tandem

SHARKIE AND BLUE’S MOST EXCELLENT CYCLING ADVENTURE

Our honorary brofur, Bailey Boat Cat, has two good buddies, plushies Sharkie and Blue. While Bailey was at Cat Camp, Sharkie and Blue visited the U.S. with Mom Lou and Dad James. When Bailey’s folks returned home to Nocturne in Rome, Sharkie and Blue flew here for the holidays. To see our first post about them, click here.

Friday and Saturday we had some unseasonably nice weather with the temperature just below 60 degrees. On Friday the humans decided to ride the tandem. This gave Mom the idea that it would be fun to take Sharkie and Blue on an adventure. So on Saturday our two humans hit the Greenway with the plushies!

While out for their ride, Mom and Dad stopped for lunch at a favorite restaurant. They even ate outside as the weather was so nice. Sharkie and Blue find the noms quite to their liking.

It was a short ride, just over 21 miles, but Mom says Sharkie and Blue seemed to have fun seeing some of our city from their open-air transport.

It has now turned yucky cold and rainy so anymore outings will have to be by car. Mom hopes they can have at least one more prior to their return to Rome and Nocturne.

MONDAY MEOWSINGS: MORE OF THIS AND THAT

Our New Badge/Button

Nellie, our furiend from The Cat from Hell, made us this cool new button using part of our logo and the colors from our blog. I haven’t had the opportunity to upload it to any accounts yet but start looking for it when Kitties Blue leave comments on your blogs.

A Nice Surprise

On May 3, one of the blogs we follow, A Pet’s Life Blog, had a post entitled, Top 5 Cat Blogs and Bloggers (that you should follow!). I wanted to make certain to read it as I didn’t want to miss any potentially great blogs I didn’t know about. Imagine my surprise when I saw the following:

4. The Cat on My Head

Janet writes this blog which features her 8 cats! She is not ashamed to be a crazy cat lady. Her photographs are beautiful and her writing makes you feel right at home.

Thank you to our friends at A Pet’s Life Blog for thinking us worthy of this list!

Flag Counter

Since I started blogging, I’ve noticed the Flag Counter on many blogs I follow and always thought I’d like to include that on this blog. Well, I finally added that feature to our sidebar. Adding it nearly two years after launching The Cat on My Head is never going to give me a clear picture of what is happening with regard to readership, but I am still excited to check it each day to see where our readers are in the world.

Two for the Road

We have managed to hit the road on the tandem four times since the vascular surgeon gave me the okay last Monday to begin biking again. Many of you thought Tom was joking when he said that we would start with 20 miles. He wasn’t! But, we only made it 19 miles that first day. We bumped up the distance with each ride and almost managed 100 miles, falling short by less than one-half mile. We’ll do better this week.

The Petties Awards

The kitties and I have been busy nominating our furiends for the 2014 Petties Awards. If you like our blog, could you do the same for us? There are a few categories for which we would qualify, but we’d suggest Best Cat Blog or Funniest Blog or Blogger.

To nominate, simply click on the badge to the left. Nominations close on June 30, and you can nominate everyday. You will need our url: www.thecatonmyhead.com. Thanks.

Please join us tomorrow for our post: Date Night at the Drive-In with Cat Scouts.

June 15, 2014 by Janet Blue Monday Meowsings 25

A LITTLE OF THIS/A LITTLE OF THAT

My lovely, adorable, sweet kitties have been posting so much lately that I haven’t had the opportunity to report on a few random things.

1. I have updated the FELINES page with head shots of all the kitties. If you have never looked at that particular page, I hope you’ll visit and learn a little about all the past and current meowmates. Even if you’ve visited before, I hope you’ll check out the new photos.

2. I must apologize to all who got caught up in the dratted Captcha Code. It was a WordPress plug-in that my WP guru thought might help with a bit of a spam problem. Unfortunately, the only thing it accomplished was to make those who tried to comment GRUMPY. It was long gone in less than 12 hours, but being up that long was too much of a bad thing.

3. A couple of months ago I won some Tidy Cats with Glade Odor Solutions litter at CatLadyLand, for which I would like to thank Angie Bailey. It arrived a few days ago, and I will report back after the kitties have tried and rated it.

4. During the past 10 months, I have been using a variety of names (Janet Blue, Janet@TheCatOnMyHead, janetblue, Blue Kitties and Kitties Blue) when commenting, as I really hadn’t figured how I wanted to be identified. As the kits do write most of the comments for me, we are now trying to use Kitties Blue, exclusively. Two different photos of Fiona are being displayed on any site allowing a personal (gr)avatar.

Gratuitous photo of kitten Giulietta mauling one of the meowmates favorite toys.

Gratuitous photo of kitten Giulietta bunny kicking and mauling one of the meowmates favorite toys.

5. Before my whiney, constantly complaining mounds of cat fur can get all up in your faces about being left alone yet again, I’m going to tell you about it. They were left to their own defenses for exactly 24 hours and 17 minutes from Saturday until Sunday afternoon. Prior to our leaving, they had close to eight hours on the catio and enjoyed an abundance of treats as a reward for returning to the house prior to our departure. They were given three heaping bowls of food, five bowls of fresh water and five clean litter boxes to see them through their ordeal. Upon our return, we were summarily dismissed as all sprinted outside for three hours of birdy watching on the catio prior to being served dinner.

Of course, Mauricio had his usual story to be told in three acts about how, in our absence, he was required to protect the house and his meowmates, bathe all the others and scout for creative places to spray that we wouldn’t find right away. He concluded by informing us that we are the worst humans on planet earth and should be flogged and dragged around the block by our hair until rendered too stupid to drive or leave the house by any means of transportation, including the tandem.

It became evident after dinner that Calista Jo had no idea we were even missing as she had slept through the entire 24+ hours. We figured this out when after dinner she began running in and out of the kitchen at full tilt and launching herself onto the kitchen counter with each pass.

As a mini payback, they left us three nice gifts of throw-up (a normal day’s worth).

All have now retired for the night, three with us: Misty May, Lily Olivia and Calista Jo. (By morning, Mauricio, Giulietta and Astrid had joined us as well.)

And finally, any stories about this latest abandonment (their word) that the fur monsters may post in the future and which malign us for our sheer neglect and thoughtlessness when it comes to their well-being, should be regarded as total fiction.

June 10, 2013 by Janet Blue Backstory 30

HOME ALONE AGAIN!

We’ve had an eventful few days. Sunday was our humans’ 40^th 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.

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 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.

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.

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.
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.

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!

May 24, 2013 by Janet Blue Awards Backstory Barn Cat Buddies Kitty Written Blog 20

TRANSGRESSIONS AND COMPLAINTS

We don’t want to complain. Who are we kidding, of course, we do. We are being neglected. Mom has chosen to spend time doing things other than catering to our every need. We’ll admit that she’s been playing laser-light tag with us two or three times a day, but she doesn’t even need to get out of her chair to do that. And sometimes she cheats and uses the laser to get us off the catio and in for the night.

Nor is she required to leave her chair to let us in or out whenever we ask. She doesn’t even turn to see who is at the door. If she hears one of us scratching or asking with a polite meow to enter or exit, she opens the door and holds it open for what she thinks is long enough for us to enter/exit. Then she closes it without looking. If we’re a little pokey, she’ll close the door before we ever get in or out. Once she even closed the door right on Astrid.

On Tuesday, she spent three and one-half hours in the garden. We think that is far too many hours in one day, especially as she spent two other days this week planting flowers. One of those days was in the pot garden on the upper deck. We were able to spend time with her, but she wasn’t paying any attention to us, except when she was telling Calista Jo not to eat the pepper plants and chives or grilling us on who dug half the dirt out of the pot of catnip. Did she honestly expect one of us to fess up? She can be so naive!

Then, of course, there’s the riding of the tandem bike. When that happens both the humans are away for at least two hours but sometimes even more if they stop somewhere for lunch.

All the hours she spends reading about cats on other blogs is a pure waste of time. We do have some personal favorite kitties in bloggy world, but we think the eight of us should be enough for her. Even worse, she demands that we write at least 90 percent of the comments on these other blogs, and that is eating into our nap and catio time.

And now she has started reading a book about another cat, The Cujo Cat Chronicles by Douglas Dunn and Cujo. We really find that to be incomprehensible. She’s reading his blog by the same name, and THAT should be enough.

Sewing Snoopervisor: Giulietta

Plus we read in her e-mail that she is going to make nip toys for Barn Cat Buddies Adoption Event on Saturday. We prayed she’d let us in on this activity but figured she’d shoo us to the catio; even though, it only seemed fair as Calista was adopted from one of these events and both Astrid and Lisbeth are BCBs. And usually if we get enough kitty spit on at least one toy, Mom will give it to us. As you can see from these photos we were able to find a way to get involved. If you click on the following link, you can see a video of Calista helping Mom: Quality Control Inspector #8: C.J.

Giulietta testing the strength of the thread.

And finally, last weekend Mom and Dad loaded up the tandem and left for almost four whole days. Mom refused our demands earlier in the week to write about this transgression as she hoped we would forget how miffed we were. NO way that ‘s going to happen. We may not be elephants, but we aren’t completely brain dead.

To their credit, they didn’t just fill our food and water bowls and leave us this time. We had our two favorite kitty sitters, Jeanmarie and Maggie. Jeanmarie used to be our vet (we like her anyway) until she moved away to pursue a dermatology specialty. When she comes home for visits, she always takes care of us if the humans are away.

Quality Control Inspector #6: Astrid

Lisbeth made friends with Jeanmarie this time. She didn’t know Jeanmarie when she was our vet. And Lily Olivia gave Maggie kisses. We, as well as Maggie, almost dropped dead when that happened. Lily only gives kisses to Mom and Dad and only when she is feeling particularly generous. Lily caved only one night after they returned giving Mom 37 face kisses that night and 23 the next. Traitor!

Quality Control Inspectors 8, 7 & 6: C.J., Lisbeth, Astrid

Once again when the humans returned, they only stayed long enough to feed us and change their clothes. Then they went out to dinner and the symphony. We said we’d give them a symphony: a symphony of their transgressions and our complaints.

Mom said that Fiona could not complain or sign her name to this post as she got to leave the catio and spend a couple hours in the yard with Mom. She reported to us that she was a very good girl. She didn’t even fight or struggle when Dad picked her up and brought her in the house so he could mow the lawn. So that’s another thing that gripes us: Why does Fiona get to go in the garden and the remainder of us (except, of course, Lily, Mauricio and Misty May) are forced to stay in the house or catio? We’ll have to explore that conundrum in another post as we know we have rambled on way too long.

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

May 17, 2013 by Janet Blue Backstory Barn Cat Buddies Kitty Written Blog 21

OUR HUMANS ARE SELFISH

So our thoughtless humans left us to fend for ourselves for 25 hours and 50 minutes. They didn’t ask our kitty caregiver, Maggie, to come feed us our dinner Friday night or breakfast Saturday morning. They thought it was sufficient to leave three heaping bowls of dry food and five bowls of water. We really think they had that backwards as some of us prefer drinking from the toilet water fonts!

Anyway, when they returned, one bowl of food had only crumbs. We do not eat crumbs…ever! Another had about a half cup of food and one about a cup. We don’t even like the dry food bowls when they get down halfway, especially Giulietta who likes to scoop out pieces of food before eating.

As further insult they took just enough time to fill the bowls, let us all out and change their clothes so they could ride the tandem to Five Guys while the sun was out. They have a verbal agreement that they can only eat there if they bike. They were home for exactly one hour and left again for two and a half hours. They got a little payback; though, as the snow melt brought water over the greenway bridge that crosses the river so they had to turn around when they got to the bridge and backtrack. And in their haste, they didn’t check the weather before they left. It turned out to be super windy. MOLMOLMOLMOLMOLMOLMOLMOL. (That’s all eight of us laughing hysterically and in unison.)

Mom had time to find and clean up two dried throw-ups before they left. We are not telling if we’ve hidden any others. They don’t deserve the courtesy.

The original smashed vase. (Photo first published August 23, 2012, in the post, “My Cat’s Better Than Your Cat.”) That’s our gray mousie toy in the right background.

They did foil us from getting into any trouble, however. We couldn’t pull the curtains down from the front window. Mom had already taken them down to launder. She also put her flowers and favorite vase in the living room. When she was away another time we smashed the one this replaced. This also meant that we were unable to gnarl the flowers down to nubs. Fiona and Astrid didn’t even get nekked by removing their collars. We were all perfect little angels.

Lily Olivia did pay them back a little this morning when she pushed Mom’s water bottle off the counter so that the lid popped off. It took three terry towels to mop up all the water off the floor and rug. MOLMOLMOLMOLMOLMOLMOLMOL. You know what that means.

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

April 7, 2013 by Janet Blue Backstory Kitty Written Blog 18

EASY LIKE SUNDAY: MISTY MAY

Yesterday was almost like spring. Well maybe not quite, but the temperature was at least normal for this time of year with the high in the mid-fifties. Today is supposed to be even nicer with the temp reaching at least sixty. If that comes to pass, we will be riding The Greenway on the tandem later in the afternoon.

Misty May napping in a sun puddle.

But this kind of weather always calls to me to work in my flowerbeds in the hope of getting a jump on the clean-up from winter. I usually have at least one of the three cats with outside privileges hanging around close by, which I’ve written about before in the post, “Cats in the Garden.” This time the cat was Misty May. I may have been working really hard but she was totally taking it easy. The most energy she expended was to move from one sunny locale to another in order to stay close to me.

At one point she settled in under the crepe myrtle tree next to Thelma’s headstone. Thelma died at age 12 of congestive heart failure. Misty May never met her as she and brother Mauricio were adopted the following month. But all the kitties past and present have displayed this behavior. In our yard we have nine kitties and two doggies who have lived in this house with us during the past 30 years. It is not uncommon for us to find a current cat sitting or lying next to the resting place of another.

This action always gives me a sense of peace and continuity, but it also hurts my heart and makes me miss those from the past even more.

But for Misty May it was probably just a spot in the sun that looked like a great place for a nap.

Cats know the sunny spots.

March 10, 2013 by Janet Blue Backstory Easy Like Sunday 14

CHRISTMAS: DAY 11

Merry Christmas from the Blue kitties: LILY OLIVIA, MAURICIO, MISTY MAY, GIULIETTA, FIONA, ASTRID, LISBETH and CALISTA JOSETTE

and from the humans: JANET and TOM

Our tandem bike dressed up for Christmas.

One of our tandem bikes dressed up for Christmas.

We’ve been riding our tandem bike (weather permitting) during the day with the lights lit, and we have received many positive comments. We had planned to ride around after dark Christmas Eve to look at the outdoor lights and Christmas displays. To our sadness it was 39 degrees and raining for most of the day with temperatures falling through the evening. So…we stayed safe and warm at home with the kitties.

December 25, 2012 by Janet Blue Backstory Christmas 0

YOU
For Fiona

It seems like only yesterday…
You were just a kitten.
When I saw your pleading look,
I was completely smitten.

Now at only six years old,
You are getting ready to leave,
Soon you will have your wings.
I’ve already started to grieve.

You’ve fought hard for the past year,
And I’m not ready to say good-bye.
I can’t imagine you not in my life
I am so sad…today I had to cry.

I am grateful and blessed
For my six years with you.
You’ll live in my heart forever.
You’re one of the best ever Kitties Blue.

YESTERDAY

Many yesterdays have passed since
You gained your angel wings. Today
Is six months since you left us behind
To remember and mourn. Our hearts
Continue to hurt, and we miss
You as much as the day you left.
Giulietta whined from the catio
Yesterday as I worked in the yard.
I know you put her up to it. That
Was your way of getting me to,
Allow you to join me as I
Gardened. You were there with me
In spirit. With every meow
I thought of you and how much I miss
Your sweet face and disposition.
In these past few months, many friends
Have traveled your same path in your
paw-steps. I am certain you were
Waiting to greet them with purrs and hugs.
I pray you and your friends are laughing,
Frolicking and having fun together.
Picturing that makes me smile, but
Does not lessen my sadness at your
No longer being here to snuggle
And receive our love, care and kisses.
Fiona, please do not ever forget
You are still and always will be loved.

ONE YEAR MISSING YOU

One year has passed since you flew away,
And I still think of you everyday.
I see your sweet face in my mind’s eye
And wish we’d never had to say good-bye.
It’s nice you’ve sent us kitties needing a family,
But my dearest love, we are now at capacity.
You thought it would take more than one cat
To take your place in our habitat.
We love Cooper Murphy and baby Sawyer dearly
But thinking either could replace you makes me teary.
You were one-of-a-kind and will stay in my heart
Until the day I join you and we’re no longer apart.
When once again I can hold you in my arms
And revel in all your love and feline charms.
Together with you and all who have passed.
I will spend eternity contemplating how blessed
I was to share my life with my furry children,
Each and every one of you one-in-a billion.

UNTIL

I miss you each day.
Until we meet in heaven,
The pain will remain.

ONE OF A KIND

I don’t know how to say good-bye.
I thought you were invincible; though,
You used up many of your nine lives.
You ruled us all with an iron paw;
Never took “no” for an answer
And always got your way.
If not, you’d bark to signal your
Displeasure and sometimes raise a paw.
I always joked that you were bi-polar.
When I told people you were a calico
They immediately understood what I meant.
Today was unnaturally quiet in the house.
Can a home seem empty with eight cats?
I will miss waking up at night to find you
Sitting next to me and staring at me.
I will miss you yelling at us as you did
When you wanted breakfast and dinner.
I will miss watching you lounging and snoozing
On the porch settee on a warm afternoon.
But most of all I will miss your kisses!
When kitten Sawyer befriended you,
We suspect you were imparting your
Wisdom and secrets for controlling us.
Time will tell if he was a good listener.
But whatever he may have learned,
Neither Sawyer nor any other cat
Can or will replace you in our hearts.
Lily Olivia, you were one-of-a-kind.