Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Friday 10 February 2012

Jazz n Jewel

Kim at My Inner Chick recently asked for a post about the cats after she spotted them lurking at the bottom of the page.

It probably should be Jewel n Jazz since she joined us first but he has the more dominant personality poisonality by far.  Both cats are rescue cats and we were assessed interrogated before we were allowed to offer them a home.  Jewel had already been returned once because she was too vocal.  When we learnt that her previous owners lived in a flat and went to work leaving her shut in all day we were not at all surprised she complained.  A lot.





Jazz had been living down by the Queanbeyan River when he was captured and has an independent nature.  I have been known to complain that he is psychotic.  He certainly thinks I am lower in the pack hierarchy than he is.  Marginally above Jewel, but considerably below him.  Occasionally he challenges my Smaller Portion for the position of Top Cat, but mostly accepts the position of second in charge.  Each day he draws blood from somewhere on my person.  His preferred trick is to stretch up from the ground and hook his feet into my butt.  Then he lifts his hind legs off the ground.  He wakes me by reaching under the bed clothes and slashing.  He does neither of these things to the Smaller Portion.  Every so often he starts to 'sing' and launches himself at me.  He is not satisfied until he has bitten and scratched me, drawing blood.  Honour satisfied he wanders off purring.  Again this is something he never does to the Smaller Portion.  I have tried squirting him with water.  He gets very wet but it doesn't alter the outcome.  He will continue until I bleed.  If I leave the room he will wait until I return.  It is lucky that I have reduced sensation, and that I heal well.  It is also fortunate that he is often an exceedingly loving and cute cat.





They retained the names they came to us with, with a small exception.  Jazz was Jazzpurr because he purrs so often.  This made me feel unwell.  He is now Jazz and continues to purr loud and long.

They have very different natures and I worried that they would be unable to get along.  The first few weeks were fraught.  Jazz hid under furniture and peed himself every time he heard Jewel's bells.  Then he realised he was bigger.

Now they get on remarkably well.  They have their moments though.  Jazz will leap upon Jewel and flatten her.  She immediately swivels round, takes his ear in her mouth and bites down while shrieking 'he is hurting me' so someone will rescue her.  It works.

They teach each other things.  Jazz taught himself to open the fridge by inserting a powerful paw into the door jamb and pulling.  Jewel is not as strong.  She watched him for a bit and is now able to snout the fridge open.  We now have a child proof latch on the refrigerator to keep the cats out.

Jewel's favourite toy is an acorn shell.  We found her in the kitchen one morning having a wonderful time batting it around and picking it up in her mouth to move it to better locations.  To get that first acorn she had to cross the road, pick it up in her mouth, cross the road again, jump a wall to reach the back yard and bring it in through the back door.  All with it in her mouth.  These days we collect them for her.  Jazz also likes the acorn game, but unsurprisingly, plays rough.  When he bites down, the acorn has to be replaced.  If they bat them out of reach they will come and complain until we retrieve or replace it.





We recently bought some new computer chairs.  The Smaller Portion's is slightly softer.  Guess which one the cats have claimed.  If Jewel gets there first, Jazz will climb up with her.  He will then start to stretch and flex.  If she doesn't get the hint he will bite her.





Are their lives better for coming to live with us?  Almost certainly.
Can we imagine life without either of them?  An emphatic no.


41 comments:

  1. They look(and sometimes behave) so like our rascals...
    They have a good life.

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  2. dinahmow: I hope so. They are fairly skilled at playing the underprivileged card.

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  3. What a magnificent post, full of the * poisonalities* of the other people who live with you and the smaller portion. It is always fascinating watching them at play - and their contest for 'top cat'. They are lovely looking and so sleek, too,

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  4. Christine: Thank you. As I type Jazz has leapt onto the computer desk and has his snout out the window monitoring activity in the street.

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  5. They're gorgeous! I want a cat....but not yet.
    I couldn't put up with one that insisted on drawing blood at least once a day though.

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  6. River: I would prefer he didn't as well, but am yet to find a way to stop him. If I clout him, he clouts me back. Water was a dismal failure. If I put him out or me in he gets me when we are next together. A determined little beast.

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  7. They are both utterly, utterly beautiful.

    Even though I have a dog, I'd also dearly like to have a cat but LC and Sapphire are allergic to them.

    I love your last lines: "Are their lives better for coming to live with us? Almost certainly.
    Can we imagine life without either of them? An emphatic no."

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  8. They are both beautiful. I have a real "thing" for black and black and white cats. Our Rocky was a Alpha male as well. We often had "words" but I adored him.

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  9. Funny, this Ozark Farm Chick thought all cats were 'independent' creatures who thought the world was their kingdom! Heeehehehe!

    Sweetie, they are most magnificently beautiful cats.

    My daughter once listened to our cat through a stethoscope and announced, "Mommy, his motor is runnin'!!!"

    God bless ya straight from the happy hills and hollers of the Missouri Ponderosa.

    Ya'll have a great weekend!

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  10. When we rescued Pearl and Jasmine we thought they were girls. They became Purrl and Jazz-man. Our Jazz was a black cat, too.
    cats keep us laughing!

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  11. I once had two black cats that looked a lot like Jazz and Jewel. They do seem well named. My black cat had a littler and I kept one of her all-black babies. We had a wonderful life together, but Fopaw, the mother, was my favorite. She was fixed after that one litter. I cannot imagine how anybody could deal with a fertile female!

    Your pictures are wonderful, I love seeing them vying for the best spot on the chair. :-)

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  12. They are beautiful cats! The majority of cats here in Canada are house cats, they are not allowed to roam free out of doors(in the city), so many are de-clawed (front). Helps alleviate the bleeding issue!

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  13. She has the same pleading expressions as my sister's cat. Like I could be doing something more for her at any given time - cat's are such manipulators. No biting!

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  14. "Jazz was Jazzpurr because he purrs so often. This made me feel unwell. " ...Hahahaha, oh, that made me laugh. It's dangerous stuff sharing your life with cats, you never know what's coming next, though in your case it seems to be a regular good smacking from Jazz. They are very beautiful though and I'm sure worth all the effort of the regular swear words and cursing that must leave your mouth.

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  15. "He is not satisfied until he has bitten and scratched me, drawing blood". OMG, I've got the EVIL in the shape of a cat in my house, but she isn't so cruel :)))

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  16. Very happy you made this lovely post about Jazz n Jewel, precious kitties with a lovely life now and very well loved.

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  17. What beauties they are! Something about the black and white cats that I love--we had one (Midnight) in Ireland. Our son had one (Scuba), and Scuba was the inspiration for my main blog.

    Cats let us live; gotta give them kudos for that!

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  18. You all have better lives except for the bleeding bit. Maybe you should speak to a vet he/she may have a solution :-).

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  19. Kath: They are beautiful, and we love them both. Of the ten most common allergens I am NOT allergic to cat or dog hair. Something I am grateful for.

    mybabyjohn/Delores: While we have had other coloured cats black is far and away the most common.

    Nezzy: Welcome. I will go and visit you in a bit. All cats are indeed independent - just some a bit more so than others.

    Joanne: Cats keep me sane(ish) some days.

    DJan: Jazz being bigger usually wins the chair discussions but Jewel has her ways.

    Karen: Ours spend a couple of hours a day outside so I would be reluctant to go down the de-clawing path.

    John Wiswell: Expert manipulators all of them. And there is always something more or better you could be doing for them.

    All Consuming: Despite the blood I wouldn't give either of them up. They add immeasurably to our lives - including new ways of removing blood stains.

    Ken.G: I think most cats have an evil streak and it is part of their charm. Jazz has an evil stripe rather than streak.

    Denise: They are indeed well loved, and perhaps a tad spoilt (though they would disagree with the last comment).

    Susan Kane: Black cats have long been a serious weakness of mine. All cats big and small, but black ones in particular.

    Windsmoke: The vet told me that if I stay still and don't shriek he will stop. The vet was very wrong. He gets a better purchase on me when I stay still. But yes, we do all have better lives.

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  20. Hi EC,

    Have you stolen my cats?

    ;-)

    Lovely photos - and, yes, as you know, they are so similar to Jasper, Poppy and Hellcat (er sorry = Liquorice).

    :0)

    Cheers

    PM

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  21. PM: Are we talking looks or character? Hellcat reminded me of Jazz when you first introduced her to us.

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  22. It's amazing how much personality animals have. I love cats, so I think each one is a mystery. I especially like goofy cats. I see you've discovered that the best toys are the free ones. I have so many fake mice around, and none of my furry friends are interested.
    I'm sure they're healthy and happy to be with you.

    P.S. Your the Pink Elephant Child drink just debuted at the Salt Lick Saloon. Folks are finding all sorts of uses for it.

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  23. Barb: In addition to the acorns there are many other toys lying about. They do like the cat tunnel and the cat condominium. The rest? Nope.
    I have just been visiting and I love the widespread usage of my drink. And I added another one.

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  24. Sweet faces are hard to resist especially if it is a furry purring face.
    They are both lucky to have such a loving home.

    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Hugs,
    Pam

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  25. Pam: The furry purrers rule this house with velvet paws. You have a great weekend too.

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  26. What a rascal that Jazz is, not nice that he thinks he can claw you like that, but I can see how you forgive him, he is so beautiful.

    How lucky they both are that you opened your hearts to them and gave them somewhere safe and sound to live.

    I had always thought they were siblings, with both of them being so alike - but I suppose all black cats are alike if you think about it - lol.

    If they are anything like our cats, our lives would be so much poorer if we didn't have them around.

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  27. Kakka: He doesn't think he can claw me, he knows he can. I had hoped to get a photo of the two of them side by side at the door to show that he is literally twice her size.

    And yes, I agree our lives would be diminished by their absence.

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  28. As a fellow black cat ( the best kind!) owner I loved this post EC - husband did too.

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  29. librarygirl: Thank you (to you and your husband). Your Shady is a joy as well.

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  30. Kim should be very pleased: a fine post. I think I would have morphed Jazzpurr into Jaspar! Jazz sounds good, though.

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  31. they are BEAUTIFUL! no idea how to re-train the blood-thirsty one. maybe wear body armour? and i'm amazed that they can open the refrigerator!

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  32. My mother's cat had a poisonality.. he bit, he clawed, he peed, he pooped (in her house, no less...) and she thought he was the most precious thing that ever lived. I thought he was hateful. Coming from a cat lover (I had four!) it was saying a lot....

    Your post made me laugh - and even miss her poisonality cat. He unfortunately died from IAMS cat food - her vet proved it and she was able to get her vet bills paid but of course it didn't bring back her cat.

    She really misses him. I am not sure I do....well, maybe a bit. =)

    By the way you really did a great job on the cat photos. WOW.

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  33. I have just had a lovely time browsing your blog... many thanks for sharing it.

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  34. EC, I loved this post. I have a weakness for cats, especially black ones somehow. Too bad about Jazz's bloodletting. You have a lot of patience. We are looking after a kitten temporarily; he will attack once in awhile for no apparent reason. We were hoping he would be calmer after neutering. But after reading this, I begin to wonder :)

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  35. What a great post on cat personalities and your acceptance of their differences and pasts. Jazz sounds like a character, especially the way he pushes Jewel out of the chair passive aggressively. I have cats who do that. They are both beautiful and so are you for giving them a place to call home.

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  36. Dave King: Thank you. I don't think Jazz really cares what he is called but, as I said, Jazzpurr made me nauseous.

    daisyfae: We have never had fridge opening cats before. Jewel was with us just over a year before Jazz came and didn't open it. He taught himself and now they can both do it.

    Have Myelin: Thank you. Cats with poisonality are certainly memorable. Gaining their affection is perhaps more difficult, but when it has been it lasts.

    Andrew Fulton: Welcome and thank you. How nice of you to say that. I will follow you home in a little.

    jenny_o: I really hope your kitten settles. And have no idea why Jazz hasn't.

    Strayer: Thank you. As you know, having the cats in our lives benefits us at least as much, and probably more, than it does them.

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  37. ---Oh, I sooo adore these small sleek panthers.
    I especially appreciate both of them squashed together like black oil on your new chair!
    and I looove cats that purrrrrrr.

    Thank you for doing this post @ my request. How kind.

    I so wish I could rub my hands down each one of their backs!

    How do I subscibe? Where do you live? Xxxx

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  38. My Inner Chick: I am really pleased you liked them. I hoped you would.

    If you want to follow, there is a spot both at the top of the page, and near the list of followers.
    I live in the capital of Oz, Canberra.
    Thank you.

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  39. This was such a fun post, EC! The way I see it, when you bring a more or less wild animal into your home and they give you loyalty and affection even some of the time, not to mention looking gorgeous as they do it, you are ahead of the game! I am grateful my cat allows me to live in her home. What's a little bloodletting as the price to pay? Your two pretty beasties are well worth any pains!

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  40. They are just beautiful. And wonderful that you rescued them, despite that scratching thing.

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  41. Two Tigers: Just as you say they are worth the pain. Which is not to say that I wouldn't prefer less of it.

    Lynn: Rescue cats/dogs are the only way I will go these days. A little more responsibility in breeding animals is called for. Off my soap box now.

    How are you? I have been thinking of you this week. I hope you are OK(ish).

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