Christmas Day

Christmas Day was a nice quiet day for the kitties as I was gone most of the day.  When I got home, I put their gift from their cousin Jack in the middle of the living room.  It makes noises when it moves. 

How do I know it makes noises?  I hear all the time EXCEPT when I'm in the living room. 

Holidays Mean More Naps

I wonder if I should get a new A/C-Heat unit.  The kitties act as though it is 20 degrees in here.  They are all cuddled up (separately not together) and nap like there is no tomorrow. 

I like it warm inside.  As in barefeet warm - I admit I've taken to wearing spa socks inside because they feel so sooo good and as a side benefit, they are warm.  

I added 2 blankets to my bed and the kitties have their winter blankets as well.  And lately, they both cuddle up next to me during the night.  Until their breakfast time anyway. 

Sam moves from place to place to snooze.   Millie stays in the middle of my bed.  She can be quite vocal when I make her move so I can get in. 

Sam tried to sleep on top of the couch but the slick throw had him almost upside down and slowing falling to the cushion.  Of course I woke him up when I went to get the camera. Just like in the photo above.   Which by the way, he is responsible for all the strings under the bed.  I certainly do not go under the bed. 

Oh, I checked.  And it's 70 degrees in here.  Good thing we aren't going to have any of that snow stuff for Christmas.

Merry Christmas to Yall.

No Hissing - No Growling - No Swatting - Are the Kitties Sick?

Nooooo.   They are on their best behavior for Christmas!

Both of them have been coming out at the same time to lounge in the living room although Sam does stay longer.

  Sam has been napping close to Millie lately - not within swatting range but close.  Sometimes when I can't find Sam, I hunt for Millie in her ultimate favorite spot for now - in the smack dab middle of my new lap blanket that I hurridly put on the bed late one night instead of hunting for a large quilt or blanket (I was COLD that night and didn't feel like walking down the cold cold hallway).   If Sam isn't snuggling on the lap blanket (note that I said blanket - not with Millie) then he is under the bed napping or playing with the strings on the bottom of the box spring.  In self defense it must be noted that there were NO strings before Sam started napping/hiding/practicing hunting skills while under the bed.

This is Millie's old favorite throw.  It was in a chair and was supposed to help keep her fur from being all over the chair.  So when I took it off to wash, she found it on the floor and took her naps on the floor in the living room.  It took a few days before I could wash it.

Is Santa Here Yet?

Yes, there is a fireplace but both cats ignore it.  I guess Sam thinks Santa will come to the front door?

Sam has Diabetes

Sam went in this morning for 2 days of treatment and a urine test.  Sam wouldn't let them put in a catheter.  period.  no surprise.  They couldn't take his glucose reading from blood either.  They didn't want to give him anesthesia again because getting riled up and pissed just makes the glucose count rise.  So they had me come pick him up.


Millie and I planned an all girl pajama party tonight but we are happy to cancel.  She was a little lost without someone to tease and growl at and rule her little world (yep, it's a given that she's got me wrapped around her little paw).

Sam is on a diabetic diet (Millie is on the same diet by default).  I take him back in January (they get their annual shots then anyway) and the vet will try to take blood again.  If he is still losing weight, then there isn't anything else to try because they can't get good glucose readings.  They have insulin pills just like for humans but they can't give a correct dose if they can't test the glucose not to mention that the effectiveness of the insulation pills is very low.  Low insulin is just as deadly as high insulin.  Sam's kidneys are ok for now and he isn't showing signs of dehydration but some of the minerals and other things in the blood are really low. 

But the long term outlook doesn't look very good right now.

sigh

Kitty Troubles & Thanksgiving Snoozes & Black Friday Traffic

Sam is sick and has lost about 10 lbs in the past 2 months.  Sam is a Texas sized kitty - Native Texan of course - he wasn't fat just 'tall'.   He went to the vet early Wed morning and had a blood test - they had to knock him out to get the blood - Sam wasn't and never has been a sweet lovable kitty at the vet's office. The vet best be getting in touch with me SOON!

 

Millie and Sam both have been snoozing in the living room with me in the afternoons instead of their usual places.  Although on Tuesday I found Sam under my bed several times during the day (very unusual for him).  And with one on the couch and the other curled up on the ottoman, I felt like eyes were watching me all day today - and they were -  all 4 eyes.  Maybe they know the next earthquake is about to rattle our house - I have to laugh because I haven't felt one yet and we've had a few minor ones here in north Texas (or so 'they' claim). 

They both had fun with the furrmenator Thanksgiving evening after I got home from a nice family Thanksgiving dinner.  Traveling an hour isn't bad at all.  I sure enjoy my kitty family.

Today was a lazy day on purpose.  I had to prepare myself mentally and emotionally before I braved the Black Friday traffic this morning while waiting on the vet to call.  But I needed - well not me exactly - kitty litter.   So I got a few Christmas treats while I was there and then around 9:30am, it started getting crowded so I left quickly (yes I paid first).  Feeling brave, I made a small detour to the Allen Antique Mall to browse and stroll a bit.  That was nice but then they started getting busy too so I fled to the safety of my house to watch my kitties nap some more.  And wait on the vet to call with results - I think they are getting tired of me calling BUT they did say they'd call early Friday and now it is late Friday and no word from the vet.  sigh

Getting Ready for the Holidays

One of Millie's favorite pillows is her Christmas toy.  It has ribbons and a bell on it.  But a few nights ago was the first time I saw her moving the pillow so it was under her head.  She slepts on it at night but I didn't realize she was moving it around like I do!

Eggnog is sooo good (yes we drink the low fat kind)... Sam came around the back of the couch, down the arm of the couch and got a lick before I even knew he was there - I was watching tv.  See what happens around here when you don't pay enough attention!

It was also a good thing I was done!

Now you know why I have to hide when I'm drinking milk and eating yogurt.   And baking in the kitchen with milk is pretty tricky too!  It can get really noisy in here.

Healthy Eating

Now you know that the kitties love their milk.  In fact, they love it so much that they can awaken from a dead sleep to run to the kitchen just in case they can cajole and/or whine until I give them a teaspoon of milk.  Usually I try to be very quiet and hide milk but it usually doesn't work.  And, they usually don't get any but they never give up trying.

Sam came to sit on my lap because I had yogurt.  He kept moving his paw like he wanted to take the spoon.  Funny. 

 Look at that contented face! He sneaked some after I was done.

Autumn Fun & Frolic

Millie watches birds drink from the birdbath so she wants to try it too!  She did but got down quickly when she found it dry.

Sam still guarding the yard in case another rat comes back.

Millie checks out the roses blooming now that it isn't so darn hot!

Watching a bird go back and forth from the oleander to the fence.  It finally flew away.

Halloween ... Again

Well now - here it is - Halloween and I need to get some more costumes for the kitties.  Guess that will be on the list for next year.  I'm sure they won't mind. 

Here's Sam - mighty warrior and an adorable bat.  Don't worry, he only wore it a few minutes and he really isn't as sour as he looks here...

On the other hand, here's Millie.  Good Girl.  Isn't she sweet?  Truth be told, she's sweet until she gets tired of playing around then then FANGS and CLAWS.  Don't ask me how I know. 

Summer Pictures

Sam on the prowl.  This was taken before the mouse/rat capture that still causes me to squeal and squirm.

Millie just lounging around enjoying the fresh air.  When she gets hot, she goes for the grass or the dirt.  I prefer the grass (for her NOT me).

Fall Finally Here!

Wow.  Well, Fall is officially here and the night temperatures are now below 80.  Now just what does that have to do with the cats?  It means lazy naps, crazy mouse/rat runs (aka wild and crazy jaunts in the house over and under everything) and the loud and persistent meows that mean 'Let me outside'.

Millie stands by the patio door and can make noises loud and long enough to drive me batty.  Sam likes it if I open a window but I have to monitor as I'm afraid one of these days, he will figure out the screens come out (just like their Uncle George when he was 3 - he escaped through a kitchen bay window before my sister realized it.  She caught him before he made the street). 

Milie goes wild on the bed sometimes.  All of a sudden there will be this racket and wild pouncing & scrambling while she grabs her favorite mouse or fish and shakes them until I think her little head is about to fall off.  Then she slings them on the floor.  Actually, they go pretty far if they don't hit the wall first. 

But more importantly, the fall makes them nap more during the day.  Then I don't see them much at all (well, if I hang around the food bowl it's a different story).

Loud Squealing & Stubborness Abundant This Evening

This evening I thought the cats might enjoy an after dinner stroll in the back yard.  I watered a few plants and was contemplating on the oleander dilemma(should I move it or not?) and counting the dried up dead plants (there are only about 3 of those that need to be cleaned up).


All of a sudden I see Sam & Millie race like crazy and I hear squealing.  Then I see a little mouse/rat (don't know & don't care) and I'm squealing too.  Then it was the 3 M's squealing loudly (me, Millie, mouse/rat) and I'm sure glad the neighbors weren't around (or were they?).  I'm trying to get Sam & Millie out of the way when Sam grabs the poor little thing again and promptly and quickly runs to the back door to get in the house.  I get there about the same time - that mouse is NOT going to be in my house period.  Sam jumps up to push the door and I am holding on the door knob for dear life.  

So Sam sits and waits.  With a dead mouse/rat in his mouth.  And I stand defiantly by the door trying not to get sick, trying to sound grateful to Sam for his good deed and trying to convince him to drop the mouse/rat.  After about 5 minutes, he sets it down but doesn't move far enough away for me to grab with the towel (oh how glad I am that there was one outside within reach of the back door (an old one but it wouldn't have mattered at that point)).


My next maneuver is to get Sam to think about getting a treat.  Well, that isn't going to work because he picked up the mouse/rat again and goes back into his 'I'm the MAN' stance.  I am beginning to wonder how long I can stand there.  Are you beginning to notice the family trait of stubbornness? 


About 15 very long minutes into the ordeal, Millie decides to go chase something.  Thankfully, that gets Sams attention and he very carefully lays the now deceased mouse/rat down.  After looking back and forth a few times between Millie and his prize, he finally runs off.  I move quickly - and I do mean quickly while trying not to get sick - and pick up the prize, say a prayer over it and take it to it's burial ground in the garage garbage can.  gross. 


I am proud of Sam.  As indoor cats, I worry that he and Millie don't always get enough exercise (well, better count me in the lack of exercise category).  He was quick, optimized his strategy, out-witted Millie and claimed his prize.  I know cats chase mice/rats instinctively.  BUT I DON'T WANT THEM IN MY HOUSE (the mice/rat silly, the cats are house cats) AND I DON'T WANT EITHER SAM NOR MILLIE TO CATCH ANY MORE.  PERIOD.  END OF CONVERSATION.  YUCK.

And no, there are no pictures.  I was too busy protecting the back door. 

AHHHHH It Must Be Winter Already?

The curtains in the living room are down and stored and the blinds in the master bathroom are up!  Yes!  Cool weather has arrived.  At this point, anything under 95 sounds downright cold .... but the thought of overnight lows in the 70's?  Oh my, what a treat. 

Here is Sam just relaxing and enjoying life.

Millie is helping with all the paperwork for Dad.  But it gets hard to work when she starts purring as that makes me very very sleepy.

Is Sam really going to start using the toilet?   Hmmm, somehow I don't think so .... although it would be nice.

Summer Cat Antics

Here's Jo waiting patiently for Dad to come home.  He's such a sweet kitty but he may have to find a new home.  He's elderly too (15 years).  He's an indoor/outdoor cat and he wants to go outside but it's too hot and I only go over there once a day.  

Here's Millie helping me with Dad's paperwork.  Every now and again she gets the itch to come and help.  Which is ok as long as she doesn't decide she's being ignored and starts nipping at my hands.  LOL  She also likes to go behind the iMac and take a short snooze.

And here's Sam.  He won't play with his toy while I'm trying to take a picture.  Silly Sam.  The minute I set the iPhone down, he's playing with the toy.

Millie - Duchess of Decorating

It's 10 thousand degrees and we're in a drought and it's hard to create enough electricity to run all the air conditioners.  So in order to do my small part, I put up curtains - temporary curtains - in the west windows of the living room.  Millie is still deciding and hasn't given me her opinion although she's been walking around looking at them quite a bit.  I did leave some little peeking out the window space for Sam and Millie.  They are only closed from noon until dark when it gets under 100 every now and then. 

To make matters worse, the blinds in the master bathroom - it's on the west side too - are down all the time as they get more direct sunlight.  So it's hard for Millie to warm her little tummy in the afternoon - I know, I know, you'd think she'd have a sunburned belly by now - and Sam can't monitor the back yard activity late at night either.  Neither is very happy about that.

We need some rain and some clouds.

Sam's Shenanigan's

Sam was bored so he grabbed a jelly bean.  A licorice jelly bean I put down because they are so nasty.  Sam played with it for a while.  It was funny to watch him try to bite it - it kept rolling around.  It finally made its way to the floor with some gashes in it - guess he doesn't like licorice either.

Fried Texas

Well, it's official.  Texas has fried.  It's still in the 100's at 9 and 10pm.  It doesn't even get below 80 at night time.  It was 111 at my house today and yesterday.  I'm tired of setting heat records.

I'm not complaining but the kitties are - loudly.  If I give in and open the patio door and survive the blast of heat, it's to watch Millie head out as if she's afraid she'll never ever be let out again and she heads straight for water (completely forgetting there are 3 water bowls in the house).  If the outdoor kitty bowl is dry - and it is unless I've just been out there watering - she sticks her head in the water bucket (and by the way, that water is HOT too).   Sam looks and takes his time before he goes slinking out all the while hoping the heat leaves before he gets his body all the way out the door.

Now early in the morning, they like to scout around and lie in the shade.  Sam comes back inside after about 10 minutes unless there is a critter that catches his attention.  Millie hides in the shade and hunts out new cool spots.  Now that we have to stop watering the grass, I'm afraid even early morning outdoor travels will have to stop because the grass will be dead and dry and hot.  

The window coverings in the master bathroom have been pulled down to keep out the heat and that irritates both cats.  Millie monitors the back yard during the afternoon while Sam prefers to guard the yard during the night.  LOL Millie loves to warm her belly in the sun.

I gave in and put up temporary curtains in the living room since the sun comes in during the heat of the day - those windows face west.  It helps keep the living room cool but it throws me off as I can't tell what time of day it is.  So I know why the kitties don't like having all the windows covered but we'll have to suffer for another month - well, at least I hope its not longer that that as I don't think any of us can take the heat that long.  

The roads are even starting to buckle from the heat!

The Texas In-&-Out Craze

Wow, California finally shared their In-&-Out with Texas!  We have 2 open right now and the lines have been long, lots of police to direct traffic (and make sure people don't try to jump in front of others waiting in the hours long line - yes that would be the drive-thru line) and I don't think in the 3 weeks they've been open that the drive-thru ordering device has been used during the day - they still have people outside taking orders - but they sure looked hot yesterday.

And how do the cats figure into this?  Well, they like In-&-Out too.   They TRY to get my stuff so I eat the Animal fries on the way home and then dig into the cheeseburger with extra grilled onions.  I'm not sure which they want but they sure try. 

What you can't see in the first picture is the In-&-Out burger box nor the drink because Millie is trying to get to the burger box!  Nice try Millie but no burger or fries for you.

Now least you think Sam is being deprived of the In-&-Out craze... don't!  He's tried before as well but he didn't have any more luck than Millie did.

5am Gardening Time is Here

It's hot enough that working in the yard needs to be done early in the morning when it is cool.  So we got up early and headed out back - no, I did not leave my pj's on.

It was nice and cool and almost everything has been  planted and the gazillion bags of mulch have been put out (but I need some more).  One pot had ants so it got the Raid treatment and I'll have to wait until tonight before I add new soil and then put a plant in it.

But the grass was wet so the cats go hopping along so their feed don't get wet.  And the birds were out singing to the cats.  Well, they could have been telling them to go back inside and leave us alone!

When I turned around after planting a few plants, I realized Millie and Sam were nowhere to be seen.  So after laying down the shovel with a little bit of panic, I found Millie stalking something under the oleander.  Sam was supervising from the stone walkway.  By the time I got the camera, she'd made herself quite comfortable in the plants under the oleander.

Sam preferred to hunt for breakfast.  again.  he just  loves violas and pansies.  There's one pot of violas left as the pansies have all died from the heat.  He's going to miss the violas when they die and that should be soon.  Can you find Sam?  He's stretching to reach the prime violas since he's eaten those close to the edge of the pot.  After breakfast and realizing the birds weren't going to get too close, he got so bored that he went back inside the house.  It wasn't even hot and he sure wasn't sweaty because he didn't do anything.

Hey Birdie, You'd better be careful around here

Sam and Millie both love birds and would dearly love to catch one.  They try but they've not had much luck.  Sam stalks them even if he is inside.  Millie mostly watches even when she's outside but every now and then she goes on the great hunt for a prize too.

Bird eating - this thrilled Sam & Millie

What Sam wanted for a snack...

 

 

Sam really tried hard to get outside especially since the bird just kept right on doing his bird thing and just ignoring Sam.  This bird hopped on the ground for a bit and then jumped up on the flowers before he finally flew away.  We watched (well, Sam was really stalking) him for about 20 minutes.  The picture was taken through the window so it's not very good. 

Indoor Bird Watching

Hmm, is Sam really looking for birds? 

 Or maybe he's looking for some more packages to sniff and then use as a napping spot. 

Easter and the Peeps!

My niece and I love Peeps.  Any kind of Peeps.  Oh, her husband likes them too so I have to send her Peeps marked 'Dave - DO NOT TOUCH'  (she can share if she wants but sometimes he eats them and leaves her an empty Peeps container).  So I send her Peeps of all sorts - this year I found the purple Peeps - she used to love purple stuff but I'm not sure if she still does or not.  But that's OK.

 

 Well, this year, the Peeps just kept sitting on the counter waiting to be mailed and somehow, I'm still not sure how, the box was opened and we ate them.  Well, Sam and Millie sniffed them. Sam actually bit one and then ran away.  The only human in the house ate the rest of them.

Therefore, the only true connoisseur of Peeps in this house must be me.   AND I"M PROUD OF IT.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.....

Sam wants to get in the attic with Blake, my Heat & A/C guy.  So when Blake needs to go in the attic, I have to pull the bottom section of stairs up.  Otherwise Sam goes up the stairs - in a flash reserved for super  heros - and then, and only then proceeds to get scared and won't come out.  But as you can see, he believes in the 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again'.  And boy, does he ever try.

Spring IS Here - We escaped the house for a bit!

See... they can behave when they are in close proximity to each other.   Actually, it's probably because it's the first time they've been out of the house in a while (escape's to the garage don't really count).

Here's Millie in her 'about to escape' spot.  It doesn't matter if the garage door is open or not.  She did this all winter.  It's funny because they never go outside through the garage.  That is a privilege reserved for ME.

Sam is Innocent ..... isn't he?

Just look at that face.  NO guilt in that face.

So why is Millie protecting her toy?