We Heart Cats

Well, after six years, I am leaving Sonoma County. My new job is in San Francisco, which while only 40 or so miles away, is an hour-and-a-half express bus trip each way from Petaluma during the week. And my body refuses to be happy after getting up at 5:07 am every day so I can leave at 5:50 am.

Soooo, I found a place in “the city” as we call it in the North Bay. It’s a great place in an old Victorian, and hopefully I will be moving this weekend.

Bob gets scared when we move. However, on the plus side, there will be lots of moving boxes he can sit in. Also, my new place is actually old — from about 1910 — so there will be a lot of interesting smells for Bob to enjoy. And he will enjoy exploring the place. He has seemed to get more outgoing and confident every time we’ve moved — as Bob was a shelter kitty, I guess in his opinion we are proving our commitment to him by taking him everywhere we move. Plus, honestly, I think like me he likes new and different places. I tend to get bored, and maybe my cat does too.

-Jill

Here’s a link to an interesting conversation on the topic.

My opinion? I have had both cats and dogs as pets. I generally like dogs because they’re friendly. But honestly, I have had some personality conflicts with straight “dog” people. I think it basically boils down to this:

Cats’ love needs to be earned. Dogs, for the most part, love anyone.

I could debate about which is more intelligent, pet owner responsibility, etc. But that’s not essence of the difference, in my opinion.

Thoughts?

-Jill

-Jill

I had a co-worker tell me yesterday that his foreign cat was wilder than American cats due to the fact that she wasfrom Israel. He also mentioned that she was a street cat. In my experience, most street cats are wilder. But are American street cats spolied because of our abundance? Is there a cultural difference?

-Jill

Last night I dreamt that a mother leopard gave birth in my back yard, and then I picked up and cuddled one of the five cubs. Of course that couldn’t happen. But I wonder what that means?

-Jill

Siamese cats are supposed to be more snobbish than other cats. I’ve never had one, but my friend in high school did, and that cat did avoid us and hiss frequently. Does anyone have a well-tempered Siamese?

Pic from www.koalie.net

-Jill

Bob’s favorite place to hide is the laundry basket. I think because of the way it smells. Where does your kitty like to hide?

-Jill

In the last place we lived in Petaluma, we had a lot of hummingbirds on the property. I LOVE them. But it’s funny that they are so not afraid of slow, fat cats. They would actually swoop down and hover near one of ours, almost for their own entertainment, pause a few moments, and fly off. They just amazed our cats, in that kind of paralyzed cat amazement way.

-Jill

I LOVVVEEEE this combo. Has anyone ever had a bunny and a kitty at the same time? How did it work out?

-Jill

From jonahprobell.com

Zoinks! Have a super-sized weekend!

-Jill

From www.dianaschnuth.net

Bob used to be number 2 cat — in other words, the less dominant. Now he has morfed into number 1 cat — actually hissing at others, which he never did in the past (hence his name was Silent Bob at the time). Have you ever had a cat change personalities?

Jill

My cat loves to be brushed, but still he gets mats. It might be because he drools some. But does anyone know of a product — like a hair conditioner — that might help?

-Jill

Who else’s kitty regularly uses his/her paws like hands? Bob will “hold your hand” and tap you on the leg for attention.

From members.iinet.net.au

-Jill

An interesting phenomenon with kitties — straight legs and all. Anyone have a good photo of this?

-Jill