Smart Sunday

 Today was turn away from Mom while she is taking our picture day.  Emma and I both did it.  The fan has been blowing papers off the kitchen table and Mom doesn't always pick them up right away.

Emma:  I had fun with Mom when she was trying to take my picture. First I was on the couch and she sat in my chair to take a picture on my level.  I walked over this table to stick my nose right up to the camera lens, then I got into her lap.  Mom thought that was pretty cool, so I got petted for a while.  Then I got back on the table and sat down looking at Mom, so she aimed the camera and pushed the button just as I got up and turned away.

Karen Jo:  I love it whenever you jump up into my lap.  You don't do it very often.  I have hopes that someday you will become a lap cat.

Emma:  I have something new that I like to do.  I jump up on Mom's dresser and look at myself in the mirror. I don't meow or try to play with the kitty in the mirror; I just sit and look at myself.

Karen Jo:  I have never seen a cat do that before.  It seems like Emma knows that she is looking at herself, but cats aren't supposed to be able to recognize themselves like that.  Emma is a smart cat and maybe she is smarter than I thought.

I'm smart, too.  I know just how to get you to give me treats whenever I want.  Or almost whenever I want.

Karen Jo:  You are very smart, too, Herman.  I have never seen you with a mirror, so I don't know how you react.  You know when it's time for your Interferon and remind me if I forget and you know just how to get me up early to feed you.

The put my paw on Mom's head and slowly extend my claws trick works every time.  It doesn't hurt her, but it sure gets her attention.  You didn't give me any chicken today.

Karen Jo:  When the chicken was ready to eat, you weren't anywhere in sight.  You and Emma were busy in the living room, so I had to eat the chicken all by myself.  I will be having it again tomorrow, so you have another chance.

Good.  I have always liked this way of cooking chicken.  You snipped my fur again today.

Karen Jo:  There are lots of little places where I will have to snip your fur.  You are getting lots of little mats. You have been resisting me lately, so they are building up.  You don't want to be furminated, which I understand, because if the furminator hits a mat, it pulls and hurts.  You don't want your mats snipped, which I don't really understand because I have never hurt you doing it.  You really don't want to be shaved, which I understand completely.  Snipping is the only way to get rid of your mats that you will tolerate, at least some of the time.

I guess I will have to put up with it.  I know that little mats will become bigger mats if they aren't dealt with, then I will have to be shaved, but I don't like the snipping all the same.

Caturday with Emma

Mom snapped me up here with the stuffies.  Neither Herman nor I are interested in playing with the stuffies.  I just like to rest up here sometimes and this chair is one stop in my run-around-on-the-furniture game.

Karen Jo:  I noticed that neither of you think of stuffies as toys.  I even bought one just for you to play with and it always gets ignored when I get it out. Maybe I need to roll it around in nip or something.

It has been forever since you put some new nip out.

Karen Jo:  The two of you don't seem to need it.  You are lively enough as it is.  I will try to remember to put some out on Sunday, though.

There is this very interesting smell in the kitchen.

Karen Jo:  I am finally cooking the chicken.  I used the recipe that Herman likes -- the one with the Swiss cheese.

I noticed Herman in the kitchen earlier, meowing at you.

Karen Jo:  He wanted some cheese, so I gave him a little.

You didn't give me any.

Karen Jo:  You didn't ask for any.

I probably wouldn't like it anyway.  Herman has started chasing me again.  I like it when he will play.  I have been very playful.  I got one of the balls out of the toy box with holes and knocked it halfway down the hall.  Even Herman has been fishing toys out of that box and playing with them. It's fun.

Karen Jo:  I am really glad that the two of you are enjoying that toy box so much. At first I wasn't sure that Herman would like it.  I knew that you would, though.

I still like Da Bird the best.

Karen Jo:  You are certainly putting some wear on it.  The feathers are looking pretty scraggly.  You don't mind that a bit, so there is no point in getting a new Bird for it yet.

I am glad that you started feeding the birds outside again.  I like to watch them.

Karen Jo:  I enjoy the chirping.  There are definite signs of wildlife coming into town.  I saw a bunny on my way to work a couple of days ago and I saw a coyote while I was coming home from work tonight.  The paper had a story about a mother black bear and her cub who were in someone's back yard. The fire burned up a lot of their food, poor things. At least the fire is almost out now.  The rains have really helped.

Catchup Thursday

 I was just playing with the dangler inside the Alpine scratcher.  Emma hasn't discovered it yet, at least not that Mom has seen.  Mom is giving me treats for scratching, but only three at a time.  I just wait a while on her days off and start scratching again.  I scored about twelve treats on Tuesday.  Mom gave Emma a treat while I was getting mine and she almost didn't eat it.  Mom was just on the point of giving it to me instead when Emma finally decided that she wanted it.  Darn it!

Emma: I let Mom get close enough with the camera for a closeup of me.  This is quite unusual.  I usually move away from her when she gets this close with the camera.

Karen Jo:  Sorry for not blogging in a week.  Things just kept happening to my blog time.  I was bragging last week about Herman not being jealous of Emma any more and he isn't.  However, Emma still gets jealous of Herman under certain circumstances.  Emma jumped up for her morning petting and she took Herman's usual spot.  Herman jumped up on the foot of the bed, but gave Emma room.  I reached way down to pet Herman with my right hand while I was petting Emma with my left hand. Emma smacked Herman right between the ears, then grabbed my wrist with her teeth and bunny-kicked my arm.

Emma:  Herman was moving in on my petting time.  I am fixing him now, though.  I am jumping up on the bed at night before he does and grabbing his spot.  Now I get the night petting.

It doesn't bother me.  I know that I just have to wait and you will jump over to the rocking chair.  Then I claim my spot and get my petting.  Mom bought chicken, but still hasn't cooked it.

Karen Jo:  Stuff happened to my cooking time, too, so I put the chicken in the freezer.  I will cook it tomorrow for sure. The two of you have been a bit friskier lately.

The weather has cooled off a bit.  Emma is running all over the place during the day again.  I am feeling up to trying to grab her as she darts by. I haven't caught her yet, but I am getting very close.

Karen Jo:  I wonder what you would do if you did catch her.

I am not sure.  Kitty wrestling doesn't seem to be our style.

Karen Jo:  The weather is cooler because the rainy season has started.  It either rains or threatens to rain every day.  It isn't raining nearly enough to mitigate the drought, though.

Fun and Games

 I am just relaxing again.  Lots of kitties were impressed with our buffet again.  We get so many kinds of food put out because I have both FIV and feline leukemia and Emma has feline leukemia.  Both are wasting diseases and Mom is making sure that we get enough choices so we eat enough.  We also seem to burn up a lot of energy keeping the virus in remission.  I did get too fat, so one of the choices is NOW weight control formula, which I actually like.  The other dry foods are Natural Balance green pea and duck and NOW kitten formula.  We get kitten food because we need the extra protein.  For canned food we get Fancy Feast and Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys.  Mom wishes we would eat healthier canned food, but when she tried to give me some, I barfed it right back up.  My last bout with feline leukemia left me with a slightly delicate stomach.  Mom isn't likely to mess around with our canned food again, unless she can't get the extra weight off me any other way.

Emma:  I love this chair.  I can get up on the back of it and watch the birdies and the high back makes a bit of shade in the seat.  It is also my favorite place to scratch.  Mom has given up trying to get me to stop scratching on the furniture. Bribing me with treats to get me to use the scratchers doesn't work because I don't care if I get treats or not.  I have even walked away from a treat when Mom tried to give me one. The spray stuff doesn't work because I think it smells interesting.  Mom sprays my scratch spot and I sniff and sniff it.  I scratch too many places for the sticky tape to work.  If she put it on one place, I would just scratch somewhere else.

Karen Jo:  I don't really care all that much.  All my furniture is quite old and you aren't really causing all that much damage.  I would rather you used the scratchers, but you won't, so that's that.

We got a tiny bit of rain this evening, so the weather cooled off.  I even felt like playing this evening, but not as much as Emma wanted.  She kept running right past me, trying to get me to chase her.  I did a little bit, but she wanted more.  I played soccer with Mom for a while.

Emma:  Now that I know that Herman is just playing when he chases me and I want to play with him, he won't do it much.  Mom and I played with Da Bird for a nice long time tonight.

Mom bought some chicken, but she hasn't cooked it yet.  She cooked something even better for lunch today -- steak!

Karen Jo:  I had started thawing out a steak for supper last night when a friend of mine invited me out for dinner.  It had thawed too much to put it back in the freezer, so I just had to cook it for lunch. Grin.

I don't care why we had steak for lunch, I just wanted my share.  I tried jumping up on the table to help myself, but Mom put me right back on the floor.  I got my bites anyway.  Emma didn't even come to investigate.  That silly girl really has her food priorities messed up. She will even eat the dry food when there is new Stinky Goodness in the dishes.

Emma:  I eat the Stinky Goodness first when it is just put out.  I am just not that interested in people food.  You eat dry food when there is Stinky Goodness out, too.

Not until it is all dried up and yucky.

Tuxie Tuesday

 I am just lying around.  I do a lot of this lately.  I am also protecting my chest fur.  Mom gets the scissors out almost every day and wants to snip off some of my lovely fur.

Karen Jo:  You are getting a whole bunch of small mats around your forelegs.  I feel them when I pet you at bedtime.  I try to snip one out every day.  I want to get it under control before you have to get your chest shaved again.

No more shaving!  I hate being shaved.  I guess I will have to put up with the snipping and the furminating, but I still won't like it.

I am getting a nice cool drink of water.  Mom just put cold water in our bowls.  We are both drinking a lot and peeing a lot in this hot weather.

Karen Jo:  I am very glad about that.  It will keep you healthy.  I froze the rest of the pot roast today.  What would you kitties like me to cook next?

Herman and Emma:  Chicken!  Just don't mess it up with a lot of herbs and junk we don't like.

Karen Jo:  Chicken it is.  I will cook some without anything on it just for you.  I am going to try to find a new recipe for me.  I am tired of baked chicken with herbs, though I can use it many ways once it is cooked.  Are you enjoying the fan while I am at work?

I love it.  I lie just in the kitchen doorway, where the fan can cool my tummy fur.  I even feel a little like playing at night.

Emma:  I like it, too.  Herman isn't much fun in the middle of the day.  I can run and jump right over him and he just ignores me.  The good part is that Mom can play  Da Bird with me for as long as I want and he ignores that, too, even though it is at night.  He isn't jealous of me any more.

I have gotten used to having you around.  I know I can pounce you when I feel like it.  I also know that Mom will give us both as much petting as we want at night and early in the morning. There's no reason to be jealous any more.

Caturday with Emma

Mom never posts on Femme Friday any more, so she said I could have Caturdays.

Karen Jo: My friend and I have gotten into the habit of going out together on Thursday nights and I don't feel like blogging when we get home.  Most of the time we don't get home until bedtime, anyway.  It gives us both some much needed R&R.

I am in the laundry basket.  I helped Mom fold the laundry this morning.

Karen Jo:  Mostly you just furred it up a little.  You did grab a couple of things as I took them out of the basket.

When you left us last night, you left something cooking that made a yummy meat smell, but we didn't get any.

Karen Jo:  I made Hungarian pot roast in the crock pot, then put it away when I got home.  You weren't interested in it today.

Herman was, but he didn't like it after he tried it.

Karen Jo:  I left the onions out, so it would be kitty safe, but I guess kitties don't like tomato sauce, paprika and caraway seeds.

At least you finally got some more kitten food.

Karen Jo:  And after all your begging for kitten food, what were you eating this morning?

The duck and pea dry food.  It is pretty good stuff.  It's a lot better than that weight control stuff Herman eats.

Karen Jo:  Herman eats the duck and pea, too.

Herman eats almost anything.  I don't know what he sees in human food, but he is always trying to get some.

Karen Jo:  Herman loves steak.  You didn't even come into the room while I was eating my steak on Tuesday.

It's OK.  I have eaten a bite or two.  I much prefer cat food.

I enjoyed watching you crawl around yesterday, looking under the couch for lost toys.

Karen Jo:  I found quite a few, including both nip balls.  I also found the beat up Bird.  I put it on the line with the "new" one to make a bigger toy to play with.

I like it.  We played for quite a while tonight.  Herman decided he would rather eat than play.

Karen Jo:  I don't think either of you eat very much in the heat of the day while I am at work.  I keep finding uneaten Stinky Goodness in your dishes.  I also gave Herman his yucky pill just before playtime.  He was probably trying to get rid of the taste or maybe his treats made him hungry.

Treats are another thing I don't understand why Herman gets so excited about.  I will mostly eat one if you offer it to me, but I won't ask for one.

Karen Jo:  You and Herman are very different.  I like it that way.

Tummy Thursday

 This is what Mom saw when she got up and started to get dressed.  I decided to nap at the foot of the bed.

Emma:  I decided to nap in the computer chair.  We love doing this to Mom.  She has to get up and get dressed and go to work and we can just nap around.

Karen Jo:  You both were showing off those lovely tummies, so I decided to take pictures.  I have to be fast to get a picture of Emma these days, as she retires to her hidey-hole so much.  It's dark and must be cooler in there, she spends so much time in it.

Mom ate something interesting for lunch, but she didn't give me any of it.

Karen Jo:  I was having turkey dogs with mac and cheese.  I offered you a piece of turkey dog, but you didn't want it after you licked it.

I think I would have preferred the mac and cheese.

Karen Jo:  I will try to remember that for next time.

Emma:  I helped Mom eat something good last night.  She was sitting and eating, then she turned away, so I helped myself to some.

Karen Jo:  That was banana ice cream.  I am glad you liked it.

Emma:  I played with Da Bird for quite a while tonight, but Herman didn't want to play.

I played with my mousie wand toy for a while.  I pounced you while Mom was in the bathroom.  That's how I like to play.

Emma:  That was fun, but it didn't last long.  You leaped out and pounced me, but didn't chase me.

It was still a bit too hot for chase games.  You don't get as hot as I do.

Emma:  I am really glad about that.

Karen Jo:  The weather report keeps saying that it might rain, but it only rained on Sunday and Monday.  I wish it would rain some more.  We really need it both for the moisture and to put out the fires.