Tag Archives: cats

Cats Are Gonna Cat

8 Apr

Today started with Striker meowing at me incessantly until I got out of bed. I thought he needed something, like food maybe, but what he actually wanted was to steal my bed.

He didn’t even pretend to look ashamed at his underhandedness.

Then at work I saw something amazing! The African Violet I repotted and I was sure hated me is showing signs of flowering. A miracle if ever there was one!

When I got home from work I had a card waiting for me, which actually means Striker got an envelope in the mail that he allowed me to have the contents of.

My day is bookended by the cat…seems about right!

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Catfe

10 Apr

Catfe is a word, I swear! It is cat+cafe…get it, a Catfe! Meow!

A friend and I went to the Catfe for her birthday, I heard about it a while ago but then stopped hearing about it and thought it went the way of most businesses and died. Lucky for us it is still around. 🙂

You only get to go in for an hour, but really, an hour chilling in a room with a bunch of cats that may or may not be interested in you is a perfectly acceptable length of time.

There is a coffee shop / gift shop right when you enter and you are only allowed in the area with the cats once you have paid and been told the rules, which mostly consisted of don’t be a jerk to the cats…I may be slightly paraphrasing that…

The room with the cats has one long wall covered in shelves that are all linked together via holes cut in the sides so the cats can go in and out and up and down. Some shelves had beds or toys on them, others had hiding spots. It is basically something all cat owners who wish they could spoil their cats like crazy wish they had in their place.

Oh, there was also a tv, placed at cat height, that was showing fish swimming. That’s it. Just fish swimming around. I guess the idea was they might want to watch the fish on the tv the way cats like to watch aquariums but cats being the fickle creatures that they are, none of them paid any attention to it. I however found myself distracted by it often. Because ya know, apparently I have the attention span of a gnat. *rolls eyes* lol

It was a soothing room to be in, and I think if I could be the only person in there, with a comfortable chair to sit on, I could easily chill in that room reading while surrounded by cats for quite a while. But since that is never gonna happen I’ll stick with cuddling the cat I get to live with…who is right this minute on my lap trying to get in my way so I stop typing and start petting him cause priorities!

At first I thought that space would be a great place to take someone who has high anxiety, or stress, or who needs therapy in some way. I mean, a soothing room with cats, what could be better? But then I realized putting an emotionally vulnerable person in a room where they are most likely going to be rejected by all the cats because ya know, that is what cats do best, would probably be more hurtful to their self-esteem than soothing lol So probably best dogs and horses keep being therapy animals and cats be left to doing cat things, like laying in sun patches, and putting claw marks on their human’s favourite clothes, and coughing up furballs on blankets.

The Catfe is connected to the BCSPCA so all the cats in there are available for adoption. I’m surprised they aren’t all adopted by the end of the week considering the level of furry cuteness in that room.

Some of the things you can buy…

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And of course, here are some of the cats…

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The only cat whose name I remember is the white and ginger cat, his name is Simba. My friend and I were sitting at the table by the window and thought for a brief and shining moment that the cats were interested in us because they came over but they ignored us completely lol, they were totally absorbed by something outside only they could see.

And then there are these pictures that I couldn’t help but caption…

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I’m not looking at you, la-la-la-la-la.

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I was serious, I’m not looking at you.

catfe7

Fiiiine, maybe I’ll raise my paw to you…

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Psyc! I’m just washing my paw! Fooled you! bwahahaha

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Fine. *deep sigh* I’ll let you pet me, but don’t expect me to purr. 

If you want to see tonnes of pictures of adorable cats, and get a better look at the inside of this place since my pics kinda suck, check them out on Instagram, their name is catfe_vancouver or go to their website at http://www.catfe.ca or ya know, just stop on by and check the place out for yourself. But be warned! You’re going to want to buy stuff, and adopt a cat, so enter at your own risk…or at least the risk of your wallet! 😉

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A Dog’s Day

11 Jun

Today was so great! 🙂

I got to sleep until my body decided to wake itself up, I am a firm believer that everyone should do that because the body knows when it is rested enough, but sadly the way society works doesn’t really gel with that philosophy so instead I try to give myself one day a week where I do that. Today was that day. 🙂

Then I got to take my landlord’s dog for a hike. I would have gone hiking anyways but the company of Steff (the dog) was much enjoyed. We had to stick to an easier trail because Steff is 10 years old and has arthritis…course, I have arthritis and that doesn’t stop me from doing the harder trails but I’m kinda dumb that way lol 😉

Steff, she will confirm I am a dummy at times lol

Steff, she will confirm I am a dummy at times lol

We also ended up going a bit slower than either of us wanted because at one section of the trail we met some random lady who had two adorable dogs and the first words out of her mouth to me were “oh so you’ve heard about the bear?” to which I replied “huh?” Pretty intelligent response dontcha think? 😉

Turns out a lady had just passed her and warned her she saw a bear on the trail so all the people on the trail with dogs were warning other people with dogs so that leashes could be re-attached to collars. Apparently dog people have some sort of gossip club lol She assumed since Steff was on leash I had heard about the bear and was taking precautions. In actuality it was that I was worried if Steff saw something that got her really excited she might run off and not come back when I called cause I’m not her person. I told her this and somehow a conversation evolved and boom! hiking buddy. shrug. The dogs got along well and I couldn’t think of a polite way to leave her in the dust, unfortunately she was a slower hiker than Steff and I so we ended up slowing down to the woman’s pace. Steff wasn’t impressed with this, she kept going as far forward as she could then looking back at me as if to say “really? Really!!”

So we hiked to the end of that specific trail, it ends at this big open space that has multiple trail options so you can either keep going on a different trail or go back on the one you just finished. Before heading back we took the dogs to this water spot where the current isn’t as fast as in other areas so the dogs could jump in and enjoy themselves. I gotta tell ya, I was really wishing I was in shorts and could wade in there with them, the water was so clear and inviting looking. Instead I stayed on the rocks and Steff seeing I was being a silly human and staying dry oh-so-kindly came up to me and shook as hard as she could so I got sprayed with water – isn’t she just the most thoughtful dog ever? 😉

Cuteness

Cuteness

We went back on the same trail we used to get to the water because it is the easiest trail and I was worried about pushing her too hard and making her arthritis flare up. What can I say, she’s not my dog, I was worried! I can’t very well take her back to my landlord and say “here is your dog, sorry she’s limping and drenched from the river!” I’d be homeless in an instant lol

Part way back Steff all of a sudden stopped, stared right into the bushes next to us and started to bark. Creeeeepy! My response was to immediately shorten her leash so she had to stay near me and put myself between her and the bushes, cause apparently I am ok with a bear attacking me before her…she’s not even my dog! *rolls eyes* She did a really good job of staying close, not even trying to get ahead of me for quite a while, then when she decided the danger had passed she started trying to pull ahead, I figured I’d trust her instincts over mine so I lengthened the leash again.

After one last dip in the river we separated from the lady with the two dogs and jogged a good chunk of the rest of the trail. It felt really nice to be moving faster, which when I pause to think about that seems strange cause I’m lazy but oh well lol

She kept trying to eat the water, must be a dog thing!

She kept trying to eat the water, must be a dog thing!

In total we did 10.81km and it took us 2:14:22 which sounds ridiculously slow but that is because I didn’t pause the app when we stopped so Steff could go swimming and in total we stopped about 6 times. So combine going slower cause of that lady and stopping completely so Steff could swim and it totally messes with my average time to complete a hike but oh well, I had fun and I figure that should count for something, right?

After we got home Steff immediately curled up in her bed and had a nap, I went and moved furniture *rolls eyes*. A friend of mine moved recently and she had this shelving unit, the type with the cube spaces instead of traditional shelves, her new place is too small for it so I bought it off her for $40 and am replacing my dead dresser with it. I had it in the back of my suv and had to haul it in to my place, originally I thought I’d ask my landlord for help but he wasn’t home and I didn’t want to wait so I did it on my own. Lemme tell ya, this thing is not light! It is two cubes wide and four cubes tall and the wood is thick, talk about working the already tired muscles! It is currently sitting in my kitchen cause I still need to buy the cloth cubes to put my clothes in. The cat is loving it! He may be upset when it gets moved to the bedroom cause he seems to be under the impression I brought it home and put it in the kitchen as a new toy for him…so far he’s jumped on the top, hung out within the cube spaces and when running around hyper treated it like an obstacle to dive through. It’s hilarious!

He couldn't decide if she should go to the top or stay where he was lol

He couldn’t decide if he should go to the top or stay where he was lol

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Since those pictures were taken he has lounged on the top, chased his tail within one of the cube spaces and in general claimed the unit as his. At this rate I’ll never get it back! lol 😛

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Karma Points

30 Nov

I am definitely losing karma points over here, but the situation is so funny that I can’t bring myself to stop being amused by it which in turn is bringing those karma points down.

I am harness training my cat and he is not taking to it well at all! He’s never worn a collar or harness before but I didn’t think it’d be a big deal since I had cats years ago and they accepted their collars (and occasional harness) without even a twitch of their ears. However, Striker is constantly reminding me he is not like the cats I had before and this is one more situation where he is showing his personality.

As soon as I put the harness over his head he does that thing cats do so well, you know, where all of a sudden they become a bag of limpness, total dead weight, and they somehow magically make themselves weigh 100lbs so it’s super hard to maneuver them…how do they do that?? This reaction is better then the alternative which would be him fighting to get away, so far each time I’ve put the harness on him the end result is he is wearing the harness and I come away without any new wounds…which, if you knew him and his dexterity with his claws, you’d be impressed by. (I currently have a numb and yet also in pain pinky finger thanks to his claw slicing it from tip to first knuckle through the fleshy part, it feels so gross when I bend my finger and the cut re-splits open, ugh)

I try to put the harness on him everyday for at least two hours, so he can slowly get used to it and realize that wearing it isn’t going to kill him…today was his best day yet, he crawled on to my lap as soon as the harness was on and has stayed super close since, he’s more cuddly then normal (which, not gonna lie, I am enjoying) and I’m proud to say he actually slept while wearing it! Usually he works really hard to get it off then stays near me but in a panic-ready-to-run-at-a-moments-notice mode cause obviously wearing a harness is a sign of impending doom *rolls eyes*

On a weight loss note I am not following any type of recognizable eating plan nor am I following any type of recognizable exercise program, oops? *innocent face*

When I moved I moved far enough away from the gym I was at that it didn’t make sense to continue on there, luckily I had signed up for only a year and had lived there for only a year so the membership ended the same time I left the area. Where I moved to, there are 3 gyms (well, 2 gyms and 1 community fitness centre) all within a decent distance, two would require driving to get there, one I could walk to. There are also 4 weight loss clinics…I don’t know if that is the right term for those places, they are those places that you go in and sign up for their program and do everything they say (for a lot of money usually) and in a short-ish amount of time you’ve lost a fairly decent chunk of weight but you aren’t on a program that is meant to be followed for life and from what I heard once you finish the program odds are high you’ll gain the weight back cause you’re now eating real food again and your body is all “say whaaaaa? I get real food?? hurry up! store it in case this crazy wench starts starving us again and living off vitamin shots!” So, those places I am ignoring cause, well, I can’t afford them and they are kinda weird.

I have (as of a couple days ago) checked out both the gyms and the community centre and think I have decided which one to go with. The one that is within walking distance is the cheapest (which is a very important factor in my decision making process) but it is also the smallest and offers no fitness classes. However, I wouldn’t have an excuse to not go since it is so close and really, how often do I go to the classes offered at other gyms I have been a member at? Probably not enough to justify the extra cost per month. The only thing really holding me back is that to get the cheap rate I have to sign up for 2 years, that’s a long time to stay with one gym, especially considering how often I move and that each move takes me to a drastically different part of the city. I don’t want to be saddled with a gym membership for a place that becomes super inconvenient for me to get to if I end up moving in a year. Kinda funny really, I generally don’t look more then a couple weeks ahead, I don’t see the point in stressing or planning or trying to predict too far in to the future when who knows what will come along to upset the plans or ideas or visions you have in your head? Life will happen whether you want it to or not, I’d rather plan for perhaps a week in advance and leave room open so I can adjust when life throws something at me. And yet, here I am trying to decide if I should get a gym membership at this place and worrying about if I’ll be around to utilize it for the next two years. Oy! 😛

I’m pretty sure in the end I’m going to cave and get a membership at the close and cheap place, guess I’ll have to make a commitment to them for the next 2 years…it’s like I’m selling a little bit of my soul, well, I would be selling a little bit of my soul if I had any of it left lol 😉

As for food, *throws hands in air* I just don’t know what to do! I’d reached a point in weight watchers where I had seriously plateaued and I knew it was time for a change. So I switched to my low carb, high healthy fat high protein meal plan and did fairly well with that for a decent amount of time but when I went off it I went waaaaaaay off it and now, everytime I think about going back to it and the restrictions it has well, frankly, I just don’t want to. I want to think I can get the results I want with a less strict plan but reality is I most likely can’t. Soooooo, I am probably going to have to cave and just suck it up, stop whining (which, thankfully I am only really doing in my head lol) and get my butt back on the low carb high healthy fat high protein eating plan, sigh.

I suppose I could make it a challenge, I used to do that in my weight watchers days. If I knew something was coming up where I was going to want to veer from my eating plan drastically I’d give myself the goal of following my eating plan with no exceptions for a set amount of time leading up to the big event so I had earned it and could enjoy without feeling guilt. I have my birthday and Christmas coming up so those would be my goals…hmm…maybe that could work again, you just need the right mind set right?

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