Thanksgiving "Vacation"

Last Thursday morning, the People tricked us into getting into our little carrier houses and stuck us in the backseat of their car. Needless to say, we were not happy. Other Cat tried to start an insurrection. We yelled and rattled those cage doors, but the people continued to ignore us.


Hours later, we arrived. We were at that place that Main Person likes to take us. I like the screened porch there, but that's all. We saw Sasha and Chloe, who are getting much bigger. I still don't like them, but maybe they're better than I thought at first. Sasha is kind of OK. But just to show her who's boss, I sat right on her person's lap. HA!

When we returned home today, I was exhausted. I even lost my voice from having to shout at the people in the car, just to be sure they knew I was not happy. Anyway, when we got home, I drank, ate, and then slept for hours. I just woke up for a second to tell everyone on the blog about our adventure, but now I'm going back to sleep. Sigh.

Update

I have been very negligent recently. Main Person recommended that I share some photos on the blog to keep people updated on things around here. Actually, there's not much to say, but here are some of my recent photos.

Here's Other Cat trotting down the hall. As you can see, Third Cat no longer runs away from us. But I don't think she really likes us yet.
Third Cat still likes to sit on her person:
but she also really likes to lay on/in blankets. Unlike me and Other Cat, she likes the blanket to be wrapped around her.

Recently, I have been sleeping on the People's Bed after I eat my breakfast. I usually stay there until 2pm or so. It is very cozy. One day I even found a cave-like area and slept there all day.


Other Cat has been birding a lot more these days. Usually he watches birds for about an hour in the morning. But one morning, a couple weeks ago, a squirrel visited him for awhile on the porch.
Since it has been cold lately, we like to use each other's body heat to stay warm.

Today is a damn good day!

I'm simply going to link to another blog to express how me and people feel today. Click on the YouTube video.

http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/11/what_the_heck.html

I'm exhausted

It seemed like a regular Monday morning. Then, around 10:30, as I was happily sleeping on my people's bed, Main Person came in with The Cage. I keep forgetting that I'm supposed to use all my might to not get in that thing! Nothing good ever comes from being in that box. So, she got Other Cat too, and then she and Second Person put us in the backseat of the car. Next thing I knew, we were back at That Place where they put you on the metal table and poke and prod you.

I like the guy there OK, but I still hate the place. The Guy usually calls me "Fuzzy Man." Today, he commented on my beautiful, thick coat. Of course, that was seconds before he stuck a needle into me. He also squeezed my bum a little bit--but nothing like the last time we went and he had do squeeze a lot. (That was horrible; I cannot even write about it on my blog, it's so disturbing.) Anyway, the whole ordeal was apparently only about 4 minutes. He picked some tartar off of my teeth, commented on my blue eyes, and felt my belly. He said I weigh 13.5 pounds.

Other Cat also got poked and prodded. He lost weight, which Main Person says is because of his nightly workouts. But, apparently, we are both OK and don't have return to That Place for another year. Thank goodness.

Lazy!

Boy am I one bad blogger. And I mean "bad" in the literal sense! I promise to update my blog this weekend, especially if Other Cat leaves me alone for awhile. Geesh!

In the neighborhood

In my new neighborhood, there are many exciting things going on. My main perspective on this is from my backporch. Here is a tour from the porch.
Nearby, there is a building with a nice backyard. This yard is a virtual cat lounge! At one point, Main Person and I counted 8 cats there (at one time!)! In the pictures below, you can see many of these cats. There are 1 or 2 in each photo. See if you can spot them.




In addition to being near an active cat community, we are in the flight path for large airplanes coming in to a big airport nearby. There are probably at least a hundred planes a day that fly over us. Usually they fly right above us, but this one was just a little north of us so you can see the side of it.
I like sitting on the porch in the late morning and early afternoon, when the sun is hitting it. Sometimes Main Person lets me sit on the lawn chair and take a bath.
Sometimes I prefer taking a nap in the shade, with just my nose getting touched by the sun.

Almost Friends

On Guard

Enter the cat room at your own risk.

Leave the cats alone, Dr. Frankenstein!

In case you hadn't heard, scientists have created "hypoallergenic" cats for people with allergies.
Actually, for rich people with allergies--they are almost $4,000 each! You can read the whole story on the BBC.

Personally, I am highly disturbed by this. What is next? Creating cats who don't shed? Cats who don't catch birds? Cats without claws? Sigh.

Speaking of litter boxes

I recently received the following message from Milo (well, it is actually from his person to my person, but I've decided to cut the middle-people out, since it's the cats who need to decide this topic):

What kind of litter are you using now? I am thinking of trying Feline Pine scoopable or World's Best, which is made of corn. But I'm skeptical about the clumping and odor control.

Milo, this is a good topic of discussion! We used to use some kind of pine pellets for over year, in Indiana and then in our first apartment in Chicago. Main Person said it was better in our small apartment because it didn't track as much as Tidy Scoop. But there was an odor problem. It wasn't too bad, but not great either. And in a small apartment...well, you know. So, then last spring she switched back to Tidy Scoop. Other Cat and I both prefer this even though it is more work for the People. Still, I know that Main Person finds it easier to clean the box with the clumping litter. We never had clumping pine pellets--is that what your person is thinking about getting? Let us know!!

Oh--our friends at The Paw Path Cat Blog had a discussion about this recently too. You might want to read it, Milo.

Update: Milo posted our favorite Hallmark haiku. It made my person laugh hysterically all over again!

Survivor: Chicago

So, the People stranded us for two entire days. They left on Friday morning and just returned this afternoon. I knew something was up on Friday night when Main Person set up a 3rd litter box. Then the next morning she filled several bowls of food and put them in various rooms throughout the house. Shortly after that, they left with suitcases. I figured that they were going somewhere, but usually we get someone to come in and play with us every day. HA! Nothing of the sort this time. We were left to fend for ourselves, left only with some food and water.

Well, we did survive, all three of us. But I'm going to make sure that the People feel pretty bad about what they've done. The other cats and I are currently scheming. Any suggestions?

I hate Tuesdays.

The people got up early this morning and fed all of us. That was the last good thing that happened. After filling our bowls, they ate and left. That was 7:45 AM. We sat around all day waiting for at least one of them to come home. You want to know what time they arrived? 10:00 PM! By my count, that is 14 hours. And 15 minutes. Um, hello. We are here, and we are hungry! Geesh. They finally fed us, but not even full scoops. Something about not wanting us to get sick from eating too much too fast. Of course, Other Cat promptly barfed up his after finishing in 1 minute and then scavenging my dish and Third Cat's.

I think something is being planned for the weekend too. Main Person asked me if we would need a 3rd litter box for a couple days. This is very suspicious. I will keep you posted.

In better news, my friend Milo got his blog back up and running. His person gave him a really great fleece blanket for the fall season. I wonder if Main Person might decide that we need one too. After all, it's colder in Chicago than Philadelphia, isn't it?

My Favorite Things

What a weekend it's been! Surprisingly, Third Cat is still sleeping on her chair...despite Other Cat's charades. And I lost my s*** with her today too, chasing her around and growling really loudly with all my hair standing up on end. I don't know what got into me! Main Person got kind of mad and made me sit in another room by myself for awhile. I hate that.

And in other news, I am really missing updates from my friend Milo. Main Person told me (through Milo's main person) that he's having some sort of technological issue. I hope they get it sorted out soon because I miss hearing about what's going on in his life. He's my buddy! (And, Milo--at least you can write comments here! Let us know what's going on with you!!)

But I thought I would use this blog post to tell you a little bit more about me and some of my favorite things. I like lots of things, but here's my top 10:

10. Jumping into boxes or paper bags. Or laundry, fresh out of the dryer.

9. Sitting on the couch with my people in the evening.

8. Having a really good bath.
7. Sleeping in the People's bed after they get up in the morning. Sometimes I stay there all day.

6. Wrestling with Other Cat. (This is another variation on Games.)

5. Games. Specifically, running around with the zooms. I like to tear down the hall really really fast (ears back and a full gallop), and then jump on the couch with a good roar.

4. Laying on humans' stretched out legs, especially when they are sitting in a lazy boy chair.

3. Laying on my back like an otter. This is even better if I can get some sun shining on my tummy. And if someone rubs my belly at this point, this is pretty much my #1 favorite thing.


2. Sleeping with Other Cat.
1. Rolling in clean sheets while they are being put on the bed.

Other Cat messed it up.

Damn it! You can see here that just when things were going well, O.C. got a little overzealous in his chasing of Third Cat. She was sitting on her chair when he sprung up from below. In the action shot you can see the leg work of Third Cat.
In the subsequent shot, you can see Third Cat's airplane ears.
Not happy at all. Now she is hiding in the back room below furniture so no one can get to her. We've been set back weeks now!

Moving in the right direction

Other Cat and Third Cat sat one foot from each other just looking at each other for several minutes. There was no growling or flat ears. I still think she doesn't really like us, but she is at least tolerating us these days. Now, if only we can get her to play with us...

EXTRA: Third Cat Ponders More Socializing!

When we first moved to our new home three months ago, Third Cat would sit in the same room with the rest of us (cats and people) in the evenings. She hated us chasing her and she made sure to keep a good buffer zone between her and us, but she would at least sit in a corner where she could see us. About one month ago, she became more and more reclusive, spending most of her time in the back of the condo (while we hang out in the front) or in Second Person's scary room.

But over the last two days, we have seen some slow improvement! Last night, I chased her around and she didn't get all weird and growly like she usually does. (Mind you, she was not really happy, but not as angry as usual.) Today, she slept in the living room on a chair about six feet from my pillow all day. She even tried to sleep on the corner of the People's bed last night! (She left promptly when Other Cat jumped up there.)

We are holding our breath that this might be a turning point!

Pissed

The People have abandoned us. They were gone all day Tuesday and Thursday. I heard Main Person say she was going to be leaving the house early tomorrow morning too, and getting back after dinner. I gave her a look of disgust this evening about the whole situation. Scratching my back for a couple minutes does not cut it, Lady!

Gratitude

Other Cat liked my post about him a lot.

12 Things about Other Cat

I frequently write about Other Cat in my blog, but there are several things that you may not know about him. Today, I dedicate a blog post to O.C.

1. Other Cat is five years old. I hated him when Main Person first brought him home, but that was four years ago. Now he's my best friend.
2. Other Cat had a weak constitution when he first came to live with us. He had ringworm and then got pneumonia when Main Person gave him a bath (which was the Vet's fault, because she told Main Person to bathe and shampoo him with this special medicine). Now, he is quite hardy.

3. Other Cat has several names. Before he came to live with us, he was called Domino. Main Person gave him the name Tomas, but I never use it. Our Vet in Chicago calls him Little Man.

4. Other Cat is currently on a strict exercise regime. Other Person is trying to get him to exercise for 20 minutes per day. Usually I get involved in this during evening Cat Dancer events, but he is also big at Fetch. He loves the plastic rings from milk jugs, and he can play fetch with them for long stretches of time. Here you can see him fetching.During breaks, he guards his loot.5. He recently spent a night outside on our porch, inadvertently.

6. He considers himself a Hoosier.

7. His nose gets bright pink when he is excited and nearly white when he is tired.

8. He loves dairy products. He can hear a yogurt container opening up from rooms away, and he is very assertive about getting to lick any remaining yogurt or cereal milk.

9. His favorite place to sleep during the day is Main Person's closet. In our old home, he would jump to the highest shelf with the sweaters and sleep there all day. In our new place, the People try to keep him out. He doesn't like that.

10. Other Cat and I are very good at acting like twins.
11. He has a cell phone and used to text-message Second Person all the time.

12. Other Cat keeps a picture of me in his knapsack.

My Yoga

I'm settling into something of a routine with the blog these days. After a long day, I unwind with a short post. Tonight, I've been inspired by my friend Milo to share some of my famous moves.

This evening I want to write about my favorite yoga positions. Now, I'm no yoga expert, but I've been told that several of my favorite body moves are in fact taught in yoga classes. I also am sure that I've mastered many of them in ways that people would never do.

This is what I like to call the "Dead Opossom" pose. It's my warm-up move.And here is "The Ostrich" (get it--burying the head in the sand??). I use this one when I want to stretch my obliques.
This is "Twister," where I get my legs all scrambled up. In this photo, I'm just starting to move into position.
Finally, this is "Sea Otter." It's a little hard to see, but if you click on the image you'll get a better view. In this move, I channel my furry marine friends to lay on my back for as long as I can. Sometimes I also groom my chest hair while in this position, to make it even more authentic.
I think that my yoga has helped keep me agile, especially for the rousing games of Chase that Other Cat and I have. I am also keeping that middle-age weight at bay. Still, I welcome suggestions for new moves.

Brrrr

It was quite chilly here today, so I found myself curled up in a chair all day. Here you can see how I had to tuck my paws in to keep them warm.
Later, I even had to tuck my head in too.I'm considering sleeping with my people tonight, if they'll let me under the sheets.

Pawdicure

Damn! I was in the midst of a deep sleep when I started dreaming that someone was tapping my toes. I thought I was in some cat trap where my toenails got stuck in some nappy fabric or something. Then I started coming out of that fuzzy sleep feeling and realized that Main Person was cutting my claws! She got all 4 paws before I could swat her away. I heard her tell Second Person that she got Other Cat and Third Cat too. This calls for concerted action.

People.

We've had a house full of people here the last few days. My two people, plus the two people from that other place we visit sometimes (the place with the great screened-in porch). I was a fairly gracious host, showing them my Cat Dancer skills and my running speeds. I think they were impressed. This morning I also pulled a fast one on everyone when I knocked a 20-pound book off of Second Person's dresser to get him out of bed. It was really loud (like a transformer blowing or something) and woke up everyone in the place. He he he.

After all of the people around here, I'm ready for a long rest today. I may post more later, if I get up.

Cat days of summer drawing to a close

Main Person and Second Person have both been spending more time at their computers and more time outside of the condo. I think the end of summer is looming. Back to long days with only Other Cat (and maybe Third Cat) to entertain me, without ear scratches or back massages in the afternoons. Hmph.

We haven't had a lot of news here, but I will try to report on the few mundane things that have occurred. Yesterday morning, we all noticed that Other Cat had been hoarding his milk ring things, and he collected them near the dining table. Look at this:Last night, Other Cat and I felt kind of chilly, so we slept together for a long time in the papasan chair. Usually I don't like sleeping with O.C. during the summer, but he was giving me a really nice bath.

Today, Main Person has been cooking--weird. I don't know what's going on with that. But it doesn't smell like anything I want. Anyway, I think that the cooking might have something to do with the fact that she said that Chloe and Sasha's people are coming. But not Chloe and Sasha--thank Buddha!

For those of you who don't know, here are Chloe and Sasha, who--in my opinion--are so small that they barely count as cats. Again, I repeat, they are not coming to my condo.

Dopplegangers!

So, I'm surfing around, trying to expand my cat-o-sphere knowledge, and I come across this blog by another Siamese and his/her partner who both look uncannily similar to me and Other Cat! Check this out: http://chatcatchats.blogspot.com/

I think I might drop them a line.

This is disturbing

I have never understood the fascination that some humans have with decorating cats with things. And now I find a human-run website that is filled with photos of cats being tortured by human objects: http://stuffonmycat.com/

Just look at the indignity that this poor Siamese is facing on the 8/21 post. I am considering contacting P.E.T.A. about this.

Cats with Distinction

Main Person just told me that I'm lazy. Why? Because it's 2pm and I'm still in bed. Sometimes a cat just has to sleep in.

But now that I'm up, it's time for a post (which I'm writing in bed). I thought I'd share with all the new blog readers a little bit more about me and The Gang. Obviously, all of us felines have our unique qualities. For our friend Milo, it's his voluminous meow and freakishly powerful strength. So, what makes us, here in Cat Condo Central, unique? Well, here are some pieces of trivia that you may not have known.

Here is a photo that Main Person (M.P.) took of me just a few minutes ago, before telling me to get out of bed. What do you notice?

Yep, I have a very unique tail. M.P.'s mother calls it "special," and I think she's right. See, most tails are long and fairly straight, though they may curl around when we wave them. Not mine. It is about 4-5 inches long with a knot on the end. What most People don't know (but most cats do) is that this is a special trait of Siamese cats. My ancestors were actually guard cats for the royal family in Thailand. They used to let the royal people keep rings on their tails and tie a knot at the end so the ring would stay on. That was a long time ago, but after so many of us had our tails tied, the knot just sort of stuck around. Now, you may be thinking that you've never seen a Siamese with a knot in his or her tail. That's because The Breeders didn't like them (they have a very odd aesthetic) so they only bred cats with no knot or kink in their tails. But a few of us have survived. And, in fact, my tail is really important because it shows that I have a direct genetic line to the Royal Cats of Thailand.


Third Cat also has a special feature. For her, it's all in the paw. When she started living with Second Person last summer, he thought her paws were just like every other cat's. But one day, he and M.P. were giving her a pedicure and they noticed something odd when they got to her back-right paw: only three claws to trim! Then they noticed that she only has three toes. So, now her nickname is The Three-Toed Cat.


You can see here, her back-right paw (top photo) and her back-left paw (bottom photo). She hasn't told us yet how it happened, although we all suspect it represents a dark period of her life, so we try not to push the subject. And we tell her that, like my tail, her back-right paw is cool.


OK, last and final cat of the fearless tirumvirate: Other Cat. His most unique quality is his voice, which I cannot share on this blog yet (we're still a little technologically challenged here). But it is pretty high, not very befitting of a cat of his age. (Plus, it totally allows him to get away with all sorts of hijinks with M.P., who somehow associates his voice with kittens...hmph.) There's also his udder. Yes, u-d-d-e-r. Like a cow. Which is funny because he kind of looks like one anyway. It is long and the best bit is how it jiggles (well, maybe it's more of a sway) back and forth when he runs down the hall. Weird, because he's a little scrawny other than that udder. Still, this is one of his features which (although he's trying) is unlikely to disappear, so we love it. I can't get a photo of it today (you can kind of see it in his big-tail photo in the post below), so instead I'll show you the scar that he is currently sporting above his right eye. I think Third Cat may be responsible for it.

Fellow readers, what other unique marks do you have? You can even leave your comment anonymous, if you don't want anyone to know about it.