10 posts tagged “cats”

All you cat-lovers out there know about Doctors Foster & Smith, right?
Love... love... love!
Wish I had a million dollars... love!

Got their new cat-alog today (hee hee) and here are all the things I want to get for my babies.

1. Catspa
CatSpa activity center for cats ensures sensory heaven for all kitties. Features a variety of textures your cat can rub, massage, and groom against. From low textured platforms to removable brush inserts, this playground even hides catnip. Rim guard prevents catnip tracking and rubber feet prevent slippage. Catnip (1/2 oz. bag) included. Removable parts for easy cleaning. Measures 20" diameter, overall height 6".

2.  Peek-a-Prize
Tantalize your cat's instinct to hunt! Toys peek out, but can your cat free the prize? Stimulating and challenging, this interactive puzzle box keeps your cat mentally active. Place toys or treats inside for your cat to reach, bat, and scoop, and ferret out. Sturdy all-wood construction lasts years, and box includes two assorted toys to get the fun started. Also makes great toy storage until the game begins again.

3.  Laser Light Show
This cat toy's automatic laser chaser keeps your cat on the prowl. The laser dot, which circles, pauses, and then circles again, cannot be caught - which keeps your cat moving. The Ba-Da-Beam features a rotating laser that can be directed into one of two adjustable positions - straight ahead for wall use, or downward toward the floor.

4.  Thing in a Bag
Cats think this durable, claw-resistant bag is really alive. "Thing in a Bag" shakes randomly, bringing out your cat's stalking instinct. When activated, inner battery-operated shaker operates for 3 minutes before turning off automatically. Self-fastening bag closure. Requires 3 AA batteries, not included. 5" x 2" x 9" high.

5.  Crinkle Tunnel
Crinkle tunnel mimics the paper-bag sound cats love. Do you remember the times you brought home groceries, and your cat darted into the first empty bag you unloaded? Likewise, this crinkle tunnel is just the right size for cats to roll around inside and play. Crinkle liner between the outer leopard print and neutral inner fabrics makes the tunnel crackle with every touch. It features two 6" peek holes, a hanging toy for batting fun, and a sturdy spiral frame that resists collapse.

Is it just me or does Isabel look ever so slightly thinner? Humor me and say yes. The first was 2-3 weeks ago at my old house, the second was yesterday.

And now, for your viewing pleasure... I am slowly working on creating a cat jungle gym in my basement to keep my cats entertained and hopefully give them and avenue for exercise. The first thing I did was cover the support pole in carpet so they can climb it like a tree. The first video shows Dunkin doing his thing. It's about 1/3 of the way in if you want to fast forward. The second video is showcasing how funny he gets when he is on catnip. I sprinkled it around the base of the tree and rubbed it all over it to get them interested. Yes, two videos only a mother would love.

 

Computer

My new Lenovo Thinkpad arrived on Monday and I love love love love love it! Makes me wonder how I survived on a Dell for so long. The keypad alone on this baby makes it worth it. So easy to type. There are quite a few differences for me since this one came loaded with Vista, so I've been poking around learning this new OS and getting adjusted to a new hardware setup.

I ended up getting a bundle offered through the Penn State bookstore because when I priced the computer configured the same way, it was more by itself than the whole bundle together. Seeing as I'm no dummy, I've now got myself quite a few new playthings. Gotta love the student discount.

Copying BA who was copying Arbed...

Will Smith

Leading Man

A fresh prince in the pursuit of happiness, dunkin is megastar Will Smith!

Putting the jazz back in jazzy, dunkin is always moving and grooving to the beat of his own internal drum. Not one to settle for second best, dunkin only takes on projects that are sure to draw attention and improve his pawpularity in the pack. dunkin's broad appeal across breed, age and gender lines means that his actions often lead to his being named best in show. Smooth, suave and debonair... he's the perfect pet to take home to Mommy. Not lacking in the looks department, dunkin‘s toothy grin would send even the most furrocious group of alien invaders spinning helplessly back into space.

Oh, sigh...

Now that my grad school search is over, which I have been stressing and fretting and worrying and obsessing about for 11 months what the heck am I going to talk about?

Ack!

Perhaps my cats? They have been sadly un-bragged about recently. Here they are, my two lovelies...

People are so funny. Wish I could make up stuff like this... From Cheezburger...

Who me? I didn't drink your pink stuff. I don't know what you're talking about.

Ahem. It is now time to open the door and let me in. Kthxbai.

Tan kittehs are soooooo much cuter.

Sunbathing kitteh is not amused.

Zen kitteh is zen.

Lamp works for sunbathing on cloudy days.

Guidelines for Cats

Doors:
Do not allow closed doors in any room. To get door opened, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season. Swinging doors are to be avoided at all costs.

Chairs and Rugs:
If you have to throw up, get to a chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, shag is good. When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up so that it is as long as the human's bare foot.

Bathrooms:
Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything . . . just sit and stare.

Hampering:
If one of your humans is engaged in some close activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping", otherwise known as "hampering." Following are the rules for "hampering":

• When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted.
   
• For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself.
   
• For knitting projects or paperwork, lie on the work in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work or at least the most important part. Pretend to doze, but every so often reach out and slap the pencil or knitting needles. The worker may try to distract you; ignore it. Remember, the aim is to hamper work. Embroidery and needlepoint projects make great hammocks in spite of what the humans may tell you.
   
• For people paying bills (monthly activity) or working on income taxes or Christmas cards (annual activity), keep in mind the aim-to hamper! First, sit on the paper being worked on. When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. After being removed for the second time, push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table, one at a time. When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. They love to jump.

Walking:
As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human, especially on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark, and when they first get up in the morning. This will help their coordination skills.

Bedtime:
Always sleep on the human at night so s/he cannot move around.

Play:
This is an important part of your life. Get enough sleep in the daytime so you are fresh for your nocturnal games. Below are listed several favorite cat games that you can play. It is important, though, to maintain one's dignity at all times. If you should have an accident during play, such as falling off a chair, immediately wash a part of your body as if to say "I meant to do that!" It fools those humans every time.

Cat Games:

• Catch Mouse:
  The humans would have you believe that those lumps under the covers are their feet and hands. They are lying. They are actually Bed Mice, rumored to be the most delicious of all the mice in the world, though no cat has ever been able to catch one. Rumor also has it that only the most ferocious attack can stun them long enough for you to dive under the covers to get them. Maybe YOU can be the first to taste the Bed Mouse!
   
• King of the Hill:
  This game must be played with at least one other cat. The more, the merrier! One or both of the sleeping humans is Hill 303 which must be defended at all costs from the other cat(s). Anything goes. This game allows for the development of unusual tactics as one must take the unstable playing theater into account.

Warning: Playing either of these games to excess will result in expulsion from the bed and possibly from the bedroom. Should the humans grow restless, immediately begin purring and cuddle up to them. This should buy you some time until they fall asleep again. If one happens to be on a human when this occurs, this cat wins the round of King of the Hill.

Toys:
Any small item is a potential toy. If a human tries to confiscate it, this means that it is a good toy. Run with it under the bed. Look suitably outraged when the human grabs you and takes it away. Always watch where it is put so you can steal it later. Two reliable sources of toys are dresser tops and wastebaskets. There are several types of cat toys.

• Bright shiny things like keys, brooches, or coins should be hidden so that the other cat(s) or humans can't play with them. They are generally good for playing hockey with on uncarpeted floors.
   
• Dangly and/or string-like things such as shoelaces, cords, gold chains, and dental floss (& Q-tips) also make excellent toys. They are favorites of humans who like to drag them across the floor for us to pounce on.
   
• When a string is dragged under a newspaper or throw rug, it magically becomes the Paper/Rug Mouse and should be killed at all costs. Take care, though. Humans are sneaky and will try to make you lose your dignity.

Paper Bags:
Within paper bags dwell the bag mice. They are small and camouflaged to be the same color as the bag, so they are hard to see. But you can easily hear the crinkling noises they make as they scurry around the bag. Anything, up to and including shredding the bag, can be done to kill them. Note: any other cat you may find in a bag hunting for bag mice is fair game for a sneak attack, which will usually result in a great Tagmatch.

Food:
In order to get the energy to sleep, play, and hamper, a cat must eat. Eating, however, is only half the fun. The other half is getting the food. Cats have two ways to obtain food: convincing a human you are starving to death and must be fed now; and hunting for it oneself. The following are guidelines for getting fed.

• When the humans are eating, make sure you leave the tip of your tail in their dishes when they are not looking.
   
• Never eat food from your own bowl if you can steal some from the table. Never drink from your own water bowl if a human's glass is full enough to drink from.
   
• Should you catch something of your own outside, it is only polite to attempt to get to know it. Be insistent. Your food will usually not be so polite and try to leave.
   
• Table scraps are delicacies with which the humans are unfortunately unwilling to readily part. It is beneath the dignity of a cat to beg outright for food as lower forms of life such as dogs will, but several techniques exist for ensuring that the humans don't forget you exist. These include, but are not limited to: jumping onto the lap of the "softest" human and purring loudly; lying down in the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen, the "direct stare", and twining around people's legs as they sit and eat while meowing plaintively.

Sleeping:
As mentioned above, in order to have enough energy for playing, a cat must get plenty of sleep. It is generally not difficult to find a comfortable place to curl up. Any place a human likes to sit is good, especially if it contrasts with your fur color. If it's in a sunbeam or near a heating duct or radiator, so much the better. Of course, good places also exist outdoors, but have the disadvantages of being seasonal and dependent on current and previous weather conditions such as rain. Open windows are a good compromise.

Scratching Posts:
It is advised that cats use any scratching post the humans may provide. They are very protective of what they think is their property and will object strongly if they catch you sharpening your claws on it. Being sneaky and doing it when they aren't around won't help, as they are very observant. If you are an outdoor kitty, trees are good. Sharpening your claws on a human is not recommended.

Humans:
Humans have three primary functions: to feed us, to play with and give attention to us, and to clean the litter box. It is important to maintain one's Dignity when around humans so that they will not forget who is the master of the house. Humans need to know basic rules. They can be taught if you start early and are consistent.

From James S. Huggins' Refrigerator Door: Guidelines for Cats Pages

I am so relieved! I spent a good part of last night telling Dunkin how worried I was and that he should go find her and tell her to come home. Lo and behold, about 1am she came in and jumped on the bed and snuggled like she usually does.

I have no idea where she was but she seemed a little more skittish than usual. Could be my overactive imagination, but she also seemed a little skinnier. She looked fine other than that, so I'm wondering if maybe she got stuck in someone's garage by mistake. There are lots of vacation homes nearby and Isabel likes to find quiet places to sleep, so it's not inconceivable... And MUCH better than all the other alternatives I had dreamed up.

Thanks for your well wishes!

Dunkin's glad she's back too... they go off exploring together...

Last weekend I decided to tell the story of adopting my first cat, Dunkin. Today, Isabel takes the spotlight.

As I mentioned in Dunkin's story, when he was a kitten he thought everything and everybody was put on this earth to be his friend. He walked up to each animal or person he encountered without fear, sniffing them and rubbing on them.

It was amazing to watch because he literally seemed to be without fear even of things it should have been in his natural instinct to be afraid of, or at least wary of. Like deer. And dogs. And other cats. And cows. There were times I wished wished wished I had my camera as he went nose to nose with something many many times his size. Remarkable.

It was absolutely clear from Day One that Dunkin needed a friend, but I was already hiding him in my apartment, so I needed to wait. As it happened, I was in the final process of buying my first house, so I knew it wouldn't be long.

I moved into my new house, a cabin in the mountains, on September 7th, 2003. That date is very important because on September 18, 2003 that category 5 Hurricane Isabel rocked Virginia like a canoe in a tidal wave. Being that it was (1) within my first two weeks living in my new house, and (2) the first hurricane I can remember to make it all the way inland and still retain some force, I was freaked out. My friends clued me in to sleep in the basement because of all the tall trees in our neighborhood... thank God... because I woke to the sound of running water at about 1am. Isabel, b***h that she was, had pushed a crack in one of the walls of my basement up to 1/2 inch wide and water was pouring in like a spigot.

I cannot even tell you how depressed I was. Buying my first house was a HUGE mental and emotional hurdle because

of the commitment it took. I was freaked out because of the money. I was freaked out by the responsibility. I was freaked out by living alone. I was just generally already a walking nerve. Then, to have such devastating damage to my house ELEVEN days after I moved in was almost too much. I sat in the basement and cried.

Honestly, I was pretty depressed and numb for about 6 months afterwards. Every time it rained more than 3-4 inches water would come pouring into my basement. It got to the point where I could not sleep at all whenever it rained because I was on alert for the sound of flooding.

I bought a wet vac and would sit on the floor by the crack sucking up water as it poured in. It was not entirely successful, but it was the best I could do.

A lawyer friend suggested I contact FEMA because they were in the area looking at hurricane damage. I did, and a really nice lady came out to look at my house. I am sure she felt sorry for me because I was clearly so sad and depressed. I'm also sure she must have taken pity on me because I was honest with her and did not try to claim a bunch of things not related to the storm damage. Whatever the case, I got a grant from FEMA that paid to repair my driveway, the crack in the basement wall, and most of a drainage system under the floor. All in all, when I had originally thought I was going to be shelling out upwards of $25,000 in repairs that my insurance company would not help with, thanks to FEMA I ended up paying about $1500 out of pocket because the grant covered the rest. I know FEMA has gotten a bad rap over the years, but I am nothing but grateful and thankful.

Before the hurricane, I had already planned that this was the weekend I would find a friend for Dunkin. He had been quite the trooper through his scary transition from his family to my place then moving to a new house. I decided despite the damage, I was going to soldier on and went to visit a local fostering agency. I visited a man who had 24 cats and 16 dogs in foster care. They were friggin EVERYWHERE! In a garage out back, outside in the yard, and in every room of his house. Holy guacamole.

I've gotta admit it was really fun to get down on the floor and get smothered by a gaggle of sniffing, licking cats,

kittens, dogs, and puppies. As it turns out, there were only two cats they were adoptable because I was looking for a female about the same age as Dunkin. What cinched it was the foster dad said "Amy" was the biggest lap cat he had ever seen and would immediately jump in his lap whenever he sat down. SOLD! That's exactly what I wanted - a snuggly, loving cat.

Enter Isabel...

So, Amy, now re-named Isabel to forever commemorate the timing of her entrance into our lives - came home to live with Dunkin and me. It was love at first sight for Dunkin, who took to her immediately and welcomed her into our home with a great show of kitty love, excitement, and playfulness. Isabel blended in right away and she and Dunkin quickly became inseparable.

I live in the world's best location for cats - in the mountains and woods, hardly any traffic, and lots of animals and critters to keep them interested. For the first year, I would let the cats out when I left for work in the morning and call them back in at night. They were usually cooperative and this went on without issue for most of the winter. But there came the night when I called and called and neither cat came home. I tried again an hour later. NO luck. I walked around with a flashlight. Isabel, by some really hysterical force of genetics, absolutely cannot ignore a flashlight. She goes into psycho kitty mode and chases the beam of light. But that night, not even a flashlight could get them back in the house. I went to bed worried because it was cold.

The next morning I made the rounds of my neighbors, describing the cats to see if they had seen them. No one had. That day came and went and still they did not come home. By this time I was worried sick.

The second day a neighbor knocked on my door to tell me he had seen two cats that looked like mine making a

beeline down the mountain towards my house. Literally two minutes later they arrived - together - at my door. I can't tell you how relieved I was and I knew then that as long as they were together they would be ok. Kinda like the Wonder Twins from the old super hero cartoon on Saturday mornings.

To this day it is the same way. When I take them to the vet, they cry and cry if put in two separate cages but curl up together and seem much more relaxed if they are together in one. They are more like brother and sister than boyfriend and girlfriend and it is always fun to watch them together. They are my heart.