Gentleman wants four barn cats. I have the possibility of reducing my numbers further, but something about his proposal unsettles me. Today I found out that he had four barn cats three years ago and they just “ran away.” First of all, barn cats don’t run away if they are being fed regularly, not being terriorized or harassed, and they have fresh water and get dewormed every six months. Barn cats can’t survive solely on mice, because a cat who is hungry doesn’t have the stamina to hunt.

Gideon and Sharky- the last two cats who are now barn cats, get fed twice a day and they get goat’s milk as well as pets and lovins- they are in an ideal situation. This other offer, I have declined. Something caused those cats to disappear and I am not about to put ANY of my cats in harm’s way.

I just received Marilyn Krieger’s new book, Naughty No More. It concentrates on training cats and changing unwanted behavior through clicker training and positive reinforcements.

Instead of bombing through the book and putting up a review on felinexpress, I am going to use her book to train Puzzle and Riddle and chart my progress along the way.

My first goal is to read Chapter One (which I am almost through) then I will start with the kittens. What I have pulled out of the chapter so far:
First off need to find something the kitties respond to. Puzzle responds to nekoflies and Riddle to small rolled balls of cream cheese sprinkled with a bit of catnip. These are called Primary Reinforcers.

You need a clicker (which I have) if the sound startles the kitties, you can use a ball-point pen or wrap the clicker in a soft towel. The clicker doesn’t seem to bother the kitties one bit. This is the secondary reinforcer.

You need a pointer. I am using a chopstick, but you can use anything slim and lightweight. Marilyn suggests and brand new pencil (unsharpened) with a soft eraser. This is the target prop.

A placemat or small moveable rug that the cat can touch. I am using a bathroom rug since our bathroom is the size of a water closet, I always am looking for the dinky rugs that will fit there.

So I have my props and a few more pages to go before I reach the end of Chapter One. If anyone is intrigued at this point, join the club. The book is easy to read and beutifully designed with wonderful photos of cats in this process.

I will keep up-to-date my progress in this process.

I just read an article about how when a cat’s routine is disrupted, the cat can exhibit sick behavior; vomiting (usually hairballs) missing the litter pan and going off their feed.

Nothing about this new study surprised me. I have seen this happen many times with my crew. Sometimes, something so minor as changing the bedspread can push several of them into this behavior- and anything major (like me leaving for a short vacation) can really push most of them into acting sick.

I think when you live with cats (and not just let them live with you) there is a big difference in the relationship between the two of you. When you just sit down and observe them on a continual basis, they have the ability to teach you so much about their world.

I know for instance, if I decide to move a litter pan to a better location, this can send a few into a tizzy and I will be doing floor duty for a few days. I have to move the litter pans in small increments over a matter of days until it arrives at its designated spot.

Cats crave routine. They need to know you are someone they can count on. If their water bowl is empty, fill it for them- food bowls filled every day same times every day if you can manage it. They don’t like surprises. In a few days, four of mine will be going to the same place to start a new life. I know in the beginning it will be a bit rough for them, but I have no doubt they are going to a better home. Cole, Everest, Riley, and Charlie will all be starting over at a 20 acre horse ranch. Charlie has been telling me for quite awhile that he is not happy here. He needs more stimulation and less cats around to rattle his cage. It will hurt like hell to let him go- I have had him a very long time, but this new place is an answered prayer. I don’t wish to have an unhappy cat- and on 20 fenced acres crawling with mice far away from roads so not to be a threat- it will take Charlie a few weeks to adjust, but I believe he will happier. I’ve been watching him and all that he has been doing lately tells me he needs a change in his routine to be happier. It just won’t happen overnight.

This morning, I found the following memo from my group on my pillow. Apparently, my crew has decided that being human means I must also be weak. Therefore, they have banded together to create their New Year’s Resolutions just for me:

“More canned food please. Dry food is good for our teeth, but we like canned food so much better. Maybe you should go out and find a better job so we can be kept in the style we choose to be kept in. We like it when you feed us canned food twice a week, especially when one of us nudges your hand and food bumps out and gets all over the kitties below! This means that later, we can perform mutual grooming with benefits!

No more kitties! Come on Mom, you keep telling us that you won’t take anymore and then we wake up and find strange kitties in our beds! Either stop sharing your wonderfullness with other kitties, or buy us more cat beds!

Petting Sessions- we like it when you pet us, but no more clipping the claws and grooming our fur! God gave us ample tools for the job of grooming and some of those grooming combs and brushes- they cramp our style!

Can you stop Charile theTerrorHisst from taking our spot in the sun? I mean really Mom, how much more sun does one cat need? He is already golden-colored anyway. Looks to us like our Fearless Leader has been kissed by the sun too many times already!

More bugs! Don’t be such a Neat Nellie in the house. Let those cobwebs form in the corners and on the walls. We will be happy to be your spider and fly catchers. We do the job nicely, aren’t toxic to the environment- and well…chasing bugs…it’s just pure entertainment for all!

Happy Mew Year’s Mom-thanks for Lovin Us!”

My friend Dusty sent me for Christmas two joke gifts that I just loved; cat food scented soap and bubble gum hairballs.
They are both “crazy cat lady approved.”

I had the package with me on my way to work, so once I arrived, I opened up the package and burst out laughing.

I showed the bubble gum tin to one of my co-workers she thought it was “nasty.” Then she bolted for the bathroom! i mean come on, did she really think they were real hairballs? It was a joke.

So I waited until she got out and then I popped open the tin and popped one in my mouth in front of her! LOL She bolts again for the bathroom.

Giving up, I walked away just doing my job. I was clear on the other side of the shop when I saw her emerge looking a bit green behind the gills. The store was packed with people and so I just shouted really loud- “EWWWWWW!” Everyone turned to look at me and so I just smiled and said “I think I have SOMETHING in my bubble gum!” Then, I hear the bathroom door slam shut!

I believe the year has just caught up to me and yesterday I just melted. I sat on the couch and either slept or didn’t move almost the entire day. I had cats hopping up and down on me all day. When one would leave two more would come. They knew that I had reached the end of my energy reserve and in their way they kept me comforted.

I received a nice surprise in the mail- several cat perches from felinefurniture. They are all made in the USA very nicely constructed and best of all, there is no drilling holes in your window sill. It is all done with strong adhesive (velcro) Nice, soft, strong padding helps entice kitties to lay down. I did manage to put one up yesterday before once again melting on the couch.

Christmas is just around the corner, and I have so much to be grateful for in my life. Mike is still with me- we are coming up on our 27th wedding anniversary soon. I have my health, I have a job, and we have a roof over our heads. My kitties are healthy and safe and Brook is my constant companion loving to go with me around town. I have taken her off the conventional meds because the previcot makes her vomit and I have put her on a holistic blend. She is getting Papaya enzyme, a joint supplement tablet, some bromelain, fish oil and msm. I just make a huge pill ball out of cream cheese or braunswager and toss it to her. She gobbles it right down. She was 123 pounds when she first arrived, she is down to 103 pounds now.

Well, I hear Mike stirring- he has slept in. I need to go and make breakfast and get everyone fed. Today is clean litter box day- so my melting yesterday was a good thing. Now, I have some energy.

3:00 a.m.
“Tap…tap…tap” on my cheek, no claws, they are sheathed because Gideon is very much a gentleman.

I brush away the distraction and turn back into my sleep mode…
“Tap…tap…tap.” He is persistent. But, what he wants lies in mystery. Prior offerings have been ignored on other winter mornings. He is not hungry, he doesn’t want the Drinkwell filled. He isn’t interested in play. He simply wishes to disturb my sleep.

If I ignore this sleek black prince, he becomes a bit more aggressive, tapping the wool blanket wrapped around me to cut down the chill in the room. His claws are unsheathed now and he taps the blanket with unusual vigor, snaring the end of it with his claw and lifting it so that some of the chill seeps in underneath.

Fully awake now, I turn on the light and glare at him. Intimidation does not work, he yawns and turns away. The game is no longer interesting. I flip the light back out and welcome sleep again. After a busy day at work, my body is tired, I must rest.

“Tap…Tap..Tap..SNAG!” Again the blanket is being lifted and swirls of cold air invade. Our heat register is old and doesn’t do the best job of keeping the house warm all night. I loosen his claws which are caught and open the blanket up inviting him into the warmth. Gideon looks at me as if to say “Are you nuts?” He yawns and turns his head. Hoping his interest is waning, I again wrap the blankets around me tighter this time and snuggle back to embrace sleep.

“Tap..tap…tap…SNAG!” By now it is 4:00 a.m. the game has lasted for his amusement. I surrender and get up, get dressed and go make coffee. Time for another day.

Would anyone like a furry, black alarm clock? I’m having a Winter Sale!

Tonight, Puzzle ate a piece of chicken out of my hand. I was working with dry kibble, but she is sly and would gently bat the kibble out of my hand then slide it over to where she was partially concealed. The little sneak! So I switched to chicken which she couldn’t quite get it to roll. I averted my eyes and she finally came up and ate a piece that was in the center of my palm. When I moved my hand, she darted back into the cage where she feels safe.

it is a small step, but I will take it.

I have been playing the Harp of Hope CD most of the day in the bedroom. I have seen the kittens laying on the bed- they jump down the minute I walk in and once I started just cleaning up a bit, they came out to watch me and see what was going on.

They are more relaxed and instead of hiding completely out of sight, parts of them stick out exposed. It is a wonderful change from before.

Speaking of change, I have changed their names. The dilute orange mackeral tabby girl is Puzzle and her brother I now call Riddle.

I swear by this CD to calm stressed out kittens and cats harp of hope. If you have a shy or traumatized kitten or a cat recovering from an illness- this CD should be playing.

Today, two of my older cats; Slim and Sharkey went to a new home in LaComb. The farm is on 11 acres, they have goats and ducks and few dogs. They do dog obedience as their main source of income. They are situated off the beaten track miles away from major roads. Recently, they lost their 18 year old barn cat and their 12 year old orange barn cat seems to miss his buddy.

The gal feeds dry in the morning, wet at night, keeps the vaccinations current and because the barn is overun with mice, she worms the cats every 6 months, this exceptional care towards barn cats (most people just toss them in the barn and figure the mice will sustain them) leads me to believe these two cats will have a wonderful, long life.

Although I am not thrilled at how these two cats will be spending the next 48 hours (in a rabbit hutch) that was set up- I know they won’t be in it long. With the lady’s permission, I set up the hutch to be more cat-friendly and left behind my snuggles sleeper (I will miss that warm robe) and another rug from here so they have familiar scents to cling to.

Then tonight, two of the newly arrived kittens went off to another home. Four unsocialized kittens are a bit overwhelming for one person without help. Mike’s days of helping are long over, so another rescuer (Bless her heart) said she would take two of them. They have bonded in pairs, so she took the muted tortie girl and the bright orange mackeral tabby. I kept the muted orange tabby girl and the striking grey tabby. Now the cage is a bit bigger. My concern rested in whether or not all the kittens were eating- or if the one alpha was eating all the food on his own.

Now it is time to let them decompress yet again as I have just rocked their world.

Received in the mail today the Harp of Hope Therapy Edition for stressed and convalescing animals by Dr. Diane Schnieder and her newest Christmas CD as well. A timely arrival-t he music is playing softly next to the cage where the two kittens are wondering where in the world their littermates vanished to.