Lurker's Corner

( They've all but switched territories at this point )
The best picture so far of Sammi's adorable little face and that half tail thing she has going on.

Rodney and Sammi have been maintaining a minimum safe distance between width-of-apartment and about two feet since she got home last Saturday. All of that changed this morning! At least for a few seconds.

Sammi isn't a lap cat. She lolls around, looking expectant, then strops herself against my legs non-stop when I stand up and, unfortunately for my balance, when I walk around. I can pick her up and sling her over my shoulder like a baby and pet her all I want, but sitting down? Nope nope nope. She's off again, parked somewhere nearby and waiting for my next walkabout.

She was on the floor on the other side of the end table, thinking about life, the universe and everything, when Rodney arose from my lap (see? no room for a stoopin new girlcat there anyway) and sat on the end table to survey the living room domain. He spied Sammi beneath his feet and waited until she was looking the other way to drop with panther-like grace beside her and steal and ear sniff before she turned around and stared as only a cat can.

Rodney leaped straight up in the air about a foot and *poofed* away.

Still, no hiss! No growl! Actual contact. We have progress.

I thought there was no better entertainment than two cats, but was wrong. There's no better entertainment than watching two non-dominant cats try to establish a pecking order.

Rodney and Sammi have staked out territories in two rooms -- Sammi in my bedroom and Rodney in the "sun room," which is only not classified as a bedroom because it has no closet. Rodney is perpetually on guard in the living room, hissing at Sammi every time she pokes her head out.

Sammi has begun to figure out Rodney's as much scared as pissed at the invasion of 'his' territory (somewhere, Veronica is laughing her ass off and Elmer is looking bored by the whole thing;) and has began to stroll out into the hallway that separates the bedroom/bathroom portion of the apartment from the living room/kitchen. She'll stare at Sir Hissy Fit for awhile, then flop onto her side and start washing an armpit.

Is that the cat version of biting one's thumb, I wonder?

Make adorable animal commercials.

My grandmother's cat used to do this: she'd only drink from a specific plastic glass under the tap in the kitchen sink, preferably with the tap running. Soxie always looked IMMENSELY pleased with herself for having "sneaked" up to the kitchen counter for a slurp, even though my grandmother was right there, working the tap.

Fast forward through my mother, who loves all animals but who is also clearly a dog person, to me and Veronica. Veronica is at the rag and bone stage of life, 14 years old and all fur and fangs and attitude. Lately, she has decided that 'lioness in the jungle' is her preferred drinking style and will, as far as I know, only drink from a medium Tupperware® bowl in the bathroom sink, preferably with the tap running. (Though I was gratified this morning to see that she and Rodney drank about half the bowl last night, no tap running; my water bill couldn't handle that.) V still has enough springs in her feet to make the jump to the toilet bowl lid, then to the counter, where she goes into a full lioness (or possibly tigress; who know with her) crouch to lap up the goods.

I have apparently committed to being her jungle pond handmaiden for the rest of her natural life. I'm pretty sure Rodney is laughing at me.

Not only was Rodney's tail chasing him again last Friday, but the landlord and a merry crew of hammer wielding maniacs decided to replace the door, all the windows and the siding on the upstairs apartment this weekend. With no claim to kitty kool whatsoever, Rodney plastered himself to my side in the recliner away from our windows and made no pretense whatsoever about this being for the benefit of my delicate nerves.

One shudders to think what will happen when they start on the second, or MY, floor. I'll have to board them or something.

This is, like, 30 seconds after I stood up to get my shoes...
( Read more... )

[crossposted to both my LJs; sorry if you get it twice.]


Recall expanded to some dry cat food

So far, it's just the Prescription m/d Feline, a low carb food for overweight cats.

I couldn't find the page on the Hill's site that discussed the current expanded recall, but the pages dealing with the canned food recall indicate Hill's is voluntarily recalling a lot more of the Savory Cuts line that tests indicated might be contaminated, all in the name of consumer confidence.

Other parts of the story above are troubling: no one seems to think the contaminants found so far should have been enough to kill pets? If not, what's doing it?