Herding Cats Aint So Tough!

Call me the crazy cat lady, I love my babies!  Here's Beebs, she passed away in November, 2010 at almost 19 years old.  My sweet terrorist, she would love you passionately one minute purring loudly.  The next moment she would attack you and bite, scratch and kick all while howling in a deep breathy tone.  She was a scary one!



Then there's Chase.  He is the softest cat I've ever touched and so active.  He runs laps in our house so fast that he slides into walls and knocks things over.  I have been trying unsuccessfully to capture this on video.

Here's Yertail (aka: Yert).  He's the laziest cat I've ever encountered, but also the sweetest.  His favorite activity (second only to napping) is to anticipate my movements around the house.  He runs ahead of me and plops down upside down knowing that I'm incapable of passing without reaching down if only with my foot to offer some love.

The cats run the show around here, we're so thankful they let us live here too.  Most of you know this story but it demands documentation if for no other reason then the sheer lunacy of it all. 

Beebs was the matriarch of the house.  When we tried to introduce the boys to the mix she wasn't having it.  We tried short periods of interaction that always ended in blood shed.  We worked with our Vet who eventually referred us to the feline behavioral specialists at Stanford.  We sent videos to them for them to analyze and offer new suggestions.  For 2 years we had a screen door in the middle of our hallway with Beebs on one side and Chase and Yert on the other.  The theory was that they would acclimate to seeing one another.  Nothing worked.  We moved into this house about 9 years ago and built a barn style gate at the top of the stairs.  Beebs reigned the world on the second floor while the boys had their space on the first floor.

This is on my mind today because there are always times when cats need to be herded.  Taken here or there or God forbid inconvenienced from their normal routines.  We keep our cats indoors which limits our options considerably.  We have workmen coming today and tomorrow which means I will be herding these boys and inconveniencing them terribly.  I will surely pay.  The first session today is even more limiting then tomorrow will be.  They have to be locked away in a very small bathroom for 4-5 hours.  Doesn't seem like much but getting them both in there with all their gear is challenging.  And listening to them protest is hell on a Mom's heartstrings!  They will live and probably come out unscathed. 

I always laugh when I hear people say that something is going to be like herding cats.  They are usually talking about the seemingly impossible.  A project or assignment that will be grueling and undesirable.  The thought that always goes through my head is "BRING ME SOME CATS!"