November SOTK

November SOTK 

by Tanner (housecat-in-chief)

Here is my latest "State of the Kitties" report.

All the household and barn cats are still here. Camilla—who is real, real old—hasn't died yet. She goes out on the deck every day and sits with Olivia. Sometimes George, Jim-Bob, and Chloe sit with them when they take a break from their cat-work. George likes to sleep on the deck. Chloe still likes to run on the roof when she gets a chance.

George sleeping on the deck

The big news is that we have added another kitty, although Arlo and I voted against it. For several weeks, a little wild kitty hung around outside. Back in September, we saw the kitty with Tony-the-Tiger, a wild feral cat who sometimes eats breakfast at our house. Before long, Tony brought the kitty onto the deck and Mommy took pictures through the screen door.

The wild kitty came close to the door to look at Arlo and me.

The kitty was kind of scrawny and didn't look like he'd amount to much. But he had a good appetite.

Mommy started leaving extra food in the old gazebo where she leaves food for Tony. The little wild kitty, which Mommy named Alfred, hid under the same bush where Arlo used to hide when he was a little refuge kitty. By mid-October, Mommy had trained the kitty to come when she yelled "Alfred!" By late October, she was able to touch little Alfred.

That's when she realized she'd have to change the kitty's name to Alfreda. A few days later, she grabbed Alfreda and brought her inside. 

Mommy wouldn't let Arlo and me see the little kitty for a few days. When Mommy introduced me to Alfreda, she told me that since I'd done such a good job raising Arlo, that I could raise little Alfreda. I tried to tell her that I didn't know anything about raising girl kitties and that I didn't like the way Alfreda chased me and jumped on me. After Alfreda took over my cat-tower, Mommy said I should reach out to her, so I climbed up the tower and did.

Anyhow, it wasn't long until Alfreda laid claim to all the cat toys and forced me to play with her whether I wanted to or not. She is one pushy kitty.

You will notice in all those pictures that Arlo is nowhere to be seen. After Alfreda jumped on him a couple of times, Arlo made it plain that he wasn't going to get involved. It looks like I will have to raise this kitty all by myself.

I don't know if I will be able to set a good example for her. I did a bad thing yesterday. In fact, I did it twice. I discovered if I pushed hard on the back storm door that it would open and I could get out. So that's what I did. The first time, Mommy heard the door slam and looked out to see me running out of the garage. It took her a long tme to catch me, but George helped her. I felt bad that her legs swole up and started hurting while she was trying to get me, but I liked running loose.  

But feeling bad about what I did didn't stop me from doing it again last night. I didn't think she would find me in the dark, but she used a flashlight. And George and Jim-Bob kept heading me off. I thought I could stay away from her if I climbed a tree, but she grabbed me as I came down. She is good at grabbing cats. 

Anyhow, that is my SOTK report for now.

~