Ever wake up on Sunday morning, post-whatever frenetic activity kept you up until 2AM the night before and…go back to bed?
That was me this morning. Lola and Nikki, my hypercats, politely allowed me an extra hour and a half before reminding me that sleepytime NEVER trumps breakfast.
I stumbled into my what-if-you-were-in-a-car-accident-oh-gawd grubbies–it’s studio day* today–and served cat breakfast. Nikki followed closely, mewing plaintively until bowl hit floor, then dove in.
The Princess Lola lived up to her name: SHE is served personally, from a high perch. She jumped up on the dining room desk, curled her tail around her feet and, purring, nodded her head to indicate where I should place her freeze-dried chicken cubes.
She won’t approach the actual food bowl on the floor until all other options are exhausted. I laid a few chunks on the indicated spot, she waited until I backed off, and grabbed one. She eats as though she’s stealing prey from a much bigger cat, an attitude I don’t get, seeing as how she’s alpha cat around here.
But it did help solve the mystery of the migrating water bowl.
“Have you noticed,” asked my friend Carol, “That the cats’ water bowl moves around a lot?” Carol cat-sat for me while Mom and I were traveling (more about that later), and “I think they move it. It’s never where I put it when I come back.”
Yup. I’ve noticed. The cats have their own food bowls, spaced on either end of the dining room wall. That’s because if they’re any closer, alphacat Lola will guard both bowls from Nikki. At a distance of 8 feet, Nikki is ensured a mostly peaceful meal.
I’ve been placing the waterbowl strategically in the exact center, available equally to both sides. It never stays there, but I hadn’t actually SEEN the cats move it until this morning.
The electric outlet marks the exact center of the space, and that’s where I put the water bowl. It doesn’t stay there.
(Both cats bring their toys to their food bowls. I use that to identify the toy’s current owner; at the moment, the catnip mouse appears to be Lola’s.)
I heard a scraping noise and there was Nikki, paw INSIDE the waterbowl, carefully pulling it toward HER food bowl on the right. She moved it about a foot or so, clearly in Nikki territory, and only then would she drink.
Lola watched from her perch on the desk. As soon as Nikki returned to her breakfast, she jumped down, inserted her paw in the bowl, and just as carefully inched it over to HER side on the left. And drank.
Nikki’s ears went back, clearly fuming. About 15 minutes later I heard scraaaaaaape...and looked over to see Nikki happily lapping up water. The bowl was once again on Nikki’s side.
They’ve been doing this for the last two hours.
Neither cat moves the bowl in a straight line, which explains why it sometimes ends up under the dining table. And why there are sometimes big puddles on the floor when I get home.
Hmmm. Can’t decide whether to get a second bowl…or let the riparian conflict continue.
*Today’s studio tasks: Continue efforts to recreate glass colors that are currently in limited production. Working today with enamels and frit to obtain blacks, reds, and oranges.
my sister had to keep a towel under the water bowl for her cat because he would use his paw to splash out a considerable amount before he would drink.
Cats are too funny , when you have a chance to watch them
Oh Cynthia, Life with cats is never boring. we have dual cat eating spots too but Paulie generally goes to both. Next time we get a chance to visit I will tell you the tale of Paulie’s (expensive) surgery-5 teeth and 3 lumps. Sigh. Just another reason to never again own a cat. hahahah