Grr, Midnight & Cocoa

Grr is Back!

2009-09-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

Come on...you know you want to pet me...just a little closer...I dare you...

Happy Birthday/Gotcha Day to Rascal & Riley

2009-08-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today Rascal & Riley were born and abandoned in a box in a parking lot, making today their birthday and Gotcha Day, since we found them that night and brought them home. I had wanted to do a post for them, and Grr had promised Flynn that she'd put up a picture of herself as well...however... The weather turned hot and dry a couple days ago and a couple fires have been burning. As of this evening, another one started. It's on the hill, in Rancho Palos Verdes, about 10 miles away. We can see it and it's got us all worried. I was on the hill shopping when it started. I saw the hillside going up in flames as we were coming home. I really haven't gotten anything done, and it's 1AM, so I'm going to have to let the kitties post later. I will. I promise!

International Box Day

2009-06-19T11:48:00.001-07:00

Grr-in-a-box. Don't put your fingers too close.

Cocoa-in-a-box.

Thursday is Grrsday

2009-06-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it is over at House Panthers anyway. Go on over there and see Grr's new friend, Flat Grr.

frum Cocoa

2009-05-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

to the Lady ~ yur caught up on yur work an the skool year's almost over an you got the Allergic Girl moved inta her own 'partment an so what I wanna know is WHEN DUZ WE GET TO BLOG AGAIN?
luv,
yur fluffy boy Cocoa
(biggify picshure fur maximum effect. I'z tryin' mine Stern Glare. did I get it good?)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ML!

2009-05-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all the best on your birthday, with love and hugs from all of us:

Grr, Midnight & Cocoa

Rascal & Riley

Max

Karen

Amanda, Melanie & Kelly

Three Cheers for Barb!

2009-05-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Today we're honoring one of the bestest friends of kitties everywhere, Barb, mom of Gandalf & Grayson. We love you Barb - purrs and hugs from all of us on your special day!

Happy Birthday Auntie Deb!

2009-05-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to one of our favoritest people ever - Auntie Deb! We love you!

Happy Birthday!

2009-05-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to help the kitties blog recently, but there was no way I was going to miss their 4th birthday. The gorgeous picture was made by Zoolatry last year (thank you again). Happy Birthday Grr, Midnight & Cocoa!
much love,
The Lady

Updates and Questions

2009-03-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

Human here, needing advice. But first some updates:

Most of the ferals at my mom's house have been caught and fixed now. The kittens and the momcat with the litter she conceived before being captured have gone to foster care for adoption. There are still two male cats who keep avoiding the trap, but we're going to keep trying. Three of the first litter of kittens are one year old now and have been adopted by my mom - GW, LG, and Tiny. Tiny was the last to get fixed because it took longer for her to be trusting enough to go into the house. Yesterday I went over in the morning, cornered Tiny in the bathroom, and pounced her with a towel. She got spayed, de-flea'd and microchipped. I also helped my mom put the flea medicine on GW and LG. Her kitties sure do scatter when they see me coming!

Max went in for his dental cleaning on Saturday. His teeth were terribly dirty, gums sore, and breath bad, but he didn't need any extractions. That's a really good thing, but we still don't know the cause of his breathing problems. Last week, when he was in for all the blood tests, the vet gave him an injection of Depo-Medrol which he had never had before. I was told that it was a steroid that would help to open the airways and Max's breathing was much quieter after that. The vet is supposed to call me tomorrow to discuss Max's problems, but I have questions for all of you. I don't think Max has allergies because the problem was the same when he lived outside as now, when he lives inside. He's tried all different canned foods, dry foods and litter, with no differences. I'm allergic to most anything, so we don't have any scented things in the house. Max snores when he sleeps and wheezes when he exercises or tries to purr, but the vet never hears congestion in his chest. My thoughts are sinus blockage or asthma. If you have a cat with asthma, does your kitty's breathing always sound the same, or does it seem to go away completely at times? Has anyone had a cat with sinus problems or anything similar? Thanks for any advice you can give me!
Karen

Max Update

2009-03-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

Um...what? I have to go back to the VET? Are you kidding me? This is my birthday month. 8 years ago I was born on some day in March. Shouldn't I be celebrating instead of being tortured by the VET?

~~~

The test results were negative for all the bad kitty diseases and that horrible sounding fungus thing. YAY! Based on the blood tests, the vet couldn't find anything to explain why the poor boy is having such difficulty breathing. One of the shots they gave him yesterday seems to have helped quite a bit though. This has been going on for about 4 years - since Max was an outdoor kitty in his former home. I had hoped it was just allergies that would go away once he was inside, but it didn't happen. It has never been something in his chest; it sounds like his sinuses are partially blocked. The current thought is that the problem may have something to do with his teeth, which are in very bad shape. This coming weekend, after a week of antibiotics, Max goes back in for dental work. Poor little guy!

~~~

Hey, whaddaya mean little? I'm 14 pounds of gorgeous Mancat ~ Max

Max is Sick

2009-03-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

The Lady is getting the PTU ready and she told me I'm going to the VET! I don't like the VET! HELP!

~~~

Update: I'm back. My temperature is normal and they don't think I have an upper respiratory infection. The Lady told them to check for something sinus related because I can't breathe well and it sounds like I'm snoring all the time. I mostly breathe through my mouth unless I'm laying really still, and I've started sneezing about a squillion times in a row, trying to clear out whatever it is. The vet is doing tests for the bad stuff, like FIV and FeLV. He also suspects it could be a bad fungus thing, and he's doing tests for that too. On top of that, my teeth are in terrible condition (we already knew that though), but he needs to see what's wrong with me and whether or not I can deal with being sedated for a dental procedure. I had two shots of medicine and they stole lots of blood. On the plus side, I pooped in the PTU and I pooped on the vet's floor and I scratched the heck outta the blood stealing guy's hand. Then he clipped my claws. Test results will be in tomorrow. Thanks fur stopping by and saying nice things. I appreciate it lots.

Max

Me, the prisoner.

Me, mrrrrowing for someone to please save me.

Midnight Monday - Riley

2009-02-22T22:45:00.000-08:00

The (formerly) Blonde Girl likes it when I jump up into her arms. I wonder why she always wears those thick jackets when she tells me to jump...?

Just added by me, Grr: I found some pictures to enter in Cosmo's Toehawk Challenge, so here they are...my floofy paws...

And, a last minute addition from me, Midnight...

House Panther Pile

2009-02-09T13:07:00.001-08:00

House Panther Pile on the bed. Little loner tabby on the dresser. (Max was in his room at the time - he comes out from late afternoon till the people go to bed.)

From left to right in the back: Cocoa (the furry ball, all curled up), Grr (in the middle, partially under covers), Midnight (pretty eyes on the right). In the front is Riley - allowed to sleep undisturbed because Grr is tired and comfy. Plus Riley is on the other side of a hump of covers and out of Grr's direct view. That helps.
And then there's Rascal - apparently excluded from the House Panther Pile. Don't worry about him, though. He's got the primo window spot with the blanket everyone fights over.

And, per request, a Grr Fix...

thank you Toby & Cupcake, for reminding our Lady that she's been neglecting us!

And The Winner Is...

2009-01-26T10:27:00.000-08:00

...Rascal. The bitter apple spray slowed him down a bit, but we lost a (computer) mouse to The Jaws of Doom. It's those small, round, black cords that he seems to like best. ::sigh::

Advice Needed!

2009-01-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Rascal. Sweet, adorable, cuddly boy...

...or Destructo Kitty Extraordinaire?
Destructo Kitty has a new hobby - chewing through wires. Where we can, we've put the wires inside of things - paper towel roll tubes, wire holders, etc., and also taped and tied wires where possible. We've tried putting bad tasting stuff on wires that he can get to, but he seems to like the taste of everything, including cayenne pepper, lemon, lime and vinegar. Does anyone have any advice to cure this little wire-chewer before he hurts himself? Thank you!

*****

Update: Thanks to all of you for your comments and suggestions! I got the bitter apple spray and sprayed the wires last night. To me, the stuff smells like nail polish remover mixed with ant spray. Yuk! Rascal backed away from it when he first smelled it, and hasn't tried to chew any wires yet (that I know of - sometimes he does it while we sleep).

Midnight Monday

2009-01-11T21:39:00.001-08:00

Grooming your chest fluff is very important. Even if it does make you look a little funny.

Midnight...

and Cocoa...

Mancat Monday

2009-01-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hello! It's me...Rascal. I've been having fun doing some modeling for the (Formerly) Blonde Girl. See?

BUT...I've got a problem. Or a "concern" maybe...
It's this:

Max, the Bedroom Cat. After 6 months of living happily in the bedroom, he's decided to come out and spend HOURS at a time in the rest of the house! What do you suppose I should do? I've been doing what any good Mancat would do - watching his every move and stalking him from high places he can't get to. The girls (Midnight, Grr and Riley) just sit and watch him. Cocoa hisses and hides. But I feel like I've got to do SOMETHING - I'm just not sure what. Fight? Play? Pounce him? Well, till I figure it out, I'm just going to keep stalking him. I'll let you know how it goes.

Midnight Monday

2008-12-21T22:56:00.000-08:00

Midnight: "Share the ham. Now. I mean it."

***update: Yes, I sure did get some. But...see that single claw on my left paw that's poking into the paper towel? See how sharp it is? Now we're all scheduled for The Evil Clippers of Doom tonight. ::sigh::

Thursday is Grrsday

2008-12-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

When your people won't turn the heater up enough, find one of their sweatshirts and wrap yourself up in it.

What's the deal with all the pictures? I was cold - leave me alone!

For more Grrsday, see House Panthers.

For more pictures of me (and some other stuff), check out the (formerly) Blonde Girl's blog.

Midnight Monday - Riley

2008-12-14T23:58:00.001-08:00

Where's Riley? The closet door is open...there's a paw sticking out of the clothes...

Her new safe sleeping spot. Grr can't make it up to that shelf.

Grr

2008-12-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

I was playing with my purrson, my (formerly) Blonde Girl, happily pouncing on her hand which was under the comforter. Then I decided I was done. Done playing. Done now. Go away. Turn up your volume and see how expressively I can explain exactly how done I am.

Note from the Lady: Normally when we hear this from Grr, we get away quickly. Her next move is to display The Claws of Doom. We're very sorry for annoying her this time, but we wanted a video.

Mancat (Rascal) and Midnight (Grr) Monday

2008-11-30T22:37:00.001-08:00

Rascal: Hi (formerly) Blonde Girl.

What? Oh, you want a kiss?

Sure...come closer...

I love you (formerly) Blonde Girl!

Now...time for Grr's kiss...

Fire Foto Friday

2008-11-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, there were several major fires in Southern California. The (formerly) Blonde Girl took these pictures while she and The Lady were driving home. We were inside the house in 85 degree heat (no a/c) with the windows all closed up because of the air quality and smell. Ashes were falling down on everything. These pictures are looking at the ocean - in the opposite direction of the fires. By the way, these pictures were taken in the middle of a cloud-free day. The orange is not a sunset.

Friday Fourteen

2008-11-14T10:51:00.001-08:00

Fourteen things we've been doing recently:
.
1) Riley: Scratching all the wood I can find. Cabinets, chairs, picture frames...oooh, my claws love wood!
.
2) Rascal: Soliciting tummy rubs. Lots of tummy rubs. In fact, I could use one right now...anybody? Please?
.
3) Max: Attempting to explore the house and meet the kitties. Grr, Midnight & Rascal are nice to me (they ignore me), but Riley and Cocoa hiss. That scares me and I run back to my room.
.
4) Cocoa: Cuddling, purring, kissing and loving on the Lady every time she holds still for even a minute. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
.
5) Midnight: Playing chase with Rascal. That little tabby boy sure is fun to play with.
.
6) Grr: Cornering Riley any time I can. Ha! grrrrrrrrrrrrr
.
7) Riley: Climbing the Lady. If she's bending over, I'll just jump on her back. If she's not bending over, it's a little harder. I have to leap up and grab her hip with my claws, then scramble up to her shoulder while she screams with delight.
.
8) Rascal: Playing "does it break or does it bounce". Fun!
.
9) Max: Getting big and fluffy again. I'm as big as Grr now!
.
10) Cocoa: Sleeping on the kitty warming pad on the branch of my tree (when the Lady's not home).
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11) Midnight: Grabbing humans with my claws when they walk down the hall and meowing loudly till they pay attention to me. I need more petting. I need more playing. I need more chicken.
.
12) Grr: Growing extra fluff for these cold California winters...see?

and here's my paw...

13) The Lady: Working 6 or 7 days a week, driving teenagers all over the place, helping the ferals.
.
14) All of us: Missing all of you!