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-   -   Millie the hair stylist (http://www.catbanter.com/showthread.php?t=113436)

Robert Catt March 9th 17 11:24 PM

Millie the hair stylist
 
I woke up this morning with a tingling in my scalp. It was our little tabby
Millie, washing my hair with her tongue! When she'd finished the job she
backed off to admire her work. Thanks, Millie, but I didn't need your
services. I just washed my hair yesterday!


Joy[_3_] March 10th 17 12:24 AM

Millie the hair stylist
 
On 3/9/2017 2:24 PM, Robert Catt wrote:
I woke up this morning with a tingling in my scalp. It was our little
tabby Millie, washing my hair with her tongue! When she'd finished the
job she backed off to admire her work. Thanks, Millie, but I didn't need
your services. I just washed my hair yesterday!


LOL! They keep surprising us, don't they?

Earlier I was looking at Koala, standing in my lap and nudging or giving
a sharp vocal command every time I stopped petting him. I couldn't help
remembering that he spent his first two months here hiding under the
bed. After that, for weeks, if I reached toward him, or took a step
toward him, he'd run. He's come a long way, baby!

Bastette[_4_] March 10th 17 01:40 AM

Millie the hair stylist
 
Joy wrote:

On 3/9/2017 2:24 PM, Robert Catt wrote:
I woke up this morning with a tingling in my scalp. It was our little
tabby Millie, washing my hair with her tongue! When she'd finished the
job she backed off to admire her work. Thanks, Millie, but I didn't need
your services. I just washed my hair yesterday!


LOL! They keep surprising us, don't they?


Earlier I was looking at Koala, standing in my lap and nudging or giving
a sharp vocal command every time I stopped petting him. I couldn't help
remembering that he spent his first two months here hiding under the
bed. After that, for weeks, if I reached toward him, or took a step
toward him, he'd run. He's come a long way, baby!


Don't you love those sharp vocal commands? Licky does this with me if I
don't pet him immediately, or give him treats on demand, or get his food
on the floor in a timely manner. I always want to say, "Look who's barking
out orders!" but I'm afraid that "barking" might offend him. :)

Joyce
--
The problem with cats is that they get the exact same look on their
face whether they see a moth or an axe-murderer.
-- Paula Poundstone

Joy[_3_] March 10th 17 01:59 AM

Millie the hair stylist
 
On 3/9/2017 4:40 PM, Bastette wrote:
Joy wrote:

On 3/9/2017 2:24 PM, Robert Catt wrote:
I woke up this morning with a tingling in my scalp. It was our little
tabby Millie, washing my hair with her tongue! When she'd finished the
job she backed off to admire her work. Thanks, Millie, but I didn't need
your services. I just washed my hair yesterday!


LOL! They keep surprising us, don't they?


Earlier I was looking at Koala, standing in my lap and nudging or giving
a sharp vocal command every time I stopped petting him. I couldn't help
remembering that he spent his first two months here hiding under the
bed. After that, for weeks, if I reached toward him, or took a step
toward him, he'd run. He's come a long way, baby!


Don't you love those sharp vocal commands? Licky does this with me if I
don't pet him immediately, or give him treats on demand, or get his food
on the floor in a timely manner. I always want to say, "Look who's barking
out orders!" but I'm afraid that "barking" might offend him. :)

Joyce


LOL! Good point.

Robert Catt March 10th 17 02:51 AM

Millie the hair stylist
 


"Bastette" wrote in message ...

Joy wrote:

On 3/9/2017 2:24 PM, Robert Catt wrote:
I woke up this morning with a tingling in my scalp. It was our little
tabby Millie, washing my hair with her tongue! When she'd finished the
job she backed off to admire her work. Thanks, Millie, but I didn't need
your services. I just washed my hair yesterday!


LOL! They keep surprising us, don't they?


Earlier I was looking at Koala, standing in my lap and nudging or giving
a sharp vocal command every time I stopped petting him. I couldn't help
remembering that he spent his first two months here hiding under the
bed. After that, for weeks, if I reached toward him, or took a step
toward him, he'd run. He's come a long way, baby!


Don't you love those sharp vocal commands? Licky does this with me if I
don't pet him immediately, or give him treats on demand, or get his food
on the floor in a timely manner. I always want to say, "Look who's barking
out orders!" but I'm afraid that "barking" might offend him. :)
Joyce

Millie gives orders too, in a high squeaky voice. She says "Play with me!",
and "Scritch my back!", and "Rub the inside of my ears!" Of course I always
obey her wishes. Cats have ways of getting what they want!


Robert Catt March 10th 17 07:34 PM

Millie the hair stylist
 


"Joy" wrote in message ...

On 3/9/2017 2:24 PM, Robert Catt wrote:
I woke up this morning with a tingling in my scalp. It was our little
tabby Millie, washing my hair with her tongue! When she'd finished the
job she backed off to admire her work. Thanks, Millie, but I didn't need
your services. I just washed my hair yesterday!


LOL! They keep surprising us, don't they?

Earlier I was looking at Koala, standing in my lap and nudging or giving
a sharp vocal command every time I stopped petting him. I couldn't help
remembering that he spent his first two months here hiding under the
bed. After that, for weeks, if I reached toward him, or took a step
toward him, he'd run. He's come a long way, baby!

This reminds me of little Mooch. She was a stray who showed up in our
backyard one day, starving. I fed her, and after a year or so she moved
permanently onto our veranda. For a long time she wouldn't let us near her.
But with time, she began to trust us, and soon she was over to us demanding
that her back be petted. Like Koala, she'd come a long way baby! She passed
away two years ago, but still has a fan club on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mooc...?ref=bookmarks


John Kasupski March 11th 17 12:46 PM

Millie the hair stylist
 
On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 13:34:35 -0500, "Robert Catt" wrote:

This reminds me of little Mooch. She was a stray who showed up in our
backyard one day, starving. I fed her, and after a year or so she moved
permanently onto our veranda. For a long time she wouldn't let us near her.
But with time, she began to trust us, and soon she was over to us demanding
that her back be petted. Like Koala, she'd come a long way baby!


Yep, it's a slow process when a cat for whatever other reason has spent time in
an environment where it came to regard humans as something they're better off
avoiding. All you can do is keep giving them your love, and if you're consistent
in the way you treat them, they do seem to respond to that sooner or later.

I've always thought it somewhat of an oddity that felines - who, except for
lions, tend to hunt alone when in the wild - nevertheless seem to have that
natural need to interact. That works in our favor, provided that we are patient
enough to keep earning kitty's trust a little at a time.

Just yesterday after a couple of sessions of playing with Minnie here - and she
does like to play a bit rough - she jumped up on my lap and allowed me to hold
her while she was upside down in my arms like you hold a baby, while gently
rubbing her under her chin - and while she was laying there with her paws on
either side of my face licking my nose, it occurred to me that trying to do that
would have gotten me scratched or bitten back when I first got her in October.
That was a first. After about 15 seconds I put her down - making sure I didn't
overdo it, because that was a first for her letting me hold her like that, and
so I wanted to make sure I stopped before her tolerance reached its end. It
wasn't so much to keep from getting my face scratched as to build trust. She
hasn't been a lap cat thus far - but I'm working on it. grin

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY


Joy[_3_] March 12th 17 01:49 AM

Millie the hair stylist
 
On 3/11/2017 3:46 AM, John Kasupski wrote:
On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 13:34:35 -0500, "Robert Catt" wrote:

This reminds me of little Mooch. She was a stray who showed up in our
backyard one day, starving. I fed her, and after a year or so she moved
permanently onto our veranda. For a long time she wouldn't let us near her.
But with time, she began to trust us, and soon she was over to us demanding
that her back be petted. Like Koala, she'd come a long way baby!


Yep, it's a slow process when a cat for whatever other reason has spent time in
an environment where it came to regard humans as something they're better off
avoiding. All you can do is keep giving them your love, and if you're consistent
in the way you treat them, they do seem to respond to that sooner or later.

I've always thought it somewhat of an oddity that felines - who, except for
lions, tend to hunt alone when in the wild - nevertheless seem to have that
natural need to interact. That works in our favor, provided that we are patient
enough to keep earning kitty's trust a little at a time.

Just yesterday after a couple of sessions of playing with Minnie here - and she
does like to play a bit rough - she jumped up on my lap and allowed me to hold
her while she was upside down in my arms like you hold a baby, while gently
rubbing her under her chin - and while she was laying there with her paws on
either side of my face licking my nose, it occurred to me that trying to do that
would have gotten me scratched or bitten back when I first got her in October.
That was a first. After about 15 seconds I put her down - making sure I didn't
overdo it, because that was a first for her letting me hold her like that, and
so I wanted to make sure I stopped before her tolerance reached its end. It
wasn't so much to keep from getting my face scratched as to build trust. She
hasn't been a lap cat thus far - but I'm working on it. grin

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY


It sounds as though you're making great progress. While Pickles will
roll over on her back so I can rub her tummy, Koala doesn't let me touch
his tummy. Of course Pickles only does that when she's on the floor and
I'm standing up. The day is coming when I won't be able to bend over to
rub her tummy, and then she'll either have to do without tummy rubs or
let me do it when she's on the bed or in my lap.

A few months ago Koala started lying on my legs when I'm in my recliner.
Sometimes he'd do it when Pickles was in my lap, and sometimes it was
just Koala. Then he finally started lying in my lap. Then he finally
reached the point where he demands attention when he's on my lap. It's
a long, slow process, but it really makes it more satisfying than if
they were ready to cuddle when we got them, right?

Joy Gaylord
Simi Valley, CA

John Kasupski March 12th 17 01:25 PM

Millie the hair stylist
 
On Sat, 11 Mar 2017 16:49:15 -0800, Joy wrote:

It sounds as though you're making great progress. While Pickles will
roll over on her back so I can rub her tummy, Koala doesn't let me touch
his tummy. Of course Pickles only does that when she's on the floor and
I'm standing up. The day is coming when I won't be able to bend over to
rub her tummy, and then she'll either have to do without tummy rubs or
let me do it when she's on the bed or in my lap.


Minnie's tummy is definitely off limits. I can get away with rubbing her when
she's on her back as long as I don't go any lower than a spot just above the
area between her front paws, or stay up under her chin. Any lower than those
front paws, though, and she'll definitely let me know I'm out of bounds.

A few months ago Koala started lying on my legs when I'm in my recliner.
Sometimes he'd do it when Pickles was in my lap, and sometimes it was
just Koala. Then he finally started lying in my lap. Then he finally
reached the point where he demands attention when he's on my lap. It's
a long, slow process, but it really makes it more satisfying than if
they were ready to cuddle when we got them, right?


I guess I'll have to let you know if and when I ever get to that point, because
all the cats I've had before (plus one who belonged to a friend of mine) liked
to set up shop on my lap and just lay there purring and being stroked for as
long as I was willing to remain seated there. That cat that belonged to a friend
probably established the world record in that regard. I was installing Windows 7
and variousd other software on my friend's brand new computer that I'd just
finished building from parts we ordered online. I sat down to start formatting
and partitioning the hard drives, and the cat jumped up on my lap and parked
herself comfortably...and three hours later I had to put her down on the floor
so I could get up and go evacuate the half a pot of coffee I'd consumed while
installing Windows and 10 or 12 other things.

FWIW, Minnie, my current feline companion, was once briefly owned by the same
friend. Technically, I'm her fourth owner - but that's another story entirely.

John D. Kasupski
Niagara Falls, NY


Bastette[_4_] March 15th 17 01:16 AM

Millie the hair stylist
 
Robert Catt wrote:

"Joy" wrote in message ...


LOL! They keep surprising us, don't they?


Earlier I was looking at Koala, standing in my lap and nudging or giving
a sharp vocal command every time I stopped petting him. I couldn't help
remembering that he spent his first two months here hiding under the
bed. After that, for weeks, if I reached toward him, or took a step
toward him, he'd run. He's come a long way, baby!


This reminds me of little Mooch. She was a stray who showed up in our
backyard one day, starving. I fed her, and after a year or so she moved
permanently onto our veranda. For a long time she wouldn't let us near her.
But with time, she began to trust us, and soon she was over to us demanding
that her back be petted. Like Koala, she'd come a long way baby! She passed
away two years ago, but still has a fan club on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mooc...?ref=bookmarks


I was just wondering about Mooch, when reading one of your other posts.
I thought I remembered that she had gone to the bridge, but I haven't seen
a post from you in a while, so I wasn't sure.

And I didn't even realize that Mooch was a girl! She was a great (semi)
reformed feral kitty.

Joyce

--
I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better
for it. -- Abraham Lincoln (maybe)


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