The last chapter of Patheticat

As many of you know, Bubba, aka Patheticat, has a penchant for disappearing. And then reappearing at our old house. The kind lady next door would call and let us know he was there.

Well, he did it again. He was missing for over 3 weeks and we figured where he was but didn't know what to do to keep him here if we brought him back. So we sadly decided to leave him be and if he wanted to come back to this house, he'd be smart enough to do that. 

And, sure enough, the kind neighbor lady called. He was there. She had him in her garage. We decided to make a half-hearted attempt--just in case he really did want to come home--so Missy and I went to collect him. Surprisingly enough, and completely differently from the other times, he had been eating well and didn't look sad and bony. I guess he has this 'roaming' thing figured out!

So, we did the honorable thing and asked the new tenants of our old house if they would adopt him and they said 'yes'. And another chapter of our life closes.

And, as one door closes, another opens. Hubby and Missy saw a small ad at the grocery store for a ginger cat who needs a home...

Meet Phred the Ginger Ninja. I'm not sure he even knows he has a name yet, but he is our new addition. To our relief, he is much more tolerant of people than Bubba was and the kids get to handle him all they want.

poor patheticat

We had a friend of Missy's come over and feed Bubba outside while we were on holiday. We thought he'd be ok for a week since he spends a lot of time out on the prowl most days, anyway.

But, when we got home, he wasn't around for a few days. I didn't think much of it because when we had left him for a weekend he would give us a cold shoulder for a day or so, but then he came around.

After a week I started to think he wasn't coming back, although the kids were out beating the bushes looking for him. Hubby and I figured that he had found somebody that would feed him and decided to stay there. That's how he ended up 'belonging' to Hubby in the first place--he wandered in the cat flap. So we  resigned ourselves to not having a cat and made plans to look for a kitten after Hubby's parents' visit in April.

So a couple of days ago we decided to visit a neighbor from the 'old' house and catch up on things. Bubba came up in the conversation and we told the 'old' neighbor our thoughts about his disappearance. We hadn't been home 10 minutes when the neighbor called rang and said she heard a sad cat crying and came out and fed it in our old yard garden and it looked like Bubba. Sure enough, it was him!

I guess with a week of a strange dog in his house, then the move shortly after that, he might have though we had moved back to the old house.

Needless to say, I believe he is happy to be home after 3 weeks on his own an losing a bit of weight in the process. And, don't tell anybody I said this or I'll deny it, I think I actually missed the bugger.

Look what the cat dragged in

The family keeps trying to tell me that 'Bubba wuvs me' but I still have my doubts. They say the stuff he leaves outside is proof. He has killed birds and mice and left them in the driveway or the yard, but this time, he brought this HUGE rat into the house and dropped it about five feet behind me then waited for me to turn around and notice. YUCK!  I'm just glad it was very dead!

Don't you wish you were so wuvved?!!

Spooky.....

No, that's not his name, but it should be!

This is Bubba (don't ask!) and he freaks me out quite frequently. Our 'front' door (which is in the kitchen) is made of panes of frosted glass, but it's in an alcove, of sorts, so it's weirdly shadowy most of the time. And at night, you can't see much at all. This is the door of choice for Bubba.

When he wants in, sometimes he just sits and meows until someone lets him in. But other times...whoa, that's when it gets spooky. And it only happens to me. I can be walking past the door into the laundry room and think psychicly feel sometimes I just 'know' that he is sitting outside, waiting to get in. But he doesn't make a sound. And I look really hard, but I can't even get a glimpse of an outline of him. He is just there. And I just know he is.

Hubby told me that there are undocumented explanations of this...this, whatever it is. Apparently, there are those out there that believe that cats emit ultra-high frequency sounds that humans cannot hear, but rather, they 'feel'. And, apparently, this sound is only felt by the ones that they want to open the door. Personally, I find that very plausible!

Hmmm....have I mentioned lately that I'm really a dog person?

More on Patheticat

Since the last post, Hubby and I have been discussing the pathetic creature we call Bubba and how he amuses us. Yes, I guess we do 'use' him for our giggles, but hay, everybody has to earn their keep.

He doesn't drink milk. I thought all cats loved milk. Bubba won't touch the stuff.

And, he won't drink water out of a bowl, either. I do not know what's up with that. I have seen him perched on the laundry room sink licking the drips out of the water faucet. I have also caught him in the bathtub after one of us has been in there and he was licking the water pooled around the drain. But his favorite place to drink is directly out of the fish pond. Of course, he makes sure those bullying fish are not around to terrorize him first. If he's just being too lazy to walk down the three steps to the pond, he will settle for the rainwater out of the empty flowerpot saucer.

The most unexpected time we rolled on the floor laughing at him act we have seen was when Otterboy got his black goldfish that he named Obama. [Hay, don't look at me--he thought of it all by himself! (well, with Hubby's help) But, I digress.] Anyway, Bubba discovered Obama's tank on the bookshelf and crept up to it and sat quiet as a statue just watching...

and watching, mesmerized by this new addition to his catdom. As soon as Obama darted toward him, Bubba was out the door.

I guess cats are useful, after all.

Patheticat

I don't know how I ended up owning a cat. I've always considered myself a dog person. I have had cats in the past, but never really 'bonded' with them. They were always just way too persnickety for me. I am a very 'involved' sort of person and I want to be involved in your life if we are going to live in the same house. Cats don't get 'involved'.

I guess cats are smart enough to figure out who feeds them and who doesn't particularly want to pick them up and search their fur for bugs. I leave that to the kids. And, I'm pretty sure that's why the cat--his name is Bubba, btw--usually high-tails it out of the room, or the house, when they show up.

I am alone with the cat a lot and, of course, he likes attention--at least, when it's convenient for him. So, my solution is to hang my arm off the end of the couch where he can rub up against it at his leisure and I don't have to care worry that he is not getting what he wants.

That worked quite well for a long time, but then Bubba decided that he wanted more than just a disembodied hand to play with. So, he started whining politely meowing at my feet until I would rub his belly.

That seemed un-committal enough for me. Until he wanted to really 'play'. Apparently, he decided I could be the huge animal he had just caught and wanted to toy with before the final, killing blow to the neck. Before I could figure it all out, the claws were around my hand. The back feet were kicking my arm in tandem. (I guess I wasn't 'lively' enough a prey so he wanted me to move around?! I don't know!) and I could feel the teeth on my fingers. It was weird because I could tell he was 'pulling his punches' so to speak. His mouth would quiver as he tried not to bite me very hard.

This all happened in a very short space of time and it took me by surprise. In fact, I was so not focused on the situation so much that I started to giggle. He was not impressed with the giggling, and kicked me all the harder and the claws settled deeper into my skin. Now, I was laughing out loud as I tried to pull unsuccessfully to free my hand--maybe because I was recalling how this patheticat would slink around the fishpond, pressing himself to the wall and hoping to be inconspicuous, when there are ducks present. Or of him taking a nap when the grass is full of birds eating bread and he is sufficiently hidden behind the brick planter with the uncontrollable jasmine. Not the fierce hunter he seemed to want to be at the moment.

He finished whatever scene was playing out in his little cat head and I eventually disconnected myself from his grip. He wandered strutted off in total satisfaction at having tamed 'the hand' and I snickered a bit longer as I tended to my wounds.

This has become an occasional occurrence and I still giggle when he goes into attack mode. I don't know why. But it's as 'involved' as I want to be in a cat's life.

Meet some of my garden friends

Here is the patheticat we call Bubba. I always thought that cats innately chased winged animals, but obviously I was mistaken in that theory. The fact that the ducks are not even the slightest bit bothered by his presence is almost as eerie as his lack of enthusiasm to attack the ducks.



This is the neighbor's cat. Shhh!! She thinks she's a lawn ornament!

This is a tui that caught me taking his picture as he dined on the nectar of the kowhai (ko-fie) tree. They have a white tuft at the throat of a metallic black/green body. Their own song is hauntingly metallic, but beautiful to hear, but they are also mimics of humans and other animals--it's strangely funny to hear a duckling calling from a treetop!


I believe you have met the fantail in a former post. They are very nice to have around, especially in the summer, as they eat flying bugs like mosquitoes (called mossies, here). They are not particularly afraid of humans and seem to be showing off their beautiful tails all the time. There is a pair of these that have discovered our compost barrels!


I know this isn't the mental image you get in the US when I mention the word 'pigeon'. It's a wood pigeon and is much larger than those in America. I love their red beaks and feet, such a distinctive trait. They eat berries, so they are attracted to the strawberry trees across the lane in the summertime.


Earlier in this blog, I mentioned Einstein, who seemed to know when I was going to put out bread or seed. These are a few more of the gorgeous yellow finches that beg for food on the back patio. Their color is quite striking and they apparently don't mind getting wet if there is birdseed involved.


These are cute little waxeyes. Click the picture to get a better look to find out where they got their name (warning, the pictures are big). They are smaller than the finches that come around and they definitely let the other birds get to the seed first! But, I find them fascinating in their color and deftness of flight. I don't recall anything quite like them in Kansas.