100% Again

Bambino:  Good news, everyone!  I'm 100% well again!  The Prince of Pounce is back!  Unfortunately, I pounced Oja and it had been so long since I pounced her that she hissed at me.

Karen Jo:  Oja wasn't very happy about it, but I was.  I got an email from Dropcam requesting a post and to send them a link to the post.  I did one for them, but now I got another request for a post with a link in it.  So here it is.  They were interested in my cats' quirks.

Bambino:  I demand petting at 0-dark-thirty after Mom gets back from the big white litter box.  I taste every food bowl until I find one I like.  After I am done eating, I dig at the place mat, trying to bury any leftovers.  I give Oja gentle head butts and rub up against her.  I am the only cat she allows to do this.

Spyro:  I love getting way up high.  I also get up on the valence above the curtains in the living room and I get up on top of doors.  I try to get outside when Mom opens the door.  When Mom sits at the kitchen table and tries to read the newspaper, I sit on the paper and demand to be petted.  While she is petting me, I snuggle my head into her armpit, then bite her.  You should hear her yell!

Oja: This is the first picture Mom ever took of me I have a short curly tail.  When I am happy, I curl it up like a chow dog.

Rocio:  Or a pig.

Oja:  ::WHAP!::  I am also the grumpy cat of the family.  It takes me weeks or months . . .

Rocio: Or years . . .

Oja: to make friends with another cat.  I did make an exception in Julius' case and accepted him right away.

Rocio:  I am the only cat who likes to sleep like this.  I like to tease Oja and make her yell, which is probably why she never made friends with me.

Horus:  Like Spyro, I like to get up high.  Here I am up on top of the filing cabinet.  I also get up on top of the valence in the living room and up on top of doors.  I also like to try to escape when Mom opens the door.  Sometimes Spyro and I work together.  One of us distracts Mom and the other one runs out.  As she makes a grab for the escaping cat, the other one runs out.  We only want to go out and scratch our backs on the concrete and chew on the grass, but Mom always walks around behind us until she can grab us and take us back inside.  I like to threaten Rocio and make him yell.  Oja is my friend and I don't like the way Rocio makes her yell.
                                      
Julius:  I am the newest one here.  I have only been living here for a couple of weeks.  My quirk is that I'm afraid of the Lady.  This is as close as I will let her get to me, unless she is giving out treats.  Then I will get close enough to her for her to touch me.  I even let her pet me a little until the treats run out.  Then I run away again.

Fantastic Friday

 Bambino:  I feel a little better every day.  I am eating like I used to and drinking and using the litter box and doing the little things I used to, except play.  That may be coming.  Mom saw me running twice today.

Karen Jo:  The blood test showed just what I expected it to.  Bambino is definitely FeLV+.  I found out something I didn't know before.  Sometimes the virus causes FeLV+ kitties to develop a low grade fever with no other cause.  When the fever breaks they are back to normal.  I am encouraged to know this.  Bambino has been eating like he can't get enough again.  There is never any Stinky Goodness left, except the kitten food.  No cat seems to really like that stuff, though some of it disappears.  If Bambino isn't back to normal by Monday, he has to go back to the vet.  At the rate he is improving, I have hopes that he won't have to make that trip.  Thanks for all the purrs and good wishes.  With all that going for him, he should be well soon.

 I'm up on the couch with the Halloween bear.  Mom hasn't cleaned up since the last time the blurpy was here.  Horus and I both escaped the other day.  The fun thing is that Mom always goes after Horus first because he is harder to catch and I never leave the yard, but he does.  That means that I get to stay outside longer.  I don't like the cold white stuff on the ground, though it isn't everywhere and I can find some grass to munch.

 Oja:  Here I am in the cushioned chair again.  Mom is complaining that every time she gets out the clicky box, I am under here where it's really hard to get a good picture of me.  She should get out the clicky box when I'm out.  I don't know what's up with Bambino.  Mom was lying on the bed, watching TV and Bambino was lying on her, getting petted.  I came up close to get some petting, too, and Bambino whapped me.  He has never done that before.

 Rocio:  I understand now why this is Horus' favorite spot.  It's really comfy.  I have gotten fed up with Horus trying to intimidate me.  This time I growled and charged Horus.  That'll teach him.

 Horus:  Julius was playing with this stuffie a little while ago.  I'm trying to see what the attraction is.  Or maybe I'm looking for stray treats.  The blurp tosses them all around.

Julius:  Mom was a little slow with the clicky box.  When she started trying to take my picture, I was up on the pillow with Spyro.  I cuddle with Spyro lots.  Mom keeps trying to get a picture of my snuggling Spyro in the blue cat bed, but she has to get too close to get a good picture and I always run away.  The only time I come near her is when she is giving out treats or if she is lying in bed with other cats around.  Then I will lie next to her feet.

Friendly Friday

Spyro:  Mom didn't take any photos of us today because she was "busy" again.  First the tiny two-legger came over, then she left with her friend and didn't get home until nearly dark.  Our photos are half reruns and half unused pictures.  I am up on our fairly new scratcher busy scratching for treats.  One good thing about Mom being gone is that when she got home she had half a shopping bag full of treats.  Yay!  You'll never guess what Mom has for breakfast half the time.  Crunchies!  I love them.

Karen Jo:  It's Grapenuts, Spyro, and I'm amazed that you like them better dry than when I put the milk on them.

Spyro:  You don't use real milk and I don't really like it.

Karen Jo:  It's almond milk and it's good for me.

 Oja:  I am in the safe room by the heat vent.  It's toasty warm back here, which is nice because it's been cold outside.  I know because sometimes I greet Mom at the door and the cold air comes in.  I think I have mentioned that all the food in the kitchen is mine and I choose who I will share it with.  Last night at dinner and this morning at breakfast, I decided that Julius could share the canned food.  While he was eating breakfast, I sniffed his tail from the tip to his rump and gave him my seal of approval.  He is now officially no longer an orange threat.

Karen Jo:  This is amazing.  Oja has never warmed up to a new cat this fast.  It look her a couple of weeks after she came out of the safe room to make friends with Herman and Spyro.  It took months for her to make friends with Bambino.  She did make friends with Horus fairly quickly, but it was still a matter of weeks.  Rocio has been here a year and she still doesn't like him.  Julius has only been here nine days.

Oja:  You know what Mom has for breakfast some mornings?  Solid milk.  I love it and make her share.

Karen Jo:  It's called yogurt, Oja, and you are welcome to share.

 Rocio:  I am mostly in the blue cat bed by the heat vent in the living room.  It's nice and warm here, too.  I also like to play with the toggle and string from Mom's coat that you see hanging over my head.  I wish Oja would make friends with me.  At least Spyro, Bambino and Julius like me.  And Mom, of course.  When she has yummy meat or fish for dinner I stare at her until she gives me some.  I only want a bite or two and Mom always gives me what I want.  I love to lie on Mom's legs when she goes to bed.  It's comfy and warm.

 Bambino:  I'm up on the couch watching Julius play.  That boy loves all the toys and wants to play all the time he's awake.  Sometimes he curls up with me and we groom each other.  I am glad Mom got so many treats.  We were nearly out and I scratch for them a lot.

 Horus:  There is nothing better than my favorite pillow in a sun puddle for a nap.  The tiny two-legger wore me out with Da Bird this morning.  Mom got a new bird for it and it was more exciting than usual.  The tiny two-legger even petted me.  She has learned how to do it right and it feels good.  Rocio upset Oja again this morning and I had to chase him down the hall.  That boy will never learn that he can't make friends with Oja.  She has to make friends with him.

Julius:  I still won't let Mom get too close to me with the clicky box.  Oja lets me eat in the kitchen with the big kitties now.  Yay!

Karen Jo:  But your kitten food is in the safe room.

Julius:  Let Rocio eat it.  I like the big kitty food better.  Oja doesn't hiss at me any more.  She really sniffed my tail this morning, all over.  I think she might even like me now.  You will never guess where I slept for the first part of the night last night.  The Lady went to bed and Spyro followed her and she was petting him, so I jumped up on the big bed.  The Lady ignored me and just kept petting Spyro, so I snuggled up to her leg and went to sleep.  It's very comfy and warm up there.  I think I might try it again.

Closer and Closer

 Spyro:  You see that green fish I am sort of lying on?  It's stuffed with silvervine and I just got a bit high on it and now I'm rolling around and playing with anything I can reach.  Mom gets these fish from Nip and Bones and they are wonderful.

 Oja:  I have stopped hiding from Julius.  I've decided that he isn't a little orange monster after all.  He mostly leaves me alone, but I still hiss at him if he gets within two feet of me.  I love hanging out on top of this scratcher.  The top is curved and fits my body perfectly.  I even scratch on it for treats sometimes.

 Rocio:  Mom took a terrible picture of me.  I show up better on the photo of Julius she posted at the Tabby Cat Club.  I am having fun with Julius, but Oja got all hissy with me again today.  I wasn't doing anything to her, honest.  Horus has stopped hissing at me, though.

 Bambino:  I am thinking about scratching for treats on our new scratcher.  Mom got it for us just before Julius arrived and it's really fun.  We tore our last inclined scratcher all to bits.  Julius and I rassled a little bit more today.

 I'm napping to catch my breath again.  Julius and I rassled this morning, then the blurp showed up.  She's been coming over more frequently.  I must say that she's more fun now.  She has gotten the hang of using the wand toy and I love it.  She is also pretty generous about giving out treats, which the other kitties really enjoy.  Even Julius came out once, but she scared him.

Julius:  See how close I let the Lady come to me with the clicky box?  I turned my head just as it clicked, so I'm a little blurry.  I have been having an exciting time.  Yesterday afternoon I actually pounced Spyro's head and we rassled until he ran away.  At night the other kitties tend to disappear and last night I decided to find out where they were going.  I walked down the hall and at the end I saw a room with a big stripy thing in it and there were Spyro, Rocio and Bambino.  I jumped up and there was the Lady, too.  That scared me a little, so I just stayed at the very end and watched for a while, then left.  I jumped up again this morning because Spyro and Bambino were there and the Lady was still there, too, so I stayed at the very end again, then left.

Karen Jo:  My bedroom is at the end of the hall and I have a striped bedspread.  I was glad that Julius jumped up on the bed.  Maybe he will get braver about getting close to me as he sees the other cats lying beside and on top of me.  I petted Julius a little today.

Braver and Braver

 Spyro:  Mom is being just a little bit mean with her picture taking today.  She was gone most of the day and was hours late  in giving us our fresh water and dry food.  So, of course we were hungry.  We get the same boring dry food everyday, but Julius got a brand new bag of something we never had before, so we are checking it out.  It smells delicious.

Rocio:  Nom, nom, nom.

 Horus:  I want to try the new food, too, but the new scratcher has fresh catnip on it, so I'm torn.

Rocio:  Nom, nom, nom.

 Horus:  This catnip smells wonderful.

Bambio:  I wanna get some nip, too.

 Oja:  Silly mancats.  All the really good food is in the kitchen and it's mine. Hahaha!

Julius:  Where is everycat?  I'm in the living room all alone.  I am getting braver about the Lady. I let her get a little closer to me to take my picture.  Last night she was giving out treats and I actually sniffed her fingers.  You know what happened next?  She petted me and I liked it.  Spyro scratched for treats before breakfast and I let her pet me again.  This afternoon I wouldn't let her pet me, but I walked up and sniffed her shoe.  I ran when she reached down for me, though.  No way am I letting her pick me up.  I'm not sure those mancats know what they are talking about when they tell me Oja is harmless.  I walked toward her down the hall this morning and she not only hissed at me, she charged me.  I ran like the wind and she couldn't catch me.

Bambino:  She didn't hurt you or even try to smack you, did she?

Julius:  No, she just charged.  That was scary enough.

Bambino:  I still say she won't hurt you.  She's all noise and bluff.

Julius:  We'll see.  Thanks for playing with me in this net thing.  That was fun.

Bambino:  That's a playpen.  My foster Mom kept me in one when I was littler than you.  I like rasslin', too.

Julius:  No one can keep me in it.  I can jump in and out all by myself.

Not Quite So Sad

 Poor little Emma got shortchanged once again.  November 19th was her Bridge Day.  I was going to make a post just for her on the day, but I started crying again and I couldn't see to post.  It's been a year now since she left.  Somehow it seems an eternity and just a little while ago at the same time.  I chose a picture of her at play because that's the way I want to remember her.  She so loved to play, both with toys by herself and especially with Da Bird.  Every night after I got home from work and fed her and Herman, I took a little time to get in my PJs and rest a little, then I would go into the living room and get out Da Bird for a session with Emma.  We had such fun together.

 Spyro:  We have been having sunny, but cold weather.  I know it's been cold because I have been escaping and find that I don't like it much.  Mom doesn't even have to come get me. After only a few minutes I go back to the door and demand to be let back in.  I love catching the rays in my ham-mick.  Mom has been tossing me out of her bedroom and closing the door.  I don't like it.

Karen Jo:  I have only done it twice.  Once a few days ago when you began attacking my pajama legs and your claws were going through the material and hurting me.  You just wouldn't stop it, despite my pushing you off my legs and petting you and trying to get you interested in something else.    After five minutes, Oja started crying at the door and I opened it again and got up for the day.  The second time was today when you were helping me make the bed.  I don't mind it when you attack the sheets and blankets and let yourself get covered up.  However, this morning you attacked the blanket where I was holding it and made such a deep hole in my finger that I had to get a bandage to stop the bleeding.  I let you back in as soon as I finished.

Spyro:  I still don't like it.  The traffic at the bird feeders has been very interesting.  We had some little animals as well as birds.  I lashed and lashed my tail.

Karen Jo:  Some chipmunks have discovered the bird seed that the birds knock to the ground.  I was very glad to see them.  I haven't seen any since the fire two years ago.

Spyro:  What were you doing in the back yard for so long?  You said I could stay out with you if I behaved, but it was too cold for me to stay out long.

Karen Jo:  Herman's grave marker arrived and I was putting it up along with the solar powered colored lights  I got for Herman and Emma.  Herman got a star and Emma got a dragonfly.  I really like them and they make useful markers for the sides of the graves.  I also fed and watered the birds.

Oja:  Hmmph!  Going outside in the cold seems stupid to me, especially when there are such nice sun puddles inside.  This is the same chair where Herman and I used to nap together.  I have been really good about keeping Mom company at bedtime.  I curl up right next to her face and purr softly.  I let her pet me a little, but I don't want to be petted as much as Herman did.  I want to take my nightly bath, then curl up and sleep.

Karen Jo:  Oja does sleep with me on most nights.  Some nights she and Spyro prefer to sleep elsewhere, but one or both of them is always there in the morning, making sure I am getting up for breakfast.  I am feeling a bit better.  I went to Thanksgiving dinner with my brother and nephews to one of my nephew's girlfriend's house.  There was a whole crowd of us and it was delightful.  When my brother brought me home, we had time to go to the bank and get the last of the papers connected with my Mother's death signed and notarized.  I went and filed the last of the papers with the county today and got the utilities put in my name and changed the insurance to my name, too.  It's finally almost all done.  Once I am sure that the last shares of stock have been transferred, I can close her checking account and everything will at last be all taken care of.  That took a great weight off my shoulders and made me feel happy.  I still miss Herman lots.  It's hard to get used to being greeted at the door by only Spyro, but it will come.  I also feel better that his grave has a marker and a light. I should be blogging fairly steadily from now on.

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.

Thank You

Karen Jo:  First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for the huge outpouring of sympathy and comfort.  It does my heart good and helps with my grief enormously.  I will come around and thank each of you separately, but it will take a while.

Spyro:  Mom caught me just waking up from a nap in my ham-mick.  Mom says that after Herman's Gotcha Day she is going to rename this blog Spyro's Spytower.  What do you think of that?  I like it.

Karen Jo:  The URL will remain the same, just the blog name will change.

Spyro:  Mom isn't putting out as much food.

Karen Jo:  I figured out how Herman managed to gain weight on his diet.  I was putting out a half-cup of dry food for each of you and it all disappeared.  This morning I noticed that the two of you didn't eat all the dry food.  Herman was eating more than his fair share.  Today I put out one-third-cup of dry food each for you and that seems about right, at least for now.

Spyro:  I miss Herman.  I went around and really sniffed the places that he used to nap.  I know what happened to him and that he won't be back, but I wanted to smell him again.  I used his litter box just a little.

Karen Jo:  I scrubbed out Herman's litter box and put in all new litter.  It needed it anyway.

Oja:  Surprise!  I am back in my room.  I found this great pile of stuff to nap on.

Karen Jo:  The once-forbidden room was my parents bedroom.  When Mom died, I picked up all the stuff connected with her last illness and just dumped it all in that room, along with anything else I needed a place for.  When I finally cleaned it up, I took all the wraps and shawls and dumped them on the couch in Oja's room, thinking that the kitties might like them.  Herman discovered it about a week and a half ago, then Oja found it and last night Spyro tried it out.

Oja:  Last night in bed I had Mom all to myself all night.  It was great.

Karen Jo:  I didn't even need to call out, "Bedtime!"  Oja was already on the bed, just waiting for me.  She curled up next to me, a little closer to my head than Herman did, and waited for her petting.  We had a great time together.  Spyro slept in the rocking chair next to the bed, as usual.  Also as usual, when I woke up they were both down by my feet.  No kitty woke me up at dawn for breakfast.  I think maybe Spyro will take over that job or maybe they don't really care what time they get breakfast, as long as they get it.

Spyro:  Mom locked me up in the human litter box room.

Karen Jo:  I have to lock up Spyro when I take out the trash because I can't both carry the trash and keep him from running out the door.  I didn't have the heart to lock him up in Oja's room, as I usually do.  Maybe I'm just being silly, but I just couldn't do it.

Spyro:  It's OK.  I have my litter box and water in the human litter box room.  I can play footsie with Oja under the door, too.

Karen Jo:  Spyro loves to drink water out of a glass, so I keep a plastic glass with water in it on the sink for him.  Thanks again, everybody and a special thank you to Anne of Zoolatry for the lovely graphic of Herman. I put it up on my sidebar, but you have to scroll down a bit to see it.

Toys and Stuff

 I just got finished scratching for a treat and mean Mom made me wait until I got my picture taken to give me my treat.  Yes, I still get treats, even though I am supposed to be losing weight.  I only ask for one once or twice a day now, so Mom lets me have them.  The regular cat kibble has disappeared and all the bowls now have weight control kibble in them.  How boring!

Karen Jo:  That's because you managed to gain two-tenths of a pound eating the regular kibble.  I know it's not really your fault.  Spyro and Oja always gobbled up your weight control kibble first thing and you didn't have much choice but to eat the regular kibble.

I got a real treat the other evening.  I was lying in Mom's rocking chair and she was petting my chest when Oja jumped up in the rocking chair behind me.  I was all set for her to start bugging me, but she started grooming my back instead.  I got attention from two sides at once.  I loved it.

 Oja: I am playing with the turbo track and debating whether Herman's tail looks like more fun.

Karen Jo:  When I went to get the camera, Spyro and Oja were lying side by side playing with the turbo track.  By the time I got back, Spyro had left.

Spyro:  You have to be fast if you are going to catch me doing something.  I decided I wanted to lie up here on the storage boxes instead.  We got some new toys!

Karen Jo:  My friend took me to Santa Fe to try to find a computer desk for the once-forbidden room. While I was there, I looked in a pet store for a replacement for your favorite toy.  Spyro absolutely adored a toy that was a ping-pong ball with a feather stuck in it and something like a little sand inside.  I couple of months ago it disappeared and I haven't been able to find it anywhere.  I found something similar.  It looks like a miniature golf ball with  a feather stuck in it and a jingle bell inside.  I got two of them, one yellow and one pink.  I put the plastic bag with the balls and a package of two toy mice on the table and went off to do something necessary.  By the time I got back, Spyro had gotten the toys out of the bag and was playing with the balls on the floor.  I took the pink one and put it in a toy box, thinking that one at a time was enough, but Spyro took it right out again.  I just left them out and by yesterday both of them had disappeared.  I guess Spyro knows where they are, though, because the pink one reappeared today.

Oja:  I like these new balls, too.

Spyro:  You like anything with a jingle bell in it.

Oja: So, you like anything with a feather on it.

Karen Jo:  It's great that you like different toys, though sometimes your likes overlap.  The toy mice didn't go over so well.  They are an orangish plastic that is supposed to be infused with catnip and they have a slit in the bottom to put treats in.  It was so hard to get a treat in one that I doubt the kitties will ever get it out.

Spyro:  I played with the mouse for a little while, but I like the new balls better.

Karen Jo:  I will hunt around for the yellow one.  I know that both it and the ping-pong ball are in the house somewhere, but I have no idea where.  You kitties have some hidey-holes that I can't even look into.

Spyro:  You will just have to keep buying us new toys.  Hahaha!

Where Did the Time Go?

 See how high up I am?  Isn't it awesome?  Mom is keeping some storage boxes for her friend and they are stacked up on an end table.  I am taller than Mom now.  Mom was really surprised to find me up here, because I have never gotten up this high before, though there are places in the house where I could do it, like the bookcase in Oja's room and the top of the file cabinet.  Now maybe Mom will get me a cat tree to climb.    Mom really let the time go by between posts this time.  Wow!  It's been almost a month.  She has been busy, so I guess we will forgive her this time, as long as she promises never to to it again.  Lots of things have happened around here since our last post.

 Spyro:  I wanna put a nose print on the camera lens.  Just get a little closer.  I wanna cat tree, too.  Know what?  The forbidden room isn't forbidden any more.  Mom cleaned it all up and now we can go in there all the time.  The bed in there got made up with pillows and everything and I like to lie on it.  I tried to get on the   window sill, but all I managed to do was bring down the sheer curtains.  Mom heard the noise and came in and saw me pawing the material.  I should have run away, then she wouldn't have known which cat did it.

Karen Jo:  I would have known anyway.  You are my teenager cat, always getting into mischief and trouble.

Oja:  See me chillaxing in the living room?  I spend most of my time in here with the other kitties now.  I love to play with all the toys.  I found out what the big Turbo Track does and I like it.  Spyro and I both play with it, sometimes at the same time.  I love the balls that look like cages with a jingle bell inside.  I chase them all over the house.  I even started napping in the ham-micks.  They are great!  Spyro and I rassle all the time and sometimes Spyro rassles with Herman.  I don't rassle with Herman, though.  He's too big for me.

Karen Jo:  We can see your ample tummy, too.

Oja:  It's good to have a little extra weight.  The food has gotten a bit boring, though.

Karen Jo:  Some kitty has a bit of diarrhea and I think it's probably you.  Everykitty is on Classic Fancy Feast now.  If it doesn't clear up in a week or so, I will have to make a vet appointment or two.  I did take Herman in to weigh him and he has gained two-tenths of a pound.  It's time to put everykitty on the diet kibble, as soon as the new bag of the regular runs out.

Karen Jo:  I have so much stuff in my top two drawers that I can't close them.  Spyro loves to get up in them and dig in my socks.  Now I am finding socks in odd places, like the entrance hall and behind the TV.  I wonder who is doing that?

Spyro:  I don't have the slightest idea.  You closed all the windows and we can't get whiffies any more.

Karen Jo:  It got cold Friday night and it hasn't warmed up enough to open the windows again.  If you are lucky, you will get a few more days of open windows before the cold weather sets in for the duration.

Spyro:  You haven't been taking me outside in my harness and leash much lately.

Karen Jo:  No, I haven't.  I have been really busy with stuff and the weather hasn't been cooperating.  I will try to take you our more before it gets too cold.  I guess I can look forward to the kitties getting the fall friskies.  What that will do to Spyro is beyond my imagination.  He is all over the place, getting into everything now.  I love it, even though I complain about it sometimes.  I am way behind in my newspaper reading, because Spyro always jumps up on the paper almost as soon as I start to read.  I must say that petting Spyro is more interesting than reading the paper.

Let Freedom Ring

 It's hard to find a place to relax in this messy living room.

Karen Jo:  I am saving some boxes for a friend who is moving, but I think I better move the boxes to the forbidden room because there is just too much clutter.

Mom went to the pet supply store yesterday and she bought harnesses for both me and Oja.  I didn't fight my harness at all.  I didn't slink along on my belly, either.

Karen Jo:  You took to your harness like you had worn one before.  That is quite possible, of course.  I didn't take any pictures of you outside because I had my hands full with both you and Spyro out at the same time.  You both got to go out together again today.

I got more outside time today than Spyro did.  Mom took me out first, thinking she could just take us out one at a time.  I refused to budge from the screen door until she went and got Spyro.  I couldn't stand his crying.

Karen Jo:  I hooked your leash to the mailbox and went inside to get Spyro.  Then you wanted to go in different directions and kept my arms stretched out almost all the time.

That was funny.  It was also funny watching Spyro slink along on his belly.  Then you took Spyro inside because all he wanted to do was loll around in the driveway and took me to the backyard.  That was awesome.  I chewed on the grass and inspected a gopher hole and walked almost the whole length of the back yard before you picked me up and took me back inside.

Spyro:  I don't have any problem finding a place to relax in the living room.  I just take Herman's ham-mick  It's not fair that Herman got more outside time than I did.  I chewed on the grass a little, too.  I slink along because I'm not used to my harness yet, but I still love going outside.  Lolling in the driveway is fun.

Karen Jo:  I will take you out first tomorrow.  I still think it would be best to take you out one at a time, so you can each do what you want.  It would be easier on my arms, too.

Oja:  I am up on my blankie on the bookshelf by the window.  I am getting more adventurous, too.

Karen Jo: You sure chased Herman off last night.

Oja:  You left the door open to come in and give me my good-night petting and Herman came in to inspect my food dish.  I charged him and he left quickly.

Karen Jo:  You came out of your room three times today, too.  I left your door open when I went to get your lunch you went into my bedroom.  You came running back for your lunch, though.

Oja:  I was hungry.  I came out again when you left the door open  to get my fresh water and scoop the litter boxes, too.  I saw you coming with my water and ran back to my room, but left again when you left.  Then there was some excitement.  Spyro sneaked in again while I was gone.

Karen Jo:  I was surprised when I came in to scoop your litter box to find Spyro in your room and you gone.  I was finished with your box before you came back.  You chased Spyro right out of your room again.  I am beginning to think that you are not afraid of Herman and Spyro, you just don't like them.

Oja:  Bingo!  You finally figured out that I will play with toys, if they are new and don't have mancat stink on them.

Karen Jo:  That's right.  I got you a tin of Yeow Stinky Sardines (catnip) yesterday and put one out and I couldn't even find it today, so I put out another one.

Karen Jo:  Now I want some advice.  I worry about Oja's quality of life.  She has been in that room by herself for a month and is just now starting to explore a bit.  I got her a harness, too, but wonder if she would even like to go outside.  I don't want to do anything that would scare her, but I also want to give her more things to do.  What do you think about seeing if Oja will accept a harness and go outside?

Happy Independence Day!

 Happy Independence Day!  We are all going to tell you how we are celebrating our freedom today.  I am celebrating my freedom from hot heavy fur by running and playing with Spyro.  I am also celebrating my freedom to move my head whenever Mom snaps a picture.

 Spyro:  I am celebrating my freedom to go outside with my harness and leash by making the most of it.  I mostly stayed in the carport because Mom took me out in the hot part of the day.  I did see a butterfly, but it was too high up to even try to catch.  I did investigate a big bush and sniff a lot of spider webs.

Karen Jo:  That was a mistake on my part, Spyro.  Yesterday I took you out in the evening and you enjoyed it much more.

Oja:  I am celebrating my freedom from scary mancats by staying in my room.  I also greatly enjoy my freedom to climb all over my Mom and get loved on.  Mom is spending more time with me.  She even got that yucky Intereferon in me.

Karen Jo:  That's because you have stopped being up in my face so much, so being with you is more enjoyable.  Your Interferon is not yucky.  It has no taste at all.  I am not so sure that you are so scared by the mancats.  You didn't seem scared last night.  While I was visiting blogs last night, it began to rain.  It brought the temperature right down and it felt so good that I thought I had to share it with Oja.  I went into her room and left the door open, so she could feel the cool breeze and sat down so she would come out for petting.

Oja:  What neither of us noticed was that Spyro sneaked into my room and went into my hidey-hole under the corner table.  When I had enough petting, I jumped down and went to get a bite to eat.  I sensed Spyro behind me.  Well, I was having none of that.  I dashed around the easy chair and into my hidey-hole and chased him right out of my room.  Then I sat in my doorway and growled at him.

Karen Jo:  I don't know how Oja know Spyro was in her hidey-hole.  She moved faster than I had ever seen her move before.  Spyro sped out of  the hidey-hole like a fury was after him.  I couldn't close the door until Oja moved away from the doorway.  She growled at Spyro and I think she may have growled at Herman when he showed up to find out what was going on.  Oja certainly knows how to defend her territory.

Karen Jo:  I am celebrating my freedom from going to work by watching A Capitol Fourth on PBS.  I haven't been able to watch it since 2002, as I was always at work.  We will have no fireworks locally because of the fire danger.  I am also being thankful for all my other freedoms.  I am very fortunate as I have freedom from want, hunger and fear.

Herman Goes Nekkid!

 Mom did it!  She went and got me a full lion cut.  She took this picture the day I got shaved, but I look pretty much the same now.  I didn't enjoy having it done at all, but I am glad she did it.  I don't have any more mats and I feel much cooler.  Before the shave, I was just lying around all day, not doing much of anything.  Now I have my energy back and I'm playing with Spyro again.  I even spent some nights snuggled up next to Mom, which I hadn't been doing because it has been so hot.  It's been too hot lately to do that any more, at least not for the whole night.

Karen Jo:  I am glad that you are enjoying your cooler lion cut, Herman.  I love it when you sleep next to me at night, but I really understand why you are doing it so seldom now.  It's been in the 90s everyday for a couple of weeks now.  I have been a really bad blogger and I apologize, but the heat got me down.  I will just have to make myself do it.  It's not that I don't enjoy it once I get started, it just seems like too much work in the heat.  I know that 90 isn't so hot for a lot of you, but it used to be rare up here in the mountains and I'm not used to it.

 Spyro:  I am sleeping under the kitchen table on one of the chairs.  I like this one because it has a soft cover on it.  It's cooler here where I can catch the breeze that blows from the kitchen window to the living room window.  I still play a lot, usually in the mornings and evenings.  Herman and I both sleep a lot in the afternoon.  Know what I discovered?  When Mom opens the screen door just wide enough to stick her arm out and grab the mail, I can slip outside.  I got out three times today.

Karen Jo:  It amazes me how small an opening you need to slip out.  Luckily, you never go anywhere.  Once you are out, you just stop and look around and it's really easy to get you back in.  Once I just told you to get your furry little butt back inside and you obeyed.  I am either going to have to figure out how to get the trash cans out without your getting out, too, or shut the kitchen door to the living room before I open the screen door.

Oja:  Can you believe it?  Mom finally got a decent photo of me.  You can see both my beautiful eyes and my curly tail.  There has been some progress since the last post.  A couple of days ago, Mom left my door open for about 15 minutes and when she came back, I wasn't in my room.  I decided to explore Mom's bedroom, or at least under her bed.

Karen Jo:  When I didn't see you in my room, I went back to your room and you let out a "Merp!" and ran back into your room and into your hidey-hole under the corner table.  Later I came and got you and put you down a few feet away from Spyro (Herman was nowhere to be seen at the time).  You hissed at him, so I took you back to your room

Oja:  I can't help it.  Those big kitties are scary.  Mom left something interesting in my room.  I have been moving it around.

Karen Jo:  It's a silver vine-stuffed fish that I got from Nip and Bones.  Herman and Spyro weren't that interested in it, so I brought it to you.  It's the first toy that I have found moved from where I put it on the floor.  I think you like it and I hope that you are playing with it and not just kicking it with your feet as you move around the room.  I think I will switch it around with some other toys and see if you will play with them, too.

Karen Jo:  I have solved the problem with getting so many claw-pricks when I visit Oja.  I can't believe it took me so long to figure it out.  All I have to do is put on a sweat-shirt.  Oja occasionally gets a paw down the neck of the sweat-shirt and I get pricked, but it doesn't happen often.  We spent the longest time together ever tonight.  I was with her for over half and hour.  She has settled down some, which is really nice.  She used to be all over my face all the time and it would get rather unpleasant. First she would rub my face with hers, cheek to cheek, which was rather nice.  Then she would turn around and we would be cheek to cheek the other way, which wasn't so nice, especially when she whapped my face with her tail.  That short, curly tail is really strong.  I would get fur up my nose and in my mouth and kitty drool all over my face.  Oja drools, usually out of the left side of her mouth.  Ten to fifteen minutes of that was all I could take.  Tonight we did the face to face and butt to face bit for a little while, then she moved down to my chest and just looked up at me and let me pet her.  After a bit, she moved down to my lap and just enjoyed the petting for a long time.  I pet her until she decided that she wanted back up on the bookshelf beside the window.  It's cooler up there and it's where she spends the night.

Oja:  I want more sessions like tonight's.  I really liked it.