Black Cat Brown

As some of you may know I live in the desert southwest, southern Arizona to be more precise. This first picture is one of my back yard, it is typical of most yards around here. See all the greenery, nope it is just brown. Grass is something we hear about or see on TV. So far this year I think we have had around one half inch of rain. Dust is a big problem, no matter how much you clean you just can not get rid of it. In some parts of town it is as fine as talcum powder.

Really, she is solid black.

You might wonder what all that has to do with black and brown cats. Well as you know cats love to roll in the grass, except we have no grass near by. We have only weeds, leaves, and dust. Lots and lots and lots of dust. So what is any respectable left cat to do? Take a dust bath!

Feed me.

Last night while I was cooking dinner, Blackie came to the back door wanting in. I opened the door and this is what I found. She was all ready and eager to come in to get a bite and out of the sun. I told her I would not let her in until she cleaned her self. Poor thing I tried to help by using my hands to brush her off, to no avail.

Pest.

(I have got some help typing. The Martian climbed into my lap and is using his right paw to try to type. He alternate it with using all 4 to push my hands away from the keyboard. If I ignore him long enough he nips at my arms to get my attention)



Ashamed.



Back to the story. So not wanting to miss an opportunity I grabbed my camera and went outside to take some pics to share. While outside I met “R” the father of the woman who “owns” Blackie. We got to talking about the Martian, he did not know that I was able to tame him. So I let him out for “R” to see. Know what the first thing he did was? That's right, he took a dust bath. I did not get any pics of him though.



Let me in.



Anyways being the softie that I am, after an hour or so I let Blackie in. She went in and out a few times, before deciding to stay in for the night. She does not normally stay in very long, maybe she was just trying to butter me up. Oh well tomorrow is the day to clean house anyways. She always knows when I clean and will roll around in the leaves before wanting in. Everything sticks to her long hair.



How do I look? Did I miss a spot?



I hope you get as much of a kick out of the brown colored black cat as I did. She did such a complete job of it, only missing part of her face.

I don't care what you think, I had FUN!!
Now let me in!!

P.S. Blackie looked fairly clean this morning when I put her out before going to work.

 

More Chores:

Buying Kitty Food



Click on GIF to see animation.



I buy all of their food at Pet Smart, normally getting several cases of wet and a couple of bags of dry at one time. (I find it is cheaper this way, buying it on sale) I use old plastic buckets, that their litter came in to store their dry food. I washed them out with a mild dish soap before using them. When I go to fill them everyone comes by to supervise and get a little taste test. I think they are checking up on me to make sure I bought them the good stuff. The first pic shows them helping me and getting a little taste. That is Lil' Bit reaching deep in to grab some (Click on pic to animate gif: Lil' Bit it the gray one). As you can see it is quite the crowd pleaser, everyone gathers around. How many cats can you count?

This is even better than using catnip to get their attention. Sometimes it is kinda of hard to walk around without tripping over a cat or three. This is a grand ceremony for them with everyone in the house showing up except Girl, who is usually as far away from the others as she can get. Once everything settles down they will all decide that it is time for a nap and lay down around the bucket.



Click on GIF to see animation.



Putting away the canned cat food is even more fun, once I get around to it that is. In the second photo I decided to eat before putting it away. Mittens and Lil' Bit decided to remind me it was time to put their food away. I will open each case and then stack the cans alternating between all the flavors in each stack. Once I spread the cases out on the floor the cats will go back and forth between cases checking out which flavors I bought this time. Then Squirrel will get in the cupboard making sure there is a place to put it all. Very helpful this, as she is normally standing right where I am trying to work.



Click on GIF to see animation.



What to do once it is all put away??? Make forts of course! You can see in this picture I can make a couple of forts for them . Which they will quickly camp out in, and use to attack each other from. Soon there are pieces of fort all over the kitchen. I will rebuild them several times, until I get tired. They never seem to get tired of it. After a couple of hours of boxes all over the house I will pick them up and put them away. I do keep a couple around the house as the cats will use them as beds.

Lets not forgot about cleaning the litter box, I know Mittens won't let me. If she thinks that I have neglected it she has a subtle way to remind me. She will walk up to me and be very loving, then walk away back and forth until I get up to see what she wants. If she walks past the food and into the bathroom I know it is time to clean the litter box. (When she wants fed she will go to the food) I have four litter-boxes, the extra large one is in the spare bathroom. I use scoop-able litter cleaning them out everyday filling as needed with a complete change every so often. Mittens will stand by the door watching me, supervising unless it is urgent then she is right next to the box. Once I finish she will test it out, making sure I did a good job. If it is not her testing it out as soon as it is cleaned then it is Squirrel. It doesn't matter if they had just went before I started, they still have to try it out.

I think that covers all the chores, no matter what I do they are right there. Whether it is to help out or just to supervise, one or more of them will be close by, making sure I do it to their satisfaction. Even if they are a hindrance sometimes, at leas they believe that they are helping.

Helping with the Chores!!





Making the bed. Squirrel, Mittens, Lil' Bit helping.

 

A little help with the chores, or is it a little hindrance? I guess it all depends upon your point of view. Take making the bed for example, sometimes it can take 20 min or more. As I start to pull the old sheets off they can suddenly gain 15-20 pounds, two or three little helpers have joined in. Twelve eager paws ready to lend assistance, or at least have some fun. Usually one is there to take a “sleigh” ride, another will be chasing the sheet as it slides off the bed. Then I will shake out the fitted sheet, creating the perfect hiding spot, for one or two to run under. Of course they have to make sure I got all the corners on tight. If one is still hiding I will go do something else for a while. Checking back until they leave having left one of the corners loose so they can get out. Then comes the top sheet, paws flying everywhere trying to catch it and hold it down. This turns into a game of “chase the kitty under the sheet”. Again another wait until it's all clear. If I am also busy doing other chores I may forgot to check back for a while, sometimes they are still there 15 min later. Well finally the bed gets made. The first pic is one a took a while back, showing the three main culprits, I mean helpers.

Then comes grocery shopping. You know how when you bring in all the bags, you don't know what is in which bag. Problem solved, I just put them all up on the counter and go to the bath room to wash up. When I return Lil' Bit lets me know which one has the meat and other refrigerated items in it. It is the bag she is in. She will check to make sure the meat is fresh, maybe even take a taste test, if I take to long. Then the others join to see what I have bought, any kitty treats? They check the cupboards as I open the doors to make sure there is room to put things away.

I have some very brave cats when it comes to cleaning the house, no really. Girl, Squirrel, and Mizz Purzzzy will run and hide under my bed as soon as they see or hear the vacuum cleaner. Lil' Bit will keep playing but move to the other room (my front room and living room are one open room). She will keep an eye on the vacuum and if I get too close she will run past it to the other room, making a game of it. Ugly will do much the same thing except she does not play just crouches low and watches. Mittens is entirely driven by her stomach, as I started giving treats when they did not run away and hide. She now will get up on the curio cabinet, or piano and supervise me. When I first start it I give her one then when I get close to where she is I give her another, usually 4 or 5 each time I vacuum. The first time I vacuumed with her in the house, I had to physically move her, no fear. Later on she started to run. That was before I started giving treats, trying to quell the fears of the other cats. When I first started with the treats she would jump from the cabinet to the piano to get more treats, as that is the path I take, now she just picks one and will stay there the whole time. Now I walk right up to her with the vacuum in my hand right next to her. If I sweep first I will have a couple cats chasing dust bunnies around.



Mittens next to printer



Now that I am busy at the computer, trying to type this, they all are acting up and wanting attention (just like a little kid, daddy pay attention to me). Outdoor kitties wanting out/in others looking to be fed. TJ trying to pick a fight with the other males. Lil' Bit jumped into my lap for a few min till I ignored her. I often have a companion when I am typing, Mittens will jump up and lay down by the printer. We often fight over space on the table, as you can see she takes up a lot of room. (Sorry my desk is always messy). She watches what I do to make sure she approves.

Next time more chores: Buying Kitty Food. I will tell you about all the joy and pleasure that it will bring them, even if it doesn't help me much.