Monday, September 24, 2012

Toddler Cat Loving


I have a feeling that something is going on with the cats in our house. I don’t know if it’s because of the new baby or if there is something in the cat fountain water or if the cats are trying to butter me up for something because they have been behaving unlike they're usual selves lately. Perhaps they’re planning some grand scheme and they figure if they are nice and lovey dovey they can gain my trust and catch me off guard. Whatever it is I’ve really enjoyed it.

The cats have been really calm and non-dramatic when it comes to Jackelyn showing them affection. In my last blog entry I shared a priceless photo of Jackelyn giving Stitch a big, ole kiss on the noggin. Here is another priceless, amazing and precious gem. Not to be cliche but I think hell might have frozen over.



That is Jackelyn rocking Gordita like she’s a baby. What you don’t know just by looking at this picture is not only did Gordita jump up on the couch to cuddle up next to Jackelyn, but she also allowed her to rock her and sing to her for about 3 minutes. What you can’t hear just by looking at this photo is that she was also purring the whole time. What happened about 3 minutes after this photo was taken is that Jackelyn is the one who stopped rocking and singing to her and ran off leaving Gordita wondering what happened to the love fest.

I never thought I’d see the day that grouchy, cranky Gordita would allow a toddler to rock her like a baby and to sing to her. Pet her, yes but to rock her and hold her? Unheard of … until now. I’m telling you now I think something is up or something has been slipped into the cat fountain water. There is a lot of toddler cat loving going on and not only have the cats have been allowing it to happen but I think they kind of like it.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

And He Didn’t Scratch Her

Stitch has come a long way when it comes to the toddler. I guess it helps that he first met her as a gang-sign throwing newborn and has watched her learn to crawl, walk, run and climb. There are few words that can really describe what happened yesterday. All I can say is I’m proud that Stitch has learned to use patience when it comes to Jackelyn trying to show him how much she loves him. He doesn’t complain when she tries to share her crackers with him. He doesn’t scratch her when she hugs and pets him. And he definitely didn’t scratch her the other day when she did this.




Thank you Stitch. I truly appreciate your understanding that she just wants to give you some love when she gave you that big, smacking kiss.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Don’t Disturb a Lounging Cat Or She Will Puke on Your Floor


I’m apparently the worst sister a cat could ever have. My parents’ cat Gordita has been living with me on and off for the past five years. She’s currently living with us and by now I think she’s gotten used to all of the kids, the new house and realizes that her mom and dad will (usually) come on the weekend to come visit her.

Yesterday she was sun bathing by the back sliding door. The blinds were opened and I could feel the heat form the sunshine pouring into the house. Considering our air conditioner is currently out of order, I decided to pull the blinds shut. I did, however, crack them a bit so that Gordita could continue to lounge in the sunlight.

She was rather angry with me, to put it lightly. She glared at me. Then stood up and worked her body in between the blinds. Then she glared at me some more. I dared to limit the amount of sunshine she was getting, and even worse was that I forced her to have to get up and move from her lounging spot.

She managed to move between the blinds in the perfect spot for the sunlight to glare in the direction that I happened to be sitting. I guess that could be called karma. She also decided to throw up some food later that day too. I guess that was her letting me know that I was on her list of not favorite people for that day.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Give the Cats their Snack


My dad calls the cat treats “nack.” And the cats have come to learn that “nack” means cat treat. Jackelyn has also learned that snacks are called “nack” and not only calls cat treats “nack” but also asks for her own snacks by asking for “nack.”

We have a big ziplock bag full of nack. It’s about three bags worth of cat treats (different flavors) dumped into a ziplock bag and kept up high on a shelf that the cats cannot jump onto and that Jackelyn can’t reach.

Today I spilled the nack. I grabbed the bag and shook it like I usually do when I let the cats know that it is nack time. Except that the ziplock top wasn’t zipped closed and nack was flung all over the floor. Stitch was not in the room, but Gordita was. She was in shock. I figured she would immediately start to scarf down nack. However, to my surprise, she stared at it. She had a look of disbelief that all that nack had really rained down from the heavens and onto the floor. Perhaps she was in shock that I had dared to treat the nack with such disrespect and dumped it everywhere.

I started to scoop up what I could and put it back in the bag. Gordita is our resident “eat all the food I can before Stitch can get any and then puke it up somewhere else in the house” cat. Luckily for me Jackelyn was there to help. I thought if she saw me scooping it up off the floor and putting it back into the bag she would help. I even showed her how to do it. But, as I should have known, since Jackelyn thinks she is a cat she would think like that cat. She actually got rather mad that I was taking the nack away from the cats. She picked up bits of nack and instead of putting it in the bag she reached over and placed it in a pile for Gordita. In protest she started reaching into the bag and taking more nack out for the cats. I’m rather sure she would have demanded that I give the cats their nack if she could speak in full, clear sentences. Instead I got a big fat “No Mama!”

Eventually I managed to scoop up the majority of the nack and left the rest for the cats. And I learned to make sure the nack bag is sealed before I shake it. I also learned that Jackelyn doesn’t have my back, she’s got the cats’ backs.

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Baby is Here


The new baby is here and the cats are pissed! Baby Reia was born at the end of July at a healthy 8lbs 3oz. We brought her home the next day and I got quite a bit of attitude from both Jackelyn and the cats.

Jackelyn, who is almost 2 years old, gave me a look that clearly said “You brought it home?!” Jackelyn was the first of the kids to meet the baby and she was not pleased at the hospital and was even more not pleased to see that I actually brought the baby back with me. On a good note, Jackelyn now loves her baby sister.

Stitch gave me a look that clearly said “Another one?!” I’m fairly certain he was thinking “I just got this last one trained and you dare to bring a new one home?” This look was later combined with looks of pure annoyance when both Jackelyn and the baby were crying. Jackelyn was crying because she wanted me to hold her and the baby was crying because she was hungry. Stitch glared at me and walked into another room that was across the house from the crying.

Gordita gave me a look that, I’m fairly certain, said “What the hell is that?!” Gordita didn’t meet Jackelyn until she was a couple of months old and missed out on the joys of having a newborn. She also didn’t move into our home until Jackelyn was about 10 months old. I try to remind myself that Gordita is just a cranky, old lady cat and tend to forgive her. While she is still pissed at me about bringing the baby home, she has at least warmed up to Jackelyn. I think it’s more a situation where Gordita views Jackelyn as another hand to pet her now that she knows how to actually pet a cat the right way.

I think Stitch is still not willing to completely forgive me just yet for bringing home another child. He spends many days staring (pouting) at me holding the baby. Although he has joined me, Jackelyn and Baby Reia on the couch while we are cuddling. I take it as a sign that there is some hope in getting some form of forgiveness from him. I have been making sure that I do make time for Stitch, just like I make time for Jackelyn for some one-on-one time. While spending time with my children is amazing, there is still a different type of comfort in cuddling with a fuzzy kitty on the couch.