Cat thieves (aka kleptocats)- the silent epidemic

Only a few brave Humans are willing to go public with this information. But yes, there are cats who steal. I call them "kleptocats". There is accumulating evidence that socks are a top target.

Direct link is here


And this from a site that has tracked the kleptocat problem. Snippet:

~~`"I own a cat burglar, he goes into peoples' homes and steals things," Miss Peacock said. "It's an anxiety thing. He wants to please me by bringing me home presents."

The oriental bi-colour cat steals at least one thing a day and has a fetish for socks. "His specialty is socks. He'll bring home one and go back to get the other. We have lots of pairs but it's really embarrassing as it's not just one a day, it was up to five or six!"

Dandelion has expanded his collection to shoes, clothes, toys, purses, gloves, knickers, rags, pin cushions, sunhats, jewellery and much more.

The clothesline is no barrier to Dandelion as he brings back clothes with the pegs still attached.~~~

Tootsie polydactyl Maine coon cat invents new cat toy

I've worried about Tootsie getting bored, especially when I'm not around.

I bought a few "official" kitty toys. The only one she liked was the feather toy. Deal is, though, that she ran off with the feather part, and I haven't been able to locate it.

I'm beginning to suspect that this was her way of mentioning to me that she was now bored with the feather, rather than her having forgotten where she put it.

Why do I say this? Well, she was really nutty for plastic straws for a few weeks. But now, they just don't seem to hold the same fascination. Used to be that she would throw these about, jump on them, and push them off high places, without any intervention from me. Now she pretty much ignores them, even when I try to get her interested.

But, whew! Tootsie is a very resourceful cat. So, I am downstairs, and I hear thundering about upstairs. Not exactly the first time this has happened. She gets especially wild and crazy when I'm not watching. And then, out of the corner of my eye, as I am sitting downstairs at the computer, I catch a glimpse of her trotting across the kitchen with "something" in her jaws. And then I hear scraping noises. She's whapping that "something" about, as I shortly discover.

The figure below gives the details. Part a shows the "something" she was trotting around with. Why yes, it IS a twist tie, and it was included in the packaging for the Roomba I purchased. Part b shows my attempts to create other options, following on from Tootsie's toy invention. A scale bar is provided for reference.



I guess I won't have to buy a $40 RC helicopter as a cat toy here, just yet.

Cat opens cupboard- haz plan

There's a whole YouTube "subgenre" of cats opening doors and drawers with intent. One from my "library" of such. It sure looks like the kitty has a plan. But is it a good plan? I can't help but wondering what was going through the kitty mind for this one. "I need to have a time out"?



Or, is the kitty having a "I vont to be alone" Garbo moment? Grand Hotel is a great movie, btw.


"I want to be alone" is #30 in the AFI list of great movie quotes, here. Anyone want to guess which was #1, before you peek at the list?

Maine coon cat- soccer goalie?

Maine coons are VERY athletic cats. I'm surprised this one hasn't been recruited as a soccer goalie.
Direct link is here


For you soccer fans out there, see what I mean? Great saves.


UPDATE: Human says in comments: "My Maine Coons love a good jump around, It surprises me how high they can jump. For my next video I should get them little football shirts and setup some goal posts."

I would love to see this, and think it would be a great YouTube hit, especially given the high quality of Human's videos. Oh, and my mistake- After watching for the umpteenth time, I figured out that there are two different kitties jumping around (Marmalade and Myrtle)- they look a lot alike, but front leg markings are different. Maybe they could wear different color soccer shirts....

Click on "Maine coons on You Tube" label for more great YouTubes of Maine coons.

Interspecies romance- the Maine coon and the chihuahua

This vid is ~ 5 mins, longer than I normally post, but it's worth watching every minute. And, there's the extra twist when the chihuahua's mate gets rejected in favor of the big furry cat. Poor doggie.

Direct link is here


Human says: "Our male cat, Nimrod (Maine coon), and our female chihuahua, Twinkie, expressing their love for one another. ~ They do this every once in a while, Twinkie usually instigates it by flopping down and begging for Nimrod to lick her. Sometimes she'll flop down in front of him in a spooning position and then slowly slide up into his arms, so she's being hugged by him, and then they start to make out. This time, she let Nimrod do most of the "loving". I felt sorry for poor Dobby, feeling rejected and like a third wheel." ~~More on this at the direct link above.

Click on "Maine coons on You Tube" label for more great YouTubes of Maine coons.

Oska the British Shorthair Cat, snoring madly

Oh, I wish I could sleep this soundly!

Direct link is here


Follow link here for more information about the breed, and some great pictures.

A few snippets:

~~It could be said that the British Shorthair Cat is as natural a breed as is possible today in that all registered breeds are now subject to human intervention. The breed originates from the British Domestic Shorthair or British Moggie, which has an extremely long history. Through selective breeding from the late 1800s the Moggie was transformed into a recognized breed; the British Shorthair. ~~

~~The British Shorthair today looks very similar to the English cat of 110 years ago. ~~

~~According to this website's (POC) long standing popularity poll the British Shorthair is one of the most popular ranking around 6th out of about 70 cat breeds.~~

You can take the poll here. My vote of course is for the Maine coon, but then I'm biased. :)

Tootsie my Maine coon is afraid of thunder

There was a huge thunder storm here the other evening. Poor Tootsie. It really freaked her out in way that I've not see before. She bolted to some hidey hole, but then I tried to comfort her. I called her, and she emerged, but she came to me in a manner of "walking" that was something I'd only seen a cat do once before.

Yes, she came to me. But, the way she moved- every part of her was as close to the floor as possible. Her front part was so hunkered down that her shoulder blades were above her spine. Almost the same for her hind parts. Her belly and her tail were wiping the dust off the floor.

Of course, I couldn't get a picture. I tried to find a picture online that showed this stance, without success. I tried every sort of google search term. She wasn't stalking. She wasn't creeping. She wasn't sneaking. She was doing something else more intense. Here are two images I found, which are the closest I could get to describing her stance. But, really, they aren't even close. They are, oddly enough, from the Royal Copenhagen site, which has some lovely porcelain figurines of cats. I'm reconnecting with my Danish heritage in an unexpected way.



And, in addition to looking for pictures, I also did teh google, to find out about cats and thunder. All of the links I found gave pretty much the same information, so I'm not going to link to any, because I can't tell who or which is the primary source. But what I learned was that my instinctive cat mom response was exactly wrong. I tried to comfort Tootsie. Bad idea, it seems- a sample of comments from teh google-

~~Also during storms, resist the urge to cuddle or comfort the cat because this just reinforces the fear. Instead, keep your mood light and casual. Letting the cat know there's nothing to worry about helps tremendously.~~

~~Similarly, if the owner attempts to comfort the animal, the animal interprets it as confirming there really is something to be afraid of. The petting or comforting is really positive reinforcement of an undesirable behavior.~~

My google adventures gave me a lot of information that I'll wrap up in a later post. But, for now, I found this comparison interesting. How loud IS thunder? Look and see:



And, don't be misled. 120 db is way louder than +20% of 100 db. The decibel scale works logarithmically. When a sound increases by 10 decibels, it is 10 times louder.

Tootsie the Maine coon does her cat yoga exercises

I finally caught Tootsie on camera, doing PART of her cat yoga routine. She does this whenever she wakes up. This is just a sample!





Tootsie is a rescue cat. She has turned into a whole new cat since I adopted her in January, less than two months ago. I decided to add the following picture- the online picture at the rescue site- to say two things: consider adopting a rescue cat if you can, and, Tootsie is a joy. I can't help but think that she is enjoying her new home.



Click on the label "cat photography" to see more pictures of Tootsie the polydactyl Maine Coon.

My Roomba cat experience- Not recommended!

Okay, so I started this post a few weeks back. This is what I wrote then:

This is hilarious. It's new way to exercise the kitty. As a result of watching this video, I bought a Roomba online. I recently adopted a Maine coon (purebred) 5.5 yo female from a rescue shelter. She emerges from under the bed wearing dust bunnies. And, I want to make sure she gets enough exercise (indoor cat). The Roomba has yet to arrive, but I'm hoping it will help on both accounts...

Direct link is here (3:15)


I mentioned in a post about cat brushes- Will cat brushes become my new obsession? that I'd give an update on the Roomba project. There were some questions and opinions in the comment section. Marion in Savannah: Should I get one? Is it too good to be true?

I can't give an authoritative answer to that- but I will reprise my comments and those of another Human (karen marie), edited a bit for clarity, with extra comments. We seem to have similar opinions and experience.

First, though: here are my photos of the Roomba I bought, and how it looks after a few uses- (click on pic to see enlarged images of Roomba)



VG (me): ~~Hi Marion- I bought the cheapest Roomba I could find (~$140), and bought online.

So far, it's been a disappointment. I've only tried it on tile (Tootsie's bathroom) and hardwood floors. It navigates the areas just fine, but the brush is too coarse to pick up fine dirt. Everything depends on the brush, as there's no suction. Haven't tried it on carpet yet. But, my "cheapie" (!!) model did not live up to the 5 star ratings it got.~~

karen marie responds, definitively!

~~my advice: don't buy a roomba. i bought one and it lasted less than six months. i had two dogs and two cats, wood floors, no rugs at all, so i just wanted it to run around and pick up the animal hair every day.

the thing is badly engineered. all the "guts" are open to the dust and hair you're trying to vacuum up. fine dust quickly accumulated in areas that you couldn't clean easily and would cause it to stop working until you'd spent twenty minutes with a pair of tweezers picking it out. it finally stopped working altogether after six months and went out with the trash.

a broom is a lot cheaper and can be just as entertaining for your cat.~~~

VG (me): ~~karen marie- thanks! It sounds like your experience was pretty similar to mine so far with hardwood floors. When I went to check out the reviews before buying they were almost all positive. 5 out of 5 stars. I'd give it a 1 star at best. I had hopes that once I "figured out how to use it" my rating would change, but not so far. As you say, a broom does a lot better job! Or, a damp mop even with water only.~~

Here are a few more thoughts, with reference to the pix. Okay, maybe that blue flap thing (*) and the item that rolls with black flaps on it (**) are supposed to be equivalent to "fine brushes", in addition to the obvious, coarse brush. But, imo, they don't do the job. Not shown in the pix are the fine hairs wrapped around the "end axles" (or whatever) of the "brushes". Yep, it would take a robust pair of tweezers to remove these. And, hmmm... look carefully at that series of symbols- are they saying that you shouldn't wash the Roomba, only dust it off?

Oh, and did I mention that Maine coon cat Tootsie hates the Roomba? She's okay with the noise of the vacuum cleaner, but the clattering of the Roomba sends her bolting into a hidey hole.

Broccoli- Yummy Captain Pugwash is nutty for broccoli

In the comment section of an earlier post Broccoli- Yummy, reader shakatany pointed me to youtubes of the Most Famous Broccoli Cat ever. Thanks, shakatany!

Not to give anything away, but these are hilarious. And, I've included "Human" comments that are longer than usual, because it seems that there was an air of disbelief among some YouTube commenters that a kitty could be so nuts about broccoli. Or, that it was a bad thing. Read the comments from Human of Captain Pugwash below.

Direct link is here


Human says: We knew that Kiwi loves broccoli, but it was a surprise to find out that tiny Captain Pugwash not only loves it, but loves it truly, madly, fiercely!!! Listen to the growlies and look at the paw whappies!

Direct link is here


Human says: "Captain Pugwash went to his forever home tonight. We thought we'd show his new people what they were getting into, and get one last video of the now-famous broccoli kitten before he wasn't ours any more."

Note from Human: "Broccoli in small amounts like he gets is not harmful in any way. Yes, I checked with my vet. Yes, he gets a normal diet of cat food most of the time. Surprisingly, he is not our only broccoli-kitten. And finally, no, there is nothing on the broccoli to make him act that nutty for it - it came from a bag of frozen broccoli, and was briefly thawed under the faucet. Also, I did not starve him all day to make him do this. This is a seriously spoiled kitten. Like all of my kitties. Seriously."

You can read further comments from the Human if you click on the direct link above.

New cat toys- remote control helicopters!

Looking for a new cat toy? I'm gonna get one of these!

Direct link is here


Human says: Snow White meows for her new toy, the Helicopter! Watch an exotic shorthair cat take on a remote control helicopter and have the time of her life! This is her favorite toy and the Air Hogs Havoc Helicopter survives quite a lot of abuse.

YouTube commenter says: Our cat, Grendel, kept getting up on the shelf and finding where we stored our helicopter. He'd drag it to a corner and "kill" it when we weren't watching!

Human of Snow White replies: Snow White's trying to find the helicopter too, lol. We have to hide it from her!

Here are some price comparisons link - looks like one helicopter is ~ $40.00.

And here's a fun YouTube explaining how to control the helicopters (no kittehs involved)Direct link is here


And, what exactly IS an "exotic shorthair"? Well, it's an actual cat breed! Michael has a great article that gives the details- starting with "This highly interesting (and perhaps slightly amusing) looking cat is a simple hybrid, originally, of two pure-bred cats, the American Shorthair and the Persian". His article on the Exotic Shorthair will tell you all you need to know, along with some great pictures.

Broccoli- Yummy!

So, those of you who have been following my various kitteh posts will know that one of my YouTube "research interests" is "what do kittehs eat"- particularly, "what weird stuff do SOME kittehs like to eat?" These be unique kittehs. These cats like broccoli.

Direct link is here


Human says: Little itty bitty kitty cat who stole my broccoli off my plate, ran away with it, and ate it.. growling.

And, the broccoli thief:Direct link is here


For previous posts on weird kitty eats, click on the labels below- either "Yummy" or "Weird kitteh eats" and the full list will come up. These kitty yummies include watermelon, cantaloupe, corn on the cob, pumpkin (starting with the skin!) and tomatoes. But I have to say finding "broccoli"-- that was, er, unexpected.

Classic YouTube- mama cat rescues kitten

I have oh so many YouTubes in my "kitteh library" that I haven't posted. Hundreds. I am thinking that this is the time to start pulling them out. Why? Well, because I've done SO much YouTube research, and uh, what better time than now to use my "library", as I am for now totally into taking cat photos...

This is one of those classics that has a gazillion hits, and deservedly so.

Direct link is here

Tootsie- Polydactyl Maine coon picks up straws with her paws

I promise I will get back to posting great YouTubes of kittehs. Srsly. But right now I'm under "the I have a new cat" spell.

Tootsie loves to play with plastic straws, but usually only when the lights are out. Oh yes, I can hear it, as the straws get picked up and dropped and rattled about. And then there are all the thumping noises as she bounds around. I did manage to catch her at it today, though. She picks up the straws with her polydactyl paws, and then tosses them around or executes a quick maneuver so that she can grab another part in her jaws. And then... hmmm... it all depends... so many options. Today she was on top of the bed, and dropped the captured straws onto the floor.




Click on the label "cat photography" to see more pictures of Tootsie the polydactyl Maine Coon. Click on the label "polydactyl", for more polydactyl cats.

Will cat brushes become my new obsession?

I'm well on the way, although I have acquired only five so far.

So, Tootie did not like Teh Awesome Equine Cat Brush. And, I had driven miles across CT to find one for her (CT was site of previous purchase). Sigh. As my mother would say "well, that's the cat in her".

Tootsie the Maine coon does not like ANY of the five cat brushes I've purchased. Actually, I've had greater success grooming her with my grandmother's rhinestone hair comb.

That said, the Human in the household (that would be me) loves this purchase (to the right). I found it in the pet aisle at Publix. I thought, heck, what's another cat brush? I'll give it a try.

My oh my! It takes the kitty hairs (and other random stuff) off clothing in a way that puts to shame that weird plastic item with the red velveteen brush surface.

I used it to brush off a pair of gray wool slacks (part of my teaching uniform). They look brand new. Can't wait to try it on the car!

For the money, it was a MUCH better purchase than the Roomba! More on THAT later!

Update: I thought I'd leave an update, because Marion in Savannah asked about the Roomba in comments. Karen Marie left a comment that reflects my experience so far. (see comments). The summary would be- Roomba: badly designed, doesn't pick up hair or fine dust, useless on hardwood floors, clogged internally with dirt, went into trash.

And, my cat hates it. It's very noisy on tile and hardwood floors. So the Roomba isn't even a good cat toy.

Update: Even though Tootsie didn't like any of the brushes, I've discovered that she loves the cheap plastic comb: Maine coon grooming - Summertime and the shedding is easy

More from Tootsie Maine coon polydactyl photo op

Oh, Hai! I've being taking more Tootsie photos. She was a challenging subject today. I just could not get her to play with straws the way she does when the lights are out. But, I did get her to give a "high five" to the ceiling cat. And, she hinted that she would like to have her tummy rubbed. She has quite a respectable Maine coon tail- but not yet up to "tail with a cat attached" status. Reports will continue.



Click on the label "cat photography" to see more pictures of Tootsie the polydactyl Maine Coon.

Tootsie my Maine coon polydactyl agrees to photo op

Yes, she's a polydactyl. And, quite adept with those paws!

More pix of Tootsie the Maine coon polydactyl here (she does yoga), here (she picks up straws with her paws), here (she's furry), and here (and she loves the feather toy).

Hoover The Rescue Cat

Marion in Savannah, a faithful reader and commenter on this blog has often mentioned "Hoover the Cat" (picture below). I asked her how she got Hoover. Or, perhaps, more correctly, how Hoover got her. With her usual excellent command of all things kitteh, she replied.

Here is Hoover on day 1, sleeping off the anesthetic after the visit to the vet.


This is the story Marion in Savannah told me:

---Ah, where Hoover came from... I was sitting out in the garden last summer and a scrawny, SCRAWNY little gray kitten peeked around the corner of the house. I made welcoming noises and he came over to me. He was about 8 months old (best guess the vet and I could come up with), and had a ratty old flea collar on, so he must have been someone's kitteh at some point.

(It's a scandal here. There are 3 colleges in town and the college kids have an appalling habit of abandoning pets when they leave for the summer, so that may be where he came from.)

He came over, shed a few fleas to say hello, and turned on his motor. He's got a VERY loud purr... He was nothing but skin and bones, so I went and got him some food.

When I fed him he made a noise I've never, ever heard a cat make before, which I can't even describe for you. The best analogy I can come up with is if you had been crawling through the desert in the baking sun for days without food and water and someone found you, put an umbrella over you, and gave you a cool glass of water and your favorite food THAT'S the sound you would make.

Bringing him inside was a bit of a challenge because of Victoria, the Siamese. She's Empress Of All The Known (And Unknown) Galaxies and had very strong feelings about the matter.

Hoover moved into my bedroom/office/bath area with his own litter box, food and water and he and Victoria discussed the issue through the door. This was in July/August, and they've FINALLY gotten to the point where they can share a bed without slapping at each other. (I think it helps that Hoover now outweighs Victoria...!)----

Well, what can I say except that Marion in Savannah has a way with words, and a way with cats!

UPDATE- Mr. "Marion in Savannah" adds greatly to the story in the comments- LOL- Hoover, the "Peter Pan Cat"-- perpetual kitty...

Instructional videos: How to vacuum the cat

Direct link is here (0:57)


Direct link is here (0:51)


Previous instructional video on vacuuming a cat, More Vinski- getting a quick dustoff

Japanese moggie cat musician- concert tail

Ohhh! I have discovered another cat that is destined to get a lot of YouTube viewing from me. Not sure if his name is Ｎyanta or Yanta. His Human is in Japan, and as Human says at at his YouTube channel -- "his mother is a white Persian cat, his father is a black cat. He is a very nice cat." I would add, having watched him in several YouTubes, he is also a very charming and lovable cat!

Direct link is here (0:25)


Another look at Nyanta- oh, this is charming! He is all stretched out. Direct link is here (0:56)

Alert!!! NEW youtube feature ????

This is a quick post.

I see that YouTube has DONE SOMETHING, that automatically adds the user's caption and the current YouTube rating to every video!!!!! Like to every YouTube I have ever posted.

I haven't had time to check this out. BUT, let me say THIS IS NOT MY DOING.

Frankly, I find this "new feature" very intrusive. However, the added info does go away once you click to play the video in the blog window, so it is not quite as bad as it might be.

Sigh.

Maine Coon Kittens and the dancing snowflakes

More evidence that kittehs are fascinated by small moving objects. And, these Maine coons aren't just watching, they are dancing along. ;)

Direct link is here (3:59)


Click "Maine coons on YouTube" label for more great YouTubes of Maine coons.

King Tut the Bengal Cat goes for a Ride

Direct link is here (1:06)

Dave the Maine Coon Gets a Massage

Dave the Maine coon is back! Dave's human has finally posted another YouTube of Dave. I've been waiting and waiting!

I've featured two earlier YouTubes of Dave, and imo they are must-watch delightful. Not only is Dave delightful, but Dave's Human has great video "style". And, if you go to my original posts, you can read the entertaining and enlightening comments of Dave's Human. "Dave and the Straw" is here, and "Dave the Cat Playing Fetch" is here.

Direct link to below is here (7:09)-(I usually post shorter stuff, but this is so much fun to watch!)


Dave's Human says: Dave is a 3.5 year old Maine coon and likes to get a massage. But he'll tell you in no uncertain terms when he doesn't like what you are doing.

I responded: Dave! I love Dave! What exactly did you do that he didn't like? Somehow from the vids of Dave before, he didn't seem like the biting type! Great video!

Dave's Human says: The first thing i did was rub his arm. sometimes he likes that and sometimes not. the second time he bit me i rubbed his tummy. he hates that. but i thought i could get away with it. dave doesnt generally bite but i kind of forced this massage on him - he wasnt totally in the mood. when he's in the mood he never bites me.

I responded: Tootsie my Maine coon LOVES having her tummy rubbed. One of the few positive points in the online shelter description, and I discounted this, because I have NEVER had a cat, male or female who liked having their tummy rubbed. But, she does. And, oh yeah the "sometimes he (Dave) likes it and sometimes not" yeah, well, what can I say? "Tootsie" sometimes likes having her paws massaged, and sometimes not!

(Yes, Tootsie does like having her paws massaged, sometimes.)

Click "Maine coons on YouTube" label for more great YouTubes of Maine coons.

Bengal cat- Khan the bra stalker

Direct link is here (1:52)


Human says: Khan, 7 month old snow mink Bengal fascinated by bras soaking in the sink. I am unsure what he was more interested in the bras, or the bubbles

p.s. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is one of my favorite posts about what Bengals get up to, here. --YouTube reprise- Direct link is here (1:21)

Human says: Maximus opening a drawer to get his toys and whatever else he finds entertaining.