Rough days, rough cats & naps

Here we are, the start to another week! I have a love hate relationship with Monday - It's the start of a new work week. BUT I only have to work in the morning, I'm home by 12 most Mondays. I know we all hate Monday's equally. The joy in my Monday comes with a cat. His name is Roughy. Keep reading to hear about him and the love hate relationship I have with him as well!

Roughy's deal: He is straight from the streets of Philly (quite literally!) I've always said I want a cat of every color - at that time, I was lacking an orange cat. Little did I know, I would soon have one! Gene's sister found Roughy when he was about a year or so old. Getting into trouble, which should really be his middle name! He was caught up in the grate at the drive thru to a bank she worked at. She saved him, brought him home, where he quickly got into fights with their other cat. So he moved along to my grandmother Beth's house...a holding spot till we could get him to our house in Annville.

His quick stay at Beth's house was so/so....he loved to sleep in bed, but would also show some bad habits. My favorite - he ate the entire corner of a loaf of bread - from one end to the other. Can't say I blame him, I love my carbs, but did he really have to munch on each piece of bread?!?! He quickly moved from there to us, a friend picked him up and drove the almost 2 hours to our house with him.

Where he met my cousin Joey...and this is where the good times really start! Joey was around much of his first year in our house. There was a learning curve for both of them! Roughy, learning how to live in a house, Joey, how a cat lives/behaves/etc.

To this day, I still laugh over two incidents (and wonder...if that's why roughy is the way he is). Joey one day when we weren't home, took Roughy outside (no lease, no carrier) realized he needed something from inside the house. Told Roughy to "Stay" on the bed of the truck. He comes back to no Roughy anywhere in the yard. Anyone else and I'd be like for real?!?! You thought that would work? Cats are nothing like dogs!

One other time, he opened a 2nd floor window looking over the sunporch roof. Forgot to close it and left our house. (We weren't home this time either!) I get home to find the window open, count cat heads to make sure all are accounted for....Then call Joey to give him hell. He's lucky for whatever reason the cats didn't notice the window was open!

So Roughy, is thickheaded, big attituded and super cute! He's always trying to escape outside. So we are constantly checking that the doors are closed and latched. He will do his darn-dest to get outside if he feels no one is watching. His attitude comes and goes like the wind. He will meow/nudge you for pets, but watch out he will change his mind with no notice and give you a bit, swat or growl. He loves a good fight with the other cats, sometimes playful, sometimes not. Just depends on his wacky mood!

I love him when he's being cute and friendly, hate him when he's being mean to the cats, and spraying to mark his territory. After a long time, we realized that he is much better behaved if he gets "Nap" time with Mel. I know - it sounds absolutely crazy but it's true....mid day when I'm home I'll take a short nap. If I yell out "Roughy, nap time!" he comes running and hunkers down in bed with me. He looks forward to this time with me, and somedays will follow me around crying until I go for a nap.

Who doesn't love a good cat nap?! Especially when the cats curl up and purr/drool the time away with you.

Introducing - Rollie

It's time to introduce another cat - Rollie, sister to Smokey. The dynamic Siamese duo. As bonded as they are, they are also extremely different in all the ways possible. My favorite nickname for her - Rollie Pollie. She has always been a big cat - much bigger than her super petite & slim sister. Rollie's weight has been a struggle, our vet is always nice about the overweight issue but likes to remind us to try and get it lower.

Rollie has her own following of people - but usually her followers are more interested in has she gained or lost weight since they last saw her. We are proud to say she lost weight (exactly how much, we aren't sure), and she's been holding steady. It happened in a haphazard kind of way. I switched all our cats to a high protein, healthy weight food by Purina One. Not exactly cheap, but not as expensive as prescription food, and I put out smaller bowls of food throughout the house that get filled once a day, once its gone that's it til the next day!

Her favorite human food - Cantaloupe. Somehow she knows when I'm about to cut into a fresh cantaloupe. I use the same cutting board and knife for a lot of things, but add a round thing to the mix and she comes waddling in for her share. She used to sit and hold bite sized pieces in her paw stuck on her little nails, in her older years, she leaves it on the floor and munches away. She's stolen a piece of pepper here and there, but truly looks for the cantaloupe.

She is second in line looking for hands on attention. She is not a fan of being held or picked up. She prefers to take her attention sitting on the couch next to you, or sitting on a chair for pets. Rollie prefers to stay on the first floor of the house, only occasionally making the long trip up the stairs to the second floor if the food is out downstairs. Can't blame her as all her favorite pillows and cat beds are downstairs. Not to mention where most of the human interaction goes on.

She has a party trick as well - is hers as cool as her sister? Probably not, but still cool. She "gives fives". That's her thing, and she has to be seated at the right height to do it, most times she'll do it on command as well. What is a cat five? For us, she reaches out and grabs your hand, pulls it toward her head/face and pets herself with your hand. Walk past her and don't pet - she's grabbing for you. You started petting and stop, she pulls you back in for more pets. Rollie loves the attention as much as Smokey so you have to be ready to give them equal amounts!

Rollie has the cutest white spot on her nose and just under her one nostral. Giving some people a little Hitler vibe.

If you have ever looked at a Siamese cat directly in their eyes you'll notice they have the most amazing blue eyes (at least ours do....) But when they are feeling a little mean or unfriendly their eyes kind of turn red! How crazy...it doesn't happen all to often in our house.

Till our Tails cross again,

Mel

Crazy Cat Lady or not?

We all talk about "Crazy Cat Ladies" - and let's face it - there truly are some out there, somewhere! But as we all joke and talk about it - there's two definitions of "Crazy Cat Lady". A more scientific/technical one and the more joke definition. It's a rare case when someone refers to a "Crazy Cat Lady" and is indeed referring to the scientific definition of it.

In the old days Crazy Cat Lady meant: a woman with lots of cats who was likely old or batty or any combination of these. I laugh a lot over this. I have been gifted the crazy cat lady action figure set (https://shorturl.at/dfwAX) more than once. It leaves me to wonder, I was gifted that before I became a proud owner of a dozen cats, so what were the givers of those gifts thinking?

Do I come across as batty? I like to think that I'm not old (age is just a number right?!) I've always had a few cats, but never to the point I am now. Who knows, maybe to some I am a bit batty. So watch out world as I get even older, my mind will slip and then I'll be full on batty with a dozen cats at my side. I guess to my "younger" friends and some family I could be old. In fact, I would put money down that some of my siblings would flat out say I am straight up crazy and batty.

The scientific definition: Crazy Cat Lady Syndrome - Toxoplasma gondii to several mental disorders and behavioral problems. Thanks to the news for coining this term/definition of something that is actually a disease and can be contagious.

Toxoplasma gondii is actually a parasite - the sexual reproductive cycle is in cats! The parasite is transmitted thru the feces of cats, into humans, mice, rats and other cats. So, please think twice before sampling your cat's poop! What does this parasite actually do? It can change your behavior, and make you have an increased affinity for cats. Toxoplasma infects more than a third of humanity and it still confounds those trying to figure out the full effects of it on human behavior. Surprisingly 15-40% of cats have been infected with Toxoplasma at some point in their life span. While that seems high, the chance of it being shed is extremely low - 0-1% - meaning that it is harder to transmit to humans.

Really - who knew!? We all hear pregnant woman should not be scooping/changing cat litter - so husbands - step up and handle it for your pregnant wife! Gene, maybe just scoop every so often to make sure I don't bring home MORE cats. Above all else, keep those litter boxes clean - use vinegar/water to clean boxes or bleach diluted with water to clean the litter boxes, and be sure to wash those hands after scooping litter or cleaning their boxes.

I'm one of the slackers who always forgets to take stool samples to annual vet visits - but really - that gross thing is a HUGE piece of making sure your cat (or other pet) is healthy! It's relatively cheap to get the stool sample run for parasites. So when you schedule your vet appointment and drop it on your calendar - add a reminder to grab some fresh poop to take along!

Till our tails cross again,

Mel