this cat makes Tubby, who weighs around 25 pounds, look positively svelte! (Thanks to reader Susannah for the link!) I went to the pet store yesterday and bought a harness and leash for the Stanley-Bean (he’s a beanie-bean!), and after dinner last night we gave it a whirl. The harness claims to fit all sizes, but it probably meant all adult-sized cats, because as much as I tightened it, it was still pretty loose on him. Not so loose that it was falling off, though. So we took him out back and put the leash on him, and Fred walked him around the yard. It’s possible that he’s never walked in grass before, because he seemed a tad weirded out by it. Also, on the other side of our fence is a very busy road, and I think the traffic was freaking him out. He led Fred along the front part of the fence, sniffing at everything, and then they turned to walk back to the patio. Which is when Stanley thought “Hey! I shouldn’t just skulk back! I should run and leap! Into the air! Like a big mexican jumping Stanley-bean!” He began to run, and Fred moved faster to keep up with him, and then Stanley began LEAPING into the air, and each time he leaped, he reached the end of his leash and would HANG in the air for a few milliseconds before the leash and gravity would force him back down to the ground. He would run a few more steps and then, overcome, would once again LEAP. I regret hugely that I didn’t have the camera with me. While buying the harness and leash, I also bought a – oh, what the fuck’s it called? One of those things cats sharpen their claws on. A claw-sharpening thing. Argh! What the FUCK is it called? (A phone call to Fred revealed that it is called a scratching post.) So, I bought a scratching post for Stan-da-man-bean because every – EVERY! – morning he wakes me up at 4 by sharpening his sharp little claws on the chair in the corner. I was hoping that buying a scratching post would distract him from the chair. When I got home, I put it together and put it over by the bed downstairs where he likes to sleep. All the other cats sniffed around it and tried it out, but Stanley had a blind spot when it came to the new scratching post. Finally, I picked him up and put him down by the post, then grabbed his front paws and tried to show him how to use it. He looked a little scared, and didn’t want me to touch his front paws, damnit! So Fred and I dragged our fingers over the scratching post to give him some idea, and he looked at us as if we were quite insane, and hauled ass away from us. At 4:00 this morning, rather than scratching on the chair and waking me up, he tried something new. He attacked my feet. Little bastard.
He loves to sleep draped over the side of the bed.
Fred won me that stuffed pumpkinhead at a grocery store machine. Stanley has taken quite a liking to it.
I want to kiss his widdle ittle bittle footies!
I think the kitty DIED and you are afraid to tell us so you have draped his lifeless body across and around various props to try and fool us! Yeah. And Tubby was trying to EAT the poor, dead kitty. That’s what I think.
(I’m just kidding folks, but hey, LOOK at the pictures.)
Damn you, making me want a kitten, when I know full well Her Highness Smoke wouldn’t allow another cat in her domain! Stanley is awfully cute. Oh, and the only way I could get Smoke to use a scratching post instead of the arm of the couch was to buy a bottle of liquid catnip spray and douse the top of the post with it. Worked like a charm.
Oh how I regret you’re not having the camera with you for Stanley’s big outdoor adventure. That must have been too cute for words!
BTW, your to-do list is an awesome idea!
How does Miz Poo continue to adjust to the new arrival? She hasn’t relinquished her throne just yet, has she?
DOH!! The entry above was me 🙂
robyn, did you watch the new joe millionaire last night??
I’m with Kate… I have my suspicions. (Gosh. I have no idea if I spelled “suspicions” right or not. Damn.)
Robyn…per your comment to my comment in yesterday’s entry, I taped the first episode of the new Joe Millionare because I had to work late last night. I haven’t watched it yet so no spoilers if you have. But I am excited to watch it and see what kind of ass it smells like this year. Woo hoo!
I used a solution similar to Mary Ellen’s – when we bought B’Elanna’s scratching post, she was also rather indifferent to it until I rubbed catnip all over it. Then she started using it to scratch (though her favorite thing to scratch are our laundry baskets. Since they’re two-dollar baskets from Wal-Mart, I really don’t care).
Our cats are obsessed with scratching cardboard for some reason. I think it’s the texture. Regular scratching posts leave them cold, but leave a big empty box on the floor and it gets clawed to shreds. (And sat in, but that goes without saying. 😉
I’m loving your Stanley stories. He sounds like such a little character. 🙂
Stanley is NOT dead. I’ll try to get an “action” picture of him in the next few days. And if I can remember to get my butt in gear and install the software, I’ll put up an action MOVIE of him!
DC: I did not watch “Joe Millionaire” last night – I forgot it was coming on, and didn’t tape it. Wah! Surely I’ll be able to pick it up with no problem next week, wouldn’tcha think?
We have catnip spray, I think. I’ll give it a try, although he doesn’t seem to be much interested in catnip yet.
i know that our kitties scratch the furniture less when we clip their little claws. maybe you can do it with stanley if you learn him early to let you do it. it is a two person job though – hubby holds our kittie and i clip…
that pic of stanley sleeping draped over the cat bed is WAY cute….
robyn, you’ll definately be able to pick right up on joe millionaire. you didn’t even miss the bitchfight over the dresses! that’s next week. 😉 i just wondered if you’d seen it because it was hilarious and i love your snarky reality-tv related commentary.
Man. I NEED TiVo!
My cat hated every kind of scratching post I got her, UNTIL,I found the “SmartyKat Super Scratcher” by World Wise. I don’t know where you’ll find it (it was a gift), perhaps Walmart. (Don’t they have everything?). She loves it, it lays on the ground so they can sit on it and scratch, you can also sift catnip over it and it seeps into the crevices, she loves it. Give it a try. Good luck!
Stanley might like a turbo scratcher. My kittens love it. It’s a flat circular toy that has a ball that they can spin, and a cardboard insert that they can scratch. Wal-mart sells them for about ten dollars.
The whole catnip on the posts works, as others have said. Also, there’s two way tape made especially for furniture. Put it on where they like to scratch and sure enough they won’t do it anymore. Worked real well for me. Also, can’t remember the name of it but must be similar to what Manda May mentioned. The one I’m thinking of is a round plastic toy with cardboard in the middle. There’s a ball that’s trapped in the plastic so not only do they get to scratch at the catnip laden cardboard they can play with the rolling ball. I’ve got a couple and there’s times that they’ll fight over who gets to play with ’em.
Jen – his claws are clipped, and that seems to have made him worse about it. Wah!
Thanks for the suggestions, the rest of you. I’ll check ’em out! 🙂
Robyn – the bastard! 🙂 soooo cute though.
Hey, what do i do if one kitty doesn’t like cat nip? Any suggestions for getting her to use her post?
I won’t be fooled by action shots OR movies. They could have been taken BEFORE the untimely demise of the poor kitty. I want to see a pic of him holding TODAY’S newspaper! Yeah! Only then will you get your money, you evil kitty killing bitchypoo! Bwaaahaaa. Ahem. Nevermind.
Those pics of Stanley are really disturbing when re-viewed in the context of a dead, limp kitten.
Too funny, Kate! (We’re going to rot in Anthony’s hell…)
Kate! As IF we read the paper every day! Sh’yeah!