Friday, December 8, 2017

Loony Bird

For a mature old gal, Cleo has been showing a wonderfully silly, playful side lately.  Maybe she's just getting comfortable with us, letting her inner kitten come out more and more.  We've had so many moments when I wish I'd had my camera handy right then and there, or could capture video of her behavior.
     She loves her pieces of string, and now and then we'll hear the jingle of her little fuzzy balls being batted around.  For the most part, though, her strings, balls and catnip mice just lay on her mat unless we initiate play.  Now and then she surprises us with erratic, wild antics that make us laugh like crazy humans.

     Just last night while mom was putting together Christmas gifts and had several pieces of wrapping tissue laid out on the floor Cleo jumped at the tissue, rubbing her face in it, crumpling and gathering it in her paws and almost-but-not-quite eating it.
     Then, as she often does, just stops and walks away.  It's as if she gets a burst of playfulness, then realizes she's mature and sophisticated and making a fool of herself.
     It's the same with these fuzzy little balls with bells inside them.  Lately she's taken to chasing them briefly when we toss them against a wall and they bounce off and away. 
     She scrambles toward the ball, sometimes swatting at it, sometimes batting it away.  She's got a soccer player's talent for scuttling along the floor, patting the ball back and forth between her paws as she goes.  And then she's done.  She'll just sit there, staring at the ball, often looking at us with that "What?" in her big beautiful eyes.

     Many times when she stops, the ball is beneath her, umm, ample girth, an egg being kept warm by this plus-sized Tortie birdmom.  Speaking of ample, Cleo's due for a physical this morning.  We weighed her last night, and she's dropped to 11.6 pounds, down from her 15 or so since she adopted us last February!
     Her occasional erratic outbursts are such a joy to watch, especially when she runs from room to room, by turns looking around as if something's chasing her and searching for something only she can see.  And then there's her spanking fetish briefly mentioned in an early post.  More on that later.

16 comments:

Ivan from WMD said...

Caroline's the same way at her advanced age. Every now and then she will tear down the hallway to the living room and back down the hall, we guess because her tail is invisibly on fire. And she too tries to hatch toys!

Must be a girl thing.

Eastside Cats said...

Has always amazed me the way cats will lay or sit on something hard or lumpy, and think nothing of it! We know that they really are fur-covered liquid, but still...a big ol' lump under the butt cannot feel good. I love that Cleo is feeling at home; that must give you both lots of warm fuzzies!

Summer said...

How nice to hear that Cleo is doing so well, has lost weight, and is playful! My two senior roomies, Binga and Boodie, still have lots of playful moments!

pilch92 said...

I am glad Cleo is having fun :)

The Island Cats said...

Hey, us senior cats can still play like kittens. :) ~Wally

Timmy Tomcat said...

Hey dere!
Diz Buddy Budd
We elderz hav fun but our bones hurtin so we do it in spurtz! Maybez let her playz in placer lak ah doez. Dad bring dem toyz ta me and ah git ta playin wit les movin.
Ah even play when ah git floppy da other weeks. Whew glad dat over. Check it outz
Big Bloo
Buddy Budd

Tamago said...

Awww Cleo has both kitten and mature lady sides. So lovely to read she gets into playing like kitten!
Niko sometimes lays on toy, like a bird with egg, too :-)

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

It's good to see them playing like kittens. Flynn would run flat out everywhere right up until about 2 weeks before he had to leave us.

Brian's Home Blog said...

That's terrific! We like it when the older ones here get that burst of playful energy!

Lola The Rescued Cat said...

Hi Cleo! We're so glad we found this blog again - thank you for visiting us! We're both glad to hear you're doing well. We bet every time you bat that ball around you put a huge smile on your mom and dad's face. Keep up the good work!

My Mind's Eye said...

Hidey Ho Cleo...don't you just love the cooler weather...well the frisky feeling it gives those of us loaded with 24/7/365 fur coats.
We loved the photo of you and mom relaxing after T'giving
Hugs madi your bfff and mom

Melissa, Mudpie and Angel Truffles (Mochas, Mysteries and Meows) said...

That's her tortitude coming out! It's so much fun to watch, isn't it?

Furries said...

Chloe sounds quite a bit like Raven. The spontaneous "zoomies" are always fun to watch.

Hairballs and Hissyfits said...

Sounds a lot like Amarula does when she thinks no one is watching!! It is a joy to watch!

da tabbies o trout towne said...

cleo, we iz buzzed happee ya feel cozee enuff to bee yur self !!! YAY !! we like soccer round heer two; N sum one whooz name iz tuna likez ta beet de bee jezuz outta de shower curtin just ta see if it will fall off de rod...knot yet, gimme time.....best fizhes two ewe even tho yur fizz a cull waz like thiz morn N now itz thiz afturr noon ~ ☺☺☺♥♥♥

Katie Isabella said...

what are you all doing, Mom and Dad? I need to get with the program for Katie too.