the kitten chronicles - part 181

The boys yearn for trees. They can see them swaying gently in the breeze out the back door screen. But they can't sink their claws into them and soar to great, lofty perches like the true jungle cats they aspire to be. So they climb indoors ever higher. Rooney climbed to the very top of the kitchen cabinets, up where only mixing bowls live. This confused the old Big Cat. I was trying to close the cabinet and I felt a cat tail in there so I stopped and looked down on the counter - no cat. Then I looked up. The cat tail interfering with the door was coming from above. Rooney grinned at me like the cat in Alice and Wonderland, he was so proud. Then yesterday in a clear case of feline one-up-man-ship Rufus crawled up into the ceiling tiles in the basement (Again? This is now passe) And Rooney alerted me by pacing the floor and mewing. Rufus has a new more dramatic way to wake the Big Cat up, too. He has lain on his side and pummeled the bedroom door with his feet for months now. This, the Big Cat can ignore. So now he hurls all his weight at the giant container full of dried flowers at the top of the stairs and knocks it over. This makes a very big crash. And surprise, surprise the Big Cat comes rushing out the door in a panic. Mission accomplished. xxx dad

the kitten chronicles - part 190

The same old routine gets boring for the boys. Scratch at my door at 6. Downstairs for anti-furball bites. Watch the Big Cat iron his shirt. Try and catch drips in the laundry sink. Sleep. Big Cat home now. Good! Soft food. Then try and eat some of the Big Cat's food. Get thrown repeatedly on the floor. Slink off into the darkness of the living room. Sleep. Repeat. So to break things up they break things up. Sometimes this involves Rooney trying to get as high up as he can. He tries a delicate tightrope walk between the pictures on top of the piano. This is difficult enough without the Big Cat screaming at you at the top of his lungs. Or you might want to increase the skill required by leaping up onto the mantlepiece in the dark. What are these new curios up here? SMASH!!!
More screaming from the Big Cat. Boy, he screams a lot. He really needs an anger management class. Just trying to sharpen your claws in Casa Big Cat gets him screaming. "No, not there!" Actually, "no, not there" applies to everywhere you want to sharpen your claws these days. The Big Cat is constantly cranky. Once, he gave us tuna fish water from the can. That was nice. Ah, memories.
xxx dad

the kitten chronicles - part 189

Bee just pointed out that it is is now a full year since the fur brains came to live with me. We picked up 2 small fluffy kittens last Mother's Day and the rest.. well, the rest has been semi-faithfully reported in this blog. Many pieces of smashed pottery later the boys still reside at Casa Big Cat and I had to grudgingly admit I would miss their company if they weren't around. This weekend one or the other of the boys was missing at various points in the day. Saturday morning I couldn't find Rooney so I started to search the house. No sign. Finally I went up into my bedroom and discovered the curtains lying in a heap on the floor the curtain rod knocked off its holder. I called Rooney and heard a small meow in reply muffled by yards of thick fabric. It turns out Rooney was trapped inside the lining of the curtains and couldn't get out. He'd probably been in there for an hour. When I managed to get him out he ran full speed out of the room and down the stairs no doubt to warn his brother about the cat-eating curtains in the forbidden room. You'd think that would be enough drama for one weekend but Sunday he went missing again and I found him trapped in the hall closet. Imagine this has been going on for a year now. I wouldn't have it any other way. EeK! (formerly a kitten sound from a year ago) xxx dad

the kitten chronicles - part 188

You can teach an old cat new tricks. Well, at least a teenager cat. Rooney's learning curve is accelerating. And this sometimes makes things harder for the wily old Big Cat. This morning I tried the old jingle bell ring to lure him into kitty solitary (Gorrette's coming) But he wasn't completely buying. He stood outside the room and looked in from the hall. Fool me once shame on me. Fool me like over 20 times shame on you, Big Cat. Rooney wasn't budging. So I had to chase him down. This is tricky as he is fast and runs under things to escape. Rufus never fell for the bell even once. On the other hand he doesn't try as hard to get away - he merely provides a token chase and then gives up. So I carry him upstairs open the door to toss him in... and Rooney sees daylight and makes a break for it. Luckily he chose the wrong escape route and ran into my bedroom - much easier to catch in a contained environment. I could see he was cursing his decision as I chucked him into confinement. Next time I go down the stairs Big Cat and you'll never take me alive - you dirty rat! xxx dad

the kitten chronicles - part 187

The cruel reign of Rooney, "The World's Fussiest Interior Decorator" continues. Last night I was quietly watching The Real Housewives of Beirut, or maybe Pittsburgh,( but they were really tanned!) And then CRASH. I rushed into the darkened living room flipped on the lights and there in pieces was Rooney's latest victim - a small jade elephant. Formerly a symbol of good luck. But no more. Rooney was unashamed. He pointed his paw at it as if to say, "All clutter must go." Then of course he ran out of the room as fast as he could go before I could catch him. "Spartan" is how he likes things. Especially the mantle piece. "Too many darn curios", he fumes and then with a casual paw he dispatches the offending bric-a-brac. Oh, he also knocked over Sam's paper angel in a pickle jar - but it missed the floor and it was saved by falling into the wood pile. I do draw the line at him destroying vital childhood memories. That's just going too far. But in his tiny fur brain he's simply doing the world a service. Frankly, I could loan him out to the people who produce the TV show, Hoarders. He'd get rid of the stuff in no time flat. Smash! Crash! Boom! No more hoard. You're free!" Thank you, oh great furry black and white saviour I accumulated all this stuff over an entire lifetime and you liberated me in mere minutes". Wait, there's another crash coming from the Muskoka room - it better not be my bass...xxxdad

the kitten chronicles - part 186

If it were up to Rooney he'd happily be an "only" cat. He figures it would be nice to get 100% of the attention. Not Rufus. He is helpful in finding his brother when the black and white fur-brain gets himself trapped somewhere. Rufus will stand outside the spot where his brother is and meow an alert to help the Big Cat track the errant brother down. Vice versa, not so much? This morning Rufus was nowhere to be found as I was heading out the door. For some reason I thought he had climbed up into the drop ceiling in the basement again. I swear I could hear noises coming from up there - but when I called, no answer. So I questioned his brother who was no help at all- he just lay down on the floor in response to my inquiries trying to get his stomach rubbed. What other cat are you referring to, Big Cat? I know of no other cat... Well, thanks a lot for all the help, mister! Finally, I found Rufus trapped in the front closet and Rooney was crushed he hadn't been able to attain lone cat in the Casa Big Cat status. He sulked off to climb into the basement sink and catch drips. So close, he thought, so close. xxx dad