cats make me laugh

One of the things I love about my cats is that they make me laugh.

Each of the cats decide if and when they want to come inside; I call them in at night, but sometimes one comes, sometimes both, sometimes they stay out all night. Petra hasn’t been around the past few days – and will probably come home with scratches on her head. *sigh*

The past couple of nights, I’ve let Twinkie into the main part of the house. She likes to climb on bed with us and sleep there most of the night; when Petra is in, she prefers the couch. Twinkie has been so silly; she did a couple things that I thought were soooo cute, and I just had to share.

She usually ends up wedging herself in the valley between Phil and me; I’ll wake up in the middle of the night, and my movement makes her start purring. Sometimes I’ll pet her because I can’t resist, but once I start, she wants me to keep petting her and I’m usually too tired. There’s a point in the early morning where, even if the alarm hasn’t gone off, the cats know it’s time to get fed and be let outside. They’ll start roaming and meowing; if I don’t indulge them, they may decide to lay back down and go to sleep. The other morning, Twinkie wouldn’t let me get back to sleep – she kept coming back onto the bed and meowing at me. Finally, all was quiet… until I felt a soft, gentle brush on my face. I awoke to see her sitting next to my head, a paw touching my face, a gentle but persistent askance to “feed me!” It was THE cutest thing – like she knew if she did it too hard she would scratch me! I started laughing, and got up to fill her dish.

Last night, I was trying to get my huge belly in a comfy position, and Twinkie decided to get herself comfortable right on top of me. I LOVE when the cats want to sit or sleep with me, so I tried not to move her… but eventually couldn’t stand the position I was in. I held onto her while rotating and, miraculously, she stayed where she was and went back to sleep. I cradled her soft little body in my arms for a while – until they got too cold and I had to put them under the covers! Sometime in the middle of the night, Twinkie stretched her paws towards me and rested them on my face – where she left them! Almost as thought she wanted to make sure her mommy was there!

Petra can be equally silly. I like to leave the bedroom window open at night, and she usually comes wandering up to the porch after I’ve gone to bed; just as I’m drifting off to sleep she’ll meow from right under the window. Mom says this is practice for the baby! Well, whatever the case, it can be very annoying. So I go into the addition, open the French doors which are just down the porch (and a couple rooms away) from the bedroom window, and call her in. Whenever the cats come from complete darkness into a lighted area, they’re all squinty-eyed until they adjust to the light – it’s so adorable to see them walking around with eyes almost completely shut! Well, such was the case with Petra… she promptly went to where we usually keep their food dish, which has been moved because we have been making progress with the addition. Well, it was the most pathetic sight – her blindly heading right towards where her food should be, meowing in protest at the absence of said dish, and wandering around with her eyes shut, in search of sustenance. I couldn’t stop laughing!

Before I let them out in the morning, they follow me around the house. This includes going to the bathroom right when I get up; I’ll leave the door open a crack, and snicker as I see an orange paw snake it’s way between the door and the wall, trying to push it open. Finally, they make enough room to push their heads in, and in they both come. I pet them, and they sit on the rug at my feet. Usually, this is done in their squinty-eyed fashion, as I don’t like to turn the bedroom light on and bother Phil. So… one morning Twinkie had come in after me and was standing on the bathroom rug; Petra comes in shortly after, and promptly walks right under Twinkie’s body, as though it were a bridge for her own enjoyment! Twinkie didn’t seem to mind; just picked her feet up and hopped over Petra. Hee-hee. They’re such silly little orange clowns.

De ja vu

Bad things come in threes, right? Are there certain qualification for a Bad Thing? Two grandfathers passed away, my cousin is badly injured… or perhaps she doesn’t count, because she lives in MN and will technically be alright? I dunno. But now one of my cats is missing – it’s like Nala all over again. She also went missing on a rainy night.

I had started letting the cats out during the day because they wouldn’t keep quiet in the mornings, and woke me up earlier and earlier every day. We had a pretty good system down – I would let them out first thing, and sometime in the evening I would let them both in. Well, we had company over last night, so I let them in the house earlier so they could “mingle.” They were restless, because they wanted to be outside, and somewhere along the line Petra got let out after dark. She didn’t come when I called, and when I got home from work today Twinkie was still solo. I hope she’s alright.

Cat Cuties

Cat Cuties, by Patricia Doyle

Nikki gave me this really cute book – among other lovely things – for Christmas. I was chuckling at some of the quotes.

“After scolding one’s cat, one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word. And has filed it for reference.” – Charlotte Grey

“When I play with my cat, how do I know that she is not passing time with me rather than I with her?” – Montaigne

“No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch.” – Leo Dworken

“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” – Jules Reynard

“Most cats, when they are out, want to be in, and vice versa, and often simultaneously.” – Louis F. Camuti

“Dogs have owners; cats have staff.” – Anon

“There’s no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.” – Wesley Bates

“Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God.” – Anon

“There are many intelligent species in the universe. They are all owned by cats.” – Anon

“A cat’s hearing apparatus is built to allow the human voice to easily go in one ear and out the other.” – Stephen Baker

“Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” – Mary Bly

“In ancient times, cats were worshiped as gods; they have never forgotten this.” – Unknown

“Kittens are born with their eyes shut. They open them in about six days, take a look around, then close them again for the better part of their lives.” – Stephen Baker

“Kitten: A small homicidal muffin on legs; affects human sensibilities to the point of endowing the most wanton and ruthless acts of destruction with near-mythical overtones of cuteness. Not recommended for beginners. Get at least two.” – Anon

smoosh post

Well, it seems there hasn’t been much to post about lately. Pretty sad when the last thing I had to say was my answers to the Friday Five. Arrrgh. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always something going on in my life… but I don’t feel the obsessive need to tell my… my one reader all the sordid details. Hehe – sordid. (pause) Then time goes by, and I just don’t feel like dredging up all the details.

Well, I guess I’ll just smoosh a whole bunch of stuff together into one entry, instead of cleverly arranging my tidings into aptly-named entries. That’s just too much work for me right now. And I can’t believe I haven’t given so much as a thought to Christmas shopping! Until now, that is…

Well, today I got my kitties fixed. There was NO possible way I was taking them to my regular vet, not after they charged me $80 to check their eyes. Good grief. It was $65 for each cat at the discount spay/neuter shelter right here in town, and I saved up my cleaning money for a month. It was so hard not to spend it! I had to take some ones out for the Newport bridge though – hehe, Nikki. I’m so poor (relatively speaking, of course – the “luxuries,” you understand)!

Anyhoo… I filled out a form for each cat this morning, and when I brought them to the mobile vet trailer and handed them the cat carriers, the vet came out and said – your cats are both GIRLS. HUH?!?! Now, in case you don’t recall the continuing cat saga – when I first got the cats from the shelter, I was told they were both boys; my vet FELT THEM BOTH UP and said that one of them was in fact a girl (hence the name change, and the added exclamation: great! – now I have to worry about them gettin’ jiggy with it… or is that a reference to drugs?); now they’re both girls?! Needless to say, I was confused… and told the guy as much. I mentioned the little tidbit about my vet, and he said, “I’d like to know what she was feeling.” HA! Well, he did in fact work on their reproductive organs today, so I guess his word is gospel, as far as I’m concerned. So there you have it: I have two female cats!

The poor little things. They were tired and somewhat woozy, and their bums were slightly swaying as they walked… and kind of close to the ground. Very tentative. Whenever they tried to jump up, they kept falling down because they weren’t strong enough to pull themselves up – it was so endearing, and they were so confused as to why they couldn’t get up on the couch when they do it every day! At least my counters will get some peace tonight. *sigh* Their lower bellies are shaved – so cute! When I brought them home they kept sitting, hunched over, licking themselves… and falling asleep in that position! I wish I had the digital camera handy. Petra is currently sleeping under the covers – she doesn’t usually do that, but she seems cold and fragile this evening. [Stinky] Twinkie slept in my lap a good portion of the afternoon – I was in my element. I LOVE when the cats sit in my lap. Needless to say, it’s very quiet around here – and it’s nice for a change.

We had a high school “reunion,” if you can call it that. I keep feeling the need to use the quotes, even in my head. A bunch of old classmates got together – but it wasn’t by any means large scale. That’s fine, though. I went with Nichole and Micah because I didn’t know where the place was, didn’t know if Dan was going, and wanted to go with friends anyway. We were late because we had to run errands and – ironically – couldn’t find the place. Hehe. But all in all I had a great time – I was nervous at first, but managed to keep up conversations with a number of people. Wow, sometimes it just hits you how fast time is going and how old you really are! And of course… how little you (by that I mean “I”) have accomplished. *sigh* I ended up getting to bed after two in the morning, and totally sleeping all Sunday morning. Here are some pictures I took; Nikki has some better ones.

Ooh, on Thursday of last week Mom and I went to Becky’s Pampered Chef party. I had a great time, even after I realized I was the only one who didn’t know everyone else. Hehe. I finally got to meet Bugaboo (beautiful, if not totally spaz-tic, Bengal – didn’t get to see his cuddly side), Katherine (what gorgeous hair! And she totally looks like Matthew), and the Miller’s gorgeous pad (I love the green walls, candles… and of course tassels galore!). Not to mention – the Pampered Chef demonstration was fun, educational, and extremely yummy!

In other news: I am FINALLY getting a treadmill! I am SO excited. I’ve been extremely depressed about my expanding girth in unwelcome areas, and have been wanting a treadmill for ages. I could totally exercise for two hours while watching a movie – but can’t seem to just stand in front of the TV following an exercise DVD for an hour. And the weather hasn’t been the greatest for going outdoors. Keeping my fingers crossed that the excitement won’t wear off… and that I’ll be able to find a place to store it when I’m not using it.

Well, Thanksgiving approaches – and I’m having the whole gang over here. Woo-hoo. I’m looking forward to our tradition of telling what we’re thankful for – I’ll have to give that some thought. What are YOU thankful for? Have any unique holiday traditions? Eat anything besides turkey and cranberry sauce? God, I love food. *sigh*

Kitty Chronicles

My poor cats have been sick. I’ve been kind of pissed off at the shelter where I got them from – they gave me such a hard time adopting them (because I had “let” something happen to Nala), and then when I went to pick them up I found out they had forgotten to give them their last shots. Niiiice! Yeah, you take really good care of your pets – and you’re afraid I won’t make a good kitty mommy. *sigh* They initially gave me some medicine to take home with me – “for diarrhea (sp?), all the kittens get it!” – and I later discovered it was for worms. Thanks for telling me!

Well, I saw some of the worms coming out of Twinkie’s butt – NOT a pretty sight! I freaked out; none of my cats have ever had worms, and I didn’t know a thing about it. Apparently, it’s not extremely serious, and treatment is relatively simple. But STILL! Had to bring him to the vet, when I was hoping to wait a little while and take them when they were older since they had supposedly been checked out by the shelter. Not only did they find roundworms, but some kind of virus/infection called coccidiosis – since both are highly contagious among cats, it’s most likely that Rusty will catch ‘em. So there was some medicine to buy. Oh – and Twinkie already has gingivitis – it may just be his teeth coming in, but we have to keep an eye on that.

Rusty got a bad eye infection. I got really worried, and even though he hadn’t been seen by the vet, they let me take home some herbal eye drops for him. Ugh – trying to give him and Twinkie (just in case) eye drops is such fun! Well, the not-inexpensive eye drops didn’t do a lick of good, and BOTH eyes got infected. I brought him to the vet yesterday afternoon – taking time out of my normal work day to make the apointment. They did find the coccidiosis, and even though they didn’t see roundworms I’m treating them just in case. So, guess what? More medicine! His eye infection turned out to be conjunctivitis – rather serious, if left untreated. So – stronger eye goop! That’s right, “goop.” These aren’t eye drops of the consistency of Visine or what have you – it’s more like a gel, and I have to put it ON HIS EYEBALL! BOTH of them. Yeah – right! Rusty put up a fight with the vet and her assistant – and, as you can imagine, hasn’t taken a fancy to my administration. Since his immune system seems to be taking a beating, the vet also recommended some immune boosters – luckily, all I have to do is grind up the pills and mix ‘em in in with the food.

The vet asked if Twinkie was showing signs of eye infection, and I said he hadn’t so far. (pause) Well, when I got home from the vet – carting a struggling, howling Rusty in a cat carrier, rushing because I was late for work and they had me sitting in the exam room for an hour – I discovered that Twinkie’s right eye was all swollen. I started crying – I’ve had enough! Well, at least now they can share the eye goop – and Philip is helping me dole it out.

Ready for another surprise? Rusty is a girl! I was curious about his… er, her… coloring, since it would have been very rare in a male cat. Apparently, it can be hard to determine the sex of a kitten, but two of the vets concurred that he, she, is indeed female. Along with this new tidbit of information comes the fact that I have to keep a close eye on these two to make sure there’s no funny business going on. And… Rust-ina needs a new name!

When we had Nala, I got used to saying “she.” When we got what I thought were two males, I couldn’t get out of the habit of saying “she,” and Philip would correct, “HE!” Now, I have to get back to the feminine! When I was first looking for suitable cat names, I came upon a whole bunch of pretty, feminine names – and now I can’t remember what they all were! Some ideas were: Tangerine (Tangie), Marmalade(y), Poppy, Ruby, Sienna, Autumn (one of my favourites – but not really conducive to calling a cat), Tiger Lily, Amber/Ember, and Ginger. I dunno, none of them really seemed to fit – and I don’t want to call her Rusty or Rustina! Last night, I was looking at her beautiful orange/red orange coat with the black markings, and I thought again how the colors remind me of rocks – like, Grand Canyon colors, painted hills, some sort of marble – and I thought of the word Petra, which means “rock” (and which also happens to be the name of an 80s Christian rock band). So – whaddya’ think of that name?

Twinkie & Rusty… er, Petra… playing.