Cats at play

My sweet Cedric kitty is about 12 years old, yet he's incredibly patient with his little brother Calcifer, who's just over a year old.  This video shows how a simple bath can turn into a wrestling match.

Neither cat used their claws, or even pulled out any fur- it's amazing how gentle they can both be.  I'm not sure who won, but they both seemed satisfied- LOL!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Calcifer discovers the joys of the bathroom sink

Calcifer, ever the curious cat, has discovered just how much fun the bathroom sink can be.  At first he was happy to sit on the counter and watch me get ready in the morning.
 
But then he discovered that water comes out of the faucet, and that was just the most interesting thing he'd seen.  Calcifer has no problem with getting wet, but he couldn't quite figure out how to drink from the faucet without getting his head wet.  It was really pretty funny to watch.
 
I could almost hear him saying "How the heck did Mommy make water come out of this thing?" 
  
He's a very smart cat- he figured out that the handle turned it on, but he wasn't strong enough to do it himself.  Of course he tried biting it, but he does that with everything- LOL.  I made him happy by running the faucet and letting some water sit in the sink for him to play in and drink.  And of course he had to get his paws wet (he plays in his water bowl too).  So he had to give his paws a thorough washing after he was done playing.
 
And of course he had to make sure he looked good after his bath! 
So now every morning my silly cat "helps" me get ready.  He's fascinated by me putting in my contacts, and I have to make sure his tail isn't in the sink when I'm brushing my teeth.  It is nice to start the day off with a laugh, courtesy of my fluffy friend here. ;-)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

My cat ate my headset!

Calcifer has always been a chewer, but I think all the upheaval with cleaning the basement and moving things around has stressed him out lately.  I've noticed him chewing on more things the last few days- everything from my exercise bands to the edge of the carpet.  I didn't see him jump up next to the computer, but I did catch him with the cord of my headset between his teeth!  And he KNEW he was doing something very bad, because the second he realized he'd been caught he raced downstairs and hid for half an hour.  Hopefully I can fix the cord with some electrical tape, but I'm definitely going to have to break him of the habit of chewing on cords.  I do not want my kitty electrocuted!  As soon as I can I'll get some Bitter Apple spray and spray all the cords around the house, as well as anything else I don't want him gnawing on.  It worked to break my dog from chewing on the furniture years ago, so hopefully it will work on Calcifer as well.  His attempts to apologize were pretty funny though.  He was all sweet and cuddly, and sat on my lap for more than an hour.  I think I've got the house pretty much back to normal, so maybe he won't be as naughty now that things are the way they should be (in his eyes at least).  I swear he's just like a kid: he acts out to get attention, but doesn't like getting yelled at.  He's very intelligent though, so I think I can train him out of chewing on the wrong things.  I "donated" one of my exercise bands as a chew toy and gave him lots of praise when he chewed on that.  I've been able to teach him to sit and stay, along with a few other things.  I'll spend a little extra time playing with him too, so he'll burn off some of that excess energy.  There's usually a reason why our pets do the things they do.  It's up to us to figure out what the issue is and try to fix it.  Usually Calcifer's pretty well behaved though.
 
Looks innocent, doesn't he?  Even when he's a bad boy, I still love him!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters