A very bad cat

I have accumulated a number of photos documenting Dingers' bad habits, and since I have not been a very diligent blogger I am making up for lost time today. One photo illustrates the pleasing contrast (if you don't object to cats on counters, which I actually do) between black and white fur and granite countertops. The other photo documents a new and annoying behavior--table top resting. In this particular photo, Roger was trying to eat breakfast. It should be noted that she never did attempt to scarf his English muffins, although I'm not sure that makes up for her being on the table.

The loneliest cat in the world

When we went on vacation in September Ding Ding stayed behind. She was visited daily by Kate, who feed and watered her. She also took some photos to document how lonely Dingers was.

Winter has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, and this has been a bummer for Ding Ding. You see her above, enjoying her vacation home in the San Juans. Now she wonders every day if she will be able to go outside at all. Molly Bloom, our cat pre-Ding Ding, was a true native of the Northwest. She didn't mind if it was raining, or if she got wet. Dingers does. This is a problem for her humans, because she is still very energetic as cats go. We find ourselves putting her outside simply because we need a break from her antics. When she was little we could burn off her energy by throwing newspaper balls for her to fetch. She still likes for us to throw the balls, but she doesn't retrieve the way she did when she was a kitten. This means less exercise and a living room covered in small wadded up pieces of newsprint. And less energy expended in acceptable activities means we spend our time fending off attacks on newspapers we are trying to read, chasing the cat off the counters as we try to cook or clean-up, or having to pick up papers she has deliberately pushed on the floor.

We know we have been lax in training Ding Ding. I can only say that we were totally unprepared for the cat we now share our house with, and we haven't yet figured out how to get through to her. Suggestions from more disciplined cat people would be welcome.

Offline but still busy...

Fans of Ding Ding will have noticed that she has been offline for most of the summer. But that does not mean she has not been busy. Dingers had her first encounter with a deer while visiting Lopez Island this summer, and although she was terrified at first (who knew there were animals that BIG out there?) she quickly realized that she was able to intimidate the deer despite the rather significant size differential.

Then in September Ding Ding was The Loneliest Cat in the World for a week when her humans took a vacation and left her behind. Gasp. And in the care of a Stranger. The Stranger likes cats, always a good thing in a catsitter, and documented Ding Ding's anguish and desperation in photos. We will post those pictures next time. And we promise not to let more than two months go by.

Ding Ding Crashes the Party

Ding Ding brought new meaning to the acronym BYOB this past Friday night, when she decided to show up for my annual staff party with a bird (not dead) in her mouth. She galloped into the house, clutching her trophy, only to have me chase her back out.

It was pretty gruesome, although she was very proud of herself--and not too pleased with her reception. I'm sure she must have surveyed the refreshments, and thought the table needed something with feathers.

Although I have heard that they don't necessarily solve the problem, I think I will get her a bell for her collar.

On Vacation

Ding Ding has been asked what she's been up to, and it's true it has been quite a while since I've posted on her blat.

It's been a traumatic time for cats in our household. We discovered that Ding Ding's step-sister Annie was not making use of her litter box just before we were heading to Lopez Island for a week of family togetherness.

Rather than leave Annie to do more damage, we packed her off to a kitty hotel and took Ding Ding to Lopez. Which she enjoyed, excepting for the car ride. Maybe there are cats who are good travelers, but I haven't met one yet, and Ding Ding is no exception. Upon our return we retrieved Annie, only to discover that although she had no physical issues that would cause urinary problems, she didn't regularly use her litter box at the vet's.

When I got home with Annie we left her on the back patio, an area she has enjoyed before, while discussing how to set up our house so as to limit cat problems. Next time we looked, Annie had vanished. More than a week later, we still haven't seen her. We now have a have-a-heart type trap, and we're hoping we can catch her. It's hard to believe she can have gone far, but we haven't found her yet.

Dingers does not miss Annie. They were not friends. But we feel responsible, and will keep looking. She does have a microchip--but she is mostly feral, and will not come when called or let people pick her up under most circumstances. So the outlook is not good.

More later.

Nature Red in Tooth and Claw

She looks so innocent when she's sleeping, but don't be mistaken. Ding Ding is proving to be a predator. I came home from a meeting the other night to find my husband disposing of a dead robin. Ding Ding had brought it into the kitchen, and was playing with it. He had a battle getting it away from her--she kept grabbing it, and trying to bat it around. He finally prevailed, but I'm sure she'll do it again. I wouldn't mind dead rodents (although I'd prefer them not in the house), but I do hate to see her going after birds.

Always something going on...

It's been a while since I've posted, but Dingers has been busy. She loves the outdoors, and spends a good part of her day outside unless it's really raining. I am including a picture of her in one of her favorite outside places--hiding in the grass.

The other morning I found her climbing around on the top of the 8 foot high backboard of an antique walnut bed we have. I ran to get the camera, but she got down when I left the room. I hope to get this feat documented on film, but who knows.

Water, water, everywhere

My friend Jeanne is responsible for introducing Dingers to the joys of running water. And now it seems as if there's no going back. The cat has a strong need to check out sinks and bathtubs, and she's especially interested after I've been doing dishes, or if someone has just taken a shower. But she was overjoyed to play with water that was actually running. She has spent as long as thirty minutes playing in the sink.

Jail Break

Roger was taking the trash out the other day, and Ding Ding made a break for the great outdoors. She immediately climbed our magnolia tree, and was extremely excited about all the falling petals. She got up pretty high in the tree, but had no trouble getting down on her own.

She is continuing to explore the great outdoors, a little at a time. Yesterday she went out again, and had an encounter with our neighbors' small dachshund Willy. Willy is a very yippy dog, and although he's not that much larger than Dingers, she was intimidated by his noisiness and happily retreated inside.

Looking forward: see Ding Ding enjoy running water, and watch her watching her favorite television programs.

Back By Popular Demand

Apparently the reading public is desperate for an update on Ding Ding. Well, one person (my son) asked me when I planned to post again. So here's another entry for fans of Ding Ding.

Dingers has had an exciting new experience (not yet documented on camera). She has been outside. I am still unsure about whether she should be allowed to go out on regular basis, given the tragic demise of Molly Bloom (see first post), but she is very eager. She came outside with me yesterday while I worked in the yard, and she encountered a neighboring feline, Kato. It wasn't clear how this might work out, so Roger intervened and shooed Kato away. At this point, Ding Ding seems to prefer to hide under the shrubs, but she will probably get bolder.

The picture above shows Ding Ding in a favorite place--a paper grocery bag.

We Need a Cat Whisperer

It's a good thing this cat is cute, because she has atrocious manners. None of my previous cats had any interest in kitchen counters. Ding Ding jumps up on ours regularly to see what's new. We've tried scolding and spraying her with water--so now she knows she isn't supposed to do it. The problem is she doesn't care. When we catch her on the counter she scurries to sit next to the toaster. Maybe she thinks we can't see her?

She also loves to drink out of the toilet. Yuck.

Ding Ding Displays an Early Interest in Literature

We're not suggesting that the cat is able to read, but she is very interested in reading material. Since Ding Ding shares her house with a librarian and an English professor it seems very appropriate that she cares so deeply about books and newspapers. This is especially apparent on Sunday mornings when she amuses herself by playing fetch with small, scrunched up balls of newspaper, or diving under any sections of the paper that are scattered on the floor. We offer these photos as evidence of her varied taste in literature.

More Pictures of Ding Ding

April 24, Part 2

This is Annie, who lives, unhappily, with Ding Ding. Annie likes to be left alone--not a concept that Ding Ding understands.

April 24, 2008

Ding Ding is named after a friend of my daughter-in-law. Her friend is Chinese, and she says that Ding Ding is a very common name for pets in China. During Ding Ding's first days with us my family was visiting, and because of the cat's outgoing nature my sister-in-law grew quite attached to her. I promised to share pictures of Ding Ding as she grew up. At first I thought I would make some sort of album on my computer, but then I decided a blog would be the perfect vehicle for keeping everyone who likes Ding Ding informed of her progress. Hence the Ding Ding Chronicles. My husband thinks I should call this a blat instead of a blog. He says a blog would be for a dog.

The photo above is one of Ding Ding's favorite toys. She loves to play with all her toys, and even things that are not her toys. She is especially fond of playing fetch with small crumpled-up pieces of the newspaper.

In the beginning...

In December, 2007, our cat Molly disappeared. She went out one day, and never came home. We posted signs around the neighborhood, sent out emails, and visited the shelter in hopes of finding her. But we never did. Finally on January 12, we decided to get another cat.

Molly only liked my husband and me, and would never even stay in the house if we had company. Her companion cat, Anna Livia, is a feral cat, and she shares our house, but is very afraid of people. We decided this time we wanted a really friendly cat. So off we went to the animal shelter-- my sister-in-law, my nieces, my son and his wife, and me. We looked at every cat they had, and I held many. Then my son said "what about one of these?" There were two kittens in a cage. One was black and white, the other a grey tiger. They were chasing each other all over the cage. I asked to hold the grey one first. Then I asked to hold the black and white one. She immediately started purring, and didn't stop as I handed her around to everyone.

So Ding Ding came home with us that day.