Tortoiseshell cats are named for their distinctive coloring – a combination of patches of black, brown, amber, red, cinnamon and chocolate. The size of the patches varies from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of color. The term “tortoiseshell” is used for cats with brindled coats that have few or no white markings. Cats of this coloring with larger areas of white fur are called calicos. Sometimes, these colors present in lighter versions such as lilac or cream. Torties with this lighter coloring are called dilute torties. Occasionally, the typical tortoiseshell colors are also seen in a tabby (striped) pattern, and these cats are sometimes referred to as “torbies.”
Tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Tortoiseshell and calico coats are the result of the interaction between genetic and developmental factors. The occasional and very rare male tortoiseshell cat is the result of a genetic mutation.
In addition to their distinctive coloring, torties also have a reputation for unique personalities, sometimes referred to as “tortitude.” They tend to be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and they can be very possessive of their human. Other words used to describe torties are fiercely independent, feisty and unpredictable. They’re usually very talkative and make their presence and needs known with anything from a hiss to a meow to a strong purr. These traits are stronger in tortoiseshell cats than in calicos – it seems as though these traits are somewhat diluted with the addition of more white to the color scheme.
As of the writing of this post, I share my life with Amber*, and those of you who’ve followed this blog for a while have gotten to know her in her Amber’s Mewsings posts. You will soon be able to read all about Buckley in Buckley’s Story – Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher. The photo above shows Buckley in the front, Amber behind her.
Prior to Amber and Buckley, there was another tortie in my life. Virginia was the first office cat at the animal hospital I managed. She was my introduction to torties, and my love affair with this particular type of cat began with her. She, too, had the “tortitude” I so love about these particular cats.
Do you have a tortie or calico in your life? Does she have “tortitude?”
*Sadly, Amber passed away on May 13, 2010, after a sudden, brief illness. I now share my life with Allegra and Ruby, two tortoiseshell cats who have their own columns here on The Conscious Cat, titled Allegra’s World and Ruby’s Reflections.
Photo ©Ingrid King, all rights reserved
Drew, have you tried the pill pockets? You can get them in most pet stores. They’re a soft moldable treat with a hole in the center. You put the medication inside and seal the ends, and with any luck, Nugget will think it’s just a treat. They come in chicken and salmon flavor. They worked really well for Buckley.
Does anyone have a good way to trick a tortie full of “tude” to take medication? Nugget is on to my little game….I got it chicken flavored since chicken and turkey are her favorite, but she still seems to sense with her sniffer that something is up. We have had to result to letting her hard food soak up the medicine, but I don’t know if she’s getting all of the dose. This is something she will have to take on a daily basis and if we just try to give it to her, she fights, scratches and foams at the mouth in excess. Its really gross, but kinda funny all at the same time. If anyone has some suggestions, please share. My husband and I are willing to try anything.
Drew, the pill pockets Ingrid mentioned are good. If she figures out there is a trick there I do this for Steeler. She has to take a pill a day. So I bought a can of fish stock. I crush the pill up very fine, then add 2 tablespoons of fist stock to it, and stir well. She drinks the fist stock not knowing something is in it. Just make sure she has no other food or water nearby. She will, hopefully, drink it all and get her pill into her.
Please let up know how you manage.
Bernadette: My hair is not long. So she takes advantage of me. I am from the southeast of Pgh. But I am a huge Steeler and Pens fan. So when this Tortie showed up, she automatically became my Steeler. I was thinking she is so muscular, maybe Dan Rooney would like to use her as a linebacker. The other strange thing is my cat isn’t a jumper. She gets on the bed by using a stool I placed by the bed for her. But jumping is out of the question.
Yes–I meant to clarify that Cookie is 18 in human years, which is 90 in cat years. I hope you have many years of being flipped of by Steeler. (By the way, I’m from Pittsburgh where black and gold is worn as formal wear, and while I wish all sports teams would move out of town for a while so we could do something else, I still react to the team names, and all torties are, in a way, dressed for a pep rally.) I don’t know how long your hair is, but I had a black cat who made an absolute nest of my hair every night until I braided it really tightly against my head and pinned it, even wearing a bandanna on it when he persisted. Good luck!
Bernadette: Are you telling me your Cookie is 18 yrs old. My Steeler is maybe 2 to 3 according to the vet. Well I guess I will spend the coming years being flipped off by my cat. Now explain how to stop her from getting a claw full of my hair while I am sleeping and pulling it to wake me up.
Now that you know, it takes on a different meaning! Think of her as an arrogant teenager right now. It will never disappear, but it will happen less frequently. My eighteen-year-old tortie Cookie still flips me the bird now and then.
Bernadette: I loved that explanation. I think it right on and the worst part is that I get a lot of flipping birds from her.
That’s the feline version of flipping you the bird.
By the way Harry, my Steeler has a new trick. When I am saying NO to her, she has started turning her back end to me, walking away while holding that heavy tail straight up and twitching it at me.
Harry: It is interesting about one on each side of the gate. However, I tried only once to put a harness on Steeler so I could take her on the porch with me. To make a long story short, I was able to return the harness to the pet store. I still remember that battle. With all the attitude she gives me, the more I like her. She is as independent as can be. I just wish I could break her from waking me up (day or night) by wrapping my hair in her claws and pulling. Then purr like it was no big deal. I think you will probably just give in to her and she will train the other cats you have to be submissive to her. She is going to run the house, the cats, and you. Believe me, Steeler is boss in my house. But keep me up to date on her progress. Maybe the best thing would be like raising boys. When they were small and started to fight, once in a while you just let them go at it. When they found out no one was coming to their defense they quit. I think Torties are much like that.
Bernie – it’s still a work in progress, but we see some definite tortitude changes. They can be on either side of a baby gate w/o trying to get to each other or being too frightened, and when on harnesses in the same room can stay distracted and not focus on each other for 5 – 10 mins. (Don’t even ask about putting a harness on a tortie…)
Ingrid – it sure does. At least she knew what she was getting into!
Harry, I love your behavior consultant’s comment “oh, a tortie!” That says it all, doesn’t it!
Harry: Lots of luck with the consultant. I enjoyed reading your adventures with a Tortie. Please come back and let us know how well your consultant succeeded with a 5 year old Tortie. I have never had a cat until I rescued my Steeler. All I can say is I just live here, she runs things. I have to admit these cats are unique and have the most beautiful eyes, and a very strong will of their own.
I had to laugh reading the comments about tortitude… our tortie Brooke we adopted as a 12 week old kitten, charmed by her because she was so cuddly and slept in my wife’s arms for hours the day we met her at adoption. Then, we got her home… and she finished napping. For 3 hours she ran around the house at 90 mph and we wondered what we had done! We had had kittens before, but never a turbocharged one like that. Five years later, she does rule the roost, having subjugated even our fiesty take-no-prisoners former barn cat, whom all the other cats in the house avoid. With the introduction recently of a new, young cat, we’ve had to hire a behavioral consultant to help us work on getting Brooke to tolerate her. When describing the problem, the consultant said, “oh a tortie!” We think of her as Lucy Ricardo with whiskers – always with some ‘splaining to do…
Sandy, Annie sounds like a wonderful and very special kitty. I love your “time out” idea – I may have to consider that for Allegra :-)!
Jeri, I love how Dobby and Karma purred you to sleep when you had the flu. To me, there’s nothing more soothing than a cat’s purr.
Bernie, it sounds like Steeler is ruling you with a firm paw! Love the treats under the pillow.
Karen, Sandy & Jeri my Steeler is not as active as Jeri and
Karen’s. But the late night treats is a must. When I rescured I made the mistake of putting cat treats under my pillow so when Steeler seemed to be confused I would reach under the pillow and give her treat and then she would lie back down and purr. Well guess what, she is all settled in now, actually she runs me and the house. The late night treats happen any time she decides to wake me up. The one thing I dare not do at night is turn my back on her. She is a hair grabber and believe me I turn over real fast. She lies down and starts purring. I on the other hand spend much time trying to get back to sleep. So I keep learning everyday how much power this miniture leopard really has over me. So enjoy your Torties. I really do.
Whew. I am so relieved to hear other stories of torties. I was beginning to think mine was definitely outside the box. She has recently become very vocal…grouching at us, complaining about injustices, talking back…typical teenage cat stuff…but also has the coolest “whale song” type sound and I think she is singing to us at times. No irritation, nothing bothering her, but a sound something between a deep growl and a song…seems to do this shortly before bedtime each night. She was rescued as a baby and bottle-raised so at 9 months old she still loves to snuggle and suckle on an earlobe in the middle of the night. Partly to comfort herself and partly as part of her nightly routine. That took some getting used to, but now that she is weaning herself away from that behavior I am starting to miss it some. When I recently had the flu and felt horrid Dobby and her friend Karma (calico) took turns purring me to sleep and cuddling. So sweet! She is wonderful, wild and humorous…she has even rubbed off on Karma who didn’t much appreciate her invasion into “her space”. Now they get along well…love to play tag, wrestle and play hide-n-pounce…especially first thing in the morning and ALWAYS at bedtime. What wonderful friends!
So glad to find out about tortitude! My Annie (AKA Diva, Wild Woman, Evil One & more) is a little dilute torti and has it in spades. She was a very sick little kitten after getting her at the shelter so we bonded as I doctored her and I’m her Mom. She shadows me, talks to me, bitches at me, trips and tackles me, purrs, cuddles and kisses and generally makes sure I know she’s there. She knocks things off shelves on purpose; opens all doors, drawers, boxes and closets; pulls books off the bookshelves; rearranges my pictures on the walls (I think she was an Interior Decorator in another life) and flies through the air with the greatest of ease! Then she’ll come over, plop on our laps and purr her little heart out. She’s 19 mos. old now & has settled down quite a bit considering…at least we don’t feel like we should be wearing helmets in the house anymore! She also rules over our other 2 cats, 12 & 10 year old males. She’s super intelligent and curious and luckily she loves to meet new people and isn’t mean to them. The first time I boarded her when we went on vacation she opened her condo cage and was going around greeting all the other cats. Good thing they caught her before she let them out too! Now they know to use extra ties around the latches when Annie is around.
She grabbed hold of my heart (& my sense of humor) from the very beginning…took awhile for my husband to appreciate her but she greets him at the door each night for a play session and will cuddle with him too so they’re good. Also, she gets a lot of time-outs which she loves. She’ll act like a cranky toddler on purpose until I put her in her “room” for a nap…seriously (she could just go in and lay down on her own)! She just waits for me to pet her and purrs away until I close the door and then she’ll sleep for hours so I can get something done (I sell antiques & collectibles so I have to keep my “Wild Woman” away while I’m working with them.)
What a wonderfu,l personable breed of cat…and what a relief to know there’s a reason for their “personalities”!! Thanks for the info & for providing a place to talk about our own “tortitude” divas!
Sandy
Jezebel sounds like she’s all tortie, that’s for sure! The early morning love fest seems to be a tortie specialty 🙂
I also have alittle girl, tortie and she is lovely we amed her Jezebel and i had no idea thtqa she would live up to the name! I was told by my vert that these cats have avery low tolerance for things they do not like! That includes the vet, she is social but not too affectionate. She is always around us but doesn’t want much cuddling or petting, except for a 4am love fest which she wakes me for each night, then purrs livingly accepts some petting and then leaves while I struggle to go back to sleep! We love her and her quirks!
Bernadette and Kelsey my Steeler does purr like an engine. But I just love the way she talks to me. Kelsey you are in for a treat of your life when Sophie decides to talk. But given time and attention she will talk to you. You have to be patient, because these Tortis exude Attitude with a capital A.
Bernie and Kelsey, I thought my Cookie was actually mute for her first year with me. She was five to seven months old when she came in, and she purred mightily and has always had a very expressive face, but until well past a year after her homecoming she never made a peep or a squeak or any kind of vocalization until one day she made a little hummm noise and that was it for years. Now Kelly has a big vocabulary and a special sound for every activity.
Kelsey: I know the feeling of having an amazing buddy. My cat is almost 3 years old, according to the vet. You are in for a real treat. Your little Tortie will talk to you in time. Mine only says ummmm (and she says it a lot0. To get my attention she will often tap me with her paw and when I ignore that she will go ummm. She does this and does not open her mouth when she does it. So pick an easy work like a hum and use it often to your Sophie. One day you will get a wonderful reply.
Very Strange! The very first comment here was of a tortie named Sophie. I just got a beautiful little tortie kitten and named her Sophie. She is amazing, she never talks at all (for me is a plus) she is very clean and playful. All in all the perfect cat. She loves trying to lick my lips when I’m trying to sleep or my fingers any old time.
Lianimal: I glad I am not the only one who at first thought wow what a look. And to hear you too have a talking little Monkey. I have a habit of saying to my husband, when I am busy with something else) I will just keep saying ummm to him. The first time I heard Steeler mock me I thought I was losing it. Now it is her way of talking to me. She will follow me around and keep her mouth closed saying ummm and by gosh she is getting it down pretty good. I just find such pleasure in her company. Not only was she thrown away, but the vet says she was abused and her meow is almost silent from injury, but she can ummm with the best of them. So thanks for letting me know I haven’t lost it and that Monkey talks too. I think Monkey is smarter than you think. She knows if she jumps the gate she probably will get hung up on top. Steeler is not a jumper. I have to put a stool by the bes so she can get up on it with me. I think they have us pretty well trained. Loved the spider.
Bernie, LOVE that story!
I don’t know what it is about torties. I’ve never actively sought them or thought they were particularly pretty…in fact, while their coats are beautiful, their little faces tend to be…well, homely! But the two times in my life that a tortie has landed in my lap, they’ve become my all-time favorite cats, and even though I thought them both ugly at first, I now consider Hatchet and Monkey to be the two most beautiful cats I’ve ever had.
New “goofy Monkey” story: So, the other day I hear her talking to something in the living room. I go in to see what’s up, because she usually only talks to me and not to herself. I see her lying on her back in the easy chair, staring intently into space, writhing around, talking and batting at thin air. I almost called the emergency vet line, but then, as I was looking upward, I saw a movement and realised there was a tiny little spider crawling around on the ceiling.
Oh! She’s still trying to dig under the baby gate….not the sharpest knife in the drawer, my Monkey…..but she’s entertaining.
Bernadette : You are so right. Anything Black and Gold and my Steeler is a sure fire winner.
Drew: Great story. Hope little Nugget and you meet us in Miami in January 2011.
I totally agree with Bernadette’s comment. My tortie is completely spotted in black and gold. This definitely works for us since our undergraduate university colors are black and gold. Not to mention our mascot is a Golden Eagle. All three live Golden Eagle mascots we have had were named Nugget, providing the inspiration for our little Nugget’s name. She also matches her New Orleans Saints bandanna that we always make her wear on game day….she hates it, but I’m convinced it was this lucky ritual that helped them win the Super Bowl this year!!
The tortie “sporting” Steelers colors is a natural for anyone from Pittsburgh, where everything is black and gold, and nearly any color that even vaguely resembles gold will do!
I never thought of a tortie having Steelers colors! What a great story, Bernie.
Someone threw away this cat. I found her crying at my back door. She wanted in, and I did not want a cat. If I went outside this cat was right there following me. So as it became cold and no shelter would take her I decided any cat that stayed and wanted a home here so badly would be ok. So I had her vetted and all the vaccines and tests needed. She was healthy but also needed to be spayed. Costs $. I call her “Steeler” , because she just stole my heart and also she is all black and gold like my favorite football team the Steelers. She has become my snooze alarm. When my alarm goes off and I decide to take 10 more minites, she waits about 5 minutes then she comes upon the bed, walks up alongside me and uses her paw to reach my hair and get a pawful and pulls. This works and this is now the end of my snoozing an extra few minuts. Whoever threw this cat away threw away a true treasure. And also a treasure with an Attitude. I wouldn’t give her up for anyone or anthing.
I love the name Bliss for a tortie! She was clearly meant to be your cat, Ame.
I never wanted a tortie before…until i saw Bliss as a little kitten in a pet shop in Waterbury Connecticut. We lived in an apartment in NY at the time, and already had a kitty which we adopted from a shelter…we did not need another cat in an apartment!
Well, i just couldn’t get her out of my mind…we went back the next morning to find her…gone! I told the guy I only want the tortie…do they still have her. He said yes…she is at back! Yaay!
Bliss is the most amazing cat i know. She is sooo vocal, strong minded, friendly, cuddly, CUTE!
We moved to CA 2 years ago…she was the best behaved cat on the plane, NO doubt.
Torties RULE!
Congratulations on your new baby, Rozanna! And isnt that just like a tortie – she’s the new family member, but she’s hissing at your boys! Now that’s tortitude!
I am so excited to find your website! I just adopted a little tortie 3 days ago from our local PetsMart/SPCA. I already have 2 cats, but always go look at the cats whenever I am in the store. This little girl is only 3 months old and still had her stitches from her spaying. She had so much personality, and when I stuck my fingers through the cage she came right over and began licking them. I told myself I didn’t need another cat – went and ran some more errands, ate lunch, and then decided I had to go back and see her. I hoped someone had adopted her, but they hadn’t, and I felt I just HAD to have her! I have always had a hard time naming my cats, but immediately I began calling her Sarah Palin – I guess that’s the “tortitude!” She is just a little thing, but with a big personality. My 2 boys would like to get to know her, but she is still hissing at them, so they are being patient. I’ve never had a tortie before, but I can tell it’s going to be great fun!
All of your cats sound wonderful, ScarletDove. I love the story of Birdy’s transformation from diva to healer kitty. These torites never stop surprising us, do they?
I’m so sorry for your recent loss. From your description, I would be hesitant to introduce another younger cat to your household right now. It sounds like Birdy, Kuntrie and Morgan are still reshuffling the family dynamics after your Tuxedo’s passing. Perhaps it might be better to wait a while before introducing a new cat. I’d love to hear from others, too.
My torti, Birdy is 15, all 6 lbs of her. As a kitten she was so tiny she could not climb the steps. When she was young, sharing her household with other kitties, she was rather a snotty diva, “don’t touch me attitude” and really not too affectionate, everything was annoying or beneath her. Well, as time and life progressed, her bosom pal and old sage Murphy who adored her became ill and died, and I was broken hearted when Murphy died. Birdy developed into a cat who not only gives but wants affection. This all started to emerge at around age 8 and the bonding and devotion increased as she aged. She is my constant companion, sitting on my desk and playing with cursor on computer screen. She cuddles next to me at night. She and I have long conversations, she is touchy/feely with her paw to my face, and she has been my great love for a long time. I just also lost my 19 yr old Tuxedo who I rescued from scheduled euthanesia at 10 months. He was abandoned, had a fracture, developed diabetes over the years, overcame it, last 2 years of his life he was senile and incontinent (wore baby diapers); interestingly, he was the old grandpa of the house and the others succeeded to him. This cat too, was a wonderful and devoted cat and helped me through difficult times, it became my turn to help him when he got old and dependent; he died naturally in my arms. As Taylor became more dependent with his affection diminishing, Birdy started to fill in the gaps, knowing it was needed. She has been quite a healer. Only trouble is my loyal and devoted 14 yr old Siamese, Kuntrie, who also shares the affection and devotion department with Birdy. They both willingly share, in spite of Siamese jealousy. There is respect between them, but she gives grief to the 10 yr old Wegie, who is extremely affectionate, a big 20lb mush cat. She will chase him off hissing when she wants the limelight. She does not do that with Siamese. The pecking order has changed since Taylor passed, Siamese is now the Grandpa and Birdy manages the house. Wegie Morgan has to get what he can between those 2 strong-willed personalities. As you can tell I have all kitties who were abandoned and have found great love and affection in my household. And did I luck out with the fuzzy family with which I have shared my life many years.
Here is my question: considering the ages of Birdy, Kuntrie and Morgan, would it be appropriate for me to rescue another younger adult cat (preferably Torti or Siamese) and bring into the household now or would it be too disruptive to these older cats?
I can’t. My computer died and I haven’t been able to afford a new one, so I come to the library to use one every friday. No scanner, no way to upload any photos.
Lianimal, I’m so glad the tips worked! That’s too funny that she’s trying to dig under the baby gate.
You can post photos on our Facebook page at http://facebook.com/consciouscat.
Bernadette and Ingrid, the tips are working well, it seems to feed into her ADHD issues lol….. I’ve also added a baby gate to put across the doorway when I’m expecting chinese or pizza deliveries. I know she’ll eventually realise she can just hop over it, but for now me, my neigbors and all the delivery guys get a kick out of watching her furiously try to dig her way under it.
I really wish I could post pictures. She’s the most unusually marked cat. I’m about 99% sure she’s got some siamese blood. She’s tortie all over, but in some wierd way she has points……a blacker blend on the mask, ears, tail and legs, and a little lighter everywhere else. She’s also got slightly crossed eyes, long legs, and those dainty little feet like siamese tend to have.
Torties can be quite intimidating when they go into full hiss mode, Fatima!
hi i have got a tortoise shell cat she is so adorable when i first got her i got scard when she ws hissing
Barbara, thanks for sharing Rumbles, Tweed and Fiddles with us. My experience with calicos has been that they have a somewhat modified form of tortitude – if the term calicotude doesn’t already exist, then maybe it should!
We currently have two torties, RUMBLES and TWEED.
RUMBLES is about 9 years old. We named her Rumbles because when we met her at the shelter, she climbed on to my husband’s shoulder and purred very loudly. She obviously had decided that she wanted to live with us. But when we brought her home, she didn’t purr much at all for several years. Now she purrs a lot but hates to be picked up. I wonder if she had a traumatic experience before she was caught by the shelter people. When we introduced other kittens through the years, she acted as a “mom” and taught them how to clean themselves and use the litter box. She loves to visit the neighbors and several times has been trapped in a garage or crawl space of a house.
TWEED, age two, is what someone called an “endearingly psychotic” cat. She literally climbs the walls, races down the hall back and forth, climbs into the back of a cabinet. And she wants to be outside all the time because once when a friend was visiting, she was let out accidentally and she hasn’t been the same since. She acts “crazy” if we don’t let her out. But she always comes back at 5:00 PM, as she knows that’s her curfew. Occasionally, she decides to camp out. She is not very friendly, almost never purrs, but I hope she’ll calm down and come around as she matures.
Our first tortie was FIDDLES. She was an absolutely wonderful cat, a “shoulder cat”. She was affectionate and purry, but somewhat aloof. We got her at a cat show where she’d wohn 11th place for domestic shorthairs! (There may have been 12 contestants). One of our neighbors loves to tell the story about how she stole shoes from her back yard and brought them home. The neighbor claims she placed them right next to each other. properly on the right and left sides. She died of leukemia, despite having been vaccinated. A very sad day for us.
I adore torties because of their unique personalities. We also have a tuxedo (which my husband prefers). She’s VERY affectionate, a lap cat, but she’s a bit boring compared to her sisters.
I’d like to get a calico kitten…do they have calicatude???
Bernadette, I love your ideas to keep cats from dashing outside. Lianimal, you’ll have to let us know whether they work with Monkey.
David, I love your story of how Vashti came to be your cat, and the nicknames you have for her are adorable.
Sue, I thought I’d post the link to your Facebook group here – everyone, the photos are wonderful!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=76030709109
if anyone is interested i have a wonderful facebook group called i love my little kittens which has videos of sparky giving birth and amazing photos of them growing up would love you all to join and share your pics too
I always thought I was a dog person and that I didn’t like cats. Then I moved to an apartment complex that would only allow cats so I went to the Humane Society to look for a cat. I had never seen a Tortoise Shell cat before, but when I saw one that day at the shelter I knew instantly that I had to have her.
The tortie and I went into a “getting to know you” room and she ignored me completely until I looked at her and said in Modern Hebrew, “Ha’im at rotzah la’vo lagur ba’bayit iti?” (“Would you like to come live in my home with me?”) and she hopped up onto my lap and started purring. I knew she was my cat.
I also sensed the regal aspect to her, so I named her Vashti after the Persian Queen/Feminist in the Scroll of Esther who refused to compromise herself for anyone, and the name fits her well!
Of course the name Vashti lends itself well to all kinds of nicknames: we regularly have “ti time,” she is my “cute-ti,” my “cuddle ti,” and at bed time she turns into “sleep-ti”. She is very cuddly and affectionate.
I didn’t know that tortoise shell cats have distinctive personalities as Vashti is the only cat I have ever had a prolonged exposure to. I do know that she is very possessive of me though. Once I thought she would enjoy having a second cat to play with, but I was sure mistaken! That cat lasted about three weeks before I had to give him away to a freind.
Vashti is very vocal and often her meows sound like “yea” or “nooooo!” I frequently ask her questions and sometimes it seems like she’s really answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ with her meows!
I love my ti (mighty) and I am so glad she has been in my life for the last decade.
Lianimal~keep some toys, a stash of catnip or a laser pointer near the door so that when you go out you can toss a toy to the other side of the room, scatter some catnip or point the laser on the opposite wall to distract her. Sometimes they catch on to this, but soemtimes it becomes a game in itself, especially if they get upset when you leave!
And the stories certainly are fun!
I’m sitting here grinning ear to ear reading all these stories. Monkey makes me laugh every day. She can definitely be a trial, but I can’t imagine how I lived without her all those years. No matter how bad she is, there’s just something so lovable and irrisistable about her. Even my landlady is taken with her, and she’s a lifelong self-proclaimed cat hater!
I’m having trouble trying to teach her to stay indoors now since it’s warming up. She’s so quick to slip out. She generally just rolls around until I run out and scoop her up, but with summer coming and her severe flea allergies…..it only takes one bite for her to get scabby and start losing big patches of fur…..I REALLY need to find a way to keep her away from the door.