It turns out we are all cat lovers here. We thought it would be fun to share some of our photos and stories with you.
These are the ones that allow us to feed, shelter, clean up after and allow us live with them.
This will get organized a bit later, but for now I (Mike) will start with Stewie.
This is Stewie's first day home. He took to me instantly.
This is Stewie as a kitten at a pic-nic. Stewie is all black but under certain lights he has off black zebra type stripes. He is the most loving friendly cat and he acts like a dog. He has never been around dogs but has many dog-like personality traits. He sleeps with his tongue sticking out for one. He also loves to stay warm so we put an old heating pad under his cat bed. He loves to run and play hide and seek with his best buddy, our other cat, Frankie. Stewie's favorite cat toy is... a clear plastic bottle cap. He absolutely loves it! Go figure. Looks like no more need for all the mouse squeaky toys. His other favorite activity is putting his arm under the bathroom door to see if he can reach your foot or a carefully placed piece of toilet paper within his reach. He will grab the TP and pull it to his side and then push it back under so it can be repositioned. Well, it's better than just sitting there staring at the wall.
Frankie is just a tad smaller than Stewie and has a mixed silvery and sunny-blonde coat with black spots and stripes. The sunny-blonde just shows up in the photo around his face. Frankie is more reserved when it comes to wanting your attention. He only wants to snuggle when he is tired or right after a bunch of fun play. As you can see he doesn't mind snuggling with Stewie. Frankie is fairly vocal but it isn't really directed to anyone. He just seems to express his feelings that way. His favorite activity is to try to bury things for safe keeping, uneaten food, water dish, but he refuses to bury anything he leaves in the cat box! Another interesting thing he does started after he saw a couple of his prized dead mice get flushed. We have found several mice since floating for us because he hasn't learned to flush yet. He knows where they supposed to go!
Here is Frankie and Stewie being totally amazed by one of the miracles of modern technology.
Frankie and Stewie try to figure out if the Furby Santa is the Real Santa!
Stewie tried his paws at music but didn't understand that this wasn't a tuba.
In his younger years, Stewie fancied himself a strong contender in the sport of Tissue Box Racing. PRRRRRR! PRRRRRR! PRRRRRRROOM!
Here is Frankie and Stewie playing in their cat tree. They are both poised in the same position to attack anyone that goes through the doorway. They also love it when the tummy monster comes to visit.
Sure, just try walking through this doorway and see what happens, 'cuz the tummy monster is on vacation!
Here is Frankie hiding in the empty cat food bucket poised to tag Stewie as he walks by. Somebody needs to tell Frankie that the bucket can be seen through from either direction.
Stewie found a comfortable place to sleep in the cat bed until Frankie came along and found an even more comfortable place. Sometimes I sleep in a slightly wrong position and wake up with a sore back but just looking at the way Frankie sleeps makes that all seem unfair.
Frankie and Stewie are a little over a year old now. Frankie has learned that it is ok to be loved on. He really enjoys having his neck and shoulders scratched. He does reach his limit and then runs off. Stewie on the other hand can't get enough. You can pet him for 15min straight but if you stop he will find a way to get you to keep going. We have found that if we play "Maul the Kitty" he will have lots of fun for a few minutes then burn out quickly and go find something else to do.
Both cats hate riding in the car. Must have been that ride to get them fixed. Can't say I blame them.
House rules:
- We don't put our paw in the fish tank.
- Under the bed is not an attack position.
- We don't put pretty things in the cat box.
- We don't walk behind things on the shelf just to see if they will break.
- The toe monster sleeps under the blanket and wakes up grumpy.
- It's not polite to block the TV even if you do like this show.
- When in the bathroom with either mommy or daddy, any bare flesh directly above the toilet seat is not a good place to put a wet nose.
- Mommy and Daddy's face are not pillows.
- Soft cat food is supposed to be eaten before it goes in the cat box.
- The shower curtain is not to climb, swing on or hide behind and it is not ok to tear a gaping hole to jump through.
- Daddy's toes don't stretch but they do bleed.
- Cats can't type.
- Clothes hangers are for clothes not cats.
- Only mommy and daddy are allowed to open the new cat litter bag.
- Meowing in the middle of the night won't get the cat food can open any sooner.
- Inside the clothes drier is not a good place to sleep.
- The refrigerator is not a good place to hide while no one is looking.
- Cat toys do not belong in the toilet.
- While we are on the topic of toilets, We do not swat at "solid objects" swirling around during a flush. Look, Don't Touch!!!
- You can't sharpen your claws on the air mattress or the inflatable pool.
- Newest rule: We do not play on the shelf with the full box of compact florescent bulbs push it off onto the floor just so we can play "Count the shards". Now we have half a box of compact florescent bulbs.
- Our most important rule is: We do not attack the source of farts while someone is sleeping!
Funny Conversation
Karen and I had a strange/funny conversation a while back and I thought I'd share it with you...
Mike, "Here Stewie!"
Karen rushing in from the other room with a puzzled look on her face, "What did you just say?"
Mike, "I just called Stewie."
Karen still puzzled, "What did you call him?"
Mike, "Stewie, Why?"
Karen now with a funny look on her face, "Oh, I thought I heard you call him Stew Meat!"
I laughed so hard I was crying. We still laugh about it. But I could never name a cat Stew Meat because the cat would think I was an ass for laughing every time I called him.
Kitty Fun and Games
- Attack the toilet paper under the bathroom door.
- Play tag on the cat tree. Also known as, "See which finger bleeds first".
- There is also "Stand on the sub-woofer box and try to figure out why our paws are tingling".
- Stewie loves to play, "Run in the kitchen just before someone walks in and plop down on his back with feet in the air and attack any bare feet that fly over". It's so much fun he thinks he needs a can of tuna as a reward for winning. This game is also known as "Plop".
- Our favorite game is PSSSSST. One kitty walks across in front of either Karen or myself while trying to find the other kitty. It's important at this point that we remain still and not attract attention to ourselves. Then at the right moment, just at the limit of peripheral vision. PSSSSST! And move our foot toward the kitty. There is never any danger of actually kicking the kitty because they are usually several feet in the air at this point and flying in some random direction. If kitty lands on the floor and somewhat gracefully they give us that "yeah you got me" look. But the best part is when they land someplace they didn't want to go. Like, on one of the shelves in either the entertainment center or fish tank stand. This amusing maneuver usually results in the front of the shelf being cleared of all nick knacks. Stewie usually reacts with a look as if to say, "Hey I was slinking here!". While Frankie reacts as if to say, "That wasn't that funny. Quit laughing. You people are deranged.". Then he walks off in a huff.
- A variation on the game PSSSSST is called "Sneeze the cat into the air". It's an involuntary game that brings a good laugh after you play it. Karen is the best at starting this game. When she has an uncontrollable sneeze and then opens her eyes to see the cats are floating briefly in the air. Definitely the best part about sneezing.
I was visiting a friend that had a "lap dog". I picked the dog up off my lap and set him down but not before this picture was taken. It was later pointed out that it appeared that I made a "Dog Puppet". That's just not right! But I thought I'd share it with you anyway.