Mancat Monday

This is another picture of me enjoying my sunspot the other day.  Mom didn't take any pictures of me today.  Some white stuff fell out of the sky and it was pretty dark all day long.  We had some good playtime last night and tonight, but Mom didn't play with me at all before she went to work.

Karen Jo: I'm sorry, Herman.  I know that you were asking me for playtime, but I was busy with my chores.  By the time I got done, you were all curled up in your bed by the heat vent.  I will try harder to pay attention to when you want to play.  By the way, what happened to all your little plastic balls?  I didn't see any of them tonight.

I'll never tell.  Hahaha!  Buy me some new ones.

Karen Jo: I will if I can't find the eight I already bought you.

Nothing much else has been happening.  We have settled down into a routine and it mostly works for both of us.  Mom's cold is getting better, but it isn't gone yet, so she's going to bed early again.  See you tomorrow.

Sunspot

Here I am enjoying a nice sunspot while Mom rested on the couch Friday.  She played with me a little bit, but mostly she just rested.  That's why we didn't blog yesterday.  That cold is making her very tired and she wanted to rest as much as possible before going back to work on Saturday.  Mom says that she is sure that it is a cold and not an allergy to me because it is making her so tired.  She also doesn't have the other allergy symptoms that she usually gets.  She brought me home some of the furry mice that Gracie recommended and I like them.  I have toys scattered all over the living room floor now.  Friday a lady that I never saw before came to the door and gave my Mom a bag.  I smelled something wonderful and started meowing and meowing.  It was TURKEY!  I wouldn't leave Mom alone for a second until she gave me some.  I gobbled it down and asked for some more and she gave me some more.  We had it again for lunch on Saturday.  I want it every day.

Karen Jo:  I will give you some every day until we eat it all, Herman.

Will you get some more after that?

Karen Jo:  If I can find some turkey legs or hindquarters, we will have it fairly often, Herman.  I like turkey, too.

I also showed Mom that I can drink out of the faucet. She was washing my Stinky Goodness dish and I jumped right up on the sink and started lapping the water.  She was surprised, but let me drink until I had enough.  Now I jump up every time she turns on the water and she lets me drink my fill. We had some nice play time Saturday night after she got back from work.

Karen Jo:  I am not so drippy and sneezy as I was, but fighting off the cold is really sapping my energy.  I will try to blog a bit, if I am feeling up to it, but I need to go to bed much earlier than I usually do, to try to regain my strength, so I will be doing very little visiting and maybe not much blogging until I get well again.

Boring Day

This is the first picture I took of Herman with the flash.  I took it just after the not so hot video I put up yesterday, just in case the video didn't work at all.

Mom, you hardly played with me at all today.

Karen Jo:  I know, Herman, and I'm sorry.  I slept later than usual, then I had to do the laundry.  I tried to play with you after lunch, but you were too sleepy.

You went back to your room and closed the door.

Karen Jo:  Yes, Herman.  I got all drippy and sneezy and I don't want you to catch my cold.  I came out for dinner and let you lick some sour cream and butter.

I liked that.  You did play with me after dinner for a long time.

Karen Jo:  I really enjoyed that.  We played and cuddled for almost 45 minutes.

Then you went away again.

Karen Jo: I'm sorry, Herman, but I got all drippy and sneezy again.  Maybe I will be better tomorrow and we can have more cuddle and play time.

I would like that.  Will you let me sleep with you tonight?

Karen Jo: Of course.  I love it when you sleep with me.  I can turn away from you if I get sneezy again in the night.

Happy Thanksgiving

Herman and I have lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, most of all for each other. Herman is also thankful that he got package to day from LC, Ayla and Iza. He got new toys today, even though I didn't go out.
He got rattly mice, some foam balls and some Friskies treats. He loves them all. He wanted to get at the rattly mice even before I opened the package for him. When I pulled the first one out of the package, he grabbed it out of my hand and started playing with it. Later I got out the foam balls for him and I took a video of him playing with one of them. Please excuse the shots of the floor while I batted it back to him.


Mom, this is my blog and I want to tell all my friends what I am thankful for. I am most thankful for my new forever home. I was so sad in my room all by myself that I had given up playing and even looking out the window. My foster lady was very worried about me. Then Karen Jo came along and wanted me and I wanted her, too. Now we are very happy together. I am thankful for all the delicious noms that I get all the time. I am thankful for all the wonderful toys I now have to play with. I play more every day. I am thankful for my platform where I can bask in the sunspots and watch the birdies. I am thankful that I can sleep with my Mom every night. I am thankful for wonderful organizations like Friends of the Shelter, who saved me from being put to sleep as soon as I was diagnosed with FeLV and FIV. Oh, I am just thankful for everything in my new life. I hope that all of my new friends on the internet have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Taking It Easy

Ann, Zoey and Maggy sent this lovely portrait of Herman to us. They also sent us a great Christmas picture which we will be using later. I am really sorry that Herman and I haven't been keeping up with our visiting. I have been working late because this is a really busy time of year at the store and I haven't been feeling so great. It turns out that I was coming down with a cold. It's nothing much, but it is making me feel tired and the constant nose dripping is annoying.

Hey, Mom, you brought me some great little mousies and some more balls home tonight, but you didn't play with me like you always do.

Karen Jo: I'm sorry, Herman, but I just didn't have the energy tonight. I'll make it up to you tomorrow.

But you just play with me for a little while and then you leave.

Karen Jo: I have three days off for Thanksgiving, Herman, so I will have lots of time to play with you.

Yay! That sounds great to me. Will we be having something yummy for Thanksgiving?

Karen Jo: I'll be having roast beef and baked potato and salad and you will be having chicken with broth.

I have decided that roast beef is yucky, so I'm glad that you have chicken for me.

Karen Jo: I know. You didn't eat any of it the last time I gave you some. It's too bad you didn't think to teleport it over to Roxy before it got all dried up.

I am glad that you brought me some more balls to play with. Most of the ones I had disappeared.

Karen Jo: I noticed that. Only the purple one with pink spots was left. Is that because it is your favorite?

Sheesh, Mom, that one was left because I only play with it when I can't find the others. What happened to the other ones?

Karen Jo: I don't know, Herman. I suspect that you chased them under the dishwasher or the refrigerator. I will look for them sometime soon.

Will you get me some mousies like the ones that Gracie likes?

Karen Jo: Yes, Herman. I have seen them at the store, but I am staying in for the next three days, so it will be a while before you get any more new toys.

Aw, shoot. I love getting new toys, even the lame ones like you brought home last night. I didn't even play with them much.

Karen Jo: But this morning you discovered that the fuzzy weasel has a rattle inside and then you liked it.

Yeah, I guess it's not so lame after all. Hey, I like the snuggle you put in the chair. It was just right for my nap this afternoon.

Karen Jo: That makes me happy, Herman. I got that snuggle in an auction. I think DKM made it to help raise money for Lilly Lu, Iris and MuShue after the fire. I know that it is called The Lilly Lu. I was hoping even then that I would have a kitty some day who would enjoy it. I hope that you will nap on it again when I have time to take a picture.

You know I don't pose for the camera, but maybe it will happen.

Tuesday, Toesday

Mom just loves my toehawks, so I let her snap this picture. We found a new game to play today. She rolls a ball to me and I bat it back to her. We can do this for a while, then I get excited and start batting it all over the room. Then that dratted ball goes somewhere I can't get to it anymore, but Mom gets it for me and we play the game some more, until I get tired of it and just lie down to rest.

Mom has been lifting me up to my platform when she hears the birdies, but today I showed her that I can get up there all by myself. This made her very happy for some reason.

Karen Jo: It made me happy because I now know that you realize that the platform is yours and you can do whatever you want with it. I do wish you would scratch on it instead of on the carpet and couch, though.

Aw, I don't do that much scratching, anyway.

Karen Jo: That's true.

I do like the nip you put all over it. Maybe I will scratch on it some. Those were pretty lame toys you brought me home tonight.

Karen Jo: They were the only type in the store that I hadn't bought you yet. They are round and fuzzy. You didn't have any fuzzy toys before.

I don't know if I like them. I totally ignored them when you gave them to me.

Karen Jo: We'll see if you play with them tonight. At least you had lots more fun with the red bug.

Mom was mean to me last night. We were getting ready for bed and she was giving me my scritches and she suddenly flipped the covers over on me.

Karen Jo: You left out the part where you scratched my hand again. I am sorry that flipping the corner of the covers over you startled you so much. I thought it would be fun for you.

It scared the heck out of me. I ran away and didn't come back until you were asleep. At least you don't do weird stuff to me while you are sleeping.

Karen Jo: I won't ever do that to you again, Herman. I do like it when you sleep with me.

Gracie wrote this very nice poem for Herman and me:

Herman & Karen Jo

My name is Herman and I always wanted a good home
Unfortunately, I was neglected and left all alone to roam.

Through adoption Karen came to meet me
She had a can of tuna she gave to me while on the floor on her knees.

Now all my dreams have come true
I have a forever home, love, mom, and a blog that I can come and visit you.

Thank you very much, Gracie. We really appreciate it.

Playing Around

Haha! My Mom thought she was going to get a little video of me playing with my big mousie, but she forgot how close it was to time for my afternoon nap. I was getting sleepy and didn't play very long. You can also see my nip ham. Mom has never seen me play with it, but it keeps moving around. I really like all my toys now. Hey, Mom, you didn't bring me any new toys last night or tonight.

Karen Jo: Oh, yes I did, Herman. Remember those four balls you batted around last night? You were too busy grooming yourself to notice when I dropped them on the floor last night.

Three balls, Mom. I only played with three balls. One was purple with pink spots. What kind of toy is that for a mancat?

Karen Jo: They came in a package all together, Herman. To get the white, red and blue balls I had to get the purple one, too. Besides I noticed that you played with the purple one while I was at work.

Well, it's boring here without you. I had to do something besides sleep. You didn't bring me anything tonight.

Karen Jo: Remember that red spot that you chased all around tonight after you had your dinner? I brought that home.

You mean you are responsible for the invasion of the red bug? Grrrr! I can see it, but I can't smell it or catch it or even bite it. I finally gave up trying.

Karen Jo: But you sure had fun trying. I haven't seen you play that long with anything before.

I had fun with foods today, too. Before Mom even changed her furs this morning she went to the room with the slick floor and got a BIG piece of meat out of the cold box. It smelled so yummy that I jumped up and tried to lick it, but Mom caught me and put me back on the floor. Then she put it into a silver thing and put it all in another box that got hot. Pretty soon the whole room smelled really good. After a long time, she took the silver thing out of the hot box and put the meat on a wooden thing. It smelled so good that I jumped up and tried to lick it again, but Mom caught me again and put me back on the floor. Then she cut a piece off of it and put it on one of her food dishes and I tried once more to lick it, but she is too fast for me. Then she cut up a piece and put it on one of my food dishes and put it on the floor for me. I ate one piece and walked away. Then I meowed and meowed and meowed for my chick-hen. She got out my chick-hen and put that on my food dish, too. I ate some chick-hen, but that other stuff was yucky.

Karen Jo: Right, Herman. That was roast beef I gave you first. If you thought it was so yucky, why was it mostly gone when I got back from work?

I got hungry and I have to eat something.

Karen Jo: Like you didn't have Stinky Goodness and crunchies out the whole time.

I ate most of my Stinky Goodness, too.

Karen Jo: I think you just found a way to get roast beef and chicken, too.

Hahaha!

Happy Paws

This is what I do when my Mom gets down on the floor with me and gives me pets and scritches. She wanted to catch me fully on my back making happy paws in the air, but I never stay that way long. You can see my curled paw here, though. I just love it when she gives me scritches, but sometimes she tries to take her hand away too soon and I grab her hand and give her a small bitey. Sometimes she says, "Ouch!", but mostly she just goes back to giving me scritches. I have learned some of her routine. Just before she goes to bed she checks my food dishes, gives me a few scritches, cleans out my litterbox then says, "Herman, it's bedtime!" Last night I beat her to the bed and made her get in around me. Hee-hee! I slept curled up behind her knees last night. Also on her feet. I just love that soft blanket that she keeps over her feet.

I haven't been paying much attention to my platform, so this morning when she heard the birdies outside, she lifted me up on the platform and gave me a treat. Then I watched the birdies for a while before I hopped down again. Then we played on the floor until it was time for lunch. We both got yummy chick-hen. After lunch, Mom got out that fevvers on a string thing again. I batted it a bit and it did that scary jumpy thing again. I ran and hid behind a box and watched it for a while, but didn't come out to play any more. Early this afternoon she lifted me up to my platform again and gave me head scritches. Then I saw the biggest black bird I have ever seen.

Karen Jo: It was a raven, Herman. I wanted you to see it.

I watched it until it flew away. Then I kept watching out the window for a while. This platform gets the nicest sunspot. I just lay down and enjoyed it. My Mom went away for a while then she came back and reached for that thing she puts on when she is going to leave me. I jumped down and twined around her ankles and asked her nicely not to go away, but she did anyway.

Karen Jo: I have to go to work, Herman. I would rather stay home with you, but I have to get the green papers to buy us food and toys for you.

I guess I can live with it. Tonight I ran to the door to meet Mom when she came home. She had to be very careful opening the door to keep me inside. I just wanted to greet her. She got me my dinner and gave me some scritches, then she went and sat by my platform and made some funny scratching noises on it. I went to the platform and jumped up in the little box nearest her and made some biscuits and she gave me a Temptation. I liked that and wanted another one. She made some more scratchy noises and I scratched a tiny bit on the post and she gave me another Temptation. I am not sure what is going on, but I like it.

Floof and Fun

Hi, I'm Herman. I thought I would show off a bit of my tummy floof for you. I'm not sure that I've found my "voice" yet, so how I write may change in time. My Mom is trying to learn how to take pictures of me, but she's not very good yet. Can you see my gold eyes? She is good at spoiling me. I have found out that I don't even have to wake her up for breakfast any more. She always sees to it that I have plenty of food out. This is a good thing because I nibble all day and part of the night. Today I discovered that I like cold macaroni and cheese. My Mom put the cold container out on counter and went to get a plate. I hopped up and started sniffing it, so she gave me some. She left me for a while this afternoon and when she got back, she had a big box with her. This is what was in it:
I snoopervised while she started putting it together, but that got boring after a while, so I took a nap in my bed by the hot air vent while she finished it. I have sniffed it and rubbed up against it, but not gotten on it or scratched on it yet. Well, just a tiny scratch on the bottom white part.

Karen Jo: This was most frustrating to put together as the directions and photos of what it's supposed to look like do not match. There is supposed to be a third ramp, but there is a gap of about an inch between the bracket and the hole the bolt is supposed to go in. I guess I could get a really long bolt, but it doesn't seem worth the bother.

I have also discovered that my Mom will share the big sleeping place with me. When she got in last night I jumped up and went to see her. She had this funny square thing in her hands, but I got in front of it and demanded attention. Pretty soon she turned off the light and we went to sleep. There is this really soft blanket over her feet and I slept there some, but mostly I slept up beside her shoulder. I didn't stay there all night, as there are interesting things to do in the night-time, like bat all my toys around, snack and take care of kitty business, but I was there when she woke up. She seemed really happy about this for some reason.

Later she got out a long stick and got my mousie out from under where it had disappeared. I was so happy that I batted it all around the slick floor. Then she started carrying things out the door. I got really interested in the fresh air coming in from under the second door, but Mom didn't seem to like that. Do you know what she did to me? She picked me up and carried me back into the really big room where I like to hang out. A big mancat like me, being carried. Oh, the indignity of it all! I really squirmed, but she wouldn't let go until she put me down.

After she ate, she got out the feathers on a string thing again. So far it hasn't seemed very interesting to me, but this time I discovered that if I tried, I could catch it. I can also make the feathers bounce around if I bat them. I was having fun until I swatted it hard. It went way up then came down again, right at me. I got spooked and ran away.

My foster lady came to see me today. I still don't like her much. She sat down on the floor with me and I let her pet me a little, but not much. She wiggled my kicker toy at me and I showed her how I play with it. She was really happy about that. She brought me my old bed. I sniffed it and I have stuck my head in it, but I think I like my new one better. Yawn, talking about beds makes me feel sleepy. I think it's nap time again.