An unsuspecting Watson is ambushed by Dexter. Unsolicited grooming and a rumble ensues. It’s sort of like West Side Story but with cats and water glasses.

Dexter sported an expression bordering on homicidal rage after having his first bath.

It appears that he also holds a grudge. Needless to say we’ve been sleeping with one eye open since the scrubbing incident went down.

Now can someone please explain to me how a cat can have the above reaction to a simple rub a dub in the tub, but then has the audacity to play in running water any chance he gets?

Yesterday Watson had his “big day” and came home from the vet with a rather hilarious Elizabethan cone on his head and strict orders not to interact with Dexter until his wound has healed.

Dexter missed Watson terribly while he was away and put on quite the needy kitty show for us.

When Watson arrived home he spent most of last evening purring in a very stoned manner and looking at CK and I with unfocused glassy eyes while Dexter sat outside of the spare room (where we sequestered Watson) crying pitifuly and trying to poke his paws under the door to touch his kitty friend.

This morning I woke up at 6:00 AM to check on Watson. Somehow he had pulled the cone off his head (of course). So we re-attached it. But this time Dexter had a plan. While CK and I were eating breakfast who should appear but Watson. We thought maybe we hadn’t latched the door completely so back into the room he went and Dexter continued his vigil. But then it happened again, and again. It occurred to CK that Dexter might be actually opening the door and letting Watson out. So I decided to stake out the situation:

I feel as though Dexter is an old soul. There’s something about his expression and ability to just be still and relaxed that makes me believe he is wise beyond his years. Perhaps it’s just me projecting a strife filled back-story onto him? While he was a shelter cat and found on the street for all I know he grew-up in just as pampered a household as Watson. His need for snuggles and love of people would certainly attest to having been raised in a true home but his eyes seem to say something entirely different. Either way he’s been a stellar influence on hyperactive Watson and balances out our cute kitty duo perfectly. Dexter is finally the cat who crawls willingly onto my lap and sleeps heavily while I read — something I’ve been hoping Watson would do for months. Don’t worry. Watson is still my loving little guy he’s just too busy eating the Whole Foods reusable bags to bother with bookish pursuits.

Dexter began sleeping in this glass bowl recently. I’m not sure if I can think of anything that could be more uncomfortable to nap in other than perhaps a bed of nails but he just adores it. Unfortunately I had to take it away as he was scratching the finish on the dining room table with all of his settling in movements. As you can see, Watson doesn’t know quite what to think but he has to keep an eye on Dex at all times so he stays the course.

And, of course, an obligatory shot of six of Dexter’s infamous twenty-five toes. I so wish I could have had him as a kitten. How cute would he have been as a little ball of grey fluff gingerly prancing about on over-sized paws?!

Watson likes to help in the kitchen whether I want him to or not. I seriously rue the day he gained the confidence to scale our counters. CK admitted to me that he encouraged Watson’s bad behavior. He thinks it’s “cool” to see his growth and development. Obviously boys stick together… Personally, I’m sick of the little guy drinking from my water glass and waltzing non-nonchalantly over floured counter tops and I’ve now resorted to giving both cats “time-outs” in CK’s office whenever they get too curious around the hot stove.

Watson loves the salad spinner. He thinks it’s a big plastic cat toy. So far he’s refused the offer to eat any leafy greens, but since Dexter moved in with a decidedly “garbage guts” mentality I’m sure that will change soon enough.

In addition, Watson’s “fame” continues. This morning I opened the Catster newsletter and who should I find staring back at me, all bundled up in CK’s beach towel, but Mr. Kitty Pants himself. I’m afraid Dexter is going to get a little jealous…

This is just one of the big guy’s gigantic paws. He has twenty-five toes in total. Six on each foot and then a small bizarre seventh toe on his front right foot. Who thinks we should rub one and make a wish?

You decide. Which baby loved getting their IKEA kitten from me more? Watson or Emily?

As many of you are aware we adopted a companion for Watson this week at the MSPCA. Dexter is a grey tabby cat. His coat has these amazing symmetrical spirals and circles that I’ve never seen before and yes I did name him after Michael C. Hall’s character on the Showtime series Dexter. CK likes to tell people we named him Dexter because of the fact that he has 25 toes and somehow this makes him ambidextrous (get it “Dex”). Yes, Dexter is polydactyl or more affectionately known as a Hemingway Cat. It’s pretty wild to examine his funky feet up close.

Dexter is a young cat. Unfortunately, we’re not sure how old exactly. Originally his ad stated that he was only eight months, but the vet tech at the adoption center believes he is probably somewhere between one and two years of age. It doesn’t really matter. Dexter is incredibly easygoing and loves to cuddle. He’s also giving Watson something to focus his almost OCD-like attentions on (instead of CK and I for a change). In fact, since we picked up Dexter on Tuesday CK and I have been able to sleep through the night without being woken up by Watson’s deadly 4:00 AM pounce or his demanding “pay attention to me” cries at 7:00 AM for the first time in four months. It’s a miracle!

The initial meeting between the cats was a bit chaotic. Dexter immediately tried to start grooming cute little Watson because Dexter’s a friendly guy. Watson on the other hand wanted nothing to do with this grey interloper for his mommy and daddy’s attentions and predictably started hissing and batting Dexter in the head. A scuffle ensued and we let them fight it out for a bit before separating the flying masses of fur. It was pretty obviously who had the upper hand in this scenario and it isn’t little 5 pound Mr. Kitty Pants. Not that he didn’t give it the old college try.

The first night we kept Dexter in the spare room and allowed Watson to roam free. Watson entrenched himself in front of the door and stared down Dexter via the small space between the floor and the door frame. Then they would occasionally bat at one another. It was all very tentative.

The next day Dexter started to settle in and we allowed both cats to interact with one another throughout the entire apartment. They spent the majority of the day chasing each other around at top speeds, flying over furniture in hot pursuit of the other, and then falling down panting on the rug at a “safe” distance. By the end of the afternoon they were doing so well with one another that we decided they could stay together during the night. We woke up well rested and without incident. I fully expected to find something broken or torn open but my two little guys behaved themselves admirably.

Today they graduated to the following cuddly behavior. Pretty impressive, right? Currently both cats are sleeping next to me while I type this. Each is curled up on a dining room chair on opposite sides of the table.

While CK and I are really grateful to witness this huge personality change in Watson we both sort of miss the cute guy’s attention a bit. He seems to have completely altered his preoccupation with our lives and is now deeply entrenched in Dexter. Hopefully our baby kitten will manage to get back a bit of balance in his affections soon. In the meantime we truly are enjoying Dexter. It’s nice to see a grown-up cat in action. Whereas raising a kitten is like going to war, having an adult cat is truly a companionable experience more in line with going to a garden party.