I can't win
Fee slept all night curled in a ball on the multi-colored yarn in the picture below. (I had to unwrap it and let it dry some more.) I was fine with that till she snagged a toenail in it this morning (then I hung it up).
It's funny how they don't like dry yarn, yarn that is being knitted, scraps of yarn laying around on the floor, or yarn that is sitting out on the table. Thank God, but they seem to know that yarn isn't theirs. I think what they are so ridiculously attracted to is actually wet wool - maybe it's the smell. (To me a wet skein of yarn smells like the cats after they have a bath, so maybe it's a comfort thing.)
Cats never cease to amaze me, anyway. Mine are not lap cats. They aren't cuddly and they certainly aren't my 'kids' - they are sort of companions who live with me as long as I maintain the right balance of food, water and cat box. (I like to think of myself as Tall Cat.) I have no doubt that if they someday decided to leave, they'd find a way - even though the apartment is on the second floor and I don't think they can open doors.
But they get what they want. Some nights I could call Grady's name and invite him to sit on the couch next to me 17 times, and he'd appear to be totally deaf, then walk to the fridge and open the Laughing Cow cheese to get a slice - and he'd come running. (Clearly there is no hearing problem.) He is usually up for a cuddle, though he prefers to sit next to me instead of crawling on me. Some nights he sits on my feet while I knit - others, he buries himself in the corner between the Yarn and the end table and sleeps all night.
But Fee? Fee is just a weird duck. She is the classic scaredy-cat. She walks up to Grady occasionally and bashes him in the head, then howls when he pins her and bites her throat. (I have learned not to become alarmed at this.) The only affection I seem to get freely from her is when I get up in the morning and go into the bathroom. She loves all over my feet while I ... sit ... and then winds herself incessantly around my legs while I get ready. When I get out the hairbrush she stands on her hind legs and yowls at me to brush her face with it (I have also learned not to become alarmed at this). She'll keep howling till I do it. She stands in the litter box with her front paws on the edge to go. She lays on the bathroom rug - she won't get on my bed or the couch - and although I give her canned cat food every night for supper (with Grady) she will only lap up the gravy - she leaves perfectly gravy-free bits of food in the bowl for Grady to clean up. (It probably says more about me than her that I don't just dump in gravy for her.) They split a pack of cat food each night, and seem to have a peaceful arrangement.
Every night after supper, (weather permitting) Fee goes outside on the deck and stays out there until bedtime. Occasionally she plays an endlessly entertaining (to her) game called In-N-Out Kitty, but most of the time she's out there till I go to bed around 11. Then it's back inside to cuddle with my feet again while I wash my face. And at about five minutes till six she meows (rather quietly). Then a little louder once my alarm goes off at six. Usually I wake up to find Grady sitting over me and staring directly at my face as if willing me to get up and feed him. He goes outside while Fee supervises my morning routine.
They are nuts.
It's funny how they don't like dry yarn, yarn that is being knitted, scraps of yarn laying around on the floor, or yarn that is sitting out on the table. Thank God, but they seem to know that yarn isn't theirs. I think what they are so ridiculously attracted to is actually wet wool - maybe it's the smell. (To me a wet skein of yarn smells like the cats after they have a bath, so maybe it's a comfort thing.)
Cats never cease to amaze me, anyway. Mine are not lap cats. They aren't cuddly and they certainly aren't my 'kids' - they are sort of companions who live with me as long as I maintain the right balance of food, water and cat box. (I like to think of myself as Tall Cat.) I have no doubt that if they someday decided to leave, they'd find a way - even though the apartment is on the second floor and I don't think they can open doors.
But they get what they want. Some nights I could call Grady's name and invite him to sit on the couch next to me 17 times, and he'd appear to be totally deaf, then walk to the fridge and open the Laughing Cow cheese to get a slice - and he'd come running. (Clearly there is no hearing problem.) He is usually up for a cuddle, though he prefers to sit next to me instead of crawling on me. Some nights he sits on my feet while I knit - others, he buries himself in the corner between the Yarn and the end table and sleeps all night.
But Fee? Fee is just a weird duck. She is the classic scaredy-cat. She walks up to Grady occasionally and bashes him in the head, then howls when he pins her and bites her throat. (I have learned not to become alarmed at this.) The only affection I seem to get freely from her is when I get up in the morning and go into the bathroom. She loves all over my feet while I ... sit ... and then winds herself incessantly around my legs while I get ready. When I get out the hairbrush she stands on her hind legs and yowls at me to brush her face with it (I have also learned not to become alarmed at this). She'll keep howling till I do it. She stands in the litter box with her front paws on the edge to go. She lays on the bathroom rug - she won't get on my bed or the couch - and although I give her canned cat food every night for supper (with Grady) she will only lap up the gravy - she leaves perfectly gravy-free bits of food in the bowl for Grady to clean up. (It probably says more about me than her that I don't just dump in gravy for her.) They split a pack of cat food each night, and seem to have a peaceful arrangement.
Every night after supper, (weather permitting) Fee goes outside on the deck and stays out there until bedtime. Occasionally she plays an endlessly entertaining (to her) game called In-N-Out Kitty, but most of the time she's out there till I go to bed around 11. Then it's back inside to cuddle with my feet again while I wash my face. And at about five minutes till six she meows (rather quietly). Then a little louder once my alarm goes off at six. Usually I wake up to find Grady sitting over me and staring directly at my face as if willing me to get up and feed him. He goes outside while Fee supervises my morning routine.
They are nuts.
posted by Jen at 1:11 PM
7 Comments:
but you love them anyway. you're making me want cats now.
haha..aww, I love cats and their eccentricities!! :)
.♥.
Hee hee. Tall Cat.
your cats sounds like the two we used to have... so different, yet so very lovable... btw... there is yarn in my kitchen in vinegar... and wilton's dyes... wonder what I have planned for tonight?
YAY!!!
I can't see any pictures... ?
The cat quirkiness is what keeps it really interesting.
It just bowls me over how there are people in the world who honestly believe that cats don't have their own individual personalities! Your description of your cats was wonderful to read and made me appreciate mine all over again (for the fiftieth time today). Oh, and thanks for the compliment on my latest dye job. I've got to say I feel pretty shiny about it!
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