Togetherness Day

That's me on the left and Emma on the right.  Mom couldn't believe her eyes when she saw both of us sharing the pillow in front of the window. She had never seen the two of us so close together before. She wonders if cuddling together can be far away.  I say, "Yes!  Cuddling together can be very far away, especially if she keeps on trying to butt in on my petting time."

Karen Jo:  Emma wasn't trying to butt in on your petting time.  I had been petting you for a long time and thought you were asleep. She just jumped up to see if she could get some attention, too.  You have been really hogging bedtime lately.  I just reached over and started petting her and you smacked both of us with your paw.  Poor Emma just looked confused.  It was morning and that is usually her time.

Night time, morning, I don't care.  If I am there first I want all the attention.

Karen Jo:  And you have been getting the lion's share of it.  To clue in our friends, I haven't been feeling well lately and have been spending a lot of time in bed. Herman has been right there with me, wanted to be petted and keeping me company.  Poor Emma hasn't been getting much attention at all.  I have managed to find some time for her when Herman isn't around.

Enough of that.  Our litter boxes need changing.

Karen Jo:  I know.  I tried to buy litter today, but all I could get was one box and I need two boxes for one litter box.  I will try again on Monday.  There was enough Deserts' Sand, but you don't really like that.

I don't like that at all.  Oh, well, I hope some more Swheat Scoop shows up soon.

Karen Jo:  I think I am going to have to start buying it one box at a time whenever I can find it.

Emma:  I want some more play time.

Karen Jo:  I have tried to play with you more, but you usually don't want to play when I want to play.

Emma:  So find out when I want to play and do more of it.

Karen Jo:  I know that you like to play at night, but I have been so tired that I haven't been up to playing with you when I used to.

Emma:  So get over it and play with me.

At least the food is getting better.  Mom cooked chicken in the oven and I sat by the oven waiting and waiting for it to get done.  At last it was ready and Mom gave me a bite.  She made something good out of it with cheese and I got some cheese, too.  Tonight was steak night and Mom gave me some sour cream.

Karen Jo:  I would have given you some steak, too, but you never asked for any.

I was too full of sour cream.

Emma:  I don't like that stuff.  My duck and pea bowl is almost empty and you aren't filling it up.

Karen Jo:  Every month I dump all of your dry food, wash the bowls and start over.  You will get all brand new dry food in the morning.

Emma:  I can hardly wait.

I can wait.  I tried some more of that duck and pea yesterday and barfed it again.  I think I will stick to my weight control formula.

Karen Jo:  I think that's a good idea.  I took you to be weighed Wednesday and you have lost 0.6 pounds.  I hope some of it was fat and not just fur.

I do, too.  I hope I didn't lose that much fur.

Emma:  I think you look great without your fur, except for your swag belly.

You little twerp!  Wait till I get my paws on you!

Karen Jo:  Now, now, Herman.  Your belly is a bit more obvious now.

Humpf!  At least I still get most of the petting around here.  That proves I am still the primo cat in this house.

Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week

This is the most appropriate badge I could find for Herman and Emma. Herman is FIV+ along with having Feline Leukemia. Emma just has Feline Leukemia. Adopting these two adorable kitties is the best thing I could have done for them and for me.  Herman came along shortly after I lost my Mother and was feeling very much alone in the family home by myself.  I was sad and lonely; he was sad and lonely; we were a perfect match.  Other than his one bout of active Feline Leukemia, Herman has been perfectly healthy in the almost two years that he has lived with me.  Emma came to live with us on March 1st of this year.  Herman was showing some signs of being lonely while I was at work and the word came that a nearby shelter had a cat with Feline Leukemia who needed a home at once because the shelter didn't really have an isolation cage and all the foster homes were full.  I went and picked her up the day after I found out about her and talked to the lady at the shelter.  I can't say that they loved each other at first sight, but they get along well.  There was never any real antagonism between them.  Emma hasn't been sick at all.  If you are thinking of adopting a first cat, please consider taking one with FIV or Feline Leukemia.  These diseases are serious, but they are not an automatic early death sentence. There are treatments to help keep them healthy and research is coming up with new drugs to help or even cure the diseases.

This is Hal. A life on the streets of Albuquerque, NM, has left him with an aversion to dogs and children, a cauliflower ear and FIV. He really needs a quiet home and a loving human. Please consider adopting him.  You can find out more about him here.http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17712249?rvp=1

Herman Goes Nekkid

 I found a sunspot on the big pillow in front of the living room window.  Mom would get me shaved just when the weather turned cool and rainy.  I am trying to keep warm now.  I am also using my ham-mick and bed in front of the heater again.  This is called a half-lion cut.  I think it is more three-quarters.  I thought Mom would become a better blogger when she retired, but she's worse now.

Karen Jo:  My apologies.  I am still trying to get used to my new schedule, or rather a lack of one.  I fall prey to the lure of the TV much too often, then fall asleep watching and don't blog.  I am also going out more.  I love having a social life again.  Working nights and weekends meant that I had barely any social life at all.  I promise to do much better.  Herman, don't complain about your shave too much.  You know that you feel much better.

True, I am running around and playing much more, now that my flanks don't hurt from the nasty mats.

Emma:  One of the things that I really like about having Mom around all the time is that she lets me explore places I was never allowed in before.  I surprised Mom by getting up on her clothes in her closet when she was trying to pick out something to wear.  I walked from one end of the closet to the other up here, then I jumped down again.

Karen Jo:  I was about to offer you a ride down, but you handled it all on your own.

One of the things that I don't like so much is that Mom changed our lunch time.  We used to get fed at 1:30 every afternoon.  Now we have to wait until three or four.

Karen Jo:  I was throwing out so much food that you didn't eat between breakfast (any time between 8 and 10) and lunch that I decided to space out your meals more evenly.  Now most meals get eaten almost completely.  You still get breakfast and supper at your regular times.

You are not giving me enough treats.

Karen Jo:  I am only giving you one treat at a time and only several hours apart now.  You need to cut down on treats so you can lose weight.  You need to go in for a weighing again fairly soon.

Rats.  Hey, maybe I lost weight when I got shaved, so I will weigh in at less this time.

Karen Jo:  That's possible, but you are still not getting more treats.

Rats again. At least I still get nibbles from your meals.

Emma:  Mom has started giving me a treat when I take my Interferon, but I still run from her when I see the syringe.

Karen Jo:  I don't know why you don't like it.  It's just a little squirt of cold water in your mouth.

Emma:  It's the cold I don't like.  It makes me shake my front paws and sometimes give a little shiver.

Karen Jo:  Sorry about the cold, but the Interferon has to be refrigerated.  Herman likes it.

I still shake my front paw right after I take it.

Karen Jo:  Emma is still having a lot of fun chasing the ribbon tied to my Happy Retirement balloon.  It's Mylar, so it still floats.  Today, she was playing with it in the living room when I left to attend a meeting.  When I returned several hours later, Emma was napping on my bed and the balloon was in my bedroom, too.  I am guessing that she grabbed the ribbon and took the balloon with her.  The windows were closed, so it couldn't have drifted there on its own.

Emma:  I am not saying a word. It is really fun, though.  I am also still very partial to my new wand toy, though I still like Da Bird best. We are getting more play time, though we aren't always interested when Mom wants to play.

Mom went on a toy hunt the other day.  I love watching her lie on the floor and try to reach the toys we have batted under the couch.  She found a bunch of balls and a couple of mice.  Mom has been watching me pounce Emma.  I jump out and try to grab her with my front paws.  She always gets away, though. Sometimes I chase her afterward and sometimes I don't.  I like to keep her guessing.

Emma:  I don't know why Herman wants to grab me.  I don't mind it, or the chasing.  I can always get away from him.  He won't follow me if I go up high or if I duck into any of my hidey-holes.  Herman can be fun with toys, too.  I whapped a ball near him and he whapped it again and I chased it.  He lost interest after that, but it's the most play with toys interaction Mom has seen between us.

Karen Jo:  The two of you seem to be getting closer and closer.  Most nights both of you sleep with me on the bed, though not close to each other, usually. The other night Emma beat Herman to his favorite spot next to my chest where I pet him.  I was petting Emma when Herman showed up.  He just lay at my feet, out of whapping range from Emma and went to sleep.  I kept expecting him to try to get his spot back, but he never did.  I didn't even try to pet Herman, because I know how Emma reacts when I switch my attention from her to him, even if I pet both of them at the same time. The upshot is that Herman is no longer jealous of Emma, but Emma still gets jealous of Herman. What was really unusual is that Emma stayed by me all night.  She usually moves during the night, then Herman reclaims his spot.  I had both kitties in bed the whole night, which was really great.

Mo Cats Day

Karen Jo:  I just read that Beau's Mom Cathy passed away.  It makes me very sad.  I have been reading Beau's blog for years and enjoyed it very much.  Cathy loved all the kitties so much that I can't think of a better way to honor her than to go ahead and blog for Mo Cats Day.

 We got our package from China Cat and Willow for Christmas in July yesterday.  We were late getting our gifts to them, too.  Look how nicely everything is packaged and wrapped.  It came with a nice card, too.

 Look at all this good stuff. Even Mom got something.  That square that says "Meow" is a picture frame with a great picture of me and Emma in Santa hats in front of a fire with a Christmas tree.  Mom loves it and has put it out on the table.  We got a purple cube and lots of Temptations (some flavors we have never had before), furry mousies with rattles, a little basketball, a blue ball that looks like a woofie, a nip cigar and a wand toy.  Each of us grabbed our favorite right away.

 I grabbed the nip cigar as soon as Mom got it out of the package.  I sniffed it and licked it and bunny-kicked it like crazy.  Then I took a nap using it for a pillow and had nice nip dreams.

Emma:  I got all excited when Mom got out the wand toy.  I played and played with it until Mom's arm got tired.

All the toys got played with before the day was over.  Mom gave us Temptations, too.  Thank you so much, China Cat and Willow.

Mom has been acting strange since she retired.  She has been sleeping a whole lot.  At first she went out almost every night, then came home and went straight to bed, so she didn't blog.  Then she just started going to bed early and didn't blog.

Karen Jo:  I don't think I realized just how tired I had become.  After several night of spending 10+ hours in bed, I finally feel rested again.

Emma:  I like all the bed time.  I can get my morning pets and the noisy thing doesn't go off and Mom doesn't get up until I have enough petting.

I like all the bed time, too.  I have been getting long petting sessions at night.  Mom even lies down to watch TV and I can get more petting then, too, if Emma doesn't beat me to it.  Other than that, Mom hasn't been much fun.  She has been playing with papers all day long.

Karen Jo:  I had a lot of paper work that I had been neglecting.  It is almost all done now.  I have been trying to play with you more, but mostly you don't want to play in the afternoons.

We got used to napping all afternoon while you were at work. We still like to nap in the afternoons, especially now that it gets all cold and rainy every afternoon.

Karen Jo:  Yes, I am having to close the windows every night (if not earlier) now.  Fall is well on its way.

And you are still plotting to steal my fur.

Karen Jo:  I have to.  Your mats are even worse that I first thought.  You have an appointment with a groomer on Tuesday.  Hopefully, it will just be for some spot shaving, but I will let the groomer decide whether you need the whole lion cut.  I don't think it will be necessary, as you don't have any mats on your back, just on both flanks and around your legs.  You need your butt cleaned, too, but I will try to get that done before your appointment.

I don't like you wiping my butt.

Karen Jo:  I know, but it has gotten pretty bad.  Your fur is so thick that it is hard to see how many klingons you have.  I thought there was just a little bit, until I wiped at you this afternoon and felt them all.  You will have to get wiped every day until I can get them all off and maybe you just need to be wiped every day to keep clean.

Argh!  I am going to hate that.

Emma:  You need to groom yourself.  I keep myself clean without any help from Mom.

Your fur isn't as thick and you don't have pudding poop.

Karen Jo:  You don't have much pudding poop yourself, Herman.  Just a tiny bit every day.  It does tend to get stuck in the fur, though.

Nobody warned me that having a retired Mom meant that she would have more time to do stuff to me that I don't like.

Karen Jo:  I have more time to do things you do like, too, Herman.  I didn't see you turning down bites of my lunch or supper.

That's true.  I found out that I like corned beef, but you wouldn't give me very much.

Karen Jo:  It's salty and I don't think you should have too much salt.

It is cool that you are home for more meals.

Thank You, ML

I am a bit late getting my post up, as I have been celebrating my retirement, but I do want to participate.  Thank you so much, ML, for all the kitties you have rescued and the inspiration you give all of us to open our hearts and homes to those kitties (and other animals) who need our help so much and who give us so much in return.  Without the Cat Blogosphere, I might never have found the blogs of people who adopted cats with health problems and learned that FIV and Feline Leukemia were serious, but no reason not to adopt.  Without your lead in showing how a house could take in so many kitties and not only survive, but thrive, I might never have considered taking in my two darlings.  Oh, I would have adopted a cat or two, but probably not the two I did adopt.  Without the links to so many cat and other animal blogs, Kitty Limericks would not have gone on as long as it has.  It is being revived, by the way. Most of the entries in my blog lists came from introductions I found in the Cat Blogosphere.  Thank you so much for all the birthday and gotcha day announcements and the sad ones of our friends going over the Rainbow Bridge.  I have had very limited time for visiting and I would never have been able to keep up on my own.  Mainly, just thank you so much for being the wonderful person that you are.

Tired Thursday

 I can't believe how weird Mom is acting.

Emma:  I am looking for Mom's mind.  I think she lost it.

We are used to Mom coming home and announcing that she is tired.  She does that almost every night.

Emma:  Last night she came home with flowers and a balloon.  Instead putting on her PJs after she fed us, she put on a clean shirt and changed her shoes and combed her hair.

She called her friend that she goes out with and off they went and didn't come home until stupid o'clock.

Emma:  When she finally got home, she had more balloons.  When we tried our best puzzled looks to find out what was going on, she said that she was re-tired and was celebrating.

Of course she was tired all over again, after working seven days in a row then staying out until stupid o'clock, but we don't see anything good about that.

Karen Jo:  Retired doesn't mean that I am tired all over again.  It means I don't have to go to work any more.

What about the green papers?  You always told us that you had to go to work to get green papers for our food!

Emma:  And toys!

And treats!

Emma:  And litter!

Karen Jo:  Don't worry.  I worked for a long time and earned a pension and Social Security.  They will send me green papers every month.

You mean they are going to give you green papers NOT to go to work?

Karen Jo:  That's right.

Weird!  But I think I will like it.

Emma:  Me, too.