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.