I am thankful for playful cats.
I have two elderly cats--littermates who are over 17 years old. They are definitely showing their age and spend most of their days sleeping with occasional howling for us to sit down so they can sleep in our laps. We occasionally get them new toys which they promptly ignore. However, they surprised us this week and showed a bit of themselves from their younger days.
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| Annie was enjoying her morning snooze in a sunbeam as usual. |
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| However, the next minute she was on a stand playing with the peppermints which she dumped out. Cats do not like peppermint, so that was a surprise. But a fun one to see her take an interest in more than sleeping. |
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| Later that day, she helped Theo with his laundry. Annie has always loved laundry, especially dirty laundry, but she hasn't "helped" us with it for a long time--until today. |
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| The next day, Annie was taking her morning snooze in the another sunbeam. |
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| But a little later she was trying to look innocent as she hovered around another basket with peppermints. |
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| And soon she had them all on the floor. |
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| Right where she wanted them for a little fun. |
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Later, she found a new place to hang out under the Christmas tree. Over the years, we have had various cats who have enjoyed sleeping under the Christmas tree, but not Annie -- until this year.
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Not to be outdone, her brother Leo has been a bit mischievous recently, also (but I don't have any pictures). One morning, he left his sunbeam and was batting around garland. Soon thereafter, we were surprised to see him on the counter eating turnip leaves. He can barely do stairs, so we're not sure how he made it up onto the counter.
These small examples of kitty play have been very fun for us to watch. We consider it part of the magic of Christmas and for that we are thankful.
I had to show these pictures to my daughter, aka the cat whisperer. So funny. So ... cat-like. Annie looks like a shorter hair version of our Max cat. Max has his favorite spot on the Christmas tree skirt all plotted out for his nap(s). We take great care not to place gifts in that area. Can't spoil his sleeping space! It sounds like your cats are enjoying investigating the novelty of having decorations out. I greatly enjoyed seeing Annie on her adventures today. Especially when she knocked over the mints.
ReplyDeleteAnother day, we found a mint that she had gotten out of the wrapper and was batting around. I'm not sure what it is, but she almost acts like those mints are catnip.
DeleteDoes Max bother any of your tree decorations? We still decorate the bottom of the tree for the cats--meaning we hang ornaments down there that are sturdy and won't get hurt if they are pulled down and played with. When the cats were younger, we would get up every morning and redecorate the tree with the ornaments they had taken off during the nighttime. They pretty much leave them alone these days.
Kris is having problems posting her comment, so I'm doing it for her.
Delete"Here's a little info I found online from Scientific American:
Catnip plants (Nepeta cataria and other Nepeta species) are members of the mint family and contain volatile oils, sterols, acids and tannins. Native to Europe, Asia and Africa, the plant was brought to North America by settlers; nowadays, the plant is popular in herb gardens and grows widely as a weed.
To answer your question, Max no longer plays with ornaments but early on he attacked my 2 little British ornaments (kilted Scottish guy and a yeoman warder) so they live on the top of the tree now. I think they are made of clay and painted and maybe there was something in them that triggered his cat brain. Who knows. Crazy cat."
That's interesting about catnip being in the mint family. When I hold a peppermint up to Annie's face, she squints and backs away like she doesn't like it. But clearly, she is attracted to the mints in the wrapper. Maybe the wrapper dilutes the smell enough, so she's attracted. But as you said, "Who knows. Crazy Cat."
DeleteHi Annie, this is Dancer! You look a lot like you could be my older sister! I, too, enjoy taking a nap in a sunbeam! I enjoyed seeing you play with the peppermints! I wish we had peppermints for me to play with, but, since we don't, I play with the ornaments on the tree! Hope you and Leo have a lovely Christmas!
ReplyDeleteDancer, if you don' have peppermints, we also find baby carrots fun to play with. We used to sneak onto the counter and get one that we would bat around the house for days.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you too, Dancer. Annie and Leo
I laughed out loud when I saw what Annie had done with the basket of peppermints. That's just too funny!
ReplyDeleteWe had all black cats when I was growing up. Our Christmas tree skirt was white felt, mostly. Every year, I remember having the job to use tape, rolled up backwards, to remove the black cat fur from the tree skirt. Under the tree was their favorite place to nap. I love cats -- they're so funny, yet cuddly.
We gave up trying to get the fur off of our felt tree skirt. We just talk about each cat who liked spending time under the Christmas tree when we see the fur.
DeleteThat's a good way to describe cats--funny, yet cuddly.
Cute cat pictures, and I don't even like cats!
ReplyDeleteBut you can admire them from afar. :)
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