Thank You Secret Santa!

I haven't had this much fun in a long time! First came the envelope. Sab attacked the contents when Mama emptied it but she put the envelope on the floor and well.... it makes a purfect sprawling mat!

I was all stretched out on that when she showed me the place mat and the feather. OMC did she wave a feather in front of my face? How did you know I love feathers? I've only destroyed two of them before because they are such so awesome to pounce, chew, and attack!

Just when I thought it couldn't get any cooler, I noticed the package ribbon had fallen to the floor. SCORE! I attacked it and bit it and licked it and Mama said "that's enough" but oh my goodness both Sab and I loved it.

I went to the bed to enjoy the afternoon sun and wowsers there was more! Sab had stepped away from the catnip banana and whoa I sure surprised Mama! I attacked it and flipped it and tunneled it under the tissue paper and have only stopped long enough to tell you thank you very much! I've still got some serious playing to do!

Stuffy Noses

What a dirty trick I tell you.... Mama getting me up and giving me lovin this morning and then putting me in the cat carrier & locking the door!

Off to see Dr. Vicky we went. This time, though, Mama did not bring me right in with her; she left me in the car and the heat. When she came out, we went through a side door instead of the regular place where they have the birds and I can visit with the front desk girls. Well, they visit and I inform them, loudly, I might add, how badly I have been mistreated by that establishment yet again.

Mama and Dr. Vicky seemed to know each other and did some chatting but I've never sniffed her before. I know Carol though, and she was quite impressed with how good my coat looked and I've lost another 10 ounces, which everyone was quite pleased to hear.

So what did Carol do? She held me down so Dr. Vicky could stick that thing where the sun should never shine and she poked my belly and felt me up and listened to every howl I made. I tried so hard to get out of their grips but man those ladies are good!

Dr. Vicky says that my lungs sound good so she's happy about that. My nose is not running either, and that's good. My nose is stuffy, though, something Mama called "URI" and so she and Dr. Vicky talked about that. Mama was feeling guilty for bringing that URI thing home from the animal shelter but Dr. Vicky told her that even though Mama is very careful with her clothes, she's not surprised I got it because it happens to her cats too.

Dr. Vicky gave Mama a tube of lie gel to give to Sab and me and back out the side door I went.

This lying jelly cream isn't all bad, though. Mama went and bought us CANNED FOOD to help it go down.

Mmmmmmmmmm

Ah... ah... ah... CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Pardon me while I sneeze. Wowsers I hate tickles in my nose.

The other day the tickle was so bad I coughed. Mama jumped out of her chair and came over to the bed, thinking it was Sab having another asthma attack. That mean cough woke me up from a peaceful nap. It's a good thing I fall asleep easily.

Sneezes are not fun. They sneak right up on you and catch you by surprise, much like Sab when he's in stealth mode and attacks me from behind. One minute you're fine and the next minute WHAM! there it is!

Its not like it happens all the time, either. Good thing that sneeze has only shown up a couple times.

Bad news for me, though, is that Mama was around when they all happened and well... I imagine you can guess where this is going!

Mama calls Dr. David's office and talked to Rene. The first question Rene asked her was "what's going around the shelter these days?" because she knows Mama works at the animal shelter where she got me oh so long ago. Mama scratched her head and said nothing but the ordinary coughing that the dogs have but she doesn't touch the dogs. Then Mama remembered that she'd been hugging kittens last week and, what do you know....

Sab thinks I don't know, but I do. Mama is going to drag me to see Dr. David tomorrow, right before the turkey holiday. Poor Dr. David! I'm sure he's got things to do and needs to get ready. After all, I know he's got cats living at his house and someone has to cook their turkey! I can't believe she's going to interrupt Dr. David's food-making schedule just because I had a tickle in my nose.

She can't make me go! I would never sniff out a URI, I know better!

I Still Got It!

I'm telling you, living with Sebastian is quite a trial. Nothing is sacred to that cat! He has no morals, either. He's bored? Must be time to pick a fight!

Yesterday Mama was home with another one of her really bad migraines and I had been trying to help her but Mama said that my paws and claws in her face weren't appurciated so she put her pillow on her head.

I was quite annoyed by that; what does she mean that I am not helping? So I got off the bed.

Sab was nearby and decided it was time to take me on. He pounced on me and it was a free for all.

He's been doing this lately; Mama says he's bored and feeling better with the weather getting cooler. I wish his asthma would be hard every day and he'd be quiet and sedate! I decided to teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget.

I bit his back paw. I got him good. I also howled, hissed, and took a big slap at it.

Mama was no happy. "I said SHUT UP!" she yelled.

Sab dashed off, wounded. I got him good. Later Mama was up and about and saw the blood on the glider chair and she got all worried and woke me up to check me over. Then she checked Sab over and then she found the damage.

Guess who got scolded? It wasn't me!

I'm Normal!!!!

On Thursday Mama pulled a fast one on me and hauled me off to the vet. It's bad enough to get dragged out there, but then I had to endure a whippersnapper of a black kitten, on a leash, who tried to make friends by coming up to my carrier and sticking her nose inside!

Boy I'm telling you... I taught that kit a thing or two about respecting her elders!

Then Miss Carole came out and put me on the scale and then she stole my blood again. Said it was time to check my thyroid level.

The good news is that I've lost over two pounds since March, when it was discovered that I'd gained 3 pounds in 6 months. Miss Carole and Dr. David are very pleased with me!

And the coolest news of all - or so says Mama - is that my thyroid level is dead center in the normal range! I knew there was a reason I've been feeling more like myself. My beautiful fur is looking sleek again and I've had enough energy to spare; I've been beating up on that Sebastian who think's he's in charge and putting him in his place. I've been leaving clumps of orange hair for Mama to find. Even though she scolds me, I think she's proud that I can still put him in his place!

We Made it!

I'm telling you, it was a very scary Friday we had.

Mama had been keeping an eye on the TV, watching someone named Bill who was making waves in the ocean and no one was sure he wouldn't come visit us, but he didn't, or so Mama says.

Instead, on Friday afternoon, there was no sun in my windows. That's not surprising since this year is the wettest summer ever, the weather people say. Mama took out our cat carrier and the guinea pig carrier and she moved Reese the hamster's cage and put all of this stuff next to the door to go outside. She also had the TV on loud so she could hear it.

We had supper, and just after that, it got very, very dark. It's not the right time of year for it to get nighttime dark when we eat supper. Mama took her camera outside to take pictures. She wasn't gone for very long before she came racing up the stairs. She put her camera down, yelled out "Sab! Kenzie!" really scared like, scooped up the guinea pigs and threw them in their carrier. Sab was already over sniffing things and shoved him in the carrier. I wasn't about to let Mama put me in there but she was quicker than I was and she picked me up - not gently, I might add - and threw me in the carrier with Sab. Mama put all of us in the stairs in the hall. She covered her head with a towel and sat next to us and we waited and waited and waited.

It was very hot out there. Sab was digging at the door and howling; I didn't blame him at all. I was howling too. It was getting scary! The guinea pigs were chattering their teeth, and the hamster was just plain curious. Just as Mama sat next to us, horrible noises started to come from outside and I could see Mama praying for all of us to be safe. It was so dark but the lightening was flashing and the thunder was the loudest I had ever heard; Mama says she hadn't heard anything like that before either. The rain came down so hard it sounded like banging on the roof. It was so loud! I was scared! I hate to admit it, but I was glad to be hiding with Sebastian so I wouldn't be alone, but all I wanted to do was curl up in Mama's arms!

Finally the storm went away and Mama got up. She brought our carriers into the apartment again and let us out. Mama says that when she went to take photos of the dark clouds coming in, she had looked up into the sky above her head and saw a funnel starting to form right over our building; that's why she was so scared and made us wait in the hallway. Later she heard on the news that it was confirmed that there was a funnel next to our building but it didn't touch the ground or anything around it.

Mama says we were very fortunate, because tornadoes don't come here much but we've had six in Maine this year. There was another one about an hour away from us that did a lot of damage and people got hurt but no one died.

I, for one, want the sun to come back!

I am Stylin!!!

Mama took a very special trip yesterday. She picked up a couple baby rats that someone she knew had, and she went to some place to meet Morgan the PirateGato's mom because she and Morgan were adopting them!

Mama says that Morgan has a wonderful mommy and they had a short but lovely time at the park where they stopped and they are both sure that Morgan is going to fall in love with his new brothers. Poor Morgan woke up a few days ago to find that his last rat sister had died during the night and he was so sad. I hope he's not so sad now!

Mama also didn't tell us she was coming home with a surprise. She's talked about it for a while, and Sab and I have whined for a couple for a while, but finally we are proud owners of a genuine, original Morgan's Bed! I would have chosen pink, but you know, after napping so comfy in the red one, I have to admit, I think it matches my fur just purfectly!

Sab, however, is such a sore loser; do you see his face in my new picture, showing off my bed? Its not my fault that he sniffed it and turned his back; I know a good opportunity when I see it! I'm telling you, if you don't have a Morgan's Bed yet, then you don't know how much better your naps can be with one!

Mama says that she'll keep it in the kitchen for now so the foster rabbits don't use it (and chew it; that Shorite girl chews almost everything!) so now we've got another soft spot to use while we hide from rabbits!

PS: thank you, Diary Gal, for making me a diary pick today! What a way to wake up after sleeping in a Morgan's Bed

Three Entire Years!

That's how long its been since Mama found a place called "Catster" and said "let's check this place out!"

I can't believe that we all missed that important anniversary - it was last Wednesday! Mama's been busy and I've just been lazy and trying to get as much love out of her as I can.

Mama's not been easy to distract, though. A friend of hers that she's worked with on church stuff for years lost her dog a couple weeks ago. To hear Mama tell it, her friend had gone to Flo Ri D'oh to pick up this dog and they got all the way to the town next to us and that big, silly dog slipped her collar and hasn't been captured since. Mama's helping her friend to find the dog because this friend lives a couple hours north of us and doesn't feel good, but she's been driving to our area every day to look for her dog. The police have seen the dog but she's too scared to get caught. Rescue people have seen the dog and tried to trap her, but she got out of that, too, got hurt, and now won't come near people at all. Mama says its a female, tan Great Dane and that those are big dogs and hard to miss.

Ahem, Mama, I don't miss dogs at all. Dogs are the enemy! But I don't like the idea of a dog being lost and being hurt and not having a place to sleep or anything to eat. So please purr that Mama and her friend Chris can find her dog!

Turn Off the Noise!

An Olde Furt such as myself can't get a moment's peace around here these days. I'm telling you.... all I want is to nap next to my mama and get my head scratched and it's just not happening!

Two days ago Mama was home all day. Sounds purfect, right? That's what I thought.

Instead, she cleans the rabbits and guinea pigs. She moves Sab's scratching table out of the corner that the rabbits like to hide and Mama started howling and growling like an angry cat. (I've taught her well, I will admit!) That's when she discovered that Shortie had ripped/torn/chewed a hole in the corner of the living room carpet. Then Mama went on a mission to cover the hole and protect it so she doesn't make it worse and wowsers Mama made such a racket!

Reese, my hamster sister, has been doing housekeeping of her own. Mama gave her a tube to sleep in at the top of her cage and she decided it makes the best cupboard to store food and sleep. Mama said that was OK until Reese decided to start kicking stuff down the tube to the bottom. I thought hamster slept during the day! We have to listen to this horrible crash, bang, bonk all day long of her knocking food down the tube. Mama says "enough is enough" and promises me that she'll give Reese's home a thorough scrub today, but in the meantime, oh the noise!

Yesterday, I was curled up next to Mama sleeping peacefully in front of the open window with the starlight in it and the breeze from the lake. It was a great spot to sleep. It was still nighttime after all; it was even too early to bed Mama for breakfast. Next thing I know, there's the loudest BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP outside our window! I was immediately awake and couldn't get off the bed fast enough - it was so scary! It woke Mama up too and she sat straight up and said "what is THAT?" She looked out the window to find that the road workers were already awake and they were putting the yellow and white stripes on the road in front of our building - in the middle of the night! They've been putting the black stuff on the road across from us for days and there's been all that noise, too, but "they had to do stripe the road at 4 am?" Mama growled. Was very rude, but Mama got up and fed us breakfast anyway!

If that wasn't enough noise, then there's noise about a baby coming - a human baby. It's Auntie Becky's human baby, and Mama says there are "complications" or "possible complications" or maybe even "coming early" and other silly stuff. I don't know much about it, but its got Mama going here and there and all over the place to help out Auntie Becky and Mama says its only going to be more busy as it gets closer to the baby being born. Mama's been shopping for the baby and come home with shopping bags so I've been making noise of my own.

I love that kind of noise - I love it when Mama watches me play with shopping bags!

Birthdays and Browsers

Today is Sebastian's 1oth birthday. I can't believe its been that long since my life has been disturbed! He came to live with us when he was 8 weeks old, and life just hasn't been as quiet and sane since!

He's good for some things, though, like the non-diet supper food we got to eat - succulent wet pouch food from Pounce with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top. Oh it tasted so moreish!

Mama just about got buried in her paw mail with all the notes that cats sent Sab birthday greetings so she almost missed the paw mail from Catster that talks about the new Catster brower add-on for FireFox. Of course I don't totally understand what all of that means, but I told Mama to put it on our computer right away! Like a good mama, she did, but she said "its too big" for our computer screen and she took it off. Says its also too busy for her eyes to pay attention to anything else but the cats. I liked it though. I'll have to figure out how to put it back when Mama's not looking!

Mama tells me that a lady called the shelter today asking questions about Shortie. Do I dare to hope that maybe Shortie could get a new home soon? Oh that would be pawsome!