Where all the owners are responsible, all the shelters are empty, and all the pets are only slightly over-loved
I believe I’ve mentioned before that my cats are solar-powered. This is particularly apparent when it’s (1) cold and (2) raining (or has been raining for a few days). When the sun comes out, it’s a race for who has the best sunning spots. Charlie claimed his.
If I fits, I sits – or in this case, lounge unrepentantly in the freshly sanitized, sunlit Cat Genie. Doesn’t he look smug?
Now that winter is coming (cue Game of Thrones theme music), sunlight streams into our master bathroom in the afternoon. The tabbies like to lounge behind the Cat Genies on the platform and window sill – it’s a lovely, somewhat secluded sunning spot. Mau recently found it.
He seemed rather surprised that I found him. But look at that face!
Charlie seemed rather pleased with himself.
Garrus was not amused that his sunning routine was interrupted by my presence.
Do your cats have favored sunning spots? Where are they? Do they change throughout the year? Are they tolerant of you finding their favorite haunts? Share in the comments!
Mau is a pretty cute cat, though I might be biased. It’s now been about 10 days since his dental surgery and being toothless hasn’t negatively affected his quality of life.
“This bed is so cozy!”
Aaron and I have noticed that he has become more playful and bats both crinkle balls and plastic springs around the house. Mau’s favorite toy might be the laser pointer, however, as he chases after the red dot with more gusto and stamina than either Garrus or Charlie. It’s highly amusing and delightful to watch all three cats skitter about the house trying to pounce on the elusive red dot. If I can, I’ll record a video of a play session and share it here on Purry Home Companion!
“Mama, I found a box! It’s such a nice box.”
Look at these handsome boys! I couldn’t resist snapping a photo when I saw them lined up like this.
Garrus and Mau demonstrate their nightly ottoman sprawl. Mau recently adopted this habit of flaunting his fluffy belly like this. It’s not a trap. I repeat: it’s not a trap!
As you may remember, Garrus (aka Gentleman Cat) underwent extensive dental surgery two weeks ago. Dr R wanted to check how his mouth was healing and determine the next steps needed to make Garrus a healthy and happy cat.
Aaron and I were pleasantly surprised that we were able to get Garrus into the carrier in under 10 minutes and with remarkably minimal fuss. He wasn’t too happy about it and there was at least one pitiful meow saying “I want to lodge a complaint with the management about this!”. He didn’t meow at all in the car but let me know he was quite alarmed when we were in the vet office lobby. “Excuse me but there are dogs in here and I do not like this at all!” he seemed to say. Thankfully we were put in a room lickedy-split and instantly the complaints stopped.
When a tech came in to ask me questions, I told her that he has been eating, hasn’t displayed any lethargy, and has not vomited or had any diarrhea. In general he eats about 1 can of wet food a day but frequently when we offer him more food during the day, he faffs about and seems anxious. While he expresses gratitude by being affectionate and sweet, he won’t always eat the food we offer him. We’ve experimented with how we present the food (finely chopped, at room temperature instead of right-out-of-the-fridge cold) and ensure that Charlie doesn’t come in and make him nervous. I reported that Garrus sometimes appears ill at ease around Charlie, who, in his desperation for a playmate, will occasionally get most persistent and end up pestering Garrus.
The tech took him in the back, where she weighed him and took his temperature, and brought him back to the room, where Dr R examined him. I was pleased to learn that Garrus gained 0.6 lbs in two weeks! Most of the sutures dissolved on their own but she noted that there is still some inflammation (stomatitis) in his mouth. The treatment for this is steroid therapy, and she wants to see him again in three weeks to monitor his progress. In response to the anxious behavior I reported, Dr R thought that Zylkene, a natural supplement that helps pets manage stress, might be useful. We had given the boys this when we first adopted them to help them acclimate to the house and overcome shelter shock. I hope that these treatments help Garrus feel better all around.
Dr R reported that Garrus behaved exceptionally well and acted rather calm, huge improvements from how withdrawn and skittish he was when we adopted him 10 months ago. Cat parent achievement unlocked! He didn’t fuss at all while being weighed or getting his temperature taken, and, while not happy about getting his mouth examined, did not freak out. We had no issue getting him back into the carrier either. On the car ride back I repeatedly told him that he was such a good boy. (Yes, cats need to be told this too, not just dogs.)
About an hour after I let him out, I found Garrus investigating the carrier on his own.
He moved his head up as I snapped this photo, showing me his vampy teeth.
“I am pleased to report that the carrier is clear of any dangers, madam. Thank you for your cooperation.”
This is one of his favorite sunning spots. Sometimes after he finishes a lounge like this, he comes into my office for a visit. I love petting his soft, sun-warmed fur.
I apologize for not posting more regularly but I’ve been quite busy with graduate school stuff. However, I did want to share this update with you:
I was tidying my desk when Garrus politely but assertively decided to ask for attention. Who could resist that face?
Charlie enjoys his new sunbathing spot. A sun-warmed tummy is a happy tummy.
Sunbathing loaf cat. Right after I took this photo Queen B presented me with her forehead so I could give her a kiss and adoration.
We started sorting laundry when Garrus claimed this towel and sun spot for himself. He didn’t want to give it up, so we let him enjoy it until he decided to got up to play with a crinkle ball.
As you can surmise, my cats have a very hard life…They’re not spoiled or slightly over-loved at all!
Today was a beautiful day–a balmy 70 degrees, sunny with a cool breeze. In order to take advantage of the lovely fresh air, we opened the windows in the house. Naturally, all three cats were most intrigued by what lay outside. So many smells! Sassy birds!
Boudicca opted for a more secluded window in Aaron’s office.
Charlie found sniffing the screen a most enjoyable pastime.
Charlie watched the birds alighting on the peach tree in the backyard. As I snapped this photo, he stretched languorously.
Boudicca came to visit me in my office.
Where was Garrus during this time? He was oddly difficult to photograph. A couple of times I saw him sitting on a windowsill next to Charlie but he jumped down before I could get the shot.
Garrus seemed most content to sunbathe on this scratching pad.
I tried to get a good photo of Garrus sleeping on this blue elephant pillow. Charlie saw me and inserted himself into the photo too. Notice that he had to show me all of his toes.
“Hi Mom, you’ve come to pet me, right?”
Notice the subtle shift in expression from this photo…
…to this one. Garrus is often inscrutable but I find his expressions amusing.
As always, the boy like to enjoy a lounge together after a scamper session. Clearly they have a busy schedule.
Do your kitties like to watch the goings-on outside through windows? Are they keen birdwatchers or do they have a running vendetta with squirrels or rabbits? Do your cats find choice spots in which to sun themselves?
In my time as a cat owner, my fur people have taught me a number of things. I’d like to share some of them with you. Here is one of them: get a little sun.
Many cats enjoy sunbathing and my cats are no exception. They enjoy the warmth, they get to sprawl and relax, they might doze off, and if they are near a window, they have an opportunity watch the interesting goings-on outside. Garrus, especially, is apparently solar-charged. He seems to wilt rather like WALL-E when his batteries are low.
The boys’ favorite sunning spot is the master bathroom, especially this winter. We have a unique set up in there. As we don’t use the garden tub, Aaron fitted boards on top of the tub and created a platform. On top of this platform he placed the two Cat Genies, which need water hookups and a fair amount of space. (If we had more room in the house we would have put one Cat Genie somewhere else but we have made do with this arrangement.)
The cats have found that there is sufficient room for them to loll around the Cat Genies, and that sunlight streams through the window in the afternoon. This makes Garrus in particular a most happy cat.
This picture was taken with the same setup we use now but before we transitioned to Cat Genies. (It is clear in the photo that there was more room on the platform and the boys took full advantage of this.) This was also one of the first times I had seen Garrus flop on his side like this. It was delightful to see him look so utterly relaxed.
[Read in Sir David Attenborough’s voice] “Now here we see the meditating cat in its traditional pose, accompanied by its spotted companion. Transcendental vegetation is very important to these creatures and can best be accomplished after basking in sunlight for a period of time and not being disturbed, even though it is most tempting to do so. We must remain absolutely quiet in order to hear them begin to purr. This is a sign of great contentment and relaxation and that the meditating cats are reaching the zenith of transcendental vegetation.”
Yesterday afternoon, I found Charlie lounging inside one of the Cat Genies as if it was a lounge chair or hammock. (Don’t worry, it had just finished its cleaning cycle and was therefore clean and sanitized. I think he liked it because it was also warm from said cleaning cycle as well as the sun.) He was very talky about how happy he was about finding a new spot.
Charlie felt it was necessary to (1) warm his belly, (2) flaunt said belly, (3) be ridiculously cute and flirtatious at the same time. He squeaked all the while I took a number of photos.
Later Garrus came over to investigate what all the squeaking was about and found a spot for himself. I managed to snap a photo of him mid-slow blink.
Boudicca sunbathes too! She does, however, restrict her basking to a shorter period so I am not always able to snap a photo of it. When she sunbathes in front of the back door, she normally looks outside the window and watches birds. I am unsure why she turned around and looked mildly miffed.
I believe this was Garrus’ first sunbath in our house and one of the alternate sunbathing spots. This was also one of the first times I saw him start to relax.
Here is Boudicca catching a late afternoon sunbath. In this photo, her lowered and extra green eyes make me think of Maleficent.
Do your cats like to sunbathe? Do they have favorite spots? Do these spots change from season to season or according to their moods?
This morning Charlie woke up and came onto the bed for a visit before we got up. (It was quite snuggly under the covers so we didn’t want to leave.) He was very insistent about receiving sufficient affection and both squeaked and purred up a storm about it. Garrus came onto the bed as well but he had not yet decided whether or not he wanted rubs once he got there. Boudicca arrived late to the game but was more interested in receiving morsels from Aaron than anything else. I think the cats were cold this morning, and that is the factor that underlies their neediness this morning.
Charlie discovered my desk today! Three times he sat on the window seat near the corner of my desk, tentatively put his paws on the edge, and then invited himself onto the desk so he could investigate everything. I’ve been able to pick him up from the desk once when he blocked my view of my dual monitors. I held him against my chest in a snuggle and he purred very loudly about it!
Charlie: Hi Mama. Whatcha doin’? *squeaks*
Me: I’m working at my computer. I will give you rubs, though.
Charlie: What’s up there? I must see for myself! *jumps onto desk, sniffing everything, blocking my screens*
Me: Ahem. Charlie, this is not conducive to working. I need to be able to type and see my screens.
Charlie: What’s work? Besides, I’m cute and more important. Love me?
Me: Oh, alright. *picks him up and holds him*
Charlie: I can get on board with this snuggling thing. *PURR PURR PURR*
Garrus: Excuse me. I am looking for warms. May I sunbathe here?
Me: Absolutely. *gives rubs*
Garrus: *gives mournful look* I’m cold. Please fix it. *finds a stretch of sun and turns into loaf cat* I will contemplate the universe from this location. This spot of warm is acceptable.
Boudicca: This is why I LOVE my bed. Sunlight hits it just right in the morning so I don’t have to get up! And I have my pink blanket. The blanket makes my bed in a box even better. Y’all are jealous of my awesome box-bed.
Purry Home Companion 