The two kitten modes

It's been two weeks since Cleo passed but the cat household is still active. Gonzo has been a great comfort and distraction. We say she has two modes: "stinker" when she is being bad or mischievious and "love" when she's being affectionate. It's like there's a switch. She can be very affectionate and likes to be carried around, especially on your shoulder. Then all of the sudden, out of nowhere, the stinker appears. The stinker seems to always find something new to get into. For example:


I heard a commotion in the laundry room one day and there was Gonzo up on the ice chest we store on top of the cabinets.


Here's she's being cute, peaking out from under the covers, one of her favorite places to sleep.


And here's Greg, covered in cats! He's nice and warm on the cooler nights.

Cleo Departed

Please visit my memorial to my furry friend.

Cat-ching up

October was a busy month. I can't believe I didn't do a post all month!

With the weather getting cooler it's all cats on the bed.

We finally found a collar that would fit around Gonzo's slender neck. It's leopard print with a bell to warn the other kitties of her approach.

Here she is trying to get it off. She's only gotten it off once so far. She went in this week for a check up. She was proclaimed healthy and just over 6 pounds.

Cleo also went to the vet and unfortunately has dropped below 6 pounds. As you can see here, she still has an appetite. The vet said when cats get older their system can't absorb all the necessary nutrients. She likes to eat a few bites, walk away. 5 or 10 minutes later, eat a few more bites. The vet gave me some appetite stimulate pills and liquid vitamins. We feed her anything she'll eat: steak, shrimp, chicken livers, super stinky fish cat food.

And Hana, snoozing away.

In memory of Tabitha

Tabitha was Cleo's sister/litter mate and passed away Nov 2.

In 1990 I moved into a house with 3 friends just off campus. I was excited because I finally lived somewhere I could have a cat. One of our roommates, Dorie, already had a cat, Huey, a big, orange, male tabby. I looked in the newspaper for a "free kitten to a good home" ad in the classifieds. My good friend and roommate, Carrie, came with me to drive so I could hold the kitten on the ride back home. When we got there, 4 or 5 little furry kittens were in the kitchen. I zoomed in on Cleo and chose her. Carrie had not planned on getting a kitten but after seeing them, she picked Tabitha. (Such is the power of kittens!) In retrospect, is was great for the kittens to have each other to play with and sleep with. Huey was surprisingly "motherly" towards the kittens. A year or so later, our neighbors found a kitten under their house. My fourth roommate, Vellisse, had grown so fond of Tabitha and Cleo that she didn't hesitate to adopt the kitten, a Cleo look-alike, who she named Pebbles. So there was never a shortage of cats, or cat boxes, in our house. Tabitha was quite the huntress. Once while we all were watching TV, she came running through the living room with a whole flounder in her mouth she stole from the kitchen counter! She also fished Tex, the aquatic frog, out of his aquarium and stole donuts. Later in life, she learned how to dive into a garbage can that had one of the flippy lips and get back out with her "prey." And she never appreciated when you'd try to take the "prey" away; she'd growl and snarl and be quite upset. Pebbles and Huey preceded Tabitha, leaving Cleo the last of the 506 kitties.

2:15 p.m. September 30

Kitten in a basket part 2

Gonzo likes to "help" when ever Greg or I are doing anything.
So here's Gonzo helping me with the laundry.


Cat owners may recognize the "butt scratch face" Hana is displaying here.


This is a game I used to play with Cleo and Sandy.
1) Cat in bath tub 2) wiggle finger over edge 3) wait for attack.
I usually pull my hand away but it's tricky when you are trying to take photos at the same time.


"What's that?" "Hmmm... I better get ready to pounce" "Attack!"


Gonzo snoozing in a bed I made her out of styrofoam and towels when she came home from the vet.

Cleo likes to snooze in it too.


And this was just too cute not to include.
The shaved fur is growing in nicely.

She's fixed

Gonzo got spayed yesterday. The vet also noticed two of her "baby" teeth were impacted so he remove them (for a fee of course, but cheaper and easier to do it while she's already under.)


So her cute fuzzy black tummy go shaved, poor baby. The shaved patch in the inside of her leg was where the I.V. was. The vet gave us a page of instructions. One says "Restrict exercise. No running or jumping for 7-10 days." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA are these people serious? This is a kitten we are talking about. We put her in the bathroom - just like when first brought her home. Around 5 a.m. she busted loose. Greg woke up and saw her sitting in our bedroom window. She then took a flying leap off and "attacked" Hana and the two of them went gallopping through the house. She's jumping and running and we can't stop her. So far so good. I'm more concerned about her and Hana playing since they do play rough so we are trying to restrict that. I asked the vet how old does he think she is now... he guesses 7 months. That's about 2 months older than his original estimate. We'll say 6 and split the difference.
This is a pre-op photo. I had to get the ladder out to hang the curtains back up (see previous post). Gonzo loved it, it's like a monkey bars for cats. I forgot to ask the vet how much she weighs. When I weighed her earlier this week she was 5 pounds. She's now is shoulder-to-shoulder to Cleo and only a pound lighter. Cleo won't play with Gonzo anymore, I think she's too big and rough.

Gonzo's new tricks

Here's a cute one of Hana snoozing. I need to wash the sheets but how can I disturb the sleeping kitty? She's not a fan of having her picture taken and usually wakes up or moves when I sneak up with the camera.
Cleo's recently taken to sleeping in the cat carrier. Weird I know. We are attempting to fatten her up. We now put her in the back when we are at work with food so she can eat when she pleases. Plus Gonzo can't bother her.


Gonzo has some new tricks... she can now get in and out of the tub. The problem with that is that was where we were keeping the trash can. She can now get on top of anything she pleases. We knew it was only a matter of time before she discovered her awesome jumping abilities.


Her other new "trick" - pulling down the curtains. Now she has an unobstructed view of outside and a cushy bed.


I thought this was funny - Gonzo's face next to the faces on the lamp. Greg bought the lamp on ebay (where else would you find something as odd as this?) It commemorates when Wiley Post and Will Rogers crashed at Point Barrow, Alaska on August 15, 1935 - those are their faces on the lamp in case you were wondering.


It's hard to get mad at something so cute! Just look at the innocent face. I'm a sucker, I know. Oh yeah, Gonzo's going in to be spayed Friday so I'll have shaved kitten belly photos next weekend.

Vital Cat Stats

Yesterday Cleo got taken in for her annual check up and shots. Last year I took her and Sandy in the Friday before Katrina. Didn't even have time to put their new tags on their collars but did take them with us when we evacuated (which was a good thing). Cleo's lost 2 pound since January, now just over 6 pounds, other than than she's fine. I told the vet I thought the weight loss was due to the other cats - Gonzo eats everything in sight as does Hana. Hana needs to lose weight so we can't leave food out. Cleo likes to nibble, so after the inital feeding frenzy, she'll wander off to relax. By the time she gets back to her bowl it is licked clean. Also she's getting more exercise thanks to Gonzo. So now we feed her up on the counter and keep Gonzo away. The vet also gave me some super high calorie food to feed her, she doesn't want Cleo to lose any more weight (which will be ironic to the folks who knew her when she was 14 pounds!). I also pointed out the bald patch over Cleo's left eye, we agreed Gonzo probably yanked it out when they were "playing." Poor Cleo.


When we last took Gonzo in the vet said she would need to be "fixed" in about 3 months based on how old we think she is. Well Gonzo has already gone into heat! I discussed this with the vet when I took Cleo in. Gonzo may be older than we think, by as much as a month. Which might explain the huge intital growth splurt. She was probably under-sized when I found her, and started to grow once she got regular food. I hate to see that fuzzy belly get shaved! And in case you were wondering, I measured her tail... 9.25 inches. Nice.

Before vacuuming, I picked up all the cat toys and put them in the basket. That's a lot of toys! Every night, while we are sleeping, Gonzo brings a toy up on the bed and leaves it. One time I stuck my hand under my pillow and touched something small and furry... it was a toy mouse. Just a toy, pshew.

And Hana, well what can I say? She's a power snoozer. Gonzo and she are great pals and play together, though Hana doesn't like us to watch them play but it so funny!

Cats' favorite things

These toys with the feathers and a jingle bell on the end are Gonzo's favorite toy (after Cleo's tail). The orange one on the right is her second one, what's left of it. The pink one is only 5 hours old and she's already pulled out several feathers!

Cleo has claimed the tunnel. She sleeps in it all day. She likes small, dark places, plus, it's harder for Gonzo to get her in a sneak attack when she's in here.


I caught Cleo and Gonzo snoozing together. Awwwwww.

Cool Cat Contraption

Our friends gave us this cool cat "toy" called the "Fun Tunnel." The kitties aren't sure about it, but give them time. Cleo did show some interest once I sprinkled it with catnip.


Below is "Whiny" our other unofficial cat, one of the strays we feed along with "Twin." We thought if we didn't give them (real) name we wouldn't get attached. Well...


And Hana doesn't appreciate me interrupting her afternoon nap to take a photo. Thrrppttttt!

Kitten and a basket

Gonzo was playing with this basket of goodies we got. When she saw the camera she decided she wanted to play with it. With a little encouragment I was able to get her back to her play.

"Mmmmm that was tasty!"

3 pounds and growing!

The benchmark of kitten growth, the box. She had a vet appointment August 1 and the vet asked "Are you feeding her fertilizer?" She weighed in a 3.12 pounds. According to my cat book, she's developmentally equivalent to a human 5 year old. Needless to say she can be a hand full.

Gonzo goes to Work

My business partner's cat passed away the previous week, so I brought Gonzo in for a surprise visit and a kitty fix. Gonzo was a little unnerved being in a new place and didn't like her introduction to the office dog or my partner's baby (seen in the first photo above Gonzo).

I was surprised since she usually seems so fearless, but maybe it was too many new things all at once. But she did seem to enjoy exploring a new place.

July 15, 2006

Here we see Cleo and Gonzo wrestling. There was much growling and snarling by Cleo who was peacefully lounging when Gonzo jumped on top of her and started to "play." This happens several times a day.

This may look like Hana but it's not. It is her "Twin." They are from the same ferel colony, with Twin born a few litters after Hana. We've been feeding her along with our other outside "unoffical" cat, Whiny. Only in the last month or so has she started to let us pet her. Now, I can even pick her up, something Hana still won't let me or Greg do!

Gonzo looking out the window at the rain. She's about 3 months old now!

And Gonzo in some strange pose, cat yoga maybe?

July 4, 2006

Happy 4th of July -Independence Day.

Hana in one of her favorite spots. It's also too high for Gonzo to jump up...for now.

The box again!