Bad Cat

CAUGHT IN THE ACT!

Missing Raleigh Returns

If you weren’t with us yesterday, you will probably want to check out that post. The link is at the bottom of this one. And, if you joined the hop prior to 3:30 a.m., you may not know that Raleigh returned home. I heard frantic scratching at the locked cat door at 3:30 a.m., seven-and-a-half hours after he disappeared into the darkness. I assume the rain we had last night as well as his hunger were the impetus for his return.

Which of the Kitties Blue Is to Blame?

We had no idea how Raleigh escaped the catio. But, now, I must rat out the sneaky cat who brought about his daring escape. The photos, sort of, tell the story…or rather the aftermath!

 

grey cat trying to escape through a boarded up screen door

 

When Tom was on the catio yesterday morning, he caught Kizmet in the act of letting herself in through the loose screen on the screen door. We didn’t know the screen was no longer attached to the door. Wonder who did that? We’d already had to tape up Misty May’s electronic cat door when Kizmet figured out if she was right on Misty May’s heels when she went through, she too could get outside. We knew we would need to replace the door at some point.

At first, Dad Tom tried taping the screen. That only stopped Kizmet for a nanosecond. So, we decided to block the screen with cardboard, thinking if we put it on the outside, Kizmet couldn’t pry it off. You can see in photos one and two that wasn’t going to stop her. So cardboard went up on the inside as well. No additional escapes followed, but we will be shopping for a new screen door today.

Kizmet is too smart and too sneaky for her own good. She makes Sawyer’s previous Houdini acts look like third-rate imitations. She did lose her tracking collar on one of her forays, but Dad Tom was able to track it to our side yard.

Awww Mondays

Kizmet will be joining the Awww Mondays blog hop at Comedy Plus. You can do the same by clicking on the Awww badge.

 

Sparks

I had a wonderful Spark for today’s post, but I am saving it for next week. It’s too special to include with this post.

The Adventures of Periwinkle & Stinky

 

Your favorite, fun-loving tabbies, Periwinkle & Stinky, will be setting off on a new adventure tomorrow. You’ll be able to find them on Periwinkle’s blog, Friends Furever. I know whatever Periwinkle has planned will be loads of fun, and you’ll definitely want to join them. Adventures are always more exciting when you come along, so they’ll be waiting for you.

 

 

GRUMPY, BAD TO THE BONE SELFIE

Sunday Selfies: Week #366

 

grumpy

 

I may not be the famous Grumpy Cat, but I am the infamous grumpy cat, especially after my walkabout. You can see by this kitten photo that I’ve always had a grumpy face.

 

grumpyI don’t know how many of you are familiar with Jeff Dunham and his “dummy” Walter, but that’s who my mom and dad think I look like in my baby photos. I do look a little less grumpy as an adult.

Anyhoo, I am here today so I can announce: I did not win the Golden AssRabbit Award for 2021. I am proud to announce, however, that I was the winner in the “Bad to the Bone” category.

This is what AssRabbit (Hermes) had to say about me and my win: “Sawyer’s three-and-a-half-week disappearing act raised concern and blood pressure for so many voters on both Instagram and Twitter and in the blogging world. He was pretty famous for being in the dog house already when he went on his walkabout. Sawyer had some pretty tough competition from others in his category, but when the final votes were tallied, he was the clear winner.”

If you missed my entry to the Golden AssRabbit Contest, you can read it at “Good, Bad or Thoughtless.”

 

 

As a winner I will receive a Golden AssRabbit statue, a special kitty toy and an Award Certificate. When I receive my awards, I will share photos here.

Hopping Time

It’s your turn now to share your selfie with us as well as all your friends and admirers. My fursibs and I know none of you will be grumpy, as most of you enjoy taking selfies. And as soon as your done and have joined the hop, you’ll have the entire day to enjoy your easy. Your participation, support and friendship are so important to all us Kitties Blue and our humans. Thank you.

Purrs and paw-pats, Grumpy, Bad to the Bone Sawyer

 

 



CAT IN THE DOG HOUSE

Sunday Selfies Week #199

 

Sunday Selfies In the Dog House

 

I think my humans are mad at me. I heard them say that I was naughty. Beats me what I did wrong. Supposedly we kitties are not supposed to jump from the railing of the upper deck to the roof.

Dad came home yesterday afternoon and saw me on the roof as he drove up to the house. The last he’d seen me I was on the catio. Mom created a collage to show you where I began my journey and where I was spotted.

 

 

The first photo is just to give a bit of perspective. The second photo shows where I jumped from and the X marks where I landed. The third photo shows where Dad saw me. (I am going to have to be more discreet the next time I try this.)

Dad tried to coax me in the attic window, but I took off. When Mom called me from the upper deck, I came down the way I went up, which is how she knew what I had done; though, she already had a suspicion that’s what I did. She was all freaked out thinking what might have happened if I’d had a seizure while I was on my adventure. I say, “no harm, no foul!”

Now the humans are trying to figure out how to keep me from having another similar adventure. Pffft! Kittens just want to have fun. Am I right?

So that’s the tale of how I ended up in the dog house.

I do have a real selfie for you as well.

 

Sunday Selfies Week #199

 

Wow, I really am cute! Don’t you think?

How to Hop

Now here’s all that crap stuff Mom always wants us to include on the Sunday Selfies post.

  • The link to add your selfie to the hop is below.
  • You also will find below the code to use if you’d like the hop to appear on your blog.
  • Posting on Sundays is not necessary to join.
  • You do not need to be a cat to enter. All anipals are welcome regardless of species.
  • The hop remains open for entries through Thursday midnight.
  • Please be so kind as to display our badge and/or link to The Cat on My Head.

Thanks for joining us today. Whether you are a long-time participant or a newbie, all the Kitties Blue are delighted to welcome you here.

Purrs and paw-pats, Sawyer the Adventurer aka Escape Artist

p.s. Stay naughty!

 



LISBETH APOLOGIZES & FILL-INS

A Note from Lisbeth

Before getting to the Friendly Fill-Ins for this week, Lisbeth has a few words to say.

fill-ins

If Mom and Dad can’t forgive me, I am shipping myself to Charles.

I am sorry I scared my mom and dad and boyfriend Charles so badly by going missing on Wednesday for 11 hours. Delivery men who brought and set up Mom and Dad’s new bed frightened me. I didn’t know I was doing something bad. Staying safe from strangers was my priority. Mom says that I am grounded for life, but I am promising to never do anything like this ever again. I hope she and Dad will forgive me and continue to allow me to attend Cat Scout events with Charles.

I also want too apologize to all our friends and readers for scaring them as well. Mom and Dad and I appreciate all the prayers for my safe return home. Mom says that the pet blogging community is like a huge, loving family, and we appreciate having each of you in our lives.

With sincere apologies, Lisbeth

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #94

The kitties are helping me with the fill-ins this week by completing numbers 1 and 2. We all have used teal italics for our completions.

Kitties Blue: 1. My Our favorite president is President Abraham Lincoln because he was the first president known to have cats in the White House. Mary Todd Lincoln claimed that cats were her husband’s hobby.

Mau & Cooper Murphy: 2. This weekend, I we have plans to go to Egypt with Cat Scouts. This will be great. Cats were revered in ancient Egypt just as they should be today!

3. I 💗 my Kitties Blue past and present. If you have never met all the previous Kitties Blue, click on The Felines tab at the top of the page.

4. I believe in silver linings. Thankfully Lisbeth is now inside where she belongs. Even this blessing came with a silver lining. Lisbeth could have gotten in the delivery truck that was here on Wednesday and ended up 30 miles away at the truck’s next stop. I had horrible visions of her being lost so far away.

 

Friendly Fill-Ins is a blog hop hosted by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Annie (McGuffy’s Reader). To take part in then hop, click on their badge. You will be whisked away to Annie’s blog.

ASTRID’S UNAUTHORIZED EXPLORATION

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

It’s time again to get our “rhyme on.” This is one of our favorite days of the week, when we get to join Angel Sammy and Teddy with another poem. “G” is today’s prompt letter. I pondered all week about writing a poem for Giulietta, but finally decided to go with one of the prompt words for this week, based on Astrid’s antics of Tuesday evening. These are this week’s prompt words: (1) Garden (2) Giggle (3) Groceries (4) Grandma.

I’ve selected the subject of garden. I’m certain that has peaked your curiosity about the title of this post. Read on, and you will see the link between the two.

Astrid Takes Flight

Our garden was a thing of beauty in the spring,
With green grass and flowers bright as any bling.
The rains kept coming day after day,
And all of nature’s beauty was on display.
Everything now is dried up and brown.
Looking at it makes Mom and Dad frown.
In spite of this, Astrid felt the need to explore
And snuck right out the catio door.
She jumped and flew about ten feet to the ground,
Where she took off without making a sound.
For three hours she had her mom in a tizzy,
As Mom searched in the heat until she was dizzy.
Where that stinker was hiding is unknown.
We’re just thankful she decided to come home.
The garden is no place for a fraidy cat like her,
When skunks and groundhogs she might incur.
Though the garden may be turning to dust,
The critters still find scavenging flowers a must.
Gardens are fun places to explore and play,
But for most kitties this is not a place to stay.
This is especially true for our adventurous cat,
Who disappears into the shrubbery just like that!
She is tired today and acts quite ashamed,
When yesterday she thought it was the perfect game.
You can bet Mom won’t be letting her out of her sight,
In case Astrid once again decides to take flight.

© Janet Buickerood Blue 07/26/2017

I bet you expected to see Astrid here, but she is embarrassed to show herself after being a naughty girl. So in her place, I am sharing a collage of flowers, from when the yard was still thriving, and a photo of one of critters mentioned in the poem.

 

flowers in our garden

 

groundhog in the garden

To read Angel Sammy’s poem and find links to other poems, click on the badge below. You will also find the prompt words for next week if you’d like to pen a poem yourself. It isn’t all that hard, and it does not have to rhyme.

Thankful Thursday

We think it is pretty obvious for what we are thankful today. Of course, it is Astrid deciding to come home. Dad Tom, however, is not too happy or thankful for the two-inch gash Astrid put in his arm when he grabbed her. But that will heal. Had we lost Astrid, our hearts would not.

This also is our entry in Brian’s Thankful Thursday blog hop. To enter, click on the badge below.

 

Comment-a-thon Reminder

Have your entered our Comment-athon for an opportunity to win a donation to your favorite 501(c)(3) shelter or rescue? If you haven’t, you only have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to enter. Anyone leaving a comment on Mau and Allie’s anniversary post, “Allie & Mau’s 1st Anniversary,” will be entered in the drawing . For every comment made Kitties Blue will donate one dollar, with no cap on the amount. If you haven’t commented, please do. We want to donate bunches of green papers.

You can earn a second entry by leaving a comment on Allie’s Sunday Selfies post. In addition to the second entry in the Kitties Blue drawing, you will earn an entry into Allie’s drawing for an Amazon gift card. So, pop on over to Allie’s blog at Friends Furever right now, as her entries will also close tonight. Winners will be selected using Random.org.

CAT IN A BOX

Calico Chloe Joins Kitties Blue

 

Calico cat tries to hide under a rug

Chloe wasn’t fooling anyone when she selected this rug as a hiding place.

 

In 1993, Chloe became the first calico cat to join our household. At that time we had Skooter, Steamer, Daphne, Thelma and Louise. None of them had ever met a calico cat and neither had we. And for some unknown reason they took an instant dislike to her. This lasted throughout her lifetime. We did not share their opinion of her.

 

Calico cat hiding atop an armoire among stuffed bears.

Chloe hiding among the bears.

 

Chloe, whenever possible, would find a place to hide and take refuge. One of her favorite hiding places was atop an armoire among a collection of stuffed animals. She blended in so well and could stay so still that we could walk by and never see or suspect she was there. Even if we couldn’t find her, we were pretty certain that all the others knew exactly where she was but didn’t care to share that information. She was out of their sight and that was good enough for them.

 

Calico cat with scratches on her nose hiding in laundry hamper.

Chloe hiding in the laundry hamper after receiving some boo-boos on her nose.

 

Calico cat in a Kinko's box on bed.

Chloe finds this box a nearly perfect fit!

Lily Olivia Arrives on the Scene

In 1999 when Lily Olivia followed us home we thought she and Chloe, both calicos, would bond and have a friend in each other. But even though we already were a haven for six cats, we had not yet figured out that cats never do what their caregivers expect. (For more on that subject check out the previous post, “My Cat’s Better Than Your Cat.”) Chloe didn’t like Lily Olivia any better than the other Kitties Blue. In fact, all the others treated her even worse than they did Chloe. They hissed at her, chased her and left her with a myriad of wounds on her nose and ears. Chloe had those as well as evidenced in the above photo.

We understand that in any group situation, a hierarchy exists with the first arrival most often at the top and the last at the bottom. However, with all our past and current kitties, Chloe and Lily are the only two who have been disliked by all their housemates. And that includes those who have joined our clan after the admittance of these two. Lily Olivia is currently the oldest and the longest in residence, yet she remains near the bottom. We continue to wonder why this is the case. My best guess is that neither Chloe nor Lily fought back. They both would immediately turn and run trying to escape the otherwise inevitable boo-boos.

Attempts at Friendship

We have had a recent exception. Lisbeth has tried to make friends with Lily Olivia and has approached her nose to nose. Lily has hissed and turned away, but no fisticuffs have occurred. When Astrid has approached her, however, Lily has immediately lashed out at her with a right cross. It would seem that a calico/tortoise shell relationship doesn’t work any better than a calico/calico partnership.

 

Calico cat hiding in bakery box.

Lily Olivia takes refuge in a bakery box. At least she waited until all the cupcakes had been eaten.

Is Lily Olivia Possessed?

We do believe Lily Olivia was “bi-polar” when she came to live with us, but the constant abuse hasn’t helped with her personality. She can be as cuddly and loving as any of our other cats and then suddenly turn into a hissing and scratching monster. On one occasion, shortly after joining our cat house, she gave me a look that actually frightened me. Now, we have been given the “stink eye” by all of our cats at one time or another, but I had never seen anything like this. I was sure that Lily was possessed by the devil. I backed away slowly and let her have her space.

If we get a look from her that in any way resembles her “I am possessed” one, we know to stay clear of her.

We are truly surprised that in her 13 years Lily has never given up and abandoned us for a less-populated household. However, she does spend 90 percent of the day across the street in a chair on a neighbor’s front porch as well as in other hiding places we know nothing about. In fact, Mauricio, Misty May and MacKenzie, when he was alive, chased her across the street to get rid of her.

And she is one of the worst when it comes to staying out late or over-night. She used to get in one of the rockers on our front porch and sleep there, but now I am not sure where she hangs out when she does not report in at bedtime.

The DMZ

 

Calico cat, white cat and ginger tabby cat sleeping near each other on king-sized bed.

Madison and Mac (on the right) were best friends, so sleeping together was a daily occurrence. But only on our bed would you find them in close proximity to Lily.

We do have one place in the house that the kitties consider to be the DMZ…our king-sized bed. I am not saying that no feline fracas has ever occurred on the bed. If one of the kitties jumps up and lands on one already present, a little fur might fly. If Lily is one of the kitties involved, she retreats to the floor of Dad Tom’s closet. Once cats and humans have gone to sleep, she will usually sneak back in bed and curl up next to me.

 

Calico cat snuggled into a green duvet.

Sometimes Lily still feels a need for refuge when she’s on the bed.

 

Watch for future posts with some more cute photos showing the kitties in some of their favorite hiding and napping places as well as one about cats in high places.

Update: When Lily Olivia passed away, Misty May began torturing Astrid. Like Lily, she has never fought back. She just “screams” and runs for her life. Misty May only has to look at her, and Astrid takes off as if shot from a cannon.