Beep Beep Beep and Beep

You remember Meg.

Motionless Meg steadfastly watching...

My new birds!

Four little zebra finches happily beeping away in their giant cage. There are two boys and two girls. And no, I'm not breeding them. Never again with that craziness.

It's been many bird-less months around here. I didn't know how much I missed having them around until they were back.We are back to very noisy mornings, having the TV drowned out and occasionally pulling Meg off the top of the cage.

In other words, back to normal.

Two Cats Turn Four

This day is almost over, but I couldn't let it close without some pictures of Jack and Meg today on their fourth birthday.


This has been the look on Meg's face for the past day. Tomorrow I'll post why.
She really hasn't moved much.
These are the best pictures I've ever been able to take of her. She's usually a non-stop kind of cat.

Jack on the other hand tends to take it easy.

Really easy.

Really, really easy.
Until he wants something...Then he wakes up and turns on the charm.

Happy Birthday Kittens!

Alone in a Crowd

The writer finds a cat sitting on the keyboard.

Mi mi mi!

Hey Meg! How about you find someplace else to sit? Since I'm home alone today I'm going to try to write about that. Being alone.

Mioooow! Miow! Miow-miow-miow-miow!

You've got a whole house to sit around in. Now move it.

Me ma mi me ma!

No that's my tea. Here, you have fun in the paper recycling box.

Mi!

Okay, leave then.

The writer realizes that if she doesn't get some laundry started, her family will be drying themselves with washcloths after their showers, again.

Hey Jack Jack! How's it going?

(Jack jumps up on the food table and knocks a dish to the floor.)

No, it's not time to eat.

(Jack jumps over to a litter box, stares at it then pointedly, then stares at the writer. This repeats several times.)

Yeah, those boxes do need done, but it's not my day. You're just going to have to suck it up.

(Jack runs over to the pile of dirty laundry and starts to paw around in it.)

No, I don't need you help with this. No, Jack. Let go. Let go! I said Let Go!

(Jack returns to the food table and knocks another dish to the floor.)

With both machines now industriously whooshing away, the writer becomes aware of incessant barking and baying happening out in the yard.

Marco!

Arrroooo! Woof Woof Woof Woof Woof Woof!

MARCO!

WOOF! Woof Woof Woof Woof Woof!

Marco! It's just a squirrel. Come here! Marco come! MARCO!

ARRROOOOO!

Marco you stupid... Yes! Good boy. Good boy! Come here. Good... OH! Why do you always have to step on my foot?

Pant pant pant pant pant

No, you're not getting a cookie. Too much barking.

Arumph!

And you made me yell out of the door like a crazy person. No cookie.

Mmm-mmm-mmmm...

You think being pathetic is going make me change my mind?

The sound of the mailman on the porch distracts the writer from further berating her dog. Marco grabs the cookies from her fingers and runs away to play with it.

Meu.

Hey Mama. Do you want to sit with me and go through the mail?

Meu.

Don't chew on that.

Meu.

I can't see with you in my face like this.

Meu.

I AM paying attention to you. You're all over me!

Meu.

No, it's not time for bed.

Meu.

No, I don't want you to fix me right now. No. Oww! Okay that's enough. I've got stuff I wanted to get done today.

Meu.

The writer heads back to the computer. After depositing ninety percent of the mail in paper recycling box, the writer finds a cat sitting on the keyboard.

Miow-meow-mi-ma-me-mo-miiiii!

Hey Meg.

Mu-mi-me-mu-mi-me-mi-me!

You know Meg, I'm just lacking inspiration right now. I think I'll go clean the fish tank.

Three Year Old Kittens

Three years ago today that sneaky stray cat once again stole into our basement this time to have her kittens. And because it was yucky outside and because the basement was similarly yucky and because those tiny little kittens were so darn cute, today we are stuck with these two.

There's a certain amount of patience and timing you need to photograph cats.

I have neither.

Happy Third Birthday, Jack and Meg! You make everyday an adventure!

Thanksgiving for Everyone

On this day of thanks, let us not forget that everyone has something to be thankful for.

Mamacat is thankful for the bathroom water faucet, Mamahuman, the rings off of milk jugs, sunshine and every time that stupid dog goes outside.

Jack is thankful for food, that big cat Marco, snacks, sunshine, paper bags, food and getting his cheeks rubbed (and food).

Meg is thankful for heat vents, The Man, sunshine, the comb and anyone who will sit on the couch.


Marco is thankful for all those little dogs, car rides, walks, squeaky toys, playing fetch, sunshine, running around, his humans and his excellent ability to protect his home from attacking squirrels, birds and rabbits.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Pre-dawn Laughs

Sometimes J can't sleep. (Ooh, I am talking about myself in third person! Hell, I'm going with it!) It's not the J is worried about anything. No pressing problems are robbing her of her dreams. Her nonstop list making during daylight hours usually keeps her worry free during sleepy time. No, none of that. But sometimes, J wakes up at 4 AM and that's it. She's wide awake. She's done this enough to know not to fight it. Lying in bed bored doesn't do her any good. So she usually gets up and catches up on everything. She reads every body's blogs, the newspaper and enough Mental Floss to keep her an interesting person to talk to for a week. She also checks out the cute cat pictures because that is required 4 AM material. Usually they just make her smile or occasionally coo, but this one make her laugh out loud. It's so something she would do to one of her cats...or kids. Perhaps today.

Jack and Meg are Two!

Happy Birthday, you photogenic felines!

Two years of cat hair everywhere and destroyed furniture. But it has also been two years of cuddles, snuggles, purrs and love too! Everyday with cats is a new adventure!

Jack Says Good Morning!

Here's my Valentine and what a cutie he is! It's hard to get anything done with a face like this following me around all the time. He also got this HUGE belly which is perfect for rubbing! It's too much!

Still no dancing...or anything

Dr. Feet says I'm still off mine for another two weeks minimum, four more most likely. And yes, I want the bone to set correctly so I will be a very good girl and stick with the crutches and the crawling. But damn, this is the most bummed out I think I've ever felt! Send more happy thoughts! This girl is going stir crazy!

The cats had their one year birthday on Sunday. One year of these little furballs in our lives and honestly, I'm so happy with them. All three of them are so different and funny. I love watching them run around with each other and watching them interact with Marco is gold. He's been the best about them being here.

It's hot and it's sticky and the neighbors seem to be having issues with their pool, which is making my kids have issues. Nothing cools tempers like a dip in the pool around here. Ah well, there's always spraying each other with the hose. No wait a minute, that makes people mad too. Oh no! We're screwed!

A message from Mama Cat

Happy Mother's Day

Now stop following me around and let me sleep!

Cat Wrap-up

So you want even more news about these cats, do you? Okay, but this is it for awhile because there's only so much of this that a person can take.

Yes, they are our cats now. We did all the right things to get rid of them. Ads in the paper, ads on Petfinder.com, calls into shelters to be put on waiting lists, their own website: I really, really tried. And then something awful happened. It worked.

Someone called who wanted Jack. They saw his exceedingly cute pic online and then wanted to come meet him. I froze. I panicked. Jack? My little Jack-Jack? Some weirdo calls my house and wants my little sweet kitten boy? The decision was quick.

"He's already been taken." I wasn't a lie.

After that more calls came. Somebody else wanted Jack, two people wanted Meg, the APL called and had space finally. Nope, nope, nope. Couldn't do it.

So here we are with a house full of cats. The kittens are seven months old this week. And how is Marco fairing through all of this? The kittens figured him out pretty fast-- If you don't run, he won't chase. And he doesn't. He comes over and gives them a big sniff and a sloppy, wet kiss on the head now and then. (His tongue is as big as their faces!) They bat at him when he walks by, but he doesn't notice. Jack is very fond of sitting on a kitchen chair and striking out at the dog. Marco just keeps on going, never missing a beat. There's one big bowl of water in the kitchen and often you'll finding a kitten or two taking a drink beside Marco. Unbelievably cute. They don't snuggle together; not yet, but I can see the day coming when big group naps in the sun will be the norm.

Mama is another story. First, something happened to her last week which has completely changed her personality. The only way I can describe it is that they didn't just remove her female parts, they also removed her bitch gland. She is a new cat. (And yes, we discussed the possibility of a cat mix-up at wild and crazy Spay/Neuter factory).

Last summer, she was the sweetest little cat ever. She made us love her by being so friendly and cuddly. But she hated Marco and Marco hated her. Then, she had the kittens and we brought her in. Immediately she changed into this sulky hateful thing that was completely miserable. "It's just the kittens." We told ourselves. "She's being protective. She's tired." Once the kittens were on their own and so was she, we thought she would come back to us. But she stayed grumpy and snarly to everyone. She would glare at you with eyes that said, "If I was bigger, I would rip your throat out!" If you reached out to pet her, she would shy away like your hands were made of acid. She hid most of the day, only coming out when nature called or to kick the kittens around, chase off Marco or be ugly to us. Fun pet, eh?

But now, after the surgery, she's back to acting like that cat I found in the basement. She chirps and meows all day long; matter of fact, she never shuts up. She comes downstairs and sits with us. She cuddles with kittens and sleeps all wrapped up with them. It's an amazing change.

But she is the same cat, because she still treats Marco the same. The only difference now is that she has to deal with him much more often, now that she's not hiding. She's on the couch, in the kitchen, around the corner hissing, spitting and striking out whenever he lumbers by. But don't feel too bad for him. He KNOWS that she's going to do it and just keeps coming at her, sticking his big mug in her little face over and over again. He'll learn. Eventually. He has to, right?

So that's the story of how a tried and true dog family, became a dog/cats family. We were hoodwinked, sucker-punched and bamboozled. But as this little cat cuddles in my lap right now, I guess it hasn't been that bad.

What do you do on a day off?

You run around and take pictures of the cats. Yesterday the feline trio had a tough day. It was "Gettin' Fixed" Day. We took them out to the Spay Neuter Clinic in Cleveland out by the zoo. They had to be there at 7 AM and we could not believe the crowd that was already there. Later we found out that they were having a slow day! We picked them up at 3 and they were a sorry sight to see. Back at home, they couldn't walk in a straight line. They just stumbled about looking at you with their stoned eyes. Pathetic. But today at least the kittens are back to normal. Mama's still not up and about much, but even when she's feeling good, she's not terrible active.

Here's Jack and his new favorite toy- the catnip mouse on a stick.

Extreme close-up of Meg. Yesterday her eyes were so dilated! She would look at you with one eye, then the other, then just give up.
Jack in one of his favorite spots, right between the fish tank and the window. The cactus is there to keep him from going any farther. It doesn't work.
Meg sitting in the window. She barks at birds while she sits here.
The girl took shot after shot of Mama, but she is not photogenic, nor cooperative. This is as good as it gets. Mostly she hides all day.

We had the day off today because a tornado touched down near the mall last night and knocked out the power the school administration building. We didn't know until we showed up at school this morning and no one was there. Strange way to start the day, but we've made the most of it.

The 3 Coolest Jacks

Jack White

Jack Black

Jack Grey

Dance Recital Day

It's finally dance recital day! It's been months of practice, but it's all worth it. This is the first year that the girl is old enough to perform in the afternoon performance. It was a great show. The first picture is her hanging out understage with her friends from school. She's in her ballet costume. The second one is her jazz costume. We can't wait to see her again tonight. Break a leg sweetie!

As for a quick cat update, there have been no changes. She is still here, living in the shed. The neighbor kid's mom came over and cuddled and cooed over her, but then said she had to think about it. Marco is so unhappy he cries and whines all day long. The situation is becoming unbearable. As for the accusation that I'm a cat hater, it's completely untrue. This little cat would make a cat lover out of anyone. But my poor dog is very much a cat hater and he was here first, so there's no room for her here.

No Cats!

Today we discovered a cat living in our basement. Those of you familiar with our house know about our outside entrance to the basement that is not, in any sense of the word, secure. After observing this cat run into our house, we quickly found it happily prowling around in the basement, very happy to see us. I'm not kidding- this cat loves people! So we got it out and E. has cat-proofed the door. But now this creature is prowling around the house, meowing into every open window and standing at the doors. Marco is out of his mind about all of this, especially when the kids went out to visit the cat. I could hardly get them to bed for all their worrying about it.

Now this will not do. If it were up to E and the kids, that cat would be curled up on the couch right now! But I cannot be responsible to keep one more thing alive and healthy in this world. I'm at my limit. For once, Marco and I agree about something -- no cats in this house!