Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas to all my kitty and fluffy friends and their beans!

I'll be back blogging at the end of the week. Hope you all enjoy your holidays!!!

Thanks Bubbles!!!

Wow! Our Secret Paws presents arrived! They actually arrived last Friday, but Mom was out of town and then took her sweet time uploading the pictures. Fortunately she took lots of pictures. When we got the box we saw that Bubbles was our secret paw! He did such a great job and we want to make sure we thank him lots! Here is how it all happened:

First Harlie jumped right in and took over as she tends to do. I had to wait my turn.

She really got right in there so she could pick out her favorite toys first.
She found her most favorite toy of all time... a fuzzy mousie with a feather butt! She pawed around in the box 'til she found it, then ran off with it!
That gave me a chance to look things over my own way... nice and slow and careful.
Oh my goodness! There was so much in there that even Harlie had to walk away from her fuzzy mousie to come back and look. Look at all of this loot!
Then Harlie grabbed this thing too and was rubbing around the floor with it and Mom had to take it right out of the package so she could run off with that too.
I mean look at all this stuff! We got cosmic catnip (oh so good!), TWO cans of Fancy Feast which Mom and Dad say we can have for Christmas dinner (we've never had Fancy Feast before and we can't wait!), TWO fuzzy mousies with feather butts, a yellow smiley ball, a foil crinkle ball (one of my favs), a great pink shiny ball with a bell inside... and a great fishie with catnip in it... oh and the squirrel that can be stuffed with nip!
Can you even believe it?? We think Bubbles was so so generous. And we want to thank him very much... and his lady as well (and of course Mrs. B and LT). This was so much! When we were done, Mom gathered everything in the middle of the floor again to see how long it would take us to play with everything... and we played with every single toy within 15 minutes! It was perfect!

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions about Harlie. I'll update on that again in a few days. Oh and Mom FINALLY got our Secret Paws present in the mail. The mail lady said it should be there by Saturday, but she couldn't guarantee it. I hope it gets there in time!

Advice for Harlie

Hi everykitty. I first just want to say thanks for your concern and well wishes for my Dad. He is doing just fine... just a little uncomfortable and tired today.

Today I'm turning the blog over to Harlie. She has a few things she needs to say. From now on she'll write in red... because that's her favorite color.

Hi all kitties and beans and other fluffies. I wanted to write today because I'm having a bit of a problem and could use some advice. See, I've always been a mischievous kitty, and everyone in the house loves that about me. But lately I've been naughty... and I don't know how to stop! I've started biting fingers and toes again all the time. I try to eat things out of the sink. I keep getting into the garbage so much that now the garbage can is locked in the bathroom at all times. I know all the things I'm not supposed to do, but all of a sudden I can't help doing them! I'm sick of getting sprayed with water and told "No" and being removed from surfaces I don't belong on. It is a little hard to live up to Mattingly's reputation. Mattingly is very smart and learned all his lessons quickly. I was learning them too, but now I keep forgetting them! Can you offer any advice? I know Mom and Dad still love me, but I don't want to keep disappointing them.

Thanks a lot for any help you can give. ~Harlie

Early Tummy Tuesday

I know it's a day early, but we wanted to participate in Tummy Tuesday this week. Mom didn't think we'd get a chance to post tomorrow though because Dad is having a bit of surgery. He has to get his kidney stone removed. So anyway, Mom came across this picture of me as a kitten and just needed to share it right away... so here's my Tummy for Tuesday!

The usual

The usual around here is that Mom and Dad are extremely busy and Mom doesn't have time to help me blog. I have so many stories to tell and pictures to show, but I can't even get Mom to get the pictures off the camera. I will say though, that Harlie and I are EXTREMELY excited about Secret Paws. This will be our first time participating, and now that we know who we are getting a gift for, we are EVEN MORE excited. Ooooooh... I'm already scheming about what to get...

Thanksgiving Thirteen

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYKITTY AND EVERYBEAN AND EVERYOTHERKINDOFFLUFFIE!!!

Thirteen Things I'm Thankful For This Thanksgiving 1. That Mom and Dad found me on the street when they did. 2. That they then decided to take in a sick kitten and then let me stay with them forever. 3. Harlie. I really needed a buddy. Mom and Dad saw that and got me the best sister possible. 4. That Mom and Dad understand my sometimes sensitive sensibilities and do what they can to make me feel better... even if it means feeding me dinner in another room when guests are over. 5. The silly names that Mom and Dad call Harlie and me... it irritates me sometimes, but I know it's because they really love us. 6. All our friends in the blogosphere! 7. Being told everyday that I am a very handsome gentlecat. 8. Our two bedroom kitty condo with a roofdeck that also serves as the best thing to scratch in the world. 9. Our kitty cubes. I'm not sure what we ever did without them. 10. FEATHERS!!! 11. Catnip mousies. And Catnip on the scratchy pad. And catnip. 12. The place on the couch where the cushions meet because I can squish in there pretty good and stay warm and cuddly. 13. My dark, warm, safe hidey place under the bed. Because sometimes you just need a place like that. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Jake and Bathsheba 2. Jeter Harris 3. Skeezix 4. KT Cat

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!



View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Little Nip Fest

There's not much happening here that's worth blogging about (well there is one thing but we have no pictures to share of it just yet), so I thought I would just do a picture-heavy post of Harlie and I enjoying some nip together. Enjoy.

Mom puts the nip on our scratchy pad to help control mess, but we still get it all over. Harlie has to have it on her "special pad". I'll have to post about that one.
Here we are sharing the scratcy pad to the best of our abilities:
But you know I wanted it all to myself. Oh can you feel how good I feel right here?
A little nip wrestling. You can see the nip on us.
The camera flash interrupted my sleep, but I only opened my eyes. I couldn't move any more than that. I was PASSED OUT!
Harlie always sleeps in these ridiculous positions... it has nothing to do with the nip.

My next post will be about collars. My thoughts... my experiences... my victory (though Mom assures me it's only temporary). We shall see.

Back to Normal and Cubes

Fortunately Harlie is back to her own self. That first night after her surgery she was extremely hyperactive as I noted in the last post. But fortunately by the next day she was back to normal.

Also today I wanted to show you our cubes. Many kitties have them, and we LOVE ours. You'll notice our kitty condo in the background. I haven't written about that yet, but I will. We are just loving the cubes so much right now that I wanted to share those first. Here are some photos of us playing in the cubes (you can click to make bigger). Please note photos are not in sequential order.



Here we have already managed to turn the cubes on their side. Harlie is trying to extract me with the roof jump maneuver.





Here she is with a successful roof jump. She man only be 7 pounds, but she throws herself down pretty hard. I have a good advantage here though
because her tail is exposed!







Here Harlie is making use of the condo has higher ground. We are also enjoying the sounds our paws make when you rub them across the cube.










Here is a pause for rest. But the action picked up again very shortly after.




Anyone else out there enjoy their cubes? I personally think it's more fun with a buddy. But the cubes are also a fantastic napping place, and provide a nearby hidey place on short notice (when the bed is a little too far to make it in an instant). We LOVE our cubes!

She's Completely Crazy

I submit these photos as evidence. The first is Harlie's picture from Petfinder. It's the first picture we have of her. Clearly you can see how she was just so cute and stole our hearts, but do you see the crazy eyes? She's crazy. We have picture after picture of her during kittenhood and even now (though she's still technically a kitten) exhibiting her crazy eyes. We've always known she's crazy, and love her for it, but today was just more proof of her craziness. The morning started out kind of rough. Mom saysHarlie yelled and yelled and yelled in the car all the way to the vet. Then when she was near the barking dogs in the waiting room, hid UNDER the towel in the carrier. This broke Mom's heart, but we all know it's for the best obviously. Harlie behaved typically during her exam (scared and hidey) and then Mom left her at the vet knowing she was in good hands (it is the same vet who did my very own hoo-ha-ectomy).

Mom and Dad both went to pick her up this afternoon. She was awake and alert, but silent the entire car ride home, so they knew she was still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. The vet said that we should be separated because they were worried I might act a bit trollish towards her (to use William's word) because of the vet smells. Then Mom mentioned how I bathe her a lot an the vet said we should be separated until the morning. Mom knew we would not like that one bit, but that it should be done for Harlie's good.

I was taking a great nap on the bed when everyone got home so I didn't even come to investigate Harlie at first. So Mom and Dad took her in the office where Mom set her up with a litter box and everything. Harlie got right out of her carrier, and even though she was still stumbling all over the place from the leftover medicine, she was trying to jump and explore and then get out of the room. I heard her start crying and woke from my nap to investigate, and in no time we were crying for each other on each side of the door. Mom explained to me why we had to be apart, but you know how you just want to see and smell things for yourself, right? Harlie was trying to climb the slatted doors of the office and Mom and Dad got worried she would hurt herself so they shut her in the bathroom with all of her stuff since that's the only real door in the whole apartment. While Mom was doing dishes Harlie was CRYING and CRYING... then she started throwing herself against the door, Mom could hear her scratching the floor trying to dig out, then she her her scratching the door with lots more thumping (and things falling in the bathroom). She was supposed to be groggy and sore the rest of the day!!! Instead she was flailing about like a madwomancat!!! So this got me all upset and I started talking to her through the door (in my coos and chirps), then meowing at Mom to let me in to see her. Finally Mom decided that it would be safer for her to just come out and they would watch us closely to make sure Harlie was safe. (Mom's note: When I was growing up, we never gave all this special treatment to our cats after being spayed or neutered. We just brought them home and let them loose. So I figured if Harlie was trying to hard to break the door down, it would be better just to let her out in the house). SOOOOOOO... Mom went to open the bathroom door and couldn't. Why? BECAUSE HARLIE LOCKED HERSELF IN THE BATHROOM!!! Why? BECAUSE SHE'S CRAZY! So then we had 20 minutes of Mom and Dad removing the door handle and all that... to no avail. Our apartment is pre-war (whatever that means... oh Mom says it's pretty old)... and the lock to the bathroom is a bolt operated from the inside only... no outside control. So Dad had to chip away at the outside of the door and door jamb until he could get a screwdriver in to push the bolt. (Now we have repairs to do before our lease is up). Harlie was eventually released, but then there was 20 minutes more dedicated to putting the door back together and cleanup.

ANYWAY.... Harlie proceeded to get up on counters and in the sink. She was running and playing and finally knocked the garbage can over twice trying to get food. So even though she wasn't supposed to eat for a few more hours, Mom had to feed her because it's no good for kitties to eat out of the garbage or to keep expending the energy to knock garbage cans over on the same day they have surgery! (And mommies get extremely frustrated when they can't get anything done because they have to keep chasing a kitten around the house to make sure she's not hurting herself or causing more trouble.)

In the 7+ hours Harlie has been home she has slept maybe 45 minutes. She had another meal (because Mom only feed her two spoons of food the first time to see how she would take it), and we've played quite a bit. Mom has realized she doesn't need to worry so much though. Harlie will not let me play rough at all... she keeps walking away when I want to wrestle. And then when I was bathing her earlier, she was loving every minute of it until I got near her belly and then she said "NO!" and walked away. So she knows what she has to do to protect herself and that's good. But she does not act sore... or stiff (I was groggy when I got home and moved "gingerly" Mom says for several days)... or tired or anything. Maybe it will catch up with her tomorrow... but today... she's just crazy.

Hopefully she can blog for herself tomorrow, but for now I will say thank you on her behalf for all your kind words and well wishes for her surgery today. (This just in... she is now sleeping in the cat carrier that smells like VET!!!).

Locked herself in the bathroom.... sheesh....

Wow!

Thanks everykitty for all the comments! You really know how to welcome a fella back, and I wasn't even gone that long! Thanks so much to Skeezix for making a post about me! I've made a lot of new friends already! I have decided to go ahead and let Harlie do an introductory post. I'm not necessarily going to SHARE my blog equally with her, but I am going to let her post from time to time when she has something to say. Right now we are just so proud of the great cat that she is growing in to. Harlie will blog in pink because... well... she's a girl.

Hi Everykitty!! My big brother Mattingly is going to let me blog from time to time. I have some interest in it now that I'm able to sit calmly on laps and stuff. At first I was so excited about the computer desk that I just wanted to chew things and paw at things and run and jump and knock things off the desk that I just couldn't even pay attention to a blog! But Mom and Mattingly have been patient with me and have been showing me all about the great kitties out there that I want to blog sometimes too. They have showed me some other great black and white kitties like Josie, Millie, Mia, and so many others. And I want to grow into pretty lady cats like them!

I have to admit that I'm a little nervous because on Monday I have to go to the vet all by myself. Anytime before that I've been out of the house Mattingly was with me... and even though he was nervous himself, he was able to comfort me some. But now I have to go all by myself and stay all day at the VET without Mom or Dad or Mattingly or anyone else that I know. I know everyone loves me and won't let anything bad happen to me, but I'm still nervous a little to go by myself. Mattingly says I'll sleep through all the scary stuff and I'll be a little sore when I come home, but that Mom and Dad and he will treat me really gentle and loving. So wish me luck on Monday. Mattingly will let you know how it goes. And it's so nice to meet all of you! Oh and I'll leave you with an example of how nice Mattingly is to me. He really is a great big brother!!

I'm Back!

Fortunately (and also unfortunately in some ways), Mom isn't going to be able to finish her dissertayshun by December. It's not her fault... other things happened. She is both frustrated and relieved. But now she can take the writing process a little slower and has agreed to start helping me blog again! I can't make this post too long, but I just wanted to let everyone know I'll be around more. I'm trying to decide if I should allow Harlie to post every once in awhile now that she is calming down a little bit (not much, but a little).

I'll leave you with some pictures. We are VERY happy that it is finally cooling off around here and we can be more snuggly!

LUNA IS HOME!!!

We are crying tears of joy in our house tonight!!! Everyday we have been checking Luna's blog and holding our breath as we click the button to see if she is home or not! We are so happy for Luna and her Mom!!!

A sort of official break

Hi Everykitty. There's been a lack of posts again on our end, and I think it's going to continue for a bit. My Mom is working on getting her dissertayshun (or something like that) finished by November for defense in December, and it's been very hard on her. Her time with us has been limited as it is so when she actually is at home, I would rather have her spend time giving attention to Harlie and me than helping me to blog. We may post occasionally, but it will probably be sometime in December before we can do any regular posting or commenting. I still have a backlog of stories to share and I'm sure more will develop in the coming months. Please don't take me off your link lists because I am not shutting down the blog, just taking a little break. Meezers we are so sorry for your loss. We hope Luna finds her way home. We are sad to hear the Lucas is gone as well. But so happy to hear all about the new rescue stories and wonderful beans making room in their homes for new kitties. Hugs and purrs and headbutts until next time!

Weird things!

Yay I got tagged by two different kitties! My good friends Derby and Edsel asked me to participate in this game. Sorry it's taken me so long. I have to blame Mom as usual. And this time Harlie a little bit too since I always want to put pictures in my blog entries, but now Harlie has chewed through the special cord that helps put the pictures on the computer, so we have to wait for Mom to buy another... which means it could be years before we can upload pictures again. But anyway, I can at least post something even though it's all words.

I think pretty much everyone has played the game at this point so I won't bother with the rules and everything.

Here's 5 weird things about me, Mattingly:
1. I have a funny sounding meow apparently. And I make all sorts of different noises that mean different things like cooing and chirping.
2. I would prefer to eat Harlie's kitten food over my own grown up food any day.
3. I used to be a very cuddly kitty, but have decided to do it only on my terms now. I'm still loving, but much less than before.
4. I hide immediately when someone comes to the door, and sometimes even when I just hear the gate open outside. I usually stay hidden for the entire time someone else is in our apartment. If someone stays for a very long time, sometimes Mom and Dad will be kind enough to bring me my dinner under the bed so I don't have to go hungry.
5. Thanks to Kukka's suggestion, I know that I love having the inside of my ears rubbed. And also Mom has recently discovered that scratching at the base of my tail nearly sends me into fits of ecstasy.

I suppose I should put up a few about Harlie too:
1. Harlie would rather eat grownup food than kitten food.
2. There is one particular blanket that Harlie will knead and suckle anytime it's on the couch. She acts just like it's a Mommy kitty, starts going crazy with her paws, closes her eyes real tight, throws her ears back, purrs like the engines she's named for and just sucks and sucks until there's a wet spot on the blanket.
3. If she's laying on any type of surface, Harlie prefers to have at least one paw, preferably two hanging off.
4. When sleeping, no matter how tired she is, she moves around every two minutes or so. She never sleeps in one spot for very long. Just before this post Mom noticed that I on the other hand napped in the exact same position for over two hours. She's weird, right?
5. And Harlie loves to have her face touched constantly. One of her favorite things is when Dad puts his hand on her face and rubs backward so that her lips and eyelids are all stretched out. She'll ask him to do this over and over and over again.

Mom and Dad are super weird in general but I'll see if I can come up with a few specific things for them:
1. They insist that Harlie and I eat out of our own food bowls, and will stand over us while we eat constantly shuffling us around. Don't they have anthing better to do?
2. They call us any number of ridiculous names. I'm not quite yet ready to reveal those names, as so many other kitties did recently in a string of posts. But maybe I will soon. Anyway, all they are doing is embarassing themselves and Harlie and I in the process.
3. They are constantly calling each other into different rooms to look at where Harlie and I are standing/sitting/laying/playing/bathing... because apparently they think every single thing we do is adorable.
4. Mom goes positively nuts whenever any of our back feet (Harlie's and Mine, not Dad's) are curled up. The feet get pictures taken of them and sometimes even end up in her mouth somehow.
5. Invariably, if either Harlie or I expose our bellies, Mom or Dad's face will end up in there blowing and nuzzling. It's really irritating and rather disturbing. I keep my face out of their bellies, but they can't resist ours.

So that's our weird little family. We have the fish too, but he doesn't do too much that's weird. Except that he's supposed to be a bottom feeder but will ONLY eat flakes of the surface of the water. I don't want to say too many bad things about him though because he provides us endless hours of entertainment. Best not to hurt his feelings.

Hi to all my kitty friends out there. I'm going to try to make more updates!

It's my Gotcha Day!

Hi Everyone. Thanks for all your concern about my Dad and our power issues and stuff. We've had power for several days now so we are very lucky. Some people in our area have been without power for over a week. So we really feel that we are very fortunate. And my Dad is doing great. He doesn't like having a kidney stone, but after we thought it was something so much worse, we are all very grateful that it's a stone and that it's only one.

Now on to ME!!! It's my Gotcha Day! This is a very very special day. At nearly midnight tonight it will be exactly one year since Mom and Dad found me. I don't remember much of my first experiences with Mom and Dad because I was small and sick and scared and they were just really big strangers. So I'm going to let Mom tell the story. I'm very thankful that they found me. Our whole family has a lot to be gratful for and thankful for this week. Ok here's Mom.

At about 11:30pm on July 25, 2005 my husband and I were returning from a late dinner. I was driving up and down the streets of our neighborhood looking for a parking spot, when down one street we found a gray little creature just sitting in the middle of the road. I slowed the car, but it didn't move. We could see that it was a kitten and figured it must be very frightened to not be able to move from the middle of the street. So my husband got out of the passenger seat to move the kitten from the middle of the road. I found a parking spot and went to meet him. He was walking towards me with a scrawny kitten dangling from his completely outstretched arm. (My husband was NOT a cat person... though I think the emphasis in that statement should be on WAS). Anyway I took the kitten in my arms and my husband said, "I think it's blind. It kept running into things trying to get away from me." Sure enough, the kitten's eyes were so infected they were completely crusted shut. I just looked at my husband and he said we could take it home for the night. My husband went out immediately to find cat food and kitty litter. That late we couldn't find any kitten food because only the corner stores were open, but we figured any food was better than none. We put the litter in a foil roasting pan, though we turned out not to need it. The kitten only licked the top of the food in the bowl and wouldn't eat any. I was so upset. I was up with him almost the whole night. He cried and cried and cried. I put a warm washcloth over his eyes and eventually he worked them open a bit, but his third eyelid was extended halfway across each of his eyes. He seemed to have no control over his bowels, so it got pretty messy.

The next morning I didn't go to work and went straight to a vet. The vet was fantastic. The kitten tested negative for all the important stuff and was diagnosed with just an upper respiratory infection, serious conjunctivitis and a bad case of worms. Fortunately he didn't have any fleas or mites. The vet said a few more days and he would have been completely blind, and for a stray kitten (somewhere between 8 and 10 weeks old), his outlook would have been grim. Since pets were not allowed in our apartment, our plan was to just get him healthy and find him a home. On the way home from the vet to show his appreciation, he messed in my lap. This kitten became my serious project. I got up in the middle of the night to comfort him when he cried and give him medicine, I kitten-proofed the entire house because while we were waiting for the worms to clear up he had accidents everywhere, and took him to work with me when my husband and I had to be away for long days. He refused to bathe himself, so I did my best trying to wash him everyday with a washcloth (the vet said not to submerge him because he was sick). Some stuff was just so stuck in there from his early weeks on the streets that I had to cut parts of his fur out. We knew he was getting better when I came home one day to find him cleaner than when I left him. We had to take him back to the vet after we had him less than a week because his sneezing and runny nose was worse and so had to get a different antibiotic. The good news was that he had gained a whole pound in six days! At that vet visit my husband decided that this was our cat and no one else could have him. I was so excited! We explained the situation to our landlord, and he allowed us to keep him. It took another week or so before we named him Mattingly. It was about two weeks before he was completely litter trained and I could remove the old sheets and curtains that blanketed every surface in our house to protect them and about a month before he was off all the antiobiotics, but now he's a big healthy boy.

He's been such a great addition to our lives. He has so much personality. He was the first step in making our marriage into a "family" (since it will still be some time yet before human kids come along). He is currently curled up into a tight little ball on the couch next to the computer with a smile on his face and we are all very content.

I wanted to share photos of his first few weeks with us, but our usual host is down and blogger is not allowing me to upload, so I'll try to do it soon!

What a Week!

I wanted to blog more this past week and come around and leave comments on everykitty's site, but I haven't been able to. This post was supposed to be about my adventures at the Catolympics, but more important things need to be addressed.

On Sunday after I posted my Dad started to get sick. Then Monday he had to go to the doctor, then Tuesday he had to go to the 'Mergency Room. Usually this is not a big deal because he is a bean doctor (or bean vet as many of you know them) and actually works in the 'Mergency Room. But this time he had to go because he was so sick. When Mom and Dad came home on Tuesday, Dad was "loopy" as he says it because of all the medicayshun he was on. He was very uncomfortable and Mom was trying to take care of him and then we started to lose power. Throughout the day we had less and less and less. First the TV went, then some lights, then our AIR CONDITIONERS!! We need those!!! It was SO HOT! Overnight we lost power completely and when when the sun came up on Wednesday morning, there was no power at all. There were fires near us and big loud trucks on our street. Power was out all over our area and they thought it would be maybe days before it came back! We were all trying to stick it out. Mom and Dad just sat around sweating, but Dad was still sick so this was very uncomfortable for him. They talked about going to a hotel, but couldn't find any in the area that would take kitties. Then Dad found Harlie and I sitting in the bathtub PANTING! Harlie likes the bathtub a lot, but I don't. It was just the coolest place we could find, and it really wasn't that cool. It was literally about 90 degrees in our apartment. That's what Mom said. I don't know what that means, but I know it was way too hot for everyone. So not only were Mom and Dad worrying about Dad, but now they were worried about us because they had no way to cool us off. They decided they had to go to a hotel for Dad's health and the only way they could be sure we were ok was to take us to be boarded someplace! Our normal vet place didn't have any power either since they live so close to where we live, so Mom asked them where a good place to go would be and that's where they took us. I had to go away once before and it was a very bad experience for me. I still haven't blogged about it but I should. It was a little better this time because Harlie was with me. And even though she irritates me sometimes, I do love her a lot and it was very nice not to be alone. Mom made sure that Harlie and I could be in the same kennel and the lady there who took care of us was very nice. She left our carrier in the kennel with us so we could hide and have the towel that smelled like home. Mom was very very sad, but knew that it was better for us because they had an air conditioner. Harlie and I were not happy, but felt much better not to be panting anymore. Fortunately it only got dark one time and then Mom and Dad came back to get us. So yesterday we came back home, Dad had had another Dr appointment and the news was pretty good and we had power! We were all so happy to be home together. Usually after being in my carrier I run away and hide under the bed for awhile, but I stayed out with Mom and Dad and Harlie because we were all so happy to have electricity and be together again.

So that's why I haven't blogged or commented. Even before we lost power, we didn't have internet. And in case any beans are wondering about my Dad, they thought his kidneys might be failing at first, then they thought he had a disease that could eventually lead to kiney failure. But it turns out he has a kidney stone!!! So even though he is sometimes in pain and sometimes has to go be sick in the bathroom, we are all very happy that it is a kidney stone. And yesterday the doctor said there is a 95% chance that he will pass it on his own. That is why we are so happy now. Except Dad doesn't like the fact that he has one and that he is going to turn Three-Oh this year. It makes him feel like he is entering middle age. I actually don't know what any of this means, but Mom said I should write it in case anyone is curious. Hopefully this weekend I can come around and comment!

Finally some updates

Hi Everykitty!

Sorry to cause you concern with my absence. As I mentioned in my last post, Mom and Dad have been very busy. Also we have been without our laptop that lets us do things on the internet from our air conditioned living room, and it's been too hot to sit in the office and try to update things. But Mom finally decided it was time and today it's not too hot to sit in the office. So here we are catching you up on lots of things that have been going on! We even updated links and stuff on the sidebar!

First I need to tell about the fun things that happened in June. I won't cover everything in this post, but at least I can get a few things down. The first big event for me in June was Oreo's Party! Since I turned one year old at the end of May, Mom says I am old enough now to visit friends and go to parties if I like. Unfortunately, I made it very late to Oreo's party. When Mom returned from her trip to Japan, her back was hurting her very very bad. That weekend I had to stay around home to give her the love she needed and to help out with Harlie. Finally that Sunday afternoon Mom said it was ok for me to go. I was very nervous because I was meeting everyone for the first time, and because it was my first teleporting experience. But I had a blast! Everyone was so nice and I had so much fun. Thanks Oreo for inviting me and throwing such a great party! Hopefully next party I can stay longer and have more to update about!

The next big thing to happen was of course the Torch Relay for the Catolympics! The first thing I had to do was wait for Meeko and Kiara to get to my house! They brought the torch all the way from Texas! I already blogged about when they got here, but I didn't yet get to show pictures of their visit! First Mom took some (embarassing) photos of me giving the lovely ladies some baths when they got here. They were very tired and deserved to be pampered I thought. I don't want anyone to think I'm not a good host!






Meeko seemed to like her bath!








So did Kiara!






The next day we did a little bit of sight seeing in Mew York City before I left on my leg of the relay to go to Catifornia. The camera was acting funny, so Mom didn't get as many pictures as she would have liked, but she got pictures of us at the site of the World's Fair, and crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. After that the camera gave out so we didn't get any photos at the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State building. But that's ok because we still have the great memories!
























It was so nice to spend so much time with Meeko and Kiara. I think it's a good friendship now!

Then I was off to the west coast. When I got there, DK and gang were very generous to allow me to be a guest blogger and together, all the details of that part of the trip were covered. It seems I was very excited about the whole thing. I hope I didn't cause DKM too much trouble! I was so nervous about meeting the fluffies, but it was great and I got to learn to do binkies! They took me on a wonderful tour of San Francisco, which I documented on their blog. And then it was such a wonderful surprise that I got to go along for Sophia's hand-off to Max! I'm embarassed to admit that I was almost star-struck when I met Max (ok I was totally star-struck). I mean this guy is a super blogger, is totally in charge, and has written not one but TWO books! Not to mention he was the one behind Harlie's name! Max also wrote about that day, so I don't think there's much left for me to document.

I just have to say the whole thing was such a great experience! In my next post I'll talk about my experiences at the Catolympics, but after all this work on my blog today, I need to go take a nap!

Just a quick one for now

Hi Everybody! I'm OK! We haven't even been on vacation or anything. It's just been really hot and Mom and Dad have been REALLY REALLY busy. I have so much to post about. The torch relay, the olympics, and many things before and since. But I wanted to make sure I got my gift in to the Empress on time. While I am not one of the Tomcat Stable, I do enjoy her blog very much and appreciate her charm, beauty, wit and just all around wonderfulness. We are truly blessed to have her in the blogosphere. We decided on something practical... a gift that perhaps could keep on giving even after clothes have gone out of fashion. Kukka, we hope you enjoy your blogiversary and have lots of fun zooming around the living room in your hot new car!



Mom says I get to post again tomorrow. YAY!

CATOLYMPICS!!!

I'm off to the Catolympics! YAY!!!!

Mattingly's on his way!

Mattingly's Mom here. He's on is way out to Catifornia with the torch! Last night it was wonderful having so many cats around. Meeko and Kiara were such great house guests. So well behaved and polite! This morning I took them to the site of the World's Fair in Queens (near where we live), then into Manhattan to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the site of Ground Zero (the kitties had lots of prayers left in them after their prayer circle last night for Edsel's Mom). Mattingly carried the torch everyhwere we went of course and displayed it proudly at every stop. By the time we parted with him in front of the Lincoln Tunnel, he wasn't a bit nervous anymore and was very excited to be on his way. He wanted me to thank everyone who offered to have him stop at their places, but since we dallied a bit in the city this morning, he just wants to run straight through to Diva Kitty and her family. Please do report if you see any gray blurs though! We expect he will arrive around dinner time. I'll report again as soon as I hear anything, and I'll try to put up the pictures later this week. Thanks for all the well wishes!

Oh I'm so excited!

Meeko and Kiara made it here early this afternoon with the torch. They went so fast and even got to visit with some family members on the way! They waited patiently outside making friends with some of the neighborhood feral kitties while Harlie and I figured out how to buzz them in. Then they came in and we had all kinds of chats. When Mom got home she made us chicken dinner with some other stinky goodness and crunchies... and tuna juice to wash it all down with! Plus lots of fresh clean cool water like we always have. A whole buffet! Usually we don't get to eat so much, but Mom says Meeko and Kiara needed to get some good nourishment in them after their long trip and I need my energy tomorrow for my own run all the way to Diva Kitty and the fluffies in Catifornia!

We've been resting in front of the fan and I've been helping to massage paws and sore muscles and also clean up some of the city dirt. I'm very good at giving baths, and it's such a pleasure to get to bathe such pretty ladies (I'm glad you can't see me blushing).

Harlie is being a bit of a pest as she ALWAYS is, but I can't blame her for being so excited. We've never had any poodin' guests here before! Mom will have pictures of everything in the next day or two when she gets them uploaded. She's always so bad about that!

Tomorrow morning I'm getting an early start to my long trip. I'm nervous about being outside for the first time since I was a baby kitty, so my Mom is going to see me out of the city. Momma Becca, if it's ok with you, my Mom is willing to take us on a supervised trip to some of the big sites in the city if you say it's ok for Meeko and Kiara to go too. Then they can come home as I make my way on my journey.



Now it's time for us all to touch paws and give our purrs and purrayers and warm fuzzy thoughts to Edsel's Mom.

Off to the Party

I'm going to Oreo's Party finally. Yay! I'll post more tonight when I get back!

Little Hiatus

Mom's off in Japan and I have a cold so I won't be blogging for about a week at least. I'm supposed to be helping Dad around the house with Mom gone, but now I'm feeling pretty yucky. I even had to go to the V-E-T today. Apparently if you hide under the bed all day, have stuff dripping from out of your nose and eyes and make weird breathing noises on occasion Mom and Dad will think something's wrong with you. Harlie went too just to make sure she wasn't coming down with what I have, but fortunately she's just fine. It's going to be interesting with Mom gone. She's done almost all the giving of medicine in the past.

So for the next week I'm just going to be resting up and healing, keeping my eye on Harlie, and practicing my curling since the vet said no hard physical exertion while I'm recovering. It's been fun watching the torch make its way around the country. Can't wait for my turn!

Have a good week everyone!

Nameless No More!!

My crazy little sister finally has a name... and we have a winner!!!! Sort of. First I need to thank everyone for all your suggestions. Some of you did quite a bit of research! And there were lots of names that Mom and Dad liked, but couldn't give her because for several there were already other puddins or dogs or even beans that they know or have known that shared that name (like Bella, Maxine, and Daisy to name a few) . It was hard work, but Mom and Dad decided on a name and checked it out with us. I thought it was good, and we tried it out with my sister for a few days, and she seems to like it.

We took one of Max's suggestions and tweaked it a little bit and found something that really works with her personality. So beans, puddins, and fluffies of all sorts, I would like to introduce you to my sister... HARLIE!









Harlie turn around and let everyone meet you face to face.









Ok, well I never said she was very bright did I? The name seems to suit her though. Her little engine is easy to get revved up and it is VERY LOUD!! Plus she races around everywhere. Mom has said since we got her that it looks like she's wearing a black helmet on her head. And the black spot on her chin looks like a little soul patch beard. It all seems to work. As much as Mom loved all the cow suggestions and thought that was the way to go, she realized that it just didn't suit Harlie's personality. Cows are gentle, with sweet eyes, take life slow, and are content with little activity. Harlie is wild, a little bit naughty, not at all like a goddess (though those were some very excellent suggestions), and likely the type to sneak out, get a tattoo, and date biker dudes.
So there it is. Even though Max didn't technically suggest the exact name, he suggested "Honda", and when Mom and Dad read that one, they looked at each other and said "Harlie". They just changed it up a bit to make it a bit girlier. But the name was certainly inspired by Max. Max wins a prize to be sent to his house, and a donation to the humane society or rescue association of his choice in his name. And because Mom and Dad were inspired by all the name suggestions and appreciated everyone's input, and donation will be made to Francis's Friends (the rescue society we got Harlie from) from "The Catblogging Community".

Now finally we can stop focusing on HER, and I can go back to making this blog about ME! I have so much to write about. The Catolympics are coming up, I still haven't blogged about my horrific experience when Mom and Dad went away for a week, tomorrow is my birthday, I now have an email address, and there are tons of fantastic pictures of me to show! I also have so many links I need to update the site with, and I haven't been able to make many decent comments in AGES. But unfortunately, there won't be much commenting and updating until Mom gets back on June 8th. It's that big meeting she has to go to in Japan. I doubt she'll even remember that tomorrow is my birthday even though she's the one that picked that day to be it (since I couldn't remember the exact date of my birth when they found me on the street). So once again it will be her fault that I can't blog. She promises to make it up to me when she gets back. We'll see.

Well thanks again for all your suggestions everyone!

Well it's about time

Mom has some pictures for us finally. Before I get to that, I want to thank everyone for all your great suggestions so far. (If you're just tuning in, I'm sponsoring a Name My Sister contest. Details here). You're giving us lots of great names to choose from. Keep them coming! Don't forget you have until Saturday night to make suggestions, so if you come up with other ideas, please share them!

Here are some last tidbits of info for you:

• Her favorite toys seem to be ones that have bells in them or on them, and she loves anything that dangles.
• Sometimes when we're playing, it looks like she's doing binkies. She knows she's a cat, right?
• She doesn't like wet kitty food unless it's the chunky type with gravy... or unless it's in my bowl.
• She LOVES plastic. Since I leave plastic bags alone, Mom didn't think to hide the plastic bags when the little one moved in. Wherever there is plastic, she finds it, and Mom has had to become much more diligent in finding and hiding plastic. But somehow the little sister is always one step ahead.

At the moment I can't think of any other little nuggets about her, so I'll move on to the pictures! As always, click the pictures to view them larger!

This is our first actual meal together. You may have a hard time seeing her because she blends with the floor. She's in front of the bowl on the left (she doesn't have her own kitty bowl yet). Mom would like to note that we do not stay in these positions for long and are both always moving to get into the other's bowl. Mom gently guides us back where we belong. Mom took this picture because she always liked the one of Buddah and Max when Buddah was a kitten.


She was actually sleeping in this position, not just stretching, but sleeping. And this picture doesn't show how she was sort of tilted at a downward angle.





Mom was able to walk around the couch and get the shot in another position without waking her.






So this was my favorite toy from Christmas, but I don't mind that she plays with it.





See? Crazy eyes. We have a bunch of pictures like this. They are always wide and insane-looking like this. Also they are brown, which Mom doesn't remember seeing in a cat before. Anyone else have brown eyes? Mom probably just doesn't know what she's talking about.

Thanks to Mom, STILL no pictures

So I have to post again without pictures tonight. Please forgive me. Though really it's Mom you need to forgive since she's the one who keeps messing it up.

Here are some more details about my sister:

• The rescue society gave her the name of Bonita. All of her siblings had spanish names like that (even though their litter was abandoned somewhere in Pennsylvania).
• The girl can CLIMB! Climbing would be one of her events if she were to participate in the Catolympics.
• She's pretty clumsy. Balance Beam would certainly not be one of her events. Nothing graceful about this one.
• When she uses the litter box, she has to be sure to move EVERY SINGLE piece of litter in the box. She just digs and digs and digs and moves all around the box.
• I find her grooming abilities to be unsatisfactory. Mom would like me to point out that I have very high standards for that and she actually manages to groom herself just fine. But I am constantly feeling the need to groom her. Maybe that's my issue and not hers.
  
• Her nose is black, but only on the front. Inside it's pink. My nose is black all the way through. Mom thinks it looks like someone dabbed her nose on a black inkpad.
• She has a small black spot right in the center of her chin (a little under). And a black spot on the back of each leg.
• Her eyes seem extremely round to us.
• She only sleeps half as much as me... don't kittens need more rest than this? It's like she's always loaded with caffeine or something.
  

Thanks for all the great suggestions so far. Keep them coming!! Mom says we'll get to come around and comment on other blogs tomorrow. She says we will post pictures too. But no one out there hold your breath waiting for those things.

As for how we are getting along, it seems we won't be able to be alone together for a few weeks. We are still on supervised visitation until she gets a bit bigger because I get so overexcited when we play. And also because she hasn't learned to recognize my warnings when I've decided I'm done playing and want to rest. But we have now had naps together, actually touching. And I groom her quite a bit. Mom and Dad are starting to feel a little left out now though. Dad misses when I would bat his feet around (no claws of course) when he laid on the couch, and Mom is missing her nightly facial. The fact is I have something (someone) to play with that is MUCH more fun that Dad's toes, and as I've said, my sister needs grooming MUCH MORE than my Mom does. But we're all happy the transition has gone so well. I'll settle back into my old habits when the excitement dies down I'm sure. But for now I need to go chase down the little cow-let and groom her!

The Name Game

Ok folks, my new sister has been with us almost two weeks now, and she still hasn't told us her name. It seems she is willing to allow us to select one for her, but Mom, Dad and I are all at a loss as to what to call her. We have to do something soon, because Kukka-Maria commented recently that the tabloids are after her to find out my sister's name. We can't have the tabloids involved! I pointed out to Mom and Dad that Oreo held a successful contest to name his cousin, and even Moses held a contest to name his pet fish. So we've decided to hold a contest to name my sister! You've seen some pictures, and Mom promises to put up more throughout the week so you can get to know her better as we all have been, and that may help you come up with ideas.

It's going to work like this: You can leave suggestions in the comments of any post I make this week. You can make as many suggestions as you like. You can make name suggestions up until (and including) Saturday. On Sunday, Mom will get all the names together, and she, Dad, and I will have a pow-wow (or pow-meow?) and announce the winner as soon as we decide. If you suggest the name we give her, you will receive a gift from our family in the mail, and my Mom and Dad will also make a donation to a shelter or rescue society of your choice, in your name. But we will get to those details when it's time. Throughout the week I'll post some pictures and any other tidbits of information that may be useful.

To start you off, here is some info about her:

• She's a girl
• She looks a bit like a little cow
• In fact when Dad called her "Little Cowgirl" one night, Mom liked it
• She's crazy, and her eyes make her look a little insane
• She likes to play with everything and her new favorite toy is the laundry basket
• She purrs the instant she is touched

Thanks in advance for all your help, and good luck!

Thanks Everyone!

You all said such nice things about my new big brothering skills. Even though I tried to help her during her clipping ordeal, I'm not sure if I was successful. I guess we'll see when it's time again. That's amazing that some of you just sit there and allow your beans to just clip your nails. I get held by my Mom and Dad does the clipping. We just started doing it that way because Mom and Dad had never clipped kitty nails before me. They talked to the vet about how to do it, but neither of them felt ready to just come at me with the clippers alone, so it's a team effort. It probably will be tricky with the new sister though because she doesn't even like having her paws played, and I don't mind that at all.

I also really need to thank Boni for her most very generous offer. But fortunately, Mom found an octopus! After going to three pet stores (because she is always shopping around to see who has deals on food, litter, and our favorite feather toys) she found it in the grocery store! Boni offered to send and octopus to both my sister and me! Those ladies in her family are so nice!

I'm behind on everyone's blogs because we've been so busy with the new sister and Mom has had lots and lots of work to do to get ready for her trip to Japan. She has a very very big presentation to make there to some very important people in her field. We don't have any new pictures because she keeps leaving the camera in her office. I also have to start training for the catolympics and I want to make updates to my links and everything. Hopefully soon.

I just wanted to use this post to thank everyone... now stay tuned for some exciting news in the next one!

Getting better every day!

So Mom and Dad are happy because the little one and I actually calmed down today. We even took a nap in the same room! We didn't sleep together, but it was the first time we weren't running around like crazy and wrestling. It even gave Dad a chance to fall asleep. I get told "NO" when I'm playing too hard, and then I back off. I don't mind though because I don't want to hurt her... so I'm glad for the reminder to be gentle.

Tonight was nail night. I didn't see the clippers come in the room, so I didn't get a chance to warn "her" about what it was like and to tell her not to worry. It was "her" first nail clipping here though, and she didn't like it at all. I didn't know what was going on and I got upset because she was mewing and crying. It made me run around the room meowing. Then I swatted at Mom's arm to tell her to stop making my little sister cry. But then I saw that Mom and Dad were just clipping her nails and that it wasn't a bad thing at all! So I made my cooing noises and touched noses with her and even licked her a little to tell her everything was ok. She didn't believe me though and still put up a big fuss. I was glad when it was over for her. I was a good boy as always for my nail clipping. I don't particularly enjoy it, but it's going to happen whether I want it to or not, and it goes easier if I don't struggle. That's William's Philosophy too. Plus I always get TWO treats afterward. I hope she learns it's not a bad thing soon!

More of "Her"

She still hasn't revealed her name. I think maybe based on her traits and characteristics it's something like "Purry McPurrsalot" or "Crazy Eyes" or "Wiggle Butt" or "Digger". We just don't know yet. But I think we'll know soon. If she doesn't reveal her true and secret name soon, Mom and Dad will choose one for her and see if she likes it. That's what they did with me. By the time I was ready to reveal it to them, they had already chosen "Mattingly". They let me try it out for a few days and I really liked it, so I kept it.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the purry, wiggly, climb-y one. Click any of the pictures to make them bigger.

Her first night here she was going crazy playing in the bathroom. This is before I got to meet her.







She got moved into the office because it's a bigger more comfortable space for her. She likes to nap on the pillow Mom uses at night.




One of our first meetings through the baby gate. I was mostly just curious. She was scared and defensive.






Before too long we were getting playful with each other.






We had guests over yesterday and they were happy to play with her. I was in my usual spot under the bed. That's where I go when there are guests.





Uh oh... think she'll be wanting her own blog soon?





So that's her. She's pretty cute isn't she? Mom wants to thank everyone for their advice and comments. Mom and Dad now just supervise our play, and break us up when I get a little too rough. I don't mean to be rough and Mom and Dad know it. Mom says I can't help it sometimes because I'm such a big strong boy. That's right! Pretty soon I'll have my first birthday even! Anyway, so now we are getting more play time, but are still kept separated when Mom and Dad aren't home, and even lots of times when they are. Mom and Dad say it's a lot of work when we play for them, so that's why there aren't any pictures of it yet. But as soon as there are I'll post them!

Mom Here....

Hi Everyone. Thanks for all your comments about the new addition to our family. Already we are having so much fun. She doesn't have a name yet, but she is a beautiful, spunky little kitten. The interactions between the gate are going great and we have been moving the gate around the house so Mattingly can get used to her being in other rooms. We've introduced her a few times without the gate, but we aren't so sure how that is going. I've had cats in my family since I was 9, but I've never had an experience like this. Whenever we would bring a new cat or kitten home, we would just sort of plop them in the living room, everyone met, and then we were good. Any newcomers learned quickly that they needed to steer clear of the oldest cat in the family and then everything was fine. Maybe because Mattingly is such a different cat from any that I've had, or maybe because I have such a different relationship with him than I've had with any other pet, or maybe because he is truly a part of the family and not a "pet" like I grew up with, this transition is much harder. When they play through the gate, they bat at each other, purr, and show each other their bellies. We take that as a very good sign. But when they play face to face, it seems he might get too rough with her because she starts to growl and hiss and run away. But then she attacks him and starts it all right over again. She is always the first to present her belly, but then seems to get very agitated and tries to get away. Mattingly doesn't appear to be using any excessive force, and he's not showing any other signs of aggression toward her, so we don't know if maybe she is just sensitive or cranky. In any event, we don't know if we should allow this type of "play" to sort itself out, or break it up. Is this normal or is it unhealthy? When they are separated, they are constantly trying to get to each other, so I just don't know what this all means.

Finally, there is one particular toy that Mattingly loves among all his toys, and we are trying to keep that specifically for him right now. We have not let her near his hidey spot, or allowed her to play with this toy so that he can have these two comforts to himself. However tonight she snuck up on Mattingly and I playing, grabbed his toy, and then growled at us as we tried to take it away from her. She hissed at my husband later when the same thing happened. This is puppy behavior! Not kitty behavior! Have any of you out there experienced this before or do you have any tips you could offer? Our two main concerns are her toy aggression, and what we should do about their play face to face. Should we just let it work itself out and not be such nervous ninnies? I just can't help it though. Mattingly is our baby and we are growing to love this new little thing very quickly. We just want what's best for them.

Thank you! I promise some pictures tomorrow. The camera ran out of batteries today!

All I've got for now....

Well here she is folks! Mom has to work later than she thought tonight, so she probably won't get the new pictures off her camera until tomorrow. She's very sorry about that because we're all eager to show you my new sister! But since she promise promised to put up some pictures tonight, she's allowing me to put up her petfinder.com pictures. That's how Dad found the local rescue society. The pictures aren't the greatest because they were trying to take care of so many kitties and get them all listed. But we think her personality shows up just fine in these pictures. She's not one to sit back and relax much... she's a busy baby! We'll tell the story of exactly how she was chosen to come to our home later (after we tell my story of course!). Anyway, you can at least see her coloring, adorable face, and crazy little eyes. Click on any of the pictures to see them bigger.

So today we came even closer to being friends. Dad tried very hard to keep us separated by the gate this morning, but we wouldn't have any of it! I jumped the gate a few times to test the waters then decided to stay in and play with her. But Dad says I'm being a little overzealous. I keep playing a bit rough I guess and she hisses at me or tries to hide to tell me to settle down a bit. But I just can't even help it!!! I'm so excited to have a playmate now that when she goes to hide I just make my cooing noises and meow for her to come out, or I try to dig her out from under the couch. I don't mean to be rough, but she's so cute even when she arches her back and hisses that I just want to nibble on her! After all, that's what Mom does to me when I look particularly cute!

So stay tuned tomorrow for some pictures of her in her furrever home. I hope she tells us her name soon. She said she was waiting until she got to know me better. I guess she's not quite comfortable enough just yet. Maybe when she fully decides this place is her new home she'll let us know. I can't wait to know what to call her!

Quick Update

During our second gate time yesterday we played! A lot! We got the hissing out of the way, then we were poking at each other and rolling around and purring. She kept trying to get over the fence to come play with me, but Mom wouldn't let her yet. Then this morning I almost pushed my way into her room and we got to touch paws and noses before Mom put an end to the fun. All morning I've been telling Mom how much I want to go in there and play, but Mom says not quite yet. She wants to see that we can be good again between the gate. And Dad read that it's best to do this slow... but I don't want to wait anymore! I want to play with my sister!

There will be pictures tonight. Mom promise promised me that she would take care of it. And if Mom can figure it out, there might even be a video of us playing! I'm going to go back to her door and talk to her a bit. Hope you puddins have a great day!

Having a Sister...

... isn't easy. In fact, I'm finding it very confusing.

She came on Tuesday. I'm going to have to refer to her as "HER", "SHE", and "SISTER" because she hasn't told us her name yet. Anyway, she came on Tuesday, and I didn't see her at all. She was whisked immediately into the bathroom which is where she was supposed to stay. I was under the bed because Mom forgot her keys and had to ring the bell when she brought the baby home... and well... when the bell rings I go under the bed. It's what I do. So I didn't see her, but I knew she was here and I knew she was in the bathroom. Tuesday night Mom slept in the office with her so she wouldn't be lonely. I could hear her and I was a little interested in the office door, but Dad kept waving my feather toy around and I was seriously distracted.

Yesterday Mom was home and took turns being in the office with her and being out in the rest of the apartment with me, until Dad got home and then they took turns being in the office and out in the rest of the apartment with me. I'm telling you, Mom and Dad's need for play has been insatiable. They have been waving my feather stick around like CRAZY! I mean we play a little every day but I just can't satisfy them the past few days! A few times they put the sister into the carrier (or "Troll Box" as William likes to call it). I looked at her from a distance, then later, got up closer and hissed at her. I didn't see her again after that.

Today we did the troll box thing again, and this time she was sleeping. I got up real close and sniffed around but didn't hiss, and Mom said I was a very good boy. The rest of the time she was in there playing and talking I didn't pay her too much attention... I was really comfortable on the couch. Today we had dinner near each other (with the door separating us). It was fine except I found her a bit distracting. She's noisy. But we finished dinner without incident. Then Mom went out and came back with a baby gate. She put it up, and the sister and I looked at each other for a bit. Then I got closer and backed off, then she got closer... we went back and forth a bit, then we touched noses. Mom got excited, but then the sister started getting fresh with me! She arched her back up and puffed out and kept hopping around like that. So I had to show her who is boss and became a bit trollish again. I also thought I might try to swat her through the gate, but Mom put a stop to that and we are separated by the door again.

So I just don't know. She is small and quite cute. And sometimes when she cries, it makes me talk back to her in return. I know she's lonely and missing her litter mates, and that's why Mom keeps sleeping with her at night. I thought I might really start to like her, but then she got all aggressive with me, and I just don't think I like her attitude. I heard Mom talk to Dad on the phone and it sounds like we are going to have some more "gate time" tonight. I guess we'll see how that goes. I hope I like her soon. So do Mom and Dad. Anyone out there have any tips? I haven't been around to comment because I've been very busy keeping Mom and Dad occupied and smelling the door to the office. But hopefully you'll hear from me in a few days!

How special I am

Since I'm going to be a big brother soon, I thought I would post this picture of me from around Christmas time. Mom thinks I look like such a big boy in this picture. (You can click on any of my pictures to make them bigger). She loves when I sit like this for some reason. I like this picture because it shows off my sleek fur. I really work very hard to stay soft and shiny. That's why Dad calls me "Chinchilla Kitty". Not 'cause I look like one! But because I'm soft like one.

Anyway, I'm getting a little concerned about getting a little sister. I really like being the baby of the house and getting every last ounce of attention. So to make sure I don't fall by the wayside, I'm going to present here a new look on some of my past antics. While Mom and Dad may have looked at these things as "messes" I'm going to now chalk it up to "art". I've been inspired by George over at Crew's Views and his very brilliant masterpieces. Now I know I have a long way to go before I become an artist of George's caliber (if it is even possible for me to reach that level), but it is indeed something I aspire to.

I call this first one "Mid-day Snack". I tried to get a nice spread of the fish food over a wide spanse of carpet. I started out with the "dump approach" that George mentioned in some of his petal art, but I felt the look was too "heavy". So I took it upon myself to eat more than 3/4 of the container of fish food. I like this more light, airy, spread-out look. An extra bonus was that the fish food was extra tasty. Any future attempts at this type of art have been thwarted, as the fish food is now kept in the refrigerator (because it was not safe on the shelf, the fish tank stand, or in the cupboard). I enjoyed it while it lasted though.

Now this one I call "Latenight Kitchen Excitement". I know the names of my pieces are rather obvious. I need to work on that. Anyway, this was the scene I prepared for Mom to greet her in the kitchen one morning. Try to note not only the tipped over litterbox (also moved forward 6-8 inches from it's normal resting place), but the pink towl removed from the rack, the spread of mail on the table as well as the floor, and the white paper bag I brought out from the corner to help cut some of the pesky black diamonds from the floor. Now before you get too impressed with my ability to tip over a litter box, I must note that it was filled only with shredded newspaper, as advised by the vet for the week after my very own hoo-ha-ectomy. I still think it adds a nice touch though.

There. Hopefully Mom won't forget how talented and special I am. Oh! Maybe I can create something for her for Mother's day! William... there's an idea for you! Make your Mom some art for Mother's day. Let's all do it!