Caturday

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 Spyro:  Getting Mom down on the floor to take my picture was so much fun the other day that I decided to do it again.  It's so funny watching her get up again.  I haven't been doing much since yesterday.  I know where Mom has stashed all those new treats she bought yesterday, but I can't get at them.  I did knock the laundry basket over onto the floor trying to get at them.

 Oja:  Mom is so lame.  The picture she took of me in my chair was too blurry to use, so I have to appear in a repeat.  Now that I have accepted Julius as part of the family I am back to lounging around in all my usual spots instead of hiding from him.  He is the most polite kitten I have ever met.  He never pounces unless he is already playing with the cat he pounces.  I had to give Mom the stink eye today.  I was so comfy cozy on her lap, then she told me she had to get up, so I moved to my chair.  When she came back, Horus jumped up on her lap and she was petting and praising him just like she had been doing with me.  The nerve!

 Rocio:  See that purple fish by the scratcher?  It's stuffed with silvervine like the green one.  I rubbed it all over my face and now I'm playing with the blurpy's blocks and enjoying my sun puddle.  Julius is so great.  Just before Mom got out the camera we were snuggling and grooming and rasslin' just like I used to do with Austin.

 Bambino:  We have great sun puddles today.  I am just lounging around and soaking up rays. It feels so good.

 Horus:  I am up on the watch tower making sure that the other kitties behave themselves.  I have started eating treats more often.  I used to just ignore them when Mom would give me some, but now I eat them at least sometimes.

Julius:  Spyro had so much fun under here that I decided to try it, too.  He's right.  It is fun watching the Lady trying to get up again.  Last night when she went to bed I followed her and jumped up on the bed.  There were no other kitties up there, though, so I jumped down again.  I don't trust the Lady enough to be alone with her.  I did the same thing this morning after she woke up.

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.

Remembering Austin

Karen Jo:  Here is Austin in action, which is how I most remember him.  There are things about Austin that I never got around to blogging about, so I thought I would do a remembrance post about him.  He was the most silent cat I have ever known.  All I ever heard out of him were the oofs and hunhs he made while rasslin'.  I never heard him meow at all.  He had other ways of communicating with me.  When he wanted to remind me that it was time to feed the kitties he would just stand and stare at me.  Every kitty here has a flat dish for canned food and a bowl for kibble.  Austin knew which ones were his and always ate out of his first.  When I would pick up his canned food dish, he would leap up and grab it.  I would show him that it was still empty and he would stand by where I would put it down full.  Sometimes he would run into the kitchen to watch me fill it, then run back to his room to wait for it.  This didn't stop him from sampling Rocio's dish as soon as I put it down and often Rocio would eat out of Austin's dish while Austin tried his.  As far as I know Austin only ate kibble out of his bowl.

I wear fuzzy plush socks to bed to keep my feet warm.  Austin thought they made great toys while they were on my feet.  He would grab at them and gently bite my toes.  He would rub his head all over them.  Once I took them off, he had no interest in them.  He never got tired of rasslin'.  Once he finished with Rocio (meaning Rocio ran off) he would look around for Spyro for another round.  After Spyro ran off, he would check to see if Oja was around.  She rarely was.  She knew what was coming and wanted no part of it.

I don't remember Austin being terribly interested in the toys on the floor, though he would play with them.  He loved the wand toys and would leap up to get them.  Da Bird is much in need of new feathers now, he played so hard with it.  He was just so full of life and fun that it is very sad to remember that he is gone.  I have some nice photos and memories of him and he might have send a present from the Bridge.  There is a new kitty in the house named Bambino.

Snowless Sunday

Spyro:  I always like to be where  Mom is, so I follow her around the house, unless I am napping.  I hate to hold still for the camera, though.  I am up on this thing that looks like a table, but isn't, in the boys' room, watching Austin eat.  I ran outside today, thinking that I would get to stay for a while because of Mom's ouchie ribs, but she came right after me and grabbed me and carried me back inside.

Karen Jo:  My ribs are hardly ouchie any more, unless I try to lift something heavy.  Luckily, Spyro isn't quite heavy enough to set off the pain.  I still can't stay up all day without getting really achy.  Every once in a while I have to get back on the bed and spend some time there to soothe the ache.  I still haven't heard from my doctor what the damage was, so it wasn't severe.  She thinks I may have cracked a rib or two and I think she's probably right.  I should be back to normal in another week or two.

 Oja: Except for eating and using the litter box, I have spent the whole day on Mom's bed.  She got new flannel sheets and they are wonderful.  Every time Mom gets up, I grab the warm spot.  When Mom lies down, I get next to her for her warmth.  Happiness is a warm kitty.

 Austin:  I am in the easy chair in our room.  Of all the kitties, I spend the most time in here.  I like to get up on the bookshelf by the window and look out and I like to nap on the couch.  Sometimes, I like to go see the Mom in her bed and last night I had to put Oja in her place.  I jumped up on the bed and hung out for a while on the Mom, getting just the right amount of petting.  Then I wanted to walk across the Mom and up to the head of the bed to jump into the rocking chair.  Oja was lying next to the Mom and I had to walk past her to get where I was going.  Oja growled at me, so I backed up a little and stared at her.  Oja kept growling.  I don't know why.  I just wanted to walk past her.  I got fed up and lunged at her.  She squeaked and jumped over the Mom.  I walked where I wanted and jumped into the rocking chair.

Karen Jo:  I think Oja is losing in her bid to be Alpha cat.  Whenever Austin or Rocio invite her to rassle, she declines by running away.  I think it is Rocio who chases her down the hall, but it could be Austin as well.  It usually happens when I am in bed and I can't see who is doing the chasing.  I think Austin is going to be the Alpha.  He is the one who starts most of the rasslin' matches, except the ones between Oja and Spyro.  He is the one who won't put up with Oja's attempts to be bossy the most.  Spyro doesn't care who is Alpha, as long as it isn't him.  Rocio doesn't seem to care, either.  Spyro and Rocio nap together, as do Austin and Rocio.  Oja will now tolerate one of the boys napping near her and even touching most of the time.

Rocio:  All I want to be boss of is the toys.  This morning I was chasing a fuzzy mousie all over Mom's bedroom.  I like to drop the mousie in one of her boots, then fish it out again.  I say, let Austin be the boss cat.  He isn't mean about it.  He will rassle with me until I run away, then he will pounce Spyro.  One time we finished our match and the only kitty watching nearby was Oja,  Austin looked like he was going to pounce Oja, but as soon as he started his wiggle-butt she squeaked and ran away.  Oja growls and sounds tough, but she hasn't got what it takes to back it up.  Maybe she is scared of us and is putting up a brave front.

Karen Jo:  I thought of that when Oja was getting used to Herman and Spyro.  It soon became obvious to me that Oja wasn't afraid of them, because she didn't run from them or cower before them, she just doesn't like mancats all that much.  The growling and hissing incidents are getting fewer and fewer and may stop in a month or two.

Karen Jo:  We were supposed to get a big snowstorm with up to a foot falling today and so far I haven't seen one flake.  It has been very cloudy all day, but no snow.  Darn it, there were things I would have gone out and done if it hadn't been for that forecast and the threatening, but apparently empty, clouds.

Caturday

 Spyro:  Mom took pictures today just after she got out the toys for the day and we had a play session.  Every cat is feeling happy.

 Oja:  I'm not feeling so happy.  Mom and I were quietly playing with the wand mousie when Spyro and the Boys noticed and came and took it away from me.

Karen Jo:  I got another wand toy, then the other wand mousie, so we could keep playing.

Oja:  I didn't want the other wand toy and the mean Boys eventually took the other mousie away from me, too.  I hissed at them, but it didn't do any good.

Karen Jo:  You had mostly stopped playing with the other wand mousie by the time Rocio decided that he wanted it.

Oja:  It's still not fair.  Austin and Rocio want whatever toy I am playing with and Rocio eats my food.

Karen Jo:  There's a lot of that going on.  Spyro was eating the Boys food this morning, too.  I think I better give you some good Mom Time this afternoon.

Oja:  That sounds good.

 Austin:  Whaddya mean this is your toy, Spyro?  I pounced on it as soon as Mom tossed it out of the box.

Sypyro:  I had it for a long time before you moved in.

Austin:  Well, I'm here now and I'm gonna play with it.  So there!

Rocio:  Spyro and Austin got in a rasslin' match over the toy and just because they like to rassle.  I'm staying in the cube until they calm down.  Or maybe I'll pounce both of them if they roll over this way.

Karen Jo:  Things are moving right along.  Oja is sleeping with me again most nights.  She doesn't let the Boys spook her off the bed any more.  I have had up  to three at a time on the bed with no fuss.  Oja only seems to hiss now when it seems to her like one of the Boys wants something she has or that she considers hers -- if they come too close to her food bowl, if they approach while she is having Mom Time in my lap, if she is playing with a toy and they want to "help" her play with it.  It's kind of a standoff, like when she first came out of the safe room.  She isn't afraid of the Boys, she just doesn't like them yet.  The Boys aren't a bit afraid of her, either.  I hope Oja does finally decide to accept the Boys.  I've got half a mind to adopt them if she does.  I would hate to see them adopted separately.  The Boys can be adopted from Felines and Friends New Mexico.  They are FeLV+, but in excellent health otherwise.

Almost Back to Normal

 Spyro:  Mom waited until nap time to take our pictures.  That's the only time we are still.

Oja:  It's nice to feel safe enough to nap wherever I want again.  I still hiss at them a little and try to smack them with my paw if they get too close.

Karen Jo:  Oja is back to moving around the house to all her usual places again.  She was in bed with me when I woke up this morning for the first time since the Boys moved in.  I think she might want to get to know the Boys, but she has a strange way of doing it.  She will sneak up on one of them from behind and sniff the very tip end of his tail very carefully, then hiss.  The situation is looking a lot better though.  Oja has become a lap cat and will sit in my lap while I  sit on the couch and read.  I found out last night that Hissy Boy is also a lap cat.  I was checking out all three computers to make sure they were working and playing games that I hadn't played in a long time when Hissy Boy jumped up in my lap and made himself right at home.  I'm taking a lazy day today and was reading on the couch with Oja in my lap.  Hissy Boy jumped up on the couch and slowly approached until he and Oja were only two inches apart from being nose to nose.  Oja didn't hiss until he turned and moved like he was going to get in my lap, too.  Hissy Boy jumped down, walked around to my other side, jumped up on the couch and cuddled up next to my  thigh.  Oja didn't mind that.  When I look my nap pictures today, all four cats were in the living room, sleeping peacefully.

Oja:  Spyro and I had a grooming session in my bed this morning for the first time since the Boycats moved in.  I feel like playing again.  Mom got out Da Bird and Kragonfly and Spyro and the Boys were really playing.  I came running up and grabbed Da Bird right out of the air.  That surprised those Boys!

Karen Jo:  It surprised and delighted me, too.  Oja played with Da Bird for quite some time, while the Boys played with Kragonfly and Spyro watched.  Then Cool Dude came flying through the air and grabbed Da Bird.  Oja hissed at him and walked over to her ham-mick and got in.  She wasn't through playing, though.  I flipped Kragonfly over to her while the Boys played with Da Bird and she really got into it.  She lay on her back and grabbed at Kragonfly with her paws, caught it and chewed on it, then let it go for more.

Oja:  I also played with my jingle-ball and the TurboTrack.  The only thing that's really wrong now is that every other cat wants to eat my food.  I don't have to compete with the Boys for my Stinky Goodness any more, thank goodness, but Spyro will wolf his down and try to help me eat mine.  Mom usually chases him off.  Then Spyro and both Boys want to help me eat my dry food.  Spyro won't eat his dry food, only mine.

Karen Jo:  That's why I have started taking some kibble from his bowl and putting it in yours.  I have no way of stopping any of them from eating your dry food, because anywhere you can go, they can go.  Maybe you should go sample their kibble.

Oja:  Maybe.  I haven't been in my old room since the Boys took it over.

Settling In

Spyro: About every other Sunday, Mom gets out the 'nip and today was 'nip day.  Now I don't know which toy to play with next.

Oja:  Silly boys!  I stayed up here on the couch and watched them all get silly.  It's not that I don't like 'nip, but no way was I getting down there among those crazy boys to get some.

Karen Jo:  I'll remember that for next time and bring you some of your own on the couch or your chair.

Spyro:  Today has been a really fun day.  Mom has been staying up after feeding us breakfast and playing with us.

Karen Jo:  When I was working I was a night owl  because my hours were 2-10:30 PM.  Kitty playtime was   in the morning between the time I got dressed and the time I ate, then again after I got home.  Since I retired, I was keeping the same hours, only kitty playtime moved to dusk, as they were more active then.  The first morning after the boys moved in, I went back to bed after breakfast and I heard noise:  THoE, toys getting knocked around and hissing.  That last one got me up and I have been staying up after breakfast ever since.  I never knew how active kitties were early in the morning.

Spyro:  The boys and I had lots of fun.  We are all friends now, mostly.  We played chase and pounce and rasslin' and the boys had some games I had never seen before.

Karen Jo:  The boys showed Spyro how to play box wars and cube wars and under-the-sofa wars.  Spyro has been very polite about playing with the boys.  He never joins in unless he has been invited.  He will run from Cool Dude to start THoE, but he won't pounce first. Spyro has decided that jumping in the box is an invitation to play box wars, though.  I also wondered just how long he would last watching under-the-sofa wars before he couldn't resist joining in.  It turned out to be about 15 minutes.  Cool Dude saw some movement under the sofa (which has cloth flaps hanging down almost to the floor, so you can't see much) and charged under to get Hissy Boy (he thought).  He came charging right out again when he found Spyro under there instead.

Spyro:  After all that, Mom decided that it was time for different toys and she got out the kitty with the catnip shorts and put new catnip in it and she got one of the fuzzy balls out of the catnip jar.  Party time!

Karen Jo:  First I gave Hissy Boy the catnip covered fuzzy ball and he picked it up in his claw and shook catnip all over the place. Spyro pounced right on the loose catnip.  Cool Dude was looking a bit left out, so I gave him the kitty with the newly-filled catnip shorts.  Things got a bit wild and crazy.  Oja started making a sound like the beginning of a growl whenever they got really rambunctious.  I got out Da Bird to see what they would make of that.

Boys:  We like Da Bird!  We like it a lot.

Karen Jo:  Cool Dude was leaping way up in the air and catching Da Bird every time.  Hissy Boy was looking left out, so I grabbed the Kragonfly with the other hand.

Spyro:  I got tired just watching them, so I got in Herman's ham-mick.  Mom flipped the Kragonfly my way a few times, so I could play, too.

Karen Jo:  I waved the wand toys around until my arms got really tired, then I put them away, much to the disappointment of the boys.  They dragged Da Bird out again, but soon lost interest in it when it didn't fly.  Oja had gotten a bit agitated, so I sat down next to her on the couch and started petting her.

Oja:  It was high time I got some attention.  Mom gave me all her attention until that dang dryer buzzer went off.

Karen Jo:  I had started the laundry before I got involved in kitty playtime.  I went back to Oja after I took care of the laundry.  I had been getting a little concerned about Oja, as she didn't seem to be settling down very much.  In fact, Hissy Boy got too close and she ramped up to a full open-mouth hiss and a "One step nearer and I'll rip your face off" snarl.  Hissy Boy was too startled to hiss back.  I do think things are getting better, though.  Just before afternoon nap time, Oja jumped off the couch and made a tour of the house.  She checked out her favorite hidey-hole, but didn't go in.

Oja:  Those stinky boycats ruined it.  They had been in there and stank it all up.

Karen Jo:  Oja hissed softly at any boycat who looked at her, but mostly she just walked around, checking things out.  This made me feel better, because she had been staying up in her chair and on the couch in the living room, except to eat and use the litter box.  I think she is beginning to believe that the new boys won't hurt her.  It may be Tuesday before I can show you pictures of the Boycats and use their real names.  I forgot that Monday is a holiday.

Starting the New Year

 Spyro:  Look at all the new balls we got for Christmas!  I hardly know where to start.  Oja tried to butt in and I pushed her away.

Oja:  Spyro finally made his choice, the orange plaid ball with the feathers, and I got a chance to check them all out.  I like all of them and knocked them all over.

Karen Jo:  My apologies for not posting and not visiting.  I haven't been feeling very good lately and haven't been doing much of anything.  I am all better now and will really try to post and visit much more often than I have been.

Spyro:  We also got more snow for Christmas.  I finally got a chance to run outside and check it out.  I don't like it.  It's cold and wet.  Mom keeps telling me that it is too cold for kitties outside, but that doesn't stop me from trying to get out every chance I get.

Karen Jo:  I hoped that you would learn how cold it is outside and stop trying to get out, but that didn't happen.  Oh, well, I can still stop you from getting out most of the time.  Luckily for me, when you do get out, you only go to the patio in back and sometimes you come back by yourself very quickly.

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.

Spyro's Forgotten Birthday

 Spyro:  My silly Mom completely forgot my birthday late last month.

Karen Jo:  I had to figure out a birthday for you.  Your adoption papers didn't even have your age on them.  When I took you to the vet a few days later they told me you were about one-and-a-half, but didn't assign you a birth date.  I added six months to your vet visit, but forgot to write it down.  When I was checking on Herman's dates I realized that your birthday must have been forgotten, so I dug out your papers and sure enough, I spaced it out.

Spyro:  Mom brought this thing into the house and thought that she could get the tags off and hide it from me until today.  Hah!  One of these dangly things has a FEV-VER on it!  No fev-vers can get by me.

Karen Jo:  Spyro wants to hand-wrestle me and his claws are sharp, so I got one of these gloves with dangles on the elongated fingers.

Spyro:  I pounced it before she could even get her hand in it.

Spyro:  Once she got it on, I not only attacked the dangly things, I went after her hand, too.  See me put the bitey on?

Karen Jo:  I am going to enjoy this glove, too.  Spyro will put the bitey on just about anything.

Oja:  I got to play with the dangly things, too, but they spooked me at first.  Mom had to hold really still and let me check them out.

Oja:  Spyro wanted his glove back almost as soon as I started playing with it, so I attacked the Plague Rat instead.

Karen Jo:  This photo is for Baby Patches and his Mom at Nip and Bones.  They wanted to know if Herman had enjoyed the toys I bought from them.  He did.  I thought I would show them that the toys are still being enjoyed.

Karen Jo:  Happy Belated 2nd Birthday, Spyro.  I will try really hard to never forget it again.

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!

Back to Blogging

 We are really enjoying our ham-micks.  We get in them to nap almost every day.

 Spyro:  I think it's funny that I often take Herman's ham-mick and Herman takes the one that Mom got for me.

Oja:  This picture is to show just how well we are all getting along.  That's me and Spyro eating out of the same dish in my room.  A few weeks ago I would have whapped him a good one if he had tried to share my food.

Karen Jo:  We haven't posted in like forever, so what would all of you like to say about what you have been doing?

I miss being next to Mom when she goes to bed.  Oja usually beats me to it.  The other night, I was first.  Oja jumped up on the bed after I had gotten all settled in and Mom expected a showdown.  It never happened.  Oja did what I usually do:  looked over the situation and decided to snuggle down somewhere else.  Mom often wakes up in the morning to find all three of us in bed with her.  I still rassle Spyro sometimes, but mostly he and Oja rassle.  Yesterday I saw Spyro having so much fun with the nip nanner that I rassled him for it.  I got it for a little while, then Spyro started the rasslin' again and we both forgot about the nanner.

Spyro:  I love rasslin' with Oja.  She is nearer my size, being only one pound lighter now and Mom thinks she might have even grown a little bit since we got her.  I don't see how, as she is two years old, but she does seem a little bigger and not just around the tummy.  It's funny.  I'm the cat who eats the most, but I'm the only one who hasn't gained weight.  I think it's because I run and jump up on stuff more.  I have given up on jumping in the laundry basket when it's on top of the dryer now.  I did it a while ago and it fell off the dryer with me in it.  I haven't been up there since.  I am still the top escape artist.  I have stopped being afraid of Mom's foot.  She used to be able to stop me from slipping out screen door when she opens it by putting her foot in front of me.  I know full well that she isn't going to kick me, so I just jump right over it and head for the back yard.  Mom is still amazed at how close she can get to closing the door and I still fit through.  She has to put her hand on my head and keep it there until she has the door almost shut and sometimes I still get through when she has to let go to get her hand out.  When she is going to carry something outside, she shuts the kitchen door as far as it will go, then opens the screen door.  I can get the kitchen door open, but it takes me longer to do that than she needs to get out the door.  I love going out in my harness and leash, but I haven't been getting to do that nearly as much as I want to.

Karen Jo:  I rigged the kitchen door so that it can't shut completely.  That's so the wind won't blow it shut and latch it so you can't get in or out.  You haven't been able to go out in your harness as much because the days have been crazy hot and it has been raining in the early evening.  YAY!  It can be pouring down rain and you will still be by the screen door begging to go out.

Oja:  It is so much nicer now that we all get along.  I rassle and groom Spyro and he rassles and grooms me back.  I groom Herman sometimes, but he doesn't groom me back.  Once Mom even saw him push me away with his back paw while I was grooming him.  Mom hasn't ever seen me rassle Herman.

Karen Jo:  I recently read an article on Cat Wisdom 101 on cat behavior that said that grooming another cat indicates that the groomer accepts the groomee as a member of his/her group.  I think that maybe now Oja is more accepting of Herman than he is of her, even though I have seen them eating side by side.  I guess that would mean that Oja and Spyro see only one group of three cats and Herman sees two groups with himself and Spyro as one group and Oja by herself.  If so, I bet it is because she beats him to his accustomed spot next to me in bed.  They have never fought over the "best" spot or even contested the other one when they find him/her already there.  It's just a feeling I get from Herman.  I also haven't seen any of the dominating behavior from Herman toward Oja that I saw him do toward Emma.  I think Oja has more confidence in herself than Emma had and won't put up with it.  I saw  Spyro chase Oja into the bathroom one day and Oja jumped in the tub to escape him.  When she had enough of being in the tub, she just jumped out right over Spyro.  Emma would have been cowering in front of the tub and yelling for help.

Oja:  I don't see what the boys like about going outside.  I have absolutely no interest in going out.  I look out the window and that is enough for me.  I still haven't tried out the ham-micks, but I discovered that Herman has a great bed by the wall in the living room.  I am getting quite a collection of toys in my room.  I pick out the ones I like from the living room and bring them back, or play with them in the hall.  I don't play with them in the living room.  Sometimes Spyro comes in and we play with my toys together.  I love the TurboScratcher in my room and play with it every day.  Mom hopes that some day I will discover the big TurboTrack in the living room and play with that, too.

Karen Jo:  I don't know why Oja won't play with toys in the living room.  Maybe she still doesn't feel completely at home there.  She mostly naps in her room or in my room, though I have seen all three of them in the living room napping with Emma in Herman's bed and the boys in their ham-micks.  Ayla, Iza and Marley gave us an award ages ago.  This post has gotten so long that I will save it for tomorrow.