About spoiled Mama Kitty and Hook's toys

Hi Dakota Sioux,


Oh yes, my cold is almost gone now. Thank you. I
saw on phoenix that your mom was not feeling well and
also was haveing computer problems. Momma Kitty can
only get on the keyboard when I am here because my
computer desk has a drawer/tray made for a keyboard and
it slides into the desk so it doesn't sit on top or stick out
when I'm not using it. Anyway Momma only walks around
on the keyboard when she wants me to quit typing and give
her all the attention and that is almost all the time LOL.
Most of the time she lays on the desk above the keyboard
and plays with my fingers when I type. My computer makes
funny noises when I turn it on too and Momma Kitty hears
it every time and comes running and jumps up on the desk
to see what I am doing. She always has to supervise to make
sure I am doing it right.



I did some reasearch on bit cats and watched a lot of
documentaries on how momma big cats raise their cubs
and how they discipline them so I just copy that when I raise
cubs here at the house. They sure don't like it very much
when you hold them in one place because they want to run
around and get into everything and can't. When I let them
up they are usually good but only for about 15 minutes
then they are off again just like they were chasing a herd
of antelope. After all, they are cubs and forget very easy.
Just like human cubs do. Momma is a real spoiled cat and
she is kind of old. She is about 14 years old and she likes
to lay on my lap a lot. She does like to play a lot too and
if I rub her tummy she does like you do. She will grab my
hand and lick it and scratch with her back paws and play bite.
Sometimes she forgets and bites real hard because she
used to be feral for over 4 years before she came to live here.
When I go to bed at night she usually gets up on the bed and
sleeps with me. She has her favorite spot on the bed. If she
thinks it is time for me to wake up she grabs one of my knees
really hard with both front paws and with the claws out. You
have to wake up when she does that because it is impossible
to sleep through that one. Usually she just wants to play a while
about 3:00am.



Hook does have a real nice place to live and she eats about 5
pounds of raw meat a day. We feed her Nebraska Brand Feline
Diet and have an account set up with Central Nebraska Packing
and the regional distributor here in town so it is real easy to get
her food. We usually get about 5 cases (200 pounds) at a time
(every month or when she needs it) and we have a freezer we
keep it in. And when we do go swimming we have a whole bunch
of different toys for her. Most are indestructo balls. They are
made special for very large dogs and they are made from a special
non toxic type plastic that is very thick and very very hard to tear
up. Those balls are designed so that if they can bite through the
plastic the balls don't break up and it actually cards the tartar off
their teeth. I have used the larger balls with the Lions and Tigers
and they can bite holes in the balls but they have never been able
to bite a chunk out of any of them so they are pretty safe. I bought
one for the Liger that is 31 inches in diameter and he has not been
able to bite a hole in it so it is a pretty safe toy. All the big cats
play with that ball. I paid $250.00 for that ball. The balls Hook plays
with are a lot smaller than that. They are only about 11 inches in
diameter but she sure likes to chase them around the pool. They are
hollow and float and every time she catches up to one it gest away
from her again and she keeps trying to cahtch them. Sometimes she
can get hold of one and hold on and when she does she sure looks
funny holding the ball with her front paws and trying to swim with he
back paws. I have a La Bistro waterer for Momma Kitty and when I
wash it and re-fill it it makes bubbely noises and you can see the
bubbles rise up in the jug and Momma will come running and sit
there in front of it and watch the bubbles and sometimes try to
touch them with her paw. She has never been interested in running
water from a faucet though. She did investigat the toilet once that
I know of. She likes to sit on the edge of the tub until you flush
the toilet then she will put her paws on the edge and watch the
water go down. Then she makes a funny little meowk noise and
runs out into the living room and swats her catnip balls all over
the place. I have some plastic balls that snap apart in the middle.
They snap real real tight so what I did was take a fine wire nail and
heat it red hot and poked about 4 holes in each end and then put
about 2 tablespoons of catnip that I got from the pet store in each
one and snap it back together and she really goes crazy for those.
She can't get them open but with the real small holes in each end
she can sure smell it good. And of course, with the small holes it
doesn't spill all over the place either. Momma Kitty weighs about
11 pounds.




Since it is only Momma Kitty and me living here right now she is
so spoiled that she has her own plate on the table. I keep dry indoor
formula food on the plate for her. She has a La Bistro self feeder with
dry food also but she likes to eat on the table with me. She's funny. I
also have a mat that I made for her from a large terry towel that I folded
and sewed so she has a cushion to sit on. Sometimes if I put fresh
food on the plate she will try to burry it too but the table isn't dirt so
she will paw her cushion on top of her plate like it was burried. She also
gets about 1/3 can of wet food every day and has the dry food to graze
on whenever she wants. Of course when it is meal time she has to inspect
everything on my plate to make sure there is nothing she might want there.
If she thinks she might like something on my plate she will try to sneak it
for herself so I have to keep an eye on her sometimes.



Tim the lion man lives only about 9 miles from me and sometimes I go
to vist him too. But he works a lot and doesn't get home until later in the
afternoon or evening. And sometimes he has things he has to do after he
gets home so he is busy a lot. If your mom comes to vist Tim I might be
able to make it over to say hello if I know when she will visit him. Actually
I don't work. I am retired military with a fairly good pension so I can go play
with the big kitties most any time I want to. Or pretty much do or go
anywhere I want to any time. If I go somewhere for more that just the day
then my cub Evelyn takes care of Momma Kitty. So it is pretty easy for me.
Hugs back to you too.

(Catmanwho)


Hi Catmanwho,

I'm glad you are well! Mom is on the mend, too :)
Guess what? I have a la bistro waterer just like
Mama Kitty! Like her I like to watch the bubbles.
I always put my paw up there. Sometimes I grab and
hug the waterer and try to get the bubbles! I also
love to watch the water when mom washes her
hands. I get right up with my nose by the faucet.
I also like to watch the toilet flush and be in the
bathroom when mom showers.

Nimbus and I always follow mom to the bathroom.
I flop and wrap my paws around her ankles. I like
to head but her legs, lick them, then run to my dry
food dish and eat. All Nimbus does is sit on the sink
and try to stick his face right in mom's face. Sometimes
I get in trouble because I get excited and start biting the
metal thingy that brings the water to mom's water litter
box.

Once mom tried to lock us out. Nimbus took care of that!
He banged, howled and rattled the door until mom gave
up. Now she doesn't try to keep us out.

Mom thinks you have great tricks with cubs. She has
started using them on me. She's been holding me down
when I get up on the stove. She says that Mr. Squirt
Bottle is not doing his job. She say that I might get burned
because the stove is electric and has a flat surface. Velvet
gets up there too. We all like to counter surf and this
gets mom irate.

Hooks balls sound sooooo fun. So do Mama Kitty's. What
kind are they. Mom wants to get me some because I love
catnip. Velvet loves cat nip, too. Nimbus only thinks it is
"ho-hum" and Phoebe doesn't care for it. I have some catnip
toys I send all over the floor! Mom grows catnip just for me :)

Velvet sounds so much like Mama Kitty. Velvet thinks that she
is the boss. She supervises everything. Even the grandcubs
when they are over. Really I am the boss and the smartest
one, but I just let Velvet think that she is the biggest boss.
Mom has started Velvet on a new diet. She decided that
even though the canned food is expensive, mom doesn't
like how it smells. Velvet won't eat raw food, so mom is just
going to give her cooked meat that is plain. Velvet is way
happy about this. I like cooked meat, too.

Mom wants you to know that she'll be at Lion Tim's on Sunday,
the 26th. Her and dad are spending the night. On Monday
Lion Tim is taking them to meet Hobbs and the other cats :)
Mom's happy that your schedule is flexible and hopes you
can fit a visit into it. She has pictures of me! Tim told mom
that sometimes other Phoenix folks stay the night on
Sunday, too. He says that they all have a real fun time.
I better go for now and I'll talk to you soon!

head buts and hugs from,
Dakota, Pixie-bob