Here is another "Which One Is Real?" post... but don't peak at that one until you figure out this one! Promise? Okay, which one is not a stuffed animal?

Did you guess correctly?

This "bloggable moment" brought to you by our silly cat, Otis.

The cats have been isolated downstairs for nighttime due to Otis' antics. Apparently he's a bit too bored during the night to behave himself, & enjoys jumping on top of things, pulling things down, going into the girls' room & taking out hair bows, etc. So unfortunately the other two cats have to put up with this as well (wish they'd have a talk with Otis!).

I went downstairs today before letting them up & the two females, Clarabel & Thea, who used to hate each other mind you, were sitting like this together on a little "kid sized" couch we have downstairs:



I guess they've become allies in this situation! (Wonder how Otis fares all night...).

Here we go again, Otis...

He likes their toy kitchen (a moment earlier he was almost in the toy sink)...

Good thing I've never caught him on the real stove!

It's her birthday month again! 

My kitty, Thea, is 11 years old this month!

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Thea, happy birthday to you!"

Which one is NOT a stuffed animal?



Did you guess correctly?



Thank you, Otis, for yet another "bloggable" moment...

Otis in toy refrigerator...

Maybe Otis felt a little silly, or cramped, but here's Otis leaving toy refrigerator...

Silly Otis.

Did you think he was in our real refrigerator...?!

Clarabel's thinking: "This is NOT cat food..."

Otis loves the kiddos. He's so happy to be out & about with them again...

My daughter, oh, yeah, "Butterfly", is really enjoying having him back as well. My Little Guy was too enthralled with a Veggie video to care at that moment.

He's been a scoundral again though... at night he goes into my... ooops, "Butterfly's" room, jumps on her dresser, & takes little hairbands out of the baskets & plays with & chews on them. I find them in the hallway in the morning.  That has earned him getting locked back up downstairs at night!

Oh, Otis, good thing you're just so beautiful, right?!

This just in - Thea finally made it upstairs!

Saga over... hopefully.

We welcomed our cats back into the fold yesterday. They look really spiffy after their grooming yesterday, each with their own little scarf. Two are settling back in nicely...

Clarabel was happy to have her favorite chair back in the living room.

(Storyman took this picture!)

Otis poked his face out of the kitty door from the basement to check if it was really okay to come up:

My daughter encouraged him to come on up:

By the way, she'd like her blog nickname to be "Butterfly".  I really thought it should be "Roo" since she bounces all over the place, but I'll go with her preference of Butterfly.

Otis made it upstairs & is very happy things are getting back to normal!

He doesn't even mind the two new little humans who joined our fold since his isolation.

Thea, however, is still sulking in the basement. We tried to encourage her to come upstairs. Even Otis seems to be trying here...

She made it up to the landing, but hasn't come through the kitty door yet. Maybe she doesn't like her pretty purple scarf.

The saga continues...

Just as a mother knows her babies cries my husband was surprised to find out I can distinguish the meows of our 3 cats from each other. Since they have been locked downstairs they will sometimes come up the steps & meow for a bit. The other day one of them started & I said "I know Clarabel, it's hard right now..." Anyway, my husband could not believe I knew that was Clarabel, until he opened the door & there she was!

Just now another was meowing & he asked, "So who is that one?". I said "Thea". He opened the door & there was Thea.

A mother knows...

Otis has "tons" of crystals in his urine, from what the vet told me last Thurs. This condition, which you can read about here, is common to many male cats. The vet said it was very good we did not let it go, because sometimes they can end up with a blockage. For now, the only thing we can do is give him a special medicinal food for 4 weeks to dissolve the crystals.

He is still in the crate, because of the habit he was forming of "going" everywhere. His condition should be under control, at least, in about a week. Then we will let him out with the others around the basement only, probably until we know his condition is resolved. At least we do know the other two cats are behaving in the basement now, so they don't seem to have developed any bad habits from watching Otis!

After 4 weeks he will be tested again to make sure he is well, & put on a "maintainance" food, probably for life, to keep this condition from returning. As long as that does it, & he will "behave" himself in his box habits, things should be okay. He's a very sweet cat so we certainly hope it will all work out well.

This is what happens to a very long haired cat who hasn't been to the groomer in 6 months!

They shave him!

She was able to save the tail anyway!

Poor Otis! The other cats are hissing at him (probably their way of laughing). At least he's all dressed up for March...

(Still not feeling well so I'm going to go back to bed! )

We often see hawks flying overhead, but they've never stopped in our yard before!


Here they are this morning, several with their wings spread out:

They eventually all lined up on the fence:

Hard to appreciate how large they are from the photos. That's as close as my camera would zoom & I wasn't about to go outside to get a better shot!

Anytime we put anything on the floor at home our kitties absolutely must sample it as a bed. This was true of the latest box sitting on the floor. While waiting to be transported to the appropriate room, it has become a bed for cats. All of them have sampled at one time or another, but today there were two cuddled up together on this not so comfortable looking box!

I think if we put a bed of nails on the floor they would make that a bed as well . Don't worry, I'm not going to test this theory!

Our cat, Thea, acts like she's human; at least, she's not aware that she's not human.

Today during math, she jumped onto my son's chair to sit with him. She continually meowed at him during his practice work... hmmm, is she trying to tell him something here? Don't give the answer Thea!

Yes, this entry is about one of my cats. "The" cat; the "matriarch kitty" of the house. My cat, Thea, is turning 10 years old this month.

She was a "rescue kitty". When my oldest son was just a toddler, we decided to adopt a cat. With no particular requirements in mind, I answered an ad in the newspaper for a kitty who needed a home. I was told she was rescued from the city streets, where she had probably been dumped as a small kitten.

She was about 8 months old when I first met her, & I must admit at first I was not too impressed, but destiny soon took over. I walked into the foster woman's home who opened a door to my right. Out walked this very calm, very small, gray kitty. She didn't run or even look around. She walked out, sat down, & looked right up at me as if to say, "When are we going home?"

I did take her home, & she was a nervous wreck. We had another kitty at the time who was a terror, & mercilessly gave her lots of grief. We lived in a rental at the time & he would literally scratch the walls. Because of his destructive nature, not too long after we adopted Thea, we adopted him out to someone else (a good home).

Thea has seen other kitties come & go since then, & other doggies as well. It's not easy adopting an animal that absolutely must get along with our children (never mind one with autism who makes certain animals quite nervous), & our cat Thea as well. Her gentle, quiet nature has outlasted them all in our home. She has two lovely feline friends, Clarabel & Otis, who have worked out as a good trio of kitty friends, along with our pup Angel, who still has to learn her cat manners!

Figuring from when we adopted her, Thea's birthday is most likely sometime in October. Being she is a rescue we'll never know an actual date. But I do know she is turning 10, & although many cats can live pretty long lives, I'm aware she is fast entering her "twilight" years.

She's technically a "dilute calico", or a regular calico who has been through the bleach cycle. She's strictly an indoor cat, which keeps those dainty paw tips a lovely clean white. She's a pretty gray, white & tan color combo, & comes with that typical calico "cattitude" I love so much. She's probably the daintiest kitty you'll ever meet.

She loves those little white & gray toy mice, & will bat them all around & carry them in her mouth meowing like the great huntress, as I call her. But she will not chase those purple & pink ones, because that would just be too silly.

She's kind of my "furry girlfriend", I like to call her. She's been around through many ups & downs of life. She sleeps on the bed at night, & has run of the house for the most part. She comes out to greet guests, & on a typical day can usually be found wherever I am, because I am Mommy to "fur babies" as well, & she is the most attached.

She's seen quite a few babies join our family, & taken the furry ones under her protective paw (after showing them who's boss first I might add). She has always been kind to my little ones, & every one of them has pulled her tail. She was quite upset over my extended absence when my last baby was born, but recovered quickly to let him chase her around a bit as well.

She thinks she's human, often sitting here like one of the kiddos:

 

Happy 10th Birthday Thea - what a lovely cat you are!

We did not watch his show regularly but the times we've seen him he was always very educational & entertaining. I thought this was very sad & my prayers are going out for his wife & 2 children left behind.

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In the fold of a child's dollhouse:

 

It's tough for a kitty to find a little peace & quiet, isn't it Otis?

The "Before" Otis:

 

 

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...