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!

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.