Getting acquainted

Yes, indeed, we are now two parents and a kitty, plus one! Please welcome Owen, the newest member of our family, who arrived on the last morning of the year of the dragon. At just over 7 pounds, he's smaller than Meow Meow but full of feist.

Meow Meow has given Owen her stamp of approval -- a gentle pawing to the back of the head and then a hearty head-bump -- and is enjoying all the cuddle time she can get in on. Here we are on our second day home.

We figured Meow Meow wouldn't have much trouble adjusting to her new sort-of sibling as long as he was willing to share the rights to one of her favorite places.

 

A few more weeks to go?

Happy 2013! Yes, our holiday season flew by -- between Turkey Day, a side trip to Boston for a baby shower thrown by Meow Meow's aunts, and Christmas, we have hardly been home. Which has meant few updates here.

So, what news? Well, Meow Meow, in our absence, has been living it up at her Uncle Dani's, where she got to meet a new kitty. Dani had become so smitten with Meow Meow over the last few years that he decided to get a female companion for his man cat, Shantino (a.k.a., Shanti or Bino). Dani named the new lady of the house Shantina (a.k.a., Bina), hoping that the two would get along as famously as Meow Meow and Bino seemed to.

Of course, that's not quite how it initially went.

Bina is apparently quite territorial and has routed Bino from the indoors. Bino doesn't mind the outside porch and garden in the least, but his food and water are in the house. Unfortunately, Bina gives chase whenever he appears, sending him straight for the cat flap in the window. A squirt bottle to deter her and a pheromone collar to calm her have been only marginally effective.

Meow Meow, though, hasn't seemed to provoke Bina, minus some routine hissing. And that even stopped after Bina saw Meow Meow hanging out with Dani on his bed -- you'd think that would have made her even more inclined to stake her claim to the house, but no such hostilities between the girls ever came to light.

All interesting for us, as Meow Meow's sibling is supposed to arrive in as few as three weeks (possibly even sooner, but we're hoping he'll stay put at least until then), and we're not sure what she'll think of that. I suspect, after her experience with Bina, that Meow Meow just doesn't play the territory game.

But she does protest when she doesn't get lap time. Of late, she's had to adjust to the shape of said lap, but she still fits very easily. See?

No promises after you-know-who gets here, though ...

I want them all

Not being able to foster any cats right now is killing me. There are a bunch of kittens at the Seattle Humane Society whom I've been photographing for their local TV appearances, and they are heart-slayers. But given that our foster room was originally Meow Meow's room (now obviously occupied) and our second foster room is now being converted to a room for the baby, we don't have an ideal foster space. And I'm not allowed to do any litter scooping or litter vacuuming or accident cleanup until this baby gets here, which means Dieter would have more janitorial duties than he can reasonably keep up with while working outside of the house.

So all of those darling little ones at the shelter are off-limits for now. Join me in squeeing over them from afar:



(Nope, this isn't the product of clever video magic; the footage, shot by another videographer at the SHS, is playing straight!)

I am NOT your squeaky toy

Meow Meow is a very tolerant kitty. She's always accepted the various cat care operations we've had to perform on her without too much protest -- nail clipping, teeth cleaning, even disinfecting and bandaging her back paws when she rounded a carpeted corner a little too quickly and yanked out almost all of her hind claws such that they bled (it's a long story we'll save for another day). In short, she possesses admirable patience.

Which, occasionally, Dieter takes advantage of for his own entertainment.

While Meow Meow will roll onto her side with abandon to accept belly rubs, she hates being put on her back. Here's what happened when Dieter, in a moment of mischief, decided to find out how long it would take for her to get out of such a predicament in her favorite place, a nice warm lap:

A new place to pose

Mom has been taking yoga classes since September and it turns out she's allergic to the studio-provided mats -- they contain latex. So she ordered this mat online, which I promptly decided to test out.

I approved once I figured out how not to get my claws stuck in the squishy material -- not flexing them quite so much when I walk on the surface.

The other option is to put my front paws on the carpet when attempting Downward Dog.

All that rumbly goodness

Leslie behind the keyboard today -- we're all well, and Meow Meow's enjoying the extended sunshine we've been getting, even though it's October. Seattle is not known for sunny Octobers.

One of the things we've always found amazing about Meow Meow is how loud her purr is. It's resonant enough to be heard across a room above the whir of the cooling fans in some electronic devices (and around here, with D's tech junkie tendencies, there are many cooling fans in operation). My phone mic can't record at such a distance to give you an idea of just how beautiful that contented rumble can be even from 15 feet away, but I did recently sample the joy up close for your listening pleasure.

Jaw-rubbing and pawing to ask for loves are bonus visuals. Apologies for the glaring light, though ...

Thank goodness, they're back

Mom and Dad went to Texas for a wedding over the weekend and they left me home alone. I know, right? Not nice at all. I missed them horribly. Forty-eight hours is a long time for a kitty, even if I did spend more than two-thirds of that curled up on my fleece blanket in total oblivion.

I had plenty of food and water (neither of which I finished), but I was afraid Mom and Dad wouldn't come back. I gave them both a thorough talking-to when they returned last night. And followed them both around very closely today to make sure they weren't heading anywhere else except work. Dad was amused this evening when Mom told him I seemed particularly clingy -- I was kind of plastered against her hip and thigh while she researched car seats on the sofa. Normally, I just sleep about a foot away from her on the afghan she knit for me. I also let her groom me way longer than I usually care for (and I'm pretty amenable to a brush session under regular circumstances). What can I say, I was feeling ignored for two days! I needed that extra TLC.

Now that both of my parents are home for the night, I'm giving Mom a break from making up their absence to me. Reading time is tummy time, Dad. Start the belly worship.