We're Having Company

When the cleaning started, cats and kittens voluntarily exiled themselves to the attic. Just imagine: spreading a table cloth without having to wrastle AreToo... Or making eggnog without Cloud and Cyrrie right underfoot!

Selfish!

Yesterday the human brought home a bag of new toys, a big bag, in fact. So she distributed some, and put some away for later, and put the bag into her briefcase, to be shared with other families... When she got up this morning, the briefcase had been robbed! The plastic bag was torn to shreds, and everything had been slobbered on. (I ask you.)

Whose Fault Is It?

That we have not had a decent pic in days...!

OMG!

I came home planning to blog about something else, but I am so dumbfounded by what has just happened...! Never, never, never!! have I seen Buddy stand up for himself!!! But tonight when we did the dancing dishes thing with the FancyFeast, and when Cyrrie in the kitchen abandoned his plate half-full and went into the living room, I hurried to bring Buddy in a new plate, because I knew without looking that Cyrrie had disemplated him. Imagine my astonishment when I find Cyrrie sitting plateless beside Buddy, whose own head is down - finishing up his own FancyFeast for the first time ever! (Well, ever being post Cloud and Cyrano...)

Typical Morning

When there's a commotion in the living room, the human finds Lucy poofed out to just about spherical - and there's Angel, doing an especially good when-in-doubt-wash. Then the bedroom - where the human left Buddy lying peacefully on the bed: only minutes later Buddy is shooting out the door - and when the human looks, of course there is Angel, lying peacefully where Buddy had just been. And when shrieks emerge from underneath the dining room table, lifting the table cloth the human finds, predictably, Cloud on one chair, chirping and hissing, and Angel on another, looking... interested. Impressed with himself. Little Agent of Chaos! Oh, and he would have jumped Petunnia in the bathroom, but the human caught him in mid pounce. 4 down, 3 to go....

Cute Even If Slightly Crabby Looking

Lucy, Cont.

7 days down, 3 to go - is it good news or bad that she's really quite feisty now...?

Sleeping Around

For the last couple of months it's been 'Toonya on the pillow, kittens on the human, and - usually - Cyrrie curled up on the corner by the wall... But, last night and the night before, the human woke up to... Buddy! And he's been napping on the bed as well, instead of his usual spots in the living room....

Pretty Boy Angel

They Always Surprise You

When the human got home tonight after a 12 plus hour day, the first one to greet her was... Cyrrie! lustily gobbling her fingertips right past the knuckle; it's his - and Cloud's - way of kissing, but they have very different techniques...

Spring!

Last night it was a bug - at least I think it was a bug - I never actually managed to make it out myself - but 4 kittens with up-turned faces and craned necks followed it obsessively for many minutes, on or near the living room ceiling... Tonight it was the ceiling fan in the bedroom - as if he'd never seen it before, Angel was totally mesmerized....

Squinty!

A Mixed Blessing

It got into the 80's today, so when the human (finally) got home, she opened the bedroom window... When it was Banshee's turn, something in the fresh air triggered an asthma attack! Drat!! We're due this month to go in for blood work to see what the magic shots have been doing to her, and, if anything, to discuss alternatives - not many, at this point, although we did get an inhaler mask and have been playing with it, as in See, isn't this cool? Not scary or icky at all! (Sigh.)

A Bit Of Butter

What to do with a little bit of butter, not nearly enought to put back into the refrigerator but just enough that you'd think twice about just washing it down the sink. And then Cloud, known butter afficionado, comes into the kitchen... Dilemma solved!

Looking Back Over Today

The kittens had a great morning, spent mostly kicking each other in the head - with Cyrrie agonizing over whether to join in or not. Cloud had another emotional melt down, but later she made a point of seeking out her human - she kissed her nose, she kissed her toes - as if to say, I know they're not your fault - well, not exactly, not entirely - but even if they are mostly your fault, I love you anyway... And, finally, we're halfway through Lucy's meds! Woohooo! Light at the end of the tunnel...

With Flash

I haven't tried the coffee filter thing, yet... But look how good Lucy is feeling! She's even helping her human fold the towells...

Without Flash

Finally!

With Lucy successfully medicated - all 3 treatments! - the poor tired human finally gets to go to bed (this is going to be yet another 6 day work week, with worse to come). Cats and kittens say, Hang in there, Human Girl! (Will do!)

Lucy This Morning

Continues to improve; activity level pretty normal; took her meds really well; human cautiously relieved... :)

Late Last Night

The human is at the top of the basement stairs - at the bottom, Cloud. So the human is saying, Hi, Sweetie, How's my girl, There's my pretty baby, etc. When he speaks up, the human becomes aware of AreToo, on the step right below her. And does he ever speak up - like Cyrrie, he's a talker! It is so clear he's saying something. What, love? she says. And he says it all over again. Still not knowing what he wants, the human goes down a couple of stairs, sits, and rubs his face. And he purrs...

AreToo Again

Preparing to sweep the crunchies-covered kitchen floor, I pick up all the bowls. Then starveling little Aretoo shows up and immediately begins to eat crunchies off the floor in the most pathetic way. As if...!

Truly Hilarious

I went to pick up a bag of 4 hand-me-down silk dresses - lighter than a feather when I put it on the floor - but just now it weighed a ton, and I was totally perplexed. Putting it down on a chair in the computer room, I lifted out the first 2 dresses - and there was AreToo! Here is his little butt as he escapes before I can take his picture (it would have been adorable).

Happiness Is A Day Off

1. The human is happy because Lucy has, and we quote, responed very well to treatment!
2. AreToo is happy because the vestibule is now full of bags of crunchies, and he's sure he'll be able to sneak in and help himself.
3. Cyrrie is happy because the grandhuman sent home a care package, and he knows he'll get his share.
4. Cats and kittens generally should be happy, because when the human ran an errand for the grandhuman to the dollar store, she bought them a new toy, which they so totally do not need and probably will not play with. (It's a duckling, in honor of Easter.)

Please Don't Tell Them

I just found a new bud on the amaryllis! (I also watered Angel's nose, but I swear it was an accident...)

Couldn't He Find A Softer Spot To Nap?

Feeling A Little Better, I Think

But we're going for a re-check today, anyway...

Good Morning, All

Worrying about Lucy, I completely forgot to post that yesterday was the babies official birthday! Just imagine, Angel and AreToo, one year old! How did my tiny little adorable handfuls become such great big gorgeous armfuls?

Curses

The trajectory seems to be, the better she feels, the harder she will be to medicate. Very brief time with the hot compress tonight. Part of the Clavamox spitted out on the human and furniture. And I haven't tried the ointment yet... @#!$^%&)*+)_!!

Missions Accomplished

Human finished medicating Lucy; kittens recaptured the bathtub...

Turf War

Earlier this morning when the human went to take a shower, Cyrrie refused to surrender the bathtub. Eventually the clever but manipulative human went into the kitchen. Cyrrie, of course, followed; the human quickly slipped into the bathroom and closed the door, firmly.

Up-Dates

I. Lucy

Later last night, the ointment part was unsatisfactory if not totally unsuccessful. Just now we had a good if not great experience with the hot compress, and her little butt is actually looking much better... I'm going to wait a bit before trying the ointment, and do the antibiotic after that to try to get to a 12 hour schedule. (It doesn't help to have all these curious kittens around, plus Cyrrie, who always thinks it's going to be food...)

II. Angel

Not too long after the s&w pic, Angel joined the human in the bathroom, where she was washing stockings. He evidently felt quite jealous about his stockings-washing-watching-privileges, because when Cloud came in he jumped on her, then chased her around the house. Human to the rescue! And as she knelt and talked to Cloud, who was under the rocking chair, Angel waltzes right in between them. Cloud slugs Angel, and he's all like, What...?

And A Sleepy Cloudling, Too

Cyrrie The Sleepy

Is That Really Angel?

Being so sweet and good and sharing a robe with Petunnia??

Home From The Vetz

She took her Clavamox, but perhaps only because she didn't know it was coming... We'll see what happens tomorrow morning.

Emergency Trip To Vetz

Poor Lucy! Her little butt is infected - this means we look forward to 10 days of hot compresses, ointment and oral antibiotics - every 12 hours...

MetaCute

Just think about it...

Tales Of Cloud

She's Not Always The Victim

Earlier this morning, when the window was briefly open, she clearly violated the rules by smacking Angel, who was legitimately in line ahead of her. Later, as she and Cyrrie and the human shared a chocolate-covered peanut-butter egg, when they got to the end of the egg, she smacked her brother!

On The Other Hand, She Rules

As the human got ready/tried to get ready for work, she felt an amazing softness brushing against her legs. She looked down, knowing who she'd see, and said stuff like, Hi, Gorgeous! Hi, Sweetheart! What a pretty girl... and then she went back to putting on make-up. Next: Instead of brushing up, someone started to gnaw - gently - on the poor human's ankle. So, giving in, the human picks her up, pets her, continues the sweet talk, and what does Cloud do? She falls asleep... So the human carries her to the couch, and puts her down by Buddy, her favorite sib. And goes back to her make-up. Ha! 2 seconds later, ankle gnawing resumes (gently). The human picks Cloud up again, and holds her until she's ready to get down....

Resistance Is Futile

Late at night, when you're just about ready to close your book, Angel jumps your bones, kneading furiously... Well. What more is there to say?

After Bath Nap

Buddy Says, Blankies!

Angel Takes A Bath, Too

And yes, we've had yet another laundry spill - when will she ever learn...?

Bath Time

Ironic Namings

Gender

The first time it was Anthea - a darling orange tiger kitten with long fur who passed for female for the first 3 months of his life. He stayed Anthea, however, to the constant confusion of other people...

Size

Then it was another orange tiger kitten - sh, this time - who hitched a ride with the human during a blizzard. On his first visit to the vetz, he sat on the counter squeaking while the paper work was done. When the receptionist said, What's his name, and he said, Squeak! the human said, Oh, call him Mouse. You see where this is going, right? 25 lbs, plump but never fat, and people seeing him for the first time would literally gasp. And of course he stayed Mouse.

Temperament? Character?

And now there's that little dickens, Angel, who started out as "Angel" - the quotation marks were part of the "designation" which was supposed to be different from an actual name (this is Jennifer's terminology - Jennifer, professional kitten rescuer). When you said "Angel" you could also make the " " sign - another anti-bonding technique. Anyway, Jennifer was the one who designated him. Looking back over the blog, I see the " " disappeared sometime in June. (I should have known then that he'd be staying...)

The End Of Our Peaceful And Beautiful Weekend

Well, mostly it's ending because tomorrow is Monday, but also because little Angel was suddenly possessed by an imp, and went after Cloud once and Petunnia twice, all in about 10 minutes. Human intervened, of course. And when she tried to talk it over with him, he was, like, sooooo irresistibly cute.

And Again

Banshee And Cloud

As requested...

Cyrrie, Sun and Shadow

Recall Info

Probably a lot of cat-bloggers will pass this along, but anyway -

http://menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html

Beautiful And Peaceful

It wasn't the plan, but the human ended up working a 6 day week... Coming home this afternoon, she tried out new treats (a success), un-trashed the couch, poured herself a glass of merlot, got her book, and settled in to enjoy. The sun was beaming in - but from just one window - and at first the guys took turns, sweetly sharing the warmth and light. As it got later, the sun spot lengthened, and eventually Banshee, Buddy and Cloud were all there in a west to east alignment: Banshee glowed, but Buddy's and Cloud's whites were simply dazzling.

Irish!

In honor of St Patrick's Day, we have the "Crunchy Indoor Tartar Control Treats" - the ones like a half-green five-leaf clover...

Good Morning, Cyrrie

Good Morning, Lucy

Lucy says, No flash!

Good Morning, Buddy

Buddy says, Where's all the nice blankies?

Good Morning, Angel

Good Morning, AreToo

Taken This Morning

Princess Petunnia, the Shy and Modest