^..^ CATS: The Art of Sleep Deprivation 101 or PAWING FOR YOUR ATTENTION ^..^ -

Anticipating SPRING!

   

Hello MY Darling!

Welcome to another story from my files!

(Yawning and stretching).  Finally it's SPRING, I never thought it finally come to  "Great Far North".

Are we  'furry creatures' destined to keep their winter coats on until summer?  Mother Nature's Circadian Rhythm was way off LOL ^..^.

As a result of the early change of clocks before April, there have been some hillarious  musings in my in box! Thank you for all of you who have shared your stores!  This one goes out to Vanessa Rose.  I'd love to meet your beloved companion.....or would I......LOL

She writes:

Bed time MANIPULATION 

"Well, the night time routine of getting my ALPHA FEMALE  (Little Lady)  was uneventful.Apart from the usual .....simply trying to get her to bed before 1:00 a.m.     The turning off of the television to the command "Bed Time, time for snacks".  Massage and a little brushing followed by kibble in 'HER MAJESTIES'  dish.

Sipping on my warm milk I envisioned a restful slumber.. As she proceeded to in hail the food like those 'mini hand held vacuums'  for quick clean ups.    Gobble, smack smack ..in dog like behavior!!!! Well, who else is here, did she think I WAS GOING TO EAT HER FOOD!!! The dish is as shiny as a new penny!!! LOL.

Oh yes.....

 A little pat on the small of her back to "Go to Sleep, Settle".  Go far so good........^..^ The rhythmic  kneading (booying, booying...a bakers dozen in the making), fluffing up the bed sheets and comforter into that purfect nest.  !!  Umm this could be a while..(sigh)

I anticipated a long nights sleep and for once. I didn't have to get up; or stir to hear her rooting around in her toy box or hear items on the dining room table being knocked in a succession of PLONK, PLONK making it HER OWN..little did I know.


I was dreaming of an English village, enjoying a coffee around 11:00 a.m. daydreaming waiting for a friend to join me.   Off in a intuitive MUSE thinking of my next article. Reality came as a  rather loud, rude pursistent annoying  'tap, tap, tap'  Like a tea cup making contact into the saucer in a reckless heavy handed style devoid of any social graces associated with this gentle art of tea drinking!!! 

Step 1:  HUMAN you will NOT SLEEP!!

A different reality --- fussy headed, time was distorted....I was waking up. (charming@@@!) Disorientation,  ...the loss of a  purfect sleep...what's going on!!! Rubbing my uncoordinated fingers over my eyes....to "Little Lady" staring at my with wide eyes of inquisition' FEED ME NOW!

Step 2: I have you UNDER MY SPELL......

 Ignoring HER....covering my head with the sheets......all quiet .....ha bliss!!!!  Cat plonks herself on my pillow taking up all the room;  pushing her back feet into the back of my head......I was hovering on the threshold slipping off.

Step 3: Tap Tap, Tap I will WAKE YOU

Drifting off, again.....why is it sound so magnified when it is so quiet. There it goes again, tap, tap, dish, cup what? I tried to make sense of it all...in the dark.

Step 4:  IT'S WORKING

[Muttering &&&@@@!!! jibberish]. Reaching over to the jar of kibble, dolling out some into her dish. OK OK once she is fed that will be it 'slumber returns'...think again!.

Intuition is easy..... I was smart enough to place a small bowl of water on the bedside table. She is agile and self -serving when it suits HER . (I've seen stand on the edge of the bed balancing like a ballerina, anchoring her nails as a barnacle).

My voice cracks splitting the silence again....."Divva what is it now pray tell".  Looking around into her intuitive /intelligent eyes."Momma, I want water now"
......I remarked "Then go and get it, I'm not wet nursing you".   Her eyes glowered back.  (I knew that a look too well). I brought the water bowl over TO THE  pillow, wedging it carefully...holding it with my hand...(like an obedient servant she expected) Looking into my half slit eyes. The message was clear as mesmerizing eyes...trapped again thought I "Oh good I've got you UNDER MY SPELL".    My brain was trying to wrap my head around this BRAND NEW BEHAVIOR.

As a good pet mum I had always tried to be flexible to the Circadian Rhythms of MY cat....didn't I?  To be truthful, it didn't do well with my Diva Scottish ( peppered with Italian) temperament.   

Step 5 : the VICTORY LICK! 

 She finished drinking....phew.....what time was it 5:30 a.m. (thank you very much)!! Great 4 hours sleep.......!!!!!!! I put the water dish back of her on the bedside table....covered myself yet again and told her to "settle" she new this command as it kitten....it has always worked...(yawning  I drifted into semi conscious state).

"Tap, tap, tap (oh not again, was that the clunk of the morning paper hitting the threshold of the door).  In the half twilight of the morning....there again...Divva...tapping to the purcussion of the dish!!!!


 Relentless to WIN over this Divva as the last ditched attempt to prove I was the MORE intelligent species.  I then got more kibble and brought it over to her towel the bed and placed her catnip ball...this should do it...

Step 6:  Be nonchalant always WIN over YOUR HUMAN

What lesson did I learn that fitful night/morning!  "Never underestimate YOUR CAT".  Exceptional and highly intelligent. With every lit of cunning as a illusionist ...the master of deception.. She will always twist the situation to HER own advantage!!!"


Well, MY Darlings......remember a good scheme is worth the wait....

^..^  remember to follow me ^..^.

We love to hear your stories..........remember to follow the Divva more about antics and food here (click on the link)  Acrobatics food and more!



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^..^Summary:  Relationships are so very important, whether they are human, feline or canine.  We share our lives with our precious friends we call devoted companions.  Blessings come in the form of life's lessons.  Alpha female or males can bring out the best revealing their individual characteristics in any species.  The challenge is to fine the humour and enjoy it!! ^..^

Diva Paws Celebrates Her Second Anniversary on Tumblr - March 13, 2014

Hello MY Darlings!

I had a lovely note from Tumblr today
reminding me it is my second anniversary!

PAWS 4 Anticipation!

How PURFECT is that!





 So.......today we will be celebrating with lots of fun activities, spa, cat nip and a specially prepared feast by my Secretary!

Oh contentment.......

Thanks to the great team at tumblr for making it fun!

Well, MY Darlings.........as I take the day off to play and have fun......do drop in soon for more stories, advise and 'cat tips'.........keep those PAWS poised for more...................

Follow the Diva  http://divapaws4advice.blogspot.ca/

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The Sunday File: Acrobatics, food morsels and more!

Hello MY Darlings!

Welcome yet again to the "Sunday File".

As I paw through my fan mail, one caught my curiosity!   What read through as something mundane and ordinary, turned into a comedy skit.

Mary writes, "It was a REGULAR  Sunday afternoon - so I thought. It had all the air of a  lazy quiet .....book reading kind of day.  Sun streaming in the window, with dancing shadows on the wall.  Cat curled up on the table, soaking in the sun....or as I thought....!!!

Lost in my book I delved in. Just then.....a sudden rapid movement caught my right eye."Mischief...was inside a shopping bag. Her head moving back and forth, shaking like a dust mop!!  No verbal noises of loud meows. Victorious  and proud...smack, smack the tongue found its treasure.  Asiago cheese crumb...or a archeological find......[any Calico with a high olfactory sense of smell could easily root it

Let me ENTERTAIN YOU!!!  

out. Especially when she thinks she IS a blood hound].


Oh that is "Miss Mischief", up to her antics again (thought I) shaking my head I returned to my mystery......).  

The bag and contents started to move, not like a wave in the ocean....no, no.

It reared up like an elephant trunk high in the air! The plastic bag surrounded the cat.  Then the cat and object was walking backwards...trying to escape.. Or was this a new circus act repeating itself ....'horses standing on their hind 
legs'.  
 
No, no, no...STOP... I uttered. The book dropped to the floor, shuddering as it fell finding it's resting place on the carpet.  "Bonk". Meanwhile "Mischief" proved HER POINT the show goes on.

 
Bolting upwards, I removed the offending bag...."Miss Mischief's" head looking bewildered and pleasantly satisfied with achieving her goal. The Asiago cheese chip crumbs fell to the floor;as a barnacle swept by an ocean wave. Temptation was her just reward. (Sigh)... I was reminded......never leave anything to chance, cat, dog or child around. Sure enough it will be an opportunity to get your attention...no matter WHAT!!

     
"Miss Mischief" looking bemused, washing her face in the sunlight. Finding herself a  sunlit carpet patch to fall asleep....stretching into yet another cat nap"!!! I think I will stick to this activity next time....(more creative) Paper-Bag-Cat-Puppet and leave the acting the 'Divva Jenni'!!!

Simply:  CAT IN the BAG

Well, that is a lovely story Mary, thank you for sharing.  Yes, indeed the more intelligent the cat or dog.....the more likely they are to get into mischief.  This is also quite true of human children, both of which I have observed. As I did some research on the matter myself.

  

It is quite unusual for cat's to have a highly developed olfactory sense of small. As we know a dog's sense of smell is 10,000 higher than a human, with the cat's a close second.  

Link:  merckmanuals.com


 Cat Senses - Smell

{A domestic cat's sense of smell is about fourteen times as strong as a human's. Cats have twice as many receptors in the olfactory epithelium (i.e. smell-sensitive cells in their noses) as people do, meaning that cats have a more acute sense of smell than humans. Cats also have a scent organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal (or Jacobson's) organ. When a cat wrinkles its muzzle, lowers its chin, and lets its tongue hang a bit, it is opening the passage to the vomeronasal. This is called gaping, "sneering", "snake mouth", or "flehming". Gaping is the equivalent of the Flehman response in other animals, such as dogs, horses and big cats.
It is commonly assumed that dogs possess a superior sense of smell among domesticated animals. However, new studies have shown that cats average 200 million olfactory receptors (though numbers vary by breed), higher than the average number of receptors in dogs}.

THE CAT WINS YET AGAIN!!!

We would like to dedicate this to all Calicos, and especially Aunt Dorothy who's birthday it is today.  A wonderful cat lady of Amberwood Road!!  


Well for those of you who missed "Never A Dull Moment" a couple of weeks ago you may paw over to: The Sunday File: 2014/01/27

See you next time.....Follow the Diva................................

The Sunday File: Never A DULL Moment ^..^!

HELLO MY DARLINGS - Did you Miss Me?

ღ♔☊☋ツTo my entire feline, canine,human friends welcome!ღ♔☊☋ツ

I have been in Europe on a PAWS Symposium for Psychologists. It can take a while to get your paws, into the Swing of Things, especially after the holidays!

I took time in between CAT sessions to visit family and cousins...TOOO much turkey and fun!  My Tutu didn't fit anymore....!!!

Tip: 
1)  Give yourself time to transition from the holidays to 'normal routines'.

2) Relax, don't over stress; 3) Humans = observe how your feline or canine reacts..SHE CAN TEACH you~~~!!!

(Wiggling whiskers and wiping paws over eyes) ^..^~

I've just checked my emails 2000!!! One caught my curious eyes.....Swiping paw over tablet I found a hilarious story from a patient, she calls it 'NEVER A DULL MOMENT'. (Umm try living with a HUMAN, now that is a challenge - ask me)!!

 

I am quite sure 'Dear Readers' you can relate, thank you to patient (Susan) for her story!!

 

"The Saturday started out to be 'normal' (?????? .....if you can call it that). 

My 9 year old feline was still showing signs of playfulness .....even after the holidays (I guess I must be wicked!!).  I am quite lucky to have survived the Christmas and New Years activities.  "Valentina" is quite the drama queen, she reminds me so much of ("Jenni the Divva" I have read about...are they related....I wonder)! 

She is like a 4 years old kitten, displaying the energy of a comet!! Sometimes, I'm just exhausted. Being Italian, carries her face so well in drama.....as her birthright. Her emerald eyes narrowed squinting or the coy expression she often uses to manipulate. (We know that is a mask).  After dinner, the normal face washing and paws positions do delicately around her pristine body. The hum of classical music started to lull both us off to sleep after a delicious dinner of chicken and asparagus!! 

Ummm......I'll outsmart YOU.

I thought, a good time to catch up on emails and sending out those 'thank you's' before it too late. 

Ummm.....a quiet evening lay before us. I had nodded off......Just then out of the corner of my eye, a blur of paws!! (I almost slid off the sofa like a mud slide. Jumping of of my skin!!! ) Leaping in mid air!!!! What happened? Was she dreaming, was there a bug on the wall or in the air - a little protein snack?  

She ran up the arm to the back of the sofa, scrambling, digging 20 claws into the back of the cushion as a barnacle....safe haven.   Her face told the story......with every element. Wearing shock and bewilderment as her mask. Whiskers gleaming with droplets of water; children hanging from the washing like daring each other to simply let go!  

As it turns out she had 'fallen asleep at the wheel'.  I had brought her a dish of freshwater placing in the hollow of the sofa - right side; creating a wedge of support - not falling.

Mount Everest Here I Come - Yikes......

CAT NIP 101......

Well Valentina, was SO RELAXED (the hum of her purring was like a well oiled lawn mower, but that is normal for her). I figured it out!

    

 She failed to feel the whiskers in the dish, and then work up with an electric start, scaring herself with water dripping down her face - glued to the back of the sofa. 


"Mummy help..........................".    Her eyes wide as saucers, flat head, and crouching.

I then had to 'mop' up the pool of water with whole box of tissues (Valentina looks disgusted with the whole affair). The second stage was a tea towel and an anti-slip mat and removal of the empty water bowl.  

Comfort Zone - Thanks MUMMMY!

Valentina, was wrapped in a fleece blanket and whispers of 'its OK darling' you are safe!  Never a Dull Moment.....!!!".   

 Well, my my, that that is quite the story!!!

I love hearing from my clients!

Yes, life with feline, canines can be quite spontaneous and full of surprises; those unexpected events in life that are never dull but are hilarious even when at the time we don't see it!

Remember: Stretch, Yawn, Relax, as a CAT: would!

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