Category Archives: I am Elwha

by

Decorated stick

Elwha watched me decorate my stick with soft ornaments and paper ornaments.

Both cats helped, removing ornaments when they were not pleased with the placement. Including ones near the top.

I think the decoration will continue to change and evolve right through Christmas.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: stick.

by

Caught in the act

This is the first time I have managed to photograph one of the cats doing “Cat Art”. Sol Duc. I have two bowls for the cats, with a smaller bowl inside a water barrier bowl. I shut the door between the two when I feed them, because Elwha will eat all his and then bully Sol Duc. He outweighs her by five pounds. When I started limiting their food, they started decorating Elwha’s bowl. With toys. There are often toy mice, that pair of in ear headphones that I’ve given up on, a sponge, tissue paper when they can get it, as many as four different things in the bowls. I have to wash the outer bowl and toys often.

Is this play? It started when Elwha was overweight and I started measuring their food. All of my other cats have been self-regulating about food, but Elwha and Sol Duc were very starved tiny kittens when I got them and Elwha is the first male cat I’ve ever had. Art? Trying to trade toys for more food? I tried reading about it and found that cats will bury their food. Sometimes the art shows up when the bowl is not empty.

This is the first one with tissue paper:

This was the first use of a sponge:

I think this is a particularly fine installation and sophisticated use of tissue paper as well as the toy creature, headphones, and the combination flashlight/whistle.

I hope it is play. It certainly entertains me. I wondered which cat was doing it but I think it is both. It is almost always Elwha’s bowl, though, not Sol Ducs. The mysterious plays of cats.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: play.

by

Speckled and striped

I am Elwha. Mom is talking to herself again. She’s arguing about whether I am striped or specked. I say, “Mom, I am CAT!” but sometimes she doesn’t listen. She has been giving us a little catnip daily and after I roll and sniff it, I don’t care what she calls me.

She has put the stick up in the kitchen again. I wonder if it is because it’s so cold? We still want to go outside, with the silly leash and harnesses, but the dark is here and it rains and blows. When the light is present, so are the awful cars. I am not spending as much time outside. I do hope for the light to increase again soon. I can feel that it will, but I am not sure exactly when.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: speckled.

by

Elwha awake

Elwha wide awake.

The cats differ on when they want to go outside with harness and leash. Elwha would prefer 5 am, dark, because there are a lot less cars and it’s less scary. Garbage and recycling trucks are the worst. Sol Duc wants to wait until it is light so she can continue her careful study of bird habits and plan how to catch one. Elwha will bug me in the morning by about 5, while Sol Duc will refuse to come allow her harness to be put on. I add a headlamp around Elwha’s body, clipped to the harness. Sol Duc gets a small LED flashlight that hangs off her harness. Today they both went out early and wanted back in pretty quickly. I may take them out again later.

This is from yesterday, when Sol Duc went out after the sun rose.

by

Local traffic

Traffic at the cat bowl, November 2021.

Duck and coot traffic at Kai Tai Nature Park.

Laptop traffic. It’s busy.

Bushtit feeder traffic.

Great blue heron traffic. How many do you count in this tree?

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: traffic.

by

I am Elwha

How many cats?

Mom takes me and Sol Duc out together in the lovely dark before the cars start roaring. I don’t like the big trucks or the buses. First she put on our lifesaving devices.

I have the red one. We went outside. Sol Duc is mad because mom and I kept following her when she would try to run off alone. But why did mom laugh when I ran to make sure she was ok? My lifesaving device is a little heavy and wiggles.

Anyhow, we love to go outside. And come back inside too.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: spooktacular.