Happy 6th Birthday to Stygia!

Ms. C: Today, Stygia is 6 years old. In case you are not familiar with the story of Stygia, we adopted her from the SPCA animal shelter on the day after her 2nd birthday. We thought she was an exotic oriental cat because she was so slender.... but it turns out she was starving. As you can see, she is a typical shorthair house panther:

Here is Stygia peeking out from the window! Abby's in it too, so they look like one long cat!

Stygia has been in a long-term relationship with this toy, the plague ratsy, which takes all the beatings she can offer, especially with those big bunny kicks and large fangs. They tend to lose their ears but that's it! She is playful.

Chasing Abby is a daily sport! Stygia is stubborn and doesn't give up.

Stygia has a great appreciation for plant life. Here she is in the window with her catnip and mint plant, which was purchased especially for the cats. Being in the window on a nice day when the screen is open is her most favorite hangout.

Sharing the window with Abby isn't always welcome, but as long as Abby keeps to herself, Stygia is a gracious sharer.

Stygia loves everyone who comes her way, and she would love you too! Thanks for sharing this special day with her!

Happy Birthday Abby Normal!

Today Abby is 4 years old!

Happy Birthday sweetie paws!

Look at those elbows!

But she still acts 6 months old! We love you, little Abby!

Ms. C is Ancient

Abby: Hear ye, hear ye! Ms. C is officially ancient today! If we lived as long as she has, we would consider ourselves little Goddesses. Well, we do already. We might even deign to permit Ms. C to join our ranks if she feeds us extra!


What more could anyone want for their birthday than THIS? Come on, let's play with the bows!!!

Return!

Abby: We waited. And we waited . . . And we waited. And finally it happened, Ms. C is home! Oh, we were so excited. We realize that some of you other cats may not approve of our uninhibited approval and joy at Ms. C's return . . . but we were so happy that we ran to the door, never turning our backs on her, and we've been following her night and day ever since. Yes, she has been home for a couple of days now, and we demanded undivided attention, which is another reason we have not blogged. But now we're all back!

Here is a picture of us from last evening, we were keeping an eye on Ms. C while she was at her desk. This is also as close as we ever come to cuddling, sharing the same piece of furniture:

Of course, when Ms. C is at her desk, I often like to be there too. It's a great place to chill out and nap. Here I am, I'm feeling so lazy that I don't bother to open my sleepy eyes while I am talking to Ms. C:

Here is one of the places I searched for Ms. C while she was away. I just could not quite believe that she was not here to cuddle and feed me. I can get a good view of this place from my usual spot on Ms. C's desk, but she wasn't there:


Stygia: I couldn't quite believe it myself when Ms. C walked in the door the other afternoon. My tail went straight up and I got to her as fast as I could, so I could sniff her and give her a good leg-rub!

Speaking of things we hadn't seen in days, with Ms. C's return, the sun also returned! It was a totally blissful experience. In fact, in the sunlight, Ms. C was able to get a nice photo of my whiskers, which are notoriously hard to photograph because they are so dark:

Last but not least, a happy belated birthday to Ms. C from us, the cats! We even sent her a birthday card (which she was not expecting!). Please have a piece of the wonderful cake that Ms. C's own mom made for her. We don't eat chocolate, but if we did we would want some of this cake:

Monday Agenda -- Celebrate!

Abby: Today is a very special day, it is Ms. C's mom's birthday! Ms. C is our mom, so we understand the importance of celebrating your mom's special day! The first thing I am going to do in celebration of this holiday is to roll around and look cute:

The second, and also very important thing I am going to do, is to attack and bite Mr. R's unruly shoe. We would also like to mention that today is the birthday of one of Ms. C and Mr. R's favorite authors, Neil Gaiman. We cats honor him because he once wrote a very important work called The Dream of A Thousand Cats, among many others.

Stygia: I have had a rough end of the week. My people could not understand why I was grumpy, but then they got up to find my hairball in the middle of the living room in the morning. Needless to say, I am feeling much better now. I am back to rolling in the 'nip and chasing my sis.

Happy Birthday to everyone having a birthday today!!

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!!

Happy Again!

This morning, Ms. C took me to that Vet again. I was good and quiet in my carrier until I saw the vet tech. As soon as I saw her, I started hissing! I don't know why they laughed.

It didn't take long at all, and soon enough Ms. C and I were back home again! It's so wonderful to have that horrible collar off. Now I can give myself a full bath!!! As soon as I situated myself on one of the best locations in the house, that is just what I did:

I also occupied Ms. C's chair, because I really think it suits my coloration perfectly. A brown chair for a brown tiger cat like me!

I have been developing some new, special whiskers on my face which you cannot see in either of the above pictures, but Ms. C promises that tomorrow she will feature them in a special portrait.

Get Motivated!

The humans say a picture is worth a thousand words. Keeping this in mind, today I am going to give a brief but powerful motivational presentation.

My fellow felines, the importance of rest cannot be overstated. I spent a day exhaustively examining some of the best ways to perform this vital function of our daily lives. Here are four positions that any cat will find easy and rewarding.

I'll begin with the most active of the relaxation poses. Although I have selected the piano as my location, keep in mind that any similar surface will suffice. Here, I am not yet asleep, and I find it pleasurable to let at least one limb hang off the side, succumbing to gravity:

Next I move to my personal chair where I can stretch out and do some actual sleeping.

Location is of the essence, and every cat's decision on a good location will be specific to the variables of his or her situation. For instance, I select my location because it is in close proximity to Ms. C. Other cats will need to select a place to rest where they will not be disturbed by other members of the household. A high location can often protect a cat from the curiosity of a dog (although, as I will show in next Tuesday, this is not always the case) or children.

Make the most of each location by changing position. I have moved from the stretched position to demonstrate a classic "cute" sleeping pose:

However, it really is best to move around throughout the day so as not to wear out any particular sleeping situation. Carpeted cat-furniture is always a good choice. In my final pose, I combine all of the qualities of the above poses, letting my limbs hang over the side, stretching, and rolling:

In closing, I'd like every cat to know I believe that we can all succeed in this important endeavor. Keep in mind that great and wise Spanish proverb:

How beautiful it is to do nothing, then rest afterwards.

***

It's Adan's 11th Birthday! Please visit his blog and wish him many more happy days!

It is also Mickey's 15th birthday! Check him out at his blog and send him all the nip!

In Which A Cat Gains Chair

No, it wasn't me! It was Colonial Mustard, in the study, with the candlestick!

Ok, ok, so most of it is true. I did gain a chair. I did use my fangs and paws and did the bunny-kick when Ms. C was tickling my belly. I couldn't help it.

I am so pleased to have a chair of my very own right next to Ms.C's that I felt it was worth a headline. She retired it to someone worthier (myself) and I can do anything I want in this chair. Sleep, play, and even do a little bit of scratching. No police were involved. No cats were arrested. So please don't worry!

Tee hee! I can get away with anything!

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Abby at Manx Mnews and Dana of Tybalt, Prince of Cats! Here's to many more for all of us!