Hey George: Maine Coon stuff.

[Aqua Letifer]

Meatball's our Maine Coon. (That's the name he had at the shelter, so, meh, that's his name. Apparently because, according to the shelter, "he is very food-motivated." Truth.)

He's terribly mess-withable. I do just straightup awful things to the guy. He sleeps in the laundry basket, so I'll move it to a far-off corner of the house and let him find his way back. Sometimes I'll wrap him in a blanket to give him airplane rides. He's completely fine with all of this, though, to him it's basically playing. (He keeps trying to play with our two other black cats, but he's 5 and they're 12, so they are not having it. So we mess around instead.)

We had a couple of mice in the basement recently. No big, we got all of them but unfortunately they brought fleas, which he caught. So we had to give him a bath with the flea shampoo.

He had no problem with this whatsoever. None. He just looked at us like, "well this is kinda weird, right? Isn't what you're doing right now kinda weird? You all don't normally do this." We toweled him off, got him out and he was fine. Looked ridiculous for a good hour or two as he dried off but I think he actually enjoyed it in a weird way.

They really are the nicest cats ever.

[George K]

Great stories.

Boris is turning 2 on the 20th. He's still very much a kitten - Coons don't really mature until they're about 4. Not particularly affectionate, yet, but exceptionally tolerant.

He's never clawed out of fear or anger, and, unlike The Bee, has NEVER bitten anyone. Loves being brushed, and puts up with being held and made over.

I've read that Coons really like water, so the bath story is not surprising.

Does Meatball like being brushed? Boris loves it (it's a daily ritual for us).

[Aqua Letifer]

@george-k said in Hey George: Maine Coon stuff.:

I've read that Coons really like water, so the bath story is not surprising.

When we give our daughter a bath, he insists on being in the bathroom during that time. Insists. He'll scrape and scratch at the door incessantly until we open it.

Once inside, though, it's weird. He just meows very loudly at us. He doesn't want to go in the bath, but he sure wants to be in the room. Finally I started flicking water at him and that's exactly what he seemed to want. Weird cat.

Does Meatball like being brushed? Boris loves it (it's a daily ritual for us).

He's a huge fan. We've been teaching our daughter to do that with him since they're besties in the house anyway. They hang out all day.

At night, though, we always find Kit-Kat (one of the black kittehs) in her bed. She hangs out there with us for awhile then heads out once the kiddo passes out. (Oh and she's quite a weird one, too. Very average in terms of cat temperament—sometimes wants to hang out, sometimes doesn't—but she loves hugs. Like, comes over to us so we pick her up and she puts her paws on our shoulder. We didn't teach her to do this, she just likes doing it.)

We really lucked out with our pets.

[Friday]

Ahh, cute stories.

We had a cat once that would clean out our bull mastiff's ears. Her head and shoulders would be inside his ear. When she was done, the dog would gently bite her head and give it a little shake.
Then they would go their separate ways. Weird.

[brenda]

Love these stories. Hubby says no more kitties. He had no say about the froggies. I gotta have pets.

[George K]

@brenda said in Hey George: Maine Coon stuff.:

I gotta have pets.

There's a lady in Iowa with a purebred MC. 5 years old, and she can't keep her because the other cats are bullying her.

No price listed, but the breeder says that this woman would let her go cheap.

Just sayin'.

[George K]

[Mik]

Luna comes around a bit more all the time. We've had her four weeks now and she grows slowly more affectionate and trusting. She has started talking to us in the morning. But never has she bared her claws or hissed.

Sweet kitty.

[Catseye3]

@mik Has she developed learnings and habits yet? Like, does she react to an empty food dish? Does she have favorite spots to nap or hang out? Does she do laps?

[Mik]

She lets us know when she wants her dish filled and has gotten very accustomed to a little soft food at night. She has four perches she like to sleep in, all at windows where she can watch the wildlife, and there is a lot of it.

She likes to greet us in the mornings on the stairs, and likes playtime with me in the evening.

[brenda]

@george-k

Awww, poor kitty! I hope she gets a new home soon, but it won't be mine. Hubby is okay with the froggos, but he's definitely not interested in any kitties or dogs.