Buddy will probably get more blog-time than Tubbs. Tubbs is, for the most part, a "normal" cat. She is quiet, laid-back, greets company at the door, and lets us clip her claws without too much fuss. Even though she's overweight and her sides pooch out, she's a graceful finicky cat who is aging well.
Buddy, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He is vocal, skittish, runs from the door whenever someone comes over, and there is no clipping of the claws except by professionals. Neither cat likes to be held, but Buddy, who is about five pounds lighter than Tubbs, is more adept at squiggling free of my grasp. He hisses at Mike - actually, he won't go near any male. He has long hair and a long body, but he is clumsy and completely lacking in social graces. When he eats, his food goes everywhere. When he uses the litterbox, the litter goes everywhere. And when he plays with Tubbs ... well, lets just say the fur flies. He just doesn't get some things that should have been learned as a kitten.
Tubbs spent six years as the only cat, and methinks she misses those days. When we first brought Buddy home from the Spryfield Animal Hospital (shelters and the classifieds aren't the only places to find kitties up for adoption, vets are inundated with unwanted pets), we left him in his carrier in our office for a few minutes so Tubbs could check him out. Instant hissing on her part. In fact, she has yet to grow to like him. It would help if Buddy knew how to play. His idea of "play" is to start out playing - they chase each other around the apartment - but he doesn't seem to understand that when Tubbs lies down that she's done playing, and that jumping on her and biting her back won't exactly win her over. Some mornings Buddy gets "time-outs" in the office (like 4 a.m. mornings) when he will not stop attacking Tubbs.
I dunno ... maybe he wasn't socialized as a kitten. All I know is his previous owner dropped him off at the vet to be put down because she couldn't afford to treat his ear abcess. Of course the vet treated the abcess, cleaned him up, paid for complete bloodwork and put him up for adoption ... at which time the previous owner wanted her cat back. Tough. And despite Buddy's social ineptness, and despite his aversion to all things male (go figure), he's still a playful, healthy, happy kitty.
Aahh, knitting. These are my Purple Worms. I personally don't see much improvement, but I *suppose* I'm getting better ...
Going left to right, the first worm is more like an overgrown slug. That's me practicing knit and purl stitches, over and over. And over. I still have to master keeping a nice, clean edge. Next we have my latest worm, my first attempt at a potholder. Unfortunately I lost count of when I was supposed to knit and purl, so I quit while I was ahead. (I'm currently working on Attempt # 2.) Third is actually the first worm I knit and successfully bound off. And lastly is a swatch that I didn't bother binding off. It's for the potholder. The swatch is a half-inch shorter than it should be to match the pattern, but that's okay. So long as I can eventually knit a potholder, I'll be happy. I'll also be happy to move onto my blue yarn; I'm getting sick of the purple.
Knitting is strangely addictive. I knit on my breaks at work, in the car (only when I'm not driving, hah), when I watch TV, and any time I can get Buddy off my lap. It's really a lot of fun, and it's rather like joining a secret society. Last weekend Buddy's groomer and her assistant/husband were over clipping Buddy's claws (Mike and I can't do it ourselves, more on our little wildcat another day), and they spotted my brown paper bag from The Loop sitting on a table. (For non-knitting non-Haligonians, The Loop is a much-loved knit shop.) Guess what? Both of them knit. Not only do they knit, they crochet. Like the closet hippo, knitters only reveal themselves in favourable circumstances.
Welcome to my new blog, Life With Cats.
I’ll apologize now for anything that looks wonky on this page; I am technologically inept and getting this page to look the way I want will be a forever-work-in-progress.
To start, obviously I love my cats. They are Tubbs (left) and Buddy. I have had Tubbs since 2001; Buddy was adopted in September 2007. And it's been fun and games ever since. Tubbs is 10 (10!) and Buddy is barely a "senior" at 7. They are my babies.
Knitting, my new-found hobby thanks to a Knitting Diva friend of mine (hi Hope!), is not compatible with cat ownership, I have discovered. Tubbs likes to chew on the wooden needles and Buddy likes to chew on the yarn. Unfortunately for Buddy, he cannot be on my lap while I’m knitting as I’m sick of pulling my yarn out of his mouth. Tubbs is not a lap cat so it’s a non-issue. Buddy, however, is my laptop (coined by my hubby Mike). So when I knit Buddy must find somewhere else to snooze … or sometimes I put my knitting aside so he can nap in peace. (Awww …)
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