Cat TV

One of the thing both cats definitely approve of in our new abode, is the glass patio door, as it stares out onto a grove* of trees, and a thicket of bamboo, which seem to be perpetually full of bird life and squirrels.

Our mighty hunters are happy to spend hours, watching and imagining the hunt they will have if they ever, you know, venture out there. Given their prowess in hunting - basically nil - this is the sort of pipe dream definitely worth encouraging.

However, we appear to have an interloping cat prowling the neighbourhood, a shorthair black cat also called Midnight!**

It has been most entertaining, as it will come up to the patio door and stare in, while our Midnight is staring out, and they seem fascinated by each other. The first few times, our Middie would slink off in defeat pretty quickly (long years of being cowed by Brandy conditioning this, I assume), but with the passage of time & the failure to get beaten up, she has gained some courage, and now stands making the most peculiar sound, a sort of half-strangled halfwhine, half growl, descending in pitch. The other Midnight just blinks and wanders off after she gets bored, however, so it's not exactly devastating.

I should add, the couple of times Brandy has been staring out the door, as soon as Other Midnight turns up, she fluffs up, hisses, growls, and scares it off tout suite, but then she's a bossy little thing at all times.


*Well, a few trees anyway! Grove is perhaps a bit grandiose

** Name discerned from a little girl wandering the neighbourhood one night, bellowing 'Midnight! Midnight!' in a voice that would do a brass foghorn proud for both volume and harshness.

Complaints

Thank god I've got the simple cat: Brandy's demands are usually fairly straightforward -
Feed me!
Water me!
Cuddle me!
Turn the shower on for me!
Feed me yummy fish!
Lift me up there so I dont have to bother jumping!
Carry me head high in triumph!
Reorganise the world exactly as it would suit me!

Of course I draw the line partway down that list, but at least I can address her demands, if necessary by telling her to sod off.

Midnight is much brighter and less demanding, but more whining, and more existential

Why can't I go outside?
When will it stop raining?
Why does it have to rain NOW*?
What is the quality of mercy?
When will I be loved?
When will Brandy stop bullying me?

(the last I can answer but the answer is sadly, never).

Fortunately this is mostly Cat's problem, but when she's outside in the drive, smoking & covered from the rain, they devolve on me.



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*pronounced Naaaooooowwwwww of course :)

The Secret Life of Cats

OK, just a short one - today is my day off, but I got phoned at 10 and asked to help out with work - the other local DBA had been up all night on a problem and needed to crash out: so now I'm knee-deep in Priority One problems (just waiting for a job to finish while I bash this out).

Anyway, while going to answer the phone, I pass through the wargames room (3rd bedroom, notionally), and there is Brandy, sitting at alert, on the middle of the wargames table, peering out the window (half the table is covered by Cat's current quilting project, but she's on the bare half). Now, I've never seen her up there before - Midnight occasionally, to catch very early morning sun, but I thought it was too far for Brandy to jump with her big tummy :)

When I pass back through, to go get dressed, Midnight is now up there, in about the same position, and Brandy has shifted onto the quilting, and is now busy trying to stare into a cupboard by sheer willpower.

Coming back again to get back to work, and now they're both on the quilting, sitting at extreme alert, almost side by side, and peering out the window.

And now, when I check, they have moved to opposite corners of the table, and are both curled up asleep (Brandy with her paws covering her eyes, as it's quite bright :)

What other strange things do they get up to when I'm at work or asleep? (well, there's Brandy's nightly promenade of triumph with her victory toy, but that I'm used to).

Hunting Cat

Well, the cats are still adapting to this whole new world of having-an-outdoors to explore. Midnight, who Brandy always uses as her scout, pretty regularly patrols the back lawn and checks out the bushes during the day, although she's prone to coming and asking Cat or I to come out and supervise (or protect) her. Brandy rarely ventures further than the deck - I think she dislikes having the long grass tickle her extremely round tummy.

She has, however, discovered a method of hunting just designed for her, i.e. bone idle. In the early mornings, the bushes outside our bedroom windows has a number of small birds occupying them and chattering away, and Brandy delights in getting up on my bedside table, or on the chair beside the other window, and peering out, imagining herself hunting (without anything so strenuous as stalking or pouncing of course).

However, as the windows have venetian blinds on both, this means when we wake up, she is agitating to have the blinds opened or raised, something we are reluctant to do until we're dressed, so she is now spending the early part of the day pointedly sniffing and/or pawing at the blinds, trying her best to look cute and appealing, or sitting grumpily at the windows, depending on what she thinks might succeed today.

Once spring has properly arrived, I imagine we'll even open the windows for her (well, for ventilation of courfse). At that point, she'll want us to arrange it so the birds fly onto her outstretched paw, I imagine.