Ella is OCD. She likes to play with Da Bird on the bed, but the bed has to be, not only made, but made well, so she can bounce on it when she jumps. If there are large wrinkles, she will stop and stare at them disapprovingly until I straighten them out. With my wife in Connecticut, I didn't think I was going to have to make the bed. Silly me. Then today, I was working upstairs on the couch. I had put the remote on the couch next to me. Ella came up and stared at the remote until I moved it. It wasn't that she wanted to lie where the remote was - she didn't - but she believed that the remote didn't belong there. She's not very pleased when my wife changes the furniture around either, but she has to live with that, as I do.
A neighbor's cat was in the yard today. A nice looking cat, well cared for, and with a collar. I went out because I heard Ella and Cutie throwing a fit. Ella was well aware of it but threatening it noisily from a distance, with her tail all fluffed, while 27-year-old Cutie was advancing on it, certain that she's still the toughest cat on the block. That's why I rarely leave her outdoors alone anymore; that and the fact she's deaf and can't hear me when I am calling her. The neighbor's cat, meanwhile, is doing her best to be as submissive as she could be, clearly just wanting to be friends, but Cutie and Ella were having none of that. Without the sound effects, particularly from Ella, you wouldn't know this was a feline tense situation. They grayish colored cat under the tree must belong to one of my neighbors. She wasn't being at all hostile but mine, I am afraid, were not welcoming.
The neighbor's cat came over again yesterday, while Cutie and Ella were outside. I don't know who s/he belongs to but s/he is well cared for and has a collar and a bell. I was upstairs with the radio on yet I was able to hear Ella yelling. I went to the door, and Ella was waiting for me to let her in, but Cutie was kicking the crap out of this cat. The cat was backing up, while Cutie was hissing and spitting, and slapping her in the head. I still don't know what it is about this cat, as s/he seems to be doing its best to make friends. I have never seen this cat make anything that I would interpret as an unfriendly gesture. She was cringing in front of Cutie and, at other times, was lying on the ground with her stomach exposed, which is generally a sign of submission. But both Cutie and Ella hate her, and Ella is afraid of her. Cutie, on the other hand, is 27 years old, for God's sake. She's deaf, has arthritis, and a heart murmur, yet there she was advancing on a strange cat who doesn't seem to want to fight. This cat is tame, and I think that my cats are just making sure that they don't end up with another cat that they have to put up with.
@Ken Anderson , I wonder if it has anything to do with the bell? Cutie may not be able to hear it but if it is something she is not familiar with, she might perceive it as a threat.
That's possible. I don't know. I am thinking that might realize that this is a cat that would come up to me, and they want to make sure they don't end up having to share their stuff.
This is not something I see often at my house. My cats do not lie together. Usually, they can't even be on the same king-sized bed together without fighting.
Because of her arthritis, Cutie has trouble grooming herself. She can't twist and bend like a younger cat could so, while she spends a lot of time trying to groom herself, if left to her own devices, her fur would be matted in places. Given her age and the fact that water absolutely panics her, I don't want to have that fight. I have tried a few different waterless shampoos, but have had limited success. While they clean her fur, they tend to mat it even worse than it would be otherwise. Then I found Pet Wipes from Park City Pets on Amazon.com. They are a wet wipe for cats. They are used by petting her with a wet wipe. Rather than fighting me, it must feel like I am petting her because she purrs the whole time. Since I am wiping her in the direction that her fur lies, it doesn't make any matting of her fur worse like foam shampoo would. She gets impatient with the next part, which is combing her out. However careful I am, there is some tugging involved with getting the mats out of her fur, but as long as I do this on a regular basis, it's not too badly matted. I think she knows it's for her own good because she tries to put up with it, but she will lose patience if I tried to wash all of her at one time. So I usually do her head, back, and sides first. There is very little matting there so that usually goes pretty smoothly, and it reminds her that I am not trying to kill her. Then I give her a break for a while. After she has completely dried, I'll do her chest and stomach. That's the part she hates. She likes the wet wiping part of it well enough but that's where most of the matting is, and it's also more difficult for me to comb her out there. When she begins to get impatient, she tries to move away. When she has lost patience entirely, she bites me. Lastly, and after another break, I wash her legs and paws, making sure to remove any cat litter that might be there. She doesn't mind that part too much, although she gets a little testy when I start poking at the bottom of her paws. Anyhow, while a young and healthy cat can usually keep itself groomed quite well without assistance, these things work very well when they are needed. I wash Cutie about twice a week, and it takes three wipes each time.
A tradition that I have started, for Ella, is that before I go to bed at night, I take her out to the backyard where, while holding her in my arms, she can listen to the night noises for a few minutes. Since I don't let her out at night, she is fascinated by the night sounds. I call it checking for Martians. Since I most often go to bed around the same time, she will remind me that it's time for her to keep us safe from the Martians. When we're through in the back, she will sometimes stop by the front door in order to check out front too.
This is a picture of a visitor that I've been having lately. I think it belongs to a couple who live across the road from me. S/he is lying on the tile in the shade of my hydrangea bush. It must be cool to her/ him.
Awww that's so sweet, you will miss that. I also have a tradition with Pickles, doesn't involve outside though. At night when we go to bed, he won't lay down in his bed until I tell him that he's been a good boy and good night and that I love him. After he hears all that, he quits staring at me and settles in. When I forget...I look over and he's still in sitting position staring at me. He's so funny!