Sunday, Fun Day

 I am watching Emma play with Squeaky Mouse.

Emma:  I am playing with Squeaky Mouse.  I had never seen this toy before.  First Mom tossed out a ball from a toy basket and I batted and chased it until it went into a corner.  Mom got it out again, but I had lost interest.  The she tossed out this fevver-butt mousie and it squeaked.  I pounced on it and played and played with it.  Mom tossed out some other toys for Herman, but he would rather watch me play than play himself sometimes.  Mom hasn't cleaned up the nip from the carpet yet and I roll in it every day, then run around like crazy and play and play.  Mom wanted to play with me with Da Bird tonight, but she couldn't find it at first.  I had dragged it off the couch under the corner table to play with it by myself.  When she found it, I played and played with it.  Herman just watched.

Karen Jo:  Herman got into the playing when I got out his favorite wand toy -- the mousie.  It was fun pulling it by Herman and watching him play with it, then pulling it past Emma and watching her play with it.

Emma:  Herman was mean to me tonight.

I was not.  I just threatened to whap you when you stuck your nose in my Medley dish while I was eating.

Emma:  But you let me share the last time I stuck my nose in the Medley dish.

I didn't feel like sharing tonight.  You got your own food.

Emma:  Mom did put some good Stinky Goodness in my dish in my room and I ate it all up.  You didn't even finish your Medley.

I left some for you.  I just didn't want you trying to eat it while I was eating.  I wanted to eat as much as I wanted without your help.

Emma:  I beat you to bed last night and got some bedtime petting.

You were smart enough to switch to the rocking chair when I came to bed.  I got Mom for the rest of the night.

Emma:  I got her this morning.  I got her up for breakfast, then got some more petting time before she got up to stay.

I got a little morning petting, too. I was cuddled up behind her knees while you were getting petted.

Karen Jo:  Getting up around two cats is getting to be a bit of a challenge.  I really enjoy it, despite the occasional awkwardness.  Emma, you are taking your early afternoon nap between the bed and the bookshelves every day now.

Emma:  I like it there.  It's relatively dark and quiet and Herman won't bother me there.

Karen Jo:  Herman doesn't bother you anywhere while you are napping that I have seen.

Emma:  It just feels snug and safe.

I like to take my afternoon nap in the middle of the living room floor or on my ham-mick.  Emma doesn't bother me while I am napping at all.

Femme Friday

 Hi, it's me, Emma, with my very own post.  Mom's allergies have been giving her fits lately and that's why we haven't been blogging.  She did go out Tuesday and get a new scratcher.  She set it up in the living room, then came and got me before she put the nip on it.  I enjoyed the nip, but didn't scratch on it.  Herman also enjoyed the nip and he didn't scratch on it, either.  In the photo, we are both just chilling and enjoying the nip.  Mom figured that we were well contented and went off to do whatever it is she does.  About three minutes later, she came hurrying back.

Karen Jo:  I heard a loud RAWNR and came to see what was the matter.  Herman was sitting halfway between the scratcher and the easy chair, facing the chair and looking as innocent as he could,  and Emma was underneath the easy chair trying to look as if she was just relaxing.  I don't know what happened, but Herman had been playing peek-a-paw with Emma.  He was hiding behind part of the scratcher and reaching his paw around the corner toward Emma.  However, the only other time I heard a sound like that it came from Emma as she pounced Herman.  Whatever it was, it has blown over and they are still both interested in the new scratcher.  Herman has scratched on it, but not Emma.  She is just interested in the nip.

The nip is the best part of it.

Karen Jo:  Speaking of nip, who did this?

Um, Herman?

Karen Jo:  I don't think so.  Herman played with that syringe toy for a year and nothing like that ever happened.  You are the one who has been playing with it lately.

It just smelled so good.  We had quite a nip party today.  Mom left the nip on the carpet and emptied the rest of it on the new scratcher.  She brought me a new nip pillow today when she went out.  I bit it and bit it, but nothing happened.

Karen Jo:  It is made out of heavy duty canvas.  You soon lost interest in it and Herman used it to take a nap on.  Both of you were nipped out most of the day.  It makes Herman sleepy, but you were tearing around the house like your tail was on fire.  You really went for Da Bird, too.

Da Bird is lots of fun.  I am really glad that I figured out what cat toys are for.  I got lots of petting this morning before Mom got up.  Herman and I have a deal.  He gets Mom when she goes to bed and I get her in the morning.  I worried Mom yesterday.  I hid between the bed and the bookshelves on the wall from right after she got up until she went to work.  I didn't even come out for lunch.  I just wanted some quiet time.

Karen Jo:  You did have me worried.  I was afraid that you were in pain or something was wrong.  When I got home from work, you were acting normally again, though.

Today was furmination day and I got furminated for the first time.  At least Mom tried to furminate me.  I was more interested in grabbing her hand and bunny kicking her.

Karen Jo:  I got some furminating done on you.  You tolerate the brush better.  You are doing some Spring shedding, but nothing like what Herman is doing.  Of course, his fur is a lot thicker than yours.

I'm excited.  I got invited to join The Tuxedo Gang and Mom said that I could.  I will be seeing you there soon.

Mancat Monday

My toy basket is a great place to give myself chin scritches.  I am also claiming it as mine.  Emma does the same thing.  I am getting my nightly petting sessions almost every night now.  Last night Emma beat me to bed and was lying next to Mom's face on the pillow when I came to bed.  I walked right up to her and sniffed her tail.  She did not hiss at me, so I settled down in my favorite spot next to Mom's chest.    Mom stopped petting Emma and petted me for a little, then went back to petting Emma.  Then she moved her other hand, so she could pet both me and Emma.  Then Emma got all wiggly, like she always does, so that Mom had a hard time petting her, as she kept moving around.  After just a little while, Emma jumped over to the rocking chair and I had Mom all to myself.  I snuggled in really close to Mom and lay on my side, so Mom could pet my chest just where I like it best.  I got petted for a really long time until Mom told me she was too sleepy to continue and then we went to sleep.  It was just like it was before Emma moved in.  I stayed in bed with Mom all night.

Karen Jo:  I am really glad that things are working out between the two of you.  Emma is the one who wakes me up early for breakfast now, then she comes back to bed for petting, but never stays very long.  Then Herman gets some morning petting and I go back to sleep until time to get up.

I didn't chase Emma around much this morning, but I made up for it after Mom got home.  First we ate, with Emma eating up most of the Stinky Goodness, then I chased her all around for a while.  It's fun.  I guess we are playing THoE, but Emma never chases me back.  I got treats for scratching on my scratcher and my platform, but Emma didn't get any.  She sees me scratching and getting a treat, then she jumps up on the couch or the armchair and starts scratching.  Mom lifted her off the couch and put her on the base of the scratching post and moved her paws in a scratching motion, but Emma never gets it.  I think it's funny.  It only took me one day to figure out how to get treats for scratching on my platform.

Karen Jo:  You were an only cat and knew that the platform was for you from the beginning.  Maybe Emma is more distracted from her scratching lessons by your presence, or maybe it's because the places where she is supposed to scratch smell so strongly of you. She has never been on your platform that I have seen.  That's why I am going to get her a new scratcher.

Playful Sunday

We are both hanging out by one of the toy baskets, but at different times.  Today was cold, very windy and rainy.  For some reason, it brought out the playfulness in us. Emma woke Mom up really early for breakfast, so by the time Mom got up for real, after some petting for both of us, we were ready to rumble. By the time Mom got dressed, I had chased Emma up and down the hall three or four times.  While Mom was cooking her lunch, we were running all around the living room.  We were running around so much that Mom didn't get a chance to brush either of us.

Emma:  Mom got me my own brush and I get brushed now, too, when Mom can catch me.  I don't like it very much, but I tolerate it for a while.

Karen Jo:  I almost didn't get a chance to give Herman his Prednisol.  He would much rather play with Emma than let me put it in his ear.  By the time I went to work, both kitties were calmed down.  Herman was all stretched out on the floor and Emma was up on the big pillow on the table, watching the rain come down.

When Mom got home from work, we demanded to be fed, ate, then started up the chase games again.  I chased Emma into the kitchen really fast, then slid across the floor, trying to turn when she dodged under the kitchen table.  Somehow, she can turn on the linoleum much better than I can.

Emma:  I am a lot lighter than you are, so I don't slide as much.  I hid under the kitchen table until Herman got tired of waiting for me to come out.  When he went into the living room and lay down to relax, I ran right by his nose and the chase was on again.

Karen Jo:  Emma really does run by Herman, really close to him, to get him to chase her.  She enjoys the game as much as he does.  The toys were all scattered around from where I left them when I went to work.  I don't know if they are playing with them, or just running over them and kicking them by accident.  At least I know that they aren't just sleeping the whole time I am gone.  Herman has his old spot back when I go to bed at night.  Emma seems to prefer the rocking chair.  She joins me early in the morning, gets me up for breakfast, then comes to bed again for petting.  Sometimes Herman jumps up for early morning petting, too, and sometimes he doesn't.  When both of them are there, one usually gets on one side of me and the other on the other side.  I lie on my back and pet both of them at the same time.  There have been no more spats.  I have seen Herman in pounce position, watching Emma, so many times, but he never actually pounces her.  He just runs out and chases her.  I hope to see kitty wrestling some time, but with the huge size difference between them, it may never happen.

Caturday

 I'm just chillaxing on my ham-mick.  Emma still hasn't discovered how comfy it is, thank goodness.  Mom had a major allergy attack yesterday and that's why she didn't blog.  I can't seem to convince her that she needs to blog no matter how she feels.  Emma and I had another first tonight.  Mom opened a can of my very favorite Medley.  Emma ran up to Mom as soon as she opened it and started meowing for it.  I got into guard position where the dish goes.  Mom put the dish down and I started eating it.  Emma wanted some so badly that she started eating out of the dish at the same time.  I let her.  We both ate out of the same dish at the same time without any hissing or whapping.

Karen Jo:  I enjoyed that.  Both of you really like that salmon and egg souffle.  Simba wants to know what Herman's Medley is.  It is Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys.  Herman and Emma both really like it.

Emma:  I am hanging out in the living room with Herman.  Both of us spend a lot of time in here now.  Mom moved the little scratching post, which I never use, and the Turbo scratcher, which I also never use, back into the living room from my room.

Karen Jo:  You definitely prefer scratching on the furniture to any scratcher in the house.  Lots of people and cats have suggested that I put sticky tape on the furniture where Emma likes to scratch.  The problem is that Emma likes to scratch all over all the furniture.  There would be sticky tape everywhere.  I need to get up to the pet supply store and get Emma a scratcher of her very own.  Maybe that will work.

Emma:  Herman has been hogging the bed lately.

Karen Jo:  There is plenty of room for both of you.  It's not my fault that you seem to prefer taking turns these nights.  I lay on my back and pet both of you, one on each side, early this morning.  You took off after a little bit, though.

Emma:  You know that I have trouble keeping still while I am awake.  I wanted to check to see if there was any breakfast left.

Thursday Twosome

Mom likes this picture for two reasons:  it shows how we have learned to eat together and you can clearly see the size difference between me and Emma.  Mom hasn't blogged for nearly a week.

Karen Jo:  There has been a lot going on in my life lately and I just have been to tired to blog.

Emma:  There has been a lot going on in our lives, too.

Karen Jo:  Yes, there has.  Herman jumped you last Saturday.

Emma:  He was mean to me.  I was just getting petted and he grabbed me with his forepaws and threatened to bite my head when you finished.

Karen Jo:  Herman was always the one who got petted in the bathroom before you came.  He just got a little jealous.  When are you finally going to stop hissing at Herman?

Emma:  When I get good and ready.  I hardly ever do it any more, just when he gets too close to me and I don't feel like dealing with him.

Karen Jo:  He knows that I will pet him while I am talking on the phone.  You weren't close enough for me to pet and he wanted to get close to me and you hissed at him.  He backed off and I couldn't pet either one of you.

At least she didn't jump me last night in bed.

Karen Jo:  That was all good.  I figured out how to pet both of you at the same time.  It was all going very well until you decided to leave.

I suddenly discovered that her rump was touching my rump. That disturbed me and I left.

Karen Jo:  You like sniffing her behind, so why would it touching you upset you?

I don't know, but it did.

Emma:  I sniffed Herman's behind, too.

Karen Jo:  Yes, both of you seem to get a kick out of sniffing each other's tails.  At least it doesn't lead to hissing any more.

Emma:  I am learning how to play with toys.  The other night, Mom was rolling a ball to Herman and he was batting it back.  I sat and watched.  They played like that for a while, then Herman stopped playing.  Mom rolled the ball to me and I batted it back a few times.  It was fun.  Yesterday I smelled something good in one of the toy boxes.  I dug and dug and found it and dragged it out.  I sniffed it and bit it and clawed it and kicked it.  Then I ran around the house like my tail was on fire.

Karen Jo:  You discovered Herman's nip syringe.  It is stuffed with really good nip.  I will leave it out for you until you get tired of it.  I am so glad that you are discovering the fun of cat toys.

Emma:  When can I go out in the stroller again?

Karen Jo:  Some day when I am off and the wind isn't blowing so hard.

May I go, too?

Karen Jo:  Yes, Herman, but not at the same time.  The stroller isn't big enough for both of you at once.

Femme Friday

It's me, Emma, and this is my very first post all by myself.  Here I am eating.  Mom laughs and says she took this picture because it is one of the few times I stay still long enough for her to get a photo.  Mom was mean to me last night.

Karen Jo:  I had to get a stool sample and the only way to make sure it was yours and not Herman's was to shut you up in your room with a clean litter box until you pooped.  Since you  tend to poop very late at night, you were shut up in there all night.  I let you out again as soon as I got up and made sure that you had pooped.

Boy, was I hungry when I got out!  I ate up Herman's Medley and Stinky Goodness, then headed back to my room and ate up my own Stinky Goodness.  Then Herman and I relaxed a bit in the living room together while Mom did all the boring stuff she does after she gets up.  Then Mom got her lunch ready and something smelled sort of good.  Mom offered some to Herman first, but he decided that he didn't want it after all, so she put it in the Stinky Goodness dish.  I sniffed it over really well and decided I didn't want it, either.

Karen Jo:  I was having chef salad with chicken and I offered you some chicken.  It had been cooked with herbs, so maybe that's what put you off.

After lunch, we had a little catnip party.  Mom got out a bag of catnip and started throwing these little balls with catnip on them around the living room.  That was really cool.  After Herman and I had enough fun playing with the catnip balls, Mom got out the wand toys and we played.  I really like Da Bird.  Herman didn't play much at all, but I did.  He only likes the little mousie that Mom pulls around the floor.  After that Mom did some more boring stuff, thinking that I was still in the living room relaxing with Herman.  Then she started looking for me and couldn't find me.  I was hiding under the couch.

Karen Jo:  I don't know how you knew, or maybe you were hiding from Herman, but when it came time for me to get you ready to go to the vet, I couldn't find you anywhere.  I finally found you and had to drag you out from under the couch.

Mom put me in a big blue thing on wheels and we went outside.  It was great.  There was fresh air and lots of neat smells and things to look at.  We went along and the only time I didn't really like it was when we walked by some noisy woofies.  I looked up through the window in the roof to make sure that Mom was still there to protect me.  Then a horrible thing happened.  We ended up at the vet place.

Karen Jo:  You had an appointment to check your ears.  There was only good news.  Your ears are fine and that bad tooth that your vet thought would have to be pulled isn't so bad.  You saw Herman's vet today.

I didn't think it was so great.  I got prodded and felt all over and had something stuck up where it didn't belong.  I am glad you were there.  I stuck my head in your stomach and you petted me until it was over.  Then she took me in another room and poked around in my ears.  I was glad to get out of there.  We walked home and Mom went on the other side of the road past the noisy woofies, so they wouldn't bother me.  I started meowing when we got home because I was so glad to be back.

Karen Jo:  You sure seemed to recognize the house as soon as we turned into the driveway.  I wonder if you recognized it by sight, or by the smell of Herman's fur in the yard.  I throw Herman's fur from his brushing sessions out the back door for the birds to use in their nests, if they like.

I was ready for lunch when we got back.  I ate most of the food again.  Herman doesn't seem to mind.

Karen Jo:  Herman will let you know when he minds.  Like when you tried to nose in on his treat.

He threatened to smack me with his paw.  Why does he get treats and I don't?

Karen Jo:  Herman gets treats for scratching on his platform or on his scratcher.  You always scratch on the furniture, so you don't get treats.  I have tried to show you where to scratch, but you don't pay attention to me.

You gave me one treat.

Karen Jo:  I had just put your paws on the platform to show you where to scratch and gave you a treat to try to give you the idea.  It didn't work.

I like scratching on the furniture.

Karen Jo:  All the furniture is so old and faded that I really don't mind, but you won't get any treats until you learn where you are supposed to scratch.  Maybe I should get you a different kind of scratcher.  I think the pet store has one of those cool-looking curvy ones.

You won't lock me up again tonight, will you?

Karen Jo:  No, I won't.  That was just because of the stool sample.  You may sleep with me on the bed tonight.  I am going to have to figure out a way to pet you and Herman at the same time, so there aren't any more attacks.

At least you know that I am not afraid of Herman any more.  Maybe he is a bit afraid of me now.

Karen Jo:  I wouldn't count on it.  Remember how he stared you down and made you leave his Medley alone at dinner tonight?

Yes, but he still left me some.  I think he's a big softie.

Karen Jo:  He is, but he was an outside cat that got picked on for a while, just like you were.  If you push him too far, he might fight back.