Steve

 Steve is my white cat. He's also one of my chunky cats and the best escape artist.

Steve

We moved to this house about 18 months ago. In the old house, Steve was the first cat to figure out how to open the front door!

Here he has found that the screen door in Christopher's room is easy to open; that's how they got out yesterday.

Christopher said that yesterday evening Steve opened the door to his room, wandered in slowly and went to the screen door to go out.  Christopher stopped him. The other cats were waiting to see if they could get out as well!

Today Steve has been sitting by Christopher's bedroom door crying. He really wants to go out! Maybe I should train him to walk on a leash!

I found this cute video of Steve from a few years ago.

He was completely white as a kitten; his tan marking came in later.

Another video I found is of Steve, Alan and Fred playing.

Cute!

The Great Escape

 When I go to the kitchen/dining room in the morning, I am usually greeted by this sight!

Cats on the table.

This morning, however, there were no cats on the table, under the table, on the counter, or on the sofa. The room was totally catless!

I quickly checked the other rooms but only found two of my nine cats. I looked outside and saw the other seven frolicking in the garden; they had escaped!

Knowing it was their breakfast time made it easy to get them back in. I opened the door and shook the bag of food. Six of them charged back in; just Mama cat decided that the taste of freedom was better than the taste of cat food!

I have a hidden stash of cat treats for emergencies like that. Christopher and I went out armed with the cat treats and managed to grab Mama cat.

I don't know how long they were outside, but they ate and slept; they looked exhausted! 

Fred looking very tired after his adventure.

My cats are indoor only. I thought about letting them go out, but where we lived before was between two very busy roads; I would worry about the cats being hit by a car or truck. Here the farmers use a lot of spray that I think might be poisonous to the cats. Keeping them in is hard; cleaning litter trays and trying to keep the cats entertained is hard, but for my peace of mind it's better.

I Don't Understand

 I really don't understand my cats!

They fight a lot. Especially Fred and Frodo.

Frodo

Fred

They fight each other and the other cats. I've noticed recently that Frodo has been attacking the other cats more, even Toast and Alfie, who usually don't get into fights! I have no idea why this is happening now. When we moved here just over 18 months ago, I was prepared for a lot of fights. The space is half the size we had before, but the cats settled in alright!

However, recently they have been sleeping in the same place.

Only Fluffy is missing!

Fred and Alan, who usually fight!

The other day, I walked into the dining room to this.

The cats are hanging out on the table.

Why is it sometimes they can't tolerate being in the same room, but other times they are happy to be together?

I do disinfect the table before we eat! I tried to keep them off, but it didn't work!

Does anyone understand cats, or are they a mystery?

Sorry

 On YouTube, I got a couple of comments on the video I posted yesterday, saying that it was cruel.

I'm sorry that people got upset by it. 

David wasn't being cruel at all, just playing, just for a minute. 

The kitten wasn't hurt or traumatised by this. The kitten was Sam, he is the most loving cat, always looking for cuddles.

This is Sam now.

I've seen cruelty, I've seen animals abandoned by their owners. That's how we got Mama cat!

I could be very angry at the cats as they cost me the house I was renting. I loved where we lived before, it was in a small city, I could work from home teaching English. The area was convenient, with shops and doctors just a few minutes' walk away ( I can't drive). I was given a choice: move out or get rid of the cats. I chose the cats. My life here is hard, the house is small, falling to pieces and in the middle of nowhere. I've lost most of my income and have to rely on my adult kids, not what I wanted in my 60s. 

But I love my cats, I would never be cruel to them, or allow anyone else to be cruel. 

Another Throw Back Video

 I'm working on a small project of making some of my cat photos into colouring pages, using AI, of course. I want to put together a PDF to sell on my Ko-Fi page. I don't have a timeline yet, but it's interesting to see what AI comes up with.

I'm not artistic at all, but I find colouring very relaxing. I thought other people might enjoy colouring too.

The photo

And the drawing.

To find photos, I spend time going through all the thousands of photos and videos I have on my computer. I keep finding photos and videos that I haven't seen before, or maybe I just don't remember!

Today I found this video of David being shouted at by one of the kittens, I think it's Sam, but I'm not sure.

It's kind of cute!!

Sam Again

 Recently, I haven't let Sam in my room. I have plants on my windowsill, and he keeps trying to eat them. I don't think this is very good for him or the plants!

Today, however, he was crying so pitifully outside my door that I decided that he could come in for a while. I let him in, and he went for the plants straight away! I got out a bag of fish flakes that are for the cats. You can buy similar ones for people as well, but they have more salt in them. 

I was watching Sam as I got the flakes out of the cupboard. I didn't realise that the package was open and upside down, the flakes fell out, like a small snowstorm! Sam charged across the room and started to clean up the mess.

I don't know if I caught it on video, but the flakes were going up his nose, making him sneeze, which blew the flakes further. At least one spot on my floor got cleaned!

New Video

 I've been playing around with NotebookLM. 

I'm amazed at how easy it was to make a short video from one of my posts.

Please watch it and let me know what you think!

Brushing The Cats

 The cats are shedding their winter coats like crazy.

I have to sweep and vacuum every day, sometimes twice a day.

We've been brushing the cats as much as possible. I would love to brush each cat every day, but sometimes it's hard to find them, or they are sleeping on the highest shelves.

Today, David managed to give Fred a good brush until Toast jumped up and got in the way.

After I finish posting this, I'm going to see if I can find some of the other cats to brush!

Teasing The Cats

 I don't know about other cats, but mine are very food-centred.

I keep the food in one cupboard, with cleaning supplies. Every time I open the cupboard, the cats come running; they know the sound of the cupboard opening.

I can understand that they associate the sound with food. What I don't understand is when I open a can, usually tomatoes, they come running as well. We rarely feed them wet food, so why do they associate the sound of a can opening with food? Is it some natural instinct that indoor cats have?

The other day my son started to play with the pull tab on a can of food, and this was the result.

At the end of the video, my son went down the corridor to feed them, which is why they are running away again.

Ignore the dirty floor, I sweep every morning, but by the evening it's a disaster again!

Mother's Day

 Happy Mother's Day to all cat Moms out there.

I never wanted cats. Growing up, we always had dogs. Dogs, I understand, not cats!

But when Mama cat showed up my heart melted. She was such a tiny thing, so sweet and cute. Very quiet and not at all aggressive. Even when she first came around, she would let us pick her up or stroke her.

This was before she came into the house. She would come around the yard and meow outside the window. I thought we could feed her and give her clean water, but leave her outside.

That changed when she gave birth to 4 kittens outside our window during one of the worst rainstorms I've ever experienced. We had to bring her in, or the kittens would have drowned!

Mama with her first litter

When this photo was taken, one of the kittens had been adopted.

Mama cat is the matriarch of our cat family. 

She is still very quiet, rarely fights, she lets the other cats push her away from her food, she never demands attention, but is very happy when she gets love!

So Happy Mother's Day to Mama Cat, you really changed my life!

Sam....The Guard Cat

 I was sitting in my room with Sam on my lap. I'm not feeling too good; seasonal allergies have hit me hard, sneezing and sniffling all day.

Sam was all relaxed, gently snoring and purring at the same time.

Suddenly, he stood up, his tail all fluffed up, and the fur on his back standing on end.

I then heard someone outside my window. There isn't anything out there, so I couldn't figure out who would be in that area. We get wild hogs in the garden, but it's still too early for them to be out!

Sam then jumped onto the windowsill. He started hissing! My window opened, I was about to scream when I saw my son, Christopher, standing there!

He gave me a real fright! I was happy to see that Sam was trying to defend his territory!

Sam with his bushy tail.

They've Taken Over!

 The title sounds like the start of a science-fiction book about aliens invading!

That's what it feels like when my cats take over a place.

At the moment it's the bed my daughter uses when she visists. I don't allow the cats in my room, most of the time. I don't mind one or two coming in to keep me company while I'm working on my computer but not to sleep, except Sam. He kind of made it a habit to sleep with me. Unfortunately I had to stop him as I have plants growing on my window sill and he keeps chewing on them. Not good for him or the plants!

The plants that Sam keeps chewing on.

My daughter has been reading in my room this afternoon. I was busy doing other things, cooking and cleaning. I was wondering where the cats were. I found out when I came back to my room!

8 of the cats, snuggled up together.

Only Fluffy was missing, she prefers to be in the kitchen/dining area.

Fluffy, sitting on a paper towel.

This morning Fred scared me. I was half asleep, running for the toilet, opened the door to this.

Fred on the throne!

The top of the tank is a little sink, with a tap that runs when the toilet is flushed. These are common in Japanese houses, a place to wash your hands without having an extra sink. Fred prefers to drink the water from that tap, he will wait in the toilet for someone to come and flush it!

My spell and grammar checking app isn't working. Sorry if there are mistakes!

What A Night

 I think I slept for less than an hour last night. All of the cats decided to party loudly, starting at midnight and continuing until 8am!

Frodo and Fred started fighting, so I separated them. I went to bed. Just got comfortable when Steve, Alan and Toast started the song of the ancestors, you know that long yowling that goes on forever. Calmed them down, back to bed. Then Mama cat started to meow, very loudly. She sounded so sad, so of course I had to go and see what was wrong. I couldn't see anything; they had been fed, and the water bowls were full. Then Fred and Steve started to fight, so I broke my rule and let Fred sleep in my room. 

This was the pattern all night. Of course, they are sleeping now!

Fred and Toast

Fluffy is asleep on David.

I think part of the problem is the local cats hanging around our garden.

One of the local cats.

I've seen this cat quite a few times recently. There's also a white cat and a small black cat. I don't know if they are strays or belong to someone in the area. One problem is that a lot of people don't bother to spay or neuter their animals. If these cats are intact and marking the garden, then that might be why my cats are acting up. We had the same problem last year. Fortunately, once it got hot, my cats calmed down. The only problem with that is once it gets hot, I have a hard time sleeping! This time of year, the nighttime temperature is just right for me. I really hope that the cats sleep tonight!

Fred Again

 I always feel sorry for Fred; he gets pushed out by the other cats and ends up in a lot of fights. 

I'm not sure how this happened, but his littermates turned on him, and even the younger cats have a go at him, especially Frodo.

Steve, the white cat, Fred in the middle and Alan.

This is Fred with his littermates. I always think they are planning something in this photo. It's unusual to see them sitting together like this!

The only other cat he gets along with is Alfie, the other grey and white cat.

Fred and Alfie

I'm not sure if it's related, but Fred has a bad habit of marking everywhere. I think he is trying to show his dominance over the other cats. Because of this, I don't usually let him in my room.

This week, however, my daughter is staying here for a few days. She has let Fred into my room. I don't mind as long as she can watch him. At the moment, he is really sleeping. I think he doesn't sleep very deeply as he is always being vigilant.

She took this video of him making biscuits.

Cute!