Welcome to Catster’s Wednesday Cat! Every month, we ask cat-loving Catsters to weigh in on a new topic. This week we asked them, “How do you celebrate the holidays with your furry friend?” Here’s what they had to say:
crystal & ivy
Hello, this is Casters!
I hope you have a nice vacation. This is the most wonderful time of the year, but also the most dangerous for curious and wary kittens.
This will be my third Christmas with Ivy, and another year of figuring out how to put together a Christmas tree so it doesn’t get destroyed every day.
But honestly, since our first Christmas together, she’s gotten better at leaving the tree alone.
Still, as soon as the Christmas tree comes out of the cupboard, some research is bound to be done. But it’s just a cat, right? As soon as something new and shiny appears, all attention is directed to it, at least for the first few days. But I digress.
We celebrate Christmas by giving Ivy what she loves most: our undivided attention and treats.
Last year I gave her the cutest kitty biscuit advent calendar. As you may have read in last Wednesday’s Cat Corner, Ivy is obsessed with biscuits. Their advent calendar was no exception.
Speaking of food, Ivy loves chicken. Sometimes I feed her shredded chicken breast, cooked without seasoning. After that she won’t leave me alone!
So it’s no surprise that she enjoys a little flair on Christmas Eve. However, all other Christmas dishes will be hidden away. Although her little face looks innocent, she will definitely try her luck if she has the chance. And the idea of panicking and running to the vet if they ingested something they shouldn’t be doesn’t really excite me.
When it comes to holidays, we try to stick to our usual routine. Ivy (and many other kittens) don’t like their routines messed up. During this time, I have time off from work and have time to walk around outside, but I try not to be away from home for too long.
New Year’s Eve comes with its own challenges: fireworks. We live in an apartment complex, so we have pretty strict rules about setting off fireworks. But there’s always that person…
Every year after New Year’s Eve, we see countless posts on social media of lost or injured dogs and cats who have fled their homes to escape the overwhelming sound of fireworks.
This is why our family always celebrates the New Year at home. Cats and loud noises rarely mix. I would never put her in a situation where she would be alone and scared or where she could get hurt or lost.
Come on, it’s Casters! Our holidays consist of spending time together, eating some biscuits, some chicken, and lots of kitty cuddles (when allowed, of course).
isabel and millie
Every December, when the festive spirit is in the air and everyone is getting ready to relax, Millie and I prepare for what we call a “Grumpy Christmas.” If you think cats and Christmas aren’t connected, I assure you, you’ve never met Milly.
Millie is no ordinary feline. While other cats might just knock over ornaments or knock over snow globes, Millie is a certified Christmas fanatic. She is there the moment the tree goes up, inspecting every branch with the keen eye of an interior designer. What is her favorite pastime? It perches under the tree like a furry gift, only occasionally trying to fight off the tinsel. (We learned how to put tinsel on the lower branches.)
Christmas movie nights are also a staple of the holiday season. Millie curled up in my lap, her purrs synced to the Home Alone and Elf soundtrack. She particularly likes animated movies, but I suspect she’s more interested in the action on screen than the plot. Once, during a screening of The Grinch, she lunged at the screen during the roasting of the beast. Apparently, she thought the Grinch had nothing to do with the feast.
But the real highlight of our Christmas tradition is Millie’s three-course Christmas dinner. Yes, that’s right. While others might spend their day roasting a turkey or glazing a ham, I’m in the kitchen preparing a cat-friendly feast. The appetizer is usually a small amount of chicken soup, which of course is perfectly heated. For the main course, Milly serves small pieces of salmon with mashed sweet potatoes. Dessert is the best dish. Millie has standards, so I carefully serve her cat-safe pumpkin mousse in a ramekin.
Watching her eat is pure joy. She delicately nibbles at the plate with her paws before diving in, as if she were in MasterChef: Feline Edition. Afterwards, she stretches out on the couch with a full stomach and looks as smug as a cat.
Our Christmas Day usually ends with Millie curled up. hepper nestAs I sip my hot cocoa, I reflect on how lucky I am to have a holiday companion who is both mischievous and magical. Millie may not write Christmas cards or hang stockings, but she’s perfected the art of brightening the season. And isn’t that what Christmas is all about?
wes & raphy
For me, the holidays are always a bittersweet period. As the roasted vegetables move from the oven to the plate and onto my lips and stomach, my hunger may be satisfied and satisfied, but as you know, my heart is not.
Because I always have to travel for Christmas and I can’t take Rafael with me. I’m still at the age where staying at home is considered “unsocial” by my family, so I stopped. Whether it’s Hong Kong, where cats are banned, or the UK, where my family has severe allergies and can’t get within a few meters of a cat’s paws.
Poor Raffy, it’s not his fault.
In future cattery posts, I will address the sadness and difficulty of being separated from Raffy for an extended period of time at the cattery. Lowest, lowest, lowest.
Steph and I look forward to the day when we don’t have to go out of the house for the holidays and Rafael can run wild to his heart’s content and eat as much turkey as his stomach will allow.
But unfortunately not yet. He needs a few more visits to the cattery first.
Until then, let’s celebrate this holiday with mutual excitement to see him again!
In this article, we will introduce all of Catster’s Wednesday cats.
