Resolutions? What resolutions?

Meow Meow isn't one to worry about her weight, and in general, we don't worry about hers either since we control her food portions. Dieter, however, does enjoy keeping Meow Meow active.

Unbeknownst to me, he decided to buy her a Christmas gift to further his (her, my) entertainment. And well-being! Happy, healthy pets make for happy pet parents too, no?

On the day of our holiday celebration (a week early, as we had to travel to be with family), Dieter presented Meow Meow with a tiny package wrapped just for her. This is why I love him:


Inside, he'd placed a length of leather cord. Way too much for one kitty to handle -- but the extra means whatever we offer Meow Meow can be replaced should it get too worn out.

Of course, we were eager to find out what she thought of her new toy. Here's her review:

I'd say that's a pretty solid recommendation.

Like bookends

Meow Meow had another luxurious stay at the Hotel Shanti while we were traveling for Christmas. Shanti's dad managed to catch both cats on the window seats he'd installed and sent us this picture shortly before we got home. I was reminded of a pair of bookends -- though in truth, Shanti is rarely still whenever we visit him. I can't imagine him sitting on any shelf for long!


We are glad to have Meow Meow back, especially after nearly two weeks in a kitty-less home. She, too, seems delighted to have our morning routine again, rolling on her back to beg for tummy rubs as I come down the stairs and jumping into my lap as soon as I sit down for breakfast. If only the return for us could be so easy! (I won't get into the details of unpacking, replenishing our groceries, sorting through the accumulated junk mail, doing trip laundry ...)

More updates soon, including some backlogged Christmas news. Until then, happy 2012!

Partying like it's Mom's birthday

Back in September, I sent my sister, kitty mom to a certain orange tabby, a little something for her birthday. I wrapped it in tissue paper, placed it in a padded mailer -- the kind with built-in bubble wrap -- and sealed the whole works with packing tape.

The envelope reached its destination intact. But minutes after my sister got it through the door, Oliver had his claws and teeth in the paper. Utterly dismayed, Bev scolded him and took the gift away, placing it where she hoped it would be out of reach. Undeterred, Oliver snatched the quarry back and reattempted to unsheath its contents.

What had gotten into her naughty boy, Bev wondered, grabbing the tattered paper before he could do even more damage. And then it dawned on her ...

"That birthday present you sent me doesn't happen to contain catnip does it?" she asked by phone, persistent yowls echoing in the background.

Of course it did -- in the form of hand-sewn toys. All was forgiven (on both sides) once the goods came out of their wrappings. Here's the proof:

Bed and breakfast

When we go on vacation, it seems Meow Meow does too.

At the beginning of this year, one of Dieter's colleagues at work, who also has a cat, found out that we usually boarded Meow Meow with a local facility whenever we had to be out of town. He offered to take her instead when we visited family back in May as he had plenty of room for her -- and he loved her so much that she's been his to spoil at every travel opportunity we've had since then.

We are thankful to have someone who dotes on Meow Meow (and his own cat) so much. She gets the run of his house and more human companionship than a boarding facility can provide. Meow Meow even gets along with the resident feline, Shanti, a beautiful male who shares his food and indoor territory quite graciously. (He spends a good part of the day outdoors too while Meow Meow does not.)

During our trip to spend Thanksgiving with Dieter's family, the host of the Hotel Shanti, as Shanti's dad likes to refer to this arrangement, has sent us updates on Meow Meow, which he was happy to let us post. Here are some video stills from a lazy morning on the couch:




Shanti's obviously the kitty in the foreground. Most recently, we've heard the cats have been touching noses when they meet, which we had not seen Meow Meow ever try with Lily. Perhaps a male foster should be our next guest chez Kittitas?

A very belated Halloween update

You know that window between the last trick-or-treater ringing your doorbell and a great big turkey suddenly taking up residence in your refrigerator? Yes, I have no idea why it vanishes so quickly every year, but I think it has something to do with the appearance of Christmas decorations in every retail store I've walked into in the last two and half weeks. Somebody hand me a noisemaker; it's practically New Year's.

We feted Halloween with Dieter's Aunt Chris, who came to visit for an extended weekend filled with ghoulish activities. Meow Meow enjoyed most of it, even with the extra bustle of small children alternately screaming in terror when Dieter opened the door (he painted his face quite scarily) and clamoring for candy.

When we weren't loading up the neighbors' kids with sugar, we were carving produce with vigor. Oh yes -- we don't just do pumpkins around here. Dieter decided to break out the power tools and do coconuts.


Inspired by some crafts we saw in Hawaii, Dieter adorned his scraped-out coconut with feathers and seashells. I thought the end result was properly creepy:


But Meow Meow was unfazed.


Note, however, that she preferred to sit in Aunt Chris's lap while she was working on her pumpkin with a knife rather than risk joining Dieter and his noisier drill ...

New habits

It's always interesting to see what Meow Meow learns from interacting with visitors, human or feline. From Lily, she definitely learned to look before leaping onto the couch, for fear of surprising her mid-snooze. Lily was always quick to shoo Meow Meow back to the floor with hiss and paw.

Lately, Meow Meow's taken to exploring some of Lily's old nap spots, one of which is the nook between the couch and end table. I wouldn't have thought to look for Meow Meow there -- in the past, she'd seemed to prefer the back of the couch, where she could keep an eye on both the living room and kitchen -- but the sun-path leading to this haven was what gave her away.

We're back!

But our little gray tabby is not. When I contacted the SHS to arrange a pick-up date last week after our return, we learned that Lily was no longer at the shelter -- though she hadn't been adopted either.

I've been waiting to get the full story on Lily and finally got word yesterday. So, sorry for the long silence. Here's the news.

While we were away, the SHS had the opportunity to work with N.O.A.H., another local animal rescue. Lily was chosen to be transferred to this organization's care in hopes that the facility's "cat colony" -- a more homelike environment that allows kitties to socialize or keep to themselves as they prefer -- would be beneficial to her while also providing her exposure to a different set of potential adopters. In our home, she was happy but getting no local visitors, despite our postering efforts. She wasn't having luck at the shelter either.

I think the move makes sense if it will increase Lily's chances at finding a permanent home. We hope she's settling in at N.O.A.H. From the new picture of her on their website, it looks like she's quite cozy.

So that's the story, or at least everything we know. We'll be holding off on giving Lily's suite to another foster for the remainder of the year, but Meow Meow is happy to provide blog material while she's the sole feline chez Kittitas. (I have quite the backlog of pictures too since I was trying to keep the focus primarily on Lily while she was staying here.)

Before Meow Meow gets this space back, though, here is a send-off portrait I managed to snap while Lily was enjoying some sun on our living room floor over the summer.


Best of luck to you, little lady.