Always interesting.
You never know what you will find
or where you will find it.
Climb a tree
Hide in a plant
You will be endlessly entertained!
Category Archives: Pets
The Cat’s Meow, A review
We did get to try out the Cat’s Meow on Christmas. CVS was open so I did make a battery run.
It’s easy to put together so it was ready to go in no time. I set it on the floor and pushed the button on the center post. The ball started moving under the nylon cover making a scratchy-squeaky sound.
It caught Rocky’s attention first. He circled it with caution then backed up and watched. About that time Buddy arrived from the bedroom to see what all the noise was about. He was a bit more bold than Rocky. He tried to tap the center post with his paw and then settled down with his nose to the edge of the nylon but so far neither kitty tried to catch the moving ball.
About 5 minutes into the staring match it was as if Smokey couldn’t take it any more. He hopped down off the couch, walked over to the nylon circle and sat on the moving ball effectively trapping it under his butt. Game Over!
I could hear the motor straining to move so rather than take a chance on burning it out I stepped in and moved Smokey off the nylon freeing the ball to move again. The minute I set Smokey down he was back after that ball again. This time he got it between his front paws and once more, wouldn’t release it. I guess he forgot that cats play with their prey.
Once more I intervened and had him release the ball. I guess 2 tries was enough for him. He headed back to the couch. Rocky had watched the whole thing and now decided to get into the act too. He and Buddy lined up on opposite sides and each batted and played for a few more minutes.
I got up to get the camera and that seemed to break the mood. Rocky left for his sun lamp.
Only Buddy was still interested. He just watched for quite awhile. I was about ready to turn it off and save the battery when I saw the tell-tale butt wiggle and Buddy attacked.
I guess all that concentration worked up an appetite. Buddy played alone a bit longer then headed to the food bowls. I turned the Cat’s Meow off for now. If they show some more interest, I’ll turn it back on but they have all gone their separate ways for now.
My cat testers give it 2 Paws up (Smokey & Buddy) and one Paw down (Rocky) or as they say on the show “Does it Work?”. Yes it does but the amount of interest varies from cat to cat.
All is Calm
Christmas is behind us for another year. Calm has returned to the condo. I don’t even have children and it can get hectic as kitties tear into catnip mousies and wrapping paper.
But not this year!?
Christmas morning around my house was pretty quiet. My cats and I all slept in. Yup, one of their gifts to me I guess. It was 9:30 am before I woke up and not a creature was stirring unless it was a mouse. The 3 cats were still down for the count. I couldn’t believe I’d slept so late!
I really wanted to give the cats their stockings. Yes I stuff a stocking each year. They each got a cat toy, a couple cans of specialty cat food like Fancy Feast or Blue Buffalo, some cat nip and cat treats but no one was interested.
I opened the Cat’s Meow toy only to find the dreaded words “Batteries Not Included”. Now why couldn’t they have printed that on the side of the box somewhere? I even checked last week! Maybe the CVS store is open on Christmas? I know Walmart is closed.
I tossed out a toy mouse but only got “The Look” then the 3 cats pealed off to go find more naps. Hmmm. No interest in boxes, or wrapping or toys. That’s quite the switch for my silly boys.
Midway through the Disney Christmas parade Rocky threw up breakfast. The other 2 cats ignored the interruption. Rocky isn’t the cat that usually throws up. Both Smokey and Buddy are more prone to tummy issues. Smokey gets hair balls and Buddy eats too fast sometimes. He tends to “projectile vomit”. Both send out a volume of sick up that is amazing for their size ( and pretty yucky for me) but Rocky not so much, so I wondered what he might have gotten into.
I didn’t find any plastic or chewed up tape so maybe he just didn’t feel good. A couple hours later after another nap he seemed back to normal.
I got a book from the cats. Shadow Woman by Linda Howard and settled in for a day of reading. I have 2 problems when I read. 1. I read too fast and the book is done too soon and 2. Once I get “into” a book it’s hard to put it down.. The two problems mean that the book was finished by early evening. Bummer. Over too soon.
I hope everyone had a nice day too!
Spoiled Rotten Kitties Live Here
You think children are bad at Christmas? They are in the stores and they want, want want. They get excited and over tired and pout. I don’t care what the song says about not pouting or crying it happens. They are just overstimulated.
Well my 3 cats would put any child to shame. Hard to believe it when they look so innocent.
You heard about Rocky’s attack on the Christmas tree
and Buddy’s destruction of my winter wonderland but wait till I tell you the rest of the story.
I have been thinking about getting one of those toys they advertise on the late night infomercials called Cat’s Meow.
Its supposed to entertain all cats. I was hesitating because they already have a similar toy and they have no interest in it. But I was wandering through the “As Seen on TV” section at CVS and low and behold…there was the Cat’s Meow and they were 2 for $19.00. Same price as TV but no shipping this way. So in a moment of weakness I bought them.
Cat’s can’t read so I brought them in the house and set them on the table. I figured I’d open them up on Christmas. What I want to know is how do those 3 cats know that it was something for them in the boxes? They zeroed in on them immediately. It didn’t take long before the plop, plop of the boxes landing on the floor came to my ears. Sure enough, the boxes weren’t just on the floor, one was being pushed around while the other one had a cat perched on top of it. (I didn’t give in. They still have to wait.)
Rocky has had a heat lamp for about a year now. He is the only one of the 3 cats that ever paid much attention to it. He lounges the day away basking like a sun lover at the beach. There’s a story behind the heat lamp but I won’t bore you with it now. Suffice it to say that I got the result I was looking for so it was a good investment.
The problem now is that Smokey has started trying it out. The first time, about a month ago , was only for a couple of minutes and then he moved on. But about a week later he was under it again and Rocky wasn’t happy about it. Now as soon as Rocky gets down, whether to get a drink of water, or something to eat or use the litter box, Smokey is right there to take over and he isn’t giving it up when Rocky comes back. This is causing Rocky to become very distressed but he shares his annoyance with me instead of Smokey. Rocky follows me around meowing and getting underfoot until Smokey gets down and relinquishes the sunlamp lit perch. Tonight the only way Smokey got down was for a handful of kitty treats.
Does this mean I need to get another sunlamp now for Smokey? And what a coincidence that he’s doing this right before Christmas. (I want, I want, I want)
Who says cats aren’t smart?!