Maggie

A ROCCO AND ROXIE REVIEW

While attending the BlogPaws Conference in Phoenix, I stopped by the Rocco and Roxie display to see what they had to offer. They make an excellent stain and odor eliminator, which I use. I discovered that they also make Jerky Sticks treats. The sticks are made for dogs, but I was told cats could eat them as well. Unfortunately, this is not the case as they contain garlic powder.

As Kitties Blue couldn’t enjoy the Jerky Treats, I passed them on to my friend who lives with Maggie, a Jack Russell Terrier. I asked my friend to let me know if Maggie liked the treats.

I received these photos and a four paws up review from Maggie.

 

Maggie taste tests Rocco and Roxie Jerky Sticks

 

This being Sammy’s (onespoiledcat) Thoroughly Poetic Thursday, with a prompt letterer of “J”, I decided to represent Maggie’s feelings about Jerky Sticks in a poem. I sure hope Maggie doesn’t mind.

Jerky Sticks Make Me Happy

Rocco and Roxie make nommy treats.
They are super yummy and easy to eat.
I can even hold them between my feets.
Then eat and eat and repeat.

The Jerky Sticks are made of meat.
They have no corn, soy or wheat.
The Jerky Sticks make a marvelous feast.
Rocco & Roxie Jerky Sticks can’t be beat.

Hooray for Rocco and Roxie Jerky Sticks treats.

The seven-inch long Jerky Sticks are made in the USA from all-American meat and come in 16 ounce bags. The sticks have a soft texture. They are high in protein, low in calories and are gluten free. Being gluten free was a big deal for Maggie’s human sister. With celiac disease, she is very careful to stay away from all gluten. She was excited that she could actually give the Jerky Sticks to Maggie with no fear of touching them.

You can purchase Rocco and Roxie Jerky Sticks from Chewy.com and Amazon.

Astrid and Lisbeth asked me to thank everyone for their kind birthday wishes. They will be back tomorrow to share additional cards and let you know about their gift. We also will participate in the Friendly Fill-ins blog hop.

 

LADIES DAY

Has anyone else noticed how Mauricio has been hogging the blog ’cause we sure have? It’s Cat Scouts this and Cat Scouts that. And then there is all the prattling on about his girlfriend Allie.

Now, don’t get us wrong, we think Allie is a sweetie-pie and are super happy that she likes Mauricio enough to have him as her boyfriend. It does keep him out of our furs when he’s at Campfire with her.

And we are even more pleased that he is a Cat Scout. That, along with his calming collar, has made it much easier to put up with him enjoy his company. (OK, that may be pushing it just a little! Sorry.)

Lily Olivia takes a turn on the Ham-mick.

Lily Olivia takes a turn on the Ham-mick.

Anyway, we lady-cats are highjacking the blog for today. We don’t have anything particular to tell you about. It was pretty quiet and boring around here while the humans were in Paris. Of course, we spent most of the 11 days napping.

We were able to watch the birds and squirrels from the kitchen windows…until they emptied the feeders. We had a few instances of the “cat crazies,” which Maggie had to tell the pawrents about. Yeash! She takes good care of us, but she can be a party pooper. And, since all but Lily and Giulietta were fitted with calming collars prior to the desertion, we didn’t break any lamps…or anything else for that matter.

Chris came one day to clean so that was a little bit of excitement. Fiona, as usual, spent the entire time UTB. And we spent the following days trying to dirty things up again.

We cannot understand how Astrid found this a comfy place to nap.

We cannot understand why Astrid knocked over the photos and then selected that most uncomfortable spot for a nap. (But then we don’t understand much about Astrid.)

We had expected the solar workmen to be here while the humans were gone, but our panels were delivered to the wrong city, so they didn’t get started until two days before Mom and Dad got home. They come back Wednesday to hook everything up, and then all should be peaceful again for awhile. At least until John comes to start painting the guest room. John has spent lots of time here both inside and outside, and we like him a lot so we won’t mind that project too much. We bet he closes the door so we don’t put painty paw prints all over the room. Phooey!

Giulietta and Fiona in their usual positions.

Giulietta and Fiona in their usual positions.

 

So that’s it for our “no” news. We are glad to have Mom and Dad back where they belong. They have promised us that they have no plans for any trips in the immediate future, except the 24-hour kind. Not that we are fond of those!

Mom says she’ll show some photos of Paris in an upcoming blog. She does have one planned for Wordless Wednesday.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

CATURDAY CONFESSION

Hi Efurrybuddy,

Have you missed us? Our visiting and commenting have been minimal and sporadic. But it is not our fault. Our lame-a-roo, gallivanting, thoughtless and neglectful humans left us again. This time they were gone for ten months weeks.

What? Days? No way. That’s just a big, fat fabrication on Mom’s part.

Though we managed to post a few times and leave a few comments, we had to do it by sending smoke signals to Mom in Canada ’cause that’s where she and our dad went. As usual, she took all the electronic devices with her. Without being able to keep up with our friends, we know we missed birthdays and other events, which, of course, has our furs ruffled.

And, the humans did not even visit our sisfur Nylablue while they were in Canada. We think the fact that she lives about 1,000 miles from where they visited is an excuse with no merit whatsoever.

We’ve been bored to hissing and growling without being able to go out on the catio (and it was 89 degrees F. yesterday). We can see a couple of our bird feeders from the kitchen window, but the minimal counter space requires us to take turns…more hissing and growling.

And, of course, Fiona is required to go UTB when Maggie comes to feed us. The rest of us made appearances, and Giulietta even let Maggie pet her, but that doesn’t mean we were happy about having a stand-in.

The humans arrived home as scheduled last night. That doesn’t happen too often. All of us, except Astrid, who was staring down from the top of the stairs, were swarming around the foyer by the time Dad got all the luggage inside. But only three of us, Mauricio, Misty May and Calista Jo, deigned to sleep with them. Lily Olivia managed to get herself closed up in the guest room overnight. Mom didn’t even see her dash in when she opened the door a fraction of an inch to switch off a light she accidentally left on when she left.

We were absolute angels during the absence. We only left three big hurls and threw another and different lamp on the floor busting the bulb. And Fiona got and still is nekkid.

Mauricio was fitted with a calming collar before the humans deserted us and did not manage to remove it. Mom hasn’t as yet had the opportunity to inspect the entire house for spray, and Mauricio is not talking.

Even Astrid is enjoying the catio today. Sorry her eyes are close, but we wanted to use the photo that showed her cute little buff-colored paw.

Even Astrid is enjoying the catio today. Sorry her eyes are closed and the photo is a little blurry, but we wanted to use the photo that showed her cute, little, buff-colored paw.

We are all looking forward to life getting back to normal. We are enjoying the catio right now and can’t wait to start visiting and letting all of our friends know what we think about their recent comings and goings.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

P.S., Mom only saw two live kitties while she was away. She was having withdrawals when she got home. That should get us even more attention that usual. Bonus!

P.P.S. Mauricio got his official Cat Scout membership card in the mail! He is itching to get back to earning merit badges now that the humans are home. His friend, Wally, from The Island Cats has surged way ahead with Karma points which has Mauricio’s competitiveness revved up and raring to go.

CATURDAY BONUS: SATURDAY PHOTO HUNTERS

Today’s word is Spark so we couldn’t resist showing you a photo of our handsome, neighbor, man-cat, Sparky. Sparky spends lots of time hanging out at our house, including in this photo, which we originally posted on September 23, 2012.

Sparky settles in on our upper deck after our pusses have come inside for the night.

Sparky settled in on our upper deck after our pusses had come inside for the night. Now that we have the catio on the lower deck, Sparky no longer has access to the back decks.

 

EASY LIKE SUNDAY: HAM-MICK HEAVEN

Though Mom held out on us as far as the toys go, we got something so cool in the mail last week.

Mom bid on a Ham-mick at the auction for MaxMaxx and won. She then got to pick the fabric for it, and before we knew it, there it was on our doorstep.

Checking out the Ham-mick and getting our nip on.

Giulietta, Mauricio, Lisbeth and Fiona checking out the Ham-mick and getting their nip on.

When Dad brought the box in the house, we noticed that it had been badly damaged. And Dad said that he saw our neighbor cat, Sparky, chewing on it. The hole in the box was quite large so we assumed the package also had been damaged in the mail. We were really surprised and ecstatic when she opened the box ’cause none of the Ham-mick pieces had fallen out.

More inspection.

More inspection with Calista Jo joining in.

As soon as she laid everything out on the kitchen counter, we attacked. You see, nip was sprinkled everywhere inside the package. When Mom discovered this she examined the box further and realized all the damage to the box had been cat inflicted by Sparky…with maybe some help from Misty May or Mauricio, who had been hanging out on the porch as well. They’re keeping their traps shut as their birthdays are coming, and they don’t want to miss out on any treats or presents.

Lisbeth on the bed with Calista, Misty May and Giulietta wondering when they will get a turn.

Lisbeth on the bed with Calista, Misty May and Giulietta wondering when they will get a turn.

Mom put that Ham-mick together lickety-split and put it in the foyer. Lisbeth immediately claimed it for herself. But most of us are finding it quite to our liking as well, including Giulietta, Fiona, Calista Jo and Mauricio. Neither Astrid nor Lily will sleep that close to the floor fearing they will be attacked. And Misty May prefers the human’s bed.

We have added Ham-micks to our list for Santa Claws ’cause when we are all stuck in the house this winter, it sure would be nice to have more than one. And extra nip coming in the mail is always appreciated.

Lisbeth relaxing and Giulietta enjoying the nip.

Lisbeth relaxing and Giulietta enjoying the nip.

P.S. Please visit HH and the Boys today. Our angel, Madison, is #8 in HH’s (Lou Belcher’s) current 30 in 30 days cat paintings. When mom saw a photo of the painting yesterday, it took her breath away. She says it looked as if the real-life Madison was staring back at her. She’s been wanting a portrait of Madison since he went to the Rainbow Bridge. She was so excited about Lou’s ability to capture Madison’s look and personality that she has purchased the painting!

Lisbeth: "Mine all mine, finally!"

Lisbeth: “Mine all mine, finally!”

P.P.S. if you haven’t marked your calendar yet, please add a big, smiley, cat face for the 17th. That’s when Mauricio and Misty May will be celebrating their ninth birthdays. Mom has planned a GIGANTIC surprise for that day. It is really impawtant that we have lots of visitors and Mom knows you will want to tell all your friends. She’s even going to allow us to let the cat out of the bag (that better not be a new cat coming to live with us…we do not consider that an appropriate birthday present) as to the actual surprise a couple of days early. So keep checking back with us whenever you can.

Lisbeth: "Yippee, all those other cats have backed-off, and I can finally get my easy on."

Lisbeth: “Yippee, all those other cats have backed-off, and I can finally get my easy on.”

P.P.P.S. (Just how much pee do we need to put in this post?) You know those toys and treats Mom was holding back? She let us have a little green mousie with a fev-vered tail. And she let Maggie give us that entire bag of treats while she and Dad were away for a few days. We’re still ticked off that they left us again, and we weren’t very good while they were away (fodder for another post we suspect), but we sure did enjoy the extra noms.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

 

ANOTHER WORDY WEDNESDAY

Overlooking Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, CA.

Overlooking Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, CA.

All parents wish for their children to be popular and have lots of friends. Sometimes, however, those same parents regret having hoped for this. That was the case Tuesday, when we finally arrived home from our trip to Reno. Because when the kits invited you all to pawty, it’s obvious you took it to heart and showed up in full trashing mode.

I think I’ve discovered and cleaned up all the hacked up fur balls and other piles of throw-up. I’ve picked up all the stuffed animal mascots from the hall floor and replaced the quilts pulled to the bedroom floor for nesting and napping. The rest I am leaving for Chris, who will be here today. She always accuses me of cleaning prior to her arrival. Trust me, I do not! And I don’t think I’ll hear that accusation today. If we still have rugs on the floor, I can’t find them through all the fur.

While I was on puke patrol, Tom immediately headed for the bird feeders, filling them to capacity, so bird and squirrel TV could recommence.

Mauricio: "What do you mean, they're not coming home tonight. You promised."

Mauricio: “What do you mean, they’re not coming home tonight. You promised.”

So Spitty, rather than complaining about not getting the invitation to trash until it was time to clean up…you should have come on over. We arrived home 15 1/2 hours after our scheduled time. Our flight from Charlotte Monday night was cancelled due to a mechanical problem and US Airways put us up for the night. We were pleased for once not to be booked on the first flight out in the morning so we could actually get some sleep. Again, one should be careful with those wishes.

Anticipating trouble prior to leaving Reno, I had packed extra underwear in my carryon. And while at the Reno airport, Tom had purchased me a jacket and dress, so I had clean clothes to wear home. Some would say that I had jinxed our arriving home as scheduled, but I think I’ll blame the airline and the weather!

We arrived at the airport Tuesday morning and found that the early flight had taken off and arrived in Roanoke as scheduled giving us hope for our flight. We boarded and flew to Roanoke only to be put in a holding pattern due to bad weather. After circling for about half an hour, we were flown back to Charlotte.

Being experienced flyers, Tom was on the phone the minute the wheels hit the tarmac and snagged the last two seats (in the last row…ugh!) on the next flight out with hopes the weather would clear. The second time was the charm. When we got to Roanoke, the arrivals board showed the flight following ours was already delayed by two hours. Dodged a bullet by grabbing those two seats. By the time that next flight did arrive it was four hours late.

The sharks kitties (except Fiona and Giulietta) were swarming in the foyer when we opened the front door. Maggie reported that they were all less than pleased when she arrived Tuesday morning after promising on Monday that we’d be home that night. So it was obvious they were anxious to see if it was actually us returning or yet another Maggie visit.

Mauricio makes air biscuits and begs for our attention.

Mauricio makes air biscuits and begs for our attention.

Misty May and Lily Olivia didn’t even stop for a quick inspection of us or the luggage before sprinting outside. I nearly had to tackle Mauricio, however, to keep him inside when I noticed he was naked. He headed for the catio but without his collar and its attached electronic disc, he couldn’t get out the cat door either. So we had to listen to him bellyache until I found his collar beneath the dining room table. We suspect it was removed by Calista during a rasslin’ match.

It started raining again quite hard so efurrybuddy was back inside the house after just a couple of hours. Lily Olivia would not stop caterwauling and begging to return outside even though the rain was torrential. She was not granted her request. She settled for a while, but by bedtime she was cranked back up to full-throated meyowling.

The remainder were bursting with pent-up energy causing us to think they napped and let all their friends do the trashing. That wouldn’t surprise us as these bums sweet, adorable kitties, who we missed every moment we were away, can be very lazy. Any of you who want to tattle on them are more than welcome to do so.

I’m quite sure we’ll be paying for our transgressions for many days to come. Some things, though, have already returned to normal. When I entered the bathroom this evening, I was followed by five cats.

 

 

 

 

NOT AGAIN!

So the humans left us again on Monday afternoon. They didn’t have the tandem, took the red car and only had a very small suitcase. It appeared to be a quick trip, but we weren’t sure until dinnertime came and went. Maggie did not show up to feed us, so we figured unless we had been abandoned totally, they would return soon. And they did.

Twenty-two hours later they appeared at the door, and we got our breakfast, albeit three hours late, but it was still breakfast. They were talking about something called a Fleetwood Mac (Is that any relation to a Big Mac?) and a place called Charlotte, North Carolina. We figured that’s where they had been but really didn’t care. We were just happy to see them, especially when that suitcase was unpacked and put away.

But something was definitely rotten in Roanoke, as we were not being allowed on the catio. We were thinking it was due to Astrid’s escape the previous morning*. Maybe the humans were trying to make some kind of ill-conceived point about our outdoor privileges. Like we all should be punished for the antics of one sneaky and naughty meowmate.

Misty May, "Are you kidding me. You two are leaving again?

Misty May, “Are you kidding me? You two are leaving again.”

But then all our food bowls appeared on the kitchen counter as well as multiple cans of food, a spoon and an unopened bag of treats.  We knew then we were looking at some nefarious plan on the part of those thoughtless humans. The next occurrence sealed our fate: two very large suitcases appeared downstairs. What could they be thinking? They’d only returned an hour and a half earlier. Was this some new Frustrate the Felines game?

And then they were gone. It seems they were heading someplace called Reno but only after returning to the aforementioned Charlotte and then Phoenix. Isn’t that a bird? We really think it’s a bird and unless they’re planning on bringing it home roasted and ready to eat, we are less than pleased by their plan to visit it. Doesn’t make any sense to us.

Anyway…it seems Dad has some volleyball stuff to do. Mom is going along to visit a friend from high school. We’re not sure what the heck a high school is, but we think her trip is definitely unnecessary. Normally, she’d be getting a big fat raspberry from us, but she asked if we could please be good kitties, not complain and not trash the house. Sure, we’ll be good…in what universe? She left us alone on World Cat Domination Day and was leaving again, so we figured we didn’t owe her any favors!

She told us, however, that they would be gone only one week of a trip originally planned for two. We weren’t sure why she thought that should make any difference to us. She added that they had planned the second week for a visit to her step-mom on the west coast, but she had passed away. Some of us know what that means ‘cause we’ve had brofurs and sisfurs leave us the same way. That made us very sad, so we knew Mom must be very sad as well and perhaps we needed to give her a break.

Calista Jo, "Hey, where are my new mousies? I promised to be good, so unless one or more of you want to get smacked, you better paw them over right now."

Calista Jo, “Hey, where are my new mousies? I promised to be good, so unless one or more of you want to get smacked, you better paw them over right now.”

So we promised to be on our bestest behavior, and we are trying really, really hard. She left Maggie the flying red dot toy and asked her to play with us a little each day. She thinks if we’re tired, we won’t have the energy for an effective house dismantling. Of course, not all of us are interested in the flying dot. We do, however, have all of our other toys as well as Calista’s two new catnip mice. So maybe, we can survive.

I’m sure Mom will let you know how successful we were when she gets home. And we hope all our friends will understand why we are not inviting you over for another good, old-fashioned trashing. Next time (and there better not ever be one of those), we will not be so good-hearted and obliging. We’re just giving those inconsiderate, gallivanting humans fair warning now so they can contemplate any future decisions regarding our desertion.

Astrid, "Do I really look like a naughty kitty to you?"

Astrid, “Look at what a good kitty I am, just relaxing in the sun on the upper deck. I absolutely would never jump off of here.”

* Monday morning after breakfast and our release to the catio, Dad looked out the kitchen window, turned and said, “There’s a cat in the backyard that looks just like Astrid.”

Mom replied, “Really? It can’t be. She’s on the catio, isn’t she? I better go check.”

And, Guess what? It was Astrid. The only explanation the humans came up with was that she went to the accessible, unscreened upper deck, jumped from there to the top of the gas grill just outside the catio, then to the deck followed by a leap to the yard. She gave Mom the run-around over and over and over again for the next hour. If she weren’t stuck inside with the rest of us, she’d be grounded for sure.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, naughty Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

P.S. We are sorry that we have been slacking off on commenting, but our typist when Mom is away, Giulietta, has thrown up her paws in disgust. She says that she’s tired of us all talking at the same time and never letting her type anything she thinks is pertinent. Lily Olivia and Misty May have both put their paws down and said that such menial labor is beneath them. We are working on training Lisbeth for the job, but she is a very solitary cat and not much interested in what the rest of us want to do. So, for the time, we are muddling through as best we can.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED…

try, try again! We believe we have found our new motto. Actually, it’s our first motto. We didn’t even know what a motto was before today. But this fits our current and future plans purrfectly.

We weren’t very successful with our purrfectly planned payback session thanks to Chris cleaning up after us. But she did miss the fact that Lily Olivia managed to get herself into the living room* and knock over several gifts Dad received when he was traveling. None were damaged, but Maggie ratted out Lily anyway. And one of us had gotten into the transom above the backdoor, which Mom left open so we could get some whiffies, and pulled out most of the weather stripping in an effort to escape. But those were mere triffles.

So we have been super busy ever since then getting back at the humans. One of us did leave that nice gooey vomit right next to bed so that Mom stepped in it when she got up to use the facilities a couple nights ago. And the fur balls have been flying. The humans can barely turn around without finding a hacked up present. We don’t know if they have found the one Austin (CATachresis) hid ’cause he didn’t even tell us where he put it.

An exhausted Fiona opens her eyes when Dad snaps her photo.

An exhausted Fiona opens her eyes when Dad snaps her photo.

But Astrid, with a little help from Fiona, has been the linchpin in our plan. She’s now done the Houdini routine three times. The first we already told you about in “Payback Foiled.”

Her second disappearing act occurred two days ago when Mom was letting one of the big kids in the front door. Astrid bolted out through the three-inch opening. She gave Mom a two-hour run-around in the yard. She finally decided she was hungry (kitty dinner time had come and gone) and so returned, but not until Mom was panting and super frustrated. We were all laughing our furs off.

Then it was Fiona’s turn. She refused to come in off the catio at bedtime two nights ago. She had both Mom and Dad chasing her up and down the stairs, both inside and out, from one level to the next.

The photo of Lisbeth Dad was taking before Astrid escaped out the window.

The photo of Lisbeth Dad was taking before Astrid escaped out the window.

But yesterday was the best…Dad left the screen up on the kitchen window in order to take a photo of Lisbeth on the catio. Astrid was out the window and gone before either of the humans could scream, “NO!” She didn’t even stop for a nano-second on the deck before she jumped to the yard. Mom knew she wasn’t going to be easy to get in so decided to finish her breakfast.

When she went out Astrid was nonchalantly exploring the yard and totally ignoring Mom’s pleas and promise of treats. (She’d just eaten breakfast and had no interest in treats.) So Mom decided to work in the garden until Astrid got tired or hungry. After two hours of cleaning flowerbeds, trimming trees and dragging branches to the curb, Mom was dirty and sweaty and decided to come in the house. She wanted to save some energy for biking later in the day.

She assumed (very, very misguided human) that Astrid was ready to return to the house as she had come looking for her. Of course, Astrid had no intention whatsoever of doing this.

As it was Wordless Wednesday, Mom decided to take the computer to the catio and do some hopping and commenting. That way she could check on Astrid frequently. She also took our treat jar, but only after dispensing some noms to those of us hanging around the kitchen. We had been forced to stay in the house so the outer catio door could be propped open.

The human’s frequent jiggling of the jar lid and trips through the yard shaking the treat pouch did nothing to convince Astrid that she should return to the house or catio. After circling the house a couple of times while using the special kitty call the humans have for us, either with no sighting of Astrid or Astrid running from her, Mom would return to the computer.

Astrid in her favorite napping spot shortly after coming back in the house.

Astrid in her favorite napping spot shortly after coming back in the house.

After two hours of alternating typing and house circling, Mom decided it was lunch time. As she was getting ready to pick up the treats and computer she looked down to see the darling, sweet, lovable, stinker Astrid sitting next to her.

As soon as Mom opened the backdoor, Astrid was off like a shot for either food, water, the litter box or a nap. We don’t know which, but as you can see, she was found napping a short time later. Finally, the remainder of us got to have our catio time.

Astrid figures that as long as our humans keep making mistakes when it comes to managing the doors and windows, she can keep this up until the cows come home; though, none of us knows exactly what this means. We didn’t have any cows to start with; though, there is a pony buried in the backyard. But that’s a story for another day.

* As the living room is generally a cat-free zone, it does not need cleaning each time Chris visits.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Misty May, Mauricio, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

 

PAYBACK FOILED

We cannot believe it…the humans came home to a clean house.

After all our work and that of our friends from the following blogs, Twinkletoe TAils, onespoiledcat, Katnip Lounge, Animal Shelter Volunteer Life, (CAT)achresis, McGuffy’s Reader, The Island Cats, The Musings of a Crazy Cat Lady, The Critters in the Cottage, moggiepurrs, The Furries of Whisppy and Rumblebum, the housekeeper, Chris, showed up and cleaned up the whole house. We would have gotten to work again when she left but she dosed us with treats and catnip. After all our creative trashing and the noms, every one of us was in a stupor. All we could do was nap for the remainder of the day.

Some non-bloggy friends offered their help as well. And some really naughty kitties suggested some particularly heinous deeds that we decided to forego. We don’t want to be sent to Kitty Work Camp the next time the humans go away. And mark our words, “We know they will.”

Mom called in the late afternoon on Wednesday to talk to Chris, and Lily Olivia eavesdropped on the conversation. She heard Chris tell Mom that we did not keep the house as neat as she does. Duh! Even on a regular basis we are not known for our tidiness. We have this fur that falls and sticks everywhere and litter boxes to use and our dishes are on the floor. We’re pretty disappointed that Chris did not go into specifics with reference to our creativity. She probably thought she was doing us a favor by not divulging our shenanigans. We know she reads this, so: “Chris, feel free to rat us out the next time, or better yet, DON’T CLEAN UP AFTER US!

Mauricio: "What are you waiting for? Purrlease open this door."

Mauricio: “What are you waiting for? Purrlease open this door.”

Lily also heard Mom tell Chris that she could let us out on the catio if she wanted. That’s when Chris said we were all crashed, and she thought it would be better just to let us be. When the humans finally showed up, we were waiting in the foyer and then sprinted to the backdoor to commence bellyaching until we were set free. Mom tried to lie down on the floor and play with us, but we all gave her a wide berth. We couldn’t wait to get some good whiffs and look for the birdies and squirties. Of course, they had emptied all the feeders while we were under house arrest so we had to wait for Dad to fill them before we saw any action.

We think Maggie should have told us that Chris was coming to clean. We did not plan on her having to clean up after us. Guess Mom isn’t as senile as we thought. She probably figured out that we’d try to get back at Dad and her for abandoning us.

Lily Olivia: "Free at last, free at last. Thank COD, I'm free at last."

Lily Olivia: “Free at last, free at last. Thank COD, I’m free at last.”

We’ll have to figure out a plan for the next few days to keep those two sneaky humans on their toes. A little throw up in the middle of the night next to the bed is always a good trick. And we can set Lisbeth into digging the dirt out of the pots on the upper deck. And we definitely don’t mind breaking things even if the humans are home.

But we may not have to do any of those. Last night Dad decided to leave the windows open in the kitchen to get some cool, fresh air before today’s heatwave. He had the blinds up as well. Mom suggested he put those down with just the slats open. She rightly suspected we might claw the screens and try to get out.

Giulietta: "Let me out on the catio NOW."

Giulietta: “I have been stuck in the house for eight days. Let me out on the catio NOW.”

And get out we did; though, we left the screens intact. The escapees were the three youngsters, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo. With a little team work they managed to pop the latches on either side of the screen so that it sprung up and out of the way. Then an easy tightrope walk across the window ledge and deck railing and they deposited themselves on the UNSCREENED area of the deck where dad has the grill. Though Lisbeth and C.J. stayed put on the deck tasting the flowers and rosemary plants, Astrid did her usual leap to the ground below. She will not come when Dad calls her, but when he announced breakfast, she immediately returned to the catio.

Guess the humans better come up with a better plan to get some fresh air. MOL!

Have a pawsome weekend efurrybuddy.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

 

WORDY WEDNESDAY: STINK-EYE

Giulietta: The Laser Eye Stink-Eye

Giulietta: The Laser-Eye Stink-Eye

It’s still us kitties posting today and we have no intention of remaining wordless even though Wednesdays usually are. Why? We found out this morning from Maggie that the humans are returning today…so let the trashing begin. Here’s our list of things to accomplish along with our individual assignments. Those without a particular task are advised to be as creative as possible.

 

If any of our furiends can think of anything else, please let us know. And, of course, you are all invited to help. And bring a furiend or two of your own. Yippee…this is going to be fun!

 

Mauricio: The I'm-Not-Going-to-Look-at-You Stick-Eye

Mauricio: The I’m-Not-Going-to-Look-at-You Stink-Eye

1. Pull curtains down from front window and sewing room window: All of us together

 

2. Tear up mail and newspapers: Astrid and Calista

 

3. Shred carpet next to upstair’s food bowl: Fiona

 

Misty May: The All-Purpose Stink-Eye

Misty May: The All-Purpose Stink-Eye with Frown

4. Pull all the tissues out of the boxes in the up- and downstairs bathrooms and the human’s bedroom: Astrid (This is going to be a pretty big task so we will need some volunteers to help.)

Lily Olivia: The How Dare You Wake Me Up Stink-Eye

Lily Olivia: The How-Dare-You-Wake-Me-Up Stink-Eye

 

5. Shred all toilet paper: Fiona

 

6. Push something breakable onto the floor: Lisbeth

 

7. Vomit as many places as possible and don’t forget the bed: Mauricio and Lisbeth

 

8. Leave as much slobber and as many nose prints on the windows as possible: All welcome to pawticipate

 

8. Leave litter-covered paw prints on all hardwood surfaces and countertops: All residents and invited guests

 

Fiona: The One-Eyed Stink-Eye with Helicopter Ears

Fiona: The One-Eyed Stink-Eye with Helicopter Ears

9. Practice our Stink-Eye: All but Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista. (They aren’t yet jaded enough to have mastered this.)

 

HOME ALONE AGAIN!

We’ve had an eventful few days. Sunday was our humans’ 40th Wedding Anniversary. That seemed like a pretty big deal to them. Since none of us were around 40 years ago, we didn’t get too excited, especially when they didn’t give us any of the prime rib or short ribs they brought home from dinner.

Also on Sunday, Mom’s nephew’s wife, Andrea Parks, won Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. She owns Frost Cupcake Factory in Campbell, CA. Again, the humans were atwitter with excitement. We didn’t understand what was such a big deal, until we heard she won a $10,000 prize. She can sure buy oodles of treats for her kitties. If you have an interest in meeting Andrea, click the link above.

One other thing occurred on Sunday, and it is what precipitated this post. We were minding our own business and mostly napping on another rainy day when suddenly our radar systems started to send out WARNING messages. Deciding to investigate, we discovered three large suitcases in the bedroom. We know three suitcases is an indication that both humans are planning to leave us alone and not just for overnight or a long weekend.

Now we’re thinking this is pretty nervy of them as they were just gone for four days two weeks ago. Dad used to travel lots and lots and be gone for a few weeks at a time, but the thought of both of them leaving again so soon was causing us bucketfuls of distress.

On Monday we noticed the tandem on top of the car. Unless no suitcases are involved (day trip), that always adds up to too many days away. We begged for a copy of their itinerary and length of trip, but were denied any such information. We tried to see the check for PlayTime Pet Sitting to get an idea about how big the money number was but couldn’t see it.

After all that effort we took to moping about, napping (still raining) or snapping and clawing at Mom and Dad to show them our displeasure.  All of us, that is, except Fiona and Calista. Fiona was into the second day of following Mom around the house and whining. Fiona pretty much goes into hiding as soon as the humans leave until they return; thus, her added complaints. On the other hand, Calista Jo was her usual happy-go-lucky self. Since the humans went away for 12 days just 12 days after she became our meowmate, she doesn’t know any better.

Mom receiving her award.

Mom receiving her award.

The one thing Dad shared with us was the fact that they have to go away. It seems our mom is receiving some kind of award from USA Volleyball at a banquet. Unless they are having a bazillion courses at the banquet, we can’t imagine that would take too long, so something else must be happening as well. But they are not talking. (Dad sent photos for us to share.)

Mom speechifyimg.

Mom speechifying.

Monday night Mom checked under the frig and stove and liberated the toys we had stashed there. She also gave us one of the catnip toys from the batch she made for Barn Cat Buddies. This was very thoughtful, but just not enough to get in our good graces before leaving.

Maggie will be coming twice a day to take care of our needs. Again, not enough! And no Jeanmarie as she’s at home in Virginia Beach, VA. Maybe we can convince Maggie to tell us when the gallivanting humans plan to return. That way we will know when to begin working on any surprises we’d like them to have upon their homecoming. MOL!

Maggie has permission to let us out on the catio when she comes in the morning and let us back in at evening feeding time. BUT SHE WON’T! She’s afraid one of us might escape. At one time, Mom thought this was being a little overly cautious. However, now that she and Dad have found Fiona on the wrong side of the catio door with some regularity, they have decided to withdraw that allowance. Of course, as Fiona will be hiding from Maggie the entire time, we don’t think this should stop the remainder of us from being outside, but we have absolutely no say in the matter.

nappingcollage

L-R Top: Fiona and Lily Olivia
L-R Bottom: Astrid and Misty May

So here we are…stuck…again! And we have no idea when we’ll be sprung from the daily doldrums of just hanging out and napping and probably squabbling with each other.

Finally, before she left, Mom asked us to post two things for her. We have no idea why we are accommodating her, but here they are.

  1. If any kitty bloggers who follow us live in or near Louisville, KY, (So that’s where they are!) and would like to get together (How long could that take?), please leave a comment.
  2. To all of our bloggy friends: If any of you live in Oklahoma or have family or friends there, we are praying for you after these terrible and destructive tornadoes. Please let us know if you have anything you need or anything we can do for you.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

As you can see, Giulietta's methods leave much to be desired.

As you can see, Giulietta’s methods leave much to be desired.

P.S. We’re trying to keep up with our Comments on the blogs of all our friends, but if you don’t hear from us everyday, please accept our apologies. The humans took both laptop computers, and we do not have access to either desk-top computer. So we are left with an iPad. Giulietta is the only one of us who knows how to operate one. She is much better at reading than typing due to the hugeness of her paws. And she is a champion napper as well who must be dragged into action. It took her four days to complete this post. Argh!