Cat Owners

Here's a text I sent to my daughter and her reply:

ME: Is it sad that they (my cats) seem to be having more fun with the box (that my cat tower came in) than with the giant tower in the middle of my living room?

MY DAUGHTER: That's okay. My cat eats food out of the empty bag in the trash instead of her filled food bowl.


Cats can be so retarded.

Happy Leap Day. Go leap off a bridge or something.

Sad

The only sad part about being a Steven King junkie? A novel only lasts 24 hours. I'm already done with Blaze. Spent the entire afternoon with the wind whipping into the living room as the kitties slept around me totally enjoying my day off. It was a very lazy, unproductive day, but a good one.

I now have a new monstrosity sitting in my living room. Pictures as soon as I can upload them!

Blaze

Just picked up the book Blaze at Walgreens on my way home from work this morning. I'll see you guys in a couple of days. Time to go get my fix.

Something Worth Watching

More Demands From Islam

Why My Cat's Are Special - Libertine

I got Libby the second day I was back at work at my old job... the job I'm working at now.

Libby was barely two weeks old and she had just opened her eyes when I met her. Our Animal Control officer saw a sucker and brought her in. I had always wanted a Calico cat and Libby, even at such a young age, had such a sweet personality. She still does.

I bottle fed her for about two months which I had never done before, but she took to it very well and ate heartily. It was probably the sweetest thing I have ever seen. It was a bit more responsibility then what I've been use to with kittens, but it was well worth it in the end.

Libby LOVES to play! With the other kitties, with me, with just about anyone. Her favorite game to play, even now, is when I hide behind a corner and peek around it slowly. She chirps at me when I do this. When I take my head away and hide some more, she covers the distance as quick as possible to jump out at me when she gets close enough. It's like playing red light, green light with her. When I peek around the corner again, she'll have stealthily traveled across the room while I was hiding and wait for my head to peek around again. This goes on until she covers the entire room and at the end of the game she gets to jump out at me. My daughter use to play this with her constantly and she absolutely loves this game.

Libby is a door bolter. When exiting the house, you have to watch out because she's got her timing just right as the door swings open to follow you out. She's never run away when she's gotten out. She just wants out to eat the grass. Which is why often times in the Spring and Summer I'll grab a handful and sprinkle it on the back porch for ALL the kitties to enjoy as I come in from outside. She tries her best on a nightly basis to get me to stay home. She'll run out the back door onto the back porch and when I go to pick her up to take her back in, she runs away from me.

Libby is your typical "you'll pet me when I want to be petted" cat. We have our special time when I go to bed in the morning and at night if I'm off work. Once she gets her pet time in, she will usually find a place on the bed and settle down, but more times then not,she's gone when I wake up.

As I mentioned in the previous post, she knows what time I'm suppose to be home and will find a way into a window where she'll wait for my car to pull in.

She does NOT like me to take showers. It's not so bad since I've had to replace my shower curtain liner after Cricket thought jumping up on the liner and shredding it was a fun game. I replaced the liner with a clear one and she's able to see me while I'm taking a shower now and this seems to be okay with her. Afterwards, she sniffs me to make sure I got clean.

Libby is a small cat, compared to my big boys. But she's beautiful and has a beautiful personality. She was overjoyed when I brought Cricket home (after the initial being pissed off because she was no longer the baby) because her and Cricket will play run and chase until they collapse from exhaustion. She likes to chase Jynxy around, too, which on rare occasions he actually likes. Usually he runs and hides which is quite funny since he outweighs her by about 20 pounds.

She does NOT like to be locked in closets. She likes to lick my toothbrush as I'm brushing my teeth. She has a special routine that she goes through before she's able to drink water. Anyone watch Everybody Loves Raymond? You know how the brother, Robert, always has to touch his chin with his food before he eats it? It's kind of like that, but it's funnier. If Santa ever brings me a digital video camera, I'll show you how funny it is.

Need A Head Count!

When I had someone else living with me, I often did a head count of the kitties to make sure no one had escaped. Usually at bedtime or before I left for work. I have two that like to walk right out the door with you. Since I live alone, I don't practice this very often. Usually they all will hang out with me during the times I'm home and all of them greet me when I come in. And when I leave, I'm very careful about watching behind me to make sure no one gets out to go on holiday.

Last night when I left for work, the two that normally try to leave with me, or more accurately, try to get me to NOT leave, were absent as I walked out the door. I didn't think much of this because on occasion they will freely let me leave without much ado.

When I walked in this morning, all of them were there to greet me except Libby. Libby is ALWAYS there to greet me. She will set up in a window waiting for my car to pull into the drive and by the time I get out and in the house, she's right there at the door waiting to go out on the back porch. I was instantly worried. So I set about looking for her.

After not succeeding in finding her the first go around (my house is not that big), I sat on my bed to change clothes because I was wearing a very heavy sweater and sweating profusely, when I heard a tiny mew coming from somewhere in my room. And then I saw her paw... coming out from my mostly closed closet door. Closed enough where she couldn't get out. I rescued her, held her firmly and petted and talked to her and hugged her and told her how sorry I was. When she was able to get free from my guilty arms, she ran straight to the cat box.

LIBBY IN FRONT OF THE PRISON DOORS

I will be doing head counts nightly from now on.

In other cat news... Cricket seems to think that any doorway and any window treatment, is a place to get on top of. Sad part is, she's convinced Libby that this is fun, so Libby is right behind her doing the same things. My kitchen window curtain rods have been knocked down multiple times, the bathroom curtain rod for the window the same. My bedroom, my new bedroom and of course the living room which I was able to capture and post not too long ago. This is what I found when I heard a loud crash as I started this blog:

WHAT WAS ONCE MY WINDOW BLINDS

I tried to run back and get my camera to catch her up on top of the windows, but she jumped down before I could make it back. This cat craves heights like no other cat I have owned before her. I think she thinks her name is really Get Down Now. Good news is, I ordered my cat tree last Friday. I should get it sometime this week. I'm hoping with all that I have in me, that this will satisfy her need to climb up on something and deter her from climbing on things she shouldn't. The last time she jumped up on the bathroom window, she fell in the toilet. She hasn't been up on that window since. If the cat tree doesn't work, I might have to revert back to a spray bottle which I haven't used since trying to break Spazz of clawing my mattress at 3am to wake me up. Which he doesn't do any more, by the way.

It's suppose to be 80 degrees today. In February!

Where Have I Been?

I was doing my daily blog reading when one of them just mentioned that they were reading the new Steven King novel. What??! Then I went to stevenking.com and OMG! Why do I not have this bookmarked in my favorites????? THEN I found out that he's also put out a Richard Bachman book! Why, with all that the internet has provided me in terms of entertainment and company, have I never thought to find Seven King in cyber space? The one man I can honestly say I would marry tomorrow if he were to ask. His books are like a drug to me. As soon as I see a new one, I will buy it (doesn't matter that I have no money) and as soon as I'm home, I'll lock all my doors and settle into a chair/couch/bed and not be able to stop. I won't answer my phone, I won't shower, I'll call in sick to work, tell my kids I'm out of the country, tell my parents I've eloped... and God help the person who shows up unannounced.

You know those old black and white clips of the girls screaming and crying and fainting with the sight of Elvis, or The Beatles? I would be that way if I found out I was even in the same zip code as Steven King. I know I would. It would be way cool to say I had seen a movie star. But compared to meeting Steven King? Doesn't even come close. I can't BELIEVE I didn't have his website bookmarked. I'm seriously devastated that I missed even one word that he might have written.

So me and Steven have a date as soon as I score me some cash. Ahh, dear Steven... how I've missed you.

Politics? Me? Nah...

I'm not overly political. When I have an opinion on politics, there are very few people I will voice that opinion to. I can actually only think of one person that I have ever had a political conversation(s) with. Either way, this came about in an email I received and I was feeling a little political this morning and I'm sharing it with you. Boring Political Link That No One But Me Really Cares About

A Must See!

I was just sent this link. I highly recommend that you go here.

Sometimes life blesses us twice in a lifetime with talent like this...

Click here

Why My Cat's Are Special - Jynxy

I brought home Jynx in November of 2003. Which was about 2 months before S left me. Jynxy ended up being my cuddle buddy as I laid in bed the majority of the first third of 2004. He was a good friend to hold and cry with.

He was given to me by a dear friend who I use to work with. Her husband was away at pharmacist school in Houston and Jynxy's momma kept my friend's husband company while he was down there. I don't remember how many brothers and sisters Jynx had. I don't think it was many. But he was chosen for me by this friend that I wished I talked to more. She took over my job when I left that "other" city.

Jynx is kind of a nervous cat. He's friendly but only after he knows you. He's almost as big as Spazz, but not quite. His special talent includes sharpening his claws very audibly and dramatically. He has the sharpest claws of any cat I have ever seen. He's very jealous, but mostly tolerant of the other cats. Spazz was his big brother and they played quite a bit until Jynxy got older. Now they just exist together and occasionally they will pick on each other. Usually Jynxy starts it, but not always. They do still sleep together as I'm sure you've seen in the pictures. For some reason, when it's nap time, no one goes to bed angry and all is well.

I've never had a problem with Jynx wanting to go outside. He's just never shown any interest in bolting out a door. He likes open windows and handfuls of grass that I bring inside, but other then that, he's just as happy being an inside cat.

He's my door opener. Cabinet doors, closet doors... anything that is shut, when I'm away from home, is open when I get home. Especially the linen closet. Not sure if he gets in there to sleep at night or not, because when I'm home, he's with me and the door is always shut when I get up. Maybe it's his way of looking for me when I'm gone.

If I'm in bed, Jynx is in bed with me. Unlike the other cats who go and do their own thing while I'm sleeping, Jynx stays put until I get up. While I'm at my computer, he squishes himself between my back and the back of my chair. Yes... he's there right now. I tried taking a picture once, but alas... I'm not a good blind shooter.

Jynx likes to be held and carried around, but because of his sharp claws, it always looks like I've been in a cat fight after I put him down. The claws are SO sharp, that I don't even feel the skin of my shoulder being peeled away. Okay, it's not all that bad, but if I haven't stressed it enough, that boy's got some sharp claws!

Jynx will push and bump his way to the front of the line during pet time, supper time, nap time, sleep time. He's not mean about it, but he always has to be first.

Jynxy can be quite silly and loves to be talked to.

He's good at hide and seek.

Femme Fatale

I'm a baaaad pet owner. But only half bad. I have four cats. Two male, two female. Both the males have been neutered. Neither of the females have been spade. Cricket, my youngest, went into heat a few days ago. I think, for my sanity, and of course for theirs, I will be doing something about that in the next month or so.

Before Libby came to live with me, it had been many, many years since I had seen a female cat in heat. If anyone has ever experienced this, you know what I will be going though having two female cats in heat. It could get rocky around here.

The temptation to open the back door and let them run free can be overwhelming at times. Which makes me think back to the last female cat I saw go through this. Her name was Nermal. She was the sweetest cat of all. I was a teenager when she went through this which should tell you how long ago that was. This was so long ago, that I only vaguely remember feeling sorry for Nermal and opening the back door to let HER run free. When she came up pregnant, it was a miracle pregnancy because my parents weren't home when I did this and as far as my mom knew, she had not been let out. I don't remember if I ever fessed up about it.

(Mom, if you are reading this, I hope I had already told you that story. If not... oops.)

Nermal had two babies. A male cat that we adopted out and a female that we named Baby and kept. Of course, Nermal has long since passed and Baby has not been gone but a year or so. Baby spent her last days with my parents traveling the countryside in an RV and loved every minute of it. Both of them lived very long, very loved lives.

Anyway... I find myself wanting to open that back door, yet the adult in me knows what happens when one does this. See? I did learn something when I was a kid. So until I can get my two girls shipped off to the vet, keep that picture up there in mind. Because seriously... that's the way these girls act during "that time".

You're Never Too Old

I learned today that one is never too old to receive a mix tape for Valentine's Day.

Irony... I Has It.

How ironic is it, when you go through your important paperwork looking for something and what you end up finding are old letters from someone who broke your heart, especially since today is valentine's day?

I read them. I wanted to cry but I couldn't. And I don't think it's because I'm coming down with what might be the flu... they just didn't make me sad, really. It kind of did, but it was more or less a bittersweet feeling, recalling memories of when the letters were written, and being 7 years in the future and knowing how much those words meant to me then, yet how meaningless they turned out to be. The most prominent feeling I had was to get his address and send them to him. In fact, I still want to do that and I'm not sure why. I think I'll always have something inside of me that thinks he never did or never will understand how badly he hurt me. I don't think that one will ever go away... I don't think there really is any way he could know unless he went through it himself. So in the end... it would be completely useless to send them to him... it would serve no purpose in my life... after this much time, doing something like that would probably be considered stalkerish... I have no desire to even talk to him, so it makes no sense to knock on that door, even though I know he would avoid any and all communication with me... and it seems childish...

But I still wanna do it. I won't. But I wanna. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

I thought my search for a video valentine would fall short, but I found one that expresses my deepest feelings about love... enjoy. And Happy Valentine's Day.

Why My Cat's Are Special - Spazz

Spazz came to me in October of 2001. He might have been about 2 months old. I had recently made the decision to start looking for another job. I looked at him as sort of a going away present. I carried him around in a basket for about the first two weeks I had him. When he wasn't in the basket or in my arms, he was acting crazy, hence the name. The city I worked for then (and work for again now) has this "Funfest" every year. It's like a big giant carnival. (Although this past year it was canceled) I loaded him up in his basket and I carried him around with me and people thought this most amusing and amazing that he would just sit in his basket and be carried around like that. Little did I know this was an early sign of the lazy boy he turned out to be.

Spazz ended up being a very calm cat. Yes, he has his moments of "spazzing out" but they are very rare, yet so very funny. Imagine a 30 pound cat jumping around and playing. How is that NOT funny? He has tolerated 4 different kittens being brought into his home. With each one he lets them cuddle and play with him and he quickly becomes a big brother to them. He loves attention and is very verbal about wanting it. (The cartoon video at the bottom of this page reminds me very much of him. Including the scratched mattress.) But he's also very content passing out pretty much anywhere he happens to get tired, which is often. His favorite place is, of course, the stove in the living room. Before we moved here, though, his favorite place was my backyard. It was fenced in with a privacy fence and he was always too fat to make any attempt at jumping over it. But...

He made two escapes in the time he spent back there. The first one, he ended up in the neighbor's back yard under their bushes. The only way he got over there is by jumping up on the big green electrical box that was in our back yard and the only reason I think he actually went over is because he was chasing a stray cat, who was much more agile then him. I didn't know my neighbors very well. A wave here or there, but that's about it. The only access to their backyard was through the house. First of all, how stupid is that? I called them the screaming kid family because... well... the kids were constantly screaming. So Spazz jumps the fence, gets stuck back there because there is no big green electrical box on the other side of the fence and the screaming kids found him and terrified him to the point he hid under this gigantic row of bushes and was in some kind of shock because when I went over there to get him (having had to tramp through their home which was extremely uncomfortable) he would not respond to me at all. He was staring off into some cat world and it was like his eyes were open, but he wasn't at home. The oldest screamy kid went behind the bushes and was able to roll him out towards me far enough where I could get a hold of him. (seriously... he was rolled out of the bushes with that blank stare going on the whole time) After he was in my arms, it was then I found out that the husband was severely allergic to cats. Which meant I couldn't go tramping back through their home with Spazz. Luckily my son had come out to make sure we got Spazz out okay and I was able to half toss, half gently hand Spazz over the fence to my son.

The second time he got out, he escaped through our back gate. My kids had some friends over and they were swimming and going in and out of the gate and it was left open. And he took off on the adventure of his life, I'm sure. We couldn't find him that night and I left the gate open hoping he would come back. He didn't. We made fliers and put them up around the neighborhood. A week went by and I checked the local animal shelter and placed a flier in their facility. We drove the neighborhood, we walked the neighborhood, but he was gone. I worried about how he was getting along, if someone had him, if he had been hurt, if he was scared, lonely, or crying for me. I called the shelter for about two weeks straight. They would update a recording about the day's finds and describe the animal they picked up. Nothing. After about two weeks, I pretty much gave up hope. About a month later, I was having a bad day at work and I started thinking about Spazz and I swear I could feel him calling me. He was scared and he was sad. After about 30 minutes of this nagging on me, I picked up the phone and dialed the shelter. I don't remember all the animals that were listed, but somewhere in the mix they described a gray and white neutered male short hair that they had picked up the previous day. No other description but that. And I wondered... and I called, but couldn't get any better description. I asked if he was a fat cat, but they said he was kind of big, but not really. So I took my lunch at work and left to run up to the shelter to see if maybe, by some miracle, it was him. I didn't hold out much hope, but I had to know for sure. Low and behold, when they took me to the back, there he was. Ten pounds lighter, scared and sad, but fine, after a month's time. I burst into tears and picked him up and he wrapped his arms around me (okay, not really "around" me) and laid his head on my shoulder and I drove with him that way the whole way home. He was never let out, unsupervised, again.

Father's Day

And here I was afraid I'd not be able to find that perfect Father's Day Gift...

Yearning...

A few months ago I was way poor and I suspended my normal coffee shipment. I've been getting by on Maxwell House. It's a decent tasting coffee. It's not my gourmet that I've come to love, by far, but it's a lot cheaper. Well... I went to the store and splurged on some coffee beans. I didn't get the expensive Starbucks, I opted for Archer Farms. I was very excited about having a cup of "real" coffee after going so long without and I broke open the package of beans and lowered my nose into what I thought was going to be the wonderfulness that I was expecting. In my lifetime, I have never smelled coffee that I thought smelled bad. I wanted to vomit when I stuck my nose in this crap. Thinking maybe I just wasn't use to this brand, I ground some up and made a cup. WORST COFFEE E V E R!!!! I can't even think of words to describe what this stuff smells like. It has NO coffee aroma whatsoever. It's worse then poop. Maybe not as bad as a decomposing body, but close. I hate wasting anything, but this stuff is now in my garbage. So I get on my Gevalia account and told them to ship me coffee NOW! But I won't get any till the end of March. So until that gets here... me and Max will be hanging out, dreaming about G.

Poductivity

Got some things accomplished these last couple of days. Got my daughter's room cleaned out and I will be cleaning the carpet in there when the sun comes up. I've decided to make that room my new bedroom. The closet is much bigger (not that I have tons of clothes to put in there) and it's the only room in the house in which I've painted. The only problem is that none of my bed linens match the color scheme in there and it's the sunniest room in the house and for someone who works midnight shift, some darkening ideas will need to be done as well. Seeing as how I'm not into foil on my windows, I'm looking into some special shades. I've lived with maroon and dark blue for so many years I'll be glad for the change. I'll be changing to a very light sea mist green with dark brown. It will be fun to do and decorating a room is always so therapeutic for me. Seriously... when I grow up I want to be an interior designer. I would like to chronicle the re-do. If I can remember to take pictures I will post them.

I got woke up this morning at 0230 to a coyote howling outside my window. Well... I don't think he was right outside my window, but he was definitely no farther away then across the street. It was loud. Normally, I always have at least one light on overnight and it's usually either the florescent desk light, or one of the florescent lights under my kitchen cabinets. Last night, for some reason, I decided to turn them all off for the night and right after Lost (which was yummy, by the way) I went to bed. I were tired. So I get woke up by this howl and my entire house was really dark and it was just kind of creepy. So it's now about 0530 and I've had two cups of coffee, a shower and I'm done with all my email and I'm almost done with my blog post and I'm starving. I really need to go to the store this morning before I do anything. I would love a big bowl of oatmeal this morning yet I have no oatmeal to make. And a cup of hot chocolate to go with it.

Its 29 degrees outside.