Cat Playtime

Cats don't like change, so when we moved we had some disappointing happenings. Three cats (Mars, Stripes, and Mini) took off after we moved 8 others and could not be retrieved despite us leaving beds, food and some of their things around and spending multiple hours of calling and waiting around for them. Of the 8 we moved ... Bepo (who was always inside the other house) ran away after 3 nights in the new house never to be seen again. Princess was around for about 4 weeks and then started taking 2 or 3 day walkabouts. She then took off and we have not seen her again. I have spent many hours wandering and looking for buzzards and bodies to no avail. So that leaves us with 7 happy cats! The oldest one, Dakota, lives in the downstairs room and doesn't like to socialize. He is around 14 years old? Something like that and moved from Washington with us. He believes things are after him and will jump up from his bed and run under the couch to escape whatever it is he is seeing. He doesn't have too many years left. Chicken is the mellowest and most normal cat we've got. He takes it all in stride and had no problem coming into the house. Here he is having some king of conversation with himself. Pollo has been a pleasant surprise! She used to only stay around Mars and we couldn't touch her. Now she sleeps on the bed, rubs against us and is really nice. We still can't take her to the vet, pick her up, or pill her or anything but she has mellowed out considerably. We feel bad that Mars is at the other house but the new owner is trying to befriend her so we can collect her in the future and reunite her with Pollo!

Pollo likes to hang out on the carport cover. She can see everything that goes on and sometimes has company up there. Jackie was reduced from the middle of highway 2 and is a terror! She has weak little arms and is kind of a runt but we love her. She is the most normal and socialized of them all. Here she is attempting to climb from the carport up on to the roof. I don't know what the cats all do up there but it is a regular party place.

Blanco is as gorgeous as ever. He is the only one that won't sleep inside. He does however sleep on the porch at the front of the house every night and comes in for meals and looking around. We have even caught him playing! He is the one who was stuck in the log. Rip is a strange one. He seems slightly retarded. He doesn't see too well and always looks like he has just woken up. His favorite thing in the universe is to play in this cube. We have three cubes ($4 each) and he dives into them, rolls around, and pops out like a jack-in-the-box. He gives a little cry so Jackie will play with him and the two of them tumble around for hours. Tuca is a bitch and stalks Jackie. At the same time though she can be sweet and affectionate.

Rip getting ready to do his butt helicopter move. He looms over Jackie with his front arms, then swings his rear end over and spins around! Very comical! When Jackie is tired out he plays with himself and some ribbon or dives from cube to cube. Blanco caught in the act of playing with Jackie.

As usual there are cats trying to work their way into the colony. NO MORE! There is a puffy orange one who sleeps in the bed with Blanco at night. He meows and meows and rolls submissively near Chicken. He would be a nice cat. There is a Tuca look-alike and a long-haired black and white one. I chase them off by squirting water at them. We definitely cannot take any more in.  We are currently trying to get them to use a cat door. I had screen doors made to keep flies and mosquitoes out. They don't like the flap and would rather stretch their claws out on the screen. We are shutting the "magic window" (bedroom window we would leave open without the screen so they could come and go) now that they are comfortable in the house and don't need an escape route. Peculiar little sacs of guts they are... Cats anyone?