Henri

I was excited to learn yesterday that my favorite sad cat, Henri, is back! And his new video features a rat! Granted, the rat is described as a snack just out of reach, but still, Henri!

The original Henri video:


The new one:

More Cats and Rats

Continuing yesterday's theme of cats and rats, this video bothers me far less than the one from yesterday. I think I would worry more about the safety of the cat than the rat - Saké has taught me that if all things are equal, rats can take care of themselves.

Hmmm

I've talked before about cats and rats and how even though Saké and Penelope definitely interact with each other, I would never trust any of my cats with the girls out in the open.

Thus it probably isn't surprising that this video astounds me and also makes me really uncomfortable:



Craziness.

Checking In

There isn't much happening with Penelope and Saké these days. Penn still spends a lot of time by their cage but Saké's tendency to grab Penn through the cage means that Penn mainly stays out of reach.

Checking each other out.

Penn is equally careful around Sushi. Saké has taught her well - trust no rat!

Cautiously aware of each other.

This all leaves Penn becoming bored rather quickly.

Unimpressed.

Rat vs. Cats

This is a great clip, so I'll forgive the site for labeling this tough rodent a mouse.

From the always wonderful animalsbeingdicks.com/.

Setting Traps

Saké was at it again the other day. She moved items around the lower level of the cage to form a barrier along the front, and then flattened herself out on the other side of it, waiting for a victim to come along.

Waiting patiently...

I felt bad that after all of her hard work, there wasn't anyone around for her to jump out at, so I went and found Penelope. Unfortunately Penn was asleep when I found her, and as anyone who has a cat knows, just because you move a sleeping cat doesn't mean they will actually wake up.

Sleepy Penelope is unimpressed.

I finally just held Penn up in front of the cage and as soon as she sniffed at Saké's creation, Saké jumped out of hiding and smacked her nose through the cage. Penn was less than enthused.

Saké and Marty

I love how much Saké is stretching to get a good look at Marty:

Simon

It is a rare event when Simon checks out the rats.

Simon and Saké

Saké and Marty

I have mentioned before how I enjoy watching the interaction between Saké and Penelope. Since the beginning, they have been curious with each other and Saké doesn't hesitate to grab Penn through the bars, etc. Because Penn's fat paws do not fit between the bars of the cage (and because the rats' room is shut when we're not around), I don't worry about her and Saké too much.

On the other hand, there is Marty. Marty doesn't pay much attention to the rats but he's also a cat and has pretty slender paws. I don't like to see him near the rats and until recently, it seemed like they agreed. If Marty is near their cage, Saké used to act a bit agitated and would stay to the back of their cage. I haven't witnessed Marty doing anything but watching them but still, he's a cat.

Then last night, I noticed this:

Marty checking out the rats.

Before I grabbed the camera, I went to grab Marty, but then I noticed that Saké was not acting upset or agitated by his presence in any way. In fact, she came right to the front to check him out.

Getting a closer look...

Let's come in for a better view.

Nose to nose.

But then:

Just what does he think he's doing?

I still don't trust him.

The Rest of the Crew, Pt. 2

I introduced you to the canine portion of the family last Friday and intended to introduce you to the feline portion today. Then I made the terrible discovery that I do not have any pictures of one of our cats, Ziggy, in a digital format. Granted, Ziggy has virtually no interaction with the rats and thus is probably outside of the scope of this blog, but I still feel terrible leaving her out.

So imagine, if you will, a lovely older white cat who sometimes lays on the bed with one eye open, watching the rats. That is the end of the interaction.

Moving on....

We also have Simon, who surprisingly ignores the rats most of the time. Surprisingly, because Simon is our most social cat. He isn't picky, he'll socialize with just about anyone.

Simon harasses Annie.

In addition to Ziggy and Simon, we have Marty. Marty's relationship with Saké will be the focus of a future post, because her behavior with Marty is drastically different from how she acts with Penelope. Marty is the least cat-like cat I have ever known and most of the time he acts far more like a dog. He is also the cat I like to see least around the rats' cage.

Marty is no stranger to comfort.

Finally, we have Penelope, who, if you've read this blog at all previously, you are familiar with. Penelope spends a lot of quality time with the rats and whenever she's by the cage, Saké comes right up to her. They spend lots of time sniffing each other, as well as Saké grabbing Penn's paws, etc.

Since Penn has already been featured on this blog, here's a crazy picture of her as a kitten.

So yes, in response to what you're thinking, we have a full house. And we haven't even gotten to the horses yet!

Cats and Rats

We woke up yesterday morning to a terrific banging noise, as Penelope was hitting her paws repeatedly against the front of the rat cage. Saké was sitting immediately on the other side of the wire, looking at Penn impassively. I swear she just knows she safe and taunts Penn.

They are a long way from the cat and rat in this video, but perhaps someday....

Tormenting Penelope

Saké and Sushi are under near constant observation. However, they don't seem to mind and do an awful lot of observing themselves.

Penelope is unaware that she is being watched.

We have four cats. Two of them have never had an interest in the rats. The third, Marty, was interested initially but since he can't stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, the charm of the rats quickly faded. However, our fourth cat, Penelope, has more than enough interest to make up for the rest of them.

Penelope stares at Sushi; Saké stares at Penelope.

Penelope spends most of her time sitting on the edge of the dresser next to the rat cage. Her paws are too fat to fit through the bars, so the most harm she can do is smack her paws against the front and try to bat the occasional tail that pops out. The rats learned quickly that Penelope is harmless in the current situation.

Penelope realizes that Saké is only inches away.

As a result, much of the time Penelope spends watching the rats is also time when the rats are watching Penelope. Sushi is far more cautious than Saké, who often goes nose to nose with Penelope.

Who will blink first?

Eventually, Penelope loses interest. Since she's our only cat who catches mice, I imagine she is aware of much more fun the rats could be, if only they were not confined.

Penelope looks unimpressed with the situation.

She always returns quickly though. She probably spends part of every hour checking in on the rats.