Saturday, February 27, 2010

Are You Coming Innnnnnn??

Last night I let in the cats as usual (Zaphoid prefers to use the Outside Litter Box) and they piled up on the bed.  My daughter came into the bedroom and Zaphoid (her cat) stared up at her mournfully.  You see, she used to insist that he go to bed with her and would pick him up like a rag doll.  He had no problem with it and would hang limply in her arms or over her shoulder.  Then he would tuck up around her head and lick her ear until she went to sleep.  When Dale and I got together, they would still do that but once she was asleep, he would leave her and come into our bedroom to sleep with us.

When Jennifer moved upstairs into the Eldest Daughter's room, she stopped picking up Zaphoid.  So he became Emo Kitty.  Often her door would remain closed all night and you would find him on her stairs laying on one stair with his head on another, sighing.  Poor, poor Emo Kitty.  Then he would just lay on our bed with his head on whatever he could find or hanging it over the edge, sighing.  Poor, poor Emo Kitty.  Last night however, we convinced Jennifer that she should take Zaphy upstairs with her. 

He sat on the edge of our bed waiting for her to pick him up.  Instead, she stood in our doorway calling for him to follow her.  ::rolls eyes::  Then she started to walk off without him.  You could almost hear him crying as he turned around and padded softly toward me.  I called Jennifer back and said, "Honey?  He wants you to carry him."  She came back and he swiftly went to the corner of the bed again to sit prettily for her.  She looked down at him and melted.  Jennifer picked him up and cuddled him and took him upstairs.  Yay!!  Of course, he was back downstairs with us in time to watch the late late shows.  ::grin::


 
the cafepress Emo is a different color

Friday, February 26, 2010

YES!!! I did it!!! (this means kitty pictures...)

After much work, and the help of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde as well as Amy & the House of Cats, the blog is up in three columns!!  Whoot!!  I still have to redo some things (there are some missing links... don't say it!) but for the most part, things are back in order.  I'm going to take a break now and rest after my labors.  Hmmmm, Zaphy & Mister Kitten are taking a catnap, I think I'll do the same.j


While we're working...

I'm still trying to beat down the three column thing (thanks to Amy & the House of Cats for the help... we're still struggling though!!)  Until then, I thought I'd show off one of my babies, since my love finally sent some pictures!!

 
Zaphy loves on Mister Kitten...
probably after just cleaning his ears.
Zaphy has a 'thing' about cleaning ears... even if you're human.
Go figure.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhh!

I'm trying very very very... make that very... hard to change this into a three column blog so that I can put the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde's pictures (primarily present but also some past members as well) on the left and keep the info I've had on the right on the right.

I will not throw the way too expensive laptop I can't afford across the room...I will not throw the way too expensive laptop I can't afford across the room...I will not throw the way too expensive laptop I can't afford across the room....


 
not this html code...not this xml code... not this css code... not this...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Bad Knee Boy & Mister Kitten

The day before yesterday my son came home limping because his knee hurt.  He hadn't twisted it.  But we iced & gave him an anti-inflammatory & waited to see how it was.  Yesterday I took him to the doc-in-the-box.  They x-rayed, poked, & prodded and determined that it was probably growing pains.  Then they sent us home with another anti-inflammatory.  I gave him that about 2ish.  By 5ish, one side of his upper lip was swelling.  He was already in my bed and calling for Mister Kitten (his cat!).  By 10ish, his right palm and fingers had swollen and part of his left hand.  Mister Kitten was definitely needed!!  So was the nurse on call!  We agreed that the night dose of the new med should not be taken and an antihistamine was called for.  Since he takes one anyway, we went with that.

Thus, Corwyn slept with me so that I could keep an eye on him.  As usual, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde were on the bed [Thomas, I do not need your help writing this!!].  My son was restless during the first part of the night and I didn't get any sleep as he kept waking and calling for Mister Kitten.  Now normally, Mister Kitten prefers to sleep right beside me trying to knock me off the bed or on top of me to see if he can smush my legs.  Last night however, during the time my son was calling for him, when I placed Mister Kitten beside him and Corwyn gently petted him and calmed down; he settled in beside Corwyn's bad knee and cuddled up to him.  awwwwwwwwww!  Of course, later he was beside my legs and trying to see if he could take over my side of the bed.  ::rolls eyes::  [Thomas, I do not need your help writing this!!]

This morning, when Corwyn woke up, he was feeling a bit better.  He immediately called for his cat.  When I pulled out the morning treats he had to feed Mister Kitten.  Now I've got three cats (Mister Kitten, Star, and Thomas) and a boy on the bed.  His Highness Zaphoid is downstairs on the cat condo wishing that the cat door was open.  But that's another story.

[Thomas, I really can write this without you helping!!!]


 

In honor of February being Neuter & Spay month'
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde reminds everyone:
Neuter & Spay-It's the Only Way!!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Belly UP!

Thomas & Star decided to do team Belly UP!  Both of them were lying on the bed in exactly the same position showing off their bellies.  Star showing his pretty belly star and Thomas just wanting someone to come rub his belly.  And here comes Mister Kitten to see what I'm doing and hoping that he can get in on the treats that Thomas and Star have already had this morning.  Now if I can just give them to him without two other boys mugging me!!  Yay!!  Thomas came up but when I told him these were for Mister Kitten he stopped and just sat.  Good boy!!  Corwyn just popped in to say, "Mister Kitten is my good boy!"

This means that I need to run and take Cordude to the doctor's office.  He's home from school today with a hurt knee.


 

 Doctor Cat will see you now.
And proceed to sit on your chest.

Monday, February 22, 2010

His Highness Deigns to Come In... For a Minute.

Zaphy came to the window to let me know that he wanted inside.  So I went downstairs and called so he would know the door was open.  "Yawn," Zaphy went, not moving from the window, "I'm not sure if I want to jump the fence and come in now."  ::sigh::  "Zaphoid!  Here, kit, kit, kit!!  Zaphy!!  Zaphoid Beeblebrox!!"  ::grrrrrrr::  I went and opened the fence gate.  "Zaphoid, do you want in??  Come here right this minute!!"  Zaphoid turned around, "Oh.  You opened the gate.  I suppose I could deign to come in now."  So he jumped down and sauntered over to come out of the fenced area.

Then he went over to my van and stopped.  ::sigh::  I went over and opened the door.  "Well??  Are you going to come in now?"  He looked at the door.  "Hmmmm," he went, "In.  Inside.  Yes.  I was going to come inside, wasn't I."  ::roll eyes::  Zaphy came inside as Star purrupted at me.  "Yes, Star, it's okay to go out."  Star took my word for it and went out as Zaph came in.  I didn't think too much of it and went to put on my jacket to go outside for one of my short walks.  "Mom??  Mom??  Are you going outside?  I need to go outside!!"  ::face:palm::  His Highness, Zaphoid, wanted out again.

And, as their Royal Highnesses' do, Zaphoid came in when I did.  He jumped up onto the bed, "Mooooom!  Moooooom!  Where is my bruuuuuuush???  I need bruuuuuushing!!!"  So, of course, I had to find his brush and give him a good brushing.  Now he is happily napping at my feet.

In other news, I've asked my husband to email me the pictures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Horde that he has on his phone so that I can put them up on the blog.  There is no telling how long it will take!  Keep your fingers & paws crossed!!


Sunday, February 21, 2010

Nap or Read...

After 'helping' with the last post, Zaphoid has cuddled up and laid his head on my arm.  I think that means I need to get off the compute and take a nap or read.  So much for lunch or a long soaky bath!!


Your Bed?? But It's Warrrrrrm!

I just so happen to have one of those mattress covers which has dual heat controls.  This allows me to have warmth when I'm cold.  My husband's side has never worked which is fine with him since he never gets cold.  Last night I felt the need to turn on a wee bit of heat.  "Ooooooooh", said Mister Kitten, "This is even better than a leg!!"  I didn't have a 16.5 pound 'kitten' on my leg.  Oh no!!  Instead, I woke up in the middle of the night to find myself about to fall off of the bed!!  Mister Kitten was trying to shove me off the bed so as to better lay down on the warm mattress cover.  [Oh look!  There's the culprit now!]

Now, you were wondering how Mister Kitten went from being a cute, sweet little girl kitten called Miette to a hefty little boy kitten with an identity crisis eventually named Mister Kitten.  Ah, like so many itty bitty girl kitties, when she hit about six months, pewh!  The scent of a Tom!!  The Tims in the house went nuts!  Suddenly all of the cats in the house were spraying.  Ack!!  We'd already been planning on spaying Miette, having kept her in the house, but now we had to get 'her' into the vet quick quick for a neuter operation!!

Miette wasn't happy about this.  The other Tims in the house kept spraying.  ::head:desk::  Fortunately, I keep my favorite product Simple Solutions Cat Spray & Urine Stain & Odor Remover.  I can use it everywhere, even in the washer.  Yay!  It helps some.  Eventually the spraying stopped... and came back... and started again... and came back again.  A lot of it has to do whenever we have dominance problems, such as right now.  Thomas is noticing another cat in the neighborhood who comes to 'visit'.  ::sigh::

Anyway, at first we kept calling Mister Kitten "Miette".  But Miette didn't like that anymore.  Duh!  So along came the search to find Mister Kitten's name.  Now Mister Kitten shares a birthday with Harry Potter.  He is now three years old and will be turning four this summer.  But he still behaves like a kitten.  After he became a boy, his mom Sarah moved out of the house.  Eventually she found her own permanent home and took Tanis the Dragon Slayer to live with her.  Because I had trained Tanis to be sociable and he loved her more than any other person, it only made sense for him to be with his mom.  She told us that rather than keeping Mister Kitten's name as Vicious Miette Pumpkin Thunderblaster Knives Pterodactyl (which she had named her/him as a kitten), we could rename him.

Thus became the Search for a New Name!!  We called him Kitten most of the time.  We tried Trouble (because he is!).  We tried Oberon (my children's choice). We also called him the Cat with the Identity Crisis (pretty obvious!!).  But eventually he let us know that his name is Mister Kitten.  He hangs out with me and my son.  I'm having to work with him right now because he's picked up biting and not wanting to be touched.  Because I've had so many rescue cats I've worked a lot with training cats to hang out with humans.

Right now I'm teaching my son to learn to read cats' body language.  This is the most important step in training cats.  The second most important part is being patient and talking softly to them.  Learning to do this is also helping him to be calm and to interact well with others.  Corwyn has trouble reading human body language and by learning the body language of cats, it will make it easier for him to begin learning human body language and to interact with humans.  I love having my cats and they make my life so much better.  I'm constantly trying to encourage others to rescue cats and helping people who are allergic figure out how to have cats in their homes.  I've had cats since I was a baby, can you tell??  ::grin::

 published with the 'help' of Zaphy

Saturday, February 20, 2010

My Legs! My Legs!

I woke up last night unable to feel my legs.  There was a perfectly plausible reason for this.  You see, Mister Kitten (formally known as Vicious Miette Pumpkin Thunderblaster Knives Pterodactyl aka Kitten aka Trouble aka Oberon aka the Cat with the Identity Crisis) was laying across my legs.  Mister Kitten is the largest of our cats, weighing in at a good 16.5 pounds (or 7.5 kg).  Thus, you can understand my reasoning for going, "Ack!  My legs!  My legs!"; although, I must admit that I said this silently since the love of my life was still asleep.  However, I did get up and make Mister Kitten get off of my legs.

[pause to love on Zaphy who just came in from outside... we really really need to find his brush!!]

Mister Kitten is a yellow tabby who is extremely muscular (yes, that 16.5 pounds is not fat!!).  He loves to play chase with Star up and down the hallway just as he has done since he was a kitten.  Mister Kitten first came to use via the Eldest Daughter, Sarah.  She wanted a kitten since the only kitten she'd ever had was an Abyssinian mix rescue who was 9 months old when he came to be a forever companion.  So she went to a feline rescue group and found a cute female kitten whom she named Vicious Miette Pumpkin Thunderblaster Knives Pterodactyl.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde at that point also included Tanis the Dragon Slayer (the Abyssinian mix) and Quigley the Demon Dust Bunny Hunter, who were the Eldest Cats in the household and also known as The Cranky Old Men.  Tanis had integrated into the Horde and become sociable (he is rather autistic and I worked hard with him once we were in the same household).  Then Miette came to live with us.  Oh dear!  Oh no!!  Horror of horrors!!  Tanis fell apart.  The other boys welcomed the baby, since they'd had other babies introduced to the Horde before (crazy cat lady?  moi?  noooOOOooo, that invisible neon sign that says "Cat Family Lives Here, Feeds the Good Stuff, Come on In" does not exist!!)

Oh.  You want to know more about Mister Kitten and how she became a he??  Well, that's a story for another time... mayhap... tomorrow.


Friday, February 19, 2010

Why Don't We All Just Nap Now

I spent half the day in Nashville (major city half an hour to forty-five minutes away from us) going to see my orthopedist.  Okay, I'll admit it, we also stopped off to see my mother, but that wasn't as long of a visit.  It did give us a chance to see Miss Kitty (in case you might be wondering, yes, this is where Mister Kitten's name came from).  Miss Kitty is my brother David's cat.  But she can't live with my brother David because there is a ::shudder:: dog at his house (there have been other reasons before that... college, roommate's cats... and so on).  Miss Kitty is a Delicate Kitty of the South ::paw to forehead:: who is now about 15-16 years old (don't quote me!!).

Miss Kitty was rescued from underneath a local school building (our parents are both retired teachers) at the instigation of my brother David.  She was quite skittish and quickly became David's Cat.  Over the years she has deigned to permit feeding by my mother and dad, and now she has mellowed to the point of even allowing some petting from people other than David (read primarily my mother & dad, although other members of the family have been granted permission as well).  Miss Kitty is a delicate black & white long-hair.  She is absolutely gorgeous, assuming that you get a chance to see her. 

This has become a wee bit easier in the past year since she began sleeping in front of the living room heater.  It sits beside the couch and there is a comfy chair in front of it, making a neat corner.   Mother has put down a soft soft pillow and Miss Kitty lays herself down like a Victorian lady on a fainting couch.  It's sad for me in one way, to see her fading away, but on the other, so nice to see a cat who could have been left alone have such a wonderful loving home (and having been spayed!!  sorry... whole family are sticklers about that!).

Once I got home, I had a phone call to make, and then one last therapist to see (discharge day!  whoot!).  But it was sooooo exhausting that Mister Kitten and Star put me to sleep.  No!  Really!!  I didn't want to go to sleep.  Nah-uh.  They made me take that nap!!  I woke up when my husband got home to see Zaphoid laying on top of me, which never happens, so I know it was a catspiracy!!


Thursday, February 18, 2010

Okay Mom, that's enough...

I have now had every cat in the house come up and nudge me.  Thomas and Star have both tried to get onto the keyboard.  This says to me that I need to shut down the computer for a bit... maybe a long bit.  Star is sitting here staring at me.  They want me to get off of the computer "me-nnnnooooowwwww!"  Thomas has laid down on my mouse pad.  ::rolls eyes::  However, I did want to let everyone know that I managed to finish up the Cat Mommy/Daddy graphics that are in both Bumper Snickers and Caring Cats.  And Gray Cat has finally gotten into Kat's Kats!!  You can read all about StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty in my last blog.  He's the kitty that Gray Cat was based on because of his attitude.  I'm going to see if I can't do another blog about Emo Kitty, our Zaphoid Beeblebrox, who is still Emo.

Zaphy is my daughter's cat and she insists that he's not Emo, but she doesn't see him with his head laying just so.  I'm waiting for him to get a beret & start reciting bad poetry.



Starry Starry Night

Last night, my husband and I were lying in bed watching late night television.  As we were laying there, Star came wandering up my husband's side of the bed and lay down beside him.  Per his usual habit, my husband began petting Star and saying, "I don't like you very much."  Star purred.  Now, you need to know a wee bit about Star at this point. 

Star was an abandoned kitty.  My ex-husband found Star and his sister on a walking trail when they were about four weeks old, covered in encrusted tuna and fleas.  He brought them home, holding them both cupped in his hands as he came into the bedroom to see me.  "You're going to be mad at me."  "Why would I be mad at you??"  He came in far enough for me to see the kittens.  "We found them on the trail."  (He'd been walking with a friend of ours.)  "Oh my goodness!!  You'd best get them washed & dried quickly and have someone run down to see if Petco is open to get kitten milk and two bottles.  If they aren't, check Krogers."  "You're not mad?"  "Why on Earth would I be mad??  They're babies!!"  (Although he should have known better, I was well known in that neighborhood as the Woman Who Takes in Strays.)

At any rate, Star's sister never became civilized until she went to live on my ex's parent's farm where she bonded with his father.  Star, on the other hand, became my ComputerKitty (the BitCat came from the fact that he was our eighth cat at that point, what can I say?  I picked them up & neutered them and never could find them other homes!) and to everyone else was the NinjaCat.  So, you have Star's background.  He's a bit wild.  But there he is, laying beside my husband being petted and purring whilst my husband says, "No, I don't like you one bit, not at all." (He sounds just like my dad who does the exact same thing.)

Then he picks Star up, still purring, and sets him on his chest.  Mind you, if I do this, Star will tolerate it half the time but often wriggles out and does the indignant dance.  But did Star do that with my husband??  My husband, who only feeds the cats in the morning and never gives them treats??  Oh no, my friends.  Instead, Star came up and touched nose to nose with him (it was soooooo sweet!!) and then relaxed back and just purrrrrred and purrrrrrred while my husband scritched and scratched crooning, "Oh no, I just don't like you.  No, don't like you one bit!  No, I don't!!"

I told him Star just didn't do that with anyone else but he didn't believe me.  In fact, Star spent all night at his feet and when Dale came up from checking his email to eat breakfast; Star leapt down from the bed to go hang out with him.  That's okay, I know Star will be back with me to make sure I don't overdo things once Dale goes to work.  Besides, that now gives him two cats to mug him.  ::grin::


  
Gray Cat is based on Star, even though Star is black with two white patches
(star on breast & belly button).  I didn't realize that I didn't have a plain picture
of Gray Cat in Just Kats!  Hmmmmmm.


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Busy Day...

Yesterday I spent a lot of time putting in some graphics in the shop that I'd forgotten about making.  (oops!)  Fortunately my kids were home from school which meant that none of the boys were inconvenienced in being let in from outside.  By the end of the day, I was actually tired and ready to turn over and sleep when bedtime came.  Mister Kitten, on the other hand, had other ideas.  It's been a while since he's been able to be Flop Cat on me because of my total knee replacement back in January.  So last night, just as I'm getting ready to turn over, ker-plunk!!!  Yep!  Flop Cat.  I was heart broken.  On one hand, I didn't want to move because he was ever so proud of himself for waiting patiently until I was well enough to handle him.  On the other hand, I was tired!  I let him stay for a minute or two and then I tried very hard to get him to come get on the body pillow beside me.  Alas, neither he nor Star came.  ::sigh::

Today I'm feeling like I've overdone it a bit and I've been noticing Mister Kitten staring at me.  I think the next time that he does that I'll put down the laptop and let Flop Cat have his way.  Oh.  What was I putting in?  ::chuckle::  Most of it was nine different cats saying "Bipolar... Next Mood Change in 5...4...3...2..." I just had this evile thought about someone going to a party wearing more than one t-shirt.  Each t-shirt having a different cat on it and the person going off into a private room and removing a shirt every so often.  Can you just imagine other people at the party starting to go, "What a minute!  You weren't wearing that..."  heh  heh heh  The next thing I knew I had nine designs.  I am a bad bad woman. 



Ask my cats!   (sorry, had to stop and pet Thomas)  I am sooooo mean!  There are times when I just won't empty the food bowls and fill them up with uberfresh food from the Big Bowl!  Bad, bad Cat Mommy!!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Yes, Thomas... I Love You!!

I'm sitting here working on moving some files from the CPU to the laptop.  Thomas pops up outside in the bedroom window where I have the shade up, so I call to my children (home from school because of snow) to let him inside.  Thomas evidently ran to get some food first (judging from timing) and then leapt up onto the bed.  He raced up to where I had my mouse on the bed to begin butting his head up on my hand.  "Looooooooove Mommy!!!  Looooooooove Mommmmmmy!!"  ::sigh::  "Yes, Thomas.  I love you."  I started petting him with the other hand.  Oh no.  That just wouldn't do, Thomas had to occupy all of my time and attention.  "Looooooooove Mommy!!!  Looooooooove Mommmmmmy!!"   "Yes, Thomas.  I love you."


Whose Bed Is This Anyway?? (and a rant)

This morning I was stretching my legs out and ended up having both of my big toes nipped simultaneously.  grrrrrrr  The cats aren't toooo bad about letting us have the bed during the day.  No, I take that back, Thomas believes that this is his bed.  If anyone gets up, Thomas will immediately come and lay down just below the pillows, stretching out to make his stake on the spot.  But at night, we have four cats who firmly believe the end of the bed belongs to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde.

In other news, on a forum I am on, there were two separate posts concerning service dogs.  Each post detailed at least three different situations where strangers came up and began petting the dogs or allowed children to throw themselves on the dogs loving them.  Now, if you're not familiar with service dogs, they are trained very carefully to help the people they work with to keep them safe and healthy.  But when they're working, and you can tell because they're wearing their jackets/vests/etc, they can not be distracted.  Especially if they are young or just out of training or still in training.  Many times a service dog needs to be trained after they get out of primary training to learn about the special needs of the person they are working with.



Okay, I admit it, this is a pet peeve of mine.  I was taught not to pet anyone's pet without asking them first.  I was told that I could admire the pet, but I had to address the owner, because you never know the temperament of the animal.  If you always follow this rule, you don't have to worry because you'd never address a service dog first anyway.  I taught this same rule to my children as well.  Along with the, "Put your hand out closed like a paw and let the dog sniff you first" "Put your hand out, fingers out, for a cat and let them sniff you first" but always always always ask the owner first.  Ummmm, is this a soapbox under me??

and now, a doggie t-shirt for anyone who might need it...


Monday, February 15, 2010

Can I Have My Feet Back??

Thus far this morning I have:
1. Fed the cats, this entailed putting all of the perfectly good food which was left in their bowls back into the Big Bowl* and then refilling the bowls (primarily with the same food that was in them beforehand).  If I had not done this, the cats would have starved to death in a dramatic scene reminiscent of Shakespeare (we have very well-read cats).
2. Let Thomas out into The Snow because he is brave enough and tough enough to take it.
3. Let Thomas back in from The Snow because he's not that tough.
4. Watch Mister Kitten dart out into The Snow and wonder how long it will take him to realize that this was a Big Mistake.
5. Finally figure out which door Mister Kitten has deigned to dash into the house from The Snow; because he is so paranoid and there was no other cat out to dash ahead of into the house.
6. Have my feet quietly and softly attacked by a Ninja Kitty.

Can I have my feet back now??



*The Big Bowl contains the Real Food.  All other food is stale and suspicious.  There is no telling what it might contain.  Mister Kitten is sure that it might just be poisonious.  Ergo, if there is a human available, it is always best to have the bowls refilled or refreshed with food from the Big Bowl.

Putting in Bumper Snickers!!

I've been working in making bumper stickers for the shop and finally they're going up!  I have them in their own section and if anyone communicates with me and says, "Gee!  I wish the rest of the store were like that!" then I'll switch things around.  ::wink wink nudge nudge say no more say no more::  At any rate, I'm going back to work resizing the little... bumper stickers.  I'll leave you with the link to the section where there are already some up!


 

I haven't gotten them all up yet because CafePress is fubaring.   Which makes me wonder if I should go to another company.  But everyone kept telling me "Oh Kat!  Please put 'x' up on CafePress!"  Opinion?  Hello??  Anyone out there??

Saturday, February 13, 2010

My Valentine

My husband and I are celebrating Valentine's Day because the kids are at their dad's house.  Which explains why I didn't post anything earlier.  So, in honor of Valentine's Day, and as my card for the heart of my heart and the soul of my soul; the man I had a crush on in high school, didn't connect with for nearly thirty years, and want to spend the rest of eternity with I post this for my Valentine...

 

You will always be my Valentine.
Love, Kat


Friday, February 12, 2010

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)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Evile Plan... or at least one of them

It's my goal to get the cats to the point where I can pull out the treat box and rather than being mugged by four sleek Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitties (the smallest of which weighs 11 pounds) that I'll be able to hand out treats one at a time.  muahahahahahahahahahaha!  My plan is coming together.  Last night there was only minimal shoving (most of it by Thomas) even when Zaphoid came in waaaaay late to the game.  ::wipes a tear from eye::  I'm so proud of my boys.


 
mousepad (other items available)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Seven!!

Not flies, nor giants, nor dwarfs.  Nay!  It's seven new graphics in the shop!  Two of them went into Occupational Cats; Touch My Caffeine... and Exhausted & Overworked! 

Then I reopened Medical Expressions and revamped it.  I had already finished up 99% of the graphics for these when I was reading Doctor Grumpy in the House this morning.  Between blog & response I was inspired to draw just onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne more graphic for this section.  ::stares innocently at the ceiling::  Actually, it's all Thomas' fault.  No, really!!  If he or Star had helped me get to sleep last night, I might not have been in this kind of mood all day!  Howsoever, should you happen to go look, I hope you enjoy.  Regardless of your opinion, I'd love to hear it!!



 
white t-shirt (more items available!)

Here, May I Get That For You?

Star likes doors.  No, I mean Star likes doors.  We don't have conventional door knobs on our doors, but rather door levers.  This makes it much easier for Ninja Kitties to open doors.  Howsoever, Star had been defeated by our closet door.  Alas & alack (with much heavy kitty sighing, putting up of kitty paw to kitty forehead, and throwing of kitty self onto kitty cast iron fainting couch), he had been unable to open our sliding closet door.

You notice that I use the word "had".  ::head:desk::  Yes, it's true.  Star has defeated the closet door.  He was scratching on it for some time but we would just tell him to stop and off he would bound (to return later... in secret).  But finally... one day... he hooked his paw just...so... and voilà!  The door was open!  He bounded into the closet!!  Only to be caught and thrown out ignominiously onto his face whilst being told, "NO Star!!"  This did not deter a healthy young ninja kitty.  Nor did it deter the humans occupying the room, especially late at night when the sound of a healthy young ninja kitty getting into the closet woke them up!  Finally a small folding chair was put on the side of the outside sliding door in hopes of preventing our explorer.

Crash!!  Bang!!  ::head:desk::  He's opened it again two or three times now and then stopped.  But last night I woke up to him acting like a tennis shoe of mine was a rabbit.  Funny.  I don't remember leaving that one out.

If all goes well, this should be up in the shop this afternoon or by tomorrow evening.  I'm thinking under Caring Cats.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Who's That Knocking at Our Window?

"He's furry and a big pain in the a**" is what my husband just sang.  This morning it was Thomas.  You see, our vociferous cats (yes, even Mister Kitten, even though he doesn't have the classic Siamese voice)  have been trained to "knock" at the windows and doors to get our attention when they want into the house rather than scratch on the screens.  Now granted that this doesn't always work, but they are getting better.  So when you hear knocking at the window at our house, you immediately check for errant cats.

This means that my husband had to slip downstairs (split-level house) to let whomever was out.  Being half-asleep he wasn't sure who did what, although he did know that Zaphoid went Out, and that the skunk smell was back.  Our street backs up to about ten to fifteen acres of farmland (okay, they just grow hay) so we have a lot of 'critters' around.  Oddly enough, we're also within walking distance of a Krogers shopping complex.  Go figure. 

Back to Zaphoid, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but Zaphoid doesn't care for kitty litter.  This means that we're constantly letting him in and out while we're awake.  This also means that he does his kitty best to hold it near our waking time so he can go to the "bathroom".  He has been known to wake me up for this purpose.  "Mom?  Mom?  Mom!  Mom!  Mooooo-ooooom!   Meeeeeee-oooooooom!  Gotta Go!" rather like a small child learning to potty.  Zaphoid is probably our most vocal cat so far as his own needs are concerned.

He is also known as Emo Kitty.  Poor Emo Kitty.  He often jumps up on the bed and when you ask him what he wants, he doesn't know.  He doesn't head out toward the food or the door.  He isn't making a "I'm sick, please take me to the vet." meow.  He talks and talks to you while you pet him until your arms fall off (and hopefully give him a good brushing as well).  Then he either gets up on one of the pillows or down at the end of the bed and lays with his head on his paw looking like a black poet.  I swear.  The picture of Emo Kitty comes straight from one of Zaphoid's favorite poses.

Sometimes I expect him to put on a black beret, start snapping his fingers or beating a drum, and reciting poetry about death, doom, and despair.  He lays his head over the side of the bed with the most worried look (and will purr if you pet him while he's doing this!).  When he first started doing this, I took him to the vet.  Nope!  Perfectly fine, absolutely gorgeous (all of my Tims can con the vet techs out of a gazillion treats! ::grin::), and completely healthy.  He's just our Emo Kitty.

 
journal (more items available)
wondering if I should switch this to b/w

Monday, February 8, 2010

FYI - "Family" in the Shop

Just a note to let you know that there is a new section up in the shop!  It's called Family and contains graphics for New Moms/Dads, Brothers/Sisters, It's a Boy/Girl, and tons of other things!  If you've got a new baby coming, here, or need a great shower/baby or big brother/sister gift then this is the place to go!  Now to figure out what I'm going to do next... but first... lunch!!

 
okay, here's the whole enchilada!
and the most humorous graphic of the bunch

Excuse Me, Whose Bed is This??

I like foot warmers, really I do, but last night was beyond ridiculous.  Every time I tried to stretch my legs out straight, and admittedly they are long, I kept finding obstructions which would not move.  These said obstructions were also made of lead.  No, really!  Every cat, except perhaps save Thomas, had decided to sleep at the bottom of our bed all in a row.  This forces my husband and I to sleep with our feet scrunched up.  Now normally this is not a problem for me as I've always tended to sleep in a semi-fetal position.  Howsoever, since my total knee replacement I've rather preferred to have that leg out straight at night.  HA!

As for Thomas, his role is to sleep in between my husband and I, rather like an errant toddler.  And like an errant toddler he stretches out.  A lot.  If you have children over the age of two, you are familiar with the ability of the child to knock you out of the bed.  Thomas behaves just like a two year old.  No, really!!  In fact, one night I just barely managed to catch myself before I hit the floor.  My husband has not been so lucky, but his daughter is 23, while my children are 16 & 13 (alright, he'll be 14 next month...where does the time go?!?).

I just wish my children, who love and adore the cats when they are awake, would just let them into their bedrooms.  It would significantly lessen my bed load at night.  Maybe we should look into that king size bed, regardless of size & monetary limitations!

 
mousepad (other items available)

It's waaaaaaaay too late...

So why am I up??  Because when I checked my google stats there were referrals from Dr. Grumpy's blog.  Now, I didn't actually bounce up and down and go running up and down the block screaming at the top of my lungs about it because:

a. It would make my legs hurt.
b. The weather wasn't the world's best.
c. I had absolutely no idea how that happened.
d. I'm just not that kind of person.
e. All of the above.

But you have to understand that Dr. Grumpy's blog is one that was called to my attention by one of my very dearest friends (waves at Heather) who has even now decided to go back to school to see if she has what it takes to become a doctor herself.  I know that she already has both the empathy and the cutting wit (we've gotten drunk together at medieval events) so what she's got to figure out is if she can take the intense study and hours.  This blog kicks butt and takes name.  If you haven't read it yet, you should.  Go ahead.  I'll wait.  ::hums tunelessly::

Back yet??  Okay.  At any rate, all day this graphic has been rattling around in my head.  Although actually I would be more accurate in saying 'again', since I've had this idea before, but it was Winter Holiday time and I couldn't manage it then.  Family graphic interruptus and I stopped to work on the graphic below.  I'm in the middle of reorganizing the shop & putting up a new section for folx having babies.  No one ever writes, no one calls, no one comes to visit on Easter ::wipes tear::  well, the cats are always wanting food from the Big Bowl... but truthfully, keep an eye out and let me know what you think of how the categories are looking and if anything has been taken off that makes you go, "NoooOOOooo!  I was planning to get that when my paycheck comes in!!"  Vielen Dank!

 
White T-shirt (more items available!)
Whoot!  I can now take PayPal!!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Mugging or The Saga of the Pulled Pork Sandwich

As you may recall, my husband brought home two plates of goodies home from our friend's birthday party last night.  One of these plates contained pulled pork BBQ made by another friend who is part of a crew which has taken 4th in the Memphis BBQ competition.  So for lunch today, I made sandwiches.  mmmmmmmmmm  Because of the weather (okay and the fact my kids are gone this weekend), I'm a wee bit tired, which meant I ended up eating lunch in bed.  Cats like being on the bed.  Treats often come from the bed (they live in the headboard).

"Whatcha eating mom??"
"This is not for you"
"But it smells gooooooood!"
"You may not have any of this.  This is my sandwich."
"Mooo-ooooom.  Please?!  Cats neeeeeeed it!!"
"No."
::sigh::  "Cats have treats??"
"No."
::sigh::  "Okay." ::henchman whispers into ear::
::narrows eyes at cat::
::thinking::  "Cats lick the plate?"

 
Need an apron for the grill?? Or looking for something
else, we got tons of thing for everyone!!  No humans on the barbie please!!

You are Getting Sleepy... Very Sleepy...

My husband went to a friend's birthday party last night and returned around 11:00.  When he returned home he had two plates full of goodies for me, one of which was three different kinds of birthday cake.  He got into bed and immediately Thomas hopped up to perch on his tummy.  Suddenly, huge Siamese Cat eyes were staring into my husband's head. 
"You realize that Thomas is staring at you."
"I know that Thomas is staring at me." 
"I wonder what Thomas wants?" 
"It's Thomas, there is no telling what Thomas wants."

on the other side...

"You are getting sleepy... very sleepy...  
You will get up out of bed.
You will get the BBQ out of the refrigerator and put it down on the kitchen floor..."

 
BBQ apron! (other items available!)

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Whoooooot!!!

CafePress is taking PayPal now!!!

Now available on all CafePress sites (US, UK, CA, AU) and CafePress shops, customers will be given the option to pay for their purchase using PayPal during check out.

I can't imagine why I might be excited about this!!! ::grin::

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!)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

To bite or not to bite...

Mister Kitten has been feeling cranky and thus biting a bit.  Now Mister Kitten is Corwyn's "cat" (cats don't actually belong to anyone but they do tend to bond with one or more humans in the house if there are more than one); now Mister Kitten spends most of his time in my room, especially at night, since Corwyn closes his door and doesn't allow any cats inside.  But Mister Kitten does sleep on Corwyn's bed during the day and Corwyn looks for him as soon as he hits the house, before hitting the computer.

So here is Mister Kitten, biting everyone in sight, so Something Must Be Done!!  Out came the treats and I began teaching Corwyn how to tame a cat.  Soon he was doing it all by himself.  Today he has been randomly dropping by Mister Kitten and correctly petting him, saying, "Good boy, Mister Kitten!  Good boy!"  We've only had two nips today, as opposed to two an hour or more just yesterday.  I'm very proud of my son.  Yet another generation of cat tamers on the way!!