Mindset: Patiently and awkwardly ask for breakfast

Cobalt is such an interesting cat. My husband does the morning feeds and forgot to feed him this morning. 

Now see Rigby was the type of cat to sound the alarm up to an hour before the actual alarm went off. You know, like a normal cat who thinks breakfast not being available an hour early means breakfast is late.

Cobalt? He politely waited till I’d woken up. Then went into love dove smooze mode. He sat on the floor staring at me for a while. I asked him if he wanted to go outside. “Outside” always cues him to go to the back door. Instead, he proceeded to walk to his tunnel toy and start licking it. That’s when I knew “tunnel lick = hungry.”

Sure enough, food bowl was empty. (Not too unusual but usually he leaves a bit of food behind for a mid morning snack.) 

“You hungry?” Ears immediately perked up.

Mindset: Cobalt does a love dove meow

Cobalt was in his boxy on the balcony. He was in love dove mode, purring up a storm. I leaned over to kiss the top of his head and he gave me a deep lovey meow right as I planted the kiss atop his head. It was so cute and sweet. 

Mindset: Cobalt kitty crazies

Was chasing Cobalt and he ran out onto the patio. As I came around through the back door, he was standing by his boxy, looking towards me with crazy eyes. He trilled and turned to hop into the box, but miscatulated the distance and sort of... fell into the box flap, embarrassing himself!

I grabbed his peacock feather and started waving it around the box for him. He was energetically batting at it and grabbing it with his mouth. He pulled it from my hand and I went to smush his little leggy butt (I can't resist; it's so cute.) He went to nom on my hand, but the peacock feather came along with. With a wide open mouth, the feather was held perfectly horizontal (like a bone) in between his mouth... and my hand! 

Mindset: Rigby friend

I let Rigby on the balcony tonight. I go to the bathroom and I’m sitting there peeing when I hear a small child squealing in the distance. “Odd. Why’s a small child out at midnight?” I then realize that that small child is mine. And it’s not a child at all. It’s Rigby. Meowing his head off at the top of his lungs. I quickly try to finish peeing and rush out there as quickly as I could. All that to tell me he made a new friend who was under the balcony staring up at us from them barkdust when I realize the poor cat was probably just trying to pee too. Until my cat started singing the song of his people, interrupting both of ours bathroom break.

Mindset: Rigby loves his grassy

Omgosh soo Rigby goes nuts for grass. I grew some from seed for him, and this morning I held it just around the corner and called him. Soon as he saw it his eyes went wide and he came running to me.

This evening, I’m doing some cleaning and hauling things around. Rigby comes running towards me, pupils all dilated as he walks under my feet meowing at me like I’m a god for bringing him his favorite grassy. 

It was a waste paper basket that had a green bag in it… dis nerd thought it was grass 😂

Rigby does a meow yawn & toy scratch

Was sitting on the couch next to Rigby and I looked over at him, talking sweet talks at him. He turns towards me does a meow yawn. 

Shortly after that, I tossed him a mousey toy. He knocked the toy to the floor, jumped off the couch, picked up the toy, and walked over to the floor scratcher and started scratching with the toy still in his mouth!

It was stupidly cute!

Cobalt did a bed fall

 I did a very poor job helping my cat get his claw unstuck just now. And while I felt bad for him, I can't stop laughing at the same time.

He was trying to open his kitty cube. It's a cat bed that is cube shaped and the cat can either lay inside it like a cave or it can be pushed down and the cat can lay on top.

It was collapsed and he's usually very good about popping it back open on his own so he can lay inside it. (I discovered he had this talent when I left to a collapsed cube one day, and came home to find it on the other side of the room, open, with him inside.)

Well this time, he thought it was too much trouble, so gave up... but his claw got stuck inside the bed. And he's dragging the bed along with him at the end of my bed.

I reached over and grabbed his paw so I could pull it forward and then out to get it unstuck. Except it was really, really stuck.

So I pulled him closer to me. Which made him naturally want to pull away from me. So we're having a tug of war over who gets his arm.

I realize I'm not gonna win this one...

So I let go.

And he falls backwards off the bed.

Opps...

But I'm laughing and trying to offer him my sympathy and all I can say is "Well, at least you got your claw unstuck." To which he jumps back up onto the bed and meows in my face like "how dare you!"

Anyone else have stuff like this happen with their pets?

Rigby gets spooked by cat on tv

I put on a cat video of cats being cats for his entertainment. He hadn't noticed it. Until he did... He turned his head right at the moment where a cat was basically jumping at the screen, he thought it was jumping at him and got the shit scared out of him. LOL He jumped off the bed and turned around in terror to make sure the cat wasn't following him. 

Cobalt loves the shower curtain liner

Cobalt is being hyper and crazy. He is run run running around and follows me into the bathroom. He darts for the shower curtain, which is partially the way open, puts his front legs up onto the side of the bathtub and starts ferociously licking the plastic. He turns round and looks at me, his pupils all huge and dilated as if to say ''oh god, I love you shower curtain! This is the bestest shower curtain ever!!'' 

He has got to get closer to the plastic, so he proceeds to get his little butt full on up onto the bathtub side. But he is so excited and can't think about anything other than his love of curtain, that he isn't paying attention to his footing and proceeds to fall into the bathtub. Without skipping a beat, he goes right back to licking the curtain, as if nothing had happened at all.

My cat and his odd obsession with plastic shower liners.

A chase & a tag

Cobalt
Was playing chase with Cobalt & he was currently chasing after me. He ran into the dining room, slid along the floor, and bumper carred off the wall! He was unphased and quickly resumed being chased.

Rigby
Was playing with a mousey toy with Rigby. He got it inbetween his paws as he plopped to the ground and started bunny kicking off it. Whilst bunny kicking, he had his collar tag in his mouth that he was biting ferociously. I think he was wishing the mousey toy was bigger.

Rigby does a jump

🤣   😂   🤣   😂

Rigby was sitting on the dresser on top of some of my folded pants. He went to jump on the bed, but the pants slipped out from under him... needless to say, he didn’t quite make it! 😂 he chest planted into the side of the bed as he fell to the floor. I felt bad for him but I can’t stop laughing, it was too hilarious!! 🤣🤣 I wish I’d caught it on camera!!

Conversions with my cat

The conversations I have with my cat at 2am..
Rigby is smelling something on the couch.
"What are you sniffing at? Why you sniff the couch like that and freak mama out?! Do you have $850 to replace mamas couch after you get icky butt on it?? Do you??"
All this sounds good to him and he looks at me longingly. Then he walks over and gives me a head butt and smears his side along my face complete with recently cleaned fur. "Thanks Rigs... that was disgusting, but thanks."

Cobalt meets Reeses

You ever see those cats meet cucumber videos? This just happened with Cobalt... And a Reeses peanut butter cup.
He jumps on the bed whist trilling his "hello," sees the cup and jumps straight up into the air. I bust up laughing and he freaks out even more, jumps off the bed and into the dresser. This poor cat is traumatized. It was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen.

Cobalt transportation vessel

Cobalt loves boxes. Whenever we play together, he will trill at me, run around the house and then try to "hide" in this box. When his daddy gets home, he runs upstairs to his box tower, jumps on top, and rolls around, goading his dad to come love on him.

This berry box with handles makes it easy to cart him around where ever I go. He stays put in the box the entire time.

Treatless

Gave a treat to Cobalt, it bounced off his tooth, landed in front of Rigby, and suddenly Cobalt was treatless. Heartbreaking.

Rare special moments

I need to go to work (as well as the bathroom lol), but I have my three favorite boys surrounding me and this is rare. My husband, Aaron, napping to my right, Cobalt curled up between my legs and Rigby is actually cuddled up under the blankets, next to my leg on my left (after admitting defeat, hoping I'd pull out the treats from the dresser drawer.) This never happens. Savoring it!

Edit: Rigby came out from under the covers, molded into me, back leg propped up on my boob, purring.

Cobalt was way too comfy!

Cobalt is so cute! I was napping and he came up on the bed and laid down right up against me. He started cleaning himself and I started petting him, so he started to lick me as well~ He then proceeded to sleep right up against me. I woke up at one point and he is laying on his back, sprawled eagle, curving with my body and his mouth hanging open. He was soooo comfortable! I was hugging the edge of the bed. But I did not mind. <3

An ode to my (former) feral little boy

Only people who have raised an older feral kitten can understand what an achievement it is for your cat to be able to sleep in such an open, vulnerable position. I have put so much work into this cat to help him get where he is today. There are setbacks from time to time, with my husband Aaron and I often having to fish him out from hiding. It took me a long time to realize that our kitty, Rigby, would often be out and about with me during the week days when Aaron wasn’t home, but on weekends, and only weekends, he would sleep in the closet or under the bed. I realized he thought he wasn’t allowed to be out in the main thick of things when Aaron was home. I tried to fix it by pulling him out, but he’d keep going back. I then realized Aaron had to be the one to do it because he needed his daddy to tell him it was okay to be out when he was home. It worked.

It’s a constant struggle of dealing with regression and trying to figure out how to help him and then doing the actual work of helping him. He is still afraid of other people. He is still afraid of open windows for fear of hearing voices of our neighbors outside. He still becomes alert when he hears the neighbors coming and going from their apartment. And, being his mom, I know all these emotions that go through his mind. I am hyperaware of what effect these little life happenings have on my sweet cat. And I always play the mom role and think of what I can do to help him, what he needs most in this moment. Sometimes I comfort him. Sometimes I ignore it so as to not make a big deal out of it to try to make it become an innocuous background noise for him and for him to reach the conclusion that it is a nonthreat on his own. Sometimes I distract him with a quick pet, a call of his name and sweet talk, or treats. Sometimes I put on a fan so he cannot hear it. Sometimes I close the window.. It’s a struggle that can be annoying from time to time, but ultimately I cherish it.

This bond, of playing mother to a cat who has needs different from a nonferal cat, is so special to me. I get to help him and even when it fails or may be unnecessary, I gain something from it; in moments like these, when Rigby can just enjoy and take comfort in his own home, I feel happiness. Completely social and fearless cats are beautiful, wonderful companions, but feral cats have their own unique life that holds a relationship you can’t find elsewhere.

Rigby: 3 years old, 6 month feral foster who we later adopted

(*Disclaimer: please do not go out and trap your local feral and expect it to come round if you have not had prior experience or training with it! They can injure you if not properly handled. Please consult with your local rescue organization for proper techniques and fostering.)

Rigby wears the harness

Put Cobalt's walking harness on Rigby last night. He proceeded to pull himself across the floor while laying on his side. Then he scuttled along to the rest of his destination while dragging his belly along the floor. He was highly confused!

Cobalt licks fur.....hand?

Cobalt was cleaning his back when I suddenly inserted my hand. He had a look of confusion as his tongue went from licking fur to hand. haha. He continued to clean my hand and arm and I even got a little grooming nibble. I love that! <3