I wondered why the volume of growling, hissing and cat-to-cat-contact
had suddenly gone up last week and I realised why - she's irresistably
attracted to movement (especially twitching tails!) And since the
other two cats are used to her they're more relaxed in her presence
and they're not immediately chasing her from the room - so Silver
might be lying there peacefully with her tail dangling over the edge
of the bed, and next thing you know, there's a black kitten attached
to it! Tessie will also come up to Silver on a regular basis for a few
rounds of catboxing, or a game of chasey... Silver puts up with it for
a little while but then she gets tired of it, and Tessie doesn't take
a hint easily, hence the alarming degree of noise.
Another favourite game of Tessie's is to hide under the bed and to
pounce out at anything that she sees moving past her - especially
toes. It's cute, but I'll be happy when she grows out of it because I
always have bare feet inside! Scouty and Silver were a good few months
older when we adopted them and they were a lot less aggressive in
their play...
Enfilade - 14 Mar 2006 00:01 GMT
> I wondered why the volume of growling, hissing and cat-to-cat-contact
> had suddenly gone up last week and I realised why - she's irresistably
> attracted to movement (especially twitching tails!)
I am glad to see you back and glad that Tessie is making herself at
home!
Yes, we would have less growling in our house if Smokey could resist
the urge to jump on Nocturne's back...you'd think that, after countless
swats across the face he would remember how much she dislikes it...
--Fil
JBHajos - 14 Mar 2006 02:33 GMT
What a joy to see you back, and with a great tale about Tessie!! She
feels secure and at home with you all, happy and having a great time.
She's a handful to contend with now but no doubt will grow into a
sedate little lady at ease with herself and Silver and Scout.
(Purrs for your poor toes!!!)
Jeanne
Sam - 14 Mar 2006 04:56 GMT
> I wondered why the volume of growling, hissing and cat-to-cat-contact
> had suddenly gone up last week and I realised why - she's irresistably
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> older when we adopted them and they were a lot less aggressive in
> their play...
Way to go, Tessie! It's great to see you fitting in.

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Sam, closely supervised by Mistletoe
kilikini - 14 Mar 2006 10:40 GMT
> I wondered why the volume of growling, hissing and cat-to-cat-contact
> had suddenly gone up last week and I realised why - she's irresistably
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> older when we adopted them and they were a lot less aggressive in
> their play...
What a great story!
Pua and Tyrone chase and do the toe snatching thing as well; they're
absolute hoolikittens. They, like Tessie, grab for anything that moves.
Thank goodness, though, because a 3 foot non-poisonous black snake came in
the house yesterday and they were *on* it. They chased it right under the
screen door! I was standing on a chair screaming hysterically on the phone
to my husband (who was laughing on the other end). I'm so glad I have
boisterous kitties! They kill all bugs for me and chase out snakes. Gotta
love 'em. :~)
kili
meee - 14 Mar 2006 10:46 GMT
>> I wondered why the volume of growling, hissing and cat-to-cat-contact
>> had suddenly gone up last week and I realised why - she's irresistably
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
>
> kili
Oh, geez I wish I had your non-venemous black snakes! Ours are around 1-2 m
and deadly.......want to swap?
kilikini - 14 Mar 2006 11:00 GMT
> > What a great story!
> >
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> Oh, geez I wish I had your non-venemous black snakes! Ours are around 1-2 m
> and deadly.......want to swap?
Um, I don't think so! We've got plenty of poisonous ones as well. :~)
kili
meee - 14 Mar 2006 11:48 GMT
>> > What a great story!
>> >
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
:) I just wish the poisonous ones here were bright pink, or wore a sign or
something....it's pretty hard to tell at first glance whether they're deadly
or not, as some of the greeny brown ones are deadly, and some of them
aren't....but you just don't exactly wait to find out, do you! Another
reason to keep cats inside in australia.....
kilikini - 14 Mar 2006 12:17 GMT
> >> > What a great story!
> >> >
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> aren't....but you just don't exactly wait to find out, do you! Another
> reason to keep cats inside in australia.....
I know what you mean; I don't let my cats outdoors either. One key about
snakes here in Florida is, if the snake has a head that is round or
straight, chances are it's not poisonous. If it has "cheeks", then it's a
viper. I don't know if it works the same way in Australia.
kili
meee - 14 Mar 2006 12:36 GMT
>> >> > What a great story!
>> >> >
[quoted text clipped - 41 lines]
>
> kili
I wish!! Unfortunately they all look the same. Black snakes are tolerated as
they are mostly non aggressive and keep brown snakes away, as they eat them.
Brown snakes and taipans are the worst, as they're very agressive and hard
to spot. They can look like any little grass snake, and they blend into the
background.....urrgh
Pamela Shirk - 15 Mar 2006 04:01 GMT
> Another favourite game of Tessie's is to hide under the bed and to
> pounce out at anything that she sees moving past her - especially
> toes. It's cute, but I'll be happy when she grows out of it because I
> always have bare feet inside! Scouty and Silver were a good few months
> older when we adopted them and they were a lot less aggressive in
> their play...
WOO HOO!!! You got a mafia hitcat. Guido (RB), our mafia hitcat, used to
hide on the open stair case in our apartment in El Paso, and wait patiently
for someone to walk up or down the stairs. Then he'd jump out, slap around
the person's ankles and then duck back into hiding. We sometimes got tired
of it, but not often. I miss not having a hitcat, though Stoner likes to
hide under the bed and bap at my night gown through the blanket. He's a
strange cat.
Pam S.
Lesley - 15 Mar 2006 15:09 GMT
. Guido (RB), our mafia hitcat, used to
> hide on the open stair case in our apartment in El Paso, and wait patiently
> for someone to walk up or down the stairs. Then he'd jump out, slap around
> the person's ankles and then duck back into hiding.
Sarrasine likes to do what are politely known as her "a** ambushes".
She crouches down, gets into position, waggles her butt and then when
Dave (no-one else just Dave) walks past, she leaps in the air, pats his
backside and runs off. The funniest one is when Dave spots her and she
doesn't realise he has, then he waits until she is on the verge of
making the mighty leap before looking staight at her. Immediately she
starts washing and giving him "Who me? Thinking of ambushing you?
Never!" looks
Lesley
Slave of the Fabulous Furballs
Jane - 15 Mar 2006 15:45 GMT
>Sarrasine likes to do what are politely known as her "a** ambushes".
>She crouches down, gets into position, waggles her butt and then when
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>starts washing and giving him "Who me? Thinking of ambushing you?
>Never!" looks
Rita likes to lay on the couch or the bed and reach out a lazy paw
and snag my butt whenever I walk past. So far she's only snagged
clothing, but someday she's gonna snag a piece of skin.
Or maybe she just thinks that?
Jane
- owned and operated by Princess Rita
Cheryl Perkins - 15 Mar 2006 15:53 GMT
> Rita likes to lay on the couch or the bed and reach out a lazy paw
> and snag my butt whenever I walk past. So far she's only snagged
> clothing, but someday she's gonna snag a piece of skin.
> Or maybe she just thinks that?
Betsy used to reach through the railings in the upstairs hall to swat
anyone walking up or down the stairs. Now that she's older and, well,
larger, she can't reach so far, but she still can get her head and
sometimes one paw through. She used to be able to stretch almost halfway
through.
One of my aunts had a cat who liked to lurk on the tops of doors waiting
for someone to go through the door so she (the cat) could leap down on
their shoulders. She did it to me once when I was wearing a nightgown that
was a bit skimpy on top, didn't quite hit her target, and slid down my
front trying to grab something. I had a scar for years. One doctor said
it looked like a surgical incision.

Signature
Cheryl