Zoe, Indy, Georgia & Everett

Stairs

2011-12-11T12:08:00.007-07:00

All of the cats like having stairs now. But Everett LOVES stairs.

When we're looking for him, we always check the stairs first, and usually he's there. Sleeping or just sitting. He's made walking down the stairs a bit of a sport too because he tries to trip people.

When the other cats are chasing balls in the basement, Everett waits near the bottom of the stairs and meows and maaahhhs to get our attention and then leads us to the stairs to throw balls for him to chase up and down. I was filming Zoe flipping when he did it last night:

Paint and Playroom

2011-12-01T17:45:00.012-07:00

So far we have used four different colors of paint on the walls in our new house. Three cats got zero colors of paint on them, and one cat got four colors of paint on himself. Indy has been blue, green, grey, and most recently has had white-tipped ears:

Luckily he's the one with the longest fur so we can usually just cut his painted furs off.

The largest part of our basement doesn't have much furniture it yet, and is mostly empty. This has become the cats' favorite room of the house. It's a big playroom. Where they play and roll around a lot with their mouths open:

And where Zoe does a lot of jumping and flailing.

The Move and the Fall

2011-10-04T17:11:00.008-06:00

We moved about a week and a half ago and the kitties are pretty much all settled in now. It took Everett about a week to stop looking at us like "when are we going home?" but everyone else was pretty happy right away. The girls were immediately thrilled actually.

Zoe has been a new cat since we moved - just happier, purrier, and cuddlier. She happily explored and helped unpack boxes.

This picture is dark and blurry, but you can see Georgia's reaction to moving, and Everett being a little hesitant. He seemed to have a little trouble understanding stairs.

We set up a room for the cats to contain them while we moved in. Only Everett was nervous - he hid in the closet. The room actually still looks a lot like this. It's nice having cat stuff contained instead of strewn all over the house for a change.

There were a lot of stressful parts of the move too. See this drop from the second story to the first?

We were very worried that somebody would fall from there. Our cats are clumsy, and stumble and knock each other off of things all the time. We had planned to get some glass cut to sit up on that railing to keep the cats off. In the meantime, we put up a cardboard wall. It was very sturdy but Georgia must have taken a run at it and she fell. Luckily her dad was home to rush her to the vet because she must have landed on her face as her nose was bleeding and swollen. She was in pain and not moving or opening her eyes so he was very worried. I was at work and left to meet them at the vet of course freaking out. Anyway, long story short the vet thought she probably didn't have a concussion, although he mentioned she could have fractured something in her face or skull. We think she probably broke her nose. We brought G home and set her up in our room where she is most comfortable to rest alone and recover. At this point the railing was left without anything blocking it, and we were setting up the carpet below while we tried to figure out what to do. Then Indy jumped up there, tried to walk down the slanted hand rail, and fell! He was not hurt at all though. Obviously we needed an immediate solution so we worked late into the night putting up a wall of plexi-glass until we can get some nice stained glass or something. Here's the "after" picture (ignore the head):

We didn't see Georgia fall, but Zoe was somehow involved in it and quite shaken up (we think she was at the bottom and G may have almost landed on her). She didn't leave Georgia's side that day once she got back from the vet and we put her in our room.

A bit of a swollen nose:

Georgia's accident happened a week ago today and she recovered pretty quickly. She's all better now and you'd never know she broke her face a little. I feel very lucky she's better already (and feeling very guilty of course). The vet said a fall like that could have caused a hernia and with mesh holding her insides in, I think Georgia could be more susceptible to that.

Anyway, I'm still paranoid about the rest of the railing, where Zoe likes to sit to worry us:

The fall from there though is not as high, and is on to carpeted stairs. The next move will be to a bungalow.

Our Lives Revolve Around Cats

2011-09-13T17:45:00.004-06:00

Well of course our cats are a big part of our lives. But lately we've been focused on other cats. Over the weekend we drove an hour and a half to meet a couple of cats halfway to be brought to their new home at my parents' place. These poor cats were losing their home and were going to be split up with one or both possibly going to the shelter in Calgary, where, we were told, adult cats don't really have the best shot at surviving. Besides, they've only known one home their whole life and are bonded to each other. So. As a last resort my parents agreed to take them. They're slowly settling in. One new kitty is very friendly and relaxed, the other (a tortie) is still obviously traumatized from losing her home, the long trip, and now living with a dog (they have their own room, of course for as long as they need it so she's definitely not going near the dog). So we've been worried about these new cats. THEN last night our stupid upstairs neighbors let their cat jump out of their window (3rd floor we think) AGAIN. This happened before in the winter when there was a nice soft landing and he stayed put. This time the poor thing must have landed on cement and took off. We were awoken to Indy screaming at 5AM because there was a cat at the window and we think it might have been him (we looked for him - think guy outside in the dark lurking through bushes with a cat carrier - but he was gone). So we're trying to figure out if they found their cat today or if we have to try to catch the poor thing tonight. We've had a lot of trouble with people and their cats in this neighborhood so moving should be a relief. Hopefully.Anyway, that's all.

Here's a picture of Georgia. I was trying to get a good picture of the boys because we just missed their birthday. But Georgia is the only one cooperating right now. Indy turned 4 a couple weeks ago. And we decided Everett's birthday is around the same time as Indy's so we're saying he just turned 5.

Laser-Eyed Cats Help Pack

2011-09-03T21:03:00.003-06:00

We're moving in a few weeks. We started packing a bit today and the cats are very excited about the boxes.

The three in the picture moved with us into this apartment a few years ago and didn't really react at all to that move (except Georgia who suddenly got nicer). This is Everett's first time moving to a new house and he'll be a little nervous. I'm just nervous about our new front door leading to the outside. Right now these guys are impossible to keep in when we open the front door and are constantly taking off down the apartment hallway. How am I going to keep them from bolting out the front door of a house down the street???

Flabby G

2011-07-12T17:33:00.007-06:00

Thanks again to everyone who visited for Everett's gotcha day.

Excuse the photo quality, these pictures were taken with my phone at night.

Walked in to find that Georgia had put a toy on her face....and that's how she slept...

G's looking a little XL here...but she really hasn't gained weight. She actually weights the same as Zoe. She's just a little flabby. But a lot happy...

Everett's Gotcha Day

2011-07-08T18:31:00.004-06:00

Thank you to everyone who wished Everett a happy gotcha day yesterday. I feel bad for not doing a post for him. When I heard the Canada Day fireworks on July 1st it brought back the memories worrying about him outside during those fireworks two years ago and of spending weeks (months?) getting up at all hours of the night for his visits trying to get him to let me near him.

We thought we might be in for a lot of work gaining his trust once we finally caught him, but the first night he was out of his cage in his room I woke up in the middle of the night to find an Everett snuggled up right in bed (he doesn't ever do that anymore!).

It's two years later and we're still noticing progress. He used to be a really nervous guy. Always friendly and sweet (we've never heard him hiss...not even when Zoe and Indy would hiss and scream and growl at him early on), he'd never go to the door when visitors came, was terrified to be on counters or tables, and he was even scared of people just walking toward him for the longest time. He's gotten a lot better. Sometimes I forget though about the tough life he had and just a few weeks ago I wasn't thinking and carried a roll of wrapping paper into a room he was in and terrified him. He's not scared of brooms anymore though, and he's still getting braver and braver. I don't like to think about his life before he got here...we're just so glad he did.

This is him a minute ago. Just sittin' in the window looking cute.

Happy Birthday

2011-05-28T13:49:00.004-06:00

Today Georgia is 8 and Zoe is 4. So far they have been spending their special day being chased with a camera.

In honor of their birthday, a bunch of pictures of Gigi and Nut:

Medicine for the bird

2011-05-06T15:23:00.005-06:00

Have you ever tried to give a bird incredibly horrible bitter tasting antibiotics? For ten days? A bird that hates everything and won't even eat fruit, sunflower seeds, or tolerate any new toys in his cage and bites people? Yeah...fun.

We have a bird. Not acquired by choice, but we love him(her?) and Willy is part of the family. He's not a typical friendly, playful cockatiel. We try to take good care of him, but were worried about his health since he won't eat a proper diet, and is...well, weird.

His nose started looking infected so we took him to an avian vet thinking it would be a horribly traumatic experience for everyone. Surprise! He did great. And the vet said said he's one of the older cockatiels she's seen (he's around 15-16) and looks happy and healthy in every way. Oh, except for his nose which she actually thinks is probably a benign, painless tumor because of his age. But it is possible it's an infection instead of, or in addition to a tumor, so now we get to have the stressful experience of giving him antibiotics! Birds are smart. He caught on really quickly and can see the medicine dropper thingy from across the room. Anyway, we're on day 5 today of 10 and by the time this is all over I'm worried he's going to hate me forever. Or maybe he already hated me. It's so hard to tell with ornery birds.

napping, part II

2011-05-02T06:12:00.000-06:00


Of course, once the man attached to the little white arm finally settles down, you get the much more desirable experience of "napping with cute."

napping

2011-04-30T11:08:00.000-06:00

It's really fun when every move you make invites a sharp little white arm to shoot out grabbing and clawing from a t-shirt-turned-sleeping bag.

I call this experience "Napping with Claws."

G.

2011-04-15T16:53:00.003-06:00

G likes to drape herself over things and dangle her little arms down.

Also, she likes to wait on the bathroom sink while you're in the shower and then leap with claws out to your shoulder for a wet cuddle as soon as the water stops. Super fun trick. No pictures of that.

He Thinks He's People

2011-01-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

Raining Cats

2011-01-28T18:53:00.010-07:00

Our little cat people don't normally sit around in a group together. But we picked up these two cheap, not-soft, not-warm pad things one night and they are a HUGE HIT.

We have to keep both of them together because the boys don't normally share just one nicely and end up fighting over it.

In other news: Sometimes Cats Fall from the Sky.

See this window?

During the summer we really have to watch it, and often keep it covered because neighborhood cats come up to it and all heck breaks loose (an aggressive window-attacking cat lives down the block and drives us crazy. We always make sure visiting cats are OK and not homeless. This is the window at which we first met homeless Everett too). Anyway, last weekend, we had so much snow on the ground that Indy in this picture couldn't see anything but snow. We thought we could leave the window open (it wasn't very cold) because there was NO WAY a cat could possibly come up to the window from the outside through at least 2 feet of soft snow.

Just minutes after this conversation I hear my husband panicking and calling for me to come because there's a cat screaming at the window! Yep. A cat in a deep hole of snow freaking out. How did it get there? No cat footprints led to the hole! Poor guy, by the time we ushered our guys into another room, and opened the window to coax the poor (huge - really, like 20-pound) cat in, his dad came up to the building through the snow to get him, saying he had fallen from the third floor above us.

It was so weird. Cats seem to find us. But I sure wasn't expecting one to fall out of the sky!

We could tell right away that the panicked cat at our window in a deep hole of snow was not accustomed to being outside, and likely had never touched snow before. It was just such a confusing situation because we didn't immediately figure out what was going on.

He had a nice soft landing though. Made us glad that we had something like 40cm of snow the day before.

cats relaxing

2011-01-10T20:02:00.004-07:00

Well. So much for not disappearing for months at a time. Thank you to everyone who still visits and for all the Merry Christmas and Happy New Year wishes.

Just thought these pictures were kind of funny. It's always the same two who drape themselves all over us on the couch to watch TV:

Everett stretching out. Here he's watching TV, but he'll often sleep stretched out like this for as long as I can stay still.

Well that's all I got. We haven't been taking any pictures lately...these were just with a phone. We need to get the camera out again and will hopefully be back soon.

some recent pictures

2010-11-14T14:40:00.009-07:00

Zoe

Georgia

The boys are always playing/grooming/wrestling and just laying around

And this little video was taken just the other day when we were trying to catch up on blog reading. Everett just loves Daisy's videos...

oops

2010-11-11T21:41:00.004-07:00

Didn't mean to be gone for so long!

We've just been busy. I started articling at a law firm and we got married almost 2 weeks ago. Each of the tables at the wedding were named after one of our past or current pets. This is the best picture I could find of one of the table name pictures...here's the Everett table:

And here's Georgia helping us open all of our wedding cards:

All the kitties here are doing well. Hopefully I'll get some good recent pictures of them up soon. No more disappearing for months at a time. Although it looks like things won't be settling down here any time soon with a move (hopefully) in our not-too-distant future.

Pictures

2010-08-09T12:02:00.008-06:00

Well it has been a while so there are a lot of pictures sitting on the camera. Here are some favorites.
Georgia insists on squishing herself into too-small boxes.

Our little Zoe. Who has recently decided to worry her parents by grooming a bald spot on her belly.

Everett grooming all cute:

And oh boy does he love shoes:

Cute

2010-07-24T20:44:00.006-06:00

Everett was being extra cute for the camera today:

OK, this guy's cute too...

...even if he does look a little funny with the weird haircuts his parents keep giving him.

and one more Everett

Table Naming

2010-07-21T03:12:00.007-06:00

I love this new picture of Zoe.

We're getting married in October. Since we're a multi-species family we wanted to incorporate the cats somehow. So we thought instead of numbering the tables we'd name them each after one of our cats with a cute framed picture. Problem is, there's 18 tables so I guess we need to adopt 14 more cats.

OK not really. We're going to see if we can collect enough pictures of our childhood pets and hopefully get 18. I had a fish named Suck. We're still deciding who will sit at the "Suck" table.

Gotcha Day

2010-07-06T13:51:00.018-06:00

A Few Good Cats pointed out in my last post that Everett's Gotcha Day was coming up. I'm usually so bad at acknowledging these special days, but today is his first Gotcha Day and he's getting a post. "Getting" Everett was a long stressful process and looking back on the old posts from a year ago I remember how much advice and encouragement we had along the way from some special people and cats in the blogosphere. So thank you again for that.

Just over one year ago we had seen glimpses of him in the night, and seen him walking down the street, but we couldn't get close. Then he started coming right up to our windows, looking for our cats. We're sure that's what attracted him to us, our cats always in the windows. His love for other cats was surprising, I thought, considering all the scabs and scratches he had. Poor guy I hate to think of him getting beat up on the streets for so long. BUT of course, this story has a happy ending.

He started coming by to eat usually at least 3 times between 7pm and 4am. Oh I remember those nights of being woken up repeatedly by Indy wailing at the sight of Everett. I would have to collect the three cats and put them in a room and then open the sliding door and open a can of Solid Gold tuna and place it just in the doorway and then move to the far side of the room and wait for Everett to decide it was safe to come eat while I talked to him and tried to explain that he would really be better off if he decided to just stay.

He was thin and not neutered and obviously homeless, but he wouldn't let us near him. It took weeks of feeding him and sleepless nights waiting by the window for his 3-4 nightly visits, but he eventually was eating near me (as long as I didn't move, of course).

Here is everybody watching out the window with the crate we eventually set up to contain Everett when we finally managed to catch him.

One year ago today, at around 11pm, right after we discovered our fridge broke and was leaking, and the dad injured his foot somehow and was on the phone with a nurse, Everett showed up and we caught him in the crate. It was an eventful night. This is one of the first pictures of him. He was scared and wouldn't really eat or move for the first day, until I took a chance and touched him. He purred. Instantly he perked up. The next morning he went to the vet to be neutered, micro-chipped, vaccinated, and tested for FeLV and FIV. Everything went well and we were relieved to find out he was healthy!

We were nervous trapping him against his will, especially with how scared of people he seemed to be. I'd never seen a cat so terrified of just my small movement from across a room. We were expecting a terrified unsocial cat that would require lots of time and work to gain his trust. But nope. (I think you never know what you're going to get. When we found Georgia she was SO friendly, but she ended up putting us through hell for months.) I'm so relieved that he relaxed so much so quickly and he didn't have to go through that. There were just the normal and minor challenges like for I think about 3-4 nights he tried desperately to get out through the windows.But other than that he settled in surprisingly fast. Oh and he gave us our first experience seeing giant tapeworms. That was lovely.

He was thrilled to have a new brother and sisters. After all, that's what he wanted all along. They didn't love him instantly, and they had their hissy moments, but overall everyone adjusted very well. Most surprisingly Georgia (see her nervous little head watching him in the top left of this picture, taken a week or two after E moved in).

Here are all four a couple nights ago. Sorry for the weird lighting...it was dark. It's hard to see that the black thing in bed with Everett is Indy.

Everett has fit right in and we can't imagine not having him. So much about him reminds me of our Smudge (but that's a post for another day). He's just the sweetest, most loving cat. He doesn't really 'meow,' he has a breathy "maaahhhhh..." that gets him anything he wants.

He's just a big lover boy who's never anything but sweet. And we're so lucky he picked us.

New Scratching Tree

2010-07-02T00:21:00.009-06:00

Well first of all, happy late Canada Day. Last year at this time we were trying to catch Everett and I was so worried about him outside scared by the fireworks. Well, one year later he's safe inside, but oh boy did he freak out when the fireworks went off a couple hours ago. Poor thing. At least he had a mom and dad to comfort him this time.

Zoe, on the other hand, loves fireworks and watched the whole show (you can kinda see them through the trees).

Also, our spoiled cats got something cool today when I saw this at IKEA for half price. It's pretty awesome because they love scratching it, it's nice and tall for them to climb up like a tree and it doesn't take up much space.

Here's Indy getting ready to climb, and Everett on a branch:

Georgia relaxing in the tree with her pink cigar.

No pictures of Zoe on it yet because she was so excited to play she did all her exploring and climbing while it was being assembled and so was off sleeping by the time the camera came out.

Shoes

2010-06-23T21:53:00.005-06:00

Remember this picture of Everett trying to wear shoes from a few posts back?

Well today he put them on the right way! He's so smart. He seems to really like wearing these shoes in particular. Weird.

A bunch of pictures

2010-06-15T17:00:00.009-06:00

The Everett picture above just makes me laugh. And below he is in a blanket cave. He is our cat that loves to sleep under the covers the most.

Below is his "not impressed" face.

Above is Indy before his dad took a pair of scissors to his mane. His mane was out of control and he couldn't groom properly and was always walking around with parts of it stuck in his mouth. As you can see from the "after" photo below, The Dad is not a professional groomer. Oh I was so sad to see Indy with a tiny head. But now I'm used to it and Indy seems happier.

And here are 3 in their enclosure with Evy looking out.

This was an exciting day because Everett decided he was interested in going out to join the others for the first time. He hasn't been outside since he came to live with us last summer. When he first got here he used to have panic time all night trying to get outside, but after that went away he's been too nervous to even sit by the door while the others went outside. It was so sad watching him nervously look out at the others from under the table.

He was a little nervous outside at first (George attacked him a little so she had to go inside)...

...but he quickly relaxed and had a lovely outdoor time. He was very brave.

The Boys Play The Sims

2010-06-15T16:19:00.005-06:00

Indy likes to just lay back and relax with me while I'm on the computer. Last night I was playing The Sims and he was hanging out (ignore the bright pink pajamas).

After a while he decided to go lay up on the table for a nap where he was quickly joined by Everett.

Of course this resulted in a session of fight-grooming.

When the sims characters appeared back on the screen it was apparent that the boys had caused a little disaster in their house. They obviously hit the keyboard during their little wrestle but I have no idea how they turned my sims character from normal to naked, smoking and charred.

In other news, we once again kinda-sorta forgot the girls' birthday - May 28. They got a late present though, the undercover mouse - and everyone loves this toy! It attracts all 4 like a magnet if they just hear me setting it up. Georgia is now 7 years old and Zoe is 3.

Crazy

2010-06-08T11:22:00.002-06:00

The girls are both going a little extra crazy today.

2010-05-31T12:11:00.004-06:00

Cats like knocking over bowls of water to stare at the puddle.

And here's an unrelated picture.

Just a Bunch of Pictures

2010-05-24T01:33:00.004-06:00

Georgia in a box.

Scary face!

Cuddling with Dad.

Angry that Indy invaded her space. After a failed attack (Indy hardly reacts anymore to her whapping and weird fake-biting and she quickly gives up when she fails to intimidate), she just kept leaning further away with an angry face until she was all the way on her side, and then fell asleep. It's very rare for her to sleep this close to another cat.

Everett trying to wear shoes. Mr. Modest.

Close-up.

Mr. Big Eyes.

The End

A Cat and His Tiny Pink Bed

2010-05-08T17:52:00.007-06:00

We have a little pink bed that everybody loves. When we realized our cats were XL we got them this big tanny-browny colored bed thinking they'd be more comfortable in it and prefer it. Nope. Everett has used it maybe once or twice.

Most of the time you can find him falling out of the little pink bed.

ooo he looks huge here...he has actually lost a little weight though since his last vet visit. yay! (the vet yelled at us for how much weight he gained too quickly...underweight to overweight in ~6 months) I'm trying harder to keep a closer eye on his weight. It's definitely hard to watch what all 4 eat all the time, but that can't be my excuse for letting any one of them get unhealthy.

Also, thanks for the good luck wishes for my exams. They're all done and I did fine and am all done law school! Now things get tough...I have a year of articling to look forward to starting in a couple months.

Is this just us?

2010-04-26T18:59:00.007-06:00

When you decide to get a new desk or table for something, do you always get one big enough for your needs PLUS at least 2 cats?

It's finals time again (my last university exams EVER! ...probably) and I have lots of "help."

And behind me: cute face-plant cat on the mattress up against the wall.

In this last picture I have given up and taken the laptop elsewhere to study.

Should have gotten a bigger table.

Indy Mouth

2010-04-21T18:30:00.006-06:00

Indy sleepin' all cute with his mouth open.

Nap Time

2010-04-15T20:26:00.005-06:00

If I want an afternoon nap I usually have to share the bed with Mr. Stretch here.

He's just so cute. I don't mind clinging to the edge of the bed as long as he's comfy.

iPad Cat

2010-04-14T23:37:00.000-06:00

The Dad is now considering getting an iPad...for the cats.

Vet Visit

2010-04-12T15:44:00.004-06:00

I said I would post about the girls' check-ups and our vaccination decisions so here it is. No vaccines this time. The clinic they go to recommends them every year, which they were overdue for, but the vet we had was great and said if we wanted to wait and do every 3 years that's OK. So for now I think we'll do their next shots in a couple years. We might stop vaccinating altogether in the future when they're older, but we'll see how things go. We've noticed the last 2 places we've lived we've taken in a stray from the neighborhood, and since we can't not help a cat that needs it we could potentially expose our guys to viruses so that's the motivation for vaccinating at all. After doing more reading about the rabies shot we decided we're going to skip it (it's not required here). Rabies is so much rarer in cats, even feral cats, than I ever thought.

OK, enough about vaccines. The check ups for the girls went pretty well. Georgia was surprisingly happy during her examination, the vet could barely even hear her heart through all the purring. She said her heart rate was slow and she was just happy and relaxed. She has a little sore on her ear that has been there before so we could be dealing with an allergy. And we need to brush her teeth. Other than that she's great. The vet said she's not even overweight! That was a surprise. Maybe we should stop calling her Georgia Fatpants.

Zoe is in perfect health. Good teeth, perfect weight, everything just perfect. Her heart was super fast though as she's had an unpleasant vet experience before and was very nervous. She did well though and forgot all about it as soon as we got home.

I wish we got a picture of Georgia rolling around on her back purring on the exam table, but we didn't so here's a picture of Zoe taken right now sitting nearby:

Dad's Other Baby

2010-04-11T00:45:00.002-06:00

Dad's Baby

2010-04-10T00:41:00.002-06:00

Cooler

2010-04-08T00:39:00.003-06:00

Today was a very good day for Indy as two of his favourite things - ice and boxes - were combined! We can never just bring something home and put it away. They got so excited about the cooler we had to leave it out all day. There was ice in it earlier which brought Indy much joy.

Now it's sitting in the hall empty (except for the cats that are taking turns sitting in it) waiting to be put away when they lose interest.

Walks

2010-04-05T22:38:00.002-06:00

For the first time this Spring everybody who wanted an evening walk got one tonight. Zoe went first because as soon as the door opened she did some panic screaming and she was apparently having a walk emergency. Then Georgia went because usually her walks are nice and short. She just rolls in the dirt for a while. Then it was Indy's turn. He goes last because he takes the most effort. It takes two of us to walk him because he'll gladly walk down the sidewalk on his leash looking adorable and cooperating, but he does NOT want to go back towards the house and his dad has to carry him (I can't carry him in...he's too strong, and squirms way more with me.)

Everett still doesn't seem to be interested in walking. He went up to the screen door today to sniff, but he takes off if we get near the door. Here's just a little video from right before Indy got his walk. Georgia was crazy dirty, and Everett was watching from his safe spot under the table.

Indy

2010-03-27T00:56:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the info about vaccinations yesterday. It was helpful and something to think about and I'll be sure to update with what we decide to to.

Now, Indy:

Indy talks a lot. He always flops down and stretches out on his back and talks and talks. Of course when the camera comes out he quiets down, but I tried to get some of his conversation just now while I'm on the computer.

Vaccination Question

2010-03-26T02:44:00.005-06:00

Ok, so I have been horrible at being a good blogging friend and commenting and posting regularly. I have excuses...but won't make a list. Hopefully I can be forgiven and somebody is still reading and willing to help? Just a question about vaccinations...

So Georgia and Zoe are overdue for their check-ups and we'll be taking them in soon. I'm looking for opinions from people with opinions on vaccinations. Specifically the FRCP vaccine, since we've already decided not to give the rabies vaccine at least for right now (Updated To Add: an explanation for this rabies vaccine decision is in the comments...definitely open to opinions on that one too).

We've seen a lot of vets over the last few years and every one I ask says of course to vaccinate for everything every time. But they also recommend feeding them only dry food with corn and byproducts as the top ingredients because it's "good for their teeth". I KNOW that can't be right. So I know I need to make an informed decision on this before going to the vet.

We vaccinated everybody for the first few years because it just seemed like a good idea to get some immunity especially with new cats being introduced. Everett's the newest guy and the most recent to have shots back in the summer. But now with healthy indoor cats I'm wondering if there's any real benefit from the shots, or potential harm. I'm leaning towards doing it every three years...but have heard and read some things warning against it from smart people who seem to know what they're talking about.

So yes, please if anyone has done any research on this...or even just let me know if you vaccinate/don't vaccinate and why. THANKS

And here's a cat in a box:

Flabby George

2010-03-20T14:30:00.003-06:00

Georgia's flabby belly hanging over the cabinets:

Georgia's middle name is Fatpants. She's actually not really that fat, and she definitely weighs a lot less than the boys, she just has a lot of hangy skin left from her hernia and surgeries. The second surgeon we took her to see said that if he was able to fix her, she wouldn't look normal. Of course we were just concerned with keeping her alive and getting her healthy that we didn't really listen. After the surgery we were warned again her belly would always look weird (she's got some lumps and scars and a bit of a bald area too). At the time I thought it was bizarre anyone thought we'd care. Who goes around picking up injured cats in alleys with the ultimate goal of an award winning show cat or something. Anyway, she turned out pretty normal after all. Usually people that meet her notice she doesn't look perfectly normal, but mostly they notice her sweet, cuddly personality purring and shedding all over them. I just think it's kinda cute when her skin flaps around and dangles off stuff. (Sorry, reading this back it sounds a little gross!)

Boys' Bed

2010-03-16T04:38:00.003-06:00

We left the guest bed made up after we had some guests over the weekend. The boys are sleeping on it tonight like a cute little couple.

Everett and His String

2010-03-10T21:09:00.002-07:00

We gave the cats this string. It's like a long shoelace...probably came out of a hoodie or something. Anyway, Everett claimed it as his own and carries it around with him. It's so cute. Poor guy though, usually when he's dragging it somebody stops him abruptly with a pounce!

(please ignore Zoe's lovely butt sniffing in the video)

It's a poor quality video but did you see all 4 cats in it? Georgia was hiding. And Indy popped his head in at the end.

Secret Snuggles

2010-02-27T03:03:00.007-07:00

I have never seen any of our cats sleep together. Ok, that's not totally true, Zoe let Everett join her for a bit on her chair once. That's it. Some combination of Zoe, Indy and/or Everett (nobody ever dares touch Georgia) will often engage in mutual grooming, which invariably turns into a wrestling match. Every time Everett joins Indy on the couch for some head licking I hope that just once they'll settle and rest near each other as opposed to the licking turning gradually into neck biting and someone leaving. Ok, anyway, the point is...they're doing it in secret! Yep, it's 3AM and I can't sleep and I quietly come out into the living room in the dark and there they are on the couch...Indy and Everett sound asleep together. They heard me and woke up, looked surprised, and then of course Indy immediately got up and left. What the heck is going on? Totally weird. Maybe I'll try sneaking out more often, perhaps catch George secretly grooming everyone one night.

First day outside this year

2010-02-15T15:59:00.005-07:00

We couldn't predict how Everett was going to act around the big open sliding door, so we have kept it closed more than usual for the last 6 or 7 months he's been here (the other door just opens into the hallway). This was because we witnessed him launch himself at the screen door, climb to the top and open it in about 2 seconds during a panic freak-out back in the summer. I'm just so scared he'll take off at top speed across the street like he did so many times before we caught him. It has been cold most of that time, so our other three haven't missed going outside too much. But today it was just too warm (still lots of snow though) to keep them in, and Indy was screaming to go out, so we pulled their enclosure out of storage.

Only three went outside. Everett was very surprised when what he thought was just a big window opened up to the outside and his siblings went out. He showed some interest, but was pretty nervous, and didn't want to get too close to the open door. Fine with me, it's enough of a battle keeping three from bolting out the door.

Indy was having none of this enclosure business. He just kept trying to play in the snow:

So he got to go for a walk in the snow. It was so deep and he kept sinking in, but just wanted to stay out and explore and catch snowballs. I had to drag him in struggling and screaming when I was sure his little feet were frozen.

We left the enclosure set up inside for a bit to allow Everett to explore it, and because it's fun for everyone. Indy loves to attack it, but this enclosure has held up well over the last couple years with some hard use.

And here's just another cute little Indy in the snow clip.

The end. The temperature is supposed to drop back down below zero now for a while so they're stuck inside for a few more weeks.

Velcro Cat

2010-02-15T01:45:00.004-07:00

First of all, sorry for being horrible at posting and visiting and commenting.

Second, Georgia sticks to her dad like velcro.

Dad is her favorite cuddle buddy, but she's our only cat who'll sit on pretty much anyone. She wants to be held 24 hours a day. She'll even launch herself off the kitchen counter to cling to my back when I'm cooking or busy doing something and not holding her. That's always a fun, painful surprise. She gets her claws cut the most often because of this special velcro monkey trick. If you try to put her down she just clings harder. And when she's on the ground and wants to be held she'll yell. And climb on stuff trying to get high enough to jump or scream right at face-level. It's often easier to just let her cling and walk around the house holding her with one arm. We'll try to get a good picture of my big fat cat riding around on my shoulder.

I'm not complaining. We love how affectionate Georgia is.. Her bond with her dad is especially strong. He was even talking in his sleep about her the other night. It was so funny, he doesn't remember at all, but kept insisting: "George wants RECOGNITION. George DESERVES love AND recognition!"

More Couch

2010-02-09T02:58:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since our last post...and it's about a couch again. Lots of posts about couches lately, but Everett is just too cute relaxing on the little cat couch. There is almost always somebody on the couch. We should get three more of them and arrange them around a mini coffee table (or maybe not, people already think we're weird with all the cat furniture).

Under the Couch

2010-01-29T00:15:00.002-07:00

We moved the couch to sweep under it today. Lots of toys and fur. Apparently this needs to be done a little more often.

And since no post is complete without a cat picture,

New Couch

2010-01-22T23:43:00.001-07:00

Everybody loves their new supercute couch!

The boys...

2010-01-14T23:14:00.005-07:00

...can be so sweet to each other too (between wrestling matches, of course).

Boys

2010-01-10T14:09:00.003-07:00

The girls never do this, is it a boy thing?

recent pictures

2010-01-05T01:21:00.009-07:00

If you take a plate out to make a snack and leave it on the counter unattended for just a few seconds in this house, this always happens.

Four in the tree

After an exciting and tiring game of chase the red dot (just noticed you can still see her scars...down the middle and on her left. We're so lucky she was able to get fixed up and has had no further problems...and still thankful to all who made it possible!)

And finally, here's Everett looking cute. He moved the bowl of food and the box there. It's fun to whap the food into or under the box and then attack the box.

Everett test results - any experience with this?

2009-12-30T18:43:00.001-07:00

We got most of Everett's results back. He has this mycoplasma thing but doesn't really have the symptoms of it. The vet thinks we found it just because we were looking and it's probably not causing his problems (which come on suddenly and then leave in a couple hours). The vet wants to treat him for this only if we see signs of it, or if he has another episode. The more I read about it though the more I think we should just treat him with the antibiotics (doxycycline) now and not wait for any potential problems. Anyone have any experience with this?

Georgia gets a little excited

2009-12-30T10:59:00.006-07:00

New Fountain

2009-12-28T01:24:00.016-07:00

We needed a new fountain for the cats to drink out of, but don't like the idea of them drinking out of plastic. We found this great ceramic fountain from Garden Home Art and got it for Christmas:

We haven't found a permanent place for it yet so it's just temporarily sitting on the floor in the kitchen. Everybody loves it! It's silent, looks really nice with the pebbles and glass rocks inside, and all the cats are drinking more. Anyway, we definitely recommend checking out all the nice fountains here (there's even free shipping!) and you can read about why they're so great here and here.

This video is Indy trying to figure it out just after we plugged it in for the first time.

This fountain is such a hit, in the time it took me to write this post, Zoe and Everett have both been to it for a drink. The water must taste extra delicious.

In other news, Zoe actually slept touching Everett for the first time ever yesterday! This is just so exciting because our guys NEVER sleep together or cuddle. Zoe was in Everett's favorite chair and he had no problem just jumping up and flopping down with her. She was uncomfortable with the closeness, but stayed for a bit making Mom and Everett very happy.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T01:03:00.003-07:00

We haven't been around much lately and have been busy. I have just one term of law school left and had to find an articling position for next year (found one!), and we're planning our wedding for October 2010, and preparing for Christmas all while worrying about Everett. So it has been a bit of a stressful time. Everett's test results got to the vet late today and he hasn't looked them over in detail, but the tech said unofficially that things look fine. He has to go back Monday because they didn't get enough blood to test for haemobartonella, which is rare here and he probably doesn't have it, but it's what Smudge had and the vet wants to test for it. So we don't really know what's wrong with him. I might try changing their food. Other than that, we'll just hope the vet can figure it out. Anyway, the point of this post was to say thanks for the nice thoughts for Everett (who is still playful and feeling fine most of the time) and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to Everett

2009-12-22T09:49:00.004-07:00

Everett is doing ok, but something isn't right and the vet suspects pancreatitis. We got lots of (crazy expensive but necessary) tests done. Ah! Why can't they all just sit around being healthy for a little while? Indy is so sweet licking the vet smell off of Everett. We should get some results tomorrow hopefully.

Too much help studying

2009-12-09T16:16:00.005-07:00

Apparently winter starts today

2009-12-04T14:08:00.005-07:00

It's not that cold...but the snow is definitely out of control.

Indy is crying and pawing at the window. He loves snow and wants to go out and play in it.

Just some not too exciting videos of everybody looking out at the snow:

We need another big bed

2009-12-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

Pictures

2009-11-30T14:45:00.003-07:00

Snow! (and funny Everett face)

My special little destructive friend...

...so proud of her work.

More Fun Foods

2009-11-22T01:51:00.006-07:00

He moved the bowl there himself. Apparently for a pounce from under the table game.

He must have just discovered that this bowl of food is here (he usually eats from his bowl in his room) because he does this all the time now. It seems we're now constantly hearing food in the dish going clink, clink, clink, and then him smashing into the chairs chasing the food, the sound of the dish sliding along the ground until it's all gone. He's eating too much now so we can't put much food in this dish anymore.

Zoe's a little cuddle-challenged

2009-11-22T01:15:00.005-07:00

If you turn up the volume you can hear Zoe growling. It was kind of funny because she had just let Everett groom her in the chair for about 5 minutes and she was loving it, but when he stopped and just wanted to rest near her she growled and growled. Also funny that she didn't just get up and leave if she hated it so much. She still doesn't trust him and doesn't want him too close (unless he's washing her face). Zoe's a very easy growler and growls and hisses all the time, but usually isn't very bothered. The sweet part was that when Indy heard her growling he came to watch them, then when Everett got down he went and sniffed Zoe. It was like he was concerned and making sure everything was fine. The video ended right before Indy walked up, sniffed Ev, and gave him a couple licks on the head.

Zoe has never voluntarily cuddled with any cat except her Smudge.

Everett's New Trick

2009-11-20T01:35:00.003-07:00

It's a snack AND a game!

More Stuff

2009-11-17T00:17:00.005-07:00

You can tell by all the posts lately that I'm in full procrastination mode now that the end of the term is near. These are a few of the 80 or so pictures and video I took in the last 24 hours.

This one was kind of funny because Indy just would not respond to his name and repeated requests to turn around for a nice group shot:

Everett and Willy Dinosaur had a cute little nap today. Willy seems to have learned to trust Everett. He can distinguish between the cats and was until recently still getting a little nervous if Everett got too close. Now he'll go right up to him.

And finally, here's Georgia looking painfully bored:

Shoes and Beds

2009-11-16T18:11:00.006-07:00

This is The Dad's running shoe. It is about 30 feet away from the front door where he left it. We must always remember to put shoes with laces away, or else we have to hunt for them in Everett's room where he brings them.

And I was just about to hit "publish" after putting up this picture of Indy in Zoe's little pink bed, complaining that he won't use the new, more appropriately Indy-sized bed right beside it...

...but then I looked over and saw this:

That's better. He looks more comfortable. I'm happy now.

Just more of the boys

2009-11-15T19:15:00.003-07:00

We got this bigger bed especially for Indy and Everett because they're so big (15 pounds each now...eek! gotta watch the dry food) that they spill out of the little beds.

Of course they're spilling out of this one too.

They aren't that overweight, they're just big guys. But I do want to try different food. We actually picked up some raw that's sitting in the freezer waiting for me to psych myself up to take away their regular food and try it.

This was so cute. Indy just sat there looking around for a while with his paw over Everett's resting head:

It's usually mostly the boys in pictures because the girls sleep a lot more than them. Zoe probably sleeps at least 18 hours per day, Georgia maybe 15 or so, Everett less than that, and Indy often only 8-10 hours. They all get up really early of course, and stay up for a while, then drop off one by one in the afternoon: Zoe first in the early afternoon, then George, then Everett, and Indy not until evening usually, and only if there's nothing interesting going on. Then at some point at night everyone will be awake again, usually have a little crazy time, and then back to sleep for the night.

Everett at his happiest

2009-11-14T13:14:00.003-07:00

Indy doesn't do this nearly as often as Everett would like. But oooohhhh he LOVES it when he does.

Crinkly Pants and Other Pictures

2009-11-07T00:04:00.004-07:00

This is the cats' new crinkly pants toy. They all love it. We just think it's funny that it's pants. There is even a belt and little pockets!

We also got them this big bed. Only Zoe is small enough to fit in her little pink one, and the boys always try to sleep in it, but fall out. It looks like Zoe has decided she wants this one too though.

Ok, these pictures aren't so great (please excuse the ratty clothes and arm scars from Indy's little rampage a while ago) but Everett is just soooo cute and sweet when he cuddles like this.

Georgia Sleeps Cute

2009-11-01T21:22:00.004-07:00

I'm starting to think it's too bright in here for her.

Napping with Boys

2009-10-31T02:40:00.007-06:00

Awww, how sweet. My boys have decided to join me for a nap.

A little self-grooming...

And then they both lay down and appear to be asleep...but not for long...

Everett comes over to join Indy.

A little more self-grooming...

And then it begins. These two are not so good at being close or grooming each other without fighting.

Indy is pretty patient while Everett insists on grooming his tail.

But as usual, their grooming turns into a bitey wrestling match:

Needless to say, the nap didn't go so well until the boys bugged each other enough that one of them left. These boys are not the best nap partners. But it was nice the two minutes it lasted.

We aren't doing much for Halloween over here this year, but Happy Halloween to all who are celebrating.

Beautiful. Box. Black Bear. Butt.

2009-10-29T00:42:00.005-06:00

(Coming up with titles other than "Picture of the Cats" is hard. Today's blog post is apparently brought to you by the letter 'B')

Here's my beautiful Georgia helpin' with the bloggin':

Georgia spends a good part of every day in a box (a little Everett head is in this picture too):

And this is my soft little green-eyed, black-furred teddy bear man:

I just thought the beginning of this video was funny with Zoe's butt up in the air:

Also, on a completely unrelated topic, I hate writing. Big research papers that is. There will probably be less blogging for a while while I try to force myself to write a paper. Or maybe there will be a lot more blogging because taking pictures of the cats is a great way to procrastinate. I'm pretty much just complaining that I have to write a paper. At least I have four book-chewing pen-whapping helpers.

More Funny Everett

2009-10-25T15:04:00.004-06:00

I've posted a picture of him in this position before, but he does it pretty often. I just think it's so funny.

(comments are going to be moderated for a while)

This Guy

2009-10-23T03:32:00.003-06:00

This guy has just had no trouble making himself at home. Today he took over Zoe's bed:

We expected his adjustment to be so much more difficult. Especially since it took weeks of his visits for him to even let us open the door to feed him without disappearing at lightning speed down the block. When we found Georgia on the street she let me just walk right up to her and pick her up, but then had a much harder adjustment to her new siblings and home. She was even scared to go into the kitchen for a really long time. I guess every cat is different and you never really know how things are going to go. (But always be patient and try, I say!)

I just wanted to mention after my last post about Smudge, that after we lost him I always (irrationally) half expected a male grey and white cat to walk into our lives. So when I looked out the window that day and saw this hungry, scared little grey and white guy we knew instantly he was home.

Just some pictures and video from the last few days...

2009-10-20T20:22:00.004-06:00

These two are the bed-making helpers. In this picture Zoe is feeling playful, but Everett looks really bored.

Indy, Georgia, and Everett Tiny Tail watching birds

Beautiful man

You can only take so many pictures of this guy before he starts trying to grab the camera string:

This video may not seem very exciting, but today Zoe decided to come up on the couch for some purring, kneading, and cuddling. This almost never happens; this may actually be the first or second time in her life. Georgia is constantly cuddling (really, constantly) and the boys get into a cuddly mood usually at some point every day. But not Zoe. She cuddles occasionally in the early morning in bed when she wants breakfast, but never on the couch and never when she's not expecting to be fed. She likes to be pet though, and is affectionate in other ways. Today was just a special treat.

Baby Zoe

2009-10-19T18:38:00.005-06:00

Just another old picture from my phone. I think this is Zoe's first day at home. She was one of just a few kittens that survived an outbreak of distemper at the shelter.

This is the first and last time she slept like this. You can see her little belly is shaved because she was just spayed.

Smudge

2009-10-19T00:04:00.006-06:00

I finally figured out how to get pictures out of my phone.

This was taken just after we met Smudge for the first time on the day we brought him home from the shelter. The shelter was terrible, cold and loud, and he was in a horrible little cage. The humane society here has since built a huge beautiful new building where only the new arrivals are caged.

Before Smudgie got sick he was just the friendliest, most playful confident guy. When we first brought him home it was as if he'd been there forever. He settled right in and we fell in love right away. I remember some time before he got sick, and back when he was an only cat just staring at him one day thinking "Wow. I didn't know it was possible to love a cat this much." There was something really special about him. For some reason he seemed vulnerable though, I was always worried about him and trying to protect him. He was so spoiled and babied.

He was attached to me from day one. If I couldn't see him all I had to do was say his name and he'd be at my feet. And my favorite thing that he did, that none of our other cats do, was insist I sit down whenever I came home after being out for any length of time and hold him while he kissed and head butted my face purring for a good 5 minutes. I wish we had taken some video of that...we didn't know how soon it would stop.

I started thinking there was something wrong with him back in November of 2007. He didn't have any symptoms really, something just wasn't right. Of course the vets said he looked just fine and I tried to tell myself I was just being paranoid. Unfortunately he was pretty noticeably sick by January-ish, 2008 and we lost him in March. He was at the vet almost every day during his last month, and we put him through too much with medicines, hospitalizations, even feeding tubes and a blood transfusion. It's still too hard to think about his last few weeks of life.

I could go on forever about how special Smudge was. His adoption day still feels like yesterday, and we still miss him every day.

More Georgia and Everett Stuff

2009-10-15T21:50:00.004-06:00

These guys are always interacting with each other, but they freak each other out. This video started right after Everett decided he wanted to lick Georgia's head. Georgia can't be touched by any of the other cats without freaking out. She seems conflicted, like she wants to play with Everett, but is scared. This doesn't happen with Zoe or Indy, because they've learned not to try to touch her. When we found her she was being tormented by another cat outside. Her injury made her vulnerable and she couldn't run properly for a long time. So it's completely understandable why she acts like this, because she had to for a long time. But hopefully one day she can let herself enjoy the head licks from Ev.

Helping to unpack boxes

2009-10-14T16:18:00.004-06:00

It's fall cleaning time and the kitties are helping to unpack some boxes that have been sitting around here. Zoe made a tunnel out of paper for her toy. Georgia got so excited she attacked the boys, then settled down in a box. Look how proud of herself she is that she chased everyone else away.

Dad's Baby

2009-10-13T18:19:00.007-06:00

Both sound asleep...

Tail Lickin' Position

2009-10-12T22:08:00.007-06:00

This is new...

2009-10-11T14:55:00.002-06:00

Everett's full name is "Everett Awesome Deluxe," and he sure is. It took a while, but it seems he's won Zoe over. They've been getting along and playing together for months now, but she still doesn't totally trust him because he is big and fast and heavy and can be rough bitey player. So she's been training him to not get too close with hisses and growls (she's a very easy growler and will growl at all kinds of stuff even while happily playing. She doesn't get really upset with him.) He's got a few licks in on her head before (he's a sneak-in-from-behind-and-lick-before-she-realizes-what's-happening kind of licker), but she's never sat still and enjoyed it until today. So cute.

Weird Things George Loves, Part I

2009-10-11T02:52:00.004-06:00

One of the weird things Georgia loves is to have her ears pulled back. Nobody else here really likes this.

You can kind of hear the purring over the too loud TV.

She looks even more funny when she opens her eyes:

fling-ama-string-ama-fun

2009-10-10T17:11:00.002-06:00

We found (and fixed) the fling-ama-string so they could play with it for the first time since we moved. Zoe started screaming as soon as she saw it. This is definitely a favorite toy for all four. It has been out for an hour and they still won't leave it alone.

The picture and videos are a little bad and dark because the hallway light went out.

Everett keeps trying to take the string around the corner. This time he trapped Zoe a little:

And here's a Georgia box playing moment and Zoe with the string.

Also, Georgia loves cuddling.

Good Boy

2009-10-08T12:23:00.006-06:00

We're not sure if Everett knows his name yet. Sometimes it seems he does, and other times not really. Maybe Everett is a hard name to learn. He's definitely at least starting to get it. He may actually believe that his name is "Good Boy" though.

This video has nothing to do with his name. He often sleeps with his eyes a little open, and I tried to get it on video. He woke up a little and just got all cute.

Also, it's snowing today!

Everett plays with Georgia. And also with paper.

2009-10-05T19:09:00.005-06:00

Why is it that Everett is the only one who will choose to spend a lot of time near Georgia?

Probably because he's the only one that doesn't seem to mind getting whapped in the head.

This video isn't so bad, but sometimes she attacks his head so much I can't watch. But Everett will usually just lay there and not even flinch much. Then he'll just go back to napping or trying to play with her. The other two run away when Georgie gets whappy. I think she pretends to hit hard sometimes, but is really just trying to scare him or intimidate him or something and it doesn't work. It seems she really does like being near Everett though, and it's often Georgia that will go lay near him now. She just can't seem to help her little outbursts.

In other news, crumpled-paper-ball-thrown-on-bed is the best game ever.

He took off with that paper in his mouth so fast and ran around like crazy with it!

One of these things is not like the others...

2009-10-04T22:36:00.015-06:00

What do these three sweet kitties have in common?

Well a lot actually. But one interesting thing is that none of these three scratched their mom so deep that it caused an infection (I know, I was warned, and I really tried to keep the scratches clean and not infected) and that her doctor insisted on a tetanus shot and 10 days on a high dose of 2 antibiotics! Good kitties.

Here's the adorable little culprit.

He's a good boy too, of course. And it's not his fault. And I'm fine, with a new appreciation for how serious cat scratches can be.

(The Injury Lawyers magnet in the picture is a coincidence; the dad just put up there today because it showed up in the junk mail. I have decided not to take any legal action against Indy at this time.)

Big Head

2009-10-02T13:39:00.004-06:00

This guy has the biggest head...

...but it's the best for kissing.

His head actually used to look really big, but his body has pretty much caught up with it now. He's just a big guy. Not quite as big as Indy, but he's got a new nickname: "Heavy Evy."

Thanks

2009-10-01T12:20:00.006-06:00

Thanks for the nice comments about the intruder cat and his person. Everybody here is nice and calm again, all with newly clipped claws. I haven't seen the cat since I last spoke with her after he came on Tuesday, and fingers are crossed that he visits rarely or not at all until it gets cold enough for him to stay in. She tried to suggest that we introduce her cat to ours, thinking that once they know each other they won't freak out seeing each other. But I can't see how that could possibly work since it takes weeks for cats (ours anyway) to get comfortable with other cats, and I can't let him inside, or ours outside. Not to mention I don't know his vaccination history and health. So yeah, I'm not doing that. I made it pretty clear that it just has to stop or I'll do something about it. (I was worried about what my complaints might do to the cat, like make her take him to the shelter or something, but it's clear now that she really does like him and honestly seems to think that letting him do what he wants is what's best for him. She has no intention of giving him up, and actually intends to get a kitten for him, thinking that will somehow make him want to stay at home. Which of course I pleaded with her not to do if she's just going to let them both out unsupervised all day.)

Anyway, it has started cooling off quite a bit here now. Nobody really minds except Georgia. She's the most heat-seeking cat. She can usually be found either on the warm cable box, sitting on top of her dad, or like in this picture, buried in blankets on top of her dad:

Cat Attack

2009-09-29T15:30:00.004-06:00

Warning! The following is pretty ranty. If you don't want to read my opinion about keeping cats indoors, or at the very least close to home with some kind of supervision, please do not read.

Well the cat that attacks our windows came back today. I was dumb and thought that the owner had finally started keeping him inside since his visits have been drastically reduced. So I opened one of the windows to let the cats smell some fresh air through the screen in Everett's room, where the cat has never come before because there is a bush blocking the window:

Bad move.

The cat came through the bush and started attacking the screen sending Indy into hysterics. This has happened before, and I usually go close the window and make a loud noise or distract Indy with something.

Today though, as I was closing the window Indy attacked my head. Poor terrified and confused Everett attacked my leg. Somebody also got my arm. Probably Indy. (Next time I won't even go in the room without a spray bottle of water or something. I usually just go running in though to try to scare off the intruder before Indy injures Zoe or Everett.) Indy didn't mean to hurt me, and was just going insane fighting the other cat. He's never done it before and it's not his fault, of course.

Other visiting cats, like Everett when he was a stray, made Indy freak out. But this cat is by far the worst because he comes by regularly presumably just to fight. We can't move to a new place right now, and I can't keep staying home to watch for the cat or taking Indy out with us if we have to leave and think he might come by. So, bleeding and annoyed, I decided that reasoning and threats (the city has sent 2 notices her) just isn't working with this person. Mostly I'm just mad because when I talk to her the excuses make no sense. She acts like it's not in her control. Like "well the neighbors like to see him and have been asking for him to come visit." And, "he won't play with his toys inside because he doesn't like catnip" and "it's cruel to keep him indoors by himself when I'm at work for 12 hours per day" and "he goes too far to keep track of." etc. etc. etc. Oh yeah, and my personal favorite: "he had been indoors all day so I just had to let him out, I told him not to go visit you guys, but he did anyway." So I find myself making all the obvious suggestions and comments over and over again "invite your neighbors over to see him, accompany him outside, try honeysuckle, cats don't understand much English...etc."

So since we're getting injured now, and the screen is damaged, I decided to call and tell her that if this doesn't stop I'm going to have to do something about it (I told her I'd file a claim to get a court order to make it stop). We can't live like this. Yes Indy is especially nuts, but we're not the ones doing something illegal. Especially since I know she's only letting him out because she thinks she always has to do what the cat wants (he doesn't scream at the door or go crazy to get out, according to her, he just "bugs" her to go out) and just won't put him in an enclosure or on a leash or go out with him to supervise because it's "hard" or she gets home too late. When I thought he was having a tough time adjusting to being indoors, I suggested medication if he was going crazy and she really wanted to start keeping him indoors...but I got "well I would, but he doesn't like medication." Really. Sometimes you have to do things the cat might not like.

It's frustrating. The cat would prefer to go outdoors, therefore he must be let out. Our cats would probably prefer to wander the neighborhood, but we keep them on leashes and in an enclosure because it is safer and not illegal. She says she's not worried about her cat's safety at all because he's too smart for anything to happen to him.

Anyway, our windows look like this:

Which I think is actually making Indy more nervous because he thinks the cat could be behind the paper and he can't see it.

The dad has also picked up some new (safe and organic) cat repellent to try today.

I'm still staying home and am on edge because I know he's still outside this afternoon and will likely return because she says she can't find him.

And since she says he doesn't go out much when it's cold, I've never been looking more forward to winter.

Relaxed

2009-09-28T14:33:00.002-06:00

Happy Georgia

2009-09-24T23:27:00.004-06:00

(A little note: I really can use proper grammar and form coherent sentences and paragraphs reasonably well. Just thought I'd put that out there because I noticed that this post, and many others I've done are pretty poorly written. Poor grammar bothers me (but sometimes, like tonight, I just can't fix it), so I just want to say sorry to anyone who may be reading this and yelling at the screen about misplaced commas or run-on sentences. Or maybe I'm the only one who does that and am a little crazy. That is all.)

I was really, really worried about adding Everett to the family a couple of months ago, mostly because of Georgia. Of course I was worried about Everett too, but he adjusted SO well and quickly to his new siblings, family, and indoor situation. Compared to Georgia with her behavior and serious health issues, he was a breeze. Georgia took so long to adjust to Zoe and Indy that I thought we were in for another year of challenges while she was adjusting to Everett, a rambunctious new guy and possibly feeling overcrowded.

But surprise! She has actually been a happier, more pleasant and playful cat lately. I guess after what we went through with her we were due for a smoother addition transition (or maybe anything would seem smoother...either way, we'll take it). She very rarely played with Zoe and Indy until this summer, but it's no longer that rare to see her playing chase with any of the other three, but especially Everett. She's still a little violent and attacky, but even the spazzy playing is really good to see. She also never played with the trackball toys, but has recently discovered the joy of batting a ball around in circles.

It's also not rare to see just her and Ev hanging out together. They seem to have come to an understanding pretty quickly. Everett knows who's boss, but she lets him close and seems to trust him or like him...oh I don't know what it is. I still can't believe it. I still do a double take every time. She was playing with the track ball thing like crazy today. This video captured a little of her hanging out with her friend:

I just can't get over this. What a happy surprise. Who would have guessed that what our Georgia needed was an Everett?

Weird Day

2009-09-24T18:42:00.004-06:00

The boys were staring pretty intently out the window at something just a few minutes ago.

Assuming it was our friend Chippy the squirrel, I peeked out (the blinds are permanently closed because of visitor cat). There was a guy playing with a little white ferret right outside our window! And also two ambulances and a fire truck with flashing lights right outside on the street. No wonder the boys were glued to the window. What a random sight.

Zoe missed all the action. She's busy being the cutest sleeper ever.

Fall? Where are you?

2009-09-23T17:22:00.004-06:00

Isn't it supposed to be fall? It's 34 degrees today (~93 Fahrenheit). Unusual for this time of year. Nobody here really likes the heat. Everybody has just been doing this all day:

Two in the Bed

2009-09-20T14:52:00.004-06:00

The beds rarely get made properly around here because Zoe and Everett are just too helpful.

You can hear Zoe growling a bit in this next one. She's not mad, she just doesn't like Everett touching her. She plays with him, but no touching allowed (because he's too rough). His little face looks so innocent though.

Everett Loves Georgia

2009-09-19T23:17:00.008-06:00

Everett is always sneaking up to Georgia from behind her. He wants to be near her, and Georgia secretly wants to be close to him, but still thinks she needs to smack anycat who comes too close or touches her. Sneaking up behind her like this works well for Ev as she either doesn't notice him, or maybe pretends not to notice because she doesn't want to put in the effort to turn around and whap him.

Leo

2009-09-19T17:27:00.003-06:00

This is Leo. Isn't he gorgeous?! He has really unique coloring. I really REALLY wanted to bring him home but we've got our house and hands full right now. He was up for adoption with a rescue group outside a pet store today with his sister, brother, and mom. There were also some rescued dogs there. Leo is fearless and was walking right up to the big dogs. He just purred and purred when we held him. Some stupid guy had the mother and just kept letting her have litter after litter and trying to get rid of the kittens on Craiglist. Luckily the rescue people saw the ads and took not only the kittens, but also the mother cat to spay and get her into a better home.

Indy Doesn't Love This...But It's So CUTE

2009-09-16T16:09:00.002-06:00

Lots of Playing and Neighbor Cat

2009-09-16T01:57:00.005-06:00

These boys are friends who like to hang out nicely together...

...and they also like to bite each other.

Georgia actually played a bit of chase with Everett today. She also played with the trackball for the fist time that I've seen. Dad says he just taught her how to play with it. Cute.

She's been different lately...in a good way. More playful and relaxed, also more cuddly and friendly with us and with visitors, if that's possible.

The black neighbor cat came by again today and it was the worst yet. Indy went insane and attacked and terrified both Zoe and Everett, who had come to the window to see what was the matter. Indy has never attacked anyone before, he was just so scared and mad at the cat. Nobody got hurt this time, but I'm worried somebody will, especially if it's happening when we're not home. I'm scared to leave now. And we can't leave our windows open. Even the blinds stay closed all the time because he comes by more than the cats realize and if they're not sitting right on the window behind the blinds they don't notice. It wasn't this bad when Everett first started coming by, they'd freak out, but wouldn't attack each other. It's because this guy screams and growls and whacks the windows. I have noticed the cat coming by a little less, maybe only once every day or couple days lately, and have been hoping his person was working on keeping him indoors more. But tonight he just wouldn't leave so I called her to come get him and to ask if she's at least making an attempt to keep him inside more, or at least closer to home (it's not like he lives next door, he wanders pretty far). I probably didn't handle the situation as well as I should because I was mad about the cat ramming itself against our window, ours freaking out, and the lady telling me that well, it's just too hard. So I said that if she's not even going to try, as a last resort I'll notify the city (your pets can't be on private property in this city and if they are you can be fined). She said I shouldn't do that because she can't afford it as she's in her last year of her PhD program. So I said I can't afford to miss classes to stay home when her cat is attacking our door as I'm in my last year of law school and she's the one doing something illegal. I guess that worked and we hung up. Then I felt way too bad about it. I absolutely wanted to make it clear that I don't want her to decide the cat is too hard and dump him at a shelter or get impatient with him so I called back and explained that I just get upset when my cats are upset or hurt and that it can be hard transitioning a cat to be more of an indoor cat and suggested feliway, time outside supervised or an outdoor enclosure, and said that I can be reasonable, like if I know she's just letting him out for limited amounts of time, I can be aware and keep the cats away from the windows. I still feel bad, and am also worried for this cat. I hope she tries to make the transition to mostly indoors as stress free as possible for him. In the long run I think he'll be safer, but it'll take time, patience, and thought on her part that I'm really hoping she's willing to put in.

Just Stuff

2009-09-13T23:01:00.003-06:00

This is our squirrel friend, Mr. Chippy Monkton, who lives in the tree just outside our window. Everett likes to watch him, but is actually a bit scared of him too. He just peeks at him. Everett is scared of a lot of things he sees outside the window.

This is a brand new white blanket on the bed. Of course, the cat that likes it the best is black. Indy never really slept on the bed with the old blanket. If the blanket was a dark color, it would be white-fur-shedder Georgia that liked it the best. That's just how it works.

He sure is a cute sleeper though.

And look at this belly! Somebody is getting a little chubby. It's good he's not too skinny anymore, but we really need to put more effort into watching how much they all eat. I was able to do it when we had two, but four is more than twice as difficult.

That is all.