Erich took Tuesday off to get some winterizing done around the house and caught Jack and Gus in a serious wrestling session.
Gus, our alpha male, is LOVING the chance to romp again. I’m amused, though, at how he keeps putting a paw out as if to tell Jack to just “stay over there. No. There. Stay there. There.”
I’ve just connected the link to where Erich uploaded it to YouTube, so no worries about crashing your browser if you’re on a slow connection.
I actually had hoped to do some blogging over my long vacation weekend, but Erich and I got sidetracked by sometime completely unexpected. Well- okay, unexpected, but all of our friends are undoubtedly rolling their eyes and saying that this is par for the course for us.
Friday evening, Erich and Matt come in the door looking a bit… sheepish. In Matt’s arms was a tiny bundle of fur.
(and yes… if you know us at all, you know what comes next)
Melissa and Erich roll their will saves, and each roll a one (translation for the non-geek among us… we fail at resisting the kitten cuteness. Horribly)
Right.
*sigh*
Now. Have I mentioned before that we already are owned by six?
So at first, it’s a big “okay… we’ll keep an eye out for lost kitten signs in the neighborhood.”
None appear.
Erich sends a photo of the kitten to Lisa, who immediately replies that it’s the same cat she and I saw a couple weeks ago that went scurrying into our bushes when we pulled into the driveway. I truly can’t recall what said cat looked like, but do remember seeing one.
Hmm. Well, that may cause problems with the lost cat theory. Our neighborhood has a fairly significant feral/stray population. So much so that three of our six? Are neighborhood adoptees.
So then it becomes “Well, if it’s staying, then it has to be Matt’s cat.” Forcing the roommate to adopt it means it’s not ours, right? Right?
So goes the weekend. The kitten spends the weekend in our sunroom, which has been used as a good isolation room before. (WTF is it with August and September and cat findings with us?) On Monday, Erich and Matt take him to the vet to get him checked out, the first round of vaccinations, make sure we don’t have any illnesses to worry about exposing the other cats to, etc … and he gets a clean bill of health. He weighs 3.1 pounds. We estimate him at about 10-12 weeks old.
Introductions to the other cats and the house have commenced, and overall they’re going okay – nothing to worry about, actually. Lots of growling and some hissing for boundary establishment, but nothing nasty. Colley is all sorts of “get off my lawn” about him. Elly isn’t thrilled either. Gus is fascinated and has done a little romping with him. Hoodz is just confused. Noby seems honestly terrified by him (despite being three times his size). Fizzy… well, she isn’t a cat’s cat. She was never going to approve of this situation, but will tolerate him if he leaves her alone.
So it looks like he’s staying.
May I introduce little Jack. (with the last name of Sparrow or Harkness, both of which apply very well to him).
We’re so doomed.
Stitching updates tomorrow. I need to solve the Mirabilia Round of Doom before I post.
The King of Beasts compels you to pet him! LOVE THE CAT. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!
DO IT. DO IT NOW!
Gus is our alpha male. Generally, he thinks he’s huge and vicious. He’s now eight, and he’s starting to develop into a bit of a whiny lap cat, though.
He’s a large, elegant cat who stands taller by four inches than many other cats of his size. He’s almost black, but in the sunlight show marbled swirls of dark brown on his body.
Now that the weather is getting warmer, he’s enjoying his sunbeams in the morning. As I type, he’s curled up in the window, watching the birds outside in the bird bath.
Happy Caturday everyone!
You know… for someone who has six cats and is a justified Crazy Cat Lady, I don’t post about my cats nearly enough. What the heck is wrong with me? I have lots of great photos. Erich has a ton of great photos. We need to share some of them! So yes, from here on, Saturday on my blog will be known – as it is known on many blogs around the world – as Caturday. And I shall share some of the crazy, cute, or just plain silly pictures from our collection of our feline family members.
Longtime readers are probably familiar with the kitties, but for newer readers and just to keep this properly organized, I’ll kick off Caturday by introducing my gentle readers to the Horde:
I know. Six cats in a photo. It doesn’t happen very often. Notice the bribing
with food to make this photo possible!
Starting at the bottom left, going clockwise:
Hoodsie (aka “Hoodz,” “Hoodzimus”) – Grey polydactyl. You’ll see a LOT of photos of his feet, which are absolutely awesome, and lots of roly-poly belly shots, because that’s what he does. Hoodz doesn’t follow the rest of the pecking order since he joined us as an adult cat. Sometimes we joke around that he’s still “new,” despite living with us for nearly four years now.
Gus (aka “Augustus Mousedeath,” “Gustibus,” and “Huge and Vicious Cat”) – Large black panther. Gus is our resident high percher. If it’s over six feet off the ground, he will find a way to go up there and loom over you in gargoyle fashion.
Colley (aka “Colorado,” “Coll-Ball,” “Fluffbutt”) – Longhaired brown tabby. Colley is the eldest of the Horde and is the only purebred cat among the crew. His lower half is all white. He’s reached permanent feline rug status, and I imagine most of the photos of him will be lounge photos. Often sprawled on my lap, which is where his old bones prefer to be these days.
Fizzy (aka “Mephista,” “Fizzbit”) – Dainty little black. Fizzy is the smallest of our cats, at only 7 pounds. She’s the second oldest, and has suddenly become a very outgoing kitten at the age of 10. We’re thankful she doesn’t have wings – because she’d be like a hummingbird if she did. She gives epic nasty stares to the other cats, and we’re convinced that she swears like a sailor. She acts far too classy not to have a dark side.
Noby (aka “Nobanion,” “Nobulius Rex,” and “Mighty Hunter”) – orange and white cow. Noby is the male half of The Cows, a littermate twosome of trouble if I’ve ever come across one. He is the only one of our cats who has actually caught a mouse, and although he’s the omega male in the pecking order, he’s been deemed the Mighty Hunter by Erich and me and has proven his worth.
Elly (aka “Eldath,” “Elly Belly,” “Trauma Kitten”) – black, grey and white cow. Elly is Noby’s sister (can’t you tell?), and is a complete opposite in most ways to her brother. Where he’s long and lean, she’s stocky and rather… round. She’s incredibly shy and skittish where he is an extrovert. Most visitors to our house barely see her, if at all. She’ll even run away from us a lot of the time. But late at night as we’re ready to go to bed, Elly comes out – to suckle on Erich’s shoulder. For she is Trauma Kitten, and must nurse away her troubles for some reason.
Come on back every Saturday for a new Caturday celebration! :)
