Cahoots?

Ms. C: I am happy to report that Styx is still doing wonderfully well after her spaying. Last night she played for over an hour with a favorite rattly ball toy, and this morning I woke up to the sounds of some kind of furry flopping in the bathtub, which I imagined (and confirmed by sneaky ways later on) was her chasing her tail in the bathtub. It's not one of those plastic bathtubs, so it is a very noisy activity, which I am sure is gratifying to her.

Styx: I bet you think I am in trouble in this picture. It's true, they are trying to be intimidating, but I don't let that get to me. My new home is so much fun there are better things to do than worry about bullies!

Stygia, Styx, and Abby

Ms C: I have reasons to believe that there are plots afoot and conspiratorial cahoots. As I sat at my desk reviewing some writing, Stygia strutted by with her fur full of little particles. I couldn't imagine where she'd been, maybe she decided to get in a skirmish behind the couch with Styx and rolled around in some dust?

"You're a mess!" I told her.

It was only when I went to the living room that I discovered the source of said particles:

Abby: I had nothing to do with this. I did not tell Styx to go and find the catnip bag and bring it to the floor and to kick it and bite it and get it all over the floor. But I liked it.

Stygia: It was very, very, very, very, very exciting.

Styx: Why not?? It was right there on top of the bookcase. The other two cats don't even seem to be aware that there is a "top of the bookcase," so I figured it was up to me to take advantage of the situation and have the first go at this bag of awesome smelling stuff! Wooooooo!

Ms. C: OK, I concede, there are no plots yet. No cahoots yet. But I can tell it's coming!

Still a passion!

Abby: I have never given up my passion for this game, which Ms. C calls "fetch." Although, lately, my favorite item to bring back is now a crumpled up cash register receipt; it used to be a bottlecap. This paper is so fun to bite!

Stygia: While Abby is playing her foolish games, I am keeping an eye on Ms. C and making sure she is doing her writing as she should. Behind the screen is a very good place to lurk.

Friends on Thursday: Haunted Dogs & Plague JOY!

Abby: Today we are going to share with you some images of some friends of ours! We loved our Plague Ratsie so much that we had to make sure they got one too.

Ms. C's friend Ms. A is lucky to be owned by 3 kitties (Autumn, Loki, and Brutus) and 2 doggies (Argo and Llyr).

But first, we'd like to show you one of Brutus's favorite activities, which is haunting Argo. Brutus is about a year old now, and he is extremely frisky. Argo is a Min-Pin approaching his second birthday. It's a good thing he has spirit and a sense of self-depreciation, because he is obviously not quite a match for a cat:

No matter where Argo goes, Brutus follows, paw lifted and ready for any opportunity to pounce! Look at the tail-fluffage beginning!


Inevitably, Brutus GETS Argo! But don't worry, though Argo looks ferocious, no cats or dogs were harmed in the making of these photos. They are playing.


And now: it's time for PLAGUE RATSY fun!! Here is a Brutus-eye view of Loki playing with the ratsy. Loki was the biggest fan of the rat.


Here is a move we just learned from Autumn, the 9-year-old Queen of the household-- it's very deceptive. In order to pull a swift one on your toy, keep all your toe-pads in contact with it while stretching and yawning. It will think you are going to sleep, when what you are really doing is getting ready for a four-leg strike 'n bite!


Look at Brutus getting friendly! He helps Loki to keep his scalp clean because Loki is too busy with that ratsy to wash right now. So nice.

Only something really good can make any cat make an expression like this:


Autumn is always ready to strike even when closely inspecting that ratsy!

Because we are cats we did not mention it right away, but the dogs also got toys: this very doggy tennis-bone. It's only right that the cats get a chance to play with all of the toys first, right? Here is Brutus initiating the toy for the dogs:


And here is Llyr, finally allowed to play with the tennis-bone after the cats have passed it through proper inspection.

The Joy of the Plague!

Ms C: Abby and Stygia received their very own package in the mail today..... and inside it was:

Actually, Abby did not notice it at first. Stygia was immediately intrigued by it, especially its scent. She got at least a whole 20 minutes of solo play with the Plague Ratsie before Abby realized it was present.

In fact, at first Abby did not realize that there was a new toy -- but she could smell it! It smelled very, very strange to her, and she was looking at Stygia with great suspicion: was Stygia the cause of the scent? Her ears went back as she approached Styggie, and her tail fluffed up. I had to bring the toy to her and dangle it and let her sniff it, before she stopped blaming Styggie and began to realize that this was something to be enjoyed and attacked!

Who gets to play with it first??? Actually, there are two Plague Ratsies, but I only took one out of the package for them today.

Abby rolls with it!

Styggie bunnykicks it! Notice her tail fluffage!

Abby makes The Face about it!

What fun!!!

Prowl and Play

Stygia: Abby has been hogging the blog so far this week, and with good reason. It was her Gotcha Day, but I have been doing some exciting things, too!

Today, it involves a green furrymouse. The green mice are my very favorite! Ms. C got a new green mousie especially for me, and as you can see, I adopted my predator pose immediately:


I pick it up and take it to where I want to play with it. I stand on them and let them surprise me when I discover them with my back feet and I bunnykick them! Best of all, I just like to roll all over them:


Where did it go? Ooooohhhh, I will GET you, green mousie!!


Just to be fair, I am going to let you see what happened to Abby today. Yes, Mr. R loves her very much:

Hee hee!

Hobbies

Abby: We are cats, and we have many hobbies. Like humans and other creatures, we enjoy the pursuit of happiness, but even more so, we enjoy the pursuit of each other! As you can see, Stygia is very tempted by my posture to make her next ninja-move as I dangle my ears and whiskers precariously over Mr. R's chair-seat:

When I clean, I spend a lot of time biting at this paw-pad:

Right after anyone takes a shower, I love to hop right into the tub and sit right down. Part of the fun is watching the water-droplets move like little living bugs down the side of the sliding doors and the sides of the tub. Also, the floor of the tub is always nice and warm! One of her friends told Ms. C that I am "a bathroom monster in training." What does that mean?

Stygia: No one is going to admit to doing this. We both love to play with mice, we both carry them all over the house, so I can't tell you who did this. And even if I could, I would not! Cat's honor.

Finally, we have a lot of sun here, and as it moves through the living room, I move with it, even squishing ears if necessary, to get the most out of it:

Frisky

Stygia: I see you down there, Abby. Folding your ears back will not make you disappear. Look, I am very relaxed up here. This spot is mine.

Abby: But Styggie, can't you see how prone and defenseless I am down here? Maybe if you just drop down here . . . (thundering follows)

Mr. R just got himself a new car. Well, it is new to him, but used by someone else. Ms. C bought him a big snow and ice remover, but I'm quite sure this is a cat-dental-device.

Stygia: Ms. C got an early birthday present from #1 of The Poupounette today! We are sure it is a really cool, wonderful present, but to be honest, the box is much more interesting to us. Personally, I liked the tape and the label the best, I bit them both a few times:

Abby: I am a TIGER!

Ms. C says she hopes to be going to visit her parents for the rest of the week, as long as the weather holds out! We don't want her to go, but since she is OUR mom, we understand that she needs to see HER mom too.

The Catcase

Abby: How many cats do you see here?

Ms. C says this is a bookcase, but I've decided it's a catcase. What do you think?

Ms. C will have to get a picture of one of our favorite toys, which is a mouse with a feather-butt that dangles from a stick that hangs off the top of a door. This morning, I finally GOT it. I removed it from its string, but to be honest, even though I was proud of myself for getting it, it was a little bit sad because it no longer wiggled on its own in the air anymore. I promptly carried it to Mr. R who was getting ready for work, requesting that he remedy this situation. I guess there is some wisdom to that saying, "be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it."

Good Morning!

Stygia: Hi there, Abby. It's sunny, and our mom has opened the window. What shall we do today?

Abby: I bet you can guess what's on my mind...


(sounds of whapping and flopping, followed by thundering)

(sounds of rolling, tumbling, whapping, and fake growling)

Stygia: Ms. C was a little worried when she saw me doing my "snake" impression:

Abby: I don't know about you, but I really think this thing needs to be kicked! Bitten! ARRR! It makes me feel frisky every time I see it!

We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Tabby Tail Action!

Abby: This situation looks peaceful enough. But as you, Stygia, and I know, it's not going to last, is it? Hee hee hee!

If she thinks she can just saunter across the room like that, well, she has another cat coming! I have become much more agile and adept since I first met Styggie. My tail and I launch into action!I usually don't play with my silly octopus toy very much, but today it was fascinating (maybe it was the nip....). I hugged it and bunnykicked it and in general tried to RIP IT APART!! (Ms. C: The people who made it must have known cats would want to try to rip it up, because I snoopervised carefully, but Abby was unable to rip any of it up. Good!).

But... you wanted proof that I am really an angel, right? Hee hee. Yes, the next picture shows off my sweet side:

Stygia: Two days ago, you got to see the front half of this picture. Ms. C asked me if she could post the "other end" of the picture today, she says she loves it so much for some reason, and since just about any part of me is beautiful, of course I agreed.

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:

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!