Scarlett, Chapter 4 - Scarlett Growing up

Scarlett and Kitty settled in to a great relationship and, as expected, Scarlett grew very quickly and was indeed a large kitty.  Both were gray tabby, so they kind of looked like sisters, but Miss Kitty was on the smallish side with very sleek fur and had little other makings other than her tabby stripes.  Scarlett was a bit fluffier and had some white on her belly and feet.  She also had some under her chin.  There were these patches of gold on her, but they were very small, mostly outlining her gray markings and she had tufts of gold and white on her ears.  Miss Kitty's markings all pretty much ran in the same direction, around her body much like a tiger while Scarlett had much bolder markings and the big round patches on her sides. At first they seemed like mother and daughter but this changed as Scarlett grew and became more of a sister relationship after a few months.  Scarlett proved to be very clever at figuring things out.  At first many tasks required a team effort but as she grew she learned to do most things herself.  Together they could open any door in the house, as long as it was not locked.  This caused a good deal of change in the way I did things as I had always left the outside doors unlocked during the day.  The first escape taught me better.  Also, they learned to open the cabinets and chew into the food bags I had under there so I had to start storing all cat food and a lot of other dry goods in hard plastic to keep them out. One other thing that we soon learned with Scarlett.  If you wanted a bath alone, you had to lock the bathroom door.  Otherwise, Scarlett was in the tub with you as soon as she heard the water run!  She was also very curious about tap water and the drains fascinated her.  She would sit and watch as we ran water for various things then try to catch the water as it ran down the drain and out of sight. Non cat people think I am crazy when I talk about cat vocabulary, but cats do have a vocabulary and Scarlett and Miss Kitty were no exception.  One thing I noticed early on was that the vocabularies of the two cats were seemingly totally different.  It was not long, though, before Kitty had learned a whole new group of sounds and the two of them were very vocal with each other and us.  Miss Kitty had always been a very quiet girl before so we were very surprised by the change.. The activity level in the house could be frantic at times with the two of them chasing around and playing.  One day The Kid had come home with a pile of homework and left some assignment sheets lying on my old 1950's Formica table.  The cats were pretty good about staying off things like the kitchen counter tops and the dining table until it was chase time, then all rules went out the window.  Any surface was fair game. I was sitting at the table with The Kid looking over one of the homework sheets when the two of them came bounding down the stairs and zip, Kitty ran across the table top with Scarlett in hot pursuit.  Naturally Scarlett was running as fast as she could when she hit the table top and went leaping after Kitty.  The only problem was, her back feet were sitting on the homework paper, which went flying in the opposite direction of her travel when she tried to jump.  There she was, like a freeze frame in a movie, stretched out her full length in mid-leap but going nowhere.  All she needed was a little red cape and a big red S on her chest!  Cats have facial expressions, contrary to popular belief and right that moment Scarlett had a total look of shock on hers.  Boom!  Down she went right in front of me, landing on her belly with her feet stretched out in both directions.  There was no graceful recovery possible from this humiliating circumstance and Scarlett hated humiliation.  She got up and sat there, blinking, then began the "I meant that" obligatory bath that cats do. My daughter and I were roaring with laughter.  I told her that she had set a great cat trap without meaning to.  Kitty, by this time, was sitting on the floor in front of Scarlett waiting for the game to begin again, and before long they were off on another merry chase.  This time, however, no one came near the table.

Newsflash - I'll Show you!

Since the subject of this blog is what it is, my life with cats, I will be interrupting the story from time to time for things that happen that I feel are interesting or funny.   Last night was a gem of a story, for sure.

Midnight and Smokie are both on a liquid Glucosamine dose daily.  In order to get them to take it, I have been mixing it in to a very tasty canned food that I get at the pet store just for this purpose.  This is the only time they get anything like this food and they both look forward to the evening dosage with great anticipation.

Around sundown, they both start following me around, Smokie being more then nag, meowing constantly and Midnight patting my arm every few minutes.  When I get up and head to the kitchen it is total pandemonium in our cats world until the food is opened, mixed and down in the individual serving dishes for them.  Then all you hear from them is a lot of lip smacking and lapping sound as they devour this 2 teaspoon treat.

Midnight is the older of the two by quite a bit and up until a couple of years ago, he was the alpha cat.  However, time and age has changed his determination and ability to keep his position and Smokie has been trying ever since to take over.  This causes quite a bit of squabbling and I have decided that I am the Queen of the pride and they both must bow to my authority.  This means I have to watch them quite closely when special treats are available to keep Smokie from being a bully and taking Midnight's treat by force.  Things have finally settled into a begrudging calm and Smokie does behave, but they have developed this practice of swapping bowls some nights.  Last night Smokie was not playing by the "rules".  He ate all of his food and when Midnight finished with his bowl, leaving the customary few bites to trade, he discovered only an empty bowl awaiting him on the other side of the room.  Of course Smokie was already settled in eating the last few morsels that were stuck to the side of the bowl by this time.  I was watching but decided not to interferer for the moment to see how they worked it out.  It was not that much food, really. 

Smokie had his back to Midnight and was quite consumed with the job at hand when Mid, very quietly, crept up behind him.  I watched amazed as Midnight, ever so calmly, reached out with his head, grabbed a bit of the fur on Smokie's very bushy tail, and pulled!  I couldn't believe it!  Smokie nearly jumped out of his skin, clearly not expecting anything like this to happen.  He turned around only to see Midnight running off to my bedroom, which is his safe spot.  I have had a lot of cats and more than my share of really smart ones, but I have never seen this kind of behavior in my life.  

Miss Scarlett, Chapter 3 - Scarlett Goes to the Vet

The next morning was a big day for all of us.  It was time to go to the vet, which was to be Scarlett's first check-up, and we were bringing Miss Kitty home to a whole new life with a new kitten.  My daughter wanted to stay home from school, of course, but I told her that things would go better if she went on to school.  She went grumpily out to meet the bus and my husband and I spent the next 20 minutes or so trying to find the cat.  She had been under foot all morning, but now that it was time to go out the door, she had decided it would be a great time to explore behind the furniture and was having a great time being very stealthy.

This drive was a much calmer experience for us than the one the day before had been.  We arrived at the office only a few minutes late.  Our vet was a very experienced doctor who had been practicing in that area for a long time.  He was also on call for the zoo, so was full of wonderful animal stories and usually had lots of pictures of new animals he was working with.  I loved going to see him.

We brought Scarlett in and sat her down.  She played around in the exam room until the Doc came in, then was picked up and put on the exam table.  He looked her over and asked me where we had gotten her.  I related the story of the grocery store, which had him laughing a bit, and then he asked me about the location of the store.  I told him and he said he knew the one.  The exam went well and he gave her a clean bill of health and her shots.

"You know this is probably going to be a big cat, don't you?"  he asked.  I had noticed that her paws were quite large as were her ears so I told him that I kind of figured that.  "She is probably going to want control of the house too.  Do you think Miss Kitty will adjust?"  he asked.  We talked a bit about the fact that Miss Kitty was not a very adventuresome type and that I thought she would be ok, but wondered why he was asking.  It was really to soon to know which of the two would eventually be the queen of the house, at least that is what I though.  He stood there looking at me for a bit with a very odd expression and then seemed to make some kind of decision as his whole mood changed.

"We should get Miss Kitty in here.  She will still be sedated but at least we can see how Scarlett reacts."  He turned and left the room, returning in a short time with a very sleepy Kitty and sat her on the exam table, tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth and looking very loaded.  By this time Scarlett was back on the floor playing so he picked her up and let her see Miss Kitty while he held and petted Scarlett, talking softly to both of them.  Scarlett was a bit curious but showed no sign of aggression.  Miss Kitty was to sleepy to care.

 

It was time for home care instructions, which I expected to get from the nurse but the Doc stayed instead to talk a bit more.  "Put Miss Kitty in the bath tub when you get home." he told us.  "When she is awake enough to jump out, she will be awake enough to not get hurt.  If you have any problems, just give us a call.  We are staffed 24 hours here for emergencies."

We packed up the fur babies and took them home.  Sure enough, within a few hours Miss Kitty did indeed jump out of the tub and come out to greet the new arrival.  I was expecting a lot of activity surrounding the meeting and was concerned for Miss Kitty because of her surgery that morning, but it went very well.  By the time the Kid came in from school, the cats were napping together on the sofa.

I spent the rest of the day wondering what it was that the Doc wanted to say and did not.  I had "that" feeling and as I learned months later, I was correct.

Miss Scarlett, Chapter 2 - Scarlett Meets the Kid

Scarlett's arrival into our lives was far from calm.  I knew that I really needed to confirm her health for many reasons, so I made an appointment with out vet to take her the next day as I was picking up my other cat, Miss Kitty. 

 

The first day with her was an adventure in itself.  This was one of the most confident cats I had ever encountered, even though she was very young.  She explored every inch of out apartment, making sure to mark the box every time she went past it.  She decided that her home was to be the foot of my bed, at least for the moment.  This was good as Miss Kitty was slavishly devoted to our daughter and that room was her safe haven. 

 

My daughter had left for school when the events of the day had started so she was unaware of all that had gone on.  She came home to discover several things.  Her little Miss Kitty was at the vet and there would be no kittens from her, also, Kitty was going to be spayed the next day, which was not a happy thing for my 9 year old.  She REALLY wanted to raise kittens at least once from Miss Kitty, after she knew the possibility existed.  Also she discovered that there was a young kitten sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor evaluating her like one would expect a warrior to examine the enemy for weaknesses. 

 

Scarlett had decided that our home was a fine place for her, but she was not sure about the people.  My husband had gone back to work after having come home to rescue Miss Kitty and I, so he was out of the evaluation process for now.  Our day had started early so by this time she had several hours in our house and was sort of warming to me.  She had followed me for a bit until I got the broom out and then had run under a kitchen chair to watch.  When I got fresh food and water out for her, she came and ate right away but I was still not allowed to touch her.  No growling or hissing, she would simply turn and walk away when she saw me reach for her.  I can not say she had relaxed because she was relaxed the moment her feet hit the kitchen floor and had showed no signs of being otherwise.  It was more of a "learning your environment" process with her.

 

My daughters jaw dropped.  "Where did that come from!" she demanded.  I told her the tale of the grocery store and why I had brought this little one home, which pacified her for a bit, but she was really not happy at the moment.  Welcoming a new family member was not her top priority.  After a peaceful standoff, both the cat and the Kid went off in different directions.  The cat to the food bowl and the Kid to her room without a word to me.  Knowing that I had to give my daughter time to process, I left her be and shortly she came back down, hungry and wanting to see the new kitten.

 

"What have you named her?" she asked.  I thought about it and told her I had not really come up with a name but was wanting to use something that indicated one that was strong and courageous as this kitten was both.  We had watched "Gone With The Wind" in the past days, so the name was the first one we thought of.  It fit, for sure.

 

By this time Scarlett was sitting in front of my daughter looking up.  "Hi Scarlett!" she said and reached for the kitten.  To my great surprise, Scarlett was happy to be picked up.  She even purred!

Miss Scarlett, Chapter 1 - Scarlett's Arrival

New Orleans in the 1970's was a very interesting place to live.  We were on the West Bank, just across the river from the French Quarter.  It was kind of strange where we lived as it was not a rural area yet there were still plenty of wild growth areas and lots of animals.  The grocery we shopped at most often was a very new building and the area surrounding it was still fairly undeveloped. 

One day while shopping, a commotion broke out just behind me and a small streak went running past, right between my feet.  This was followed closely by 3 or 4 (4 or 3 if you are Cajun) men who were store employees and they were shouting things like, " It got back in!" and " Get a box or something to put it in!".  Of course I could not let this go un-investigated, so I followed along right in step with the rest as we made our way straight to the meat counter.

The scene was incredible.  Here was a very young kitten, 3 months old by my estimate, and at least 4 grown men.  The kitten was in the meat counter, guarding a package of hamburger and behaving like any angry, hungry and frightened cat.  This tiny kitten had the four of them clawed up, bleeding and swearing in at least two languages.  None of them wanted to go anywhere near her but they knew they had to get her out of the store so they were trying, and failing I might add, to contain her safely in a box.  I was about to suggest they just step back and allow me to remove her gently when a female employee showed up, flanking the kitten from behind and threw an apron over her.  This woman then picked up the kitten along with her prize and with very little other issue put her in the box and carried the entire thing to the back area of the store while the men were all going for first aid.

Since rabies is a very big issue in the New Orleans area I figured this little kitten's fate was sealed, that it would be sent to animal control for testing.  Imagine my total surprise when I went out after making my purchases and saw this same little kitten sitting on the sidewalk in front of the store trying to eat a cheese and peanut butter snack cracker!  I knew then it was fate, I had to take this baby home.  Somehow she had been spared the certain death I thought awaited her and here she was, it seemed to me, waiting just for me to come along and claim her.  If only I had known.....

Getting from the store to home was an experience in itself.  It took all the resolve I had to rescue this little one as she had other ideas.  She was not in the mood to be picked up and made her disapproval known by wildly clawing and hissing at anything she could see or reach.  I figured she would settle down as soon as she knew I was not intending on hurting her, but that was not to be either.  My husband drove us while I sat in the passenger seat holding my new reluctant baby by her middle, both hands around her belly and all four of her legs were in constant motion.  Front clawing at the carpet and my legs and back rotating like a windmill.  Amazingly she did not manage to claw me up, just made it really hard to hold on to her.  Looking back, I think that was her plan all along.

At home, I was already set up for a cat, complete with food and water down and ready as I had another gray tabby at the time, Miss Kitty.  Poor Miss Kitty was at the vet's having a miscarriage that day.  She had come into heat earlier than I expected, so I had not managed to get her spayed in time and the outcome was not good.  She was young and smallish.  She had gotten out one night as we were taking out the trash and did not show back up, much to the great dismay of my daughter, for 2 days.  In just a few weeks after this event she, obviously pregnant by this time, went into labor prematurely and lost the litter of 13 kittens.  She was recovering and awaiting her surgery the next day so her dry food and water were still down, just waiting for the arrival of Miss Scarlett.

As soon as I managed to get inside the house with my new little ball of fury everything clamed down.  I sat her down and she went straight to the food bowl and began eating as if she had always been here and this was her bowl.  No fear, no nervousness, nothing you expect when bringing a new cat into a house where other cats live.  This was claimed as hers now and she had all the confidence in the world in her rulership of her new home.  Miss Scarlett had arrived and was now in control.

Personality Plus

I am 61 years old and I have had cats in my life for most of it. Some of the things I have learned over the years are:
No matter how long you spend trying, you can never truly understand them.
Cat personalities are at least as unique to each cat as human personalities are to each individual.
They are very, very intelligent.
They enrich your life in ways that no other creature can.
If you have a stubborn, cranky cat, they are not likely to change no matter how old they get. (other than to get worse)
Part of what you love about them so is the fact that they are so independent and do not worry about showing you just how they feel.
You may not always agree with what they are telling you. LOL

By far my most opinionated, unusual and smart kitty was a tabby I found while living on the West Bank of New Orleans, in Terrytown. She was very appropriately named Miss Scarlett, and like her namesake, she could be a handful. Introducing you to her and telling her story will take at least a couple of posts, so next post I will tell you the story of how she came to live with us.

What a way to wake up!

If there is one thing I know for sure today, it is that I am a kitty -mom. I say this with mixed feelings at the moment. don’t get me wrong, I love my boys and would not be without them, however, there are days when I doubt my sanity because of this.

My 14 year old, Midnight, stays in my room with me most nights and is a bit of a challenge to deal with occasionally. Aren’t we all, right? He has lost some teeth so he can only eat soft food. Since I feed them on dry, this means I need to wet meal sized amounts for him when he is hungry and this could be at any time, day or night. He lets me know he is ready to eat by visiting me with a gentle tap on the arm, but if this does not work, he gets much more aggressive very quickly. I am a heavy sleeper, once I can finally get to sleep. This is not a good combination. More than a few times a week I am awakened by a 12 pound cat jumping on my chest and then, ever so gently, patting my chin. (Yes, Midnight, I am FULLY awake now!)

Today was one of those days, or so it seemed. I woke up to a cat on my chest for sure, but this time he was not patting my chin or watching my eyelids from 2 inches away. Instead he was acting distressed and was very cranky to say the least. I got up and headed straight to the bathroom, following the cat. He jumped in his box and then backed right back out, ran over to my bed and immediately squatted! I ran and grabbed him, returned to the bathroom and shut us in, placing him at the door of his box. He started in again and then backed out, giving me a dirty look. I looked inside and sure enough it had 1 spot that needed to be cleaned out. I could tell by the size, placement ant the fact that it was not buried that this was from the OTHER cat, Smokie. OK., I scraped the box out, added a bit of new litter and plopped Midnight in to do his job. I went back to bed. Silly me.

Midnight came bounding out of the bathroom at this point screaming like the demons were chasing him, sat down and began to drag his butt in a long arch across my carpeted floor. It seems that he was having some constipation issues. I jumped up and tried to grab him which caused him to run and hide in the one place where he knows nothing can touch him. Behind the headboard of my (queen sized) water bed, where he sat howling. I went to find something to encourage him to come out and as soon as he could not see me any longer, he ran out and began trying his carpet assisted poop removal again, dragging ANOTHER long streak. Thank goodness for Simple Solution and Oxy Clean! I WE went on a chase again and this time I managed to catch him. I took him to the bathroom with a hand full of paper towels and was trying to do several things at once.

1) Hold this really ticked off cat steady.
2) Not git bitten
3) Figure out how to help him with his problem
4) Try not to hurt him in the process

I was able to see at this point that the main cause of the problems was stuck to the fur on his backside and was easily removed. However there was still a small amount that needed to pass naturally. My plan was to shut him in the bathroom (tile floor and a box for him) and check on him. He did not share my plans, though. As soon as I opened the door he shot out of the bathroom, ran back to my bed and squatted again. This one was anger at me, I do think.

I managed to get him and put him back in the box and he came back out in a reasonable but hungry mood. I was busy scrubbing my floors when he emerged and demanded wet food. I went to the bowl (it is in my bedroom too) and there was my second surprise of the day. ANTS! Hundreds of them!

So, I am sitting now in my pajamas, typing to you, looking for a little sympathy and hoping to give you a laugh. My room is VERY clean. It is also bounded in boric acid and there are no ants. Because of all the disinfectant smell, I will possibly sleep on the sofa tonight. Midnight is sleeping on my bed like nothing happened, but I have given him a good dose of hairball treatment. Hopefully the rest of the day will be a lot less interesting.

 Midnight sleeping on my bed.