Secret Paws

Our Secret Paws gift came the other day, right as Mom and Dad were heading out of the house. It was cruel torture to have to wait for them to come back so we could open it, but it turned out to be worth the wait! Our Secret Paw was China Cat, and boy did we get spoiled.




Maggie and Josie were quick to investigate the gifts, all wrapped up.


Huggy Bear took time to read the note, like Mom has always taught us.


We got all kinds of great stuff -- orange mice, and wobbly balls, and Temptations, and a Santa mouse that scoots across the floor, and some rattling balls, and a nip cigar that the girls just went nuts over.


Here's Maggie getting the nip cigar. You can tell it's amazing because she's right beside a pack of Temptations and not paying any attention to them.


Huggy Bear claimed the pink wobble ball as his.


Josie claimed the first orange mouse, and went running through the house with it before Mom could even get the tag off.


I got an orange mouse, too.

We must have been very good this year to get such great stuff! Thanks China Cat!

At the beginning, I mentioned that Mom and Dad were leaving when the Secret Paws arrived. They were going to meet Aunt Tiff, and Aunt Tiff had gifts for us, too!I'll post a couple of pictures later, so as to not confuse with the Secret Paws gifts. But I did want to say "Thanks Aunt Tiff!"

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas with family and friends! We were good and didn't sneak downstairs when we heard Santa Paws coming. And a good thing too, because we wanted to stay on the nice list. We got extra treats today for being good, too.

Wordless Wednesday

Carbon pawprint

I'm not happy that this article on Yahoo! is comparing my carbon pawprint to that of driving a VW Golf for a year. At least I'm better than a dog. They're more than twice the equivalent of driving an SUV.

Maggie Monday

Maggie and I helped with the gift wrapping this weekend. Maggie decided the scraps of paper left over made a good toy, and lucky for her Mom and Dad agreed.


Mom and Dad took turns throwing the ball to Maggie. Sometimes she would bat it back at them, sometimes she would catch it in mid-air. In this one, she's twisting around to get the ball.


Here's Maggie demonstrating her bat down technique.


And this is the mid-air catch. I like this game too, but only when I'm all by myself. Maggie's pounced me a few too many times in mid-catch for me to relax and play with her around. But everything she knows, she learned from me.

*Christmas card update*

Mom has been a slacker, but she finally has Christmas cards that should be going out before Christmas, and arriving before New Year's. (She says she's been real busy "working" -- whatever that means. I think it's code for "neglecting the cats.")

Christmas wrapping

Mom was very busy this weekend wrapping presents. That meant we were very busy snoopervising.


I was in charge of the wrapping paper and the flat gift boxes.


Maggie was responsible for making sure the boxes were the right size.

Finally Friday

It's finally Friday ... Mom and Dad have a Christmas party tonight, but then it's hopefully time with us! I know there's some more shopping they need to do, and hopefully some Christmas cards created and mailed out.


Huggy Bear was in snoopervise mode the other night when Mom and Dad were packing the Secret Paws, even though here it just looks like he's hogging the bed. But trust me, he was snoopervising. And I guarantee that he'll be keeping a close eye on Mom and Dad this weekend to make sure we get our quality time.

Not really Wordless Wednesday

Well, it's supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday, but not quite ... but also not wordy enough to be a Wordy Wednesday. Here's Maggie snoopervising the Secret Paws package that went out yesterday and some of the goodies. There's more in the stocking that's not pictured. You'll just have to wait for our Secret Paw to take pictures to see it all.







Also, I hope Beau Beau and Noni Noni find homes for Christmas.

Secret Paws

Our Secret Paws package is in the mail! We are so excited. It was a lot of fun helping Mom and Dad get it all packed up. But it wasn't fun not getting to play with any of it. Oh I want to give a hint ... it would be so easy ... but I can't! I'll post a few helping pictures tomorrow.

Nice story

Kitten rides 120 miles in wheel well of SUV.

Random thoughts on Thursday

Just a few random thoughts. Mom and Dad did a great job shopping for our Secret Paws friend. Oh, I want to give a hint so bad, but I can't. We'll be packing it up soon and getting it out in the mail. Maybe if Mom and Dad can get home before 10 p.m. one night...

Also, if you haven't heard I wanted to remind everyone too, Magoo, Smudge, Bella, Dolci and Baci's Dad is getting ready to start another Chrissymouse story from the Story Chair. He always tells great stories so be sure to check it out.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuxie Tuesday

Josie really loved the new big box Mom and Dad brought into the house last week. Unfortunately, the box is gone already. It did last a few days, though, and was a great napping spot.

Easy Like Sunday

We'll be hanging out under the warm Christmas trees today. Mom and Dad are nice and put up two so we don't necessarily have to share our under-the-tree time.

Full moon Friday

Well, it looks like the full moon has Maggie acting like a whacko. No, wait, that's just normal Maggie.

Cat treats galore

Before I talk about Dad's big score at the store, I should mention about yesterday's Wordless Wednesday: Yes, that was a re-usable Target bag. They make great pillows, and Mom and Dad really like the Target bags that fold up and snap the best, too.

Now, last night Dad got a call from Aunt Tish telling him that the grocery store up the road was closing to move to another location and that everything was 60 percent off. Most of the people food was gone, but the cat food was still stocked pretty good. Dad went a little overboard. He bought a bunch of kitty litter and food, but then he also bought nine bags of cat treats and even got some stinky goodness. He saved $65 (which means he spent $45). We even got a new toy (but he clipped it cutting off the huge tag so Mom has to stitch it before we get to play with it).

Did I mention NINE bags of cat treats!?!

Wordless Wednesday

Tuxie Tabby Tuesday

We've had such nice weather that it's been difficult to get in the Christmas spirit. But Mom and Dad managed to put the trees up anyway (with our help).


But this is what the weather has been like -- windows open and cats on patrol.


We've taken to just staring out the window to make Mom and Dad wonder what's out back. We've studied the leaves and squirrels and invading neighbor cats. But usually, just for fun, there's nothing out there at all. It keeps Mom and Dad on their toes.

Maggie Monday

Here's Maggie's Christmas tree report so far: She's climbed both trees, including the one in the living room before Dad could even finish putting it together (artificial trees, Mom's allergic). There was one ornament on the ground within an hour, but that's the only one so far.

Mom and Dad bought themselves a big Christmas present, and bough us a big box. We're not sure what's in the box for Mom and Dad, but we're very excited about our part of the present.

We're going to be doing some Secret Paws shopping this week! Very excited about Secret Paws.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all get some good leftovers, but be sure not to hop up on the table and help yourself to any food. We're so, so thankful for all our wonderful cat-blog friends. Our lives are so much more full because of you.


We'll be hanging out with Mom and Dad today. I think it'll be a low-key Thanksgiving for us today. Maybe we'll just curl up on the couch and watch some football.

Maggie Monday

We had some nice weather during the day Saturday and got to enjoy some more open window time. Silly Mom and Dad got in such a hurry with Mom's play closing that they forgot to shut the window, though, and it stayed open all night -- even when it got cold and rainy. That was pretty exciting for us though. Any open window is a good open window.

Wordless Wednesday

Monday report

Well, Mom and Dad did their job over the weekend and took lots of pictures of us. They took pictures while watching an awful football game. They took pictures while cooking and amazing dinner (that we didn't get to eat any of). So where are the pictures, you ask? Still sitting on the camera! I guess because Mom was busy fixing dinner for 20 people, and Dad was busy making sure Mom didn't lose her mind as she fixed dinner for 20 people, that all of a sudden posting pictures was no longer a priority.

So instead imagine a very mancatly picture of Huggy Bear sitting in an open window from Sunday because it was a beautiful South Carolina November day and we had open windows and Fall air to smell. (The actual picture will probably show up for Wordless Wednesday.)

Saturday football

We'll be hanging out with Mom and Dad watching Tennessee football Saturday. They've been very busy with Mom's play she's producing so it will be nice to just chillax with them. Hopefully the football game will be a good blowout and they can focus on getting some pictures of us so I'm not having to make any more boring posts like this one.

Rain, rain go away

We've had so much rain lately that I had to post a picture of me in the window on a sunny, cool day just to remind me of what it is like. I hope everyone else is having better weather than this. Mom and Dad said we needed the rain, but does it all have to come at once?

Wordless Wednesday

Tabby Tuesday

Mom wasn't feeling too hot the other day and ended up at Walgreen's getting some cough drops and she also picked up a new toy for us.


Maggie was quick to claim it. She liked the tail, and was whapping it before Dad could even get it free from all its packaging.


As you can see, Maggie loves it bunches. But she was nice enough to share it with Huggy Bear. When he got his turn, he carried it from one side of the room to the next, with Maggie following him.

Mr. Tigger was on my mind today. I hope he comes home in time for Thanksgiving. That would definitely be something to be thankful for.

Treat challenge

Mom and Dad read over on Forever Foster about the treat triangle and thought it would be a good challenge for us and might make enjoying our treats more fun.


Dad saved toilet paper rolls and stapled them together. Then he did this awful thing ... he put the treats inside the tubes so they were hard for us to get. I had nothing to do with it. I've made it clear that treats are something I enjoy on my own, so I left it to the other three. Josie was briefly curious, then disinterested. Huggy Bear and Maggie were more intrigued. To my surprise, it was Huggy Bear with his large paws that learned to whap the treats out, or to pull them to him. Maggie kept trying to stick her little nose in there. Josie just waited for the other two to free a treat then she helped herself. It was a nice challenge and a good break from the routine morning treat. And fun to watch, too.

Dona Nobis Pacem

We send our sincerest wishes for peace to all. We love all our cat blogging friends. Thank you so much for what you have added to our lives!

And don't forget the Hi-5 event at Free Kibble today ... five times the food donated today!

Wordy Wednesday and Kiss the cat

I learned today from Free Kibble Kat that "In the 16th century, anyone visiting an English home would kiss the family cat to bring good luck." Maybe that's why Mom and Dad are always giving us kisses.

This was supposed to be a wordless Wednesday post, but it didn't get done, and I had some tattling to do today. But Tattle Tail Wednesday just didn't have the right ring to it so it's a Wordy Wednesday instead.

Anyway, in the morning Maggie likes to "help" Dad eat his cereal as he reads the news and morning comics online. Well, as the breakfast goes on, Dad eventually ends up holding his cereal bowl to keep Maggie out of it. This morning, Maggie got on Dad's lap and rose up right under the bowl and made Dad spill his milk. Now, there was no crying over the spilled milk, but there was some cleaning up. Fortunately Dad has learned and wasn't dressed for work yet. And Maggie still got to drink some milk and even ate a Cheerio or two. She is such a stinker, and gets rewarded for it. Sisters!

Amazing cat photos on Flickr

This is one of our favorite photostreams to look at on Flickr. He takes pictures of the stray cats of Taiwan, and his 15 cats, too. They are amazing pictures.

Mancat Monday

We made it through Halloween. We had some wonderful weather Saturday. So nice even that we had the front windows open so we could patrol and guard the house from all the ghosts and goblins that came around. (Actually, we had more princesses than anything...) Josie was extra vigilant, but she's a girl and this is Mancat Monday, so that's all the credit she's getting here.

Mom is neck deep into a play that she is producing and doing props for. The play opens Friday, and she has promised to give us all kinds of extra love this weekend. But until then, it's late nights for her (and Dad, as the assistant to the producer).

We heard that we were supposed to get an extra hour of sleep Saturday night -- something about turning clocks back. Well, the clocks are still facing the same direction, and as far as I know, I slept the same amount. But I'll take an extra hour if it's available.

Happy Halloween

I know this post is a little later in the day than I usually like but I wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Be safe, too, with your moms and dads opening the door for ghosts and goblins and ghouls. We're sitting in the window waiting for our first ones now. I hope they show up soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Simon's Cat book

We've been so sidetracked lately that we totally forgot that we had won a copy of the new Simon's Cat book thanks to our dear old friend Timothy Dickens -- until today when Dad came home and it was sitting on the front porch! Timothy did a great review a while back, so I'll refer you to that for the big details of this great book (mainly because I haven't read it yet ...). But Mom and Dad will be reading it to us soon. We've read the first few pages, and it is great!

Thanks again to Timothy! We're so so so excited. It really made our day.

Monday update

Mom and Dad were painting our ceilings downstairs all day yesterday. That made for a very exciting day for us, because all the furniture ended up in wrong rooms. The best were the couches in the kitchen -- combining two of our favorite things! It's a very busy week this week, but we hope to be visiting and updating with some pictures.

Wordless Wednesday

Tattle Tail Tuesday and tocks for Derby

Can you believe we don't have a picture to post? Mom and Dad have pictures of us, but they're just sitting on the camera doing no good for anyone. The nerve of them!

It's getting pretty cool here for South Carolina. Mom and Dad keep the house kinda cool, I think so we'll snuggle with them. And it's working. They had three of us in bed with them the other night. Anyhow, I owed everyone an update, so I wanted to post real quick. I'll get the beans to get some pictures up tonight so I have something for Wordless tomorrow...

Also, Happy Birthday Derby! Here's the best 'tock picture I could come up with right now. At least the closest I could get.



And just for fun ... gorilla 'tocks from this summer's zoo trip ...

Kitten overload

Mom and Dad were visiting some friends when this bunch of kittens and their mom and dad showed up. Mom and Dad's friends live out in the country and they end up with lots of kittens and cats, so they put food and milk out for them to keep them nourished.


Here's momma cat on the left, and dad cat on the right, with the three kittens.


They're very content to hang out so long as we're on the other side of the door. But they run run run real fast the other way when we try to offer some love.


But momma cat is a good momma, and takes care of the kittens. And dad cat is very watchful, too.


And they feel safe enough on the deck to form a kitten pile. And you just can't beat that!

Wordless Wednesday

Maggie Monday

This was Maggie all during the football game Saturday. I checked, and she has about the same thing planned for today. Sounds good to me.

Wordless Wednesday

OK, not exactly wordless. We're so happy Samantha is home. Now let's hope Mr. Tigger follows!

Tabby Tattle Tale (and Takeover) Tuesday

Hi! Maggie here! I've hijacked the blog to tattle on my big brother, because you know he won't tell on himself. You know how Sweet Praline got grounded for stepping outside the other night when her Mom was on the porch and the door was cracked? And you know how Samantha and Mr. Tigger went outside and are driving their Mom crazy with worry? Well, a certain big orange cat tried the same thing the other night. On Sunday we had company for dinner and when Aunt Tiff was leaving Mom was standing at the door saying goodbye and Jasper put his front two paws right over the edge of the door like he thought he was going with Aunt Tiff or something. Mom scooped him up right away and asked him if he'd lost his mind. (I think he had.) It must be this big Harvest Moon. I'm glad Jasper didn't slip out. And I sure hope Samantha and Mr. Tigger come home soon.


OK, I'm done tattling on Jasper. I guess I'll give the blog back to him tomorrow. At least until he gets crazy again and needs to be tattled on.

Midnight Mancat Monday

We're still enjoying the awesome Fall weather here with some open windows. Mom and Dad are even sleeping with the windows open, even though it gets a little chilly for them in the middle of the night.


Huggy Bear is quick to claim his spot in the window when it's open. But like a good mancat, he'll share it when he has to.