Puffin & Cappuccino: The Posse

Ccino & Puffin: Two very sweet cats 

Ccino's first name was "Angel" (eyes)

It's a ball, it's a string:
it's a cherry!

Catnip mice on the beach

Ccino demands to be groomed daily

Puffin's whiskers

Cappuccino: cinnamon ears and a frothy purr.
Puffin: full of whiskers and love.

Together they were the posse and together they crossed the rainbow bridge five days apart.

This is one cool cat. Puffin is pretty laid back and just ignores Josie unless she happens to confuse Puffin with a dog who actually wants to play. Then it's time to swat if we have to put Josie in her place. Here, Josie can hang and enjoy a nyla-bone with Puffin.

Good news for Puffin & Larry this week: He's off insulin for two weeks. His dosage was steadily declining while on the new wet food diet (Puffin, that is). Good news for Larry as he was the trooper administering the needles.

Josie and the pussy cats

All of a sudden, there we were, all hanging out on the bed together. Josie has learned some cat etiquette and keeps to herself when in the presence of felines. Exception: it's cool to hang with the Puffster.

Josie has learned how to be-have around the cats. The wrath of Ccino is too intimidating. Wooster has picked up on these defensive hissing tactics rather than the earlier flight technique. This was a sweet moment not seen before or since.

Getting ready for Christmas

Cappuccino has Betty trained

It didn't take long for Betty to learn that Cappuccino demands to be groomed. And it didn't take long for Cappuccino to learn how to go up to Betty and ask nicely. Now he just needs to stop circling and moving away so she can do a proper job.

Self-preservation is the first law of nature. Here's Wooster seeking the highest vantage point.

Earlier this week, I heard a cat fight in the back yard. It turns out that a coyote attacked a neighborhood cat, tragic and sad. Even if your cat thinks s/he knows best and wants to go outside, understand and be willing to accept the risks (preditor or Prius).

Baby it's cold outside

According to the cat-thermometer, the warmest spot in the house is snuggling on the afghan that my aunt made. I went out this morning to get a loaf of bread and the cashier was also saying it was c-o-l-d outside (56 degrees at 8:00am). But then she said a guy from Alaska said this was nice weather. It's all relative to your tollerance level and we tollerate toasty here.

Rolling along with the earthquake

By the time that you recognize that it's an earthquake, it's over. With today's technology, you can turn on the television and the local news station is already covering the event. They were able to report on size (5.6 downgraded to 5.4), the location (Chino Hills outskirts of LA, 110 miles N of San Diego) and any damage (little, water mains mostly.)

At the time (11:42am Tues), I was at work on the computer at an elevated desk on a questionable Ikea stool. By the time you've acknowledged that the screws aren't coming out, a big truck is not driving by, you have a few split seconds to enjoy the rolling sensation of this earthquake. It's not like being in a car on an overpass. Well, they could be like that, but with this it was more of a rolling, undulating feeling, not so bouncy.

I've experienced a few quakes since moving to San Diego and they've all had their slight quirks. Driving on the 163, it felt like you were a little disconnected from the road for an instant. "I feel the earth, move, under my feet . . ." Sitting on the futon in a second floor condo, it seemed like I could see a wave of vibration making it's way around the walls of the living room. It was the middle of the day and I was completely lucid and sober!

Larry said the cats were not phased in the least. They just continued on with their naps. Cappuccino is very handsome and you can't photograph an earthquake. So here you are.

Happy Father's day

Happy Mother's Day! But I didn't get a mother's day photo. No mouse clutching a violet left on my back stoop. No other cat presents found in the house. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing day of little work. Eat, Nap, Play (or take a few walks, as we did.)

We've made up the word "Napazol" which is the spinal fluid in a cat which causes them to sleep 18 hours a day. When there are a few cats around us, we often succumb to the ambient Napazol.

Mother's Day update: Later in the day I did find a present on the bed. Wooster carries this fluffy tufted toy around in his mouth and makes that "mewling" sound. Usually it just makes it to the bedroom and each day I take it back out to the living room container of cat toys. Today it made it up on the bed. Sweethearts.

I'll couch for that

Cappuccino approved of the "new" couch our friend gave us. His look seems to say "I own this couch." It's a sleeper couch which my friend says we can use for when guests come (chuckle). It's micro suede which is a very durable fabric against cat scratching. Oh, there will be and has been cat scratching, Mr. Ccino. I bought a new cardboard scratcher and primed it with catnip and brought it out the day the couch arrived. It was sort of a distraction. Another deterrent against scratching is to attach double-stick tape. Cats don't like the sticky feeling on their paws. Cappuccino, however, loves tape. We have to hide the packing tape, gnaw, gnaw, gnaw. Quite an amusing cat.

Thank You Percy

Percy passed away peacefully in his sleep at 4:30 this morning, Sunday February 3rd. Percy had his routines and he was in his favorite sleeping spot at the top of the bed. I've never had a cat pass away naturally and it's very beautiful, at least I hope it was for him.

Percy was 6 years old when we adopted him from the Connecticut Humane Society on April 14th, 1999. The form from the society placed him at 5 years old but our wonderful vet changed it to 6 years. So Percy graced us with his presence for 9 years and lived for about 15 years.

In 2003, he made the trip cross-country on the back seat of the mini van. He took the trip the best. Toward the end of the trip we were all getting a little bratty. In Arizona, we had to move the bed to extract all the cats, including Percy.

Percy was getting around well, but walked with a hitch because of his arthritis and "shot" knees (he kept his back legs straight most of the time.) I'll miss his squeaking at 6:37am (a very good little alarm clock) for morning feeding. Aww, last night I needed to blend up Cappuccino's food so I made a smoothie for all the cats. Percy did love smoothie day.

My friend Cherie reminded me of a game we used to play in the younger years: "I'm gonna getcha little Percy!" I'd say that line and he'd squeak and race off like a bunny rabbit until he stopped/I caught up with him and pet-pet-petted him. He did love a good game of string too, although it was mostly an upper body workout in the later years. Thank you all for the heart-felt condolences and for sharing your own experiences of your furry companions.

I'll miss seeing Percy in his favorite spots, his favorite routine. After eating, making his way to the living room and then to the futon for a morning snooze. I didn't see his daily routine, but would come home early some days to see him snoozing in a sun spot in Larry's sunny office. The days I was later, he would be waiting by the food bowls and greeting me with a squeak. Or he would already be on the futon again because I was really late and Larry had fed the kitties. Evening hours he would make at least one trip back to the kitchen for crunchies, then back up the stepped containers to the top of the bed, down to the litter boxes and water in the master bath, back up again, not always a restful night.

Percy didn't have much that was "his". We just all lived together and made accomodations for each other. He was a definite presence who is missed. Thank you, Percy.

Here's some links to some Percy stories:

Smoothie Day

Percy by the Pool

Percy loves to be vacuumed

Teeth cleaning

Ccino Dradle

T'was the night before Christmas and the cats opened catnip mice, a gift from Larry's parents. Cappuccino was batting it around and tossing it in the air, he was a little spinning dradle himself:

Oh, Ccino, ccino, ccino

my little ball of fur

oh, ccino, ccino, ccino,

he has a frothy purr

[repeat until silly]

Sing it really fast and child-like. Here's the tune to the Dradle song if you need it.

Ratatouille

We had an Italian mouse in the house. I walked into the kitchen and heard crunch, crunch, crunch coming from the pantry. I didn't actually see the mouse, but I had evidence to clean up. He bypassed the sunflower seeds and bit holes into two bags of penne-shaped pasta. I don't know what his preference was, whole wheat or semolina.

I gave the cats one day, leaving the cabinet door open. In all fairness, it wasn't an attraction for the mouse anymore, with all the non-mouse-proof containers removed, only jars and cans remaining. I went to the All Vegan Store in University Height to purchase a Humane Mouse Trap. I baited it with peanut butter on a thin slice of bread (didn't have crackers). How embarrassing that we have to do this with four cats in the house.

Next morning, I had a tiny little mouse in the house, green house trap that is. I rushed over to Cowles Mountain to release him with his little peanut butter snack. He was a tiny mouse; I have no idea if he's part of a family or traveling solo. I'll have to go around looking for dime-size holes to plug up with steel wool. I'll have to get more mouse-proof containers for all my pantry items. This humane mouse trap is really most humane and least stressful for all involved. Wouldn't want the four kitties to get worked up.

Home Sweet Home!

We closed on Monday, moved on Wednesday, and are rather settled in by Friday!

The close in California means escrow closed, loan funded; no documents to sign, no exchange of keys. The seller let us bring over a few fragile items that we didn't want handled by the movers. Otherwise, we had to amuse ourselves until Wednesday morning when the movers came.

Larry headed over with the four kitties at 8:00 a.m. while I stayed back at the condo to help the movers load up the truck. "Why did you get stuck with this?" one mover asked. Oh, no, Larry is on the receiving end. By 11:00 a.m., he called to say it's all unloaded. Wow! Worth every penny! We used their wardrobe boxes (which I had to load and Larry had to unload) to pack clothes right on the hanger, towels, sheets, bedding, and wacky loose items. That was six boxes already unloaded by the time I got home from my shift at the All Vegan store.

Nothing like a move to trigger that nesting instinct. I don't like the transition phase, living out of boxes, so I worked like a true domestic godess to clean and get everything unpacked. Getting the kitties settled was important too. Wooster may loose a little of his belly; he's really loving the extra running room. Percy the lounge lizard managed to get his many hours of sleep on the bed. Puffin the racoon is more nocturnal and mostly hid under the bed until night when he came out to explore. And as you can see by the picture below, Ccino adjusted very nicely just in time to enjoy a sunspot.

Putty-tat packing | Movin' Meow-meows

We're gearing up for the move by finding the finest packing boxes around: empty copier paper boxes. Sturdy. Good size for heavier stuff like books. Uniform in size. and Free. And as it turns out, quite the cat magnet.

Wooster is still the most bouncy and agile cat; the higher the better. Percy, on the other paw, sometimes has trouble lifting his back leg into the litter box. He's thrilled to have a box lid on the floor in a sunny spot.

You'd think we were moving this coming week, but it's not until the day before Thanksgiving. We'll be bouncing off the wall like a Wooster.

Percy by the Pool

Percy has been hanging out by the "pool" on the tile for the past few days because it has been unseasonably warm here in San Diego. Over the Labor Day weekend, temperatures were in the high 80s with humidity over 70%. For a cat who's acclimated to temperatures in the 70s with virtually no humidity, that's enough to make you pant (as we saw Puffin do once). We tried to get the putties to lie on gel ice packs (concealed under newspapers or cat nappers). We had the blinds drawn during the sunny part of the day. The windows opened and the fan pulled in cooler evening air, but it was still thick and heavy. The tropical storm has passed so we may have a few days reprieve before the next storm affects us. I'll still take this over a New England winter.

Just when you think . . .

Just when you think they can't get any more adorable, there they are! Percy will tollerate Cappuccino within a paw-swatting distance, but only if he is oblivious to it.

Reba send me an email of a 1955 Good Housekeeping article. It spoke of very unliberating tasks for the wife to make the husband's home more of a castle. Have the meals ready, get a fire going on chilly nights, don't bother him with your troubles, make you home a place of peace and tranquility. Put that article in the context of four companion boy cats, and it doesn't seem so outrageous. Unconditional love coming and going, as long as certain conditions are met.

Balloons for Cappuccino

Our neighbor, Alison, just graduated from UCSD and had a party in the courtyard. This was the first time that Cappuccino has seen balloons and he didn't quite know what to make of them. He hopped up on the chair here and gave a start. He bobbed and weaved, ducked and peeked at the blue and gold orbs.

Just another day of fun and joy shared with companion animals!

Wooster-quarium

Wooster likes getting to high spots. He likes a challenge, so we change things up periodically. Altitude adds to the appeal.

Here, I placed a plastic container on top of the TV cart. So Wooster can spring up four feet to the pillow and step into his new favorite sleeping spot. There's a fleece blanket inside and it probably collects some radiant heat from the television. It's very amusing to be able to see the cat sleeping, but have him feel protected by the sides of the cat-quarium, as Larry has dubbed it.

Muchas Smooches

What would life be without animals? That was the title of the chain email I received this week with a dozen cute animal pictures attached. Pointedly, one of them commented on the large hat-slash-mask on a kitten that some people should not have pets. Most of the pictures were of what pets do best: snoozing, relaxing, eating.

Here, Wooster and Cappuccino have know each other for at least 7 years now. But it doesn't hurt to get reacquainted now and again.

We moved the furniture around (again) which exposed a nice big sunspot area on the rug in the front of the room. The kitties were taking advantage of this new paradise (see Percy in the background.)