bonding | Adventures in Cheeseland

Note from the Editors: We appreciate all the support Onyx received last week about missing Blondie. However the other cats feel that she was not telling the whole story. Sgt Stripes, in particular, would like to say a few words.

Sgt Stripes: I miss Blondie, but her going away has really upset the cat-to-human ratio.All of us have a primary human and a secondary human. Like my primary human is Blondie’s brother. He’s really smart, so we can call him Joe College (shout out to Snoopy). Mom is my secondary human.

Snoops: And my primary human is Mom, and my secondary human is Joe College. It was set up before Blondie and the boys moved in.

Sgt Stripes: When they moved in, we had to share humans. Mom is the most popular because she handles food and treats. But Joe College is really good about sharing his space with us.

Gypsy: Mom and I are sort of bonded, so she’s my primary human. Joe College has the best cat TV, so he’s my secondary human.

Angel: Blondie is my primary humans. I really like sitting with Joe College, but I like Mom a lot too. I guess they are both my back-up humans.

Snoops: Which brings us to Onyx.

Sgt Stripes: Yep. Blondie is her primary human. And she is VERY territorial. She ignored everyone else. She even got a nickname, Empress of the Night, because she is such a princess. She wasn’t really friendly to any of the other humans either.

Gypsy: That’s why it was such a problem when Blondie went away. The Princess didn’t have a back-up human.

Sgt Stripes: So she stole Gypsy’s.

Snoops: And mine.

Sgt Stripes: That is true. But Mom is your downstairs human. She’s Gypsy’s upstairs human.

Gypsy: It’s been really bad. She spends all of her time on Mom’s bed. Even when Mom’s at work.She’s taken over the bedroom. Nighttime used to be our cuddle time. Now I have to work around Onyx. And she is not easy to intimidate.

Sgt Stripes: That’s true. I’m three times her size, but she just ignores me. She even insisted on having some of my treats (beef and liver) even though she only eats dairy treats.

Angel: I think I have it worse. I am Blondie’s downstairs cat, but I spend a lot of evenings with Joe College. Since Mom is taking care of the small humans, they don’t have time in the evenings to sit in the living room. The only time I get cuddles at all is if Snoops and Sgt Stripes aren’t hogging Mom and Joe College.

Snoops: They are our primary humans. We should get to spend time with them.

Angel: We need another human.

Snoops: We have enough humans. Besides, Blondie’s coming home in a few weeks.

Sgt Stripes: That’s forever in cat time. We need something now.

Angel: The small humans are pretty good at giving treats.

Gypsy: Only downstairs. We don’t get extra treats from them.

Snoops: And they are still kinda rough when they pet me.

Gypsy: They are not touching me. They are loud and run around. I’ve had to hide on the shelves in Blondie’s room.

Sgt Stripes: Isn’t that where Onyx hangs out?

Gypsy: Not while’s she hogging my spot on Mom’s bed.

Sgt Stripes: That sounds fair.

Snoops: I guess we’re stuck until Blondie gets home.

Sgt Stripes: Unless we can get Mom to quit her job.

Snoops: That’s what pays for the kibble and treats.

Sgt Stripes: Rats. Guess I need to take longer naps for a while.

Cute Cats Grooming Each Others - YouTube

Some humans think it’s a little weird how much we groom ourselves (It can take up 30-50% of our waking lives). They never stop to think about how weird we think it is that they bathe so rarely. Or how disgusting that is. We thought we’d take a few minutes to do a little educating on why we do what we do. Once again, it’s time to teach your human. (Our pictures include examples of why this important task should not be left to humans.)

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Grooming helps us cool down – You will notice that, unlike humans, we do not become drippy, smelly messes when it gets hot or we exercise. We sweat through our pads. The drying of the saliva from our grooming also helps us cool down.

Lolcats - bath - LOL at Funny Cat Memes - Funny cat pictures with words on them - lol | cat memes | funny cats | funny cat pictures with words on

We can wash our own backs – Remember last week when we were talking about how cool it was that our collarbones don’t attach to the bones in our bodies (only our front legs)? Not only can we squeeze through small spaces, we can turn our heads around to reach our backs to wash them. Even between the shoulders.

Cat Overgrooming: Why Is My Cat Licking Itself So Much? | PetMD

Our grooming may be tied to our general health – Humans don’t need to worry about the amount we groom on a regular basis (we are ultra-clean animals). It’s if we groom more or less than usual. More grooming could mean stress or tension. Less grooming could mean we can’t reach the area anymore or it hurts to groom there. Or it could mean that we got into something yucky.

National Hairball Awareness Day: Help Your Cat Celebrate - Catster

Our amazing tongues are responsible for hairballs. You know how we have those little hooks that help carry the food and water back into our mouths? They also carry any loose furs back there. We have to swallow those furs. Then we have to hack them up. Voila! Hairball. You can use this information as a weapon if you’d like.

Why Do Cats Groom Each Other? - Catster

We bond through grooming – No surprise here. We’re not going to let just anyone put their mouth on our precious fur. Besides, our moms showed us they loved us through grooming. As adults, how else are we going to get the new guy in the house to smell decent? It marks us a one of the family.

Why Do Cats Lick People?

We only groom the humans we love – Once again, we are bonding like our moms taught us. Why do some humans immediately wash off our love? No clue, but we love them anyway. Even if they do smell like human.

Why Does My Cat's Fur Stand On End? | 1-800-PetMeds Cares™

Our furs have muscles – That’s the secret behind how we fluff up when we get scared. The guard hairs use their muscles to stand up. Humans have puny hair compared to us.

Dinosaur Cat Haircuts Are The New Grooming Trend And I'm Not Sure How To Feel

Our furs have cuticles that point away from our bodies – It’s kind of like being covered with overlapping shingles. If the shingles are all pointing in the right direction, we’re smooth and silky. If some of the shingles get moved in the wrong direction, we can get rough and spiky. Sometimes humans think it’s funny to pet us in the wrong direction. Then they get offended when we immediately lick the furs back into place. It feels weird with the furs kinked up. We’re not the antisocial ones, they’re the ones messing up the natural order.

Top 10 Cats With Bad Haircuts | Cat haircut, Cat grooming, Stupid cat