Catching Up

 Bambino:  It's about freakin' time you helped us blog again!  You do this to me and put it up at the Tabby Cat Club for all the world to see and don't even mention my very first birthday.  How could you forget my birthday?!?

Karen Jo:  I am very sorry, Bambino.  I didn't forget your birthday, I just didn't feel like blogging.  I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately.  I'm not depressed or sick or anything serious, just kind of in a funk.  I'll jerk myself out of it and blog more, I promise.

Bambino:  I think you owe me a big birthday bash.

Karen Jo:  What would you like?

Bambino:  I want to have a luau over at the Tabby Cat Club.  It's awesome over there right now.

Karen Jo:  That's a good idea.  We will do it tomorrow, exactly one month after your birthday.

 Horus:  You changed my name and didn't even tell anyone about it.  You mentioned it in passing once, but you didn't really tell my friends about it.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, Horus.  You see, Jose is such a bland name for such a wonderful cat.  In this photo you can finally see his Egyptian eyes.  Horus starts with the same sound as Jose and Horus' glyph is an eye, so I changed his name to Horus.

 Oja:  You have been hauling us all off to the vet and you didn't tell our friends about that.  Oh, and here's a photo for all of you who think I spend all my time in the computer chair.

Karen Jo:  There's not much to tell, really.  I have taken in Spyro, Oja and Rocio for checkups and Spyro and Oja got rabies boosters.  There is a new rabies serum now that is safe for FeLV+ kitties.  All of them are in perfect health.  Oja has neither lost nor gained weight, but I think she has traded some fat for muscle.  I am seeing her up high in spots she has never been before, like up in the high windows in on top of the file cabinet.

 Rocio:  Mom thought I was getting pudgy, but I am just right in the weight department.  My eyes and teeth are perfect, too.  I have mostly stopped annoying Oja.  It's not really all that much fun.  I make Oja hiss and Mom comes and makes me stop.  Playing with Spyro and Bambino is lots more fun.  Horus makes me hiss sometimes and Mom doesn't come running then.

Karen Jo:  You are lots bigger than Oja, but Horus is only a tiny bit bigger than you, so there's a big difference.  You can run away from Horus or smack him back a lot easier than Oja can with you.

Spyro:  I am kept busy inspecting new things coming into the house.  You should see the baby bean cage in the middle of the living room.

Karen Jo:  I am helping out a friend by babysitting a few times a week.  You kitties actually get more attention when she's here.

Spyro:  I don't particularly like the attention she wants to give me: pat, pat, pat.  She pats a little hard.

Karen Jo:  I am trying to teach her to be gentle.  She's only one.

Horus:  I love it when she starts waving Da Bird around, though she is rather wild with it.

Bambino:  I love her cage.  I can get in it when she's crawling around and I'm safe from her.  When she's in it, we are all safe from her attentions.

Horus:  She's not so bad.  She pets as well as pats.  I like her.

Oja Takes Over

 Oja:  Mom is finally letting me have the blog to myself for a change and she's finally letting some cat blog here.  She's been doing all sorts of stuff, just not blogging.  A lot has been said lately about how I am built like on opera singer.  I am only one pound overweight, so there.

 Remarks have been made about my short legs and how I am not as good a jumper as the other cats.  See how high I can get?  I am up on Spyro's spy tower.

I don't like boy cats much, but I am not afraid of them.  See what I can do to Spyro?  I only rassle with my friends, though, and that is why is hiss, growl and yowl at Rocio when he tries to start something.  I run away from him at times, because if I got into it with him, it would be a real fight.  He is such a brat.

Karen Jo:  He has been a real brat to you lately, Oja.  I break it up and put him in time out for a while, but he keeps trying to mix it up with you.  I ordered a Feliway plug-in and I hope that will help things.  I just hope I can find the right place to plug it in.  Rocio mostly goes after Oja in the kitchen and in the computer room and they are at opposite ends of the house.  Maybe I should get two of them?  Any suggestions?

Caturday

 Oja: The vet visit went fine.  I was just weighed and got my chest felt.  I lost two pounds since December 1st!  I am down to 11.7 pounds.  The vet lady said that I should weigh 9-10 pounds, so I only have one more pound to go, then no more diet for me.  Mom decided not to stay in bed all day today after all, so we should be able to do some visiting, which we haven't been doing for such a long time.

Karen Jo:  Mom is getting thoroughly sick of bed.  I went to bed right after supper last night and got restless almost immediately.  I made myself stay there, though and got lots of rest for my ribs.  The news from my doctor was worse than I was expecting.  I fractured four, maybe five, ribs but there was only a tiny bit of displacement, so no treatment other than bed rest was necessary.  I get to have them x-rayed again in a couple of weeks.  I am going to try staying up and using the computer, but no housework and see how I do. If I start aching, it's back to bed.

Oja:  I wouldn't care if you went back to bed right now.  I love cuddling with you.

 Spyro:  Mom's been taking more pictures of us than she used to, so she will be using whatever one she likes for the post.  This is over a month old, when we had sunshine.  I scared the heck out of Oja this morning.  Since Oja has lost weight, she has been going places she didn't used to go.  I have gotten used to having the area around the computer desk pretty much to myself.  I darted behind the desk and Oja gave me the "rip your ears off" yell.  I didn't even know she was back there; she never has been before.  I came tearing out from under the desk at top speed.

Oja:  Sorry about the yell.  It's a dead end back there and I had no place to go if you decided that you wanted a rumble.  I hate feeling trapped by another cat.

 Austin: I just love all this knitted stuff.  It is sooo comfy.

Rocio:  When I say that I check out ALL the napping places, I mean it.  I don't quite fit here, but I just had to try it.

Karen Jo:  I have seen other kitties sit in that little box, but you are the very first one to nap there.  All the kitties have been having a great time.  Oja hardly hisses at any cat now.  All three boys rassle with each other and Oja rassles with Spyro.  Austin tried to start a rasslin' match with Oja this morning, but she growled at him and he backed off.  When I put Oja in her PTU, all the other kitties acted very concerned.  Rocio pulled at the bars to get her out; Spyro purred at her and Austin tried to make a game of it by playing footsie between the bars.  Oja didn't like that last move at all.  I think Rocio licked Oja's head last night, but Oja trotted away from him so quickly that I couldn't be sure.

Spyro:  I really like the computer room.  I jump up and help Mom with the computer all the time.

Karen Jo: I have discovered one tiny drawback to having a nice big computer desk with room for everything: there is also room for kitties.  My old arrangement was so crowded that only Oja could fit in my lap and there was no room on the desk at all.  Now there is room for any of the kitties to walk all around the desk and get between me and the monitor and walk on the keyboard.  I don't mind, really.  It's kind of cool to watch Spyro watch the cards when I play card games.  Oja has more room to be lap kitty while I compute and Rocio has room to be a lap kitty, too.

Femme Friday

Oja:  I get the blog all to myself today.  Mom has spent much too much time going on about those boycats, anyway.  I am up on the platform getting some sun in a photo from late last month.  We didn't get any sun to speak of today.  I am still sleeping next to Mom as much as I can, but she isn't spending nearly enough time in bed for my liking.

Karen Jo:  For my ribs' liking, either, apparently.  When I got to feeling almost normal again, I started trying to catch up on the housework, a little at a time, then more and more until I overdid it.  Now I am getting the sharp pain again that had gone away.  I am spending tomorrow in bed again and maybe Sunday, too.  I have to get better again, because I have a three day conference coming up in a couple of weeks.

Oja:  The more time you spend in bed, the better I like it.  You could start by staying in bed right through my vet appointment tomorrow.

Karen Jo:  You don't get out of going to the vet that easily.  Herman's foster Mom is taking us in the morning.  It won't be bad.  You need to get weighed to see if you have lost any weight and we have to discuss what to do if you haven't.  You shouldn't need to get any embarrassing procedures done, though maybe a little feeling around your tummy.

Oja:  I don't mind you feeling and petting my tummy, but I don't want anyone else doing it.  You really are going to keep those boycats, aren't you?

Karen Jo:  Yes, I am.  I filled out their adoption papers and send them in with the check for their adoption fees.  I haven't heard back yet, so they aren't officially my forever cats yet, but it is just a matter of time.

Oja:  Rats!  I was hoping we would eventually get rid of them.

Karen Jo:  Oh, come off it.  I have seen you napping nearly together with Austin and only a foot away from Rocio.

Oja:  But they steal my food.

Karen Jo:  You are getting enough from somewhere.  You are still quite the pudgy kitty.

Oja:  It looks good on me.  I look regal.

Karen Jo:  That you do.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

 Spyro:  We've been having lots of sunshine and we have been making the most of it.  We get great sun puddles in the living room and we love all of them.  Mom has been very lazy lately.

Karen Jo:  I haven't been lazy.  I've been Christmas shopping.

Spyro:  You've been lying on the couch with Oja and reading.

Karen Jo:  Yes, I have, quite a bit.  Shopping makes me a bit tired.  Haven't you noticed how much I've been going out?

Spyro and Oja:  Yes, we have and we don't like it.  We also don't like the scarcity of food around here.

Karen Jo:  I took you both to the vet Saturday a week ago because Oja had gotten awfully round and Spyro missed two jumps in the same week.  I was worried.  It turned out that you had both gained weight, especially Oja, and the vet told me to put on on a diet.  Now you don't get lunch any more and I cut down on your dry food.

Oja:  (singing)  Sunshine on my belleh makes me happy!

Karen Jo:  I am glad.

Oja:  So my tummy is round.  You don't have to starve me.  There are only two food bowls on the floor now: my Stinky Goodness and my crunchies.

Karen Jo:  I feed Spyro on the counter now.  I saw you push him away from the food the other day.

Spyro:  I'm happy about that.  Oja was eating more than her fair share.  I'm still hungry, though.

Karen Jo:  I'm sorry about that.  You are going back to the vet in February and maybe then I'll be able to give you some more food, Spyro.  You aren't really overweight, but Oja is.  I give you treats whenever you ask for them and you have been helping yourself to treats a bit, too.

Spyro:  If I'm starving and you leave treat bags lying around in the open, what am I supposed to do, ignore them?

Karen Jo:  I don't really mind.  You were missing jumps because of the weight you had gained, though.

Spyro:  I haven't missed a single one since that vet visit.  I want more food!

Karen Jo:  Well, now that I am feeding you on the counter, maybe I can go back to giving you the old amount of crunchies, since Oja can't get at them.

Oja:  I'm being discriminated against just because I have short legs.

Karen Jo:  And a very round tummy.

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.

Togetherness Report

 Having two ham-micks led to our each having one, which was great.  Somehow that led to this:

 Spyro:  If I hadn't heard Mom turn on the camera and lifted my head, you would have seen me using Herman for a pillow.

Karen Jo:  I see this as a great advertisement for the sturdiness of Forty Paws' ham-micks.  This one is holding almost 27 pounds of cat.

Oja:  I still don't see what the big deal is.  I prefer to sleep on chairs or up on my windowsill or in a hidely-hole.

Mom got a new swivel chair and put it in the living room.  It's great for napping.  All of us have tried it out.

Karen Jo:  That one is for when I get my office set up in the forbidden room.  I have the desk and chair now.   All I need is the get up and go to get it organized and cleaned up.

Get up and go?  That's a laugh.  All Mom has been doing lately is lying around, watching TV.

Karen Jo:  The Olympics are on and it has been twenty years since I could really just sit or lie down and watch them.  My lying around so much has left you kitties to your own devices and what have you done?

We all made friends with each other.  Spyro and I both let Oja lick us, though Spyro is apt to turn it into a game of chase or rasslin'.

Spyro:  It's great.  I have two rasslin' partners now and one partner for chase games.

Oja:  I think it's OK.  Neither one of the boys has licked me, though.  I hang around next to Herman sometimes and I play with Spyro.  Mom is surprised that Herman and I don't fight over the bed.

Karen Jo:  Yes, I am.  Oja has taken Herman's old spot next to my chest at night and Herman doesn't seem to care.  When I am lying on the bed in the evening, watching TV, Herman will come up sometimes and claim his old spot.  That makes both of us very happy.  Last evening, we were together like that and Oja jumped up on the bed.  I thought that there would be a fight, but there wasn't.  Oja looked things over, then decided she would rather have the computer chair.  When Oja is next to me and Herman jumps up on the bed, he claims a spot near my feet.  Sometimes Spyro jumps up on the bed too, but he never stays long.  Spyro just isn't a bed cat, at least not in warm weather.  I imagine that they will all pile on when it gets cold.

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.

Catchup Thursday

 Mom has been a really bad blogger again and there has been so much going on.  We were offline and our friends Parker and Sammy left for the Bridge and we weren't there to tell them goodbye

Karen Jo:  I feel really bad about that.  I will go by their blogs tonight and say how sad we are that they left for the Bridge.  I don't have any really good reason for not blogging.  My allergies have been acting up and I have been spending a lot of time with my friend who is having a really bad time with her mother, who has dementia.

Spyro: I think Mom finally took a picture of my face that is in focus.  Can you see the little brown smudges around my mouth?  They are not from not washing after I eat.  They are just part of my markings.  I have found out that I really like Herman's ham-mick and Herman's bed.  I have my own bed in my room, but I have never been in it.  Herman doesn't seem to mind.

Karen Jo:  I really hope that this picture is sharp enough to make your Tabby Club badge.

Spyro:  You know what?  I played and played with Herman's tail while he was eating and he just ignored me.  All he did was walk away from me when he was finished eating.  I have to pounce him now to start a rasslin' match.

And I finish the rasslin' matches.

Spyro:  What do you mean?

You are always the one who runs away and I chase you just a bit.

Karen Jo:  What I want to know is which one of you is knocking over Spyro's dry food bowl and spilling kibble on the floor.

Herman and Spyro:  We'll never tell.

I need more kibble because Spyro eats some of mine.  He never eats his own until mine is all gone.

Karen Jo:  That's why I'm not trying to stop the kibble spilling.  Herman, you are about due for a weighing.  We'll see if I have to try to find a way to keep you from getting any of Spyro's kibble.  You are also due for some shaving.  You have gotten a bad mat on your flank again.

I don't want to do either of those things.

Karen Jo:  I know you don't like to be shaved, but you will feel better once that nasty mat is gone.  I think just a little spot shaving is all you will need this time.  If I let it go much longer, you might have to have a half-lion cut again.

I guess the spot shaving is better than the half-lion.

Mancat Monday

Yet another picture of me lying around the living room.  Mom took this picture weeks ago and kept it as a spare in case she didn't get a picture taken, but found she had time to blog.  See my baby sun puddle?  I got too warm in the big one, so I moved to the baby one.  My fur is completely grown out again.  Mom has been really bad about blogging again.  She still hasn't done my award that I got weeks ago.

Karen Jo:  My apologies.  I have been very busy.  I had a lot of work to do with year-end reports for an organization I belong to and now I have to write another report for the state convention coming up.  I still haven't gotten my new computer up and running and I think I will let it wait until I have written my report.  A friend on mine has been having a rough time and I have been spending quite a bit of time with her, helping her unwind after some very stressful days.  All I can promise is that I will blog when I can.  I should be able to do your award tomorrow.  I also have to do my income taxes very soon.

Sheesh!  I had a busy day today myself.  I got taken to the vet for my yearly wellness exam. The great news is that I am so healthy that everything shows up as normal.  The good news is that I have lost 0.6 pounds since the last time Mom weighed me last fall, before the weather got too cold to take me in for a weighing every month.  The bad news is that the vet says that the weight isn't coming off fast enough, so Mom is going to have to take a little bit of food away from me.  The really bad news is that I need to have my teeth cleaned.

Karen Jo:  I am so very pleased with your wellness exam results.  The only change I am going to make this month is to start measuring out your dry food.  We'll check your weight again next month when you go in to have your teeth cleaned.  If I am happy with your progress, I won't make any more changes.  I am waiting a month to have your teeth cleaned because I have so much going on right now.

I can wait; in fact, I can wait a really long time for that.  I have been feeling really good.  I am playing with my toys more and talking to the birds more and running up and down the hall more.  I think I can feel Spring in the air.

Karen Jo:  You are really good at detecting it then.  We had snow just Saturday.  It wasn't much, but a bitingly cold wind came with it. Today it was really nice.  Some people's bulbs are coming up and the crab apple trees are budding.  The forsythia is getting tiny buds, too.

Mom's war with the ravens has come to a stalemate.

Karen Jo:  I thought I had them outsmarted when I put a twist-tie on the suet feeder.  One of them looped the chain over the crossbar of the clothesline pole and got the twist-tie off.  This time I put one of those heavy duty twist-ties that comes on computer cables on the feeder and they haven't gotten it open again.  They do occasionally loop the chain over the crossbar so they can get at the suet more easily, but at least the starlings are getting a share now.  The flickers haven't shown up yet.

Weird Wednesday

 I am always turning away from Mom as she takes my picture lately.  You get a good look at the inside of my ear, though.

Emma: I am also being wiggly when Mom takes my picture.  But then, I  wiggle ALL the time.

Tuesday was really the weird day.  We did things we don't normally do.

Emma:  I went for a ride in the stoller.  I loved most of the ride.  I only meowed a few times.  I got worried when we went inside, because the only place I have been inside in the stroller is the vet's.  It turned out not to be the vet's, though.

Karen Jo:The nice lady at the pet supply store wanted to see you.  She had never seen a cat in a stroller before. She even took a picture of you.  I wanted to get a mat cutter for Herman and a new litter pan to replace the one that broke.  I don't think the mat cutter I got will work on Herman's problem, but I can get another kind from a catalogue.

Emma:  You put the weird litter in the new litter pan and we still won't use it.  Hahaha!

Karen Jo:  I didn't know whether you recognized the litter pan from the evacuation and didn't want to have anything to do with it, or if it is the litter itself that you object to.  Next I will put it in one of your old litter pans to see what happens.  I tried to get more Swheat Scoop at the store, but they were still out of it.

After that it was my turn to for a ride in the stroller.  I still don't like it.  I meowed at Mom the whole way to the vet's and the whole way back.

Karen Jo:  I needed to get you some more Interferon, so I took you along to weigh you.  You gained two tenths of a pound. Do you know what that means?

No, but I don't think I am going to like it.

Karen Jo:  It means that I am going to have to put the kitten food where you can't get to it, but Emma can.

No more kitten food?  That's mean.

Karen Jo:  I am sorry, but you need to lose about three pounds. Switching you over to grain-free dry food took off six tenths of a pound, but now you have put two tenths back on.

At least I got some good stuff for supper.  Mom had steak for the first time in weeks.  I got a lick or two of sour cream and three bites of steak.

Karen Jo:  You got four bites, but you only licked the fourth one. Speaking of that, I found out something new about Emma.

Emma:  I am full of surprises.

Karen Jo:  That you are.  I found out that you don't like Greenies.  It is Interferon week.  Herman loves his Interferon and actually begs for it when I open the refrigerator in the morning.  You don't really care for it and resist taking it a bit.  I thought that I could get you to like it better by giving you a treat right after the Interferon.  I gave you a Greenie right after your Interferon and you spit it out.

Emma:  It was too big and too hard for me.

Karen Jo:  It is still sitting on the chair where you spit it out.  I am surprised that Herman hasn't found it yet.  I guess he will eventually.

Birthday Party

Things went so well at the vet that Mom agreed that I needed a birthday party. I nicely let them shave off my mat and I have gained more weight. I weigh 11.2 pounds now. Happy Birthday to me! I am three years old today. Mom says we can do anything we want inside the house and out. There is plenty of food: lots of Stinky Goodness and crunchy food and roast beef and turkey and ham. There are niptinis and meowgaritas and cat milk and fresh water to drink. I have a nice big litter box full of fresh litter. The house is fairly big with a nice hall to play THoE down. It will be great to have company running down the hall. The couches have soft blankets on them for resting and anyone can use my bed, if they like. There is plenty of room on my platform and the table with the soft blanket and big pillow on it for watching the bird channel on cat TV. Mom will fill up the bird feeders for us. I have lots of toys to share and Mom says she will wave the wand toys for us. There are curtains to climb and chairs to curl up in. For you kitties who like to go outside, there are gardens to dig in and gophers to hunt. Oh, we are going to have so much fun! The party starts now and lasts until midnight, or maybe longer.

The party is going great. A whole bunch of kitties showed up for the sleepover last night, though we didn't do a whole lot of sleeping. We played Thundering Herd of Elephants up and down the hall, dumped out the toy basket and knocked toys all over the house, ate, drank and had a ball. In the wee hours we put the stereo on low and slow danced for a while. About four we got Mom up to replenish the buffet. By five there were kitties crashed out all over the place. The couches were full and so were the platform and the table and a bunch of kitties joined Mom in her bed. At seven we got Mom up for breakfast, as more kitties were arriving all the time. Mom staggered back to bed and we played fairly quietly until ten. Then Mom announced cuddle time in bed and we kept her busy for an hour giving ear and chin scritches and general petting and cuddling. Then it was time for my Interferon and Mom broke out the cheese and sardines. All the cheese was grated for easy nomming and it didn't last long. We had cheddar, cojack, provolone and Swiss. Then we put Mom to work getting the toys out of all the hard-to-get-to places we had whapped them into. Next it was time to feed the birdies and we watched cat TV for a while. There was curtain climbing and couch bouncing going on. We even had a litter flinging contest. The corn litter isn't much good for distance flinging as it is so light, so we tried to see who could fling out the most litter in one fling. Then we made Mom clean it up so we could do it again. For lunch Mom added pork roast to the menu. The wand toys are getting a good workout. Come on over if you aren't here already.

OK kitties, now it's time for the cake. Mom made this cool cake, but don't worry, there's no chocolate in it. It does have catnip in it. Mom used a spice cake recipe, but she used catnip instead of spices. The other stuff is colored whipped cream. Dig in. We have been having so much fun. There's a great gopher hunt going on in the back yard. All the windows are open, so we indoor kitties can cheer on the hunters. Khyra and Merdie are having a great time out there, along with the kitties who go outside. There's lots of sniffing going on, but I haven't seen any gophers yet. Meanwhile, indoors there's lots of kitties at the buffet and the niptinis and meowgaritas are flowing again. We are about to crank up the stereo for dancing again. Pretty soon it will be dark (in another hour or so) and we'll let the moths loose. That should be fun.

The kitties and woofies are coming in from the gopher hunt, as it is getting dark. I don't know if they caught any, but Artemisia is looking pretty smug. It's that magical time when it is dark enough for the moths to feel at home, but not so dark that we can't see them. The Katnip Lounge kitties brought the moths, so, Felix and Salem, would you like to do the honors and open the jar? Wheee! Lookit 'em fly!

Wow! The moth chasing was great fun. The moths have all been caught, or found really good hiding places now, so it's time for dancing. Mom will fire up the stereo and we have lots and lots of dance music records. Sweet Pea, thank you so much for cleaning my ears this afternoon. Would you like to dance with me?

Mom is going to bed at midnight, because she says that we tired her out. She did say that any kitties who want to can spend the night, just no more THoE after midnight. We can keep the stereo on, as long as we play it quietly and of course we can still drink and nom and play with the toys, as long as we don't make too much noise. Tomorrow is a work day, so everyone will have to teleport home by 10 am, so Mom can get the house back to normal and get ready for work. Thank you all so much for coming. I hope you are having as much fun as I am.

Best News Yet

You can't really see it, but I just caught my nip ball with my paw. I love playing with Mom again. Sometimes I even play by myself, just like I used to. I tossed my rattle weasel halfway across the living room just last night. We haven't been blogging because Mom has been sleeping a lot again. I honestly don't know what has gotten into her. Are you ready for some great news? I made an almost normal poop last night. Mom could hardly believe her eyes. I have gone back to lumpy poop since, but I think I just might get back to normal soon. That would be great. I am so tired of taking medicine.

Karen Jo: I know you are, Herman. You are being so good about it now. You hardly fight me at all. Unfortunately, it's almost time for your antibiotic again. I know that you really hate the taste of it, but it's only for a week. If your poop gets normal, you won't have to take the Centrine any more.

That would be wonderful. Mom weighed me again today on the bathroom scale and it said that I weigh 11 pounds now. Mom is furminating me every day and gets out handfuls of fur. The comb doesn't get stuck on my bones now that I weigh more. I am even letting Mom snip out the little tangles with her scissors.

Karen Jo: I am glad for that. I am afraid that you have a big mat on your side again, though. I think I will have to take you to the vet to get that one shaved off.

Just so long that is all they do. I don't want another lion cut. Or any more shots. Or to have my temperature taken.

Karen Jo: I don't think you have to worry about any of that. Now that you are letting me take care of the little mats and furminate you every day, you shouldn't get any more big mats.

Good. I am getting a new treat for my elevenses now. Mom gives me a pinch of grated cheddar cheese after I take my Interferon. I eat it all up.

Karen Jo: I am hoping that cheese has the same effect on cats as it does on humans. I love to see you eating so well. You eat up most of your Medley almost every time and you even polished off your Stinky Goodness the other day. I have to top up your duck and pea and kitten chow almost every day.

Mom took my water fountain away. I don't know why, but I like my new water bowl. It's nice and big and Mom puts fresh water in it every day and sometimes twice a day.

Karen Jo: I was having to change the water in your fountain almost every day because you were dropping so much food in it. It just didn't seem worth the trouble. I did put down your new water bowl next to the fountain to see which you drank out of more and you went for the bowl. It's funny, but you don't drop nearly as much food in the bowl as you did in the fountain. Were you trying to tell me something?

Maybe. Have you gotten the message about the new litter yet?

Karen Jo: I am still hopeful that you will try it. You jump in it and walk around in it and even dig holes in it. You just don't pee or poop in it. Your old litter is getting pretty low and a bit nasty. I am hoping that will encourage you to use the new litter.

Maybe. Don't hold your breath.