Catching a Mouse

Cats are supposed to hunt mice....we just don't seem to have any of the furry critters around the house. So what's my feisty cat supposed to do?

Last night I walked by the computer desk and saw the computer mouse dangling way off the desk. Upon further inspection the track ball was also missing. This had Gunnar written all over it.

I called over to Matt that I was going to need helping find the track ball.

"There are only so many places where it could be," he said.

I shot him a look.

"Oh yeah, he probably played with it a knocked it somewhere. There's no telling," he realized.

First I looked under the dog bed closest to the desk. It wasn't there.

Then, I went to the place that all the pets' balls end up—under the couch.

First I found a blue ball of similar size, then I found the grey track ball.

It must have been fun to knock the mouse off the desk and then play with the ball. I would say it was a good hunt.

Only, how did Matt (who was a few feet away) not hear the commotion?

I tucked the mouse in a drawer so he couldn't hunt it anymore. We'll just have to be more careful from now on if we want to keep our electronics in tact.

Feathered Friends

I am delighted that my dog and cat get along so well, but this week I learned that my cat has friends of other species too.

Gunnar LOVE to birdwatch. He will sit at a window, wag his stump of a tail and chirp at the birds. It's so cute. I've seen him chirp to his bird friend when he is walking on our upstairs porch. And when I take Mojo out to sit on the porch in the evening, Gunnar will sneak out with him. The bird will stand on the neighbor's roof and exchange pleasantries with my chirping cat.

I'm hesitant to take Gunnar out on on the porch. (Matt would freak out if he knew.) The cat is a little on the crazy side, so I worry about him doing something hairbrained. I also think he's too fat to fit through the porch rails. Right now his head only fits through. So when he is outside, I keep him at arm's length, (where I could grab him if he decided to leap).

These visits have been going on all week. The other day Matt was at home and he called me at work to tell me about the kids.

"I think we're going to have a nest soon," he said.

He went on to tell me that Gunnar had not one, but two bird friends, who seemed to be scouting nest locations around the trees and bushes in front of our house. The birds were flying down on to the porch, looking into the window and having extensive conversations with the cat. And Matt was insistent that they were having in-depth conversations, not just small talk.

The next morning I was leaving for work and Gunnar was sitting my the front door. His tail was going and he was chirping up a storm. So I got down on his level to see what he was looking at. One of the birds was hopping around our downstairs porch and the other bird was perched on the flagpole, chirping. SO CUTE!

My day with the kids

Here are some highlights from today's activities with the kids:

• Matt was supposed to be at work super early. His alarm didn't go off so there was a chaotic rush in the morning. Since I was up I went ahead and took Mojo out. And since it wasn't yet 6 a.m. and it was still dark, I managed to step on Katie's tail since she was hiding in the shadows. I then fed the cats (cleaned up some cat vomit) and went back to sleep.

• I got up around 8 a.m. and started on some cleaning. I decided the floors needed to be washed. Gunnar had been watching intently from the counter (pictured above). When I got the Swiffer Wetjet out, I couldn't keep him away. He just had to walk on the sticky floor.

• Around 11, I made myself an early lunch. Gunnar was lounging on the table. That was fine until he decided he wanted to flop into my bowl of soup. Don't worry. I moved the bowl away in time.

• I was doing some cleaning and AGAIN stepped on Katie's tail. She was hiding and I am the worst mom ever. I also found more cat vomit. Poor Katie is not having a good day.

• I took Mojo to the park next to our house. He scared the bunnies. It was really hot. We came back and he had ice cubes and I had sorbet.

• I was going to take a nap upstairs. Mojo likes to be next to me so I brought him upstairs. Poor guy headed straight towards the porch thinking we were going to hang out on the porch. We took a nap. I woke up and all three kids were in the bed with me.

• While we were upstairs, there was a bird on the porch. Gunnar LOVES to bird-watch and he was chirping away. The bird was doing a lot of squaking so I wonder what they were saying. Gunnar was twitching his little stub tail and making the cutest noises. I'll have to put a video up soon of the noises he makes while bird-watching.

• I made some dinner with bacon in it. Mojo helped taste test.

Letting the Cat out of the Bag

This post comes to you from the antics of my sister's brood of crazy cats.

I went over to visit my sister yesterday. I brought her some food over in one of those fancy shopping bags—the nice paper ones with the rope handles.

Apparently, I left it on the floor because the cats found it.

Kayleigh (pictured above) had hopped in the bag and was playing in it while Bear and Baby were playing with her. At some point, the play got too rough so Kayleigh went to jump out of the bag and run off. Only, she got stuck in the bag's handles and was running off with the bag. Bear and Baby thought that was too funny so they started chasing her (and the bag).

Alex had to go rescue poor Kayleigh, who had gotten the bag stuck around her plump waist. So Kayleigh was free. Only Alex didn't put the bag up. A few minutes later, Simon (Emily's shyest cat) came running across with room with....guess what? A Talbot's bag stuck around his waist. He was dragging it like a chariot. Alex freed him too and put the bag up on top of a table. He tucked the handles inside so that no more kitties would get stuck.

Bear, however, found the bag and promptly flopped down in it. He didn't get stuck, though.

Katie update

Katie hasn't gotten a lot of posts lately, so I thought she needed one.

Katie is doing....ok. She's not thrilled about the Gunnar addition. They have lots of hissy kitty fights. They somewhat get along. They can nap in the same bed and sometimes they play(fight).

I'm worried about Katie though. She's not eating enough. Matt says she's just making sure the (hollow-legged) kitten has enough to eat. When I see her eat, I praise her. Then Gunnar comes in and runs her off. I've made an effort to make sure she eats a few mouthfuls every day and have been giving her ham and turkey, too.

Last night we had fun changing the sheets. I mean, I removed some dirty sheets, which she was laying on. I then had to put the new sheets on the bed, while she laid under them and swatted at the sheets as I tucked and fitted. Then we watched TV together.

Cutest thing ever

Both the cats' favorite game is shoelace, where you just swish the shoelace around for them to swat at. Mojo has tried to play before, but usually ends up chomping down on the shoelace, running off with it and ending the game.

The other night I was sitting at the computer and Gunnar had taken the "I want to play shoelace" position on the floor, next to said raggedy shoelace. Mojo picked it up and started playing with Gunnar. He had taught himself the game.

I love that they are playing together, and Gunnar wagging his stumpy tail is precious too.

Begging

Here's Mojo begging for food. It's my fault. I give him the occasional bite of spinach, egg, chicken or carrots.

"Please mom?" he says.

Salad Thief

This is what happens when I leave a spinach salad unattended and a Manx cat decides he needs a toy.

New Dog?

Mojo got a long overdue haircut Friday. He got a nice short haircut in time for summer. He'd been looking super shaggy and it has been so hot out. He totally needed it.

They shampooed him and gave a s short, sporty cut. He looked like a whole different dog.

Matt brought him home from the groomer and Gunnar didn't know who the handsome new dog was.

Gunnar arched his back, flattened his ears and growled as if to say "Who is this and what have they done with my Mojo?"

Ladies Man

Mojo certainly loves the lady. Pretty girls send him into a tizzy. Here he is trying to make out with my sister Melissa.