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?

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.

Whiskerhump Wednesday

Mom finally got a decent picture of my whiskerhumps for Whiskerhump Wednesday in honor of Kismet, the big mancat who had huge ones.  Mine usually don't show up very well.  I am spending a lot of time up on my platform, both to watch the birdies and catch the rays.  We didn't get all that snow that was predicted.

Karen Jo:  I am both glad and sad about that.  We really need the moisture, but I didn't need all that snow to move around in.  I finally got out and filled the bird feeders.  The ravens have figured out how to get the suet feeder open, so I run out of suet much faster than I used to.  I am feeling a little bit better today, but not much.

We didn't do anything interesting yesterday, so we are going to catch you up on some of the stuff we were doing while Mom wasn't blogging.  The reason that I am disappointed that Mom isn't playing with me now is that I have started playing with her more.  Back when Mom was so worried about her aunt, she would try to get me to play to take her mind off it.  She tried rolling my balls around on the floor and tossing toy mice around, but nothing was working.

Karen Jo:  Then I tried something a little different.  I took one of your plastic balls and rolled it down the Alpine scratcher and that caught your attention.  You chased it and batted it and chased it some more.  We found a new game that lasted quite a while.

It was lots of fun.  We need to do it again.  You might even try me on the wand toys again.  You haven't done that in a long time.

Karen Jo:  Maybe this evening when you start to get frisky.  I haven't tried the wand toys in a long time because you usually just ignore them.  You even ignored the laser dot the last time.

I have that laser dot all figured out.  I know where it comes from and that I can't catch it, so it isn't fun any more.  Mom even tried throwing treats out and shining the laser dot on the treats.  I ate the treats, but wouldn't chase the dot.

The other thing that I have discovered is Mom's screen saver.  She has the pipes that run all around the screen.  I sat on her computer chair and watched them for a long time.  I wanted to get closer to them, but I didn't want to step on the keyboard.  The one and only time I tried that there were a lot of loud noises that I didn't like.

Karen Jo:  I am grateful that you are wary of the keyboard.  The one time you did step on it, I don't know what you did, but you froze up the computer completely.  Not even the mouse worked.  I had to turn it off without exiting Windows first, which I hated to do, but no real harm was done.

Mom sits in her rocking chair a lot.  I don't like it because there is no room for me unless I get in her lap.  I get even by clawing her legs.

Karen Jo:  That does get my attention.  I get up and see what you want.  Usually you just want some petting or other attention.  Sometimes you want to be fed, even though it isn't time for it.  You could get up in my lap for petting, you know.

I know, but I am not a lap cat.  I don't even want to be a lap cat.  You tried picking me up and putting me in your lap just the other night and I got right back down again.  I want to be next to you, not on you.  The only time I get up on you is to get your lazy body out of bed in the morning because I am starving.

Karen Jo:  I guess I should be thankful that you don't want to sleep on top of me at night.  You weigh a ton.

I'm not that fat.  I am just a little chubby.  I have been jumping up on the kitchen sink for a drink again. This morning there was some interesting water in a pan in the sink.

Karen Jo:  That was the pan that I warmed up my soup in.  The same soup that you wouldn't eat the meat from.  I noticed that you really preferred the tap water and soon switched.

I love water straight from the tap.

Karen Jo:  Finally, I want to thank all of you for the well wishes and purrs, both for the loss of my aunt and my cold.  I really appreciate it.

Mancat Monday

Here's another picture from when Mom was chasing me around with the camera, trying to get a good picture to send in for the Friends of the Shelter calendar.  I am trying to decide what I want to eat.  Mom didn't get a picture of me today because she was lazy and didn't get out of bed when she was supposed to.

Karen Jo:  That wasn't the only reason.

Oh, yeah, she made a big mess in the kitchen, too.

Karen Jo: My lunch bag with my hard plastic water bottle fell off the counter and the water bottle broke.  There was water and ice cubes all over the kitchen floor.  And what did you do, Mr. My-water-in-my-bowl-isn't-good-enough?

I lapped up that water until I couldn't hold any more.  It was fresh and cold and tasted great.

Karen Jo:  After you finished drinking, I had to clean up the mess and it ate up my time.  I didn't get a picture of you and I didn't even get you brushed until I got home after work.

That was a nice brushing session.  After you finished with the brushing you petted me until I decided that I would rather play.  Then we played soccer with my rattle ball and my nip ball until I went to eat some more.  There was a strange smell in the house.

Karen Jo:  The house got so cold this morning that I turned on the heat, even though I still haven't gotten the filter cleaned.  The smell comes from the dust in the ducts getting warm and blowing around.  You enjoyed the warm air coming out of the vents, though.  I saw you curled up in your bed by the vent.

I like the warm air blowing around.  I guess this means no more open windows.

Karen Jo:  Not nearly as much as we have been having.  If it gets nice and warm on my days off, we can have them open for a little while.