Jasper: International Cat of Terror

Goodness me, Jasper is an exhausting cat sometimes. It gives me some idea of what a hyperactive child could be like. And Jasper is only a cat!

Cats are supposed to sleep for 22 hours a day, or something. Not Jasper! He's looking for mischief from morning till night, it seems (although to be fair, he is snoozing now) and we need to try to keep him entertained.

He chases the others - generally we think he is just wanting to play with them, but Millie and Bib are scared of him, and Pomme is still trying to sort out who's boss. Mr FD said there was a big battle yesterday, & certainly I came home to large amounts of fur on the stairs.

Here is Jasper, wondering whether to go to sleep.

Ah, I said he was snoozing now, but I've just heard Mr FD saying "Jasper...Jasper....Jasper..." in increasingly warning tones, so I think he's up and probably trying to eat the flowers that Friend Alison brought me yesterday! 

We separate him from the other cats at night, because if we didn't I don't think anyone would get any sleep. He is put in my study, with his food and a bowl of biscuits. He's got a litter tray and a basket so it's not too bad. But if we get up in the night, he'll hear us and start meowing rather pitifully to be let out, which makes us feel a bit guilty.

But he also amuses himself by disembowelling cushions - I have found fluff and wadding from one cushion where he has ripped the cover to get at the stuffing inside. So we bought him some balls to keep him occupied - during the night we can hear one or more being rolled across the wooden floor, and chased!

This is my ball, carefully hidden from your camera under my paw.

 Where is my ball now? Ooh. Something different to explore.

Then finally I bought him a stuffed toy that he can disembowel. The eyes on this elephant looked at me imploringly as I handed it over as a sacrifice. Jasper immediately took to it (or should that be took against it?) and started savaging the poor thing.

 My Nellyfant! I will kill it.

Who knows how long it will survive? My cushions didn't last long!

But, for all his cunning, Jasper is struggling to understand the cat flap. It is really funny watching him, when he chases one of the others, and they pop through the catflap onto the balcony. He comes to a halt in front of the door, and appears to be thinking "There was another cat here. Now the cat has gone.Where is the cat?"

Then he looks through the glass of the door & sees the cat on the other side.

Yikes. How did that happen? The cat is now there. How? Why can't I get there too? 

He doesn't seem to be able to work out what's happening. Because he's not yet been vaccinated we are holding off demonstrating the catflap to him, as we fear that once he has tasted the outdoors again, from the safety of the balcony, he may wish to explore further...

One of my students suggested we get this cat toy for him (and the others) It certainly looks fun!

 

 

Though how long it would survive under Jasper's onslaught, I'm not sure!