Many Tails

06/07/2024

But Amazon sent the box for me, Ma!

12/26/2023

Darned cat! I need to keep Marli off my keyboard. She did something that got me a warning from Facebook about doing things too fast and then it wouldn't let me post for a bit saying I had posted too much in a short period. Otherwise, I would violate their rules against spam!

10/18/2023

Oh, what those claws can do!

My new house 😆😆😆

07/31/2023

Roach Trap Attack

Yesterday I was standing in the kitchen sealing the cat treat bag to put it away. Marli was with me, having just eaten hers. Suddenly, she bolted out of the kitchen, turning the corner of the partition so fast her feet almost flew out from under her. What had scared her that badly? I looked, but nothing had fallen. Going to look for her, I saw her racing back and when she got to me, she was trying to get something off her tail. It was the cardboard roach trap the inspector had put between the refrigerator and stove during his monthly inspection. How the hell did that get on her tail?

I leaned down to help her. She was royally stressed, so I had to be very careful or get maimed in my attempt to get the thing off. I managed to grab her by the back of the neck and swiftly yank the box off. She had flattened it so it was really stuck on. She screamed and when I looked at the box, it had quite a bit of her fur stuck inside. She walked over by the apartment door, then went into the bathroom.

Karma came creeping out of the bedroom, warily looking around for whatever danger was lurking. She finally saw Marli in the bathroom and slowly approached her. When Karma came out again, I tried to get her interested in her own treats, but she wasn’t interested. I could just imagine her thinking, “Something going on here. Don’t know what it is, but I’m going under the bed where it’s safe!”

I’ll have to ask for another roach trap. It’s the only way we can show we don’t need any toxic spray. I can just imagine what the guy will think when I tell him what happened to the last one.

06/01/2023

Late post. I promised an update to Marli's vet appointment. Well, when the vet checked for the lumps near the back of her spine, she couldn't find them! Neither could I. I had been pressing on them the a few days before and they disappeared somewhere. The vet was sure I must have been mistaken. What could I say?

When I got her home, Karma did not recognize her. She smelled like vet! Karma kept hissing and growling at her. Then Marli started attacking Karma! Karma hid for days, not coming out to eat, drink or use the kitty litter. As soon as Marli heard her, she would rush out and attack her. It took days of monitoring the two when Karma finally had to come out and get water -- the fountain is in the bathroom under the sink. I would have to close Marli in the bedroom for periods of time and when I did let her out, yell when she went after Karma. I kept letting her know I was very displeased with her behavior. As time went by, Karma got braver and Marli stopped attacking. Days of hissing and growling grew less and less until finally now they are mostly at peace with each other. I don't want to have to go through that again but Marli is supposed to go back for a booster distemper shot since she hadn't had one since she was a kitten. Not looking forward to that at all!

No more cat wars, please!

05/08/2023

05/08/2023

Well, I finally did it. After waiting over 6 months for my regular vet to come back (he was out sick) the practice shut down. I found a vet right down the street, walking distance from here, which means no bus rides. Good for Marli (and me) because she gets stressed out and yowls at the top of her lungs all the way there and back.

Her appointment is for the 12th at 2 pm. The vet there will probably be very unhappy with me for waiting so long to see about the lumps along the back of her spine. Two have gotten rather large. And she hasn't been to a vet since she was a kitten, but she is an indoor cat and hasn't been sick. I wanted to get one credit card paid off to use it for her. I was afraid of what her vet bill would run. I think diagnostics alone could run quite a bit. I was told by a friend that his dog had such lumps and it turned out to be cancer! I'm praying that's not the case.

I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

03/13/2023

I think Marli is smarter than I thought she was.

The other day it was time for treats. I poured some into my hand. Usually 6, 3 for Marli, 3 for Karma. I got 5 1/2. Well, Marli is on the plump side and it is still 3 pieces so I gave her the 2 1/2. She ate them, then while her back was to me, her ears flattened. She got up and started banging the cabinet door where the treats are kept. She knew she had been cheated!

Later, while Pam was asleep, Marli was lying on my keyboard tray as usual. I wanted to get up from the computer and go to the kitchen. I leaned down to her and quietly said, "I'm going into the kitchen now so you don't need to start hollering. I'll be back in a few minutes." I got up and left. Amazingly, she stayed quiet. After a couple of minutes, she came into the kitchen to see if I was there, then walked away and went somewhere to sleep in the living room.

Later in the day, when Pam was up, I didn't say anything to Marli, just got up and left to go to the bathroom. I spent a little reading time while in there. When I came out, Pam told me, "You should have heard her. So mournful. Like she lost her best friend." I guess I should have said something to her before I left.

02/07/2023

Whump!
“Stop that!
I start typing again.
Whump!
“Stop kicking me!”
Typing again.
Whump!
“I’m not even touching you!”’
Marli is lying on my keyboard tray as usual but has given me enough room to keep the key board partially on the tray. Her hind legs are about an inch away from my hands. Her head is down so she doesn’t see me. How does she know where my hands are and why is she delivering these swift solid kicks? If it is as I suspect, cats have a third eye in their tails. Her tail is draped over the top of my keyboard, the tip twitching.
Her annoying me reminds me of my sister, back when we shared a bed as kids. I slept over against the wall. For some reason, she just had to bother me, getting over on my side, right up against me. We would start fighting until I raised my voice high enough to bring my grandmother from her bedroom on the other side of the upstairs living area to yell at us. That would finally put a stop to it and my sister would leave me alone. Well, there is no grandmother here.
Marli raised her head and gave the stink eye telling me I was talking too loud and interrupting her sleep.
“You are a royal pain in the butt!” I said, putting my keyboard in my lap. Then, as if to say, Yeah, well, how about this, she skunked me a good one.
“Oh my God, Marli, was that really necessary?” I waved my hand in front of me trying to dissipate the noxious fumes. I put my large “cat stopper” bag in my chair and left.
I guess she won that argument.

12/27/2022

Shenanicats
This morning I got up and when I looked in the mirror -- what the hell --I had some paper in my hair on the side of my head. l! It was really stuck in there. It took some doing to get it out. I looked at it and it was part of a label from a Meals on Wheels dinner! How did that happen? I don't sleepwalk, especially not enough to get up and microwave food. I told Pam when she woke up and she said it had to be one of the cats. It had to be Marli, who occasionally gets into the garbage. But how did she manage to stick it in my hair so well?

Later, Karma shut Pam into the bathroom. When Pam tried to come out, Karma kept pushing on the door to keep her in. Karma has tried to shut me in, too. Then we kept hearing meowing. Pam thought Marli might have gotten locked out in the hallway, though I was sure I didn’t see her go out. Nope. Then she checked the shower. Sure enough, Karma had locked her in there. If Karma even thinks we might shut the door on her either in the shower or the bathroom, she zooms out faster than light!

Then they did get out the door when I was bringing in my grocery delivery and were chasing each other up and down the hall. There’s no point in calling them or going after them because it does no good. If the wrong person sees them, we will be in trouble. Do they care? Nooooo. Marli, especially, thinks everyone who comes to the door is there to see her and she runs out and starts rolling around the floor soliciting belly rubs. Karma hangs well back in case someone might want to eat her.

We all know cats want to have fun. The problem is that ours get tired of toys quickly. Then they just want to watch me play with them and complain when I stop! I end up being more tired than they are.

12/04/2022

12/2/22 -- Today we had our dreaded mandatory canine-assisted bedbug inspection. The instructions said that pets had to be caged and locked in the bathroom. The inspection would take place between 9am and 4pm, and though they rarely show up on time, getting wild cat Karma into the cat carrier is no easy matter. We can’t pick her up without blood being shed so she must be lured into the carrier. This can take some time, so we have to start early.

I got a long piece of ribbon and put it through the top and ran it out the open door, then started waving it around. It wasn't easy because Karma kept getting distracted by Pam setting up the pet stroller over by the door to the hallway. It had been Pam’s idea that we could just roll the pet stroller out into the hallway when the inspector came. Uh-huh. She has a short memory. I was hoping that Karma did, too, since I pulled this trick last time. Once Marli was in the pet stroller, Karma concentrated on the ribbon. At first I didn’t think she was going to fall for my attempt, but finally she went in. I slammed the door behind her and fastened the latches.

Pam and I sat down at our computers. It was quiet for about two minutes. After another three minutes my nerves were on edge. So were Pam’s. Our neighbors must have thought we were torturing the cats.

I kept hearing Pam yell, “Go lay down!” “Stop it” Then, “Marli, I didn’t tell you to get your claws caught in the mesh!” “Karma!”

“As long as she doesn’t get out through the top,” I said.

A few minutes later, Pam told me she was indeed starting to get out through the top. Enough of that! I got up, refastened the sliding latch at the top and picked up the carrier. Now, Karma is not fat, but Bengal cats are more massively built and she is heavy! As I pulled the carrier over, I notice the front corner bulging out. I was afraid the bottom door latch would come undone, so I put it on the floor and slid it to the bathroom. Opening the shower door, I installed the carrier inside, facing the back wall and shut the door. Now let her get out! I then took the pet stroller and put that in the bathroom next to the shower door, then shut the bathroom door.

Blessed peace!

It is now the next day. The stroller got folded and put away. You would think, after the stress of being imprisoned in the carrier, Karma would avoid it. Nope! Pam told me she was fighting with Marli because Marli wanted to sleep in it.

11/04/2022

Another picture of the birthday girl. She likes to use my purse as a pillow or just to lounge around on. When anyone is near, she always has that "deer in the headlights" look.

11/03/2022

Happy birthday, Karma! Though she is now 4 years old, she still occasionally tries to nurse from Marli! Marli doesn't put up with this, licking Karma's head as soon as she starts, like that's enough of that now! If Karma doesn't stop, she gets up and moves away. I don't know why Karma feels the need to do that at her age, like a teenager I once saw in a store, sucking her thumb!

08/16/2022

I'm afraid Marli has finally broken my microphone. I kept it on top of a pile of stuff sitting on a large plastic tub holding my photos next to the computer cart so I could reach it while doing my Russian lessons since I have to repeat sentences to make sure I am pronouncing words correctly. For the last several lessons, no matter what I say, the program says it is not right. Last time this happened I had to switch the USB connector, then it was okay.
Every time Marli is up on the keyboard shelf and I am patting her butt, which she insists I do, in the throes of her passion, she reaches way over and pulls the microphone over and it hits the floor. I try to put it out of her reach, but she stretches way out, even grabbing at the cord and pulling it down. The last time may have been one time too many. I tried unplugging it and plugging it back in several times, even switching USB ports again. I heard the tones saying it was connected. I checked to make sure everything was connected tightly. No luck.
Thanks a lot, Marli. Maybe I should charge you in kitty treats!

06/01/2022

I saw a post from 3 years ago. I'd forgotten that Karma's daddy came all the way from Ukraine! I can't help but wonder how the breeder is doing. Are she and her cats safe? I'll try to see if I can get contact info from Karma's breeder to see if I can reach her. It looks like she is going to put Karma's daddy up for adoption once she finds a kitten to keep in his place.

05/12/2022

Whaaaat? I don't need all that!

The Jackson Galaxy Consult: $1,250
😻 One 75-minute initial video call.
😻 6 weeks of after-care support including email support which will be answered by Jackson within 3 business days.
😻 Two 20-minute phone check-ins with Jackson.
😻 A call between Jackson and your veterinarian, if necessary.
😻 A curated care package of Jackson Galaxy products.
😻 A pre-consult video walk-through of your home, and the ability to send additional pictures/videos of progress as well as vet records.

I was just hoping he could help me get Karma to let me pick her up without going berserk and biting and clawing the hell out of me! If she even thinks I am going to pick her up, she either zooms off or latches onto whatever she is lying on (blanket, etc.) She's like a friggin' wild animal!

03/30/2022

Earlier I was getting dressed in the bedroom after an afternoon shower. Marli jumped off the bed, went to the closed door, and let out a mighty meow.

"Hooold ooon!" I pulled my socks on. "Patience is a virtue," I admonished.

Why was I saying this to a cat? Like she really understood me? Did she really care? Cats want what they want and they want it now.

I pulled on my jeans, grabbed my watch out of the drawer (yes, I still wear one), and put it on. Then I grabbed my bra and deodorant and walked to the table at the foot of the bed where my top was hanging on the back of the bedroom door.

There was Marli, curled up on the floor, waiting.

Patiently.

03/19/2022

Marli makes listening to movies with wired headphones and practicing speaking a foreign language with a wired microphone a real challenge. I've tried Bluetooth with my PC and had too many headaches getting things to work right so switched to wired. Much better. But I have to hold the wires up high because she keeps wanting to play with them or chew on them. No matter how many times I chase her off my keyboard tray, she comes and jumps back up again. If I threaten her with the spray bottle, she goes away just to come back and attack me from the side of the chair. OW! Forget about locking her out of the room.

Then this afternoon, she was lying on the keyboard tray with her butt under my nose as I was using the mouse and -- she farted!

OMG! I had to sit back and fan the air for several minutes. What the hell did she eat to release that much gas? Maybe it was a little gas and just that toxic. With all my complaining, she didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. She didn't even open her eyes, just went on sleeping as if she hadn't almost made me pass out! Maybe the extra treats did it.

We shouldn't give in to her, but she's been such a brat lately. If she doesn't get them she starts knocking stuff over. And I don't mean little stuff like before. After the crash, she'll look at us, like, see what you made me do? And when she gets too annoying with the arm pushing and biting, we just give in. After several minutes that is, so she doesn't think she is getting rewarded for bad behavior. Now she is already looking for her nighttime treats, two hours early.

Karma! Come get your mama!

01/17/2022

Apparently, cucumbers aren’t the only food cats are afraid of.

Cheesecake. On the floor, it can also be a clear and present danger.

My roommate Pam had a plastic container with three leftover pieces of cheesecake precariously balanced on top of other things in an overfilled refrigerator. When I opened the door, the container slipped off, hit the floor and the container opened, bouncing the slices top side down onto the floor. I didn’t pick them up right away. Marli, of course, came to investigate.
Uh-oh. What are those brown things? She immediately went into a low crouch. Like a new driver, with many stops and starts, she inched her way forward. Normally a brave cat, this struck me as immensely funny. Cheesecake, Marli? Really? But you never know. These unknown brown things could suddenly pop out heads with gnashing teeth and scrabbling legs to come after her! She was ready to spring into the air (what does that ever accomplish?) and run for her life! She finally got close enough to sniff the nearest piece. “It’s food, you idiot!” I told her. Once convinced, she stood upright and left. Nothing good here. She didn’t go far, though. A short distance away, she decided to lie down. Keeping an eye on the cheesecake.

Once I was done eating, I made it go away. Only then did she leave the area.

12/31/2021

Marli: No mama, you can't type here. I am here. Type on your lap. And don't move that thing by my face. This pad is my pillow. I'll scratch at your hand. I'm not sleeping, just lightly dozing. If you leave the room I will call you and call you until you come back. Please don't make me get up and come looking for you. Then I have to jump up again so you can scratch me and stroke me and pat, pat, pat my butt. I will purr for you mama, just don't leave me. Unless it's time for treats.

12/11/2021

Karma has stolen Marli's special place on my keyboard tray. A polite cat, she curls up and leaves me room to type. She doesn't demand attention, doesn't stretch way out, or try to add things to what I am doing with flicks of her tail on the keys. She doesn't stay long either, opting for a softer place to lie down. Good Karma! You could teach your "momma" some manners.