Full Moon = Wired Animals

There is a full moon out there.  I love that I can experience the night time sky most of the night in my bedroom.  My bed is in the bay windows and I only have curtains on the lower half of the windows.  I like to be able to look out at the stars and the moon and see what is going on out there when I wake up at night.  I do especially like it when the moon is really bright and shining in to lighten the room.  Makes for an awesome night!

However, there is truth in the old adage about the full moon making things a bit "weird".  And wired.  And strange.  Today, the full moon time of the month has been affecting my animals greatly.

For example, when my cell phone rang, and it was the home phone calling me, when I was home and no one used the home phone...... well, that was a bit scary for a minute or two.  Then, I figured I had better start my searching for an answer with the animals.  And the boys.  Since the boys tend to leave things.... like phones and remotes and other assorted electronic devices.... on couches and chairs and such, where the animals have access to them.  So, rather than venture upstairs, to see "who or what" was calling me from "in the house"  (insert scary movie music here) I started searching couch and chair cushions.  And, sure enough, the phone was under Buddy, who was snoring on the love seat.  He was quite put out that I disturbed him to rescue the phone and put it back on the charger.  He seemed like he didn't have a clue what he had done, but I think that it was the full moon making him try to stir things up around here.  : )

Then, there were the antics of Jojo.  Being the youngest animal in the house, she does tend to get into more mischief than the rest of the animals.  Today was no exception.  I heard a loud noise from the kitchen and set off to inspect.  (At least I had already solved the phone call mystery, or I might have been a bit rattled by that point!)  The animals' waterer sits beneath the kitchen window.  Jojo seems to have claimed the top of the very large bottle as her throne.  She is the only animal who never ever goes outside, unless it's a visit to the vet.  But she spends an awful lot of time perched on top of that bottle, peering outside.  I don't know how she managed it, but she had dislodged the bottle from the base of the waterer and sent it crashing to the kitchen floor.  Leaving a puddle of water on the floor.  She was gleefully dabbing her paws in the water and patting and playing and enjoying herself immensely.  I, on the other hand, was not nearly so gleeful while mopping up her mess. 

After her water antics, Jojo spent the next half an hour or so running and jumping and leaping and careening and basically expending vast amounts of kitty cat energy.  She woke Buddy up from his nap on the love seat.  She kicked Taltos out of the recliner.  She even had the nerve to disturb Chester from his sleep on the carpet at the bottom of the stairs.  Then, when she was all done being our wild child, she climbed up on my lap, turned on her best purring sounds, and snuggled up for her own nap. 


So, after Buddy prank called me, and Jojo decided to help me clean the kitchen floor, Chester, who almost never, ever, ever causes a bit of problems for anyone, came and sat beside the chair where Jojo and I were.  Now, Chester can be a "talker".  He will "talk".  Not bark or whine or cry, but literally "talk", as in make specific sounds and will respond to you when you talk back to him.  Usually when he "talks" it's because he is tired and wants the rest of us to go to bed.  You see, when everyone goes to bed, Chester will get on the couch or the loveseat and sleep.  He will not get on the furniture if anyone is around, but we've caught him there a few times when he was sleeping very soundly.  So, to have Chester come "talk" to me during the day was quite unusual.  I talked to him, answered him in his own language (don't judge!  You talk to your animals, too!) but I could not figure out what he wanted.  I got the message when he, the one who never, ever causes a problem, reached over and oh so gently pulled the blanket off of Jojo and I.  And then talked some more.  I knew that he didn't really want to go out in the rain, but I guess it was important.  Not his usual way of getting his message across, but it was just that kind of day!

Now, Taltos has become my night time kitty.  He is the one who races up the stairs at bed time and beats me into the bed.  He has to lay right beside my pillow.  He wants me to pet him, but he doesn't want to snuggle.  And he is quite direct about the petting thing.  He will reach out and pat my hand with his paw.  If that doesn't get a response, he will put the claws out and pat with them.  He never hurts me, but I get the hint!  Of course, when he decides that he wants to be petted in the middle of the night it can get to be a battle.  He will pat and mew and beg, in his own way, to be petted.  I will grumble and yawn and roll over.  He will race to the side of the bed I'm now facing and start the whole process again.  Usually a few quality strokes of petting will get him to leave me alone.  If not, I retreat to the relative safety under the covers and he will leave me alone.  However, last night,, full moon and all, he was particularly demanding.  I had to get a bit forceful with him to leave me alone and let me sleep.  That worked until I woke up with him licking my arm.  Good grief.  That sandpaper tongue was rough.  And annoying.  Cats don't lick people like dogs do.  What the heck is going on????  Has Taltos seen Buddy giving kisses for so many years now that he thinks the way to suck up and make things better after I get grumpy is to lick me? Oh please no!!!!  Maybe that phase will pass with the waning of the full moon.

So, there you go.  It's been weird animal day here in the River Hills.  I love my critters dearly.  But I'm ready to go to my bed and look at the moon and hope that peace reigns tonight....... not strange animal antics!   G'night all!