Ten Truths of Living with Cats

If you're a cat owner, you know these things are true!

1. Hair everywhere I now own more lent rollers than at any other point in my life combined. Even if I wash, immediately fold/hang up my clothes, they still have hair all over them. Forget about getting it off fleece or black yoga pants. Ain't gonna happen.
2. Scratching everything Oh, you bought a cute new piece of accent furniture, let me just break it in by scratching the heck out of it until the upholstery is in shreds.
4. They are why I can't have nice things Coffee mugs, indoor plants, picture frames - if it's nice, they'll find a way to knock it over or break it.

We had that plant less than three days before total wreckage happened. 
5. Falling asleep on your lap Yeah, it's cute. But eventually you've got to get up and be productive. Or use the bathroom. And they act so offended when you want to move them off your lap.

My coffee got cold and I couldn't heat it up because she fell asleep right there. Oh, and I had to pee. 
6. They would rather play with anything they aren't supposed to play with I see you got me a cut mouse on a string or a ball filled with catnip... I really appreciate it, but you shouldn't have. Because I just got done destroying your favorite pair of ear phones.
7. Typing or moving the mouse is a no go when they're around Fast moving fingers? Pounce! Moving pointer on the computer screen? Let me boop that real quickly. Other cats on the TV screen? Gotta check them out!
8. Staring/meowing at non-existent things (or ghosts) Nothing freaks me out more than when my cat randomly stares at the corner of my living room or keeps meowing to go inside a room where the door has been closed.

But really, what the heck are you staring at??
9. Watching you shower/use the bathroom/do other things cats shouldn't see It never fails, if I leave the door open when I get in the shower, I'm going to have an audience for the entire show. 
10. Unconditional love There really isn't anything that compares to a cat's love and snuggles. They may be a pain in my you-know-what on most days, but I wouldn't trade them for the world. 

I love these babies so much, even if they're assholes most of the time. 
What is something you know only a cat (or any pet) owner would understand?

Meet Mila

Last week I asked you all for your advice on calming my rowdy kitty, Tip. A few people had some really great advice, and we've put some of it to use and I can say it has definitely helped. Some of the things we've done are downsized his afternoon feeding and given him an additional half a bowl right before bed, and we're not letting him sleep or lounge from the time we get home until bedtime.

 

He still wants to play right at bedtime, but after about 15-20 minutes, he settles down and is now sleeping through the night! Of course, when I say "through the night" I mean until about 4:30 or 5 a.m. which is much better than 2 or 3 since Derek and I wake up at five anyway. So thank you all who commented and answered my questions!

 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - we got him a friend to play with too. Everyone, meet the newest addition to our family, Mila. 

Isn't she just the most precious thing? She's two pounds of pure energy and she scares the hell out of little Tip, who definitely isn't used to something so small and excitable. We adopted her on Saturday from the Humane Society. So far, she likes the blue squeaky bird toy the most, playing with the laundry while you try to fold it, hates the cat carrier, and has already figured out how to get on top of the kitchen table.

 

PS: has anyone ever tried photographing a cat?? It may have been the hardest thing I've ever done - for every good shot there were at least 20 outtakes. But I'm in love with the ones that I did get. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good ones of both babies once they warm up to each other a little more.

 

Fellow cat owners: I need yo help!

For those of you who don't know: I've recently acquired a cat. Or I guess I should say I captured rescued him. Shortly after Derek and I got married, we noticed this little orange ball of fluff roaming around our apartment complex. We hadn't seen the "mother" cat in some time, so assuming the worst (she got smashed in the dumpster) I started to worry a little for the fluff ball. I started throwing bits of food - actually leftover chicken and cheese cubes from our wedding - to him in the parking lot, but he never would come close enough to let me catch him.
Finally, after weeks of enticement, I was able to lure him inside our apartment with some sardines. It was pretty gross, but finally the little fluff was safe and warm and I was going to work on finding him a home. Long story short, we ended up keeping him. Because, really, who can resist that face and precious cuddles that go along with it. 

For the first few weeks, he behaved just as you would think any feral cat would behave - scared, skiddish, and not trusting or wanting much to do with myself of Derek. At one point, after we moved out of our apartment and into our house, we didn't see him for almost a week. Now he spends most of his days indoors, lounging around the house while us measly humans make a living to pay for his food and toys. He loves to cuddle, play, and do tricks for food now. He is (almost) a completely different cat (he still gets skiddish if we wear loud shoes that "clomp" when we walk). 

Just look at that sweet little muffin.

Here, he's saying "Mom can I just sleep wif you pweez?" How do you resist?!

The issue I'm having now is this: he doesn't like to sleep. Well, I should say that he doesn't like to sleep when we like to sleep. He snoozes in the evenings while we're eating dinner/watching a movie/tv but as soon as we start getting ready for bed, he becomes a wild heathen animal, and doesn't settle down for at least an hour. Then, usually between 2-3 AM, he wants to play again - either attacking our feet under the covers, playing in the mini-blinds, or any other rambunctious behavior not appropriate for anyone besides 21-year-olds at 3 in the morning. 
What should I do??
It's too cold to leave him outside at night (in my opinion) and he cries LOUDLY if we shut him out of the bedroom. My thoughts were to keep our bedroom shut at all times - even in the day when we're not home - and let him get used to not going in there at all. But will he continue to cry? He knows we're in there, he can hear us, and I know that all he wants is to be near us and it makes me sad that he is sad. Should I change his feeding schedule and feed him right before bed (like a baby) so he sleeps better? I am at a total loss here and you can call me crazy, but I have never had this problem with another cat. I don't know if it is because he is a male (I've always had females) or because he was raised in the wild, or he doesn't get enough "play time" in the day. Again, totally lost.
Any of you other cat moms (or dads) have any advice for me??   

Piper Girl - Pets are People Too

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." --Josh Billings
For some reason I have not been able to schedule a darn post for this link up! I have thought about it every month since I wrote about my sweet Stevie Cat for Jackie's link up in November, but I either don't remember until after the fact, or just completely forget about it all together. 
Today I want to talk about my Piper Girl, who is just the sweetest and most cutest chihuahua you've ever seen (no really, she is). I know most people think of Chi's as "yappy" and mean/territorial dogs and for the most part that is true. But Piper is one of the most docile chihuahuas I've ever seen, and I love her for it.

Hers camera shy

Piper also just isn't any other dog I picked up at the adoption agency/breeder/pound/etc. You see, Piper had a different owner before me. That owner was my Grandma, before she passed away in 2011. She got Piper as a puppy when she was sick, but before we knew exactly how serious everything was. My Grandma had a chihuahua as a pet for as long as I'd known her (and for many years before I was born) and just because she was sick didn't mean she didn't need another dog (her previous chi had recently died).
When it became known that her days were numbered, Stevie and myself took us a road trip to Seguin, Texas to visit Grandma. An unlikely bond was formed between my fluffy diva kitty and this rambunctious morsel of a pup. They frolicked. They played tag. They gave each other "baths" and took naps together in the sun. During one of the hardest weeks of my life, these two somehow became best friends. It was decided, Piper would come home with me when the time came.

Sometimes I think this little 5 pound munchkin is able to bring me so much joy because I know that she brought joy my Grandma while she was with her. 

She is never short on kisses for her mama and she never fails to pee on the floor when I visit. It never fails that she will growl if you move her while she sleeps and it never fails that I cry a little when I have to leave her. She is spoiled rotten and to the bone, but I wouldn't change a single thing about her.

Stevie, like Stevie Nicks

It all started one day when I was asked to be a friend of mine's date to an engagement party. Four of us got ready for the party at my friend Jared's parents' house. We spent the whole day there and had a lot of down time and it was really nice because I hate getting ready in a rush. Jared's mom's cat had just had kittens and me and Jared's date were playing with them even though they had fleas (they were outside cats). There were five cats... two black ones, two grey/brown ones, and a black/grey/brown one that wouldn't come out from under the car so we never played with her.

I just feel like a quick recap of the engagement party is appropriate here since it happened pre-blogging. As you can see, there was a lot of drinking dancing and a little of posing with giant fishing lures and black singers dressed as superman. (The band was called "The Super T's").

We played and loved on the kittens all afternoon and Jared's mom kept trying to get us to take one home, but we both declined then combed each others' hair to make sure we didn't have fleas before the engagement party. After the party we all went our separate ways except I found myself at Jared's house again a few days later for another occasion (the 4th of July) and by then I had changed my mind... I wanted a kitten. So the next day after work, I went back and I told his mom that I wanted a girl kitten. Which one was the girl, you are probably wondering? Oh just the bitchy unsocial one that hid under the car the whole time.
I couldn't think of a name for her the whole way home but just before I made it, Landslide came on (the Stevie Nicks one, not the Dixie Chicks) and the lightbulb went off and her name was Stevie. She hated me once we got home because I gave her three baths in the sink (to get rid of the fleas). But that night she slept on my neck and it's been love ever since.

About a week after I brought here home.

Stevie went everywhere with me, besides class and work. She made weeke nd trips to Auburn and home to visit my parents, and she even made the 10 hour car ride to Texas to visit my Grandma before she passed away (and meet her future sister, Piper). 

Her favorite pass time was hiding in beer boxes and swiping unsuspecting people as they tried to grab a cold one.

She is always camera ready.

 


She was always a big help when it came to studying for tests.



Now she lives the life of luxury with her grandfurmom (my mom)

She's a princess and she knows it, too.

I unfortunately had to (temporarily) give both of my furbabies up to my mom when I moved into my apartment, being that I couldn't afford the $600 fee right away. Then instead of moving into another, pet friendly, apartment... I went and moved in with Derek and his folks and I still don't have them and I miss them so so so much.
Even though she can be a little B-word sometimes, and I think she likes Derek more than me (it's because he doesn't like dogs) (I know), she's still the coolest cat in town and I can't wait until the day she's back in my arms for good.