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Summer has ended on the court and that brings the visit to an end. Last week the 2 Maine Coons who were staying with us this summer were picked up by their ‘person’ and returned home. The Oak Court Cats took their departure much the same way cats react to most any change: Indifference.
Missey was the first to “not” notice that the visitors were not sprawled across her favorite sleeping place on the sofa.
The big guy was able to return to the top platform of the cat tower in the living room, resuming his position as if he’d been there every day during the summer.
Precious returned to the back window sill where she could look out over the back yard; keeping an eye out for any unfortunate critter that tried to cross the yard.
Old routines picked up as if they had not been interrupted at all. Precious was standing on the pillow at 6:00 AM looking for a snack; Missey would wait, patiently, as I put a few treats into her bowl at dinner time and the big guy wold sit by the open back door at sunset, waiting for me to come out back and lite up a cigar and scratch his ears. With the visitors here we had to skip a number of the routine events but, as soon as they had left, the cats resumed . Like I said, Indifference; they are not fazed much by change.
So, as the last blast of summer heat bears down on us, the cats are stretched out on the floor, trying to keep cool. Later they’ll head for the kitchen for a meal then back to cool doorways and garage floors. For the Oak Court Cats, they don’t respond to change; they just ignore it and maybe it will go away.
It’s early September, still a few hot days but the nights are cooler. The Oak Court Cats are starting to change habits to reflect the temperature changes.
The big guy ‘s fur is starting to fill out, his face is fuller and he’s not shedding as much. The tonkinese has stopped hunting lizards and is focusing on the moles now. Without the warm days the lizards don’t come out as often. And Missey has made it known that she is reclaiming the corner of my bed.
Missey is 12 now and likes to spend 18 to 20 hours a day sleeping. As the weather cools down she can usually be found curled up on a fleece throw on the corner of my bed. She’s not particular about which fleece; her biggest concern is that other cats not sleep on it. When she catches one of the other cats sleeping on it she rewards them with a swat on the face, a loud hiss followed by a growl. “Yo! What are you doing? Get out of my spot!” While she sleeps a lot, she wakes up int e early morning hours and is patrolling the house while the rest of the cats sleep.
Precious, the tonkinese predator, is also spending more time in the house as it cools down. In the heat of the summer she wants to be out by 7:00 AM. As the seasons change, however, she’ll not venture out until 10:00 or so; preferring to wait until it’s warmed up a bit. Ats the sun goes down, she is ready to come in, eat and settle infor the night. She’s not nocturnal; preferring to spend the night sleeping. On really chilly mornings she’ll burrow under the blanket to keep warm.
And the big guy, Blutto, well, he likes to sleep, usually sound asleep by 10:00. He rarely wakes up during the night; only when there’s activity in the house. Most mornings he’s still where he settled the night before. As mentioned earlier in this blog, he starts to fill out his fur in September. During the heat of the summer he shed quite a bit of fur; by the end of August he drops to maybe 18 pounds and his fur is thin. As it cools down he starts to fill out, starting with the collar around his neck. By January he’ll fill out to where he resembles a porcupine. Now, as to sleeping, in the warmer weather Blutto prefers to sleep on the foot of the bet, no blankets or fleece. When it starts to cool off, however, he has a preference for throws, fleece or an electric blanket.
The cat’s eating habits also change. During the summer they drink a lot of water and prefer dry food. Int he cold weather they drink less but eat more of the wet food (the preferred meal is ocean white fish). There is also a drop off in the quantity of fresh food (Precious doesn’t bring as much in from the hunt.
More later, the cats are asking for dinner.
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