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Critter roll call...
Jul. 11th, 2009 04:30 amSo, it's 4:30am, and I'm up as usual, hanging out with the critters. Figured with the new additions, I'd ramble a bit:
Riley is a great grey lump of a cat. He makes our other cats look small, and that's a hell of a feat. When he's happy, he tucks his head down and presses his face into you. Cuddly as all hell, and generally a very chill temperament, although very demanding of attention.
Lucy is a skinny, rather high-strung calico. She pops up on almost any surface that gets her nearer to people to pet her, but she's not a cuddler, she's a wigglewart. She's shyer around the dogs and other cats, though, so tends to stay in the back half of the house.
Spike has taken up permanent residence in the nook on top of the boxes in the dining room. He's a bit skittish in general, and will bolt for this space whenever something startles him. He's a tabby with a little stub tail, and he always looks like a rabbit when he's running away. He's obsessed with trying to eat my pewter fertility figure necklace, and also randomly bites noses. He loses all fear when food is involved, though, and will happily try to shoulder the dogs out of the way when soft cat food is up for grabs. He likes attention, and talks a lot, and seems to like being talked to, but he isn't into cuddling most of the time, or anywhere near as into being petted as Lucy is. He's also generally very exploratory and curious, probably the most of any of the cats.
Cat is Grafton's little teeny maine coon (she was a runt). She's by far the smallest in the house (and incidentally, the only true long-hair), but she's a badass. Most of the other cats don't mess with her too much. She's picky about human socialization, except for Grafton. I've finally made friends with her, and am a grudgingly accepted source of petting when Grafton's gone. She's extremely independent, and wants petting on her terms only, but she loves it. Like most of our cats, isn't fond of being picked up, but will come to me and demand attention, these days. She's also our only cable-chewer. Argh.
Balder is also affectionately (and disgustedly) known as sneezy. He's always had allergies, and he is a walking booger factory. He's also incredibly sweet and cuddly and loving. He's big and black, with a little white patch. He's also the bathroom-cat -- he hangs out on the sink whenever anyone's in there; it's captive attention!
Fatty Lumpkin is, I think, our strangest-looking cat. He's black with white belly and paws, and has got a white stripe down his nose that just emphasizes his long, narrow head. That's attached to a big, lanky body with jackrabbit hing legs. He looks like he was assembled from several very disparate cats. Frankensteinian, in the best possible way. Although it took him a few years, he's very comfortable with his place in the household now, and no longer bothered by the dogs and other cats. He's become very self-possessed. Also loves being petted, although only really cuddles rarely.
X is another badass. She's flat-out demanding of cuddling and petting, and will give you the death glare (and occasionally an application of claws) until you submit. The other cats don't generally mess with her. The dogs are more wary of her than any other cat, and Jax is flat-out afraid of her. She's also so round it's amazing she doesn't just roll from room to room. She's another tuxedo cat, and she's got one white whisker over each eye that look like antennae.
Mushroom is getting old and skinny, and her position in the household has been shifting. She used to be queen bee, and that's not the case anymore. She's still pissed about it, and tends to do a lot of talking big, but running away (hiss, swipe, bolt). She's grumpy and crotchety, and has always been considered the bitch-kitty by any other members of the household who have to deal with her. She loves attention, but will get gratuitously pissy about it if you're not doing it _just right_, and hiss and take a swipe at you. She's easily offended. She and I are really close, and we usually sleep cuddled together (more in the winter than summer).
Morph is my oldest cat, and he's losing various of his senses gradually. He's always been the "guest-cat", and is generally the first to introduce himself to anyone new who walks through the door. New sources of attention are all good, in his opinion, and there is no such thing as too much love. He doesn't seem to have any real sense of smell (that's always been the case), but once you get him to figure out what you're offering him, he loves cheese above all else. He's always been kind of clumsy and clueless, in a thoroughly adorable way, and is probably the most widely-loved of my critters. He and Mark are especially close.
Tarma is a teenager. Oy. She's a hound of some sort, probably around 60lbs or so, and clumsy and clueless and in possession of an incredibly short attention span. She's talkative like a hound, too. She's most attached to me, by far. She was a neglect case when we got her, and she bonded really fast and intensely. She's got a really sweet temperament, although a complete lack of awareness of her own feet, and the size of her claws, that leaves me perpetually scratched. (nudism + critters does tend to lead to more injuries, I will admit...) At least she doesn't try to hump the cats like Leroy does. She is a chewer, though. If she doesn't have a chewie, she'll go for other household items pretty randomly. She also bites her nails obsessively, and makes positively disgusting snorting noises while she does. And she's the main reason the house is dog-proofed; she'll get into anything she can (trash, cat litter, accessible food, etc). This is the dog that chewed my blackberry into little shards. She's also very jealous if any of the other pets (especially the other dogs) are getting attention from me, and would be happy to be petted and cuddled 24/7. She's very much a lapdog, despite her rather inconvenient size for such a role.
Leroy has really matured wonderfully in the time we've had him. Although he's still very excitable when he meets new people, and barks about anyone in the yard, ever, he's generally ridiculously zen. He loves cuddling, and being held and carried. He's a pomeranian (black and white, same as most of our cats, and about the same size), and a real shit-starter when it comes to dog-wrestling, though. Defines "ankle-biter". Obsessed with other dogs' ears and mouths. He and Caleb are particularly close. Also, he looks like a hedgehog when viewed from above in the yard -- he trundles. It's very cute.
Pookie is my Ball Python. I couldn't leave her out, but it's not easy to say a lot about her personality. She's generally pretty chill, though, and not as shy as many Balls are. I've had her for 17 years now.
Maybe I'll try to get pics of everybody tomorrow to post.
Riley is a great grey lump of a cat. He makes our other cats look small, and that's a hell of a feat. When he's happy, he tucks his head down and presses his face into you. Cuddly as all hell, and generally a very chill temperament, although very demanding of attention.
Lucy is a skinny, rather high-strung calico. She pops up on almost any surface that gets her nearer to people to pet her, but she's not a cuddler, she's a wigglewart. She's shyer around the dogs and other cats, though, so tends to stay in the back half of the house.
Spike has taken up permanent residence in the nook on top of the boxes in the dining room. He's a bit skittish in general, and will bolt for this space whenever something startles him. He's a tabby with a little stub tail, and he always looks like a rabbit when he's running away. He's obsessed with trying to eat my pewter fertility figure necklace, and also randomly bites noses. He loses all fear when food is involved, though, and will happily try to shoulder the dogs out of the way when soft cat food is up for grabs. He likes attention, and talks a lot, and seems to like being talked to, but he isn't into cuddling most of the time, or anywhere near as into being petted as Lucy is. He's also generally very exploratory and curious, probably the most of any of the cats.
Cat is Grafton's little teeny maine coon (she was a runt). She's by far the smallest in the house (and incidentally, the only true long-hair), but she's a badass. Most of the other cats don't mess with her too much. She's picky about human socialization, except for Grafton. I've finally made friends with her, and am a grudgingly accepted source of petting when Grafton's gone. She's extremely independent, and wants petting on her terms only, but she loves it. Like most of our cats, isn't fond of being picked up, but will come to me and demand attention, these days. She's also our only cable-chewer. Argh.
Balder is also affectionately (and disgustedly) known as sneezy. He's always had allergies, and he is a walking booger factory. He's also incredibly sweet and cuddly and loving. He's big and black, with a little white patch. He's also the bathroom-cat -- he hangs out on the sink whenever anyone's in there; it's captive attention!
Fatty Lumpkin is, I think, our strangest-looking cat. He's black with white belly and paws, and has got a white stripe down his nose that just emphasizes his long, narrow head. That's attached to a big, lanky body with jackrabbit hing legs. He looks like he was assembled from several very disparate cats. Frankensteinian, in the best possible way. Although it took him a few years, he's very comfortable with his place in the household now, and no longer bothered by the dogs and other cats. He's become very self-possessed. Also loves being petted, although only really cuddles rarely.
X is another badass. She's flat-out demanding of cuddling and petting, and will give you the death glare (and occasionally an application of claws) until you submit. The other cats don't generally mess with her. The dogs are more wary of her than any other cat, and Jax is flat-out afraid of her. She's also so round it's amazing she doesn't just roll from room to room. She's another tuxedo cat, and she's got one white whisker over each eye that look like antennae.
Mushroom is getting old and skinny, and her position in the household has been shifting. She used to be queen bee, and that's not the case anymore. She's still pissed about it, and tends to do a lot of talking big, but running away (hiss, swipe, bolt). She's grumpy and crotchety, and has always been considered the bitch-kitty by any other members of the household who have to deal with her. She loves attention, but will get gratuitously pissy about it if you're not doing it _just right_, and hiss and take a swipe at you. She's easily offended. She and I are really close, and we usually sleep cuddled together (more in the winter than summer).
Morph is my oldest cat, and he's losing various of his senses gradually. He's always been the "guest-cat", and is generally the first to introduce himself to anyone new who walks through the door. New sources of attention are all good, in his opinion, and there is no such thing as too much love. He doesn't seem to have any real sense of smell (that's always been the case), but once you get him to figure out what you're offering him, he loves cheese above all else. He's always been kind of clumsy and clueless, in a thoroughly adorable way, and is probably the most widely-loved of my critters. He and Mark are especially close.
Tarma is a teenager. Oy. She's a hound of some sort, probably around 60lbs or so, and clumsy and clueless and in possession of an incredibly short attention span. She's talkative like a hound, too. She's most attached to me, by far. She was a neglect case when we got her, and she bonded really fast and intensely. She's got a really sweet temperament, although a complete lack of awareness of her own feet, and the size of her claws, that leaves me perpetually scratched. (nudism + critters does tend to lead to more injuries, I will admit...) At least she doesn't try to hump the cats like Leroy does. She is a chewer, though. If she doesn't have a chewie, she'll go for other household items pretty randomly. She also bites her nails obsessively, and makes positively disgusting snorting noises while she does. And she's the main reason the house is dog-proofed; she'll get into anything she can (trash, cat litter, accessible food, etc). This is the dog that chewed my blackberry into little shards. She's also very jealous if any of the other pets (especially the other dogs) are getting attention from me, and would be happy to be petted and cuddled 24/7. She's very much a lapdog, despite her rather inconvenient size for such a role.
Leroy has really matured wonderfully in the time we've had him. Although he's still very excitable when he meets new people, and barks about anyone in the yard, ever, he's generally ridiculously zen. He loves cuddling, and being held and carried. He's a pomeranian (black and white, same as most of our cats, and about the same size), and a real shit-starter when it comes to dog-wrestling, though. Defines "ankle-biter". Obsessed with other dogs' ears and mouths. He and Caleb are particularly close. Also, he looks like a hedgehog when viewed from above in the yard -- he trundles. It's very cute.
Pookie is my Ball Python. I couldn't leave her out, but it's not easy to say a lot about her personality. She's generally pretty chill, though, and not as shy as many Balls are. I've had her for 17 years now.
Maybe I'll try to get pics of everybody tomorrow to post.
