The Birds!

They're sticking around just to spite me, my furry brothers and sisters. The darn birds haven't gotten the notice that it's winter now. This stuff called snow is falling.

Four days ago, I overheard my humans speaking of a "winter storm warning." I'm not really sure what they meant by it. But on Friday afternoon this very strange substance known as snow began falling outside. It was quite mesmerizing. I spent hours watching this tiny little white flakes falling and blowing around.

What snow helps me to do is to spot the creatures that are still active in the winter time. There are rabbits and squirrels, and much to my surprise, birds! I think the birds are just late migrating south, though. On Saturday morning a group of them landed on the bush outside my window and just sat there! They yelled horrible insults at me and laughed for quite some time. I yelled right back at them. Evan and Sudha seemed to think this was quite amusing, and "cute."

Also this past weekend I upped my swiping and pouncing campaign against Evan and Sudha's feet. On Saturday morning I was very, very hungry indeed. I usually reach under the blanket to swipe, as I have mentioned in the past, but my humans have gotten good at shielding themselves from my attacks using the blanket. So I hopped up onto the bed itself and pounced repeatedly on anything that moved. I might try it again, as it seemed to get me fed in a somewhat timely manner. Although I heard Evan muttering "spray bottle" so I should be on my guard.

Last night something very strange happened. There was a power outage. Now I, as a superior being, have excellent eyesight. What really bothered me about it was that my heating vent suddenly stopped working. Now that was a horrifying experience. I can't believe that my humans did that to me!

Well, I have some cat-nap time to catch up on, until next time!

A Game of Cat Beds

First and foremost, my furry brothers and sisters, I must apologize for my long period of silence. It has been quite a busy month. It started out with a terror-inspiring trip to the vet.

The vet had the nerve to call me "a little chunky" when she saw me. I mean, really! I had literally only gained about a pound and a half since the last time I was in her office. I'm not going to share my exact numbers here, but it only constituted a 14% increase in my body weight! It's winter out there, it's getting very cold. Needless to say, I was very insulted by this observation.

What's worse is that Evan and Sudha have bought into the vet's propaganda. They have started feeding me a little less with each meal. Before this unfortunate change, I was pleasantly peckish before mealtimes. Sometimes I would let the two meals overlap with one another. Now I finish my meals well before the next meal time rolls around, and I'm quite hungry by the time Evan or Sudha finally gets around to feeding me.

To avenge this clear slight I have started, again, to reach under the covers of their bed while they are sleeping and swiping at their feet. Also, I've started curling up on their bed at night and attempting to take up as much space as possible. For example, the other night, I curled up on Evan's side of the bed between him and the edge. I made sure there was just not enough room for him to put one of his legs between me and the side, forcing him to sleep on his side.

Last week was Thanksgiving. Evan and Sudha were out of town for a days, giving me free reign of the house. Their friend Ali came in a few times to feed me. It was quite comical the first time watching her search the whole house for the cat food. I was trying to tell her where it was, but she didn't seem to be listening to me. What I did not appreciate about Thanksgiving weekend is that my darn humans turned the heat down to approximately 60 degrees for the whole time! Now, I know I have a fur coat and all, but 60 degrees is cold. I had to huddle in my cat bed to attempt to stave off the horrendous cold that was pouring into the house.

Anyway. I will try to update you all a little more frequently from now on. It's just been a very eventful time for me, with a lot of things to worry about.

Until next time, my furry brothers and sisters!

Visitors, Enemies and Pumpkins

There were two visitors to my house this last week, my furry brothers and sisters. The first was Fernando, who was back in town for work for a week, and the second was Magenta.

I'll start with Magenta. She is the owner for Sudha and Evan's good friend Seth. This is the same Seth who tried to bribe me with crumbs of bread, just so you recall. She's a slightly older cat, but I have to admit, a little more rotund than me. She stayed in my basement for a night because she wanted to get away from a Halloween party Seth was throwing in his house.

Needless to say, Magenta said some very rude things to me through the basement door. I was quite taken aback. I responded by raising my hackles, puffing out my tail and hissing. She replied in kind. After our run-in by the basement door, she hid downstairs out of my sight for the rest of her stay.

I acted more friendly towards my two humans for the rest of the day. Not too friendly though, I wouldn't want to spoil them.

Fernando also stayed in the basement. He's a little bit more polite than Magenta, but not by much. He seems to think that I am not friendly, and likes to say it out loud. However, he's just spoiled by his own owner, Bonnie. I'm not sure why other cats feel the need to spoil or not train their humans. It's really getting embarrassing.

Yesterday was Halloween. Evan and Sudha brought home this large orange things called a pumpkin, and carved a face into it. I was intrigued by the smell of the pumpkin, I have to admit. But ultimately, I don't think I would have liked it. They put the pumpkin outside on the front porch. Lots of people came by with their children to beg for candy. I tried to escape a couple times, but to no avail.

It's strange, some of the children were dressed up, but others just came as "themselves." It just seemed like being lazy, if you ask me.

Sadly, the pumpkin that Evan carved vanished from the porch as some point during the night. He was a little sad about it. But honestly, how sad can you get about a face carved into a large, orange fruit?

Well, I've got a lovely cat bed by a warm vent to lounge in. Until next time!

How to Train Your Kitty

I have discovered something new, my furry brothers and sisters: book shelves. This is not to say I didn't know about them before, I most certainly did! However, I have just recently discovered that they offer excellent nooks and crannies to hide in. Also, they offer great vantage points from which to survey your domain. They are not that easy to climb into, unfortunately. Evan and Sudha are completely baffled on how I was able to get in there. I cannot share the details as it is a cat secret. 

Needless to say, they thought it was "adorable" that I was on the bookshelf. I got them to take some pictures of me for the blog.

A few days ago, Sudha brought my old cat bed out from behind the couch and set it up for me close to the fireplace and right by a heating vent. I hadn't slept in this bed for months and months, not since moving to the new place, actually. But, oh boy, was that bed comfortable. I've started spending hours sleeping in it over the past few days. I've never experienced heating vents before, but I have to say that they are god's gift to kitties.

Speaking of kitties, that damned black and white cat named Tuxedo was back yesterday. I don't understand why he feels the need to come by be all friendly to Evan and Sudha. He's just making me look like a grouchy old thing! I took the liberty of hissing at him quite profusely through the deck door.

Now that the weather is colder, it seems that more bugs are coming into my house. These little beetles get in and fly around the place. Just last night, I stared at this one beetle for hours and is walked around the ceiling, tantalizingly out of my reach. I do catch them and eat them when I can. they are tasty little morsels!

Speaking of tastiness, my humans have gotten into the delightful habit of giving me egg yolks on the weekends when they are making their breakfast. I have to say, not only are these things juicy and delicious, they also make my beautiful fur coat softer and sleeker!

Now, every time Evan breaks an egg, I'm in the kitchen demanding that he provide me with one.

There have been many visitors to the house of the last few weeks. Some inspectors came to look at my new furnace yesterday, I used the opportunity to try to go outside for some fresh air. Evan didn't seem to like this very much and threw me back in.

Some friends of my humans came by last week and showed some mild interest in me. I like watching them from a safe distance, but I'm always there, keeping my eye on them!

Anyway, I'm late for a nap by the heating vent, until next time!

All the Leaves are Brown, and the Kitty is Gray/Orange

The season is changing, my furry brothers and sisters. It's getting colder and there are fewer and fewer woodland creatures for me to stalk. The squirrels seem to have stuck around, which I appreciate. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have become more cuddly with the advent of the cooler weather. In addition, I've unfortunately had to stop shedding as much, to conserve my silky winter coat.

The other day, Sudha and Evan came home from a walk talking about "Harriet's Twin." Apparently they saw some cat that they believed looked like me. Here are a couple of pictures of this "twin."

I'm not really sure where they see the resemblance, honestly. No cat could look like me really, I am truly unique, and one of a kind. The say I came from a litter of 6 or 7. Balderdash I say! I am angry at them for thinking that there could possibly be another cat like me. 

I'm angry at Evan for another reason too. On Monday, there were some people over installing a new furnace. Naturally, I was curious and kept following them around. I just wanted to follow them outside, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. But Evan would have none of it, he unceremoniously grabbed me and locked me in the upstairs laundry room all day! I've never been so insulted in my life, that I can remember, at least. The details of that event become hazy as I move on to more important things, like plotting killing squirrels.

There were more people over at my house this weekend, for cheese fondue. Evan's cousin Jill was in town, and we had her, her brother John, Paul and Tara over. I only hissed one time, and Jill fully deserved it! She wouldn't leave me alone. I still did feel bad about that, so later I did come up and eat a couple delicious kitty treats out of her hand. 

For the last two nights, I slept on Evan's belly as he was lounging on the couch watching TV. I put my face down flat and I spread my front legs out as if I'm stretching. It's very comfy. And he seems to like it to, he rubs my back, and scratches me on the chin and under my collar. I'm slowly forgiving him for his earlier affronts.

Well, I have more squirrels to stalk. Until next time!

The Silence of the Kitties

It has been a long period of silence, my furry brothers and sisters. The season is changing, it's getting colder and darker outside. Evan doesn't seem to mind the weather getting colder. Sudha really doesn't like it though. Personally, I like it. The winter is a time where I can lie on my back, spread-eagle towards the fire. Or where I can lounge about on top of the heating vents. I've heard from other cats that these heating vents are very comfortable. They haven't even been turned on around me yet, but Evan and Sudha are getting me a new furnace, so I'm excited to try them out.

Speaking of other cats: there is a neighbor of mine who has no respect for personal boundaries. A black and white cat, by the name of Tuxedo, showed up a couple of weeks ago on the front porch and stood there for over an hour, meowing to get in. Now, you would think this is normal behavior, but Tuxedo apparently doesn't understand that this is my house! He can't come over here, acting all friendly, and expect my humans to pay attention to him. Needless to say, I hissed at him quite vehemently. Sudha thought it was "funny," but she doesn't understand the seriousness of the situation.

Ever since that incident, I've been acting more friendly. I figured I would try to top this Tuxedo every way I knew how. I've been sleeping in Evan and Sudha's laps, I've even stopped hissing at visitors!

Just last week, my humans had some other humans over for dinner. The dinner consisted of some sort of delicious smelling melted-cheese dish. I was very excited to help them eat it, but they wouldn't let me! Anyway, I hung around with the whole group for most of the night. I didn't get too close, but I sat and watched them from halfway across the room.

Later on, under the influence of several bottles of wine, two of the humans attempted to bribe me to come closer. Now, I would say that this normally works, however, the two humans in question, Seth and Fernando were trying to coax me with pieces of bread. Needless to say, being a bloodthirsty, violent carnivore, I had no interest at all in this. I sat there and stared at them. I tried to tell them that the bottle of kitty treats was just over on the mantle piece, but they didn't seem to understand.

Yesterday, Sudha's friend Pooja and her family were over for breakfast, and I actually ate treats out of their hands. Not one hiss or raised hackle. I must say, I'm quite proud of my behavior.

I've taken quite an interest in the lovely Syrian tablecloth that Evan and Sudha got from Evan's parents. It's long and easy to grip with my claws! I love to dash across the living room, leap up onto the table and then let myself fall off the other side while gripping the table cloth. I recommend that you all try it.

Anyway, I must back to chewing on Sudha's plants!

The Remains of the Kitten

When I was a kitten, my furry brothers and sisters, I was very cute, very cuddly and very friendly. Back in those days I lived in a carefree world filled with laps and toys. Back then I would howl whenever Evan or Sudha went outside or left me along downstairs. I would sit on their friends' laps.

I was a very different kitty. After enduring a hard move I'm much more crotchety. I'm working on it though. Evan informs me that I have a reputation for hissing and being unfriendly.

So this weekend I made more of an effort. Evan just turned 28 years old last Friday, and on Saturday he had a bunch of people over to celebrate this! I behaved very well. I stayed downstairs and watched people. I didn't hiss at anyone at all during the party. Even some of the guests tried to pet me. Their friend Ben used kitty treats to try to win me over. Mmmmmmm.... kitty treats.

Evan was a little under the weather a day after the party so I sat on his lap a couple times to cheer him up. He scratches me very nicely behind the ears, and on the back of my neck under my skull and crossbones collar.

Sudha and Evan have this lovely purple Syrian table cloth on the dining room table. I don't know what it is about this table cloth, but it calls to me. It contrasts so beautifully with the lighter color of my fur. So naturally, I can't resist jumping onto it and spreading out all over it. I do this especially when they are not at home. I think they may be on to me though, as the thing is covered with cat hair. And I was slow and Sudha caught me sitting on the table last night.

Both of my humans were out of town a week ago, visiting Sudha's family in Chicago. Their friend Fernando, who is staying in the basement, was there, along with his girlfriend Rachel. They fed me decently well, I suppose. Although they basically ignored me. It was a little disappointing. I am a creature with very complex feelings. Just because I seem to be completely ignoring you and treating you with utter disdain and contempt, that doesn't mean that you have the right to do the same. Needless to say, I was happy when Sudha and Evan got back that Monday. I showed my appreciation by complaining for food and ignoring them.

The weather is getting colder. I feel that it will soon be time to lie on my back with my legs spread towards the fireplace. There will be fewer woodland creatures to gaze at from the window with murderous intent.

Until next time my furry brothers and sisters!