A Melanie’s Mondays Post:
People have been asking what’s going on with the co-pets. This post is going to update you on the status of the cats.
The photo above is Driftwood. Many of you know him. He is Skipper’s cat from back when they were both babies. Driftwood is a Turkish Van cat. They are supposed to like swimming, which is why I got him for Skipper. Unfortunately, he doesn’t.
Our second cat is Mamba. Mamba was a feral kitten whom we got at about six weeks old. I call him a “shadow cat” because no one can ever see him. That’s not because he’s black, which helps, but because he always hides when people come over. Once he gets used to someone he will come out, but it takes a lot of visits for that to happen.
Flopsy is not our cat. He lives with my daughter, Coral. Flopsy was a “homeless cat” when we got him. He came to my house and wouldn’t leave. He was so friendly but so skinny. Someone had to take him in.
Lately a photo of Flopsy with Garibaldi has been making the rounds on social media and popular websites. This week the photo showed up on Reddit’s front page. Not for the first time. The photo shows Garibaldi Rous hugging Flopsy. The entire internet seems to think this image was photoshopped. It wasn’t. The photo above is an uncropped version of that.
And, as you can see, that is not the only photo I have of Gari hugging Flopsy. Gari was a very loving, happy capybara and Flopsy is a very tolerant cat.
Above is a recent photo of Flopsy. He’s still a big, healthy cat.
It is nearly impossible to get a photo of Mamba. As it turns out, a black cat always comes out looking like a hole in the photo. Only Mamba has eyes. And claws. And teeth. They don’t always show up. He also has a tiny white spot on his side consisting of three hairs, literally. They never show up in a photo.
Sometimes Mamba comes to watch me work on the computer. It always makes me a little nervous.
I think our sense of distrust is mutual. Except at feeding times, when he loves me.
Driftwood likes to play fetch. Weird, yes? This is one of the traits of Turkish Vans. He is so adorable carrying a toy around.
After he gets tired of fetch, he’ll play with the toy by himself. As long as it’s in reach.
Even though Mamba is two years old now, I still refer to him as “the kitten.” That is at least partly because he is so much smaller than Driftwood. Driftwood weighs in at 14.5 lbs and Mamba is around nine. He’s only small relatively speaking.
Photographing this two together is practically impossible. Mamba is either a black hole or Driftwood is a white hole. Or both.
You can see a device on their collars. This is part of a system to keep them from going outside. Otherwise Skipper’s pet door is a free ticket. The collar gives them a warning beep when they get too close to the base and then a mild shock when the get really too close. After the first few times, they have never gotten close enough to get the shock. It is safer for the cats and the wildlife if they don’t go outside.
So, got any cats? Photo tips for black ones? Do your cats play fetch? Comments are always appreciated.