When the world is simply too depressing for words, there are always: Cat pictures.
Today’s moment of kitty zen: Orange kitten asleep on black leather sofa.
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.
I am happy to report that the kitty flatulence problem that has plagued me since I got Tig3.0 has been resolved. The vet gave me antibiotics, and after a few days of rubbing goop into Tig’s ears, he no longer farts. You have no idea how much more pleasant it is around here. For a tiny little kitten, that boy could really stink up a room. He tended to fart right after he ate. And his favorite thing to do after eating? Cuddle with mama. I expect that’s because it reduced the nose-to-fart distance. He would also let fly if he got excited, like, say, if we were playing.
I was highly offended by Tig’s farting. Flatulence is a dog thing, not a cat thing. (Yeah, yeah, yeah, the vets out there with medical information can keep quiet on this subject and let me rant, please.) I have never had a flatulent cat before, or even met one, and I’ve known plenty of cats in my lifetime. So I am quite pleased to be able to retire Tig’s fart nicknames. (“Little fartster,” “stinker” “my little stinkbomb” and “fartman” were just a few of them.)
Tig had a playdate today. Sarah lent me one of her children to help socialize my little ex-stinker. She dropped Nate off this afternoon, and Tig reacted with utter horror and immediately hid. I spent some time with Tig and Nate, getting them used to each other, and showing Nate how to play with a kitten without getting mauled. Nate persevered enough so that I was able to go downstairs and work while listening to strange noises from upstairs. I’m used to kitten noise, but not “Boy meets kitten” noise. They had a grand old time. Laser pointer, paper wad, ping pong balls, string, any toy that Nate found upstairs that Tig reacted to was in use. Gracie even popped in on Nate to say hello. She likes Nate. She actually likes all of Sarah’s kids, just not all at once.
Gracie has started coming upstairs again, but she’s such a wuss that when Tig reacts with joy and runs up to her, he winds up inadvertently (and literally) chasing her down the stairs. But at least she’s getting less negative. She no longer hisses and swats every time he comes into reach—only when he oversteps his bounds and annoys her. (Which is pretty much every day, but hey—they’re getting along better.) I think it’s because I sleep with the bedroom door open again. Tig took exactly two nights to figure out that if he leaves me alone when I’m sleeping, he can stay in the bed. If he jumps at everything that moves, he gets locked out of the room. So from time to time, I wake up to see a Tigger on the pillow next to me again. Except this one is able to use the entire pillow as a cushion, whereas Tig the Second used to use the pillow as a pillow for his head. He doesn’t purr as loudly as the last Tig (or the first Tig, for that matter), but he’s still just a baby. He may grow into it.
I do still miss Tig, but a lot less than a few months ago. Tig3 is a worthy successor.
Your cat posts are always a joy, and Tig 3.0 is quite the Little Dude.
I cannot imagine the horror of a flatulent kitty: Cats are capable of remarkable feats of pungency. Dog farts don’t come close. I’m glad this was resolved while you still had wallpaper left in your place.
Hmmm… you say that Tig and Gracie are starting to work things out? We need proof of this, y’know. Good, solid proof in the form of more kittypics.
I can’t give you new pictures. Their moments together are fleeting. But I think Gracie is thawing even more. Tig reared up and put his front paws on her shoulder in an attempt to lick her ears while she was eating (and while I was petting her). She didn’t object. But I moved him away quickly.
He came running downstairs because I started petting Gracie and she meowed. I think he thought she was calling him.
Remember, it’s only been a few weeks they’ve been together. I let him have the run of the apartment on Memorial Day weekend. Let’s see how they do a few months from now.
It’s often best to raise cats together, or to introduce a new cat as a kitten into a group. The queens will accept it and the toms are less likely to be offended.
Richard, I did raise Tig the Second and Gracie together. But Tig 2 died in February. (Click on “Cats” category for the details.)
The good news is that Gracie actually leaped at Tig in play last night. Shocked the hell out of me. I did not expect this. They’re currently trying to play, but aren’t quite sure how to go about doing it. So there’s a lot of running back and forth and inadvertent frightening going on.