kicked one cat off the bed. The other cat decided she was going to help with the sheet changing by sitting in exactly the same spot where she was sitting. No. No you aren’t. I called for human help, since that cat doesn’t like me at all.

I use a sheet scrunchie, which holds the fitted sheet onto the bed. It works great, but is a pain in the neck to get on the bed. The first difficult part is figuring out which end is the bottom of the sheet, so that I can attach the scrunchie to it. Then fitting the scrunchie around the mattress isn’t so easy.

I got the bottom of the sheet on the bottom of the mattress and was pulling it up to do the top part. A human helper decided that the dog wasn’t going to hurt anything, so she let her in. Molly decided it looked fun, so she jumped on the bed and all of the work I had done came undone.

I got the dog out, finally. Then the cats came back to help.

I decided to quit for a while until they whole group decided there was anything more fun to do.

I described the scene to a friend and he said it seemed like a makeshift wrestling ring. It sure felt like it. Thankfully, no one was recording it.

It’s raining kibble

The cats decide to have a midnight snack quite often. We have kibble in a kitty puzzle for them to work at. I can usually hear them going for a snack, but I don’t usually see it.

I caught Mini attempting to get food the other night. She was dipping her paw into the puzzle and throwing kibble onto the floor. Then she was eating the kibble from there.

The sound of her throwing the kibble to the floor made it sound like it was raining kibble. I think she was doing it just to disturb the quiet of the room.

Hide and Seek in the Bathroom

Usually, I know generally where the cats are when I’m traveling to the bathroom. Usually, they are guarding the cat food, just in case someone might decide to feed them, randomly. Maybe they are trying to keep the kitchen chair warm. Or hoping something will jump out of the recycling bag at them.

Last night, I saw Mini right away. She was wandering around, minding her own business. I didn’t see Inky, so I suspected she was in the bathroom. I was on high alert. She’s jumped out of the litter box at me so many times that I was expecting it. No. She wasn’t there.

I was finishing up in the bathroom, and suddenly Inky popped out of the shower at high speeds, pushed past me and ran out the bathroom door. I screamed. I knew, logically, that she would be in the bathroom, but she still surprised me.

I guess I lost that round of Hide and Seek.

The Great 4:30 am Debate

My sleep intermission started around 4:30 this morning. I used the restroom and was headed back to bed. I was greeted by Inky who was politely sitting by her food bowl. She informed me that since we were both awake, I might as well feed her breakfast. I strongly disagreed. The debate was short, but I won.

I really need to get the pets watches. If they knew the time, it would be less likely that I have a 4:30 am discussion about the unlikelihood of breakfast 2 and a half hours before breakfast time. Also, I think it would be less likely that I am having a discussion with the cats if I had a full night’s sleep.

Oh, It’s the Mouse

I do most of my computer work solo. I am usually either in my bedroom or in the garage. I am usually concentrating on what I am doing, and have most noises tuned out, unless the TV is too loud or the family or animals are talking. Yes, my pets talk. I’m good with the washer and dryer running. The dishwasher running doesn’t bother me. If I am into what I am doing, I don’t hear it. Even if I am directly spoken to, I just agree without registering what was said.

One day, I was working hard on reading a PDF online. I was using the mouse to scroll as I read. Someone came out to do laundry and pointed out that the wheel on my mouse squeaked. I was informed that I need a new mouse. It never bothered me before, but I asked a friend what to do about the squeak. I was told to take it apart and clean it, but it is easier to just replace it. OK, I will add that to the bottom of my to-do list.

Fast forward a few weeks. I know that the cats have been chasing something. I assume it’s a mouse. The family thinks they have heard it, but it has not been caught yet. The cats are no longer chasing anything, so I hope it has found its way back outside now that the weather is better.

Again, the family came down to work on laundry and school while I was in the garage. “What is that noise?” “Oh, it’s just the mouse.” They stared at me. I asked why they were staring. “How are you so calm when you know there’s a mouse running around, since you can hear it?” I hadn’t thought about that, but rest assured, I would not have been that calm if I was referring to an actual, live mouse. Maybe I should move the task of finding a new computer mouse up the to-do list? Maybe I should just continue to ignore the squeak? Decisions, decisions.

Listening to the puzzle

We have two cats. These two cats require four food bowls so that one doesn’t block all of the bowls, disallowing her sister to eat. They also have a food puzzle. The puzzle is made of several little cups attached to a dish-like base. They have to work at the puzzle to get extra food.

Inky, the one who likes to block the bowls, digs at the puzzle with gusto. She gets her paws in and throws all of the food onto the floor. Mini is smarter and comes up behind Inky and cleans the floor up so she doesn’t have to work for it. When Mini does dig in the puzzle, it’s quiet and polite and one kibble at a time.

When I’m lying in bed, trying to sleep, I can hear them digging away. I always know who it is by how noisily the kibble hits the floor. Most nights, though, Mini chooses to dig in the compost instead of the puzzle, if given the opportunity. I prefer to sleep.