Catnip Mice

My friend Denise brought the cats knitted catnip stuffed mice for Christmas. They LOVE them! And loved them to death.

Snow!

The cats don't go out except on our upstairs deck (no access to the big bad world!). During the recent snowstorm JoJo kept asking to go out there so I let him out. He was quite surprised by what he found. He shook his paw with each new step. Finally, he got to a clear spot, under a chair and stayed there a while before continuing his prance.

Maggie watched for a while then took her turn. She made one quick 10 second pass and came right back in! She usually is the smarter one!

One Year with the Kitties!

Hard to believe JoJo and Maggie Mae have lived here a whole year. They are perfect feline companions - they like to be with me and interact with us in so many fun ways. I am so grateful that I found them. Thank you Niko and Matt!

Missing Toys

The toys seem to always disappear. I lifted up my chair and found quite a stash.

Alpaca Toys

I picked up an alpaca cat toy at the Knitting Expo. Since the cats LOVE alpaca I thought it would be a favorite. The next morning, I found the toy disassembled in the living room - fiber scattered around, naked ball!

Happy Birthday Pat!

Anniversary

Nothing to do with the cats here. Today is Ward and my 26th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe. Actually the one cat-related fact is that all of our other cats were born on the 20th of a month - Basil August 20, Klar October 20 and Jasper July 20. Didn't think I should hold out for a pair born on the 20th of something - the 26th will do fine!

We missed you!!

I wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived home last night. previous cats had often ignored we when I returned home from a trip, no doubt making sure I knew they were unhappy with my behavior. JoJo and Maggie Mae first took a bit to be sure who I was. A great deal of sniffing and such. Then about 2 minutes of ignoring followed by obsessive attention. My goodness! JoJo especially had to be in my lap, right up against me in bed, etc. Glad to know I was missed I guess.

Vacation

Ward and I are heading to Phoenix for a few days of Spring Training baseball games. A friend's twenty something daughter is house and cat sitting. It was funny how Maggie Mae and JoJo seemed to know that something was up. They kept getting in the suitcase and otherwise behaving a little nervously.

As usual, I tried some new toys I had waiting. These were particularly fun - mice with feathers! Not terribly realistic but definitely fun for cats!

Tulips - part 2

Remember the tulips a few days ago? And the somewhat successful training? Well, this afternoon I was upstairs getting dressed to go chair a long (as always!) school board meeting and I heard a crash (I hear quite a few crashes these days).  I didn't hurry down but waited until I finished. When I got to the family room, I found the vase on its side. This time all the water landed on the coffee table. Where we have too many piles of paper! Needless to say, we had some drying to do.

Oh, and the tulips? Since they were old and starting to lose petals anyway, they became petal-less and thus history! I should have taken a photo but was a little frazzled about being late.

Rats!

Pat bought these at Ikea on a trip there Thanksgiving weekend. They have been a consistent favorite of both Maggie and JoJo. I find these stuffed rats moving to different rooms all the time.

I can help

Maggie and JoJo follow me everywhere in the house and try to get involved with most tasks. When I tried to take items of clean laundry out to fold JoJo just thought the game was even more fun.

Uh Oh - Light and Dark Trouble again!

I bought some tulips today. Fortunately I had carefully researched what cut flowers wouldn't be dangerous for kitties. I put them on the coffee table in their vase and went back to the sink to throw away the trimming. Crash - vase knocked over, all the water on the floor. Refilled the vase and sat down to try to convince them NOT to chew on, play with, or otherwise disturb the flowers. Somewhat successful for now.

Favorite Toy, Favorite Playground

These tinsel balls are still Maggie's favorite toys. She loses them under things for a while and then somehow find s them. She either hits the ball and chases it or carries it in her mouth and drops it to bat it or tosses it in the air and catches it. Her favorite locale for this activity? Our new king size bed with our lovely gold comforter cover.

Two Approaches to Life, the Sequel

Another example. This large mess is on the desk in Pat's room. I'm working on moving all my beads (and there are a lot of beads!) up there and reorganizing then. This involves putting them into flip top tubes and sorting the tubes into boxes. Both cats have come to check it out while I work.

Maggie Mae carefully finds a way to climb onto the desk. She steps delicately and carefully around the stuff, looking and sniffing. Nothing is disturbed and ultimately she finds her careful way down.

JoJo starts on the floor in front of the desk and hurls himself up. About 2 out of three times he falls back down because he hasn't counted on all the stuff. When he land, it involves scattering stuff everywhere. As he walks around, stuff crashes in his wake. He finds a tube and bats it around to hear the noise. Eventually he flies off the deskscattering more stuff.

Very different beasts!

Six Months Old!

I can't believe how much these guys have grown in the almost 4 months they've been living with us Whet delightful companions.

Happy half birthday kitties!

How did they do that?

I was upstairs and heard a crash. I went downstairs and discovered that they had knocked a wooden card box off a cabinet and onto the base of a lamp in the living room. Nothing too unusual. The amazing thing was that they had also somehow turned on the lamp! It has a pull chain to turn it on and off. My guess is that they stretched off a chair to bat at it, turned on the lamp in the process, fell and knocked over the box. Now the question is will the fright from the crash outweigh the fascination with the light coming on.

A Physics Experiment

I finished reading my board packet and dropped it on the floor near my feet while I did other things. Next thing I knew I heard a "snap." I looked down and discovered JoJo using his paw to pull up the rubber band and let it go. Maggie came over to join in the fun,

Breakthrough!

Maggie has been quite a challenge about scratching. She looks at me and then turns back to the corner of a chair or sofa and scratches. I finally ordered a very tall and sturdy post covered with woven sisal fabric (and some catnip). I then started finding ways to get her interested. The alpaca band and wide ribbon started catching her fancy. Finally I put treats in the recess at the top of the pole. Success! She is now scratching on the pole more and her transgressions are more infrequent.

I'm afraid I need another one upstairs.

Two Approaches to Life

JoJo and Maggie Mae not only look like opposites but they have totally different styles. Maggie is definitely more curious and playful -  not to mention braver. JoJo is more affectionate and emotionally needy. JoJo is also kind of a big lunk, kind of filling all the space around him without regard to what's in that space.

 I thought the way they were sitting on the chairs showed their approach to the world..

Can I go to work with you?

Ward was getting ready to go to work  this morning and had set his computer bag on his chair. Maggie draped herself over it when he walked away. He came back to get it and she looked rather pleadingly at him.

Baby Pictures

Today I was getting some pictures off the CD Maggie Mae and JoJo's former owners gave me to print them. The pictures were so cute that I thought a little family history here would be good. Mom Tallulah  is pictured with Dizzy (now JoJo), Duke, Ella (now Maggie Mae), Holiday, Louis, and Thelonius. I don't think I could tell you which is which except I know that Maggie was the smallest and JoJo has the longest hair.

Mellow Kitty

JoJo relaxes comfortably on my ottoman.

That smells familiar ...

I took off Maggie Mae's collar tonight. She had seemed to not even notice wearing it after I flipped it down instead of over her face but as soon as I took it off she very happily took a thorough bath. She washed all her paws, her neck, her face. Didn't even touch the incision area (which looks well healed). I left the collar sitting near my chair. She ran into later and was quite intrigued by the smell.

Mmmm ... Catnip!

New catnip toys arrived in the mail today. Big fluffy objects. Filled with catnip so strong you could basically smell it before I opened the box. I tossed one to JoJo and he went nuts - grabbing, chasing, kicking, biting. Loved it! I tried to toss another to Maggie Mae but JoJo zoomed over and pounced on it before she could get it.  Eventually she got her turn. Her best move was tossing it in the air and catching it and rolling around. Great purchase!

Chasing Rainbows

We obviously haven't had much sun since the kittens came to live here. I have a garden ornament which consists of a bunch of little mirrors hanging on a mobile stuck in a container plant. The sun came out and little beams of light (barely visible in the top left corner) danced around the carpet near the window. JoJo was enthralled chasing them.

Wanna see my scar?

Yesterday was the big day. Time to spay and neuter Maggie Mae and JoJo. I got them in carriers around 8AM and they were definitely NOT happy. Maggie went in the smaller carrier first and thrashed madly and wailed. Caught JoJo and stuffed him in the bigger carrier. He HATES the outdoors and, even more, the car. He started to cry piteously as soon as I opened the door. The drive to the vet was noisy - alternately "call and response" and stereo wailing. I assume they could hear JoJo while we were still outside. Signed the consent and went home to worry.

I called the vet around 11:30 AM yesterday and found out all was well. Maggie was resigned to whatever was going to happen. JoJo was quite agitated and had a rapid heartbeat. They had to get him calmed down before they could proceed but everything went fine.

Picked them up just after noon today. JoJo looked pretty normal (Aside: he's around 8 pounds now, about 2 more than Maggie. Yikes - he's going to be HUGE!) Maggie is wearing a collar so she won't lick herself open - needs to stay on at least 5 days. Oh boy. She looks a little more tired. Was told to "keep them from running around too much." Right.

We got home and I thought we'd sit quietly in Pat's room together. Not what they had in mind. Apparently it was very important to see if anything new had appeared in any room of the house. After about an hour Maggie got a paw caught in her collar and ran around the house like a banshee. I finally caught her, calmed her and freed her paw. A few minutes later she stuck her head under a rug trying to get the collar off and totally freaked out again. I called the vet and the tech suggested changing the collar from "looking like a flower to looking like a skirt around her neck." Much happier girl!

Dark Trouble? Light Trouble? No - BIG Trouble!

I heard a crash from the living room and figured the kittens had knocked my silk flowers over. It had happened before. Went to explore and this time it had gone a little farther. The dish it sits in had broken in half. Uh oh. Fortunately glue-able and not precious.

Alpaca - My Favorite

Knitting continues to be a challenge with the kittens. They - well, honestly mostly JoJo - love animal fibers. Cashmere, angora, wool, alpaca - all delightful. I was redoing a hat for Chris to make it fit better. I started the new one with fresh wool and then unraveled the one that didn't fit well to finish it. I only unraveled the yarn as I needed it, starting at the crown,  so I ended up with a ribbed band and a little of the knitted cap. I stitched the edges together to make a knitted ring and gave it to the cats. They wrestle lovingly with it.

King of the Hill

Or at least of the family room. JoJo perched on the back of my chair and watched us eat our dinner. Thought he might pounce. He is very interested in people food, particularly anything that swam while alive. Maggie Mae is a little more discreet - or perhaps just less ravenous.

Hide and Seek

A new game! Maggie and JoJo took turns hiding under this throw rug. 

Lap Cat Wanted

I've never had a lap cat. Basil and Klar pretty much stuck to each other and left me alone. Maybe because I was working at least full time out of the house and wasn't around with them as much. Jasper loved to me with me but always about a short distance away at my feet. I thought that was where I was heading with these guys. Maggie Mae loves being on the ottoman often draping herself on my legs or otherwise seeking adoration. JoJo often is on the floor between my chair and the ottoman. Lately though he likes to climb onto my lap and rub faces. And try to type on my laptop. And snuggle next to me - finally a lap cat?

Scratch? Who me?

I noticed that the cats aren't liking the cardboard scratchers as much as before. JoJo prefers the carpet. Maggie is a furniture gal. I bought this small carpet post to see if JoJo would like it. Like it? He LOVES it! Wraps himself around it. Climbs up it. Probably needs a bigger one. Maggie, on the other hand, apparently thinks the concept is ridiculous.

Wonder where the rest of that bird went?

Maggie Mae and JoJo discovered the feather duster today. They enjoyed stalking it and dragging it around. Maybe I could train them to dust?

X marks the spot

Having a black and a white cat makes for some amusing photo ops. JoJo was snoozing on the ottoman and Maggie plopped herself down crosswise over the top of him. Cute!

Yum - tuna!

I needed a very quick dinner before I went out so I decided to make my speedy pasta with tuna sauce - olive oil, an anchovy or 2 sauteed for a minute, a can of tuna in olive oil, some capers, a little grated lemon peel and lemon juice, parmesan reggiano, parsley - tossed with a nice wheat germ pasta. I had JoJo at the anchovies. I ignored him. Then I opened the can of tuna. I was VERY popular with the cats. I gave them a little bit of tuna and it was practically inhaled.

I ate my dinner - with a feline audience. After I removed my plate, IK caught JoJo pretty much rolling around my place at the table - I guess I had dropped a drip or two. I left Ward's dinner in the pan on the stove. 

When I got home, I asked Ward how his dinner was. He said it would have been better if Dark Trouble hadn't eaten part of it. Apparently he set his plate on the table and turned away for a minute. When he looked back, JoJo was eating the pasta. My response? "Did you take a picture?" Of course he hadn't so I had to stage one  so I could tell the story.

Separation Anxiety

I'm headed off for a beach weekend with friends. JoJo draped himself over my suitcase when I tried to pack. Perhaps he sensed something?

I left Ward a list and emphasized the litterbox scooping and plentiful water. Things seemed to go okay while I was gone but boy were JoJo and Maggie Mae glad to see me! Ward probably was too but the cats were more obvious - definitely wanted some attention.

Bath time

Loved this posture Maggie struck for her evening bath!

Dark Trouble and Light Trouble

Maggie Mae and JoJo have new nicknames. We've taken to calling them Dark Trouble and Light Trouble because trouble is usually what they are up to!

Tonight they discovered a new game. They pawed a small area rug until the edge lifted up. Then Maggie (Light Trouble) scooted under and sat there until JoJo (Dark Trouble) sat on top and waited to attack. Eventually JoJo took his turn under the rug.

Where's our tree going?

The Maggie and JoJo were enjoying our tree even more once the ornaments were gone. I could almost hear them thinking, "It's so much easier to climb now!"

Tonight we took the tree down. Put it in its bag and left it in the hall while we had dinner. The cats decided to show it a little love even though it was no longer recognizable as a tree.

Hey that Ward guy is cool after all!

Ward made this swimming screen saver with the AboutUs logo. He set the computer down on the ground and left it open. As the logo started to swim it attracted the kitties attention. Glad they didn't attack it!

Guarding the tissue paper

I might have to take out sheets of tissue paper all year long since these guys love it so much. Tonight I saw Maggie carrying some in her mouth like an animal she caught. JoJo ended up lying on some on his back, wallowing in the pleasure of it.

Little Miss Innocent - NOT!

We always think that JoJo is the wild one. He seems to get into the obvious trouble more often. And yet I know that Maggie loves playing with toys more than him so ... Today I caught her in the act, climbing quite high in the Christmas tree that I'm working on undecorating. She managed to unlpug the top strands of lights making the job more difficult.

A quiet house

The Christmas Eve Slovak dinner party - 27 diners! - is done. Christmas morning gifts and stockings are done. Our open house - dozens of people many of whom wanted to find and meet the kitties - is done. The boys and Sevanah left today for Eugene. I think all 4 os us - Ward, me, Maggie Mae and JoJo - are feeling a little let down. And a little exhausted!

Of course there is another reason for this exhaustion today! We got a new king size bed a few weeks ago. More room for the kitties to curl up next to me and sleep. Most nights. Some nights it is just more room for the hunting game. Last night. when I finally got to bed, several hours after the new year began, both cats decided they wanted to play. JoJo jumped onto the bed carrying a toy mouse in his mouth and proceeded to drop it and pounce on it - over and over. Maggie did the same with her favorite tinsel ball. A few times they dropped their toy near my pillow. In an attempt to get them to play somewhere else, I tossed the toys across the room. What did they do? Played fetch like puppies and brought the toys back to me. I eventually went to sleep on the couch in the kitty/craft room figuring it would offer less room for their antics.