Grandmother Duties, Barekitten and Not

I've been scarce the last few days because I have been on Grandmother
Duty. But wait,
it really is on topic. And just a delightful story.

I had the 10-month-old grandson for three days. It's very interesting,
the cats' reactions to
this noisy, busy barekitten. Bosley, Biskit and Frank immediately hid,
only coming out
briefly during nap time. Bootsie treated him as if this crawling thing
we let in the house
was an armadillo or raccoon. She showed controlle disgust -- but was
definitely not
afraid of him. She would allow him to come within reaching distance,
then she'd just
glare at him and run away.

But it was Babycat who was such a delight to watch. She seemed to
adore him. She
did adore his toys, and would crowd in and watch intently. Sometimes
sticking a little
paw in there to press a button or rattle a toy. She was especially
enamored with a
stuffed giraffe that made tribal drum sounds. She also performed a
free rodent check
in his suitcase, diaper bag and toy box. She's such a thoughtful
cat. :-)

I've got a whole new respect for her reasoning ability now. She would
place herself up
on the couch, *just* out of reach of the barekitten. He would be able
to stretch himself
enough to touch her paw with one finger, but not enough to grab. Then
she would take
*her* paw, and pat the top of his hand; then withdraw the paw just out
of his reach again.
This went on for the longest, and I'd give anything if I had a device
to record that image.

Now I know she is either very trusting or just plain not afraid of
anything. And she's smart.
Much smarter than I ever gave her credit for.

They picked him up today, and today DS left out on a road trip and
brought his cat
Tigger to stay. So far Tigger's confined to one bedroom. He's okay
with that right
now. Tomorrow if he seems antsy, we might play musical cats; put Boots
and Frank
outside, Babycat and Biskit in the big bedroom, Bosley in other
bedroom, and let
Tigger have the run of the house for a bit. He's a super calm cat.

Tigger will be a much easier babysitting gig than the barekitten, for
sure.

Hope everyone in the USA had a great 4th of July and everyone else a
likewise
wonderful weekend. It was *quiet* here. No amount of patriotism was
gonna make
me wake up a sleeping baby with fireworks.

Sherry

Sherry wrote:

I had the 10-month-old grandson for three days. It's very interesting,
the cats' reactions to
this noisy, busy barekitten. Bosley, Biskit and Frank immediately hid,
only coming out
briefly during nap time. Bootsie treated him as if this crawling thing
we let in the house
was an armadillo or raccoon. She showed controlle disgust -- but was
definitely not
afraid of him. She would allow him to come within reaching distance,
then she'd just
glare at him and run away.

But it was Babycat who was such a delight to watch. She seemed to
adore him. She
did adore his toys, and would crowd in and watch intently. Sometimes
sticking a little
paw in there to press a button or rattle a toy. She was especially
enamored with a
stuffed giraffe that made tribal drum sounds. She also performed a
free rodent check
in his suitcase, diaper bag and toy box. She's such a thoughtful
cat. :-)

I've got a whole new respect for her reasoning ability now. She would
place herself up
on the couch, *just* out of reach of the barekitten. He would be able
to stretch himself
enough to touch her paw with one finger, but not enough to grab. Then
she would take
*her* paw, and pat the top of his hand; then withdraw the paw just out
of his reach again.
This went on for the longest, and I'd give anything if I had a device
to record that image.

Now I know she is either very trusting or just plain not afraid of
anything. And she's smart.
Much smarter than I ever gave her credit for.

That's an adorable image. She does sound like a smart kitty, and I
guess she recognizes a kindred spirit in terms of playing with baby
toys.

Joyce

--
A clean house is a sign of a broken computer.

On Mon, 5 Jul 2010 20:33:51 -0700 (PDT), Sherry
wrote:


I've got a whole new respect for her reasoning ability now. She would
place herself up
on the couch, *just* out of reach of the barekitten. He would be able
to stretch himself
enough to touch her paw with one finger, but not enough to grab. Then
she would take
*her* paw, and pat the top of his hand; then withdraw the paw just out
of his reach again.
This went on for the longest, and I'd give anything if I had a device
to record that image.

That is absolutely adorable!

"Sherry" wrote in message
...
I've been scarce the last few days because I have been on Grandmother
Duty. But wait,
it really is on topic. And just a delightful story.

I had the 10-month-old grandson for three days. It's very interesting,
the cats' reactions to
this noisy, busy barekitten. Bosley, Biskit and Frank immediately hid,
only coming out
briefly during nap time. Bootsie treated him as if this crawling thing
we let in the house
was an armadillo or raccoon. She showed controlle disgust -- but was
definitely not
afraid of him. She would allow him to come within reaching distance,
then she'd just
glare at him and run away.

But it was Babycat who was such a delight to watch. She seemed to
adore him. She
did adore his toys, and would crowd in and watch intently. Sometimes
sticking a little
paw in there to press a button or rattle a toy. She was especially
enamored with a
stuffed giraffe that made tribal drum sounds. She also performed a
free rodent check
in his suitcase, diaper bag and toy box. She's such a thoughtful
cat. :-)

I've got a whole new respect for her reasoning ability now. She would
place herself up
on the couch, *just* out of reach of the barekitten. He would be able
to stretch himself
enough to touch her paw with one finger, but not enough to grab. Then
she would take
*her* paw, and pat the top of his hand; then withdraw the paw just out
of his reach again.
This went on for the longest, and I'd give anything if I had a device
to record that image.

Now I know she is either very trusting or just plain not afraid of
anything. And she's smart.
Much smarter than I ever gave her credit for.

They picked him up today, and today DS left out on a road trip and
brought his cat
Tigger to stay. So far Tigger's confined to one bedroom. He's okay
with that right
now. Tomorrow if he seems antsy, we might play musical cats; put Boots
and Frank
outside, Babycat and Biskit in the big bedroom, Bosley in other
bedroom, and let
Tigger have the run of the house for a bit. He's a super calm cat.

Tigger will be a much easier babysitting gig than the barekitten, for
sure.

Hope everyone in the USA had a great 4th of July and everyone else a
likewise
wonderful weekend. It was *quiet* here. No amount of patriotism was
gonna make
me wake up a sleeping baby with fireworks.

Sherry

Aw Sherry, I *SO* wish you could have caught that on file!

Hugs,

CatNipped