Staredown

My excitement for the day came about when the two beasties below spied each other through the patio door. Initially, there was the required amount of hissing, spitting, and display of alpha cat bravado as they went after one another behind (or in front of) the safety of the protective glass door.



I calmed things down so the outside beast wouldn't tear my screen apart, but neither one gave an inch as they gave each other the evil eye afterwards. Haven't quite figured out whether my Zoey girl wanted out or the outside cat wanted in, but they kept at it until the outside cat got bored and wandered off, probably to chase the squirrels.

Kids!!

I wonder...

... if cats get lonely? Recently, my female beastie has taken to sitting upstairs and yowling the most mournful yowl. Like she's the only living thing left in the whole, wide world! It's as pitiful as can be, but it's also annoying as hell. It echos through the entire house and I can't hear myself think once she gets going.

She's been fixed, so she's not in heat. She's not hungry because there's always something in their dishes. She's not sick or hurting because when she eventually shuts up and deigns to respond to my call, she's just a rubbing purr machine.

She doesn't seem to have a problem coming dowstairs; as a matter of fact, my chair is one of her favorite snoozing spots. She's a mixed-breed Siamese and could be exercising her innate vocalizing, but since it's a recent habit, I don't think so.

'Tis a puzzlement... maybe she just likes the sound of her own yowl.

All in the family

Well, it's been a busy few weeks, but a really good busy. On the 13th we (Lew, me, and my sister from CT) drove down to NC to surprise my brother for his 60th birthday. Jim, Tammy, and the kids also drove in from SC, so he got a double whammy surprise. Hard to believe my 'baby' brother is so old! I can remember when he was still in my mommy's tummy!

Two of my favorite guys -
Bro John on left and my son, Jim

My sister-in-law really pulled the whole thing off very nicely because John thought they were having a pig roast party for the teachers from the school where she works! Heh, heh heh -- and a good time was had by all.

The birthday boy and his lovely lady, Lynne

Jim's lovely lady, Tammy

It was especially nice getting to see the Southern grands. Christy has usually had to work so hasn't been able to get to too many recent family gatherings; due to other necessities this year -- summer school and band camp -- the boys aren't going to be able to come up for summer like they have in the past either. We talk a lot on the phone, but it was better getting to see them all.

Granddaughter Christy

Grandson Christopher

Grandson Michael - catching a few zzzs

After an uneventful trip back to MD, my sis spent another week with us and we had a great time catching up, playing games, and just enjoying each other's company.

We took her back to CT this past weekend but what should have been a mere six hour trip turned into a nine hour ordeal after we crossed the George Washington Bridge. Three straight hours of traffic, downpours, and misery later, we finally got to CT where my niece had a yummy meal and flowers waiting to greet us. Haven't seen my niece and nephews in waaay too long so got to visit with them and their partners, as well as my nephew's adorable poochie I've heard so much about. We really had a good time.

Sister Lonnie, niece Leslie, and me

Molly, my nephew's adorable shih tzu

Then, on the way back to MD, we made a stop in NJ and had a wonderful, but way too short visit with Susan, Lawrence, Winston, and new grandbaby, Lewis. The baby is totally adorable and Winston is definitely a treasure. He's not yet three and already knows his letters. Oh, and did I tell you he can also swim and speak Chinese? Heh, heh, heh -- that's MY grandson! ;)

Proud Grandpa Lew enjoying his namesake, baby Lewis

Snoozing sweetie

Awake, alert and ready for some action

Big brother, Winston taking a break from his cars

There are more photos of baby Lewis on Lew's Other Pics.

~ ~ ~

So, I think we'll be staying put for awhile, but... it's hard telling, not knowing!

All creatures...

...not so great or small. Ack!! My granddaughter was attacked by a dog -- a huskie/shepherd type -- today!! She's okay, just very sore and shaken.

In her job as a veterinary assistant, she and another staff member were holding the pooch while the vet performed an examination. The beast, apparently taking issue with getting a shot, turned aggressive, escaped its muzzle, and attacked her, biting her left hand. Subsequently, it chased the staff member onto a table top before the owner could be fetched to calm it down! Phew!

She has seven puncture wounds, one of which was rather severe with "stuff" hanging out, and would normally require stitches. Since they don't close up bite wounds with stiches to alleviate infectious bacteria complications, she's all taped, bandaged, and full of antibiotics. She goes back to the doctor on Friday to have it checked. Thank goodness it wasn't worse.

She has such a great attitude. She's always had a passion for animals but fully realizes the risks involved in working with them. While this incident has left her shaken, it has also left her with a determination to just be more cautious in the future. When I asked her if she had any doubts about returning to the job, she said, "oh mommaw, nooooo! It's like riding a bike... when you fall off, you just get back on."

I love this child! :)

One spoiled feline!

Last month Giant had precooked, frozen crab legs on sale. Thinking that might be another way to get my crab leg fix, we bought some and put them in the freezer. Whereupon I promptly forgot about them. In this week's flyer, I noticed they had crab legs on sale and mentioned it to Lew, who was quick to remind me that we already had some that needed eating. Duh! These senior moments are disconcerting!

So, anyway, we decided to have the legs for dinner tonight (so we can get more tomorrow) and made preparations for our mini, wintery crab feast. Newspaper on the kitchen table - check. Paper towels - check. Shell bowl and shell crackers - check. Butter warmers - check. Cat begging at the table - check. Legs being heated in the oven (per a reheating method I read about) - check. Wait, wait -- back up. Cat at the table? Oh yes, there she sat, on a vacant chair, all ready for (and expecting!) her share.

Now, generally speaking, and except for hubby and grandkids if I'm feeling extremely generous, I don't share my crablegs with anyone. As in pick it and give it away! Oh no, I go about the serious business of picking my own crab, and eating every single morsel all by myself. I'm greedy that way. This night, however, I had this pair of big, luminous slate-blue eyes silently boring a hole through me and a furry little paw occasionally batting at my fingers whenever I wiped them. Sucker that I am for blue eyes, I finally caved. Not only did she get some crab meat, but she got some of the very best part from that part of the claw closest to the body. The beast has nooooo idea how spoiled she is!!

The house smells like a fishing boat but it sure was worth it -- cat paws and all.

Wuss Puss-es

I don't expect them to be watch-cats, to sit at the door yowlingl (whatever the feline equivalent of barking is,) or to bite the first strange ankle that crosses the threshold. On the other hand, it's beyond comical to watch them slink and slither along the hall as they haul ass under the bed everytime someone knocks on the door!

Doesn't matter what's going on up to the point of the first knock. They can be playing or being petted or scritched. They can be eating. They can even be sleeping, but a sound at the door automatically raises the fur on their hackles and they try to look slick and nonchalant while they beat feet to tuck said derrières under the dark safety of the bed.

One would think that after many times of the same bodies coming through the front door (i.e., grandkids, cleaning ladies, exterminator, etc.) the beasties would be used to them. Nope, not my kitties. Under the bed they go.

What wuss puss-es I have!

Where have all the birdies gone?

You may remember my kitty saga from last summer - (here, here, and here if you're interested.) Well, in spite of capturing one mama and four babies, it seems the beasties have multiplied anyway. We are now seeing, at a minimum, at least seven - count them, s.e.v.e.n !! - more cats roaming around the immediate area, including, of course, our back yard. They've made themselves quite comfy under the bushes and on the deck/patio, and are enjoying chasing the squirrels 'round and up the trees and across the yard. Oh, yes, and did I mention?? Taking over my flower beds for their potty too. Grrrrr.

So now, besides driving my two indoor beasties quite nuts, we've noticed that the birds have become scarce as well. Used to be we'd see all kinds of feathery critters visiting - cardinals, blue jays, robins, wrens, sparrows, woodpeckers, finches, etc., etc. - especially in the springtime. I can't remember the last time I saw a blue jay cracking open an acorn. It appears they've all gone on cat alert and found a safer yard to visit.

Since I don't see a dog anywhere in our near (or far) future, methinks a trip to Animal Control may be...

Hiz honor, the Buster

There is no prettier cat than a Siamese... in my opinion. Lew captured this great shot of our Buster, in all his Siamese glory, with his brandsy-new camera. Using his new toy, (which I get to use too, yea!!) he's decided to join in the fun on Project 365 this year. Check out his photos over on his new photo blog at Lew's Pics.

Kitty Saga - Part 3

Well, we're finally down to one. Being at the mercy of the hours at Animal Control, we've had to stagger when we set the trap and could take the kitties in. We caught two kittens the first day (Wednesday,) another kitten on Saturday, and this morning caught the Mama cat.

I think the kitten that's left has gone into hiding - I haven't seen it since we caught the Mama. Lew's reset the trap, so hopefully it'll get hungry and curious and this ordeal will be over with today.

One bright spot in all of this. The lady at AC said the kittens we brought in were all being fostered by the same person, so it's nice to know they're together. Hopefully, they'll reunite them all and eventually they'll all have a happy life with some nice humans.

*EDITED* - 3:04 PM
And then there were none. Just caught the last kitten and it's off to be reunited with its Mama and maybe its siblings. I'm glad that's over!

The kitty problem revisited...

Ohhhh, I feel sooooo bad!

We talked about it and decided it was best to not let the cat colony continue to grow. So, after calling Animal Control to see how we had to go about it, Lew went to their facility and rented a humane trap. After baiting it with some cat tuna and water, he set it outside by the lilacs where they all hang out.

Within 5 minutes or so, Mama cat came poking around to check things out.The babies (all four of them) soon followed. Mama looked at the trap, walked around it a bit, and sez, "naaaah, I ain't falling for that trick" and casually sauntered on by. The little ones, being more curious, sniffed and played around it for awhile and then the little gray one went in. Snap! (Mama, by the way, is a calico - there are two orange kittens, one gray, and one black.)

While the gray one is inside the trap munching, Mama, seemingly unfazed by the whole thing, plopped herself down and starting nursing one of the orange ones. The others continued to play around the trap, trying to figure out how to get in (or maybe, how to get their sibling out.)

We were worried about what we would do if we caught the mama first, but now that we know they're old enough to eat solids, the order we catch them in won't be as much of an issue. Anyway, Lew took the one to Animal Control and we'll try again, even if it's one at a time.

But I really feel bad about catching them. As I type, they've come back out and Mama is looking all around for her baby. *sigh* The kittens will probably easily adopt out, but not too many people want mama cats ... even though she's not much older than a kitten herself. She's not much more than 8 or 9 months old. Why do these things have to be so hard? :(

Houston, we have a problem...

Back last fall a stray cat decided to birth her litter of kittens in the overgrown brush and farm vegetation behind my next door neighbors house. Cute little beasts, there were three of them but being born in the wild, they were somewhat leery of us human types.

It was starting to get cold and winter was coming. So, neighbor, being the nice lady that she is, patiently encouraged said little creatures from out of the brush and gasp! started feeding them! Needless to say, same said critters have since found a cool place to hang out ... and grow up. She (the neighbor) has been able to coax one of them inside and has pretty much inherited another cat for herself. The other two have continued to run wild ... in her yard, in my yard, in the farmer's field - all around and about. Don't know what happened to the mama, she just kind of disappeared.

So, fast forward to yesterday. I'm sitting at my desk, putzing on the computer and casually glance out the window - when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a kitten turned mama and 3 tiny reindeer!! No, no - make that 3 tiny new kittens! Yes, last fall's babies have grown up and at least one of them has now starting producing babies of her own. In MY backyard! From my vantage point inside, I counted at least three, maybe four. They were playing and tumbling and having a frolicking good time with one another over by our woodpile while mama cat lay under the lilacs watching.

Wonderful. Just what we need. A feral colony of cats and the accompanying smells and problems that go with. I love cats and all, but this just will not do. I will not feed these kittens .... I will not feed these kittens ... I will not feed ...

Cats on Tuesday - Buster Antics

CATS ON TUESDAY

Typical of beasties, my Buster Boy thinks that everything that comes into the house belongs to him. We bought some new plastic storage containers yesterday and as soon as we took them out of the box, he had to rub and mark "his" territory... the empty box.
Then, we cleared out space in the cabinet to make room for the new pieces.
Being the entitled cat that he fancies himself to be, he immediately jumped in and declared the space his new hidey hole and was very indignant with his "whaddaya mean, move?" look when chased out. Goofy cat!

Cats on Tuesday...

Just discovered this kitty meme on Gattina's blog so thought I'd play along.

CATS ON TUESDAY

My beastie girl, Zoey, trying to get some sleep in the sun except for her crazy humommy crawling around on the floor clicking that silver thing at her.

A mixed-breed tortiepoint Siamese, she always has a perpetual "fierce" or surprised look to her because of her facial markings. If she could talk, I swear she'd say "what??" or "oh, puh-leeze, must you?" lol

We adopted her, along with a companion, Buster, from the Siamese Rescue Center in VA, so we're not real sure of her history, but she obviously had trust issues and came to us with a bit of a 'tude that's taken several years to convince her isn't really necessary. It's only been in the past year or so that she's deigned to allow herself to be held without getting all huffy-puffy about the whole thing.

Slowly but surely and in spite of herself, she's learning to enjoy being scratched, petted, and loved on, but she'll never be a full-fledged lap cat.

Photo Hunt #8: Gross

My cat eats this nasty stuff and loves it - then
sometimes she licks me with that same mouth! Erg!

If you think looking at it is gross, you oughta smell it! Ooof!

~ ~ ~

Grab the Photo Hunt code.
Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit Participants.

Things that give one pause...

Didja ever wonder what it is about carpeting that makes a less-than-brilliant cat want to puke on IT instead of a perfectly fine, easier to clean-up-the-mess vinyl floor not 2 feet away?? Grrrrrr...

Wordless Wednesday #3: What-evah!

(click on photo to enlarge)

See more Wordless Wednesday here

Wordless Wednesday #2: Master of All He Surveys...

Master of all he surveys...

More Wordless Wednesday here