The Cat Report (Fr 1/21-22)

Just two cats in the cat room today, but they’re great cats. The Two Brothers (or cousins; I never did get which)  PISCES (our little black tuxedo cat) and SIRIUS (the little tabby with the nibbled whiskers) between them took up all the energy in the room.

Found out they love catnip three ways: catnip sachet, catnip spray, and catnip bubbles. They seem to love any game offered them. And they’re not shy about finding a game on their own.

Wanted to see if I cd walk them, so I took it in stages, first with Pisces, then Sirius. Started by getting the leash on Pisces and walking around inside the room.  He seemed to adjust to it better than I expected so I took the plunge and took him out. He was worried at first, but about five minutes in seemed to decide he was missing an opportunity and set out exploring. 

Then it was Sirius’s turn. It helped that he’d been watching his brother and wanted whatever his brother was getting. Both did very well, both in stretching their legs and as good will ambassadors, attracting a lot of attention (including at one point being petted very gently by a woman in a wheelchair who wdn’t have been able to get into the room). One of them (I think Pisces) was calm around a well-behaved dog that got fairly close (probably helped that it was riding in a shopping cart and kept silent). The only problem came when Sirius got spooked. I didn’t see what alarmed him but managed both to keep hold of my end of the leash when he bolted and got him safely back inside, whereupon he was fine.

Other activities: 

— several times a cricket came into the room (had there been some Great Escape over near the fish?) and immediately regretted it.

— Pisces at one point began to bite the bag of food atop the bin, ocasionally racing the length of the room and pouncing on it

— Sirius loves to roll in the sandbox, which he treats like a toy. I expect that behavior will go away once he has a home and box of his own.

— an Ex-Volunteer came by with a bag of cat-blankets; I put these by the bench.

— Pisces has a distinctive chirp when he talks.

No health problems. The dirt boxes showed plenty of activity but their pooposity looked normal, like what I’d expect from two half-grown cats with healthy appetites and active digestions. No doubt helped that we have three boxes for two cats: two in their cages and the communal box as their third option.

—John R.

P.S.: Thanks to Janice for the picture of Sirius

UPDATE: And now word has come that the two of them have just been adopted and are off to their new home together --John R., Saturday the 22nd