Tuxie Tuesday

TOPSY TURVY TORTIE TUESDAY WITH A TUXIE

Topsy Turvy on Tuesday

When not cat-napping or cuddling with me, Calista Jo enjoys curling up in the cubby on the catio cat tree. She also enjoys causing Mau consternation. They wrestle with each other before almost every meal.

Today she combined her cubby time with pestering Mauricio. As you can see, he mostly just ignored her. The few moments of smacky paws took place so quickly, there are no photos.

 

Topsy Turvy Tortie Tuesday

 

Shortly after this photo session, Lisbeth approached the tree and began to work out on one of the scratching posts. She didn’t know C.J. was in the cubby. C.J. stuck her head out and just about scared the fur off Lisbeth. The two hissed at each other, and Lisbeth turned and took off as if her tail was on fire. So Calista Jo may not have riled up the calm, cool and collected Cat Scout Mau, but she did give Lisbeth a fur-raising moment.

Always fun times at the house of Blue Cats.

Thank You Friends

I sincerely appreciate all the kind words and well wishes after my face-plant accident on Saturday. In the future, I plan to stay in bed on April 23. Five years ago to the day I fell and broke my leg. At least this Saturday’s injuries should not take the 22-weeks to heal my leg did. The kitties think I should post a photo of my face, but I don’t want to frighten anyone.

HEY, WHY IS THIS CAT SO EXHAUSTED?

Tuxie Tuesday Doozy of a Snoozy

 

Cat Mauricio having a Doozy of a Snoozy

 

One might think Mauricio was working in the fields all day. His paw certainly looks like he was digging in the dirt. Maybe he was chasing mice around the house. Or perhaps he was addressing Christmas cards, wrapping gifts, putting up garland and lights or decorating the tree. Nope! I know he wasn’t doing any of those things.

Oh yeah…I’m the one who has been doing all those things (except the digging and chasing), including addressing Mau’s Cat Scout Christmas cards.

I am pretty certain this is the most strenuous thing Mauricio has done in days..

 

Cat Mauricio being a bum.

 

I sure have a difficult time believing that Mauricio is Cat Scout of the Year, especially as his expertise at being a bum is now legendary. At least he’s a cute bum and amuses us daily.

Due to all the holiday preparations mentioned above, I haven’t been able to help Kitties Blue do much visiting or commenting. Please accept my apologies. After just a couple more days of craziness, we’ll be back to a more normal schedule.

 

TUXIE TUESDAY CHRISTMAS FLASHBACK WITH DAPHNE

This post was originally entitled “Christmas: Day 7,” and was published on December 21, 2012. It got exactly ZERO comments. It features cat #3, our long-haired tuxie, Daphne and an additional two paragraphs at the end. I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. They were taken before the days of digital photography and scanned.

 

Daphne feigns disinterest.

 

Daphne was another kitty crazy for Christmas. In her early years, I hung apple ornaments from the garland wound around the bannister. She could spend hours batting at and removing the apples so she could play with them on the hardwood floors. For a few years I would continually replace the apples after she removed them. And each year I would buy new apples as they inevitably cracked and lost their paint when they hit the floor. Eventually I gave up and threw them away as the whole process became exceedingly tedious.

 

Daphne caught in the act.

 

It has been at least two decades since I’ve hung apples from the garland, but every year as I am decorating the stairs, Tom asks me if I am going to attach the apples. I know he does this to tease me, but I also know he enjoyed the game between human and cat and would love to watch a whole new caboodle of cats doing just as Daphne once did.

 

Daphne waiting for her fan mail.

 

Daphne also enjoyed waiting for her holiday fan mail. She would take up residence in our Christmas mailbox, created by Tom’s sister, Bonnie, and wait to be swamped by her greetings of love and adoration. Of course, she wasn’t opposed to the fact that her nest was atop a nice warm radiator.

 

Daphne begins unwrapping gifts early while Steamer watches.

 

We only had five cats when Daphne was a youngster, and we were still erecting the tree in the foyer. I also managed to wrap gifts prior to Christmas Eve giving kitties access to lots of ribbons and bows. In the photo above, Daphne begins unwrapping gifts early while Cat #2, Steamer, watches.

The current passel of pusses are so deprived. It’s a good thing they don’t have any idea of what went on in the early days at The House of Blue Cats!

 

CELEBRATING POST NUMBER 800!

Eight hundred posts plus eight cats should equal eighty posts per cat. Right? We kitties do not have long enough attention spans to count up our individual appearances. The seven ladies among us, however, are certain it doesn’t break down that way. We know the blog hog is Mauricio. He’s a total ham who loves to pose. And he’s always demanding attention. He’s declared himself King of the Selfies. He gets featured in Caturday Art, Doozy of a Snoozy and Tuxie Tuesday posts. And he gets to write about his activities at Cat Scouts.

Here are two photos of him hogging Mom’s lap. He may look a bit grumpy in photo two, but trust us, he isn’t!

 

800 post with Mau

 

800 post with Mau

 

Until moments ago, Mau was the only one of us who had a dedicated folder for his photos. But with a little fancy paw work from us, Mom moved all 600+ of his photos to trash! MOL! Lady cats = 1. Mauricio = 0. She can get them back, but she has to move every photo out of the trash one by one. That should keep her busy for a while and keep Mau off the blog—at least after tomorrow. We hear Mom has already created our Wordless Wednesday post, and it features the blog hog yet again! MOUSES!

Anyhoo, this is our 800th post, and we are more than a little surprised that Mom has stuck with this blogging nonsense for such a long time. Just like us, she’s not known for her long attention spans.

She’s scored us some cool stuff and noms to review, but we’d rather have her spending the time she is on the computer doting on us. We are sweet, adorable and love her bunches. We think that should get us her total attention 24/7. We are thinking of reporting her to N.U.C.A.T. for her favoritism to that silly man cat and neglect of us lady cats. If anyone has any ideas on how we can punish her, please leave us a comment. In the meantime, we’ll be begging for the treats and attention we deserve.

 

800 post badge

 

Our Giveaway for Catify to Satisfy

Jackson GalaxyOn Friday Mom posted Part 2 of her interview with cat behaviorist and Animal Planet star, Jackson Galaxy. She also reviewed his and Kate Benjamin’s new book, Catify to Satisfy. If you would like to have the opportunity to win a copy of this must have book, leave a comment here by 5 p.m. EST on Friday, November 27. The winner will be selected using Random.org.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

 

TORTIE/TUXIE/TOESY TUESDAY TWO-FUR IN THE BOWL

Surprise, surprise! The dynamic duo of tuxie Mauricio and tortie Astrid are together again. They are in THE BOWL. This has become the preferred napping spot for several of the pusses. But this is a first…a bowl for two! Mauricio doesn’t really fit in the bowl by himself. But that didn’t stop his shadow from shoving in with him. And it didn’t stop him from giving her a bath.

 

Mauricio and Astrid share the antique dough bowl "bed"

Mauricio bathes Astrid as they crowd together in the antique dough bowl.

 

The bowl competition is liable to get heated as the colder weather sets in and none of the gang want to spend time on the catio. Their dad suggested we may need to start checking antique shows and shops for more wooden dough bowls. He doesn’t have to twist my arm. One of my favorite places to shop is Black Dog Salvage. If you get the DIY network (we don’t), you may have seen this place on the program Salvage Dawgs. They are located close enough for us to walk, and I don’t need truck to get bowls home!

I know even if we get extra bowls, Astrid will always seek out Mauricio. So, at most, we’ll only need six more bowls and someplace to put them all!

Giveaway Reminder

women who still love cats too muchWe are giving away two copies of the book, Women Who Still Love Cats Too Much, by Allia Sobel Nolan. It is 80-pages of fun and oh-so-true one-liners with colorful illustrations by Nicole Hollander. I guarantee if you’ve ever had a relationship with a cat, you will recognize yourself in this book and LOL as you do so. For an opportunity to win, click here to read my review and leave a comment. The giveaway is open to readers worldwide. Comments must be left by Friday, November 13, at 5 p.m. EDT.

 

 

I’LL NEVER SEE THIS AGAIN

Today’s Tuxie/Tortie Doozy of a Snoozy is one I’ll never see again. This makes me very sad. Once upon a time in a universe far, far away Astrid and Lisbeth were inseparable. Now they each prefer to snuggle with Mauricio, their dad or me.

 

I'll Never See This Again

 

About the only time these two are even in the same room together is at mealtimes. If they accidentally encounter each other, Lisbeth becomes a hissy face.

Cat relationships are complicated, and I don’t know what turned this one from loving to adversarial. I guess it could turnaround some day, but I’m not going to bet the kitties’ kibble on it. For now I’ll just have to look at photos and fondly remember the togetherness times.

Does anyone else have kitties who used to be friends but aren’t anymore? Do you know why the relationship changed? Whatever insight anyone can offer would be appreciated.

POEM FROM MAU FOR TUXIE/TUMMY TUESDAY

 

tuxie

tuxie

 

I’m a tuxie cat with incessant demands,
But I am way too cute to reprimand.
I prey on my humans’ very last nerves
Until I get the tummy rubs I deserve.
They claim that I’m a great big pest,
But I know they think that I’m the best
Of all the cats who live in our house
No matter how much and loudly they grouse.
So I’ll keep on begging for their attention
To get another petting and loving session.
And if you need coaching to get this too,
Just send a note to me…Mauricio Blue.

 

Giveaway for Simon’s Cat Off too the Vet

simonscat1We are giving away one copy of British cartoonist Simon Tofield’s new book. It is 240 pages of laugh-out-loud hilarity, including 49 pages (many in full color) of a trip to the vet that goes terribly wrong. To read my review and leave a comment for the chance to win a copy, click here.

 

 

S’MORESAPALOOZA AT CAT SCOUTS

Cat Scouts S’moresapalooza

Mauricio opened a Bake Shop at Cat Scouts a couple of months ago. Since then, he has hired an apprentice baker, Wolverine patrol mate, Anya. He has been appointed official baker for the Scouts Birthday Party Den. And most recently he’s been delivering special desserts to Scouts each day featuring the official flowers of the 50 states to help Scouts prepare for an upcoming botany test.

On Sunday, Mau took on his most ambitious project yet, a S’moresapalooza. S’mores are a scouting tradition among Boy, Girl and Cat Scouts. He prepared 36 different types of s’mores for the Scouts, and Anya prepared 30 s’mores beverages. Scouts were invited to make and eat s’mores, bob in a vat of melted chocolate for marshmallows and write original songs/stories/poems about s’mores.

This is Mauricio’s poem:

S’mores, s’mores are good to eat.

S’mores, s’mores are my favorite treat.

Grab a stick and pull up a seat.

Melty and gooey and oh so sweet

Marshmallows, grahams, chocolate can’t be beat.

To have all I want would sure be neat.

S’mores, s’mores are good to eat.

S’mores, s’mores are my favorite treat.

Mau’s good friend and Worldwide Wildcat Troop Leader, Sammy, wrote this terrific song (sung to the tune of, “Do Your Ears Hang Low”).

Do your s’mores get drippy
Do you need a straw to sippy
Do you make a big mess
C’mon now please just confess…..
Can you not get enough
Of the chocolately stuff
Do your s’mores get drippy?

 The event was lots of fun, and so Mauricio wanted to share slideshow with a few photos from the event. He hopes you enjoy it and that it might tempt more of you to join Cat Scouts.

 

[slideshow_deploy id=’17571′]

 

My Pet Human Giveaway

s'moresapaloozaIf you have not entered our giveaway for the adorable book, My Pet Human, written and illustrated by Jasmine Surovec, it’s not too late. To read the review and leave a comment for the opportunity to receive a copy, click here. Comments must be received by Friday, October 16, at 5 p.m. EDT.

 

NIPHEADS ANONYMOUS

We are nipheads, and we can’t deny it.

Don’t criticize us if you’ve never tried it.

It’s good to roll in and sweet to eat.

Nip is by far our favorite treat.

If we are being completely honest,

Maybe we should join Nipheads Anonymous.

No, on second thought, definitely not.

Give us nip and make it a lot.

We are nipheads and darn proud of it!

 

 nipheads

 

Whenever Chris comes to the house, whether to clean or look after us when the humans go away, she brings us goodies. It may be treats, catnip, bonito flakes or any combination of the three. Today we got fresh and ground nip and treats. Jackpot!

This is what we did in the morning. Astrid demonstrates what we did during the afternoon. Mom says she was really out of it. She was sleeping on a big pile of toys and let Chris vacuum and clean all around her. She didn’t even blink. Astrid only changed positions after Mom started taking photos. But she never woke up. Good nip!

 

nipheads

 

We love nip, and we love Chris. We wish she would come everyday.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

QUEEN OF THE SNOOZY

Queen Misty May

Whether it is Tuxie Tuesday or a Doozy of a Snoozy post, I definitely am Queen of the Snoozy. The proof is in these photos.

 

queen

queen

 

I was thinking that most of you have seen more than your fill of me napping. So, in attempt to make this post a bit more interesting, I created (with my mom’s help) this arty kitty collage. When I was finished, I realized that it is nearly impossible to identify me in the collage. That’s why I’m also posting the original photos. Hope you like my attempt at art. If you do, Mom might allow me to try my paw at more for the Caturday Art Blog Hop.

 

queen

 

C.J.’s Birthday Giveaway Reminder

If you missed Calista Jo’s third birthday party post, you can still drop in for the chance to win some BlogPaws loot. Just click here and leave a comment prior to Wednesday, June 24, at 4 p.m. EDT. Everyone is welcome to enter with no restrictions on your locale. The winner will be selected using Random.org and announced on Thursday.

Purrs and paw-pats, Snoozy Queen Misty May