Super kitty

I can has turkey?

I'm starting to think that Gunnar may have super powers. If he's upstairs sleeping in the bed, and I'm downstairs opening a container of turkey....he comes flying down the stairs. I don't know if he can hear it smell or what, but he's there in no time. He sure must like turkey.

New kitty toy?

Gunnar decided to help me do laundry last night. And by help, I mean he jumped in the laundry basket. He always does. He thinks it's a pretty cool hang out.

House sitting

Matt and I went to Savannah for a few days and we got a house sitter for the kids. We've gone on very few vacations since getting our brood since they don't really like to be left. Mojo especially doesn't like staying overnight at Pawtropolis, so we tried a house sitter. The other alternative is not going anywhere, and that's not fun.

My brother has watched the kids here and there. We had him come over the day before we left. He played with Mojo. I showed him how Mojo likes to play keep-away with his orange ball and Mojo plopped down on his lap (he thinks he's a lapdog.) They had fun and we told Mojo that it was going to be a Mojo and Danny party for a few days. Mojo thought this sounded great.

So we packed up. Gunnar played in my suitcase. I don't think he'd have fun on a 4-hour car ride or in a hotel room, so he had to stay.

Fast forward to Friday....We came home to an open door. We were scared to death Gunnar had escaped, and so I ran in the house to check on the cat. (Not even thinking about WHY the door might have been ajar: burglars, etcs.)

But my brother was in the kitchen cleaning and all the pets were in tact. Mostly.

The house was in the mid-80's as my brother apparently didn't understand the note on how to fix the A/C. And he tried to use our broken toilet (same note.)

As soon as we got home, my phone beeped with an hours old message that Mojo had a bathroom problem and had needed a bath. Joy.

My brother left and Mojo barfed a few times. (Someone had left the baby gates up and Mojo ate something he shouldn't have. Kitty litter is my theory.)

Otherwise, Mojo was fine. He was happy he got someone to play with. The last time we left him, he was mopey/mad at us for a month. So, cleanup aside, having a house sitter worked for him.

Gunnar was completely unfazed. Really, he couldn't care less as long as he got food, cuddles and play time. But I expected as much. Crazy cat.

As expected, Katie hid the entire time and didn't eat much. After my brother left, she finally came out from under the bed and was skittish for a few hours, then gave us extra loves. She seemed to be happy we were home.

So, will they let us leave again? Maybe, but I doubt my brother will offer to house sit again.

Mojo and Gunnar playing

Mojo and Gunnar have a unique way of playfighting/ wrestling with each other. (There's a little bit of a size difference.)  Gunnar kind of wrestles with Mojo's head. Sometimes he grabs onto Mojo's snout with his paws. Sometimes Mojo mouths on Gunnar's head. It's the system they have worked out.

Mojo likes to play with socks. That's why there are socks in the background.

No Gunnars were harmed in the making of this video.

Hmm....These videos are kind of grainy. I'll have to look into how to save videos for blogger.

Kitty in a Basket

"Do I fit?" is one of the greatest cat games of all time. Cats like to jump in spaces to see if they'll fit: boxes, hampers and undoubtedly laundry baskets.

And the answer is Yes, Gunnar fits.

Gunnar wanted to help me with my laundry.

Yes, even lying down he still fits. Win!

Litter Box Chronicles

Anyone with more than one cat knows that litterboxes are an issue. Cats are territorial, especially with their litteroxes. With my cats, it's been a headache since Day 1. We brought home Gunnar and to protest, Katie left us little presents about a foot away from her litterbox. (We had a separate litter box for the new cat.) And this happened way to often for us to think that she was sick, or just missing her mark. She was protesting the way animals do—with poo. It got so bad we asked the vet what to do and he suggested putting her on hormones. So for $30 a month, this works 50% of the time. We just waited it out and it resolved itself. No extra expense. No cat hormones.

Occasionally we have accidents and messes to clean up. Usually it's when the litterbox is dirty and someone didn't want to use a dirty potty. But it's been getting out of hand lately. I've been having to clean up two messes a week. And considering I clean the litterboxes twice a day, this is ridiculous. 

This morning I went to clean the litterboxes, the same as I do every morning. There was nothing for me to clean up. (This is a bad sign. It means they'll both go while I'm at work and I might have a mess to clean up). And like usual Gunnar was watching me. As soon as I went on to my next chore, he got in his blue litter box and used it. He does this all the time. I don't know if it's because he likes to use a clean litterbox, or just to annoy me....So I clean that up and while I'm doing this, I see him blaze over to Katie's litterbox and pee in it. !?!?!? Apparently he needs one box for each number, that or he just likes to needle Katie (probably both).

Katie cannot stand it when he uses her litterbox. I don't blame her. But I just cannot fathom why Gunnar is such a bully and so crazy.

I also don't know what to do next. Do we get a third litterbox? Put Gunnar in a diaper? I just don't know....

Fireworks

Fourth of July fireworks lit up the sky last night and my pets weren't happy with the loud gun-shot-like pops that accompaned the light show.

Katie was skittish and jumpy the whole evening. And Mojo, who is usually so easy-going and happy,  tackled Matt to get in his lap and just lied there, breathing uneasily. He was super jumpy and the most upset I can ever remember him being. He needed some doggie Prozac.

But through all of this, Gunnar handled it best. He chased a fly around the house like nothing was nothing on. It didn't bother him in the least.

Come Running

It's no secret that I spoil my pets. They live the plush life.

The other day I had some deli meat that was about to go bad. I couldn't eat it all so I added a few scraps to Mojo's food. Only the cats smelled it and came running. I gave them both a few pieces and played referee to make sure there was no kitty fighting over food. That became the standard process: if the dog gets some turkey, so do the cats.

The turkey was eaten and I thought that was the end of it until I went to the grocery store again. BUT the turkey came in a reusable container. I put some leftover fettuccini in the container and when I opened it up today Gunanr came running. "Turkey?" he looked up at me with big eyes. Sorry cat, it's noodles. But it's cute that he recognized the sound.

Guess I need to go to the store.