One of the first things I thought to myself when I first saw my current home (before actually moving in) was "this house needs cats!". And a primary reason for my sentiments in this direction was the fact that there are so many HUGE windows built into the structure. Below all four kitties are relaxing in the sunbeams coming through into the kitchen:
(Also...notice the way Brodie is licking Shadow? Adorable, right? I thought so too, until I remembered that I'd just given Shadow his monthly dose of topical flea-prevention treatment. Which you apply to the back of the neck specifically so they can't lick it off themselves! Apparently whoever came up with that strategy hadn't accounted for meddlesome sibling teamwork, hence, I had to shoo Brodie away from "helping" his brother after I took this photo. :P)
Still in the kitchen, but now Cora is hanging out in close proximity to my sweater:
Next, we have Brodie next to my desk in the "cat-nest":
What is a "cat-nest", you ask? Well basically it's what happens when you pile up a bunch of blankets and bedding material in one place because you're not entirely sure what to do with it all yet...but which you end up leaving as-is because the cats insist on sleeping there.
And finally, Cora is shown demonstrating one of her new favorite resting spots:
...right on top of the living room heat register.
(This is 403 of LJ, but OpenID is acting up this morning.)
ReplyDeleteI like how in the picture of you and Coraline, the only patch of intense color is the blue-green from your hair. That and the sunbeam catching Cora's fur give the image an appearance of depth that's really rare to get in photographs.
Cat nests are clearly an emergent property of certain materials. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's also kind of fun how cats are so utilitarian about everything and thus everything and everyone in their environment becomes potential furniture.
TOO KYOOT!
ReplyDelete403: Heh, I would have figured it was you, I don't know anyone else who goes by "403". :D But in any case, yeah, that photo came out looking quite interesting. A little too grainy for my taste, but not bad for one of those "set the timer, then try and go stand where you'll actually be in focus 10 seconds later" deals. It's kind of funny too because if you don't notice the depth/lighting it almost looks like Cora is a lot bigger than she is!
ReplyDeleteLisa Harney: Oh geez, tell me about it! Everyone who comes over says something like "your cats are so spoiled" but really it's mostly that they're so darn easy to accommodate. I don't have any burning desire to house breakable items on high shelves and piles of blankets in random places don't bother me so if making shelves accessible and providing cat-nesting spots constitutes "spoiling", well, I guess I'm guilty as charged. :P
ReplyDeleteSpoiled? That's a human concept applicable to humans. Letting cats have the run of the space they're in is not spoiling them. :P Cats just automatically expand to fill the space they're in, that's how they roll. You can't really stop it, you can only make it safer for when they get somewhere no one would expect.
ReplyDeleteLisa: I wholly agree, mostly I just think it's funny when people call cats "spoiled" just because they (gasp) have access to places they can jump and climb! It's almost like there's this weird attitude that they (cats) should have to "earn" their fun, or something. Which...I don't know where that comes from. Behaviorism, maybe. But it's weird, and silly, and I don't feel remotely compelled to take it seriously. :P
ReplyDeleteYou wrote: Cats just automatically expand to fill the space they're in, that's how they roll. You can't really stop it, you can only make it safer for when they get somewhere no one would expect.
YES. This. This is pretty much exactly the root of things like my office-closet-desk project. It's not like they weren't ALREADY climbing up all over my desk and trying to jump on the closet shelves...of course they were! Making it safer and more fun for them to do that was no trouble at all, and the result was a better space for cats and humans alike.
If anything, such arrangements can remove possibility "fun" outlets for cats since they can't knock heavy things down and make a big crash.
ReplyDeleteOne of my cats loved to do this before I took away his "toys."
I don't think it means they have less fun, though, they just don't get to have that particular kind.
It's totally fucken hilarious that cats love to knock shitte off of other shitte!
ReplyDelete