Tuxedo the Cat - February 2014

Ms. Tuxedo likes to walk on my laptop and sit on it as I’m using it. It’s her way of exerting control over me. Cute. I usually close it when I see her coming. Or, let her go ahead and sit on it if she catches me by surprise. Better not to fight for control when I am working. She only stays for a few minutes.

Every night Tuxedo tries to decide when I am supposed to go to bed. Like right now, it’s one thirty in the morning. She’s in the other bedroom now, screaming for me to go to bed. Soon she’ll come in and gently nudge me with her head. If I persist in staying up, she’ll give up and go to her room.

I Don't Understand My Cat, Tuxedo

Since she turned three this October, Tuxedo’s personality has changed. For example, she never wanted me to hold her. Now periodically, she comes to me to hold her. Especially before she goes to bed at night.

I give her plenty of water. I bought one of those containers that works like a water cooler. She kept dismantling it. I soon realized she just wanted the tray, not the container that the water came from. So I just let her use the bottom tray. Come to find out she wanted to put in her favorite doll so she would know where it is all the time.

Now I’m in a position where I can't leave anything containing water around. I put a cup of water on my bedroom floor one day. I looked down to see her drinking out of my cup.

Last night I left the cup on the floor again, but I like didn't put any additional water in it. She looked in the cup and started crying. The cat actually wanted me to fill my own cup of water so she could drink out of it!

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Tuxedo's Identity

I went in the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. I saw a piece of ribbon or what I thought was a piece of red ribbon on the floor. Tuxedo was playing with it. She appeared happy, so I left her alone with it the kitchen.

After a few minutes she came into the bedroom crying. While I was in the kitchen I had fed her, and I knew her water dish was full and clean. So, I didn't really know what it was that she could possibly want. So I ignored her, which made her even more animated. Eventually she jumped on the bed and walked back and forth in front of me, howling all the time. I decided to follow her into the kitchen and see what it was that she wanted.

When she entered the kitchen she jumped on one of the chairs, which was above the red item still on the floor. Once I got closer, I saw that it was her cat collar. I don't know how her collar could have been removed from her. But it was clear that the collar being off was her big problem.

Once I put on her collar, she was a happy cat again. She disappeared in the bowels of the house, not to be seen again for hours.

Collars are a cat's identity. They feel naked without it. We think that when we take off a pet’s collar, we are giving them a break. However, it has become clear to me over the years, that a collar becomes a cat's sense of self. They feel lost without it. Cats like to feel that they belong to someone, just like people.

I'm So Spoiled - Let Me Count the Ways

My human Mom indulges me a lot. Most of the time I am a very good cat. But sometimes, I will be disruptive around the house when I’m bored. Here are some of the things I get away with: I will walk across the computer keyboard while she is working on it. When she yells at me, I run off laughing

I’m spoiled. I want all attention focused on me. I yell out so who ever is on the telephone can hear me. My aunt hates it when every time she wants to talk to mom, I cry in the phone

I’ll bite mom’s hand if I want to eat and she’s asleep

I’ll cry and keep walking around a person visiting mom until he or she leaves my house

I bring my toys to her and make her play fetch with me until I get tired

I like to put my toys in my water dish. One day I put my boy doll in my water dish. When she took it out, I made her play fetch with me. Then I went into the kitchen and put my doll in my food dish. Mom was surprised when she saw it. She took it out and left it on the floor next to the dish.

The most favorite thing I like to do is jump on the dresser and stare at myself in the mirror. I think I am a beautiful cat!

I'm Sorry, Tuxedo

My mom Carolyn has something she wants to share with you:

“Tuxedo kept coming to my side of the bed, meowing over and over again, and then leaving the room. A few minutes later, the same thing.

Then, while I was on the phone, she became an obnoxious cat. She started jumping around the room, on dressers and tables, knocking off everything she could push. I wondered, What the hell is wrong with her? this wasn’t her normal behavior.

When I got off the phone, she came and pressed on my legs again. I decided to follow her to see what she was trying to tell me. She escorted me to the kitchen. Her food dish was empty. My poor baby was hungry. I felt lower than dirt. Now when she circles me crying, I know she wants something, like food, or go out on the back porch, and will act accordingly.”

Roxanne is Added to the Compound

My cousin Gizelle got a 4-week old kitten in May. She named her Roxanne, now Angel's sister. She is a really small black and gray kitten. And she is baaaad! She gets into everything. She’s not afraid of anything or anyone. She climbs up and down everywhere, even mom’s king sized bed.

Roxanne follows Gizelle and her mom Kellyn everywhere. She is so small you have to make sure you don’t step on her when you walk around. Which leads to my issue with Roxanne.

She comes into my house like she owns it. Mom brings her in to play with her.  This makes me jealous. I’m not too crazy about Roxanne being in my house. I want to make sure mom doesn’t keep her here. I’m very possessive of my human mom. I want her all to myself, and I hiss at Roxanne to let her know it. I don’t think Roxanne cares about what I want. She just likes to be nosy.

I will say she is cute, which is why she gets away with murder around the compound. Hopefully we will one day be friends.

Look Out, Feral Cats! #15

My Cousin Kim was on her front porch the other night, and saw two ladies with giant cages on our street. She called mom, then went down the street to the vacant lot to talk to them. Mom watched her from our front porch. Then she went back in the house and I followed. She put on some slippers, then left and closed the door behind her. She wouldn’t let me go with her. She seemed agitated.

When Mom returned, I heard her talking to Aunt Elaine on the phone. Apparently these women were from the Animal Rescue League. They had gotten a complaint from someone on the street that there were too many feral cats around. I guess cats without owners or homes are called “ferals.”

Mom said there were a lot of cats and kittens on the street. But that was all the time. She also wondered if the woman she saw before a few months ago was the same one who kidnapped Angel’s mom from next door. They said she wasn’t a feral cat because the entire neighborhood fed her, and let her in their homes. The lady next door had even let Angel’s mom have her kittens on her porch, and had given Angel to cousin Kellyn when she was 6 weeks old. Kim had even let her in the house so she could nurse Angel, her baby.

I remember that time. Everyone was sad, upset and angry that Chloe, that’s Angel’s mom, was abducted and taken away. The rumor was that the men on the street even saw it happen, yet did nothing but let the stranger take her. Mom said the next time they adopt a feral cat or kitten, they should put a collar on the ones they feed.

Anyway, these ladies said they would have the ones they caught spayed and neutered and given good homes. I have my suspicions about all of this. For one thing, those cats were keeping the mouse population down in the neighborhood. So why would people not want them around? Next, I heard the Animal Rescue League had more than enough cats that they had trouble even giving them away.

Well, they’re all gone now. I’m glad I have a home where I am loved, and not chased around and caged like a feral cat.

My Bathroom Sink #14

My cousin Robyn came up to check the smoke detectors one morning. Mom was asleep. I was running around the house trying to stay away from Robyn’s husband Michael, who was helping her. I know Robyn, but not him. I always hide when someone I don’t know well comes into the house. If mom is up, then I will sit or lay near her.

While he was checking smoke detectors, Robyn went into mom’s room and woke her up. “Your bathroom sink is full of water!” Mom stirred up from bed and said, “Yeah. Tuxedo likes to drink out of the bathroom sink.”

See, I like to drink out of the sink because mom washes there. I like her smell. I also like the way her bathroom accessories smell. So, she fills up the bathroom sink with nice cold water after she brushes her teeth, cleans the sink and such. And I get to push stuff into the water.  

Mom always has nice stuff for me to push into the sink. Toothpaste, tooth brush, a fingernail brush, a comb, a sponge or whatever else she may put around the sink. I like to push them in one at a time and see them float around. I also like to drink from the sink after I push the stuff in the water. She also has a water dish on the floor that I drink from.

When she forgets to leave water in the bathroom sink, I’ll cry until she gets the message. I don’t know how mom and I started this habit. It was so long ago. But it works for us now.

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My Things #13

My mom threw away my bowl of grass. I found the container in one of the waste baskets. There was still good green grass in there for me to eat. She saw me trying to get it out, and put it back on the floor. Geez, she is always touching my stuff!

Yesterday my cousin Gizelle visited. She’s 4 years old. She scares me sometimes because she’s a fast mover, but I’m getting used to her behavior. This visit I stayed on the bed while she was here. Mom was telling her a fairy tale about a big bad wolf. Gizelle showed up with some red colored things on her fingernails on one hand. I noticed when she left the house, she left some of them.

Today I started to play with them. Mom kept taking them from me when she noticed I had them and was trying to eat them. But she messed up by putting them someplace I could get at them. So, when she woke up from her nap, they had “disappeared.” She’s still looking for them. He, He, He!

I’m a growing cat. I’m over a year old, and I need constant stimulation. Mom, if you snooze, you’ll lose. Don’t leave anything out that I can take and hide!

My Toys #12

Yesterday my mom took all of my toys and put them in a green basket on the floor in the foyer. Well, I don’t know what made her do that. It didn’t make me happy at all. So while she was asleep, I took out all of my toys and put them all around the house where they were before.

When she woke up today and saw my toys all around the house again, she shook her head. A little while later, she put all my toys back in the green basket. I just watched her do it. When she went to the store, I put my toys back around the house again. She just doesn’t get it.

This time I left a couple of my toys in the basket for her sake. The ones I don’t really like. I think I was very nice to do that. Maybe she was doing spring cleaning. Or maybe it was because she tripped over one of my toys the other day. Anyway, I like my toys all around the house, so I can play in whatever room I see one.

So far, she has left my toys alone. I’m interested in seeing what she will do next.

Mom and I on the Back Porch #11

Today was a nice day, and my mom Carolyn let me go on the back porch. She does it every day she makes coffee and sits at the kitchen table. I love watching the big fat squirrels run up and down the really tall tree in back of our house. I also like seeing the birds fly around, especially since the weather has become warm.

She doesn’t’ like to open the door when it’s cold outside. But sometimes I cry so loud she lets me go. When it’s raining, I sit in the threshold of the door and look outside. I have to keep watch because mom will leave the kitchen after she has her coffee and toast. I have to see where she went, which is usually the bedroom. I have to make sure she doesn’t leave the house while I am outside. But I don’t really worry because she always closes the doors before she leaves.

One day mom was on the porch with me. She brought out a kitchen chair and smelled the air, which she shouldn’t because she has hay fever. We looked out into our back yard, and listened to neighbors on their back porches.

Soon I heard her move the chair and leave the porch. Why? She saw I was downstairs on the first floor hallway being nosy. She called my name and I ran back upstairs. She closed both doors and left the kitchen. Since then she doesn’t always bring out the chair to sit down. I try to be a good cat and stay with her when she’s on the porch now.

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I Take Charge #10

This morning I made a big fuss so my mom Carolyn would get up. I ran up and down on her sleeping body. Finally I put my paw in her face and meowed so loud she jumped up and acted like a burglar was in the house. She needed to get up. This wasn’t the only time I have had to force her to wake up. I want her to wake up whenever I think she should get up, every day, upon request.

Mind you, she makes sure I have plenty of food, a clean litter box, and enough food to get me through the day. I have no physical needs other than the medicine she gives me for my inflamed gums. What I really want is for her to play with me, or open the back door so I can go outside on the porch. Usually once she wakes up, I will lay calmly down next to her. I like being in her company.

Mom keeps saying I act like a toddler. So what? I don’t want to be the only one awake in the house, so I wake her up. I don’t have anyone else to play with, so I will bring her a toy so she can play toss with me. It’s a perfect life.

My Medicine 2012 #9

I feel like I just ate a sponge. My mom Carolyn has been putting my medicine in my wet food to deal with my infected gums. I have to say my food tastes better, and I have been feeling better.

There is one problem, the side effects. The prednisone makes me really hungry and thirsty. It makes me puff out like a giant blow fish. So now I’m walking around the house with my stomach almost touching the ground. I don’t walk so much as waddle around the house.

I heard mom Carolyn say that I only have a few more days left to take the medicine. Then I intend to go on a diet!

I Eat Grass! 2012 #8

My Mom Carolyn put some grass seeds in a white bowl a few days ago. She put it on a shelf too high in our bedroom for me to jump on.  Every few days she watered the bowl. At night I tried to see if I could jump on the shelf to get to the bowl. I could smell something good up there. Whenever my owner caught me stretching myself on the bookcase, I would jump down and run under the bed.

She kept watering the plant until yesterday. She brought it down on the floor. It was grass! I love grass! I jumped at the chance to eat it. It’s delicious! It’s a mix of barley, wheat and some grass. It smelled good and I ate some of it. But she took it when I walked away for a few minutes. She said something about it needed to grow some more. I yelled at her until she put it back on the floor. Yummy!

I Tease My Owner - 2012 #7

I think my owner and I get along together. Still, I heard her talking about me the other day. She told her family that her vocabulary was being drained because all she had to talk to was a cat. She felt she was losing her ability to talk like an adult. She said she was going to go out more and be around other adults. She can try, but I think I am the best friend for her.

If Carolyn needs to be stimulated, I can do that. For example, I like it when I make her frustrated. Every night I like to jump on the furniture in the bedroom and push things off it. When she sees me on the bed getting ready to jump, I ignore her when she tells me to stop. I always manage to push at least one thing before she tries to grab me. It’s fun to see her get up to chase me after I jump off the dresser and run away. I’m too fast for her.

We do this dance almost every night when I am bored. I get excited, and she gets to exercise a little. We are the perfect pair!

Tuxedo Speaks! 2012 #6

Hi! I’m Tuxedo, and I decided to share with you today. After all, these are my adventures, right? I will tell you about my wonderful life as my owner’s pet.

My owner Carolyn has bought me a lot of toys which I enjoy every day. She likes to hide some of them so I can play with a few at a time. What she doesn’t know is that I mark each of my toys with my head so I can find them again. All I have to do is sniff them out.

She put my small boy doll in a basket the other day. I was on the bed, so I sniffed it out and started to play with it. When Carolyn saw it, her mouth flew open in surprise. Now I get to play with it whenever I want.

I also get to play with my owner whenever I want. It doesn’t matter what she is doing; when I want to play, I just take my toy and drop it right in front of her. She looks at it, then at me. I give her my cute playful look, and she can’t resist me. She takes my toy and moves it around while I look at it. Sometimes I’ll jump on it and pick it up with my sharp paws. I really like it when she throws my toy for me to fetch.  

Tuxedo's Behaviors - Part 2 2012 #5

Tuxedo’s Behaviors – Part 2

My cat is so cute with her personality.

• Tuxedo likes to lie or sleep on paper. However, she hates to have anything on top of her. No blankets or comforters or anything on top of her – it will make her run away.

• Tuxedo doesn’t scratch on a door if she gets locked out the house – she will cry loudly. She’ll also cry when she hears me coming in the house

• Doesn’t like me to talk on the phone when she is with me. She’ll get close to the phone and meow real loud so the person on the phone can hear her

• She loves wet food, but can only have 2 teaspoons at a time, or else she’ll throw it up.

• Tuxedo sits on the kitchen table to watch me fix or eat food or drink coffee

• She has to mark everything I touch. This requires patience. It doesn’t matter how large or small the object. If I’m in a hurry to do something, she will fight to mark whatever I have before I can use it. I find it easier to just let her have her way.

• She loves to play with me and her toy mice. She’ll walk over with it in her mouth, and then sit it down in front of me. That’s my cue that she wants to play

• She’s not afraid of a dust buster. I though all cats were afraid of loud noises.

• She likes to sleep in closets. I have to make sure she’s not inside when I close the door

• She doesn’t like to be picked up. She will fight you. But once you hold her like a baby, she will purr if you walk her from room to room. She likes to be up high

• Look out for your bookcases. She will knock the books off the shelves trying to sleep inside between the books. Sleeps on the bed, but interestingly enough, not on furniture

• She loves to be brushed!

Tuxedo and Her Medication 2012 #4

My cat doesn’t trust me anymore. She used to come into my bedroom and lay down to sleep in my arms. Now that I have to give her medicine every 12 hours, I hardly see her any more. She stays in any room where I am not for hours. When she does show up, she lays down away from me, just far enough that I can’t catch her.

When she gets the medicine, she doesn’t really fight me. There was another medicine she hated, but she didn’t shun me because of it. I think this medicine tastes better to her. Yet, when she sees the bottle, she runs like the wind. 

I miss her being around me, and I’ll be glad when her medication time is over. I’m tired of trying to catch her off guard to grab her and slide medicine down her throat. She’s tired of running from me, never knowing when I will snatch her up. 

Tuxedo Needs Medicine 2012 #3

Poor Tuxedo! Her gums are inflamed, and she needs two weeks worth of two medicines. I took her to the vet when I saw her gums were red. Apparently, some cats are prone to gum problems.

She’s a strong cat! It’s really hard trying to hold her, open her mouth and squirt medicine down her throat, all at the same time. Every time I have to do it, I tell her it’s for her own good. Pets, like children, can’t take care of themselves. After she is medicated, she runs away and disappears for a while. She’ll come back for sympathy petting when she gets over being angry with me.

I hate to see her sick. I first tried to give her pills. But even though she tried, she couldn’t swallow them. She kept moving her mouth to chew them, but the pill would fall out. I finally had to get liquid medicine for her. Gratefully, she seems to prefer the liquid over the pills. 


Scroll down the page to see pictures of Tuxedo.

Tuxedo Behaviors 2012 #2

Lately I’ve been thinking about my relationship with Tuxedo. It’s very close, and recently I took the time to study and reflect on her behavior.

She follows me everywhere, from room to room. Even into the bathroom. She waits for me outside the door, like a toddler. When I take a shower, she will lie on the bathmat on the floor and wait until I come out. Sometimes she’ll even peep at me behind the shower curtain. She’s not afraid of water.

I don’t know how she knows when I am on the move. We could be at different sides of the house. If I go into another room, she will soon come out of another room to lie down on the floor. Sometimes I try to sneak into a room when I know she’s sleeping in another part of the house. She can still catch me, and there she’ll be in the room.

Tuxedo gets excited easily. She purrs very softly when I pet her. I can barely hear her unless I touch her. The faster she wags her tail, the happier she is. But be careful. She will try to bite and scratch you if she gets too excited. Freeze your hand, don’t move, and keep telling her to “Stop!” She will let you go.

My cat also talks a lot. If you really listen to her, you will be able to know what she’s saying by the sound of her meows. She’s a complainer.

She likes to smell what you are drinking before you drink it. If you don’t allow her to take a quick sniff, she will paw you to bring the drink closer to her. She won’t try to lick the drink. She just wants to know what it smells like.

When she wants affection, she will come to me and bow her head. I know this means she wants to take a nap next to me. She snuggles close into a ball close to me, burying her head on me. I love her to death.