Hanging with Aunt Tiff

Mom and Dad went over to Sunset Beach (in North Carolina, not the soap opera) to catch up with some old old friends. Thankfully we have Aunt Tiff to tuck us in, open the door to the garage and give us treats. But Mom and Dad will be back Saturday night, hopefully with pictures of seagulls and beach life. (Rumor has it they are cavorting around with four dogs at the beach, so they better bring us something good back if we are expected to tolerate that kind of behavior.)

Wordless Wednesday

Tuxie Tabby Tuesday

Josie is so good at posing for "portrait" shots. She'll sit still and look squarely at the camera.


Here she was the other day, looking her best for Dad to take her picture. She looks a little serious, but she takes her portraits seriously.

And since Scooby, Shaggy and Scout think there can't be too many pictures of Maggie (and Maggie agrees) here's Maggie from the couch photo shoot from the other day.


The sun was coming in through the back window and was giving us such good lighting for the pictures. And Maggie is a pro at finding the warm rays of sunshine. Plus this is the one of her favorite afternoon napping spots.

Maggie Monday

Maggie has accepted Aunt Tiff as part of the family for sure. With Aunt Tiff living with us for a little while, we were a little thrown off at first. But as you can see, Maggie has taken her in:


Maggie snuggled up on Aunt Tiff's UVA blanket right up against Aunt Tiff.

Everyone, please send helping purrs to Sweet Praline. She has us worried and she needs to get better.

Easy Like Sunday

This weekend was a perfect weekend for watching the backyard squirrel.


The guy was back on the deck again, and Josie, Maggie and Huggy Bear were all at full attention to watch his antics. We might be seeing a lot more squirrel action. Mom and Dad spotted a squirrel nest high in one of the neighbor's trees.

PhotoHunt: Warm

Huggy Bear is demonstrating our PhotoHunt theme of warm today.


Huggy was enjoy the warm sunny afternoon on the back of the couch, bathed in a ray of sunshine. Although it was cool outside, it was warm right there.

Thursday Thirteen #41: Things we have taught Mom and Dad

It's been since Christmas that I've done a Thursday Thirteen, and I figure it's time for one. So here are thirteen things we have taught Mom and Dad.

1. Maggie has taught them that short-haired cats can be soft, and are not pokey just because their hair is short.
2. Goodness can be stinky.
3. Conversely, stinky is not always goodness.
4. There's always a new, better place for a nap.
5. And there's always time for a nap.
6. No matter how hard you try to deter us, we will do it if we want to.
7. You may not know how we got in there, but we did.
8. If a cord is dangling, it must mean you want it to be chewed.
9. The top step is actually supposed to be a cat scratcher.
10. Toilet paper is a cat toy.
11. No matter where Maggie is in the house, if you are unwrapping a Hershey's kiss, she will hear you.
12. You may think you are clean, but you actually need a bath.
13. There's a box somewhere that needs a cat asleep on it.

Wordless Wednesday

Funny comic

This comic is worth linking to. I know I like to wake Mom and Dad up, but probably not to this extreme.

Tabby Tuesday

We are starting to get used to having Aunt Tiff here on a regular basis. At first we weren't really sure why this other stuff was in the house, or why someone else was on the couch. But we're starting to get a better understanding of the perk of having a third set of hands around.


Maggie snuggled up with Aunt Tiff the other day and made Mom very jealous. Here is Maggie sneaking over and stealing Aunt Tiff's seat on the couch.


And Maggie is telling the Cat in the Hat that he's going to have to share Aunt Tiff with us.

And yesterday, Cliff and Olivia asked for a better view of the metal basket I was sleeping in. There weren't a lot of full on shots (an attempt to hide the clutter), but this will show the container better.


Me filling the metal container.


Me using the container's edge as a pillow. Mom and Dad say this is "Classic Jasper."

Mancat Monday

Snoopervising Mom is a very important job for a Mancat. Mom cuts the good articles out of her magazines and saves them in three-ring binders so magazines aren't just piled all over the house.


I'm helping Mom by napping in her metal basket that holds her articles. To the untrained eye, this might look uncomfortable, but it is actually just the right size and one of my favorite places to nap.

Happy Valentine's Day and What I Didn't See

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day to all our friends in the Cat Blogosphere! Maggie wants to send a special Valentine's hello to her best blogosphere buddy Scout. We hope everyone gets extra love from their beans today. It's rainy here to it's looking like a good snuggle in day.

The other day, when it wasn't raining, I was in Mom and Dad's room looking out the window.


There's a roof over the front porch. I was looking to the left, when I should have been looking to the right. It's hard to see in this picture, in the top left corner, but here's what I didn't see...


...a cute little bird was perched on the edge of the roof. I think this birdy is hanging out in the big bush on the side of the front porch. But she was so still that I never even noticed her. I'm sure she'll be back, and I'll be more attentive next time.

[And, ironically, we got 13 comments on our Friday the 13th post. How funny is that?]

Friday the 13th

Huggy Bear wanted me to make a Public Service Announcement for him today, since today is Friday the 13th. Many people get superstitious about Friday the 13th, and although we don't know much about that, there is another superstition that we need to dispel. If a black cat crosses your path, this is NOT unlucky.


You see, if Huggy Bear crosses your path, it most likely mean that you are going to hear a lot of purrs, receive a toy mouse that he hunted for you, and get to pet his belly. Now, that doesn't sound too unlucky to us. So since today is supposed to be unlucky, I say let's just hope a black cat crosses your path and balances the luck out.

Award

I got this nice award from Sweet Praline a while back and keep forgetting to post about it. Thank you Praline for my award!


As this award is explained:
"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I'm supposed to deliver this to eight bloggers, but I think this one has been making its way around a bit, and I have such a hard time narrowing down eight. I will pass this one to The Island Cats, Ms. P and Cinza, Jimmy Joe, Cheysuli and Gemini, Scooby Shaggy and Scout, Cliff & Olivia, Yaffa and Sebastian, and William & company. My problem is that I could just keep going, and I always have just one more, then another just one more to pass awards on to. If you weren't listed but feel deserving (and I'm sure you are) consider yourself awarded too.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuxie Tuesday

Continuing the kitten theme from yesterday, today we are going to up the cuteness by combining a kitten and a two-year-old.


Clara Ann is playing with Jackson on Super Bowl Sunday, and learning that kittens use their tiny sharp claws when they play. She is so excited to have Jackson and Juliette to play with, and follow and squee at when she sees them. I think kittens have some kind of magical, addictive property.

Poor Bear

First it was meep, now Bear ... we are so sad for our friends. We will be thinking a lot about Twizzler, and praying he stays healthy. It is so good of their beans to take in ill cats and give them love, and that is what we choose to think about during sad times like these.

And, since this is sad, and you have to smile when you see kittens...


This is Jackson (top) and Juliette (below) snuggling during the Super Bowl. Juliette, of course, is who you guys helped name. Yaffa, Sebastian and Dante got their gifts and posted a great video, too.

Everyone, have a happy and healthy day, please.

Finally Friday

Well, since I missed making a post yesterday I will show you a very special picture:


The girls must have been pretty cold because it is not often that Josie will let Maggie snuggle with her (despite Maggie's many efforts). But Wednesday night there they were at the foot of Mom and Dad's bed, sleeping against each other like it was their normal thing. It actually lasted a surprisingly long time.

This has been a pretty big week at the McKitten-Cat house. Aunt Tiff moved in on Tuesday and will be here for a little bit while she looks for a nursing job. This is very exciting for us. It's another person to spoil us, and she also brought all kinds of boxes and bags for us to sleep on and put our hairs on.


This has been my favorite napping spot since it was brought in to the house.


But there's no denying that a duffel bag makes a great pillow.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuxie Tuesday

Josie was really fired up this weekend, rushing around patrolling the windows.


There's definitely something out there, but it's hard to see in this picture.


Of course! It's that sassy squirrel again. He is a big tease, flicking his tail on the wrong side of the window. One of these days...

Maggie Monday

On these cool winter days, Maggie has found a great place to nap...


... on top of the warm wireless router. Just don't chew on the antenna like Huggy Bear likes to do.