Learning Supr Skrt Ninja Skills!!

 "The first Supr Skrt Ninja Power I learned was

stealing dad's hair bands off of his bedside table."

 "Then I learned how to lay in wait for my stinky

brother Knives to come by and pester me."

 "It is very very important for a Ninja to wheedle treats

from Feeders.  Treats help us stay strong.  No, really!!"

 "Learning Supr Sekrt Ninja Skills make you really thirsty.  I love

the new fountain mom got with the prize we won!  It not only

bubbles but it's very Zen looking.  This is in keeping with everyone

but my stinky brother Knives having so much oriental blood in us.

I have been talking and talking and talking to everyone this morning

(but mom still won't let me out even when I said 'out'!  Mean ole' mommy!).  I've also been exercising, running up and down and all around.  Whenever one of my brothers is in the way I jump over them, really really high, and sometimes I somersault in midair too!!  I am becoming a Most Excellent Ninja Kitty!!"

"Hey Star?  What does mom mean by this??

Do you think she'll get us the blankie??"

Yesterday Was Busy!!

First I went to the pain clinic.  A week early.  ::head:laptop::  Which actually didn't turn out too bad because I was able to ask them about getting an Allegra prescription for the itching I've had since switching from Lyrica to Keppra.  They didn't do that but I called my pcp and by luck they had a 1300 appointment (the first appointment that isn't until next week was at 1145) so I hung out in the parking lot talking with my mom.  I didn't see my pcp but a doctor who is helping out and will fill in for her when she takes a vacation next month.  We talked about a concern so I got an ekg & chest x-ray, all good!  I just heard from the office & have an neuro appointment at Vandy early in the morning which works well since I have a near lunchtime appointment with my pdoc.  Whoot!  I thought my daughter had a make-up test that afternoon so I went straight to the school, calling just as the bell rang, hoping to catch my son before he got on the bus (both kids hate & loathe the bus but I don't have the energy to pick them up everyday).  It turned out that she didn't have a test so we all went to get flu shots and then home again, home again, jiggity jig!!

"I am soooo glad that mom finally let me out!!  My bumps have gotten smaller and are going away.  I told her I just needed to get outside!!  I'm back to sleeping on the bed at dad's feet but I'm not really getting up close to mom, even for treats!  I don't think she's going to pill me again but I'm going to take any chances for awhile."

"Well, not only do we have Pernicious Fleas, but I'm having to take Hairball Remedy!!  Okay, okay, it actually doesn't taste bad at all.  And I just hate hairballs!!!" 

"My Feeder and I enjoyed watching the NCIS premiere last night!!

I'm also glad he got his flu shot.  Do you think it will make the Pernicious Fleas go away??"

Thomas says, "This is one of my bestest friends who was the second or third members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde.  His name was Nicodemus the Evile Anti-Koala, aka Thief Cat.  Whenever mom & our ex-dad moved they would find stashes of the things Nicky would take and hide.  He also really liked crackers (but especially saltines).  If mom or our ex-dad left them on the table, Nicky would hunt them.  He'd sneak up (we are Ninjas after all!) and then grab a cracker, swoosh!  Then he'd got to a corner and nibble on the cracker just like a squirrel!!  Nibbling round and round until it was allllllll gone.  Mom says he had more Burmese blood in him than Siamese.  Nicky crossed the bridge in our last house purring on her chest.  We all came up to say good-bye and gave him purrs, head butts, & grooming and made sure the house was quiet for him."

"There are lots of poses of this but I  like this one.

It makes me think of teenage kittens."

PS - Please keep sending purrs & prayers for Bruce my ex's cat.  Also, he has three interviews this week.  We are all crossing our paws!!

Star Like Treats? Naaaaaaaah...

This picture makes Star look just like he did as a kitten... well... if you didn't have the size references that is!

"I don't suppose that those are treats, are they??"

"I've been a very very very good kitty."

"I do!  I do!  I do think those are kitty treats!!"

"Mom.  Oh Mommmmmeeeee!!  I love you!!  You know I do!"

"Time to clean up.  hmmmm, if I do a good job,
will I get more treats??"

"Ah, time to sleep off the treats."

This is the kitty based off of Star... who is always interested in... everything.
Hey!  He's a Ninja!!

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.

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.

Anniversary , the naming of Cat Groups, and Hunting for Kittens or would that be...

Yesterday was my third anniversary.  My husband brought me roses and I put cards all over the house.  The kitchen, the bathroom, his dresser, the place where he hangs his jeans, his computer, his pillows.  No, I am not the card fairy.  ::whistles tunelessly and stares innocently at the ceiling::  He made us dinner; steak with
béarnaise sauce, broccoli, and baked potato.  A lovely wine and a chocolate jello I had not incountered before which tasted like a mousse.  mmmmmmmmmm  The kids were banned from the bedroom whilst we were feasting, although my son acted as waiter when I as being served (oh yes, I forgot the salad of my favorite green... spinach... mmmmmm).  We ended up being joined by Star.

Later in the evening, Oberon got into the act.  We call these two the 'Commodore Kitties' when they hang out together.  Vanderbilt University's (in Nashville, TN) colors are black and gold.  So, given a black cat and a orange tending toward gold cat... well... what else would one call them??  When the three eldest cats are together they are Tres Gattos Ombres (don't ask me, it's my husband's fault!).  Of course, these are the three who triangulated the mouse one day.

I don't recall if I've told that story.  Here's what happened;  we came outside one day to find Thomas sitting and staring intently.  About a foot away, his brother Zaphoid was also staring intently facing in the same direction.  Then there was Star, yes, you guessed it.  Star was also staring the same way.  All three cats were in a perfect equilateral triangle, staring at the center.  In the center was a field mouse.  First, it would dart one way... ooops!  There's a cat.  Then it would dart another way... ooops!  There's a cat.  Then it would dart another way... ooops!  There's a cat.  You could tell by the flicker of their tails and the set of their mouths (btw all three Tims were standing, not crouching) that they were quite amused about this predicament.

Now, I was outside for quite awhile and this went on... and on... and on.  In fact, I'm not sure how long it went.  My boys can play with Things They Consider to be Toys™ for hours.  ::sigh::  At least they didn't bring this one inside!  The worst time they did that was when Oberon was a kitten.  No, really!!  Evidently all of the Tims felt that it was imperative that they teach Oberon to hunt.  So they would bring in prey that... wasn't quite... gone yet.

This is because all of the Elder Cats™ (including the late Quigley whom we still miss, Tanis didn't get into the act) are at least half Siamese.  Siamese cats were bred to be temple guards.  Because of this, they were all kept in one room during the day; Toms, Queens, and kittens.  One can not have the Toms eating the kittens as they would do in the wild.  Ergo, the Siamese were bred to help take care of the kittens.  I remember my grandmother's cat being whacked out when she had a litter by a Siamese cat who was rather put out when she wouldn't let him help with the litter!!

At any rate, being Siamese, means that whenever a cat with Siamese blood encounters a kitten, their first instinct is to take care of it.  That means bathing it, making sure it's eating right, giving it toys to play with, playing with it; and, of course, teaching it to hunt.  ::rolls eyes::  Which explains why we spent to much time going, "Take that back where you found it!!" or some such.  Zaphy was the only one who wasn't that good at understanding that, although I believe I've trained that a bit better into him.  It's only taken five years or so.  ::rueful grin::  As it turned out, Oberon doesn't care for hunting, even after his tutelage (private lessons being given by Star).

Now, things are back to normal; whatever normal is around our house.  Oberon still trys to see if he can flop on someone.  The Boys (Thomas & his brother Zaphoid) usually disappear for the night.  Star spends his days with me, no matter where I am; oh wait, he tends to do that at night as well.  Hmmmmm, does that make him a NinjaBodyguard as well as a ComputerKitty??  hmmmmmmmm  Oberon has actually taken to flopping on my husband (or beside him).  Of course, Dale pets him and goes, "I don't like cats.  I don't like you.  I wonder how big a pot we'd need to cook you in." etc.  All the while Dale is scritching the cat and Oberon is purring like there is no tomorrow.  ::chuckles::  This is exactly like my dad.

Inward & Outward, Upward & Onward!

Okay, another four cat night.  This morning I woke up because Star began climbing up Mt. Mommy Knee™.  Now this would have been okay, except for one thing.  Star's claws haven't been trimmed in far too long.  Ergo, when that first paw tentatively hit my knee it was not a soft, gentle paw.  Nay, brothern and sistern, it was a veritable stiletto.  A rapier piercing my knee.  There was only one thing to do in such a situation.

Star was scooped up as quickly as possible.  Ninja Kitties don't like this.  But it had to be done.  Whilst holding the squirming eight-armed demon, I managed to get the clippers from my bedside table.  My husband woke up and realized immediately what was going on.  I asked for help and he provided the demon-holding necessary for me to begin clipping Star's scimitars.  I indicated at one point that grabbing him by the fur between his shoulder blades would be helpful (just as a mother cat does, this doesn't work on all cats).  I finished and then made Star stay while I got out treats.  Lots of treats.  Many many many (make that many) treats.  Which no one else got to have.

I did this to help him remember that it's okay to get your claws clipped and that mom's bed is not a dangerous place.  Star is not only a Ninja Cat but he's still a wee bit skittish.  Remember that he was rescued at four weeks old having been abandoned.  You have to be extra careful with him.  Uhoh!  Sound from the kitchen.  I'd better see what they're up to now!  Oberon has taken to getting up on the kitchen table.  Teenagers.  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde is well named!!