My remote

If Mom and Dad want to watch TV, they're going to have to pet me first. 

Happy to have them home

Mom and Dad made a quick trip* to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving to visit Dad's family. They hadn't seen them for a proper visit since last Thanksgiving. But now they are back home and Loki can't purr enough now that they are back. He's been laying on Dad for almost 30 minutes just purring and purring. Thankfully they aren't going away again soon. 

*Quick trip = left Wednesday and returned Saturday. The drive from Columbia to Cincinnati is about nine hours with traffic and gas stops. So Mom and Dad are a little tired. They were very cautious with the virus surging so they could have a good, safe visit. 

Rest In Peace Max

Yesterday was a tough day for the Cat Blogosphere. Our old dear friend Max crossed the Rainbow Bridge at 19-1/2 years old. He was, at least in my mind, THE veteran of the cat bloggers. His blog was almost exactly one year older than ours and he was one of our first friends back when you could visit every blog in about 30 minutes. I can't believe we've "known" him for 16 years. He truly set the standard for blogging cats. 

We've been sending all our purrs to his Mom today. It's doubly hard since Max's brother Buddah passed not too long ago. Please send some purrs their way. 

——-

I have been a lot more patient with Aslan after earlier in the week hissing at him all day. It's taken some time, but I'm getting used to his constant attention. Give a little extra love to the special people in your life today. Life is a precious and fragile thing.  

Missing Mom

Mom has been away for almost three weeks, but she comes home tomorrow. I'm keeping her side of the bed warm for her. We've missed her terribly but Dad has been here to make sure we get loved on and get lots of treats. 

(Mom's dad took a tumble playing golf and hit his head. He got a concussion, and while it is serious we feared worse. Still, he needed some assistance and Mom was fortunate to be able to go and help him. That being said, she's as ready to come home as we are to have her back.) 

Happy (belated) Blogoversary

Happy belated blogoversary to us! Jasper started this blog 16 years ago on October 25, before I was even born, as a way to share some pictures and a couple of stories, mainly about the kittens that became Josie and Huggy Bear. We never imagined that 16 years later it would still be going, even if I don't update as frequently as he did. And we definitely never imagined the friendships that would come from this. That's the best part. Thanks for being with us all these years!

I’m trying to sleep here!

Sometimes you just need to cover your eyes and curl up real tight to sleep on the couch while Dad watched TV. 

Aslan’s first box

This might just be the first time that Aslan has discovered the joy of the box. Dad left this out for me, and I was in it earlier, then tonight while watching football Aslan came in and settled down for a few minutes. It didn't last too long, but I think he's figuring it out. 

No motion detected

Mom and Dad have security cameras in the house that they can use to check on us. Today Loki was napping in front of one. He set off the motion detector when he curled up to nap, then was perfectly still for the next 20 minutes before setting it off again. He's getting really good at this napping thing. 

Rest In Peace Buddah

Our dear old friend Buddah crossed the Bridge earlier this week after a brief illness. He's been one of our blogging friends since we started blogging forever ago. We are heartbroken  for his brother Max, who was the second or third visitor to our blog, and his Mom and Dad. We're sending all our purrs their way. Please keep them in your thoughts. 

Loving Loki

Sometimes Loki will just crawl up Mom and insist on getting love from her. It really is about the sweetest thing (next to everything I do). 

Two years ago, plus a silly brother.

It's hard to believe it was two years ago that my big sister Josie crossed the Bridge. She was a good big sister, even if she hissed at me a lot. Now that I have two little brothers I completely understand. I know Mom and Dad miss that sweet girl. 

Ever feel like someone's watching you?

So last night I was on the low shelf on the coffee table and Aslan thought he'd be silly and try to get me through the glass. He was a little put out that he couldn't get to me. Little brothers are always entertaining. 

Yoga Cat

I've been working on my Reclining Cat pose for yoga. Look how I'm bringing my lower legs up to a right angle. (I'm not sure if Reclining Cat is a real yoga pose, but I'm making it one.) 

This morning I was super kitteny. The boys have been playing with the underside of the box spring so Mom had to move the king mattress and put fitted sheets upside down on the box springs. I was snoopervising from the window sill and decided to jump to the top of one of the box springs that was on its side (about a six foot jump). Mom told me to remember what I did when I'm sore later tonight. She's also convinced that I'm more spry than I let on and that I'm just playing Mom and Dad for attention. 

Happy Gotcha Day!

Happy Gotcha Day to Loki and Aslan! We've come a long way in one year. I don't hiss at them as much, and they have really come into their own. They even do yoga with me (and Mom and Dad). They are still very much kittens, though. Yesterday Loki successfully made a hole in the bottom of the box springs of Mom and Dad's bed and made himself a little clubhouse. Mom shut it down quickly with a blanket under the box springs, and Loki pouted a little, bit a few treats and some love made it all better. This past year has had some challenges for us all, but these kittens have made things much better. 

Dynamite!

I love my nip Dynamite! I've had this one for quite some time but I won't give it up. It still makes me happy. I can lick it, rub my face on it, or kick it. And it makes me feel like a kitten, even though I'm 15. I've been feeling pretty spry lately which makes Mom and Dad very happy. Maybe I need a little more nip in my daily routine to keep my spirits up. 

Busy Aslan

Aslan had a very busy Tuesday! He loves to fetch things for Mom and Dad. One of his favorite games is "foil ball" where Mom and Dad will make a ball out of Hershey Kisses wrappers and throw it for him. He will either bat it out of the air, or go chasing after it and return it to Mom or Dad for them to throw it again.


Tuesday, he decided to fetch some things from the kitchen. This is the lid to Mom's water bottle for the exercise bike. It was on the kitchen counter.

But the one that got him was when he brought Mom a jalapeno from the counter. Mom thought he was bringing her a bug (it's happened before), but then she realized it was a hot pepper. Poor little guy was panting and uncomfortable. Mom noticed a few teeth marks in the pepper from where he carried it, and got him some milk to neutralize the heat. He was OK, but I think he learned a lesson too.

Birthday Stinky Goodness

I almost forgot to post my birthday Stinky Goodness pictures!


Dad made me a Stinky Goodness cake in the shape of a 15 for my fifteenth birthday! This has been our tradition for as long as I can remember. It was very tasty!


I was even nice and shared some with my brothers. They didn't even make me hiss!


Here's the "cake" before I started eating it.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! I'm not as spry as the kittens are, but I still have my kitteny moments, and still climb on the back of the couch to watch the sassy squirrel on the deck. Now, back to my nap...

Happy birthday to ME!

  

Happy birthday to Me! Today is my 15th birthday. Today is also Mom's birthday! Mom got a new Apple Watch for her birthday, and I got the Target bag, which, if you ask me, is much cooler. 

Later tonight I'll have a Stinky Goodness cake and I'll post more pictures. And probably get lots of treats. 

Aslan’s new trick

I found a new place to hang out, lounging on this great IKEA pillow on the couch in the front parlor where the morning sun washes over me. It's super comfy. 

So Aslan has a new thing he's started doing (and I hope he doesn't stop now that I'm talking about it). Aslan doesn't like top nap at Kitty Cat Nap Time when Loki and I are napping. So a few times last week he went up to Mom and pat-patted her on the leg to get her attention and then curled up in her arms so she could hold him like a a baby. The first day he let her hold him for about 20 minutes and about 10 the second day. It really was the sweetest thing. 

All in our own spots

Last night Dad caught us all hanging out on the couch together. You can see that I've trained the kittens to stay in their own zone. We can hang out together, just not too close together. (Baby steps in this relationship.)

(Also, Dad wanted me to tell you the blankets are from when Mom and Dad went out of town this weekend and they are there to limit the cat hair on the couch. They know when they're gone we just camp out on the couches waiting for them to return.)

Sleepy boys

Being a busy one-year-old McKitten-Cat can be very tiring for these boys.


Loki got in a really big yawn before his mid-morning nap.


Aslan is all stretched out and showing off his floofy goodness! I know Mom and Dad love that floofy belly.

Aslan woke Mom up in the middle of the night two nights ago to show her that I was sleeping in his cat bed instead of mine. It really was the cutest thing. He nudged Mom, and when she got up he led her to the cat bed, then looked at Mom as if to say, "What are we going to do about this?"

I hope all of you are getting in some good naps too.

Missing HB

Yesterday marked one year since Huggy Bear crossed the Bridge. We spent the last few days celebrating the boys' birthday, since it was just a few days earlier. I'm convinced that Huggy Bear sent these two boys to Mom and Dad, because Loki is a lover much like Huggy Bear was, and Aslan has a lot of HB's personality. I loved Jasper and Josie, but Huggy Bear and I had a special bond. It was usually "Maggie and Huggy Bear" -- rarely just one of us.



Aslan is trying to fill Huggy Bear's role, and I give in every now and then. You have to give him credit for trying hard. It is nice to have a couple of little brothers who think you are a rockstar.

And then there was cake!

Happy birthday boys!

Tonight we celebrated Loki's (left) and Aslan's (right) first birthday. Mom and Dad fixed us each a Stinky Goodness cake in the shape of a 1. I even got one a 1 cake, even though I'm 14. 

Now I'm purring my sleep on the couch while Aslan wrestles a nip banana and Loki is cleaning up the leftovers. 

Happy Birthday Kittens!

Today is Aslan and Loki's FIRST BIRTHDAY! I can't believe those little stinkers are already one year old. They've been with us for nine months, and I'm slowly warming to them. Sure, there's still some hissing but there's also more hanging out. So that's good.


Here's Loki as a tiny kitten. These are screen shots from Dad's phone, but we left them uncropped for the date on the bottom.


And here's Aslan as a tiny kitten! It's hard to believe they were ever that small. Aslan is around 12 pounds now.


Here are the boys patiently waiting for Mom and Dad to finish the puzzle they were working on so the boys could get some treats.


You can see Aslan snoopervising the puzzle work. If he didn't try to help Mom and Dad would finish faster and he'd get those treats he wants.

Tonight for their birthday they are going to have some Stinky Goodness Birthday Cake and get all the love they want. I'll post some more pictures later tonight.

Sometimes this happens

So yeah, sometimes this happens. I have been sleeping on my favorite blankets on this comfy couch. Tonight Aslan curled up near me. Loki was up here last night. Their birthday is tomorrow so I figured I'd be nice and let them hang out with me some. 

Hunters

I've done my share of hunting. As the senior cat in the house I get to rest like this while the boys are now in charge of hunting bugs. The reality of living in South Carolina is sometimes there will be a bug in the house. 

The other day we had an ant invasion — those tiny annoying sugar ants. It happens once a year usually in the spring when it's been dry. The ants had found a wayward treat in the pantry that the kittens must have knocked under the door. Loki showed Mom the ants. He's the first McKitten-Cat to ever give an ant any notice. But he hunted them like an aardvark and snoopervised Mom's cleanup. 

Now Aslan likes to play ball. I've mentioned before how he'll hunt a foil ball and play fetch. He had been doing that one night until the ball vanished. So later Dad was asleep and Mom was up watching TV because she can't sleep. Well Aslan came up and dropped something in Mom's hand. She was expecting the ball, not a roach. She threw it on Dad, screaming "there's a roach in the bed!" Dad hopped up and finished the "hunt" for Aslan. Then Aslan got a treat for being a good hunter. 

(OK, this makes us sound dirty. Our house is clean. These are rare instances but it unfortunately is what sometimes happens in the South.)

Two cats in the window?

Dad got Mom a cool cat pot for her office. She was going to put some succulents in it before everything went crazy, so now it just sits in the window of the office at home. This morning Loki was in the window too, peeking back at Dad just like the pot. 

Sleepy Loki

Loki has enjoyed napping with Mom and Dad. If there's something good from this lockdown it's the napping with Mom. Dad is still at work but Mom is working from home. 

Last Saturday Loki ended up at the vet because he didn't seem to be eating and was throwing up. Blood work was ok and he got an antinausea shot and has been doing better. 

The Friday before that I was at the vet with a UTI. I was given some meds and am doing well too. This just isn't how we wanted to spend our isolation time — it's hard enough going to the vet without the extra worry. Take care of yourselves in the difficult time. 

In tent

The kittens are learning about the joy of getting in "tent" with Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad will bend their knees up and pull the covers up and we will get under their knees and curl up. It's dark and warm and you still get to snuggle with Mom and Dad. The kittens just learned this today. This was one of Josie's favorite things so it makes Mom and Dad happy that they are figuring it out. 

Vitamin C and good neighbors

I ended up going to the vet today for a quick visit. I was real uncomfortable and pacing back and forth to the litter box but couldn't produce anything. Mom was afraid I was constipated. It turns out I have a UTI. In addition to an antibiotic, the vet recommended adding some Vitamin C to my wet food to balance my pH. He was guessing it was closer to 9 when it should be around 6. The challenge right now, of course, is actually finding Vitamin C. Mom and Dad struck out at the two stores they were at but then stores started to close. Fortunately a neighbor got some from another neighbor to give to us (a series of handoffs on front porches that would have raised eyebrows any other time). It's great to see how we all come together in hard times. And I got extra wet food too!

Hope everyone is safe

My brother Aslan loves me so much even though I always encourage social distancing. But look how sweet he is to lay exactly like I am (safely on the other side of Dad's legs). 

Dawn Ellen

Mom and Dad's friend has a hedgehog named Dawn Ellen. She's super cute, even if she gets huffy when she doesn't feel like playing (It's ok because I do too). But as much as I think she'd be fun to play with I think she'd be too pokey. 

You can follow her on Instagram at 

https://instagram.com/the_hedge_of_glory?igshid=14e6l3yxbe2z5

Whatcha doing?

Aslan needed some attention...

Comfy cubes

Mom and Dad went to Ikea last weekend and brought back little pillows for my cat cubes. I'd been hanging out in the cubes a lot recently anyway but now that I have super soft pillows it is definitely my favorite spot. 

Uh, brother, your tail...

Sure Aslan just put your tail across me. Little brothers can be so silly. 

Silly kittens

These silly kittens do some very silly things. Loki likes to bite Mom's nose and chin when she is sleeping. Aslan will snip at Mom's nose and really likes to try to bite her earrings. But they can be so sweet too. I mean, look at that little face!

Two years ...

It's been two years since Jasper crossed the Bridge. It feels like just the other day and forever ago at the same time. Mom and Dad saved a baggie of his fur so they never forget just how soft and floofy he was. He really was the best big brother, and my mentor for how I need to teach these kittens.

All curled up

It's moments like this that make Mom and Dad so happy. I'm curled up at Mom's feet and not fussing as Aslan rests beside me.