.
A friend called the other day from the deck of a ship cruising off Montenegro.
Muffin jumped in my lap and soon her purring was heard in the remote Mediterranean.
Young people take for granted instant communication over vast distances. I wonder, when they reach my age, what will astonish them. And frustrate them!
.
The young Cooper’s hawk seems to have made this its hunting ground, for now at least.
It was up in the “waiting room” tree when I went out to top up the feeders this morning.
.
One day recently, it was crashing about in the bushes , chasing my little friends.
It is amazing how a fairly large bird can negotiate a hedge with such apparent ease.
.
.
Back and forth it went from the bush to the tree, getting its feathers all in a ruffle.
.
Finally, it had to sort them out.
With so much activity, and the sun still low on the horizon, I had some difficulty focussing…
.
Then something furry came into view.
“Can I help?”
.
Little Man has taken over this tree.
He has very Pantherish moves.
.
He also reminds me a lot of my first cat, Mohammed, who used to tear down the road to greet me when I got home from work.
Little Man hears me coming and does the same, rubbing against my ankles and wanting to be made a fuss of, nuzzling my face.
Panther was less dog-like in his enthusiasm, but he too always came to greet me.
.
The little chap helps with everything.
Inserting the duvet into its cover is so much easier with a feisty kitten holding it down.
Kitten? It grows by the day.
.
And a growing boy needs to be fed continuously.
But, just like the others, it is picky!
Or, it will take a few licks, then lose interest, distracted by something more exciting.
We suspect this cat may have ADHD.
Just what we needed!
.
Today’s challenges include problems with video posts…I think this will work: It’s very short
The poor boy has no-one to play with, so he entertains himself. He quickly worked out that agitating the fishing rod is what makes the feathers move, so he seizes the rod in his teeth to give it a good shaking, then launches himself at the feathers.
.
Little Man makes us laugh and it is nice to have a playful animal in the house. He constantly captures our attention, but we have seven other cats each with their own needs.
Some say that animals don’t suffer from jealousy. Whatever you choose to call it, they certainly react to the presence of a new animal. I have experienced too many such situations to not know the impact it can have.
Some are more sensitive than others. It really depends on how bonded they feel to you.
.
We try to share ourselves and to give extra attention to the girls whose lives were so suddenly up-ended.
Willow also has Pantherish style.
I’ve always thought Willow was an envoy from Panther. Blackie too. No single cat was ever going to fill his boots.
It’s just possible Little Man is also an envoy. I called Panther my little man.
The current Little Man is a blend of previous cats.
.
One afternoon when I was writing, I was aware that a cat had come to sit on the bed and thought it was Blackie who often curls up there.
But it turned out to be Tinkerbelle, who has always disliked me. These past few months, her attitude has changed considerably. She looks at me sometimes with different eyes and even lets me stroke her.
.
Nervous Blackie is not thrilled about having a small brattish brother.
Luckily he sleeps downstairs at night, so she and Willow can be comfortable on my bed.
During the day though, there is a series of squawks as he does the rounds between naps.
In his day, Panther was the Boss. He saw many cats arrive in his boudoir but he kept them all in order. He had a small and slightly wonky body, but he was the most confident of all my feline friends.
.
Without ever seeming to get excited, he greeted new cats with a sniff and informed them of the rules and they all accepted him as the Man in Charge.
Human visitors got their hair pulled, if they were female, or their hat tipped off, if they were male.
But only if Panther approved of them.
I like the sound of Panther and the fishing rod game looks like a lot of fun. I might buy one for myself…
Thank you, Carolyn, for the lovely update and the beautiful video of the little boy!
Joanna
We have a sparrow hawk who sometimes decides to post himself in a convenient dinner queue on the shed or in a bush or tree. The medium birds stay out of the way but some of the smaller birds seem to know exactly where to position themselves in the bushes in places the hawk cannot get to.
Your little man is so adorable, and looks so soft!
It must be so entertaining to have a “youngster”, in the mix, now. 😻
I am so happy that he found you both….
It is nice to hear and see your other cats, as well.
Thank you for sharing. ❤️
Catherine
Yes. All of that!
In my experience, pets certainly do suffer from jealousy. Ollie was always jealous if I played with our grandson, and would try to squeeze in between us. Good to see Little Man enjoying himself. I remember my mum making a long-distance call to her cousin in Canda in the early 1960s. It had to be booked in advance, and we had to wait for the international operator to make the connection and call us back. My dad was staring at his watch during the whole phone call, worried about the cost of it!
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes. Phone calls were a big deal!
Little Man looks very comfortable – as if he has been part of the household for a long time already! It is interesting to read how much the cats are the same, yet also so different. I know that you can never replace one pet with another, but I think there will always be some similarities (probably just like with humans too). For me, it will be hard to divide my attention between all the cats, but I think you’re doing a great job.