Cat's Peek Rescue

Crystal  (and Dayzee)

Contest: How we love our new family members.

I adopted Ginger and Tiger Lily this summer.  At first their big sister Dayzee did not really like them.  She was no longer the only cat in the house.  Lily was not afraid of the big kitty hissing at her and she would often run up to Dayzee and try to make friends.  Dayzee is now the “mommy” who washes the babies and even lets them eat first.  Ginger and Lily have been wonderful companions for Dayzee and have helped the 53-year-old (in cat years) spring back to life – literally!

Before the introduction of Ginger and Tiger Lily, Dayzee was listless and took advantage of the fact that she is a cat by sleeping 25 hours a day.  The cat who prided herself on her looks (WAY too much) was letting her fur get matted and she seemed to not care.  Because of Ginger and Lily, Dayzee now plays and is more alert (she watches over them), races around the house with them and they engage in many WKWF matches (aka World Kitty Wrestling Federation)…anyone want tickets?

Dayzee and “her” babies often bathe each other, which often end in wrestling tournaments.  Dayzee’s fur is once again smooth and as gorgeous as ever and she makes sure the babies take care of themselves as well.  Although they are cute, the kittens also like to get into mischief together.  Ginger leads her sister into all kinds of wrongdoing (they figured out how to turn the TV on and chewed through the chord of my Wii sensor) and Dayzee does nothing to stop them (I think she gives them most of the ideas and watches as they get sprayed with water).  And, despite my many suggestions, they still have not worked out a system for washing the dishes. 

Tiger Lily has the nicknames “Cuddlebug” and “Sweet Pea”.  She likes to curl up on or next to me and has her motor running the WHOLE time.  She loves to be held and wants attention from me, follows me around the house, and has finally learned not to sit behind me while I am washing the dishes or cooking.  Ginger prefers getting more attention from Dayzee than me, but gets jealous when I am holding her sister.  I feel like I am raising children instead of cats!

The kittens like to watch nature shows, particularly when animals are fighting.  They are getting tips for their wrestling careers.  We recently watched a movie involving elephants and lions fighting, so Lily and Ginger were intent on their feline cousins winning, but were disappointed by the outcome and refused to watch the rest of the movie; they curled up and went to sleep instead.  Sometimes when I am playing Wii games, the kittens will jump up at the screen and try to catch the ball or character that is moving around.  It’s not easy to play with a cat in the middle of all the action!  Although I buy them toys, they prefer spilling things (like my jewelry box), jumping up on the counter, and playing with empty containers (they pick out of the recycling bin) and plastic forks (I am still trying to figure out where they got those).  They are not only explorers, but apparently have some mad crazy magic skills (watch out David Blaine).

The babies are like little puppies – they say goodbye to me when I leave in the morning and are ready to greet me at the door when I come home.  It is always wonderful to see them.  They often make me laugh and attempt to help me grade papers, but it’s hard to read with a cat lying on top of them!  My students think it is funny when I put a cat “picture” on their work (with sayings like “Ginger says, “Meowza!” or “Dayzee thinks you’re Purrfect”).  I have pictures of each of the cats on my desk and the kids think it’s entertaining, even though they are in middle and high school.  Like I said, my cats are my children and I enjoy having them in my life.