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.

What have we done?

Stygia: What?


Abby: Yes, what?


What have we done to deserve this?

New Adventure Park

Abby: Wow! Look at this, a new Cat Adventure Park! Ms. C says it's called a "desk" and that it belongs to Mr. R, not to me, but that so-called fact is disputable in my unhumble opinion.

Lots of things to see here. But part of this Adventure Park is quite frustrating, it's a little cubby covered in glass. Now how am I supposed to get up in there?

This drawer is really fun to play inside of, too. There's a cabinet on the other side with a shelf, sometimes Mr. R leaves it open just for me, so I can play inside it. I bring my mouse with me.


I looooove this desk and bathing myself in the lamp on it. Love it!

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!

Feed Me

Ms. C: Is it Cat Time?

Abby: (very softly) Meow?

Ms. C: Cat Time?

Abby: (loudly, stretching) Meeeeeeooooow!


(thundering herd heads out to the kitchen where Ms. C prepares the bowl of tuna, meowing and circling ensue, followed by the great Prairie Cat pose)


Abby: num num num num num..... I love you!


Hope you are having a great weekend!

On purpose

Stygia: I am back! Abby can't have her way all day, every day, so here I am!

Today we are going to talk briefly about why we cats choose to sit where we do. You see, everything a cat does is quite deliberate. Are we looking at you, staring? It's deliberate. Are we sitting with our backs turned to you? It's on purpose. Am I sitting by a boot with wiggly shoelaces and posed with a fuzzy mouse beside my belly? It's no accident -- I am feeling playful!

Abby: Ms. C recently found this notebook in which she kept her journal for her 9th-grade English class (can you believe that was almost 20 years ago? She is ancient). I usually like to spread out all over the chair, but since she left her notebook on my chair, I decided that I would fit myself to it with precision.