Boots is such a sweet cat but I do believe he enjoys having time to himself too. The past few days I’ve been in the sewing room more than usual and towards the end of the day, he gets a bit testy. A few times, his playing has gotten rough and he has used his teeth, and then he got squirted with the water bottle and I firmly told him NO so I’m hoping that’s something we don’t experience often.
Yesterday he was stretched out on the ironing board near where I was working.
Boots
Not sure if you can tell from the photo, but he’s been chewing on my pattern! Then he was chewing on the ironing board edges. The ironing board is half a sheet of plywood, covered with several layers of batting, and then fabric so I’m sure it was fun to chew on but . . that’s not good!
He surely is growing and it’s a whole lot easier to sew with him around now . . but we still have our moments and the water bottle stays close by.
We’ve also stopped leaving food out for him at night. He seems to be gaining a bit too much weight. Vince said “Are you sure he’s not pregnant?” Since he’s a male, been neutered and never goes outside, I’m pretty darned sure!
wanda ll says
He is so beautiful. So clean looking and all. Now he needs more playing like the rest of us. Play with him more. Cats aren’t like dogs( gulp everything in site when they get it)they only eat when they are hungry . Eat many, many times a day and night. SO taking his food away during the night isn’t going to keep him slim just hungry. That might lead to a mess if he gets bored and hungry. Just what I’ve learned over the years with cats myself. So darned cute just got to love him……
JudyL says
That’s what the vet recommended so I’ll try it and see what happens.
Katie says
I have to disagree about the generalizations of how cats and dogs eat. I keep food out all the time for my two dogs and they eat as they like through the day. Neither is overweight because of it. On average, they each eat a scoop of food a day which is perfect for their size. Some days they eat less and sometimes want more.
Helen1 says
I did this for year – had open choice food and, of course, water for all my kitties. Then this year, one of my kitties developed diabetes and now has to have a regulated diet. It’s hard for ALL of my kitties since I can no longer leave food out for whenever and since I give the insulin shots during meal time when my Widget kitty is otherwise distracted by food. I feel badly – but it’s necessary! Oh – and BTW – Widget DID overeat – most of my kitties did – part of having survived starvation as small kittens on the streets.
Vivian Oaks says
Boots is a real cutie….wish he was mine! I’m afraid my hubby is past having pets anymore, but I had cats from the time I was a small child until my daughter and I developed allergies about 10 years ago. I still love to grab them, pet them and hug them when I find an agreeable one. 🙂 Have a great Christmas!! Boots, too!!
Ella says
My friend taught my tuxedo kitty to play fetch. It keeps her busy and (somewhat) out of trouble.
Jean says
We only feed our cats in the morning and again at five with a measured amount of food. You are doing the right thing to restrict the amount of food Boots gets. Overweight cats and dogs are causing them big health problems.
Kate says
How old is he now? I wonder if he is teething. Look at his big canines. If they are sicle shaped, they are baby teeth. The adult canine is straight, not curved. And they teeth around nine months, I believe. Interestingly, for a day or two, they have both baby and adult canines, then one drops away. Unlike humans ! They can’t have a time with no canine teeth. Now isn’t that more than you ever wanted to know? Yes, I am a cat mama, too! Merry Christmas, Judy.
Lee says
Our tuxedo seems to be a ‘heavy-bodied’ cat too and the vet said she’s mildly overweight. She’s a little over 8-lb and solid. Our other kitty, a month younger and an orange & white tabby, is very light-bodied, maybe 6-lbs at best. We leave kibble out all the time, and only a couple times a week do they even get a spoon of can food to share, so I have no explanation or suggestion (not that you were asking, lol) as to why, under the same conditions, our cats are so different. Oh, and our tuxie has chewed on things since the day we got her, perhaps it’s in tuxie dna? Our other one doesn’t chew, but loves to LICK plastic bags. Our tuxie also plays fetch with pompom balls and with stuffed mousies.
Linda in NE says
My black kitty LOVES to lick plastic bags too!! I thought she was just strange. Wonder what it is about the bags that makes them so lickable?
pdudgeon says
yep, Boot’s play at the end of the day sounds familiar. My cat seems to set his clock by the rise and set of the sun and really gets anoyed if his playtime is extended for whatever reason beyond that time. He seems to want to chow down his main meals at dawn and dusk with a quick snack at noon time, and then takes long morning and afternoon naps. but if we upset ‘his timeclock’ with unscheduled activity when he normally sleeps he becomes grouchy, and then out come the claws.
Huggs and thoughts of catnip mice for you and Boots at Christmas.
Susan says
Pretty sure, yes. =) I wonder why he’s interested in chewing so much lately. Such a pretty cat.
Helen1 says
Re the chewing – I know kitties sometimes get them selves into trouble by chewing on plastic or plastic bags. And that quite a few seem to like doing that. But I also wonder if perhaps his kitty food is either not crunchy enough – or much more likely, if he is developing a tartar buildup on his teeth – or more likely between his teeth – and that is driving him to chew on SOMETHING to get rid of some of the tartar. Just a thought!
Then too, he may just like to CHEW!
Linda B in TX akaMI says
Just want to wish you and all your readers a Merry Christmas. We have moved our 5th wheel trailer south to Carmine, tx to get out of the snow. DH finally retired so enjoying each others company even after 50 years.
Linda says
You always hope they’ll mature, but every now and then the kitten or puppy can really come out in your pets. I left Ozzie here for a couple of hours for a holiday party today and came home to an entire box of kleenex chewed up and strewn all over the rug. Someone was NOT happy that I left. It’s okay. I understand the frustration, but I thought he’d outgrown that a few years ago!
Brandy M says
Boots could be teething… Our cat lost his baby teeth, much like a little child does. I found several of his teeth where he’d been sleeping at the time & one came out on the kitchen floor.
🙂