Mewthos a la Don Juan

I played a bit with the Mip Mips, since they were all active. I took the pink feather on a string and they were hopping around like jumping beans. Then Mewthos got hold of the feather and the toy broke. It just fell apart, scattering beads everywhere - which I quickly had to pick up, as Lady Jane was already trying to eat one! Those cat toys are really very badly designed - they last hardly any time! And when they say 'for supervised play only' - they MEAN that! Imagine one of them swallowing a bead?

Anyway, Mewthos got his pink feather and retreated into the far corner with it. It was so funny, him with that pink feather in his mouth a la Don Juan, growling like a bear! The twins carried on jumping to catch the string - even though nothing was dangling from it anymore. After a while they lost interest and Mewthos brought me the pink feather!

This morning I woke up to all three Mip Mips chasing their own tail - all right next to me! Like little rotors, they just spun round and round. Ziva came out with me, wanting attention for herself and then she went outside - and came back wet! It's drizzling this morning.

I'd left my USB stick at home, so I'm writing this in a textfile I'll send to myself later. I just didn't want to forget writing about Mewthos and his pink feather, it was so funny!

I still wake up low on energy, not at all well-rested. I'm not sure whether I should make a plan to bring my bed out into the lounge, I'm afraid it won't make the desired difference, though, since the Mip Mips are used to being with me at night - and they might just sit by the door crying.

When Rose came to visit we tried letting the bird into the lounge for a bit – he liked the company and chirped a bit. The Mip Mips showed nothing more than curiosity, but Ziva? She went straight into attack mode, put her paw through the bars – I had a serious time getting her away from the bird. So, that experiment was a failure, I’m afraid. Not that I expected differently, because Ziva had no choice but to survive by catching birds to eat.

The Mip Mips stayed out till nearly seven, although by that time they were closer to home. Even though, they were not happy when I closed the door. Ziva, in particular, did not appreciate the closed door!

I made a kibble puzzle with an empty toilet paper roll, but neither the Mip Mips nor Ziva ‘got’ it. They’d eagerly eat the kibbles when one rolled out, when I rolled the toy, but they haven’t made the connection. Maybe I should try a simpler version first.

I fussed over Ziva a lot tonight, even got her to play for a while. She plays with her offspring quite enthusiastically – I’d like to see her play more. On second thoughts – as I sit here trying to eat some biltong without Ziva finding a way to get a share – I wonder if she thinks I’m just an animated kibble puzzle?

Right now Ziva is resting with Mewthos on the chest behind me, while the twins are zooming around like pinballs. I think Rose is right when she says it would be a shame to separate them, taking Lizzy out has already changed the dynamics here, though not in a bad way. The entire feline population is less hyper, not quite as overenthusiastic as they used to be. They’ve calmed down a bit.  That doesn’t mean they’re calm now, lol, they still zoom around like pinballs! Just not till quite so late anymore.

There are four distinct personalities here, and it’s not easy getting to know personalities when you can’t actually talk to them. When they only information available is through observation of behaviour.

I tried something different tonight: when I gave the Mip Mips their mousse, I gave Ziva her wet treat not just at the same time, but in the same place – although in her own bowl. I fed her off the spoon, but it kept rolling off the spoon as she tried to lick it. The Mip Mips kept crowding around Ziva’s bowl, leaving their own food. So I tried adding a spoonful of adult wet food to their plate. They left even that in their desire to eat whatever their mommy is getting, while Ziva showed little enthusiasm for it.

Ah well, let the experiments continue!