Tales of Miss Alix

I've always felt Alix was special...gave her a wonderful name (Killashandra, after the Crystal Singer tales by McCaffrey)...but lately she's really been showing just how special she is.

Alix has shown her intelligence of late by figuring out how to open louver doors. The previous one, located between our kitchen and our livingroom, had a latch (because she'd always open it and let all the other kitties run in, as she sat back and watched to see if I'd notice and shoo them out...if not, she'd be the last one in ). This new door is heavier, and has no latch. She has learned where in the middle to push against it so it begins to slide open, and she does this when she wishes to go to our bedroom where her food, toys, & cat beds are located.

Before she figured it out, she'd go to the door, and look back over her shoulder until I noticed her looking at me...it was her signal that she wanted to go out to a litter box, not wanting to use the one in our den! Privacy is a big issue for Miss Alix apparently

She now likes to sleep on DH's back...after giving him a 4 footed back massage, then a little kiss on the back and she settles down - better than a water bottle! She wakes dh during the night, as he feels her grooming his beard, and he has seen her walk over to where I am sleeping on my side, watch me for a minute, place a paw on my arm, and then return to sleep on him or between us...Miss Alix, the nurse in a tabby uniform

She is just something special

What special things does your cat do?

She is so cute! Alix is just a love bug with a big brain and so very sensitive. Indeed, she's very, very special Pat!

Sasha is so special because he's probably the most resilient kitty I have ever known. You know of his stoic, quiet personality, but he's incredibly popular in the neighborhood. He seems to have this entire social network, and lots of female callers to boot. He does have a steady, Snowball, but other kitties just seem to hang out with him and I've watched him -- he's very gentle and bumps noses with everyone. He bounces back from setbacks and he never seems to hold a grudge. His love is steady, not temperamental, and he never seems to complain or be picky. What makes him the most special, however, is that he is SiSi's ( 2003) son and for that reason alone, he has her blood and her heart.
I treasure and cherish him.

Awww, Miss Alix is truly a special cat!
My Joji hates to be carried EXCEPT when she is in her favorite cardboard box. It's twice the size of a shoebox. I cut out one side and she uses the box as her bed and hiding place (outside of my bedroom of course). When I tap on the box, she comes running and jumps in. When I am sad, I have her on my lap in the box and she will sit, look at me and head butt me on my chest and rub her face on my chin. For a former feral who is not fond of people (she scratches and bites) this behavior tells me how much she trusts me.

Cat behavior is always so intriguing. Squirrel, when she was just a tiny orphaned kitten used to lay against Kenai's belly. To this day, when Kenai comes in the house, Squirrel will run up to her and jump up so that her head bumps Kenai's muzzle, then she does an agility weave between Kenai's legs, and rubs against her belly. She keeps this up, even if Kenai starts to show a snarl on her mouth. Kenai never actually snarls but you can tell she wants to. Then finally when she lays down, Squirrel will curl against her belly and they will sleep.

I love all these stories, please keep sharing folks!

'nother Alix tale...she will stand up and place one paw on your thigh and extend the other up towards you as if reaching out a "hand" when she wants to be picked up...swishing her tail back and forth in a particular way, which is her, I want to come snuggle with you tail swish

Truly adorable

Aw, Alix sounds sweet! I want to see her snuggling tail swish!

Baylee's still working on her talents... she's started to learn how to open the cabinet doors, and I think she only does so when she wants attention... she opens them and lets them slam shut!

Okay, one (or two) from each:

Lion - at a very early age, Lion started to come up to the bed at night and try and cuddle next to me. I would lift the cover to bring my hand out to pet him and he would dart under the covers, purring and curl up against my lap for a bit until he got too hot and then leave. Now, each night - or several times a night - it is a ritual for us. He trills and jumps up on the bed, I lift the covers and he walks underneath, turning around to lie down cuddled against my lap. I pet him and he purrs and purrs, then after 6 or 7 minutes, he gets up and goes off to play again. I just love this special time with him!

Bear - Bear is Lion's brother. When they were both still babies and I felt safe to start allowing my other cats to see these orphaned kittens, Freija was the first to interact with them. She very soon started to take over 'grooming' the kittens, spending hours just washing them all over - in between playing. Bear is now much bigger than Freija, but several times a day, he will go and find her, literally throw himself underneath her face, lie on top of her, or push his face under hers so she will start to bathe him again. He then gets this most beatific look on his face and purrs away.

Bear is also my explorer - he likes high places, but can't quite reach the top of the cupboards by himself. He can, however, reach the top of the pantry door which has a wire rack on the inside. If I leave the door open, he is up on top of it, then steps into the top shelf of the wire rack, squeezes himself into the too small space and lies down, purring away while he can watch the goings on.

More in another post

love
Kathryn

some more:

Tristan is 10 years old and thinks he is a dog. He is the most sociable cat I have ever known, runs to greet people, is always interested in his surroundings when he goes to the vets, and walks on a harness and leash. When I moved to a new apartment a few years ago, I took Tristan for walks outside and he became my introduction to my neighbours. Everyone - even people who didn't like cats - were intrigued by this big - and he is big - dark brown/black cat walking on a leash. Tristan was ecstatic whenever any one came over and would rub up against their legs, purring away, and lifting his front half off the ground to butt up against their hand when they reached down to pet him. The neighbourhood kids found him especially delightful, and he just adored the kids who used to come over and ask if "Tristan could come out and play?". For a while I also looked after a friend's miniature schnauzzer while she would out of town working, and the dog and Tristan would play tag up and down the hall - he seems to be friends with the world.

Kathryn

(Another post for my last 2)

Abbie and Freija arrived on my doorstep when they were 9 weeks old, brought to me by their feral mother so I could help feed them:-). From the very start Abbie was this observent, quiet little cat with a wizened looking old face who seemed older than her 'week's. She arrived with her name - Abigail - it was the only one that fit. Her siblings ran and hid whenever I came out the door, but Abbie would stay in the box I put there, along with her mother and it was only a day or so before I could pet her. She is still the one who is always there, patiently waiting for me to come to bed, the quiet little observer who has allergies to her vaccinations and who nearly died during her spay because of an allergy to the anaesthetic. She is here still because of the expertise and professionalism of her vet who, at 7 pm when doing her final roundse saw the sutures weeping, was concerned that one of the inside stitches wasn't holding, and decided to go back in to check. She discovered that Abbie's liver - no where near the surgery site - was spontaneously bleeding. Wrapping the liver with a fabric that would disintegrate on its own, and then stitching her up and tightly binding her little body so that she looked like a mummified Egyptian cat - she took Abbie home with her for the night to keep her under constant supervision, fully expecting that this lttle kitten would not survive. She even had Abbie beside her on her bed, the IV hooked up, and loves to tell the story that when Abbie's bladder released its contents during the night all over the bed - and her boyfriend! - she knew she had found the right man to marry, because he didn't complain but helped her change the sheets and continued to look after Abbie during the night. She did pull through and has never looked back.

love
Kathryn

(one more)

Freija arrived at 9 weeks old as well, but was as opposite from her sister Abbie as could be. Although I tried to get near her and her other sister, I was never able to do so. A month passed and it was the end of October. I was worried about trick or treaters comin on the porch where the kittens box was, plus the weather was getting very cold and I know that they were beginning to feel it. With the help of their mother, Mollie, I was able to lure the other two kittens into my hallway, with food on the landing and the door wide open. When the first kitten entered I closed the door behind her. She became a wild cat and I wasn't sure I would be able to hold her while I carried her up to the barricaded kitchen where her sister was.

Freija wouldn't socialize. Their other sibling was beginnin to socialize when she went to a new home as a companion to another 4 month old kitten, but Freija was feral and wild. She hid. She ran. I couldn't touch her. She interacted with the other cats, ate, used her litter box, but I couldn't get near her. I hadn't intended on keeping more than Abbie, but I could not in good conscience allow this unsocialized wild cat to go to another home, so ended up keeping her as well. Then, literally over night, this frightened, wild thing became one of the most vocal, playful, creative cats I have ever known. Constantly chattering to herself, she started to create her own 'plays', taking toys and dropping them down the stairs, then carrying them up and dropping them down again to chase them; climbing up the ridgepole of the tents stored in the stairwell and turning anything she could think of into a game or a toy. She stopped being frightened and boldly marched up to me, rubbing herself against my legs and butting against my hand! She turned into a wild cat when I tried to pick her up - and even now, years later, she hates being held. She has become the most affectionate, cuddly cat now - but only on her terms and at her times - and she talks to me - making clear in no uncertain terms what she wants, and effectively getting the idea across to me. She is the most intelligent of all the cats I have as well as the most opininated, and the most self-assured.

Kathryn

oh, one more quick story about Abbie -

When I brought the kittens inside, I put them into the kitchen that could be safely barricaded with a baby gate, and put a box with padding under the table. They all took to the box right away - although if I entered the room, Freija and her sister raced into hiding in the pantry. I put a few kitten toys into the kitchen as well for them to play with. Every morning, however, I would find all sorts of new cat toys that I hadn't put in there on the kitchen floor. I didn't know who was doing this, until a week after they had come inside I was up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and came across Abbie with one of the toys in her mouth - in the living room. She calmly walked over to the kitchen, jumped up over the baby gate with the toy in her mouth and she and Freija started to play with it on the kitchen floor. Hehehe, talk about making yourself right at home!

Kathryn

I am so enjoying all of these personal stories of our cats and the special little ways they have

Alix is the one cat in the house that has always sensed when I was upset or sad, and even before a tear flows she's by my side looking up at me. If I do cry, she gives her muffled, short cry, a kind of concerned "mehhh!" sound, gets up on my lap and then sniffs at my eyes and licks at the tears.

My little caretaker

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I am so enjoying all of these personal stories of our cats and the special little ways they have

Alix is the one cat in the house that has always sensed when I was upset or sad, and even before a tear flows she's by my side looking up at me. If I do cry, she gives her muffled, short cry, a kind of concerned "mehhh!" sound, gets up on my lap and then sniffs at my eyes and licks at the tears.

My little caretaker

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Oh , that sounds so sweet! What a great little cat you have there! I'm glad she's taking such great care of you!

Kitty Bear is a rescue cat that came to live with us in August. At 2 years old, our guess is that she's spent a long time eiither in a shelter or as a very lonely kitty. She was pretty scared when she got here and didn't know the first thing about important kitty things like jumping up on chairs or playing with toys. Ruth has been teaching her everything she needs to know.

From the first night, however, Kitty Bear has found a way to get on our bed to sleep with us. Now, whenever I go to bed, Kitty Bear follows me and she gives me a knee cap massage. Afterward, I give Kitty Bear a belly rub. She purrs so loud! This has become our evening ritual.

Originally Posted by RuthiesMom

Kitty Bear is a rescue cat that came to live with us in August. At 2 years old, our guess is that she's spent a long time eiither in a shelter or as a very lonely kitty. She was pretty scared when she got here and didn't know the first thing about important kitty things like jumping up on chairs or playing with toys. Ruth has been teaching her everything she needs to know.

From the first night, however, Kitty Bear has found a way to get on our bed to sleep with us. Now, whenever I go to bed, Kitty Bear follows me and she gives me a knee cap massage. Afterward, I give Kitty Bear a belly rub. She purrs so loud! This has become our evening ritual.

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I love little night time rituals...how precious