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<title>Uno Happily Irrepressible!</title>
<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible</link>
<description>Catster diary for the cat Uno</description>
<language>en</language>
<copyright>Copyright 2013 by Uno &amp; Catster</copyright>
<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 11:04:26 PDT</pubDate>
<generator>Catster Pet-o-matic Gennie - http://www.catster.com</generator>
<ttl>360</ttl>

	<item>
		<title>Redemption</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/827492</link>

				<pubdate>Mon, 20 May 2013 01:27:14 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/827492</guid>
		<description>For the last few days, depression and the combination of puffy runny eyes and nose, stuffy nose, itc ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ For the last few days, depression and the combination of puffy runny eyes and nose, stuffy nose, itching and other hellish symptoms of  an especially nasty allergy attack have been keeping me fairly miserable.  In addition, I've been frustrated at my own inability to get as many things done as I wanted to accomplish partly due to the allergies, and probably mostly due to the fact that the allergy medicine the doctor gave me, while it does bring relief, also has the side effect of making me sleep.

Uno normally is a very active, on-the-go, lively, playful, energetic, easily bored individual who mostly uses her high intelligence for purposes I don't exactly appreciate.  "Being well behaved" or "staying out of trouble" are phrases usually absent from her vocabulary.  Her ways of getting attention, although usually almost too effective, nonetheless rarely consist of anything humans would appreciate.

However, during the last few days, it was Uno of all the cats, who remained almost constantly curled up right by my side throughout my misery of the last few days.  The other cats came and went.  Uno almost never left my side.  She was always there when I woke up, she was always there when the allergy medicine sent me unwillingly back to sleep again. Other cats would try to lure her into playing with them, she declined (and it's very VERY rare for Uno to ever pass up an invitation to play).

Now that things are finally more normal again, the worst of the allergy attack has subsided, and I'm catching up on work and other things, Uno is back to her usual on-the-go self, playing with the other cats, thinking up mischief, and knocking things over to get attention (and running for the nearest hiding place only to emerge feigning innocence a few minutes later.)  

Although I don't really want Uno to fully realize this, there's no way I could possibly hold her mischief and antics against her or stay annoyed at them for long.  After all, she's earned redemption.  And I never cease to be amazed at the immense depth and amount of love, loyalty, and caring that a small creature weighing barely four pounds can show to a human when that human is down.]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Yes Me, Uno, HUMBLY Thank You All</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/826168</link>

				<pubdate>Thu, 9 May 2013 03:14:43 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/826168</guid>
		<description>Thank you Diary Gal for my DDP honor.  You made me very happy yesterday. Thank you friends for your  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Thank you Diary Gal for my DDP honor.  You made me very happy yesterday. Thank you friends for your beautiful pictures, rosettes, hearts, roses, birdies, ladybugs, etc you gave me.  

I'm also very much humbled and touched, yes me, Uno, HUMBLED by all the positive comments and praise I've received for my diary entries.  You inspire me to continue coming up with more mischief to make sure there's no lack of material for my diary!

However, in the future when I attempt any acrobatics on the edge of the bathtub, I will remember to keep my eye on what's going on behind me as well as in front of me.  And Velcro better watch out for me because I still owe him paybacks!

Thank you very much everyone!  PURRS to all of you!  & remember, never underestimate a Special Kitty!]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Mischief and A Bit of Cheese Sauce</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/825726</link>

				<pubdate>Sat, 4 May 2013 20:45:48 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/825726</guid>
		<description>Yesterday was my second birthday.  At first I was rather disgusted at Mom because she seemed to be c ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Yesterday was my second birthday.  At first I was rather disgusted at Mom because she seemed to be celebrating my birthday by being gone all afternoon photographing her best friend's dogs for her best friend's website!  

I thought, "How DARE Mom waste time on my birthday photographing DOGS of all things!"

I wanted to chomp some of Mom's cords to get even with her and to really make my point about how inconsiderate it was of Mom to be gone all afternoon.  However,  Carina and Gyselle were both laying in the areas where Mom's cords are.  

Carina and Gyselle are still newcomers,  having only been here a little over a month.  As usual with newcomers, they still tend to be nervous and tend to overreact defensively aggressively when they get scared or feel threatened.  When I tried to make them vacate the areas where the cords are by threatening them, instead of leaving they both hissed fiercely and swatted at me in no-nonsense ways that told me that if I pushed them any further, they would defend themselves.  Not wanting to risk a fight, scratch, or bite from either of them, I backed down.

It was then that I spotted books stacked near the edge of the headboard.  Here was the perfect way to get even with Mom and make my point.  Here there were no armed obstacles in my way.  Into action I sprang.  Up I went, down those books went.  On I moved to the next stack of books, with the same result.  After the headboard was cleared of books, I turned my attention to some of the bookshelves in the living room where books had been stacked on each other near the edge of the shelves.  CRASH! Down those books went too.

My plan succeeded beautifully except for one major point.  When Mom came home and found the books that had been knocked down and scattered all over the place, she DIDN'T KNOW WHO DID IT.  Now what is the point of getting even if the target of your vengeance doesn't know it's you who is upset at them?  There was only one thing I could do to salvage the situation.  As soon as Mom had picked up one stack of books and restacked it, I went and knocked it over again right in front of her.

"Uno, I haven't forgotten your birthday," Mom said.  "In fact I bought some cheese sauce with my breadsticks just so I could share it with you as your birthday treat."

I must confess after Mom said that, I felt just a tiny bit ashamed of myself...but only a little itsy-bitsy teeny tiny bit!  

And yes, I very much enjoyed my cheese sauce birthday treat!]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Dunk Dunk Goosed...What the Pfffttt! Just Happened?</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/825362</link>

				<pubdate>Wed, 1 May 2013 11:43:00 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/825362</guid>
		<description>As some of you may know, us kitties like to test our skills in jumping, climbing, and the feline equ ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ As some of you may know, us kitties like to test our skills in jumping, climbing, and the feline equivalent of tightrope walking.  Some of us like to add a little challenge to the latter and attempt to walk all the way around the rim of a bathtub of water.  

I've heard humans mention a game called "dunk dunk goosed" but I never knew what it meant until today when its meaning was taught to me in reverse order.

Lately I've felt I needed to do something to remind Mom that I'm the Queen and deserve to get the most attention around here and those newcomers need to get used to that fact.  I'd impressed Mom before by walking all the way around the bathtub of water while she was in it, but it'd been a long time ago.  Now seemed a good time to impress Mom again and at the same time, remind her that I'm the one who is Queen around here.

There I was, getting ready to demonstrate my superior balancing skills by walking all the way around the rim of the bathtub while it was half filled with water.  In that water sat Mom.  I leaped up onto the edge of the tub, neatly poised to pivot into place to begin my walk when suddenly.....Bbbbrrrrrr ! A shiver went up my spine!   KerSPLASH!  I fell headfirst into the water!  I hissed, "What the PFFFFTTTTTTT!!!!! just HAPPENED?"

Angry, embarrassed, and soaked,  I leaped back up onto the edge of the tub barely in time to catch a glimpse of a big long dark feather duster tail disappear around the corner of the bathroom door.  There's only one cat who has a big long dark feather duster tail around here like that....Velcro!!!   To make matters worse, Mom was laughing at me.  

"You got goosed then you got dunked," Mom laughed.  

Then Mom proceeded to tell me that Velcro had very quietly sneaked up on me and poked his cold nose into a sensitive part of my rear, startling me and causing me to end up getting dunked in the water.  I must have been concentrating so hard on trying to execute my balancing act perfectly enough to impress Mom with it, that I didn't even hear him.  Now I not only have to think up something else to do to impress Mom and remind her I'm still the Queen of the house, I also have to think up some way to get even with Velcro for goosing and dunking me!]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>&gt;~ &amp;%(!@!)V(@!)%#~&lt; Farrah &amp; The NEWCOMERS Hiss Me Off!</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/824181</link>

				<pubdate>Sun, 21 Apr 2013 02:05:53 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/824181</guid>
		<description>As some of you may have heard, we have three newcomers in our kitty family.  Mom was SUPPOSED to ado ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ As some of you may have heard, we have three newcomers in our kitty family.  Mom was SUPPOSED to adopt only ONE, Gyselle.  If only Gyselle had come, it would have been fine with me because she just stays up on the highest shelves out of everybody's way and wants to be left alone.  She only comes down eat, drink, use the litter, sharpen her claws, and walk around a little.  After that she goes right back up to one of the highest shelves, usually the one in the bedroom where she can lay out of everybody else's way and watch tv.  Gyselle is ok, she doesn't interfere with me at all.

However, two other kitties decided they wanted Mom to adopt them too and they stuck to her like they were made of Superglue until Mom agreed they could come home with her too.  Now these two newcomers and Farrah too, really are hissing me off because they keep spoiling all my fun!  

Since Gyselle pretty much took over the bedroom highest shelf, Farrah moved to a new spot under Mom's bed.  There's a lot of spots under Mom's bed Farrah could have picked, but NO, Farrah had to go and pick the spot right under where Mom likes to sit and work on her laptop.  What's the problem with that, you may ask?   Well, that spot is right by Mom's surge protector where she plugs in the laptop and the power cord for the usb hub. 

When I go to have some fun with Mom's laptop cord or the USB hub power cord or just to turn off the surge protector to get Mom's attention, I can't get to it because Farrah's fluffbutt is planted in my way.  I tell her get out of my way.  Farrah tells me I have a whole house to play in and to back off before she smacks me.  She says its enough that she's agreed to respect my Queen status in community areas such as where the food dishes, litter pans, and water dishes are.
 
Carina the blue and white newcomer, likes to hang out behind the computers which of course is by the shelf where the surge protectors for the computers, modem, router, etc are at.  All the ethernet cords (so soft & delicious for chewing) are behind the pcs.  Of course, the keyboard cords and other things that plug into the back of the pcs also are back there.  If I go to have some fun chewing on those deliciously soft ethernet cables or to entertain myself by yanking the keyboard and USB cords out of the back of the desktop pcs or turning off the surge protectors, I run into Carina.  Carina won't move either.  She just tells me to hiss off unless I want her to put holes in me with her teeth (someone declawed her at some time in her past life so she's a biter.Whereas kitties with claws usually just smack you with their claws kept sheathed when you hiss them off, if you hiss off a declawed kitty they tend to just bite you which hurts a lot more than a smack or even a scratch!)

Kitty GaGa, the third newcomer with long hair, keeps laying on the bed right by Mom's laptop while Mom works on it.  She will tolerate Buddha, Lily, Lefty, and Gabriel sleeping by her and of course she LOVES Mom but if anybody else of us tries to come close to her, Kitty GaGa hisses and smacks us if we don't back off!  Whenever Mom's working on her laptop, Kitty GaGa is always sitting or laying right beside where the cord plugs into it.  Mom sits near the edge of the bed so that the other side of the laptop where Mom plugs in the trackball or USB hub is right above where Farrah is laying.  So if I try to have fun with the laptop cord where it plugs in to the laptop, Kitty GaGa will hiss, growl, and smack me if I don't mind her first warning hiss and back off.  If I want to try to pull the trackball or USB hub cord out of the laptop, I can't because the spot I have to use to reach it is right in front of Farrah's nose and then Farrah will clout me.

Righty told me I should just come and join her and Skittles and everyone else on the new cat trees or the old cat trees if I prefer, and just give the newcomers more time.  She says eventually the newcomers may start playing on the trees or with the toys with us instead of occupying all my favorite spots.

I don't WANT to play on the trees.  I don't want to play with the toys.  What I want is for Farrah and Carina and Kitty GaGa to get out of my favorite spots and STAY out of my favorite spots.  And I want to have my usual fun with all those wonderfully chewable cords & cables!

I can't have any fun at all because of these >~ &%(!@!)V(@!)%#~< newcomers (Mom won't let me call them what I really feel like calling them, she doesn't let us talk like that!)]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Uno Buys My Son A Birthday Gift</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/821908</link>

				<pubdate>Tue, 2 Apr 2013 10:39:03 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/821908</guid>
		<description>For all of my adult life, I've raised, trained, showed, competed in conformation, obedience, and oth ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ For all of my adult life, I've raised, trained, showed, competed in conformation, obedience, and other working & performance activities & events with German Shepherd Dogs and to a lesser extent, rough Collies, as well as teaching GSDs to do such things as pull wagons.  I've worked with other people's dogs of various breeds as well.  I've raised many puppies over the years.  Yet in all the years I've had dogs and even though German Shepherd Dogs are a breed that likes to chew things throughout their lifetime, the single most destructive chewer I've ever owned has not been canine. 

The single most destructive chewer I've ever owned weighs barely four pounds, has only one eye, and is the smallest FELINE in the house.  Although Uno is her name, she's now acquired the nickname "Chomper" because when it comes to cords and cables, she's like a T-Rex.  Being close to two years old now, she long ago finished with teething.  Yet she has a penchant for chewing cables and cords unlike that of any dog (or cat) I've ever known.  

Three days ago with one swift "CHOMP!", Uno instantly rendered my laptop charging cord dead (and equally swiftly fled the scene of the crime!)  She's killed several ethernet cables now, a few cellphone charger cords, & among others, a few USB cables. Naturally her USB cable chewing preference is for the newer style of USB cables with mini-port plugs for cellphones & external hard drives that are difficult to find replacements for, rather than the old style USB cables that are easy to replace.  

Laptop manufacturers enjoy making sure their battery charger caables are not only incompatible with all other laptop manufacturers charger cables, they make sure they're incompatible with the cables for prior models of their own laptops.  My current laptop is a Toshiba.  The plug that inserts into my current Toshiba laptop is a different size than those of any of my three old Toshiba laptops.  Thankfully, I was able to order a replacement charger cable from Amazon for a reasonable price although of course, it will take a few days for it to arrive.

My son Russ, whose birthday is April 6, has been staying at my house for a few days.  As usual he brought along his X-Box and some games to play.  He also brought along a wired X-Box controller that his girlfriend bought him two months ago.  Last night he started up his X-Box and proceeded to begin playing his game when suddenly "CHOMP!!!!"  That was all it took, his game was over just as it was getting started.  This time, weirdly, instead of instantly fleeing the scene of the crime, the culprit looked Russ in the eye before fleeing the room.  Russ swears Uno winked at him when she looked him in the eye.

Russ was understandably upset that Uno had destroyed his controller cord.  To fix the situation, I offered to immediately go get him a replacement for it.  Uno's timing was impeccable.  K-Mart was still open for another 30 minutes.  Russ and I rushed over to K-Mart.  The store had only one wired controller and one wireless controller left.  Of course the wireless controller is most expensive of the two. However, since Russ's birthday is coming up and since we agreed that wireless is the best most logical safest option when you have a little feline T-Rex killing cords with one chomp, we bought the wireless controller.

On the way home from the store, Russ told me he had been wanting a wireless controller.  I remarked that it's almost like Uno planned the whole event, the cord chomp barely 30 minutes before K-Mart closed and us arriving at the store in the nick of time to get the only wireless controller left in the store, just so she could buy Russ a birthday present!]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Chomper &amp; A Temporary Reprieve</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/820970</link>

				<pubdate>Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:27:51 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/820970</guid>
		<description>It is often said that the best way to deal with negative behaviors is by distracting the animal with ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ It is often said that the best way to deal with negative behaviors is by distracting the animal with something positive to do.  Quite unintentionally, I managed to do this with Uno, at least temporarily.

Whereas it's common for kittens and young cats to chew on things while teething, Uno's teething has been more like that of a German Shepherd puppy.  After a German Shepherd puppy gets adult teeth, he/she then chews even harder to set the teeth in the jaw and develop and strengthen the ear and jaw muscles.  Uno too, chews more and harder after she got her adult teeth than she did while she was actually teething.  Thus, Uno has earned herself a new nickname "Chomper", taken from the name of the baby Tyrannosaurus Rex in the movie Land Before Time II.

Unfortunately for me, Uno's favorite things to chew are computer ethernet cables, cellphone cords, and USB cables, especially my USB trackball cables.  Although fortunately for me I know how to splice and repair cables and cords, I would much rather have no need to do such repair tasks.  Bitter apple, tabasco sauce, etc deters Uno's chewing but only for a short time.  The way I usually find out the deterrent is no longer working is when I have to again repair a cord.  (If anybody knows of a teething device for small dogs that has a soft consistency similar to a cord that I could try for Uno, please let me know.  Gummy bones are a bit too thick and not soft enough to appeal to her.)

The new big cat tree has given me at least a temporary reprieve from Uno's "Chomper" antics.  It is large, fairly heavy, stable, and has several carpeted shelves and little houses at different heights, with sisal wrapped support posts, all features which cats prefer when it comes to things to climb and scratch on.  Big cat trees such as this really save furniture from a lot of wear and tear.  The most important qualities to look for when buying a cat tree are stability, little or no wobbliness, and a rough surface to claw on.  

Since I got the new cat tree, I've seen much less of Uno except of course when I'm eating or sleeping.  The cords also have seen much less of Uno's chompers!  Just like kids with a new toy, Uno and some of the other cats spend most of their time in and on the cat tree.  Many of their games they play on the cat tree are clearly organized, with individual cats taking turns being "it" or being "king of the hill" etc.

I'm sure the reprieve my cords and I are receiving from Uno's chompers is only temporary.  Just as the novelty wears off of a kid's new toy, in time the novelty will wear off of the new big cat tree.  Then I'm sure Uno will be making sure I don't forget how to repair cables and cords!]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Uno's Nanny</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/819740</link>

				<pubdate>Fri, 15 Mar 2013 07:01:12 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/819740</guid>
		<description>I'm beginning to think that Uno, rather than being the undisputed Queen of our feline family, is act ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ I'm beginning to think that Uno, rather than being the undisputed Queen of our feline family, is actually in the same position that royal children often find themselves....allowed only as much power as their nanny & parents see fit to allow them to have.  

For the most part, Uno pretty much rules things around here.  For the most part, Uno usually manages to get what she wants.  For the most part, the other cats step aside and allow Uno to do such things as steal their treats from them without protest after she's wolfed her own down at lightning speed.  When she jumps up on a shelf and decides she wants the whole shelf to herself and starts crowding another cat out, the other cat usually gets up and seeks a new napping spot elsewhere.  If anyone else gets too close to Uno's treats or sleeping spot and doesn't back off right away, Uno's quick to smack at them to make her point clear.  As they did with Hallie, the other cats let Uno do things and get away with things they would never let any other cat even think of getting away with.

All except one.  With one and only one cat who seems to have appointed herself as Uno's "nanny", Uno has learned that there's a limit she must not cross.  Again and again when Uno tries to shove Splat Cat out of a sleeping or perching spot or tries to steal food from Splat Cat or otherwise wrongly disrespects her, Splat Cat will quietly and gently but firmly either smack Uno on the muzzle or reach out with a paw and just push it against Uno's head as Uno tries to bodily shove Splats out of her way.  Splat Cat usually doesn't utter a sound when she disciplines Uno.  Splat Cat only disciplines Uno when Uno exceeds the limit of tolerance most cats have for the antics of a youngster.  For some reason I haven't figured out yet (and maybe never will figure out), Splat Cat has managed to gain Uno's respect.

Uno "runs over" all the other cats but when she tries to run over Splat Cat, her disrespect ends up going splat against a brick wall of firm, gentle, and unyielding kitty discipline.]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>What IS it with everyone today?</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/819048</link>

				<pubdate>Fri, 8 Mar 2013 20:54:56 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/819048</guid>
		<description>FINALLY after waiting all day, I get a few minutes to use Mom's laptop.

Everybody here, even the  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ FINALLY after waiting all day, I get a few minutes to use Mom's laptop.

Everybody here, even the SPIRIT KITTIES just kept hogging Mom's laptop today!  They're all writing all these Pawmails.  Buddha even was trying to tick me off by pretending he didn't see me waiting impatiently for him to get off the laptop.  

Mom STILL refuses to buy me a laptop of my own.  She says I just have to learn my manners & to wait my turn.  I tried reminding her I have a group now to tend to.  She said it'll wait a few hours & that I need to learn to have a bit of patience.  I'm tired of waiting.  I don't know what everyone had to say that kept them on the laptop all day. 

"Uh oh.  I think I'm in trouble."

"Hey Uno did you tell everyone what you did today?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, Uno."

"I have no idea at all what you're talking about."

"Ok, I'll tell everybody here what happened then."

Tonight I was eating one of those little pizzas made for one person to eat it.  I had cut it into six small pieces.  As usual, Uno was dancing around my pizza begging, trying to pester me into giving her a  bite.  (Sometimes the only way to get a minute peace is to give Uno a bribe to keep her busy a few minutes longer while I try to eat without her help....yeah I know I know, I tend to spoil her a little...MOL.)

Anyway, several times I threatened Uno with the canned air & accordingly she backed down.  Then suddenly.....
From nowhere came a black lightning bolt.

That little bolt of lightning struck my pizza from the opposite side from where I sat.  In that same lightning fast move, the little black flash whirled to the opposite direction from that where it had first struck, and carried one piece of my pizza away to one of a cat's favorite places to hide from humans, under the bed at the exact right distance to be just out of the reach of human arms.  

The speed with which Uno executed this bit of thievery was incredible. From the lack of evidence, it appears Uno consumed that entire piece of pizza which granted, being only 1/6 of an individual serving pizza, wasn't very big.

That's about the most brazen food theft Uno's pulled off so far.

One thing Uno NEVER is, she's never BORING!]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Special Kitties &amp; All Who Love Them, UNITE HERE!</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/818768</link>

				<pubdate>Wed, 6 Mar 2013 06:12:07 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/818768</guid>
		<description>Hooray, I finally conned Mom into letting me start a new Catster group for all Special Kitties (Kitt ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Hooray, I finally conned Mom into letting me start a new Catster group for all Special Kitties (Kitties With Disabilities), friends & family members of Special Kitties, & everyone who loves Special Kitties or wants to learn more about Special Kitties.

The URL for our new group is:
http://www.catster.com/group/Special_kitties_kitties_with_disabilities-19258

It is my hope that this group will positively thrive and grow and provide a valuable resource for all of us who have Special Kitties, know Special Kitties, & love Special Kitties.  I also hope this group will help positively educate & show others that Special Kitties can & do learn to live full happy lives.  It is also my hope that this group will help to positively encourage people to adopt, rescue, or otherwise give a Special Kitty the greatest blessing of all, a chance to live a happy full life in a good loving forever home.

So far, I haven't yet managed to convince Mom to buy me my own laptop to manage our Catster group yet though.  I'm still stuck having to use her laptop (it's easier for a kitty to use than the desktops are!)]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Wow, DDP Today &amp; New Family Members Wanna Make Friends Too</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/818552</link>

				<pubdate>Mon, 4 Mar 2013 02:09:41 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/818552</guid>
		<description>Wow a DDP today, Thank you Catster!  Now maybe Mom will get over being upset at me for stealing her  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Wow a DDP today, Thank you Catster!  Now maybe Mom will get over being upset at me for stealing her package of beef jerky this evening, sneaking it under the bed, opening it, and sharing it with Little Skittles, Lefty, Righty, Buttons, Velcro, and Bratsky.  By the time Mom noticed it was gone from the countertop, we had already eaten half of it.  Hey Mom that's what you get for leaving the beef jerky package unguarded.

Mom put Bratsky and Lacey on Catster today too, and they want to be friends with everyone too.  Bratsky and Lacey aren't totally new to Catster.  Lacey appears in photos with Splats on her profile.  Bratsky appears with Buddha on his profile.  Velcro and Buttons have appeared in others photos too and we're trying to talk Mom into putting Velcro and Buttons on Catster too, as well as trying to talk her into putting up some of the old-timers that have already gone to the bridge, sort of to honor their lives.  We are all happy Mom finally joined Catster Plus so she could give gifts to our friends.

Thanks again for my DDP.  PURRRSSSSS!]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Initiation</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/818256</link>

				<pubdate>Fri, 1 Mar 2013 16:14:07 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/818256</guid>
		<description>Since Little Skittles got on Catster today, I decided to give her a little &quot;initiation.&quot;

Today I  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Since Little Skittles got on Catster today, I decided to give her a little "initiation."

Today I went fishing for trackball cords again.  I know my human mom doesn't like me to do it,  but its such an effective way to get her attention when she's on a computer, especially if I pull the cord out of the USB port!

Little Skittles was hiding under the bed with me when I executed my strike on the trackball cord with my usual lightning speed and precision.  The cord came out of the USB port.  I disappeared as fast as I had struck the cord but Little Skittles just sat there confused because she didn't know what was going on.  Little Skittles took the rap for yanking the trackball cord out of the USB port while I made sure to be found sweetly innocently laying on a shelf at the opposite end of the house.

Welcome to Catster, Little Skittles.  Hey friends, Little Skittles wants to be everyone's friend too!]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Fishing, Catch of the Day, &amp; a Mystery</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/817688</link>

				<pubdate>Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:54:37 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/817688</guid>
		<description>Anyone who has ever gone fishing will be familiar with the way a fish gives small jerks on your line ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Anyone who has ever gone fishing will be familiar with the way a fish gives small jerks on your line when it's nibbling at the bait.  You also will be familiar with the experience of pulling the line back up out of the water to find....nothing, no fish at all on it, as well as the triumphant experience when you haul in your "Catch of the Day" firmly attached to your fishing line!  

Last night I was sitting on my bed doing various things on my laptop when I felt a small jerk on my trackball cord, just like it feels when a fish jerks at a fishing line.  I looked down and saw...nothing.  I went back to what I was doing.  

Jerk....jerk!   

I look down.  It HAS to be some mischievous feline family member who is playing this little prank on me.  Yet there's not a cat anywhere even close to my trackball cord that I can see. There's a big heavy storage box of books right under the area of the bed where I was sitting, so there's no room for a cat to hide in that particular area.  

Again I went back to doing things on my laptop.  

Jerk....jerk!

I look down again.  Nothing.  I pretend to go back to doing things on my laptop while keeping a sneaky (so I thought) watchful eye on my trackball cord.  Nothing.  After a few minutes I started getting bored and I figured that whoever it was, wherever it was hiding, the culprit probably knew from my breathing pattern or something, that I was waiting and watching the cord.  I went back to doing things on my laptop again for real.

Jerk...jerk...jerk!

Again, when I look down, there was nothing, no sign of a cat anywhere close to the cord.  I pulled the cord up so there was less of it dangling, then I went back to typing on my laptop.

Jerk...jerk...jerk! Jerk! Jerk!  JERK!  MRROOOWWWW!!!!!  Hissss!!! Hissss!!!!!  MRRROOOWWWWWW!

Aha! That time the "Catch of the Day" or more appropriately, the CULPRIT, was CAUGHT!

Firmly stuck in my trackball cord was a single claw.  

That claw was even more firmly attached to a little black paw.  

That little black paw was most firmly attached to one UNO, who was under the bed meowing and hissing in panic as she was jerking frantically at the cord in an attempt to free her stuck claw.  All of a sudden, her fun was over as Uno became my "Catch of the Day" and her little game turned into a moment of panic.  It was the first claw on Uno's right forepaw that was stuck, the claw that would compare to a human's right index finger (anybody notice that just as humans are right or left-handed, cats too seem to prefer using their right or left paw and most cats seem to be right-pawed just as most humans are right-handed?)   I reached down, grabbed Uno, got her claw unstuck & then clipped her claws...again....seems like I just clipped her claws a couple of days ago...her claws grow fast.  After I clipped her claws, Uno fled from the room like a bolt of black lightning.  

I looked under the bed to see how Uno had managed to hide within reach of my trackball cord.  As it turns out, the previously mentioned storage box had somehow managed to develop the ability to move on its own.  It now was located under the opposite side of the bed from where I was sitting.  The area under where I was sitting was now empty, a perfect hiding place for Uno's sneak attacks on my trackball cord.  

The mystery of "whodunit" was solved but another mystery remained.   Uno's the smallest cat in the house. (Incidentally or perhaps BECAUSE she's the smallest of all the cats in the house she is also the one who has the biggest loudest mouth and the widest range of vocalizations.) She's a small fine-boned cat with the typical lean streamlined Siamese/oriental shorthair body type.  Although she's not skinny or underweight, she weighs barely 4 pounds.   
 
I wouldn't have expected any cat to be able to move that box of books. So how did Uno DO it?]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Uno's Valentines Viewpoint &amp; Advice to All Her Kitty Friends</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/816516</link>

				<pubdate>Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:31:09 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/816516</guid>
		<description>Uno says a big thank you to all her friends who gave her Valentines. She also says that she really a ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Uno says a big thank you to all her friends who gave her Valentines. She also says that she really appreciates all the love, caring, friendship, and other good things you, her kitty friends, show her with your virtual Catster treats, stars, rosettes, Valentines, special gifts, etc, and thanks everyone for all these things.

She also has a bit of "kittyadvice" to her friends about virtual gifts!  

Now as I agreed to do yesterday after Uno got all her Valentines, I'm going to turn this over to Uno and let her speak for herself in the following conversation so her kitty friends can read her own words & get & follow her kitty advice "straight from the kitty's mouth."

Note:  I'm only responsible for what I say in this conversation.  Uno being a typical cat when it comes to appearing to be innocent, is likely to only be willing to take responsibility for what she says that doesn't get her into any trouble!

Me:  "Hey Uno, look at all the valentines your friends gave you!  Isn't that cool?"

Uno:  "I'm so happy my friends like me so much.  But Mom, what good are Valentines and other virtual gifts if you can't EAT them?  Can't Catster make it so that Valentines and other gifts are made of real CHEESE so I can EAT them?"

Me:  "Now Uno, don't get greedy. You should be polite and thankful your friends love you and care so much about you that they honor you and show you their friendship and caring by giving you all those virtual treats, rosettes, stars, valentines, and that nice milk special gift you got for your post on Thundercats group forum about cat fights."

Uno: "Yeah, when I got my virtual milk special gift, I asked you to give me a taste of real milk instead of cheese. And you wouldn't even give me any real milk at all when I got my virtual milk special gift! Not even a taste!"

Me:  "Uno you know why I won't give you real milk! Like most cats, your digestive system doesn't handle cows milk well and you get diarrhea and really malodorous catfarts if you drink milk! If you remember, I shared my strawberry yogurt with you that day when you wanted some of it.!

Uno:  "I get your point Mom, but look at this from my superior feline viewpoint.  You're not a cat, after all.  You get enjoyment from looking at things that don't move.  You get enjoyment out of reading stories.  But those things are BORING to kitties like me.  I like things that move, things I can play with, things I can chew on, things I can chase, things I can EAT...especially if they're made of CHEESE.   The most fun I can have with your virtual world on the computer screen is when I chase your cursor and then you always make me stop chasing it."

Uno:  "Oh, and there was the time I opened TED notepad and had fun typing "xcqaaz1QQQQQQQQQ6:57 PM Thursday, July 14, 20116:57 PM Thursday, July 14, 2011"  in it when I was a kitten.  Remember how hard you tried to figure out who did that and how before you gave up & chalked it up as a perpetual mystery that probably would never be solved?"

Me:  "You mean it was YOU who did that?  Do you mind telling me how?"

Uno:  "I was trying to hit keys on the keyboard the way I see you do it and somehow, it just happened.  I touched a little orange and white icon that opened your TED notepad" (TED notepad is a fantastic freeware notepad replacement that has so many features, it's far superior to Windows notepad.  You can find TED notepad at it's homepage here:  http://jsimlo.sk/notepad/  )

Uno:  "Then I just started hitting some keys on the keyboard until Splats & Buttons & Velcro told me they hear you coming back to the room & I better get down before you see me."

Uno:  "So I got down without knocking anything over that time, I didn't want to chance anything falling by the bed coz that would have given away that it was me and I was hiding under there. I hid under the bed and you never saw me and nobody else was that close to the desk.  Then while you were staring at the stuff I typed in the notepad and trying to figure out who did it and how it was done, I sneaked out of the room through the doorway behind you!"

Me:  "I always wondered who did that.  I knew it was ONE of you cats. Even more I wondered HOW one of you cats did that, especially how on earth you managed to put the DATE on it."

Uno:  "Well, keep wondering because I've gotta keep SOMETHING secret from you.  Now Mom close your eyes until I tell you that you can look again.  What I have to say next is something you don't need to see."

Me:  "Uno, even if I don't peek now, I'll see it after you post it!  And remember, I can edit your diary if I have to."

Uno:  "Well it will already be too late for you to even think of editing what I say before you even get a chance to read it.  Remember you said you have things you need to get done tonight before you have time to settle down and catch up to things on Catster tonight!  By the time you see what I said,  my friends will already have read this and seen my kittyadvice to them.  And I bet some of my friends will agree with me and follow my kittyadvice too!"

Uno:  "Hey kitty friends, one piece of kittyadvice to you all---ALWAYS KEEP SECRET FROM YOUR HUMAN how you do some of your most hard-for-humans-to-figure-out tricks. If you don't let your humans find out how you do your most mystifying tricks, you will be assured of continuing to get and keep your human's attention. "

Uno:  "Another piece of kittyadvice to all my friends!  You don't want to get TOO well-behaved because Too Well-Behaved=Boring and Boring=Not Getting As Much Attention As You Want!! Lefty's too much of a "Goody Four Paws and look at Lefty's diary! Mom even ADMITTED in Lefty's diary that this is true."

At this moment, my alarm clock went off.  (Another trick someone in my feline family likes to occasionally pull is to somehow set my alarm clock for some bizarre time and turn on the alarm.)

Me:  "Uno did you have anything to do with the alarm clock going off just now?"

Uno:  "Who, me?  Do you think I'd do anything like that?  Never mind, I know the answer to that already, but honestly Mom, this time it wasn't me and I don't know who did it."

Me:  "Back to topic Uno.  And you can't make this too long either.  You don't want to bore or confuse your readers, do you?   If you want to write a book, I'll help you but your Catster diary is not the place to write a book because humans usually don't like to read really long text pages online."

Uno:  "Oh all right,  I'll concede that you do have a point there."

Uno:  "Ok since Mom says I have to wrap this up soon and not make it too long, I need to tell all you kitty friends of mine one more piece of GREAT kitty advice.!"

Uno:  "Yesterday I told Mom that although I honestly do appreciate all the rosettes, stars, the special milk gift, and all the valentines everyone has given me and all your thoughtfulness, love, friendship, and caring they stand for,  I also told Mom that since I can't actually DO anything with these virtual gifts, she needs to do something to make these gifts more meaningful to ME in a way a KITTY can FULLY UNDERSTAND and APPRECIATE them."

Uno:  "Mom asked me what did I suggest she do.  Even though I tell Mom that I always eat my cat food good, she still usually limits my treats because she says too much junk food and treats might not be good for me.  I decided this was a good time to make her relax the rules a little, at least for a day."

Uno:  "I answered her, "Duh!  Mom you know my very most favorite treat in the whole world.  Just give me some cheese, at least one good big piece for every star, rosette, treat, virtual milk, valentine and any other virtual gift I get."

Uno:  "Guess what?  Mom actually listened to me and gave me a bunch of cheese treats yesterday, one for each of my valentines.  That's more cheese than I usually manage to con out of her in a WEEK. "

Uno:  "Now before Mom starts griping at me that this is getting too long and nagging me again to wrap this up, here's one more piece of kitty advice for my kitty friends for now."

Uno:  "All you kitty friends of mine, tell your human its really TRUE that by giving you a treat or if you prefer, a new toy everytime you get a new virtual treat, star, rosette, or special gift, your human will be putting the meaning of these gifts into a language all we cats understand  and make it possible for us to really appreciate the love, caring, friendship, and all the other good things these virtual gifts represent."

Uno:  "So kitty friends of mine, all of you tell your human to give you at least ONE real treat or, at least ONE new toy for every virtual treat, star, rosette, or special gift you get from your kitty friends on Catster.  My mom listened to me, hopefully your humans will listen to you too.  After all, nobody is superior to a cat when it comes to giving advice to other cats! "

Uno:  "Thanks again everyone, I really love and appreciate all of you.  My fellow feline friends, you make me feel very special and you inspire me to keep doing my best to keep things stirred up here so I won't ever get boring and also so Mom has plenty of new things to write about in my diary (thank you Catster for my DDPs!) and help me in my mission to show the world that all us cats, even those of us who are disabled or different in some way-or as I prefer to say "uniquely extraordinary", deserve to have and keep good indoor forever homes with owners who love us."]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Now You've Gone &amp; Done It!</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/815594</link>

				<pubdate>Sun, 10 Feb 2013 05:03:11 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/815594</guid>
		<description>Sometimes cats, like children, will for no discernible reason, will take a notion to be exceedingly  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Sometimes cats, like children, will for no discernible reason, will take a notion to be exceedingly bratty. At times like these even the normally best behaved individual can behave like a feline version of Tazz the Tasmanian devil cartoon character.  When the individual already bears some resemblance to Tazz in behavior to start with, that individual becomes REALLY bratty when the brattiness mood strikes.  The brattiness escalates until sooner or later, the "Now You've Gone & Done It" threshold is finally reached.

Recently Uno has had a bad case of the bratty Tazz behavior bug.  She still is knocking the cordless phone off its base constantly.  While I'm trying to use my laptop, she yanks the trackball cord out of the USB port.  She yanks the cords of the desktop trackballs and sends the trackballs crashing down onto the floor.  She yanked a keyboard cord and pulled a keyboard off the desk onto the floor.  When I was trying to eat a bagel with cream cheese, Uno tried to grab a bite.  I held the bagel up out of her reach only to have one of her partners in crime, a little tortie named Skittles, reach out from where she was sitting on top of the headboard and swipe a paw through the cream cheese.  I quickly moved the bagel out of Skittles reach & while Skittles licked the cream cheese off her paw, Righty made her move to try to get a bit of my bagel.  While Righty and Skittles were keeping me busy, Uno sneaked up from the opposite side and was busy licking cream cheese of the second half of my bagel that was sitting on my plate as fast as she could.  

The Now You've Gone & Done It point was almost reached.  I picked up my canned air. Suddenly there were no cats in my immediate vicinity and I was able to eat my bagel in peace.
Then I saw the little red light that indicates my cell phone is charging, suddenly go out.  I looked down.  Uno was standing there looking at me innocently.  The cord to my cellphone charger had been neatly severed in two.  Although I wonder if there was some sort of defect in the cord that allowed it to be broken in two so quickly and easily, there was no doubt as to who obligingly provided the sharp little teeth to help that cord break. Today I'll have to go buy another cellphone charger.  


The Now You've Gone & Done It point has been reached.

After I buy a replacement cellphone charger, I'm going to fish the bottle of Bitter Apple out of my animal supplies cabinet and the trackball cords and the cellphone charger cord will get a nice coating of bitter apple.  The cordless phone on its base is going to be covered with a plastic box and a rock too heavy for a cat to move will be put on top of the box.  Certain feline family members are going to find me armed with a can of canned air nearby when I eat.  After I do these things for a few days, most likely Uno (and her partners in food theft crimes) will have given up on these particular antics and gotten over their bratty Tazz behavior bugs.

When their pets misbehave, too many people react by getting rid of the pet.  I believe your feline/canine/other animal family members should be for keeps & that when one of your non-human family members reaches the "Now You've Gone & Done It' point,  that you should take positive measures to work through problem situations with our non-human family members and deal with the problem behavior(s), in this case coating cords with Bitter Apple (and if that doesn't work I'll try Bitter Orange or Tabasco sauce), temporarily covering the cordless phone on its base with a protective box for a few days so it's no longer fun to play with, and making sure I have a can of canned air within reach and within sight of would-be food thieves when I eat.  A number of times when I've had a feline family member urinate and/or defecate in inappropriate places and there were no clear reasons for it, I've caged that cat and after that cat has consistently used its litter pan for a month while caged, I've let that cat out again and the cat has continued to be clean again in the house.  

I have a 15 year old cat who I have to keep confined to an extra large dog crate.  Her kidneys and digestive system function poorly, she urinates and defecates excessively, is unable to be clean in the house although she's clean in a crate because her litterpan is nearby, and has to have a special canned diet. She is happy and cheerful, plays with her toys and clearly is still enjoying life. If I leave her crate door open, she might come out for a moment, then she'll go right back in.  She is also very well aware that when she's eating, the other cats cannot get at her food.  Before she got to the point where she wasn't able to make it to the litter pan in time in the house, I used to crate her to feed her so the other cats wouldn't get her food and she would run to the crate, get in it, and meow when she wanted fed.

Now You've Gone & Done It!  

And you're lucky I love you enough to use positive strategies to handle and work together with you through behavior problems and situations until we, you my non-human family member(s) and I, reach solutions that are positive for us together.. But my home really is a forever home for my non-human family members , my non-human family members really are for KEEPs and together I will see my non-human family members through good times and bad.   

But that's what a good responsible owner/pet parent SHOULD do.]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Thanks again for DDP &amp; Uno keeps making sure to give me more to write about!</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/815197</link>

				<pubdate>Wed, 6 Feb 2013 18:24:28 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/815197</guid>
		<description>Again my feline family &amp; I humbly thank you for your appreciation of Uno's &amp; Buddha's diaries and ho ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Again my feline family & I humbly thank you for your appreciation of Uno's & Buddha's diaries and honoring both of them with DDPs again on the same day!

I think Uno must be taking note of her DDPs when she's sitting here with me.  She seems to be working on making sure to keep giving me things to write about!

Uno is still doing her newest "trick" of knocking my cordless phone off its base up to a dozen times a day.  She also has picked up a new attention-getting trick from Righty.

On the headboard of my bed sits a reading lamp that turns off and on just by touching a button on the lamp's base. There is also a space by the lamp that usually is occupied by a member of my cat family.  Righty is one that spends quite a bit of time up there by the lamp and she discovered how to push the button that turns the lamp on and off.  She's figured out that turning the lamp on and off when I'm in the bedroom is an excellent way to get attention.  

Now Righty's personality is fairly laid-back and easygoing and she's often busy playing and doesn't demand a lot of human attention.  Therefore, she uses the trick of turning the light off and on to get attention in moderation.  Uno, however, is a different story.

Today Uno has been very demanding of attention, knocking the phone off its base, yanking my trackball cord out of the USB port, trying to step on my laptop keyboard as I was typing, knocking books off the headboard of my bed, getting on top of the screen lid of my bearded dragon's terrarium (a place she knows is off-limits to cats) and not even getting down when I came into the room and told her to get down. I had to pick up the squirt bottle to convince her to get down. 

When I went to eat a Subway meatball and cheese sandwich for lunch, 
Uno was more persistently pesky than usual about begging and demanding me to share. She tried to help herself to my sandwich and as a result, she didn't get any of it.  Shortly after that I was in the bedroom, Uno was nearby, and Righty was up on the headboard.  Righty proceeded to turn the light off and on a couple of times. Now Uno in the past has seen Righty do this but has acted disinterested.  Today, Uno was all attention when Righty did it.  

Later on, when the spot on the headboard by the light was devoid of any other cats, Uno jumped up there and proceeded to turn the light off and on to the point where the effect was annoyingly similar to that of a strobe light and I finally unplugged the light to put a stop to it.

I guess Uno successfully accomplished her mission of giving me more to write about in her diary!]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	

	<item>
		<title>Uno's Newest Trick=Attention-Getting or Getting Even?</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814765</link>

				<pubdate>Sun, 3 Feb 2013 13:01:00 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814765</guid>
		<description>This morning after getting accidentally on purpose knocked off the bed onto the floor by Splat Cat ( ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ This morning after getting accidentally on purpose knocked off the bed onto the floor by Splat Cat (that story is told in detail in Splat Cat's diary),  Uno was not in a particularly good mood.  She voiced her displeasure in an obviously angry meow at Splat Cat who continued ignoring uno and walked out of the room without even looking back.  Uno looked up at me and meowed and I said "Sorry girl you asked for that one."  

Now although I know my cats clearly understand some things I say to them, I have no idea how much they understand of other things I say to them such as the remark I made here.  Uno's actions following my remark sure makes me wonder if she understood it though.  

After I made that remark to Uno, she went over and sat beside my cordless house phone which was sitting in its base.  Then she reached out a paw and very deliberately knocked the phone out of the base and onto the floor.  After this she jumped up onto the computer desk, knocked my TV/Cable remote control onto the floor and shoved it under the bed.  When I said "knock it off Uno" and made a move to replace the phone in its base and fish the remote back out from under the bed, Uno turned and flew out of the room.

At least half a dozen more times today, Uno has knocked the cordless phone off its base, knocked the remote off the computer desk, and shoved the remote under the bed.  Regardless of her motive for doing it, Uno's certainly getting my attention with this newest "trick" of hers!]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Again I humbly thank all ....shhhh don't tell Uno!!!</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814445</link>

				<pubdate>Fri, 1 Feb 2013 07:31:59 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814445</guid>
		<description>Again I humbly thank everyone for your appreciation of Uno (and Hallie) and their diaries.  Don't te ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Again I humbly thank everyone for your appreciation of Uno (and Hallie) and their diaries.  Don't tell Uno her diary made diary of the day for a second time though.  She'll think she has to come up with something new and creative to do to give me some material for another story so she can try to get diary of the day again.

Curiously today Uno hasn't shown any interest in trackball heists at all. Oval track racing through the master bedroom, the living room, the kitchen and two of the hallways seems to be the game of the day for Uno and her crew today!  Its surprising how a little cat can move swiftly and never make a sound, yet when she chooses to, that same little cat can race through the house making as much noise as if it were horses racing through the house!]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Mystery of the Traveling Trackballs</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814429</link>

				<pubdate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:49:34 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814429</guid>
		<description>For a few days now, I keep finding my computer trackballs have somehow been diving off my computer d ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ For a few days now, I keep finding my computer trackballs have somehow been diving off my computer desk and  the balls themselves somehow have been coming out of the trackballs and traveling impossible distances to impossible places. The trackball balls achieved all their impossible journeys without having ever once been caught in the process of traveling!

I don't know why trackballs haven't totally replaced computer mice.  I love trackballs, they're so much better than mice because instead of having to move the entire unit around, the unit is stationary and you only move the little ball around.  With a trackball, you don't ever end up running the unit off of a mouse pad or off the edge of a desk. Best of all with a trackball you can even kick back on your bed, prop  yourself up with some pillows, put your laptop on your lap, plug the trackball into the USB port, set the trackball on your lap or beside you, and relax as you work on your laptop or play a game.  The only problem I have when doing this is that sometimes my view of the screen becomes partially obscured by a small black warm furry opaque object that tends to enjoy laying on my lap between me and my laptop.

Computer trackball balls are heavy and solid and they can't travel very fast or very far on carpet. A ball that falls out of a trackball and lands on carpet usually will only travel a foot or two at most from the spot where it landed. Even if a trackball ball could make it all the way to one of the doorways to the room, the doorsill would stop the rolling ball instantly.  

Both of my desktop trackballs are of the design where the ball is recessed on the side of the trackball. With this design, there's a small hole in the trackball bottom cover under the ball where you can push the ball upward and out with an object such as an ink pen.  
If a trackball of this design falls right side up and lands right side up, the ball will not fall out of it and even if it lands upside down, the ball doesn't always fall out of it.  It's not that easy to pry the ball out of this style of trackball.  I hadn't caught any cats trying to mess with the trackballs.  There's no way a cat could pry the ball out of this style of trackball.  A cat cannot pick up a trackball ball in its mouth because of it's size, smoothness, and heavy weight.

Mysteriously, my trackballs have been taking dives off the computer desk, and the balls have been jumping out of the trackballs and  traveling impossible distances to such strange hard to reach places as the exact center of the area under the bed, where it can't be reached from either side thus making it necessary to go find a broom and use the broomstick to knock the ball out from under the bed.  Another trackball  ball turned up in such impossible places as under a chair in the next room, meaning it had to travel an impossible distance on carpet, levitate itself over a doorsill,  then travel at an angle across carpet for several feet to reach the chair and go under it.  The most impossible trackball ball journey so far has been when somehow a trackball ball traveled across carpet, levitated over the doorsill, traveled several feet further across the living room carpet, made a 90 degree lefthand turn,  traveled 10 or more feet across the living room carpet in this new direction,  and came to rest under Charlie the Blue Front Amazon parrot's cage.    Is this the work of playful ghosts or what?

Last night I was doing some work on my laptop, I got sleepy, and nodded off.  I don't know how long I dozed before suddenly.... CRASH!!!  I opened my eyes to see that a trackball had just taken a dive off my computer desk.  Quickly I half closed my eyes again and pretended to be still sleeping.  Now was my chance to get to the bottom of this traveling trackball ball mystery.  But after that first crash, all was quiet.  And btw, My laptop was still on my lap, my trackball was beside  me.

Then (JAWS music here....)  CHOMP!!  Something grabbed the trackball that was attached to my laptop and like the scene in Jaws where the buoys that are attached to the shark get pulled underwater, my trackball got pulled down onto the floor and then started to disappear under the bed.  I decided to stay quiet, not intervene, and let this trackball shark drama play itself out   

Thwacking noises emanated from under the bed that clearly indicated the  trackball was being banged around against the wall behind the headboard.  Then....silence again.  It stayed silent for awhile, I don't know how long.  

Suddenly a couple of the cats on the bed alerted and turned their heads toward the bedroom doorway that leads to the living room.  I quickly thought how glad I was that I'd left on a small light in the living room so I'd be able to see what it was that had alerted the cats.  

Out from under the bottom corner of the bed nearest the living room doorway came a little black shadow that was unmistakably...Uno.  She had obviously managed to get the ball out of the trackball and now was busily rolling it toward the doorway with her front paws.  When she reached the doorway, she performed a maneuver that astounded me. In one swift motion she somehow got one forepaw under the ball and with the other forepaw on the the upper part of the ball and half scooped, half threw the ball upward and forward with enough momentum that it neatly flew right across the doorsill  and dropped onto the living room carpet on the other side about a foot away from  a big chair that sits in the living room near the bedroom door.  As soon as the ball landed, Uno swiftly rolled it under the chair.

At this point, I got up and as soon as Uno heard me get up,  she took off in the opposite direction as cats usually do when they're doing things they shouldn't and don't want their humans to catch them in the act.  I retrieved the ball from under the chair, fished the trackball out from under the bed, put the ball back in it, and put the trackball in a drawer.  As far as I know, Uno hasn't figured out how to open drawers yet!

Although I don't appreciate any cat messing with my trackballs or any of my other computer equipment, I still had to admire the cleverness of that little one-eyed cat for her problem solving skills and the way she so neatly used every bit of cover to her utmost advantage.  Uno's initial "Jaws" strike on the trackball cord was made from under the bed and then she promptly dragged the trackball back under the bed. Her manipulations to dislodge the ball from the trackball were all done out of sight under the headboard and against the wall. It amazes me how she figured out that hitting the trackball against the wall was a good way to knock the ball out of the trackball.  I wish I could have had x-ray vision to see just how she did it.

The spot where Uno emerged from under the bed to head for the doorway was the absolute closest spot possible to that doorway.  The spot where she went under the chair in the living room was the closest place to the door where she could get out of the open and go back undercover again. Her dexterity at manipulating the ball across the doorsill really surprised me.  As I said before, a trackball ball is heavy, solid, and smooth. I wouldn't have expected any cat  to even be able to get it off the ground with her forepaws. How Uno managed to hang onto and control the ball well enough to scoop it up and hurl  it across the doorsill with her forepaws the way she did.  It was a remarkable feat of coordination, skill, and timing, made even more remarkable by the fact that the ball landed only a foot from the chair that was the nearest possible place where she could get under cover and out of sight again.  

We humans are supposed to be smarter than animals but if that's true, how is it that a little cat is able to make it a serious challenge for me to try to figure out a way to convince her to leave my trackballs alone?  For a moment I was thinking how nice it would be if Uno and the other cats could turn their energy and cleverness to doing something useful such as changing their own kitty litter or doing the dishes. Then I come to the realization, in a lot of ways our cats really are smarter than we humans!  After all it's the cats who figured out how to psych us humans into willingly becoming their slaves.  The cats are so smart they've even managed to psych us humans into enjoying being their slaves!!!]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>Humble Thanks To All for Your Appreciation of Uno &amp; Her Diary</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814137</link>

				<pubdate>Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:35:36 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814137</guid>
		<description>I was humbled, surprised, amazed, and awed to find out Uno's diary was picked today.  I thank everyo ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ I was humbled, surprised, amazed, and awed to find out Uno's diary was picked today.  I thank everyone for their appreciation of Uno and her diary and I hope Uno and her diary will encourage other people to adopt handicapped cats or keep their own cats and not euthanize them when something happens that results in the cat becoming handicapped. A handicapped cat can live a very full happy normal active life.  

Just ask Uno. With her left eye having been put out before she was even four weeks old, she's never known anything different than being one-eyed. She happily charges in gung-ho, seizes life by the tail, and lives her life to the fullest.

Uno also has a practical, grounded side to her.  She's not letting her day of celebrity and Catster fame go to her head.  No way!  You see, I just opened a stick of string cheese and Uno, being her usual irresistible self unchanged by her day of fame, is busy sitting here working on conning me out of a few bites of string cheese which she knows she will get.

I do hope Catster gets the photo problem fixed soon so everyone can see what Uno and other newer members of my cat family look like.

Thanks again to all for your appreciation of Uno and her diary.]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>The Second Surgery</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814061</link>

				<pubdate>Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:40:09 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814061</guid>
		<description>Up until the beginning of August 2012, Uno's left eye caused her no trouble at all.  There never was ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Up until the beginning of August 2012, Uno's left eye caused her no trouble at all.  There never was any excessive tearing.  Interestingly too, Lefty, Righty, and Uno never have had any of the typical kitten runny eye, sore eye, or upper respiratory problems that most young kittens have.  Even now none of the three have ever had any of the typical runny eye, sore eye, or upper respiratory problems that most cats get, even when some other cats in my household had these problems.

At the beginning of August 2012, for the first time since her surgery she had undergone as a tiny kitten, Uno started showing excessive tearing down the left side of her face.  It was clear liquid.  There was no sign of infection, no swelling, nothing at all to indicate any problem.  Allergy seemed unlikely because she was only having excessive tearing on the left side, not the right side.  It was thought that perhaps the problem was some kind of irritation and that it might resolve itself.

As time progressed, the tearing got worse and Uno's left eye started obviously bothering her a LOT.  There still was no evidence of infection or any other problem to explain the tearing except for the possibility that the eyelids were somehow again causing irritation or there was a problem with the eyeball itself.  The decision was made to have Uno undergo a second surgery, this time for a complete enucleation of the left eye. 

On September 3 2012, Uno underwent her second surgery.  The vet found that for some unknown reason, what was left of Uno's left eyeball had ruptured. Complete enucleation of the left eye was done and the eye opening was sutured completely closed.  I took Uno home that night with orders to keep her crated for a week so she couldn't do anything to injure herself.  The vet told me that Uno was likely to be subdued and in pain after the anesthetic fully wore off.  However, when it comes to Uno, its better to expect the unexpected.

That very night, Uno made it clear that she felt GREAT.  It was just lucky for me that Uno still was under enough anesthetic effect to still be willing to be relatively inactive and accepting of her necessary crate confinement.  The consensus is that just as before her first surgery, Uno's left eye must have been bothering her so much before the second surgery, that the second surgery brought her so much relief that she felt good even with the post-surgical pain.  As a preventative measure, Uno was put on antibiotics for a week post-surgery.

Uno's next few days in the crate were a nightmare for me and for her.  She wanted OUT.  She repeatedly loudly protested (the Siamese in her was SO obvious when she was crated, no other breed can vocalize the way a Siamese or Siamese mix, especially a pissed off one, can) and tried to pull the crate door open.  I managed to keep Uno crated five days and then there absolutely was no holding her back any longer.  On the fifth day she repeatedly dumped her litter, her food, and her water, and was raising so much hell in the crate I was afraid she was going to hurt herself if I tried to keep her crated any longer.  So I let her out.  
Uno came out like a rocket and she never looked back.  Uno healed rapidly and without any complications after her second surgery.  She immediately resumed her position as the Queen of my cat family.  Uno still continues to astound me with her agility and coordination.  Yesterday I was sitting on the bed working at my laptop and Uno was lying on the headboard above me.  She decided she wanted to go somewhere so she took a flying leap from the headboard, sailing over and completely clearing me and my laptop and landing at the foot of the bed, a good 90 inches distance from the headboard.

Whenever I hear anybody talking negatively about handicapped animals, I think of how well and happily and capably all the handicapped animals I've had over the years have handled life and how much they all have lived their lives to the fullest and enjoyed their lives.

After all who would have ever thought that an undersized little kitten with only one eye would manage to become the ruler and Queen of all the other cats in my cat family and although I try not to show favoritism, I must admit Uno has become my favorite cat.]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>The New Queen Ascends the Throne</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814049</link>

				<pubdate>Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:39:19 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814049</guid>
		<description>I've told of Hallie's passing in her own diary.  Hallie's passing affected all my cats for she had b ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ I've told of Hallie's passing in her own diary.  Hallie's passing affected all my cats for she had been the undisputed Queen and ruler over all the cats in my house since the day she first had healed enough to be allowed freedom of the entire house.  When Hallie came through a hallway or doorway or other narrow area, any other cat would literally get out of her way when they saw her coming.  If another cat was laying or sitting in a spot Hallie wanted, they would vacate that spot and give it up to her without question.  Whenever I shared any human food with the cats, if Hallie came to get any, the other cats would hang back and stay out of her way until she departed before they would try to get their share.  Whereas other cats frequently shared food dishes (I free choice dry food but when I'm refilling the dishes the cats usually all have to come check out the food) no other cat would bother Hallie when she was eating.  Litter pans were no problem, except for young kittens, I've never seen two cats try to use the same litter pan at the same time even though I have some huge pans that are at least twice the length and width of normal litter pans and would easily accommodate two cats at once.  I've found that cats like plenty of room in a litter pan and that many of the litter pans I see offered for sale at petshops, especially covered litter pans, are too small for an adult cat to comfortably stand, turn around, etc in.  

After Hallie's passing, the other cats acted sort of "lost" without her.  They were so used to watching for her and yielding to her, they were still on the alert and prepared to yield but now there was no queen of the cats for them to yield to. None of my other adult cats had the strong willed, dominant, determined to get her own way "Queen of the cats" temperament that Hallie had.  

As I stated in Hallie's diary entry about her passing, the answer to who would take her place as ruler and Queen of my feline family came from the most unexpected place.

Only a short time after Hallie's passing, one individual took the initiative to step up and take over the ruling position as Queen of my feline family.  This individual was the only one of my cats who really had the dominant, strong willed, determined to get her own way no matter what kind of temperament that had made Hallie the undisputed Queen and ruler of my cat family.  

As a small kitten, this new Queen had already made it clear to the other cats to yield to her, let her be first, and not interfere with her when there was food involved.  It used to be both amazing and amusing at the same time to see this tiny kitten always beat my other cats to a treat and swat at even the biggest adult cat who made any attempt to get too close.  Any one of the adult cats could so easily have swatted that impudent little kitten right off her feet had they chosen to do so.  But as is usual with most adult cats except perhaps for outdoor unaltered males, the adult cats showed infinite patience with the kitten and let the little kitten have her way.
Thus even before Hallie's passing, a pattern was already being formed which cleared the way for the new Queen to take her place as the new ruler of my cat family.

To look at her, the new Queen of my cat family would appear to be the unlikeliest candidate for becoming the ruler of my cats.  She was barely a year old, undersized for her age, lean, lightweight,  she had only one eye, and along with Lefty and Righty, she had just finished recovering from being spayed.  But the new Queen of my cat family had never let anything stop her yet from doing what she intended to do (as long as it was safe and there was no need for human intervention of course!).

Thus it was that Uno, the smallest and youngest of my cats, stepped up and took the role of ruler, Queen of my cat family.  The others accordingly gave Uno the same respect as they had given Hallie, but with a difference.  Hallie was an old arthritic cat who had suffered much in her life and was often irritable and wanted to just lay around and not be disturbed.  Uno on the other hand, was very young and playful when she took over as Queen. Whereas Hallie was usually slow-moving and demanded the other cats get out of her way, Uno is small, young, and very quick and easily gets where she wants to go and rarely ever has to make another cat get out of her way except for when it comes to things such as treats. Uno always has to be first when it comes to treats etc..

Hallie for the most part wanted the other cats to just get out of her way and leave her alone although she would let other cats sleep near her and occasionally she would enjoy playing with the younger cats.  Uno on the other hand, being the youngest, is much more amiable with the other cats  enjoys their company, enjoys playing with them, and likes sleeping together with other cats especially Lefty and Righty.  Like most of my younger cats, Uno still goes to Buddha to have him mother her, wash her ears, etc.  

When I give the cats treats, Uno being Queen always has to be first and the other cats stay back and wait on her just as they did for Hallie when Hallie was Queen.  However, when Hallie got a treat, she was rather slow eating it and not inclined to exert the energy to try to take treats from any of the other cats.  Uno on the other hand, is lightning fast at taking a treat, carrying it away from the other cats, and eating it and the other cats must be quick at eating their treats too or else Uno will steal their treats right out from under their noses and eat their treats as well as her own.  

Uno's absolute favorite treat is cheese.  There are times when she was at the opposite end of the house or sound asleep on my bed and I've tried to see if I could sneak cheese out of the refrigerator without her catching me and somehow she always knows and is right there before I even get the refrigerator door shut,  demanding me give her a piece of it.  Yet she doesn't do this if I'm getting anything else out of the refrigerator.  How she knows when its cheese I'm getting out of the refrigerator, I don't know.  When I have cheese, Uno is right there trying to convince me to share and if any other cat tries to come close, as fast as lightning Uno will smack at them with her forepaw.  BTW when Uno and other cats smack at each other this way, they don't use their claws at all, they keep their claws retracted.

I like Dannon Activia blueberry and strawberry flavored yogurt and often eat it.  Uno also likes yogurt and when I'm done with it, I'll set the container on the floor for her and she'll use her forepaw, usually her right forepaw, to scrape yogurt from the insides of the container.  Then she'll lick the yogurt off her forepaw.  Although some of the other cats like yogurt too, they will wait until Uno is finished before they try their own luck at the yogurt container.]]></content:encoded>
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	<item>
		<title>The Coming of Lefty &amp; Righty</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814037</link>

				<pubdate>Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:30:35 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/814037</guid>
		<description>As I write this second entry in Uno's diary, Uno is in her favorite spot, lying on my lap right betw ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ As I write this second entry in Uno's diary, Uno is in her favorite spot, lying on my lap right between me and my laptop, bumping my arm with her nose wanting me to pet her and although she knows better, occasionally trying to chew on my trackball cord. 

Now...to continue Uno's story....

After Uno's surgery to trim her eyelids, relieved of the misery of her severe entropion (caused by the lack of a normal eyeball in the socket), she started showing her true self.  She became a little dynamo which gave her her original name of Dynamo.  As soon as her stitches had been removed, she no longer had to be crated or restricted to supervised play.  Partly because she felt good for the first time in her life and partly because of Buddha's mothering her, Uno's confidence was in place and she was gung ho to take on the world.  She did so with a vengeance and never looked back.

Uno was anywhere and everywhere all at once.  No place was too high to climb, no cord was safe from her attempts to chew it, no other cat was safe from her baby playfulness, nothing was going to stop her now.  Luckily Uno had no interest in chewing electrical cords, they were too thick for her tastes.  Her preferences were for thin USB mouse and trackball cords.  I had to splice trackball cords and repair them several times during Uno's kittenhood.

In spite of or perhaps BECAUSE Uno is one-eyed, small, lean and lightweight due to her Siamese type build, she's the fastest most coordinated cat I've ever known.  During that first week after her surgery, she astounded me by doing such feats as leaping from the top of a shelf 5 feet high onto my bed which was a good 7 feet away from the shelf, a leap that carried her OVER one of my computer desks with two monitors on it, and landing precisely with one forepaw on a dime-sized piece of cheese I had placed on the bed beside me for Buttons, one of my other cats.  I had just placed that piece of cheese on the bed for Buttons and he didn't even get time to move his head down and forward to pick it up before Uno snatched it and took off with it to the floor.  Uno's entire maneuver was performed in mere seconds!  

This kind of agility, speed, and coordination wasn't what I would have expected to see in an almost 9 week old, small for her age, one-eyed kitten.  I've never seen a normal 2-eyed kitten do these things, not even Wings another of my cats who was named Wings for her ability to seemingly fly and land on me light as a feather from absolutely nowhere.

Uno very quickly made her dominant, strong willed, determined temperament and presence felt among the other cats, all except Hallie. Uno never once tried to bother Hallie.  Hallie was the only cat in the house that Uno totally respected from day one.  The other cats probably communicated to Uno that she should leave Hallie alone just as they communicated to Uno that Charlie the blue front Amazon parrot, Percy the cockatiel, Mama the chinchilla, Chloe the bearded dragon, the snakes, and the aquarium were all to be left alone.  Uno never tried to bother them either.

My best friend had kept Uno's litter sister, who was longhaired and white and although larger than Uno, had the same slender oriental body type as Uno.  Two of the older white kittens had found new homes but nobody wanted the two older white kittens with damaged eyes. So on 7-29-2011, Lefty and Righty joined my feline family.  At this time, I changed Uno's name from Dynamo to Uno because it fit together with Lefty and Righty to make a theme of three names that aptly described the most distinguishing characteristics of the three kittens.

Lefty and Righty were similar in build to Uno and although there's no way to ever know for sure, it's quite likely that Lefty and Righty's mother was a sister to Uno's mother or at least very closely related.  It's also possible that they all share the same father.  White in cats is dominant and a cat has to have a white parent to produce white progeny.  One of Uno's parents obviously wasn't white and would have had to be black, brown tabby carrying solid black, or Seal Point Siamese which is actually genetically a black cat whose appearance is modified by the action of the thermoreceptive partial albinism gene that is responsible for point colored cats. 

Luckily Lefty and Righty's damaged eyes do not cause them discomfort or give them any kind of problems.  Lefty's left eye is severely scarred and she has no vision in that eye. She does have vision in her right eye.  Righty's right eye is scarred but less severely than Lefty's left eye and Righty does have partial vision in her right eye.  

As soon as I brought Lefty and Righty home, all three-Lefty, Righty, and Uno-made it clear they were very much all bonded and very glad to see each other.  The instant they came together, all three greeted each other with the familiarity you only see in cats who know each other well and like each other.  

Lefty and Righty have temperaments that are totally different from Uno's temperament.  Both are quiet and easygoing and laid back.  They have an interesting way of "rotating", the only word I can think of at the moment to describe it.  For awhile Lefty will be persistently wanting attention, petting etc,  while Righty doesn't actively seek human attention much at all.  Then they will switch off and Lefty will be doing her own thing while Righty will be persistently seeking human attention and petting etc.  They also do this trading places when it comes to who sleeps where.  One will sleep on a pillow near my head while the other will sleep on one of the cat beds at the foot of my bed.  Then the two will switch places. 

Speaking of rotating, I don't know if other people see cats organize rotations for favorite spots to sit or sleep, etc, or not but I see my cats do this all the time.  The prime spot in the house for the cats is a cat bed by the window and next to the computer desk in my bedroom.  The cats actually take turns sitting or sleeping on that cat bed.  Once in a while two cats will sit together on that cat bed when something interesting is going on outside the window.  Never once has there been any kind of cat quarrel over that favorite spot.  

The cats also seem to have some kind of agreement among them for shelves by other windows in other rooms where they like to sit and watch out the window, for favored perches on the cat trees, and for favorite cat beds.  There never are any disputes over these spots.

I find that cat communication is far more complex and imaginative than most people realize.  Games between multiple cats are often obviously well planned and organized with an agreement on who will play the prey role.  The cat who's agreed to be "it" will turn his or her back and, except for tail twitching, will pretend to be unaware of the cat or cats sneaking up on him.  At the last minute, the cat who is "it" will obligingly run from the chaser, a play wrestling match usually ensues and then the cats reverse roles.  The chaser becomes the chasee.  

Two or more cats will play together batting the ball in the Turbo Scratcher, a toy the cats dearly love and one of the first cat scratching toys I found that the cats actually really spend a good bit of time playing with.  The cats also love cat trees that have sisal rope around them and carpeted perches, although the trees they loved most were the cat trees built with actual tree branches and carpeted shelves that I had for many years until those became worn out and fell apart.  The cats have all sorts of small toys, little balls, toy mice, the small boodabones, a couple of old socks rolled up with catnip inside them, etc.  I try to keep all their toys in a basket but like little kids, soon as I pick up their toys and put them in the basket, the cats get busy taking them out and strewing them all over the place again!

Just like humans, the cats occasionally will be in irritable or bad moods and not want bothered and get into an argument with another cat who won't take "leave me alone" for an answer.  There are times when everybody seems to be "in a mood" and argumentative.  These cat quarrels are usually noisy and dramatic, with hissing, growling, long low warning meows, fluffed tails and chasing each other but when they're over there's rarely even a scratch on any of the combatants.  When anybody has gotten a scratch on the nose, it usually was very well deserved.  

Sometimes the cats are all in a weirdly active, playful, energetic mood.  Interestingly, I've noticed this often coincides with a full moon.  Even more sedate less active cats will usually run and play and act silly at these times.

Whenever I bring in fresh catnip from my catnip garden and crush a leaf to release the scent, it's fascinating to watch the cats start noticing the scent in the air.  They put their heads up, you can see their noses wriggling as they start noticing the catnip scent.  Then the fun begins.  I strew bunches of catnip leaves and flowers around.  Different cats react to catnip different ways.  Some of them will rub their cheeks against it and roll on it.  Some of them will eat it.  Some of them will become very playful and play with if.  A couple of them will play with it and then race around the house.  A couple of them don't do much more than possess and guard their catnip from the other cats.

I've found the most effective kitty discipline to be a can of canned air or a can of air freshener. A squirt bottle of water works too, but with the canned air or air freshener, it's the hissing sound that does the disciplining.  I don't actually squirt a cat with either one, I just aim in the general direction of the cat and tell the cat to get down, leave him or her alone, leave it alone, knock it off, etc and the offending cat or cats immediately stop the undesired action and usually vacate the area for awhile.  After just a few times, I don't even have to actually squirt anything, all I have to do is just pick up the can and tell the cat get down, knock it off, etc.  Sometimes when the cats are mobbing me and I'm busy or not in the mood to be mobbed, I'll pick up the can and say "enough now" and the cats will clear out and leave me alone for at least a good 10 to 15 minutes before they return.  When they return, they gingerly come up to me, testing to see if its ok yet to mob me.

I always have plenty of feline "help" when it comes to changing bedding and making beds.  However, the cats don't want any part of vacuuming, steam cleaning carpets, or flea spraying the house.  They clear out when they see me go get the vacuum cleaner, steam cleaner, or flea spray jug.  Most of them also usually clear out when they see me preparing to give them their flea drops and heartworm preventative/dewormer or when they see me pick up the claw clipper.  The only declawed cats I have are cats that came already declawed.  Except for Buddha, nobody cares much for having their claws clipped.  Buddha is the only cat that will quietly lay in my lap and let me clip his claws without any protest.  With a cat that struggles or tries to scratch or bite when having its claws clipped, I wrap the cat in a towel and just stick the foot I'm working on out of the towel, although after all my years of clipping cat claws, I can clip claws so fast that I usually have most of the claws clipped before a cat even starts getting really upset.  Maybe thats the reason why it seems my cats don't protest claw clipping until I'm getting ready to do the very LAST claw.

Uno is one of my cats who, befitting her temperament, usually vigorously and very vocally protests claw clipping.  Sometimes I have to towel her although usually I'm fast enough that I have most of her claws clipped before she gets to physically resisting enough to cause any problem.  Like most of the other cats do, soon as I'm finished clipping her claws, she usually immediately flees the room.  Unless I'm still clipping other cats claws, those who flee the room after their claws are done usually return after a few minutes and except for being a bit more alert to what I might pick up, act as if nothing has happened.]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Six little kittens &amp; a very rough start</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/813883</link>

				<pubdate>Sun, 27 Jan 2013 10:25:23 PST</pubdate>
		<author>Uno ~ writing at catster.com</author>
		<category></category>		
		<guid ispermalink="true">http://www.catster.com/cats/1283705/diary/Uno_happily_irrepressible/813883</guid>
		<description>Early Saturday morning, May 28 2011, six little kittens in a box were dumped at a sanitation plant.  ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Early Saturday morning, May 28 2011, six little kittens in a box were dumped at a sanitation plant.  Four of the kittens were approximately 6 weeks old, two of the kittens were only 4 weeks old.  Five of the kittens were white, one was black.  A small bag of dry cat food was left sitting uselessly alongside the box. There the kittens sat in an open cardboard box throughout the long Memorial Day holiday weekend until Tuesday May 31 2011 when the sanitation plant employees returned to work and discovered the box of kittens.

One of the sanitation workers immediately called my best friend, a veterinarian who lives in the same town and told her about the kittens and asked her if she could take them and try to save them.  She agreed and he took the box of kittens to her house.  

Upon inspection, all six of the kittens were remarkably healthy, no herpes virus, no upper respiratory problems, no ear mites, although they did have a lot of fleas and of course were in very bad condition from starvation and dehydration after going 4 days without anything to eat or drink.  Being the youngest, the little 4 week old kittens were in such bad shape it was feared neither would survive. 

The smallest kitten, the 4-week old black kitten, not only was in worst condition of all from starvation and dehydration, she also had a mess of fluid and crusty matter streaming down the entire left side of her face and her left paw etc was wet and crusty from having tried to rub at her left eye which obviously was causing her serious irritation. Closer examination revealed that the little 4-week old black kitten had severe entropion which was causing her alot of discomfort and all the excessive tearing. Her left eye had been completely destroyed, someone had deliberately put her eye out.  What was left of the eyeball had 

Two of the 6 week old white kittens also had eye damage caused by some kind of sharp object.  One of the white kitten's left eye was so damaged there was no sight left in it and her right eye was damaged too although she seemed to have a fair amount of vision left in the right eye.  One of the 6 week white kittens had damage to her right eye but not to her left eye.  Luckily the two white kittens eye damage wasn't severe enough to do any more than cause permanent scarring and vision loss.  The other two 6 week old white kittens and the 4-week old white longhaired littermate to the little black kitten had no eye damage at all.  

When offered solid food, it immediately was clear that none of the kittens had any idea at all what food even was.  Obviously none of them had even begun to be weaned yet when they were taken from their mothers and dumped.  My best friend tube fed the kittens, rehydrated them, got rid of the fleas, and gave them other supportive care.  The kittens survived and began to regain condition. 

When the little black kitten was approximately 8 weeks old, she underwent surgery to have her left eyelids trimmed and sutured shut to correct the problem with entropion.  While under anesthetic she was closely and very gently examined to try to discern what actually remained of her left eyeball but no eyeball could be seen.  Due to her small size and the softness of kitten skull bones, no attempt was made to do any deep probing to try to find the eyeball because of the risks involved.  It was assumed that whatever remained of her left eyeball was too small and too recessed into her head to be visible.  The conjunctival membranes and tear duct were left intact so that she would have normal tear drainage.  Except for some normal post-surgical slight drainage over the next 24 hours after the surgery, she had no further problems with the eye until a little over a year later.

Knowing I like black cats and handicapped cats, my best friend offered me the little black kitten.  Of course I accepted and took her home after her surgery.  Uno had to be kept crated but in an early demonstration of her strong will & determined temperament, she threw such a fit in the crate I was afraid she'd injure herself and so I would let her out to play beside me on the bed for short periods of time and then put her back in the crate.  

When I first uploaded photos of Uno, they didn't show on her profile for some reason.  I hope they will show now.  The photos of Uno with the little green ball and the toy mouse were taken during two of her short play sessions on the bed two days after her surgery.  They clearly demonstrate how strong willed and determined she was and how playful and surprisingly unaffected she was by her surgery.  My best friend and I feel that she was probably so miserable with the eye before the surgery that even with post-surgical pain etc, Uno was so much relieved by the surgery that she felt good compared to all she had suffered before her surgery.

A week after her surgery, it appeared to me that Uno's sutures had begun to itch a little.  She was starting to try to scratch at them so her sutures were removed.  Surprisingly, she held still and cooperated with the task of suture removal & seemed relieved to get her stitches out.  

Uno was at first named Dynamo because after her surgery she became a little dynamo, a fast moving bundle of energy.  Being one-eyed seemed to have absolutely no effect at all on her coordination.  I quickly found out a one-eyed kitten is every bit as rambunctious as a normal two-eyed kitten.  

The third picture of Uno was taken July 13 2011 and shows her attacking a booda bone, one of her favorite toys at that time.

Uno also was very sweet, personable and loving.  Her favorite spot to sleep at that age was curled up beside me or when I was lying down, she would curl up on my shoulder.  Amazing that this tiny kitten whose first experiences with humans were shock, agony, terror, pain, starvation, dehydration and the trauma of having an eye put out, is so sweet and personable and trusting and loves human attention.

At first Uno was fearful of the other cats, which was to be expected but also being such a young kitten, she quickly got used to those cats who took the time to interact with her.  Buddha, a 10+year old cat who I adopted from a shelter when he was 7 months old and whose personality fits his name, was as usual the first and most persistent in winning her friendship and trust, doing his usual self-assigned role of being friend to all who will allow him to befriend him and self-assigned role of kitten caretaker.

Although Uno had beenn eating canned food prior to arriving at my house, from the first day I got her she refused canned food and preferred dry cat food.  She also liked (and still likes) yogurt and wanted to sample anything she saw a human eating.  Her absolute favorite treat was and still is cheese. It's impossible to sneak a slice of cheese or a piece of string cheese out of the refrigerator without Uno instantly showing up to try to con me out of a bite.]]></content:encoded>
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