Jack of all shades and shadows: 03/01/2010

Friday, March 26, 2010

See? I'm RIGHT!

Deploy the catnip, humans!

See? I was right! It's not because of Tenzing!! He's in on it!!!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Pssst! Cat-moms, dads, Food Ladies, Human servants and Pink Monkeys! Quick! Toss a jingly ball or catnip toy!

Good. Now that the kitties are distracted, there's something very very scary going on, and I have to warn you before it's too late! I may not have much time, so I'm taking this dangerous step of using their own network of communication to get this info out before I 'disappear'!

I was going to hijack Jack's blog to make a joke about the two House Panthers plotting by osmosis.

Well, sort of joking.

You see, all those photos of the Box Deconstruction for the Cat Olympics were real (though they were taken over 5 months), but the final image of them in the new box together was staged.

Truth is, the only reason they were in the old box together is because it was winter, and my desk is in the living/dining room which takes up about half our apartment and is always a bit cold. And they like being close to me (or rather scritchy fingers, let's be honest here) and they can see down the long hallway from the box, but not from the cat cave on the low bookshelf on the other side of the desk. It didn't happen often. Usually they just took turns in it.

But they don't cuddle much. Unless it's really cold.

So I thought it was a bit odd recently, when it hasn't been cold, that they've been spending a lot of time in the box together. And not just for the few minutes it takes for Jack to climb in and clean Persephone's ears, then bite her neck to make her give up her spot to him. In fact, Persephone now sometimes climbs into the box with him. And they cuddle!!!

A little confused (and suspicious) I looked at the dates of the photos I have of them in this box, and noticed that other than the staged photo, I have only one picture of them in this box. One. Out of a whole month of pictures, when it was still cold. Just one.

March 1

Until March 1st.

March 3

I didn't think much about it at first.

March 5

I mean, it was just cute and a little odd, but they're cats, right? And it was only every few days and all...

March 6

Until it was every day. Several times a day. And I started wondering...

March 7

Then I thought it was just that March 1st was the day that Tenzing first came to our house.

March 8

I thought that it was just that they wanted to establish who's first in line for the pettin' around here, by hanging around me.

March 10

I thought it was just that the box is one of the few places they can be safe from his Lion-on-the-Savannah-Wildebeest-Hunting impersonations.

(Bonus Picture: an hour later)

Then suddenly they stopped. For about a week. I thought, maybe they're starting to accept the little monster.

March 16

And then it started again. Curled up together...butt-to-butt, or head tucked under each other's head...paws wrapped around each other, purring in each other's ears...looking up suddenly, suspiciously if I sounded like I was getting up, or worse turning on the camera....

March 19

And I realized something...they started doing this every day the first time during the four days Tenzing was at the shelter getting "snipped and chipped".

March 20

They're doing it every day now, when Tenzing has calmed down enough to actually be allowed to hang out with the big kitties most of the day, if supervised!

March 21

They're doing it now, climbing into the box and settling in even when Tenzing is in time-out! Or hanging out with the Big One in his office!

It's NOT TENZING!!!

March 23

But I must be imagining it, right? I mean, this is crazy, right? Plotting? By osmosis? With their butts?!?

And then it got really weird! This is Jack's basket! Persephone never goes in it! EVER! This picture, taken just a few months after she came home to us, 3 years ago, is the only time I've ever seen her in it!

March 24

Until last night! I got up and went past the other living room doorway where Jack's basket sits. Tenzing was in his room because they'd just gotten gooshy food a little while earlier and he's a piggie and the vet said he was already getting a little plump!

And there they were...IN THE BASKET TOGETHER!!!!!!!

I'm telling you, cat-slaves! There's something going on!!! The cats are beginning to move! Or...nap. Suspiciously.

It's time to stockpile the Weapons of Mass Distraction!

It's time to lay the Comfy Napping Spot minefields!

It's time to carpet-bomb our homes with catnip propaganda!

(Bonus SQUEEEEEEEE picture!)

Don't be fooled by their innocent purrtestations!!! Prepare yourselves! Things are about to get hairy around here! Or, er...furry....

Monday, March 22, 2010

Mancat Monday- Award!

My girlfriendcat KC gave me an award!

I'm supposed to tell seven things about myself, then pass it on to seven other cats!

1/ I have lived with 28 cats in my life (Not all at once! And some of them only for a week or two!)

I loved all of them. Except Trapper who my people wanted to adopt last year (he went back to the shelter because he needed to be an only kitty or only live with girl-kitties, but they found him another home where he could be bosscat of his OWN place), and the Orange Menesis, who bites me. (Also two rabbits, three rats, three budgies, two chinchillas and a tank full of fish, and another fish)

2/ I live really far north. On this map I live about where the red dot over Alberta is. The three other arrows are; Vancouver (left) where I used to live, Toronto (right) where I was born, and Yellowknife (top) which is as far north as my OTW has gone (but she didn't take me).

3/ I'm really brown, not black!

4/ My OTW is an artist and I'm her model. Hey! Not funny, OTW! That last one isn't me!

5/ I have MINIONS; the General Foods International IKEA-Rat Army! I still need eight more names for them, though!

These are the ones I have: HAMibal, HamiCARP Barca, Kublai CHICK'HAN, AlexHAMder the Great, BEIF Eriksson, PORiKles, HAMratio Nelson, HAMurabi, GilgaFISH, SPAMerlane, Brian BOARu, Fionn MACKEREL, CucuLAMB, SpaRATacus, TUNA Mulan, BIRDdicca, SALMONemnon, Joan of CARP, Julius CaeDEER, Attila the BAC-HUN, TURKEYtus, CharleMOUSE

6/ I'm a Viking kitty. I have swords and a Longship!

(My Rat Army sails in it!)

And this new sword is from my girlfriendcat KC! It was my Christmas Present, along with a red nip pillow, a red sparkle ball, a red ribbon and a red piece of tissue paper! It's a very special sword with runes on it (which is Viking writing, but it's also magical)!

And KC gave me a Navigation Stone a couple years ago, so I could always find my way home!

7/ I have the beautifulest, smartest, bravest girlfriendcat in ALL the world! She's my Valkyrie-cat and I wrote a Viking Man-cat poem about her!

Well-known, this girl-cat’s worth,
Her word-fame, far spoken
A golden-pawed goddess
Is she who gives me joy.

Hawk-keen out of heaven
She hunts, Bug-Valkyrie
Tortie of mousie-toys
She has taken my heart

PURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR KC!

Seven cats to Pass this on to...

Persephone wants me to pass it on to the Turkey Cats, especially Batman, so maybe they'll blog again? She misses going to talk to him!
2. Tiger, Treasure and JoyJoy, the new cats at Mickey's!
3. Tenzing votes for Mr. R.W. Emerson, because he's orange and floofy like him.
4. Cat of Nine Tales, who should have to do extra things, one for each cat! (Not seven for each!)
5. Amy and the House of Cats
6.Four Crazy Cats (SuziQCat)
and 7.The Furry Bambinos because I don't know much about the last three cat families but you visit a lot and we're glad!