Feline Friends

Friendship Takes More than One

The City Daily Photo theme this month is "friend." But it's hard to be a friend in isolation. I have chosen today to feature some of the cats I have seen befriending each other and my own best feline friend.

Peachy Canyon Tasting Room Feline Friends

Peaches and Herbie hang out at the Peachy Canyon Tasting Room on Bethel Road and Highway 46 West in Templeton. I often see them separately, but on this day in March I saw them together, helping each other as friends do. They are Maine Coon cats and I always look forward to seeing them when I visit.

This short video shows how they help each other and what good friends they are.



I have featured Peaches and Herbie in my Zazzle Store, as well as my now departed and much missed feline friend. I'll tell you about her next.

Friendship Card, Peach Canyon Winery Cats CardOrnament: Black Tuxedo Cat Sitting Metal Ornament

Sarah the Tuxedo Cat and her Sidekick Garfield

Sarah and Garfield belonged to my neighbors who live in a mobile home on the other side of our driveway, across from our house. They are two of the five cats my neighbors owned at the time. I like to make friends with neighbor cats on my property, and I set about  trying to woo Sarah. I followed her into the oddest places with my camera, speaking calmly to her and not getting too close at first.

First I tried to befriend her when I found her on her porch. When I approached her she was resting, but as she saw me she got up, prepared to run away. I snapped her before she could.

There was a refrigerator the neighbors had ready to haul away, and she jumped to the top of that. I followed with my camera.

She would not let me get too close.

About three weeks later I snapped her photo as she rested on top of the water softener inside its cabinet. Someone had left the door open. She was making me work hard in this relationship.

After close to a month of wooing, cat treats in hand, she finally allowed me to get close and pet her. Then she began to hang out on an old chair on my porch almost every day. She was always there to greet me when I came home in the evenings. She actually was probably waiting just as much for the cat treat she knew she'd get. Whichever, I always looked forward to seeing her there, until she was no longer there. I heard coyotes howling the night before I didn't see her anymore. It hurt my heart. Her owners left their cats out at night, except for their kitten. I never felt quite the same way about coming home after that.

Garfield soon caught on that Sarah got cat treats when she hung around my porch, so he began to show up, too. You can read more about my history with them and see some more photos of the two of them here. 

See my other feline friends from the past.

See how other City Daily Photo Bloggers have interpreted this theme.

Tired Cats Take Cat Naps

My Favorite Tired Cat Photo

If any creature understands what to do when tired, it is the cat. This month's City Daily Photo Bloggers theme is tired.  So today I will show you some of my favorite photos of tired cats. The one below was taken at Jack Creek Farms in Templeton. This one is so fast asleep you'd hardly know it was alive.

Napping Cat at Jack Creek Farms, © B. Radisavljevic

Tired Winery Cats

One can usually find cats when visiting wineries, but they are often outside. These two, from Grey Wolf Winery in Paso Robles, are obviously tired and giving in to that urge to sleep by the fire.  The fireplace is out of sight, but they are facing it.

Cat Naps at Grey Wolf Winery, Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic

Tired Cats in my Zazzle Store

Sticker: Tabby Cat Resting Classic Round StickerMug-White-kitten-asleep, I NEED MY COFFEE! Coffee MugCard-Tuxedo Cat Lying on Man's Suit Coat Card

Two More Tired Cats

The cats at Jack Creek Farms in Templeton must work hard because I often find them asleep when I visit. This photo was taken in autumn when all the pumpkins and squashes were on display a few years ago.

Another Cat Nap at Jack Creek Farms, © B. Radisavljevic

The cat below is Garfield, who belonged to my neighbor across the driveway. He decided there should be no property boundaries and felt free to take naps in my yard and on our cars whenever the mood hit him. He's a bit grumpy since I disturbed his nap here.

Garfield Taking a Cat Nap on Our Car, © B. Radisavljevic

Here's another view of Garfield sleeping on our car. In this photo all his feet are on the car, but he's not as fat here as this angle makes him look. He just pretends to be a tiger.

Garfield Taking a Cat Nap on Our Car, View 2,  © B. Radisavljevic

 Now that I've been watching these cats nap, I'm going to follow their example and go to bed.

What's Going on in Kitty's Mind?

Why Won't This Cat Look at Me?

A few days ago I spent a few minutes stalking this kitty in my neighbor's flower bed with camera in hand. Part of her territory is near my mailbox.  I have encountered her before and she was pretty shy then, too.  I first introduced her in Two Very Different Cats: One Shy, the Other Sociable.

Normally I can at least get a strange cat to look me in the eye, but not this one. If she's looking at me at all, she is scowling. As we appraised each other, she also let out a few growls. Evidently she doesn't like to have me stalk her. I think she'd rather do the stalking herself. On this day it seems her mind was fixed on eating grass.

What I Learned about This Kitty

One day when I went to get the mail, I was concerned that for a few weeks I hadn't seen any signs of the neighbor I thought owned this kitty. When I saw her neighbor across the street, I asked if she knew why her neighbor wasn't around. I learned she was on vacation and her nephew was taking care of the property.

While we were talking Kitty strolled over. I asked who she belonged to. The neighbor replied that the cat sort of belonged to everyone. She visited all of them and many of them fed her. I immediately thought of Six Dinner Sid, a humorous cat picture book by Inga Moore. Anyone who loves cats will want to read it.

 Sid is also a neighborhood cat, but none of the six neighbors know it. They all think he belongs just to them. He has managed to convince each that he's theirs and they all feed him. He gets six dinners a day. He is able to keep them all unaware of his duplicity because the neighbors don't talk to each other -- until the day Sid gets sick and all six neighbors take him to the same vet, who puts it all together. He lets them know what Sid has been up to. I won't tell you the rest. The book, and its sequel, which I just found out about, is available at Amazon. At least our neighbor kitty hasn't fooled anyone. They all know what she's doing and they don't care.

I Wonder If Kitty Will Ever Be My Friend?

One of my favorite neighbor cats, Sarah, was very hard to befriend, but after a few days and many cat treats she finally warmed up to me. Soon she was hanging out on my porch. I looked forward to coming home every afternoon, knowing she'd be there waiting for me -- and her cat treat. Unfortunately Sarah met with an unknown fate. Her owners kept all their cats, including Sarah, outside. One day she was gone and never returned. We think she met with disaster in the form of the coyotes that roam our property from time to time. I made this memorial ornament to honor her. I miss her every time I return to our Templeton home. The ornament is easy to customize to memorialize any pet.

Ornament: Black Tuxedo Cat Sitting
by barbsbooks

I wonder if I will ever make friends with neighbor kitty as I did with Sarah. Maybe I'd better buy some cat treats to take with me when I get the mail. I'd like to change the scowl to a smile and the growl to a purr. It would be enlightening to know what Kitty is thinking. I wonder if she would really like to be friends and just wants to be coaxed. I'd love to be able to talk to her.

Do you ever befriend neighbor pets? Do any special ones come to mind?

January 22 is National Answer Your Cat's Questions Day

Do We Need a Day to Answer Our Cat's Questions?

Why is a day set aside to answer your cat's questions? None of the cats I've been associated with in the past few years have ever asked me questions. The cats in my life don't ask questions -- they make demands.

Is this cat trying to ask me a question or making a demand?
© B. Radisavljevic

"Feed me."
"Open the door."
"Give me more attention."
"Leave me alone, I'm sleeping."

Why should I answer a cat's questions? They never answer mine?

"You just demanded to go out. Why do you now want to come right back in?"
"Just why don't you like that brand or flavor of food in your dish?"
"What are you trying to tell me?"
"Why do you get upset when I'm on the phone?"
"What makes my lap more attractive to you when I'm working on the computer or reading a book?"
"Why must you climb to the roof of my car to sleep and leave pawprints all over the windshield?

It's my guess that if today is National Answer Your Cat's Questions Day,  your cat will wait until tomorrow to ask you any questions.

Need Help Answering a Cat's Questions if You Do Get Them?

More help in understanding your cat can be found in these books.

Why Does My Cat Do That?: Answers to the 50 Questions Cat Lovers AskCatWise: America's Favorite Cat Expert Answers Your Cat Behavior QuestionsThe Cat Behavior Answer Book: Practical Insights & Proven Solutions for Your Feline QuestionsWhy Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?: 101 of the Most Perplexing Questions Answered About Feline Unfathomables, Medical Mysteries and Befuddling Behaviors

You might also be interested in these 17 things your cat wants to tell you. 

Has your cat ever asked you a question?