Comments on: Just Warming Up

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 00:21:48 +0000

Generally it is males that love to have their tummies rubbed while females are almost always trappers. That isn’t universal – Sox was a definite trapper and used the tactic with Ringo and the kids during their ‘combat’.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:25:03 +0000

It’s not that Mencken tolerates hugging, he is annoyed when I do so, it’s that he is resigned to hugging. He’s learned over 10 years of living with me that sometimes I’m just going to do stupid things he doesn’t like and there’s nothing he can do about it other than look annoyed, because making a bigger fuss will just make it worse.

On the other hand, Mencken does have the weirdness that he loves having his tummy rubbed. And not in the “trap” sense of the word either, he will wriggle around and drool in ecstasy while I massage his tummy.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 03:23:12 +0000

In reply to Badtux. You're lucky that Mencken tolerates hugging. None of my cats has ever put up with it. With all of them it was the 'Vulcan neck pinch' and the other person dealing with the mouth and pill. Gloves were nice to have if it wasn't done quickly.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 03:03:04 +0000

I have a pill gun. It still needs three hands, one to hold the cat, one to open the cat's mouth, and one to pull the trigger on the pill gun. Luckily Mencken is not a very physical cat, so I can hug him against me with the arm that's opening the cat's mouth, or he wouldn't get his pill that way...

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 21:33:37 +0000

Yeah, Froggy and Hadley like being outside, but when the temperature dips they head for the door. I have never seen a cat who was at all gracious about pills. My Mother’s vet had a special pair of curved forceps specifically for getting pills down cats, but it was a two person procedure.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 06:40:22 +0000

I think Mencken was a throw-away, not a feral, but he does have some of the feral attitudes from his time on the streets. But he’s also very grateful that he’s not on the streets anymore, even if he gets annoyed when I pill him every night.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 04:01:53 +0000

That behavior is more common with former ferals than house born cats. Finding someone to huddle with is an outdoor survival tactic. It is about the only time some of the outdoor cats act civilized toward one another.

My cats huddle next to me, but they don’t get under the covers like my wild born cats did.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 23:33:27 +0000

I have an electric blanket, Brian. So we were all toasty in our electrically heated beds :). (Actually, Mencken spent most of the night under the covers with me — he has taken to crawling under there and curling up against me when it’s cool outside).

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 02:56:53 +0000

We have another front coming, Steve, the one that Badtux and Ellroon are talking about will be in your area tomorrow or Wednesday, and through here Wednesday or Thursday. I know what you mean about utility bills. We once had weeks in the Fall and Spring when neither the AC or heat were needed, but no longer.

Y’all need a lot more than a dusting in the mountains, you need yards of snow pack to fill the streams, rivers, and reservoirs, Ellroon. At least you got some rain to scrub pollen out of the air for a bit.

So the cats were toasty on their heated pads, but you were frozen, Badtux. maybe you should buy a couple more heated cat beds to sleep on.

By: Badtux

Badtux — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 16:50:58 +0000

Was in the mid 40’s here in the Silly Cone Valley last night too — after it had been in the low 90’s last week. Luckily I got my furnace prepped yesterday, because I need it now.