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.

Getting Back on Schedule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Turn Your Face Away

 Hahaha!  All three of us turned our heads just as Mom pushed the button on the camera today.  I don't know why Mom makes such a big deal out of Spyro and Oja having froot-bats.  I certainly don't have them.

Karen Jo:  I think your ears are really cute, Herman.  I also like froot-bats. Spyro really has them and Oja sort of has them, too.  What was the deal with waking me up at O-dark-thirty this morning?  You walked all over me, patted my face with your paw and when I kept telling you that it wasn't anywhere near time for breakfast, you started nipping my toes.  When I finally got out of bed and followed you down the hall, asking you to show me what you wanted, you headed into the kitchen.  I turned on the light and you dived right into the kibble.

I just wanted some light and company for my early morning snack.

Karen Jo:  You used to do that when I first adopted you, but you haven't done it in over a year now.

So?  I can do whatever I want.  I'm king of the house.

 Spyro:  When Herman left this spot in the kitchen doorway, I grabbed it.  It's right in the breezeway and it's a favorite resting spot around here.  I got Mom up at dawn for breakfast.  That's usually Herman's job, but he thought that Mom might be a little ticked off at him, so I did it.  Mom thought she would fool me by grabbing the mail right after she gave us lunch, but I still got halfway out the door before she caught me.

Karen Jo:  You are amazing.  Sometimes I look all around and you are nowhere in sight.  I start to open the screen door, and there you are, trying to get out.  I am going to have to start putting you out of the kitchen and closing the door before I take anything outside.

Spyro:  Spoilsport!

Oja:  I was looking right up at Mom when she pressed the button, honest.  You can see my tail in full curl in this picture.  I had another adventure today.  Mom opened the door to get me fresh water and left it open to clean all the litter boxes, so I could get some fresh air.  I went out to explore Mom's bedroom again, but didn't stay.

Karen Jo:  I saw you heading back to your room from mine as I came out of the litter box room on my way to clean the box in the entry hall.  I don't know if you didn't stay in my room longer because Spyro was up on my windowsill watching the road work or because Herman was starting to walk down the hall.

Oja:  Herman kept coming closer to me, so I hissed and growled at him, but Mom didn't come.

Karen Jo:  I heard you, but I decided to finish cleaning the box in the entry hall before I came to your rescue.  I would have come running if I had heard anything out of the ordinary.  When I got to your doorway, you were standing in front of the door, glaring at Herman and he was just standing there, watching you.  Herman retreated and I started cleaning your box.

Oja:  I ran for my hidey-hole and that Herman actually had the gall to come into my room!

Karen Jo:  I was right there to prevent anything bad from happening.  Herman just wanted to sniff the places you had been sitting and lying down.  He needs to get used to your scent, just as you need to get used to his.

Oja:  He can sniff me under the door, as Spyro does.  Anyway, Mom took away my fishie and gave me a different toy yesterday.  I didn't touch it.  She gave me back my fishie today and I played with it.  I hope she has learned that I only want to play with my fishie.

Karen Jo:  You really like your silver vine fish. I think I better order some more of them.

Mancat Monday

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

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

You have been a really bad blogger again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No!

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

No!  I hate scissors.

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

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

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

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

Mancat Monday

I am looking at all the toys Mom got out for me to play with today.  It's kind of hard to see, but there is a ball with feathers right in front of me.  I picked it up and smelled it right after Mom snapped the picture.

Karen Jo:  I don't know if Herman was interested in the ball with feathers for itself, or if it still has a slight aroma of Emma on it.  She used to play with it a lot.  He just picked it up, sniffed it and put it down again.  He hasn't been interested in playing at all today yet, but that is not unusual.  He prefers to play in the early evening, just before sundown.

I got Mom up again this morning.  It was just before dawn this time.  I wanted breakfast, but she wasn't ready to give it to me yet.

Karen Jo:  If I feed you that early in the morning, then you want lunch early, too, then dinner.  It's much better if I feed you later in the morning.  I did give you your breakfast the second time you woke me up.  I am feeling much better today.  I am almost back to normal.  All I have left of the cold is a stuffy nose.  Some of that could be my allergies.

We have nice sun puddles for me to lie in today.  Mom didn't go out and feed the birdies, though.

Karen Jo:  The sun is shining, but it is very cold outside and we have had some wicked wind. I only went out there to do what I absolutely had to do.  The wind knocked over the recycle bin and I had to go out and set it upright again and put some more stuff in it, so it wouldn't get knocked over again.

Mom had tomato soup with cheese shreds last night and I got some cheese shreds.  I love cheese shreds.

Karen Jo:  I am getting really sick of soup.  I think I will get some cheesy chicken out of the freezer for supper tonight.

Yay!  Mom got some real milk for the tomato soup and she gave me the milk ring to play with in the kitchen.  I watched it spin across the floor, but did nothing with it while Mom was watching.  As soon as she went back to her cooking, I started playing with it.  When I noticed that Mom was watching me again, I stopped playing with it.

Karen Jo:  I don't know why you don't like my watching you play.  It gives me a lot of pleasure.

I don't know, either.  It's just something I do.  Mom gave me a good brushing this morning.  I loved it.  She hasn't been brushing me as much since she's been sick.

More Goodies

 Just look at all this cool stuff!  My prize package from the Halloween contest arrived today from Samantha and Clementine of Life from a Cat's Perspective on behalf of the New Tuxedo Gang.  There was even a kitten calendar for Mom.

I started to play with this one as soon as Mom got it off the card.  What's really cool about this cat is that you can stuff his swimming trunks with catnip.  Now Mom has to get me some new nip. We ran out and I feel deprived.

Karen Jo:  Oh, poor you!  You haven't used up all the nip I put on your cardboard scratcher and your Turbo scratcher yet.

I was interested in the cube until it scared me.  Mom had taken it out of the package and was unfolding it when it made a loud noise and popped out of her hands.  I went and hid behind my platform and wouldn't come out for a long time.

Karen Jo:  They aren't kidding when they call it a pop-up cube. It popped half-open.  I finished opening it, but I don't think Herman has gone near it yet.  I tried scratching on the back of it to interest him tonight, but he knows that trick.  I'll put some treats in it tomorrow to see if he can get over his distrust of it.

There were some new treats in the package.  I haven't had Pounce before.  Mom opened up the bag and gave me one when I came out from behind my platform.  I like them.  I played with my mousie and my doggie toys with Mom after she got home from work tonight. Thank you so much, Samantha and Clementine and everyone who voted for me.

Mom was hard to get up this morning.  I really had to work at it.

Karen Jo:  It was pretty strange.  Herman knows that I have to get up when the alarm goes off.  It seldom does go off because I usually wake up a half-hour to an hour early and turn on the radio, then just doze until the alarm is ready to go off, then get up.  This morning I woke up an hour early and turned on the radio, after I made sure that Herman's food was OK after his early morning feeding.  Then I zonked out completely.  I was deeply asleep when the alarm went off.  I turned it off and threw off the covers, then zonked out again and started dreaming.  I dreamed that I was in my underwear, sitting on the side of the bed and putting on my socks. Herman kept sticking his claws in my butt and I kept turning around to tell him to knock it off, I was up already.  I finally got really irritated with him and gave him a sharp rap on the head with my knuckles (which I would never do) and he began to cry.  I woke up then and sure enough, Herman was sitting right by my butt, looking totally innocent.  I don't know if he really cried out or not, but since he is so vocal, he probably did, out of frustration.  I usually get up at the first hint of claws.  He did a good job, as I got up only 15 minutes late.

Back to Normal

Mom didn't take a new picture of me today, as she has been wanting to use this one for a while now.  She thinks I have an elegant profile.  Things have gotten all back to normal now.  I woke Mom up to feed me at oh-dark-thirty, even though I hadn't eaten much of the food I demanded that she give me at bedtime.

Karen Jo:  And what did you do when I turned on the kitchen light?  You headed straight for your dry food and started munching down.

You didn't give me any new Stinky Goodness, so I had to eat the dry.

Karen Jo:  There was nothing wrong with the Stinky Goodness that you had.  It hadn't dried out yet and you had hardly touched it.  Sometimes I think you get me up at oh-dark-thirty just because you know that you can.

::stifles evil laughter:: You got your own self up in the early daylight to feed me breakfast.

Karen Jo:  I had to get up to use the litter box room anyway, so I might as well get you breakfast.  I gave you fresh new food from two newly opened cans and what did you do?

I licked up all the juice and nibbled at the food.  Then I begged and begged for new food when you got up for the day.

Karen Jo:  Which you didn't get until lunch time.  I am not going to get you new food every few hours when you aren't eating it much at all.  Which is not to say you aren't eating.  You are munched down pretty good on your duck and pea and your Purina One.

I wish you would cook something good again.

Karen Jo:  You are too picky to please.  I especially didn't put herbs on some chicken just for you and what did you do?

I sniffed it and walked away.

Karen Jo:  What did you do the last time I offered you real live cooked shrimp?

I sniffed it, licked it, chewed it up and spit it out on the floor.

Karen Jo:  What did you do with the last two bites of steak I gave you?

I chewed them up real good, then spit them out on the floor.  Is there a point to all these questions?

Karen Jo:  No matter what people food I give you, you don't seem happy with it.

So try something different.  I ate the pasta Alfredo and the macaroni and cheese you gave me.

Karen Jo:  I might cook roast lamb soon.  I don't put any herbs or spices on that at all, so we'll see if you like it.  If you don't, all the more for me.  I love it.  You are falling down on your job as mighty hunter.

What do you mean?

Karen Jo:  I haven't swatted the flies all summer, because you like watching and stalking them.  Now that it's getting colder, they are getting more sluggish and crawling around on the floor, easy prey.  You just bat them around a little.  I can understand if you don't want to eat them, but you don't kill them, either.

Why would I kill them if I don't want to eat them?

Karen Jo:  Good question.  The problem is that there are getting to be a lot of them around.  If you aren't going to take care of them, I am going to have to get out the fly swatter soon.

Aw, don't kill off my real live toys.  Now I want to answer some questions that have shown up in the comments.  Yes, I am a Gemini and I am very vocal.  I meow at Mom, chitter at the ravens, mew at the little birds and purr at the slightest petting.  Mom doesn't put a whole lot of store in astrology, but she was amazed at how close the Gemini profile came to me.  One thing that didn't fit was that the book said that Mom and I don't have compatible signs.  Maybe it meant that I wouldn't be compatible with a Scorpio cat, since it is a book on cat astrology.