Recharge

It's hard for me to believe sometimes but Theo's battery does need recharging once in awhile. It only seems like his motor is constantly going...

His Hero Houdini

When I got home from work yesterday I expected to be greeted by the sight of three kitties with one wearing a large blue cone around his neck. Instead I was greeted by the sight of three cats with none wearing anything around their necks.

What was a bigger surprise however was when I found the empty blue cone I noticed it was still completely tied together meaning Diego-san had found a way to slip his whole head through the neck sized hole. I guess after living with the world's smartest kitty for the past five years, nothing should surprise me. (Although you think he'd be smart enough to avoid walking near a klutz carrying a hot bowl of soup but that's besides the point.) What would be an even neater trick is if I come home tomorrow and find the cone not around Diego's neck but around Theo's neck instead. If that happens I'll treat Diego to a year's worth of Temptations anytime he wants them...

I may have to call the vet back and see what the other neckwear options are.

The Soup Saga Continued

I brought Diego-san into the vet this morning. She ended up shaving the area around the burn so I could keep a better eye on it for infection. She also gave Diego a fancy collar to wear for the next week or so.

I think he may hold having to wear the collar against me as much as burning him in the first place seeing he takes great pride in his appearance.

The vet also said that the fur of the burn area itself likely will never grow back so we will have a permanent reminder of the great soup incident. I get upset with every ding in my Mini Cooper and every scratch on my scooter or iPhone screen. Imagine how this news made me (and Diego) feel.

I'm not sure how effective the collar is going to be in preventing Diego-san from licking the wound. He's already figured out that if he walks close to a wall, the collar will bend back giving him access to the wound again. Plus Theo immediately started licking the wound as soon as he saw the fancy collar and the bald spot.

Quite the morning in these parts.

Another Trio on the Other Side of Town

My friend A- looked in on the boyz when I was in New York City. I returned the favor this weekend and looked in on her three cats. This is Marcel. He looks a lot like Theo except his eyes are closer together and lack the spaciness look of Theo's eyes.



This is Marabou. She's a lovely lady with a bit of a temperamental attitude. She's very sensitive about wisecracks about her figure.



And this is Bud. Bud was the happiest to see me. He's the only one who came and sat on my lap and purred away. Thanks Bud.

Update

It's official... I did burn Diego-san. He's got about a two inch sore that he's licked all the fur away from. The problem is he won't stop licking the spot and I'm guessing he will need to leave it alone for it to heal. I'll probably call the vet tomorrow to see if there is anything I can do.

He even skipped his nightly combing tonight... Sniff...

My Real Bad

Last week I wrote about how I took some perverse pleasure in spritzing Theo with some water. Today I did something similar but a million times worse and I feel truly awful about the incident.

I was carrying a bowl of hot soup from the kitchen to the living room and Diego-san ran up to see what I had. I tried to warn him away but the chopsticks that were sticking out of the bowl starting falling out and I tipped the bowl spilling some on Diego. He yelped and immediately ran and tried to lick the hot soup off but since I spilled it on his hind quarters he ended up running around in circles. I burned my own thumb so I think I may have burned him too as he spent the rest of the afternoon hiding underneath the piano.

I'm sorry Diego-san.

Good to Be Home

I liked the hustle and bustle of New York City. It truly is the city that never sleeps. I suppose if I could make it there I could make it anywhere. That said, it's great to be home with the guyzos again.

The City So Nice They Named It Twice

I went with a group of friends to New York City to see our plucky Minnesota Twins take on that evil Empire, the New York Yankees. The Twins ended up losing both games we went to, the first 8-2, the second 5-1.


It was pretty much my first time in New York but we didn't have a lot of time to sight see. We did make it to Ground Zero where it truly was hard to comprehend all that was lost on that day.


We also saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from across the harbor. We even jogged through Central Park.

Out hotel was right next to an ASPCA building. It crossed my mind that I should adopt a cat there but I think he/she might speak in a New York accent that would confuse the boyz. She/He'd also probably be a lot more street wise and tough.



Seeing Yankee Stadium was really cool even if the Twins didn't do well at all.

Hey, What Happened to Our Schedule?

The dork never came home last night. This is unacceptable.

Not Again...

Hey the dork packed up some clothes this morning and took off in an awful hurry after leaving a lot of food in our dishes. While we appreciate finally not being given such small portions of food, this type of behavior usually means we won't see him for a while.

Dork.

That's Too Bad

I was sad to see that Roger Ebert announced that he is discontinuing his association with the long running movie review show that bears his last name. The show's co-host for the past eight years, Richard Roeper, also announced he is leaving the show.

I started watching Siskel and Ebert way back when I was in high school and the show was on PBS. I've hardly missed an episode in all that time because it was always wonderful to see two guys do reviews who loved movies at least as much as I did. I love Roger's writing and I miss Gene Siskel a lot. One of the things I did when I visited Chicago last year was to stop in and see Gene's theater.

I know a lot of people were greatly saddened by Tim Russert's death and the hole that left on the long running 'Meet the Press' program. While this news doesn't directly relate to a death (Gene died in 1999 and Roger hasn't appeared on the show in two years due to health issues), today it feels as if I've lost a lifelong friend.

On Demand

A couple of days ago I wrote about Thompson's dislike of being combed. Diego-san is quite the opposite.

Every night as I'm getting ready for bed he follows me upstairs and meows and bellows until I get his comb. Then I spend several moments combing his long hair. He rolls around making sure I don't miss any spots and his purring gets louder and louder. After we are done he often sits there belly side up looking as if he owns the world.

Wake Up Theo

I'm so mean.

I washed my hands and forgot that today was laundry day and I had washed the towels without replacing them. So I went off to get some clean towels and saw Theo sitting innocently on a pile of clothes I hadn't put in the washer yet. I naturally shook my wet hands above him. In a very delayed reaction he jumped up startled. It wasn't an "I'm getting wet I have to move" reaction. It was almost as if he first had to process that water shouldn't be hitting him from where he sat and that maybe he should move.

I'm so mean.

I'll Do My Own Grooming Thank You

Diego-san demands to be combed every night. Thompson watches us but unlike most things that he observes that involve Diego, he wants no part of being combed. He hates being held down and every time the comb comes close to his noggin, he tries to bite it. The last few nights I have forced him to allow me to comb him because he is really shedding.

I would think it would feel good to lose some of that excess fur but apparently not.

My Own All Star Game

I know this isn't the proper place to brag about my softball feats and it hasn't really been an issue this season because I have played pretty poorly most weeks. But last night I had my best game hitting-wise as I nearly hit for the cycle (one of baseball/softball's rarest feats where a player hits a single, double, triple and home run in the same game). I led off the game with a home run and hit a triple in my next at bat. My third at bat I popped out to the shortstop. My fourth at bat I hit a double. Unfortunately I didn't get any more at bats as we won the game 14-4.

An old girlfriend once told me the happiest she ever saw me was running around on the softball field. That was around 20 years ago and I'm not sure she was trying to compliment me. But I also am not sure that what she said wasn't true then and still isn't true now. Of course coming home to the sight of three wound up kitties would have to rank up there on the list as well.

Wrong Lesson

When Theo is in the upstairs bathroom he has this habit of closing the door behind him. I try to discourage him from doing so because if I'm not around he may find himself trapped. And if he finds himself trapped he won't have access to important things like a litter box.

I wonder if he picked this habit up from me, because the only door I consistently close on the boyz is the bathroom door.

Last night I decided to teach Theo a hard lesson when he went in the bathroom and closed the door behind him. I decided I was going to leave him in there for a long time even if he started mewing and crying to be let out. So I was watching some TV and heard him meow. And meow. And meow. I did nothing.

It dawned on me however that Diego has been spending a lot of time in the bathroom sleeping on the tile in the hot summer air. Since I hadn't seen him for a while it occurred to me that he might be an innocent victim in this attempt to teach somebody else a lesson.

A few more minutes went by and then I heard this big crash as if someone let the glass shower door swing quickly shut. I got up and opened the bathroom door to find the sight of Diego-san hanging half over the shower door. He had launched himself from the nearby sink in an attempt to see what was behind the glass shower door. He clearly didn't know what to do seeing the length of the drop and the difficulty and strength needed for pulling himself all the way over the door. This was the second time he had attempted this brave exploration and the thought briefly entered my mind that I was going to try to teach another kitty the consequences of doing something he really shouldn't do and leaving him to find his own way out of the mess. But I decided that would be mean and I helped him down. I even opened the shower door to let him see that there really is nothing that interesting on the other side.

I don't know what to do about Theo's unexplainable need for a little bathroom privacy.

All Stars

Oddly, in a numerical sense, a trio of Minnesota Twins made the Major League All Star Game- Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Joe Nathan. So the boyz and I put on our Twins jerseys (in their case- imaginary Twins jerseys) and rooted for the hometown guys.

Here Theo is showing his best diving after a ground ball imitation.

The Ledge

One of Diego-san's solitary places is the ledge that runs up and down the stairway into the upper level of the house. The ledge itself is around a half a foot wide and Diego likes to leap up whenever I am walking down the hallway on my way down the stairs. Eventually by standing on the ledge he towers over me as I descend down the stairs.

The problem is the ledge is somewhat accessible to Thompson and Theo. But I don't particularly like when those two try to leap up because if they misjudge their leaps they can tumble down the height of the stairs- probably over a ten foot drop. Thompson of course lacks the necessary balance to always stop himself quickly after a jump. Theo just plain misjudges many of his jumps. He actually did fly over the ledge once and I'm not sure exactly how far he fell but luckily he escaped uninjured. There's really no way to say the ledge is off limits since it is out in the open. Talking reason into T and T hasn't worked yet. Here of course is a picture of Diego mocking somebody downstairs.

Sun Bed

Thompson is an expert at finding the absolute best spot in the entire house to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Ding

I wiped out on my scooter for the first time ever. The streets were still wet from the rain the previous night. I was right before an intersection/stop light and the car coming towards me took a left in front of me. I gently hit my brakes but I felt my tires skidding and I couldn't stay upright. Fortunately I wasn't going very fast at the time (probably around 5 to 10 mph) so I basically just tipped over skinning my arm and knee. My neck is also a little sore. I was pretty lucky that there was no one behind me.

It was bound to happen sooner or later and I'm not kidding myself that riding a scooter in the city can be more than a little treacherous. As some of the kitties in this house can attest to first hand, the world can be an awfully dangerous place.

Rewarded

The boyz and I would like to thank Ana, Chica, and Pumuckl for giving our blog a "just-plain-fun-to-read" award.

The boyz are particularly grateful and think it makes up for all the times I've scolded them to do something entertaining that could be posted on the blog.

TGIF

Theo's glad it's Friday.

The Sandman Cometh

Diego-san often seems to indicate he thinks Theo is a bit of a pest. Usually when Theo comes in close proximity, Diego-san will first try to swat him away and if that doesn't work he'll evacuate to a higher location that Theo can't get to.

That's why it puzzles me that Diego-san has no resistance to the sandman. I'm constantly having to clean the eye boogers away, an activity Diego doesn't particularly care for. I wish he could learn to swat that darn sandman away because I gotta believe Theo is a much nicer visitor.

Cool Down

The humidity is way down so the windows are back open and Thompson is one happy kitty once again...

Hot Enough for You?

It's been extremely hot and muggy the past few days so the air conditioner has been on constantly. Still the boyz are showing a noticeable lack of energy. Poor Thompson looks like he just ran a marathon and there's a noticeable lack of pep to his hop. Diego has taken to sleeping on the tile in the bathroom and even tolerated sharing the room with Theo last night.

My Backup Alarm Clock

Theo is usually very good about not letting me sleep in. He often wakes me up before my alarm clock. And as soon as the official alarm clock goes off he is all over me because apparently he doesn't believe in the snooze button.

Yesterday morning he let me sleep in. I looked up and it was past ten o'clock. He must have known I've been extra tired (and cranky) so he decided a little sleep wouldn't hurt me.

Cover Those Ears

Diego-san and Thompson have lived with me for over five years now so I'm a bit surprised that I can still occasionally surprise the two. Last night I stubbed my toe against a chest I have upstairs. The chest has been in that location since last winter so it's not like it was anything but a case of extreme clumsiness on my part. But the boyz got to hear a few choice words or two they've never heard from me before as I was hopping around like a bunny. This morning my toe is all black and blue so it was a big time stub. This is Thompson looking a bit relieved that this new and blue language I was speaking last night hasn't been continued.

Boom Boom

The boyz survived the loud explosive noises associated with the 4th of July. Even Diego-san who generally isn't afraid of much, isn't fond of the frequency of the firecrackers and fireworks. Of course it probably didn't help matters much that I cranked up the music to drown out some of the outside noise.

Theo's Magic

Usually when I start walking down the hallway in the upper wing of the house (formerly known as an attic, now a finished bedroom), Theo who can often be found sitting in the hallway will spring up, do a 180 and sprint down the stairs anticipating that's where I'm headed.

Well this last time he managed to do something quite magical- as he began his sprint the lights went on! I don't have motion detectors or the "clapper" just an old fashioned on/off switch so I'm not sure how this feat was accomplished. Suffice to say I was quite impressed.

Who's Hipper?

Two of my nieces told me that my sister in L.A. is cooler than I am because they discovered she has a Facebook page and I do not. I asked them what could be cooler than blogging about my cats everyday?

Temptation

Seriously Thompson... how is Theo not supposed to be tempted to launch himself into your midsection?

The Tripod Club Update

Ever since I posted about seeing the couple walk their three legged dog in a park by me, I haven't seen the trio. Until today. Unfortunately I was driving my Mini Cooper and not my scooter and thought it would just be plain weird to pull my car over to chat about our common interests...