Cats Care!

I was very sick and in bed for about 5 days. My cats somehow got fed twice a day, and the litter box got changed in the middle (don't ask me how!).

They were on the bed with me most of the time - except when I was in my most restless periods.

I had a version of a cold, but it started in my lungs, like pneumonia. I still have a lot of congestion. I took Tylenol 8-hour (no compensation for this mention!) for the fever, and that really helped. When I remembered to take my temp, it was 100.9F, so it was pretty high for someone my age and general health. That was after taking the Tylenol, too. Goodness knows how high it was without treatment...

So, the cats really care! I had one on each side of me, most of the time. They laid right next to me, pinning me under the covers. When I turned over, they all jumped down, only to get back on the bed a few minutes later.

Beasley and Fluffy were close most of the time. Bugs would curl up in my elbow when they took a break, Princess would come check on me at least twice a day, and Queenie took a little time off from being the top-cat to check on me when Princess wasn't. In fact, Queenie and Princess are vying for top-cat position again. When they weren't really close, they were on the foot of the bed, or at the base of my dresser, which is basically in the same place but with a walkway between the bed and the dresser.

I don't know how I managed it, but I was able to keep them fed and the litter box clean. I was delirious, so I'm not really sure how that happened. Maybe my neighbor helped. She got some cough syrup for me when I ran out.

I haven't talked about the "kids" lately...

Beasley got stepped on this morning. I stepped back while washing the dishes (no, I don't have a dishwasher - totally superfluous for one person!) and stepped squarely on his tail. He yelped, and I let up enough for him to take off like a shot. He was spitting out hair he'd nipped off, while bathing and laying behind me in the kitchen. Poor baby! I picked him up and apologized profusely!

He's much better. Overall, this is a true rarity.

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Their behavior since Queenie took over as alpha, is really different. Queenie is a heavy-handed alpha cat. She lords it over everyone - even me - that she is now the true queen. Man, what a big head!

She picks on everyone, even Beasley. She used to tease him, but now she chases him. I've seen one positive, though. Fluffy is now engaging in the chasing games that she used to ignore. She would ignore everyone and everything, just going about her merry way. Now, she's involved.

Princess, my dethroned lady, is very insistent on snuggles all day now. She still won't come to sit next to me on the chair, but she is very snuggly all the same. Kissing is still part of the package, too. Very hard nips, along the hands, fore-arms and on my wrists.

Bugsy is less an instigator and more disobedient. She's not getting into fights like she did, but she still is bearing the brunt of the "discipline" by the others. She has taken to snuggling in the chair, in the most unlikely positions! She just wants to be held and cuddled. A stroke will cause her for flatten her ears - and I'm not sure if she's doing that out of fear of being hit (she's never been hit) or if she's making room for my hand. I make sure she gets a snuggle session as often as she asks for it. She pops up at least once a day.

Queenie keeps picking on Beasley. He'll be sleeping quietly on the cat-chair, and she will jump up and kick him off the chair. She will sit there about 15 minutes, then leave. Meanwhile, Beasley's sleep has been disturbed for no real reason.

She is also hogging the back of my chair, which used to be Beasley's refuge and his place to be close to me. I don't pet her like I do him while she's up there. But she won't back off.

This little cocoa colored tyrant needs to be brought down a peg!