Scaredy-Cat Brando

Poor Brando. He had to endure being a feral kitty and living on the
streets for who knows how long, before I trapped him and worked with
him to turn him into the now loving, wonderful lap-cat that he is.

Last night, he was apparently peacefully sitting on one of the cat
condo thingys. I was hiding the Cool Room, while DH was downstairs.
There was a loud noise of some sort (best guess from DH being a
neighborhood brat who decided it would be fun to run up and smack the
aluminum back door really loudly. I'll get that little #$%^% one of
these days.)

So Brando takes off like a shot, heading for his favorite hiding spot.
And forgetting there is a compact stereo system in his way. He
managed to smack himself into it to the point where it moved (and it
does *not* have wheels) before diving under the end table and hiding.

DH comes up and tells me what's going on and I call and call to try to
get him out. Finally, reluctantly, he comes out far enough that DH
can grab him and bring him upstairs to me.

I'm worried he's hit his head. He is still terrified, huge pupils,
ears twitching. I send DH for a small flashlight. I am apparently
having an "ER" moment, because I think I should use the flashlight to
make sure his pupils are reactive and he doesn't have a concussion. I
have no idea if this is sound reasoning for a cat, but I do it anyway.
His pupils react just fine, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

I pet and touch him all over, and he doesn't seem to be sensitive
anywhere; just spooked.

It takes him a good half-hour to calm down, but finally, he gets into
his favorite waterbed position, big butt on the bed, head and arms
hanging over the side railing.

What a relief!

Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....mmer/index.htm (genealogy)
http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
Animals in Movies Website)

wrote in message
...
Poor Brando. He had to endure being a feral kitty and living on the
streets for who knows how long, before I trapped him and worked with
him to turn him into the now loving, wonderful lap-cat that he is.

Last night, he was apparently peacefully sitting on one of the cat
condo thingys. I was hiding the Cool Room, while DH was downstairs.
There was a loud noise of some sort (best guess from DH being a
neighborhood brat who decided it would be fun to run up and smack the
aluminum back door really loudly. I'll get that little #$%^% one of
these days.)

So Brando takes off like a shot, heading for his favorite hiding spot.
And forgetting there is a compact stereo system in his way. He
managed to smack himself into it to the point where it moved (and it
does *not* have wheels) before diving under the end table and hiding.

DH comes up and tells me what's going on and I call and call to try to
get him out. Finally, reluctantly, he comes out far enough that DH
can grab him and bring him upstairs to me.

I'm worried he's hit his head. He is still terrified, huge pupils,
ears twitching. I send DH for a small flashlight. I am apparently
having an "ER" moment, because I think I should use the flashlight to
make sure his pupils are reactive and he doesn't have a concussion. I
have no idea if this is sound reasoning for a cat, but I do it anyway.
His pupils react just fine, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

I pet and touch him all over, and he doesn't seem to be sensitive
anywhere; just spooked.

It takes him a good half-hour to calm down, but finally, he gets into
his favorite waterbed position, big butt on the bed, head and arms
hanging over the side railing.

What a relief!

Really! Poor Brando, I have a scaredy cat too (Demi) and it's painful to
see them so afraid of everything.

BTW, do the cats not poke holes in your waterbed?

Hugs,

CatNipped


Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....mmer/index.htm (genealogy)
http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
Animals in Movies Website)

wrote:
Poor Brando. He had to endure being a feral kitty and living on the
streets for who knows how long, before I trapped him and worked with
him to turn him into the now loving, wonderful lap-cat that he is.

Last night, he was apparently peacefully sitting on one of the cat
condo thingys. I was hiding the Cool Room, while DH was downstairs.
There was a loud noise of some sort (best guess from DH being a
neighborhood brat who decided it would be fun to run up and smack the
aluminum back door really loudly. I'll get that little #$%^% one of
these days.)

So Brando takes off like a shot, heading for his favorite hiding spot.
And forgetting there is a compact stereo system in his way. He
managed to smack himself into it to the point where it moved (and it
does *not* have wheels) before diving under the end table and hiding.

DH comes up and tells me what's going on and I call and call to try to
get him out. Finally, reluctantly, he comes out far enough that DH
can grab him and bring him upstairs to me.

I'm worried he's hit his head. He is still terrified, huge pupils,
ears twitching. I send DH for a small flashlight. I am apparently
having an "ER" moment, because I think I should use the flashlight to
make sure his pupils are reactive and he doesn't have a concussion. I
have no idea if this is sound reasoning for a cat, but I do it anyway.
His pupils react just fine, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

I pet and touch him all over, and he doesn't seem to be sensitive
anywhere; just spooked.

It takes him a good half-hour to calm down, but finally, he gets into
his favorite waterbed position, big butt on the bed, head and arms
hanging over the side railing.

What a relief!

Ginger-lyn

Poor Brando, I'm glad he's OK.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.

wrote:
Poor Brando. He had to endure being a feral kitty and living on the
streets for who knows how long, before I trapped him and worked with
him to turn him into the now loving, wonderful lap-cat that he is.

Poor boy! WE are amazed that Smokey is not a scaredy cat. The only
time he ever freaked out is when the hurricane hit our city. There
were no hurricanes in Ontario, and seeing weather /like that/ outside
made him start buggin'.

--Fil

On 23 Jul 2005 14:03:33 -0700, "Enfilade"
wrote:
Poor boy! WE are amazed that Smokey is not a scaredy cat. The only
time he ever freaked out is when the hurricane hit our city. There
were no hurricanes in Ontario, and seeing weather /like that/ outside
made him start buggin'.

Can't blame him. I grew up in the Central Valley of California, so
didn't know what weather really was - well except for hot summers,
mild winters (course we didn't think they were mild, sometimes it
actually gets down to freezing), and fog. We definitely knew what hot
or foggy meant though. Hot was when the vinyl on my motorcycle seat
melted and burned my a$$. Foggy meant you couldn't see the middle of
the road from the end of the driveway.

Course then I joined the Army, which sent me to San Antonio Texas
where I saw more rain one afternoon than a couple years' worth back
home. When I went to Central America I learned that the rain in San
Antonio was just a short shower ;-) I learned what cold meant in
Alaska, where you stalagmite (?) by pouring hot coffee out the window.
(Actually knew a guy who did that, by pouring a cup of coffee out the
winter every day during the winter.)
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Spot
with loving memories of Rocky (RB)

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 13:33:45 -0500, "CatNipped"
wrote:



Really! Poor Brando, I have a scaredy cat too (Demi) and it's painful to
see them so afraid of everything.

BTW, do the cats not poke holes in your waterbed?

Hugs,

CatNipped


Nope, they don't. Once in awhile, there might be a small accidental
hole, which is easily fixed with a repair kit. But they've all
learned to knead only on top of the thick blanket, and not on the bed.
Well, Arthur is still basically a kitten, and he has discovered the
delights of pouncing on the "waves". So we're keeping the blanket
covering the bed fully to make sure he gets it eventually! Silliy
kitten.

Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....mmer/index.htm (genealogy)
http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
Animals in Movies Website)

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 13:33:45 -0500, "CatNipped"
wrote:



Really! Poor Brando, I have a scaredy cat too (Demi) and it's painful to
see them so afraid of everything.

BTW, do the cats not poke holes in your waterbed?

Hugs,

CatNipped


Nope, they don't. Once in awhile, there might be a small accidental
hole, which is easily fixed with a repair kit. But they've all
learned to knead only on top of the thick blanket, and not on the bed.
Well, Arthur is still basically a kitten, and he has discovered the
delights of pouncing on the "waves". So we're keeping the blanket
covering the bed fully to make sure he gets it eventually! Silliy
kitten.

Yeah, I imagine being squirted in the face when you poke a hole *would* be a
deterent to a cat! ;

Hugs,

CatNipped


Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....mmer/index.htm (genealogy)
http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
Animals in Movies Website)

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 13:33:45 -0500, "CatNipped"
wrote:



Really! Poor Brando, I have a scaredy cat too (Demi) and it's painful to
see them so afraid of everything.

BTW, do the cats not poke holes in your waterbed?

Hugs,

CatNipped


Nope, they don't. Once in awhile, there might be a small accidental
hole, which is easily fixed with a repair kit. But they've all
learned to knead only on top of the thick blanket, and not on the bed.
Well, Arthur is still basically a kitten, and he has discovered the
delights of pouncing on the "waves". So we're keeping the blanket
covering the bed fully to make sure he gets it eventually! Silliy
kitten.

Ginger-lyn


We had a water bed for thirty years and always had cats. Only once had a
minor leak and they didn't cause that one. They really are made of pretty
sturdy material.

Jo

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...

Course then I joined the Army, which sent me to San Antonio Texas
where I saw more rain one afternoon than a couple years' worth back
home. When I went to Central America I learned that the rain in San
Antonio was just a short shower ;-) I learned what cold meant in
Alaska, where you stalagmite (?) by pouring hot coffee out the window.
(Actually knew a guy who did that, by pouring a cup of coffee out the
winter every day during the winter.)
--


I got in trouble in college for doing the cup of water out the window thing
one winter. The icicle that resulted was big and heavy enough that it
threatened the integrity of the brick of an historic building. However
tempting, I have promised myself that I'd never do that again.

Pam S. who still shudders when she thinks about the crash and ice splinters
when they brought that thing down.

Poor baby, I'm glad he ok.
Suz