cats, cats & more cats

Wednesday, February 19, 2014












Virgil lounging with orange Mama* / Oliver inspecting the stairwell renovation / BleeNessie loves mini pink roses / my office mate / itty bitty hairless Betty / Creative Director extraordinaire / brothers / the chocolate brown nest aver les chat / handsome / a welcome & constant fixture at the teak topped desk / upstairs hallway with cat penthouse & dog lounging look-out chair

Human beings are drawn to cats because they are all 
we are not — self-contained, elegant in everything they do, relaxed, assured, glad of company, yet still possessing secret lives.

Pam Brown

Oh my ! the dramatics psycho-dynamics of the 4 cat household, especially with the introduction of one petite drama queen  female cat - Miss itty bitty Betty. Remember dear Lulu (otherwise known as Squawk-a-molĂ© for her tendency to "meow/yell" at everyone - the boys & me. She was bossy !). Well Betty's got a little bit of a Lulu attitude which drives Virgil and especially Oliver to behave like 12 year old school boys, a-tauntin' and a-teasin' itty bitty whenever & however they can, the more she squawks & hisses the bigger rise they get out of "miss squawk-amolĂ©" junior, the more it eggs them on and I will admit that, yes, Oliver is the ring leader. Doug is Papa and the protector of all itty bitty cats, so Betty runs to Papa. Oliver gets in shit, Virgil escapes to his subterranean domain the basement and dear sweet Bleet stays out of it completely and hangs with his dog Sam - Bleet thinks he is a dog, but that's another story. And I have to remind Doug that Oliver is a cat, and a cat who's convinced he is running this joint 29 Black Street. He believes he is top cat, top dog, top top - so it's only natural that he feels the need, several times daily, to intimidate and harass itty bitty (insert mildly frustrated eye roll here).

Our vet is convinced that the cat bullying may be only one factor in itty bitty Betty's excessive, obsessive grooming & hair loss (see radiator photo No. 5) I'm still threatening to knit her a few tubes ;-). It might also be caused by winter (and her reduced outdoor time for hunting, carnage, killing & roaming), hence boredom, hormonal changes (she was spayed in May after having at least 3 litters of kittens), & her catnapping move to a new home … it's funny she doesn't appear nervous or skittish at all although she does give Oliver a wide berth and if Oliver bugs her she runs quickly into the arms of her ever protective Papa as needed ;-)

Who knew ?? + we're feeding another new cat, a velvety grey and white male un-neutered who we feed twice daily at the kitchen window cat-drive-through sill, we call him Al and he's definitely jonesing to come inside, he's been working his charm on Papa - just what we need 4 boys, 1 female + Sam & Winnie

* we call this vivid orange, bath mat like, nubbly, throw/pillow cover, a second had find, Orange Mama because both Virgil & Betty go into a drooling, loud purring, kneading madly, trance like state as soon as they arrive on this fav window sill spot ;-)

7 comments:

  1. We have plenty of cat drama with just our two! Moments where Mei Mei will let Lu Lu groom her to full on hissy fits and faux attacks. Mostly they lead parallel lives with their own preferred territories
    I love that you're taken in so many that needed a home!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gorgeous photos of all of your cats dear Susan. There is definitely a 'pecking order' in a household of more than one cat. Lily is the dominant female here, when Bob wants to play or get near her she hisses then takes out her frustration on poor Emily. That is the main cause of Emily's over-grooming. Bob and Emily get on just fine. All of my cats have been neutered. I hope Itty Bitty Betty will be OK.
    Love to all
    xoxoxo ♡

    ReplyDelete
  3. loving the cat drive in window sill!! Do you "super size" anything on the menu?! woof~moose

    ReplyDelete
  4. I knew a cat post would bring out "les commenters" ;-).

    Hi Sweet Marie yes a perfect description "hissy fits & faux attacks" + lots of puffing from the boys ;-)

    Dianne I do think your dear god cat Betty is fine + she is extremely spoiled (and over protected) by her Papa. I of course take Oliver's side in this feline dispute I do reprimand him when we hear the "squawk & hiss" and usually find him running away all puffed up like a raccoon. I do believe he thinks "tormenting" Betty just a bit is in his COO job description. Virgil only does it occasionally as his approach to all things in life is "aloofness & keep 'em guessing"

    Moose we haven't super sized our menu yet but it's an on demand dry/wet food and a bowl of fresh water - we mainly have 2 regular guests - Bruce and Al Junior (mentioned into today's post) we occasionally have Jim and Al Senior (very obliviously the Dad of Al Junior). Next up is taking a few of these abandoned/feral boys in to be neutered ;-)

    Here is a very fascinating documentary from the BBC about the secret lives & territories of cats - only the British would go to such lengths, they do so love their cats.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2c5SE_wYp8

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, the drama!

    So is Orange Mama the nubbly pillow cover or the pillow + pillow cover?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good question John - I suspect Orange Mama is just the nubbly orange throw but the added "cozy factor" of the pillow beneath it, plus the drawn curtain for privacy only adds I think to the overall maternal effects.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your house and your heart are plenty big enough to house another kitty. They make life interesting and lower your blood pressure when you stroke them. Win - win.

    ReplyDelete

Hey ! We LOVE comments here at 29 Black Street.
Thanks for stopping by.