Caesar was in one kitty bed. Mac was in an adjacent kitty bed (paw dangling, of course). 
And wedged right in the middle between the two beds and cats was Fireball. Talk about splitting your attention and affections.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
It was late afternoon and the human had worked too long. The Monsters were hungry and they weren’t taking “Please wait a few minutes!” for an answer anymore. 
Caesar was especially sassy, using loud vocal complaints to express the pain he felt from an empty stomach. <<We won’t mention all the food from the morning that still sat uneaten on the stairs.>> 
The human worked fast and furious at getting the food prepared. Still, it wasn’t fast enough and she took too long to make it a priority. The cats weren’t in a forgiving mood — and why should they be?
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
Upon the stairs lay three little toys all lined up in a row. 
Whatever do you suppose that means?
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
The human happened upon a very-sleepy-looking Pepe in one of the kitty beds. Even in sleep he’s dangling a paw. (And notice all the layers of soft blankets?) 
In coming close enough to snap a couple of pictures, she also woke him up. Doesn’t he look miserable? Maybe that’s why he wakes the human up throughout the night.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
Since Krang has gotten some coverage on the blog lately, it’s only fair that Princess Juno gets some space as well. (Krang is a hairless Sphynx and Juno is an angora. Between them both, they probably have a normal cat’s amount of fur.) 
Junipurr seems to love her newly adopted brother and they have a great time playing together. They are out-of-state cousins to the Penta Pack. And like her cousins, she loves to cuddle in the soft human bedding.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos courtesy of M. Ray.
The Corkster loves chasing the wobbly/spinny toys, especially when he gets to play with one alone, when his brother isn’t there to hog all the attention. 
He’s really far more patient than his brother, who has the cat equivalence of ADHD. 
He’ll quietly stalk the spinning, wobbling toy for several minutes before moving in on it. 
After checking it out to make sure there’s no danger, he’ll hit it with a soft paw to see what happens. Of course, one of the fun things about these toys is that they will immediately pop back up again and their top keeps spinning around even when they’re laying on their side.
He hasn’t developed his brother’s technique of holding the toy down and letting the top spin itself off from the base, but he does enjoy the exercise.
And it’s good to see him get some exercise while having a bit of fun too.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
There’s Mac in the bay window doing some kitty yoga to ensure her shoulders stay limber. 
<<There’s the sneaky human and her evil camera come to bother me while I catch a little sunshine and think deep thoughts.>> 
Of course, Miss Mu has to cop attitude and smirk at the silly human, who takes her pics and then leaves. You’d never guess how affectionate she is at 10 pm and 1 am based on how much attitude she cops if the human comes over to pet her during the day.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
Sometimes Pepe is so quiet you’d never guess he was hiding under the tablecloth on one of the kitchen chairs. It’s only when you’ve been sitting there for a while and a nose suddenly pokes out that you realize he’s been watching you for the past 15 minutes. 
<<Dude, that’s kind’a rude!>>
<<Don’t mention it, irksome human.>>
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
Mac and Caesar enjoying a little affection.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
<<When the human presents you with a new toy, you’re supposed to be super psyched.>>
<<Woohoo! What do you suppose this one is supposed to do?>> 
<<Oh, it spins around. Am I providing sufficient positive reinforcement for the fragile human ego?>>
<<Whoohoo! This is so much fun!>> 
<<How long do I need to keep up the interesting banter?>> 
<<If you don’t make a big deal about whatever she dragged home for us, she gets all mumpy faced. Humans are such big babies!>> 
<<But really! How many times can you chase this silly thing in a circle and then knock it over before it gets to be very boring?>> 
<<If I brought such a thing to her, how long do you think she’d play with it?>>
<<I’ve seen how long she plays with the toy mice we bring her. Not long at all!>>
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
Caesar Tiger Bear has some interesting bedtime routines.
First, he takes a big dump in one of the litter boxes. What’s funny about a bowel movement? Well, he starts covering the smell in one box, and after digging frantically there (including up and down the sides of the lid), then he gets out and goes over to a second box, climbs in, and continues covering in that box. Presumably he’s not quite clear on the connection between cause and effect.
If that’s not funny enough, the Big Guy must feel pretty good after losing that load, so he then comes out and scampers about on the floor. After stopping to scratch one of the kitty condos, he prances some more, then picks up a toy and dances around making funny little moaning sounds. By then he’s worked his way across to the other side of the room where he drops the toy and scratches on the scratching disc or he chases a ball or two around one of the other toys.
After all that energetic bouncing about, the Emperor lands on the bed and demands that the human hold up the blankets and tent her knees so he has a nice cozy spot to sleep in for 15 or 20 minutes.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
In contrast to most of the other cats, who only want human attention when they want it, Pepe is like a big puppy and is always happy to see the human and get her affections — preferably without any other cats competing for a share of the attention.
By the way, this rare picture shows all the blankets smoothed down and nearly flat. The little blanket sculptors have clearly not been as busy as usual.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
The Merkitty was adamant. The human was to keep her cotton-pickin’ hands off her fur and especially her paws. Note the architecturally elegant blanket sculpture in the background? When the human made up the bed that morning, the blankets were all smoothed down flat. What Mac and Fireball and Pepe do to blankets is a wonder indeed.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
As the silly human began walking up to the second floor, she saw the Big Guy holding court and keeping watch from the kitty condo at the top of the stairs. (Note how well scratched that sisal rope is?) She moved slowly because Caesar Tiger Bear still is a bit spooky when the human is walking around — particularly when she’s walking around with her camera. 
Here he is trying to look nonchalant, as though the human walking by is no big deal. 
Of course, because she’s the evil human, she had to stop for a visit, including pets. If the Emperor hadn’t already tucked his feet under him, she’d have tried to touch his big soft paws — a real no no in this house. (Notice the lack of any visible paws?)
<<Just keep looking the other way and maybe she’ll walk by and leave you alone.>> 
That strategy worked. The human soon walked off to do other things and the Big Guy was left to ponder the meaning of life on his own.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
The Pepster works hard to make sure the lazy human drags her bones out of bed first thing in the morning. He wants to be fed, and she needs encouragement to leave the kitty nest and get moving in the cold and dark. 
Once his work duties are done for the day, Pepe retires to the kitty nest and enjoys the far-infrared heat until mid-afternoon, when it’s time to roust the human from her office and get her to dole out some snacks. 
<<Honestly, being responsible for the care and training of a human is just SO MUCH WORK! On the other hand, she has opposable thumbs that are so helpful opening canned food, and she’s the only one in the house willing to clean the litter boxes…>>
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
Although he’s fully grown, Fireball has retained a great many “kittenish” behaviors and tendencies. Caesar and Mac have taken it upon themselves to look after the Little Red Bee. 
For example, Caesar can always be found grooming the Baby Commet. 
And the Smirking One often possessively hooks a paw or whole leg around Fireball’s torso as though staking a claim on him. 
For his part, the ginger tabby bears up well with all the washing and proprietary handling…until he doesn’t. Then a little kitty kerfuffle ensues.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
It was time for Krang, the Penta Pack’s new cousin, to go to the vet for a checkup. Fortunately, the young Sphynx is multi-talented and offered to drive.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photo courtesy of M. Ray.
Today is the 4th-anniversary of the day that Corky and Pepe first joined the household.
Although they’re supposed to be as old as Caesar (now around 11), they both are still high energy. They chase each other, Mac, and poor Fireball around the house every day. 
And they are equally energetic chasing the red dot (laser pointer) and all the spinning-wobbling toys that the rest of the cats pretty much ignore. Happy arrivals day, Duo!
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
<<The human wasn’t supposed to notice.>>
<<But she did, and that ruined all the fun of playing incognito.>>
<<Worse still, the human approached with her clicky-clacky camera in hand.>>
<<She never once asked if it was okay to take even a single picture, let alone a whole bunch of them. Nor did she ask if she could post them on the blog. That’s the kind of life we live here with that two-legged who thinks she’s in charge. >>
<<Then she wonders why I smirk and scowl.>>
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
Pepe loves pen caps. The human, who writes for a living, always has pens around. 
Sometimes Pepe is in the mood to chase the pen cap and sometimes he is not. 
When he is in chaser mode, the pen cap pretty quickly gets lost. 
Then it’s the human’s job to retrieve it. 
After a couple of rounds of knock-it-off-the-chair and wait for the human to pick it up, Pepe gets bored. 
Really, how much fun is that anyway? 
The least she could do is throw it around or roll it across the floor.
(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.
Living with Carnivores 