The Kittini Boys

The Pit Bull and the Water Heater

2009-05-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

Back on April 8, our water heater busted and was leaking. The landlords had just driven off to the airport for a short trip (great timing!) , so we had to wait until we could call them when they arrived at their destination and let them know. The landlord made some calls and the next day the plumber came out and installed a new water heater. I noticed a DOG was seated in the truck (if you look closely, you can see her through the windshield).

I kept an eye on the dog from my balcony,

but then I went down to the truck to get a closer look.

The lady took pictures of me snooping around the truck, but for some weird reason, none of them are in the camera! But, here is a photo of the dog looking at me. I guess it was a girl dog. Her name was Pixie, or Dixie, or something like that. Something with an "ixie" in it. She is a pit bull. She seemed nice enough. She didn't bark or growl or anything. I really checked out the truck and even crawled up and sat on the axle. The lady kept shooing me away. Before he left, the plumber- man let the "ixie" dog pee on a shrub, but I stayed away.

Elvis says hi. I don't have a recent photo of him. He went to the vet on May 7 and got his ears cleaned, toenails clipped, blood drawn for thyroid level check (to make sure his medicine is still the right dose), had an exam, general health profile, and urinalysis. He had an ear infection and the lady put drops in his ears once a day. Then, a few days after he got home, he showed signs of an upper respiratory infection, so he just finished 7 days of Clavamox, twice a day. He wasn't too happy about it, but the lady gives him treats after he takes him medicine, so he doesn't fight her too much. He mostly tries to wiggle away. He seems to be doing just fine.

We're Fine

2009-04-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

Elvis Pussley and I are fine, and hope to post something soon. The lady hasn't been feeling up to par the past month. Nothing serious. Just "not herself." I'm not sure who she is, but as long as she feeds us, whatever.

Thanks to our friends for their good wishes.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Best Friends

2009-03-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

We saw a photo of Franklin and Dobby over at Mishkat's today and it reminded the lady of her first cat, Smokey (1986-2001), and her favorite cat of all time, Addie (1993-2007), and how they were best of friends. So, she dug through some photos and found some prints which she scanned so that she could share them with you.

The lady likes it when cats have buddies. Addie lived with Elvis for three years before she died, but, she was not too fond of him. She was always growling when he got too close, and she slapped him across the face a few times. But, something connected between Addie and Smokey, and they were inseparable.

Easy Like Sunday + Bonus Yellow Photo Hunt

2009-03-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

Last night was very stormy with lots of wind and rain. Today is cool and sunny. I lounged around a bit in my "secondary" bed on top of the car. Obviously, the lady removes this bed before driving down the road.

Also, here is my yellow food bowl (yesterday was a Photo Hunt: Yellow).

I like the size and shape of this "Active Longevity" Science Diet because it is the original SD shape. The lady tried an Indoor (hmph!) Cat Science Diet (you can see one of the morsels in the bowl--it is a large, triangle shape), but both Elvis and I thought the kibbles were too big. The other day, the lady noticed a bunch of bags of SD emblazoned with the words, "New Shape!" so she thinks maybe they have gotten the message and that the "new shape" is the old, traditional SD shape, 'cause this Active Longevity said "New Shape!" and it is the old, familiar SD shape.

As far as wet food, I like Fancy Feast Salmon Feast, and FF Chicken Feast. The lady is always trying to slip me something new, like some organic food, or things like "stew". Yech. I am a creature of routine and I don't like changes in my wet food. Now, Elvis will eat almost any type of wet food and he seems to like trying new stuff. Today he had something called, "Spot's Stew", and he really liked it. I'm not so sure that his intestinal tract likes sudden changes. He did a major stinky poop.

The lady keeps his litter box in the room she calls her office. It is a really big "Booda" and has a charcoal filter. Well, I guess that didn't help much, because she had to resort to another Buddha:

Elvis was banished to another room to do his loud butt-licking.

As an aside, have you noticed that we like to give you a big kiss after we're done "bathing"? Heh, heh.

P.S. Thanks to all our friends for their suggestions and comments about our internet problems. We do have an excellent virus program that scans for spyware, grayware, malware, etc., and we're going to start running a check every day. We also uninstalled a 'web accelerator' that was acting kinda loopy. So, hopefully, things are on the right track!

Something's Chewing on My Internet Connection

2009-03-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

The lady informs me that it looks like we won't be able to comment on the blogs we usually visit. We might be able to comment on a few. Something has happened to our internet connection.

It is slow to begin with. A dial-up connection that averages 26.4 kbps. For the past few days, it is taking forever to load a page (the "Blogs I'm Following" with all your updates took 15 minutes to load yesterday, and even then, it didn't load completely). The connection speed is the same as always and the speed of 'send' and 'receive' bytes looks no different than usual (although we sure seem to be "sending" a lot more bytes...millions more). Today, things loaded a bit faster, but when I try to visit your blogs, all the pages are loading very, very slowly. Then, at the bottom of the comments box on some of your blogs, it doesn't say "posting as Mr. Black" anymore. It has a drop-down box and asks me who I want to comment as, and it doesn't even list me! One of the choices is "Google Account", but when I choose that, it doesn't post my comment, it just reloads the page with a blank comment form!

The lady has "cleared the cache" and logged out and logged back in. Refreshed pages. Nothing seems to be working. She was able to comment over at Tristan and Crikey's page, but at both Mishkat's and Dash Mouth's pages (both have the blog format with the comment box at the bottom of the comments), the above problem happens. The lady didn't try any other blogs because everything is taking so long to load.

Now, the lady hopes this doesn't have anything to do with Photoshop Elements. She knows that Adobe has its software "phone home" to (ostensibly) check for updates (and I guess, to make sure you have legal copies of their software), but for a week after installing it, she did not notice any decrease in internet speed (and she was looking for it because she knew that Adobe would use Photoshop Elements to 'call their server'). The lady has up to date (updated daily) virus protection and ran a scan the other day. Some 'grayware' (not quite malware, I guess) was found. Something called addynamix (AdDynamix) was on her computer (I guess it follows her around to see what websites she visits). She deleted it, but has since found out (via some research) that it can insinuate itself into your hard drive, so even if you 'delete' it, it is still there, following you around the internet and, I assume, using some of your internet connection to send information to whoever it sends info to. This is probably not even noticed on a high-speed connection, but on a very slow one like ours, it makes doing anything on the web excruciatingly slow. If this addynamix is the culprit, she is stuck with it (at least for a while). This nice, new Dell laptop that she is using belongs to an organization that she does some desktop publishing for. She doesn't want to start messing around with it to try and get rid of something on the hard drive. This organization is 2 hours away and I guess she'll have to make a trip in the near future to see if their computer guy can make sure this addynamix is not the thing causing problems (and where it might be hiding on her hard drive). Her computer works fine and at the same speed as it always did. It is just the internet connection that has slowed down to a crawl. It does not appear to be the ISP, as the connection speed is the same as always.

She is giving Adobe the benefit of the doubt that this is not some third-party 'spyware' that Photoshop Elements loaded onto her computer. She has temporarily 'uninstalled' Elements to see if the internet speed is improved. It improved slightly. She is going to reinstall and see what happens.

Anyway, she did delete her browsing history and cookies and maybe that is why she is having the problems with blogs not recognizing me (Mr. Black!). She is not sure why clearing the cache, logging off Blogger and signing in again won't fix that. She didn't see anything in 'known issues' for Blogger.

Well, hopefully she'll be able to fix this. Even though we have rambled on in this post, we really just wanted our blogging friends to know why we are not commenting on their blogs. We miss visiting our friends!!

We'll see if we can do posting. At least that is something.

Thanks for listening, and if anyone has any advice to offer, it would be appreciated!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-18T00:19:00.001-07:00

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

Walls for the wind,
And a roof for the rain,
And drinks beside the fire -
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire!

An Irish Blessing

Elvis and Me as That Cool Cat That Wears Boots

2009-03-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

Well, the lady won't say how many hours she spent on this. The phrase, "get a life" comes to mind.

For Elvis, she cut and pasted his fur from different photos. He looks kinda weird, so don't look too close.

Hey, Elvis. You're like Frankenstien's kitty.

Now, for me, she tried "cloning" my fur, but that didn't work out too well (she needs lessons in this Photoshop Elements thing). So, she just painted a body for me over the "real" Puss in Boots. Sheesh. Rip off. I do like how she matched my scarf to the feather in my cap.

Okay, if you'll excuse me, I have damsels in distress to rescue and some salmon to skewer.

Puss in Boots

2009-03-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

There's something about cats wearing Three Musketeer style clothes (even I think it's cool). Maybe it's the boots, the hat with the feather, or the ruffled collar. The lady doesn't know if the style is medieval, renaissance , or something else. She did find out a little bit of the history of the Puss in Boots story, and, as with all fairy tales, it has many twists and turns.

The lady bought the old, framed print (shown above) of PiB about 15 years ago. She found it in a consignment shop and it now hangs in the bathroom, standing guard over who knows what.

She has a close friend, JD, who is always finding things for the lady...all the gifts have a special quality: whimsical, useful, and sometimes beautiful. Well, most of them. Once in awhile, there's a dud. Take this little PiB "action figure" for example. When you put it in water and let it sit there for about five minutes, it is supposed to double in size. Hah! The only thing that happened was that it got some kind of slimy granules all over it.

Yeah, I know. The "after" PiB looks smaller than the "before" PiB. But, it's not. Just look at the tape measure. It's the same size as before, just slimier.

Now, the next PiB-related item that JD got for the lady is pretty cute. Not useful in ANY way, and Elvis is scared of it, so it sits in an out of the way corner (not in the bathroom). This is a motion-activated, talking Puss in Boots. It is fourteen inches tall and it speaks in a Spanish accent (it could be the voice of Antonio Banderas, who knows?) and says things like, "I have traveled through many lands, but I would give all that up if you will just keep petting my head", [whistles] "Stop! there is no need to walk by, for Puss in Boots is right here", "Give me your hand, baby, I will keep you safe." You can't shut him up (except for the "off" switch, of course).

For you fans of Antonio Banderas as the voice of Puss in Boots (in the second and third Shrek movies), Puss in Boots will be starring in his own movie. The lady thinks PiB was the best character in the Shrek movies, so she may actually have to go and see it (she usually waits for Netflix--too much loud popcorn chewing going on in the movie theater).

P.S. I told the lady it would be okay to make a picture of me in Puss in Boots attire, but she says she needs to work on her Photoshop Elements skills.

On another topic:

We thank the people who kindly passed along the following awards. We think all the cat bloggers we have met are deserving of these awards and since it is very hard to keep track of who has already gotten what award, please feel free to accept one. There are rules and lists of things to do with each of them, but to be honest, I can barely get the lady to do a couple (or maybe three) posts a week, so as usual, she didn't do what she was supposed to with them. You can find the rules for each one by visiting the blogs who awarded them. Thanks again to the people who thought of us.

Thanks to Cat with A Garden for the Bubblin' Over Award
Thanks to Housecat Confidential for the Kreativ Award
Thanks to The Whippy Curly Tails for the Lemonade Award
Thanks to Ginger Jasper for the Proximity Award

Take Me to Your Leader

2009-03-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, the lady is going a little kooky because she just got Photoshop Elements 7. She's wanted Photoshop since she took a Dreamweaver website design class at a Community College a year and a half ago, and they had Photoshop on the computers. She kept telling herself she would save up for it. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

She mentioned to Mishkat that she was saving up for Photoshop and Mishkat gave her some good advice--that she should check into Photoshop Elements. Now, the lady had some vague memory of hearing about Elements, and she thought it only did a few basic photo editing tasks, so she never even investigated it. But, this time she did some research and was surprised to find out how much stuff could be done in Elements. Plus, the cost was very, very reasonable ($99 with a $20 rebate versus about $600 for the "big" Photoshop).

So, she bought it! She is having fun exploring all the cool stuff you can do in it. She thinks it is like the "big" Photoshop, but without all the stuff you never use. I mean, it has layers, filters, effects, and every tool you could want! She knows that she has a lot to learn, and she is experimenting with photos as a way to learn how to do stuff.

So, dear blogger viewers, I fear you may be subjected to her strange photo manipulations and odd creations for awhile. Because I need her secretarial skills in order to post to this blog, I will have to indulge her enthusiasm. As long as she doesn't play me for the fool.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

Thyme for Weeding

2009-03-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

The sun was shining the other day, so I told the lady I'd help her do a little weeding. I checked out the area and found the spot where we should start.

I find that she works best under my guidance because she is apt to make mistakes, like here, where she is about to pull up a thyme plant instead of the obvious weed right next to it!

I decide to keep track of the thyme, er...time, and let the lady play in the dirt. I'm going to have the lady move this sundial as too much shade defeats the whole purpose!

When I decide that we have done enough weeding for the afternoon, I walk over to let her know that she can take a break, but advising her that she still has a lot of work left to do.

She thanks me for my benevolence with a nice head scratch. Those gloves tickle.
Hey, lady. I just noticed something. In this photo you look like you have "man-hands." Heh, heh.

Elvis was his usual helpful self.

hangdog

2009-03-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

Adjectivedejected, ashamed, or guilty in appearance or manner

Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006

Woody, the landlord's dog, is a bit depressed. I guess his feelings got hurt when he found out that I named the landlord's two cats in a post, and the only mention he got was in the post that had my list of 10 honest things about myself, and his name was not even mentioned--he was only described as "the landlord's dog". To add insult to injury, I said that he yelped when I jumped on him with my claws out (well, he did!!).

And that is not the only reason he is moping around.

He now has to be on a long leash while the landlords, S and J, are at work. Woody used to have the run of the place up there, but he blew it, man! There is fencing around a large area near the landlord's house. This helps deter deer and other creatures from venturing in. Unfortunately, no matter how S and J tried to Woody-proof the fence, he kept escaping and running down the road to the neighbor's house to visit his dog girlfriend, Lola. And, when they get together...whoo-eee. Trouble. At their latest tryst, just for fun, they killed the landlord's chickens.

Now, Woody is sort of okay for a dog, although I don't quite trust him. I mean, as indicated by the aforementioned chicken episode, he can easily fall prey to a bad idea. A few times when he has been down here, he kind of tries to corner me...sort of like he wants to play (oh, he always acts all innocent), but I can never quite tell what his intentions are. I'm afraid I have to err on the side of caution (or, clawtion [heh, heh]). Which brings us back to the claws-in-the-back incident. I was up on my deck, minding my own business, when Woody walks up the steps and is looking in the screen door. First of all, that is MY job. Secondly, he just stood there like he owned the place, and way past any grace period I might have given him. So, I took a flying leap off the table right onto his back. Ooo-wee. You should have heard him yelp. He ran down the steps and headed toward home. Total overreaction (on his part, not mine). I didn't draw any blood. It was just my way of telling him to get off my balcony. Well, it must have worked, because he has never come up those steps again!

Anyway, I do sort of feel sorry for him. He is a good watchdog--he barks to keep away the bobcats and mountain lions, raccoons and who knows what else.

So, Woody. As my way of making amends, I am calling you by name in this post and I am including some photos of you. But, you still can't come up the steps. Seriously.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

2009-02-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

I really don't care.

The lady has been looking for some excuse to post a photo of those peeps from up the hill. There are four of them now. When she posted on February 24, there was only one peep, newly hatched. Soon afterward, three more hatched. So, she has convinced me to allow just one more post about them, as a sort of update. But, that's it! And, I've insisted that she include a photo of me, and one of Elvis (it is our blog, after all). No more bird-dominated posts. Let them get their own blog!

Here are two photos (taken on Wednesday, February 25) of the peeps. There is one gold one (she/he is very bossy), one reddish brown (that was the first one hatched--the one in the
incubator photo), and two dark ones (one of whom is a bit of a runt). So, the lady calls the gold one Goldie and the runt, Runtie (oh, brother--real imaginative nicknames [rolling eyes]). The landlady will give them their names; the lady just likes to call them something when she's up there. Mostly, she just calls them peeps.

And, here are three of the little brain surgeons standing in their food bowl, scanning the horizon...hm, where could the food be? We can't find it.

The lady says they are fun to watch. They'll eat, drink, run around for a bit, then suddenly just fall down and sleep. Kinda sounds like my life. Heh, heh.

Anyway, here is the required photo of me,

and one of Elvis Pussley.

Head in the Clouds

2009-02-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

Tristan and Crikey tagged me and my buddy, Elvis Pussley, for the "Fifth Photo Meme" that has been going around.

The rules are:
1. Open a document or file folder.
2. Click on the fifth folder.
3. Click on the fifth photo.
4. Post the photo and describe it.
5. Tag five other bloggers for the Meme.

The lady found this photo in her 'scenery' folder. The photo was taken a few days ago on one of those days when you are sure it will start raining any minute. Or, maybe not.

The lady told me that the human beans often "see" things in clouds and I wondered if cats can see stuff.

Yup. Heh, heh.

The five bloggers we are tagging for this Meme are:

Fin from Housecat Confidential
Abby and Stygia at T'abby Normal & The Stygian Panther
Tuck from Mr. Tuck's Neighborhood
**Franklin, Dobby, and Tasha over at Mishkat
Victor of Victor the Vampire Kitty

**"Tag List" update: Franklin, Dobby, and Tasha were already tagged by Tristan and Crikey. My bad. But, even if I delete them from my tag list, I think Abby and Stygia can count as two bloggers!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

Lemons, Taco, and a Peep

2009-02-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

The lady's friend and landlord J called from work and asked the lady if she could go up the hill and check on a chick that had just hatched in the incubator. The chick hatching is a minor miracle since the eggs in the incubator were in the fridge for a few days prior to being put in the incubator. This all happened due to a "massacre" of about 12 of the landlord's chickens back in January by the neighbor's dog (and the landlord's dog...who was incited by the neighbor dog). Anyway, J took the eggs from the fridge just in case she could get them to hatch. So, the lady went up the hill, and she took a photo so that you could see the little peep, just a few hours old.

I really have no interest in the affairs of birds except when they pertain to my entertainment needs, but the lady wanted me to pass along the story, so I did.

While she was up there, she was able to take a photo of one of the landlord's cats, Taco.

There are two cats: one boy, Butters, and one girl, Taco. They're both orange tabby cats (did you know that only 1/3 of orange tabby cats are female? In order for a female cat to be orange, she needs to have orange genes on both X chromosomes. To make an orange male cat, only one parent had to be orange. To make an orange female cat, both parents had to be orange). They are both very shy because they are rescued feral cats. Taco has recently become a bit more brave, and she will now eat a little food out of the landlady's hand. And since she knows the lady, she will allow her within 10 feet (but no closer!). I have chased both of them back up the hill when they dare to venture into MY AREA, but I hold no grudge against them.

It was a nice day today. It almost felt like Spring. Here is a photo for those folks in colder parts of the world.

I didn't do much today...checked out the bird feeder. Don't know why the birds leave when I show up. Heh, heh.

Warm

2009-02-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

A call was put out for photos dealing with warmth. I have two to show you (taken on Thursday, February 19):

Elvis Pussley. The most important half is in the sun.

Me. Nice sunny area on some weeds. I was in full warmth mode until the lady came along and blocked part of the sun with her enormous shadow. Get outta the way!

Wiggle Worm

2009-02-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

When the sun is shining and I'm feeling happy, I'll do a little something the lady calls "wiggle worm". Basically, I roll around on my back and from side to side, sort of twisting at the same time. Although it would be best to show it on a video (maybe some day), the following photos will give you an idea:

Step 1: appear as if nothing extremely exciting is about to happen.
Step 2: Suddenly, flip over and pause.
Step 3: Flip over and twist (show some claw in an attempt not to be too cute).
Repeat the flips and twists about four times.

Step 4: Rest.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

Rainy Days and Mondays

2009-02-16T18:09:00.001-08:00

Woke up (the lady took the photo before I had time to make the bed), and peeked out through the garage door (which was open just a bit).

Yech. The lady made it rain again. I decided to stay inside the garage where I had a bite to eat and then used the indoor facilities (rather than my usual outhouse [litterbox photo deleted due to privacy concerns]).

It has occurred to me that I don't live an interesting enough life to have a diary entry every single day. Maybe once a week (unless something really exciting happens--perhaps a gopher invasion, mouse uprising, or bird dispute).

I'm afraid that Elvis doesn't have too much to report either. Everything is smooth sailing on the sleeping and snoring front. He's not a big fan of the camera's flash. The lady is trying different angles so it doesn't flash right in his face.

The other day, he heard the camera make the little bzzzzzy noise it makes when the lady turns it on and...he ran and hid! Poor Mr. Stinklesworth (that's one of the names the lady calls Elvis. She's got a million of 'em).

She does this thing where one nickname morphs into a whole bunch of others. For example: Mr.Black=Blackie=Beekie=Beekie-Beekersteen, and BlackKitty=BK=BKKitty=BKKittersteen=The Great Kittini (I don't know how she got that last one). Obviously, too much of her gray matter is devoted to the Feline Nickname Function (she has a diagram explaining all this--she'll post it once the diagram moves from her brain to a piece of paper---ewww, that sounds gross).

Valentine

2009-02-14T00:21:00.001-08:00

True love is but a humble, low born thing,
And hath its food served up in earthenware;
It is a thing to walk with, hand in hand,
Through the every-dayness of this workday world.

James Russell Lowell -- Love. L.1

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

2009-02-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't think far enough ahead. I didn't even think about Friday the 13th. If I had, then I would have saved my Paranormal Investigative Cats post for today! It would have been perfect: black cat investigating ghostly orbs. Dang! I'm going to have to speak to my staff (aka: the lady) to make sure this doesn't happen again.

On a totally different topic, the lady said I should mention that she is really not my original "rescuer". In reading over my posts, she realized that how things were worded made it look like she was taking credit for rescuing me. I had a lady before her---that lady (let's call her Ms. B) adopted me in late 2001 or early 2002 (I can't be expected to remember these details), and I lived with Ms. B on this property until 2007. Ms. B bought a house in the city, and since I am a country cat, Ms. B asked the lady if she would like to adopt me (because she knew the lady liked cats). So the lady said, "of course!". I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank Ms. B for adopting me, buying me an Igloo, and taking care of me for all those years! I miss her and her dog Milo (or is it Otis? I'm not big on dog names). Milo/Otis was my one and only dog friend. I was very upset when Ms. B moved away--it took quite awhile for me to realize that the lady would take care of me.

Let's see. What else. Oh, yeah. Elvis. He has the most excruciatingly annoying habit. He will constantly lick blankets (electric ones, too!) and make the most irritating sound (not to mention that he would lick a hole in the blanket if given half a chance). And he will lick the furniture so loudly that it will wake the lady up! She sometimes wears earplugs or uses earphones when watching television so that she can block out the sound of the licking. She doesn't have to wear earplugs around me! I do my licking in the privacy of my wicker bed or in my igloo. I'll have to have a word with Elvis about his excessive public licking.

I don't think he licks blankets and furniture because his mouth hurts. His teeth and gums are very well taken care of. The lady brings him to the vet to have his teeth cleaned every four months because he seems prone to problems (maybe because he is FIV positive). He's had about three extractions. He was missing quite a few teeth when the lady adopted him--in fact, because his right front tooth was missing, his lip curled up in a way that reminded the lady of Elvis Presley. That's how Elvis the cat got his name!

Well, I know the lady loves Elvis and they will work it out. She started taking care of him in November 2001 and then he became an indoor cat in September 2004, so they've been together quite awhile! I'm sure they'll resolve their problems lickety-split! Heh, heh.

If I'm not interested in awards...

2009-02-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

then why am I posting them? Heh, heh.

I scooped up the "Love Ya" award (hey, it was there for the taking for anyone posting a comment!) over at Tristan and Crikey's place.

And yesterday, Abby and Stygia gave me an "Honest Scrap" award (they're my favorite bloggers, so this is a very special award to me). And, I noticed that if you say Honest Scrap fast enough, it sounds like honest crap. Hey, wait a minute...whether you say it slow or fast...honest crap! Heh, heh! Nice one!

Now, these awards come with conditions, but I've never been one to follow the rules...I make up my own. The 'Love Ya' award says that I am "not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement." Well, of course I am! I grabbed that award right off Tristan and Crikey's page and hurried back here to post it! The "Honest Scrap" award says that I should "choose a minimum of 7 blogs that [I] find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who [I am] because [I] don’t have 7 friends". Well, they got the part right about me not having seven friends, so I'll just link back to Abby and Stygia. And, I'm supposed to list 10 honest things about myself (man, this award stuff is exhausting!). So, here they are:

I harass birds.
I've jumped on the landlord's dog with my claws out and made him yelp.
I kill mice and leave their intestines for the lady to find.
When the lady takes care of the landlord's house, I sneak up the hill and spy on her from the tall grass.
I think the lady is in control of the weather (and don't understand why she makes it rain).
The tip of my tail is crooked.
I'm not totally black; I have some white hair on my chest (like, seven of them, I think).
I love sleeping in my wicker bed in the garage.
I snore.
I'm an ungrateful award recipient.

Vermin, Interlopers, and Stray Leaves

2009-02-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

Between rain showers, I patrolled the perimeter for vermin, interlopers, and stray leaves.The lady was cramping my style by constantly following me around and repeating the mantra, 'Blackie, over here. Look! Mr. Black....look, look!" I won't be fooled. She is just trying to take a picture of me. I tried to dissuade her from engaging in this distraction from my routine by talking to her about it, but my melodius musings didn't have an effect.

Instead, I flexed my muscles a bit and showed her some of my arsenal. She is quite aware of my 'sharps' (as she calls them) as I've used them on her a few times (not recently, and not with malicious intent, but it should be assumed that I will react with necessary force when people do not abide by my wishes). As time has passed, I have become more patient because I now realize that my expectations were too high, and my interpretation of events was clouded by my less than objective viewpoint. I now know that the lady is my friend.

While I was working today, Elvis was...well....do I have to say it again? RESTING.

Even though it was chilly, the sun was out now and then, so the lady opened the door in order that Elvis might lay in his 'sunspot'. Yes, he made the arduous twelve foot trek from the electric throw to the rug near the door, but only after having a snack to fortify him for the journey. Sweet dreams, your royal bumness! I'm watching you and documenting your every move!

Snow!

2009-02-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

For people who are used to snow in winter (and some who are getting too much), this will seem like no big deal. But for the lady, Elvis, and me, this is something very unusual, unexpected, and special!

The lady has lived on this property for many years (1992 to 2001, and 2007 to present) and it has never snowed (at least while she was here)! So, you can imagine her surprise this morning... she was going through her usual routine (get up, give Elvis his pill with Fancy Feast, put the coffee on, come downstairs and let me out of the garage), when she opened the front door and saw snow! She froze (haha--pun intended) in her tracks. It didn't compute for a couple seconds. Snow was everywhere and it was still falling! She gingerly walked down the steps and let me out as usual. I raised quite a fuss about my delicate toe-pads having to come in contact with the suspiciously cold foreign substance.

Large, fluffy snowflakes kept falling for about forty-five minutes, and the lady was annoying me with all the 'ooohs' and 'aaahs'. Shheeesh! Get a grip, lady!

She took photos because who knows if this will happen again?

Then, the sun came out and little by little, it got warmer, and pretty soon, our too-brief glimpse of a winter wonderland was gone.

Yada, yada, yada. Just bring me my kibble.

The Next Episode of Paranormal Investigative Cats

2009-02-08T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. Gopher or ghostly orb? Or ghostly orbs of gophers past? The lady assures me that there is a logical explanation: a light rain was falling and the tiny water droplets reflected the camera's flash. Actually, I was too busy doing my job to notice any pesky poltergeists.

As usual, Elvis is resting from all his naps. The guy is lolling around on an electric throw. The lady says that watching Elvis laying around reminds her of what Larry David said on an episode of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'. Talking about dogs, he said that he never understood the whole 'dog thing' -- that it was like having a bum in your house. I guess the lady thinks Elvis is a bum. A lovable bum. A little clownfish of a lovable bum. I have to [grudgingly] agree.

A Spotted 'Rufous-sided' Towhee

2009-02-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

Today I enjoyed the view from the deck railing (I really do have a bird's eye view). I saw some birds near the feeders -- Scrub Jays, Steller's Jays, a Spotted 'Rufous-sided' Towhee, and miscellaneous small birds. I think maybe they were finches or sparrows (I'll need to consult the menu)---er---uh--did I say menu? I meant to say that I need to check the National Audubon Society Field Guide to California. Anyhoo, the birds were getting some food before it started to rain again. Well, that is what they admitted to. Who knows what they were really up to. I'm highly suspicious of their whole fly-by-night operation.

I'm not too sure what Elvis was doing today. Eating and sleeping, I guess. He likes his catnip toys. I'm not too interested in catnip. A few of us have no interest in it (the lady told me why, but I forget). She makes the catnip toys with pesticide-free, organic catnip. I've seen Elvis use the toy as a pillow--I guess he finds it soothing.

Elvis has a notch in his ear from when he was a homeless cat and was trapped and taken in to the veterinarian to be neutered (shudder). Some advocates for feral cats (very dedicated humans!) set Havaheart Traps to catch the ferals in Cambria (a city 25 minutes away--the lady used to live there). The veterinarian puts a notch in the ear so that if Elvis was trapped again, they would know just by looking at him that he had already been neutered, and he wouldn't have to be put under anesthesia needlessly. His ear also looks like he got in a fight and some cat took a bite. Maybe that is how is got infected with the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. Of course, this all happened before he showed up on the lady's doorstep and she 'adopted' him.

He is doing pretty well, all things considered. He does have hyperthyroid and has to take a pill twice a day. He has been doing that for over two years now. The lady crushes the pill and mixes it with one half can of Fancy Feast. I get half a can of it, too! We also get Science Diet kibble to munch on. Mmmm. Kibble.

Yesterday I mentioned my cozy bed in the garage. I also have a comforter on top of the car in case I want to stretch out a bit when it is not too chilly. So, I have total of three beds to choose from, or, I can sleep in whatever sunny spot I can find.

Yup. Another cat blog.

2009-02-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

My name is Mr. Black and my sort-of pal is Elvis Pussley. The lady took this photo today while I was laying on the patio table watching the rain. She took it through the living room window which is why you see the rain spots. It's not easy to take photos of me because I'm always on the move, winding in and around the lady's feet. Every time she tries to take a photo of me, she gets the top of my head or my fuzzbutt.

We are new to this blogging thing, so it will take us awhile to get the hang of it. The lady has an older digital camera (only 2.0 megapixels [oh, the humanity!]), so she might have to fire up the 35 mm SLR and then get the photos transferred to a disc or something. She's no Luddite, but lacks enthusiasm (and the resources) for the latest, new-fangled, stuff.

I am an 'outdoor' cat (even though the lady doesn't think cats should be outdoor cats--too dangerous--wait until you hear my bobcat story!). But, that is how she found me and because Elvis is FIV positive (more on that later), I can't come into the house. I have a cozy wicker bed in the garage. It is lined with a down comforter and a leopard-print warming pad. I also have an Igloo on the deck, so I've pretty much got it made for an outdoor guy.

This photo is Elvis doing what he does best (taking naps in order to recuperate from all the sleeping).

Elvis a pleasant enough fellow. I only know him through the screen door, which is all for the best.
I don't get along with other cats. So, with him being FIV positive and me being a mini panther-puss....things are working out okay.

Well, I don't want to ramble--being that this is my first post and all. I'll let you know more about us in a future episode. Same cat-time, same cat-channel.