It was way before 2008 that I first noticed an oriole on our hummingbird feeder. I didn’t know what it was then. I got a picture of one on a feeder in 2008. I don’t know that I saw any more for years. Now they are regulars. In fact I am rushing to post this so that I can go fill the feeder they just emptied. I’ve mentioned before that the feeder we bought specifically for the orioles is way too difficult to clean. It is very narrow and I am not sure I can get the brush in there and get it clean enough. They are much dirtier than the hummingbirds. Or something. It could be that they have to get their beaks all the way in whereas hummingbirds have long tongues. I am not sure, but the hummingbird feeder they primarily eat off of is way more gross than the ones the hummingbirds eat off of. It gets this black sludgy stuff in it. This time of year it is not so bad because I am filling it every three or four days. Our hummingbird feeders come apart and are very easy to clean so we just take the flowers off of them so that the orioles can get their beaks in for the sugar water.
I think the orioles we get are Hooded Orioles. I originally read (now I can’t find it) that they depart in July, but now I am looking at a site that says they depart in August. So we might have them another month or so. I am trying to keep the feeder full so they have enough before they go. But I try to keep them all full for the hummingbirds anyway.
The orioles have gotten a little more brave as they used to fly away immediately if we even walked into our living room. But now they will stay at the feeder or even come into the yard when we are in the living room. And they are so brave that now they are eating at the feeder that is close to the window. They are tormenting my cat. She climbs up on the cat tower and talks at them. She reaches at her paw for them. There were two on the feeder today while Nessa and I were playing and that quickly distracted both of us.
I guess over the summer they have gotten a little used to us so they are not as fearful. They are still very cautious, but they are less freaky and will stay and eat as long as we are not too close.
My husband said he saw six last night around the feeder . . . that could be why it is empty and I have to fill it. I know that I have seen two brightly colored ones together, so I know that there are at least two males. It is difficult to tell the females apart but I have seen at least four together so I know that there are at least four of them. I have never seen all six together.
Since they have gotten a bit brave I was able to take closer pictures. So here are a few.
I can’t remember why exactly . . . I think it was because when we adopted Teagan (Smokey) and Nessa (Esmeralda) The Dancing Cat used pellet litter . . . . so I started researching litter. I liked the litter that we used when we first got Spot, but Costco stopped selling it LONG ago and we had switched to Arm & Hammer. I liked it. It clumped well and it — the unscented kind — did a good job of keeping the smell in check . . . at least with Spot. But I got very tired of the dust. I share a room with the litter box and just regular dust is hard to deal with, but add cat litter dust on top of that and I just was tired of it. My research revealed that Dr. Elsey’s Ultra Litter was pretty much dust free. Of course, that was the old formula . . . according to the reviews. Seems like about the time I was thinking about buying it they switched their formula/litter and loyal customers were upset because the dust free litter now had dust. I decided to try it anyway because there were a few reviews that said it was good. Well, I think it is a lot less dusty than the litter we used to buy. It might be more dusty than it was at one time, but it is still less dusty so we use it. And the cats had no trouble at all adjusting from pellets to one litter the the next. They are such good girls. This story is all leading to #Orangeinside.
The last litter bag we opened had an orange collar inside. (Ha! That is not what #Orangeinside is about. 🙂 ) I picked up the package and read “Share a photo with #Orangeinside on Instagram for a chance to win a year supply of Dr. Elsey’s Ultra cat litter.*” And I said to my husband, “Will you do it for me? I don’t have Instagram?” And then I went on to say what a brilliant way to market. Send out an orange collar with your website on it and have people take pictures of their cats in it and post it on Instagram! I thought that was brilliant. I don’t even HAVE Instagram and I was going to do it — or have it done. I could use a free year of cat litter. Heck yeah!
But then I flipped the bag over and read the other side of the enclosed card. It said that less than 5% of missing indoor cats are returned home, that a cat with an orange collar is an indication of an indoor cat, a cat with an orange collar should not be outside. Ha! I hadn’t read past that because I thought that was a great idea. Now that I am reading the entire thing I understand what the white strip on the collar is. It is a space to write your phone number so someone can call you when your cat is found. This is cool. I like this program.
I also noticed once I really looked at the collar that, there is a little kitty face on the breakaway buckle and if that kitty face is facing outward the website does not show, only the spot for the owner’s number.
The thing is . . . my cats are indoor cats and they don’t wear collars. That is one reason I love indoor cats, they are unfettered by collars. I was planning on putting the bright orange collar on our black cat for a photo because I thought the orange and black would really stand out. But when I thought about it I don’t know where she was and her sister was right there. So I tried it on her. Well, I am not posting all the blurry shots I have. She wouldn’t really sit still. She was trying to get it off. I did manage to get one or two, but not of her face.
Today as I was preparing to write this post I put it on the black cat. She was in mellow mode so she just laid there and actually let me get a few photos.
When I googled Orange Collar the result was a lot of sites selling orange collars. The few articles that came up showed a year of 2015 in the summary . . . so I am thinking that this orange collar for indoor cats has been around since at least 2015. I think it is a neat idea.
Have you ever heard of the orange collar thing? Do you have an indoor cat? Does your indoor cat wear a collar? WOULD your indoor cat wear a collar?
Here is Teagan. She is a very pretty kitty. She has green eyes. They change color from green to yellow. Do most green eyes do that? I know a couple of people who have green eyes and they say their eyes change color, too. I don’t think Nessa’s change, but Teagan’s do. Sometimes you can see the yellow and the green at the same time. She likes to play but not as actively as her sister. She is a great cat!
I am posting our beautiful black cat as my Friday Photo today.
Oh, now I have to post them both! (Last week I posted only Teagan.) Both of our cats. They are on both on their tower here. Doesn’t Teagan look like she is suspicious?
Nessa and Teagan on their tower is this week’s Friday Photo.
Here is our cat before she got annoyed with me trying to take her picture. There are two main reasons I have a lot more pictures of Nessa than I do of Teagan. One, Teagan is black and very difficult to photograph. The lighting has to be right in order for her features to show. And two, she hates it. It used to be that I could NEVER get a shot of her. She just didn’t like it. Nessa doesn’t care. You can be in her face or across the room and she is like, “Whatever.” Or she may not even notice. But Teagan used to have a NO-radar. She could be dead asleep and her NO-radar would wake her up and she would leave. “NO! You are not taking my picture!” She is better now, but she is still difficult to photograph. You might imagine how many far away (so she hopefully wouldn’t notice I was taking a picture) or blurry (because she noticed and is leaving) pictures I have of her. She is beautiful so I would try!
Seems like I am posting a lot about cats. I recently posted about how you can use a box and/or packing paper to entertain a cat or two. Either the box itself will do the trick OR your can bring life back to a forgotten toy by using it in conjunction with the box. Well, a couple of days later I was given a bag with something in it and when I empty the bag I left it on the floor. Next thing I know I hear a cat diving into it. Then she hides. We played a bit. Then a couple of days later I am in the room and I THINK I see Nessa come in the room, but I don’t stop what I am doing to look. When I finished what I was doing I looked around and there was no Nessa. And I think, “Dang, I really thought I saw her, I must have been mistaken.” I go to move the bag and I am surprised by a cat in a bag. She loves this bag.
Here is Nessa in the bag with Teagan playing from the outside.
Here is Nessa in the bag getting my finger.
Then on FaceBook I saw someone post a video about a guy who built his cats a maze made up of 50 boxes. I watched it without reading the story attached to it only to find out at the end of the video it was Cole and Marmalade. Awww. I love Cole and Marmalade! Many of us do! Click the picture to go to Youtube to the video in which Cole and Marmalade’s dad builds them a maze made out of 50 boxes. Then he throws treats in the boxes so they jump into the boxes to get their treats.
See? Boxes make the best cat toys! It is great exercise for them, too.
I probably should have warned you . . . I have a few cat post brewing. They have been swirling around my head. I thought it would be best (for me) to just get them out. You may have seen me mention that we have two cats. You may have also seen me mention that one cat is tiny and the other cat is big. They are actually about the same size, as in, the same length and the same height. And in fact, they are not large cats. I would say they are medium, if not small. The are NOT large. But one is heavier than the other. The heavy one makes us think we should try to have her eat less and the thin one makes us think we should feed her ALL the time. But I think she is comfortably thin. I mean, when I look at her or pick her up, I kinda freak out because she is soooo tiny. She is thin . . . her bones stick out and they knock together when you pick her up . . . but . . . she is in charge of her eating. It is not as if she doesn’t have access to food. She is just a very lean cat. If she had any issues that I notice about moving or toileting, I would be concerned, but she moves like the wind. Just last night I heard my husband make a flabbergasted noise in another room and I asked him what that was about. He proceeded to explain how Nessa, the thin one, just moves like there is no stopping her. It doesn’t matter what is in the way she will get around it, she will jump over it, fly past it, sail under it . . . just MOVE. She moves in very amazing ways so I am confident that she is pretty healthy despite her small frame. But . . . I still try to get her to eat more.
I probably have mentioned how I will put the wet food down and Nessa will lap up all the liquid. Then she will go away. Teagan will come in and eat off one plate. Then sometimes she will go away. Then later on Nessa will come back in and eat some. Then Teagan will come back in and sometimes she finishes what is left . . . but sometimes not. It is really difficult to track who eats what. When you try to watch them and monitor them then they don’t eat. So leaving them to their own devises, probably ends up that one eats more than the other. So with that in mind I discovered that Nessa likes one brand of cat food that Teagan does not. In fact, Teagan will only eat one kind that I have purchased so far. Nessa will eat others, but not Teagan.
One day Nessa was in licking her empty plate and I thought, “Hmmm. Maybe she will eat these fish flakes I have. (And have had for a long time.)” Oh my word! She gobbled them down. I thought, “Well, I don’t even know if Teagan likes them because Nessa just sucked them down.” So I decided to buy more.
Well, Teagan does not like them, but Nessa will gobble them up. She will gobble up a pile then look at me and make her little squeak for more. So I will give her more. Teagan will not touch them, even though they are bascially tuna. So . . . this is another thing that I can feed Nessa and not fear that Teagan will eat it all. But then I feel bad because Teagan asks for something, too. But the whole point it so get more food into Nessa.
Anyway . . . I just thought I would share this treat that my one cat considers crack-like. I think they might make us go broke because we are down half a bag already. I thought we had gotten them a while ago, but we just got them Friday.
Do you have a treat for your cat that they LOVE? What treats do you give your cat?
When we first got Spot the Cat I wasn’t working. I think I was home for a few months. But when we first got her I still didn’t want to get her a big scratching, lounging type of tower. I couldn’t decide on a tower and I thought it was a good idea to change up her play structures. I thought that having large sturdy boxes that we could change was better for her to play in. I thought it would help her from getting bored. When we first got her my husband worked at a company where there was often surplus boxes around. He worked at a box company so sometimes the mock-up box created for a client would go unused. About once every three or four months either he would bring home a box or we would use one that we had something delivered in. He and I took turns cutting the box. We would cut “doors” and holes in it so she could jump in and out of it or crawl around. It is amazing how much fun cats have in boxes. Eventually we got a tower, but when we had access to a big sturdy box we use it, too. We do the same thing with our two cats now. Boxes and packing paper seem to be items that bring endless hours of entertainment and/or help bring the interest back in a toy.
A while back we got something in a big sturdy box. My husband cut the doors and holes in it and we gave to the cats. They love it. I have made my husband suffer through keeping the box. I move it out into the garage (and this is where the suffering comes in because it gets in our way) every once in a while, taking it away from the cats. I keep it out there for a month or so, then I bring it back in. I think this one, I had it out there for a long time this last time I took it out because my husband threatened to throw it away quite a few times. When I brought it back in the house it was totally worth all of our “suffering”. Our cats, especially Nessa when crazy over it. They rubbed all over it and jumped in it. Nessa was ALWAYS in it. They love their box.
It works well because Nessa is such a tiny light cat, she can jump up on it. Teagan can be on it, but she is not as much of a jumper as Nessa. The chase each other in and out of it. We use the fliers to have them play in the box. They love it.
Christmas is coming so the house gets crowded with the tree so the box will be going out again soon. It will be out for a few months then come back in.
But the packing paper will probably stay for a while. We use that to entertain the cats too. It comes and goes. So many things come packed in packing paper we always have some around. The cats love that too. Teagan will NOT tolerate a flier being under the paper. Or anything for that matter. She can be sound asleep and if you put a toy under the paper she will jump up and pounce on it. She is hilarious when it comes to something under the paper.
Nessa likes to play with toys and the paper, too. It is really as if the toy is brand new.
Two easy ways to bring life back into a neglected toy – use it with a box or packing paper. Also easy and simple ways to give something to the cats to play with. The box alone and the paper alone provide entertainment. Add a toy to it and there ya go.
Does your cat love packing paper? Do your cats love to play in forts made of boxes? Do your cats get hours of entertainment out of packaging?
If you have read any of my blog posts you probably know that we have two cats. We had a cat . . .she was an angel . . . unlike any cat, but she died. We had her for 14 years. It took me a long time (about a year) to even thinking about getting another cat. Then I heard about a cat cafe (actually an adoption lounge) and decided to volunteer there. Then we started thinking about getting a cat. I had been stuck with the idea that I had to get a kitten, but that just seemed so daunting. Then I realized we could get a young cat. CAT. Not two, just one. But the one I wanted came as a pair. She was bonded with her sister. That stalled our acquisition, but then once the sister came out of where she was hiding we knew we wanted her too. They are both GREAT cats. I don’t know about you, but I love it when animals play by themselves. It is so cute. I can be in another part of the house and hear a toy. It makes me laugh. But the odd thing is, once they see you watching them they stop. So anytime I am able to get a video it is from far away. Here is just a quick video of Nessa playing with a toy.
This was shot when they first were let out of quarantine. You will see a beer box at the end of the couch. When they are in quarantine we used boxes as places they could go to get away from each other and us. And since we were trying to keep the possibility of infection down, we would just throw the boxes away and get new ones. When they first were let out after being locked up for 30 days we thought they might like to have some familiar to use. It was a new box because — again, didn’t want to spread anything. I think they did hang out in them for a little while. But it is tiring having garbage around so I doubt they were around long. Now they have tunnels and things they can hide in.
This is just 38 seconds of Nessa being spazzy.
Do you like it when animals play by themselves? Do you have an animal that plays by itself? Does your pet stop when it sees you watching?
I think the orioles we get are Hooded Orioles. I originally read (now I can’t find it) that they depart in July, but now I am looking at a site that says they depart in August. So we might have them another month or so. I am trying to keep the feeder full so they have enough before they go. But I try to keep them all full for the hummingbirds anyway.
I guess over the summer they have gotten a little used to us so they are not as fearful. They are still very cautious, but they are less freaky and will stay and eat as long as we are not too close.
Does your cat love packing paper? Do your cats love to play in forts made of boxes? Do your cats get hours of entertainment out of packaging?