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I'm not talking about a public library, but my own one at home. It's off limits for the cats right now because my light tent is there and lots of stones, finished pieces and just stuff in general is scattered around. From time to time one of the kids goes in there with me.
Today Ponder was the one. He had been like a little child all afternoon. "Play with me." "I'm hungry." "I want to snuggle." So finally we went into the library together. I started taking pictures, but then I found a waxed thread necklace I had broken and we settled in for a nice game of string instead.
I know it must seem as if I neglect the others, but Ponder is really the one who lets me take pictures easily while the others do funny stuff right up to the moment I get the camera out - then they freeze.
So here's our story.
"Throw, Mom! I promise I won't use my claws!"
Yeah. Right.
Ouch! I was too slow. When will I learn??
"That was fun, but I think I hear something."
Muffled sound: "There is something here under Roosevelt. Give me a moment." (Roosevelt is the bear's name. He has been with us since 1988 and he has seen a lot!)
"Aaaaalmost got it."
"Roosevelt, what do you think? Looks yummy?" (Enlarge the picture to see the delicious meal.)
Happy sigh. "I love dessert. Roosevelt, a back massage would be nice now!"
After stuffing his face like that, he's in the chair behind me now, peacefully sleeping.
And I can hear a snore from under the desk ... Greebo's favorite place ...
P.S. Ehm, I do know that Ponder doesn't speak, by the way, at least not the human language ;-)
Ponder has an obsession.
If he can't be a chimney sweep, he wants to be a master thief. Let me tell you, he's on the best way.
He started his career when he and his sister moved in here - they were about three to four months old - and improved his skills constantly. He has been here for five years now and he stole everything from calzone from my plate (not that he wanted to eat it) to Christmas ornaments, jewelry, scarfs, he stole wet food pouches out of the cupboard to rip them up and share them with the others.
When he was younger, he stole bread which always made me wonder about how he had been treated at the place he lived before. He gnawed on it a little and left it on the floor to die. Once he opened a plastic bowl and stole some cake, just for the fun of it obviously as he didn't eat from it. That taught us to store bread and cake in a safe place right away.
Funny enough he doesn't like snacks much, neither the kitty nor the human kind and he loses interest in all of his stolen goods pretty fast.
Just now I looked up and this is what I saw.
No way, mister!
He looked a little hurt. I'm such a spoil sport.
So he went downstairs and puked into the kitchen.
I love cats.
Late at night this weekend Ponder was sleeping in the hammock. As I have been working long lately and am knackered when I come home, I don't have much hammock time for him. He hates being robbed of his special time at the computer, therefore he enjoyed it thoroughly on the weekend. So much in fact that my feet fell asleep trying to accommodate him the right way.
Suddenly he jumped up, though, ran to the staircase and started staring upwards while making these funny high-pitched sounds that I had never heard from him before. From his sister, yes, but not from Pon.
I called him, but he didn't move. So I went over there to look for the exciting spider, fly or bug that fascinated him so much. Nothing. I heard nothing, I saw nothing. He kept looking up there for five minutes, singing. And I took the chance to take a picture. Suddenly he looked at me, walked over the tall guy's desk and demanded to be snuggled again.
I still wonder what he heard or saw. Ghosts? Spirits? Some kind of rare, invisible bug? Something in the attic that my ridiculously weak human ears couldn't hear? A mouse, a weasel or a bat? Is there a ghost living in our attic? Did he wait for the feline portal to open up to attend a cool party? Or did he just think it was time to scare me a little?
I don't know and I probably never will. Darn. I want to be a cat in my next life.
... without my secretary?
Unfortunately he joined the union and they made me give him regular naptime. Wherever he chooses to take them.
In my jewelry forum, Starving Jewelry Artists, there's always a daily topic that does not necessarily have to do with jewelry, just to get to know each other better. Yesterday the topic was pets and how they annoy you sometimes. First I was afraid to answer because I thought I might never be able to stop again. Oh yes, as much as I love the furry beasts, I regularly threaten to sell them. I'm not sure if I interpret their looks right, but to me it looks like "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn". I shouldn't quote movies that much around them, they only use it against me.
But what do they do to annoy me most? Let's see.
- Meffi and Greebo are "lickers". One of this days I'll post a picture of me, but I won't have a nose and I won't have arms, only bones sticking out because they licked all flesh off me. Oh, I forgot, I also won't have hair as Greebo does his best to eat it whenever he gets a chance. Don't worry about them, it's not a sign of malnutrition, I had that checked. They are just weird.
- Esme and her "five minutes". Besides the fact that she can't stand me whistling - which earned her a blog post already if you remember - she thinks she's allowed to annoy me with her squeaking. If stupid human Mom doesn't understand right away, she can get so mad that she starts jumping up, aiming for my arm. She doesn't bite, it's more like "Listen to meeeeee". Which I gladly would if I had any idea what she wants. It's usually not food, not playing, not snuggling. What else is there??
- Esme and her behavior when I try to take a photo on the chest of drawers in the tall guy's playroom. LOUD squeaking, jumping me, the chair, the table, the chest. Up, down, up, down, getting louder by the minute. If I take a picture anywhere else, no problem. One opinion about this is: The chest is haunted and she wants to warn me. Ungh.
- Ponder and Esme think my keyboard belongs to them. Have I ever told you that once I thought my monitor was broken because it suddenly was black when I looked up? My only excuse, it was dark and the cat in question that blocked the view is black. And big. And silly. Ponder, who else. I almost got a heart attack when the "black monitor" suddenly moved. They are usually so loud, but also they can materialize in half a second and without the smallest sound.
The other day Ponder had parked his big head on my ctrl-key which I hadn't noticed. I had to use the + and the writing on the screen became bigger and bigger. After being confused for a bit I saw Ponder moving. On the key. He was not amused that I dared to move him then!
- Bedtime. Why is it that Meffi and Ponder always have to use me as a trampoline?? Why does Greebo think my side of the bed belongs to him? I have woken up before with one leg in the bed and the other foot firmly on the floor outside the bed while my cat stretches as if he's going for an entry in the Guinness book as the world's biggest cat.
- T-shirts have to have holes, don't they? The boys love to cling to me with everything they've got. Everything meaning some very sharp claws. They don't want to hurt me, I'm sure, they just want to hold on to me. Greebo is so afraid of losing me that once my dermatologist asked me if I had a bad itch. I said no, why and he pointed out the heavy scratches on my shoulders. His look when I said it was my cat told me everything. I don't even want to know what exactly he thinks I'm into. I have thought about bringing Greebo as proof the next time.
You know I could go on, but just now the big, black, silly cat landed in the hammock. The purring and the adoring look (what actors they all are!) makes me forget all the annoying things for now. I'll just enjoy cuddling with one of the four best cats in my world ;-)
Today I had an appointment with the chimney sweep for the annual emission check. No, I am not talking about the cats' litter boxes. They are handled by the Biological Warfare Agent Commission.
As you know, Ponder loves visitors. He heard the door and down the stairs he ran to join in the fun. He was a little disappointed at first because he is desperately (once a year) in love with the pretty female chimney sweep, but the guy was nice, too. Patted him, told him how beautiful he is (as if he didn't know ...) and he was all dressed in black! While he started working, Ponder checked out his equipment.
Since that little brat invaded my home, I have been thinking about sending him to boarding school. For his own good, mind you. I just couldn't decide if it should be a school specializing in music - as he is such a wonderful singer - or sports - as he loves to run, jump, roll and sometimes almost fly.
But now it's settled. After opening everything that was fastened with velcro, using nose and paws, Ponder decided himself. He wants to be a chimney sweep when he grows up!!
I often hear about cats scolding their humans because they spend too much time at the computer.
When I settle down in my armchair, I need to wrap a blanket around my legs. I call it the hammock because usually, as soon as I sit and many times even before I'm really ready, my black panther invades it lying down as if it is one. He stretches out, trusting I won't let him fall, rests his head on my arm (preferrably the right one, on rare occasions he chooses to lie the other way round) and starts purring.
And then the black panther, aka Ponder, turns into a sweet, adorable, harmless, innocent little kitten. The cat going through the house like a rocket on doping gets all snuggly and sleepy. The monster that likes to dig his claws into most delicate spots softly puts his paw on my shoulder.
He can stay there for hours and as the cat slave you already know I am it's hard for me to make him go, even if my legs start hurting, if I'm thirsty or hungry. How could I resist him?
I'm doomed.
On the other hand, what better excuse do you get for long computer sessions? ;-)
P.S. Just now his sister Esme made one of her more rare hammock visits. For your information an "archive picture" .....
.... how difficult it is to stay concentrated and not lose patience when a very loud cat is sitting in front of a closed door?
When I started to work with polymer clay, the upstairs kitchen became off-limits for the furry inhabitants of this house. As the fur tends to creep in under the door, it's hard enough to fight it off without having a wild chase around the table with hair flying in all directions.
The fact that there is a closed door is particularly hard for Ponder and Esme. It starts with a soft sound that changes into a yodel (Pon) or wild squeaking (Es) pretty quickly. Ponder takes it even harder than his sister. Even when he hasn't been around me for an hour or longer, he seems to feel that I'm behind "The Door" suddenly and he just won't have that.
So imagine me trying to roll clay with my hands while nerve-wrecking yodelling comes through the door, so loud that I'm afraid the neighbors will get me for torturing my cat. Imagine me trying to poke holes into about 40 beads while the yodelling starts to be accompanied by scratching on the door, not to mention the attempt to climb the door. Yes, Ponder walks up doors and it's a very distinctive sound.
I'm weak and can't stand that for very long which is the reason why it took me a few days to make all the beads.
I had started with the big focal one. The smaller ones are not as clear in their pattern, but that is why a focal is, well, a focal.
The necklace is not finished yet. I still need to string the beads and add a clasp, but I was curious to see what it might look like.
And now I have a purring black cat in my lap, happy that I came back out of the mysterious room, back to him, to serve him, in good days and in bad days. Doh.
So much bubblewrap and it's all for me? What a cozy bed!
P.S. He's sleeping there now ..........
Haven't heard a Ponder story in a while, have you? Well, here is one, but I have to tell it in a very low voice as I don't want him to hear it. He might get embarrassed and I don't want that because I love my crazy cat very much.
Sunday evening often is time for me to relax once more before the weekend has gone by and what do I like to do for relaxing (besides playing with wire)? Lying in the tub with a book (Linda Fairstein this time), looking forward to my handmade soap (pomegranate this time), listening to music (none this time, I forgot) and trying to keep Esme from drinking the water. For some reason she likes my Dr. Hauschka baths that I got for my birthday.
Ponder also is a regular guest at the tub. He likes to jump into the corner, tries to conquer the mountain that is our taps without slipping, hanging his tail into the water and telling me stories while doing so. He hadn't done it for months, almost years, it was enough for him to walk the shower screen. He loves the adventure.
Today he sat in the corner, though. He played with the water a little and next thing I saw was bottles with shower gel and soap swimming in the water next to my cat. I think he had slipped on the soap dish.
Amazing was how cool he still was, he didn't panic at all and probably he wouldn't have needed my help at all. When I dragged him out and put him outside the tub, he only shook a little and then walked off with all the dignity he could bring up. Others of my cats get hit by a drop of water and start licking like crazy. Not Ponder. He came back into the bathroom after a while, jumping on his usual spot beside the washbasin and only licked a little. I swear he looked as if he was wearing sunglasses, my Mr. Stibbons.
Oops, he is coming up to visit .... shhhhhhh!!
So it was time for the vet's. Again.
This time it was Ponder's turn. The black devil is losing hair on his belly and leg, so I thought before alien parasites would take over the house (too much X-files on my mind?), we take him there to have it checked out. Not that I have seen him licking himself excessively and it was only a little red, but I didn't want to take chances.
He did put up quite a fight when we were there. A few times he almost sat on my head. I had him around the neck like a stola, I had him on my shoulder, clawing some of my best parts with his hind feet, I had him pinned down to the table and it was exhausting. And that was only when we were waiting!
While she checked him out and ripped out some hair, he tried to hit me a few times. When I agreed to do some tests for parasites, he really had "fun". It took three of us to hold him so the vet could scrape off a little skin here and there. I wish I had brought the camera, my sister could have taken a picture. The assistant holding him by the neck and his front legs, the vet holding one hind leg and scraping away and me holding the other hind leg and his tail out of the way.
The good thing is - no parasites found. The bad thing is - what is the problem? She asked me if anything had happened lately and I told her about Gandalf and that Ponder likes to pounce Meffi since Merlin is gone.
Possible diagnosis - I have a psycho cat. She thinks it could be psychogenic alopecia. Either the boy is frustrated, sad or a freak. No, I made the last one up.
Since he is full of energy, it's possible that he does the licking during the day when we are not there to play or cuddle with him. For the others he is playing too rough sometimes.
So now we put up Feliway diffusers with pheromones hoping that will help and he will need even more playtime. I might get some more scratches when playing kitty monsters with him (my hand under the blanket, him pouncing it), but so what? He is so worth it!
If this doesn't make any difference in the next two to three weeks, we'll go back to searching what it could be.
Psychogenic alopecia is a controversial topic, but hey, I always knew he is special ;-)
