Just about every night, Long Legs gets brushed. He loves to be brushed. We know this because if you walk anywhere within a 25-foot radius of the brush, he will throw himself against your legs in an attempt to push you towards the brush. If you fail to pick up the brush, he will go and sit next to the brush and give you pointed looks much like the one to the left until you pick it up.

So, I brush and brush and brush. It’s worth it to watch him roll around drooling and rubbing his head against my chin. After I finish brushing him, I clean the hair out of the brush. Once, a while back, I decided to roll the hair into a thick shape (like felting, I guess). I had a giant tube-shaped piece of matted hair, so I tossed it at Long Legs as a joke. People, he went apeshit. Tore into that hair like it was a live mouse. Threw it up in the air. Shoved it into his mouth and shook it. I tried to grab it back from him because I didn’t want him to eat it, and in his excitement, he bit me! So of course, now I make a hairball toy every time I brush him. What is it about his own hair that makes him absolutely mental? He goes totally crazypants for it. Last night he SLAPPED me when I teased him with it. (I only let him play with it for a minute; otherwise he’ll swallow it.) I want to knit him a small toy with his own hair felted in, but I keep forgetting.

Does anyone else’s cat do this, or is Long Legs just disturbed?

I brought the kittens back to the shelter this afternoon. They go up for adoption tomorrow. I’m sure someone will snap them up immediately. I felt terrible, knowing they will have to spend the next day or two (hopefully that’s all) in a cage in a scary place. But they’ll be happy to get to a new home where they’re allowed to run around. I didn’t really say goodbye to them; just shoved them in the carrier and dropped them off at the shelter. Can’t get too attached. Just now, though, I started cleaning the bathroom where they’ve been living and I found part of Ashley’s favorite black mouse and I started to cry.

Ashley came through her surgery fine yesterday. I brought her home yesterday afternoon; groggy and sore. When I placed her into her little bed, her sister padded up and sniffed her, then started gently licking her head. I just about cried, people. Today Ashley is feeling a bit more perky, enough to scuffle with Mary-Kate over a toy. I had to yell at both of them, as I heard Ashley shriek in pain as her sister beat up on her. Now they’re both subdued and sleeping. Awww.

I had to take Ashley to the shelter this morning, where she will be brought to the vet to receive a surgery for her hernia. They actually missed it while they spayed her the other week. I’m so unhappy that she has to get two surgeries so close together at her young age. The worst part, though, is that Mary-Kate is here alone, having never been separated from her sister before. She is in the bathroom crying and crying and crying and it’s killing me.

The History Of LOLCats. Read the rest of this entry »

Please to enjoy this little video I took of the kittens yesterday. So fun. And check out their pink shaved bellies! They got spayed on Friday. Read the rest of this entry »

This cat video is hysterical. I TOTALLY LOL’D, YOU GUYS. Read the rest of this entry »

Kitten Update: Last night, Ashley fell into the toilet.

I took the kittens to the shelter yesterday to get their last dose of worm medication (which they HATED). Our ACO (animal control officer) was quite pleased with how well they’ve been tamed, and impressed with how much weight they’ve gained. They’ll be spayed on Monday (Mary-Kate still needs to gain two more ounces, but I’m sure she’ll put on that and then some by the weekend.) I also asked her about a lump I’ve felt in both their bellies - turns out they were born with hernias. Those will also be fixed during their surgery. Awww. While I was waiting for them to get their medicine, the ACO told me to look into this one cage nearby. I saw a mommy cat and about five tiny babies, all nursing. She said that the babies were just a few days old and she’s never seen such a happy mother cat. I looked at the cat and said, “Proud mommy!” and damn if that cat didn’t blink and smile at me, then roll over to show me her gigantic nursing belly, knocking several of her kittens off the teat as she did it. My knees nearly buckled. I want them next! ALL OF THEM.

The kittens spent the afternoon wrestling in the tub.

Michelle Collins from Best Week Ever Blog goes to the Cat Show and, thankfully, tells us all about it.

Welcome to my life. I’m sure you can relate. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Meena sighting on this blog!

I was looking through my blog archives and noticed that three years ago today we got our foster kitten Baby Girl. Those of you that have been around for a while might remember that she was later put to sleep because she was much too sick. She was infested with fleas and had a terrible respiratory infection. I will never forget how desperate we were to make her better; putting a humidifier in the room with her, wiping down her eyes and nose every night, and how she would just stare at me, almost saying, “Please help me.” I still cry when I think about her. This is the hard part of fostering kittens.

However, I don’t think we’re in any danger with these two meatballs we have right now. Mary Kate and Ashley play hard, eat hard, sleep hard, and poop hard. They have discovered they can hop up to the sink and now spend time sitting on the bathroom counter, pleased as punch. Last night we changed their litter over from this to this, and both immediately jumped into the box to see what was up. Mary Kate was afraid to put her feet in it, and Ashley decided to eat it.

The kittens are getting used to their new home. So far, they’re neater than our other batches of kittens, who would wrestle in the food bowls and the litterbox and get water and poo everywhere. Maybe when they get even more comfortable, they’ll start doing that, but for now I’m enjoying the peace. Last night Lisa brought over some new toys and some baby food per Serena’s suggestion, and boy howdy did they go crazy over that. The geekboy and I also decided to try and tackle Mary Kate’s poo-covered backside. The geekboy scruffed and held her and I wielded cat shampoo, scissors, wipes, and a matting comb while Mary Kate screamed bloody murder. This morning she looks 100% better. I don’t think she’s used the box since last night, but now that I have the wipes, at least I can wipe her down every day.

Yes. This is what my life has come to. Wiping a kitten’s ass.

The kittehs are here! Both calico girls, one longhair, one shorthair. The longhair is adorable and sweet and I’m going to have to give her a bath, as she has poo all caught and dried in her backside. The shorthair is terrified and evil and growly and hissy. Poor thing. They need a cleanup before phototime. And I don’t think I can even photograph the shorthair without help. I think I’m going to name them Mary-Kate and Ashley, unless you guys can come up with something better.

I’m picking up my kittens in an hour! So excited! Also, I neglected to mention yesterday that a woodpecker is trying to get into our bedroom. I don’t understand what’s going on, but it’s been pecking at the A/C window unit, or hanging from the screen and pecking through it. It just did it about 30 minutes ago while I was getting dressed and Meena almost wet herself. I couldn’t get a good photo, but I know it will be back. What’s wrong with it? There’s plenty of food in the feeder. Is it after me? Should I be worried?

I’m tired again. Not physically (well, maybe a little bit physically), but emotionally. I’ve been consumed with the surprise party and Maggie & Jeremy being here, and all the activity around both of our birthdays…our last guest (GeekMom) left this morning and I feel all empty and stuff. I have a website to design and I’m just not feeling it. I’ve been eating like crap and my body doesn’t fit me right anymore. I’m hoping that’s the last time for a while that I mention food or weight issues because, frankly, I’m sick of talking about mine and I’m sick of talking about yours. Sorry. There are more interesting things to talk about. Like Bret Michaels’ melty-face or something.

The only way to get out of a funk like this is to call the animal shelter and request some foster kittens. So that’s what I did. I’m waiting to hear back, and I’m hoping that by this time tomorrow I have furry babies crawling all over me.

This makes me happy on a rainy, headachey, weird Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry »

This is so cute that my stomach started aching and then I cried and then I ran to the shelter and adopted all the cats. Read the rest of this entry »

I am at a complete loss as to what to do with Meena. Ever since I got back from Florida - WEEKS AGO - she insists on waking me up around 4:30-5:30ish each morning and initiating a reign of terror that continues to wake me in ten-minute increments until I finally just give up and get out of bed. She doesn’t do it to the geekboy - just me. I can’t lock her out because Long Legs sleeps under the bed and needs to be able to come in and out (although this morning apparently he tried to jump ON the bed while Meena was still on it, resulting in screaming and spitting, good morning). If we lock them both out, she will cry and scratch at the door. He’ll probably find something else to do, but he feels safe under the bed and I don’t want to take that away from him. I spray Meena with water and still she keeps up this behavior. I’m at a loss. I’m so tired during the day that I could just break down in tears. If I wanted something illogically waking me up and bothering me at random hours of the night, I would have had a friggin’ baby. What to do?

I am so wiped out. Meena has been waking me up early every morning because she is crazy. Last night I took an Ambien, passed out cold twenty minutes later and slept straight through to 5:40am. Because that’s when Meena woke me up. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I slept that long without waking up, but 5:40am??? I fell back asleep about an hour later, slept for another hour, and now here I am, feeling like I was hit by a truck. Blegh.

The meeting I had yesterday was positive (I think, maybe, perhaps - it’s tough to read people), and if you could send some good energy my way, I’d truly appreciate it. I need this work, and the project at hand seems interesting, definitely challenging, and something I think I’d do well. Plus, the office has a dog.