Rainy Wednesday

Three Cats on the Bed!

"She's letting us on the bed! I mean like seriously. 
My Young Mommy is sitting here on Mommy's
bed next to me cause Nova let me on the bed!
And Star's on the bed too!"

"Finally! I can sleep with my Mom once again!
Nova is laying there staring at me and no hissing!
Progress has been made! And Zaphoid's on the bed as well!"

 

"What are you stinky boys talking about? The only reason I'm
letting you on My Bed is because Mom gives me treats if I don't
hiss or growl at you!  And that Yellow Cat is still the most stinky!
He's not allowed up here!"

"She let me up on the bed to get my treats but I'm not taking

any chances! I'm staying up in Zaphy's human's room!

She doesn't come up there!"

So things are progressing faster than Mom expected.(Me too!)

Breaking News!! Tragedy Strikes Dad's Upright Bass!!!

 "This is Dad's upright bass 

(as opposed to his electric bass or his acoustic bass)."

 "This is Dad playing his bass at his last gig.  See how happy he is??  Dad loves his bass.  He has had his bass for a long long time.  They make beautiful music together (well, so does his other basses, his keyboards, his... but that's beside the point!).  We even like it!"

"But today, we got tragic news.  Daddy's bass (whose name we can never remember how to spell... hey!  we're cats!!) got hurted!!  Her neck got broken!!  Dad is very very sad.  He doesn't know if she can be fixed.  If she can, it will be at least $300 that Dad doesn't have.  So the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde would like to appeal to all  kitties who love music.  If you has a green paper or two to spare, please hit the donate bar to the left of this post.  Or if you needs to get pressies for purrthdays or holidays, consider buying from our shop.  If you don't have any green papers, we would appreciate all the purrs and prayers you can spare for our Daddy & his bass.  Daddy has been a musician all of his life and he & mommy first met in high school in band (he played trumpet, she was flag core) and Varsity Choir (he was tenor, she was 2nd soprano).  Mommy shoos him off to band practice three or four nights a week because she knows how important music is to him.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks you.

Sir Thomas of Snuggle

Zaphoid Beeblebrox

StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty

Mister Kitten

Me-om!! You Can't Put Up THOSE Pictures!!

"Mean ole' mommy took me to the VET today!!  She put on my pretty black harness but i snucked it off in the car.  Hahahahaha!  But she just put my leash on my collar.  Mean old mommy.  The vet took me back to weigh me and take my temperature (blech!) and then they shaved my beautiful fur!!!  Mommy had looked to bite wounds when first noticed the bump, since that's a common reason for cat bumps but she didn't find any.  But boy did that vet!!  He said the pus was hard too!  Icky icky poo poo is what I say.  (Although I do like this vet office better than the other ones)"

"Me-ooooom!!  Did you have to put up this picture too???  I'll be taking antibiotics for the next 7 days.  The vet said he could give me a shot but it was more 'spensive".    Momma smiled and said pills are fine, I've been pilling cats for almost all my life.  [Zaphy's eyes widen, "Did you know mom's gonna be 50 next year??" "Stop interrupting me, I'm on a roll here."]  So I have to have a pill every day and something called heat packs.  bleck!  I bet mom won't let me outside either!!  And what's more, if I'm not better in a week, I have to go back!!  They didn't even have greenies for mommy to get for me.  Or pernicious flea stuff.  ::sigh::  Silly ole vet."

This is in the shop but I do need some advice from other Cat Moms & Dads.  The vet recommended head packs.  Has anyone actually had luck with this?  And if so, how?!  I've taken care of over 100 rescued cats in my life and never had to deal with this!!  (yeah, I'm pretty amazed as well!) 

So sorry this wasn't up yesterday!!  We're having internet problems!!

StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty Will See the Vet on Monday

"No, really, I'm fine mom.  I don't really need to see the vet."

I had thought I'd noticed a small bump on Star's spine but it wasn't always there and he never reacted to touching it so I wasn't that worried.  Until last night.  My husband and I both noticed not only a large bump (yes, large 2" x 2") on his spine about 2" down from his shoulders.  Then he moved while we were petting him (still no reaction to be petted or poked) and we saw another small bump.  I called our vet (they are open on Saturday until 1... go Brogli!!)  They are the only vet I use when I've lived in Smurfreesboro.  Part of this has to do with the fact that besides that fact that they rock, but when a friend of mine called her vet when her Queen was in trouble and delivering he told her the cat had just gotten into some beer.  Riiiiiight.  I told her to call my vet.  He told her to met him at the office and proceeded to stay up all night trying to save momma & the litter.  Mom had kidney failure but the kittens made it.  He was so apologetic.

"Hey!!  I thought you were talking about me?!"

::sigh::  The vet was booked city today.  Not unusual because even though they stay open until 7 there are still a lot of people who work during the week and need Saturday  appointments.  OTH I know that he starts feeling punk or otherwise gets worse before his appointment and someone will help.  The hard part is that the kids' dad still hasn't been able to find a job yet.  ::sigh::  I'm praying that a) he isn't too sick b) it won't take too many green papers (we're already on plastic for the month) and c) my ex will find a job soon.

Please send purrs and prayers for StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty and if you happen to have a green paper or two to spare, we have a PayPal button on the left.  Thank-you SO much!!

"Okay Star and every other kitty needing purrs, this candle is for you!"

Who Are You Calling Zaphoid??

This morning I was out running a quick errand when my husband called me.  Oddly enough, when I answered he didn't say anything.  I hung up, thinking it was a bad connection and called back.  No answer.  I tried again.  No answer again.  So I tried the home phone.  My husband was surprised because his phone was charging or on his belt.  He went upstairs to look and called me back.  It seems that his phone was on the floor and Zaphoid was 'innocently' laying on his pillow.  Now I'm used to Thomas changing the channels.  He does it all the time.  In fact, he's taught Mr. Kitten to do it.  StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty prefers to play with my mouse or my laptop or the keyboard on the mainframe.

"Do not adjust your controls,

we control the horizontal,

we control the vertical..."

Treats in the Morning! Treats in the Evening! Treats in the Afternoon??

You always know when it is time to get up at our house because the members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde come up to you one by one (or two by two, three by three, and rarely four by four!) to remind you that it is Time for Morning Treats!!  This necessitates mom getting out the treat bottle, since I put treats into an large, empty supplement jar that is fairly easy for me to open but is cat-proof (thus far).  Now there are certain rules for getting treats.

Rule #1 - You must sit politely to get your treat(s).

[generally Da Boys get 1-2 at any treat time]

 "See?  I'm sitting all the way down mom!  No, really!"

Rule #2 - No pushing, shoving, or trying to take someone else's treat.  If you do, you have to go last.

Mister Kitten - "I didn't see anyone doing that!"

Zaphoid - "It wasn't me!!"

Rule  #3 - Thou shall not stare at the treat drawer in an effort to make mom give you treats in the middle of the day (even if this works half the time because you are soooOOOooo cute!).

"You are getting sleeeeeepy.  Very sleeeeeepy.
You want to give me treeeeeeeats!"

"Lookee!  We helped mom put up all of the 'This is my costume!'s and the first of the Trick or Treat section yesterday!!  Wheeeee!  Oh wait, there's a lot more to come!  Oh dear, and then Winter Holidays.  Hmmmm, we just might need a nap now.  Sorry mom!"

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!!

Full Day!!

I spent the day at the doctor's office and then waaaaay too long spending over $200 at the grocery.  Eating heart healthy is expensive!!  I came home just before the children did and had them put up the groceries.  Once they were done and I'd had a futile discussion with them about really needing to cut the grass & bagging it.  Riiiiiiight.  They are both teenagers.  Ergo, this is unlikely to happen.  ::sigh::  My daughter is doing homework and for some reason my son doesn't want to do the physical work even though he will get money.  My husband called just as I was about to consider looking up the gypsies.  So off I went to the chiropractor and a massage.  When I came back, my usual greeter was waiting for me.

StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty greets me when I get home...

He checks to make sure that I'm okay.  Then he makes sure that I get into the house with no problem.  The funny thing I noticed today is that if he does something he should not.  I said "Star!" and he ignored me.  Then I went, "StarWalker!" and he immediately looked at me, stopped what he was doing, and began walking by my side.  As we got to the front walk I went toward my lilac bush (which is still a baby bush) and he looked up at me and trilled.  I told him what I was doing and he waited on the walk until I came back.  Then we went in together.  Now I've had everyone but Mister Kitten come up and demand something from me!!  Oh my!  What a full day!!

Where's that Cherry Dr. Pepper?? (goes to mug)

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.

Where oh where does ComputerKitty sit??

So with the advent of the laptop, Star has been trying to find a place to hang out in his official capacity as BitCat the ComputerKitty.  I have a very large mousepad which I utilize when making graphics.  I have set this on top of one of those lap desks.  Star has decided that half of this will do quite nicely.  Partly, I am sure, because he can supervise the mouse.  ::grin::  He is sitting there right now.  I'm hoping to eventually train him to sit on a pillow, but I'm not sure how long that will take.  Wish me luck!!

 

[Star, it's hard to update when you are licking my fingers.  

'Yes mom but your fingers still smell like treeeeeaaaaats!]

Treats!!

Last night my husband brought in two different flavors of cat treats when he came home.  Noses lifted, ears perked, eyes brightened... oh, and the cats were excited too.  ::grin::  No, seriously, as soon as Corwyn had opened the chosen package (the other being carefully put away) all four members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde were suddenly on my bed alert and ready to snack.

It was all we could do to parcel out treats to each of them.  We made sure that each of the boys got four or so of the treats.  The hardest part is making sure that they don't eat someone else's treat!  I find it amazing that I can open the small (quiet) tupperware where I put the treats and have a cat that I know was downstairs suddenly appear on my bed 'paw out'  saying, "Please, Mum, may I have some?"

Star is still trying to figure out how to be a computer kitty when I'm working on a laptop in bed.  At the moment he's at the end of the bed, facing the door, in guard position.  hmmmmmmmm

Star is Helping... and Oberon in Trouble

First Star jumped up on the back of the computer chair.  Now he's ensconced on my left arm rest, purring like crazy and demanding scritches.  I was wrong about being done with the inside/outside Winter Holiday cards.  So I'm going to see if I can't get those done & start on the other images.  Oooops!  There goes Star!  The trash collector just hit our house and the noise was a weeeeee bit much for him.

In other news, last night I had the joy of getting up on a ladder (and trust me, ladders and I don't get along and I do not want to marry them) on the deck in the back of the house and rescue Oberon aka the Kitten (who is 3 and weighs 15 pounds... at least!).  He wanted to be rescued... but didn't want to be rescued.  And unlike the other cats, he couldn't be coaxed to use the tree routed by himself.  ::sigh::  So there I was, on the second step of the ladder... only a wee bit of fence between me and about six feet of yard... with my knees hurting mind you because of the windy weather, make that serrrrrrrrrious windy weather... trying to grab a cat.

I finally caught hold of his sweet spot (the spot that mother cats use to carry kittens, works wonders on many adults as well) and snagged a suddenly OMG I'm Swinging in the AIR I'm Going to Diiiiiiieeeeeee! cat.  Not being an idiot, I just left the ladder where it was and held onto Mr. I'm Trying My Very Best to GET DOWN NEEEEEOOOOOWWWW™ until we were in the house and near the food bowls.  Cats need to learn that Mommy is good at rescue.  heh.  I seriously wish I could afford someone to take down that tree.  ::narrows eyes::

Ah, Thomas has entered the building... well, at least the room... on the bed... his favorite place to be.  After all... he's The King™.

Breast Cancer Awareness Section Done!!

Whoot!!  The Breast Cancer Awareness section is done!  I've got to go run errands now, like picking up a tire that was a bad boy (not as bad as the two lugs that broke off but those have already been fixed and only for $25 thank goodness!!), getting some more groceries ::sigh::, and picking up meds... which will be the most costly.

Star has been busy at work here with me, providing much computer tech support curled up in the shotgun chair next to my desk.  He did look up and yawned at me once when I came back in from getting water and just now he sneezed.  Work, work work!!  ::grin::  As for me, it's time to look for socks, shoes, and handwarmers.  Yes, my hands are starting to freeze off once again, yea, verily, yea.  It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it!!

How to Get a Cat to Cuddle With You or Blatent Evile Bribery

Last night, once again, I had a StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty curled up on my lap as I was getting ready to go to sleep.  IOW I was laying down reading in bed and getting sleepy.  Tenuously he came creeping up my legs over the bedcovers.  Now since moving here, Star has become more easily startled.  Mind you, he loved the space with a pink purple passion.  There are Stairs From Which To Bat Humans™, Hallways To Race Down™, and Many Fieldmice To Play With™ (that's another story).  Oh, and he likes the new, taller kitchen chairs.  They make it easier for him to lay in wait and Grab Humans By The Arm™ (remember, this is also Ninja Kitty).

Howsoever, he has also become quite shy of humans and startles easier.  Whenever I get home though, there is Star, waiting to greet me.  I'll open the car door and there Must Be Pettings™.  He is more my cat than anyone else's cat.  He's been sleeping at my feet, but I've missed having a cat curled up with me since Thomas has been neglecting his duties.  So when he did sleep with me the night before last I wanted him to repeat the performance.  But he was a bit skittish last night.  Thus, I had to use one of my infamous evile tools.

I pulled out the treat container.  It's a very small tupperware container that is filled with cat treats (which reminds me, that one needs refilling asap!).  So I got myself positioned on my side, which is my preferred sleeping position, as opposed to my back.  Then, I opened the treat container.  Fortunately none of the other cats were around.  More about that later.

Star perked up, I mean come on, this is not a stupid cat.  He comes creeping over the body pillow and I feed him three treats on the quilt covering the pillow and close the container.  While he is thinking about whether he should stay I give him some pettings.  Then I carefully open the container and pull out two more treats which I feed him out of my hand.  I put the container up and settle myself down while giving him some more pettings.  He thinks about it and decides that this isn't such a bad place to go to sleep.

Now I'm the type of person that when a cat is sleeping beside me I'm like another littermate.  I don't move.  I woke up about 6ish after going to bed at 24:00 (that's midnight for those who don't use a 24 hour clock, sorry, I'm a Navy brat raised on one!).  I've been sleeping about 8 hours although I'd been sleeping about 6 before I moved.  But beginning to think about it, I wonder if I sleep better/deeper when I sleep with a cat beside me, because I don't feel tired this morning.  At any rate, Star backed up as soon as I moved.  I tried moving to my other side but he didn't think much of that idea because my husband started moving.

Eeeek!  Nooooo!  Yeah, Star was having none of that.  He retreated to the bottom of the bed.  I tried to do the evile & vicious treat trick with him again but alas and alack... it's a horse!  it's an elephant!  no!  it's Oberon!  the 15 pound, 3 year old "kitten! galumphing his way into the bedroom and nosing his way up and onto the bed going "Treats?!  Treats?!  I like treats!!  Can I have some treats, mommy?  I've been a good kitty!  Really, I have!!"  ::sigh::  So much for that idea.  I might as well get up.  Ergo, I got up, took my meds, fed the cats (one must know the priorities after all!), and made coffee.

I've got the computer up, checked email, lj, facebook, written this, and almost finished my one cup of coffee.  Now I'll go grab my shower and then come back to work on putting in the Wicked Kittes/Women and the Magic Cats/Men.  If I get that done today I'll start working on Christmas Cats.  muahahahahahahaha!  I promised a friend of mine that I absolutely would have cards for Christmas.  And knowing how early some of my kith & kin start buying things for Christmas I figure I'd better get to work neow!  ::grin::  And yes, I promise to tell the story of the field mouse later.