Saturday, December 3, 2011

Whittaker, The Ice Storm Baby

I realize that I have given blog time to our two young cats over the year, and completely ignored our shy old laddie. Best to rectify that situation before the year is out.

We always call Whittaker our ice storm kitty.  We got him in the summer after the ice storm of 1998.  The girls won a parade competition at the Dunchurch Fall Fair, and determined with their winnings to get another kitten.  They and the missus proudly came home one day with a new pet shop purchase.  Tessie our old cat, had become quite accustomed to being an only cat.  The intrusion of this youngster in her world, I'm sure was far more than she desired.  But he endeavoured in every way to keep her young, chasing her, stealing her food and her favourite sleeping spots.  Tessie in her usual long suffering fashion, put up with him and turned him into a decent adult cat.
 
Whittaker in his most lecherous of positions.  Tessie, as was her nature, tolerating his silliness.



Astride the reindeer.

Copycats - that's Wesley our new boy on the left.  It's now his job to keep Whittaker young.
Whittaker does have one most annoying trait - he's a recreational puker and has been all his life.  Not the hairball kind, just freshly eaten food, regurgitated for approval.  I'm thinking is some way, it hearkens back to the instincts of the mouser of yore, who laid his bounty at the feet of the master.  For some reason, yours truly seems to be the one who discovers it first.  And I do note that it is often on my side of the bed - I feel so special.

The old boy is in his fourteenth year and is definitely somewhat (can you really put those two words legitimately side by side?) in decline.  He is thinner this fall than in the past, and I note his usually neat tuxedo is getting a little dull and tattered looking.  As well, I fear a cataract is developing in his left eye.  However our geriatric cat does take care of himself, and I suspect he'll be around a few more years to keep us company.  Perhaps he'll be able to turn Wesley into a decent adult too - though quite an undertaking, I'm thinking.

The Daily Quest

This is a new daily feature on The Musical Gardener blog. Below is a question, or puzzle that will change day by day. Do not use the comment section of the blog for your answer.

Answer to Yesterday's Puzzle:  Three hands on a clock

Today's Puzzle:
Whatzit

What word or phrase is represented in the following whatzit?
 
Give   get
Get     give
Give   get
Get    give
 
Please respond with your answer to the email below. I apologize but you will have to type my email address in manually (I'm attempting to avoid spammers).
Don't forget my Musical Gardener Contest  You still have December's draw, and the final prize in January.

And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener

8 comments:

  1. Nice to meet your old boy. He looks well fed:)

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  2. A good series of cat pictures which tell a good story.

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  3. Oh I like your kitties. They look very content and completely in charge of your household.

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  4. I wish we'd had luck like yours with cats. We "inherited" my mother-in-law's cat when she became too confused to care for it properly, but our longstanding "queen" cat won't abide the newcomer--even 18 months later. The "queen" will take any opportunity she can to utterly intimidate the newcomer. We keep the newcomer upstairs, and the "queen" downstairs--separated by a baby gate across the stairs. If we don't keep them separated, the fur flies (literally). What a pain all around! We've even had a "cat whisperer" (i.e., animal behaviorist) over to offer suggestions, all to no avail.

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  5. Whittaker is very handsome! ANd I caught Alex and Naomi snoozing like that the other day, perfectly aligned right down to the paws. Great pic.

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  6. Scott, have you tried Feliway diffusers? They sometimes help in those situations. They release a kitty pheromone that is supposed to calm everyone down. I got some at Petsmart to help us through a time when our two boy cats were having issues!

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