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Monday, March 13, 2017

Celebrating our favorite people and a question.

I'm sitting here, feet up and a hot tea in hand while I type. It's been a full weekend of celebrating loved ones. My brother's girlfriend, my son and my youngest grandson are all now one year older.





It was a fun weekend.

With the time change, we are all feeling tired and Audrey doesn't give two hoots about that. She still got me up at 5:30 by screaming like a hyena and flinging my watch across the bedroom and on to the floor. My bedroom blind, torn to bits now, is then attacked because she loves the sound of it as it is thrust against the bedroom window; her claws tearing the fabric ever so slowly.
I swear if I knew of a feline behaviourist that could diagnose this cat's problem without taking me to the cleaners I would. Instead I will just keep reading about The Cat and WHY they do what they do and figure it out myself. I have quite a library of cat behaviour books as I cared for cat's for years while their owners travelled. After moving from our home of twenty-five years, I now offer this service in our new area.  Very slowly the business grows.
But getting back to Audrey, I'm just wondering if any of my blogging friends are as fortunate as I am to be woken every morning by a holy terror in a cat costume. Not one of my books so far addresses her behaviour. Why doesn't that surprise me.

We are in for another snow-storm so the resident birds are on my mind.
Suet and full feeders will help them through it. We'll hunker down in the mouse-house and drink tea. ;-)

"Best have coffee, woman. You look about ninety this morning."

:-(
Stay warm.

hugs, Deb

26 comments:

  1. AND...That is why...A cat is a cat...
    And...that is why we love them so much! :).
    ALL..the books written, on the planet, will
    never explain the thoughts of a cat...Dog..
    Yes! Cat..no chance!
    I've loved them ALL my life...And have always
    said..there the most loveliest creature that
    God ever made..on the planet!
    Even Audrey and Annie...Never met them, but like
    all the others..PoppyQ..Pippi..Blackie etc..
    Love them to bits...Bless them! Always...! =(^..^)=

    Lovely family pics Deb..lovely! Love the cakes to..!
    You better have another coffee...before Audrey starts
    off again...Bless!x

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  2. If you should learn the 'why' of feline 'holy terrors' I hope you will share! We've had several notables over the years who were determined to serve as morning alarm clocks. If gentle nudging didn't get a human out of bed to interact, then polite behavior rapidly turned disruptive: items swept off bedside stand or dresser, curtains/blinds/ attacked, general uproar.
    Yesterday in honor of the time change my cats all lined up early for their afternoon 'tea' and became increasingly vocal when I suggested they wait. Somehow [by ganging up?] they've managed over the years to push tea time forward and it is less disruptive to bring out the dishes and the tin of meaty/fishy food than to fall over them until the time that I think they should be served. Cats rule!

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  3. Deb, I had a cat like that and her name was Emily (Princess of Darkness). She was a holy terror. If I shut her out of my bedroom so I could sleep she would fling herself high up the door and then slide down. Knock things around and get in my face. She really wanted to be an outdoor cat so I finally let her and sadly lost her. I still question my decision, but she was starting to attack my Charlie and that wouldn't do at all. Audrey reminds me of Emily in many ways and all I can say is 'good luck'! Hugs!

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  4. Deb, cats, aren't they amazing creatures. Now having said that, I am often baffled by any, past & current, of my cats' behaviours too! When the cat expert ladies were in doing the fur girls nails on the weekend, we had a discussion about some cat behaviours. Both the ladies agree that in their 40+ years of cat rescue, adoption, they are still baffled by some behaviours & are taught new things almost everyday about cat behaviour. My current fur kids have even our cat expert vet baffled on one annoying behaviour. Audrey's behaviour may have a natural bases or it may be a adaptive "trick", who knows with cats. Sorry about your blind & 5:30am in the nicer warmer may be a pleasant time to be in the garden ...

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  5. Hi Deb,
    You will remember our sweet Serena for having looked after her in your previous territory. Her preferred time to get her humans out of bed is 5AM and her usual target is the female human as the male more easily ingnores her 😉
    Her approach is somewhat more "delicate" than Audrey but still quite effective; she will sit on the selected human's belly(bladder) area and knead and purr away, then walk all over the human to make sure they are awake. If the target tries to turn sideways or hide under the covers she will paw at the lucky person's hair until the attention being demanded is granted.
    I have to say that I can never be upset at being awakened to look into those beautiful blue eyes and to the sound of that sweet purr. 😍 Yes, I'm a sucker for my girl!

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    1. Aw, I'll always remember Serena and her beautiful baby blues. She loved to be brushed and fussed-over just like my two. Haha...she goes for the bladder. I'm sure it won't be long for Audrey to figure that out. I imagine once my blinds are no more she'll focus on painful tactics. Give Serena a hug for me.

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  6. Audrey does this, because it WORKS! She gets what she wants, which is your undivided attention, even if it's because she's misbehaving. Do you play with her before bed, get her to run around and around and around, so she falls asleep and stays asleep? Her holy terror activities are because she wants attention; her dipstick is low, and she wants a fill-up NOW! Works on her, to change up the routine and give her more attention. OR, go to http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/ and do some searching. Pam Merritt has a lot of information about cat behaviour!

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  7. Marie does a version of this. She gets on my chest and works on my CPAP mask and hose. As far as she is concerned, it is time to get up and feed her breakfast.

    Pee Ess: I would hide the watch for starters ;-)

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  8. We don't let ours run loose in the house at night. They have their room.

    When we first started this, they would hide. I would squirt them with the squirt bottle hollering "go to bed".

    Now, you don't even have to get the squirt bottle after them.

    Even so when they are doing something bad. All you have to do is say "shhhhhh shhhhh" like the bottle is squirting and they take off.

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  9. I can't say that I have had a cat like that! None of the 22 cats I have or have had ever acted like that. But....we have dry food and water out all the time so they can eat when they want. And a cat door so they can go in and out of the house as they please. I'm guessing Audrey wants you up to feed her? Slate does wake me up, but only to jump up on the bed and cuddle as he's off to dream land and it's time for me to get up.

    Any chance you could close her out of the bedroom at night?

    Fun birthday parties! Adorable cake, too!

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    1. Hi Betsy - yes, it is to feed her for sure. I can't leave food out because Annie can't have free-feeding. She has digestive issues so I feed her three small meals a day.She would just binge all night and Audrey most likely not even eat it. We are in a very small space right now so there is no other room to put her in. Plus, I would miss having them sleep in our bedroom.I think I'll just go to bed earlier. lol

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  10. Jinksie wakes me every morning.....mournful wailing........thumping around the hallway.........6am.......time to eat.

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  11. Hello Deb ... Oh yes I too have the Ummm "pleasure" of being woken at 5 am each morning by either Little Miss Madam Pippi or fat Blackie who jumps on me heavily if I dont get up. They squeal & carry on & my hubby is quite deaf so its always me who hears them. I have just had a quick trip down to help my Mum & it was rather pleasant not being woken at 5 am by a furry feline. Those birthday cakes look sooo delicious Deb. Have a lovely week x x x

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  12. Oh & p.s I forgot to add ... if you close the bedroom door then they just carry on outside it & claw at the carpet & scratch the door. Tried that .... & it sure didn't work !!!!!!

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  13. I just adore reading your blog. Your love for cats and birds is wonderful. I never owned a cat, used to cat sit for my son's little black, Tora and she was amazingly so vocal.---especially when she wanted to be fed. I miss those times. Saw a bumper sticker recently that all cat lovers should have...CATS RULE, DOGS DROOL. Bess from MA

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  14. Commiserations Deb, our tyrant is Rupert who jumps from bed to bed ( we have single beds in the same room ) making lots of noise and attacks our feet until we get up and open the door. He then usually has a few biscuits and sits in the widow. A couple of the others venture out, it seems as though he is the only one who will take on the task of waking us up. lol
    Still whatever they do we love them and forgive them and of course they all know that. ha ha
    Briony
    x

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  15. Funny! Well, sort of! Audrey is the boss! We moved our bed and I think Tim will trounce our heads now, trying to get to the fresh morning air. He doesn't get the time change either. He sits on my hip and I can't go back to sleep.
    I smiled when I saw the Coke cans in the cake pics. That happens when we gather, too.
    Stay cozy, good Deb!

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  16. Looks like you had a fun weekend of celebrations! My goodness your grandson got big fast! He is adorable!

    I do understand the early morning cat antics as we have had many cats all with distinct methods of getting us out of bed! We now have two adorable one year old siblings that start waking us up very sweetly with kitty kisses. Sophie will give me a soft peck on my nose and mouth while her brother Zeus roughly licks all up and down one side of my face. However, if we still do not get up that progresses into rather loud cat "conversations" and eventually into knocking anything they can off the dresser. Cats know what they are doing and how to get their way for sure! ; )






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  17. Let me knw when you figure Audrey out. Maybe she simply loves drama, being as beautiful as she is.

    Our cat Miss Marple wakes us up at least an hour or two earlier than we'd like every morning. She jumps on the bed, meowing and squeaking as she walks over us. When we let her out of the room she does not seem to be in need of the litterbox or food and water and walks BACK into the bedroom. Maybe she just wants us out of bed so she can have the bed all to herself. I don't think we'll ever truly understand cats and that is probably why I love them so much.

    Now, back to Audrey, hmmm......

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  18. Cats I think are woken up by the early wake up of birds, and are naturally more active at dusk and dawn so I am sure she is just being a normal cat who thinks you should get up then too.

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  19. Well....that is interesting. Mae must be on our schedule as she politely waits for her morning meal without fussing. Knowing Audrey's personality, I can understand she can be a bit demanding. Now I must say that is THE cutest birthday cake ever!!!

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  20. Those birthday cakes are so cute :)
    My Mom's cat, Pearl, drives her crazy by wanting to play in the middle of the night. I suggested that she play with her a bit more in the evening. I'm hoping it helps Mom get more sleep. Keep us posted on what works!

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  21. Looks like a fun celebration! Oh my, Audrey sounds pretty intense. But we could tell that from the photos! I wish I had the answers. I have my hands full here with Vladimir.
    xo
    Lynn

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  22. Oliver likes to open and slam shut the bathroom vanity doors, he knows it drives me crazy and gets me out of bed...
    Dumb animals, I don't think so ��
    Your celebrations look like fun!
    Jo

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  23. The Princess Posie at least waits 'till 6:00AM :^) Then she races through the house (it makes a circle) yowing at the top of her lungs. Hubby says she is yelling "Mom, Mom, Mom".....
    If I don't budge, she hops onto the bed, tickles my face with her whiskers and then proceeds to lick my nose and eyes. If all else fails, she starts throwing things off the dresser 'till Hubby yells at her and scares us all to death :^0
    Ahhhh, but they are so cute the REST of the day :)
    Blessings,
    J and Posie

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