triple tigers

okay... they aren't really tigers.
This week I have been kittysitting a trio of tabby brothers:

Walter is super social and wants MORE TREATS every second of his life.

Jake is the smallest and really playful.

Zack is the least social with new people; I was warned that I might not ever see him.

This is how they line up on the tree for treats every single time: Walter on the top, Jake in the middle and Zack someplace in the back close enough that I knew he was there, but not close enough to touch.


Since they are cats I am not staying at the house, just going over every day and spending some time with them.
Normally our schedule is treats, playing, check water and clean litter boxes, play some more, treats again and then catnip before I leave.

If you are trying to play with/exercise three cats at once, laser pointer is the way to go.

All three of them were interested and I could make sure everyone had a turn.

It is fascinating to watch their behavior and try to guess who is going to attack next based on body language. They always set themselves up in a circle like pack hunters, but never attack at once.
Honestly, I could do this for hours and I think they could too. A few times we played until someone was breathing hard (I think it was Walter) or until all three of them had finally flopped over to be laying on their sides instead of crouched.

The only weird thing about the laser game was that Zack kept looking at me.
Not at my hand, not at the laser pointer, not in my general direction, AT me.
He would suddenly just look me right in the eyes, like I know you are doing this; i'm playing along because it is fun.
Unnerving.


There are lots of other toys that I've tried all week, but none of them engender the interest of the laser pointer, though Jake is quite fond of the feathered bell thing on a stick.

He'd catch it in his claws and then chew on the string trying to liberate it from the stick.

Smart kitty.

The second or third night he shocked me by jumping through the air to attack it.

You can tell that I wasn't expecting it by where I have the camera aimed.

This kitty was getting serious air; it looked like Air Jaws.

Even once I knew to point the camera higher he still managed to shock me by launching himself through the air at the toy and INTO me.

As I am getting ready to leave there is another round of treats and then I put some catnip on the middle layer of the kitty tree.
Interestingly, Walter -who loves treats more than he loves air- is not at all interested in the nip.
Jake has both eaten some and left it alone on different nights.
Anti-social Zack?
Totally a nip fiend.
I mean he is ALL ABOUT the catnip.
[When I put that together with his skittishness I imagine him in the basement, under a couch listening to Phish or Dashboard Confessional and writing somber poetry.]
In fact, if I have some catnip in my hand he will cozy right up to me and let me pet him.
The brothers' humans come home tomorrow night. I'll miss them -- not enough to adopt my own cats mind you, but still it has been a fun week.

MENTAL MORSEL: invented in 1960, lasers were top secret military technology. Now they are shaped like blue plastic mice and sold at PetSmart.

Public Service Announcement: This household uses a brand of kitty litter I haven't tried before: Tidy Cat. Let me tell you people, it is a freaking miracle. When you walk into the house you don't even know that a cat lives there, much less three of them. If you have cats, you might wanna consider the Tidy Cat.

Unnecessary but Relevant LOLcat: