CAT CRAZIES

Partial photo of a dilute tortoise shell cat's green eyes and ears.

Calista – The Instigator “helps” me with this post.

No More Sleeping In

Once upon a time on cold mornings, our horde would be happy to sleep in and not bother us until their tummies started growling. All of that changed when Calista Josette joined the household last month. Every morning before dawn she and Astrid get a case of the cat crazies and begin chasing each other all over the bedroom and bed. Must be that “tortitude.” Usually I try to ignore them. And Dad Tom can sleep anytime, anywhere and through any variety of falderal. (He’s addicted to coffee and can fall asleep minutes after drinking what he calls a cup of “high test.”) It’s quite annoying, as I have never been a good sleeper!

This morning was no different, but as it’s “Wordless Wednesday,” I was excited to see what some of my fellow bloggers had selected for their photos this week. I got up a little after 7 a.m. and went downstairs.

I always try to feed the felines by 8:30 a.m. so I decided they could wait a little while for their breakfast while I got on-line. That decision, however, subjected me to Fiona sitting next to my chair whining incessantly to go out on the catio. Now, that just wasn’t going to happen. The temperature was 29 degrees! If you’ve read my previous posts, you know that I try to wait for the 40 degree mark before letting them head out.

Feeding & Catio Time

Dad Tom came downstairs at about 7:45 a.m. and fed the greedy guy and gals. Once all the bowls were licked clean, the caterwauling began in earnest. So when the outside temperature finally hit 32 degrees, I opened the door. All but Calista Jo sprinted for the exit. (Update 2/21/2023: The current mob of nine are much more insistent than some of their predecessors, and we will usually open the cat door, which we didn’t have when this post was written, to the catio when the temperature hits 32F.)

Calista Jo finally decided it was time for her escape. At that point, the outdoor temp was 36 degrees. She lasted less than five minutes and was back at the door begging for re-entry. (Additional update: Dad Tom and I usually bet on how long some of the Kitties Blue will last prior to begging to be let inside. Though, they can easily return via the cat door; it is much more fun to annoy the humans!)

It is now 40 degrees and all furballs can spend as much time out as they want. Of course, they continue to beg to come in or go out and vice versa every few minutes. With eight demanding ding-a-lings, this equates to me opening the door over and over and over and over again, which means it’s time for me to leave the computer and my proximity to the door. Each of them will have to stick to a decision for more than five minutes…a very difficult task for a kitty!