Vishus baby deer

Mom and Dad were at Fripp Island on the coast of South Carolina last week. This is a beautiful island, and it is also a nature preserve so there are deer everywhere. We tried to warn Mom and Dad of the vishus deer before they went. Look what they encountered...


Vishus baby deer! Look at that thing! Tell me you wouldn't trust it!

Dad actually got a picture of a deer kicking at another deer. The deer didn't want to share its peach that Dad had tossed to it. After the deer kicked, Dad decided it was a good time to go back inside.

Mom and Dad had a great trip. They also saw two alligators and a dolphin (not at the same time). Last year they saw a baby sea turtle make its way to the ocean, but this year they were too early for the turtles.

They had a great time, but I know they were happy to come back and snuggle with us.

(And just for fun, they weren't too far from Morgan Island, aka Monkey Island, although there's no visiting that one.)

Mom and Dad are back!

Mom and Dad made it back from the beach late Saturday night. They have lots of good pictures, including some of the vishus deer (and they did get a little vishus with each other). In the meantime, I found a picture that I forgot to share with you.


Dad has a tabby cat that visits him at work. He hunts the squirrels around the office and torments the birds like you would expect from a tomcat. And in the case of this picture, he was messing with a snake. Dad came back from lunch to see the cat getting something, and some large birds swooping around in the same space. Dad really thought the cat had found a baby bird, but when he looked closer Dad could see the coiled up snake. Dad really thought that the cat had killed the snake, but when the cat got bored with the snake and started rolling around in the parking lot, Dad saw the snake start to raise its head. That's when Dad decided the snake needed to go somewhere else. Dad found a long (long) stick and used it to toss the snake into the neighboring yard (there's a chain link fence, and the snake slithered through). The cat quickly hopped up and followed it. That's where the story ended for Dad ... snake away from his parking lot and his patients.

Don't look any further if you don't like snakes, but here's a close-up of the snake.









Ugh ... snakes! Another reason to be an inside cat.

Making sure they'll miss us

Mom and Dad are getting ready to go to the beach for a couple of days. They are going back to Fripp Island, where they went last year and saw vicious deer and alligators and a baby sea turtle. (OK, the deer were very nice, and ate out of Aunt Tiff's hands, but you can never been too cautious.)

Since Mom and Dad will be gone, we have made it a point to be extra cute so they will miss us.


Here's Maggie curled up on a reusable grocery bag. She was sliding it around the bedroom like a sled.


Huggy Bear turned the laptop into a cattop.



And I decided to try to get the string hanging off of the leg of Mom's pjs.

Josie decided to play hard-to-get instead. Mom said we didn't have to do anything to make sure they'd miss us, because they always do. But they also said they need to get some sun and sand and salt water so they can be better humans again. So we'll let them go, this time. Hopefully they'll bring us back some shrimp (but not a deer).

They may be on to us...

I think the people may be figuring us out...

Here's the original website.

Open linen closet

Our linen closet has been open for about a week now. The latch on the doorknob is stuck in so the door doesn't stay shut. Dad is pretty sure this is an easy fix, but he and Mom have been pretty busy lately and haven't had a chance to fix it. But don't think I'm in any kind of hurry for them to fix it. I've figured out how to pull it open (they still try to shut it so it looks normal). So I'll open it on my own and make a nice little napping spot in the towels. I think I can get used to this.

Purring for Parker

We're purring for Parker today as she crosses the Bridge. She's an old friend, and we'll miss her greatly. But she has also been very ill, and is going on her own terms, and I think that is all any of us can really ask for. We'll look out for Rudy, Puff and Powder for you. Smoochies!

Feline o'Mine

Have you been to William's store yet? I can't wait to order from it. I'm making a wish list for Mom to shop from!

Wild Sunday

We had a very wild Sunday. Earlier in the evening Mom let us in the garage. It wasn't two minutes later she glanced in the garage and called to Dad, "There's a dead lizard in the garage!" And then she shut the door with us out there. So Dad gears up with some paper towels to dispense of the dead lizard, but when he opens the door there's no lizard. "It must not have been dead," he told Mom as he stepped into the garage to investigate. Well, after my ordeal of being locked in the garage over night last week, I wasted no time busting into the house. Then Josie was right behind me. Good thing Mom was paying attention because she called for Dad, "Josie's got it in her mouth!" Josie was trying to bring the dead lizard into the house to show Mom and Dad. Well, Dad scooped her up and she put the lizard down for him in the garage. Sure enough, Josie had found a small skink and played with it until it broke. She is a very good huntress.


Here is the broken skink. You can understand why Mom didn't want this in the house. It was about four inches long minus the tail. (Dad never found the tail.)

Well, this was just the beginning of the adventures on Sunday. Later that night our friend Samantha came over to ride bikes with Mom. But Samantha was feeling guilty about not spending time with her crazy dog Louie. So Dad offered to walk Louie while they rode bikes. That was fine, I guess, if Dad wants to show some pity to a dog. But then, after the rides and walk, Mom, Dad, Samantha and Louie all went to the back deck to hang out, enjoy the nice night and talk.


I'm not sure how clear it is in this picture, but we do not approve. We disapprove like a rabbit disapproves. Josie got up against the door and whapped the door while hissing. I was very puffed up and roaming the back of the couch patrolling. Maggie was the only one who really didn't seem too concerned. I think we made it clear that dogs are not welcome on our back deck, or in our house. We were getting so agitated that Dad actually took us to the bathroom so we could calm down. When we came out later Louie was gone. Apparently he likes to be chased by cats. He thinks it's a funny game. All I have to say to Louie is this: look at that skink and consider yourself warned. (OK, he is cute, I'll give him that...)

Dad is in trouble!

Last night we were playing in the garage. When Dad called us in to shut the garage door and head to bed, he didn't do a head count, and guess what -- I spent the night in the garage! Yeah, talk about feeling the love. I apparently wasn't missed at all. Sure, usually by that time of night I have settled into a spot upstairs, but that doesn't mean he gets away with not double-checking. But I did get to bug hunt, and there is a litter box out there. But I know Dad's going the be more careful from here out. On the plus side, I got a bunch of treats for my inconvenience.

This is soooo Maggie!

OK, this is soooo Maggie. And yes, today has been pretty unproductive, unless you count multiple blog updates as productive. (Loving the Bobcats on the Oatmeal!)

Cat vs Internet

I know this comic has surely circulated a few times, but I came across it again today and felt it deserved another share. Well, while I'm at it, read this one too (although we are cats and already know most of it...) And this one is good advice for our beans... especially the bit on "love mauling."

Bad idea, Dad...

 
Dad is very tempted by this. I don't think so...

Post-Mother's Day

I hope everycat had a good Mother's Day! Maggie was particularly naughty for Mother's Day. Mom and Dad have a tall dresser that has become where they put stuff they don't want us getting into because it is tall and we don't get up there. Well, Dad forgot he left the catnip up there after re-nipping our scratchers and Maggie kept pawing at the dresser. This, of course, got her in trouble because Mom and Dad didn't want scratches on the furniture. (She didn't actually scratch it.) But then, out of nowhere, Maggie leaps straight up to the top of the dresser and starts clearing everything off. She knocked down a plastic bag for me to chew on, and Mom's new ear buds (I didn't get to chew on them). Maggie then cleared a nice spot for her and spread out to nap like Queen of the Mountain. Now that she knows she can get up there, Mom and Dad are going to have to find a new "kitten safe zone" for things, because you know we like a challenge.

A week already!?!

Has it really been a week since I updated. I know I can get slack, but it usually isn't that long. I blame Mom and Dad for being so busy. Do you know what time Dad got home from the theatre last night? 1:00 am. Seriously ... even at that hour we don't want treats. We want sleep! (OK, we always want treats...)

In the meantime, Mom and Dad were babysitting for some friends who have tee-tiny twins (eight weeks old, boy and girl) and they have two cats who are hanging out outside right now.


This is Joey (distant) and Allie (near). They are very sweet, and we're OK with them getting some love from Mom and Dad since they are currently outside and losing the attention battle with the twins.

It's theatre time again...

Yes, it's that time again -- theatre time. Mom runs a local theatre in town and is producing the show that opens in a week and a half. So things are getting pretty busy for Mom and Dad. Dad is even IN this show -- on stage and everything. He gets to be the angry neighbor that tells them they're being too loud. He has to use his "Huggy Bear stop scratching the chair" voice. But the busy theatre time means they have a lot of late nights like last night, where they don't eat dinner until midnight. Thank goodness for brothers and sisters to keep us entertained. But we do get extra treats when Mom and Dad get home late like that, so that's good.

RIP Gray

Our cousin cat Gray crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday. She was Uncle Doug and Aunt Cathy's outdoor cat, a master hunter of mice and birds (and the occasional bat). Uncle Doug put together a nice slideshow of this pretty cat. It is very sad, but the six-year-old did help lighten the mood at the hillside funeral -- when asked if he wanted to say any words, he replied, "Yes. She's gonna come back as a zombie cat." 

Why I have issues with Hobbes

So when Mom and Dad were in Atlanta visiting friends last weekend, their cat Hobbes got some love from Mom and Dad -- lots of love.


He is a very cute cat, as you can see here. He got on the back of the couch, except he but his paws and chest on Dad's shoulder, then fell asleep. This, in turn, forced Dad to have a nap too.


He even put his stink on the t-shirts that everyone got for raising money for the Walk MS.

He looks an awful lot like me, so I guess Mom and Dad got confused and that's why they were loving on him this weekend. Maybe he was just a surrogate since I stayed at home. Yeah, that's it...

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Everyone's posting diva pictures in honor of Sweet Praline ... you'd think this would be easy to find with the sisters I have...


Here's Maggie demanding Mom's attention by laying across her grocery list.


Josie is so sweet it's hard to call her a diva, but here she is claiming a new blanket and ball.

I'm so happy that I was able to introduce the Cat Blogosphere to Sweet Praline. I wish she was still here, I know we all miss her. But I always try to look at the positive -- she had a full life and gave her Mom so much love. And she trained her Mom for those two sweet kittens.

Walking for MS

Mom and Dad did their 5k walk for MS this weekend in Atlanta with their friend Nikki (and several other friends, too, but Nikki is the one with MS). It was a very good weekend for them. Thanks for all the purrs of support for Mom and Dad.

But we are going to have to have a little talk with the parents when we can sit them down.

First, there's the issue of our food. Thank goodness Aunt Tiff was coming by to check on us because while Mom and Dad were doing their walk-a-thon, we were having an eat-a-thon, and finished off all our dry food. All of it! Even the morsels that Huggy Bear drops on the floor for Mom to step on. So Aunt Tiff got us some wet food. Savior!

Second, there's the issue of Nikki's cat Hobbes. Now I'll give him a little bit of a pass because he's an orange cat, too, but he was loving on Mom and Dad just a little bit too much. And I heard they were singing his praises about how good he is (even though he slipped out the front door and hid under the bushes), and how Mom and Dad would bring him home if they could (seriously, are we not enough to handle?).

And lastly, the walk ended at a farmer's marker in Marietta Square (a very nice farmer's market that Mom and Dad love and wish was here), and there was a lady trying to give away some kittens. And you know what? Mom looked! Yes, she looked, and even said to Dad, "do we need a kitten?" If they weren't so far from home we might have had a kitten. Yikes! What has gotten into Mom?!?

But they are home now, and we have food, and all is good. (Although I'm going to get some pictures off Dad's phone as evidence as to why Hobbes is in trouble...)

Stinky Goodness cake and gifts

So as is our tradition I got my Stinky Goodness cake in the shape of a 10 for my 10th birthday last night! As an added bonus, Mom diced up some chicken to go along with it.


Here I am licking the juices off of the cake. It was so good.


Then I shared it with my brother and sisters. You can see I stay up on the counter so I can eat in peace. I'm not much for competing for food.


I don't play with toys a lot, but Mom and Dad know I like a good scratcher, so they got me a new wavy scratcher from Target, then loaded all our scratchers up with nip. Maggie and I really liked the nip!


You can see I even shared with Josie. It's good to share -- a lesson from a mature mancat. I also got a toy mouse from Aunt Tiff. I plan on hunting it later... it has an elastic string to hang from the door, and I love to chew those in half!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. My cat friends make me feel so special!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 10th birthday! Yes, the BIG ONE-OH! I can't believe I've been around that long ... I'm such a mancat to still behave like such a kitten so often! I've come a long way since I was born in that kind no-kill shelter in Moline, Illinois. I was such a tiny kitten with such huge paws -- Mom and Dad just knew I'd grow into a big mancat, and I sure have.


Here I am as a kitten ... This was from my Gotcha Day. You see that phone charger plugged into the wall behind me, yeah, I wasted no time chewing through that on day one. I still like to chew cords to this day.


And here's another Gotcha Day picture. Yes, this is my birthday, but these are the earliest pictures Mom and Dad have of me. As you can see, Maggie's not the only one good at unrolling toilet paper!


Oh! An action shot! I loved that mouse so much ... I know it's still around here somewhere. This was my first mouse I ever had!


You can see the mouse better in this shot. Maybe I'll have to break that out and play with it for old time's sake.

And of course there will be Stinky Goodness cake later tonight. I can't wait!

Spoiled Huggy Bear

Dad has gone and spoiled Huggy Bear. Now, sure, we're all spoiled because we know that, after Dad is finished shaving and deodorizing and tooth brushing, we get treats. Well, Huggy Bear was snuggled up with Mom one morning so, instead of making Huggy Bear leave Mom for his treats, Dad gave him his treats in bed. That way Mom was able to still get her Huggy Bear love, and he could get his treats. Well, now that this has happened a few time, Huggy Bear expects the treats to come to him. So Dad is trying to retrain Huggy Bear to come when he hears the treat bag shaking. This has several benefits, like if we are where we aren't supposed to be and need to come somewhere else. But in the meantime it is a tough time for Dad and for Huggy Bear. Mom and Dad like spoiling us, but we have to follow certain rules (not many, but a few...)



But look at that cute face ... how can you not spoil him?

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Mom is still raising money for the MS Walk. Thanks to anyone who can chip in, and thanks to all who already have!

Walk MS

Mom and Dad have a dear friend (Nikki) who was diagnosed with MS several years ago. Three years ago she decided she was going to participate in the Walk MS 5k in Marietta, Georgia, which is really out of character for her. So when she said she was in, Mom and Dad signed up right away. The first walk was a little more than she expected, and Nikki needed a little break midway through. The Georgia heat, combined with the exertion, is a little tough on the MS. Last year's walk went better, although Nikki was having some issues with sensation in her feet and legs. But Nikki powered through. This year looks to be a great time for the walk. Mom and Dad will be joining Nikki in two weekends as she does another 5k.

Now I don't often try to fund raise on the blog, but the walk is quickly approaching and Mom is off her goal. Mom set a big goal of $750. Dad, knowing they pull from many of the same donors, set a "free t-shirt" goal of $100, which he has met thanks to the wonderful generosity of DKM and Max's Mom. (They've done their share of walking, so they understand.) I know times are tough for everyone right now, and we all like out catnip and treats, but if you have a spare dollar or two and are able to support this worthy event, I know Mom and Dad would appreciate it greatly. I don't have fun prizes to raffle off, but maybe we'll do that for next year (I think Mom's looking at trying to do a big walk with DKM and Max's Mom).

If you'd like to support Mom, you can donate here.

Thank you for any support you can give. If you can't donate, then purr. That helps too, and we appreciate purrs just as much.

Published picture?

We received a request through someone on Flickr who would like to use a picture of Maggie in a book of funny cat pictures. There's no pay, although Mom and Dad would get a photo credit. We're debating giving them permission. It would be kind of fun, and we would get a copy of the book if the picture is actually included. But we just get apprehensive about giving the rights out, ya' know.

Here's the picture they liked: Toothy Death.

Happy (belated) Easter

I hope everyone had a very happy Easter. We were locked up for most of the day because Mom and Dad had a brunch with lots of eggs and bacon and goodness that we'd want to help ourselves to. Usually all four of us end up in the master bathroom when we have company. But Huggy Bear had other plans, and camped out under Mom and Dad's bed. Dad tried to lure him out with treats, but Huggy would only come to the edge of the bed and pull the treat under with his paw. It was very cute, even if it was a little frustrating for Dad, who was afraid that Bear would decided to come out and paw at the carpet when he realized the door was shut. But it was all OK, and HB actually did get some bacon out of the deal.

Our desktop computer is being a little goofy and sometimes runs like normal, and sometimes just freezes up and becomes unresponsive. Dad is going to back up all of our cat pictures this week in case it decided to stop working at all (scary thought).

Streaming video of kittens!

Here you go: live streaming video of kittens! I think I'll kick back and watch this for a little bit, but then I may need to nap (or watch penguins).

Rest in peace Scooby

One of our oldest and dearest cat blogging friends Scooby passed away very suddenly yesterday. We are in shock because he wasn't ill. He died in his mother's arms, which I think is where all of us want to be when our time comes. His blog is one that, when I make my rounds, I always check in with, and they were one of the first to start following us back when we started blogging so long ago. Although we never met in person, I truly feel a void today. We've lost a good friend. Scooby, you will be missed.

Wordless Wednesday: Window Weather

Back deck visitor

We had that little black cat visit us again Tuesday morning. Dad was sitting in the living room having his cereal when he saw the little cat stretching in one of the chairs on the deck. The little guy (guy? girl?) came over to the back door and posed for a few pictures (to be posted soon). Maggie wanted to let him in so they could play, but that wasn't an option. Maggie and Huggy Bear stared at the little cat for a bit, then the visitor wandered off. Dad resisted the temptation to give him some of our treats. He certainly looks friendly and like he has a forever home somewhere.

The problem with a new toy

New toys are great, they really are. There's only one problem -- ownership.


For example, here's Josie with a fresh catnip sardine from our Secret Paws. But you can see Maggie entering from the right.


Then here's Maggie saying, "Let's discuss sharing that catnip sardine."


And finally, right before Josie ended negotiations by taking off to the living room. Although she did remind Maggie, "You've got to sleep sometime..."

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Mom and Dad have been helping with the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Mom's theatre. This has kept them very busy. They got home at 4:30 am last night! At first I was very excited about a play about a cat, until I learned that it's actually a human who is called Maggie the Cat, and that there's not even one cat in the show. And why would any cat being on a hot tin roof to begin with? If it's hot, you should be inside with the air conditioning. But Mom and Dad seem to enjoy it, even without a real cat.

Ninja Cats

Yes, we are all secretly in training, but the secret is out now...




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I turned off the Word Verification on comments since some visitors seem to struggle with it. It was strange, I had to revert back to the old blogger interface to find the option. But I got it done. I hope this helps. I started using word verification because of the massive amounts of spam comments I was getting. If they return, I may have to turn it back on, or figure something else out. Thanks...

Go in peace, Twizzler

We are full of sadness today knowing that our dear old friend Twizzler is crossing the bridge this morning. We began following his blog back when it was Buzzerbee and Meep, then Twizzler and Bear, and now Fwanklin and Jack and Gracie, too. Theirs has always been a welcoming house full of love for all the cats who have come and gone -- you can see it in their pictures, in the way they snuggle, and in their posts. We will be purring extra hard for Twizzler's family, knowing that this is such a hard thing to have to do. The big guy has kidney failure -- the same thing that took Mom's first mancat Fluffy. But Twizzler is loved, and is going on his own terms -- and really, what more could a mancat ask for? Twizzy, go have fun with Buzzerbee, and Meep and Bear. You couldn't ask for better company.

Happy Leap Day!

Leap Day is supposed to be a day where you do something you normally don't do...


As Evidence, here's Josie and Maggie almost sharing the same space ... double-decker cats!

(Please ignore the box wine -- a joke from a friend -- and the diet drinks -- leftover from company. None are for Mom and Dad...)

Back porch visitor

We had a visitor out back. We knew a black kitten had been visiting our neighbor. Well, looks like he made it over our fence and onto our deck. He curled up and napped for a little while, then headed off. We're hoping he has a home, and is just visiting and checking out the surroundings.

Photo shoot

We had a good photo shoot this weekend, but then Mom and Dad also had to go take photos of the actors for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. (People playing cats, I guess ... but why would they be on a hot tin roof. That just doesn't sound comfortable at all.) So the people pictures got a little more attention last night. Something about having to finish a newsletter. But there are new pictures coming! Dad says he's having one of those days where he wishes he could just stay home with us (isn't that every day?) ... too bad he has to work so he can buy us cat food. Did I mention we are out of cat food. Yeah, it was that kind of weekend. We got real low late last night, so we'll get new food tonight. But we're extra floofy, so we can go an afternoon without snacking.

Not quite napping together

Yeah, this is about as close as it gets to us napping together, so you can imagine how quick Mom and Dad were to try to snap this picture. The weather was so nice on Thursday that we got to have our windows open, and better yet, Mom worked from home for part of the day so we got to snoopervise, too!

Lio's cat

Lio's cat is at it again... this is one of our favorite comic strips to start the morning. And Mutts is great today too.

Life-saving cat

Dad read me this article today. Amazing, although I'm not surprised it was an orange cat ... just saying.

It's been a hectic week for both Mom and Dad. Mom is working on some grants for the theatre. Dad is getting new electronic records software at his office (moving away from wasteful paper). That has kept them very distracted and not there to help us visit friends and blog. Here's hoping for a return to a routine soon.

The cat's in the bag

Mom and Dad are constantly amazed by the places we manage to nap. I'm a little embarrassed by the clutter in this picture, but it was such a great napping spot for me. There was a bag that had clothes in it that was still in the closet, some shoes, and a hand towel. This may appear to be a lumpy uncomfortable pile to sleep on if you are a person, but for me this is just perfect.

I've also made a very subtle change to the blog ... after blogging for over seven years, I finally have my own user name. I had always borrowed Mom and Dad's account to visit blogs. But with Google+ and Mom using the gmail account more, I decided I needed my own. So now it actually says "Jasper McKitten-Cat" instead of "jenianddean" and I'm very excited about that!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Here's Huggy Bear getting some love from Mom this weekend -- a lazy Sunday morning early Valentine's Day snuggles.


Huggy Bear likes to hike his leg up when he's getting belly runs.

I hope you all get extra treats today for Valentine's Day!

A cat's contribution to a comic strip

Today's Lio comic, with a little help from the cat...

Famous cat videos

I saw this list of famous cat YouTube videos from the Free Kibble site. If you missed it, there are some classics here. Surprise Kitty is still Mom's favorite.

Josie's (almost) attic adventure

Remember a while back, when the heating guy was in our house and he went up in the attic?


Josie decided she was curious about the pull-down stairs that go into the attic. But Dad was right there and only let her get a few paws on the ladder (and got this picture).

Well, the other day Dad was hanging the light fixture he bought for Mom (that HUGE box that arrived a few weeks ago). Since the lamp hangs from a long cord, and Dad wanted it closer to the ceiling, he was up in the attic seeing if he might need to pull some cord up into the attic (he couldn't, and didn't need to, anyway). But when he started to come down the ladder, guess who was more than halfway up? Josie! If not for some insulation on the backside of the ladder door, I'm pretty sure she would have been right up there with Dad. It's a good thing Mom was there to get Josie because I'm not sure that Dad would have been able to get down with her on the ladder (he's not always too coordinated, so we're just happy he didn't break his neck, or fall through the attic). Josie has always been the most daring of the four of us, and she just proved it again on Saturday.

Wordless Wednesday

I found Chey!

Hey, guess what -- I found Chey last Friday! I've been looking and looking and finally found Chey! Of course, because of the SOPA Black(cat)out, Huggy Bear got his picture featured. But that's OK, because I got the credit. Plus it was a great river otter picture of HB that Chey used, so I don't mind one bit. Can't wait until this Friday to search again.

Black (cat) out against SOPA

Since I'm not confident about blacking out the blog in protest of SOPA, I'm instead giving you a black-cat-out -- lots of pictures of Huggy Bear. I hope the overall protest across the internet helps raise awareness of this shortsighted bill that, under the guise of privacy protection, gives power and influence to large companies and has the potential to stifle the voice of the individual on the web. So here is our black-cat-out... just say no to SOPA (you can say no to SOAP too, because we're cats and don't need soapy baths).














Huggy Bear says, "Don't mess with my freedom of internet speech!" I hope you enjoyed the black-cat-out! Go here for more on the strike.

Anti-SOPA

I know a lot of websites are blacking out Wednesday in protest of SOPA. I support the blackout, but don't know how to black out my blog -- my luck, I wouldn't be able to undo the blackout, and that would make me sad. So in solidarity of the blackout, I will nap all day because with my eyes shut everything is blacked out.

(If you don't know what SOPA and PIPA are a big deal, I think Cory Doctorow sums it up pretty well...)

Oysters

Mom and Dad went to an oyster boil a few weekends ago. It was an unseasonably warm weekend and a perfect day for it.


Look at these things. Aside from being steaming hot, I have no idea how a cat is even supposed to get one open to get to the goodness inside. I don't know who even thought to pry one of these things open and see if it tasted good. But Mom and Dad said they were good. They had shrimps too. And no, they didn't bring us any at all.

Mom and Dad are now doing lights and sound for the musical John & Jen at Mom's theatre. It is fun for them, but takes them away from us some. So we have to be persistent about getting attention from them when they are home. Maggie's new "look at me" technique is headbutting the monitor when Dad is on the computer and turning it away from Dad so he has to pay attention to her. It's not his favorite trick of her's (but he does think it is funny when she accidentally opens the CD drive). I'm still partial to laying on the mouse -- works every time!

Maine's state cat

Who knew? Since I'm part Maine Coon, that means I am part of the state cat of Maine. I guess that makes sense, but I never really thought about it. Thanks KibbleKat for that little tidbit of knowledge.

Cold and windy night

I started to say it was a dark and windy night, but night is always dark. But it was cold and windy. Well, cold for us -- down in the upper 20s (which I know is the high right now for some of our friends). I like this colder weather because I get to snuggle up with Mom in the mornings after Dad leaves for work. We like to try to pin Mom in to bed so she can't get up and go to work. Some days work better than others. I'm pretty optimistic about today!

Updated with photo evidence of how I try to keep Mom in bed...

Cats in a weightless environment

Now who would do such a thing? I guarantee there was a hairball in someone's shoe after this "experiment."

Goodbye dear friend

Our collective hearts are broken for our dear friend DKM, Diva Kitty and Fiona for their loss of the man of the house -- Orlando. You will be missed, old friend.

Josie and the big box

Josie was very excited about the big box in the house.


It was a box inside a box. How cool is that?


The box was so big that the flap rested against one of the chairs in the parlor.


Look at Josie sitting in the flap. She really wanted to stay up there, but Dad was pretty sure it would go at any moment. Unfortunately, the box is now sitting by the road waiting to be recycled. I really wish we could have found a space for this box, but it really is almost its own room.

Giant box

We had a giant box delivered to the house the other day. Dad had ordered Mom a new light fixture for the upstairs hall from the Gilt website. It's a cool pendant lamp (30x12). (Here's a link to what it looks like, but don't look at the price because Dad did not pay that at all.) Dad is going to hang it where the light fixture is over the stairs right now. It will look really nice there, although that now means that Dad will have to change the other light fixtures to something more modern. (Can you say IKEA trip?) Personally, I think Mom is trying to kill Dad, since this project will combine a ladder, stairs and electricity.

The shade is big and fragile for shipping, so it came in a HUGE box, with a wooden frame inside the box, then another box inside the frame. We really wished the box could have stayed in the house. All four of us could have hung out in that box and not even touched each other (although I'm pretty sure Maggie would have pounced someone pretty quickly). Dad did get some pictures of Josie on the box that hopefully will get uploaded tonight. Mom and Dad have been back at the theatre at night helping with another show (it has nothing to do with cats, so I don't know why they keep going). If Dad survives, we'll also post pictures of the new light once it is up.

Kitten covers

Not a real post, but a link I thought you'd all like: kittens on classic album covers! (Or as Dad says, remember when people looked at album covers?)