Happiness is....

Aaaahhh.....

And now for something completely different...

I've come to the realization  that I have morphed into one of those people who is mildly obsessed with their cat. Excellent! Despite an obsession that may or may not be healthy (I'll leave that diagnosis to the social workers in the family), it leaves me with plenty of time to take pictures of my cat and carry on a few dozen conversations that begin and end with, "Meow?"

Jane loves feathers and strings. So what did she receive from Santa Paws this year? A bunch of feathers attached to a string! This provides hours of kitty and hooman entertainment. Wanna see? Sure you do!

Our vicious attack kitty approaches her prey by playing coy.

"Why hello there! What is this we have here..."

 Like any good attack kitty, she first plays with her prey, lulling it into a false sense of security.

"Bat...bat...bat....puuuuuuurrrrr!"

Then, she makes her move, attempting a capture using both front paws and her dastardly claws of doooom! 

"Haha! Weird bird-like thing, now you are mine!"

Then, she moves in for the kill! 

"Now, I bite you!"

The sweet taste of victory

"Mmm...weird bird-like thing, you are delicious!"

Then, her bird-ish toy escapes! Back to the hunt! 

"No, weird bird-like thing! You are mine!"

Suddenly, she's distracted by feathers... 

"Hey there, Mr. Weird Bird-Like Thing! Get in mah belly!"

"What are you looking at, hooman?"

She regains control of her prey, confident in her cat-like reflexes and superior intellect. 

"I'm the winner! Victory is mine!"

When the "bird" tries to make his escape, Jane fights back! 

"No! You iz MINE!"

Realizing her prey is gonna go down fighting, she changes tactics. 

"I will use my claws of steel to take you down!"

Finally, bored with the fight, she decides to engage in some friendly play. 

"I don't understand why you don't die....but you sure are pretty."

So. My obsession with my kitty is growing day by day. I'm okay with it. You should be, too.


P.S. Please excuse the disaster area that is currently our front room. Kitty & baby keep me busier than you'd think!

The Great Indoors

Since the last Jane update was so popular, I figured I might as well do another one. She's one of the more interesting things going on here, anyway!

Jane is strictly an indoor cat. While she was found by the racetrack in Melrose Park, it's clear that she had a pretty sweet life as an indoor cat before she was either abandoned or escaped. She's very comfortable inside and came to us pre-trained. She wouldn't jump on the couch or the bed until we physically placed her on both, letting her know that it was okay with us if she wanted to curl up on a pillow or the arm of the couch. She won't jump up on the counters or the tables, and she loves to lay on the windowsill and look outside.

Sometimes, though, you can tell that she misses roaming free and being able to investigate anything at will. Case in point:

When the front door is open, she loves to stand up and watch the world. Today was a glorious fall day, and Jane spent the better part of the morning watching birds and squirrels roam around and cross the front lawn. Her ears never stop moving, and her tail constantly swishes back and forth.

She'll meow loudly when there's something in our vicinity that she thinks we should know about. When a bird perches on the railings she meows and comes running to find one of us. "HEY! Hoomans! This! Is! Important!" When we shrug and say, "Yeah, check it out. How 'bout that bird?" she races back to the door to stare at it some more.

I don't think she wants to hunt, though I could be wrong. When we picked her up from the shelter she was skiiiiiiiiinny, and when we play with her sometimes her prey-catching skills leave a little to be desired. Then agian, she's got that kitty cat instinct that tells her she needs to hunt. Even now, she's perching herself on a windowsill, then racing back into the bedroom, then racing into the kitchen, and back into the living room. I don't know what game she's playing or what she thinks she's chasing, but she's having a good time!

Jane also loves to observe. She hates to be left out of anything! When we first brought her home, she wanted to be left alone until she got comfortable. At night when we would go to bed, she wouldn't leave the bed! She needed to be close to us. Now, she'll stroll in whenever she feels like it--sometimes it's when I'm getting ready to sleep, sometimes it's after we've been asleep for an hour or so. While we were still getting used to each other, Jane didn't understand that nighttime = sleep for us humans, so around 2:30 a.m. each night she'd start meowing and looking for someone to entertain her. She'd chew on my hair and climb onto my chest to get my attention. She's cute, so it's hard to be angry with her, but at 2:30 a.m. I find very little to be entertaining. When she got really frustrated, she'd nip us lightly to get what she wanted. Unfortunately for Jane, those playful nips resulted in her getting kicked out of the bedroom. From behind the bedroom door she'd paw and meow and cry until we let her back in. It took 2-3 weeks until she finally got the hint, so she's much more well-behaved at night these days.

The drawback to all that re-training is that she now believes ANY closed door means she's in trouble. We try to keep her out of the basement, so whenever we go downstairs and come back up, she's waiting by the basement door very patiently, trying to show us that she's going to be a good girl and we don't need to shut her out. When I wake up at 4:30 a.m. to use the bathroom, she'll hop off the bed and follow me and meow from behind the closed door! Sorry Janey, but that's "me" time. When I'm finished and I open the door, she rushes in and noses around just to be sure she didn't miss anything fun.

Sometimes I think it would be entertaining to take her out into the yard on a leash, but I'm glad that she's an indoor cat. If she were the type to be let out early in the morning and come home at dusk, I'd worry to much about her, I think. I like knowing exactly where my cat is, even at 2:30 a.m.

Things That Are Hilarious.

My most popular blog update in weeks? The one about the cat. :-) A whopping TWO comments!



I love my animal-loving friends!

Life with Jane

A few weeks ago, not long after bringing Jane home, we got her spayed. It was a harrowing experience for her, and I felt terrible, but it needed to get done.

Up until now, her only experiences with being in a carrier have been stressful for her, so I felt bad fighting to get her into the carrier and taking her back to the shelter where we got her. The nurse/technician at the clinic said that when she took Jane back into the clinic and put her into a cage that she started shaking, almost like she remembered the cages and was saying, "No, not this again!" Definitely not something I should have been told. I went home and kept saying, "We don't really need to get her spayed....do we?"

After a day and a half, we were able to pick her up from the clinic and bring her home. She was walking a little funny, and she spent a few hours inspecting her normal hiding spots to make sure that everything was just as she left it. Then, we had to introduce.....

Not pleased with us.

The cone of shame.

Oh man, this was the worst part. She hated it! When we put it on her, she started walking backwards like she was stuck in something and was trying to get out of it. She'd walk backwards for hours, shaking her head and meowing. Heartbreaking! We'd leave it on all night and all day, and take it off her for a few hours once we came home, just to give her a break. It was only a week, but she probably lost a life or two stressing out about it.

One thing that I didn't mind once she was home from the clinic? The affection! Whether she was just glad to be home or thought that we didn't want her anymore and then changed our minds, or if the drugs were stronger for her little body than they thought, she was super affectionate for a few days. The day we brought her back, she spent most of the afternoon curled up in bed with me. She gave me lots of kisses, too, and just generally seemed happy to be home. Since then, she's spent a lot of time flopping over and spending time with us, like this:


I'll be good for you, hoomans! I promise!

Jane likes to cuddle, but only on her terms. Trust me--she'll let you know when she's ready. Sometimes she's happy laying right next to you in bed, and when you reach out to scratch her ears, she starts thumping her tail and narrowing those eyes. "Hands off if you know what's good for you...."

In retrospect, we should have gotten her spayed right away. I thought a two-week adjustment period with us would be good for her--it was!--but bringing her home from the clinic meant she had to do some readjusting to us. However, "the procedure" helped her in a few ways, and now that she's an official member of the family and has really settled in, she's a little more predictable. Her playing, for example. The first two weeks, she wouldn't really play with us. She'd watch the balls and fishing pole-type toys move in front of her, and she'd sniff them to make sure they weren't a threat to her territory, but not much else. Now, her favorites include a very battered feather duster toy, a red stuffed mouse flown in from Hawaii (Thanks, Liz!), and the little blue rings from a gallon of milk. She's extremely skeptical of those....

You again?!

She's also started perching. The first few weeks she was home she'd camp out on the floor and watch us come and go. She spent a few minutes on top of the couch but decided that wasn't a good spot for her; she could see more by laying on the floor. Then one day, the windows were open and she started prowling around. She's become a big fan of spying on us from the couch.

She's also a big fan of sleeping on the top of the couch.

I've always thought those pillows were quite comfortable.

Meet Jane!

As long as I can remember, I've wanted a cat. When I was in college, I even tried to figure out how I could hide a cat in my dorm room because I so desperately wanted one! When I got my first apartment I was devastated to find out I couldn't adopt a cat (or small dog; to be fair, it was a small apartment). When we signed the lease on our first place together, Graham asked all the technical questions while my first (and probably only) question was, "Can I have a cat?" When the landlord said no--denied again!--I cried. I just wanted a damn cat!

When Graham got worms, the deal was that he could get worms if I could get a cat. He's not a cat person. His parents and siblings aren't really "cat people." I'd probably be more of a dog person if I hadn't been attacked by my great-aunt's poodles when I was 2 or 3. (No, really. I was attacked by poodles. True story.) But because he was able to get his worms, he made a promise to me that "someday" I'd have my cat. Once we bought our home, I could almost feel a little furball in my arms. And after we moved? I asked quasi-jokingly each day for about 2 weeks. Finally, Graham promised me that my birthday gift this year would be my kitty. Well folks, my birthday was in May. It seemed that one thing after another kept popping up and we weren't able to get to a shelter to rescue a cat. On days when we were available, we usually had plans that took us out of town the next weekend--I didn't want to be cruel and adopt a cat, only to board it after 4 days in its forever home. Well, once things calmed down...it was August. Poop.

This weekend, we went to the Animal Welfare League in the 'burbs and after a few hours "test driving" some feline friends, I was smitten with this one. She was one I ignored at first in favor of some of the more entertaining kittens. I knew we'd probably walk out with an adult cat (Kitten chasing + pregnancy + eventual baby? No thank you!) but I still had fun playing with the baby kittens. And once I started meeting some older cats, I was hoping to find one that was friendly, a little playful, and affectionate. I heard this one mewing loudly in the cage just above one I was hoping to meet and take home. Her card said she was "Very playful and affectionate!" When I walked up, she was curled up in her litter box, giving me the stink eye. Instead, I asked to see Jane (named Donna by the the staff at the shelter) because she was sticking her little paws out of the cage and making noises. She seemed really interested in who we were, so we took her into the "Get Acquainted Room" and played with her a bit. I brought a toy along, just to see how different cats reacted to playing with us, but initially she wanted nothing to do with it--she climbed right into our laps and let us love on her. After that I was totally smitten--all I've ever wanted is a cat that's willing to let me play with him/her and one that will curl up with me when its tired. Jane does both! Here are some photos of the new little one...

 

Her first night home. It was a long day (and ultimately a long night).

Showing us that she can blend in with my chair if necessary.

Being stoic.

Sniffing the stick end of a toy, just to be sure.

Considering a pounce.

Watching TV after getting fur all over my skirt.

Getting distracted by a bird hopping on the sidewalk outside.

Two seconds later? Out cold.

I thought her sleeping was cute, so I kept snapping pictures. She disagreed, so this is what happened.

Her first night with us was okay. She was just getting used to everything and both yesterday and today she did a lot of hiding under the dressers in the bedroom. We were able to get in an active play session with her before we went to bed, and she still woke us up at 5:30 this morning. Not cool. Yeah yeah, "It's good practice for when you have a baby." I won't love getting up at 5:30 then, either! She wasn't hungry or asking for food, she just wanted to play--at least, I hope that's why she started eating my hair...she didn't eat much yesterday since she was getting used to everything here, so we left a bowl of food out for her all night and she was coming and going in the bedroom and snuggling with us when she felt like it. Is that the best habit to start now? Probably not. Oh well. But we know she ate and found her litter box overnight, so she was eating when she was hungry. Today she felt more comfortable so she was eating and drinking, but still needs someone in the kitchen with her--she feels more at ease if someone's eating with her or at least standing guard. Weird, right? Whatever. If that's what she needs to feel comfortable here, I'm all for it. At least for now...not sure how I'll feel about it come January...

So far, so good. She's very gentle and even though the shelter said she was a stray, she's clearly comfortable around people and has been for quite some time. We both think she lived with a family for a while, and either she was abandoned or a runaway. Even so, she probably wasn't out alone for very long. She's very comfortable being handled, and her natural hunting skills are just so-so based on some of the games we've played with her so far. It could be a product of the shelter, but she's a master with a litter box. When we opened her carrier after bringing her home, the first thing we did was plop her in the box and let her dig around so she knew where to find it (though she's had moments of confusion after Graham decided to move the box...hopefully that will clear up soon).

All in all, I have high hopes! We're all still getting used to one another, but I have a feeling this is the start of a great relationship. She's already smitten with Graham....and don't tell anyone, but he's a big fan of her, too.

Worms!

Angie has given me permission to buy red worms for composting in our apartment. To the left you can see a picture of the little guys before they were put into their new home. Let me explain the process.

We got an 18 gallon Rubbermaid container, which I had to rinse out and then drill a bunch of air holes. Next I shredded approximately two newspapers (no glossy sales ads) and wet them down until they had the feel of a squeezed out sponge. Finally, I fluffed the newspaper and added the worms.

As we have gone along, I also learned to add a layer of dry paper to the top. The worms are used to having a larger cruising area (they came from a worm farm in McHenry County, so they are accustomed to more space), hence they kept crawling up the sides of the bin. By adding the dry paper, the worms are discouraged from climbing the bin.

Finally, we have also fed them a couple of times. Banana seems to be a popular dish. We have also given them coffee grounds, water chestnuts, green beans, tomato, spinach, lettuce, and bamboo shoots. We can basically feed them scraps from any fruit or vegetable product, as well as coffee and tea. We can put newspaper in there, too, as well as egg shells and breads. Big no-nos include meats, bones, fish, dairy products, glossy paper, and anything greasy or overly processed. The goal is to produce are own compost/fertilizer using the worms, and it should take about two months. We also will be producing less garbage.

Oh, it is also a really cool conversation piece, even if it means we have to get a kitty someday now.