Fred

 Fred is one of the oldest cats I have.

Fred

He's also a pain in the neck.

As a kitten, he got attacked a lot by the other cats, including his littermates. This has made him rather standoffish with the other cats and led to a lot of fights.

He is now going through a phase, and I really hope it's just a phase, of being very needed!

In the other house, we could separate the cats at night so they didn't fight. Here, we don't have enough rooms or doors that can be locked. This leads to me jumping out of bed every few hours because the cats are fighting, usually Fred is in the middle.

The other week I gave up and let Fred in my room, I have locks on my door as I don't want the cats in my room.

This has led to Fred demanding to be let into my room almost every night!  

He sits outside my door crying, like his heart is breaking. If I let him in, he jumps on my bed, purrs and cries at the same time, and starts making biscuits. He'll head butt me and try to get as much attention as possible. I wouldn't mind, but he ignores me the rest of the day!!

He curls up in the middle of the bed, on top of the covers, making it very uncomfortable for me to sleep!

I try not to get angry with him, but he is driving me crazy! I want to sleep!

Still, he can be cute and makes me laugh!

The other morning, I was trying to have a lie-in; I didn't get to sleep until 3am, so after making breakfast, I decided I needed another couple of hours. Of course, Fred wasn't having this and started to cry and scratch at my door. I let him in, but he didn't want to get on the bed. Instead, he lay down by the door. I closed my eyes, but was a bit worried about him, so I opened one eye, and he was a bit closer to the bed. Closed my eyes again, then had a peek. He was right next to my bed, I screamed and he jumped!! He had creeped up on me!

Fred as a kitten, Steve is the white cat, and Alan the black one

After one bad fight, he had to wear this to stop him from licking a wound he had

With a toy he found

Litter Box Woes

 Nine cats mean lots of litter boxes. 

We have just moved to a smaller house and don't have the space to set up enough litter boxes. Before we had 12 set up around the house, here we have 10.

That should be enough, but somehow it isn't. The cats keep on having accidents, mainly peeing in places they shouldn't. I'm not sure if that is because there isn't enough litter boxes, the boxes aren't clean enough or the cats are just marking their area.

So I did a quick search and came up with these ideas to help with our litter box woes.

First, scoop daily, better yet, twice a day. Big sigh!!! I can't do this! I know that having animals means being responsible for cleaning up after them, but I just can't. I've tried many times, but I end up gagging and even vomiting. I was like this when my kids were babies, changing nappies was a nightmare for me, I think that is one of the reasons I got them potty trained as soon as possible.  With the cat litter, David does it, but not often enough! Maybe I should figure out how to do it without gagging!

At the moment we are using a cheap litter. But I think that some of the cats don't like it as it tends to be sharp. Maybe that is why some of the cats go outside the box, the litter is too sharp for their tender paws!

I like the idea of clumping litter, so I will look into that.

Also we should set up a schedule to completely empty the tray and give it a good wash.  Again, something I can't deal with! But to keep the house smelling fresh and not like a litter box, this is a good idea! 

Where the litter boxes are isn't really good; two are at the end of the corridor that runs through the house, and some are near our toilets. From what I've read, they should be in a quiet place with good air flow. This house is one story and doesn't lend itself to having pets. I don't want them in the main room, which is the kitchen/dining room; the other place is the tatami mat room, but I don't want them in there either. Which leaves the corridor and entrance. We don't have many guests, so using the entrance is okay for now. 

I think I have to figure out a good schedule to keep the litter boxes clean, making both the cats and people who live here happy!

Fred

He will be the topic of my next post. See you then!

Cats Are Amazing

 I'm amazed at how different my cats are. Each one of my nine cats has its own unique character. From being a bully, to a sneak thief, and a love bug.

The longer I have had the cats, the more I'm amazed by them.

I remember when they were just kittens, reading somewhere that only cats and giraffes walk by moving their legs on the same side of their body. And yes I did spend a day watching the cats walk to see if this was really true!

Here are some more interesting facts about cats.

 1.  Cats can taste the air: They use a special organ called the Jacobson's organ, which is on the roof of their mouth, to smell things by slightly opening their mouths, often resulting in the "Flehmen response," that funny face they pull after smelling your socks!

  2. Purring doesn't just mean they're happy: Cats also purr when they're stressed, hurt, or sick. This is thought to be a way for them to relax themselves and may even help them heal.

 3. Whiskers measure space: Cats use their whiskers to judge the width of spaces and decide whether they can squeeze through.  Their bodies are wider than their whiskers! Be careful of "Whisker Fatigue", their whiskers get overstimulated when touching food or water bowls. Shallow bowls, so the whiskers are outside of the bowl, are better.

 4. Cat's eye lenses don't adjust like ours: They rely on dilating and constricting their pupils to regulate light, giving them exceptional vision in low light.

 5. Kneading could date back to kittenhood: When cats “make biscuits,” it’s thought to mimic kneading their mother’s belly to stimulate milk flow—some say it’s also a sign of contentment.

 6.  They’re lactose intolerant: Contrary to popular belief, most adult cats can’t digest milk properly.  It may irritate their stomachs!

 7.  Cats are master nappers, sleeping anywhere from 12 to 16 hours per day to conserve energy. They sleep for about 70% of their lives.

 8.  Their back paws are less flexible: Although a cat's front paws are extremely dexterous, their back paws are more rigid and meant to spring and exert power during jumps. 

9. Cats can make hundreds of sounds: compared to dogs, who typically have about 10, cats have up to 100 distinct vocalizations. Most of these sounds are made at night, at least that is my experience.

 10. Their grooming practices serve a purpose: In addition to maintaining a clean appearance, grooming aids in temperature regulation, promotes circulation, and reduces stress.

I'm really amazed by these creatures!

But having cats is not as easy as I thought it would be.

Coming soon:

Litterbox woes and expensive food! 

Just three of my cats, being cute!

Frodo and Sam

 Two of my ginger cats.

They are littermates but completely different in character!

Frodo

Frodo was born with a twisted tale and a very unique meow. He sounds like he's croaking more than meowing. I named him Frodo after the character in "The Lord Of The Rings". Like the hobbit Frodo the cat is unique and his own person.

Sam

Samwise is the companion to Frodo and the reason I called Frodo's brother Sam.

Even though they look similar, they are very different.

Frodo is very aggressive toward the other cats. He is smaller, but that doesn't hold him back from attacking or taking over.

He is also very smart. In the old house, he figured out how to open all the doors. Here as well, he was the first one of the cats to find out how all the doors work!

Sam, on the other hand, is a love bug.

I don't like the cats in my bedroom unless I'm in there. The cats know this and usually don't bother trying to get in. Sam charges in as soon as I open the door. He knows he shouldn't be on there so he jumps on the bed and rolls on his back, showing his tummy and purring away. Somehow, he knows that this will melt my heart and let him stay for a while!

Sam is having a stretch on my bed.

Sam also knows who will feed him. When he's hungry, he will meow outside my door or my son's door.  The other cats wait near where the food is stored!

Fluffy...

 AKA The Chicken Thief.

Fluffy is the smallest of my cats, also the only long-haired one.

Fluffy

She is very cute, loves to be petted and held. She likes to climb onto people's shoulders.

Fluffy using Mikey to see outside

I always worry because she never seems to eat the cat food. I've found out that she prefers people's food, especially chicken.

Last summer I cooked some chicken breast and left it on the counter to cool for a salad. I left the kitchen, came back a few minutes later, and found Fluffy had grabbed a piece of chicken and was happily eating it.  She had managed to find the biggest piece from the pan!! I couldn't believe it.

My chicken

This was a couple of weeks ago. I swear these cats work together. One cat was sitting on my feet, I looked down to see who it was, and when I looked back Fluffy had snatched one of my chicken drum sticks!  In the background you can see a full tray of chicken, she wasn't interested in those, just mine.

I've tried putting her in the corridor when I cook or eat but she cries so much and sounds so pathetic that I let her back in!! 

Part of the fun, I guess!

Sleep All Day, Play All Night

 I know cats sleep a lot, something like 50 to 70% of the day!

I get that racing around at night is normal for them but it still gets to me!

A discussion with my cats recently went something like this.

Me:  Why are you racing around at 2am? Why can't you be normal and sleep when I want to sleep.

Cats: We are cute, and we are even cuter when we are asleep. So we sleep during the day so you can take photos of our cuteness!

Look at all those lovely photos for your blog!

Me: Okay, I get that but why 2am zoomies?

Cats:  My dear we are getting our 10,000 steps in, you know we have to keep fit to have a long healthy life.

Not sure I'm buying that!  

But the cats are indeed cute when they sleep and I do like getting photos of them. I try to take some when they are awake but those never seem to work out so well. They end up being blurred because the cats move too much. Like this.

Looks like I caught a ghost image!

I need to think of something to stop the late-night madness!!  Maybe a play time before bed?

Time Flies!!

 I've been meaning to write more but I never seem to have the time!

February was bitterly cold! Most days found the cats like this:

on the sofa with an electric blanket on

one of the warmest places in the sun

curled up together

In the morning I put the kerosene heater on in the living/dining room and have a line of cats in front. I've tried to explain that sitting in front of the heater means that the room doesn't warm up. But they don't listen.  

As the weather warms up I think the cats will get more active. I can already hear them racing around and fighting more! 

One problem is the neighborhood cats that come and hang outside. I don't mind them coming, I guess no choice, but I don't think they are fixed.

One of the neighborhood cats

There are at least three that come round, I haven't had the chance to get photos of the others yet. If they are just hanging out or coming to the windows I don't mind, it's when they start fighting and yowling that gets me. Also, something keeps ripping our trash bags to pieces, either one of the cats or some other animal. I live in the countryside of Japan, we can get several interesting animals here, wild boar and occasionally monkeys among other animals!

I hope to keep this blog up. I'm learning how to take videos and edit them, should be interesting! Look out for some interesting cat videos!