Gregory's Server#Roy is taking his #Caturday morning nap. Not on one of his many ledges, or attacking one of his victims, aka toys. Just chilling out on his bed. On his blanket. They used to be mine, but he corrected this confusion quickly. He does let me lie in it as long as I don't get in his way. Or especially if I make him a snug leg canyon. Which is his favorite thing. Well, except Delectables licky sticks of course. Sometimes a dude just needs to relax.
1/ #CatsOfMastodon
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18 posts total
I had no idea cats have so many face whiskers! 48 on average apparently! The light from evening sun briefly highlighted all of them as #Roy sat looking out the window. It's like a forward facing whisker sensor array! I don't know how I'd never noticed it before. Must really help at night. As you may know, their bodies also have shorter whiskers all over. These are more obvious against black fur. I used to think they were gray hairs. But nope. Sensors. Here's #Roy checking out his new ledge. What finer way for #CatsOfMastodon to spend #Caturday than making a new ledge. Making these ledges is kind of addicting. This one features a new design I'm hoping can be extended to a full ledge staircase but wanted to check its stability. It will take a few days to see if Roy likes it. Higher is better in general since that makes Roy taller. Seeded with #catnip tincture and a pinch of catnip. Roy approves. In last pic he adopts zazen posture to test it. Here's #Roy perched high up on his relatively new ledge. He loves being up there but likes his window ledges too. I actually found a cat tree but it was small and wobbled and Roy had zero interest in it, so I put it out for someone with a tiny cat to enjoy. Homemade perches and ledges are way better because I build them based on watching him interact with the spaces. This one I made bottom first, then middle, then top. #Roy being completely freaked out by many hours of big fireworks being shot off all around us on July 4th. He tried dealing with it but at around 9:15 after a few massive booms (there's some small parks close by people used to launch full size fireworks) he hid under the bed for 2 hours. This is when he finally came back out. It was still loud but not as bad. And yes he got a licky stick for being so brave. He is not a fan of the world exploding for hours. #Roy has been giving me a lot of slow blinks over past days. And yes he uses squint to pretend his eyes are closed method but unfortunately for him his tuxedo coloring includes "eyeliner" that makes it fairly easy to see when he's actually sleeping (you see mostly white) and when he's pretending to (eyeliner visible). I'm assuming he senses something is up and he's probably right. Tuxedo is not a breed but a genetic mutation that stops colors spreading across coat. Roy likes his new stack of ledges! Now he can be the tallest and look down on everything, including the hominid far below. These were easy to make, just took some plywood bits (most are the lids for the boxes), screws, discarded industrial carpetting, and a bit of trial and error. Fully modular and easy to undo. The wood boxes I made ages ago. Roy asks: have you brushed your cat today!? Roy found and explored a new area! I've made him little ledges all over but he doesn't always get into them until one day he does. He explored the entirety of the top of these shelves after having been faintly aware that was a possible route for a long time. Cats are gonna cat as a cat sage told me. It's funny when he finds new terrain to investigate. Roy on one of his many ledges. Looking out. And looking back at me. He's doing that cat thing where they pretend they aren't hurt but his front leg got tweaked. That's an occupational hazard for a cat this big. Something about physics and gravity and mass and decelerations sometimes just gangs up on him. But he's ok. You get a hint of his size when he stands like that. Which he does a lot. Sometimes he tries to help me use the door knob if I'm being slow Roy reminding us that yes indeed he is a crepuscular (active pre dawn and post dusk) creature. Here he's studying the outside very early. And yes he doesn't really understand why anyone would want to waste such an excellent time of day sleeping! And also Roy studying same area during the day as well. What finer way to spend #Caturday #Roy asks than getting brushed by a nylon and boar's hair brush! If you've never brushed your little #CatsOfMastodon buddies (ok ok not so little in Roy's case) then they've got delights waiting. Remember to avoid their ears and carefully watch their body language for signs of overload or not allowed areas. Their bodies are covered with short whiskers, easy to overload. Also removes fur, a lot of fur, that will not get licked off to grow hairballs in belly. Roy examining his new box! He was enjoying his paper bag so much I figured he'd like hs own box. He does. Note this was his first minute in this box so he's figuring it out. Roy relaxing in shaded glenn. He tends to take his direct sun in shorter doses since his black fur gets him toasty quite quickly so this half shade is perfect. Coupled with his recent fondness for grazing I do slightly worry he's taking the term cow cat to heart. Fun fact: it takes a cat about 10 feet to do that spin to land on legs with back arched. Roy can tell you what happens when you don't have enough height. But another day. Roy surveying his domain, peering out into the dark which for him is more of a monochrome due to the very sensitive black white receptors in his eyes. I would love to see a night video colorized to match what cats perceive in low light conditions. I suspect it would look a little like a grayscale thermal image minus the thermal part. As you know cats, like dogs, only have two color cones, unlike our 3. But unlike us they preprocess cone cluster data. Roy showing us some very fine teeth indeed, reminding us that yes, he's an obligate carnivore, with canines to prove it. And also checking out some unusual activity outside. This particular creature's design is apparently nearly 3 to 4 million years old, with only minor modifications stemming from their decision to adopt humans some 10-12k years ago. One being the ability to tolerate us. 1/ |