Tag: kittens

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Happy Birthday Anabel and Sally!

When I adopted Anabel and Sally last June, I was told that they were seven weeks old. That meant they would have been born on Cinco de Mayo.  Works for me!  That is an easy-to-remember date and there is already motivation to celebrate.  So, this past weekend, we celebrated the kitten’s first birthday. Happy birthday Anabel and Sally!

Now apparently calculating cat years isn’t quite as straightforward as dog years.  It is said that the first two years of a cat’s life are equal to 25 people years, then every year after that is around 4 people years.  They certainly do mature quickly because their kitten making equipment was just about ready to go by the time that they were fixed, and they were not-quite even five months old then.

  • Anabel, 7 weeks old

According to this online calculator (don’t you love the internet, it really does have everything), the kittens are the equivalent of 15 in people years.

Fortunately, they don’t behave like teenagers.  But Mr. Man and I have noticed that they are acting much more like cats than kittens over the past few weeks.  Sometimes Sally can’t be bothered to run to greet whoever is at the door or monitor our showers because he is too busy napping or looking out the window.

They are still sweet little loves though; thank goodness they didn’t develop big cattitudes as they grew up!

I feel a sense of relief that we managed to keep these precious, little, baby kittens so sweet and loving.   That we didn’t turn them into aloof, difficult cats. They are healthy and comfortable and nice to be around, and they bring immeasurable happiness to my and Mr. Man’s lives.  Cinco de Mayo may well be my favorite day to celebrate from now on.

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Anabel is a Daddy’s Girl

Recently, Mr. Man went off on a dirt adventure for a few days and left me at home all alone with the kittens.  Which is really no big deal, it is a lot like every day except including nighttime.

But Anabel was not happy about it at all.

She spent all day every day sitting in his desk chair.  She barely got up to eat and after, would go right straight back to her spot.  She didn’t want me to pet her or pick her up.  She didn’t even want to play, and Anabel always loves to play.

At night, I usually go to bed first, then Sally, then Anabel, then Mr. Man.  When he was away, Sally would come to bed with me like normal, but Anabel would just spend all night in Mr. Man’s chair. I had no idea that she was such a daddy’s girl.

Finally, on the evening of day three, she came out to the living room and hung out with me for a little bit (maybe 30 minutes) then back to her vigil.  The next morning, she seemed to be getting over it finally.  Either that or she knew that he was coming home that day.  She followed me around a bit and talked to me and let me brush her.  I was relieved that she was starting to act normal again.

That night, I went to be, Sally came to bed, then Anabel came to bed and eventually Mr. Man did too.  But what I really want to know is: if she only is going to come to bed when he’s home, why doesn’t she sleep on his side of the bed?

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Sally is a Golf Fan

We’re a golf household.  Mr. Man is an excellent golfer.  I am a hack golfer, but I enjoy playing.  The kittens have a golf ball that they like to play with in the house (they can’t throw it, so they aren’t going to break anything with it).  And we like to put the golf tournament on the TV on the weekends.

Some golf tournaments are more can’t miss TV than others.  The Masters is one of them.  Augusta is one of the most beautiful golf courses that I have ever seen. Since I’ve only ever seen it on television, I can’t imagine how stunning it is in real life.

So, the other weekend, we had the Masters on and by the end of play on Saturday it had gotten really interesting.  Tiger Woods, Francesco Molinari, and Tony Finau were playing in the final group on Sunday (the leaders play last).  Tiger who?  Remember back in the day, there was this golfer named Tiger Woods who turned the golf world on its head?  Yeah, him.

Ok, so here’s the Kitten Tuesday part of this story:

When the kittens very first came home, I had them out in the front room while the U.S. Open was on.  They were both very interested in the golf tournament or at least seemed to actually be looking at the television that day.  It was good to know that I had brought home natural golf fans.

Since then Anabel has been more interested in watching TV than Sally.  She seems to like football and hockey but mostly she likes the sports ticker at the bottom of the screen.  She will jump up and sit in front of the TV and try her darnedest to catch that scrolling ticker.

Back to the Masters.  Its Sunday, Tiger Woods is in the lead and getting ready to tee off on the 17th hole.  Sally, for the first time ever, jumps up and sits in front of the TV.  He was watching Tiger Woods!

Now, it’s hard to say whether Sally just likes Augusta, or Tiger’s Sunday red & black, or if he is a true Tiger fan. I think he may be more interested in the big tournaments and great come back stories than week-to-week play.  We will have to keep an eye on him during the US Open to find out.

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Kitten Day Dreams

After I wrote about the kittens’ nighttime sleeping routine, I began cataloguing where they sleep during the day, the locations of kitten day dreams. 

Even though they have the run of the house, there are around a half-dozen places where they are most likely to be found during daytime naps.  This simplifies kitten inventory.  Yes, I will go around the house at least once a day making sure that I can locate both kittens. Even if all of the windows are closed and no one has gone outside.  Do I think they have gotten out?  No, not really.  They are very good about waiting at the door but not trying to get out.  But one of them has accidentally gotten stuck in my closet at least once and the thought of having to clean up what could happen if a kitten is trapped in there for too long gives me nightmares.

They still really like the front room which was the kitten nursery when they first came home.  That room gets a lot of sun and is always warmer during the day; I like hanging out in there too.  There are a bunch of nice little kitten-sized nap spots that they will rotate through over the course of a day.  One of Anabel’s favorites is a basket full of blankets.

I keep their travel crate open on the floor next to my desk.  When they very first came home, they would go back in there to sleep, it was their safe place.  The vet encouraged me to leave it out and open for them; if there is an emergency of some sort, it will be easily accessible, and they will be used to it.  Anabel doesn’t really use it anymore, but after I have been sitting at my desk for a bit, Sally will head in there and sack out for the day.

Sally also has a wicker chair that is HIS chair.  Anabel likes to sleep on Mr. Man’s desk chair.  Once, he was gone for three days and she barely moved.

There is also a sort-of perch that Mr. Man created for them that consists of a crate, covered with a towel, on top of an end table.  This is a favorite place for both of them, it is usually just a matter of who claims it first.

I like that I rarely find them hiding out under furniture.  Occasionally Anabel will go hide out under the futon.  Unlike Emma, whose default was under the bed, that is the last resort place to look for Anabel.

When I used to work at the dining table, they would keep my company by taking their naps in there.  They both had their designated chairs and after they took a lap across the table to inspect my materials, they would retire to their designated chairs.

I have yet to catch either of them napping in the living room.

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Cat Scratchers

As any cat caretaker knows, giving kitty somewhere to scratch is not only important for the cat’s happiness, but for the survival of one’s people furniture.  Finding the right cat scratcher however, is not as straightforward as it seems like it should be.

Traditional cat scratchers are generally rather monstrous, unattractive, and expensive.  And it is not uncommon for cats to completely ignore these monstrosities.  I feel like I should invest in one because it would give my little furry loves a fun place to climb and nap and scratch, but they are just so awful.

These days, there is a whole other category of chic cat scratchers that are generally minimalist and not covered in shag carpeting.  Unfortunately, these are also usually even more expensive, and I can’t seem to bring myself to rationalize the splurge.

Fortunately, there is another style of cat scratchers that I find satisfactory functionally as well as budgetarily – the cardboard cat scratcher.

When these first started coming out, they were usually just a flat rectangle of bias-cut cardboard.  These days, there seem to be all sorts of new shapes and larger sizes available at my favorite discount home furnishings store.  I must not be the only fan.

Most importantly, Anabel and Sally are also fans of the cardboard cat scratcher.  We have quite an assortment and at least one of them will use at least one every day.

I saw a tutorial online about how to make your own cardboard cat scratcher.  It involved cuttings many, many strips of cardboard, then gluing them together.  Sort of like making your own butcher block.  And much like making your own butcher block, although it is not particularly complicated and would be extremely budget friendly, I still have no interest in attempting it.

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Sleeping Beauties

News flash: cats sleep a lot.

Ok, not actually news at all.  As I sit here writing, I am surrounded by sleeping kitties and it made me think about how funny they are about where and when they sleep.

Of course, there are daytime sleeping spots and nighttime sleeping spots.  And while in some ways it seems like they will sleep anywhere, Anabel and Sally can be fairly particular about their nighttime sleeping spot.

Both kittens come to bed with us at night.  Sally knows when bedtime is and he will sometimes beat me there.  Anabel likes to wait until no one is looking and then she comes to bed too.  Neither of them snuggle with us though.  They both sleep down by my feet. 

I used to have a blanket on top of the duvet.  One night, Sally started going crazy and was attacking the blanket.  He would scratch and bite at it.  I kept throwing him off of the bed and throwing him out of the bedroom, but he kept coming back (no, I didn’t close the door because…cats) and raging at it.  Mr. Man was not happy.  Finally, I took the blanket off of the bed and then he was fine.  He had just been upset with the blanket.

The kittens resumed their nighttime sleeping position.  It was a tenuous detente because I was worried that at any moment Sally would get mad at the duvet and attack my new down comforter.  At some point during the next few days a sweatshirt or something wound up on the foot of the bed.  The kittens made a point of sleeping on top of it; Anabel seemed especially happy about it, so I left it.

After a bit, Sally started getting mad at that shirt too.  Yikes!  Ok, let’s put that in the hamper.  How about if I get a clean shirt out of the drawer?  Oh, he likes it!  Happy kittens, phew.

So, now we have a system where I leave a t-shirt out on the foot of the bed for the kittens to sleep on.  Every few days I switch it out for a clean shirt.  The kittens love their spot and we haven’t had any more incidents with trying to kill the bedding.

On one hand, I really would like to be able to sleep with my legs stretched out.  One the other hand, when I wake up in the morning, I find adorable snuggling kitten vignettes that make my heart overflow with happiness like the bubble run-off of a poorly opened bottle of champagne.

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Manifesting Kittens

I may have already told you a version of this story, but stick with me here, it’s about to get weird.

We had put down both of our cats, Emma and Clementine, in about a six-month period.  We loved them both very much and this was the first time for both of us of being grown-ups and having to go through that.  Mr. Man was very adamant that he didn’t want any more pets.  I wasn’t so sure, but I wasn’t in a hurry.

Anyway, one weekend when I was traveling up to go to the ballet with my mom and sister, I was sitting on the airplane, flipping through Vogue and daydreaming.  There was a story about the private club in London, Annabel’s, which was going through this fantastic renovation.  The photo of the dining room that was all done in this fantastic floral pattern really caught my eye.  And I thought to myself, Anabel (with one “n”) would be a nice name for a cat.

As I indulged in this daydream, it got really specific: I would get a kitten that looked like a little Clementine (brown tabby Maine Coon).  I would name her Clementine II and call her Tutu for short.  Then, I would get another fluffy, brown tabby kitten, but this one would have some white on her.  I would name her Anabel and call her Belly for short.  They would be sisters and grow up together and get along and we would all live happily ever after.

I was so happy about my plan!  I put in my order with my animal rescue friend because I knew that she would have access to all sorts of wonderful kittens and also because I knew that I would be better able to stick to my plan if I wasn’t going kitten shopping myself.

It was around four months later when she sent me a photo of this precious little tabby/white kitten with the sweetest little booboo face.  It was my Anabel!  She had a tabby littermate, but he was a boy.  Mr. Man had already put the kybosh on naming a cat Clementine II, so I wasn’t that worried that he didn’t look too much like Clementine.  The rest is history.

Ok, so here is the weird part: maybe three or four weeks later, after I had brought Anabel and Sally home and everyone was all settled in, I was changing purses and I pulled out my old make-up bag.  I had bought this thing probably at least three years ago, maybe longer.  It had Anabel’s face on it!  Ok, not EXACTLY, but close enough.  I hadn’t really used it much, certainly not recently.  It was a very weird moment.  Was I subconsciously manifesting kittens based on objects that I already had around me?  Or was it just a coincidence?

Is there a moral to this story?  Be careful what you bring into your life?  Little things can lead to bigger things?  Only buy make-up bags with cute kittens on them? It’s hard to say…

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Cat Careers

You guys thought I was kidding about “Take Your Cat to Work Day.”  I wasn’t.  There are so many examples of cats who have been successful in a wide variety of fields.  Here are a few examples of cat careers (in no particular order):

Bookstore cats

When I was a little girl, there was this great bookstore in our neighborhood.  It was the kind of place with piles of books on the floor, hot tea and places to sit.  The bookstore also had a cat who would wander around and make sure that everything was in good order.

It turns out that bookstore work is a huge industry for cats.  The Electric Lit website has a great list of Instagram-able bookstores cats.  It has been several years since I have been to Ojai, but I am disappointed that I did not meet Princess Reya while purr-uzing at Bart’s Books.

Train Station Cats

The Kishi train station in Japan had a cat stationmaster named Tama who started running the station in 2007.  Tama had two feline assistant station masters: Miiko and Chibi.  Together, the three cats turned the train station and town of Kishi into a popular tourist destination.

*Nekonomics is the term to describe the positive economic impact of cat mascots.

The King’s Cross station in the UK also has a station cat in residence, PC (Police Cat) Tizer.  Tizer is the Chief Mouser of the station and has his own office.  In addition to his mousing duties, Tizer also helps to keep up the morale of the human employees of the station.

Hotel cats

The Algonquin Hotel in New York City has had a cat in residence since the 1930s.  The current cat-in-residence is Hamlet VIII.  Since the hotel began the tradition, there have been eight Hamlets (named after the signature role of actor and famous resident, John Barrymore), and three Matildas. 

Yoga cats

I think that cat yoga will surpass goat yoga in popularity one day soon.  Cats make great yoga helpers.  When I was regularly doing yoga at home, my Emma cat would come to help me.  She would lay under me when I was in downward dog and I would have to step over her to lunge or whatever.  Basically, she ensured that I was practicing with mindfulness because I had to move slowly and carefully around her.

The last time that I attempted yoga at home, Anabel made a point of getting up from her nap to help me in the same way.  I didn’t even have to ask her!

Police cats

A police cat  known as Pawciffer Donut works at the Troy, Michigan police station.  Pawfficer Donut is on the public relations beat, her main responsibilities include growing and entertaining the department’s Twitter following as well as bringing happiness to people who find themselves at the police department.

The Kyoto, Japan police station also has a pawciffer.  His name is Lemon.  Among his many important duties, Lemon makes calls with his fellow human officer to help put witnesses at ease.

Politician Cats

Talkeenta, Alaska elected a cat named Stubbs mayor.  Named for his lack of a tail, Stubbs served in this capacity from 1997 until his death in 2017.  He was however, not the only politician cat.

A cat named Sweet Tart was elected mayor of Omena, Michigan in 2018.

Hank the Cat ran against Tim Kaine for Virginia’s Senate seat in 2012.  He received nearly 7,000 votes, coming in third in the race.

A black and white tuxedo cat named Morris, ran for mayor of Xalapa, Mexico in 2013. And another tuxedo cat, Tuxedo Stan, was a candidate for mayor of Halifax, Novia Scotia, in 2012.

Museum Cats

The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia has a staff of 50-75 cats (reports vary).  Unfortunately, the cats no longer wander the galleries as they once did, but they do have their own kitchen and hospital on-site.

When I worked at the Long Beach Museum of Art, we had cats on the property.  There was a mama cat and her four kittens that I used to see pawtroling the grounds in the evenings.

Clearly, cat careers are a large and under-appreciated sector of the workforce.

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Take Your Cat to Work Day

I recently found out that my friend took her cat with her to her office one day (she’s the boss, it’s ok) which is pretty much one of the greatest things that I have ever heard.  We were talking about how there should be a national “Take Your Cat to Work” day and then how it should really just be every day, much in the same way that national Margarita day should.

One great thing about working from home is that I do have my kittens at work with me.  Every day is take your cat to work day in my life.  And they are very good helpers.  They both have their spots and when I settle in to start working on my writing, they go to their designated places nearby and get hard to work on their mid-day sleeping.  It actually makes me feel like I need to stay at my computer and be productive because they are making a point of keeping me company after all.

Many years ago, the gal that I worked with suggested that we get an office cat.  It was just the two of us and we were both cat lovers; it was an intriguing idea.  The only problem was what were we going to do on weekends and holidays?  Both of us already had cats at home who were not likely to appreciate company, even if it was only part time.  Around that time, Mr. Man gave me a pair of kitty stuffed animals who sufficed as our office cats.

Here are a few of the great benefits of having your cat help out at work (that I just made up):

  • They make a great paperweight.
  • Cats are good at filing (if you use the floor as your filing system).
  • Free notary and paper shredding service.
  • The heat generated by your computer doesn’t go to waste.
  • I once had an office in an old building that had mice – that wouldn’t be a problem if I had an office cat.
  • Cats are a good judge of character, they could help with interviews and client meetings.
  • Prevents you from having to meet with people who think they are allergic to cats.
  • Getting up to pet the cat ensures that breaks are taken.  Petting cats is also proven to relieve stress and can help to generate great ideas.
  • Reduces absenteeism – workers would miss seeing the cat more than they would want to miss work.

Places that are open 24-7 (or at least every day) like police stations, firehouses, and hotels are good venues for live-in workplace cats.  Other workplaces like shops and offices would probably require a commuter cat – one who is brought to work in the morning and taken home at night, like when my friend took her cat to her office.

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Bathroom Privacy

Any cat parent knows that bathroom privacy doesn’t exist.  Beyond the usual, don’t you dare close that door behavior, Anabel and Sally are very interested in the shower on a daily basis.  Most days, when I open the shower curtain, I find Sally sitting on the bathmat waiting for me.  If he was distracted when I went in, he will come running when he hears me getting out.  He examines all of the drips and once I’ve toweled off and stepped out of the tub, he hops in to inspect it.  It really is too bad that he can’t hand me my towel.

Sometimes Mr. Man closes the door.  If Anabel is keeping tabs on him, she will sit outside of the bathroom door and cry and cry and cry.  If Sally is keeping tabs on him (they take turns), he has a door opening technique.  He will sit up on his back legs and use his front paws to push at the door – it is sort-of like speedbag boxing.  If the door isn’t firmly latched closed, he can get it open; it’s worked many, many times on my closet door.

The other day, both kittens were supervising while I showered.  Anabel was sitting on the edge of the tub and Sally just outside on the mat.  After I dried off, I closed the door partway to hang up my towel.  One thing that the kittens like less than being closed out of the bathroom is being closed in the bathroom.  I try to close it sometimes when it isn’t kitten bath day just to switch it up on them, but it’s too late.  They think that the closed door mean they are getting a bath.

Because of the placement of the vanity and the door, even when the door is ajar, there is not enough room to get out at ground level.  So, as they noticed that the door was closing, they tried to run out.  It was great to watch them panic, then start to problem solve.  Sally jumped up on the counter, then out the door.  Anabel noticed that her brother had left and was about to follow in his footsteps, but Sally went ahead and pushed the door open for her.  What a gentleman.