Saturday, February 11, 2012

Whose cat?

I have two cats. They are sisters but they don't much like each other.

They may sleep close (rarely, and that's the reason I took this photo) but not snuggled up to each other as some cats like to do. Digit is the smooth or short-haired one. Pixel is the one with the long hair that we have to have shaved every once in a while. This is Pixel's favourite hangout during the day. In front of the sliding glass doors in the kitchen on top of her mat that my friend Judy makes and sells. There is a heat register under the mat and the runner so it's a toasty warm spot.



Digit usually snoozes on my husband's lap in the evening but she also takes up space on my legs if I have them up on the couch and covered with a throw. Sometimes Pixel comes over and lays down on me. She's more skittish and leaves quickly for no reason.

They are indoor cats but at times, my youngest son or my husband have been known to 'accidentally' leave the sliding door open in the kitchen so they can stroll around the backyard. Sometimes they are so quick that they leap out or escape just as you are going out. The problem is that they don't just stick to our yard and if they don't come back soon, on their own, I have to call them. Sometimes they are good and they come home when called and other times they take their own time about coming back. I don't like them to be out because I have seen too many cats on our streets that have met their end under the wheels of a vehicle. We also have nasty raccoons that have claws and stinky skunks.

Pixel is sweet but I have known family members to say that Pixel has hissed at them or tried to scratch them. I guess she just loves me because I have never encountered that. I don't tease the cats and I leave them alone when they are sleeping.

One day, not too long ago, while my daughter and I were in the kitchen, I spotted what looked like my little Pixel outside the sliding door looking in - waiting to come in. It's happened before when she has been let out by my husband or son but neither of them were home and my daughter had just come home. I thought that perhaps the basement door was left open but this is winter and no one had been down there. I was surprised to say the least but then I went closer. We have a peninsula in the kitchen and that partially obstructed my view of the whole scene.

This is what was really happening - all I saw at first was the cat peeking in. (Don't mind the overturned chairs. They were put there so Pixel had some peace and some space from a little puppy that was visiting.) It turned out that Pixel was safe inside and there was another cat that looked so much like Pixel and I guess it was curious to see my little kitty on the other side of the windows.

Once my heart got back to normal, I quickly got my camera to take these photos. We had seen the cat in the area before and I had mistaken it for my Pixel before too - calling for her to come in and wondering why it wasn't heeding my call. Meanwhile, Pixel was inside all along.

14 comments:

  1. Cats with their own character. Glad it wasn't Pixels sitting outside!

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  2. We have two cats...brother and sister...they definitely don't like each other LOL. My cats are indoor cats too and we also have the same thing happening here with an outdoor cat that is the double of one of our cats. It always freaks me out when I see it in our backyard.

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  3. My kitty is an indoor kitty too, I won't let her outside [she's too scared of it anyway] because I love her and want her to live! Busy, busy streets around here. Your cats are just GORGEOUS. Good idea to put a mat over the heat register - I'll have to try that, although mine likes to sleep up high. Or on the dog's chair.

    Glad Pixel was safe inside, how funny that a double came looking for her!!

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  4. LOve your cats! I mistakenly brought a cat in that I thought was mine (it was dark and I was upset about seeing her out)only to find my own under the bed. It was a busy place for awhile till the visitor found the patio doors and escaped!

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  5. I thought maybe Digit had opened the door and locked Pixel outside! hehe Such beautiful cats you have. I grew up always having a cat but after I got married, my husband refused to have any in the house. You can imagine he was NOT impressed when I was taking care of the strays! lol Mom's cat Tiger is not a cuddly cat and he can only stand to be petted once or twice...any more than that and he'll suddenly turn around and swat you. I've gone home with many scratches!! lol xoxo

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  6. Maybe there is a reason WHY that cat need to come in :-) Or like Frankie de tabby, visiting neighbours is a way of knowing who is who. :-)
    For all the cats that have lived at the cottage, no one ever said that they had to get on :-) But they all knew they had a pecking order.... :-)
    Me, I am right down the bottom :-) X X X

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  7. Hi Dolores, I bet you could write a book about your cats.Nice to have lap cats.Our cat only likes a lap if it is Very cold!!It's not often very cold here, so she rarely sits on us. She just likes to sit on my lap(of course) while I'm on the computer.She hears those keys tapping and she comes running.I have to stop and put her up(on my lap).She keeps looking up if I stop too long typing and forget too pat her!!

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  8. I love the photos of the two cats on the opposite sides of the window looking out/in at each other.

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  9. Dolores, Thanks Yes, my kitty has had a very long good life 18 years old and always got his own way! Last of the kitties to go. It it will be weird to be kitty-less for the first time in 40 years! I will not get another.( famous last words, right?)

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  10. We have two, both always been indoors. Our oldest, now 16, has always been the cat from h-e-double-hockey-sticks - she will claw you as soon as look at you. She doesn't dare try it with us, but anyone who visits is fair game.

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  11. Oh my goodness Dolores, I'm so glad your cat was safe and sound in the house. Great photo and story of the visiting kitty!

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  12. They are so cute! I got a chuckle out of the cat outside, we have a cat that comes around in the summer and peeks in our windows checking out our kitties! Our 3rd cat just "found" us and they are all getting along.....don't seem to care that much for us though :)
    Quilting by the River

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  13. Love your write up on your feline friends. My son and his wife have inside cats who have lived inside all their lives and one is 14 years old. Great names! We had a cat who died of old age still with the name Kitty because we couldn't think of a good name for him!

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  14. merci pour la visite.. ces jolis chats ont des yeux verts!

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Thank you for commenting. I appreciate your thoughts.