StrangeRanger

En Repose

Well, not much to say today.  Enjoy the two cats who are enjoying a bit of a rest:

Pretty girls, aren't they? 

Seven Weird Things: the Ivy Files

Well, I've been slack and haven't tagged any other Cat-Bloggers for the seven weird things meme.  I will, however, take the easy way out and tag the Rangers favorite tuxie:  Ivy!

We've gotten to know Ivy pretty well over the past year and big change, and there are some facets of her personality that she has not explained to us yet.  I'm sure it all makes perfect sense to her.  We humans are simply limited by our species....Anyways, off we go to explore the Ivy Files!

First:  She sleeps like this.  For hours.  That's not a stretch, folks.

Second:  Ivy likes ice cream.  Hagen Daz vanilla by preference, but just about anything will do.

Third:  Ivy, as you'd expect from a formerly starving stray cat with a hyper-thyroid issue, just plain likes to eat.

Fourth:  Ivy has not given up her late-night yowling.  In fact she's expanded her performance schedule.  She now yowls while she looks at her full food and water bowls, and after she hops up on her couch.  We have no idea why, but it doesn't seem to be because she's in distress.

Fifth:  Ivy likes strawberries.  A lot!

Sixth:  Ivy just likes to roll around on the floor or rug sometimes. 

Seventh:  Ivy has two black whiskers.  You can spot one of them in this pic if you look closely.

Of course, as with everything that has to do with Ivy, Maddie has her own opinion!

You're Weird!  Why did they stop at seven?!

We humans, of course, think Maddie is being a wee bit hysterical.  No matter how often we don't understand Ivy, we wouldn't trade her for anything.  Especially when she gives us loving looks like this:

We love you too, Ivy.

Seven Weird Things...

Tag!  Maddie's It!  Momma Grace has tagged Maddie with 7 Weird Things About Me meme.  Maddie's a cat, though, and it seems that she feels that all of her behavior is perfectly reasonable and always rational. 

Wait.  What are you suggesting, human?

And so it falls to me to present to you The Seven Weird Things About Maddie; the Human Perspective:

1)  Maddie's favorite place to have her drinks are on her stool, from her own glass.

2)  On a related note, Maddie prefers to eat her kibble from my hand.  Always has.  It's not too messy and she doesn't draw blood too often.

3)  Maddie loves to help us make the bed.

4)  Maddie loves the sock drawer.

   5)  When she's feeling relaxed and confident and happy, tummy-up is the only way to nap.

6)  Maddie's favorite toys are waved around by her humans, but she likes catnip squirrels, too.

7)  Maddie likes to read.

And there you have it!  The secrets of Maddie, revealed to all.  Please forgive the weird formatting.  I have trouble getting TypePad to do the layout the way I want... Thanks to Momma Grace for including us.  I'll try and tag a few more folks and add them to the post later. 

Barbarian at the Gate!

Well it turns out that Maddie likes Ivy waaaay more than we thought she did...at least in comparison to other cats.  We had another visit from KittyKitty the other day, which is always lovely.  The only problem was that Maddie was aware of the visit.  Alerted us to the presence of the furry Barbarian at the Gate, actually.  Now, I don't normally like documenting an animal in distress, and I feel kinda guilty about posting this, but rest assured that no cats were harmed and only one cat was distressed in the making of this feature, and that treats were handed out liberally after the crisis had passed. 

Please forgive the jumbled noises at the start of the vid...I'm uncoordinated and untalented.....

Y'know, I really think KittyKitty knew she was provoking Maddie.  This standoff was a repeat of one that happened the day before.  KK just sat at the window the first time, with such a perfect look of Disney-esque innocence that I *knew* she knew exactly what she was doing.  Cats, huh?  Anyways, after the drama had subsided, KittyKitty had a nice roll-around on our back porch in a sunpuddle, and Maddie got petted, treated, and reassured of our undying love for her.  Here's a couple of aftermath pics of her on the bed, enjoying a peaceful sunbeam:

   

We are very grateful that Maddie is not *nearly* this displeased with Ivy now.  (we're betting that Ivy is even more pleased)  Maddie usually just yowls once, or gives a half-hearted hiss when she sees the wee tuxedo now.  Sometimes there's a more energetic challenge followed by a flurry of paw bats from either side, but nothing like the distress evidenced above.  Perhaps what we have between Maddie and Ivy now is what passes for peace.