He is Not Amused

So we've had our cat door for a couple of weeks now. Our little cat, Tommy, is pretty much grooving on it. He can go out when he wants, come in when he wants, and exercise his independence as the awesome teenage cat that he is.

Pug, on the other hand, is not amused. While he understands the concept of independence, he prefers to have things the way they've always been.

You know, the way in which the humans were his minions. He could stand at the door and stare at it and we'd get up and let him out. He could stand on our back porch staring in and we'd open the door for him...and he'd invariably stand there a while considering if we were worth of his presence...or not.

With the cat door we humans are no longer, well, minions.

Bless his stubborn little feline heart....

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What Kitty Cat Wants, Kitty Cat Gets

Our cats want in. Then they want out. Then they want in. Then they want out. And on and on and on....

So my brilliant husband installed a cat door. It should all be fine and dandy now. The cats should be totally independent. Right?

Well, perhaps someday, but for now here's how it goes.

The cats want in. We go outside and shove them in the cat door. The cats want out. We shove them out the cat door. And on and on and on....


Our cats sure have well trained humans.

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Pretty Kitty

We have these huge quilted decorative pillows for our bed.  What we plan to do is this...each day after we get up and make the bed, put the decorative pillows on top.  What happens is this...we half-hazardly pull the duvet up and walk away.

But it works out just fine because each day after we pull the duvet up, our cats get on our bed and settle in for their all-day-long catnap. And it turns out that cats make the best decorative pillows ever. 

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Good Vibrations

I took a nap today.  It was simply delicious!

Our kitten, Tommy, also took a nap...right beside me, on his back, feet up in the air. Hazel, our big dog, was there on the bed, too.  Oh, and a bunch of clean laundry.

It was crowded, but that didn't stop any of us from getting some blissful Zs.

Especially Tommy.  He was sleeping so well and so happily that he actually woke me up with his good vibrations.  That little guy was purring in his sleep so intensely that his back paws were actually vibrating.

I couldn't resist videotaping him.  These are his back paws...ya, just ignore the pile of laundry in the background.  We've been ignoring it all day, too.

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Let the Mystery Be

Our kitten, Tommy, is obsessed.  He's always obsessed with something, but this obsession is lasting longer than the usual obsession.  Here's what he does.

Each and every day for a while now, when he's let out he stops just outside the back door and stares downward.  He sits there.  He sleeps there.  And he rarely ever leaves that spot except to go potty or hunt a bit.

Now there must be something down below the decking slats.  There must be, right?  But we have heard nothing, seen nothing, and are utterly and completely unwilling to unscrew the decking planks to solve this mystery.

Tommy will just have to let the mystery be.  Good thing patience is his super power.

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An Unexpected Overnight Guest

I woke up this morning and discovered that we had a most delightful unexpected overnight guest.  Right by our front door sat a toad.  An adorable, lumpy, clearly missing the great outdoors as he was staring at the door, toad.

And right beside this toad was our kitten, seemingly just as puzzled by our wee little guest as I.

I picked that sweet little fella up, opened the door a crack, and set him outside.  Our kitten looked at me, looked at the toad, and then looked back at me as if saying, "Them's not good eatin', mama." I'm quite sure he at least gave that little toad a taste test lick.

Come back for an overnight any time, little fella!

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Love in da House

One of my favorite things about summer is that I'm around to see so much more.  And one super sweet moment just happened.  Tommy, our kitten cuten was asleep on our bed.  Hazel, our 85 pounds of pure love dog was, too.  My little guy came in, carefully picked up Tommy and lay him atop Hazel, and then leaned into them giving them both a big hug.

Little guy:  "So much adorable packed into one hug!"

Love!

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Blissful Pile Up

I woke up from a delicious nap today to discover that I was part of a big, wonderful pile up.  Our big dog, Hazel, was sleeping down by my legs and somehow I'd managed to flop one of my legs on top of her, and our kitten, Tommy, was asleep on his back...on my front.

And let me just say that it's really, really hard to motivate yourself to get up and get productive when you're part of such a blissful pile up.

So I didn't.

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Back in Roman Times

Seems like we've gone back in time every few days.  The thing is this.  Our kitten loves catching cockroaches.  Really, it's a beautiful thing.  But he goes a bit ancient roman times on us and I end up cleaning up his mess...though I don't really get on his case about it.

From the evidence, here's what I've concluded he does at night:

- He spies a ridiculously large cockroach.
- He catches said cockroach.
- He takes the cockroach to the bathtub (which turns out to be a spot from which cockroaches cannot escape...his own personal arena).
- He"plays" with the cockroach for some undetermined amount of time.
- He gets in bed with me and wakes me up by tapping my face with his paw.
- I find the massacre evidence in the morning when I want to take a shower.

That second to last part really grosses me out after I realize what his dirty little paws have been up to.

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Cat Tale

We're pretty darn sure our kitten has a broken tail.  Instead of doing its usual salute to the sun it's all downward dog.  And if we even think about touching that tail, our kitty is all, "Do it and you'll draw back a bloody nub."  And now, for about the millionth time in my life, I find myself wishing that cats could talk...because I'd so totally love to hear his cat tale.

All I know is that his beautiful glaring eyes are totally saying, "Yeah, but you should see the other guy."

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He's a Basket Case

The new found freedom our kitten is experiencing is rocking his world...the back yard world that is.  Our kitten has been outside lately...a lot.  He loves it so much that if we walk out there he darts away because he just knows we're going to make him go back inside.  But we don't.  And he stays and he plays and our fingers and toes are double crossed that he pees and poos.

And after all his adventures when he finds himself tired, thirsty, and exhausted, he finally wants in. 

Does he come in and tell us all about his adventures?  No.
Does he want to follow us around to see what we're up to?  No.
Does he start up a game of tag with the dogs?  No.

Nope, he jumps up on the kitchen table (bad kitty), crawls into our basket of cloth napkins (bad kitty), and promptly falls asleep for a couple of hours (cutest kitty ever!)

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Apparently his Self Esteem is Solidly Intact

Dave was loving on our not-so-little kitten a few minutes ago.


Dave:  "He's just the sweetest kitty."  And he nuzzled in and gave the little fella a cuddle.


Me, always afraid that our older and amazing cat, Pug, will hear and be jealous...well, I had to say something.


Me:  "And there's a super sweet big kitty right here on this chair."  I reached down and gave him a little pet...and he bit me!  In that "I could kill you with this set of teeth but I'm going to go super easy on you just this once" kind of way. 


Thinking Pug can take care of himself both physically and emotionally.

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Toilet Lid Up or Down?

Our kitten loves the toilet.  By "love" I mean that he grooves on it as a source of water, he plays with it with his paws, and he occasionally slips all the way in and takes a very brief bath.  Very.  He's seriously convinced that it was placed there just for him.  It's disgusting.

Now we humans in the house have a new rule as a result of all this.  Always flush the toilet.  Always put the lid down.  These rules, as the only female human in the house, make me very, very happy.

While we've proven ourselves to be fairly abiding of the flush rule, there's definitely some failures on the lid down rule.

So this scene happens...a lot...and not just to me.


• Go in to the bathroom.
• Sit on toilet.
• Do business.
• Stand up.
• And only then realize that the seat was wet.


What is it about standing that activates our moisture sensor while sitting does not?

continued...
• We remember to put the seat down.

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Could this be love?

I love resilience, particularly when it's paired with self confidence.  Case in point...our kitten, Tommy.

While all the clues he gets from Pug, our big tough cat, would lead anyone else to abandon all hope, that little fella is utterly and completely convinced that he will win Pug's love and affection.


Pug hisses = "He loves me!"

Pug swats = "He loves me!"

Pug charges = "He loves me!"

Pug ignores = "He loves me!"


And I have to admit that the little guy might actually have a chance.  While Pug is nowhere near love and affection, the teeny tiny edges of tolerance are beginning to peek through.

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