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

Smokey's introduction

It's time to write about Cats - the core of why I started this blog! Deciding which one or where to start is harder than I anticipated.

I have 12 cats, I love them all equally (and sometimes hate them equally.) All of them will get their spotlight as time goes on. For now, I'll start with Smokey.

Smokey, is a Siamese cat. She has a sister from the same litter, who I will write about more on her own post. Smokey has her own following of people (some who think it's time for Smokey to have her own tiktok or social media account...). Everyone that meets her want's to take her home. I'm really not sure how she wins over so many people! It must be her overly friendly demeanor. She's always ready to meet new people - no matter who or why they are at our house.

Of all the things in her life, she loves nothing more than to be held & cuddled 24/7. More specifically, as close to your chest as possible or over your shoulder like a baby. This is no joke - I recently was trying to sweep the stairs and ended up holding her over one shoulder and one handed trying to sweep - a little more difficult than I would have imagined. When she gets attention and it's not in the form of a hold, she is more than happy to just take constant pets. If you dare to stop petting her for any reason, she will give you a gentle slap or nibble to get you back to petting.

In the cooler months or days she prefers to cuddle up under the blankets - and prefers to prop her head up on the pillow. Absolutely spoiled - I know. But, really who doesn't want a personal heater when its cold out or you feel crappy?!

Smokey can be extremely vocal - which at times can just drive you over the edge. She will cry (which sounds exactly like a baby) if she feels neglected. To drive her point home she will sneak into the basement and cry down there until we search her out and call her back upstairs. As if that isn't enough to get our attention, she will find a chair with a low rung and "choke" herself on it. She switches between these two methods to get attention from us. Gotta love her and her crazy tactics for attention.

She's also extremely helpful when I'm trying to craft. If I'm working at the table she needs to lay on whatever I'm working on, as close to me as catly as possible. This includes if I'm crocheting, or loom knitting. When she realizes I've settle in to work on a project, she has to lay right on top of whatever I'm doing. The only time she hates to be covered. Because it's more inconvenient for me.

Smokey's party trick - (which we don't let her do to often) She likes to drink beer or wine. More specifically from the beer bottle/can or from the wine glass. She turns her nose up if you try to give her a lick from your finger or a little bowl. We don't encourage this, but she will seek out a beer bottle or wine glass when company is over!

Till our tails cross again,

Mel