The cubs got a long beautifully this weekend. In a clinical terms they have been displaying all the signs of being “preferred associates” including occasional allogrooming. (Miles to Timber; she almost NEVER licks him). Timber is also becoming less inclined to flee at the first sign of obtrusion by Miles. I even witnessed him planting his two front feet into her abdomen (ouch!!) while glaring and hovering over her, ears flattened. I don’t know how this stand off would have ended had I not shooed him away. I was terribly proud of her for not surrendering her spot!!
Miles realizing he has failed to maximize his potential to be a nuisance by merely sitting.
There’s a bee who lives in here; Miles could get pricky paw!
This is their wicked plan to escape; you go left, I’ll go right - run for it! Between the two of them it is impossible to relax in the backyard. Timber finally got up the nerve to jump the fence just yesterday. Lucky for us she jumped into the one yard I have access to - on three sides there are inaccessible yards.
What starts with “treat” and ends with me getting my treat? (That thing he’s doing with his paw while he’s sitting down is “shake”, his favorite trick. In this video though he’s just getting a freebie!)
Mom and dad just got a FLIP! video recorder that we’ve been harassing the cubs with all week! Here we have Timber and Miles in the back yard on a sunny afternoon wearing their “charisma”. They each have a personalized security package for when we go outside. Most importantly of course, they NEVER go outside alone. Timber’s flares includes microchip, collar, Red Dingo ID tag in Mauve Sleeping Cat, giant day-glo bell and reflectors. Miles flares include microchip, day-glo harness, leash, collar, Red Dingo ID tag in Green Fish Bones, two bells and the fear of god (instilled by my irrational fear of losing my cat).
I just received current photos of Miles’ litter mates Exoticrose Catalina and Grand Champion Exoticrose Pinball Wizard. Well, we love our furry son but Miles is no Pinball Wizard. This cat makes Miles look like a little girl! In fact,
Pinball Wizard is what Miles might look like if he still had his.
Miles gifted Dad an (antique?) mug with his ugly mug on it for Easter!
I found this little darling at the thrift store and imagine some sweet elderly cat lady’s treasure of fine bone china featuring the regal likenesses of a bengal, siamese and a few others… ended up in the thrift store! She needn’t worry about Bengal Mug - he’s found a good home with us! Siamese, American Short Hair and Ragdoll are still at Value Village if you hurry
In the wake of a poorly managed re-introduction after the recent Christmas separation; we have been managing a full blown crisis of constant cub battling. We’re talking about the kind of screeching you hear from feral cats trying to maul each other in alleyways, hanks of fur flying around, attempted eye gouging and scabby faces… it’s been a nightmare. One of the reasons we haven’t blogged about it is because it was just too awful to write about! At this time however, we are tentatively through the worst of it. I’m delighted to share that two of the easiest innovations have been an increasing their territory and giving Miles bell collar. The least popular was a brief stint with Prozac… which stressed out cats force fed pills nightly not fun. So, Miles wears a collar now. Furnished with not one but TWO bells and a metal tag it telegraphs his every move unless he’s moving very slowly (which he does sometimes; it’s very entertaining) in an effort to be stealthy. Such ambushes however, typically don’t pack the same wallop! Here are a couple of pics of some of the new improvements allowing us to live together in relative peace:
Desperate times call for desperate measures! I picked up this tip from listening to Temple Grandin talk about dogs and cats’ intense fear of slipping. She recommends using a bathmat to increase their confidence on slippery surfaces. Although the fridge top is accessible to our cats it’s never been a popular hang out so I added a clean bathmat to make it a more attractive roost. Here Miles was stalking Timber from across the room. Timber was on top of the bookshelves which are now accessible due to the strategic placement of the cat tree.
OK, enough of this. Time to go wake Timber up!! [*jingle-jingle*= Watch out!!]
not fun. So, Miles wears a collar now. Furnished with not one but TWO bells and a metal tag it telegraphs his every move unless he’s moving very slowly (which he does sometimes; it’s very entertaining) in an effort to be stealthy. Such ambushes however, typically don’t pack the same wallop! Here are a couple of pics of some of the new improvements allowing us to live together in relative peace:
