Hipster

I gave in to the hype and bought an iPhone. I wasn't one of those who stood in lines for hours, or slept overnight in front of the Apple Store. Instead I went around 8 p.m. (they went on sale at 6 p.m.) and strolled into a busy store and plopped down my $600.

Actually it was a very efficient process. I was greeted at the front door and told they had two express lanes at the back of the store for those who were ready to buy- and had several display models out throughout the sides of the store for those just looking.

I hadn't gone to the store intending to buy. I kinda just wanted to see the chaos and excitement. I admitted to myself however that when I actually saw the iPhone I'd probably be too weak to resist. So of course I ended up buying one sight unseen.

When Apple announced the plans for the iPhone several months ago I thought about buying one when they became available. I already was ready to buy a new iPod, having filled up my old one. And I didn't own a personal cell phone so it made some sense to buy the iPhone.

Is it all that it has been written up to be? Well, it's pretty darn cool. The internet touch screen surfing is great and the iPod is quite an improvement over what I had. The phone itself? Don't know, haven't tried it.

Being the first on my block with a new gadget is part of my history. I was one of the first to own a walkman when they came out when I was in junior high. I was one of the first I knew who owned a VCR as well.

And when it becomes trendy to own three-legged cats, I'll point proudly to my long relationship with Thompson.

What the Bleep?

When I was a kid I wanted a dog but my sisters were allergic to both cats and dogs so we never had a family pet. I had to instead settle for stuffed animals and a turtle.

I pretty much got Mr. Max within weeks of getting my very own place to live for the first time. I was renting a tiny efficiency so getting a dog really wasn't an option. Of course since then I've become a full fledged card carrying cat person rather than a dog person.

So last night I was out in my front yard watering the boulevard grass in front of my house. I turned to see two teenagers with baseball caps turned askew, tatoos and cigarettes walking what appeared to be a dalmation. As they passed me one of the kids said, "I hope you're not allergic to dogs." I said I wasn't and thanked them for asking. I thought it was quite polite to ask the question not that there was much that could've been done had I been allergic.

I continued watering and turned to look at where the kids and their dog had gone and noticed a trail of dog "leftovers" all the way down the sidewalk in front of my house. So while the kids had seemed polite, they weren't exactly following the city ordinance that requires a dog owner to clean up after their dog.

After I was done cleaning up the mess I wondered if their question had anything to do with a medical condition that causes the dog to leave a trail wherever he walks... It was just kinda a bizarre exchange. All and all though it made me glad I am a cat person...

My Bad... My Real Bad

So I was laying in bed around 10 p.m. last night and it dawned on me that it was Theo's designated birthday and I had forgotten all about it.

I immediately got up and went to find him. He greeted me at the bottom of the stairs, looked up with those big eyes of his and figured something must be up because it was a highly unusual event for me to come down from the bedroom at that time of night. I began singing him happy birthday and he came closer so I picked him up and gave him a big hug. This of course led to a convening of an unscheduled meeting as both Thompson and Diego-san joined us.

I gave everybody treats and wished Theo a very happy although somewhat belated third birthday.

Window Watchers

It's been uncomfortably hot and muggy here the past few days so the windows have remained closed and the air conditioner has been running.

Thompson has learned the benefits of sitting underneath the ceiling fan in the bedroom. Diego-san prefers sprawling on the bathroom tile. Theo? Not sure where he's hanging out.

This morning the humidity was much less than the past few days so before I left for work I cracked open the small windows next to the picture window in my living room. I went outside and watered the plants in my front yard. I looked up in one of the two small open windows and saw Thompson's cute little face peering out watching my every move. I went to turn off the water and got up close to the other small window and saw Diego's eyes peering out. He's pretty hard to see unless you get right up to the window but he too was observing my activities and enjoying the fresh air.

Coolly Combed

Diego-san gets a regular nightly combing. Indeed he begs and cries for it if I should happen to forget it's time. The other boyz I comb every once in a while. Theo is very difficult to comb because I think he thinks we're playing so he attempts to bite the comb with each stroke.

Thompson doesn't like to be held down so to comb him I always wait until he's in a relaxed, lounging condition. The other day I looked at where he'd been sitting on the couch and noticed a pile of fur of the amount that I probably could have knitted a fur coat had I been so inclined. So last night I decided it was time to give him a good combing. I waited until he was settled in for the night, lying in his favorite cat bed underneath the ceiling fan that was providing a little bit of relief from the sticky summer air.

I couldn't believe how much fur came off Thompson during the combing. The comb kept clogging up and I'd clean the bristles only to have to clean them again with about five more strokes. I could tell Thompson was glad to be shedding a little of his coat as he lie perfectly still glad for all the attention.

Captain Jack

I've been sitting at my desk all morning with tears in my eyes, sad over the death of a cat I never even met.

About a month ago- Theo's foster mother, -D, emailed me about a small tuxedo cat she was fostering named Captain Jack. Like Theo, Jack had sustained an injury that essentially prevented him from using his back legs. But Jack's injuries were worse than Theo's in that they affected some internal organs as well.

Jack ended up in a loving home where he got to meet and play with several other cats. Every time I heard how Jack was doing I'd go home and update Theo- feeling as if Jack was a little lost brother/kindred spirit to Theo.

Over the weekend despite the many efforts from Jack's co-foster moms his continuing and worsening health problems led to the decision to euthanize him.

It sounds as if Jack really touched everyone who met him (and a few of us who didn't) with his sweet playful personality. Reading about him made me appreciate my own boyz all the more- particularly Thompson and Theo- who both had such traumatic beginnings to their lives. I'm grateful that after sustaining severe injuries both Thompson and Theo, like Jack, were brought to people who did all they could to ensure that they'd get the treatment and love needed to give them a second chance on life.

I'm so thankful that my boyz are all relatively healthy and happy and for all of the joy they've added to my house. I also feel blessed that even though I never got to meet Captain Jack- he did touch my heart in a substantial way. That type of thing is something that shouldn't be taken for granted.

He's an Entertaining Lil Fella

Every now and then Theo will get a burst of energy (or I should say more energy than is always present) and go tearing from room to room, up and down the stairs.

I always find it amusing when this occurs to take a look at Thompson and Diego-san. Both initially get this look on their faces of wide-eyed concern wondering what the commotion is all about. Eventually however their looks turn into a more humdrum, 'the youngster has finally lost all his marbles' look.

My Movie Stars

I'm working on a DVD photo album of the boyz to give to friends and family at Christmas time. Essentially it's just a DVD with individual slide shows of each boy set to music. I did this for the first time last year and as I learn the software- iDVD better, the project gets a little more fancy and sophisticated.

For each slide show I do about 25 pictures. Going through the many pictures of the boyz I've taken this year I was able to find 25 good shots of both Diego-san and Thompson. I fell far short for Theo however. This really surprises me because Diego is difficult to photograph. Usually his pictures turn out with a big black blob with two glowing eyes. Theo on the other hand is very photogenic- indeed most of his pictures seem to capture what I think he really looks like.

I also do a combo slide show- and again as I mentioned a few days ago- there are very few shots with all three boyz. Most of this year's combo shots are of Thompson and Theo. Getting shots of Diego and Theo together is difficult because Diego tends to move when Theo is in the area. Getting shots of Diego and Thompson isn't as difficult but most of the time they spend together is a matter of sleeping next to one another and while that can make for a cute shot- it also gets a little redundant. Fortunately I have another six months to work on all this and I'm sure by the end of the year much of what I have already compiled will be changed as the boyz continue to primp and preen.

A True Indoor Cat

Diego loves to lay or sit underneath my skylights. When I have them open the many sounds from outside whether it be a bird, car, or a person walking by, makes him take notice. Of course he can't see anything except the sky above but this seems to be one of his favorite things to do.

And unlike Thompson he really doesn't sit much by an open window where he could actually see what is causing the many sounds. I did see today as Thompson was following something outside by going from window to window, Diego-san was following him seemingly more fascinated by what Thompson was doing than what Thompson was looking at.

Part of this difference in interests to the world outside might be that Thompson spent the early days of his life outside living in a park. The only time Diego has spent any amount of time outside was a couple of summers ago when I took him for walks. He loved that limited time outside and I truly should take him out again. It's just a little hard taking all three for walks.

Line of Succession

Last night I was cleaning out some cupboards and found a few cans of special cat food that I got when the late great Mr. Max got sick. I saw the date of the prescription was 12/02. It's hard to believe it was that long ago- Max died in early 2003.

Of course everytime I come across a reminder of Mr. Max I tell the boyz what a great cat he was. And I'm careful to add the disclaimer- 'and all you three are great cats too.'

I swear that before I get to the disclaimer Thompson looks at me with this sad forlorn look on his face as if I'm suggesting he's not doing something right. I guess talking about Mr. Max is a little like talking about an old girlfriend while out on a date (not that I'd know what that is like).

A Human Popsicle

Now that it is officially summer and also shorts weather, Theo's trait of liking to lick things has gone up another level.

When I'm wearing shorts around the house Theo loves to lick my legs. Most of the time I think this is a show of affection but other times I think it's because he knows if he licks me long enough I will move so if I'm just lounging around this is a good way to get me up and about.

Cheeze

It's quite difficult to get a picture of all three boyz together. The rare times when they do share a common space, my camera is out of reach and as soon as I get up to get it, one of the boyz will get up and ruin a perfectly good picture.

So last night as I was lying in bed watching an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm I noticed the boyz lined up down the hallway. My camera was in my desk next to my bed so I slowly opened the drawer, got it and snapped this picture. It isn't great but somehow it manages to somewhat capture the mood of the moment.

Attention

When Diego-san is in need of attention it’s darn near impossible not to give it to him. Usually it’ll start with a howl and then he’ll follow me all over the house. The following ceases however when he decides he’s gonna anticipate what I’ll be doing next and tear to the room he thinks I’m headed toward. Once I sit down he’ll either hop in my lap or try to climb up on me. And he’ll howl. Try ignoring that (and the fact that when he gets attention he purrs more deeply than any cat in the history of catdom).

Not a Very Happy Camper

Thompson's alone time with me has lessened considerably in the past few months. Whenever he does decide to sit on my chest while I'm lying down watching TV, inevitably Theo will join us and Thompson shortly will go sit somewhere else.

This past week has been terribly hot and muggy so I've had the air conditioner on meaning no open windows. Sitting in my main level bedroom window is perhaps Thompson's favorite activity in life.

Also, Thompson remains skeptical about the new brand of food being slowly phased in. He quickly eats all the older stuff in his dish and leaves the room. Yesterday when he did sit on my chest, he got as close to my face as he could, licked it and kept trying to get closer and closer. It was as if he decided a new strategy was in line- that if he paid me enough attention perhaps I'd change all these changes.

Lil Wabbits

I was watering the plants in front of my house (hostas, lillies, licorice, etc.) when I noticed something small scamper behind my cone flower. It was too big to be a mouse so I thought it might be a chipmunk. But as I got a closer look I saw that it was a little baby rabbit.

As I kept watering the plants several more bunnies hopped out. They were pretty darn cute. When I went back in the house I told the boyz about the lil bunnies. None of the boyz seemed that impressed.

Laundry Day

The one thing that Diego-san shares in common with the late great Mr. Max comes every laundry day. Max used to love laundry day. As soon as I headed into the bedroom he'd come tearing in from wherever he was in the house. When I removed the blankets and sheets from my bed he'd hop up and wait until I put on the new sheets. He especially liked when I'd throw the clean sheets high up in the air and let them come down like a parachute. Then he'd lie underneath the sheets and paw and bite at me. Afterward he'd be so wound up he'd tear around the house. Even in the end when he wasn't feeling well he made sure to be on the bed when I changed the sheets.

Diego-san doesn't quite have the same enthusiasm but he makes sure to come upstairs when he hears me changing the sheets. He too loves when I do the parachute thing and he like Mr. Max will paw and bite at my hand as I move it to make him spin and move underneath the sheets.

This morning when we were doing our laundry day trick Theo joined us. I assume he knew it was Diego underneath the sheets but he kept acting uncertain as if the formless shape that twitched and clawed was a gopher or something. Theo didn't know whether to go after my hand which was trying to make Diego move or go after Diego underneath the sheets. He eventually jumped up and did a perfect pirouette before running off the bed and into the distance.

Not Me, No Way

As I watched Theo clean Diego-san last night it occurred to me that I've never seen Diego clean either Thompson or Theo.

Thompson loves to clean Diego. Thompson will on occasion clean Theo. Theo loves to clean either of the other two.

But apparently Diego sees himself as above cleaning duties.

Scooter

I had a scooter "incident." I was standing by the side of my scooter starting it up. I hit the gas without having a firm enough grip on the brake so it lurched forward. I tried to hold on and keep it upright but it tipped and I fell over it.

I ended up with a scrapes and scratches on my arm and a very sore leg. My scooter has some scratches and the chrome around the headlight chipped. I felt stupid and sore and came muttering into my house when I got home. Thompson greeted me with a tiny meow and I immediately felt better. I couldn't think of a better soul to come across first thing after a stupid little accident.

Multi-Cats

I don't think I've told the story here how I actually ended up with three cats.

When my last cat, Max, passed away I wasn't sure if I would get another cat. It was just too hard to deal with all the events at the end and it was months afterward when I'd still be looking around the corner for Mr. Max to appear. My thinking began to change when I had a guest, L- over. She told me that I needed to adopt a cat because there were so many in need of good homes and obviously I could provide one.

That's when I decided to get not one cat, but two. I figured having two around would not only allow them to keep each other company when I wasn't home, but when the time came and one of them passed away, at least I'd still have the other around to help me cope.

I was of course very fortunate to find Thompson and Diego. They were in a foster home together and the shelter wanted them adopted together since they got along so well. Adopting Thompson, who I guess is a special needs cat although he really doesn't have any special needs, helped seal my decision. It felt great giving the boyz a permanent home, just like L- had mentioned.

A couple of years after adopting Thompson and Diego-san, it occurred to me that when one of them eventually passes on, the other will be as devastated as I. So that was when I decided to introduce a third cat into the house.

Again, I was very fortunate to find Theo- and when I met him, I knew he was the one.

Of course my logic in all this is probably how people end up with 29 cats. Fortunately my city's ordinances limit three to a house unless you have a permit for more. That means my house will remain a tri-cat house.

Food Update

The boyz continue to let me know they prefer the old food over the new.

But although they don't immediately eat up their portion of food when I put it in the dish, instead leaving some leftover, I have noticed by the next meal time somebody/somebodies has/have finished all the food up.

It's actually not a bad thing to have some food out for a period of time because it seems to have lessened the obsession with meal times. Once it gets close to the time they know I'm going to feed them- all three boyz do whatever they can to persuade me to move up meal time.

Of course the real benefit is the new food is it is supposed to be better for them...

Sunday Sunday

It was warm out and I didn't have the air conditioner on so the house was a tad stuffy. This meant the boyz lounged around all day with little energy.

Of course the same could be said about me too.

Aiyeeee!

Every once in awhile Theo gets a paranoia attack where he's as jumpy as a kid on a trampoline. He had one of those attacks this morning.

He acts as if something is about to jump out at him from around every corner. This is kinda ironic since he's the one who loves to jump out from unexpected places at the other boyz. When he gets in this mode if I touch him he'll just about hit the ceiling. His eyes get big and round and he'll go tearing off at any sudden move or unexpected sound.

He Tried

I met M- this morning for coffee. I meant to return some DVDs she loaned to me awhile back. But I forgot.

Theo did his best to remind me before I left the house. I heard a crash in the kitchen and it was Theo on the table knocking the holder for my PDA on to the floor. Rather than tempt him again by putting the holder back on the table I moved it to the shelves that also were holding M-'s DVDs. Of course I was too busy scolding Theo for his continuing need to knock stuff on the floor to pay attention to the message he delivered: remember the DVDs you moron.

Tabby Deficiency?

One of the great quirks about the late great Mr. Max was that whenever he purred deeply he would drool. He used to sit on my chest and purr and soak my t-shirt. Sounds gross but it was a part of Max that made him Max.

Of the three boyz, Thompson is the only one who occasionally drools when he purrs. Last night I noticed a wet spot in my bed underneath where Thompson was lying, purring away. Since both Max and Thompson share(d) a common trait of being tabbies, I wonder if drooling is something that comes with that type of kitty.

Soft But Not So Subtle

Diego-san has been craving attention more than usual the past few weeks. Every time I go upstairs he follows me (or in many cases leads the way) and plops himself down at the spot where I comb him at night. He bellows away until I pay some attention to him. If I'm busy doing something he'll try to climb up on me.

This past weekend when I had some visitors he was all over them all but mugging them for attention. I'm not sure what is at the root of this extra craving for attention but he's a hard guy to ignore. Maybe the other two boyz aren't giving him their undivided unattention when I'm not around.

The Great Food Experiment

Day two of the switchover to a healthier food was no more successful than day one. Each of the boyz picked out the old food out of their dishes and left most of the new food.

I did notice that at least one of the boyz ate some of the new food overnight. My worry however is that all three boyz get the proper nourishment. Thompson in particular dropped over a pound over the last year and I think he's pretty close to being a good weight (I can feel his ribs). I have to watch his weight closer than the other two boyz because he puts a lot of strain on his lone front leg.

I'll be curious if the food will be eaten during the day today and will be gone when I get home. If they're hungry they gotta eat right?

Healthy Doesn't Ever Seem to Mean Tasty

After some research I've decided to switch the boyz food to something I hope is healthier. I chose Felidae which is much more meat based than the Science Diet the boyz have been getting.

I mixed some of the new food in with the boyz' stash of older food. The result wasn't too good. All of the three ate the old morsels first and left the new food. None of the three finished their portions- which is rather historic given their obsession with meal times.

Eventually all the food got consumed though- I suspect it was Theo who eventually finished it all off. I'll see how this goes the next few days- I don't want the boyz to starve but I suspect that they'll give in to their hunger and eat whatever food is out once they realize that's the choice they are given. In the meantime I'll probably continue with the combination old and new for awhile.

His Best Friend

My friend M- and her parents came over yesterday. Thompson is not his usual cautious self around M-. She's the only person he'll come out immediately to greet.

As M- was giving him plenty of attention- Diego decided it was his turn so he climbed on her back and up to her head making him pretty hard to ignore especially as he dug in his claws. The boyz acted as if I had been ignoring them all weekend which really wasn't the case...

My Mini

The engine of my Mini Cooper has been running hot so I brought it in to be looked at.

Turns out I needed to replace the thermostat. Total repair cost (along with an oil change)- $400. I told the boyz we'd have to cut back on expenses for awhile- food, litter, stuff like that. They didn't put up much of a protest.

Hello Goodbye

The past week or so Theo has taken to giving me a nice sendoff to work.

On the kitchen table I gather the stuff (my car keys, ID badge, money clip, lunch, etc.) that I'm bringing to work with me that day. Theo has taken to hopping up on the table amongst my stuff and rubbing his head against me. I usually end up going over to the coffee maker on the counter to get one last cup of coffee. He hops down and follows me, eventually walking to and fro between my legs purring away.

It sure is nice he seems to know I'm about to leave and he wants to give me some affection but it makes it hard to actually go.