My kitties (and a brief rant)
The following entry is about my 2 cats. I really missed them when I was in Fond du Lac for Thanksgiving. For background see the last paragraph.
Calliope loves Nutritional Yeast. She knows instantly where it is when we put it on our popcorn.
She likes to chase her tail in the bathtub, inspect the bath water, and drink from the faucet. She loves to play fetch, but only with one kind of toy. She can jump up all 6 levels of the cat tree in a second. If I grab the broom she can get down from the tree and run in the kitchen before I get the broom out from its spot next to the fridge; she does this because she knows I am going to get her toys out from under the stove with the broom, and she knows the toys are under the stove because she puts them there. She thinks that it’s all part of some elaborate game. When she is not purposefully hiding her toys under the fridge, she is either putting them in the bedroom trash or dunking them in water (although I think she’s growing out of the water phase). Sometimes she jumps sideways. Despite being a tiny, cute kitty, Calliope often emits a screechy, strange meow that seems ugly at first, but has become the most enduring, cute noise to me. She follows me wherever I go with the apparent intent of tripping me: I try to tell her that my trips to the bathroom are not exciting. If allowed, she will sleep on my stomach all night until I wake up and see her, looking back at me, purring. Calliope has extra small teeth that are adorable. She has been known to run so fast that she ends up doing a somersault. She will steal your spot when you stand up. She does not like having her belly rubbed, unlike Pushkin.
Pushkin knows instantly when bread is out. Hide your bread from him!
Pushkin is very cuddly and very submissive. He likes to be pushed on his back across slippery floors. He has extra toes (he’s polydactyl). He is huge and weighs 16 pounds (Calliope is half his size exactly). He loves to go outside on his harness. If he hears the slightest noise made by the harness he heads right to the door and lets us put it on him. (Calliope doesn’t mind the harness or going outside, but she isn’t as interested in going outside as Pushkin). Pushkin is a fuzzy sentinel who likes to stand guard and patrol the balcony. Before I go to bed at night Pushkin jumps up on the bed and spoons with me for 5 minutes, and then leaves (sometimes he stays the whole night). If you pet him right you can get him to make a second purr that sounds more like pigeon coos. His meows often sound like questions. In contrast to Calliope’s speedy zips across the apartment, Pushkin is super careful not to step on the laptop and to walk around glasses or be gentle when he walks on people.
Pushkin is very motherly to Calliope, and makes sure she gets enough food when he eats. He gets alarmed when we give her medicine. He also gets uncomfortable if Calliope is naughty, like when she jumps up on the railing of our porch. The two kitties give each other baths, cuddle together, and wrestle. They cooperate when they play. Pushkin is bigger, and although Calliope is stealthy and fast he knows to make allowances so that he doesn’t overbear her. They also take turns pouncing on their remote controlled mouse and “undercover mouse” toy. They are awesome.
When I was sick with a painful, cry-inducing ear infection, they both were visibly concerned and comforting. They defy many of the stereotypes about cats being selfish, uncaring, and solitary. I like dogs too, and it bothers me how many people compare the two animals as if they have to like one or the other, but not both. While dogs are social, they can be more of a bother: cats are pretty self reliant and can be left alone longer, while still being good companions. But dogs are awesome too.
* We got Pushkin from a shelter right before New Year's 2008. He's the first kitty I’ve ever taken care of. A kind man found Calliope on the beltline in Madison and took her to Humane Society. Our neighbor stopped her from being euthanized (the Humane Society did not think she was adoptable because of her eye problems). After an online search for a playmate for Pushkin, we asked to adopt Calliope... only to learn that she was being fostered directly across the hall from us! We estimate her birthday to be May 15th 2009.
Photo album at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2607145&id=8616822&l=131b45a2a8
and youtube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pb5vv1USPw
Calliope loves Nutritional Yeast. She knows instantly where it is when we put it on our popcorn.
She likes to chase her tail in the bathtub, inspect the bath water, and drink from the faucet. She loves to play fetch, but only with one kind of toy. She can jump up all 6 levels of the cat tree in a second. If I grab the broom she can get down from the tree and run in the kitchen before I get the broom out from its spot next to the fridge; she does this because she knows I am going to get her toys out from under the stove with the broom, and she knows the toys are under the stove because she puts them there. She thinks that it’s all part of some elaborate game. When she is not purposefully hiding her toys under the fridge, she is either putting them in the bedroom trash or dunking them in water (although I think she’s growing out of the water phase). Sometimes she jumps sideways. Despite being a tiny, cute kitty, Calliope often emits a screechy, strange meow that seems ugly at first, but has become the most enduring, cute noise to me. She follows me wherever I go with the apparent intent of tripping me: I try to tell her that my trips to the bathroom are not exciting. If allowed, she will sleep on my stomach all night until I wake up and see her, looking back at me, purring. Calliope has extra small teeth that are adorable. She has been known to run so fast that she ends up doing a somersault. She will steal your spot when you stand up. She does not like having her belly rubbed, unlike Pushkin.
Pushkin knows instantly when bread is out. Hide your bread from him!
Pushkin is very cuddly and very submissive. He likes to be pushed on his back across slippery floors. He has extra toes (he’s polydactyl). He is huge and weighs 16 pounds (Calliope is half his size exactly). He loves to go outside on his harness. If he hears the slightest noise made by the harness he heads right to the door and lets us put it on him. (Calliope doesn’t mind the harness or going outside, but she isn’t as interested in going outside as Pushkin). Pushkin is a fuzzy sentinel who likes to stand guard and patrol the balcony. Before I go to bed at night Pushkin jumps up on the bed and spoons with me for 5 minutes, and then leaves (sometimes he stays the whole night). If you pet him right you can get him to make a second purr that sounds more like pigeon coos. His meows often sound like questions. In contrast to Calliope’s speedy zips across the apartment, Pushkin is super careful not to step on the laptop and to walk around glasses or be gentle when he walks on people.
Pushkin is very motherly to Calliope, and makes sure she gets enough food when he eats. He gets alarmed when we give her medicine. He also gets uncomfortable if Calliope is naughty, like when she jumps up on the railing of our porch. The two kitties give each other baths, cuddle together, and wrestle. They cooperate when they play. Pushkin is bigger, and although Calliope is stealthy and fast he knows to make allowances so that he doesn’t overbear her. They also take turns pouncing on their remote controlled mouse and “undercover mouse” toy. They are awesome.
When I was sick with a painful, cry-inducing ear infection, they both were visibly concerned and comforting. They defy many of the stereotypes about cats being selfish, uncaring, and solitary. I like dogs too, and it bothers me how many people compare the two animals as if they have to like one or the other, but not both. While dogs are social, they can be more of a bother: cats are pretty self reliant and can be left alone longer, while still being good companions. But dogs are awesome too.
* We got Pushkin from a shelter right before New Year's 2008. He's the first kitty I’ve ever taken care of. A kind man found Calliope on the beltline in Madison and took her to Humane Society. Our neighbor stopped her from being euthanized (the Humane Society did not think she was adoptable because of her eye problems). After an online search for a playmate for Pushkin, we asked to adopt Calliope... only to learn that she was being fostered directly across the hall from us! We estimate her birthday to be May 15th 2009.
Photo album at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2607145&id=8616822&l=131b45a2a8
and youtube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pb5vv1USPw