We Need To Change His Name

Overheard at our house these days:

“Get out of the kitchen sink!”

“Get off the kitchen table!”

“Stop drinking my milk!”

“This is not a rumpus room!”

“Stop splashing your drinking water out of the dish!”

“Don’t sharpen your claws on the ceiling tiles!”

“Stop hanging from the curtains!”

“Stop eating the houseplants!”

“My hair is not a toy!”

Don’t sharpen your claws on the bed!”

“Stop climbing me like a tree!”

“Leave the wallpaper alone!”

Muffin

So!  How about a new name?

He’s a blonde/redhead. Looks and acts like a Viking.

How about “Vlad, the Destroyer”?

Much more appropriate than “Muffin”, don’t you think?

But!

But…

His playful personality, velvety softness, and loving nature, not mention that ridiculously loud purring, make up for a multitude of sins:

 Let’s hope the “Destroyer” part of his personality is just a phase that he’ll outgrow.

Soon.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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21 Responses

  1. Euni Moore says:

    He is such a beautiful cat and I completely understand his actions and your vocabulary consisting of “stop” My “kitten” is almost three (Molly) and I have realize that truing to stop her rambunctious behavior, curiosity and shenanigans is not going to happen. Love her dearly but she is her own cat! She is a Pixi-Bob and sometimes she turns into a wild cat. So love Muffin and if you say stop often enough he will learn what it means but will still do as he pleases.

    • Suzanne says:

      Exactly…he stops what he’s doing when I yell at him, but comes back 30 seconds later and does the same thing all over again. So frustrating. We didn’t expect this because we got Kitty when she was about a year old and she was never this bad..but then she’s a girl and Muffin’s a boy. I wonder if there’s a difference? I don’t know.

  2. Jeanne L says:

    Those kittens! They can be so naughty!! But he’s so cute and I know you love him! He’ll settle down some day. We’ll hope so anyway!

    It was good to hear from you again.

  3. Dianna says:

    He’s still adorable. But we can definitely identify: Gypsy, our shop kitty, has destroyed our office furniture. Who wants to use an ol’ scratching post when you have a soft upholstered chair THAT SWIVELS! She uses it like a merry-go-round!
    And, yes, we, too, hope that this is just a phase that she’ll outgrow.

    • Suzanne says:

      I’ll pray for a short destroyer phase for Gypsy, if you pray for a short phase for Muffin. 🙂

  4. Glenda says:

    Is the screen in the window safe? I love the purring and the sound of the frogs from across the road. I miss being there! Got to schedule a June visit!

    • Suzanne says:

      The screen has a hole in it from a piece of siding that blew off in the wind and hit the screen on the way down. But the hole isn’t big enough to allow a cat out. Gotta fix that, but just one of those things I don’t get around too.

  5. Tina says:

    You, my friend have a championship purr going on there. Love it. My Lola is now two and I was giving her the stop doing that speech just this morning! She has claws but came home to a scratching post when I got her and has never touched the furniture…I think I just got lucky. She can be a monster one minute and laying across your shoulder the next. By the way I love your yard, so green and lush, it’s beautiful. Good to hear from your neck of the woods. Have a great weekend everyone.

    • Suzanne says:

      Muffin is the same way. A hellcat one minute, sweet and lovable the next. We’ve had a lot of rain so the yard is greener than normal. It’s been a wonderful garden year so far, but don’t tell Harland, he’d like to get the soybeans planted and can’t because of the rain. .

  6. Linda says:

    You know, when I first was trying to cope with Dixie Rose, a vet’s assistant told me the best way to discipline her was to hiss at her like a mother cat would. So, I tried it. Every time she did something that wasn’t really acceptable, I’d give her a short, loud, “SSSSSSsssssst!” It always stopped her in her tracks, and eventually we got to the point that I could do it from across the room and get her to pay attention. Now, she’s so well trained not to go out on the patio, I can leave the door open while I water plants, and she’ll just sit in the doorway — but never comes out.

    We stopped clawing that way, too. It really was amazing.

    I kind of like Vlad the Destroyer, but I suspect it’s just a phase. 🙂

    • Suzanne says:

      I’m intrigued….I’ll try the hissing….nothing else has worked so far. Thanks Linda.

    • Suzanne says:

      I have to say that after Harland did the hissing at Muffin a few times, he’s finally getting a reaction out of him, and a good one. We’ll continue to do the hissing and see if we continue to get respect. Thanks Linda.

  7. Jeanne L says:

    It’s fun reading all the comments! I like Linda’s suggestion about hissing! I’m anxious to hear how that goes!

    • Suzanne says:

      We’ve both tried it now. Kitty was freaked out (even though we weren’t doing it at her because she’s a good girl most of the time), and Muffin just stared at us like we’d lost our minds. Sigh.

  8. Debbie Chapman says:

    Such a lovely loud purr! He is so pretty! Vlad is a little too much the other way from Muffin methinks!
    Is he a cuddler too?

    • Suzanne says:

      Yes, he does cuddle. He’s turned into a Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hide character. Sometimes he’s wicked, sometimes very sweet.

  9. Christine says:

    We knew someone whose dog was named “No No” You can guess why……

  10. suz in ohio says:

    sorry i’m late to the party – i’m way behind on my blog reading. but i’m with you on the kitty. the last two i adopted (i have five), i wanted to rename hey! and velcro, but he’s settled down a lot since then and she’s a little less clingy, so they’re still jake and emma. my cousins have a dog they call here!

    and on another note, i have loved your cow and calf and kitty stories this spring. you’re such a lovely writer, and reading the animal stories and about your farm life with harland is a treat, like sitting on the porch for a spell just before dusk on that perfect summer day. thank you.

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