Award and Fun Stuff

 Karen Jo:  Team Tabby gave this award to Spyro, Oja and Angel Herman two weeks ago and I am finally getting around to posting it.  Thank you so much Team Tabby.  I am sure that Herman is thrilled.  I know Spyro and Oja are.  I guess Spyro and Oja might qualify as babies, as they are both two years old.  I pass the award along to:

Forty Paws
Four White Paws
The Chesney Cats
Alasandra, the Cats & a Dog
Jacqueline's Cat House
The Cat Post Intelligencer
Glorgirly
Manx Mnews

 Spyro:  Mom has trouble taking good pictures of me, because I am seldom still.  I was sitting in a light spot in the hall, just as handsome as you please, but when Mom pointed the camera at me, I walked right between her legs and into the kitchen.  I thought I could talk her into letting me go outside.  I jump up on the stove and meow and meow at her to open the door, but she hardly ever listens to me.  I also keep moving my head.

Karen Jo:  I really wish I could get a shot of the way you tilt your head when you are curious about something.  That is where your head was when I pushed the button, but you moved immediately.

Spyro:  Always keep the beans guessing, that's my motto.  Mom got some interesting packages in the mail today.  I sniffed them all over and even knocked one of them on the floor.  Sadly, none of them were for us.

Karen Jo:  It's the time of year for interesting packages.  There will be some for you, eventually.

Spyro:  I got some good views of Mom crawling around on the floor yesterday and a bunch of balls appeared.

Karen Jo:  I went on one of my sporadic toy hunts.  Oja's jingle balls have been disappearing.  I found a bunch of balls and a little something from Herman.  That last week he was really fighting me about taking his Metro.  I found a pill he had spit out behind his platform after I thought he had swallowed it.

Spyro:  I haven't seen any more chipmunks, but there have been a lot of birds.

Oja:  I like to watch the birds, too.  Late yesterday afternoon, Mom found me in this chair on my back, looking out the window.  I was watching the birds in the tree next door and decided I might as well be comfortable about it.

Karen Jo:  I would have loved to take that picture, but there wasn't enough light.

Oja:  Some of you must be thinking that I live in this chair, but I don't.  I run around a bit and play with Spyro and knock balls all around.  I snuggled up tight to Mom last night.  We had a good time together.

Karen Jo:  I am getting used the changes.  When I am feeling sad that Herman isn't there to greet me at the door or snuggle up to me at night, I tell myself how lucky I am that Spyro greets me at the door every time and Oja snuggles up to me most nights.

Happy Blogoversary, Tabby Cat Club!

 Spyro: We are resting up so we can party all night at the Tabby Cat Club Blogoversary Party.  You can come, too.  You don't even have to be a tabby cat.  Just go here.  Oja and I will be there.

Oja:  I wish I could join the Tabby Cat Club.  Is there a club for gray cats?

Karen Jo:  I don't know of one.

Oja:  Rats!  Herman was in the Tuxedo Gang and Spyro is in the Tabby Cat Club, but I don't get to be in any club.

Spyro:  Aww, Mom might be able to find a club for you.  Guess what I found out?  The Bird Channel has all new programming on Cat TV!  I watched and switched my tail and talked to them.  You should jump up on the platform and watch, too, Oja.

Oja:  Maybe later.  I bet I can see them from my pillow on the table just as well.  Mom slowed down some today and lay down on the couch to read.  I jumped up on her to help her relax.

Karen Jo:  I really enjoyed that Oja.

Spyro:  We got to play with the glove with the dangly things this morning.  At least I did.

Oja:  I gave the lady bug a smell and a bite.

Getting Back on Schedule

 Mom was trying to get me to play with this yellow ball, but I didn't want to.  I hardly play with anything any more.  Spyro tried to get me to rassle with him yesterday, but I avoided him.  The last time I did rassle with him, I got a little rough.  Mom heard a yipe and when she came to see what was up, she found a tuft of Spyro's fur on my chin.  I just want to be left alone to snooze these days.

Karen Jo:  I would be a bit concerned about this, but you have never played much and you still go for the catnip when it is offered and eat normally and scratch for treats once or twice a day.  You got me up for breakfast this morning, which you hadn't done in quite a while.

I had to.  There isn't as much food around as there used to be and I was starving.

Karen Jo:  I am putting out the recommended amount of kibble for each of you and you still get your Stinky Goodness three times I day.  It isn't my fault that you didn't show up for lunch yesterday until almost all of it was gone.

 Spyro:  I always show up first for meals, but I am still the skinniest cat.  That's because I do more.  I really like lying up here on these boxes.  I am going to be sad when they get picked up.  Mom even took me outside on my harness yesterday evening.  I had a great time.  I sniffed at lots of stuff and got very interested in some birds who were in fairly low branches of a tree above my head.  Unfortunately, the trunk of the tree is over the neighbor's fence and the branches within jumping height are too thin to support me, so all I could do was watch them and talk to them.  I dug at a fresh gopher mound, but I didn't find anything interesting.

I got to go out, too, but I didn't see or hear the birds.  I was more interested in chewing on the grass.

Oja: Mom got all happy when I started playing with this ball.  I don't know why.

Karen Jo:  It's because you are the first kitty who has ever played with that ball.

Oja:  I like it well enough, but I like my jingle balls better.  We are having fun with the jingle balls with the feathers on them.  Spyro got out the pink one yesterday and played with it, then hid it again.  He got out the yellow one today and we both played with it for a while, then he hid it again.  It drives Mom nuts.

Karen Jo:  I'm just afraid that you'll "hide" it somewhere I'll step on it and break it.

Oja:  I am getting curious about this going outside business.  Maybe I'll want to try it someday.

Karen Jo:  You will have to put on your harness, but I'm afraid that the one I bought for you is too small for you now.  You can share Spyro's.

Oja:  I don't like the sound of that.  We'll see.

Mom finally got all the "important" stuff done that she has been "working" on and not blogging for us.  I think we can drag her away from the TV more now, too, so we just might get back to blogging almost every day like we used to.  I hope so.

Wacky Wednesday

 Spyro really loves this turbo-track thing.  I usually ignore it, as I do most of my toys most of the time.  I lie around and watch Spyro play.  It is beginning to rub off on me a little, though.  Today I attacked my purple kicker, which I haven't done in ages.  Spyro, the little piggy, is trying to eat all the canned food.  I will let him eat our of the dish I am eating out of at the same time, but if he gets pushy, or I really want the food, I will push him out of the way.  I never smack him upside the head the way I used to do with Emma, though.  I like Spyro a whole lot more than I ever liked Emma.

Karen Jo:  I am thrilled that you and Spyro are getting along so well.  I was beginning to worry that you weren't getting enough to eat, until I saw you gently push Spyro's sharp little nose right out of the food dish.  I had to put Spyro's dry food where you couldn't get to it, but he could, but I also (rarely) see him eating your dry food.  He eats a third of his own, as well.  I won't worry about him getting too fat, as he is extremely active.

 Spyro:  Here I am, out of focus again.

Karen Jo:  I tried the Sport setting, but it isn't any better.  I will just go back to using Auto and see if I can get an in-focus picture of your face for your Tabby Club badge. I have applied for you to join, but I can't get a good picture of you.

Spyro:  I am a very helpful kitty.  Here I am helping Mom make up the bed.  I help her like this every morning.  I also help with the laundry.  I sleep in the laundry basket to get my fur on everything.  When Mom tries to fold the laundry, I jump right in the basket and snatch the socks out of her hand when she picks up the wrong one.

Karen Jo:  I am grateful for all your help.  It gets my day off to an amusing start.

Spyro:  There is a door that is always closed in this house.  Mom goes in there sometimes, but always shuts the door behind her and won't let me in.  I want in there so much!  I sit outside the door and meow to be let in, but Mom always says that I can't go in there.  I dig my paw under the door and try to open it, but it never works.

Karen Jo:  That is the door to my parents' bedroom.  It is an awful mess in there, as I have been tossing whatever I don't have room for, but am not ready to throw away yet in there.  Emma got in there once and knocked all sort of stuff (like pins) on the floor that might be dangerous to kitties before I got her out again.  Some day I am going to clean it up and turn it into my computer room.  I keep saying that, but I really do think that the day is coming.  I really am starting to be a better housekeeper.

Spyro and I have a new game:  kitty rasslin'.  We both love it.

Spyro:  I love it because I always win.

You win?  You are always the one who runs away.

Spyro:  I win because I am always the one on top.

I let you be on top because it gives me better leverage to bunny-kick you.

Karen Jo:  I think you both win.  I love watching you have so much fun with each other.  I am really glad that Spyro is sometimes the one who starts it.  They only started rasslin' a few days ago and it was always Herman lying in wait to pounce on Spyro that started it. Today I watched them and Spryo ran away, then came right back and pounced on Herman from the rear to start it all over again.  I tried to get a picture, but they broke and pretended that nothing was going on as soon as they saw the camera.

Spyro:  I love it here. There is always something to do.  Not all the birds have left because Mom feeds them every once in a while.  Mom picks up all the toys every day and puts out new ones.  If I decide there aren't enough toys out, I knock over the orange toy bucket and empty it out.

Karen Jo:  I decided that it was silly to let the bird seed I have on hand to go to waste, so I am giving it to the birds until I run out.  When I put out seed, I put out water, too.  We got a lot of rain in the last few days, so the bear danger has diminished somewhat.

Why is Spyro getting more blog space than I am?   It's my blog.

Karen Jo:  Spyro does more than you do, Mr. Lazypants.  You spend most of your time lying around.  Your vet said I should use wand toys to get you more exercise, but you just ignore them.  Maybe I'll try one of those Neko-flies.  I have to go to the pet store to get Spyro some more dry food tomorrow anyway.

Cinco de Mayo!

 Wouldn't you just know it?  Mom decided to put the little sombrero on us this year instead of on the stuffie.  I tolerated it -- just barely.  Mom had to be quick on the button to get the photo before I shook it off.

Spyro:  Nobody's puttin' nuffin' on my head!  I grabbed it off and put the bitey on it!

Karen Jo:  We hope that everyone has a great Cinco de Mayo.  Be sure to head on over to KC's party

Spyro:  Mom even helped the birdies celebrate by putting out food and water for them, which she didn't do yesterday.

Karen Jo:  I am afraid that the Bird Channel is going off the air soon.  We have had a dry Spring and the bears may be getting hungry.  There was an article in the paper advising people to stop putting out bird seed and water.  I am going to use up what I have on hand, which isn't much, then stop until winter. Sigh.  I so love to hear and watch the birds around the feeders and bird bath.

Herman and Spyro:  And so do we.

Enough bad stuff.  Let's celebrate!  Mom is cooking steak tonight and we get bites of steak and tastes of sour cream.  Yummy!

Spyro:  I don't know how you can eat that sour cream stuff.  I think it's yucky.

More for me!  Yay!

Herman, Spyro and Karen Jo:  Have a wonderful celebration, everybody!

Fabulous Friday

I just told Mom that I wanted a treat by scratching on my Alpine Scratcher.  I got one, too.  Mom and I think today is fabulous for different reasons.  I think it is fabulous because the weather warmed up and melted all the snow and it even got warm enough for window whiffing.  We had lots of birds at the feeder and I talked to them.

Karen Jo:  I think it is fabulous because I finished my income taxes, even with your help.  Why were you sitting on my tax papers?

You put some of your dumb papers on my cushion on the table and I wanted to watch the birds, so I sat on the papers you were working on until you moved the ones off my cushion.  Then I got on my cushion and started talking to the birds.

Karen Jo:  You make such an interesting little sound when you watch the birds.  You don't chitter, you go keck-keck.

The food around here has been pretty boring.  Mom keeps eating chicken that she put herbs all over.  I don't much like it.

Karen Jo:  I try to give you pieces of the inside where the herbs aren't, but you still don't want it.  Don't worry, it's almost steak time again.

Yay!  I've been playing with my toys while Mom isn't watching again.  It's fun to play by myself.  I have found out that if I sit by the kitchen sink and meow pitifully enough, Mom will pick me up and put me on the sink and give me a drink from the faucet.

Karen Jo:  I should make you jump every time.  You need the exercise.  That pitiful meow gets to me, though, and I pick you up.

Mom isn't picking at my fur as much.

Karen Jo:  I have gotten out most of the mats.  You still have some around your armpit, though.

Oooh, that's a tender spot.  I really don't like you pulling my fur there.

Karen Jo:  I know and I'm sorry, but it has to be done.  You did one the hard way yesterday.

I was up on the couch, resting my head on Mom's thigh and getting petted when she started in on the fur pulling.  I jumped down.

Karen Jo:  I was still holding onto the mat and it pulled out when you jumped.  I have decided not to do any more mat picking during our bedtime petting session.  You don't like it and it is our special time.

Thank goodness for that.

Karen Jo:  I was out and about quite a bit today, doing errands and I saw lots of bugs.  I hope you are going to be a better bug hunter this year.

I am choosy about which bugs I hunt.

Karen Jo:  I have noticed.  You just watch flies, but you hunt and eat moths.

Moths taste better.

Mancat Monday

I have been spending a lot of time in my ham-mick lately.  It's warm in the winter and cool in the  summer.  We finally got some window-whiffing time yesterday and just a little bit today.

Karen Jo:  I wanted to give you a whole day of window-whiffing today, but it has been too windy.

You have been a really bad blogger again.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, I have both been busy and feeling so overwhelmed with all that I have to do that I got down in the dumps again and didn't feel like doing much of anything.  It's like I am all full-steam ahead or just sitting on the couch reading.

At least you are back to it again.  I did get some corned beef and it was really yummy.  I got a little bite whenever Mom took a bite until it was all gone.  Mom has been trying to get a photo of a raven, so you can all see how big they are.  No way would I tangle with one of those, even if I got to go outside, which I don't.

Karen Jo:  I framed a shot through the window, but couldn't get the right perspective.  If I go out, they fly away.  Maybe one day I will just go outside with the camera and sit still, hoping they will get used to me and come where I can get a good picture.  They are still helping empty the suet feeder every day, but now the starlings and the flickers get a chance at it, too.  Yes, the flickers have shown up. There are signs of Spring everywhere now.  Some fruit trees are blooming, along with some forsythia bushes.  I saw a daffodil today.  The peonies are coming up and so are the iris.  There is only a tiny patch of snow left in the front yard. Even the beleaguered lilac bush is putting forth some leaves.  The gophers didn't manage to completely kill it after all.

I have gotten a bit friskier and am running around the house in the evenings and nights again.  I am even playing with some of my toys.  I am tossing my little mice all over the place.  I even play with Mom a little bit.  The problem is that all this activity makes me hungry and Mom is being really stingy with my food, especially at lunch time.  I had to get her up twice this morning: once at dawn for my canned food and again when it was high time she was up to refill my dry food.

Karen Jo:  You know what the vet told me about your weight and what to do about it.  I want you to be as healthy as possible.  Another sign of Spring is that you are getting little mats in your chest fur.

I don't like the way you get rid of them.  You pull on my fur until you get it out.

Karen Jo:  It isn't as bad as all that.  I separate your fur into smaller and smaller clumps until I can separate the mat out.  It only pulls a little bit at the end.

That's what you think.  I find the whole process uncomfortable.

Karen Jo:  Would you rather I let it get bad until you have to have your chest shaved again?

No!

Karen Jo:  Do you want me to use the scissors on your mats?

No!  I hate scissors.

Karen Jo:  Then stop complaining and let me brush you more.

That pulls, too.  I know, it only pulls what the brush finds some loose fur caught in the rest of the coat, but I still don't like it.  I only like it when it feels like petting.

Karen Jo:  It's so tough being you.  You still get more food than you generally eat; you have more toys than you can play with; you have a full-time live-in human servant and you get all the petting you can handle at bedtime.

Put that way, I guess I am a very lucky kitty.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  As you can see, Mom didn't find the green bow tie when she went to the store, so she put this stupid hat on me again. Do you think I look as miffed as the last time she did this to me?

Karen Jo:  I don't think you look quite as miffed.  At least you held still so you weren't all blurry, like last time.

It only took you about elebenty tries to get the picture.  I kept tossing the hat off.  It's times like this I really miss Emma.  It was her turn to wear the hat.

Karen Jo:  I really miss Emma, too.  February would have been her second birthday and March 1st would have been her first Gotcha Day anniversary.  I am still debating on whether to send her dates to the Cat Blogosphere calendar.  This year the pain was still too raw to think about celebrating her birthday or gotcha day.  I did finally get around to telling the people at the shelter she came from that I had room for another leukemia kitty.

Don't cry, Mom.  This is supposed to be a happy day.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, Herman, I can't help it.  If you want to see a bad picture of Emma in the St. Patrick's Day hat, you can find it here.

Now that Mom has stopped crying, maybe we can get on with the good stuff.  Mom fills up the bird feeder and suet feeder and bird bath every day and the Bird Channel on Cat TV is great.  I even have different noises I make for different birds.  I meep at the little birds and make a kack sound at the ravens.

Karen Jo:  I find it fascinating that you differentiate between the birds.  I am glad that you only make your raven sound infrequently.  The first time I heard it, I thought you were choking.

I saw a fly in the kitchen window yesterday.  Another sign of Spring.  Are you sure it's going to snow tomorrow?

Karen Jo:  No, I am not sure.  It's nearly up to 60 today, but it is very windy, which could very well mean that a storm is on the way.

Or it could just be our normal March winds. I have been around long enough to know that high winds are normal this time of year.

Karen Jo:  That's right.  You are going to be five in June.  And in November, you will have lived with me for three years. That means that you will have lived with me longer than the early, not-so-good part of your life.

I really appreciate it, too.  Now, when do I get some more food?  I ate up that tiny lunch you gave me.

Karen Jo:  Not until ten tonight.  You have your dry food to carry you through.

I have been eating up most of that since you started measuring it. Aren't you supposed to be cooking corned beef or something right now?

Karen Jo:  That's right.  I need to go start dinner. Don't worry, I'll give you some corned beef.

I hope it doesn't taste too much like cabbage.

Easy Like Sunday

I am just relaxing with my toys.  When Mom went to get the camera, I was up on the kitchen table, helping her read the Sunday paper.  I jumped down and came in here while she was gone.

Karen Jo:  You are really good at moving while I am off getting the camera.  So instead of a fun picture of you sitting on the paper while looking out the window, I got yet another shot of you lying next to your Star Chaser.  It looks like you are ignoring your toys again, but I know that you play with them.  I found fluffy beaver down the hall next to the night light today.

Sometimes I just like to play by myself, without any help from you.  Mom's war with the ravens over the suet feeder continues.

Karen Jo:  To recap:  first I put the suet feeder in the crab apple tree in the front yard, but the ravens found that they could unhook it from any branch I put it on.  Next I got a snap hook and put it on one of the eye-bolts on the clothesline.  They discovered how to get the cage open and take all the suet.  I wired the cage shut and they discovered that they could unhook the cage from the chain.  Once they got the cage on the ground, they could eat all the suet very quickly.  Now I have closed the hook from the chain completely and so far it is working.  I don't care if the ravens help the starlings and the flickers eat the suet; I just don't like it when they find a way to eat it all at once, so the other birds don't get a chance at it. I give the ravens Herman's left over canned food.

Not much else is going on around here.  Mom's new computer came in, but she hasn't hooked it up yet.

Karen Jo:  I am excited to get a new computer, but I dread all the stuff I have to go through to get it up and running.  My new computer has Windows 7 on it and I am afraid that most of my programs won't work any more and I will have to get new ones.  I might even have problems getting it online.

Moms!  All worry, worry, worry.  At least I can help her relax at night by demanding my petting.

Happy Valentine's Day

 Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's Mom's Valentine's Day stuffie.  I am glad that she has never gotten me a Valentine's Day hat or anything else to wear.

I am up on my platform looking for the birdies.  There aren't any at present because Mom hasn't filled up the feeders.  She also hasn't blogged in, like, forever.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, Herman.  Shortly after our last post I got the news that my last aunt was dying.  I needed something to take my mind off that at times, so I started playing an immersive computer game.  I didn't feel like blogging.  Then my aunt died, so I was busy getting ready to go to her memorial.  Then I caught a bad cold, so I can't go.  This is the first day that I felt up to blogging.  I am still pretty miserable, so I probably won't be visiting much, but at least we can let all your friends know that we haven't dropped off the edge of the Earth.  I might feel up to filling the feeders tomorrow.

You sure haven't been much fun.  At least you spend more time in bed, so I get lots of snuggle and petting time.  You have even been forgetting to feed me on time.

Karen Jo:  You always get breakfast on time.

That's because I make myself impossible to ignore in the morning until you get up and feed me.

Karen Jo:  It's just lunch and sometimes supper that have been late.

I guess I can be glad that you eventually remember to feed me.  Your food has been pretty crappy.

Karen Jo:  I have been eating sandwiches and soup.  I offered you a bit of meat out of my soup, but you didn't want it.

You aren't even trying to play with me.

Karen Jo:  I haven't felt up to it.  I pet you while I read on the sofa.

That's great until you start making all those weird noises.  Sometimes I get up and leave because of them.

Karen Jo:  I can't help coughing, sneezing and having to blow my nose.  I should start to get better in a few more days.

I hope so.  At least you are home with me all the time.

Bad Mom

Mom didn't get a picture of me today, because I spent my time up by the windows, with the full sunshine coming in.  Mom has learned that she can't get a good picture of me shooting into the bright sunlight, so here is a picture of me with some of my toys that she doesn't think she had posted before.

Mom, you made me miss Meow Like a Pirate Day and I was so looking forward to it.

Karen Jo:  I'm sorry, Herman.  I hadn't turned on the computer since your Tuxie Tuesday post and I forgot all about it.

You have some making up to me to do.

Karen Jo: What if I buy you a Halloween hat?

I don't think that will do.  I didn't like the St. Patrick's Day hat and I don't think I will like a Halloween hat.

Karen Jo:  You were sure interested in the birds today.

They are fun to watch, especially when they get close to the house, like they did this morning.  Sometimes I can look almost straight down at them and that really gets my tail switching.  There were a whole flock of them at the feeder and birdbath, too.  I wanna go pounce them.

Karen Jo:  Now, Herman, you know that you can't go outside.  I can't even take you out on a leash, because if you got loose and ran away and Animal Control got hold of you, there would be a lot of trouble because you are not up to date on your rabies shots.  That is because your vet said that your immune system was so compromised that it might not be able to handle any more vaccinations.  You will just have to be content with watching out the window.

Sigh, I know.  But a kitty can dream.