Where is Ms. C??

Abby: We are sad to announce that Ms. C is having computer problems.... again!  Which means all the beautiful pictures of us are inaccessible until she gets that fixed.

... AND ... (sniff) ... she is leaving us for a few days!  What are we going to dooooooo?  We will just have to take up following Mr. R and demanding an answer from him, "Where is Ms. C??"  Perhaps Stygia and I will just sleep.  We were going to post about an award we received today, but our connection at the moment is slow as dial-up, so we will go curl into little balls now, and we will see you Saturday!

Get Ready...

.... get set ....

.... FIGHT!!!

P.S. Since someone was concerned, we would like you to know that no harm comes to either of us when we "fight!"

Misty Saturday

Abby: It has been rainy and drizzly outside today. That means we feel sleepy and we have no sun spots to wrestle in. While that is a disappointment, there are other important things to do around the house, of course. Top on our list is "follow Ms. C around everywhere." This is Ms. C's desk. We are very interested in all that she does.

Also a priority is some really good, championship napping! Here I am, meowing as Ms. C talks to me, because I want her to scratch my chin. We had a really good nap together today, I cozied up next to her knees and slept with my paws in the air. I love Ms. C, she gives me tuna!

Stygia: I am very excited and impressed today, because when I went over with Ms. C to do my Stygian Saturdays over at House Panthers, Diamond Emerald-Eyes (also a very beauteous panther) beat me there and posted a really awesome graphic featuring me! Thank you, Diamond!

I blame Ms. C for me being late on House Panthers today, she was really wrapped up in that "napping on a rainy day" task she and Abby took on. By the way, I really love this lap-top bag for sitting on. It matches me so nicely and is the perfect size!

Tiger Time

Abby: We are letting Ms. C post today because we are so nice and she has some fun stuff to share with you, but first we are making her post a picture of us:

Ms. C: I am going to be seeing my nephew next week, and so I decided that as a present I would make him some "coloring pages," which is kind of like a loose-leaf coloring book. He likes tigers, although knowing him they will turn out to be pink tigers. When I finished this sketch, I had the strange realization that it looks like John Malkovich (but a lot hairier):

And of course, I had to feature my own little brown tiger, ABBY!

I hope you enjoy these sketches. Working on a few more, and am going to print out a couple copies of each for him so he can give some to his grandma and great-grandma!

PS. Stygia was featured today on the Diamond's Lair blog as one of 13 Spooktacular Cats! Cool!

Whacky Weed Wednesday: Recovering!

Abby: As you can see from yesterday's example, we love our 'nip. We can never really get enough, but we do take time out to recover. So we thought we'd show you some fun things to do in the sun while waiting for your next round of catnip!

First, you can just relax side by side with your friends:

Next, you may want to bathe thoroughly. This can take quite some time:

When you start feeling a little more energetic again, you may want to demonstrate this to your friends by bringing over a favorite toy:

And if your friends are still feeling lazy, you may just want to GET THEIR TAILS!!!

What do YOU like to do after your 'nip?

It's that time again, man....

Ms. C: I think today's pictures speak for themselves, man:

Sunday Sun

Stygia: It's Sunday, and it's sunny, so it's a wonderful day! Did you know that sometimes my mom likes to call me tadpole? What is a tadpole, can anyone tell me? Do you think I look like one? Ms. C says here is her evidence:

Ms. C laid out several of my toys (the only ones she could find) this morning and accused me of removing their tails. I tried to tell her that there are two cats in this household, so why was she so certain it was me who did it? She said that all of these toys had their tails when Abby was the only cat here. I tried to convince her that maybe they are just getting old, and we should have new ones. But she said that I am the one that carries them around by the tails, not Abby. She also said something about "finding a tail in the litter box." I guess I will take the credit for this, then.

Yesterday on House Panthers I talked about how it's really nice to enjoy your 'nip in the sunshine. Here is my example for all you kitties to follow:

Rest Play Play Playplay PLAY!!

Stygia: It started out nice, although you can see I am cautious and keeping an eye on her. That tabby cat Abby looks peaceful and cute. But how long can it last?

Yep, soon enough, she rolls over and.... just LOOK!! She bites me in the butt!! ARRRRgh! This is not going to go unanswered, Abby!!!

Abby: Sure, I like relaxing with my sis. I lick between her ears every day now. But I can't help it, her twitching tail makes me feel playful. We like to play in the sun.

Just in case you think I am always the one starting things, I will have you know for the record that right before Ms. C snapped this shot, I was licking between her ears. But as you can see, she got excited and wanted to play! I know how she feels, so who am I to deny her?

Stygia is over at House Panthers today, so be sure to stop by and check it out!

K-I-S-S-I-N-G !

Ms. C:  I've been having a lot of computer problems over the past few days.  I tried re-formatting the hard drive (which is not showing any signs of bad sectors, etc), and it is still giving me troubles.  Hopefully that can be repaired soon, whatever this mystery problem is, so I can get back to reading all of my favorite cat-blogs!

However limited the current connection is, it will not stop me from sharing this adorable example of two sisters greeting each other, with nary an aggressive paw lifted.  They spent quite some time sitting side by side in this window, enjoying the late summer afternoon! How cute. 

Late Summer Days

Abby: It is a beautiful late summer day, and we are hanging out, enjoying the breeze. I tell you, we have had a very busy morning, since about 4am we have been chasing each other back and forth, up and down. We deserve to relax now! We are not lazy.

What are friends for?

Stygia: What are friends for? Well, first of all, this morning I was friends with Mr. R. He picked me up and put me in his lap, and I stayed there for quite awhile, receiving lots of love. I love to be loved!!!

Friends are also for roughhousing with. I like to keep Ms. C on the go, she can hardly get a picture of us sometimes because we are moving so fast. You can tell by the 'quality' of her pictures. Can you see who is the chaser and who is the chasee in this next picture? Hee hee!

Here I am demonstrating the "flying squirrel" attack position. Yeah, yeah, maybe we do get a few neck-licks in, but we have to put our ears back anyway. It's part of the fun!

Chance has given us a lovely award! Thank you so much Chance, we love you too!!! If you just come over, maybe we can all practice "flying squirrel" and so much more, all together!

A Hovercat

Abby: Ever since Ms. C saw these pictures of Hovercat, she has been longing for a hovercat of her very own. As you may have guessed, she is rather easily entertained but I, I am not! However, we did come to an agreement. I will hover for food:


Ahhh, yes. That was satisfying. It is very hard for me to stay still for very long, you know. I even noisily gobble down that tuna as quickly as I can, not only because it is so tasty, but also because those moments I have my face in the food bowl are moments I cannot keep track of everything else going on in the household.

I am coming to really like Stygia. I even calmed down for about 10 seconds the other day to wash between her ears for her, although she has not yet done the same for me yet.

Ms. C gives her these little treat-thingies called "Tasty chicken flavor" temptations. I have never been interested in any treats of any flavor, not even tuna ones, but Stygia will eat any of them. So, I decided I better check it out. I waited for an opportune Styggie-getting-treats moment, and then I barged in. And I ate them all. I am sorry if it was rude, it was important. Now, as soon as I hear the cracking of the treats bag, I come running, and I politely eat one of them, even though I really don't like the way they taste. It's the polite thing to do!

If We Were Authors, Part 2

Stygia: I decided I'd write my memoir even though I am only 2 years old. Not every cat is fortunate to end up in such a good situation as my fellow cat bloggers and I are in. Hopefully after reading my book, people will be more inclined to bring another cat into their home.

If We Were Authors, Part 1...

Abby: Cats can and should be able to do just about anything. That's always been my philosophy. I haven't published a novel yet, but I like to imagine that someday I will be, and that the book would be something like this (biggify for best results!):




It's a subject that I -- heck, probably all of us! -- feel very strongly about. No matter what flavor of treat you prefer, it's a vital part of every day! Tomorrow Stygia will present her own book cover.

A Moment of Silence

We observed a moment of silence in honor of today:

I am in the chair and Stygia is safely curled on the cat condo.

So many people's lives were changed seven years ago. Unexpectedly, indescribably. Ours too.

On A Chair.... Anywhere!

Stygia: We fight anywhere. On the stairs, or on a chair! Just take a look, you'll find us there!

Abby: I don't want to say it but... (whispers) she has been getting the better of me lately. I admit, I stalk her. I start the chasing and the fights. But I am the first one to run away. Is it always going to be this way?!

Play: The Sequel

Ms. C: When I woke up this morning, this is what I saw. Notice, while Stygia is comfortably installed, Abby is more cautious. But she wants to be there!

Abby: Ms. C says her Aunt D. sent her a lovely afghan that she made! She put it on the chair and right away I had to scale its heights and make it my own. I think a multicolored-and-black design compliments my own color scheme, don't you agree?

Stygia: Yes, I allowed Abby to sit near me in the morning. She can be pesky, but ultimately she listens to me. She was leaving me alone so it was ok.

Just in case you wanted to see another video of us playing in our cat condo, here it is! Ms. C needs a better way to record our antics besides her camera, which as you can see is not very good at all. She then had to rotate it in Windows Movie Maker, and it came out a bit squashed.

On the positive side, you can see what a silly little klutz Abby is, falling out of the cat condo like that, and just how fast my whapping paws are! You get to watch all the action twice, the second time is in slow motion.

It's Our Job

Abby: Yes, we have a job. It's a very serious job, and it's called PLAY!! I discovered a sun-spot this morning. I had to take advantage of it.

Ms. C located one of my favorite toys for me. I could be anywhere in the house, but if I hear its rattling sound, I will come running at full speed because it needs to GET GOT!


Stygia: Oh, Abby, hi! I will roll around and touch your paws and maybe you will PLAY with me, too!


I fit into the bottom of the cat condo quite nicely. I like to "hang out" a bit, too! But I have a feeling... something is watching me....

Ha ha!! I will not let it get the better of me! You weren't expecting that now, were you, Abby?

Friends on Friday: Us

First of all, we'd like to send purrs to the family of Texas, who has made his final journey. We loved Texas and his blog, and all of our hearts are with his family right now.

******

Stygia: Perhaps you can tell by the last few blog entries, but this is our new favorite game, playing in and around the cat condo. When I first met Abby, I didn't understand that she was a wrestling-loving kind of cat. I thought she just wanted to fight, I didn't know this was a fun way that we cats could play together. I am learning!

I find it easiest to play from on top of the cat condo. I tried to dash into that top cubby that Abby is usually in once, but it was a lot smaller than I expected, and I ended up with my back legs and tail just hanging out. You can be sure that with Abby on my tail, I got out of there quickly!

Abby: We play this game throughout the day! Sometimes Stygia needs a little bit of persuasion in order to box and wrestle with me. I've had to be clever in my techniques. Usually, I just sneak up on her and whap her tail, but sometimes she ignores that, so as you can see from this video, I'm using the "bite the back" technique.

Well, it is time for our nap. It is afternoon and we need to store a lot of energy for evening excitement!

PS. When we ran the spell check we were shocked to see that "whap" is not in the dictionary. It's a very important term!

Synchronized Kitty Lounging

Abby: Yesterday, we learned about Synchronized Kitty Lounging from Grrreta's blog, and we decided that we were going to have to try it out for ourselves. With such a good example and our tireless hours of study, I think we met with success:

Of course, while we relax, we are really only storing up energy for the next round of PLAY!!! While Styggie was relaxing on the top of the cat-condo, I decided to make a tactical investigation of the second level. Look how I just levitate into it!

It feels good to be inside here. It's round, and I like round places. However, I am not about to forget that she is up there above me. I leave my tail out temptingly.

Stygia: I can't say I didn't expect her to try to get up here with me. Maybe my laser eyes will work to repel her! I have claimed this space as mine for now and I plan to stay here!!

We swirl around on the top of the cat-condo for a while. Abby will never admit that I got the best of her this time, but I did!! She kind of got trapped in the corner by the wall there and she panicked and ran away!! I wouldn't have hurt her but she did get a lesson. After all, I still weigh a pound more than she does.


You can see who is still on top of the cat-condo at the end.... tee hee! She's a little skulker!

Just in case...

Stygia: ...any of you imagine that all is now peace and harmony in the Abby & Stygia household, we have the following evidence to present. Look. Just WHO does it look like wants to be the aggressor in this picture? .......


Abby: Oh, I just want to PLAY!!! PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAAAAAy!!!!

RAAAAwwwwwwrrr!!!!!