— James Mason, Actor
I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It’s not. Mine had me trained in two days.
— Bill Dana
Cats never listen. They’re dependable that way; when Rome burned, the emperor’s cats still expected to be fed on time.
— Seanan McGuire, Writer
For about the last five years I have been wishing for a cat that would like the occasional cuddle. Well, my wish has come true, in spades!
Like I said last week, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a kitten in the house. I’d like to say there was an adjustment period while they got used to us and their new living situation, but I’d be lying. They pretty much made themselves at home and took over from the moment we opened the door to their crate.
It’s one thing to have a cuddle, it’s another altogether to be pinned down in place for hours on end by these furry little dictators. Even the hubby, who pretends to be indifferent to them, stayed in his chair for a good three hours Saturday night because Dinsdale decided to curl up on his shoulder.
What’s that you say? Just move them? How can you resist those furry little faces!
Actually, I’m getting better at doing just that. If I wait until they fall asleep, I can move them into my chair and they’ll just go back to sleep. Yes, I lose my chair, but it’s a small price to pay for being able to get stuff done.
They sleep more than I expected. I know cats normally sleep a lot, but these guys will play full tilt for an hour, two tops, and then crash for about four. Of course it’s not as much of a problem now as it was in the beginning when they wouldn’t sleep unless cuddled up to me.
When they’re awake they’re looking for trouble. I think I mentioned how they have no respect for my laptop, and they like to chew on cords.
We’ve learned to have our meals at the dining room table (which is still problematic unless we feed them at the same time) and I have to keep an eye on any beverage I might want to have while sitting in my recliner.
Yes, that’s my water bottle about to take a header.
Despite her name, Khaos is actually the more well behaved of the two. She’s still more adventuresome, she was the first to venture upstairs when we removed the gate, and she’ll often play by herself up there.
Dinsdale, on the other hand, is a stubborn little guy. He discovered he can jump from our dropleaf table we use as a room divider over to the pub height dining room table. Seeing as the dining room table is about our only refuge from them, we’ve been trying to discourage this behavior. But no matter how often he’s told “no” or “bad kitty” as we pick him up and put him back on the floor, he keeps going back. Khaos appears to have learned the lesson just by watching her brother get scolded so often and doesn’t even try for the table.
So far Dinsdale has managed to tangle himself up in a leather bag in the front hall, squeezed between the rails on the upstairs landing to jump down onto the stairs, got his paw caught under a door, and figured out that if he jumps down onto a chair from the table, he can jump from chair seat to chair seat to the back where we can’t get him. He also likes to chew on my hair.
Life sure got interesting in a hurry!
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