I only recently came across the term “photobomb”. That’s the consequence of uncoolness! It is an interesting concept, but an even more fun practice. In fact, even Dougy is in on it, I just didn’t realize what he’d done when I tried to take Andy’s photo awhile back and Dougy wandered into the frame.
Dougy (in front) and Andy: Dougy got flashed!
Dougy didn’t get flashed. Andy got photobombed!
Andy: What a pretty boy!
I eventually got the Andy photo without the shenanigans of his brother.
Poor Dougy! It happened again. When he slipped into my bedroom I don’t know, but that’s where I heard his soft mewings for help when I came home from volunteering at the military museum. Poor kitty!
Yes, poor Dougy spent at least four hours closed in my bedroom! I don’t usually close the door when I am home alone, but, with family visiting these past few weeks, I have closed the door for the sake of hiding some of the worst of my sloppy housekeeping. 🙂
Oh, he didn’t suffer too much (I hope) or cause any problems in my bathroom — erm, bedroom — if I was lucky. I’m a bit afraid to check for sure, but he holds his own for at least that long when he and Andy go for grooming or veterinarian visits requiring he not eat anything after 8 PM till after his appointment. That doesn’t mean he was happy to be closed in.
Dougy wasn’t too social after his imprisonment. He ran around the apartment to assure himself he was free again…!
I tried to get a photo showing Dougy was OK, but he’s a bit evasive for the moment. Wait! My sister’s waving a cat toy, and that put him back in a good mood. Dougy is my playtime any time cat!
Dougy before he noticed my sister was offering him some play time!
One of these days, I hope Dougy learns the potential perils of his curiosity!
It’s been fun having all of my siblings here for a visit at the same time, but the end of visits must begin. Today, the first of my sisters leaves. She flies to the West Coast this afternoon. My other sister, who has to leave herself in a few days, is treating us all to lunch, then we all load up the buggy (as we say in Western Nebraska…!) and take her to the airport.
The cat brothers will especially miss all the added playtime my siblings give them. Lots of pets in my family, so the boys are an appreciated part of the visit, I think. I know my sister can’t wait to see her cat Sox later today when she arrives home.
Sox didn’t want to share his toilet paper tube toy that day…! He growled, but later “apologised” to my sister for his faux pas.
Of course, I understand what it’s like to miss my cats when I’m gone for even a few hours, so it’s hard to imagine leaving a pet for a week or longer.
Sox recently had a grooming session, and we all were surprised he looked like this with his shorter hair! He’s a beautiful cat either way, but I think we all like him in full tuxedo cat splendor. His white chest is especially beautiful.
Of course, it’s only fair to show Sox in his full glory in this favorite photo of him my sister e-mailed me some time ago. Sox is one handsome kitty! His hair’s growing back, too, so don’t feel sorry for him! Cat hair grows very fast.
Cat-cousin Sox, a real fox!
Here I go again. What started out as a post about my sister leaving turned into another cat post! Speaking of which, she took several photos of my boys while here, and I can’t wait to get the e-mail she promised me with those photos attached. We tried to download them onto my computer from her camera, but ran into a technical snag. They are very good photos — I viewed them in her camera, of course — and they capture the personalities of Andy and Dougy quite well!
Anyone familiar with cats has experienced that odd business of their pet chattering at birds. Of my two, Dougy is the more likely cat to get worked up and start chattering where he sees a bird of interest. For example, here’s a chattering video from the vaults:
You tell ’em, Dougy!
I doubt anything brings forth terror in a cat owner’s heart more than Fluffy’s veterinarian saying, “…and you will need to give this medication to your cat x times a day!” Well, having to give your cat a bath is a near equivalent, but medicine…!
When I learned Andy needs a daily dose of medication for a heart murmur, I was a bit terrorized when his veterinarian mentioned pills. Imagine my relief, then, when he said I could get it crushed and mixed in liquid with any of several cat-friendly flavors! Of course, I chose Andy’s favorite, tuna, thinking that would make this daily task less difficult for us both.
Andy had his doubts about that tuna-flavored bomb…!
The first day, I messed up on the dosage. attempting to give him something like 1/10th the dose required. Never mind. Most of it went on his fur anyway.
Next, I realized Andy needed a little help holding his head steady for the medicine. Wrapping him in a towel was the ticket! Not only did it help steady him, he looked incredibly adorable in swaddling! 🙂
“I don’t care if it’s tuna-flavored. I don’t like it.”
Of course, getting Andy into that towel was the next challenge. Each day, he taught me new ways to hide from or to evade one’s human. Eventually I caught him, but — think about it — do you really want to stress out a cat with a heart murmur catching him so you can give him heart medication? I decided not.
We now have a happy method of catching the cat, using his love of –ta duh! — tuna-flavored kitty treats. Instead of trying to catch Andy before I give him treats for being a good boy, the tactic I had been using, I let Andy’s anticipation of getting the tuna-flavored treats trap him.
Specifically, I come over to my computer, read through my e-mails, maybe start my blog post for the day. It isn’t long before Andy comes over and pats me on the arm to get my attention. (“Where are my treats!?”) I ignore him or give him a little pat on the head.
This goes on for a time, then Andy plops down on the floor beside my computer. Trapped! I just reach down and pick him up, transport him to the dining room, wrap him in the towel, and squirt the medicine in his mouth. Oh, he squirms, and sometimes some of the medicine gets on his chin or face instead, but cats spit clean themselves, right? He gets his medicine.
While Andy’s still wrapped in the towel, just his sweet face popping out, I rub his head and that little space between his eyes that both my cats loved to have rubbed. I tell him what a good boy he is for a few seconds till he starts to wiggle. When he starts to wiggle, I let him down onto the floor, then put his treats down for his reward.
Andy, watching me from the box across from my computer desk.
What I didn’t expect out of this medicine routine as it has evolved is that Andy now is more tolerant of being held, and lets me hold him for longer periods of time. He also seems to be a happier cat than before, more playful, more mean to his brother…. Hey! I was trying to bring this to an uplifting end!
No, seriously, the process of giving Andy his daily dose of medicine brought about the unexpected consequence of a sweeter Andy, an Andy that lets me snuggle him a bit. We are more bonded than ever.
I don’t expect my brother and sisters to follow my cats’ schedule. I mean, I have no choice: They know where I live! But my siblings live real lives elsewhere. This is a temporary situation, where my cats stalk them at night, jump on their beds, maybe make a racket hopping onto a favorite windowsill to view the nighttime outside the apartment.
I, on the other hand, expect this constant assault on my sleep. Dougy pounces on my bed, then hops up to walk on me from foot to head, head to foot to let me know it must be time to feed the kitties! (He has a good sense of this mythical time, after all, and it something like what you humans call 3 AM!) Andy just sits on a high place and stares at me. Also an effective strategy since one starts to feel watched when one is, well, watched!
So, struggling out of bed, stepping on the favorite string toy Andy drags around the place and leaves in random places, I begin my day.
You think the shot’s out of focus, but this is a realistic representation of how the world looks when the cats get me up. A “before I can focus my eyes” shot
I’m used to finding Dougy waiting in his favorite salmon-colored tub for the day’s play to begin. He’s always “up” for play, believe it! He’s in kitty paradise with four people willing to play cat games with him. Thanks to the new toys that even Andy likes, the boys eventually tire out and take a nap.
Sounds like a good plan. A nap….
But first, gotta grind some beans and make some industrial-strength coffee to get my plane off the ground. Oh, yeah, and catch Andy to give him his yummy tuna-flavored medicine. At least it’s supposed to be yummy, but I guarantee he makes a face.
Today is Flag Day in the United States. As much as I want to wave the flag and feel warm and fuzzy to be an American, I am haunted by the stories of those who fought and died to preserve what we have in America. Without those sacrifices, the flag is just a fancy piece of cloth.
Andy loves to knock this wastepaper basket over. He does it right in front of me!
Andy is a rascal when it comes to trash. I have to hide candy wrappers (the cellophane kind in particular) and bread ties because they look like $2000 emergency cat surgeries to me. Andy will chew on them, and I did have to pull one out of his mouth one time that he looked like he wanted to finish with a swallow.
He makes me laugh!
Looks uncomfortable to me, but Dougy manages to squeeze a round kitty into a rectangular tub. Cats!
Lounging…! Wait! This is someone else’s cat!
Just like at work, a guy’s gotta keep hydrated on a warm day.
![Sometimes others see it as an opportunity for funny business -- or to avoid work. ["I know that robin will come back. I'm sneaking down to the water fountain!"]](https://i0.wp.com/phainopepla95.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/dscn1256.jpg?resize=624%2C351)
Sometimes others see it as an opportunity for funny business — or to avoid work. [“I know that robin will come back. I’m sneaking down to the water fountain!”]
Or just to catch up on the latest catty remarks about co-workers, for a little laugh at their expense!
“Back to the grind, but my head’s elsewhere….”
Andy and Dougy aren’t cooperating much today.
If I don’t get boxes torn apart and in the trash fast enough, one or the other cat claims it as a cat lair. Yep! Ugly boxes all over the place! I try to weed them out from time to time, but the boys watch closely….!
I wanted a photo of the boys at a new box of contention that brought on a cat fight yesterday — yes, Andy and Dougy have snits! — but they both walked away as soon as they saw the camera. True Thomases!
Walk away, boys. I know where you sleep, and I’ll get your photo yet today!