Maggie last Christmas

This was Maggie last year. Imagine her bigger, but essentially in the same place and you have her this year. Stinker!

Tree'd again

Mom and Dad were so proud of Maggie. After last year when she was such a little kitten and they couldn't do anything to keep her out of the tree, Mom and Dad were a little nervous about putting up a tree again. But they were having a surprise birthday party for a friend last weekend and there's a odd space in the foyer by the stairs that is perfect for the small tree (we'll end up with two trees this year!) so they set up the tree there. For the first few days, the tree went unscathed. Then the other morning Mom awoke to tink, tink, rustle, rustle and sure enough, Maggie was in the tree again. Five balls down, four shell ornaments down (I'll have to post a picture, but it was unbreakable ornaments from Martha Stewart and sea shell ornaments Mom made that are so pretty). One ball was by the front door ... obviously a play toy, right? The others were all in a corner under the tree. Now, Dad has had to restring a few rows of lights from Maggie trying to hold on as she is coaxed out of the tree. One shell ornament has broken (just a little ... it can be fixed) and several more balls have come down. They even caught Josie (aka Little Miss Perfect) on the stairs reaching out trying the smack a ball, then later lying under the tree batting another ornament. Martha Stewart talked on one of her shows about how to keep pets from the trees, then added that she has a tree just for her pets that they can play in. I like that idea. Maybe after the holidays Dad will set the tree up in the bonus room just for us to climb in.

[Update: Here are some of the pet Christmas suggestions from Martha's show...]

Watch those plants?

We eat plants. We're cats and that's what we do. It's fun, it tastes good, and once you devour one, Mom and Dad always seem to bring another in. But Mom bought a really pretty Poinsettia for Christmas and then started to worry about toxicity and our appetites. So she found a website that lists toxic plants. Of course, there are varying degrees of toxicity, but it's always safe to err on the side of caution, right? Just at a glance, I see two or three we've had in our house. No bad results so far, thank goodness, but you know Mom'll be more wary in the future when she looks at plants for the house.

Another blog

I just recently found the Pet Prayer & Praise blog. It's such a nice and thoughtful blog. I can't imagine the effort that goes into the upkeep of that one and the Cat Blogosphere blog.

Garage nap

With Mom and Dad doing all kinds of painting in the house, we've all been able to enjoy some serious garage time. Josie and I have our favorite box perches. You can't tell in this picture, but we're almost seven feet up!

Maggie vs. paper towels

Dad had turned his back on Maggie and the paper towels and it seemed there was a disagreement because before you knew it Maggie had put the bite all over this roll of paper towels. She almost had the whole thing shredded. That, and getting paint on her paws, is how she likes to help Dad paint.

Mirror, Mirror on the floor

Mom and Dad were painting the powder room and took this mirror down. Huggy Bear started laying on the mirror almost immediately. He even got ahold of the ring from the milk jug and was huddled on the mirror giving the "keep away" low growl of his. Dad ended up just taking the ring away to calm him down. But I think getting twice the HB is very nice.

Supervising in the kitchen

Maggie supervised the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner from on top of the refrigerator. It seemed to be a good spot for her to watch, but not help too much.

Homeless cat shelter

Aunt Cathy's brother has built a shelter in his garage for the neighborhood homeless cats to get them through the winter. He built a heated two-story shelter inside the garage with a cat door from the outside so the cats don't have free access to the garage but can access the shelter unit. We need more people like that.

Riddle me this...

Q: What's black and white and red all over?
A: Josie on our new red couches!

After 11 years of marriage, Mom and Dad finally bought new furniture. Maggie and Josie were quick to give it a test run. Mom has coveted a red couch for a while, so she is so excited about her new living room.

Lucas in Cat Fancy Magazine

I just saw where Lucas (aka Prince Diaper) will be in the January issue of Cat Fancy Magazine. (brief excerpt) I'm glad Alisha let us know. We'll have to watch for that article...

At it again

Mom and Dad are at it again -- painting, that is. This past weekend was dedicated to the dining room. At one point, Maggie was a little too close to the lid of the paint for Dad's comfort (he was pouring more paint in the pan and Maggie was helping.) Because Dad was afraid Maggie would get in the paint he decided to pick her up and move her. Because he picked her up when she didn't want to be picked up she stretched out her leg and toes -- and got in the paint! All Dad's fault, without a doubt, but poor Maggie paid the price. Mom and Dad had to hold her in the air so paint didn't get everywhere (Dad's got the scratches to prove it), and they scruffed her and cleaned between her back toes on both feet. At least Dad accepted responsibility for this one -- he should know when to just leave well enough alone by now. We can walk along tiny, narrow places, and somehow he thinks she's going to get in the paint? Really, some days I just wonder about him...

Maybe I'll have soup for dinner

I love checking out the pantry. It's one of the coolest places, next to the garage, at our house. It's got shelves to climb on, our treats are in there, and there's always a bag of potatoes for me chew on. (No, I don't like potatoes, I like plastic bags.)

Sweet Maggie

Maggie is growing into such a sweet little lover. She has always been a sweet girl and very affectionate, but lately she's really been pouring it on. She bathes Huggy Bear all the time ... even started giving him a bath in bed the other night and fell asleep in mid-bath. Here she is snuggling with Mom on the couch after she and Dad returned from the mountains. Mom was so happy and Dad was a little jealous, so I hopped on the couch with Dad to make everything even.

Been sidetracked

I've been a little sidetracked lately, trying to keep up with the heartbreaking events at Atomictumor and helping Mom and Dad get the house ready for the holiday company ... so much to do and so little time. I feel like it will be 2007 before we know it! But I have some great pictures to post. I'll try to get them up soon.

What am I?

Mette had asked a few comments ago about what breed of cat I am. I was born in a shelter ... my mother had come in pregnant. She was a Manx. Unfortunately, like many of us, I have no knowledge of my father, no relationship with him at all. (I think this is a serious issue with us cats, and maybe should be addressed in public service announcements like these.) So I don't know if I have any Maine Coon or a Norwegian blood in me, just Manx for sure. Maybe I should get some DNA testing ... he he ... just the though of someone trying to do a mouth swab makes me laugh uncontrollably.

Send prayers and hope

Uncle Doug's friends over at Atomictumor are struggling with a strange, sudden, dire illness. Things are very serious, and confusing, and emotionally exhausting. Mom got teary reading AT's entries about his wife's struggles. Dad was so emotionally spent that he had to take a few breaks to get through. Please send your prayers and thoughts.

The events begin on the Nov. 1 post "It's been a loooong day," and continue for several pages (just click "previous page" at the bottom).

The blogosphere is amazing in it's ability to connect complete strangers like old friends in moments of need. Thank you all in advance for your positive energy.

Mom and Dad return

Mom and Dad went up to Tennessee this weekend to the mountains and visited with Dad's parents. At Christmas, Dad's parents and sister will be coming to visit us instead! This will be the first time we meet Aunt Kelly ... we know she's excited. Even though she has a dog, we're excited about meeting her, too.

When Mom and Dad were driving though the mountains, they saw three black bears (not three black Huggy Bears...) all up in a tree. Some crazy people were actually out of their cars and trying to get pictures. Dad took a drive-by picture that I'll try to zoom in on and post later, but Mom and Dad were both thinking, "If there are three babies, there a mom around here too," so they didn't stop.

It's fine when Mom and Dad go for a weekend or so. Usually someone checks in on us (make sure we're not throwing a party...) but we are happy that Mom and Dad are back home.

Cat glasses

Mom and Dad need these...

McKitten-Pumpkin

This is the latest kitten addition to our family. Mom created this cat pumpkin and it is so cute. The picture doesn't really show off her curly cat tail but you can see the cute face. Mom and Dad created a bunch of cool pumpkins this year ... I hope we get a lot of visitors!

HB inspects the pumpkins

Huggy Bear was a big helper carving pumpkins. He inspected the pumpkins to make sure they were fit to be carved then sat by and supervised the carving.

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.