Beware of Cats in High Places

Rufus never fails to find new places to view his world from. Of course, he prefers to view his world from the highest point possible. In this case, it's the top of the refrigerator.

New household rule: do NOT walk past the refrigerator without looking on top of it first. I'm still waiting for the day Rufus decides to scalp me as I pass by...

Making new friends...the Evolution of Trust Part 2

Usually, Rufus is excited about meeting new people. He's the first one at the door to greet the newcomer...unless that newcomer is my boyfriend. 


For whatever reason, my boyfriend just irks him. Maybe it's because he's too loud, or maybe it's because I don't give Rufus my full attention when he's around. Regardless of what the actual reason is, the formation of a bond between Rufus and my boyfriend has been slow.


But on Sunday, we had a new development! My boyfriend was over for dinner and to study. We were hanging out in the kitchen when Rufus decided to join us.

         

Rufus jumped up on my boyfriend's lap by his own choice, although he doesn't look to thrilled by the choice in these pictures. I think my boyfriend is happier than Rufus is. He even sat down by his own will!!


Unfortunately, this didn't last long. It never lasts long with any of us, so it was no big surprise. In fact, the second we left the kitchen Rufus made his second big move of the night:

Hijacking my boyfriend's chair!!! Oh well. At least there's hope...

I haz too many toyz...

So I've already established that Rufus is a spoiled brat. But I'd like to demonstrate to you all the extent of his brattiness. 

Rufus likes to play with his toys in the kitchen. Partially because the linoleum allows the toys to slide around easily but partially to annoy me. I just know it. Not only is there a lot of room to play, but the refrigerator and the stove both have a small gap between the bottom of the appliances and the floor. This is just enough space to slide a toy into it.

On an hourly basis, Rufus will hide at least two of his toys under one of the appliances. Then he'll sit next to said appliance until someone fishes the toys out from underneath with a ruler. You get the idea...repeat ad nauseum.

So one morning, I pulled out a whole bunch of the hidden toys all at once. Rufus didn't know what to do with himself...and that's putting it lightly.

He doesn't even know which one to play with first!!

 

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!!

Okay, I know I'm a little late...but better late than never!

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

Cats are amazing animals in many ways. But the feat that most amazes me is a cat's ability to make anyone practically squirm with discomfort by simply fixing them in their gaze. This is something that Rufus does quite frequently as one of his many ways of tormenting us. This, and hiding in random places waiting to strike at us as we walk by.

On Sunday, Rufus was up to no good as usual. My mother cooked her usual Sunday night fare: a nice steak and all the fixings. As he does when there's a gathering of people in one place, Rufus found his way into the kitchen to observe. Keeping the troops in line, you know? We can't have our humans getting too rowdy at dinner on Sunday night.

He took his usual spot in the spare corner chair, where he could easily watch what was going on and get a good whiff of dinner. Of course, the cat can't just sit. He has to torment the person sitting closest to him, which was me in this case. So he was reaching through the bars of the chair and clawing at my clothes. Just absolutely endearing.

I got up from my seat just to get away from him but when I turned around, I found him enviously eyeing the scraps left on my plate. I think it was part of the little bugger's plan all along!!

Eyeing my food...

Eyeing me! Eeek!

As if one night of creeping for the week wasn't enough, Rufus continued his escapades Tuesday night. Since we only have two bedrooms, my parents constructed a makeshift wall between me and my brother's sides of a shared room. There is a small gap between the panels of wood that Rufus likes to watch me through (creepy, I know). Even though the wall has been up for months, he still can't grasp the concept that he has to take a different route to get to my side of the room. Instead, he sits on my brother's side of the wall and sticks his paw through the hole whenever I walk close enough. He'll never learn. *sigh*

Since I am regrettably technologically challenged (ironic coming from an engineer, isn't it?) the video is turned 90 degrees. I can't for the life of me figure out how to rotate the darn thing. But you'll get the idea.

What I learned today: my cat is potentially out to kill me. Great.

Epic Fail Friday

Friday nights at my house usually consist of Blue Bloods or Law & Order marathons. Before turning on the TV this week, we attempted (without much success) to get Rufus to play with some of his new toys.


First, we tried this fellow:

He's a pretty simple dude. Fuzzy legs, a pouch in his belly for catnip. Nothing too fancy. He was a Christmas gift to Rufus from one of my Mom's coworkers. Rufus didn't seem to stimulated by this one at first, so my Mom filled him with catnip with hopes of a better result.


Rufus chewed on the thing a bit. Got a little high. But nothing super interesting came of it.

 

Once Rufus stopped showing interest and we got bored, my mom pulled out the toy she bought him for Christmas. Basically, it's a dangling feather on a base. The base has a hollowed out track in it for a plastic ball to zip around in. Even better, the dangling feather spins when the battery power is activated.


At most, Rufus has demonstrated mild annoyance towards this toy. He gets annoyed that the feather won't stop long enough for him to lick it to death. It's also obnoxious to have the thing hitting him in the face every time it passes by him. 


I have never seen him play with the toy before. This is what happened when we turned the battery on:

Rufus circumvented the entire purpose of the toy by making up his own way of playing with it. Needless to say, my mother and I were in hysterics. I hope you will be too!

The Evolution of Trust

We always joke that Rufus is a very territorial cat. In fact, we even go so far as to say that he acts more like a dog than a cat. The most obvious proof of this theory is his distrust of my boyfriend.

When we do kitty voices, I always refer to my boyfriend as "That One" from Rufus's point of view. The first time my boyfriend came over to pick me up, Rufus promptly laid down on the floor with this back to us. It was a clear dismissal of another male entering the house and showing interest in me.

Over the past months, Rufus has begun to show interest in and even contentment with my boyfriend's presence. Or maybe he's just indifferent now. Who knows. Either way, his feelings have receded from hatred and mistrust to something less severe.

But we had a major breakthrough in the relationship on Sunday night. My boyfriend was over and we were sitting on the couch talking. Nothing unusual. Rufus was wandering around, playing with one of his toys. One of his favorite games is to stuff a toy under something (usually the couch) and then try to get it out. I'll try to catch some pictures of this in action at some point...

Either way, he was doing this as we were talking. Suddenly, my boyfriend jumped and informed me that Rufus was attacking his foot. When we looked down at the floor, this is all that we saw:

Now you mustn't take this lightly. Rufus only leaves his toys this close to someone when he wants to play with them. Little did we know that Rufus was hiding around the side of the couch, waiting. Another one of his favorite games is 'fetch'. So, we threw the plastic ring.


Once that had worn itself out, Rufus returned to inspect my empty laundry basket. In an attempt to amuse him, we threw in a few of his toys.

Clearly, confusion was imminent. What was 'That One' doing with his toys? Especially that toy? Just another strange occurrence in the world of a defensive kitty. But, despite his misgivings, Rufus did not neglect my boyfriend's offer for play.

Perhaps this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...