Back in January, when we nearly lost Firestar to a severe illness, we transported him in his Kennel Cab. For some time afterward he associated the Kennel Cab with going to the vet, being poked and prodded, being forced to wear a catheter, and a host of unhappy feelings.
He would run away at the sight of it.
The weather is nice now, and we have been spending a lot of time out in the garage preparing for the sale. Firestar hasn't liked it that we have been outside while he has to stay in, so he has taken to letting us know his feelings with an assortment of vocal messages.
This neighborhood is not especially safe for him, especially since we foolishly had one of his primary defense tools taken from him. Firestar is declawed on his front paws. So we don't let him run free outside. But he wants to be there. So we made up a compromise. Firestar can come outside with us - providing he remains in the Kennel Cab.
The first time we did this he wasn't keen on it
(actually, the first time he never made it because he saw the Kennel Cab and ran away) and we brought him back in right off. But it didn't take him long to realize that the Kennel Cab was his ticket to the garage. Now, not only does he not mind being in it, but he will go inside it even when we are all in the house. In fact, it has become his way of telling us he wants to go outside. A very nice arrangement. Very
quiet.
Cats are clever things, aren't they?
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Music to Make the Cats go Wild
Tara - Nick name 'ity-bit' because she's so tiny - just over 6 pounds. She's the most skittish of all my babies and even when being petted has the 'pet me, no don't pet me' look
Amelia - Nickname 'Bratelia' since she gets into every draw, cabinet that she can put her paws in.
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“She’s got tuna. I know she’s got tuna.”
“Shut up, Sethra. Stay on mission.”
“What’s the mission? I thought the mission was to get tuna.”
“No, you stupid fluffbrain—it’s to escape and become outdoor cats, walking by ourselves, on our wild lone, waving our tails.”
“Oh, yeah? And isn’t it you, my dear stripy sister Aliera, who keeps pushing the FEED button on the printer and waiting for tuna to come out?”
“That was when I was much younger. Anyway, she’s at the computer—yes, eating tuna casserole—so we can go into the bedroom and see if we can knock the window screen out.”
“You do it, Aliera. I’d rather mess with her stuff.”
“Will you GET OVER that fixation on her wristwatch?”
“I like the feel of the Velcro on my paws. Hey! That reminds me. We’ve been declawed. How are we going to survive as outdoor cats?”
“New plan coming up….”
“What’s the big deal about being outside cats? Even StalkerCat, who used to hang around and chat us up, is a house cat now and loving it. We’ve got it made—food, petting, toys, valet service for the litter box, and we get to sleep on her bed twenty hours a day. And we can stick our noses up to the window and smell anything interesting going on outside. Why ruin a perfect situation?”
“Sethra, have you no sense of adventure? No curiosity? No cattitude? We were meant to live wild and free, to stalk and slay our prey, to be mistresses of the night!”
“Look, we’re cats. We were meant to rule the world, but that doesn’t mean we have to WORK at it. You can if you want, but I don’t need to. After all, I’M beautiful!
“Did I mention she’s got tuna?”
At 8, you'd think Mikey would understand that he's a carnivore. But, no, he's rather fond of the shrubbery! At 20+ pounds, the veggie-enhanced diet is likely mitigated by a love for long naps on a warm comforter, wet cat food, begging at the table, and a nice lap to drape himself upon in the evening. And he drools when he's happy, which may or may not mean there's a Siamese ancestor lurking in the old dna.
What? Green teeth attract mice!
Who needs a wickerwork basket when you can hop on a cushion and bask?
Rufus is clearly a cat to be reckoned with.
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Firestar is a tough cat. He has to be, living in Minnesota. He takes care of his family: wife, husband and their son. This was recently proven by his daring capture of yet another mouse in the house. Foolish rodents. They never learn. When not engaged in derring do, Firestar naps, looks out the window and sleeps. Firestar was born in April of 2006.
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5 comments:
Clever and beautiful. I love the picture.
I confess that it is semi-posed. He wasn't in it and I wanted to make this post. So, rather than wait for him, I brought him to the Cab and asked him to go in. He did, waiting until I had finished my picture taking before making his exit.
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
What a nice comment! It's a shame it's anonymous or I could visit the commenter's blog.
I wish it wasn't anonymous, but perhaps they don't have a Google account or blog.
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