Upstairs

Stygia: I did it. I went upstairs on my own for the first time today. I left the confines of my bedroom hideaway and ventured forth into that scary area where Abby goes but I have not. No one else was up there when I went -- I made sure Abby was sleeping somewhere before I went.

When Ms. C could not find me in the bedroom, she went upstairs to see if just by the slightest chance, that is where I had gone. She gave me lots of patting! I stayed up there until Abby came to investigate and she chased me -- I went right back downstairs. But maybe I can go up there sometime when everyone else is there. I will be a lot less lonesome then!

Friends on Friday: Honoring IKKYU

Ms. C: Last summer, I had the very great honor of meeting IKKYU, the beautiful Abyssinian of noble attitude and dignity; he owned my friend Ms. V who writes for Sen-Chan and Tom of The Poupounette. Today my thoughts are of him and with my friend, for a year ago today he passed over the rainbow bridge.

IKKYU had not been feeling well for some time, but being the lovely caring person that she is, his #1 Ms. V provided him with all he needed to be able to enjoy his last months. The day I first got to meet him, he was having a really good day. I'd been hearing all about IKKYU for years, and to finally have a chance to see him in person was really exciting! When I went home, I began a sketch which evolved into my first watercolor painting in several years, I think it really captures his spirit:

I warn you other kitties out there, some of the following pictures are probably going to make you drool!

One thing about IKKYU was that he was pretty much a one-person cat. There was no short-cut to winning his affection, he simply had to decide for himself how he felt about a person, and no amount of savory treats could really change his mind (although they would certainly be accepted). He let me scratch between his ears while he was enjoying the cheese I'd offered to him, and did not hiss. When I suggested to Ms. V that perhaps he did not hiss because his mouth was full of cheese, she laughed and said, "Oh, believe me, he'd hiss if he wanted to!" So it seems I was more acceptable than most! Here he is acquiring a piece of cheese:

He was WILD about ham! Ham, glorious ham! As you can see, he was very happy to accept a piece from me:

What a beautiful cat! He was an excellent model for me on the days that I saw him.

He allowed me to get very, very close to him, which was unusual for him.


You can learn more about IKKYU and what a super kitty he always was (and see more fun pictures!) over at The Poupounette today. I am so glad I was able to meet him before he took his final journey. I am sure somewhere he is waiting for the rest of us with a world of ham and cheese! We miss you, IKKYU.

Texas's Honor, and progress

Abby: First of all, we would like to thank Texas for honoring us with this:

Speaking of Texas, he is a terrific tabby just like me. We are really going to miss him when he goes over the bridge soon. Please stop by his blog to let him know what a terrific cat he is and what a terrific family he has, too!

***

Stygia: We can't leave without letting you see a couple of new pictures of us. First, here I am in my safe spot. Abby does not follow me here, so it's where I go when I need a break.

Although, I must admit I do not like her much yet (look at the way she is approaching me!), I also must admit that I am getting more tolerant and curious. We still whap each other though. She used to try to sneak up on me and sniff my tail all of the time. Now I am finally ready to try to sniff her tail. Ms. C says she doesn't hiss anymore at her hands if she has been patting me, so that is progress.

More Catnip

Abby: I heard there is some old joke about more cowbell, but all I want is MORE CATNIP!

We Don't Want to Share, Yet!

Abby: Our mom let us have some snoopervised time together today. For the most part we were gentle with each other, either sniffing benignly or just ignoring each other and each doing our own, important Cat Things, but I get very excited. Ms. C says my attitude in this picture is not a very nice way to approach Stygia, but I just want to PLAY but she makes me a little nervous.

I don't really want to share my catnip. Ms. C separated us again and gave me some nip! It makes me attack my little Adan doll with great ferociousness!


Stygia: I didn't even hiss at her today, not at first. I let her get real close to me, and sniff me. We did our own things, but I think that when Ms. C came back downstairs to check on us, all of Abby's actions were a big show for our Mom. She chased me round the bed a few times until leaped up to my perch where she will not follow!

I am now one of the House Panthers! I'll be posting at least every Saturday, where you can join me for Stygian Saturdays!

Stygia on Sunday

Stygia: Hello, everyone! Today it's just me, Abby Normal is not feeling like her normal self today. I've been having a great day! Ms. C brought me a new toy, a little furry mouse! And ... there was some catnip on the floor! I sniffed the catnip. I rubbed my toy in the catnip, and then I made it fly!

I loooove this mouse, it is my friend!

I even carry it around to different places where I need to play with it. This used to be a hamper for the people, but now it's a cat play-house. Both Abby and I like it, but right now we are isolated from each other until she gets over her belly problems, so I have it all to myself! The mouse definitely needs to be played with in here too.

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful weekend!

Making the Most of a Bad Day

Abby: I had a very bad day today. At least, I believe I did. Ms. C and Mr. R took me to the vet today because I have been having belly problems again. Now that I know what a terrible place that is, I HATE it. Last time I went, I was a very good cat. But this time, I've taken lessons from Texas and became a mite bit fractious!

I made terrible, terrifying faces at all of the vet techs and I did not stop growling at the vet. When they took me back to the treatment room, I made sure everyone heard my screams. Ms. C is trying to claim it's a legend that she once did the same thing when she went to the doctor (and she was 12!!), but I think it's a true story, and so I still love her because I know she understands.

I hopefully will be back to my right self again soon. To tell you the truth, I do not feel that bad at all, but the humans are not happy with my flatulence.

So as you can see here, I am making the most of the rest of this day by relaxing thoroughly. I am not even going to harass Stygia. I've censored myself for your viewing discretion:



Here's a close up of my toes. I like to curl them when I am relaxing in this pose:

I am still growing and I am also gaining more skill in really knowing how to take up space:

Tomorrow I will let Styggie have some blog space, but she is busy sleeping right now and shhh we mustn't disturb! Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

An Award!

It was quite a few days ago that the beautiful Parker honored me with this award. It was before I had my new sister, too. We are very excited and flattered!

Here are the rules:
1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

All right, now for my nominations:

I'd like to nominate my soul-sister, Abby and her family of Manx Mnews. Their blog was one of the first ones Ms. C began to read when she lost her previous cat, and it helped her through many a sad and catless day.

Stygia insists on nominating Angus Mohr because he gave her such a friendly welcome when she came home, but I'm nominating him because he's a tabby.

We must nominate the adorable trio of Kaze, Latte, and Chase, who helpfully instructed us in what a frootbat is.

We want to nominate the wonderful family of Cats - Goats - Quotes because not only do they have a totally wonderful family, but they are also fostering a tuxie kitty!

Another kitty that got Ms. C through her catless times was Rascal, so she wants to nominate him for that, but Stygia wants to nominate him because he reminds her of herself!

We want to nominate Grrreta and Ambrose because Grrreta is a beautiful sweetie, and I wish I could visit Ambrose and play herd of thundering elephants with him and he is a tabby like me!

Last but not least, we'd like to nominate Jake. His blog is exceptionally thought-provoking!

Finally today, I would like you to understand that there's no cat in this picture. Nope, no cat here!

Putting Up With a Lot!

Stygia: I have to put up with so much. My new humans let me have some "alone" time every day in the bedroom, but they also let that Catzilla in for part of the day too! As you can see, it is quite terrifying!


Abby: Who did what? Hey, I did not even show my claws when I was trying to play with Stygia. I just want a pal!!! I am so excited. I can't help it if she gets mad. I just want to PLAY!!!! I hope she will want to play soon, too.

What? Oh, no--- I did not put the mouse in my food bowl. Honest. You don't believe me? Awwwww, shucks!


Don't forget to stop by my friends' blog, The Poupounette, and wish Tom and his mom #1 a very happy birthday!!

The Strike Ends!

Ms. C: Great news! Thanks to all of your well-wishing and advice, Stygia is enjoying her food. I found some Fancy Feast dry food at the grocery store and decided to give that a try. I got some chicken too, to boil as a treat for her. Thanks, friends!

First Nip

Abby: I had an incredible experience this morning, one I have not yet had before, not really. Ms. C offered some of these little green leaves she calls catnip to me before, but I was not interested. But this morning I was! She put a little bit on this piece of paper, but pretty soon I had it all over the surrounding carpet, in my fur, and I made sure to eat some of it too. I rubbed my chin on the carpet where the nip was, and rolled around, and dragged myself around upside down. It was grrrrrrrreat!


Stygia: Ms. C also offered me some of the nip and I reacted happily to it. It felt good, and I rolled a lot. It is really hard for Ms. C to get a picture of me because I am usually hiding underneath the dresser. I am still terrified of Abby. I also am not eating. I have had maybe a bite of my dry food, and they offered me tuna in gravy. I had a few licks of the gravy when Ms. C held the bowl up to me, but I did not eat more. I heard a rumor today they are going to try a different food and hope that my fasting is because I do not like my current food that the shelter gives to every new adopter family (Hills Science Diet).

Between

Hi. It's Abby. You know, I am still scared of this new creature living in my house. It's always downstairs. However, Ms. C does not seem to be afraid of it. In fact, she was downstairs reading on the bed for a lot of the evening, and so I followed her. I searched all around the room and could not find that Other Cat.

Then I looked up! I often forget to do that. There she was, sitting comfortably on one of Ms. C's shirts. She was watching me. I am still not sure what to think, I might not be happy about this, but I feel very curious. Very.

Hello, it's me, Stygia. I'm still staying downstairs for now because it's safer here. I am still pretty depressed because I miss my family, my old Mom and Dad. The Lady Ms. C let me nap with her this afternoon -- she placed me on her belly, and I did not object. I stayed there, facing her, keeping her warm for a couple of hours. She patted me and brushed me, but I cannot yet bring myself to purr.

This evening, that Other Cat (her name is Abby) kept following Ms. C downstairs to my room. She did not see me for a long time because she does not look up very often, but she sniffs around and looks under everything. She is also not much of a jumper or climber, although I am.

When she saw me, she stretched up towards my position on the dresser. She hissed once, and Ms. C chided her so she stopped. After staring for a few minutes, she started rolling on the floor, showing me her belly, and making small trills. I must admit, I am confused by her conflicting messages!

Upstairs Downstairs

Hi, it's me, Stygia. Pretty much, I am the Downstairs Cat right now. I have been upstairs a few times, but most of the time I'm in the People's bedroom where I feel pretty safe. The Lady had a nap down here this afternoon and I slept next to her on the bed. It was nice. I like to rub the People's legs when they are near me, and I talk to them a lot.

But there is an Other Cat living here already, and I am pretty scared of her. I've taken a few venturesome steps towards her, but she hisses and runs away. I have also hissed at her a few times, but more because I was scared, not serious.

Hi, it's me, Abby. As you've probably guessed, I am the Upstairs Cat. During the day, this is a great thing because that's where the living room is, and Ms. C is there a lot. Don't tell Stygia, but the real reason I have not done anything but hiss is because I am terrified of her. She is bigger than me!

I went downstairs a few times today to look and check things out, but I did not stay that long. When Styggie came up, we actually ran around the house (with me chasing!) downstairs, back upstairs, and back down again, our tails puffed up the whole time.

I hope we can be at least playmates soon. I make Mr. R mad when I hiss at him, but I only hiss because he has been patting the Other Cat and it just smells so terrifying to me! And I want to be able to sleep with my people again at night, but right now I am too scared to try it.

Space Invaders

You will not believe this, but an alien has arrived into my home:

This is the only sighting Ms. C has managed to capture on film so far. I am going to let her talk about the experience in her own words, because frankly, I don't know what to think.

***

Ms C: She came to us last evening, a friendly yet terrified-at-her-new-surroundings two-year-old kitty. She and Abby have not yet really introduced themselves to each other besides some hissing from a distance; so far what we have is an "upstairs cat" and a "downstairs cat."
She does not seem to be familiar with her given name, so Mr. R has named her Stygia (I call her Styggie). She was well cared-for in her previous home, although I think she is traumatized at the moment by missing her people who felt they could not keep her after the birth of their first child.

I'll share more pictures later, but I don't want to take too many right now because Styggie is obviously not settled in or comfortable yet.

Gosh!

That's right. GOSH. That is all I can say. Ms. C has some big news tomorrow for you. No, she is not going to have kittens or anything like that. But GOSH!

When she's good....

... I am very very good! I am really good at keeping Ms. C company. She has not been able to assist me with my writing for a few days because she has been very sick. She is still not feeling very well at all, so let's all purr for her at the count of three. Ready? One.... two.... three... PURRrrrrrRRrRRrR !!!

I want to be just like Ms. C. I've been following her to the bathroom and keeping a close eye on her every time she goes since I have come to my forever home here, and this past week I decided to try it myself. I admit, I am not very good with aim, but Ms. C praised me anyway.


... and sometimes they tell me I am not-so-good. I like to bite a lot of stuff, and sometimes the more I know I am not allowed to bite it, the more I want to bite it. That's what happened when this picture was taken, and Mr. R held me close for a long time after that. I even growled.

Usually when I am feeling naughty and doing those things I shouldn't do, the squirt bottle gets me. I have learned it is wisest to listen to Ms. C when she says no, or else I will be squirted and I hate that!!


Finally, because I know so many of you enjoy these things so much, here is my full monty! It's a great way to start the weekend don't you think?

How do you like my belly spots? I think they are coming back very nicely. And I am laying with a toy, I really like to do that.

Friends and Surprises!

I had a wonderful surprise today! The doorbell rang, and I ran to get it with Ms. C. It was the mailman, and he had a package just for me! Oh, I couldn't believe it-- I've never gotten a package in the mail before. I don't think anyone had an address for me back when I lived at the SPCA. Look, it even has my name on it:


It came all the way from France! I helped inspect as Ms. C assisted me with the opening of the package.

What is it, what is it?! (Ms. C: Abby, that's just the bubble wrap, it's not the thing that they actually sent to you, it's just protecting it during its journey)

Oh, ok, I understand. But I am still going to have to sniff it.

Wow!!! Check it out! It's from Sen-Chan and Tom, and they sent me some awesome cat toys and a beautiful card with their very own pictures on it! (Ms. C: Abby, let me take those out of their packages before you play with them)

Inside the card it says:

Dear Abby,
This is v. late but we wanted to send you some welcome gifts. We
hope you like them!
Your pals,
Sen-Chan & Tom

The handwriting is very special, I think perhaps Sen-Chan wrote it himself. I am so honored to have such wonderful friends! And they know exactly what I like. In fact, one of the toys is designed for carrying around, which is one of my very favorite things to do with my toys.

Thanks so much! Now, where is Ms. C --- it's time to PLAY!!

Monday Meme: Quirks!

Several days ago, Texas the terrific tiger-cat (vets, you may call him terrifying, muhahaha!) over at Fractious Cat Central tagged me for the Six Unspectacular Quirks meme.

All right! Let's get started.

The rules:
Link to the one who tagged you. List the rules on your blog. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours. Tag some blogger friends with links. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been tagged.

Quirk number one: Probably my silliest quirk is that I sleep with my eyes open. My mom wants to know if I do it because I want to keep an eye on everything even when asleep, or if I really am that lazy that I can't bother closing my eyes? Hey, I'm not giving away any cat-secrets.

Quirk number two: There is cat food all over the house. Why? because I like to take a single piece of it out of the bowl and bring it to other, more interesting locations to PLAY with it! Hey, I'm a cat, we are supposed to play with our food, right?

Quirk number three: I like to use the litter box when my mom is near by or watching. Sure, I go on my own when I know for sure she is too busy to accompany me. But if I notice she is not busy, I will try to lead her there for these occasions.

Quirk number four: I enjoy playing fetch. In fact, I have a mouse collection starting under Ms. C's desk at this very moment. If she weren't so lazy, she'd be throwing them for me right now!

Quirk number five: I like to touch paws with my family. I really don't mind that much if they touch my paws, and when they do, I flex them and stretch them and begin to relax. I also try to touch them with my paws when I rest.

Quirk number six: My name is Abby. I know this. But it's not pronounced the way you might imagine it is pronounced. See, when it's time for me to be fed my stinky wet tuna cat food, my mom says my name to me. She calls out, "it's Cat Time!" and I run to get my food. So that's how you say Abby: It's cat time!

Now for the tagging: I'm going to tag the cats of the Black Cat blog, Eric and Flynn, and the cats of Camie's Kitties!

(semi) Easy on Sunday

I've taken it about as easy as I can. I mean, I did have to play. It's an important part of my job as a cat, after all. These mice must be kept under control and brought to locations of my choosing!


And now for the easier part. Ms. C says when I sleep like this, it does not make it easier for her, but it is very nice for me, and she says I am welcome to use her as a pillow any time.

She is very kind!

Friday Fun

Mr. R plays with me every morning before he goes to work, even though he only has a few minutes for fun. I am always disappointed when he has to go! I wait at the top of the stairs for him to come home. Here is a picture from last week, I thought you might like my expression:

And here is a picture from this morning. Ms. C's nephew got me this fun new cat toy! It has feathers and slides across the floor so quick when I bat it. It is no accident that I am sitting here right next to it with this enquiring expression on my face:

As Ms. C expected, I have warmed up to my Silly Octopus Toy. Look what a good cat I am, carrying it back to Ms. C so she can throw it for me again:

Come on, let's PLAY!!

Hope you have a great weekend!