A Tail of Two Kitties

They are the best of cats, they are the worst of cats. It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

Ok, that may be a little dramatic; sorry Mr. Dickens. But goodness, for two cats with the almost exact fur color, they are so different!

Yes, they are almost 12 years apart in age, and that makes a huge difference too. But Star was 2 when I got her and really, apart from slowing down a little and taking more care with her jumps, she’s just about the same as she always was.

Their big difference is size. Star is a small, petite, 7 pounds with short legs and a short body. Leo is just over 10 pounds, long and lean with tall legs and a long body. He looks like he weighs more, but it’s all fur.

Leo has long, feathery, yet not too thick, fur. Star has the softest fur you’d ever want to touch, not long, not short, kind of middle. I always thought she had a fluffy tail, and it is her fluffiest part, but then we met Leo. His tail is at least 4 or 5 inches longer than hers and the fur on it is so long it looks like a giant plume.

Star's tail

Leo's tail

Star has a round little face, a short little nose and big round eyes. Leo has a pointy face, a long nose and tilted almond eyes. We call him little fox face because he looks a little like a fox and is so adorable. I’ve mentioned before that he has a slight overbite, but he also has a very tiny chin. Star has a long chin which makes her look like she’s pressing her lips together in disapproval a lot.

Leo's head

Star's Head

Their big difference, of course, is personality. Goodness, but Star is a cranky little wench! And Leo is a big ol’ goof ball. When he plays, he jumps every which way, crashing into things without a care, just hopping around and going bananas. Star stalks, her eyes go wide and dark and she crouches low and is very deliberate when she attacks. I think she thinks his bounding around is undignified. I think he doesn’t care what anyone thinks.

When it comes to belly pets, Star has to be in the mood and then she will roll over and demand them. She has curly belly fluff and loves to show it off. She will let (read insist) you rub up and down her tummy forever. And if you stop, watch out, she will give you the evil eye until you start again. When she’s done, she’ll either get up and walk off (whew) or try to take your arm off (argh!).

Leo does not like belly rubs. Not in any way shape or form. Which is just awful for me because I love kitty bellies! The only way to get to pet his tummy is to make sure he’s asleep then really lightly rub it. But you have to stop the moment he opens his eyes or you get one of two reactions. He will either get up and roll onto his belly so you can’t get at it (aw poo) or he will grab hold of your hand with both paws, no claws, (awe) and hold onto it as if he was deciding if he should bite or not. Mostly he does not, and when he does, it’s a light little almost putting his teeth on you.

Leo is a random, goofy, little boy. Star is a deliberate, cranky, old lady. But you know what? I love them both just the same. They’re my babies and I’m blessed to have them.

Oh yes, I started out with best of times, worst of times.. I had both today.

The worst was an unprovoked attack, and the best was mega-cuddles. BL (before Leo) Star had developed a very bad habit of attacking my arms early in the morning leaving me with horrible scars. I never knew what set her off, though sometimes it would happen as I was petting her and she might have become overstimulated and I didn’t realize that she was done. Oh my goodness would it hurt though. I had learned to keep my arms under the sheets to take away her target, and if I laid on my side and let her on my hip, she would lose the desire to attack. But since Leo arrived, she hasn’t done that. I don’t know if it’s because she centered her attack mode on him, or if she had enough activity that she didn’t need to, or if I just learned to always always let her on my hip.

This morning, she came in and I settled in so she could get on my hip, but she passed right by it and just launched an attack on my arm from out of the blue! I have a couple of punctures and a deep scratch and I’m still bewildered about why. But I decided we are not going to start this up again, so I made sure she left the room and I shut the door. If she’s going to attack, she is not going to be allowed in.

The mega-cuddles came later. First, when I finally got up and allowed Star back in, she was contrite and wanting attention and pets. I pet her, but I was still leery that she might attack again. She didn’t, so she got the attention she wanted. When I got downstairs, Leo was in an extra cuddly mood. No one has been over working on the house for the last two days, so he’s making up for missed snuggles.

I don’t know how many times he jumped up, crawled up to my neck and shoulder and leaned into my head to sleep. He was a purring machine. When I needed to move him because he would give me a crick in the neck, I would wrap him in my arms and just snuggle and he loved it. I think he’d get warm, so he’d either lay between my feet or on The Chair for a while before coming back and demanding more attention.

All in all, it was a mixed bag kind of day. Attacks and cuddles, best and worst, hope and despair. Maybe you were on to something after all, Charles.

Favorite Things (a few anyway)

In my post on the 23^rd called Scardy Cats, I showed a picture of Leo chomping on Greg’s boot laces. Leo loves toys, even if he has to create them himself. Somewhere in the midst of the construction mess is a broken boot lace that Greg gave to him and that he has chomped to pieces.

Unfortunately a lot of his toys are hiding behind things. That might be why he stole a feather end from a string toy. I let him keep it because he needs his toys. But playing with those attached boot laces really perked him up. So when he saw, not boots, but shoes sitting all by themselves, unguarded, he had to see if they were as play-worthy as the boots.

They were.

Nomnomnomnom, less greasy, just as chompy!

Another thing that Leo cannot be without. The Chair. No matter where it winds up in the room while we’re working, and it gets pushed around on a daily basis, he HAS to reclaim it. He loves The Chair. Star does too, but she rarely relaxes enough downstairs to lay in it. So unless it’s in a window and she knows where Leo is and doesn’t feel threatened, she hasn’t been all over it like Leo wants to be.

Today The Chair wound up more in the middle of the room to be out of the way of flying texture paint. Leo couldn’t use it to see out of a window. It wasn’t close enough to a wall for him to sniff and check out the work. Nothing interesting on TV, though he did look at it for a few minutes. But ah, it’s not called The Chair for nothing. Aside from the Royal Footstool, it’s the best kitty seat in the house.

I am king of all I survey! Hey, what’s that?

Snack time rules around here. Star even puts up with Leo hanging around, even close to her, when there’s snacks in the offering. She’s also learned that Leo leaves snack in his dish, so she will always check his out. It’s ok though, because she leaves some in hers and he checks that out! What’s funny is that she’s so picky about what she gets for a snack, but she will eat things she has rejected if it’s in his dish! Leo likes just about everything, except fresh chicken and Star’s favorite chicken appetizers.



She’s giving me the laser-eyes waiting for her snack. She’s even got her back to the enemy. Who’s more interested in something else.

Snack time? Is it snack time? Now? What about now? How about..... Now! Come on..

Another of Leo’s favorite snacks is.. bugs.. tonight a beetle got in somehow (ugh!!) and he thought it was great fun. I have no idea if he ever actually ate it.. (was not gonna watch that!) but he played with it for quite a while. Leaving this snack even, which Star took advantage of. (Don’t worry, he finished hers later. Probably to get the bug taste out of his mouth. Eww)



You can’t see it, but under his right paw is the beetle. *shudder* He’s staring at Star who’s face is in his snack dish, trying to decide between the bug and the bowl.

Crunch or munch.. hmm

Again, can’t see it, but Star is munching in Leo’s bowl while he stares at her. She, for once, is ignoring him.

Nomnomnom, mine now, infidel!

Snoopervisers

Some of the wall texture went up today. As I said yesterday, I was worried that Leo would get into the texture paint.. He certainly inspected it enough! The back of The Chair was just close enough that he was able to look down on the still wet parts. On this wall, only the bottom half had to be removed and redone. The darker stuff on the is the still wet texture paint. Leo couldn't wait to get a look, thankfully, he only got a little on his side and that brushed out easily enough! Goofy cat!

Ooo it looks soft and squishy, mommy!

Hard to see here, but his paw is actually on the wall! I was gonna freak out, but I realized that at least he's touching the old top part, not the new wet part. But he just had to touch it.. yeesh, teenage boys..

I'm not touching it! I'm not touching it! Oh... that paw... well...

HEY LOOK! SQUIRREL! heh.. that doesn't work on you huh?

Wait a minute.. Now what's that goofy boy doing? Watching TV? Oh, it's chocolate.... I can understand THAT facination!

*drool*

No, Leo, chocolate is bad for kitties.

Chocolate? oh, I thought it was a huge kitty treat.. never mind.

Leo discovered how to get on the ladder. He got all the way to the top before I found the camera! He's either inspecting the work, or watching the bugs attracted by the inside lights.

Bugs, mom, always bugs! Can you open the window and let a few in to play with me?

No!

*pout* you no fun..

Being on the top must have made him nervous, or there was too much breeze from the air conditioner because he moved down and sat on the step for a long time.

If I knock the trowl down, will it make daddy jump? Can I try? hee hee



Star did her share of inspecting. But better than that, she found this spot to lay in and stayed there! Relaxed! Comfortable! Downstairs! In Leo's zone! My baby girl might be chilling out!
Daddy was pleased too, and gave her some good scritches.

*purr* A little to the right.. ah, that's the spot. *PURR*



Leo walked along the wall behind her and started snooping at the bags and things. She reached down and tried to give him a little swat. Good thing she has short legs! Leo wasn't intimidated in the least. No picture of that of course..

Leo's Bad Day

Poor Leo. He’s not having the best day around here... He has gotten over hiding while work is going on, though not when power tools are running. But he’s pretty much accepted my parents being in the house, and doesn’t hide too much. Considering what he went through today, hiding might have been safer!

Bear with me while I do a little background so you get the scope of this first incident. My mother does miniature dollhouse stuff. At the moment, she’s president of her miniature club. They are always looking for things that look like other things in miniature. For instance, that little plastic support in the middle of your pizza? Nice little end table.

Her newest find is that the seeds part of red pepper flakes look just like miniature potato chips. This means that while my dad works on the walls, she and I have been sitting here separating the seeds from the flakes... Yes, it’s just as tedious as it sounds. Two days we did this.

First we started by using the eraser end of pencils to separate them one at a time. I was impatient so I started sliding bigger piles out of the way with my finger. Then today I just did it all by finger while my mom used the point of a pencil. She kept telling me not to rub my eye, which I wasn’t gonna do anyway, I’m not that silly!

I got to thinking, it can’t be that bad, people put this on their pizza and cook with it! I don’t feel any oil from it on my finger, maybe I’m not getting anything on me. So I quickly tapped my tongue... Holy Smokes! I about choked! I sucked down water and stole my mom’s gold fish crackers! Bleh! That was yucky!

After I regained my wits... I started teasing, telling her to lick my finger, it wasn’t bad! Ha! Nephew and his fiancé stopped over, they weren’t buying it either. Guess there aren’t many fools in my family. Aside from me apparently..

Leo, poor baby, happened to jump onto the Royal Footstool in front of me and sprawled out. I wondered if the smell of the peppers would interest him. I held my finger about half an inch from his nose. The silly boy, he sniffed, and then leaned into my finger and rubbed his wet nose on it! I pulled away, but thought the damage was done. But he didn’t move. Ok, maybe it didn’t bother him.

A minute or two later, it must have started tingling or something because he licked his nose. I have never seen a cat’s eyes go that wide! He jumped straight up in the air and ran from the room like the hounds of hell were on his tail! Oh my poor baby! I felt sooo bad! He didn’t come back out for an hour at least. I hope he went and got a drink.

My dad has been mudding the walls. That’s the thick white stuff that fills nail holes and seams on the drywall. He’s also been fixing little holes and such that have happened to the walls over the years. One patch is above the couch.

Earlier in the day Leo was trying to get out of the room quickly, so he ran up me like I was a ramp, jumped to the back of the couch, ran down the side and leaped off. Swishing his plume of a tail right through wet mud... Pretty sure he swiped his side through it a little too, silly cat.

Tomorrow or the next day, we’re going to start texture painting.. I hope he doesn’t swish through that too! I’d be obligated to paint him then, and I don’t think pale blue would look good on him..

I need more than pets mom, I need snacks and toys too..

I has a bad day.

Heh heh heh, I’ll give you some of my catnip to do that again.

Scardy Cats

Leo has been afraid to come into our bedroom for the most part because it’s Star’s territory. Yes, he has made the occasional foray into the Lionesses den, but for the most part, he will sit in the door way and crane his neck looking around to see if she’s there. Most of the time he doesn’t see her at all, but still won’t come in no matter how much I call him.

That said.. You know how much work we have to do with repairing walls and all and that it’s been freaking the poor boy out. So imagine if you will, that he disappeared all day Thursday while power tools were in use and people were in and out all day. Could not find hide nor hair of him. Finally, hours after everyone left and he still hadn’t showed up, Greg went on another search for him and guess where he was? Yup, our bedroom. Under the bed, and let me tell you, nothing was going to convince him to come out!

I am serious. We tried for hours. Not even snack time could get him to move. We could see him, but could not reach him. And when Greg tried, Leo just moved further back. We have a base on the bed with doors and drawers so it’s way too hard to get under there because, well, there’s stuff stored there!

We finally had to just go to bed and let him stay. Star was in and out, and I was afraid that she’d go under there and start a fight. She spends a lot of the day under that bed herself. Since we hadn’t seen her all day either, I have no idea where she had been hiding... I don’t know how she didn’t know he was under there, I mean his scent had to be in the room. But there had been no fighting.

I have no idea how long he stayed under the bed. I kept watching for him to come out because I was worried about Star flipping out when he showed his face. Sometime around 3AM I heard him calling me from downstairs. I never saw or heard him leave! I called back to him, but he didn’t come back up. Star kind of grumbled at his calling, though she stayed where she was. On her closet box.

When I got up Friday, Leo was all over me for attention! He was starved for touch and I made a big fuss over him. Lurking in the back of my mind though, was the fact that in a few hours work would begin again. Would he run and hide and spend the day under the bed again? I was worried.

Turns out I needn’t be. He must have been so attention starved from the day before that he didn’t go into hiding for more than a few minutes at a time.

He spend most of the day trying to sit on me, and if not on me, then on the back of the couch trying to put a paw on someone. Even my mother, who he hadn’t been overly friendly with before. He sat for quite a while with his back foot on the top of her head!

The difference might have been there were no power tools running as my dad was mudding and taping the new walls. Star made the occasional appearance as well. It was a good kitty day!

One funny thing happened. At first I thought Star had come down and she and Leo were fighting! I heard him thunder through the house as if he were scared of something. Finally he came to a landing on the Royal Footstool. And running up one side of his plume of a tail and down the other, was a left over piece of that sticky mesh drywall tape! Poor baby, he must have sat on it and was running around trying to escape it! I got it off with minimal fur removal and he was a happy baby again.

Star the Snooperviser is at it again.

Hmm, not quite dry yet. And would it kill you to run a broom through here?

Leo, more than ready for this mess to be over with.

Looks good enough to me... can we be done?

　

Leo is enjoying the view, too bad that cabinet isn’t staying there when all is done.

But I like this window! I want this to stay!

　

Star got some catnip!

(Leo still hates it)

Nomnomnom, mmm that’s the good stuff!

　

Leo likes daddy’s boot laces!

Toys! *chew chew chew* Um, you didn’t want to keep these did you?

Freaked Out Kitties

A lot of work has been getting done which is keeping the cat’s in hiding. Star stays upstairs for the most part. She came down several times when it sounded all quiet, but that’s because all the dry wall cutting was going on outside. As soon as they came back in, she darted for the stairs again.

Leo was in hiding but we didn’t know where. We didn’t see him all day even though we looked for him several times. It wasn’t until we moved out the one couch, deciding that we just couldn’t be that crowded up for the duration (I was feeling claustrophobic and I am not usually). Since that couch was in bad shape anyway, it was the logical choice. When we moved the couch we were keeping, he ran out from inside it! It’s a lazyboy recliner couch and he must have found a way in through the back. Sneaky kitty!

Today no one could work because of other issues, and Leo was making up for lost time. Every time he saw me, he would practically force his way past whatever I was doing so he could crawl up to my neck and snuggle and sleep. He was stuck to me like glue today! Not that I minded, he’s my baby after all.

Star spent a lot of time downstairs herself, hissing and showing her displeasure in the fact that Leo wasn’t tossed out with the other couch. There was a lot of snooping at what had been done as well. Lots of intriguing new scents and sights.

Tomorrow work continues, so I don’t expect to see much of the poor babies. But things are moving along faster than I thought they would so hopefully it’s all over soon.

What the...?? The Chair doesn't go over here...

I'm a little freaked out about all of this.. can you tell?

I do like the new window view though..

Out of the way, Chief Inspector Star is here to snoopervise what's been done around here.

I like the new hidey-hole, you may leave this here. Permanently.

Lookin' better, but I'm still freaked out somewhat.

I want The Chair back in front of a window please.

Higgledy-Piggledy

I had this post half written. Then I lost it because I forgot to plug in the laptop. That’s about par for the course lately..

Please pardon me while I go off-kitty for a little bit, though it does effect the kitties. I think I’m real glad we decided not to decide on getting another kitty right now just because we were on vacation. I would have hated to bring another kitty into the mess we got ourselves into.

And it happens on the last day of vacation too! If it had happened earlier, we (and by we I mean Greg) would have had the days off to deal with it.

I had been wanting to get a new couch. We were going to use our tax refund to get a couch or a couch and chair. I was having trouble finding just what I wanted though. So I kept going back and forth between wanting the furniture or new carpet. Greg wasn’t too sure about carpet because Star had been a bad girl in a few places in protest of Leo intruding in her life..

So I had the bright idea, lets get the carpet cleaned and get a couch. Moving things out of the living room for the carpet cleaners we discovered a problem that we kind of knew was there, but it was much worse than we thought.. Between a few leaky air conditioners, stored things causing condensation to build up, and poorly made walls, we had a mildew problem. And it turned into a mold problem on the carpet and up the wall. Not good.

The carpet cleaners wouldn’t touch it, and I suppose I don’t blame them, but they were wrong about the extent of the problem. They said the padding would be worse, and it wasn’t touched. By the mold anyway, but by the kitty mess... whew! That was awful! I cannot let Star take all the blame for that. Previous kitties had also done their damage, but wow, when you start ripping out the carpet, it just all comes back!

I guess I am going to get carpet, but this is not the way I was hoping to do it. We are also ripping out half the walls to just get rid of the problem areas rather than try to clean them, if that’s even possible. So right now everything is all higgledy-piggledy, half a carpet, half a wall, furniture stuffed wherever.. It’s so lovely let me tell ya..

Oh, did I mention that the cement floor under the carpet is cracked badly and has to be repaired before we can put in carpet? And after repairing it, we have to paint it with killz (however it’s spelled) to block/trap mold and kitty smells. More fun.

Star and Leo don’t know what to do. Windows that they haven’t had access to are suddenly uncovered. One had our old TV cabinet in front of it which was supposed to go upstairs before twin 1 moved in and it kind of got stuck downstairs in front of a window because there was no where else for it. Another window had a cabinet I inherited from my gramma in front of it which was also supposed to go upstairs at some point.

Now the TV cabinet is up, and the other one is going to stay down as I decided on a place for it. I have kitty plans for it too... but Greg doesn’t know about that yet heh heh heh!

The video cabinet had been hiding some of the wall that had to be removed, so it’s temporarily in front of one of the newly unblocked windows and the kitties, oh they love it! A new view and a lovely place to lay! Too bad it’s not staying there. The other unblocked window is not very kitty accessible.. but Greg puts the folding chair that Leo loves in front of it at night. Yeah, he spoils them!

I’m a little worried about Leo while they are working on the walls this week. I don’t want him going outside and I know the door will be opening and closing a lot and maybe even be stuck partly open with power cords. I hate the thought of locking him in the cat room for the whole day, but I might have to just to be safe.

Star is not an issue. She will hide under the bed all day and not even come down while there are people in the house. She’s not terribly fond of my nephew who will be doing a lot of the work. Leo will hide, but will come out after a little while, which makes him an unknown factor.

I have to tell one thing that happened last night. With all the going in and out with rolled up carpet pieces and bagged up walls, moths and lightening bugs kept getting in the house. Leo, as you know, is a bug hunter of the highest order. Star will also track the occasional bug. She saw a large moth fly in and chased it across the room to the bare cement side. Where, as luck would have it, Leo was crouched waiting for the newest bug to come where the light was.

Star skidded to a stop and she and Leo were nose to nose about a foot apart for all of ten seconds! Then she went all hissyface and he almost did a backflip tracking the moth. He was the victor, flattening the fluttering ‘toy’. Star sat there in stunned silence for a few minutes, having come face to face with the enemy. Then she went off in a huff to mark the only scratchy to escape the clear out as her own.

I sure hope this doesn't take too long.. the kitties and me are gonna go nuts with all the changes!

Before the mess.. The Great Toy Line Up

It lasts like that for all of an hour before Leo rearranges it to his liking.

His liking is scattered across the room!

Before the rip out, but after moving furniture, Star had some play time.

And Leo got a new, smaller fedder! It was very munch-able.

Star Video Saturday

This is how Star usually plays with her butterfly toy.. She licks and rubs it all over her face more than actually plays. I wish I'd turned down Iron Chef America so you could hear how loudly her tongue rasps over that thing..

Not that she doesn't ever play with it! She just seems to prefer to lick it.

Here she'd rather attack the sheets than play with that huge weird krinkle ball..

Of Catnip and Birds

I mentioned in my last post about a change in Leo and Star’s relationship. But first, let’s review where they were.

When we got Leo, Star immediately proclaimed that she was top cat, that he was a lowly serf and she was Queen of all she surveyed. Leo seemed to accept his place and, if not exactly cowered in fear, certainly respected the old bitc.. Er, lady.

We got a pheromone plug that was supposed to calm the kitties, and hopefully make them more inclined to be friendly toward each other. It did nothing at all for Star. However it worked on Leo, it gave him a new boldness. He stopped hiding. He stopped being intimidated. He started pouncing Star... Not exactly the outcome we were looking for.

Eventually we started ‘punishing’ Leo for attacking Star by putting him in the cat room when he was too aggressive. After two time outs, he stopped immediately attacking her on sight. So he learned, but he was still the aggressor when downstairs. Star defends the upstairs with growl and paw, but downstairs, she had seemed cowed, yet ready to defend herself. I’d call it an uneasy truce, except that there was no real truce..

Cut to this week, Monday to be specific. We got a new tub of catnip and some more toys. (Always need new toys right! Especially with Leo the toy destroyer around.) I had been wanting to get Da Bird for Leo since he, 1) loves feathers, and 2) loves toys on string he can jump after. We found one! We used to have one, but Star preferred toys that moved along the ground rather than through the air, so when it broke, we didn’t replace it. We hadn’t had catnip in the house, except for what was on the scratchies, since we got Leo. Who knew these two purchases would change everything.

Star must have sensed that there was catnip in the house because she was all perky ears and wiggly nose around the bag from the pet store. She was even too busy being nosey to hiss at Leo, who was also interested, but probably because he sensed there were feathers around. Boy can find a hidden feather in no time flat..

I opened the tub of catnip and showed it to Star first, she went all wide eyes and seemed to want to jump into the tub! I showed it to Leo, and he just looked at it, then at me as if to say, ‘this is not feathers..’ Not the overwhelming response I thought I’d get, but ok, maybe it’s overwhelming in the tub.

I don’t know how anyone else serves catnip to their kitties, but I always sprinkle it on newspaper so they can either eat it or roll in it without having to lick up the carpet. I don’t want to see blue hairballs..

So I put a good size pinch on two pieces of newspaper and gave Star her’s first because I thought she was going to jump out of her fur if she didn’t get it soon. I guess I didn’t know she was an addict.. She started eating it almost before I set it down. The expression on her face when she looked up at me, tiny leaves trailing from her face, eyes all large and bright.. Boy do I wish I’d had the camera ready!

Leo had been lounging on the Royal Footstool, and hadn’t moved, seemingly uninterested. I set his paper of catnip next to him. It wasn’t just ‘seemingly’ uninterested. He barely gave it a cursory sniff before scooting a little further away. Say what?? A cat who doesn’t like catnip? Say it ain’t so!

Is it not fresh? I picked up a little of it and sniffed it, smelled strong and fresh to me! Still, I rolled some between my fingers, hopefully to get the oils or whatever activated (as I sometimes do with oregano) so it will smell stronger. I pushed the leaves into a little pile and nudged it toward Leo. He glanced at it again, then acted all affronted that I was taking up room on his Royal Footstool with those weeds.. Then he jumped down and walked away to lay in the open door and watch something really interesting, like bugs walking by.

Star happily finished her catnip and licked up some of Leo’s as well. And she’d been downstairs for quite a while without hissing or growling. Probably because her mouth was full... But still, this was good!

And it got better!

When Star went to lay on the other couch to veg out and probably watch the pretty psychedelic colors float before her eyes, I got out Da Bird. I started waving it back and forth, letting it make it’s bird-flying-by sound, to catch Leo’s attention. He was still concentrating on showing me the Back of Disrespect and watching out the door and clearly was not done being upset about the weed incident.

I kept trying to entice him when suddenly Star dove off the couch and began LEAPING after Da Bird! Star! Leaping! I was in shock and called Greg to witness this with me as she kept going nuts after Da Bird! She’s got fast paws and caught it several times when she would give it a gnawing it would never forget before I could get it away from her only to start all over again. This is my little old lady cat? Princess Hissyface? Miss Put-it-on-the-floor-or-I-shall-ignore-it?

Stunning!

And that’s not the only change in her. Emboldened by either the nip or the extreme exercise, she has reasserted herself as the top cat. Three times that night she attacked Leo to prove that she was the boss and she wouldn’t take his stuff any more. (Leo was uninjured, her attack consisted of whapping at him about six times in a second, usually missing actually hitting him but making a loud slapping on whatever he was sitting on like the footstool or his favorite folding chair.)

Cowed, Leo spent the next two days hiding from Star under the footstool and behind the couch. He’s given her back the top spot, but I couldn’t have him hiding like that. So tonight we made a fuss over him, making sure he knew he could stay out. He got the hint, and is back to his normal self, sans looking like he’s going to attack Star every time he sets eyes on her.

Star has taken back the high places. BL (Before Leo) Star always slept on the back of the couch, always. After Leo got bold, he took it over and she hadn’t been up there since. But now, in the last few days, she has been laying, if not actually sleeping there, again. She seems to have to keep an eye on the infidel, though she has dozed off occasionally.

I don’t know if this is just another up and down, as is par for the course with these two, or if things are improving. I still don’t know if getting Leo a friend his age is a good idea, or a bad one. Seems like we’d have to start all over with Star if we did, but that Leo would have someone to play with.

I have made one decision, and that’s not to rush into a decision just because we’re on vacation. I would still welcome and appreciate any thoughts and prayers on the issue because we honestly don’t know which is the best path.

At this point, I’m just glad to see more of Star downstairs, even if we have to build Leo’s confidence again. Which isn’t a hard task really, he was much better tonight already.

Some of Da Bird action.

Star was hard to photograph as she was a wild cat!

Stop touching me! Ok, you're gonna get the nomming of your life!

MINE! Bwhahahaha! Caught you feathered fiend!

Leo.. a little less animated, but still very interested in Da Bird. As long as it came to him.

(He has since been seen leaping through the air after it, but when I was taking pictures, he was being a lazy butt)

Come closer so I can grab you..

I got it! Well, part of it.. I'll getcha later dude!

Advice Needed!

We’re on vacation this week, so I don’t know how often I’ll be posting. However, I am in need of advice. Leo and Star still are not getting along, though there have been a few changes in their relationship that I will talk about tomorrow if I get the chance. But since they are not, Greg has been wondering if Leo needs a friend that he can play with. Obviously Star will not.

When Leo was with Chrystal, and was having trouble adjusting to the cat house, Chrystal put him and a sister together elsewhere because he loved his sisters, but apparently not everyone else. Greg also wonders if we had another female kitty if Star would get along with her better than she does the rambunctious Leo.

I’m worried that yet another cat will make Star even more crazy. She’s 12, and set in her ways. Leo has upset her routine and her peace. It’s only been three months since Leo arrived and I think they could still call a truce even if they never become best friends.

So, Cat Blogosphere.. Any thoughts? Ideas? Anything that worked in similar situations? Since we are on vacation, this would be the best time to add a new kitty, IF that should be the solution... I just don’t know if that will help or hurt.

Do I need a friend? Or does the old bitty just need to chill?

Who needs friends when you have humans wrapped around your paw..

Yay Day!

Leo is beyond excited! His sister, Trixie, got the package he sent her a little while back! Trixie is a Winnie’s Wish kitty too, she was adopted from Chrystal’s blog, Daily Dose of Dogs (AKA Cat’s With Your Coffee). Leo, Trixie and four more sisters were feral kittens Chrysal and her family rescued. The other four sisters are still waiting on their forever homes. Judging by how wonderful Leo and Trixie are, I just know they would make wonderful members of anyone’s family, so if you are looking for a great kitty, or know someone who is, please point them in Chrystal’s direction!

Trixie and her new kitty siblings have a wonderful blog, House of Cats, that you should also check out. Especially THIS ONE where Trixie shares what Leo sent her! See, she had a favorite pink mousie when she lived in the cat house with Chrystal. She was so attached to it that when she went to her new home with Amy and the House of Cats, Chrystal sent the mousie with her. Someone, a toy destroyer, in her new home, chewed off it’s tail, and it lost all it’s fur. Now, it could well have been Trixie as well as some mysterious toy destroyer, but Leo felt for her.

As a toy destroyer himself, Leo knew how Trixie, and probably the perpetrator, must feel so he wanted to make sure Trixie had a replacement pink mousie. He sent enough to share with her new kitty family too, if she wants to. Anyway, it was adorable, so if you don’t already read Amy’s blog, check Friday’s out anyway!

Leo had a good day today, not only does he feel all happy that his sissy got his presents, but it was a nice enough day today that the doors and window got opened and he got to sniff sniff sniff, bird, squirrel, and bunny watch!

Caught mid-jump to the window.. Well, a Leo jump, he’s not much of a jumper really, but he made it!

I like when it starts gettin’ dark, buggsies hurl themselves at the window after the light! They’re like, some of the greatest play toys!

Star likes windows too, but she has mostly contented herself to the upstairs for a while. Chicken. Leo would let her have a turn at the window. Honest!

I like to look down on the world anyway..

Leo is also enjoying his shoulder hugs. I've been on the laptop more than the computer, which is where he demands shoulder hugs, but I had some things to do that could only be done on the big computer recently, so he got some shoulder time!

I'm a scarf, a Leo scarf!

Trouble?

Why is Leo in the corner?

Um.. Who’s asking?

　

　

Has someone been a bad boy?

Who? Me?

　

Is this a punishment?

Has Star turned him in for crimes, real and imagined?

Oh.. Wait...

Bwahaha! *munch*

He must have found another bug..

Is it too much to ask that he dispatch them without drawing my attention to them?

He knows how much I hate creepy critters. Does he make a game of it so I’ll watch?

He is a boy, and boys are known to do gross things so they can snicker at girls being squeamish.

All I know is, I’m glad he likes to munch bugs, I just don’t want to know about it!

　

Star has her own opinions on things as she watches with disdain.

Idiot boy.



Sleepy Rhyme Time

I am thankful for my little kitties

They have boatloads of the pretties

I love all their tiny lavender toes

I could kiss each bitty gray nose

From their soft fluffy fur

To each rumbling purr

My cats are the best-est

They’re absolutely precious

As a post this may not be much

I’m all tired, worn out and such

So I almost left the page blank

I know it’s silly; I’m being frank

I’m really too sleepy to write

But my cousin will start a fight

If I don’t give her a daily log

And put at least something on my blog

I hope she’s happy and I don’t wind up dead

But now that I’m done, I’m going to bed

I’ll leave you with a picture or two

I’m for bed, goodnight to you

Star sleeping on her beanbag

 Leo sleeps twisty

Learnin' Time

I think Leo is a smart boy. You can’t fool him. He knows for a fact that if you did not take the feather end off the new toy and put it in the cat-proof tub, that it’s on the couch behind the cat-proof treat tub. He knows it’s there. He knows that if he’s sneaky enough, he can get it. The only thing that foils him, is that every attachment that came in that set has a bell on it. He has yet to figure out how to keep the bell from giving him away. Still, he’s a smart boy.

Both of them know that I only lift the lid to the treat box when I’m going to give them something. Leo gets excited and bounces around. Star, on the other hand... Stands on the box. While my arm is in it. Can you say ouch? I have a series of little bruises on my arm from the box rim. She does not understand that it only slows me down when I have to wait for her to get off the lid, and thus my arm, before I can pull out any treats.

So Leo is my smart boy. But I did not realize that he was college bound. Apparently he finds the study of the human body interesting. Or he just likes the books. Either way I’m worried. Because he’s either studying how to dissect humans, or he wants to become a doctor. And I’m not sure there’s a medical college that will take him until he learns English..

I was taking pictures of my nieces books because I didn’t know which one she wanted sent to her in Alaska and Leo got in on the act. Perhaps he was trying to help decide which ones to send. Whatever it was, I think I’ll try him on ‘English as a second language’ next.

Is this a cook book?

If it is, they don't have much flavor..

I want to figure out how humans work, so I can get them to give me more treats..

Learnin' is exhaustin'. Must be nap time.