Disclaimer: I have nine cats! But I'm not an expert on cats, I'm learning as I go along. This blog is about my cats, their crazy natures, their fights and the mischief they get up to! If you are looking for advice on how to take care of cats, this is not the place for you!!
I'm not sure who the culprit was, but they managed to open a cupboard door, drag the big bag of food out. The white bag contained the smaller bags. They got the smaller bags out and chewed them open!
The cats aren't starving!
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! The photos were taken after most of the mess had been cleaned up. Coming home from work, I don't expect to be greeted by such a disaster!
All of my male cats have problems with their urinary tract. They get stones, which makes it difficult to pass urine. I'm very vigilant with their diet, also making sure there is always water for them to drink. But of course, they still get sick now and then.
David noticed that Sam was going to the litter box but not doing anything, just squatting there for ages. Sam seemed alright, still eating and drinking, still racing around the house, chasing the other cats or being chased. Last night he was in my room again, every hour he got up to go to the litter box, but didn't do anything! So of course, he needs to go to the vets!
Then this morning, I noticed Alan was also squatting in the litter box but not doing anything. Also, he was moewing very loudly, a sure sign that something was wrong!
When David came home from his night shift, I asked him to take them to the vets. Which is where the entertainment started!
I was trying to clean out my kitchen cabinet, but I was getting too much help from the cats!
I don't know why the newspaper was so interesting!
David got a couple of cat carriers from the storage place. The cats saw them and took off!
We managed to get Alan in, but Sam wasn't having it. He ran off and hid under the sofa! It took half a dozen attempts to get him in.
I didn't go to the vets; I was busy cleaning up the mess the cats had made.
David said that we had caught the problem early; both had small blockages. Alan had to have a catheter put in to drain his bladder. Sam had no urine in his bladder, so he just needs medicine.
On the way home, David said that Sam got out of the carrier and sat on David's lap! Fortunately, it's only a 10-minute drive!
When they got home, Sam went into hiding again. He actually got on the cat tower.
Sam is not happy!
Alan, however, was complaining to the other cats! He followed them around, nudging them, then he started to meow again!
One thing I'm very grateful for is the price. I thought that with two cats being seen, it would cost over 20,000 yen, about £100. But it was only 8,000 yen, about £40, including the medicine.
I really hope that the other cats don't get sick.
Looks like going back to only giving this expensive cat food.
With nine cats, that's a lot of money, especially since our budget is very tight. So we've been giving cheaper food. Not every day, maybe two or three times a week! Looks like that isn't working! So, back to the expensive food!
A couple of them are rather stand-offish; they aren't interested in being petted, but enjoy playing with whoever is around.
Then, three of them are the troublemakers; whenever there is a fight, I know that one of them will be in the middle.
Then there is Fluffy, who is stand-offish until it comes to getting people food, especially chicken. She knows how to be very cute to get what she wants! She is also good at imitating a parrot!
Fluffy, being a parrot.
Most of the cats will get on your lap or sit next to you when it gets cold!
But Sam is the biggest love bug. The past week, he has decided that sleeping on my bed is the best place, it's warm!
He sits outside my room crying until I let him in. Once I open the door, he runs in with a very cute, quiet meow, as if to say thank you!
Curled up on my bed!
Before he goes to sleep, he purrs and starts making biscuits!
I don't mind, but he likes to be in the middle of the bed, so I have to find a way to lie down around him. I try to move him to where I think it would be better, but he always moves back to the middle!
My daughter sent me this video she found on her phone, with the question, "What happened?"
Time! That's what happened.
These cute little kittens have grown into cute big cats!
This is Steve now, the white kitten in the video
And this is Fred, the kitten in the boot.
They have really grown!
Of course, they are still cute and rather naughty! These are the two culprits if there's a fight!
Time goes by so quickly! And of course, animals don't live as long as people. So I'm trying to enjoy and love my cats as much as possible now. They drive me crazy, but also bring me a lot of joy and laughter!
During the summer, it's so quiet here. The cats just don't have the energy to fight. Now that it's cooled down a lot, the fights have started.
I've been trying to read for the past half hour, but every few minutes I have to jump up to stop yet another fight.
I've been playing the cats more, trying to use up their energy that way, but it isn't really working.
I would love to buy a cat wheel so they can exercise, tire themselves out and also deal with the older cat's weight problem. But the wheels are rather expensive, and the reality is that we don't have room for one! So, I'll continue to jump up and down, chase the cats and hope that they will settle down a bit! At least I'm getting some exercise!
Fred
Alan
Steve
These are the 3 main culprits!
They are all male and all fixed, so I have no idea what the problem is!
This house, like many older homes in Japan, lacks central heating. We have little kerosene fan heaters in some of the rooms, but all they do is take the chill off the room; they don't really warm the place at all. Add to that, there is no insulation, so keeping the room warm is very hard!
My cats, however, always seem to find warm places.
The sofa has a lot of blankets on it, also I put blankets on the dining table; they seem to like it there!
The other day, I couldn't see any of my cats. That's unusual as the house isn't that big! I found some of them were on my son's bed the others were in the engawa.
Even though I've been in Japan for many years, I still don't understand what the engawa is for. It's a small corridor that is in front of the Japanese tatami room. It doesn't go anywhere; it's just dead space as far as I can see. The engawa here is wide but not long, I've turned it into my book nook as there is space for bookshelves away from the window! It's also one area that gets some sun on the windows, warming up the area nicely. This is where I found the cats, sunbathing, looking very contented.
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