Between a rocker and a scratching post... 

Uncharacteristically somber AreToo... 

Cloud and kill (new toy goose)... 

What happens to an empty piano... 

Little Squirts

The human had just had to squirt AreToo, who had simply refused to vacate a place he's utterly not allowed to be in. (He left.) When Angel looked to be going to the same place, the human warned him: I will so totally squirt you! She pictured the squirt bottle, saying, Squirt, squirt! She pictured the squirt of water, Squirt, squirt! Angel looked at her for a long time, then decided to go pee...

Joined At The Butt

Left to right, AreToo and Angel, sound asleep, on the couch, in a perfect semicircle of a mythic or symbolic creature having a head at each end. Of course, by the time I got the camera, AreToo had moved...

Defensive Sleeping

In order to medicate Petunnia, I have to "towell" her - easiest to ambush her asleep... Well, she's now taken to sleeping in places and positions not easily reached - and I know she knows exactly what she's doing...

More Stress

Petunnia has a bit of conjunctivitis in her left eye, meaning 10 - 14 days of drops, twice a day! Prediction: the human will be an absolute basket-case before this is over...

Angel and Cyrrie with feathers... 

AreToo and feathers... 

Up And Down

Cloud and Cyrrie start up the stairs at the same time - unaceptable; Cloud turns and smacks Cyrano, who scampers on up. A few steps higher, and there's Buddy; Cloud stops and washes his face - 5 or 6 licks at least. Then, changing her mind, she comes back down, passes AreToo, and - you guessed it, smack!

Oy, Again

Things seem to be drying out - mostly - and the guys have been persuaded/tricked down out of the attic - their new fav place - and, we'll try to update this tomorrow...

Not A Good Idea

Because the house was already torn up, I thought this might be a good time to have the rugs cleaned... I asked the steam cleaners if they did area rugs as well as carpets, and they said yes. Well. There was water everywhere that I had to mop up, and the cleaners said 12 - 24 hours until dry, but the paper they left behind said 24 - 48. So the guys are back in the attic, and the thermostat is set for 80', and there are 3 fans running, and the whole place smells like a wet dog...

Toonya - Still decompressing... 

Our mantle, at least so far... 

Cloudling in still disarrayed kitchen...

AreToo hanging with Buddy in still disarrayed living room... 

AreToo says, Let me out of here...! 

Cats and Kittens' Christmas

I.

Christmas Eve Day: Catnip, FancyFeast, teethy treats, playing with both feather toys, and rompings in the attic...

II.

Christmas Eve: Visit from Grandhuman, and kittens' first fire - Angel was scared, AreToo was fascinated. Later AreToo and Cloud shared the hearth, watching the dying fire - the ember jewels winking in the darkness, the sparks flying upwards... It was a picture of peace and goodwill! Until she smacked him.

III.

Christmas Breakfast: Cyrrie, AreToo and Cloud share cold London broil with their human...

Saw It Coming

As soon as I took all the stuff off the top of the living room bookcase, I knew certain little people would notice... So today when I saw Cloud eye-balling that mostly virgin territory, and a few minutes later caught her aloft, well, all I can say is, I saw it coming.... (Although I still haven't figured out how she got there!) (Guys, if you're going to actually levitate, use discretion!!)

Slowly Getting Back To Normal

Paintings and mirrors back on the walls, plants are returning to their own windows, drapes will be up later today, etc. Greatly daring, the human has also put a string of lights along the mantle - so far, so good...

Solstice!

How cool is that...!

Liberated!

And - at least for a little while - enjoying the best of both worlds...

End In Sight?

In a couple of hours, the painters will be back to finish... Banshee stayed downstairs last night, and when Lucy hammered on the door just now, the human said Oh, I guess...

Re-Catted

Sort of: When the human struggled down the stairs with the over-sized bowl of cruddy water (thank you, kittens) Banshee made her escape. Since she seems to be breathing ok, the human decided to let her stay, although she did mention that all the FF was currently being served in the attic... Oh, well - Bansh has crunchies, the fountain, multiple litter boxes on 2 levels, and - if she chooses - the human to sleep with...

Bird listening... 

Poster kitten for for cats and kittens in (temporary) exile... 

Better Off

They really are better off up there - when Angel got out this morning, he totally panicked in the totally unfamiliar homescape...

Just Not Right

So I can eat something without a complicated formula for appeasing the beggars (chiefly Cyrano, AreToo and Cloud)... So I can leave the currently crowded computer room open.... So I can, uh, what - is there any other advantage? Um, no! Oh! Cats and kittens! How your human misses you! This is just not right!

So Weird

It's actually making me feel more guilty that they're not making more of a fuss about this. It's getting on like 30+ hours that they've (mostly/most of them) been confined to "Sanctuary"... It's gotten colder, so I've added a second quartz heater. They've been FF'd twice, and special extra-good (or at any rate extra-expensive) crunchies have been added to the original mix. But as uncomfortable as I am with them up there, I keep telling myself it's better than their being exposed to all of the paint fumes, plaster dust and just plain stress of this transition. And they do seem to be cool with it... It's me, it's me, it's me....

How They're Doing

Well, for one thing, the howls of protest the human fully expected did not materialize. In fact she was up and moving about for around an hour this morning before the first paw began to beat against the attic door (it was Lucy,who has a very distinctive paw beat). So Lucy was let loose, to sniff the paint smells, wander the empty echoing spaces, and pounce on the plastic sheeting when the furnace coming on rattled it. The next one was Cloud, whose little white paw stretched so eloquently out from under the door. And finally Angel, who was only allowed out for a hug and kiss. At this moment, Angel and Cloud are back upstairs, and Lucy is in the bedroom. We'll check on the rest of them a bit later...

Planet Petunnia...? 

Tucking Them In In Sanctuary

Petunnia is admonished to share the bed - extra blankies are brought up for the floor...
Since some water has been kicked out of the bowl, it is added to...
After experimentation, both lights are left on....
The human considers sleeping with them in the attic, but there's no alarm clock, and she doesn't quite trust AreToo/Angel to nibble at exactly the right time.....
This is going to be a very strange night!

Lucy... 

AreToo going where no kitten has gone before... 

Pod Banshee, Angel's tail and empty dishes... 

Cloud or Pod Cloud...? 

AreToo and crunchies... 

Sanctuary: Petunnia holds the bed, the blankies and the toys... 

The Upside Of Cats In Sanctuary

I could put a glass of water in the middle of the floor, and - assuming I didn't kick it over myself - it would remain unspilled. The downside - all of those strange thumps and similar going on over my head... Is this an Oh, dear! moment, or a Now what?

What's Missing?

They have their quartz heater, their down comforter and fleece blankie, big - hopefully untippable - water bowl, big bowl of crunchies, extra FF, each other - but no toys! Oh, no! Gathering a quick but diverse handful, the human edges open the attic door and tosses upward, as Cyrrie and AreToo look down on her, but at least not unhappily...

Where Were They?

Well, it turns out not all of them were under the bed - once the painters left, Banshee and Lucy drifted up from the basement... Where are they now? Sanctuary! Not willingly, of course, but the human took up 8 saucers full of FancyFeast - Lucy ran right up - and then opened the bedroom door and directed the rest of them up the stairs. Of course, the place where they always want to go when you don't want them to go there is now not in the least interesting or desirable. But eventually they all went, and the human does not have to worry about paws on wet paint, etc. It's very very weird, actually.

Where Are They All?

Home-improvement day has finally dawned, and although the human intended to offer the guys a sanctuary in the attic, they have not yet taken her up on it... Only AreToo hung around with the human as she watched the painting progress and puttered, variously. Finally, though, brave little AreToo started to cry - too much excitement even for him? The human first cuddled then put him in the bedroom where she assumed most of the other ones were hiding, and in fact Cloud, Angel, and Petunnia all came out from under the bed to compare notes with AreToo, Cloud and Toonya being amazingly sweet with the babes...

Another AreToo... 

Nipping... 

Nippers... 

Nipped...! 

Three Plants

I.

More Encouraging Their Bad Habbits

When the big catnip plant is found not only dead but dried crisp, the human puts it in the middle of the front room floor and watches... (Pics to follow.)

II.

Kittened Past the Point of No Return?

In getting ready for the painting, the human moves the fig tree from the front room to the bedroom, and finally acknowledges - there's only one branch left with any leaves at all - the one that they (formerly) could not reach...

III.

Resurrection

For at least 2 weeks, the human had been meaning to throw out a dead plant - it was a litle anonymous flowering plant that came in from the porch only to be neglected in the dining room. But everytime she went to pitch it, something distracted her, so there it sat. Today, she took it out on the porch to add the potting soil to the environment, shook it, and when it didn't fall out of the pot she grabbed a dry stick and started to pull - that was when she noticed the tiny clusters of tiny new green leaves... So it came back inside and got watered.

Stress!

In anticipation of 5 days of plastering and painting, the human is giving the guys a holistic anti-stress supplement, which may or not help them when the time comes, but, for now, at least they seem to like it...

Two sweet...