Will We Paint Today Mom?

 "I think she still looks a little punk.  I say we let her make a

short run to Kroger but that's it.  She's having trouble sleeping

again.  Mean ole' tooth!! She sees the dentist on Friday."

 "Okay mom, put you head down right here."

 "All right, we will let you take breaks for pettings.

After all, pettings are just as important as naps!!"

 "See!!  I'll help make sure mom takes a nap!!"

Star nods, "Yep!  We'll all take turns sitting on her until she's better.  Then we'll help her paint the hall, the front bathroom, the den, the laundry room, the space where those stairs are we like to leap up..."

Housebound...

 "You can't see it, but where the fur isn't thick is where mom found a bump on my face last night.  Mean mean mommy!!  She cleaned it with stingy stuff and then sqeeeeeezed it until all the icky stuff came out.  And now she says I can't go OUT until it's all healed up!!  Mean mean mommy!!!  She made me stay in her bedroom last night with Audrey so stinky Mister Knives wouldn't fight with me or even paw at me like he's been doing to everycat the last few days. "

 "I stayed in mom & dad's bedroom with Star and

I was really really nice.  Besides, I can't go outside either!

I don't know what the big deal is!!"

 "I knocked and knocked and knocked on mom & dad's door and they wouldn't open it!!  Not only that, but dad put something heavy so it wouldn't make noise anymore!!  NOT FAIR!!  Mean ole' daddy."

 "We would have posted for mom yesterday but Zaphy messed up the computer."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not..."

"Since Star isn't able to go out right now,

Zaphy and I have been taking turns going in and out for him."

PS Our friend, the author Sara Harvey and her husband have found a shelter that will take their woofie Javert, but they'd really really rather find him a home with a family who will love and pet and care for him. His continuing story can be found here. Because of biting issues he's not considered adoptable but they've worked really really hard with him and those issues have gone down. As someone who has rehabilitated feral animals I think he has a good chance if placed with the right family so long as there are no young children. If anyone could boost the signal, I'd really appreciate it! (and so would they!)

What We Want For Christmas...

 "We want mom to get a new camera because we're tired of seeing the same ones over and over and over and over and over and..."

 "Dad should fix the dryer or  they should get a new

one so I can have warm clothes to sleep on.  Because

warm clothes are extremely important for cats."

 "Dad's car needs to get fixed.  Mom put in a new battery but messed it up so his car's computer fried.  When get a new computer in it we'll find out what's wrong.  Oh, and mom needs a new tire for the van.  One of them blew out.  I blame my brother Zaphoid.  He likes to use the car tires for scratching posts.  Hmmm, maybe we need to have our scratching posts recovered!!  Dad's gotten sisal rope but no one can find his staple gun so he or mom can put it on!  Bad Feeders!!"

 "I think mom did get us a new toy with a scratchy thing

in the middle.  And she always gets us catnip.  But she'd

better get us GREENIES!!!  We all looooove the greenies!!"

"We did this all last night and this morning.

In and out and in and out and in and..."

The World is My Litter Box...

 "I don't like using the inside litter box.
I much prefer the outside one."

 "Hey, mom!  Time for the guard change!!  Hurry up!!"

Yes, this happens at our house all the time...
even when the cat flap is open.

Who We Sat on... uh... ummm... What We Did This Weekend...

"First we did this..."

 

"No, really.  All weekend long!!  Corwyn was at his dad's house.  Dale was at Music in the Mountain.  Mom & Jennifer were stuck in bed all weekend, mainly with mom massaging Jen's sore legs.  We got hardly any attention at all!!!  ummmm Not even at the neighbors! 

[mom, don't believe a word they say!]" 

"Star is looking much more better"

"Meanwhile the rest of us read.  Reading is good."

"We'll see you later!!  We're all exhausted!!"

Hey Moooom! You Need to Blog MY Cat!!

Yesterday I put up a post featuring Star (naaaah, he's not my favorite kitty along with Thomas, whyever would you think that??).  After looking at this, my 16 yo daughter says, "Mom!!  Why don't you ever post about my cat?!?!"  Well, it's only fair.  (Although I did mention that she could make her own blog all about her own cat.)  So, I give you, Zaphoid Beeblebrox...

"I love these pillows.  As soon as my people get off of them I get on them."

"I am stunningly beautiful.  Everybody who sees me says so.

This is good, because they pet me.  I love being petted."

"This is me with my young mommy.  Her mommy is my mom.

They both give me treats.  I love treats!!"

"Remember, cleanliness is next to catliness!"

"I am part of the Cat Guard.  I am also a mighty hunter."

"My brother is older than me so he lords it over me.

I don't mind because I am the Mommy Cat in the Horde,

even though we are all Tims*.

I make sure that everyone stays clean."

"Hey Mom!  You could use this coaster by your bed!"

PS  I don't think any of these pictures show what a beautiful blue my eyes are!!  Hmmmm, I wonder if I can get another brushing today out of that??

*Mommy calls us Tims because we're no longer Toms,

when we had sisters they were Princesses because they were no longer Queens.

Ah, the Changing of the Cat Guard...

There are days when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde go in and out via their cat door.  Then there are the Other Days.  Those are the days when they have to be let in and out the front door (rarely the back door).  This is known in our house as the Changing of the Cat Guard because normally as one goes out, another comes in.

"I'm thinking about coming in."

"Is there anyone there??  Hey!!   Come let me in!!"

"Hmmm, now that the door's open I don't think

I want to come in anymore."

"Can I come out??  I'd like to come out.

I know it's only been a minute since I came in

but I really really really want to come out!!"

"In!!  In!!  Quick!!  Timmy's in the well!!"

"Well, while the door's open, I might as well go in."

"Hmmm, now I'm not sure if I want to come in or not..."

See?  Changing of the Cat Guard.  Of course, Star is too much a Ninja to let us take pictures of him going in and out of the door.  ::grin::

(goes to the Changing of the Cat Guard section of the CafePress store)

Psssssst

I swear that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde talk to each other.  They pass messages to each other, to either get something or to decide who is going to take care of mom.  It's the Changing of the Cat Guard but with nursing kitties rather than going in and out of the door!  Da Boys decide who gets what, who is allowed where, and so on.  Of course, the two who are the worse about this are Thomas and Zaphoid.  But they are also litter mates.  My eldest boys, their mother showed up on the doorstep of a friend who is allergic to cats.  Now she has two children who love cats.  So she also lives with two cats (or is it three?) because of her two children.  This means that when the mother cat appeared, my friend took her in.  At that time, there were no shelters that took in pregnant animals.

Once the kittens were born, there were two that just won the hearts of everyone in our family.  And thus Sir Thomas of Snuggle and Zaphoid Beeblebrox came home to live with us.  As you can see, Zaphoid is a traditional sable point.  But Thomas, ah Thomas.  He is a tabby-point... blue... unless he wants to be lilac... or red (that's not the right name but my brain has just gone somewhere else).  No, really.  Thomas changes color.  In fact, he went lilac for Easter!  He's going back to blue now, but evidently he felt that Easter deserved a color change.  ::grin::

Zaphy: "Hey, mom is giving out treats.

We need to get upstairs neeeooooww!!"

This morning I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Doctor Grumpy in the House.  I made a comment that I didn't expect to be put up for everyone else to see because it had a url for my shop.  This one hasn't been switched into the "Things You..." sections yet and CafePress is being a poohbear right now.  meh.  But here is what I sent.  ::grin::

Why Are You All Looking At Me??

I woke up this morning, brushed my teeth, and came back into the bedroom to find all of the cats on the bed looking at me.  "Hey Mom.  We neeeeeeeeed something."  "You've already had treats."  "But we neeeeeeed something!!"  "You've already had treats."  "Mooooooooom!!"  "Boys."  "Meeeee-ooooom!!"   ::rolls eyes and heads to kitchen::  I am immediately followed by a cat parade of Thomas and Zaphoid.  Mister Kitten and StarWalker stayed in the bedroom doorway for a bit to play dominance games.  "See Mom!!  The dishes have only crumbs!!  We are going to starrrrrve to death!!  No, really!!  We's skin and bones!!"  ::sigh::  "Alright boys, breakfast is coming."  And the Big Bowl gets opened.  Mister Kitten teleports all sixteen pounds into the kitchen so as not to starve to death.

Making sure we don't starve to death!

After eating, Thomas and Mister Kitten had to go outside to check on the weather.  They then had to go back inside to let everyone know that it was raining and that the Changing of the Cat Guard would have to wait until the weather cleared up.

We would keep notes about when we goes

in and out but we can't write.  Mom??  Mom??

  Could you do that for us?  Meee-ooom??

Sleep Duty... Changing of the Cat Guard!!

I am a side sleeper and I use two pillows on my side.  One is a body pillow placed between my knees and a small pillow which I put at the top of the body pillow that I rest my arm on.  I always sleep best when there is a cat tucked up with me on the smaller pillow.  My preference is Star.  Star's preference is that I am facing away from my husband.  I think it's a combination of my husband snoring and the fact that he moves around a lot.  Star is a wee bit skittish.  If I'm by myself, he'll stay with me as I turn over, slipping with his Ninja Skills from one side to the next.

I usually turn at least once during the night because of the arthritis and the chronic myofascial pain in my legs & ankles.  Some nights I'll turn over three or four times.  Last night was a six night turn.  Twice I had no cat.  ::sniff sniff::  I started with Star.  Then Mister Kitten showed up.  After that, Zaphoid took a turn followed by Thomas.  This doesn't happen very often.  It reminded me very strongly of the Changing of the Cat Guard that I'll often get in the Spring, Summer, and Fall when the front door becomes a revolving door!  That's why I created this graphic:

link to the organic women's fitted T - it only comes in natural color

In other news, I've got everyone but Thomas on the bed with me.  Thomas has taken his normal role of Aloof Explorer back up again.  ::rolls eyes::  It's Spring and the weather is getting better.  This means birds and field mice.  We have a large hay field behind our house.  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde truly appreciates this.  I don't remember if I've told this story before but it's one that sticks in my mind...  Warning!  Warning!  Danger Will Robinson!!  This story contains cats & a field mouse!

My husband and I walked outside one day and noticed that Thomas, Zaphoid, and the late Quigley the Demon Dust Bunny Hunter were sitting in an equilateral triangle.  Odd.  We quietly went a wee bit closer.  Oh my!!  Because they were playing Mouse in the Middle.  Yes, there was a field mouse in the middle of the triangle.  It would start to dash one way only to realize that there was a cat in it's way... back to the center!!  Turning, it would run another way... oops!!  Another cat guards the escape route!  Swiftly back to the middle only to turn and go the last way out.  No!  No!!  Yet another cat!!  (My husband called them Tres Gatos Hombres.  ::snicker:: )  

We must have watched this go on a good five minutes.  Da boys just hung out amused while the field mouse got more and more nervous.  Unfortunately we had to leave so we didn't see how long they played with this poor mousie.  But it reminded me of StarWatcher, who was the last black cat I had before StarWalker (it's not my fault!  you know cats... they picked their names!).  At my old house there was a small spring in the back.  This small spring was the habitat of snakes.  StarWatcher loved to play with snakes.  He would bring them up to the driveway, bat them around & flip them into the air.  That is until I came up and said, "StarWatcher!  Put that back where you found it.  Right this minute!!"  He would sigh, pick up the snake and go put it back.

The Door is Open!! [at Least for Today]

The weather is good enough today that I went downstairs and opened the cat door.  This was a Good Thing since I woke up with a cold.  meh.  It always takes a bit for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde to realize that it is there and that they can go in and out of it.  So once I opened it I had to remind da Boys to go in and out the window.  I have to make sure not to let them in and out the door until they go in or out of the window.  Zaphoid is not really a problem.  Once the window is open he is ecstatic!!

 

My other babies sometimes take a wee bit more... persuasion!!  I will sometimes have to pick up Thomas and Star and put them through one side or the other.  Once they've gone through, Mister Kitten goes, "Oh!!  The Cat Door is Open!!!!  Yaaaaaaay!!"  ::chuckle::  What was so cute today is that he sat on the kitty condo staring at The Cat Door but not going through it.  Today, Star kept going to the back door wanting me to let him inside.  I finally picked him up and put him through The Cat Door.  He's now inside and keeps looking at the door via my bedroom window.  ::snicker::

 

 

Now I just have to hope that  the weather stays warm!!  Having The Cat Door open cuts waaaaay down on us having to deal with the Changing of the Cat Guard!

 

Do you have to help Change the Cat Guard?

The Sleep Diet

My normal routine in the morning is to get up, and then fairly early in the process, weigh myself.  This morning I was about 43# overweight (I've been fighting this for about three years or so).  However, I'd gotten up early so I just went back to sleep.  Now a routine is a routine for me (as well as the cats) so when I got up the second time, you guessed it, I weighed myself again.  Wow!  I'd lost three pounds!  I didn't have time to think about the Sleep Diet because the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde were quite insistent that I come "get food out of the Big Bowl neow!!"

This morning has seen an increase in the Changing of the Cat Guard.  Star has been content to stay on the bed with me; but Mister Kitten, Thomas, and Zaphoid have decided that I need to keep getting up and down so that I can let them in and out.  ::head:wall:repeat::  This wouldn't be as bad if Zaphoid didn't insist that he needed to come back in from the back (and scratch at one of the bedroom windows); which means that I have to go down through the Wreck Room (we have a split level house).  And then there is the fact that I can't really tell when Thomas and Mister Kitten are ready to come in; although Thomas will sometimes come and 'knock' at the other bedroom window.

 

mousepad (other items available)

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

In the middle of winter in Middle Tennessee it likes to rain.  This means that whichever member(s) of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Cat Guard coming in from the outside are wet.  And I don't mean damp; oh no, I mean wet, as in sopping.  So, what is the first thing that Thomas, Zaphoid, Star, and Mister Kitten do when they come back inside??  Yes, you guessed it.  They immediately come up to the first handy human(s) and start using them as towels; until they're dry.

Now in the spring this isn't as much of a problem.  In spring, the rains are not as heavy.  In spring, the rains are not freezing.  Now the freezing part is quite important to me because of my health issues; and who do you think they like to go to first??  Ohhhhhh yeah.  Momma is a cat magnet.  Now yesterday, Thomas and Mister Kitten both came in at the same time and jumped up on our bed while my husband and I were standing there talking.  "Oh joy!  Bliss!!  We each get our own warm towel!!"  So with much joy and purring, they began to get the worst of the water out of their fur.

 

1.0L Sigg Bottle (more items available!)

Changing of the Cat Guard... II

It's a beautiful fall day.  The leaves are falling.  The sun is shining.  The door is revolving.

You guessed it, once again, it's Changing of the Cat Guard Day.

Cold, it is.... Doctor Cats Remain... Vigilent!

I was replying to something just before starting this and Star gave me one of Those Looks.  Even though you see him, you could feel it... attacking your brain.  Suddenly!  He jumped up on the back of the computer chair (which is a Very Good Place Indeed) where I assumed he would do his usual thing of plumping the top just right;  settling himself in suchaway that he could play with pen or pencil, or mayhap take a stab at any moving hair, and God forfend that anyone should disturb his writer at her work!!

But no, no.  Alack and alas it was not to be.  Star managed to turn around on top of the edge of the table.  then he slithered politely and smelling faintly of vanilla* down my side and into my lap.  ::sigh::  Well, I'll have to go now, a post that should have take me about 5 minutes has taken

One collapse coming up.....