My older cat is getting more crotchety and less observant by the day (much like
me, I suppose). This morning he was preceding me to the kitchen when I remembered,
turned around, and put down my finished yogurt container for him (he loooves
yogurt). I had to get his attention and actually point to the container before he
noticed it. And if you're wondering, I don't think he's harmed by the amount of
leavings he can lick off the sides before the container gets too small to get his
head in. He and I have a continuing battle over the comfy chair; he sneaks into it
as soon as I get up, and gives me dirty looks, lying on the rug, after I kick him
out of it when I want to sit down. (This all amuses Rudder intensely.) The other
day we tried sharing it, with him sitting on my lap, but he was annoyed when I
wanted to get up and the results were bad for my sweater. He has not mastered the
art, like the other cat, of sitting on the back of the chair right under the
reading light we refer to as the kitty heat lamp.
The other cat, when
not on the back of the easy chair, likes to prowl around while I'm on the
computer, as he is doing at this moment. He butts his head against my elbow while
I type. Sometimes he sits on the mouse -- whoever named it that should be censured
for giving ideas to cats. Then he sits on my lap, or meows at me if he doesn't
think I've arranged it (the lap) in proper configuration for feline comfort, gets
up, walks around my laptop, scratches his head on the side of the screen, and gets
back onto my lap. He has no idea why I should find all of this inconvenient. At
least he doesn't help me type like some cats I've heard of. On the other hand, he
is extremely timid, and will run away when he hears a sudden noise, often to the
detriment of my lap. Both cats have their claws.
The cats' official
names are Beast and Coxswain, but we generally refer to them as the big cat and
the little cat, respectively. This goes back to the early days of my acquaintance
with the big one, just about 13 years ago (we celebrate our birthdays on the same
day, March 10, though the date is approximate in his case), before Rudder came
into our lives. There were only the two of us in the apartment, and so I never
used his name -- you usually don't, when talking to the only other one present. He
was only addressed as "you", and he knew whom I was speaking to. Sometimes I
yelled, "Cat!" to get his attention, or when he'd created havoc. When the second
cat moved in, it seemed unnatural to call him by his name when I didn't do that
for the other one. They both now answer indiscriminately to "Cat!", "Munchkin,"
"Doofus," "Sweetie," or "Peabrain," depending on circumstance. Luckily for Rudder,
he had a well-established name when I met him -- though he gets many of the same
nicknames (I usually spare him "Cat!" or "Peabrain").
Tomorrow, we'll
be leaving the felines to their own devices while we head off to Korea. T2 and
Egret will be caring for them, and his they have two of their own, I'm sure
they'll taking the usual hissing (older cat) or hiding (younger cat) in
stride.
I may not update much for the next couple of weeks, though I
will if I can.