Cattitude
Posted on January 14, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 33 Comments
Inquiring minds want to know how the other cats are getting along with Temp Cat™, and the answer is tolerably if not enthusiastically. Anyone who has cats knows that when you introduce a new one into a house that has them there is a transitional period, and that’s what we have going on here. As a result, Lopsided Cat treats Temp Cat™ with disdain, and Ghlaghghee seems largely affronted by the presence of this hyperactive thing in her house. Ghlaghghee does in fact have a bit of a princess personality, so the fact a new cat has suctioned attention away from her regalness irks Her Fluffy Self to no end. It’s no help that Temp Cat™ is notably boisterous, which does not track with Ghlaghghee’s preferences. Be that as it may, they are beginning to be able to share common spaces together, as the picture above shows. Mind you, two minutes later Ghlaghghee stormed off to be alone. But it’s a start.
In other news, Krissy suspects that Temp Cat™ may in fact be owned by some neighbors of ours who like to keep cats as outdoor mousers (these neighbors’ former and now deceased cat, in fact, is the mother of Ghlaghghee and also, we suspect, Lopsided Cat). We have to doublecheck on this, but if it is the case, then Temp Cat™ is likely just freeloading off us at the moment because tiny rodents are scarce on the ground at the moment. This is not a bad thing — I think Temp Cat™ is cute, but don’t mind not having to be ultimately responsible for the little furball. Be that as it may, we may yet spring for the neutering even if it’s properly the neighbor’s cat, because they’re not likely to (thus the existence of our other cats), and the minute Temp Cat™ starts spraying is the minute he wears out his welcome.
Thus ends your Monday cat update. Thank you for your attention. Further updates as events warrant.
Temp Cat™’s Facebook profile should tell you what friends you have in common and other pertinent details, then you can establish if he is in fact your neighbor’s cat.
I hope you keep him… he looks so adorable and I bet Athena loves his playfulness!
And, her royal highness will like him more when he does grow up and settle down! LOL
be well,
Dawn
That cat sleeps very definitely. Paws stretched out, head down, no chance of leaping up should something attack it with intent to pet… yup, Extremely Sleeping Cat.
Looks like the name Temp Cat™ is here to stay.
I’ve found most long-haired cats to be naturally rather prissy. There will obviously be exceptions, of course. Plus the whole having to brush them thing – what’s that about? Isn’t one of the benefits of having a cat is that it’s low maintenance? To me, long-haired cats are kind of the poodle of the cat world.
If Temp Cat does turn out to be the neighbors, I hope the “I fixed your cat” conversation doesn’t spiral out of control.
One look at this web site and your friends may never know that their cat is not all he once was:
http://www.neuticles.com/
Which reminds me, I’ve been wondering for a while, just what is it that got Lopsided Cat his moniker, anyhow? None of the pics I’ve seen has made him look particularly lopsided.
Hi John; Followed you over from your other blog. Nice to meet another side of the real you. Love cats, have a few of my own. It is so hard to fit one in where there are others. My Mikey is a product of that. He’s a bully. But at least he isn’t related to the others. I have Grandmother, Mom and Grandson. Mom and Grandson share the same father. Nothing like a diluted gene pool. Oh, well. Good luck with them. Hopefully Temp Cat will go back to the neighbors.
Just stumbled onto your blog after reading old man’s war. Loved the book but really that sofa. How could a cat of any real standing suffer that travesty of soft funishing? Proud hunting predators reduced to clashy blots on a sopranos inspired sofa.
What does it mean to “own” a cat under those conditions? He doesn’t live with them, they don’t feed him, the mama mice make his toys, he doesn’t turn to them when he is cold and hungry, … ? I am puzzled.
Are you blind? Temp Cat has the stretchy toe thing happening in this picture. He ain’t going nowhere. I think I mentioned on here somewhere that I got a new kitten. And yes, there is a definite adjustment period. As I stated, I was like a Secret Service agent running alongside the kitten to keep him safe from Jackson, a.k.a Squeaky Fromme.
Things are better now, but I think my Jackson might be gay. He’s constantly got his nose in the kitten’s nut sack and it’s really weirding me out. I mean, be gay. I don’t care. Be the best damn gay cat ever–but keep it private would you please? He’s queer; he’s here; but it’s really hard to get used to it especially when he’s doing his gay thing between me and the TV. I mean, come on! It’s right in my line of sight. I can’t not see what you’re doing for Christ sakes.
If you’re going to neuter him, do it before he begins spraying. Once cats learn to spray, they may continue to do so even after neutered. (As I learned much to my unhappiness.)
Echo on the neutering and spraying. Heck, we get a TNR drive* going every year or two to keep the neighborhood from being overrun by ferals.
I just can’t resist most of your cat pics….
(*–Trap, Neuter, Release)
That’s a feline standoff if I’ve ever seen one.
Arglebargle: You! You don’t belong here! Freeloader! Interloper! Auslander!
Temp Cat™: What are you gonna do about it, fatty?
Okay, I _just_ now figured out how to pronounce “Ghlaghghee.” I’ve been going along the last several months thinking, “my, what an interesting and exotic name for a cat,” and wondering what language it comes from. The light bulb finally went on this morning. Yeah, I’m a little slow…..
Ron – Neutering and spaying a cat shouldn’t really be called ‘fixing’ them, as far as I’m concerned. They were working just fine before. If anything, that’s ‘breaking’ them. :)
I love the black spots on his toes!
Our family had two long haired cats while I was growing up. One grew up around my brother and so was extremely mischevious, swore like a sailor, and was generally un-princesslike and the other was so gentle and friendly, if she were a princess, she’d be that cutesy one that you’d like to hate, but can’t because she’s too danged nice to you. Both cats were either fully or mostly Maine Coon cats, which, I think, may have had something to do with their lack of princessness.
Choice A: Sleep in the cold, chase my food, get into fights with rats and raccoons, die in four years.
Choice B: Comfy sofa, free food. Okay, I lose my balls, but live 15 more years–long enough to move up in the ranks when the little human goes to college and The Openers Of Cans And Bags get all “empty nest.” (Also, it sounds like the balls are a done deal whether they keep me or not. Goodbye, balls.)
Hmm, yeah. Wonder what Temp Cat would pick if he had a say in it.
I thought of TempCat this weekend. My girlfriend has been dithering about getting a cat. Sunday afternoon, the doorbell rang, and a distraught young woman was at the door with a shivering kitten in her coat. She found it outside her house, her parents said that she couldn’t keep it, and this was the last house in the whole subdivision, all others saying that it wasn’t their cat.
We took it in, and it purred so loud the windows rattled. It looked to be well taken care of, but very skinny. This is a college town, and I think maybe some student dumped it last week at the beginning of the term.
Anyway, it’s a great kitten- very smart, and already house-trained. It’s been a while since I had a cat trying to smother me in my sleep by snoozing under my nose. I had forgotten how much I missed that.
It goes to the vet on Thursday.
You can’t possibly give TempCat back to those horrible people after he’s known what it’s like to be an Indoors Kitty. I know you don’t intend to be cruel, but that’s what it would be. If you don’t want to keep him, give him to another loving family.
I only have one cat right now, Pamela having died in October of kidney failure. I really would love to give another kitty a home, but Ariel has waited all her life to be an only cat. If I brought home a new housemate, it’d break her heart.
(Yes. I am whipped. Thoroughly.)
Political arguments or cats? I’ll go with cats. If you suspect it is the neighbors cat you really should of knocked on their door and asked already. Now it will be really unpleasant if it turns out to be their cat. The roots of love for a pet grow fast. Within the first 24 to 48 hours they are pretty well set and are very painful to try and remove after that.
We’ve got five cats now. Four are Maine Coon purebreds and the fifth is about 50% Coon. Maines operate as a pride and as long as you can prove that you are one of their kind, you’re in like Flynn. We fostered a Siamese for a couple weeks and the message was clear, this is not one of us and she is not welcome. The half-breed came in a couple years ago and on his first night spent hours trilling and chirping (Maines rarely meow, always trill). The next morning the rest were all giving it group hugs and seemed to be saying, “this is one of us and we’re keeping it”.
Hey, that’s a good point – what are TempCat’s positions on the major issues? I’m pretty sure he’s Pro-Food, but other than that…he may be a spoiler in the election. Better watch him…
JerolJ, do they consider you “one of the pride”? Or do they prefer to socialize amongst themselves? I’d heard that Maines were “one-person” cats. Maybe they’re just that way with humans, but are happy to have a community with other Maines.
We have a halfie Maine Coon (other half is primarily Siamese; he was a stray so we can’t be certain but he’s got the skull shape and Siamese crossbreeds tend to go black.)
He’s definitely Evil Rob’s cat but he loves me too and has varying levels of tolerance for strangers. And yes, he squeaks. Not quite trilling.
Dude. 3 cats, one large dog, a school-aged kid, a male in the house with a penchant for dark colored beverages…and white sofas?
Seriously, you guys are just asking for pain.
So, Sarah, are you going to explain it to those of us who are still having the dumb? Cause I’m stumped.
Randall, it is pronounced “Wondrous Glorious Shimmering Radiance Who Illuminates Our Lives By Her Very Presence”, or “Magnificent She” for short.
Or setting the bar low enough to reach the average Whatever reader, “Fluffy”.
The Official Ghlaghghee Fan Club
Chang, they are more “one couple” kind of cats. They’re supposed to be aloof but really they’re clingy – unless it is serious nap time, they prefer to be in the same room that we’re in. Spend enough time in one room of the house and sooner or later, it’s full of cats. Our female is a former show cat and she’s friendly to everyone. In fact, she’s downright slutty. The rest will pay attention to guests in diminishing degrees but really are just waiting for everyone to leave.
There are two pride behaviors that are really scary if I think about it too much. They are the only cats I have ever had that ever learn from each other – if one cat figures out how to get up on top of seven foot bookshelves, within an hour two more will be up there. They also attack prey as a group effort. I think they’re the velociraptors of the cat world
Randall: Chang has already answered the question, but by way of explanation–try pronouncing the “gh” in “Ghlaghghee” as if it were the same “gh” in the words “enough,” “laugh,” and “tough.”
Oh jebus, Fluffy?
Might wanna drive over to the neighbors and ask if it’s their cat before you castrate it or let you let your readers name it….