It is quiet in here this morning. I have closed all the curtains because when it gets hot it is hard to keep it cool in here. So I walk about my apartment as though it is twilight and the light is shifting.
Charlie is at the foot of my recliner sleeping, where he is much of the time.
Ivy is behind my chair on a pet bed on the floor. I don’t know why she likes that spot so much. She never sleeps on the quilts behind my chair anymore.
Maybe she likes the pet bed on the floor because it’s tucked away in the corner and it’s kind of dark back there.
Staying In:
I have no plans to go out today. Fridays around here always mean a ton of traffic.
My physical therapist yesterday suggested that I have my groceries and such brought in, as I have been doing lately. But she wants me to go into stores, push a cart and simply walk around.
That way I’m not lifting or standing in line, but I’m getting exercise. Seems a bit funny to pay to have my groceries brought in but go to the store and walk around anyway. But I’m getting better, so I will keep doing what she tells me to do.
Note to self: clean coffeemaker:
I just had my one cup of coffee. I’ve been telling myself for a week that I need to deep clean my coffeemaker. I clean it with white vinegar and water. Maybe today will be the day.
One of you told me about a little solar fountain you ordered from Amazon.com that you really like, and so I ordered one for my bird bath.
I got it a few weeks ago, but I can’t for the life of me get the suction to keep it grounded to the middle of the bird bath.
After about a minute after I get it stuck to the bottom, it loses the grip and floats around. Any idea how to get it to stick?
I keep putting those red and white curtain ties back in Ivy’s little red plastic toy box, and every time I do she drags them back out again. I cannot figure out what it is about Ivy and those curtain ties.
Remember she found them in one of my two closets the first week she was here back last October and has been taken with them ever since.
Why on earth would a cat be so obsessed with curtain ties?
From the book “what your cat knows”:
In 1992, John Bradshaw and Sarah Hall set up a study to look at cat play. They wanted to see if cats see their toys as simply toys, or if they saw the toys as prey.
So when they brought the toys out the first time the cats were clearly interested in them. But the second time there was less interest. And by the third time the cats were bored with those same toys.
Then they waited about five minutes and gave the cats different toys and found that the cats’ interest was stimulated again.
They felt that the cats’ interest in prey-like toys indicated that the cats must have some innate instincts linked to hunting and thought of their toys as real animals.
Then they investigated the role of hunger to see if it altered a cat’s desire to play with toys.
The cats’ first meal of the day was delayed and they were given a mouse-like toy instead. They predicted that the cats would not be interested in playing because they were hungry.
But they were wrong. The hungry cats set upon their toys with enthusiasm. This proved to the researchers that cats are thinking about hunting when they play with toys.
?Brenda,
Try cutting a brick in 3 pieces & level
solar on top of bricks. Of course water tube will need to be as deep as possible for the fountain to spray.
Also. Tin can from Ivy’s food can (0r veg can contain diameter of solar, placing rocks around to anchor. I
Have found it is vip to level solar.
I am sure you can solve your issue.
Good luck & hope you are enjoying
watching the birds drink & bath!!!
I am delighted with mine. ?
Oh, Brenda! I wish I’d known you were thinking about ordering that fountain! I bought one several years ago, and there’s NO way to get it to stick to your birdbath. The only thing you can do is anchor it with rocks. Built a little platform in your bath that it can sit in. Otherwise it will float around constantly. The real problem is that no matter what you do it will empty your birdbath. Even if it’s not floating around the wind will blow the water over the side as it is sprinkled into the air. It’s cute, but I finally gave up on mine! Good luck!
My cats have a whole drawer full of toys and sometimes I’ll take a few out and toss them around the house. They play with the toys for a few seconds and then totally ignore them. The only toy Clementine truly likes is felt balls. She’s obsessed with them. She chases them and plays fetch; carries them around in her mouth like a dog.
I always add more exercise to my day when I go out in public/in stores by walking around much more than I need to. I park far away in the parking lot for starters, then I walk the entire store, regardless of what I need. When the weather is favorable, I take a walk around my neighborhood every day. I do have a treadmill, but I hate it (SO boring!) so that takes a LOT of effort and willpower on my part. I call it the dreadmill. 😉 I have a TV downstairs in the family room by the dreadmill, but I’m not a TV watcher either. TV bores me, too.
I just bought one of those folding carts from Target. I have a long walk from the driveway to backdoor so hoping I will Like it. And it will be goodFor heavy garden things. Ivy is so much fun. My little Morkie has a growth on his eye and I need to take him in next week. It’s not looking good.
I love when you write of Ivy and her toy play. So entertaining! My partly feral cat was 8 weeks old when we adopted her. She immediately made my teen son ‘her person’ and his bedroom her refuge. A few years later, as he flew home on college breaks, our cat twice stuffed her favorite toys into his spare shoes. He unknowingly packed the shoes with her toys into his luggage and back to his college dorm. Surprise when he found them! He saved them and returned them to her.
Good evening Brenda,
I think your therapist is right, it is a good opportunity to get some exercise and not have to worry about anything else.
It has been hot here as well and like you I keep the curtain/shades closed until late afternoon.
I hope that the three of you have a great weekend. Stay coo.
Please. Go to the store for exercise without the stress of deciding what items to put in your cart. I like to push the smaller carts and get a low cost beverage as a treat. On my way home I stop at the Post Office or library book drop. It adds interest to my day.
Have you tried ordering on line at Walmart grocery. we order then pick a time to drive there and pick up the order, never getting out of the car. so convenient. we do it once a week. more and more walmarts are offering the service. it works great for us, we are 15 miles from the nearest store. i still walk in the grocery store but it saves my back and neck at walmart. glad rehab is helping you.
It’s ridiculously hot and humid here too, today….and the a/c in my office is broken. I wish I could just stay home and not go out when I feel like it…..sigh, oh well I have to pay the bills somehow!! Enjoy your weekend, Brenda!
Hi Brenda. I don’t know about that study. My cats are hungry in the morning, but I know that if one of them finds a bug or twist tie while waiting for food, he will play with it, while the other one will just sit there staring at me, hoping I will give him some food. I just don’t know if any toy would get his mind off of food! When my cats are playing, they like to get under or beside something like a chair leg or a box, and include that object in the play. They will smack the toy behind the obstacle, then peek around it, and so on. It’s fun to watch as they make up their games.
Someone said they left a trickle of water running in the tub for their cat to play with. I tried it yesterday, and my little cat seemed scared of it and left. I’ll have to try it again.
I am thinking you could just keep ordering your food and getting it delivered with that service you like. Then just make a trip to a store with no intention of buying anything. Just push the cart around but don’t put anything in it that you have to worry about loaded and unloading in the car and getting into the house.
Or you could do that and only buy really small light things at the store. Like toothbrush, bandaids, aspirin, and that would give a purpose. Or you could find new items to add to your delivered list. I have to walk around a store three times to find the frozen quiches I like and still go home without them.
I think that anyone who thinks they can figure out a cat needs a good nap….and a new occupation. That’s the most fun thing about cats…totally unpredictable.
Ha-ha! That’s so true!! Thanks for giving me a grin today, Eileen!
Me too! Kitties are enigmas, for sure! And how we love them.
Mary