Sunday, January 29, 2012

Spying on Sunday

Audrey here with my 009 badge on (figuratively speaking of course).     My humans brought some of my old toys back from my first Mom's house when they visited and here I am spying on my ball.     I am hiding behind the cord for the computer so the ball can't see me sneaking up on it.   I am real good at spying on it because the ball didn't move or roll away at all.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Photo Hunt - Fluffy



MOL, Spitty the Kitty asked if we had been eating since Wednesday so hadn't had time to post!!    Actually, the Mom is to blame (isn't that always the case) - in the winter with things being so much darker in the house, she doesn't take so many pictures of us, so she has been uninspired.    But you can imagine that when we realized today's PhotoHunt theme was FLUFFY, we had to come up with something!

These pictures are from last October, in fact, when Mom was following us around and trying to get some good "tocks" shots.      But the first picture really helps to show how very fluffy my tail and back leg pantaloons are:


I am doing my incredibly annoying stroll across the laptop, but I do have to show Mom who is in charge!
And we don't want to leave Audrey out, so for comparison, here are her "not so fluffy" tail and back legs!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Royal Canin Picky Cat Food Taste Test

In December when I was the winner of a drawing held by Cathy Keisha to get a sample of Picky Cat food by Royal Canin, Mom was very glad, because I really am a Picky cat as far as my food is concerned, and Mom had actually almost bought a box of the food samples to try.     First of all, it was really exciting that the food came by Fedex one day and was addressed to me!!!

Inside the FedEx package was a box of Picky Cat food, as well as a coupon to get a bag of my favorite food of the three possibilites.  The idea behind Picky Cat is that some cats choose their food based on how it smells and tastes (Selective Aromatic),  some based on how the food feels in their mouth (Selective Savor ) and some based on how they feel after they eat the food (Selective Protein).     


The instructions said to put out three bowls with equal amounts of the different foods in each bowl and to feed me only that for a whole day.    So Mom did that and I went straight to the Protein food and ate it up.   I would not touch the others.     It was so obvious I only liked the one, that Mom fed me my regular food the rest of the day.      About a week later, she tried again - the first time, she put my food in the bathroom where I usually eat to keep my food away from Miss Vacuum Sweeper, but the second time she closed Audrey in the kitchen and presented me with the three bowls in a straight line in the front hallway (see photo below).   Once again the only food I would even TRY was the Protein variety.  She switched the positions of the bowls, and again I went for the Protein.     So it seems like a no brainer.
What surprises Mom about this is that she is pretty sure, because I would not even try the others, that the only one I liked the smell of was the Protein.  Yet that food is not supposed to be preferred by cats based on Aroma at all.   And I couldn't have known it would make my tummy feel best later when I ate that one, because I knew from the beginning it was the only one I wanted.

So you can guess which of the three foods the humans will use the coupon for!!

Now how about Audrey?   Well, Audrey likes everything that can remotely be called food.  Mom and Dad have never seen her not eat anything she was given.    Never.     Never.!     So they have not tried her with a taste test, because they are pretty sure that, even if she had a favorite, she would eat up everything in all three bowls right away, and then probably barf it back up due to an overly full tummy!

Disclaimer:   We received thre Picky Cat sampler pack free of charge from Royal Canin, as well as the coupon, but that has not influenced our opinion of the food, or Mom's reporting of the experiment.

Few Words Wednesday

Doing the Royal Canin Picky Cat Food taste test.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Yawny Monday

The Tabby Cats are posting about yawning and lying around over on the Tabby Cat Club Blog today.      Here's an extra Yawn picture for here:


It is a bit dark, but, yes, that shadow is all the inside of my mouf!!!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Snowy Saturday

It is unconscionable that our Mom has not posted anything for us since Wednesday!!    Her excuse is that she had put the hard drive with the Photo Library on it away when they went on their trip.   Not Good Enough.

So today we have snow - our first real snow of the season, not counting that ridiculous storm in October that ruined so many trees.    About 2-3 inches.  It has been a good day to stay inside for the humans, and for us to catch up on eating and napping.

This is an interesting shot of how the snow looks on the deck - it has formed a pattern where some fell or melted through the spaces between the diagonal boards.


The snow always seems to attract more birds to the bird feeder, especially the male cardinals:


Audrey demonstrates the good passed out napping technique - also quite appropriate for today's PhotoHunt theme of Bliss.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Humans are Home

Hi, kitties.    The humans got home on Sunday afternoon.   Fortunately that gave us time for Simba to get over his hangover and for both of us to clean away the evidence of the party before they arrived.    We were acting very nonchalant when they came in through the door.


They showed us some pictures of Audrey's first Mom and her husband and OMC, Audrey's first Mom has a fat round tummy.    They accuse AUDREY of eating too much, but that tummy is out of control!     And they told us it is going to keep growing until MAY!   I don't understand why they don't get her an automatic feeder and restrict her portions like they do with Audrey.  

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Simba has been Partying Too Much

Audrey here, still going strong with the party.   I have energy for hours and hours more of nip sniffing and house trashing with my friends.   But Simba has had his fill and is showing the effects of  his nipover:

Friday, January 13, 2012

Friday Fun

Having a bit of fun with some nip, here, kitties.     Anybody interested in coming over and getting nipped up and trashing the house?      Gotta move fast before the humans return!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Checking In Thursday

Hi, kitties.   Just checking in with our friends.   Sorry we have not been visiting and commenting.   Mom and Dad took a short trip to see my human sister (Audrey's first Mom) and so we have done a lot of THIS:


This is actually the picture we posted for New Year's except there were lots of streamers and party hats and fireworks added to that one!
We don't usually choose to sleep on the same chair or sofa, but sometimes when we do, nobody feels like they have to move.
Our cat sitter has been taking care of us and our humans will be back real soon.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Our New Numbers

Many of you may recall that when Simba first got his town license last year, he was awarded the license number 007.     When Audrey came to live here, she got her license and her number was 013.     So only Simba had the special "00" number.

Now we have had to renew the licenses and our new tags arrived today:   kitties, Simba is 008 and Audrey is 009!      So we will be able to do super duper secret spy stuff together!!  And it looks like a promotion for Simba!

Edited to add:  Sparkle asked "Are there really that few kitties in the town where you live, to only have a three-digit license, and you two in the single digits?"  Well, the answer  is that we think that since the registering of cats only started last year, most of the people with indoor-only cats are not registering them.    It is pretty surprising, though.    
Regarding not being 007 any more, we also thought we would keep our numbers from year to year.     But the new tags have 2012 on them, and it looks like they are given out in the order people come to register their pets for the year.      007 was James Bond, but there were other "00" agents with special licenses to kill (mousies?).   
Oliver and Elliot, see you soon!


Oh, and could you go and leave some purrs for Fin's Mom Meg?     She fell down and hurted her head and has a black eye.     We bet she would appreciate a visit.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Mancat Monday

Kitties!  I did something SUPERMANLY on Sunday!   Mom went into the basement (where I like to lie on a LOW window ledge and watch Squirrel TV in the back yard), and found I had somehow gotten all the way up on the high window ledge of the small window!   See how close to the ceiling it is?  (apologies for the warped ceiling tiles).


Here's a closeup!   


After Mom took the picture she saw me get down, but she still doesn't know how I got up there!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Sunday Funny Stuff

Our humans received a Kliban Cat calendar for Christmas and we thought it would be fun to share the picture for January with you.   Credits, of course, to Bernard "Hap" Kliban.


The humans here are completing the Christmas takedown today.  Yeah, around here they like to keep the tree up, feeling sad to put everything away seemingly so soon.  

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Sad Saturday

We are sad here because the sweet kitty of some friends of my humans has flown off to the Rainbow Bridge.  We don't have a picture to post, but her name was Peepers.  She was a very sweet black and white girlcat, about 12 years old.

Mom wanted us to post about this because of what caused her to die.   Peepers developed breast cancer.      She had surgery but the cancer had metastasized.     But it is important to know what the v-e-t said:   cats who are spayed before they ever go into heat have a very low chance of developing breast cancer.   Once thy have had one heat, the chances go up a lot and are highest for unspayed females.     So in addition to other reasons, this is a very good reason to have female kittens spayed.    If you have a female cat who had kittens and was then spayed later, her chance of developing the disease is quite high.    Apparently this is especially the case for Siamese cats.     It would be good to examine her nipple area for lumps frequently.   We can think of a couple of our girlcat friends who may be at risk.  The age it most frequently develops is after age 10.  

Fly free, Peepers.   We will see you again one day for sure.  

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Thankful Thursday

We are thankful for the toy mousies we got for Christmas.      Or at least Audrey is.     Simba is more interested in watching Audrey play than actually playing with them himself!


Sorry the picture is a bit fuzzy.    But not as fuzzy as THIS action one!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Toxic Plants? Tuesday

When Dad purchased Mom a pretty white poinsettia just before Christmas, she admired it and immediately put it into the off-limits living room so there was no chance we would chew on it.     She had heard poinsettias were toxic for cats.     But one day she got curious and did some searching on the web and found a web site that she wants to tell you all about.  It is called Pet Poison Helpline and their url is http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com.    They also have an 800 number for the USA Canada and Carribbean (800-213-6680).  There is a charge if you call them for help because they do not have public funding.   But the website is free.


This is what we found out about Poinsettias and other Holiday plants and flowers:


"Though they have a bad rap, poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) plants are only mildly toxic to cats and dogs.   Mild signs of vomiting, drooling, or rarely, diarrhea may be seen. If the milky sap is exposed to skin, dermal irritation (including redness, swelling, and itchiness) may develop. Rarely, eye exposure can result in a mild conjunctivitis (“pink eye” secondary to inflammation). Signs are self-limiting and generally don’t require medical treatment unless severe.

Far more worrisome are holiday bouquets containing lilies, holly or mistletoe. Even bouquets brought into the house by holiday guests should be thoroughly inspected, as lilies are the #1 flower often used by florists. Just one or two bites from a lily can result in severe acute kidney failure in cats – even the pollen is thought to be poisonous! Other yuletide plants such as holly berries, mistletoe, and rosemary can also be toxic to dogs and cats. When Christmas or English holly is ingested, it can result in severe gastrointestinal upset thanks to the spiny leaves and the potentially toxic substances (including saponins, methylxanthines, and cyanogens). If ingested, most dogs and cats lip smack, drool, and head shake excessively due to the mechanical injury from the spiny leaves. As for mistletoe, most of us hang it high enough so it’s out of reach of our dogs and cats – nevertheless, it can also be toxic if ingested. Thankfully, American mistletoe is less toxic than the European varieties of it. Mild signs of gastrointestinal irritation are seen, although if ingested in large amounts, collapse, hypotension, ataxia (walking drunk), seizures and death have also been reported."

Monday, January 2, 2012

Mancat Monday

Dad tried to be clever with the camera on Christmas Day and got this picture of me under the coffee table in the living room.     Note that I was on the "fancy rug" that I almost threw up on a few minutes later.    But, really, it was all dad's fault - he had bought Mom some pretty roses a few days before, and they were on the kitchen table.     I couldn't resist the greenery with the flowers and had myself a nice little snack of it while they were chatting on the phone with my human brother.   All their fault - right?


Fortunately we left the white poinsettia on the coffee table (just slightly visible) alone.