Mancat Monday

This is what Mom sees when she wakes up in the morning, at least if she wakes up before the alarm goes off.  She got up and I stayed put, so she got the camera, got back in bed and took the picture.  We both think it's a great way to wake up. Some of you want to know about the kitty torture bag.  I'll let Mom explain.

Karen Jo:  Because of the way Herman fought me when I tried to clean off his klingons before, I bought a grooming bag, also called a claw control bag, which restrains a cat like wrapping him up in a towel, leaving the head free, but has zippers to allow access to the paws one at a time for claw trimming, or to the rear for cleaning. We are both glad that I didn't have to use it.  Since Herman hates to be restrained, I am not sure I could have zipped him up in it without help.

Mom got up a little early today to make chicken casserole.  True to her word, she let me have a couple of bites of chicken before she put it in the casserole.  When it was ready and she started to eat it, I sat next to her and stared at her until she offered me a bite of chicken.  I liked it and meowed for more.  Next she gave me a tiny bite of egg noodle and I liked that.  I kept helping her eat it for quite a few bites.

Karen Jo:  I picked this recipe because it was easy and it didn't have anything in it that would be bad for kitties.  I remembered that you like pasta with cream sauce and that's why I offered you the bites of noodle.  I will share with you again tomorrow, if you don't do your "I don't like leftovers" act again.

I really like chicken, but when are we having steak again?

Karen Jo:  On Thursday, after your wellness exam.  I expect that we will have cause to celebrate.  You seem very healthy to me and I expect the vet to be amazed at how well you are doing.

I started getting my Interferon again today.  I wasn't expecting it and Mom had to come find me in the living room to give it to me.  I bet I am waiting at the refrigerator for it tomorrow.

Karen Jo:  I bet you will be asking for it tomorrow, too.  Unfortunately, the first of the month is the day after tomorrow and that means you get your Metronitazole again.

Oh, man, I hate that stuff.  You better bring out the really good treats if you are going to stuff that down my throat.

Karen Jo:  I have a good supply of Temptations, nip treats and Greenies for you.

I guess that will do.  I got lots of Temptations tonight.

Karen Jo:  I let you have as many as you wanted because you were so good about eating your dinner tonight.  You ate up all your Stinky Goodness and some of your Medley.  You also ate about half a bowl of your Purina One while I was at work.  There is certainly nothing wrong with your appetite.

When will you know more about the leukemia kitty?

Karen Jo:  I don't know.  I will wait several days for the shelter lady to contact me.  If she doesn't by this weekend, I will e-mail her for more information.  I am not getting my hopes up too high.  I will work on getting your old safe room ready, just in case.

Mom Got Busy Again

I'm just taking it easy on the carpet.  Friday things got weird again.  I got Mom up for breakfast in broad daylight, but it wasn't time for her to get up for good yet.  We were relaxing in bed and I was getting petted when that phone thing went off again.  This time they told her not to come to work.  She got up at her regular time anyway.

Karen Jo:  I was all prepared to get up at my usual time and my inner clock wouldn't let me get back to sleep.  I had a lot to do anyway.

Not much of it was good.  She went and got me more medicine and made the dreaded vet appointment for my wellness exam.  Then she went shopping for that stuff to spray on my butt.  She even brought home a kitty torture bag.

Karen Jo:  You know that I have to get you cleaned up.  Luckily you didn't fight me that much and I didn't have to put you in the grooming bag.  I got the worst of the klingons off, but there is still more to do.

I am not looking forward to that. At least the chicken is good.  I helped Mom eat some for lunch on Saturday.  Friday she ate pizza and wouldn't share.

Karen Jo:  I offered you some cheese from the pizza, but you wouldn't eat it.

I wanted some of the meat.

Karen Jo:  I didn't think pepperoni or Italian sausage would be good for you.

Mom talked for a long time on the phone thing last night.  I tried to get her attention by playing with my Woolly Bully, but she didn't come play with me.

Karen Jo:  Your foster Mom called about a leukemia kitty who needs a home.  I don't know anything about her yet, but the shelter who has her now might contact me.  I also arranged for a ride to the vet for your wellness exam, as we are having another cold front moving through and it is going to be too cold for you to go in your stroller.  You didn't really play with your Woolly Bully long enough for me to get up and join you.  You stopped before I could even get off the couch.

Are you considering getting me a sister again?

Karen Jo:  It is a possibility. We will see what happens this time.

Floofy Friday

I am showing off my magnificent floofy tummy again, this time on the table with Mom's papers.  Mom put a really comfy soft throw on this table before I ever moved in with her.  It's a good height for looking out the window.  She puts all her papers that she needs to work on here, but they don't bother me and I don't bother them.  Mom hasn't been blogging again.

Karen Jo:  I am sorry that I missed a couple of days, Herman.  I had a major allergy attack very early Tuesday morning and ended up having to take my high-potency medicine and spending the day and night in bed.  I was still pretty tired on Wednesday, but I am all right now.

Today was weird.  Mom played slug-a-bed this morning, listening to the radio and petting me.  Then she finally got up and started doing her usual stuff.  While she was cooking lunch, that thing that she talks to went off.

Karen Jo:  It's called a telephone.  I got called in to work.

I got out of my furmination, but Mom still gave me my medicine before she left.  It did mean that she couldn't go get that stuff to clean my butt, so I got out of that, too.

Karen Jo:  I am definitely going to get it on Tuesday. Time is running out before your wellness exam and I don't want to take you to the nice vet lady with a dirty butt.  I tried working it out with a paper towel, but it is really stuck to your fur.

I didn't like that bit at all.  Pulling on my fur back there really hurts.  Mom's been doing all kind of weird things tonight, too.

Karen Jo:  Today is laundry day, only I had to start it after I got home.  I also had to throw that chicken in the oven, because I really needed to either cook it or freeze it today.  I was planning on picking out a recipe after lunch, then getting the ingredients I needed from the store and cooking it tonight.

Lunch was good.  You got that good chicken that you put cheese on out of the freezer and warmed it up.  I could have eaten more of that than you gave me.

Karen Jo:  I had to kind of rush through lunch because I had to get to work. There will be more chicken very soon.

I hope so.  I can smell it cooking and I like what I smell.

Karen Jo:  I just put in the pan and put into the oven naked.  I do have lots of recipes that call for cooked chicken.  I will leave a little out and freeze most of it.  You can have some before I do anything to it.

Sounds good to me.  With all this laundry stuff and cooking going on after Mom got home, I had to wait much longer than usual for my treats.  I barfed a little on my warming mat and I was hoping that Mom wouldn't see it.  The barf matched the colors on the mat. Mom spotted it right away anyhow.

Karen Jo:  It was just a little barf and this time I could be sure that treats had nothing at all to do with it.  The only thing in the barf was, ironically, your Purina One for Sensitive Systems.  You drank too much water after eating again.  I still think you tend to barf up this food because it is in little disks and you don't chew it up as much as you chew up your other food.  I can hear you crunching it, so I know you are chewing, but most of it goes down whole.  I know this because the barf is readily identifiable.  You wanted a whole bunch of treats tonight.

I was hungry.

Karen Jo:  You could have eaten more of your Stinky Goodness.

I would rather wait for treats.  I did eat some Stinky Goodness when you fed me tonight.

Karen Jo:  Not a whole lot.  You were waiting for treats and, boy, did you eat a lot of them.  It was nip treats tonight and you always want more of them than any other kind.  You wouldn't play with me afterward, though.

I didn't feel like playing.  I just wanted to rest and digest my treats.

Tuxie Tuesday

I'm just chillaxing with my toys.  Mom keeps trying to get me to play and I keep ignoring her.  I do play while she is at work, some.  Most of the time most of my toys are still right where she tossed them before she went to work.  Mom guesses I spend most of the time she is gone just napping and eating.  Mom sneaked up on me while I was eating the treats I get in my little PTU for taking my morning pill and brushed the little bits out of my pantaloons.  Sneaky Mom!  I couldn't go forward to get away from her and I wouldn't back up into the brush.  I protested, but she did it anyway.

Karen Jo:  There is still a lot to do.  A friend of mine told me about a product called Earth Bath, which is a spray on foam for kitties with klingons.  I will be getting some tomorrow.

I don't think I am going to like this.  Mom had sushi again today and I wasn't in the least bit interested.  I didn't even go into the kitchen to see what she was eating.

Karen Jo:  I guess you don't smell food when I just take it out of the refrigerator.  It was just California roll, anyway, with fake crab.

Why would I want fake crab?

Karen Jo:  Fake crab is made out of real fish.

Fake fish made out of real fish?  Humans are really weird.  Bring on the chicken.

Karen Jo:  The chicken is coming up tomorrow.  I still haven't decided how I am going to cook it, but I don't think I will put it in the slow cooker after all.  I am thinking of making something Oriental out of some of it and just baking the rest of it.

I like baked chicken.  Mom has been petting me a whole lot when she goes to bed.  She even works out some of the fur tangles that are showing up on my chest.  I guess I am starting my Spring shed, just a little.  The vet said last year is what happens is that my undercoat starts to shed and gets stuck in my top coat. Every Thursday, Mom holds me down and furminates me as much as I will tolerate.  She got a huge handful of fur out the last two weeks.  I don't really like it, but Mom says it will save me from getting shaved.

Karen Jo:  I don't want to have to get you shaved again.  You always look and act so embarrassed about it.  I will do everything I can to keep that from happening again.

Windy Sunday

Mom took this picture the day after she put new nip on my scratcher.  I decided to use it for a pillow for my afternoon nap.  I will get some more new nip on my scratcher today.  Mom hasn't seen any nip plants for sale, but when she does, she will put it in a big planter in the living room that doesn't have a plant in it.  She will take the advice from Iza, Ayla and Marley to water it every time she does the laundry and we will see how long it lasts.  I am so glad to have a nip ball around again that I play with it every day.  Sometimes I play with it while Mom is here, so she can join in and sometimes I play with it while she is at work.  I even play with some of my other toys, too.

Mom, we finished the rib roast today.  What's next on the menu?

Karen Jo:  It's time for chicken again, but I haven't decided what to do with it yet.  Maybe I will do something in the crock pot.

You mean you are going to put chicken in the crock pot and leave it on all night, tantalizing my poor nose for hours on end?

Karen Jo:  That's a distinct possibility.

Don't be surprised if I get you up at oh-dark-thirty for breakfast then.

Karen Jo:  I won't.  I don't really mind getting up early to get your breakfast when you are really hungry.

What's all that noise been about all day?

Karen Jo:  We have been having a bit of a windstorm.  The gusts were supposed to get up to forty miles an hour and I believe it.  I had quite a tailwind coming home.

I hope you don't have any wind coming out of your tail.

Karen Jo:  Herman!  I finished up the lima beans with the roast and will switch to Brussels sprouts with the chicken.  Tomorrow is hamburger day, though.  Shall I have beans with it?

No!  It was funny when we got up this morning, though.

Karen Jo:  You mean when we both pooted at the same time as I was getting out of bed?  We looked at each other for a minute, then both abandoned the bedroom as quickly as possible.

That's what I meant.  I am glad that you finally got me some Feline Greenies again.

Karen Jo:  Just what you needed, more treats.  Ah, I love giving you treats after I get home from work and get out of my work clothes and into my PJs and start to relax.  You purr as I give them to you and sometimes you reach up and pat my face with your paw, as if to tell me how much you appreciate them.  I have some bad news for you.

What's that?

Karen Jo:  It's only two more weeks until your wellness exam.  You need to work on keeping your bum cleaner, or I am going to have to give you a good wash before you go.  How would you like to be dunked in the bathtub?

NO!!!  Anything but that.  I can't even stand the thought of being wet all over.  Let's take this by stages, shall we?

Karen Jo:  OK, I will try to get the smaller bits out with your brush, but I will need some cooperation from you, or I will have to hold you still while I do it.

Me, cooperate with a butt brushing?  Are you crazy?  I can see that this is going to be quite a project.

Caturday

Here I am showing off my magnificent tummy.  I had another bad fur day, as you can see.  Mom!  You made me miss your purr-formance review!

Karen Jo:  I know and I'm sorry.  I fell asleep watching TV again.  Can we just leave it that I'm a bad blogger, but a good Mom?  You have everything a kitty could want.

Not quite.  I never get to chase live mousies.

Karen Jo:  And you aren't going to, unless one is stupid enough to sneak into the house.  If one does, it's all yours.

You mean like when I first moved in?

Karen Jo:  Exactly.  Don't get your hopes up too high, though.  There has only been a mouse in this house twice during the last fifteen years.

Darn!  I have been getting some really good food.  Mom couldn't find lamb, but did find a rib roast.  I have been helping her eat it.  Mom also got me a new nip ball when she couldn't find my old one.  Then she did find the old one way under the couch.  Now I have two of them.

Karen Jo:  It was probably time for a new one, anyway.  It's been over a year since I bought you the first one.

Hmmm, so I get really good food and plenty of it, almost all the treats I can eat, lots and lots of toys, plenty of comfy beds to nap in, long petting sessions every night and the stuff I don't really care for, like medicine and brushing, to keep me healthy.  I guess we will leave your purr-formance review that you are a bad blogger but a good Mom.

Tuxie Tuesday

The sun coming in through the big windows is getting pretty warm these days, so I decided to take a snooze in the shade.  I appreciate all your comments about nip.  Most of the votes were for weekly or daily nip, so I will be getting my scratchers dusted with dried nip much more often.  I don't go crazy for nip, but I do enjoy it.  Mom is considering trying to grow me some nip indoors, but she has a brown thumb.  She forgets to water the houseplants so often that they are losing their leaves.

Guess what, kitties?  I don't like tuna sushi.  Mom pinched off a tiny piece of tuna for me and I sniffed it, licked it and walked away from it.  Mom worried just a tiny bit because I am not supposed to have raw food, but she wanted to give me a special treat and figured that a few tiny bites wouldn't hurt me.  She needn't have worried because I won't eat the stuff.  I got all the Friskies Natural Sensations treats I wanted tonight and I wanted a lot.

Karen Jo:  You like canned tuna (which you very seldom get any more) and you like tuna Stinky Goodness, so I thought you would like tuna sushi. Silly me.  At least I gave you lots and lots of petting last night, so you got the love part of the love and treats for Valentine's Day.  Yes, you got your regular treats, too, but I wanted something special for you.  I need to think of something to cook again, so maybe I will come up with something that you will like.  Maybe it's time for lamb again.  I love lamb and sometimes you do, too.

I played with a toy a bit today, as my Valentine's Day treat for my Mom.  She tossed me a furry mousie and I played with it for a while.  It made her happy.

Karen Jo:  Thank you, Herman.  It was a nice gift for me.

Happy Valentine's Day

I was keeping the bed warm, hoping Mom would come back, but she didn't.  She got up, got dressed and went to work anyway.  At least the red and white bedspread is appropriate for Valentine's Day.  I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day with lots of love and treats.  I will get something special.  Mom brought sushi home again and she says I can have some this time.

Karen Jo:  I really wanted the smoked eel, but all they had left that wasn't spicy was California roll or tuna cream cheese roll.  I like both, but I thought you might enjoy the tuna more, so I brought that one home.  It's funny.  I haven't had sushi for months, but now I am craving it and had some last week and now I'm having it two days in a row.  I am thinking I might have it once a week.  It's pretty healthy, especially if I buy the brown rice ones and I like it.

I am in favor of that, I think.  Since I haven't had any yet, I don't know if I approve of it or not.  Will you give me lots of love and treats today?

Karen Jo:  Of course, Herman.  I will give you all the treats you want after I get home from work and I will pet you as long as I can at bedtime.  Just remember that I eventually have to go to sleep.

If you napped like I do, you wouldn't need so much sleep at night.

Karen Jo:  That's true, but I have to go to work to bring home the green papers for your food, treats and litter.  Not to mention paying the bills for the heat and water.  If you want to keep the life to which you have become so accustomed, you have to let me sleep at night.

I have been pretty good about that.  I haven't gotten you up at oh-dark-thirty for breakfast more than once a week lately.

Karen Jo:  I appreciate that.  Lots of mornings you don't get me up at all.  You are content to wait until I have to get up to use the human litter box.

I am almost out of Stinky Goodness.

Karen Jo:  I noticed.  I will bring you home a couple of the twelve can boxes tomorrow.  It is already on my shopping list.  Is there anything else you want?

I haven't gotten any new toys since Christmas.

Karen Jo:  You scarcely play with the ones you have now.  Besides, you already have one of every kind they have at the stores in town.  I did get you a new toy bucket, so I don't have to put them in your cube any more.  Now you will have two toy buckets and I can move the toys from one to the other as I get them out for you to play with and put them away again.

I played with my Christmas star flashy ball this morning.  I haven't seen my nip ball in ages.

Karen Jo:  I tossed it into your cube the last time I vacuumed.  It's still in there somewhere.  I will find it eventually, as I get the other toys out.

I don't get enough nip.

Karen Jo:  I put new nip on your scratchers every month.  I feed you at least some nip treats every day.  Ask your friends if they think I should put new nip on the scratchers more often.  If they think so, then I will do it.  I really don't know how long it lasts.

OK, gang, let's have some opinions.  I think I should get new nip every week; Mom thinks once a month is enough.  How often do you get new nip?

Comeback Sunday

The weather has warmed up and we have been getting lots of sunshine, so I can enjoy my platform again.  Mom has been a REALLY bad blogger.

Karen Jo:  I am very sorry.  I could make a long list of minor complaints and sound very whiny, but basically, I just haven't felt up to blogging lately.  I really will do better.

Mom has been coming home from work and doing what she has to do, then going to bed instead of blogging.  On her days off when she could blog all evening, she just lies on her bed and falls asleep watching TV.

Karen Jo:  And who has been right beside me on the bed, demanding his petting sessions?

Me, of course.  I am not about to pass up an opportunity like that.  You don't always pet me enough, though.

Karen Jo:  You let me know about it Thursday night.  I petted you for almost an hour, but when I quit, you turned your head and gave me a baleful glare until I started petting you again.  I finally had to stop and go to sleep.    Friday night would  have been quite a sight for anyone looking.  You use your paws to push my hand around until I am petting just the right spot.  I tried to pet your chest, as you usually like and you pushed my hand down.  You were lying next to me, three-quarters on your back, head turned toward the TV, front paws folded against your chest, your near back leg sticking straight up in the air and your far back leg sprawled out to the side with me rubbing your lower belly.  I couldn't see it, but I bet you had that blissed-out look on your face that you get when you are really enjoying something.  It didn't last long, though.

I got sleepy and my back leg got tired, so I pushed you away.

Karen Jo:  You must have been really sleepy.  I tried petting your chest again and you pushed me away.

The food has been pretty good lately.  I wasn't really interested in the pork roast and only had one little bite.  I asked for treats again while the steak was cooking, but Mom only gave me one.  It was for the best.  I ate lots of little bites of steak.  It was worth waiting for.  Mom also had pasta and chicken with cream sauce and I got some of the pasta.  I didn't want the chicken, just the pasta.  I did want some of the chicken with cheese on it, though.  We had that yesterday and today.  Mom brought home sushi for tomorrow, but I don't think I am getting any.

Karen Jo:  I am trying something new called crunchy dragon roll.  I have to check to see if it has spicy sauce on it before I offer you any.  If it isn't spicy, you may have some.  I have never offered you sushi before, because I haven't been eating it much at all lately and the last time I had it, it was spicy.

Mom did remember to bring me home new litter and I got all fresh litter.  I jumped in as soon as she finished pouring it into the box.  Sometimes I sit and watch her scoop the box so I can use it as soon as she finishes.  I have been a good boy mostly about eating up my Stinky Goodness and Medley, so I am getting lots and lots of treats.  Mom brought home a new kind yesterday called Friskies Natural Sensations, salmon flavor.  I like them.

Karen Jo:  No surprise there.  The only thing you haven't been doing a lot of lately is playing with me.  All the extra snuggling has been great, though.  Now if only I could take care of your stinky bum.

Mom!  You are embarrassing me.

You are always getting little bits stuck in your pantaloons and you act like you are being murdered if I try to wash you.  You even give me the mancat fight yowl.

I hate being washed and you know it.  I eventually take care of matters.

Karen Jo:  Yes, you do, but it would be much faster if you would let me do it.

Never!

Brrr

You can't really see it, but I am really checking out a little black feather on the floor.  Mom found a couple of these and put them in with my toys.  I normally ignore them, but I got really interested this time.  Mom has been a bad blogger.

Karen Jo:  I had some rough days at work, then I was so tired I just couldn't get up the energy to blog.  I will try to do better.

I want to thank Sammy and Andy's Mom for my new header.  I think it's awesome.  Mom got it for me in an auction.

Mom has been tracking in some interesting water the last couple of days.

Karen Jo:  We got a little bit of snow from the big storm, but mostly it has just been really cold.  It's 16 below zero here now.  It was about zero when I went to work and the breeze just about froze my fingers through my gloves.  It was a lot colder when I walked home from work, but there was no breeze, so I didn't get as cold.  The ice in the birdbath is so hard that I can't get it out.  I'll bring it in the house and thaw it out tomorrow so the poor birdies can get some water.  The duct tape on the crack is holding so far.

I have been messing with Mom's mind again.  First I would tell her that I wanted to play, but I wouldn't play when she came to play with me.  Then I would tell her again that I wanted to play and I did play with her.  I just love keeping her guessing.  I am getting lots of treats again.

Karen Jo:  There have been no more barfing incidents and I fed you lots of treat for a long time before you barfed, so I figured that I might as well give you lots of treats because you enjoy them so much.

I tried to get Mom to stay home today, but it didn't work.  I hid from her.  When she was ready to go to work, she couldn't find me to pet me goodbye.  Unfortunately, she eventually found me in my mancat cave in my safe room, said goodbye and left.

Karen Jo:  You spooked me a little until I remembered that I had found you in your mancat cave once before and there you were.  I guess it's warm and quiet in there for your nap.

Mom hasn't been eating any good food lately.

Karen Jo:  I have been enjoying it.  I am all done with the stuff you don't like, so I am going to cook a pork loin and steak tomorrow.  I should have cooked the pork loin Tuesday, but the weather was so nasty that I didn't get to the store to buy it.  I got smart tonight and bought everything I needed before I came home.

Did you get me some new litter?

Karen Jo:  Rats!  I forgot the litter.  Maybe I will have to go to the store tomorrow after all.  I am not looking forward to it.  I have some other errands to do tomorrow, too.  I just hope that the wind doesn't blow.

Boy, am I glad that I am an inside kitty!