Cockadoodledoo

Every morning, Gunnar swarms around me and follows me around until he gets his breakfast. After he's had his breakfast, he climbs on top of this tall white table and MEOWS as loud as he can.

But what is he saying?

Matt suggested that it was just like a rooster crowing.

So why does a rooster crow?

To establish dominance in his territory.

So every morning, Gunnar cries out that he is emperor of Wiltshire Drive and that none are greater.

Good to know, Emperor Gunnar, good to know.

Cat Chaise

This is a scratchy chaise I bought for the cats. (Matt got one for Ozzy and all the cats loved it so we bought and second one for downstairs.) All the cats think it's just perfect for lounging or scratching. Ozzie says it was $12 well spent. Here he is working on his pinup poses. Can you tell how much he's been eating?

Little brother

Hanging out.

So far, Ozzy's been a pretty good little brother to Gunnar. It's funny to watch him emulate Gunnar and his behaviors.

• He likes the same spots: Hiding under the chairs at the dining table, flopping on the dining room table, sleeping on the foot of the bed.
• He has a similar flop style.
• He likes to wait for Mojo at the front door. So when Mojo comes back from walks, there are two kitties peering out the front door at him.
• Ozzy and Gunnar wrestle. (No claws out.) They'll roll around a little until one of them runs off. 
• They both have a similar obsession with the litter box in the morning. Gunnar used to like to use it as soon as I scooped it, and then use multiple litter boxes. Ozzy's up to the same tricks, using multiple litter boxes within minutes of each other.
• And of course, the morning ritual for all the kitties is to swam outside the bathroom door while I brush my teeth. With three, it's definitely more of a swarm now. And they both follow me around while I'm feeding the cats and Mojo. They are not above begging for treats.

Conversation about Ozzy

Not his most confused look, but he is quite wide-eyed a lot

Me: "Ozzy kind of walks around looking confused a lot of the time."

Matt: "Maybe he's just looking for Sharon."

Matt in a mumbled English accent. "Sharon!?!?"

Life with four pets

This was actually the first night we let Ozzie out into the house. He's just one of the family.

We've been a four-pet family for about three weeks now. That means:

• More cat food. Especially when Ozzie eats about six servings worth a day
• Lots more to clean up in the litter box. It takes a little longer to clean now. And we did add a fourth litter box since you're supposed to have one more litter box that cat. I think the kitchen area is almost all litter box.
• More playing. The cats want to play more. Not necessarily with each other, but Katie demands more shoelace playtime and then all the cats join in. And Gunnar's been playing with his squeaky mouse on a string more.
• Fighting has not increased. (I'm probably jinxing myself here)
• We've been giving the cats more treats just to keep them happy.
(I should add that Gunnar KNOWS the sound of the treat bottle. He even comes running if I open a bottle of Aleve (for me.) Not the right bottle, buddy.)
• More kitties in the bed, but not necessarily more space. Gunnar and Ozzie take turns sleeping at the foot of the bed, though Ozzie's usually sleeping on the chest I keep my spare sheets in come morning.

All in all, I'd say that adding a third cat was amazingly easier than adding a second cat. It helps that Ozzie is a kitten and pretty easy going. And that Gunnar seems to have wanted a little brother/partner in crime. And I suppose Katie has resigned herself to not being an only cat, so what's more? Also, Mojo helps keep the peace around here. But there are always cats under foot in this house. Everywhere I go, there's a cat. It's kind of comical actually.

Four babies. Not sure there's room for me on the couch, but they sure love their dad.