Excerpt Kitty Wisdom: Chapter 4: A Day in the Life

 

Chapter 4

A Day in the Life

“I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.” – Jean Cocteau

 

“The Brothers”

                 

Have you ever heard in cat talk something called the “zoomies”? I define the zoomies in a visual and auditory way. Watching two cats racing at full speed around the house, across and over furniture, and literally up walls, that’s the zoomies (formally known as Frenetic Random Activity Pattern or FRAP). I usually hear the zoomies when the galloping starts. I can be writing at my desk and first thing in the morning, what do I hear? Gallop, gallop, gallop, crash, slide, meow, chase, race, pounce, jump, roll, and repeat. Most zooming takes place in the morning or late afternoon after a good nap has refueled the tank. I find the zoomies hilarious to watch. My desk faces the hallway so I’ve been a silent observer of cats racing back and forth in front of the two open French doors. I watch them and laugh. Two cats playing equals one entertained cat mom.

Slurpee and Icee, although uniquely different in personality and temperament, play with each other nonstop. I rarely see any fights between them. The closest they’ve come to any kind of cat “dispute” is over raw chicken. Slurpee even moves his chicken out of the bowl, all the while growling and letting Icee know, “Hey! Back off! This is mine!” gulp! Icee just ignores him and meows at me in hopes of getting more chicken (bacon has recently become their favorite). I’m going to talk more about kitty food and diet in another chapter. Suffice it to say, food is their only area of discord. Outside of that conflict, they’re a great team.

I crack up a lot when I notice how they mirror each other’s actions. At any given moment, they love to sit together and stare into the yard. Their eyes fixed on the song birds, mostly sparrows and finches, pecking and scratching through the leaves and debris to find food. We get a lot of bird activity in the winter time. Whether it’s the sliding-glass door in the back of the house or the front door, these two can be found identically staring out the window. Slurpee, the brat, even managed to break three blinds to create a perfect square to stick his head through to the window. It’s pretty funny to see this little cat face peeking out of the glass. On any given day, I can find him either standing in the windowsill or sitting with his face tucked in the square cutout. Slurpee showed his talent in geometry when he carved out a perfectly shaped square, too.  

Recently, Slurpee found a “girlfriend” while staring out of his square. Even though he’s neutered, it doesn’t stop him from literally howling at the fluffy black kitty who visits him on our porch. I’m not kidding. He just howls like a wolf at her. He’ll climb into the windowsill and just stare at the pretty girl. I guess, he’s no different than most men who like to look at beautiful women, except men tend not to howl (well, some men do, but…). Girl kitty recently jumped up on one of the outdoor chairs so she and Slurpee could flirt. She’s not a stray. She has a collar and looks healthy and loved. She just likes to come visit here and there – and Slurpee quite happily regales her with his (a-hem) “serenade”.

As for Icee, he likes it when the blinds are pulled up and he can easily stare out the front window with his brother. Icee has no interest in the girl kitty. Icee has this mild temperament and goes with the flow. He isn’t the leader. Slurpee leads the team. As a kitten, Icee followed Slurpee around. He still does, but more often than not when it comes to nap time, Icee likes to sleep next to my desk in a chair I placed just for him. Slurpee though sprawls on the couch or near the window in the sunshine.

I love it when they’re both in my office and sleep around me while I work. I’ve got the ideal situation as a cat owner. I’ve worked from home for 16 years. I’m always around to give them pats. Icee can’t help himself. Almost every morning he starts to meow around the house. It’s cute. Icee has a deep meow, which doesn’t fit his sweet personality, while Slurpee has a sweet meow, which also doesn’t suit his rambunctious personality. I found out that cats really don’t meow for other cats. They meow to talk to us. They communicate their needs or even moods through those meows. Now that I told you their meows are reserved for human-to-cat communication, pay attention to it. Icee’s meow means, “Mom! Mom! Where are you?” Then I call to him and say, “I’m in the office,” to which he walks into the room.

So, Icee lets it be known he wants “love time” with me. He and Slurpee tussle about, and when it’s time to settle down, Icee meows and saunters into the office. Then it’s purr time on my lap. Oh, how I adore purr time. Studies have shown that a cat’s purr has all kinds of positive healing powers. Icee has a super loud purr, and with one scratch under the chin or pet along his furry back, he lets loose. Purring releases endorphins in cats, and it does the same for owners. Reducing stress and the associated hormones can lower blood pressure and promote overall health. Cats purr at a frequency that falls between 25 and 40Hz. Scientists say that this vibrational level promotes tissue regeneration. As a result, a cat’s purr calms you down, decreases symptoms of dysonoea (difficulty breathing), reduces risk of heart disease, and helps heal infections, reduce swelling, and promote bone healing and growth; and it encourages pain relief, muscle growth, tendon repair, and join mobility. Pretty cool if you ask me. Frankly, it feels nice to pet a kitty while he rumbles on your chest, which Icee loves to do.

I find it adorable how Icee ambles into my office, meowing and letting me know he’s ready for a purr party. I sit behind my desk and encourage him to jump on my lap. The little fool does so, and then he’s in either one of two modes: one, he is so excited he can’t sit still and rubs and makes biscuits usually on my fuzzy robe sleeves. He aggressively rubs his head against my chest and hands. He seemingly can’t get enough affection, pets, scratches, and kisses. Two, he settles down and manages to fall into a purr-filled sleep to which I transfer him to the nearby chair so my hands and lap are free.

Icee’s headbutting behavior is a sign that I’m “his” human. In cat psychology, cats own you, not the other way around. When a cat headbutts, he marks his territory by releasing his pheromones to bond with you. Notice how cats love to rub against you, too – same difference. It’s also a sign they feel safe with you, as the headbutt bonds him to you and designates you as his safe zone – and he’s showing affection. Headbutting can also be a demand for head scratches and pets. I’m always happy to oblige a headbutt with some scratches under the chin and around the ears. He has soft fur around his neck, so I enjoy the pleasure of its silky feel.  

Both Slurpee and Icee headbutt, but Icee really gets into it. Sometimes he practically sits on my face. While I spit out cat hair, Icee rubs all over my head and chest, which makes it critical that I keep those claws trimmed. A few choice scratches across my chest or on my arms, and I’m grabbing the claw clippers and blunting those little weapons. My joke when Icee aggressively rubs over me, purrs really loudly, and just can’t seem to get close enough to me, that we’re having a passion lovefest. He’s getting many mommy kisses and “boops” on his nose. While I love Slurpee, Icee melts my heart. Slurpee wants attention when he wants it, which is more typical aloof cat behavior. I would have to say Icee is the exception to the rule when it comes to attention-seeking manners.

The fun part comes when Slurpee insists on being in my lap, too. I’m a tall but petite woman, so my lap offers limited space. When Icee was a kitten, it worked out just fine. After all, two purring kitties is always better than one. However, as it happens with all babies, kittens get bigger and lap real estate won’t provide space for two. So, these days I enjoy mostly Icee on my lap, as he searches me out to be with me. Slurpee tends to watch from the doorway that leads into the office. Don’t worry, Icee is not the only spoiled one. When Icee vacates my lap, Slurpee often jumps on or simply sleeps next to my desk in the chair.

In late afternoon, both tend to disappear. Even as I write this book, Icee has passed out on the chair and Slurpee, well, I’m not sure where Slurpee wandered off to. I guess he’s most likely curled up on my sofa. We made the mistake of purchasing a new sofa that has dark blue nubby-like fabric. I joke, “We bought the world’s most expensive cat post.” Within a day, Slurpee, not Icee, christened the sofa and pulled up thick threads. We quickly went on Amazon and ordered these square clear tape strips to cover the fabric. It works pretty good even though the bare fabric looks better. I say it’s the price of owning fur babies so get over it.

Now let’s talk more about my office “buddies” and Zoom calls. First, let me say you can’t control a cat or keep him out of your office. If I close the doors, the rascals will literally, and I mean literally, throw their whole bodies against the door and loudly meow to be let in. Thus, it does me no good to toss them out. I am the editor of a magazine, and we do weekly Zoom calls. More than once, my teammates have heard Icee meowing around the house. Then on one call, the little guy jumped in my lap, climbed up on my shoulders, and sat there. What a sight. No one ever acknowledged or said anything. I think since the pandemic and the rise of remote work (56 percent of white collar pros now work remotely), people have adjusted to pets being around the home office.

The lack of interest in my cat while on a formal Zoom call defines what I consider to be a new kind of etiquette – pet etiquette. Since I can’t exactly quiet my cat or stop him from jumping on me, it’s an accepted norm we all ignore it. So, I just keep listening and talking. He has jumped on me a few times during my writers’ group meetings too. Since those meeting are more casual, I welcome Icee into my lap and sometimes make him wave with his paw. “Hi everyone.” On the other hand, Slurpee acts shy and rarely joins meetings.

The cats sleep all afternoon, so that’s quiet time. Cats sleep 12 to 16 hours a day. My cats sleep during the mid-afternoon, and then later after we’ve put them out of our bedroom, they sleep at night. I’m assuming most cats sleep in similar patterns. One important note, don’t answer your cat’s demands for food too early in the morning if you do not wish to get up that soon. Once they have a scheduled feeding time, they will ask for it – and they will meow loudly. My cats love to start scratching the carpet under the door, which is a big no, no. We’ve had to put area rugs under the doors to prevent the carpet from being shredded.