Super Sunday

 Bambino:  I have some great news: I'm well!

Karen Jo:  I'd say 99% well.

Bambino:  Why only 99%?

Karen Jo:  The Prince of Pounce isn't back yet, but I'm sure he will be.

Bambino:  I got a little better every day and the night before last I played with Mom's shoe laces and the sleeve of her pajamas.  Today I rassled with Julius and napped with him.  I can do my mighty leaps again and I eat up all my treats and food.  Yesterday, even the kitten food disappeared.  I say I'm all well.

Karen Jo:  You are certainly well enough not to have to go back to the vet tomorrow.

Bambino: YAY!  I want to thank everyone for purring for me.  It worked!

 Spyro:  It is Sunday and most of us are taking our Easy.  I'm in the blue bed by the heat vent, keeping warm.

 Oja:  I'm up on the tall scratcher, catching some rays.  Mean Mom says she isn't going to take any more pictures of me.

Karen Jo:  That's not what I said.  I said I wasn't going to take any more pictures of you in your cushioned chair under the kitchen table or in your chair in the computer room.  It's too dark and the pictures don't come out well.  I am going to concentrate on getting the camera out when I see you out, so there will be new pictures of you.

Oja:  Oh, that's ok then.

 Rocio:  I'm up on the big pillow in a great big sun puddle.  It's so bright I have to cover my eyes to nap.  Mom says that I've been a bad boy.  I've been annoying Oja again, once in the computer room and once in the kitchen.  She is such a lay-about that I've just been trying to get her up for some exercise, but she doesn't like it one bit.

 Horus:  The trouble with sun puddles is that they move.  When I started my nap I was right in the middle of the bigger one.  At least my tail is getting some rays.

Julius:  I'm glad that Bambino is well again.  I missed playing with him.  I'm getting my rays up on the table.  I still won't let the Lady get close to me with the clicky box.  I did let her pet me while she was giving out treats, but I run from her the rest of the time.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Rocio:  All the time Mom was taking our dictation yesterday about our plots, she was hatching one of her own.

Austin:  She was planning to catch us poor kitties asleep and plonk the St. Patrick's Day hat on us.

Both:  And she actually did it!  Argh!

Spyro:  Oja and I put up too much of a fight.  We are older and know better than to snooze too deeply the day before St. Patrick's Day.

Oja:  Not that we were here last St. Patrick's Day, but Herman warned us about it.  You can see how Mom caught him his first time here over on Kitty Limericks.

All:  Have a safe and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Busy Mom

Spyro:  I love napping in Herman's bed.  It's comfy and warm and it smells like Herman.

Oja:  I have taken to napping on this blankie on the couch.  Mom often lies down on this couch to read and I like to get up on her legs when she does.

Karen Jo:  I was lonely last night.  No kitty came to sleep with me.

Spyro:  We were mad at you.  You left us in the night and didn't come home until 0-dark-thirty.

Oja:  We were starving.  Dinner was very late.

Karen Jo:  My friend took me out for a while, just to get me out of the house and to take my mind off Herman for a few hours.  It worked and I felt a little better.

Spyro:  You were up so late that I decided I better get you up for breakfast.  It was easy.  All I had to do was jump up on the bed and you were awake.  I don't know why Herman made such a fuss about how hard it was to get you up.

Karen Jo:  The only time Herman had a hard time getting me up for breakfast was when he decided to get me up before dawn.

Spyro:  I came in later to get your lazy buns out of bed and I'm almost sorry I did.  All day yesterday and all day today you have been busy, busy, busy.  I've never seen you do so much work around the house.

Karen Jo:  I have to keep busy, or the negative side of my mind tries to lay a guilt trip on me about Herman.  I know perfectly well that there is absolutely nothing to feel guilty about, but I hate the thoughts that crop up, so I just keep busy.  The same thing happened when my Mom died.

Spyro:  Late this afternoon, I finally got tired of it and tried to get you to stop playing with your papers and play with me.  I sat on your papers, so you had to slide them out from under me.  When you were writing in your little book, I put the bitey on your pen.  When that didn't stop you, I put the bitey on your little finger.  Finally, when you got up to get something, I pushed all the papers and your pen and your little book off the table.

Karen Jo:  I had let the mail pile up and I had some bills to pay and I put the order in for Herman's grave marker.  I pet you a little between opening envelopes.

Spyro:  It wasn't enough.  I wanted your undivided attention.

Karen Jo:  After I put the peas on the stove to cook for supper, I gave you all the attention you wanted, as long as it lasted, which wasn't long.

Spyro:  Oja came into the kitchen and I decided to hop down and greet her.

Karen Jo:  And chase her into the living room and play with her.

Karen Jo:  To change the subject, the Bird Channel is on Cat TV again.  It snowed just a tiny bit Saturday night, so it's safe to put out the bird seed, suet and water again.  The bears have gone into hibernation.  I put everything out yesterday, but the birds didn't find it until this afternoon.  Spyro and Oja haven't discovered the birds yet, but it won't be long.  They get a little noisy in the mornings.

Things Are Getting Better

 I have spending a lot of time up off the floor since Oja came out of her room.  She doesn't hassle me when I am up here or on the couch or on a chair.  Mom finally has a good excuse for not blogging.

Karen Jo:  That's right.  My computer developed a persistent hard-drive glitch right after I finished blogging and visiting the last time.  I have been very busy setting up the new computer and installing software and downloading stuff.  I can do almost anything now, but use my e-mail.  I have spent hours trying this and that, but nothing works.  My ISP rejects my sign-in every time.

Oja has stolen my spot on the bed next to Mom.  I fought with Emma over that, but I am not fighting with Oja about it, at least not yet.  I have been able to sleep on Mom's feet while Oja has my spot.

Karen Jo:  Oja usually seems content to stay up by my chest while you and Spyro sleep at my feet.  Every once in a while, she snarls and charges, though.

Do you know how I got some attention from Mom yesterday?  I got up in her lap and demanded that she pet me.  I stayed for about 20 minutes.

Karen Jo:  I was amazed.  You have never done anything more than walk across my lap to get from the computer chair to the bed before.

 Spyro:  I think Oja and I may eventually become friends.  She will stay in the same room with me without getting snarly about it.  Mean Mom won't take my outside any more.  I wanna go outside!

Karen Jo:  I am sorry Spyro, but I have been really busy trying to get my new computer set up. Besides that, it has been raining almost every evening.  I would have taken you out tonight after supper, but it was pouring down rain.

Spyro: Bah!

Oja:  This is Mom's computer chair.  It has become my favorite nap spot since I came out of my room.  If I don't want to be disturbed, I still go to my room and get up on the high bookshelf or go into my hidey-hole.  I am getting used to the mancats.  I don't hiss at them any more.  I only snarl at them if I think they are crowding me.

Karen Jo:  Right.  You smacked Herman for walking under the computer chair.

Oja:  He got too close to me.  I don't tolerate Herman as well as I tolerate Spyro.  The other day I let Spyro into my room to play with my toys.

Karen Jo:  I tried to get a picture of the both of you playing with your toys in your room, but you chased him out just as I got back with the camera.

Oja:  He got too close to me.  I found out that the Turbo Track is fun to play with.

Karen Jo:  I suspected that you were playing with it, because the ball was in a different position in the track every time I came into your room, but the other day I actually saw you bat the ball around the track.

Oja:  Mom doesn't get mad at me for eating the food in the kitchen any more.

Karen Jo:  That's because Spyro does go into your room and eat your food.  I probably won't do much visiting tonight.  There are still things to be installed on the new computer.  I will try to get back to regular blogging and visiting very soon

Oja's Vet Visit

 I'm in the kitchen, looking disgruntled.  That little Oja wants to be Alpha cat and I have had just about enough of it.  Spyro and I hang out mostly in the living room and kitchen since she came out of her room to stay.  She won't let us sleep with Mom and I don't like it.  We don't even go wake Mom up in the morning for breakfast because she is in there and causes trouble.

Spyro:  I am reading the newspaper for Mom.  Mom reads the newspaper while she eats breakfast and lunch, but I would much rather that she paid attention to me, so here I am.  Pet me!  I wanna go outside!  We didn't get to go out yesterday.

Karen Jo: I'm sorry Spyro.  I sat down to read for just a little bit, then I was going to take you out, but I fell asleep.  When I woke up, it was raining, then it got to be too late.  I don't want to take you out while the noisy men are working.  If it isn't raining when they finally stop today, I will take you out.

Spyro:  The noisy men won't bother me.  Just take me out to the back yard.

Karen Jo:  I will take that under consideration.

Oja:  Here I am in my room again.  I hid when Mom was taking pictures, so she had to wait until I came out for a bite to eat.  It's dark because it was getting late when I finally came out.  I still nap in my hidey-hole in my room sometimes.  Mean Mom took me to the vet yesterday.  I got weighed and had something stuck where it didn't belong and my teeth looked at and then I got stabbed.  I don't like the vet.

Karen Jo:  You needed to go in for your booster.  When you were dumped at the shelter, they had no way of knowing if you ever got your kitten shots, so they started the series and didn't quite finish.  I was late getting you in, but they said I could still get you your booster.  You will be happy to know that you are very healthy.  You have gained 2 1/2 pounds.  The vet said you were getting fat, but weren't too fat yet.

Oja:  I didn't have much to do in my room but eat and sleep.

Karen Jo:  And play with your toys.  I saw you playing with your turbo track last night.

Oja:  Those mancats are getting mean.  Herman took a swipe at me and Spyro chased me today.

Karen Jo:  I think they are getting tired of your hissing and growling and charging them.  I am their Mom, as well as yours and you need to learn to share.

Oja:  What is "share"? Guess what?  I found out that there is food in the kitchen, as well as in my room.  I ate some of it, but Mom seemed to get unhappy about that.

Karen Jo:  The boys don't go into your room and eat your food, so I don't think you should eat theirs.

Oja:  I won't let them eat my food.  I didn't see anycat objecting when I was eating theirs.

Karen Jo:  Spyro didn't look to happy about it, but he was still leery of you.  I was actually glad to see him chasing you today.  I knew he wouldn't hurt you, as you ran straight into Emma's old hidey-hole in my room, between the TV stand and my dresser.  He can't fit in there and if you get much fatter, you won't fit, either.

Oja:  Now you're being mean.  I am not eating as much now that I am out of my room.  I have more to do and I'm doing it.

Oja Comes Out!

Karen Jo:  First off I would like to thank Ann of Zoolatry very much for the new header.  I love the old one, but Spyro and Oja deserve a place on the header, too.

I am watching Spyro play and deciding whether or not I want to pounce him.  In the end, all I did was bat his tail once.  He was too occupied to notice.  Mom wouldn't take us out Sunday, but we got to go out for a long time today.  Spyro got to go first, but I didn't mind too much.

Karen Jo:  As soon as you discovered that we were out you started meowing that you wanted out.

I don't get all spastic like Spyro does.  I had a lovely time exploring the front yard and the neighbor's front yard and the back yard.

Karen Jo:  I carried you from the neighbor's front yard to our back yard.  You were getting a bit to nosy about their carport.

I got to chew on grass and watch ravens fly overhead.  I checked out a couple of gopher holes, but didn't find them all that interesting.  Mostly I just walked around on the grass and looked all around.

 Spyro: Mom got out a nip ball.  I had never seen it before.  Boy, do I love it.  I batted it and smelled it and licked it and rubbed all over it and even tried to bunny-kick it.  I am holding it in my paws in the picture.  Mean Mom wouldn't let me out yesterday, even though I meowed and meowed about it.

Karen Jo:  I thought there was enough going on yesterday.  Besides, I had a ton of paperwork to get through.

Spyro:  Mom took my out early this evening.  It had been cloudy all day and even rained a tiny bit, so it was nice and cool.  I still move with my belly low to the ground, but I go much faster now.  I chewed on the grass and rolled on the concrete and sniffed the spiderwebs.  Mom let me go wherever I wanted until I tried to step in the street.  Suddenly, I couldn't move forward.

Karen Jo:  That's what the leash is for.  You are not going into the street, ever.

Spyro:  I was sad when Mom took my back in.  Then she took Herman out and I cried and cried and jumped up on the screen door and tried to get out, but I couldn't.

Karen Jo:  I wish I had had the camera with me.  You had your front feet looped over the top bar on the screen door and your hind feet on the bottom bar.  I am really glad that the door has a hook-and-eye for when I leave it open all day.  The handle is just a pull-down type and you could pull it down with your acrobatics.  I might have to close the back door to keep you from opening the screen door when I take Herman out.

Oja:  Enough of the mancats!  The big news is about ME!  This is probably the last photo you will see of me in my room.  Sunday I decided that I didn't want to stay in my room any more and I came out and stayed out.

Karen Jo:  You came out when I got your breakfast, but went back in to eat.  When I left the door open for you to get your lunch and fresh water and litter box scooped, you came out and went into both my room and the litter box room.  You didn't go back into your room when you ran into Spyro; you chased him down the hall.

Oja:  Hahaha!  I chased Spyro all over the place.  By the end of the day I had been in every room in the house, except the one with the closed door.  I still go into my room to look out of my window and to eat and drink, but mostly I am in Mom's room or exploring.  Last night I got Mom all to myself.

Karen Jo:  Poor Spyro.  After I went to bed, he jumped up on the bed like he usually does and you chased him off.

Oja:  You are MY Mom and I want to sleep with you.  I claim my room and your room as MY territory.

Karen Jo:  I hope you learn to share more.  Herman and Spyro are used to sharing the bed with me.

Oja:  We'll see.  Right now I hiss and growl at the mancats almost every time I see them.

Karen Jo:  I have noticed that it's tapered off just a little bit, not much, but a little.

Vet Visit

 Mom snapped the pictures of me and Spyro at mid-afternoon and everyone knows that's nap time.  I keep trying to get a peek at that girl kitty in the safe room, but Mom keeps closing the door before I can get a good look.

Spyro:   I think the laundry basket is the best cat bed I have ever had.  I did get a look at the girl kitty this morning.  Mom left the door open and she poked her head out.  I saw her and she saw me, then she hissed at me.  Three times!

Karen Jo:  Sorry about the three times, Spyro.  She was in the doorway and I kept waiting for her to retreat back into the room, as Emma did, but she stood her ground.  I think that's a good sign for your future relationship with her.  I finally had to shoo her back into the room so I could close the door.

Oja: I'm not going to let any big mancat scare me into running away.  Mom was mean to me today.  She put me in a PTU, then in a metal monster and took me to the vet.  They poked me and prodded me and put something up where it didn't belong.  Then a vet lady squirted something in my mouth.  The only good thing about it was that Mom had another lady with her and they both gave me pets.  The vet lady and the vet tech both gave me pets, too. I was glad to come home.  My picture is all blurry because I won't hold still.

Karen Jo:  The picture is dark because it was taken late afternoon.  I tried to take Oja's picture in the full mid-afternoon light, but she wouldn't hold still enough for even a bad blurry picture.  The vet report is that her nose-drips have cleared up on their own.  I didn't tell you earlier because I didn't want to worry everyone unduly, but Oja also has diarrhea.  I think it is just that I am giving Oja higher quality food than she is used to.  Since Oja didn't have a temperature or any other obvious abnormalities, the vet cautiously agreed with me.  She is getting liquid metronitazale twice a day to help clear it up. She has to go back in 15 days for her boosters.  If the diarrhea doesn't clear up soon, she is going back sooner.

Mad at Mom

Here I am, keeping my chest warm against the carpet and ignoring my toys. I didn't feel like playing at all today, even though Mom brought me home a new toy. I sniffed it, but that was all I did with it. I have changed my mind about my medicine. I really don't like Mom squirting stuff in my mouth and I have decided to fight it. I got very mad at Mom for squirting that stuff in my mouth this morning, even though it just tastes like water. I poked a couple of claws in her hand, trying to push her away from me. Then I wouldn't come anywhere near her for an hour. She gave me my sardine, but I wouldn't go near it until she left the kitchen. She tried to bribe me with my brush, but I ignored her. An hour later, I finally gave in to the brush when she tried it again, but I sat and thought about it for a little while before I went over for my brushing. Mom gave me a really long brushing and I loved it and forgave her. I am back to my usual eating habits, not so hungry today. I am still making poop puddles, but Mom found a little bit that looked almost solid. If I don't stop making poop puddles by the end of Friday, Mom is going to have to call the vet again. I don't want to go there again, especially if it means that Mom will be squirting stuff in my mouth twice a day.

Karen Jo: I am so sorry that you don't like having your medicine squirted in your mouth, Herman, but you might as well get used to it. You are going to get it every day for the rest of your life, which I hope is a long one. I could use some advice about giving Herman his medicine. I know that I have to remain calm and not make a big deal out of it. Herman does not like to be held, so I have been just holding his head steady while I stick the syringe in between his teeth and squirt in the medicine. I know about the cat burrito trick, but I don't want to resort to that if I don't have to. I think Herman would really, really hate that.

Some kitties wanted to know how I react to being in a car. I meowed softly all the way to the vet and all the way home. The only good place I ever went to in a car was my forever home. I love it here and I don't want to leave.

Mean Mom

It's been forever since Mom helped me blog and she hasn't been much fun lately, either. She has been really mean to me. First, she let me run out of sardines again.

Karen Jo: Sorry, Herman. I did find your sardines on sale and got you a bunch. You won't run out again any time soon. I did try to make it up to you with chicken, cheese shreds and a crumb of cooked hamburger.

The cheese was OK, but I didn't want any of that other stuff. I wanted my sardine!

Karen Jo: I know. You complained about it loudly and long, in your most petulant voice.

You haven't been playing with me much, either. I wanted to play soccer the other day and you just ignored me.

Karen Jo: When I have my coat on and am headed toward the door to go to work is not the best time to try to start a soccer game. The last few times I tried to play with you, you only wanted to play for maybe a minute. I think maybe you haven't been feeling so good lately.

You shut me out of the bedroom again this morning.

Karen Jo: I'm sorry, Herman. My allergies started very early this year and they have been worse than they have been in many years. The last three weeks I have just been a walking snot machine. It has drained all my energy and made fun things, like brushing and playing with you and blogging, seem like chores and the chores seem almost unbearable. Luckily I am going to my doctor tomorrow morning about my TSH test and I'll ask her about getting a referral to an allergist. Yesterday after I got my teeth cleaned, I got home and had no energy at all. I had dinner very early, then lay on the bed to read for a while. You came and cuddled with me.

Yes, and you disturbed me.

Karen Jo: I woke up about 8:00 pm, realizing that I had been asleep for a couple of hours and needed to pee. I am sorry that I disturbed you, but I did get up and give you new food, when I figured out that you weren't going to eat what was in your dish, then I got into my jammies, flipped on the TV and went to bed. You woke me up about midnight, wanting more food, so I got up and got it for you. You woke me again at 3:30, wanting new food, and I gave it to you. Then you decided that you didn't want to eat that food and woke me up again at 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00, wanting different food and that last time is when I shut you out of the bedroom, because I really needed that last hour of sleep before I had to get up.

It wasn't until I found the mustard yellow puddle of poop in your litterbox and you barfed again shortly after I got home tonight that I finally figured out why you haven't been eating your Stinky Goodness like you used to. I upped your The Missing Link on Sunday to the recommended level and it is too much for you. This is exactly the way you reacted when I gave you the Newman's Own, which was too rich for you. No wonder you were always bugging me for new food. What I was giving you was disagreeing with you. I am really sorry that it took me so long to figure it out. I threw out what I had given you tonight and opened a new can of Stinky Goodness and cut back The Missing Link to half the recommended dosage. You were doing well on that, as this picture of your fur shows. Actually, this picture was taken when you were on three-quarters the recommended dose, but, thinking back, I realized that you were beginning to get pretty picky about eating your Stinky Goodness even at that dosage.

Thank goodness we got that straightened out. Does this mean that you won't shut me out of the bedroom any more?

Karen Jo: I hope that it won't be necessary any more, Herman. Now if only I can find a way to brush out those tangles you are getting on your chest. I am looking for a metal comb, but I haven't found one yet.

Does this mean more brushing for me? Yay!

Trouble

See this sweet innocent face? Can you believe that my Mom was really mean to me this morning? She shut me out of the bedroom. All I did was wake her up for breakfast.

Karen Jo: That's not the whole story, Herman.

All right, I woke her up four times for breakfast, but that's only because she wouldn't give me any new food.

Karen Jo: I didn't give you any new food because you hadn't eaten what I had given you last night. I don't mind getting up really early to give you breakfast if your dish is empty, but I won't give you new food if you are just being picky.

But I have woken you up several times for breakfast before, but you never shut me out of the bedroom.

Karen Jo: You never stuck you claw in my ear before, either.

Whoops. I'm sorry. You didn't get up until after sardine time.

Karen Jo: I know, Herman. I needed my sleep. I had to go to work today. I did give you breakfast and your sardine after I got up. In fact, I gave you two breakfasts because you ate the first one up so quickly.

I was hungry. I did eat about half of the old food by the time you finally dragged yourself out of bed. You didn't eat anything good for lunch today.

Karen Jo: I put tomato sauce on my pasta today.

I know. I tasted it. It was yucky. You didn't play with me before you went to work today.

Karen Jo: I know. After my late sleeping I got behind schedule a bit. I did give you your brushing, though. You don't usually want to play much before I go to work, anyway. We had a good play time after I got home from work.

I love my brushing. I purr the whole time. You aren't going to shut me out of the bedroom again, are you?

Karen Jo: I won't if you don't use your claws on me to wake me up. Your paw on my face and your meows work well enough.

I'll try to remember that.