Clara Ann tells on me

We have a few kids who like to visit, and I'm usually pretty good around them. But sometimes I just want to be left alone. A couple of weekends ago our friends Gracie and Clara Ann came to visit. Mom and Dad were taking them to go see the play Pinkalicious and they were pretty wound up. Well, I was lounging in the linen closet when Clara Ann came to visit me. This is how she tells it:


I deny any of that happened.

Secret Paws!

We got to open our Secret Paws package last night -- it was from Sparkle the Designer Cat! We really got fixed up good -- we got a copy of her book, some treats, mice and nip toys -- all kinds of great stuff. I'll be posting pictures soon ... we have so many great pictures of us going nuts over all the great stuff we got. But the desktop computer has been fussy lately, and sometimes doesn't want to wake up after hibernating, and sometimes doesn't want to boot up right, and we think it needs to be looked at by someone who knows more than Dad does. So the pictures didn't get uploaded last night. So instead, here are some pictures from two weekends ago when our little friends Gracie and Clara Ann visited and gave Josie and Maggie treats.


The girls walk with quick heavy feet which makes us want to run away quickly (which is why Huggy Bear and I aren't getting treats) but Josie is a little braver, and was willing to eat treats from Gracie's hands.


And wherever there are treats, there is Maggie. Once she saw that Josie was getting treats she was right there to get some from Clara Ann. The girls think it is so funny the way we eat treats straight from their hands.


It's a little blurry, but I love little Clara Ann's smile in this picture. I think all four girls in this picture were having fun.

Furry Butt Fursday

In honor of Hans, a bun who recently crossed the bridge, we are offering a few funny butt pics ... sorry, no bun butts here, but we'll do our best.









[We had to go into the archives some because we weren't showing off our butts last night...]

And our little friend Clara Ann from Mom and Dad's recent beach trip ... not a furry butt, but just for fun ...

Hangin' with Clara Ann

Clara Ann came to visit last week. She was hanging out with us and "playing" with us the way sticky people do.


I was spying out the back window, minding my own business.


Then Clara Ann saw me. I know this because she said "Kitty!" followed by a toddler's giggle.


First she wanted to see what I was seeing.


Then she wanted to see more of me, instead.


But then she got a little too close for me. You can see me starting to accordion back away from her.


From then on, I took up a more watchful pose. You can never be too careful with little people around.

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We started the week-long buildup to Maggie's birthday yesterday (she always gets her way -- spoiled sister).


Maggie decided that a nap with Josie in the afternoon sun was a good way to start the preparation for her birthday.

Train them well

Sticky people aren't so bad if you train them right.


Clara Ann has learned that we'll hang out with her as long as she's handing out the treats. It seems like a fair exchange to us.

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.

Bandit gets a home, and a new name

We had a scary day Saturday. It seems Mom had a very dangerous illness: kitten fever. She went over to Lisa and Brian's house where the three kittens live and was infected with kitten fever instantly.


Bandit was very infectious, and concerned us greatly. Mom reportedly held this kitten until he fell asleep in her arms. You can see how he is awful cute and could give even the most immune bean kitten fever. I mean, really, look at all that floof and tuxie cuteness.

What concerned us even more was that we saw Mom and Dad leave with a very suspicious cat carrier. It was empty when it left, which is confusing, and hints that it may not be as empty when it returns.

Sure enough, this kitten was leaving Lisa and Brian's House of Tuxie Cats and headed for our street, just not our house. As it happens, Mom and Dad were on the verge of bringing Bandit home to live with us, but they started discussing the delicate balance we have with the four of us, and then Mom remembered our nice neighbors down the street whose dog recently crossed the bridge. Dad called and sent a picture and it was love at first sight (love at first email?). Well, that, and some pleading by their teenage daughter to her dad, who couldn't resist her.


Here's Kristen welcoming Bandit, now renamed Zack, to the family. Look at that joyful smile. They also have a tabby named Zoey (you may remember Zoey as the cat who gave Mom and Dad a fright when she accidentally pulled out our screen one cool night, and made for a dramatic head count and cat hunt -- we all wisely stayed inside when the screen came out).

When Zack was introduced to Zoey, Zoey made some very rare hisses and growls and Zack made himself sideways and large, but otherwise paid no heed to Zoey. By the time Mom and Dad left Zoey had calmed down and was cautiously watching Zack from across the room. We think Zack and Zoey is a cute couple name for two cats. On the off chance that they don't mesh, Zack/Bandit will either move to our house, or back home to be Clara Ann's favorite kitten.


We are still taking name recommendations for the she-cat formerly called Guido (seen here with a cheesy Gracie).


And I know this picture is completely blurry, but I loved the action shot of Clara Ann chasing Guido. Please help them find a better name for this sweet girl kitten.

He's a she...

He's a she....
Originally uploaded by jenianddean

And our favorite sticky people (Gracie and Clara Ann) need some suggestions for a name for this super cute kitten.

When they thought she was a he, his name was Guido. But now he's a she and needs a girly name. Her litter mate who was named Julianna is now named Jackson...yep, she is actually a he. Her new sisters in the house are named Lane and Meowy.

So give us some suggestions for girly names and we will pass them on. And if they pick one of the suggestions, mom and dad will send out a small prize to the winner.

Thanks!

Easy Like Sunday

Josie is the bravest when it comes to sticky people. Two weekends ago we had visitors and by morning Josie was comfortable enough to come around Clara Ann.


I think Josie wanted to have a story read to her, too.

Sharing

A little while back, one of our favorite sticky people Clara Ann came for a visit. This was a good opportunity for us to learn about sharing.


Clara Ann likes to play with out cat toys. Mom was teaching Clara Ann how to give the toys to us by having her throw the ball to the wicker IKEA mouse (barely visible in the bottom left corner). She got pretty good at it.

Now we just have to teach Maggie how to share.


She claimed this was her tissue paper and she was not going to share.

Mancat Monday

Mom and Dad were out this weekend in the yard. The first big farmer's market plant sale was this weekend and that kept Mom and Dad busy, including nine hours on Sunday which left Dad a little redder than he was in the morning.

They also were helping out watching Clara Ann, the sticky person who hasn't learned to feed us treats yet. But she was outside most of the day, which meant that we were free to roam the windows and explore her stuff.


She came in to produce some stink of her own and caught me hanging out in her exersaucer. It really is a perfect fit, and she said it was OK for me to stay there.


It fits me like a giant, shallow sink. Eventually we may have our own sticky person to train, but in the meantime I think Mom needs to get an exersaucer for me.

Special visitors

We had some special visitors Saturday night/Sunday morning. Mom and Dad's friends Lisa and Brian came for a visit to celebrate Lisa's birthday and Gracie (4) and Clara Ann (1) came along and got to spend the night. They were very good, and Dad showed Gracie our new trick of eating treats out of his hands. She liked doing this a lot, which was good for us because, even though we had to work for it some, we got lots of Whisker Lickins.


You can see here Gracie is demonstrating to Maggie how she should open her mouth to get the treat .


Gracie was very sweet with us, even though she did shoo me away from the dining room when she was helping Dad set the table. I guess she hasn't learned that I'm allowed in there because I don't beg like some other Mancat in the house does.


Josie showed off a little for Gracie. She did the circus bear pose (Mom's favorite) to get her treat. Josie is very agile.


Josie is probably the most cautious of all of us. She was very good with Clara Ann, though. She would let her get near, but not too close. Clara Ann is just mastering this whole two-legs thing, so Clara Ann would approach Josie, then Josie would give her a sniff and head off, which would lead to a whole "wobble after Josie's tail" adventure.


Josie figured out the Clara Ann couldn't quite follow the maze of under-bread-cabinet to the stools. This didn't stop Clara Ann from trying!


Even Huggy Bear got in the action of the treats. I think he was Gracie's favorite.


There was one issue, though. It seems that Gracie ended up in Mom and Dad's bed. When Dad first cleared the space and put pillows up so she wouldn't roll off, I tested the spot, but left when Gracie showed up. Huggy Bear hopped up, took one look at Gracie between Mom and Dad, and left. Josie spent a little time under the covers as close to Mom as she could get, and sheltered from Gracie's feet by Mom's arm, but she got hot and left. I think Maggie got a little jealous, because in the morning she was sleeping so close to Mom! I think she was sending a message that this was her Mom, and she'll share her with Josie, HB and me, but that's it.

It was a very nice visit, and Gracie asked when she could come visit and spend the night again, so maybe soon. If she keeps feeding us treats, she's welcome any time.

Tuxie Tuesday: Meowie and Tent

Just a quick post today ... I wanted to show this cute picture of Gracie with her kitten Meowie. Gracie is Mom and Dad's friends' daughter. She turned four on Easter, but this picture was taken during the Super Bowl. It is one of Gracie's favorite pictures, and also Meowie's favorite napping spot in the big pink chair. I wish we had a big pink chair like that!


Gracie is our favorite sticky person, but she has a little one-year-old sister Clara Ann who visited with Mom last Friday. Clara Ann is pretty cute too and we had fun investigating this crawling thing. Who knows, she may give Gracie a run for her money!


Here she is trying to get a toy out of our new red cat tent. Fortunately Josie decided to leave the tent a few minutes before this little adventure.


She really tried to get in, but I think she realized that this is definitely a cat tent, and not a sticky person tent.