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!