Head Count, Please!

On Tue, 29 Mar 2016 21:45:57 -0000 (UTC), Bastette
wrote:

Je?us wrote:

First we have Annie, she will be 14 this year. I got her at approx. 9
months of age from the RSPCA.

I didn't know the RSPCA was in Australia. Unless you adopted her in the
UK - are you a British transplant?

No, not a transplant, we have the RSPCA here in Australia.

She was quite timid in many ways, in recent years she has relaxed a
LOT and is far more laid back now than I ever thought she would be.
My guess is she is part Siamese. She is not vocal all the time, but
when she does say something there is no doubt about what she is trying
to communicate. She is quite skilled at communicating, I don't know
where she picked that up from.

My cat Licky (short for Licorice) is a bit like that.

I know another Licorice locally He's a nice young lad, now that
he's settled down a bit and stopped ambushing all the other cats (they
have 6, all up).

I doubt he's part
Siamese - he's a mostly-black tuxedo. He does have a kink at the end of his
tail, though, which I've heard people say is a sign of having some Siamese
genes. He's also extremely vocal, as in VERY LOUD. And persistent. When
I'm in the kitchen at night, he sits in the "kitty treats" area and begs
for treats - meowing loudly, frequently and for a long time. Did I mention
that I live in an apartment building? After a certain hour, I worry that
he's going to keep the neighbors up. (No complaints as yet!)

LOL, sounds like my Lucy. She gets really loud at times when I'm in
the kitchen

He's also pretty skittish and always has been. I don't think he suffered
a trauma, though - I think he was just a feral kitten who was socialized
a little too late to be thorougly acclimated to humans. I've had him for
13 years (since he was 3 months old), and he still runs away when I try to
pet him outside of one of the officially sanctioned "safe petting zones."
He still randomly hisses at me from time to time, although he has never
scratched or bitten me. He's a bit like Tina's Boyfie, in that he doesn't
lash out when scared. He prefers flight over fight.

Oddly enough, Lucy is a bit like that. She gets spooked easily
occasionally, strange really because she's quite a large, boisterous
and confident cat otherwise. I got her very young and she hasn't had
any reason to be nervous about anything.

One time I'll never forget. I was sleeping on my back and Lucy
snuggled into me as usual... I think I must have snored a bit because
I was suddenly awoken from a deep sleep with four sets of claws
embedded in my chest as she launched herself to get as far away as
possible. Ouch...

Since my other cat went to the bridge (about 6 weeks ago), he's been
more needy and more vocal. He might be bored and lonely at home when I'm
at work. He and Roxy weren't cuddle buddies, but they got along OK, and
now he's alone for many hours of the day. So when I get home, I'm
bombarded by loud meowing, and I'm not sure whether he wants food, treats,
or cuddling.

Sorry to hear that, he must be lonely.

Usually he gets cuddling first, and that's when he does the
other thing he can do very loudly: purr. This cat could probably win some
purring contests.

So could Lucy. She has a very loud purr, and purrs often.

Annie and Lucy have a strange relationship at times. Lucy loves to
torment Annie by ambushing her. Physically it's no contest between
Annie and Lucy, Lucy is far bigger and stronger. Despite this Annie is
the boss of the house and always has free reign at the food bowl. Lucy
will always stand back and wait until Annie has had her fill and walks
away.

Heh, this is kind of how it was between Roxy and Licky. Licky's a strapping
male, and Roxy, especially as she got older and then got sick, was smaller
and smaller. At 6 pounds (approx 2.7 kg) she could still shoo him away from
prime sleeping spots just by glaring at him.