Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The New Cat

Buck asked after our new cat, suggesting I write about her. And I realized that I haven't said a peep about her since she was rescued and became a part of our family.

  • The chief concern, of course, was how she would get along with The Dog, especially given how much Phoebe (may she rest in peace) hated him. But to Phoebe (may she rest in peace)The Dog was an interloper. She was there first and his skittering, furry black puppy presence was not appreciated. Not ever. This time around, it's The Dog who is alpha and Kitty had to accept her place in the pack and she is just fine with The Dog, so long as he doesn't pull one of his, "Oh, yeah, I'm The Dog, I was here first and I feel like barking at you" things. Because if he does that and gets in her face she swipes at his nose with her very sharp claws. But then he doesn't usually do that again for a while.
  • She likes to hunt. Well, at least, she really enjoys pouncing. You will be walking around, la la la la la, going about your business and all a sudden she will leap out at you and try and grab your legs. It's very disconcerting. And, as I mentioned, she has very sharp little claws.
  • She sleeps with us. And The Dog. And quite companionably, too. Although last night she must have done something to disturb The Dog because he started snarling at her. I think it is because she walked over his head to get at my bedside water glass. Which, btw, eeeewww.
  • She is way more people oriented and friendly than Phoebe (may she rest in peace), who was so unsociable that many of our friends didn't even know we had a cat. This one is quite the opposite. She prefers to sit on a lap or perch on a shoulder and generally be in the room where the most people are. It's quite sweet.
  • She also likes to lick people. Like a dog. Once she perches on you and you start petting her she licks you. She especially likes to lick heads. The Child believes this has to do with the litter that she never brought to term and her deep desire to be a mommy even though she never will be now because she had The Procedure. I think it's because we taste like meat. But it is very funny because one thinks of cats as licking for grooming. That we have one who does it to show affection cracks me up. (Unless I'm right about the meat thing).
  • We intended to keep her as an inside-only cat but she's having none of it. She likes to roam. She comes over to The Neighbor's every night at cocktail hour, which is amusing. She likes to poke around the garden and climb the fence. I don't know how much farther she's gone than The Neighbor's but she comes back so I guess it's ok. I certainly don't mind the whole not-having-a-litter-box-in-the-house thing. BUT I also don't like it because we have coyotes around here and they like to eat cats. So I worry about that. Unless she mistakes them for dogs, swipes their noses with her very sharp claws and gets away in time. Mostly, I try not to think of it and take a que sera attitude about it. Although it would totally suck if she didn't outrun the coyotes. (And I do wish the city would do something about it because it's a little scary to think of these pack animals roaming the streets eating pets. I worry that they'll eat someone's baby). But she's a cat and her catness cannot be stifled. So I just pray to St. Francis a lot.
  • The Cat likes to sleep in very small spaces. She once curled up in a soup plate. She enjoys the basket that contains the TV remotes. The smaller the space, the better. It's quite amusing.
  • She likes to explore. She's fascinated with the dishwasher.
In short, we like her very much. For those of us with a cat inclination, a home really isn't a home without one.

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16 Comments:

Blogger Anne opined...

Does she explore the inside of the dishwasher when it's about to be turned on?

November 19, 2008 7:52 AM  
Blogger Anne opined...

I love kitty stories. I miss my cat, especially this time of year when the varmints come in out of the cold. eeewww.

November 19, 2008 7:55 AM  
Blogger sageweb opined...

Oh I love the kitty update. I miss having a kitty to snuggle with. I do have two neighbor cats that come into my house and eat homers food. They just don't cuddle yet.

November 19, 2008 8:14 AM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

She hasn't tried that yet, Anne, but I wouldn't put it passed her. As for varmints, we're really hoping that her intense desire to pounce and be outside is going to translate into being a mouser. Phoebe was soooo good at that.

Sage, what is it about kitties and dog food? Dang.

November 19, 2008 8:33 AM  
Blogger LostInColor opined...

Thanks for the kitty update! I was wondering how she as doing. :)

November 19, 2008 9:00 AM  
Blogger Sling opined...

She sure is a beauty!
Bailey has gotten into the habit of coming into my room every morning for 'morning pets',and then he ignores me the rest of the day..I like that.

November 19, 2008 9:18 AM  
Blogger TWISI opined...

Lita (dog) loves the inside of the dishwasher also.... not when it is on, at least we haven't tried that.

She also likes to see how close she can get to the neighbors cat, until the neighbor's cat swats her across the nose with her very sharp claws.

November 19, 2008 12:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

Such a cute baby! Two of mine insist on sticking their noses into the refrigerator every time I open the door--and the younger actually jumped inside it more than once.

She came out rather quickly after 30 seconds with the door shut. And yet, jumped in again at the next opportunity.

Silly kitties.

November 19, 2008 2:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

Ba Ha Ha Ha (Note no w)

Invasive species. Seattles coyotes are actually a pretty good example of them as they may threaten the native bird and squirrel populations and certainly wern't here even 50 years ago. And as such should be controlled, although they usually stay close to green belts and parks we know what happens if their population is allowed to expand without control.

Just look what the sealions did to the Gfeen river steelhead run in just a few years. Non left now.

But of course the real reason i mention it is because of the invasion of numerous mushroom species from South and Central America. One of which can kill you after about 2 weeks of not even knowing you are sick.

Sorry about the environmental soap box.

Peace

:+}

November 19, 2008 4:23 PM  
Blogger rosemary opined...

she is adorable, she sounds perfect and she owns you...yup, perfect.

November 19, 2008 4:59 PM  
Blogger Miss Healthypants opined...

That is awesome! *smiles*

And by the way, I wrote about one of our cats today, too...I guess great minds think alike! *grin*

November 19, 2008 6:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

I can tell you the cat has travelled farther than Michelle's. :) I saw her sitting in front on my parents house- at the corner closer to my house. she just sat there almost perched on a rock or something and stared at me as i walked up to their door.
also, i agree about the coyotes- they scare me as does the possibility of what they can do.

November 19, 2008 7:59 PM  
Blogger Willym opined...

Such a sweetheart - I wish we could have a cat but Laurent's allergies... maybe I should turn him in for a cat?

That coyote things sort of scares me... think I'll have a word with St Francis too!

November 20, 2008 3:46 AM  
Blogger Br. Jonathan opined...

Thank you for the feline update!

Actually, Phoebe (may she rest in peace) got in bed with me and let me pet her. Maybe she thought I was a big mouse.

November 20, 2008 4:13 AM  
Blogger Iwanski opined...

I'll trade you. You can take our hissing beast, and I'll take you sweet little cat.

November 20, 2008 3:04 PM  
Blogger more cowbell opined...

what a sweetie. And yeah, what's up with that coyote thing? I was watching that on the news recently, pretty scary. I'm glad the boys are too big for that to be an issue.

November 23, 2008 12:48 PM  

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