If Cats Could Type

This post is brought to you by special guest blogger, Daisy The Cat.

Oh boy oh boy ohboy ohboy, my PEEPS are back! Yay!! I missed them so so so so much while they were away. I sure do hate it when they leave me all alone, even though I did like that neighbor lady that stopped by, she just didn't stay long enough! I don' much like goin' along either - I tried to tell Nicki, but she just wouldn't listen. I cried and cried in my cat carrier and made her feel all guilty in the car so she would open my lock and give me free reign of the seats. But hahahahah, I got her because I stayed in there almost the WHOLE TIME and gave her an especially evil eye until she was almost there and then, you'll never guess what I did, you silly Humans. So I'll tell you: I came outof my carrier and oh this is so funny, I PUKED all over her arm!! That will show her! I just want to stay home!

And then there was that last time when we went to the vet, which I still haven't totally forgiven her for, and she started checking out the Boarding Prices! I was like "Aaaa!! No Way!" so just to be doubly sure she understood how much I hated bein' in there with all the dogs barking their stupid heads off, I POOPed right there in my cat carrier! I showed her again! I just wanna stay home!

But I don't like so much the stayin' home alone thing. So when my Nicki and my Adam came home I made sure I rubbed myself all over their legs so they couldn't walk without tripping over me because I love them ever so much and I just want them to know. And for the past two days, I have been extra sure to show them I care - like I am making sure I rub my face aggressively on their elbows whenever they are in reach so they will pet me pet me pet me...I like being petted. And I sure don't like it when they watch those papers with words on them. I wonder why they always try to watch stuff?? I am really super nice and make sure they do what they meant to do - watch ME! I love laying on papers with words on them! And I am sure my humans would much rather watch me anyway.

This is all normal stuff I like to do so I can remind them to never ever ever leave me at home alone again! (Silly humans, they keep forgetting this!) But last night, I thought of an EVEN BETTER way to show them how much I care! Last night, I thought it would be fun if we stayed up ALL night to play!! So every time Nicki started to drift off to sleep, I made sure she would wake up because I am certain she would like to play all night. I sleep in the day, it is such a much much better time to sleep. But Nicki doesn't seem to agree because she sleeps at night, that Silly Human! So I jumped on her bed and purred in her face, and when that stopped working, why I just walked all over her. I walked from one side to the other side and back and back and back and back, and then I somehow got accidentally pushed off the bed and so I jumped up again and again and again. We had such fun!!

And maybe this time, my Humans will remember, once and for all: I wanna stay home! And they do too!!

Stay tuned for my next post: Plumbing: What's Up With That??

My Little Helper

I have been pretty lazy lately, sort of in a funk. Slowly, I am emerging back to my normal self. This is why I had not, until today, gone through the semi-annual exercise of switching the clothes in my drawers to the winter wardrobe.

Luckily, as I began to fill a box with my short sleeved work shirts, I had a helper:


Nothing like a little cat hair to keep out the moths until next summer. After gently removing my purring beast from the box, I turned to put it into the closet, to find:


Again, I gently removed my purring beast from my drawer, and replaced my sleeveless tanks with fuzzy sweaters. Nearly each day, the cat runs into the closet when the door is opened. The closet is not insulated, so we keep the door closed to try and salvage what little heat/air conditioning we can. As a result, the Puss is often locked in the closet for several hours before we hear the whine from within, and we must keep a careful watch on her as we pack our bags for a trip. Thankfully, she has not been locked in the closet for a weekend. You would think this would be traumatic for a cat. But no:


I did not need to gently remove the cat before shutting the door. As we go through this daily, she stood there looking bewildered as I attempted to call her out, but she zipped through my legs when I made the move to physically remove her. Will she remember this in the morning? I doubt it.

It's BA-ACK!

Fall has caught me a bit by surprise since Labor Day. Just the day before the holiday, I had embarked on my weekly grocery trip with my list consisting of late summer produce - peaches and some corn on the cob and the like. At first, I was a bit bemused to find a bin full of pumpkins and the pre-made bags of apples associated with my most favorite of all the seasons. Where had the summer gone? Did the grocery store workers put in overtime to hit us customers with this obvious autumnal display? With a somewhat careless shrug, I realized that apple cider was likely awaiting in the depths of the store, and I happily maneuvered my cart between Halloween candy displays and Ravens cakes.

But this weekend, summer counterattacked defiantly. I awoke yesterday morning to go the gym, and considered a light jacket because I opted for the sleeveless shirt with the shelf bra rather than rummaging through the clean clothes in the laundry basket which had been awaiting folding for nearly a week. Then, the cat requested politely to go outside. (Think MROW! with insistent gestures for the doorway.) I opened the door, and we both hestiated as extremely humid heat quite literally smacked us in the face. Apparently, summer was back with a vengeance.

After the two weeks of wonderfully crisp, non-humid weather (except for the occasional hurricane rain), Adam and I found ourselves completely intolerant of this rash of sunshine. We briefly considered leaving the house, but just can't seem to find the motivation to walk through the parking lot.

Summer, I love ya, but your time has past. See you next year!

Mmmm....Litter....

I got incredibly lucky when I adopted a little stray cat named Daisy. From day one, she has been lovable (but not annoyingly so), she has not scratched on furniture, she has used her litter box, and she has not eaten/pooped in my plants. (Note - this is very unlike my friend Cara's cat, Gomez. Some of my favorite Gomez adventures: "Monsieur Green Paw", "Sexy Pig", "Oh the Carnage", and "That Darn Cat")

Anyway, back to my sweet kitty, Daisy: we found out recently that she is asthmatic. This is very rare in cats, but as I mentioned, I got incredibly lucky. For the past few weeks, she has been on steroids, and her breathing/shedding has improved. Unfortunately, like all medication, the steroids are not without their side affects, including a risk of diabetes and development of some very icky looking skin conditions (I will spare you the link - trust me on the ickiness). So, we began to consider possible causes for her condition, because she has not always had a problem. (I am sad to say that she has had this problem for a while though - I did not know cats could have asthma attacks, and I have been incorrectly diagnosing her episodes as hairballs or poor choices in food such as bugs or plants.) It is too bad cats do not, as a general rule, speak English.

We decided that the problem may have begun a few years ago when we began using a litter box with a cap on it - she is in a confined space with the litter dust floating around on a daily basis. But the cap serves a purpose - we don't wish to have a bathroom coated in kitty litter. So Adam bought "dust-free" litter that is made from wheat.

A snippet from the packaging: "Wheat litter and why its better: Wheat enzymes naturally eliminate odor; Low dust, less tracking; biodegradable, certified flushable; Safe and non-toxic for kittens and cats."

It also looks delicious. Seriously. I eat steel cut oatmeal for breakfast, and this stuff looks like it could be cooked up in a pinch. It also costs about the same. The cat, always wary of new things, gingerly approached her litter box, sniffing as she went, and began eating it.

I am gravely concerned that she will not poop in this. And who could blame her? I would not want to poop in oatmeal either. What worries me even more is where she will decide to poop. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully it is in something of Adam's...or the toilet. Now that would be worth posting about.

Updated: I was pleased to find three little turds in the appropriate location this morning. Never thought I'd be so glad to see poo.

the HAPPY LIST

Inspired by the ever inspiring Cara, my own happy list:

HAPPINESS IS....

....coming home from a great bike ride in the woods, muddy, exhausted, and completely content

....taking a long shower on a day when I've got nothing to do, then sitting down to read a book and sip tea ALL DAY

....coming up with a kick-ass genius idea for a particularly tough structural issue AND having it work

....catching a football during a game or making an awesome volleyball save

....when Adam puts his arms around me or rubs my shoulders for no particular reason

....going to a concert and getting caught up in the music

....the first flower of spring

....listening to the Grateful Dead and watching the sun come up or go down

....spending the day in the kitchen making yummy food and listening to NPR on a lazy Saturday

....driving past a building that I designed (when it is still standing - I haven't had one fall, but I imagine that would be the opposite of happiness)

....autumn leaves and that fresh smell of October

....when my purry pussy cat jumps on my lap and curls up for a snooze

....the feeling after a great workout or yoga session

....being able to fit into the jean shorts that were too tight two years ago

....cheesecake, of course!