Leaving the Baby

Well I'm leaving my baby soon. I have a vacation coming up and Gemini will have to fend with the other cats with the cat sitter. She loves my cats but this is a new thing for the baby cat. She hasn't been real friendly with new people, so of course, this gives me another reason to worry about her.

Still, Georgia is used to this routine about once six months (for a recurring seminar) and then one other time about every two years so she can guide the new cats through it. She knows the pet sitter well and they should be fine. Of course, I can still worry, can't I?

Cat Exercises

Okay cats don't need to do exercise. They are naturally way more flexible than any human I have ever seen. Mine at least go running around like crazy and never even get winded.

Gemini loves it when I work out on the floor. She likes to play with my hair when I do sit ups. She likes to bat at my feet while I do leg lifts. She was appalled the day I picked her up while I did my situps, using her as a mini weight ball! She's never come quite that close again. I still feel kitten toes in my hair, but she'll run if I try and reach out and grab her during this particular phase of the work out.

This silly kitten also likes to prance across the top of the Nordic Trak while I walk. I worry that she'll fall off but she never does.

I wonder if she wonders why exactly I am doing this stuff with my body. Does it occur to her while I do my wall sits that there is no chair and this is an odd thing for a person to do? Does she think I look silly doing my leg lifts or does she just think it's a normal thing that I, as a much larger, creature do when I have the urge?

I wonder...

Two out of Three

Okay so here we have two cats of three... now where's Gemini?!

I guess she likes to be the star, eh?

My Audience

I used to have one cat, my lovely lilac point Siamese who would follow me into the bathroom and sit on my lap. Okay. Gemini does this now sometimes too, especially late at night. Perhaps she gets lonesome?

However I hate it when you go into the bathroom and all three cats come in and watch. Do I stand there and watch them in the litter box? NO. So why do they not offer me the same courtesy? Bringing this up with them had no effect. They continued to look at me as if I were the insane one for talking to a group of cats while sitting half naked on a toilet seat.

I considered that the next time I heard one of the in the litter box I could watch them and see how they liked it, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort. My luck, it would put them off the litter box and then who knows where they would go?

Once again, the cats have me cornered...

BARF diets and other food musings

It's tough to write when the cats are having times when they actually behave in ways that seem normal enough to humans. Fortunately I have no doubt that such a time won't last and they'll be back to their old tricks.

This weekend I tried making up my first batch of BARF diet.. yes, I belief it's something like biologically appropriate raw food for cats... BARF. That's something I can get my teeth into and really makes me want to feed my cats this. But I got some Instincts from my vet and whipped up a batch with the raw foods they recommend on the package. I have enough for 14 1/2 cup servings.

Gemini thought the Instincts mix part was great until I added in the raw meat. Chey is the only one who really likes it but Georgia eats a bit of it. Gemini doesn't get that it's food yet. I don't understand this cat. I'm not sure I'm up to making a raw food diet regularly particularly when the youngest cat won't eat it at all.

Having worked in a veterinary clinic back in the day when you fed one food and one food only (because it was better nutritionally) this new concept of varying the diet so that they don't get too much of any one thing and or not enough of any one thing is quite new. Still I have hope that it will work. My large orange cat, Ingold lived to be 16 (nearly seven of those years post cardiomyopathy diagnosis) and he always shared whatever I ate as well as having cat food. I don't recommend Taco Bell regularly but he was a big fan of their bean burritos and it didn't upset his digestion at all. I figure if you can eat junk and be happy and live that long, if I just keep trying to feed the cats a variety of good foods, we should be on the right track.

Cat Routines

I am coming to realize that I love this little cat. I love the look of her paws, the sound of her little mew and the way she moves.

I am also coming to realize that I can only say these things so many times before I am repeating myself.

Why did I start this? To write about something that was constantly on my mind and a big part of my life. I thought I could always talk about my cats. Lately, they've come to just sleep (not when I am) eat (preferably my food) and play the same old games (but only when it's inconvenient).

Cats are perverse creatures in that they have their own times and own ways of doing things. Right now, Gemini is no longer bouncing off the walls and ceilings. She's snoozing more, annoying the Siamese more and being a sweet little thing. I wonder how long that will last?

The Snooze Button

Cats need to come with a snooze button or perhaps a reset button.

Being awakened half an hour before the alarm goes off the first time with either a meow or, better still, a cat pouncing on me chasing after another cat is getting irritating.

I wonder if I typically set myself to get up a half an hour later than what I usually do will mean that they will wake me at the time I need to get up? How do you reset the cat alarm?