Plaaaay

I’m a good cat owner. I don’t think anyone would debate that. One of the things I’ve done really well is provide napping spots in every room of the house. It puts a lot of pressure on the cats to use them all so I feel appreciated.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone napping in the house on the condo. So long, in fact, that I wouldn’t have seen Oliver if Obi hadn’t been so desperate to play.

After about half an hour of thumping on every side of the condo, Obi gave up and went to watch OutTV.

Poor brown kitten.

***
Yesterday was Oliver’s 12th birthday!
Yesterday was Obi’s 6th birthday!

Happy birthday, Kitten Thunder!

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Cat in a Box

This is not just a pile of boxes.

It is a secret fortress.

If you lean in close, you’ll see something.

If you come very close, and peek in the hole…

WHAMMO! You’ll get punched in the eye!

Stay away from the fortress.

***

Dr. Tiffany is coming to see Obi tomorrow for his annual check up. As usual, I expect him to play with her and snuggle and not ever realize that she has given him shots or anything unpleasant.

Monday, when I emailed her for the appointment, I mentioned that Oliver’s allergies are acting up and that he is almost out of drugs. She says he’s right on schedule… because I said the same thing last year on April 5.

So at least he’s consistent.

I’m sure there will be a story to tell after the appointment.

Too Rough: A Cautionary Tale

This morning, Obi and The Boy met on the belly rubbing rug for the morning belly rub. Almost immediately, the brown kitten started biting and scratching. “Ouch,” The Boy said. “Too rough!” 

Obi didn’t stop and The Boy got up and walked away.

A while later, Oliver and Obi were Thundering. They ran up. They ran down. They ran laps around the house. Just as they arrived in the living room, Obi leaped through the air and landed on Oliver. He sank his teeth into the grey kitten’s scruff and kicked with all his might. Oliver cried out because it was too hard.

Obi didn’t stop and Oliver got up and walked away. Thunder over.

Just a while after that I scooped Obi into my lap for a snuggle. He sank his teeth into my thumb and kicked and kicked and kicked. “Ouch, Obi,” I said. “Too rough!”

Obi didn’t stop and I set him down so he could walk away.

Later, Obi was walking across the living room when his brother leaped out from behind the couch. The kittens hit the floor with a thump. The grey kitten fell to the side and bunny kicked Obi with his sharp back claws. Obi cried out – it was too rough!

Oliver stopped. And walked away.

Super Cave

Wyoming finally got some real and true snow this week – about seven inches of snow overnight here in Cheyenne. It inspires…snuggling. It inspires…creative reasons to not go outside to work meetings. But I did go to those meetings and left Oliver alone under the quilt on the couch.

When he got up to go upstairs for his afternoon nap, the quilt slid partially off the couch and created the best phenomenon EVER.

SUPER CAVE.

The fairly rigid quilt met the edge of the sheet cave and Obi was able to run from one to the other quickly. This meant that he could watch for someone unsuspecting to come his way from the quilt and then attack from the sheet cave. This is so much easier than sitting still and focusing from inside the sheet cave, using sound and feel to decide when to attack.

In case you aren’t familiar with the cave attacks: Obi sits in wait by the couch and when someone comes by, “unsuspecting,” he lunges through the sheet and gets their feet. If it is me, he gets a belly attack through the sheet. If it is The Boy, he gets a head pat. If it is Oliver, a Thunder follows.

Oliver is very good about being “unsuspecting.” He’ll walk by several times if that is what it takes to get attacked. He’ll even go over on command if he doesn’t realize that Obi is waiting and we ask him to: “Oli, go be unsuspecting for your brother.”

Today, Oli was unsuspecting over and over and over and there was much in the way of Thunders. Then, suddenly, I realized the Thunder had stopped. I found the brothers upstairs, napping in a pile of fluffy on the bed.

Just as I suspected.

***

It’s Thunder Thursday! Today, a call for photos. Leader Otis, from the Cult of Otis, is calling for photos of your cats enjoying boxes this gift giving season. You know, those boxes that used to hold presents for your cats. Presents they’ll forsake for the cardboard box in which it came.

If you have a picture for them to share on Box Day, send your contribution by 3 p.m. on Christmas.

***

Late breaking addition! DUDE! The Aluminium Foiled My Plans has posted a blog! Baby pictures – ALL THREE TINY TOTS – and their first tree.

The golden loop

Prior to staying at home and petting kitties all day, er, um, I mean WORKING at my own business, I worked for Wyoming’s department of tourism. It was pretty fun – who wouldn’t want to talk about Yellowstone and the Red Desert and Devils Tower and Cheyenne and points in between all day? But there was one problem.

The office has now moved to the state’s border.

This is a good thing, really. The old office where I worked was on the wrong side of the highway and it was ten miles into the state. The new one is on the correct side of the highway – the side where people are coming IN to the state – and way far out there.

Anyone who knows me, though, has heard the story about how when I worked at the chamber of commerce and they closed 15th Street and ruined my life. They put up one blockade and suddenly my morning commute went from three minutes to five minutes. Dude. NOT okay. And it has just gotten longer and longer and longer. The old tourism office was TEN minutes away. The new one would be TWENTY.

So, obviously, I had to quit before the move happened.

The new office had its grand opening on Friday. It is very nice. If you happen through Cheyenne, it is worth a stop. And not just because you can see my name in print on an interpretive sign at the top of a berm.

My name, a permanent part of the Wyoming landscape, in a photo credit.

But more important than my photo credits is the swag. I got myself a new travel coffee mug that is much bigger than my chamber of commerce travel mug. And some posty notes in a leather case. AND AND AND…chocolate. The chocolate came in a golden box with one of those golden stretchy strings tied in a bow.

There’s not much Oliver likes more than loops of stretchy string.

This was one of those rare instances where Oliver had more fun with a toy than Obi. Oli’s string jumped, and leaped and ran across the house for a solid hour. It eventually was lost under the door of the main floor bathroom. Obi’s? It is still on the rug. Sitting. Waiting. I did pick it up once and fling it into a box. That made it interesting.

For a second.

Today, while pulling things out of my closet, we found a golden loop in a suitcase. Now THAT one was fun.

For a second.

 

 

The Clever Brother

Oliver was sick yesterday. All day. He was very pathetic and spent the whole day in the reading nook on his blanky. If he wasn’t better today we were going to the vet.

But! He was better. He was back in Thundering condition this morning.

Obi and Oli were playing on the rug with their big box and plastic intestines. They would thunder through the entry way, dining room, and into the kitchen before turning back through the hallway and into the living room. Oliver’s long legs give him the advantage; he is much faster than the brown kitten.

Oli would get back to the rug and hunch down behind the plastic intestines to hide. But Obi? He’s very clever. He knew where Oliver was hiding every single time.

Amazing! 

How to Build a Fort, Part 3

We’ve built forts before. See this post and this post. But fall is in the air, the cave has been played out, and it was time for a new one. I thought.

Step 1: Sigh as you look at all the stuff on the coffee table.

Step 2: Clear off table. Check to make sure kitten still fits underneath.

Step 3: Choose fort position and building material.

Step 4: Add weight to keep the fort from coming undone on quick exits.

Step 5: Add second room to the fort by tucking a corner into the recliner.

Step 6: Closely inspect entrances and exits. Make the rules clear – no girls allowed.

Step 7: After all the work is done The Boy, who is allowed, will come home and point out that the cardboard box room is on the belly rubbing rug.

Step 8: Examine the perimeter while you consider the problem.

Step 9: Carefully consider the cardboard box room.

Step 10: Destroy the fort.

Step 11: Destroy the fort!

Step 13: Blame The Girl for this mess. Remind her that girls aren’t allowed. Not even in a half fort.

Step 14: Appreciate the wreckage of the destroyed fort. Have The Girl put the cardboard box back in the corner where it belongs and pull the recliner cave all the way down before the books on the coffee table end up on the floor.

***

It’s Thunder Thursday! Here are three funnies that people sent me on the Book of Face lately. It’s like they think I’m caught up with my cats or something. It is true that my coworkers completely lend themselves to this sort of thing.

Milk ring!

The house is a mess.

This evening I finally got sick of the disaster that is our house and I grabbed a garbage bag and started throwing things away. A lot of things the cats consider to be toys – like wrapping paper from Christmas. At first, Kitten Thunder was less than thrilled.

As I was cleaning off the coffee table in the living room, though, I found a ring of some sort for Obi. It was a vicious ring that required him to leap and run and pounce!

Then it escaped into the coat closet.

The Boy opened the door to the closet and liberated not only the ring but several other toys. Including a milk ring.

Milk rings, in case you don’t know, are Oliver’s absolute favorite toy. And this milk ring was feisty! He leaped. He ran. He threw it in the air and caught it as he rolled across the floor.

Obi looked on from the dining room, holding his toy and watching his older brother play. Who was this kitten, posing as Oliver? Then Obi tackled him.

Rings forgotten. Thunder on.

***

It’s Thunder Thursday! This week I was kitten sitting Goblin while Lori was away at training. There was a whole bunch of purring going on.

And some weirdness. I walked in to the house and found throw blankets. Everywhere. Apparently,  when left to his own devices for too long, Goblin will redecorate. Or maybe he just wanted to lay on a blanket in the sunbeam. Can’t blame him there.

How to Build a Fort

Step 1: Survey the build site.

Step 2: Clear the build site - but the kitten can stay.

Step 3: Strategically angle support structure for maximum usable space.

Step 4: Set up walls. The kitten will take it from here.

Step 5a: Check to see if the fort is big enough for two.

Step 5b: Decide it is not and chase off brother who is only mildly interested anyway.

Step 6: Knock walls down close to support structure to keep The Girl from joining you in the fort.

Step 7: Check the roof. The Girl, after all, is in communications not contracting.

Side note: Your fort should always have two entrances to allow for escape during a Thunder or if The Girl decides she wants to take your picture.

And finally: Relax and enjoy!

Today’s Thunder Thursday guest is our second dog – my friend Michelle’s pooch, Hazel. People at Michelle’s job think she does a lot of hard work, but we all know who is behind her success.

"Who moved the stapler?!? "

Kitten Thunder Snapshots

This past week, a lady at work gave us all flowers. I enjoyed them at work but when the weekend came I knew I had to take them home. There was no sense putting them on the counter. Oliver loves flowers.

I just happened to grab the camera as Obi decided to attack the window. There’s a squirrel driving him nuts. And I think enjoying every minute.

I decided to show you Oliver’s favorite way to play. Obi decided he was tired of being filmed.

Second try. Oliver gets his spin on.