if I must

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

17 July 2020 - I am happy to report that the taller peep and I have survived another day.  We are still engaged in a wary, at-arms-length tango at a poorly-attended soiree.  Perhaps the fact that there are just the two of us to carry on this search for the shorter peep will help overcome our reticence.  We will all admit to needing friendship, but how many one allows into that inner circle is very dependent upon personality and circumstance.  My kind is notoriously stand-offish, so understandably my dance card contains very few names.  And that is how I like it, so any sympathy should be redirected.  That solitary egg in one's basket is all the more appreciated, but certainly more cat-astrophic when that basket hits the floor.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

It is much easier to find fault,
than to overlook it.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purr-suit, any sustained ingratiating activity to ensure one's food bowl continues to be filled

lost and frowned

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

16 July 2020 - I have misplaced the shorter peep!  She isn't using any of my hiding spots... and surely I know this house's secrets after a month of reconnaissance-gathering.  She was the one I could count on for kibble refills and refreshed water... not to mention the shared play time.  And she was doing so well in her peep-in-training course.  Now I am forced into the uncomfortable realization that it is just moi and the taller peep negotiating the foreseeable future.  I will grant that he is trying (and I can't help but add "very trying").  The even better news is that he hasn't attempted to eat me... if I survive the next few days I might just move him off the predator list.  But please keep your eyes and ears open for any shorter-peep sightings:  I really want my pupil back.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Admit it when you like someone.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - purrs of wisdom, the accumulation of feline smarts over the course of nine lives

meow, myself and I

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

14 July 2020 - Cats are not pack animals.  We may on occasion gather at a carcass, but there is a very strict eating order, where breaking in line gets you swatted to the periphery by the furgeant-at-arms.  My domesticated brethren may even share a domicile amicably with one or two other felines... but beyond that we suffer anxiety (and more to the point, loss of affection).  There are times when a helping hand is appreciated, to provide stability when the boat is listing or to scratch an itch.  But we don't mind playing solitaire either:  rules can be bent, and victory is assured, with games of one.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

If you are much loved,
you can get away with much.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - catification, that highly sought, hard to obtain, consent from the resident feline

life insurance

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

13 July 2020 - Feline lore contains stories of our kind who can leap to the top edge of a door.  I haven't attempted that feat... at least there were no witnesses.  I am still in test mode:  flexing young muscles, peering up at heights, imagining what manner of scaries live on those plateaus, vacillating between "eeek" and "why not?".  My current thinking is that if I can't stretch high enough for recon, then I'll wait until I've grown a bit more.  This strategy seems to have a better guarantee that I will actually survive my silly youth.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

I prefer company
when facing fears.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - cat on a tuffet, that lofty, and therefore desirable, position of elevation... even if only a paper-thickness higher

bedtime stories

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

12 July 2020 - The shorter peep and I have our best intersections at the edges of night.  The biggest factor could be that the visit occurs in my safe space, and also darkness is my natural time to prowl/explore.  I look forward to her reclining on the bed, where I can offer my head for scratching.  This simple tactile act seems to bring her enjoyment, and as long as she doesn't rub a bald spot on my pate I will continue to do so.  We are slowly defining, even negotiating, our friendship, what each one needs of the other, expects of the other.  And I am encouraged to find that she is trainable.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Look like a softy,
but hold the line.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - purrks of doing business, benefits, given and received, of including peeps in one's life

call of the mild

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

11 July 2020 - One doesn't need to stray far to have an adventure.  My new abode, though not quite a maze, does have twisty pockets of scariness.  But even for the skittish, the safe space can begin to feel confining... and then there is always our damnable curiosity.  I have made numerous stealthy excursions under the cover of darkness, once I am certain that the resident peeps are curled in sleep.  Initially that was sufficient to rev up my adrenaline, but now, against better judgment, I am venturing out during the light of day... what is that shorter peep doing anyway?

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

"What was I thinking?"
often doesn't have an answer.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - cattershot, used to describe the random and haphazard path of a feline explorer

please don't take this as a complaint

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

10 July 2020 - Having lived the start of my life outside, scrounging for my next meal and a dry spot to ride out storms, I do appreciate the upturn in my circumstances.  Things are never purr-fect (just recall that first garden eviction), and having a list of could-be-improved items keeps one from becoming complacent.  To mention just one (and certainly not trying to tarnish a peep's public image), there are those in our household who noisily lurch about... admittedly we cats, the epitome of grace, have high standards.  And would someone out there please let my house staff know the food bowl is empty!

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Arriving at ideal
requires wheeling-and-dealing.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - cat trick, the machinations by which felines make their wishes known (and their will be done)