Aby-a-Day – 30 Maj 2020: Angel and the tree battle, round three (Silly Saturday)

Angel has sort of claimed the top of the cat tree as her own, but as I have previously posted, Izaak has been challenging her for control of the top. But a new challenger approaches: Lorelai. Seems she was napping on the top of the cat tree when Angel wanted to be up there.

But whilst Angel is attempting to deal with Rory, a complication presents itself…

…Dashiell got up on the tree, too.

I don’t think Dash realised what he was getting into.

I think he thought he was just getting on the cat tree to play with Angel and Rory.

I think he was wrong. Angel was determined to oust Rory from the top of the cat tree.

Using as much force as necessary.

Finally, Angel managed to evict Rory from the top of the cat tree.

(A close-up of the ousting.)

Rory’s disinvitation made Dash abandon the tree-ship as well.

Angel was careful to make sure that all the younger cats were well away.

Angel remains the Queen of the Top of the Cat Tree.

Aby-a-Day – 21 April: You CAN teach an old cat some new tricks! (Swedish Sunday)

I apologise in advance for the blurriness of these photos, but I was lucky to capture them at all!

This actually started before Jacoby died, but last week was the first time I managed to have my camera ready.

You see, Angel, who will be twelve this year, has actually started playing with the younger cats!I haven’t seen her play with another cat voluntarily since Jake was a kitten!

But here she is…

…playing chase and catch with Lorelai! And Angel started it!

It’s truly amazing.

The old lady’s got some moves!

Rory, having escaped up the hallway, returns to see where Angel is.

“Where are you, Angel..?”

Oh. Hello.

Sometimes Alfred and Izaak join in; it’s not just a girl thing. Still, it’s so wonderful to watch Angel play with the other cats on her own terms as opposed to someone chasing her.

Aby-a-Day – August 26: Wordless Wednesday (Don’t mess with Angel!)

Aby-a-Day – April 29: Wordless Wednesday (Impending Action)

Aby-a-Day – October 23: This shelf isn’t big enough for the both of us!

Angel doesn’t like to share.

She especially doesn’t like to share with Jacoby.

Even though he was actually on that shelf first…

“Wait…What just happened?”
Talk about a hit and run…Jake was so confused.

Aby-a-Day – September 25: Battle for the bed

The other day, I heard some hissing and growling and looked over to see this drama unfolding in the window…

Angel was in the leopard bed with Handsome Panther…

…and Jacoby wanted to be in the leopard bed with Handsome Panther.

Angel was prepared to defend her napping place with all four feet if necessary.

Possession is nine-tenths of the law, as they say; she had the definite advantage in this battle. Jake needed a considerable amount of leverage to shift her 8.7lbs out of that bed.

Jake really wanted to sleep there.

This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, at least in our house: the unstoppable force screeched to a halt. Immovable Angel for the win! Of course, the fact that my husband and I went over to watch the drama unfold probably affected the outcome.

Jake actually looked a bit upset that we only took photos and didn’t help him turf Angel out of the bed!

Aby-a-Day – January 30: To boldly go where no Aby has gone before…

I have to admit, I’m loving the cute photos of Jacoby and Angel together that I’ve been taking in the new apartment.

I mean, look at them! They almost look like they’re best friends who cuddle together and groom each other!

And maybe, someday, they will become those kind of kitty buddies.

Photos like this give me hope.

Photos, however, can be deceiving. This photo looks hopeful, too.

But then this happened…

…and then this…

…which ended with Angel scurrying away hissing a blue streak. Oh well…can’t win them all.

Aby-a-Day – January 8: Wordless Wednesday (This will not end well…)

Aby-a-Day – January 4: “Aqua” (Saturday Photo Hunt)

This week’s Photo Hunt subject is “Aqua.”

When Jacoby was a kitten, he wore an aqua leather collar because I couldn’t find a green one in his size. This was before I discovered HiTideCreations’ awesome tag collars.

This is also back when Angel would play with Jake.

She used to kick his little ruddy butt, too.

Look how little he was! These were taken in October of 2009, when Jake was six months old.

He was a little brat, too.

But Angel always came out on top.

I love this shot…Angel looks like she could be Jake’s mom in this. It reminds me of lion cubs playing with the adult females in their pride.

I wish they would still play like this…Jake tries, but Angel just growls and hisses at him and then runs away.

Aby-a-Day – October 26: “Stir” (Saturday Photo Hunt)

This week’s Photo Hunt subject is “Stir.”

Jacoby likes to stir things up with Angel.

He tries to play with her, but she just hisses and runs away.

That is, if he’s lucky.

Sometimes, she stands her ground and smacks him.

Jake may be bigger than her, but Angel is still stronger.

And in case you were wondering who taught Jake his bad habits…

Aby-a-Day – January 25: There’s gonna be a rumble tonight (Friday Flashback)

Earlier this week I was going through some old photos and waxing nostalgic for the days when Angel used to play with Jacoby.

While their “play” was fairly combative, it was still better than the way they do it now.

Now, Jake tries to play with Angel, and Angel responds by hissing, growling (yes, actual angry-cat growling) and whapping the crap out of him while running away to her haven.

Back then, Angel would play with Jake.

Of course, her playing still involved smacking him around, but at least she seemed to be enjoying it.

It was so much fun to watch.

*Sigh* I wish they’d play like that again.

Here’s a video of one of their epic floor matches…of course, Jake’s a little distracted by the camera…But weren’t they cute?

Aby-a-Day – May 4: Friday night’s all right for fighting (Friday Flashback)

Just a few more Aby battle photos from when Jacoby was a kitten…

They don’t really fight like this anymore. I don’t know why; Angel would still beat him up, even though he outweighs her. She’s got more muscle and a lower center of gravity.

Sadly, an Aby battle these days looks more like this:

Angel just goes into her TV stand fort and defends it from all comers. I kind of miss their wrestling matches. I think Jake misses them, too.

Aby-a-Day – April 27: Angel and Jacoby, a love story (Friday Flashback)

When Jacoby was a kitten, he and Angel used to playfight together tirelessly…

They used to be so much fun to watch…they would just chase each other for hours. I even managed to capture it on video…this is when Jake’s a bit older than the photos above, however.

They need to start playing like that more; Angel’s becoming a bit of a butterball lately! A little workout with a ruddy sparring partner might be just the thing.

Aby-a-Day – February 12: Trees and bushes

Another of Angel’s “places” is underneath the television. This is where she goes if she is being bullied by Tessie or if she feels she is losing an Aby battle to Jacoby. I think she feels that this is a defensible place to be, with her back against the wall and a good collection of things to use as cover.

One thing I find really interesting about Angel is, she is what Jackson Galaxy calls a “Tree Dweller” and a “Bush Dweller” at the same time. Jackson says that there are cats who are happier to up high (like Jake) and cats who feel more secure in hidey holes at ground level (like Tessie), but Angel seems to like both heights and low places, depending on her mood. Well, she is our Gemini girl, so I guess she can be a little mercurial if she wants to.

I have to say, though, that Jake looks pretty clueless about how angry Angel is with him for invading her space.

Aby-a-Day – January 20: Jake + Angel = BFFs 4-Eva! (Friday Flashback)

Jacoby and Angel have always been the best of friends.

Oh, yes.

Always, always, always. Right from day one.

Definitely love at first sight.

I mean…

…isn’t it just so obvious?

Aby-a-Day – October 17: Aby vs Aby (Hipstamatic Monday)

The one fun thing about shooting in Hipstamatic is, you never know exactly what you’re going to get. Partly because in “shake to randomise” mode, you’re never sure which combination of lens, film and flash you’ll end up with in any given photograph, and partly because when you’re running the Hipstamatic app, you can’t change out if it quickly, so whatever happens, it’s either a Hipstamatic shot or no shot at all.

So, the other morning I was taking Hipstaportraits of Jacoby when Angel sent to the litter box…and Jake leapt off the bed to play a game of “Pounce on the kitty as they come out of the box.”

Usually it’s Kylie who plays this game – she even sneaks up on humans – but it looks like Jake’s been under her tutelage.

Although his presentation seems to need a little work…Angel doesn’t seem that intimidated by Jake’s “attack.”

But what he lacks in surprise he more than makes up for in tenacious pursuit.

Aby-a-Day – March 28: Aby Battle! (Hipstamatic Monday)

I’ve been taking a lot of photos with Hipstamatic lately, and I happened to capture a full-on, knock down, drag out Aby battle the other day. Somehow, when captured in HipstaVision, the epic battle just seems more…epic. These are all in order as I shot them, nothing deleted between shots IMG1957 and IMG1965.

This last one I find particularly amusing, because it is such a classic stand-off between these two. I took an almost identical photo last year…

This was January 2010! Jacoby has apparently not learned how to get past Angel yet. No wonder Angel usually mops the floor with him when they go at it!

Aby-a-Day – Day 336 of 365

We had an epic Aby battle over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Jacoby uses Lazors!

It’s not very effective!

Jake seems to spend a lot of time on his back when he and Angel playfight. It doesn’t seem to work that well for him as a battle tactic, but for some reason he sticks with it. You never see Angel on her back like that.

I love that Angel basically takes him down with just one arm. She also always twists around so that her eye is on the same side he is – it’s amazing to watch.

Not sure what this move is meant to accomplish.

Jake tries his Lazors again.

With much the same result. Angel seems to always win the Aby battles, even though Jake outweighs her now.