The tails of two kitties, Part 1 - The kitten from Hell

I've mentioned previously that I own cats but never really said anything in particular about them. Before we start the tale, I will give you a little history about my life and pets. We've always had cats. We've always had them from kitten age until they died. We never gave any away, always loved them and treated them well.

For a while we had two cats, a female and male from the same litter. The female died about two+ years ago and I think that she was around fifteen years old. Her brother is still with us, the lovely fluff ball that he is.

Prior to the female dying, my little minion wanted a cat of her own and I was not adverse to getting another cat, given the age of the other two. So rather than paying a ridiculous amount through a pet shop, we went to the RSPCA and rescued a kitty. Of all the kittens little minion picked, she wanted the one that was highly active and clawing his way up the wall. (He's not the kitten from hell, trust me, we're getting to him)

Little minion named him Marley because of that movie Marley and Me. I want to point out at this point that she has never seen the movie and even though it was about a dog, she didn't care. So Marley came home with us and all was well.

Fast forward about eighteen months-two years. Marley who up until this point was a normal cat, started pulling at his fur. It might have been because he couldn't handle the stress of losing the female cat, it could have been boredom. I don't know and still don't so I consulted a vet, paid a lot of money (over several visits) only to be told it was fleas.

I call bullshit. But anyway, we stripped all of the linen off the beds (in the middle of winter) washed them and dried them, vacuumed the house and sprayed for those non-existent fleas. Not surprisingly, Marley kept pulling at his fur. It was terrible and after having him in a cone for a week, I decided to try another vet.

This place is a little more country, if that could be a term used to describe a vet. At any rate, the vet looked at him and said he doesn't have fleas, I can't see any fleas or any evidence of them being on him. I was like, yeah, I know. Boredom? Yes, that was a very high possibility. A stress trigger, yes, that could have been it too. So the vet gave Marley a cortisone injection and we were on our way again. Time passes by and our little black cat starts to regain his fur. He's chill. He's relaxed. Then the injection wears off and he's picking at his fur again.

Boredom. This place is as dull as dishwater.

After making an appointment at the vet to get another injection for the poor darling, I thought about how he really could be bored. He sleeps, he wanders around, he might bat at a toy. Really boring stuff. The other cat is too old to play with him, at such an old age all he wants to do is the essentials. Sleep, eat and poop. So I thought, let's get Marley a playmate.

But then I thought, would this be a stressful trigger for him and so when at the vet, I discussed getting another cat. The vet said that cats are fickle, it may help and it may not. I was like, okay, it can't hurt to try. As I was paying for the appointment and injection, the vet mentioned that they often get animals dumped on their doorstep, waiting for them of a morning when they arrive. And, if I wanted, there was one little kitty left from a litter that was recently dumped.

Opportunity strikes! It was a win-win situation for me because it was cheaper and closer than the adoption center for the RSPCA. So she said, we'll bring him out and you can meet him. One of the other vets brings out this gorgeous little kitten. I don't know what kind of cat he is but he kind of looks like a tabby cat.

They said his name was Raj because one of the vets names all of the animals that get dumped on their doorstep and their usually something cool or kooky. This litter was named for the characters from The Big Bang Theory. (A side note, a very cool show) Little minion said to me later on, Was Sheldon there? I want Sheldon. No, Sheldon was not there little minion, just Raj.

Raj came home with us. Raj is adorable, talkative and energetic. At first things were tense, Marley hated him with a passion. As the days wore on, Marley realised that Raj wasn't going anywhere and now they have a love/hate relationship. Often they fight for dominance and they regularly run around the house, sounding like a herd of elephants. (I have hardwood floors, so it is really loud) So yeah, they get on for 90% of the day.

That brings us to the kitten from hell part. Raj is about nine months old now and still very much a kitten with his size. (though he has huge paws) He is always underfoot, I walk into the kitchen and he's there waiting to be fed (acting like he hasn't eaten in a week) Of a night he sleeps on my feet or next to my feet (he has a foot fetish) and of a morning, he is the one to walk his extremely heavy body over mine and stick his wet nose in my face, meowing at me to wake up.

He's always getting into things, always investigating. Little minion closes her door to keep curious kitty out of her room. I should be like little minion, I really should.

I was folding the washing, standing at the foot of my bed as I made my way through the basket and looked to the window. This is a window that sits high on the wall and so I don't have a curtain on it. I have a view of the tops of the neighbors trees and that's it. So I hung a set of solar powered paper lanterns from the curtain rod and hoped that it would catch a little sunlight.

Did I think that a certain kitty would get up there in the middle of the night and chew on the wires? No, because I'd never had this issue with any other cat. But yes, Raj the kitten from hell had jumped up to the window sill at some point during the night and decided to gnaw on the wires. I was stunned, staring at the broken strings of paper lanterns, hanging on each side of the window.