Josie up on top

Josie mounted the tallest stack of boxes and perched up there watching Mom and Dad work on pumpkins.She likes to be up high and curls up and sometimes naps up there.

Snacking in the garage

Mom and Dad were carving pumpkins in the garage so they let us have several hours of garage time with them ... so much garage time that we all even took maps out there! Here I am snacking on some dead plant/weed in a flower pot while Huggy Bear explores around to the storage boxes.

"Featured Blog"

I did a Blingo search for my blog and saw that my blog is a Featured Blog on Sphere (along with Diva Kitty and Max). I'd never been to Sphere before, but it's cool to be featured!

Mom and Dad are done craving pumpkins and will begin carving pumpkins tonight. They have a lot to do (thanks to the inspiration of Martha Stewart) but if I can get their thumbs for a minute, I'll post some garage pictures, including one of Josie for Mattingly.

All you outside kitties, be careful with the trick-or-treaters running around. For some reason people are sometimes not nice to us this time of year, so keep low and in the shadows until it's all clear.

Cute stuff

I think I know what we're getting for Christmas...

[Thanks Kerry for the fun link!]

Cat icons

One of Dad's favorite websites is the Icon Factory. They design replacement icons for your computer so you can personalize folders. Dad likes it because he can make certain folders jump out from the rest. With Halloween coming, the good people at the Icon Factory have made a lot of neat spooky icons, some featuring cats! Their "QuickPix" icon right now is a black cat.

[Not sure what to do with these once you've downloaded them? Dad says you just have to right-click the zipped folder and click "Extract all" and OK your way through until you see a normal folder. Then, when you want to change a folder, right-click the folder you want to change, select "Properties," then the "Customize" tab, then at the bottom you will see "Change icon." Just browse to the location of the new icon and select it. These are the directions for Windows XP. Enjoy your new personalized folders!]

Cold weather coercion

The weather is starting to cool down here ... not Iowa winter cold like I've seen before, but cold enough for South Carolina. But Mom and Dad are holding out on turning on the heat. They say that South Carolina will heat right back up before getting cold for good, but I think it's a plan to get us to snuggle up with them for heat. Maggie spent all day Sunday curled up with either Mom or Dad. She even slept on Dad's lap (a first) to the point that Dad's foot went numb and he couldn't walk. It's supposed to hit the 30s tonight so they may be forced to turn the heat on so we can go back to our favorite sleeping spots and leave their bed to them.

In the garage

Mom and Dad had been letting me go into the garage for brief visits over the past week or so. Dad will walk with me as I explore the nooks and crannies. I've found an old plant that I can eat and the concrete is cool to lay on. My old plant stand I like to sleep in is still out there (when are they bringing that back into the house?) and there are also stacks of boxes and old tables with drop cloths over them that I can go under. Last night, all four of us we released to explore the garage. It was so much fun, even though I was giving up my turf to share ... I explored a little but then laid back on the floor to show that this was old hat to me. Meanwhile, Josie and Maggie explored around the front to the far side and HB started around the backside instead. Eventually Dad started to round us up. HB and I kept trying to slip back in (I'm getting my timing down with Dad's gait coming through the door). Now I sit by the garage door and beg for Dad to let me back out there. He tries to appease me with treats, but I'm having none of it ... I want my own kitty door to the garage!

Cat in a Bottle

That's a talented cat and must be one amazing treat. But she better not eat too much while in the bottle or she may get stuck...

Sleepy girl

Josie was all tuckered out after a busy afternoon of playing. You can see what used to be the feather-tail of one of our secret paws mice. This picture was taken after Mom unpacked all of our toys a little while back. Just look how heavy her eyelids look ... makes me want to go nap in the sink just looking at her.

HB strikes a pose

Some days I just have no excuse for the things Huggy Bear does. I guess I've struck this same sleeping pose before, but it seems to make more sense when I do it. Gosh, he is a cute big ball of black fur, though, isn't he?

Whose fault?

The other night Dad had to go downstairs and decided to walk in the dark. He ended up stepping on the edge of Huggy Bear's tail, leaving a clump of Huggy hair in the foyer. So whose fault is it? Is it Huggy Bear's fault for not moving since he has better night vision? Is it Dad's fault for not turning on a light and for having such big feet? Or is it the darkness' fault for being so dark?

Maggie and the shredder

Maggie has been enthralled with the shredder lately ... not so much the shredder, I guess, but the shredded bits. She'll reach in and pull out wads of paper in mouthfuls and create a small mound of shredded paper in front of the pail. Fortunately, Mom leaves the safety lock on the shredder.

The garage

Well, Dad knew I'd be first, and I was ... if only briefly. I may not be the most adventursome of the McKitten-Cats, but I have had experience with basements, so when I caught Dad with the garage door open just a little too long I took advantage and slipped in. Dad saw me as he was shutting the door (because the door bumped me) and I made it two steps into the garage (the big outside garage door was shut). When I was a kitten, I used to go into the basement with Dad and explore the boxes. Now that Dad's straightened the garage, I think he might let me explore out there some. I can't wait ... I've had the slightest of itsy bitsy steps and now that I've had my taste I just want more!

Maggie's bath

The other day, Maggie was trying to give me a face bath, and I wanted nothing to do with it so I reared up and swatted her in the face. In response, Maggie walked around and bit me on the butt and made me yelp. At that time I got the point, laid back down and let her finish giving me a face bath. I mean, really, if it's that important to her, I guess I must have needed it.

Putting the bite on

We all enjoy a good bite -- I think it's in our nature. When I was first given free reign after being adopted from the shelter, I walked the perimeter of the rooms finding my comfort zone. Along the wall, I found the power cord for the phone and promptly chewed through it. Mom and Dad were both amazed that I didn't kill myself then and there. My fixation with electrical wires has continued, and I'm still here and Dad's gotten good at splicing wires and using electrical tape.

Mom and Dad have learned to identify our trademark bites. While we all tend to go for cords (telephone cords, power cords, chargers...), Huggy Bear seems to like to chew corners. Lately, he's been fixated on the wooden blinds, which makes Mom very unhappy. Maggie will chew the corners of cardboard boxes and the round handles of nice paper bags. Josie, honestly, doesn't do much chewing -- maybe the occasional twist-tie. She's the "Golden Child," it seems, and apparently she does no wrong. I like to chew plastic bags. I can't get enough of that feeling when your tooth punctures the plastic ... it's the best.

I think the bite is a meaningful thing, a symbol of affection and committment, your way of putting your mark on something and saying, "this is mine." Sure, it's destructive, but we choose what to bite for a reason, and it's got to be more than just because it looks yummy. That's my theory, at least.

HB and Josie's (belated) birthday

I'm a bad big brother ... Huggy Bear and Josie had their second birthday back on September 15 and I neglected to write about it (we celebrated with stinky goodness). They officially joined our family in November but celebrated October (and Halloween) with Mom and Dad outside before coming in with me. Look how sweet and little they were! They sure loved that jack-o-lantern. Sorry about not making them the center of attention on their birthday like I should have -- it wasn't intentional, really.

Luna's return!

I've been busy the past week and a half with Dad's birthday and company coming to visit that I've been neglectful of keeping up with everyone's blogs. But today I browsed over to Luna's blog in hopes of a reason to smile today, and, sure enough, there was a new post with a kitten at a vet, and Luna's signature at the end and after searching for the translation I realized she's been found! What an amazing and awful adventure with a made-for-tv ending. Happy day!

[I used Babel Fish to translate some of Luna's blog for more info...]

Bark bark, woof woof

I don't speak dog, but based on the amount of noise coming from the droolers around us I can only deduct that either Cruella de Vil has taken the dalmatian puppies again or Timmy is stuck in a well...

Looking out for me

Mom and Dad try to be cautious of my feelings. Huggy Bear, Maggie and Josie really enjoy treats -- HB and Maggie the most. I'm slower to eat them, if I eat them at all. Mom and Dad even went out and bought treats they knew I liked and keep them back just for me. But sometimes I just don't feel like them. Dad tries to distract Maggie and HB from me to give me time to decide if I'm going to eat them, but then he feels bad when he eventually gives up and Maggie nuzzles under me and eats my treats. I guess he doesn't realize that I'm letting them eat my treats because I'm nice, and finicky. Now I will eat them right away if they put the treats with my dry food, but that's different. That's more of an appetizer. But since we've moved to the house and I've been doing the stairs, I've lost some of my belly and I can't go snacking on every treat put in front of me like skinny Maggie can, so I let her eat and think, "Plump up, little one... plump up."

Stealth mode

Maggie has switched to "Stealth Mode" this week. It happened a few days ago when she took off her collar (I suspect Huggy Bear helped) and then hid it. Mom and Dad have been casually looking for it with no luck. In the meantime, she has been skulking around and sneaking up on everyone. I just hope they find her collar soon...

Bug hunt

We don't mind hunting spiders or roaches (they call them "Palmetto bugs" here in the Palmetto state, I guess that makes them a little more acceptable). Hunting is actually a lot of fun for us. Now that we're out of the apartment and in a house we seem to have fewer roaches and I haven't seen many spiders at all. But thanks to the bad habits of the previous residents, we have these things called ants. Now, I don't know if you've ever "hunted" ants, but it's boring. They're real tiny so a lot of the time I just ignore them (really, all the time I just ignore them). They walk in a line back and forth. That's not hunting ... that's a buffet. So I've filed a protest with Dad -- more big game hunting (spiders and roaches) and less of this silly recreational stuff (ants).

Maggie on the couch

Maggie has really enjoyed perching on the back of the couch and looking out over the backyard and deck. We are still exploring and finding our favorite places, but this one is favored by all of us because of the great view. Dad has mentioned maybe getting a bird feeder, but Mom is not a fan of birds or bird poop.

Drop cloth series

The next four posts are a series of pictures of Josie, Maggie and Huggy investigating and attacking the drop cloth. Enjoy...

Huggy and the drop cloth

Huggy Bear also enjoyed burrowing under the drop cloth. You can see the extent of the damage to the drop cloth and the billowing of the air underneath. I think he just liked it because it was cool under there.

Under the drop cloth

After Maggie ripped a few holes in the drop cloth, she decided to burrow under the drop cloth, making the holes even bigger. It was really a masterful job of destruction.

Attacking the drop cloth

Maggie rips the drop cloth over the air vent.

Investigating the drop cloth

Josie and Maggie investigate the drop cloth in the kitchen.

Do we have a Thing-Under-The-House?

Last week, Mom had Bellsouth come and install a phone jack in the office so we can move the computer from the bedroom into the office and I can blog at night while Mom and Dad sleep. When the phone guy was here, he went under the house and noticed that two of the air ducts had fallen loose. Huggy Bear and Maggie had actually noticed one the other day because they kept looking down the vent and could see straight under the house. Mom and Dad we just distracted by the kitchen painting to realize what HB and Maggie were trying to communicate.

The phone guy said that sometimes snakes can creep up through those open vents and recommended that Mom put a box over it until it gets repaired, while she immediately did. She called the repair guy who was supposed to have fixed it as part of the home inspection and left a message.

The next morning, Mom came downstairs and heard this awful scrunch, scrape, rattle noise coming from under the house, but there was no repair truck in the driveway and we'd had no call. We were all at the box over the vent, eager to discover the source of the noise. Maybe it is a Thing-Under-The-House like Ginger's Thing-Under-The-Sink. Mom moved the box and yelled down, "I hope you're a repair guy under there fixing this." (I'm not sure what she would have done if the answer was a creepy "...no...") The response was a light-hearted laughter and a voice saying "I didn't think anyone was home." I guess he'd parked out in the cul-de-sac where Mom couldn't see his truck.

It was a quick, uneventful end, but did provide a few good minutes of excitement.

Checking out the backyard

We had a nice mild day and Mom opened the windows in the kitchen and we got to sit in the window and look out and smell the new backyard.

Maggie on the catwalk

Maggie is having a lot of fun on the catwalk. Maggie and Josie are small enough to walk on the wrong side of the hall by the stairs. She's pretty daring. I think my belly would bump me off and I would fall. Look at that fancy footwork and use of the tail for balance. Impressive.

Here birdie birdie birdie...

Huggy Bear, Maggie and Josie gathered around the couch and looked out the back windows at a chirping bird that was fluttering around the deck. The birdie was doing a lot of talking, and although we were all tempted, we resisted the urge to tear through the screens and chase it.

My new spot

This is my new spot. There is this little wall in the master bathroom between the standup shower and the garden tub with a nice big window overlooking a tall tree, backyard and the deck.

Dad's lessons

Dad shared his lessons from painting the kitchen. His top three were about us...
1) If you leave the paint pan out, a cat will eventually put a paw in it.
2) Even if you close the air vent, air will still blow the drop cloth, and the cats will attack it.
3) A drop cloth with holes in it from being attacked by cats at some point stops serving its role as a drop cloth.

It was Huggy Bear who decided to sample the red paint. His paw prints were noticed quickly and Mom snagged him after only one step on the carpet, which was cleaned right away. As for the drop cloth, come on, what do they expect? It taunted us over and over so we had to slay it.

I promise pictures soon of the slaying of the drop cloth. Dad should finish the kitchen tonight (finally) and he can help me post pictures then.

Power tools

Dad has got to quit all this power tool business. He seems to think now that he's in a house he gets to use his toys again. Well, this silliness has got to stop. I'm losing weight tearing from room to room to get away from the noises he's making. Last night it was the power sander ... dust everywhere and noise like you wouldn't believe! Why doesn't he go outside and cut the grass if he wants to make noise?

Cat paintings

I wanted to share this website with you. Dad was referred to it from the Dog Eat Doug blog. My favorite from gallery one is either Bored, Walkies or Toy Mountain and from gallery two Cat Camo Orange, N'Sink or White Paw, but they're all fun.

I've been behind on the picture posting, but there are a lot of pictures to post. I'll get some up soon.

Unhappy kitty

Have you seen this kitty video of Burger yet? Uncle Doug shared this video. He said he heard Burger made a pitbull run away. I know I wouldn't mess with him. Maybe we need to send him to Luna's vet to teach that guy a lesson about cats.

So much sad news

Since I was away with the move I missed so much. I can't believe that Luna's vet let her slip out like that and now she's lost in the woods. How horrible and irresponsible. Mom and Dad's biggest fear is just that, that somehow we will slip out unnoticed and get lost and scared and wet and alone. It makes me so sad for her. I just hope she finds her way home safely. Maybe some nice person will find her and hopefully she has tags (I hate tags, but they serve a purpose) and she'll come home. How sad...

And poor Trixie's passing. I'm sad for her family, but happy that she is with her brothers. She had a good long life at 18 years.

I'm back!

I'm back among the blogging. The room that will be the office has no phone jack (Bellsouth comes out next week to install one...) so Dad put the computer in the bonus room, but that phone jack goes to a "second line" that we don't have, so Dad had to move the computer into the bedroom temporarily. But we're connected again.

The house is slowly starting to feel like a home to us. Maggie was doing a catwalk along the top of the stand-up shower stall. Mom's afraid we might jump down in there and get stuck, but we'll handle that when it happens, I guess. Maggie still prefers the master bedroom more than anywhere else. Josie is starting to get more comfortable and, once the boxes are gone, should be back to her old self. Huggy Bear is enjoying lounging on the stairs and he and I will prowl together.

The previous owners had dogs and although the house isn't "doggy" we are still aware and are putting our stink everywhere we can by rubbing our faces and pawing at the floors.

I did have a "what am I thinking" moment last night as Dad carried some groceries in from the garage. Huggy Bear and I have been very curious about that door and I started to make a break for it, not realizing that the big outside garage door was open. Dad ushered me back with his foot and then instituted an "air lock" system of the doors just in case. He has carried me around in the garage, but right now there is a ton of storage in there and he knows if I get to playing in there I may never want to leave.

OK ... back to exploring. Pictures soon...

A message from Dad

Jasper's Dad here. Jasper wanted me to let you all know that we are all in the new house, although the computer is not set up yet. Jasper also wanted me to let you all know that it is my fault the computer is not set up yet. The transition is going smoothly, if not slowly, but Jasper, Josie, Huggy Bear and Maggie are all getting acclimated in their own ways. Jasper will return to posting soon.

We'll be right back ...

Dad's about to break the computer down for the move, so this will be my last post for a couple days while we get settled. Mom and Dad close on our new house tomorrow and we'll either head over tomorrow night or first thing Saturday morning for a day in the master bathroom (much bigger than the bathrooms here, I'm told). Everyone pray for nice weather for our move. I'll be back up and posting soon...

The Midnight Decision

We had a family meeting to discuss Midnight, what we want, and what is best for him.

When it comes to bringing him with us there is, of course, the joy of having Midnight as a member of the family, albeit an outside member of the family. (We have to remember that he is a feral cat, no matter how friendly he acts.) There is the security of having Mom and Dad to look out for him, a fenced back yard to play in, no roaming fox to threaten him, and a constant food source.

On the downside, we would be transplanting a feral cat away from his established territory where he has already established himself as an alpha cat (even fending off the roaming fox, which our neighbor says he saw, and which is why he had the neck injury from last spring). Also, he would have to re-establish himself in the new neighborhood, and deal with the numerous dogs and fences. Mom and Dad also fear he may try to return to his old stomping grounds only about five miles away, which would have him crossing two major roads and an interstate.

In the end, after many tears were shed, we admitted that it is in Midnight's best interest that he stay here when we move. Dad has talked to the neighbor upstairs who also feeds Midnight to ensure that he will be looked after (a very nice man who even treats Midnight with stinky goodness every now and then...). Midnight is among what Mom and Dad refer to as The Four -- four cats who have seemingly been here since we moved in. Midnight is well established in the apartment complex with woods to roam, cars to sleep under or on, and many neighbors to treat him. There are pros and cons with either situation, but when weighing it all out, this is best.

I hope you can all empathize with how difficult this call was for us to make, and I hope no one is disappointed with our decision. Unfortunately, the right decision isn't always the decision you want to make.

Huggy Bear's mice

Huggy Bear laid claim to the little mice ... and the catnip mouse ... and the tissue it was wrapped in ... and ... we're still working on sharing new toys.

Secret Paws box is here!

We all gathered around the box of gifts from Yaffa and Sebastian. They really outdid themselves with the Secret Paws. Thanks so much!

Josie's mouse

Josie made it clear she's not sharing this mouse from the Secret Paws package.

Our Secret Paws goes out...

Josie helped pack up our Secret Paws gift to go out. And by help, I mean she tried to take the stuff back out. In the end, she decided to share. I hope they like their gifts!

Move update

Well it looks like the moving plans are coming along very well. Mom and Dad (but really more Mom) have been packing like fiends. We're down to a few cabinets and some odds and ends. Huggy Bear has enjoyed finding new empty cabinets to explore. I keep finding taller stacks of boxes to sleep on. Every once in a while Mom or Dad will go to move a box and find one of us sleeping in it but so far none of us has been packed up with anything. Friday is the big day and we're all getting excited!

Weekend Cat Blogging

I just learned about the Weekend Cat Blogging event taking place at Heather's Space.

Something's getting a toothy death

I've been good, patient, almost Zen-like. But enough is enough. Something's getting a toothy death.

First, there's all the chaos with the upcoming move (eight days away). Boxes (sure, the boxes are OK), and Mom all stressed and just general disruption. Second, the Mitzi invasion that took Mom away from us for a full day. Finally, and truly the final straw, the meds yesterday. They made us each take some pills, but since Huggy Bear and I are bigger, we had to take two (Maggie only one, Josie one and a half.) They got me with the first one, but the second one I was ready. I did the thrusting tongue, bob-and-weave head moves, pushing with my front paws. It must have taken them a good five minutes to get me to swallow the last one. I even got the mouth foam going. (Mom said, "He'll eat bugs, but foams up at this...")

So enough is enough. I'm not saying when, or where, but trust me, a toothy death is coming.

Cute little face

She's very cute with a face you just have to fall in love with. Mom says she thinks she'll grow to be big, despite how small she is now. She has big paws like I did when I was little. And a good apetite -- she ate almost half a small can of wet food Tuesday morning.

Mitzi's new mom

Here's Mitzi with Kathryn. She got to meet Katrina today, Kathryn's eight-year-old daughter. Mitzi is a complete surprise for her, so we all can't wait to hear how excited she was.

After her bath

This is little Mitzi in the bathroom after her flea bath. She's all cleaned up and fluffy and soft. She chased crinkle ball all around the bathroom and explored the door (since Maggie kept investigating from the other side). She's so tiny.

Her name is Mitzi

The little kitten went to her new home. She is named Mitzi and slept with Kathryn last night. She is a little purr machine and will meet Kathryn's eight-year-old daughter today. Mom got very attached very quickly to this little one, so we're glad she found a home quickly. It's crazy... there were two other people who asked about this kitten, so you know she is special. (Picture coming soon!)

The Mitzi Situation delayed our Secret Paws package just a little -- but Mom and Dad are going to the post office today so let's hope it goes out tonight!

Little baby kitten

It looks like one of the ladies from Dad's work is going to give this kitten a home. Mom and Dad will pick up some more mother's milk for her when they take her to Kathryn's house. Kathryn was going to adopt a kitten from the Humane Society, but the only kitten they had was adopted out before she could get there, so she has everything except a kitten.

Mom brought the kitten into the bathroom today so she'll be calmer. She's been crying a bit when left alone, but Mom has been giving her some loving attention. Josie and Maggie hissed at her some, but that's what girls do. The kitten will get a flea bath tonight and then she'll go to her new home! We're very excited for her.

I see a pattern emerging

When Huggy Bear and Josie (and Curly and Frisky) showed up, Mom had been out of town for the week.

When Maggie's party of 10 arrived, Mom had gone out of town, Dad went to pick her up.

So last week, Aunt Tiff visited, then took Mom to Big Canoe outside Atlanta on Wednesday. Dad went up Friday for the weekend and they came home last night. You might be able to see where this is going...

Dad went out to pick up dinner and two neighbors are out talking about this lone kitten, about four weeks old, who seems to have been separated from her mom. Dad calls Mom to investigate. Seems this little kitten showed up Saturday night and was upstairs crying around. Last night, she was crying some more. The neighbors thought they had seen her with other kittens and a mom by the dumpster, so when Dad returned, he and Mom walked the kitten to the dumpster, but there was no mom to be found. They brought her back and set her in the bushes with some milk since she couldn't keep solid food down. After dinner she was still in the bushes. Mom and Dad took the trash down and, midway there, they heard this "meep" and looked behind them and here's the little girl following them. So she goes with them and plays in the bushes some like she belongs there, but there's still no mom, so Mom and Dad bring her back. At this point, they realize she's in no state to be alone. Mom and Dad ran to the store and got some mother's milk and a bottle and a stuffed animal for her and put her in the big carrier for the night.

When Mom gave her the milk last night, she immediately chewed the nipple off and drank the milk from the opening. She is very sweet, and licked milk from Mom's finger and out of a small saucer this morning. She's been crying a little, but aside from the calico kittens, she hasn't had visitors. Mom did let her wander some this morning and she had a blast getting a tree and exploring some tall grass.

We'll hopefully be able to find a good home for her pretty quickly. Mom's checking with Pets Inc. (our no-kill shelter) today. If we weren't moving in two weeks she might be joining us because she's so darned cute. But we've settled on a family of four cats (four bedroom house, four cats -- good balance if you ask me). Just keep your paws crossed that this little bit stays healthy while we find her a good home.

Vacuuming Patty

Dad has a patient who works with a lady with 35 cats. Yes, you heard that right -- 35! Now I'm not big on sharing my space with three other some days, so I couldn't imagine 34 others with me. Needless to say, she has to vacuum quite a bit. One of her cats, Patty, actually LOVES the vacuum cleaner and likes to be vacuumed. This is not made up ... I have video proof!

Maggie has been tagged...

Maggie was tagged for the 5 weird things/habits by Mrs. B. Fitting that, of the four of us, it is Maggie who is tagged...

Her 5 weird things/habits:
1. Despite being the smallest of the four, she feels the need to "throw down" with us often.
2. She has one eye (not picking on her about this ... it's just who she is)
3. She nuzzles her big orange blanket with her nose before going to sleep on it.
4. Maggie quickly transforms from "I love you and want to lick you" to "I want to attack you and eat you" in a flat 2.1 seconds.
5. Maggie likes to knock Dad's loose change into the garbage disposal when he's not careful about where he puts it. I guess you could call this Kittie Golf.

I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg and once I wake from my nap I could probably expound on this list for hours, but these are the five of the moment. We're supposed to tag someone else, but I know how quickly these tags circulate and I don't want to double-tag anyone, so if you haven't been tagged and want to play, follow the instructions below.

1. The player of this game starts with "5 weird things / habits about yourself".
2. In the end you need to choose 5 people to be tagged and list their names.
3. The people who get tagged need to write a blog about their 5 weird things/habits, as well as state this rule clearly, then tag 5 more victims.
4. Don't forget to leave your victim a comment that says "you're tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

Helping in the kitchen

It is important to pitch in, especially with our move coming up. Maggie was being a big helper the other day by assisting with the dishes. If only she'd unload the dishwasher, Mom would be soooo happy.

Secret Paws

Mom and Dad finally went to Target and stocked up on our secret paws items. They had to lock them up so we wouldn't play with them. Hopefully they'll get mailed this week.

Kitten patrol

I talked about kittens ... well here's Maggie watching one walk by. They're so cute and little and those two words together spell trouble.

Our own doormat

Dad's boss brought him this welcome mat back from the Mall of America and Maggie claimed it right away. You can't read it because she's lying on it, but it says, "This is not a joke. If you ever want to see these people again bring me 5 lbs. of fresh tuna in a plain brown bag The cat." This is our first housewarming gift and it's for US!

Should he stay or should he go?

In discussing moving Midnight, Max brings to light a good point, and one that has been weighing on Dad, too. Since Midnight is so familiar with the territory where he is, and he'll only be a few miles from there once he moves, will he try to go back to his usual turf? It's a fear that Dad has that Midnight will try and either get lost or hurt. Other neighbors do feed him and care for him also, so he won't be left uncared for. Is it selfish of us to move him, even though we have his best interests at heart?

Moving Midnight

Mom and Dad are working on the plan to move Midnight but are open to suggestions and feedback from people who have had success with ferals before. He is very friendly to the extent that he will walk along with Mom and Dad up the sidewalk and nudge them as they pour the food, but standoffish in the way that he doesn't like to be touched often.

The plan right now is to move all our stuff to the house, then when they come to clean the apartment, Mom and Dad will bribe Midnight to get into the large carrier and take him to get fixed and a vet checkup, then bring him into the fenced backyard with the kid's log cabin and the deck and trees. In the next few weeks leading up to the move, they plan to take some time just being around him so he can get a little more comfortable with their presence. We are all hopeful this will work.

New litter

OK ... to show that I am a fair cat, I am writing a follow-up to a previous post. Last month, I complained about the failure of my Tidy Cats litter. Mom and Dad brought home another tub of the red lid and it has the new Tidy Lock Technology and I have to say that the Purina people must have been reading my blog, because everything I complained about is 100 times better now! So, since I complained, and they changed, I must now compliment them for their good work. Thanks, Tidy Cats, for making my litter box a place I don't mind visiting.

Kittens kittens everywhere

Mom and Dad saw these two cute little calico kittens the other day, mostly white with black/gray and orange. They were with a young tuxedo they had befriended and were exploring and found some food our upstairs neighbor had put out for the neighborhood cats. They are very skittish and ran quickly (very quickly). Well, the other day, Dad saw a third, this one gray tabby. Then last night, a fourth, resembling the first two, and the mother, a mostly white with a gray tabby-ish back. They live in the woods back behind our apartment. Mom and Dad tried to get some pictures that I'll get up soon. But I heard Mom say, "We're moving to a bigger house, do we need four kittens?" But then she laughed and we all breathed a little easier.