Mopie Opie's Issues

Opie the Speed Racer has his dislikes.  And when I say dislike - I mean he really, really dislikes.  Chief among his dislikes of course, is The Little Mess.  Next would probably be scratching posts.

Opie will sharpen his claws on anything and everything, except for a scratching post.  And I've tried every kind of scratching apparatus there is.  He simply refuses to use them.  I've tried every remedy suggested by experts, to no avail.

Opie simply wants to sharpen his claws where Opie wants to sharpen his claws.  Favorite Number One?  Doorways.  Opie loves to tear up the doorways.  It makes a lovely noise that can be heard all over the house, and leaves a little pile of wood flakes in the carpet.  Favorite Number Two is the corner of any sofa or stuffed chair.  Lots of fun there. 

The only thing I can do is keep Opie's nails clipped short to minimize the damage, and cover Opie's favorite spots with the stick-on repellents.

All the webinars and experts and books I have consulted offers lots of tips - they seem to think it's an easy thing to get a cat to use a scratching post.  They haven't met Opie.

Opie - Speed Racer

For a cat who spends most of his time sitting around staring at walls, it's always fascinated me that Opie will suddenly, in the middle of a grand stare, decide that he needs to get to the next room as fast as he possibly can.  So that he can sit and stare in the next room.

Sometimes Opie's need for speed causes him to take shortcuts across furniture and over and through people.  I've received more than one nasty scratch as Opie sailed over my bed / chair / couch. 

On occasion Opie has an attachment - a Darwin or a Lillie-Belle, say, hot on his heels.  Those forays usually entail a tear or two around the entire premise.  Things crash, stuff breaks.

It's happened in the dead of the night, it's happened early in the morning, it's happened during the middle of the day. 

Opie needs to get somewhere, fast.  And sometimes he needs to take someone with him.

Dopie Opie

Opie isn't really dopie.  Opie is just one of those cats that is really hard to figure out.  Opie looks very serious all the time, he kind of just sits around and stares.  I guess you could say he has a staring problem.


One other thing is for sure though - he hates The Little Mess.  He can't even stand to look at her.

Whenever I hear a scruffle or a scrum, it's usually Opie causing problems with the Little Mess, who rarely starts anything all. 

The Little Mess seems to be the bane of Opie's existence.  Maybe he hates her because she's so beautiful.  He may have self-image problems.

He arrived when he was tiny, tiny, tiny, and infested with fleas.  He got a flea bath, and looked very much like a little bat.  That may have been the beginning of his self-image problems. 

Opie definitely needs a visit or two to the kitty shrink.  But he hates car rides.