Kittenz II Cats

Nothing says Christmas like dressing your cats up like tiny little members of the world's furriest boy band. I only have a few items left on my Holiday Spirit Quest and last night I took care of #7- Have the cats sporting their holiday ties at least once this holiday season. That means that I only have to watch a cheesy holiday movie (one of which is sitting on my bedroom DVR) and stuff a stocking (or two) which I (or Santa) will do tonight. I have to say that I still love doing these spirit items. Mostly because if I didn't, I wouldn't try at all to get into the holiday mood, and what fun is that?

So, today we also went to use the last of our flexible healthcare spending for the year and got glasses and contacts, as well as eye exams. This has become somewhat of a Christmas Eve tradition. We get exams, Chef gets glasses, we wait for the glasses by walking across the street to the mall. We did all that today PLUS had a delicious lunch at PF Chang's. It's not quite opening presents with the family, but it's not bad at all.

In the mean time, here are pictures of the furry family of boy band members (and Mila) in their holiday attire. Enjoy!

Attila looking dapper in his plaid tie.

Genghis and Khubla wondering how they could've worn the same outfit.

The closest I could get to having all three in the picture at once.

Genghis kinda likes his tie.

Genghis and his half-brother Attila looking very much like they are ready for their holiday choir concert.

Genghis and Khubla waiting for their cue to sing.

The best one of Khubla by himself

.

Mila did not like her holiday fur collar AT ALL.

This was the most she would do with it. I can't blame her. It had bells so she couldn't hide at all from the other cats. 

Working My Way Through My List

Genghis looks so scholarly with his tie on.
Yes, I did go crazy. 

Slowly but surely I'm trying to get my holiday spirit together. Maybe it will come out a little bit more after the next couple of days when I have drinks with a friend, our company holiday party and another holiday party thrown by some other friends all in succession.

In the mean time, I may not have blogged in the last week, but that's not because I haven't been working on my Holiday Spirit Quest. I've actually gone through quite a bit of it and figure now's the time for a good ole recap through photos (and some commentary). So here goes:

3. Dress a cat in something holiday.
This is Genghis's turn in the holiday tie. He didn't love it nearly as much as I did.

 

Mila had a cute little white fur muff with a bow and jingle bells.
 However, the jingle bells were popular with the other cats who began chasing her more than normal. 

12. Make gingerbread men/ women.
AND
21. Buy a new Christmas decoration. (The plate under the cookies is cutely festive)
I didn't make women not because I'm a misogynist but because I'm too cheap to buy the other cookie cutter.

Proof that I made them myself and didn't just decorate them. 

6. Sing a Christmas carol at the top of my lungs.

AND 

16.  Listen to Christmas music for one week's worth of commutes.

I didn't exactly sing "Baby, I'ts Cold Outside" at the top of my lungs (It was "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"), but I only had a screenshot of my holiday Pandora.

I've also taken care of :

7. Donate to charity.

I've almost got all of my shopping done and shipped, plus I wrapped everything that I shipped myself, so feel confident that those will get done. I am also on target to see ICE at Santa Monica, visit a beach, drink a holiday latte, and make my mom's zucchini bread this weekend.

Tonight I'm going to drink a holiday libation with a friend and hopefully finish my holiday nails. 

My big question is: What do I craft???

Most Adorable Post of the Week

Aren't they adorable? That's Genghis and Khubla curled up together. Chef sent me those with the words to the "My Buddy" doll theme song. Super cute.

And because our cats can't just eat their carb-loaded kibble, we took a trip to Lowe's down the street and pretended we were all domestic. Or at least I pretended. Chef is decidedly more domestic than I am. We got some cat grass, catnip, sage and parsley (all cat appropriate) and put them in a planter. The planter sits on the floor and now they have a little cat salad in between feedings. Mila promptly ate some grass and barfed it back up. Awesome. She's since learned to keep it down. Khubla is a big fan.

Enjoy these cute cat pics!

Genghis on the left, Khubla on the right

                                   

                                          From left to right: Parsley, Sage, Cat grass and catnip

Things Animals Smell Like

It seems like all animals (particularly pets) have a certain smell to them. Some better than others, of course. And I'm not talking about the smell of feces or dog food or kitty breath. It's more like how their dander smells. And it's not something that every one can smell. It's more like an acquired smell of the owners or those who live in close proximity of an animal.

For example, I've known dogs that smelled like

cheese. My last dog smelled like cool ranch Doritos. But it wasn't until last night that I thought about how our cats smell. Chef leaned down to sniff Mila's head and immediately said "Her head smells like Reese's peanut butter." He was so vehement in his thought that he picked her up (she's loathed to be picked up) and stuck her head in my face. I smelled the back of her head, as you would a baby to take in that great powdery newborn smell, and sure enough. It was exactly like Reese's peanut butter.

This morning while vacuuming the apartment, I realized that our cats collective fur also has the odor of Doritos (normal flavor). It was upon that remark that Chef said "Do you think we really do have cats that smell like food or that we're just hungry?"

I think we have cats that smell. What does your pet smell like?

My Easter Surprise

Of the many smells that I've woken up to on Easter (slow-baking ham, the light hint of chocolate sitting in baskets, dyed eggs roasting in the early morning sun, an overwhelming aroma of sugar), none startled me quite like this morning's.

The epic saga began at about 4 a.m. when I was woken by a sour stomach. I tried to wait it out, but it didn't work and I had to purge. Not a great way to start the morning. It also took me about a half an episode of "Law & Order" to fall back to sleep.

I was just hitting my slumber stride when I felt a shove in my back. Like I'm apt to do at that time of morning, I ignored it. But then I got another shove in the back. I flipped over to say "WHAT?!" in my annoyed voice when Chef just pointed to a space of sheet about 8 inches from his face. The space had a glob of cat feces on it.

"Don't move. I'll get it up and get it," I said heading towards the bathroom to get some toilet paper to scoop up the glob. On my way back to the bedroom, I was startled by a steaming pile of cat poop sitting square in the middle of our stark white duvet.

"Don't move, honey," I said.

Chef saw my hands move to an area below the glob and looked down. "Aww! Really??" It was about that time when the stench began to turn my stomach for the second time in a few hours. It took a lot more toilet paper, some cursing and our cat specific stain and odor remover before the space was clean.

Of course, the smell lingered for a while. Chef smelled it too. It wasn't until he pointed it out that I realized that I had a giant cat poop smear on the side of my foot. Chef called it the ninja poop.

That was enough to necessitate a complete shower.

It's several hours and an additional shower later and I'm still wondering when I'll feel clean.

Happy Easter everyone!

Kitty Prozac

It sucks being the only girl some time. I know because for a good while I was the only girl amongst a plethora of boy cousins. And while it had it's advantages (I got Air Jordans and camo one Christmas like the boys and LOVED IT), it also had some disadvantages.

It is in this spirit that I know that Mila has to be needing some feminine feline time. Not that we're getting another kitty any time soon, but she has been and continues to be skiddish. So much so that she's started thinking outside of the box. And by thinking, I mean pooping. There's no better start than waking up to the smell of god awful and having to pick it up by the handful (albeit a fully covered hand). And by better, I mean worse.

After a month of pretty consistent litter box aversion, we took Mila to an LA vet. The month was my fault. Chef asked me on several occasions to find a vet and make an appointment. This has always been one area that I've handled. What's tricky is finding a vet that has good word of mouth AND is in the vicinity AND is open on weekends (I work so far away that it doesn't work to trek Mila or any of our furry friends out this far). However, thank God for yelp, because it helped me find all three PLUS they even make house calls. How sweet is that??

We went on Saturday to see if there was anything physically wrong with Mila. Not only was the vet super nice and took his time explaining what could be the causes (and even ignored a pushy patient in the waiting room to do so), but he was also hot. Not that Chef really cares about that, but it was definitely a perk. And by hot, I mean several days worth of stubble on the face kind of hot. That impractical hot because you KNOW that stubble hurts like heck to get kissed from but it sure is nice to look at. (He was also married).

But I digress. From hotness to her highness, as apparently there's nothing physically wrong with Mila (which we breathed a sigh of relief about). She's just a nervous cat who gets harassed by the guys. We're trying homeopathic remedies and changing her diet before we go the medication route...which is PROZAC. They don't make a special kitty prozac so she would literally be getting the same thing as a human. Just less of it. That weirds me out a little.

After this news, we made a trip to the pet store and spent some hard earned cash on the kitties. It was time they all got an upgrade. A soothing diffuser to Mila, a water fountain for Khubla, a tunnel and new litter box for them all. They got hooked up.

Not only that, but Chef has even allowed two of them re-entry into our bedroom at night: Mila (because she's skiddish and gets picked on A LOT at night) and Attila (because Mila cries very loudly if he's not in there with her). So far, so good. A few nights in and she's already using the litter box again. We'll see how long this lasts. . .

I'm A Teeter Totter

I realized this week that I've been a little more moody than normal. Or at least a little more susceptible to moodiness. I think it's a combination of all the things going on in my life. Here's are things that have gone up and down this week:

• My weight (thankfully, down a net 0.2 lbs right now)
• My anger with those who watch crappy stuff while I'm in the gym
• My happiness to watch SportsCenter while working out
• My annoyance with the cats for moving or dumping their water container
• My urge to kill Mila for scratching my face
• The scratch on my face's appearance
• My urge to kill Mila for pooping outside the litter box for no apparent reason
• My interest in Bowl games
• My nervousness for the Colts play off game tomorrow
• My anger in not being able to hear anyone who calls my cell phone (aka our only phone) while I'm in our apartment (this is getting fixed with a VOIP phone number and computer headset friends!)
• My enthusiasm about job prospects
• My enthusiasm for staying away from alcohol
• My willpower for anything
• My continued sleep patterns
• My disdain for whoever spray tanned Bob Barker for the State Farm commercial
• My loneliness
• My anger/jealousy over Chef's midday naps
• My belief that a teenager can lose 90 lbs in 90 days and it be healthy (C'mon MTV. I'm not sure "I Used To Be Fat" is a good example)
• My excitement over finding out that Glee's Brittany used to be a background dancer for Beyonce and was in the Single Ladies Grammy performance
• My love of being on the computer for 8 hours a day for working, job searching and pleasure

That's all I can think of right now, but as I am a teeter totter, I'm sure my love of the list will waiver and I'll add or delete more.

Tears, Fears, and Little Rock

I cried a lot today. Packing up the last things in our apartment. And of course leaving Nashville the last time. Chef just mentioned Nashville at lunch and it made me tear up. I have met so many great friends, and Nashville is a town where nothing bad really happened to me. No one died. I never was a victim of a crime. But when it comes down to it, I took the best thing Nashville had with me: Chef.

Today wasn't too bad. The cats were great. Some meows when we would stop, but never for longer than 5 minutes. The penske wasn't too bad to drive. Clocked up to 75 mph. The worst part of the day with the cats was in the hotel. Chef and I spent 20 minutes looking for Mila in the room. She hadn't snuck out (or so we thought) but there wasn't any place else for her to hide. So we went to the front desk to see if they'd seen a cat scurry out of our room. They had not. I just about start crying when I reach under the air conditioner and feel fur. It was a huge sense of relief.

So far little rock sucks. None of the pizza places that were top rated and listed as "delivery" in urban spoon actually delivered. So we opted for Pizza Hut. Which delivered us the wrong order so they had to go back and remake our pizza. The wifi doesn't work so I'm blogging from my phone. But all in all it's been smooth.

Next stop: Amarillo, TX. Going to get some steak but not do the steak challenge. Also we downloaded the roadside America app to hit some quirky spots along the way ( thanks for the tip, Greg). Cadillac ranch, anyone?

My Turn to Wax Poetic About Cats

I was going to write about a different type of cat (a Tiger), but I looked at the calendar (which I SWORE was my nephew's birthday when in actuality it was yesterday--good thing the present was there on time) and realized today was a different kind of cat's day. Actually, it was two cats' day. One year ago today Chef and I adopted Mila and Attila.

It was kind of a fluke. I was on craigslist posting volunteer opportunities when I decided to check out the pet section. We had gotten Genghis a few months before and noticed his kitten tendencies were getting a little out of hand. "He's got only-kitten disease," we decided and were on the lookout for another kitten. The catch was that we had bought Genghis because we wanted a specific breed (the pixie bob). We didn't want to just get any old cat, but another pixie bob. And we didn't want to pay for another kitten that close to Christmas.

Well low and behold, I typed in "pixie bob" in the search area and came up with a hit. Someone in Columbia was giving away two pixie bobs to a good home because of allergies. It's a long story, but we ended up with them both. And soon Oliver and Olivia became Attila and Mila. I have typed in "pixie bob" randomly ever since and have yet to ever get a hit.

They were both so scared that they spent the first few days hiding behind the toilet. Mila then hid behind the headboard for a few more days. It took a good 3 months for them to warm up to us, but now it's all over. Attila flips on his back at the sight of us coming near in preparation for the belly rub he longs to get. And Mila just waits for one of us to lay on the couch so that she can hop on our chest and knead us with her little paws.

So far it has easily been my second best and luckiest find on the internet. The first, of course, being Chef.

Vetin' Ain't Easy

On Friday, Chef and I took two of our cats to the vet. Mila and Attila got their first taste of shots, Nashville style. How that would differ from the style they got them in their old hometown, I'm not quite sure, but I like the sound of it better.

The thing about the vet is that we try to hide our cat mania to a certain extent. We don't tend to gush too much or elaborate about their personalities, but instead come prepared with intelligent questions. This time went much better than the last time, that's for sure.

The last time we visited the vet, we got a vet who we were told loved cats. Being that Genghis is a Pixie Bob and polydactyl, he tends to get a lot of attention. We had come in for shots and decided against getting one of them. When I was explaining our position to the vet, she was appalled that we would rather take our advice from many testimonials than her veterinary education and year or so of practice. I told her that I would take her advice if she did a little research on our breed of cat before making a recommendation, but that just pissed her off more. It was a showdown the likes of which I'm sure will be repeated in doctor's offices for our future children. Needless to say, we have a different vet within the same clinic now.

The cats are healthy and thriving. And we got a solution that seems to be working for Mila's poop problem. Nothing says love like clenaing up piles of turds from carpet. At least the carpet is brown too.

The Theme of My Time Off

I am lucky enough to work for an organization that allows us to take some strategic time off during the holidays and end up with two weeks off. To say that I needed the time off is an understatement as I haven't had any real time off in quite some time. Too long as my mental health was starting to deteriorate because of it.

Nonetheless, I've enjoyed lounging around, making a few day trips but ending up back in my bed, playing with the kitties and the like. However, if there was one complaint that I can make, it's that my time off has taken on a certain theme. That theme being: bodily fluids.

It started with sweat as I was working out and utilizing our Wii fit. Sweat I can handle. Sweat is good. But when it escalated to vomit, I was beginning to get upset. I was sick for four days. I'd try to eat and end up feeling like I was going to die. Not a great way to end up.

The next fluid was the sort that might be too unsavory to go in detail in on the blog, but let's just say it also required a lot of bathroom trips.

Within a few days it wasn't just me, but everyone was getting into the action. One of our cats, Mila, is having a hard time adjusting to the new living situation. Chef and I believe that she was the "top dog" so to speak in her last home and is having a hard time dealing with Genghis. So she's decided to forgo using her litter box and instead use the area right outside of Genghis's litter box or Chef's backpack (Genghis's favorite napping space). Every morning we wake to a new little surprise. It's like having a puppy.

So for all the time off and lounging, I've also been cleaning up, clearing out and basically dealing with a lot of crap--literally and figuratively. If I wanted to clean up this much, I would've have kids and not cats. But I digress.

Here's to hoping for a less liquid new year.