I've Got You Babe

I finished up doing the dishes and walked into the living room where the TV news was playing. There was a very attractive reporter interviewing somebody and as I am wont to do, I exclaimed to no one in particular, "Who's the babe?" Without missing a beat, Theo answered me with a squeal. Technically I think he had a point since I'm constantly referring to him as "my lil guy" which could equate to my baby and baby could equate to babe. I gave Theo a hug for his answer.

Mine

That's Diego-san's comb. You best be leaving it alone and be on your way.

The Ride

I brought my scooter in for an oil change and saw this parked out in the parking lot. It's a scooter with a sidecar attached. I would love to buy a sidecar for my scooter. I can just picture the boyz with little helmets and goggles (and scarves) enjoying the ride next to me...

Knock Knock

Theo: Knock Knock!

Diego-san: Who's there?

Theo: Doris

Diego-san: Doris, who?

Theo: Doris locked, that's why I had to knock!

Summer Days and Summer Nights are Gone

Theo can't believe it's nearly August and neither can I. The summer is zooming by like a lil guy on a zippy scooter.

The Game

Today we're gonna play, 'Let's Watch Thompson for a while."

He's the ultimate groomer...

Thank you for playing, "Let's Watch Thompson for a while."

Never Mind

That's OK guys, don't bother getting up. It's just me, the guy that feeds you and cleans out your litter boxes.

My Rules

Sometimes after a particularly long week, some boyz just want to pick up their ball and go home.

Feline Endorsement

Three out of three cats agree that chicken is tasty.

Religiousness

Incorrect Saying

Diego-san disagrees with the term "the dog days of summer." This is his way of protesting.

Get Out of My Way

Thompson has learned it is a very good idea to get way out of the way when Theo and I are playing fetch.

Together Through Life

Theo and Diego-san don't spend a whole lot of time doing things together so it's always nice when they find a mutually enjoyable activity like bird-watching.

Up or Down, All Around

It doesn't matter where you look in this house, there's always something going on.

Trio Times Two

My cat feeding duties for Marabou, Marcel, and Bud came to an end. The three are great cats. Bud really misses his parents and he really made me feel appreciated each and every visit. Marcel and Marabou were a bit more weary of me but I was glad we caught up again.

Fabulous Diego-san

Sitting on top of the piano, Diego-san may not be quite as an impressive figure as Michelle Pfeiffer was in "The Fabulous Baker Boys," but still, he holds his own.

I Wanna Fly

Sometimes, Theo just doesn't like gravity.

Not News to Me

By MALCOLM RITTER , Associated Press

NEW YORK - A cat's purr normally says, "I'm happy." But a new study suggests some purrs send cat owners a much different message: "Feed me!"

Researchers found that purrs of hungry cats included a higher-pitched sound, somewhat like a cry or meow. They played recordings of these purrs from 10 cats to 50 human volunteers. Even people who'd never owned a cat found them to be more urgent and less pleasant than contented purrs from the same animals.

These food-seeking purrs may exploit the way humans naturally respond to a baby's cry, the researchers suggest. Not all cats use this strategy, but some apparently learn to turn it on when they see it's effective in getting a human to feed them, Karen McComb of the University of Sussex in England said in a statement.

She and co-authors present their work in Tuesday's issue of the journal Current Biology.

Not His Taste

My friend A- loaned me some CDs of Mongolian music. I was listening to one of the CDs this morning and Thompson was getting more and more alarmed by the sound emanating from the speakers. There was lots of throat singing, which I find pretty cool, but Thompson clearly wasn't too keen of it. Oh well- we all have our own tastes.

Alternate Universe

This is Bud. Bud is the third cat in the alternate universe house of cats that I'm watching right now as their parents are off in Mongolia. In this alternate universe, Bud is the Thompson of the house since Marabou and Diego seem to be closest in temperament and Theo and Marcel look so much alike.

Bud has lived up to his name as he is the one of the trio that always wants to sit with me and purrs and purrs away. Today Bud wanted to take a nap with me and I had to break him the bad news that I couldn't stay that long. That didn't stop Bud from trying however...

Strangers

It's a weekend and Diego-san is wondering why I'm home given recent history.

Quizzical Friday

Here's today's quiz:

In this picture Theo looks:

a) Angry

b) Quizzical

c) Inquisitive

d) Confused

e) None of the above




The Answer???

It's e) none of the above.

The pictures aren't actually of Theo but of Marcel, one of the three cats I'm taking care of for the next few weeks in another house. My friend A- adopted Marcel a few weeks before I adopted Theo and we both agree they look an awful lot alike except Marcel's eyes are closer together. A- has never said it aloud but I think secretly she agrees that Theo's eyes make him look goofier and a bit dopier. But from what I've heard about Marcel- he shares some of Theo's wide eyed wonder...

Leader of the Pack

This video shows that just because someone is a leader doesn't mean they always get their way in the end.

Diego-san fancies himself the leader of the pack- usually the first to investigate something new in the house - like this new sponge toy. But that doesn't mean things end up the way he would like them to end up...

Dr. Doolittle

I'm being the ultimate cat person for the next couple of weeks as I'm stopping by to feed my friend A-'s three cats. This here is Marabou. We've had a long history and I don't think our relationship has ever recovered from the time I dared to make a comment about her figure in front of her.

A Great Day

Theo and I had one of our best days ever together. I took the day off from work- one of the last days I'll be able to take off until well until the fall. We took a long nap together in the afternoon and then finished season one of "Mad Men" during the evening. Usually Theo doesn't sit with me for long periods of time but today either he was really tired or he was making up for time missed over the weekend...

How Many Roads Must a Man Walk Down?

Thompson just doesn't understand why I need to go see Bob Dylan every chance I get when there's plenty of entertainment at home...

Bookworms

If you can't read 'em, join 'em.

Happy 4th

The boyz are alone again this weekend as I'm off to South Bend, Indiana to go see Bob Dylan. I promise this is my last trip for a while... And I hope the fireworks aren't too loud at home...

Our Zeppo

I haven't written about the "fourth" boy here much but for the past three years, Bucky the betafish greeted me every day at work with a wiggle. He'd get all excited and swim quickly toward the top of his tank every time he saw me lift the lid to drop in some food. He'd wiggle when he saw me put on my jacket at the end of the day.

Yesterday, when I got to work, I found Bucky lying still on his side in the bottom corner of his tank. For the past month or so, I knew given his age, and given that he had started swimming on his side, that something wasn't right. The last few days he seemed to be having difficulty breathing.

I wish I had been with Bucky during the last moments of his life. I didn't want him to die alone. I wasn't sure how to properly honor him in his death. Flushing him down the toilet (a la that episode of "The Cosby Show" where Rudy's fish died) didn't seem appropriate. So I gathered up his little body and brought him out back of our building where there is a little pond. I said a few words of thanks and poured his body into the pond.

Goodbye Bucky.

Drinking Lesson

Today, Diego-san shows us how to properly drink water.

First you have to sniff the water to make sure it is truly fresh.

Second, you have to circle the source to make sure you have the perfect angle to enjoy the flowing water.

Next, and most importantly, you have to dig a hole so that the water is properly aerated.

Finally... Enjoy! Nothing beats the refreshing taste of fresh water right out of the tap!

Thinkin' About What Might Have Been

...or what is yet to come.

Or maybe it's just a squirrel Theo sees.