Life With Cats

 

    I tend to get myself in trouble when I compare my cats to children. For the record I am well aware they are cats, not children. I do not dress them up, except for the occasional costume and I do not hold birthday parties for them. (although they do get a special meal on their birthdays and on holidays.)

   Like children they all have different personalities and they like different things. Barnaby likes sparkle balls. Willow prefers spring toys. Scamp liked toys with feathers. Colby was a big fan of the light chaser. Nim loved all food especially treats. Ary needed at least 20 minutes of cuddle time every day and would let me know if I had forgotten.

   Willow and Barnaby are nearly a year old now and it's been fun watching them grow and develop. I had always thought that Willow was going to be the alpha cat, but it looks like Barnaby, who is a gentle loving cat, has taken that spot. I'm surprised by this as Willow tended to be a bit wild and aggressive. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Barnaby is a big cat. He might be bigger than Scamp was.

   One of the things they like to do is kick their toys under wine rack that we have in our dining room. (We use it to store stemmed glasses, a few dishes and jelly beans.) Once a day or so I take a duster and push the toys out from under the rack. Both cats look on as I do this. I take the toys I find and put them in the basket to keep them in one spot. They are very good at taking toys out of the basket, but they never return them to the basket when they are done. I'm beginning to think this is a game that they play.

    Both of them enjoy looking out of windows. They like the big window that looks out onto the backyard over the deck. We've found that Barnaby is scared of the sound of the window opening. He doesn't mind sitting on the open window, but something about the crank noise scares him. 

   One of the things I'm trying to do is get both cats used to being groomed. Willow is a short hair cat with a thick soft coat. She'll need to be groomed once or twice a week especially during shedding season which coming up. Barnaby has a fine coat of hair that is soft and silky. I try to groom him daily or every other day so his fur doesn't get matted. Willow enjoys being brushed. Barnaby wants to bite the brush.

   I can definitely tell that they are leaving that kitten stage. They aren't as playful as they used to be although Willow still enjoys playing hide and seek. I'm ok with that as they tended to run around at high speeds and get underfoot.

  It's going to be interesting seeing how they will act once the weather gets warmer and more animals come into they yard. Hopefully Barnaby will lose his fear of opening windows.