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.

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.

Rain!

We almost didn't get our pictures taken today.  When Mom got up it was all cloudy and looked like rain, so she went to get her allergy shot as soon as she could.  She said it rained on her all the way home, which was great.  We haven't had rain in such a long time.  It really cooled things off and it smelled great.  Once the rain was over and the sun came out, Mom went for her camera, but she couldn't find us.

Karen Jo:  Once I had good light for photos, all of you had gone to your shady hidey-holes for a nap.  Herman was under the couch; Spyro was under a chair in the living room and Oja was in her hidey-hole under the corner table.  I waited until I was afraid that I would lose the light and decided to just take a picture of Spyro under the chair.  It looked like there was just enough light for that.

Spyro:  It's really comfy here and it stays fairly cool.

Karen Jo:  Then I decided to visit Oja and put on my sweat shirt, since it was a bit cooler, to see if she would come out for a visit, taking the camera with me.  I waited for quite a while, but finally Oja came out, yawning and stretching.  I was in the easy chair and she jumped up in my lap.

Oja:  I mostly stayed in Mom's lap, though I did smear some cat drool on her face.  I even stayed still long enough for a picture.

Karen Jo:  Looking at this picture, I wonder if you qualify for the froot-bat club.  It looks like it to me.  After my visit with Oja, I walked back to the living room and Herman had come out and was stretched out in the light, so I got a picture of him, too.

Oja:  I want to tell about my adventure today.

Karen Jo:  You did have quite an adventure.  I always leave Oja's door open while I go to get her fresh water, so I don't have to open the door while holding her water dish.

Oja:  Spyro started peeking around the door jamb as soon as Mom left.  I watched him but he didn't bother me, so I didn't hiss at him.  When Mom got back with my water, Herman was following her.  He stood in the doorway, but didn't come in, so that didn't bother me either.  In fact, I walked a little closer to him, then hissed at him.  He didn't do anything; he just stood there in the doorway, swinging his tail slowly back and forth.

Karen Jo:  That is Herman's way of expressing interest.

Oja:  I went a little closer to him and growled at him.  He meowed softly to me and that intrigued me, so I walked right up to him and we touched noses and introduced ourselves.  Then I got a little spooked and backed up and hissed and growled at him again.  This is when Mom usually closes the door.

Karen Jo:  I couldn't close the door.  You were standing right in front of it.

Oja:  I finally walked away from him and Mom left, closing the door behind her.

Karen Jo:  I am really pleased with this development.  Herman was the perfect gentlecat.  He never moved any closer to Oja, letting her decide how much contact she wanted.  Oja didn't arch her back or poof out her tail, just hissed and growled.  Oja hasn't shown any more interest in leaving her room, but this evening Herman followed me a little way into her room when I went in to tell her good night.  Oja's reaction to that was her little "I don't like this" meow, but she didn't hiss at him.  I shooed Herman out and closed the door.  I am beginning to think that things may work out after all and Oja may eventually leave her room and really join the family.