Viggo Is a Pussy - Part 2

(This is a continuation of the story of how my cat Viggo got his name.) My friend and former housemate Val and I are two very different people, and back then we seldom agreed on anything. For instance, her taste in men runs toward pretty boys – long wavy hair, clean-shaven, smooth chest, slender, sweet, and so on. I like 'em hairy, burly, and manly – but soulful and funny, with an enigmatic, artistic edge. Her taste in movies includes big action-adventure blockbusters with lots of car chases, like the Lethal Weapon series and the Terminator movies, for example. She also loves fantasy flicks like “The Lord of the Rings,” the Harry Potter movies, and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” I, on the other hand, love indie and foreign films, thrillers, film noir, psychological dramas, gangster movies, classics - that sort of thing. We do have some common territory, however. We both like feel-good romantic comedies (OK, some might call them chick flicks) like “Phat Girls” and “Maid in Manhattan.” And we are both highly amused by raucous, over-the-top comedies like Tyler Perry’s Madea movies and the Harold and Kumar flicks. Well, at the time we got the gray and white kitten, “The Lord of the Rings” was really big. And the Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen was in it, playing some kind of warrior. I haven’t seen any of the movies in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (not my thang), but I just looked on Wiki and found out that the name of the character played by Viggo Mortensen was Aragorn, also known as Strider. Val of course had seen “The Lord of the Rings” numerous times and had seen the other movies in the trilogy as well, and that’s how she became a fan of Viggo Mortensen. He was pretty enough to suit her taste. He was also manly and soulful enough to meet my standards. I knew Viggo from several movies, but particularly liked him as Gwyneth Paltrow’s soulful artist lover, David Shaw, in “A Perfect Murder.” The character, a painter and photo collage artist, had a rather gothic, high-ceilinged New York art studio in an old abandoned warehouse, and he and Gwyneth’s character would meet there for their paint-spattered trysts. After a while her wealthy but cold husband, played by Michael Douglas, found out his wife was cheating and decided to have her murdered. The rest of the movie entails the wily rich guy playing cat and mouse with his young wife and her lover. So, in the end Val and I both agreed that Viggo Mortensen was hot, and that Viggo would be the name of our adorably macho new gray and white kitten. Viggo the cat has turned out to live up to his name quite well. He’s every bit as enigmatic and soulful as Viggo Mortensen was in “A Perfect Murder,” and also every bit as heroic and manly (catly?) as the actor was in “The Lord of the Rings.” He even catches rats. Outside, of course.

Viggo Is a Pussy - Part 1

Viggo is a pussy. No, really. He’s a gray and white tuxedo cat (his tux is a fashionable dove gray rather than black) who lives in Seattle, likes to hang out in the carport or roam the neighborhood when he’s not napping on my bed, and yowls when he wants something done ASAP. This is the story of how he got his name. I was living in a shared house at the time with three housemates and one elderly cat, Krissy. One housemate had recently moved out with her two large cats, Athena and Achilles (she was into mythology, obviously). Athena and Achilles had been the upstairs cats, and Krissy was the downstairs cat. Anytime one of them cautiously crept down the stairs for a look see, Krissy would chase them right back up in a fury. Even though she was elderly and half their size, she was the queen of the house. Krissy’s owner was my friend Val, who was one of the housemates at the time. Val had named her Krissy because of her crossed eyes. She was a creamy flame-point Siamese/Persian mix. When I moved out to Seattle from Colorado, I wasn’t able to bring my white cat Gracie with me. (I left her with my dad, and now he’s very fond of her. My dad is always inheriting cats from his daughters.) When Achilles and Athena moved out, that left a potential vacancy, since the house had a three-cat maximum and now there was only Krissy. So Val took it upon herself to convince me that I needed a kitten. And in fact she just happened to know of someone who had a litter of kittens that were old enough to be given away. I told her I didn’t want the financial responsibility at that time, so we compromised. We would be co-owners. We’d share the expenses for cat food, litter, and vet bills. So we gleefully headed over to the home where the kittens were. There were four of them – three gray and white ones and a tortoiseshell. The tortie was awfully cute, but it seemed kinda sluggish. One of the gray and white kittens was playing “king of the hill” on the scratching post, which we both found adorable. So we took him home with us. He was six weeks old. We got him home and carefully presented him to Krissy to see what she’d do. We were hoping they’d be friends, but we were also prepared for the possibility that she’d try to rip his head off instead. What happened, though, is the one thing we were not prepared for, and it totally took us by surprise. Instead of being frightened and cowering or trying to run, the kitten stood his ground and didn’t back up an inch, even though Krissy was hissing and advancing toward him. He arched his back, hissed loudly, and raised a tiny paw to strike! Needless to say, Krissy didn’t know what to make of this miniature hellion. She ran off. That’s how he became the boss of the house. See part 2 to learn how he got his name.

Chronic Diarrhea

Hello, I have 6 foster kittens, ages 9 weeks to 16 weeks that have had diarrhea for several weeks unresponsive to Albon, Amoxi-Drops, Cefa Drops, Clavamox, yogurt, acidophyllus, rice and Pres.Diet ID. Nothing helps. Fecal specimens have been negative for anything other than increased bacteria. Their stool is very foul-smelling, frequent and yellow with no form. They are growing well, however.

Cats

Hello, I have had Midnight since he was 6 weeks old. About 6 weeks ago a friend gave me 2 female kittens. Midnight is acting jealous off and on and being mean to them. What should I do? I don't want to get rid of Midnight or the babbies. Becky

smelly cat

i have 2 cats approx. 7 mos. old - they are sisters. one has long hair the other short. the problem is that they poop on the carpet along the base boards instead of the litter box! how do i get them to stop? another problem is that the long hair always smells becuz of the feces that is always hanging from her butt! please help with any suggestions. i do give them baths & keep the litter box clean!

Patience is a Virtue

Friendly house pets who can at times be too smart for their own good have found a place in my heart as well as my home. Or better put, I have found a place in their house. Primarily indoor cats, they get full access to every nook and cranny. The shy one of the two sisters rarely causes any disturbance, but the other one is a whole different story.
Patience, not named for her amount of patience, but to remind us as her caregivers to be patient every time we have to yell at misbehavior. Spoiled as she is, boredom comes easily for her. My hair ties get used for chew toys and hunting practice. In addition to my hair ties, I have a horrible habit of twisting my hair around my fingers. I do this with out realizing it while watching TV or just spacing out. My sweet kitty is currently in the process of helping me break this habit. While I twirl my hair comfy as can be on the couch Patience is somewhere near watching and waiting. Crouched in a corner doing the famous butt wiggle and shoulder roll, she pounces. Dead on with her aim she snaps me out of my daze and comfort zone.
Our freshly worn work shoes solely exist for her very strange foot fetish. She will spend hours with her paws reaching as far as they can into any shoe. The more of her body she can fit inside the better. Patience quickly turns into psycho kitty if you dare to take her shoes away while getting her fix. I have also found what eats the socks after put in the dryer. It is not a sock monster; it's my cat. Socks cannot be left out in the open. Clean or dirty, it doesn't matter. The only time you will ever even hear that cat meow is if she has a sock in her mouth. Coming home from any where, socks are strewn all over the house.
Now I have never considered myself to be computer illiterate nor do I claim super powers on the keyboard. Patience has a special ability to make even an IT whiz stumble in confusion. Using a computer to work from home it is almost always on. Now I know that cats like to lay on warm objects and having a laptop on through the day will make for a prime napping spot if left unattended. However, this cat doesn't just sleep on the keyboard of the computer but walks across it. Her tiny little paws know exactly which keys to hit so my computer is totally unrecognizable. I get up to go to the bathroom and I come back to my laptop yelling at me in Mandarin Chinese and all my files are on lock down.
Still, every night I welcome her as she nuzzles, head butts and the proceeds to curl up at the foot of my bed or in the crook of my knees with her sister. Unknowingly she warms my feet and deters the dog from coming up to join us to make his attempt at pushing me out of the bed. Patience is a virtue and my cat has been a great teacher and major contributor to this virtue practiced regularly.

My cat is sick .. or nervous.. or something

Hello. Please help me if you can. My cat has been having I think diarrhea, and he now is hiding in the basement and won't come out. He is in an awkward space in the ceiling of the basement and I can't coax him down. Previously he has been crouching and twitching, and then he runs around like crazy. He's all right in small enclosed spaces or when I am petting him, but otherwise he acts like he is terrified. He is a one year old neutered male. Please help. Thanks.

a mut

My cat is a mut but from all the cats that I have had in my lifetime I really enjoy this cat the most. The only thing is that he pick up field mice from the rice fields around my house. How can I stop him from bring these animals into the house?

Cat in heat Please Help

My cat is in heat and i have to get her first set of shots before i can have her spayed. She does not go in for her shots for another week and then I have to wait 4 more weeks before I can have her spayed. Is there anything I can do to ease the howling and meowing??

Cat Problems

Our cat is very sick he is not eating throwingup,pain around the exterior and sad eyes. if anyone knows what he may have please email me it would help alot.

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