Monday, December 31, 2012

Year in Review

As 2012 is winding down, I was wondering what kind of year it was for the pets.


Mojo

Mojo was diagnosed with arthritis a year ago. He's been on a diet ever since. The vet said he needed to lose weight, that would help with his joint problems. We stopped feeding him treats period. No Beggin Strips or T-Bonz or anything else. He gets carrots for treats. Or ice. And sandwich meat in his food. He won't eat it plain. In September he went to the vet, and he hadn't lost a single pound. So he's been on diet food since then and looks like he's lost some weight. (Poor buddy, I'm sure it tastes horrible). There were no dog park visits for Mojo—since it's too hard on his joints. (He can't even have extra walks. It's too hard on his joints. We tried). I took him to the park a few times but he was always stiff and sore afterwards. He had maybe two playdates, and it was hard on his joints. I hate seeing him limp afterwards. He misses his friends.

But Mojo is a VERY HAPPY dog, one of the happiest I've seen. He is always smiling, begging for food, hanging out with his Gunnar cat.

Gunnar

Gunnar continues to be an evil emperor. He likes bullying Katie, playing in the dryer and bird watching through the window. He tries to get in garage all the time, too. When he's not being evil, he likes cuddles. He likes to be held like a baby and petted and rubbed all over. He purrs really big. He continues to be a very VOCAL cat.

He likes to sit in his food spot and wait for his dinner, which he expects at exactly 6 p.m.You could your watch by him (and no, he does no observe Daylight Savings Time.)  He eats his dinner and then around 7 p.m. he MEOWS up a storm at the top of the stairs and then he goes tearing around the house like a poltergeist on Red Bull for a few minutes. Then he sleeps on the bed for a few hours. Around 9 he hangs out with Mojo and Matt and that's his evening routine. I don't know what he does during the day except watch birds and play with spiders.

G also wins the kitty barf fest award. So much puke. All the time. So I switched their food from sensitive stomach to hairball control and that seems to help. (Gunnar does give Mojo a nightly bath). Also, I told Matt to stop feeding him tuna and deli meat and the barfing is quite minimal these days. And when he does barf, it's usually 5 a.m. not on the 70% of the house that's wood or tile, it's on the carpet.

Katie

Katie is a happier kitty these days. It took her a year to adjust to Gunnar. She still can't stand him, but she's not the angry depressed kitty she was. She likes to sit on Matt's lap for hours. She asks for play more. She gets along better with Mojo. I see her cuddling Mojo every now and then. Her and Gunnar sometimes occupy a space in close proximity, but I think it's more sibling spot stealing than cuddling. Still, sometimes I like to think they play fight. With all of that fighting, some of it has to be play right? Her fur isn't always sticking straight up.

Her latest thing is sleeping between our heads in the bed. She found the gap between our pillows and has deemed that her spot. And she still has her bedtime ritual, where 20 minutes after we turn the lights out, she hops in the bed (often clawing a leg or butt in the process) and then asks Matt to get under his part of the blanket. Every single night. Folks, it's not even cute anymore. I just want sleep. She just wants ritual.

So those are my crazy kids. They're great company, sweet and extremely entertaining. They make me immensely happy and I am so lucky to have all three of them.

Gunnar just came by to approve this blog post. Good thing, he can't read.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Pet Christmas 2012

The pets had a great Christmas.  I had too many pictures, so I'm experimenting with slideshows. Click the image to see a full size slideshow.

We did gifts here at the house first thing in the morning.




Then, we went to my family's Christmas.



We spent the rest of the day at Matt's family's house.


Saturday, December 22, 2012

Bird Watching


There seems to be something wrong with my blinds. 

Giant dust bunnies?

No, just Gunnar. 



He's looking out the window. He's a big-time bird watcher. There are some sparrows that nest in the trees nearby and he just loves to watch them, to paw at the window, to make chirpy noises.

Or maybe he's waiting for Santa?

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Cuddle Monsters

 It's not unusual to see Mojo and Gunnar cuddling. They are best buds.


But I thought this was especially cute because Gunnar's paws are on Mojo's back, like he's kneading Mojo, giving him a massage or maybe I could flip the photo and make it look like Gunnar's standing on Mojo. Either the way, these guys are precious. (Don't tell Gunanar, his evilness, I said that). 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Shoelace Monster


Both the cats love to play with this ratty old shoelace. It's their favorite. It started out as Katie's favorite (an identical older, much rattier shoelace), but now they both love it.

They like to bring me shoelace when I'm napping, meow a lot and ask me to play. Only I'm sleeping, so I just tell them I'm sleeping and when I wake up I see that they've dragged this shoelace to me (it's pretty cute seeing them tote it around in their mouth).

I try to play shoelace with Katie every now and then. When she was an only pet, we'd play every night before bed. Now, not so often. And whenever we do play, Gunnar crashes the party. I'll play with them both for a minute (alternating one swing per kitty), and then Katie will slink off depressed.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Avid Reader


Mojo used Christmas break to catch up on his reading. When I got up to get some water, he stole my spot and my Kindle. Maybe he was reading Marley and Me?

Monday, December 17, 2012

New Cabinets

We bought some new cabinets for the kitchen. The cats decided to "help" Matt build them.


Gunnar was assessing the wood. He says it doesn't smell like any tree he knows.

Apparently, he isn't familiar with Ikea trees. 



Katie wanted to know what was going on. We did move her food spot after all. 

When I went to fill up the cabinets Gunnar hopped up in them to supervise. 


Seriously, the cat was in the cabinets. I wonder if Ikea sells cat-proof furniture.

I should add that a week later, he has destroyed the bottom cabinets trying to get in them. It's not just claw marks, chunks of wood are missing. Perhaps evil cat is part woodchuck too. Or beaver. 



Sunday, December 16, 2012

Rare sighting


Mojo and Katie have really made friends over the years. I occasionally even catch them cuddling. 


Here they are taking a nap together. 


I think Katie prefers Mojo to Gunnar any day. 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Helping with the Laundry



I was trying to put some laundry in the wash before I went to work this morning. And Gunnar decided he needed to help. He was perched on the edge of the washer watching the water pour into the machine. 

No!

That's not safe for kitties. But this guy has a fascination with 1) water and 2) small spaces. He likes to wtach the water run into the bath tub. (He's only fell in once or twice.) 

So I scooped kitty up, closed the lid and plunked him down on the lid, where he stayed and tried to figure out what that crazy loud contraption was for. 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

New Scarf

Mojo decided to model my new pink and black scarf. He'll probably borrow it when I'm not looking.



Don't tell Matt, but pink is a good color for Mojo.


The scarf didn't fit Katie quite right. 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Peace Offering Gone Wrong

The part of the couch covered in the paw print blanket is Mojo's spot.
He doesn't like anyone, even friends, to try and take his spot.
I took Mojo's spot on the couch today. I told him I'd get up in a minute, but he gave me this LOOK.

So I handed him some Chex mix as a peace offering.

He ate it. I moved. He followed me around and asked for more Chex mix. I gave him all that I had and he even followed me when I left the room. "MOAR CHEX MIX" he said with his best puppy dog eyes.

Apparently he likes Chex mix.