Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Happy New Year!

My four-legged furballs and I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy New Year!

Now is no time for a nap, Astrid! We must ring in the New Year wide awake!

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas!

My four-legged furballs and I hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Everyone here had a wonderful Christmas! Some of us have run out of steam after the Christmas feast and fun, while others of us are still partying hard.
Rosie feasted from her new "Princess" bowl, and then took a nice long nap.
Astrid's been chewing away at her new ginormous peanut butter bone. And here she's even showing off the red Christmas bow on her collar.
My boy Evan has been playing with, carrying around, and talking to his new ring toys. He seems to find them just about as fun as his mom's hair ties.
Thimble loves her new carrot catnip toy, so much that it's already busted at the seam. If you look hard enough you'll see the catnip flakes strewn all over the floor around her. Don't worry, the toy will be good as new with a couple of stitches.
Apparently, according to the package, Toby's new catnip fish is named Annette.
Talon and Trapper are all tuckered out from playing hard today. Talon's cuddling with his boomerang catnip toy, but it seems that Trapper has temporarily lost his snake. That's okay, though, because until we find it he'll just keep cuddling with the kitty chewbone my/his mom got him.. (Fun fact: While Toby's fish is apparently named Annette, Trapper's snake's name is apparently Miles.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Monday, December 22, 2014

'Twas three nights before Christmas...

It's Christmas week!

I've finished all of my Christmas shopping, including for the four-legged furballs in my life. Since the next few days will be busy with family, fun, and overeating, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak now of my gifts for the four-legged furballs. Of course, I'll post more pictures of the furballs and their Christmas celebration when all is said and done.

I recently showed you the cat tree I got the kitties as an early Christmas gift (although I will soon share new pictures of the kitties playing on it, as it has been moved to a new location where they can see out of a number of windows while on it). All of the rest of their gifts are for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (Sorry, furry babies, but only one early Christmas gift!) I'll admit that none of their other gifts are as big or exciting as the cat tree, but I just couldn't help but let them have that one early. It was also a saving grace for the Christmas tree, which had been getting worked over pretty heavily by the kitties until the cat tree arrived.

Now, I already showed you the "Princess" bowls I got for Rosie and Thimble. Remember?
Both Rosie and Thimble will be getting one of these royal bowls for Christmas.
I also got each of the four kitties a new catnip toy. I'll first begin by explaining that for years Rosie has had two particular catnip toys -- one shaped like a banana and one shaped like a chili pepper -- that are very potent (as in, even after years of use they are still very effective at giving kitties a catnip high). The four kitties are constantly trying to steal these two catnip toys from Rosie. So, I got four catnip toys of the exact same brand as Rosie's, one for each of the kitties. Each kitty gets one of a unique shape, and I chose each one specifically for each kitty.
Each kitten gets one of these catnip toys for Christmas. There are four different ones -- a carrot, a boomerang, a fish, and a snake.
My little Thimble gets the carrot. While I'd like to say it's simply because every girl needs a karat, it's also because my little Thimble isn't so little anymore. She loves her food, and this mommy may have to put baby Thimble on a diet once she gets out of kittenhood. So, as a head start, I got Thimble a carrot catnip toy.

The fish is for Toby. Toby loves watching aquatic life. I know this because, although I somehow forgot to mention this until now, there is also a frog in this family. Long story short, Toby is good friends with the frog and is content to sit and watch the frog for hours. Since Toby loves aquatic life so much, I got him a fish catnip toy. (As a side note, my sister -- Toby's mom -- got him an artificial fish tank for Christmas.)

Talon gets the boomerang catnip toy. Why? Because I call Talon my little hero, and every hero needs a boomerang. And why do I call Talon my little hero? Because his adorable black mask earned him the nickname Batman, which I call him frequently and to which he responds to just as well as Talon. Come Christmas, my hero Batman will have a boomerang to call his own.

I chose the snake toy for Trapper. This is because while Trapper is a very sweet, affectionate, and handsome little fella, he is also typically the sneakiest and orneriest of the four kitties. He is usually the first one to sneak into Rosie's favorite area and to steal her catnip toys, and he will do this repeatedly, no matter how many times he is told no and no matter what type of barriers I try to build to keep him out of Rosie's safe haven. So sneaky Trapper gets a snake.

This next picture is Evan's Christmas gift. I did not get Evan a catnip toy because roughly 99% of the time Evan ignores catnip, so catnip toys are nowhere near his favorite. Instead, some of Evan's favorite toys are his mommy's hair ties. He will bat them around, carry them around in his mouth, and talk to them (very loudly). Well, this Mommy wanted her boy to have an actual cat toy that he might find as fun as his mommy's hair ties. So, I got him these:
I don't know if Evan will like these as much as his mommy's hair ties, but I hope he'll find them close enough to be fun. If he seems uncertain of them, I just very well might let him see me wear one in my hair for awhile.
Now, for Astrid. It's difficult choosing a gift for Astrid. This is because she already has so many toys, and even things that don't belong to her she turns into toys (such as kitty toys, shoes, toilet paper rolls, etc.). But something that Astrid always loves getting new are chewbones. I am most trusting of the Nylabone brand of chewbones, and Astrid seems to love these. So, for Christmas I got her a ginormous Nylabone of a flavor she loves -- peanut butter. I would love to take a picture of it to show you. However, Astrid is sitting right next to me, and the chewbone is currently safely in hiding. If I retrieve it now for a photo shoot, Astrid will know what I'm doing the second I lay hands on the chewbone, and she will relentlessly beg for the chewbone all the way until Christmas finally arrives. Therefore, unless I can sneak a picture in later, you may have to wait to see it until after she gets it on Christmas.
Astrid only has to wait a couple more days for her gift. In the meantime, she'll be watching out for Santa.
I did not get any new toys for Rosie. She has her favorites -- one being an old, tattered, discolored canvas mouse that she's had almost her entire life -- that she uses primarily as pillows. Past that, she doesn't play a whole lot (unless you give her a ribbon, but she already has a whole stash of those). So, she'll get her "Princess" bowl, and I'll fill it with as much yummy food and treats as she wants on Christmas. I know she'll be very happy with that.
Rosie's gearing up for her Christmas feast with lots of snoozies.
I hope everyone is having a merry time gearing up for Christmas!




Friday, December 19, 2014

Awww Interlude

Thimble says thanks for the ear cleaning, Talon. And thanks for serving as a pillow, Trapper.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Model Material

For this post I'm going to take a brief break from my Christmas theme. Although I never really intended on using pop culture as a basis for any of my posts, I guess that's sort of what I'll be doing in this one.

So, who has heard of and/or seen the movie Zoolander? For those who don't know, Zoolander is a comedy that stars Ben Stiller as a male model. I haven't seen it in quite some time, but I always remember the model pose/expression that Ben Stiller's male model character deemed "Blue Steel". Blue Steel is one of those squinty-eyed, pursed-lip kind of model poses.

I bring up Zoolander and Blue Steel because I happen to know a certain kitty who has made me smile and laugh with his masterful Blue Steel skills on more occasions than I can count. And that kitty would be Trapper (you know, Thimble's sort of look-alike brother who belongs to my parents). Since Trapper's modeling skills bring me so much joy, I've decided that I want to share them with you. So, this post will be dedicated to Trapper's evolution as a male model in his nearly eight months of life thus far. Prepare yourself for some stunning good looks...
Trapper's modeling days started at a young age. Here he is in all of his infinite Blue Steel glory at roughly four weeks of age.
Not even romping with his brother Talon could distract baby Trapper from a model moment.
And even when the photographer couldn't manage a focused shot, young Trapper knew what to do.
By the time Trapper reached three months of age, he was willing to take risks for his modeling career, even climbing to the top of a scratching post for the perfect shot.
Trapper even started experimenting, such as by adding a head tilt to his Blue Steel gaze.
Even upon waking up from a nap Trapper has always been perfect model material (and even when his photographer yet again failed to get a focused shot).
Well before five months of age, Trapper had pretty much mastered it. He owned that Blue Steel look.
This is his pensive Blue Steel gaze.
By six months of age, expert Trapper was more than ready for a close-up.
As long as he doesn't get too full of himself, Trapper could make a career out of this modeling thing.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Merry two weeks until Christmas!

It's only two weeks until Christmas! That being said, I got the kitties an early Christmas gift: a cat tree!

I've been wanting to get the kitties a cat tree for quite some time now. Mainly, Trapper and Talon love to climb and will climb anything and everything in sight. Toby is a little like this also. And then there's Thimble, who is simply not like that at all. So, mainly for the boys' sake, I wanted the kitties to have somewhere safe and appropriate to climb to their little hearts' content. The rest of this story is that I found a roughly five-foot tall cat tree at a great price online. I bought it. It arrived today. I already assembled it and the kitties already love it, especially the boys.

See for yourself:
Trapper, Talon, and Toby immediately found their favorite sleeping spots on the tree. (Note the blanket on the right. This is because the kitties have displayed an affinity for bedsheets and forts, so I made part of the tree into a fort for them.)
Toby was especially proud of making himself fit in the smallest hammock.
Trapper adopted the highest point on the tree.
Talon seems to love the soft carpeting of the tree.
Thimble investigated the tree for a bit, but I had to help her onto the higher levels. With her adorably short legs and stocky build, she's just not the climber or jumper that her brothers are. That's okay, though, her cuteness makes up for any lack of athleticism.

So, what was Thimble doing while her brothers initiated the new cat tree?
Sleeping in her favorite tunnel.
And then she watched some TV.
At 21 years old and arthritic, Rosie has next to no interest in a cat tree. She much prefers the comfort of her couch.
Rosie's couch is covered in her favorite blankets, and there's a space heater in front of her couch to her keep nice and toasty.
Obviously, Evan is not able to climb up the cat tree because of his hind limb paralysis. That's okay, though, because at this time of year Evan's favorite place to be is under the Christmas tree.
I tried to get a picture of Evan playing under the Christmas tree, but when he saw me with the camera he decided he wanted a close-up.
Evan loves to redecorate under the Christmas tree, such as by dragging the tree skirt around and making it into a bed.
And last but certainly not least, there's Astrid. At first she was uncertain about her beloved kittens climbing up their cat tree, and she did not really like that she couldn't reach them once they got to the top of it. But ultimately she settled down and resorted to this:
Hanging out on the couch with Rudolph.
 Merry two weeks until Christmas!

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Christmas is in the air!

I love this time of year, and I've been celebrating it by listening to Christmas music and watching sappy Hallmark Christmas movies (guilty pleasure of mine, I'll admit). In addition to the music and sappy movies, today I've also been busy wrapping gifts.
This is some of what the fruits of my labor have produced today.
More importantly, I had some furry help while wrapping gifts. Momma's boy Evan was Santa's little helper today. He may not have necessarily helped me in the most traditional sense, but that's okay. He makes an adorable little elf no matter what.
Evan geared up for all of the gift wrapping by taking a nice, long bath.
He started getting tuckered out pretty early in the gift wrapping game.
Once Evan decided that Mom had the gift wrapping under control, he decided to test out her pillows. After all, being Santa's little helper is tiresome work.
I've gotten most of my Christmas shopping done, but I'm still working on collecting gifts for all of the four-legged furballs in my life (there are a lot of them, after all). For the time being, I thought I'd give a sneak peak of one of the gifts I've selected. I got one of these for both Rosie and Thimble. Fitting for both of them, as you'll see below.
Rosie and Thimble will be eating and drinking in royal style now. (Astrid would have gotten one of these as well, if it was bigger and if she wasn't so hard on her food and water bowls.)
That's all for now. Perhaps I'll go see what sappy movie is playing now.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Awww Interlude


"Is this a good pose, Mom?"
And the verdict is in -- Evan was a very good boy for his vet visit today! He was told by his new veterinarian that he is a sweet and handsome boy. He makes his momma proud!

Friday, December 5, 2014

Check-Ins and Promises

I'm trying to get back to checking in and making more frequent posts (as in, at least once or twice a week, if not more). So far I'm not doing so well with that, but I promise I will do my best to get back to checking in more frequently!

One reason I have not been on here much lately is that this is of course an especially busy time of year, as I'm sure you all know! I love Christmas, and I love Christmas shopping, especially for my four-legged furballs. Lately, a lot of my hours after work have been spent Christmas shopping, and I've spent a lot of time in pet stores lately. Soon I will post pictures of what I have gathered so far for my furry babies' Christmas.

Also, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My feline furballs spent it scarfing down cans of turkey and giblets Fancy Feast, and Astrid spent it begging for and of course earning some scraps of my turkey (shame on me, although I was sure to keep her share to a safe minimum). Sadly, I was not able to get any pictures of their Thanksgiving because my camera was acting up. But I promise you, they were adorable.

In other news, Evan has a vet appointment this afternoon for his annual exam and vaccinations. It's his first trip to the vet in about a year. The last time he was examined and vaccinated he was a kitten, and much smaller. My Evan was feisty back then, and although he has made huge strides in his behavior and demeanor, I am curious how he will do now that he is older and full grown. Exams and vaccines are always difficult for him because, due to his hind limb paralysis and scoliosis, too much handling makes him uncomfortable. It will also be his first time seeing a new veterinarian. Hopefully all goes well, though! (As a side note, Evan is not the biggest fan of my camera and for whatever reason he sometimes gets stressed by the sight of it, so of course I will not be taking any pictures to share of him before or during his appointment. However, he is long past due for a photo shoot, so this weekend I will get some new shots of him and will let you know how his vet visit went.)

I apologize that this post lacks pictures! I hate to do that, but I am on break at work and currently don't have access to my furballs' digital photo albums. That being said, I intend on posting an Awww Interlude tonight and then making an additional post or two this weekend.

Until then, have a great day!