Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Wordless Wednesday


Even though it is Wordless Wednesday we just wanted to remind you that our 100th post contest is still open. Take your best guess as to when we will make our 100th post. You must guess by tomorrow, Thursday May 31st. Please post a date and time for your guess. Only one guess per kitty (multiple kitty households can have one guess per kitty.) Sorry, no woofie guesses allowed! The lucky winner will get a surprise from us!

Monday, May 28, 2007

Our 100th Post


Happy Memorial Day Everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday. We spent a lot of time looking at birdies this weekend. It was very hot here in Lansdowne so Mommy and Daddy had all the windows open wide. It made for great birdie watching views!

We can't believe how quickly this has come up but it's almost time for our 100th post! Guess when we will do our 100th post. You must guess by Thursday May 31st. Please post a date and time. Only 1 guess per kitty (multiple kitty households can have one guess per kitty.) Sorry, no woofie guesses allowed! The lucky winner will get a surprise from us!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

True Confessions Kitty Style


We have been tagged by our good friend, Chairman Mao, for the True Kitty Confessions Meme which was started by Mao Mao's sister, Marilyn MonREOW. The way it works is we get to confess as many naughty things as we want and then tag as many kitties as we want to play along (this is going to be fun!). Here are our true confessions, kitty style:

Mr. Chen's True Kitty Confessions

1. I wake daddy up by nibbling at his toes very early in the morning.

2. I like to dirty up and play with the mat by the door.

3. As has been noted in an earlier post, sometimes I emerge from the litter box with a bit of litter on my nose.

4. I like to shred the ugly hamper in the upstairs hallway (really I'm helping mommy get a new one quicker!)

5. I like to stand up tall and scratch on the screens in the back door and in the windows. Mommy and Daddy are a little worried about this. I may need to stop doing it otherwise, they will realize I'm trying to break through to catch those birdies.

6. I run and hide in closets as soon as mommy or daddy opens the door. Ollie does, too. We do this even though Mommy and Daddy say "No Chenny. No closets!"

Ollie's True Kitty Confessions

1. I attack computers for the hell of it now. When I was little I thought there was something on the screen to catch called a mouse. Now that I understand, I just pretend that I still want to catch it by scratching at the computer and trying to attack that mouse to keep mommy and daddy on their toes.

2. I like to eat zippers. I've eaten 3 out of 4 of the zippers off of mommy's favorite comfy pants. One more to go! (NB. Don't swallow the zipper if you are going to try this at home.)

3. I climb shower curtains and curtains. It's fun. I can't help myself. Sometimes, I just like to stick my head under the bottom of the curtain and then twirl around in it, too.

4. I pull up carpet. See, there is this really ugly carpet in the house left over from the previous owners. Mommy and Daddy say they hate it and can't wait to pull it all up finally. I'm just helping them do it quicker.

5. I like to wake mommy and daddy up very very early by trying to climb up and catch the bedroom ceiling fan. The way I usually do this is by generally pacing and meowing and jumping around from dresser to dresser or even on top of the very top of the dresser near the ceiling.

6. As Chenny mentioned, we have a thing for closets. Love to run in them as soon as the door opens. Actually, Chenny and I have a system. When mommy or daddy opens the door, we secretly signal each other and one bolts in while the other provides a distraction. It's very effective. Try it next time!

7. I love to climb on tables and counters. Mommy and Daddy try to get mad at me but I am slowly but surely teaching them that counters are the best place to get kisses and hugs since we can make really good eye contact there.

8. WARNING - DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DO NOT LOVE ANIMALS: I tried to eat my own poop once. Just once. And, I promise I'll never try it again. Somehow it got out of the box with me. I got nervous. Didn't want to get yelled at so I tried to eat the evidence. Unfortunately, this plan seemed to backfire as mommy seemed more upset than ever and made me stop. Immediately.

Wow. This was very CAThartic! Thanks, Marilyn for such an inspired meme. And, thanks to Mao Mao for tagging us.

Now, we tag Jeter Harris, Honey P. Sunshine, Luna, and Monty Q. Kat. Can't wait to read all your true kitty confessions, too!

Ollie's the Project Manager


You may think that holiday weekends are all about resting but not so. Daddy and I have lots of projects this weekend. Here I am helping find the right tool for the job. Hope you're getting the right mix of rest and projects this Memorial Day weekend!

Friday, May 25, 2007

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!


As you can see, we're getting a head start on our long holiday weekend today. (Jeesh, you think mommy and daddy would spring for a bigger chair, huh?) Hope all kitties and their families have a happy Memoridal Day Weekend!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #4


For this week, we thought we thought we'd tell you thirteen facts about cats that we learned. Here goes:

1. The nose pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique, just like the fingerprint of a human.
[Oh man. This is too cool!]

2. There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with 33 different breeds.
[That's a lot of kitties!]

3. A cat's heart beats twice as fast as a human heart, at 110 to 140 beats per minute.
[Mommy lays her ear on our bellies to try and listen sometimes.]

4. Cats wag their tails when it is in a stage of conflict. The cat wants to do two things at once, but each impulse blocks the other. For example: If your cat is in the doorway wanting to go outside, and you open the door to find it raining, the cat's tail will wag because of internal conflict. The cat wants to go outside, but doesn't want to go into the rain. Once the cat makes a decision and either returns to the house or leaves into the rain, the tail will immediately stop wagging.
[Very interesting! We didn't even know why we did that...]

5. There are three body types for a cat. Cobby type is a compact body, deep chest, short legs and broad head. The eyes are large and round. Muscular type is a sturdy body and round, full-cheeked head. Foreign type is a slender body, with long legs and a long tail. The head is wedge-shaped, with tall ears and slanting eyes.
[We're both muscular we think!]

6. More than 35,000 kittens are born in the U.S. each year. Spay or neuter your cat.
[Yup. Been there. Done that.]

7. A cat will almost never "meow" at another cat. This sound is reserved for humans.
[Now, who knew that one?]

8. The average age for an indoor cat is 15 years, while the average age for an outdoor cat is only 3 to 5 years.
[Ah ha! that must be why mommy and daddy won't let us go outside.]

9. The oldest cat on record was Puss, from England, who died in 1939 just one day after her 36th birthday.
[Man, that is one old poose! We hope we can live to be that old!]

10. The behaviors shown by most house cats have a parallel in the wild.
[Yes, we demonstrate these daily. Ollie frequently lays around looking bored like those big cats do in the jungle. And, Mr. Chen demonstrates the hunt daily.]

11. A cat will kill it's prey based on movement, but may not necessarily recognize that prey as food. Realizing that prey is food is a learned behavior.
[But, what explains why prey killed when moving gets dropped into the food bowl??]

12. Cats are the sleepiest of all mammals. They spend 16 hours of each day sleeping. With that in mind, a seven year old cat has only been awake for two years of its life!
[Zzzzzz... That explains why we have so many lives. 'Cuz we spend so many of them sleeping!]

13. Egyptians shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning when they lost a beloved cat.
[Now, that's what we call a tribute.]

Bonus Fact - Cats knead with their paws when they're happy.
[Well heck we all knew this one... We sure wouldn't be baking biscuits if we were upset.]

Taken from Amazing Cat Facts.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Favorite Things Meme



We have been tagged by our bestest friend, DaisyMae Maus, for a meme on our favorite things...

Time of Day:
Mr. Chen - Cuddle time with mommy and daddy
Ollie - 4 or 5am for play time with mommy and daddy

Day of the week:
We both love Saturdays 'cuz mommy and daddy seem happiest and can play with us all day if they're home.

Season of the year:
Now that we have made it through one full year as of this month, I guess we can intelligently answer this one. Spring is our favorite! Birdies are out and we love to look out the back door or out an open window and watch all the things that fly in the sky or crawl on the ground.

Holiday:
Christmas! 'Cuz we got stockings and toys and extra mousies. We never had this in the shelter.

Beaches:
Hmmm. We don't really know what these are but we guess if we had to chose something it'd be Ocean City, NJ for Ollie and Rehobeth beach in Delaware for Mr. Chen.

Song:
Mr. Chen - Dancing Queen (ABBA)
Ollie - I Wanna be Sedated (The Ramones)

Flower:
Mr. Chen - pussy willow
Ollie - dandelion

Talk show:
Does The Daily Show with Jon Stewart count?

Movie:
Mr. Chen - HappyFeet
Ollie - StarWars

Soaps:
No thanks. We don't need 'em - we got our tongues!

Beverage:
Water and tuna juice.

Fruit:
Mr. Chen - I don't think I've had one yet but since Daisy's sister Pixie likes 'naners maybe I'll try one of those.
Ollie - Can I count the olive I ate once?

Snack:
Temptations - we had our first ones just yesterday in fact. With all the buzz about them on the cat blogoshpere, Mommy got us some for our birthday (but we were so distracted by the tuna and tuna juice we didn't bust 'em open then). They were so good Ollie ate his and then ate one of Mr. Chen's, too! Thanks kitties in the blogosphere for getting our mommy to buy them for us.

Food:
Wellness stinky goodness and Verus dry.

Restaurant:
What's a restaurant? Mommy and daddy said they like to go but we have never been to one yet. Maybe the kitties in the blogosphere have some good recommendations for us?

We will be tagging:
Brainball
Derby
Luna
Honey P. Sunshine
and any kitty who hasn't already been tagged

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Cousin Suzie



Everyone, this is our Cousin Suzie. Please welcome her to the cat blogoshpere. Mommy and Daddy helped take care of her when our Pop Pop and Dee Ree went to Hawaii. She was very sad that her Mommy and Daddy left her (even if it was for Hawaii) and she kept hiding under the bed. But, then she got real friendly and everything was ok. Suzie is a very sweet girl. She likes to play with her cat nip and she likes to snuggle with her daddy. Do you think she can be convinced to have a bloggie of her own someday? We'll talk to her!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Very sad news

We are so very saddened about the news of 35 kitties whose lives were lost in a fire this weekend in Cape May, NJ. These kitties were part of a cat trap, neuter and release program in the New Jersey beach town. It is so sad that these poor kitties perished due to the tragic fire and are now on the bridge. While most of these kitties were wild and did not have bean families at home, as the Animal Control officer John Queenanman said "To me, a life is a life, and any tragedy like this, whether it's human or animal, is just a sad situation." We send our love to those 25 adult cats and 10 kittens now on the bridge because of that awful fire.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Who Needs Expensive Toys?




I know we just posted about our super duper new Motor Mouse last week that we got for our birthday (thanks again mommy and daddy!) but really who needs fancy motorized toys when you have a bag to amuse yourself?

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #3 - Reasons we love our Spinny Mouse Thing















Here are thirteen shots of why we love our new spinning mouse toy. You see it has this mousy that runs around and around in a circle really fast or we can just bat it back and forth depending on whether mommy and daddy turn on the switch thingie. It also has a scratching pad area that we're really getting into. Thanks Mommy and Daddy for a great gift!

Oh, mommy says it's called the Motor Mouse.

Monday, May 14, 2007

I'm a Real ManCat Now, ManCat Monday


Now I am a true ManCat. This weekend I turned one year old so it's official and I have entered my ManCathood. (Funny, I don't feel *that* different yet...)

Sunday, May 13, 2007

3rd Annual Paws for Kindness Day

Mommy attended a wonderful event in Lansdowne yesterday. It was the 3rd Annual Paws for Kindess Day to support the Animal Friends of Lansdowne. There was a parade and everything. Too bad it was mostly woofies. Mommy wanted to take us there but we have some harness training to do yet so maybe next year we'll make it. Check out all of the photos from the event.


Isn't this a handsome Great Dane?

And, look his nails are painted special for the parade!

This is our neighbor, Radar. Radar lives three houses down the road from us. Radar won 2nd place in the parade! Congrats Radar!

This is Rufus. Rufus won first place.

I'm too sexy for this parade.

This little ballerina woofie is cute, huh? Biggify to see her pink toenails.

Isn't this a handsome lion cat? His name is Eddie Bauer. Mom said she would really love to adopt him. Can you imagine? Good thing Dad wasn't there to see him or we might have ended up with a new big brother this weekend!

More funny woofies.

This one is Minnie.

And, last but not least, this here is Shadow. Shadow won 3rd place in the parade just for showing up and being the only brave kittie in a parade full of crazy woofies! Woot woot! Yeah Shadow! (Maybe we'll get to participate next year since we have a whole long time to practice walking in our new harnesses.)

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Happy 1 Year Birthday to Us!






Today is our 1 year birthday party. We got a neat tent and a circular thingie that has a mouse running around in it really really fast. We also had tuna cakes (first time we ate tuna - yum.) and oat grass. Oh, our mommy and daddy tried to put these harness thingies on us. We didn't like that so much. Ollie chewed and wiggled his way out and Mr. Chen inchwormed around and looked worried. We don't think that was part of the party, though. They were trying to do that because today was also the Animal Friends of Lansdowne 3rd Annual Paws for Kindness Day (mommy says we'll post those photos tomorrow for everyone). Such a busy Saturday. Hope you are having a happy Saturday, too!

Friday, May 11, 2007

Seven Facts About Me, Ollie


It's me, Ollie, here and while I have not been tagged for the Seven Random Facts About Me meme I've decided to play along anyway. Thanks to Sammy and Miles for your encouragement!

Seven Random Facts About Me, Ollie

1. I was very sick when Mommy and Daddy first brought me home from the shelter
Mommy and Daddy were only planning to get one kitty from the shelter but then Daddy saw me and he really felt a connection and kept coming back to me (I was luring him in good!). When they decided to get me and my new brother Mr. Chen, I was healthy and fine. But, then when they came to pick me up (after I had my hoo-haas snipped and all my shots taken care of) I had a bad upper respitory infection. I really felt lousy. I was sneezin' green snot on everything. Mommy and Daddy would take turns holding me in a steam shower to clear out my sinuses. Then, after the respitory infection, I got an eye infection. So then I was getting eye drops and really not in a happy place for a little while there. I slept a lot and Mommy and Daddy thought I was "the quiet one". Little did they know!

2. My nickname is Lolli
Mommy and Daddy call me Lolli, Lollipop, or even sometimes just LOLZ. They also call me Maka, Mackerel, and Tubesocks (cuz of my white socks)

3. My middle name is also Oliver
For the record, my full name is Oliver Oliver Oxenford. It's true.

4. I am a red dot addict
I can chase the red dot for hours. Or really any moving light for that matter. I can't help it. I am an addict.

5. I ate an olive once
Mommy and Daddy don't typically give me people food but I've actually had an olive, some spaghetti, and a short rib. I liked all of these dishes but the short rib was my most favorite.

6. I ate a moth once
Again, true story. Daddy picked me up and held me and I got to looking at the light and all the sudden I saw this moth flying thingie come out of nowhere and I caught it and ate it.

7. I recently started jumping on top of mommy's mirror over her dresser
This is a new skill that I am honing but I have learned how to jump on to the very high dresser mirror and walk it like a tightrope. This is all in preparation for my next move which is going to be to get a running lunge for the ceiling fan and try to catch the arm of the ceiling fan thing. Think I'll make it?

Bonus fact - It's my birthday party tomorrow! You're all invited!
Oh, and I love my brother so much!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Seven Random Facts About Me


I've been tagged for a meme by beautiful and brainy Marie, the Defender. Thanks Marie for tagging me! (You might not guess it, but this is my first meme and I'm very excited!)

Here we go:

Seven Random Facts About Me, Mr. Chen

1. I was the display cat at Morris Animal Shelter
When mommy and daddy were at the shelter trying to pick out who to take home forever, I was in the window as "show cat" to try and get people to adopt more kitties. Leslye at the Shelter told mommy and daddy that I was special and should consider me and picked me out of the window and plopped me in their arms. Then, after they held me for a bit, I wasn't so sure about them so I jumped out of their arms and ran around the shelter and ran and ran right into the glass door.

2. I have a bit of a "coke habit"
Frequently, I emerge from the loo with a little piece of litter on my nose. Mommy and Daddy call it "my coke habit" but of course, I just really get into any project at hand.

3. My favorite sport is inchworm
Whenever anyone is petting me or even thinking about petting me, I like to lay down on the ground and stretch all out and inch my way around on the floor pulling my body around with my claws. Daddy calls it "inchworm".

4. Small beans and strangers make me very nervous
I really don't understand the appeal of company or strangers in the house. Mommy and Daddy had a party a few months after they brought me home and I didn't come down for the entire two days there were weird people here. When someone that is not mommy or daddy comes to the door, I bolt. Seriously.

5. I could play for days on end
The first night mommy and daddy brought me home, I just started playing with the mice and toys they had and didn't stop. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to play. More than my brother, Ollie, who you can get riled up with the fevers and red dots but otherwise could take it or leave it. Not me. I could mouse all day, all night.

6. Mr. Chen was my name at the shelter
Leslye from the shelter told mommy and daddy that my name in my old foster home was Mr. Chen. They thought that was cute but were going to renmame me when the decided to get me and my brother. They were going to call us Rock and Roll. But, then they decided that Mr. Chen was just perfect and how could they possibly change it.

7. I adore my brother Ollie
Though we're not related by blood, we came from the same shelter and we love each other so much I couldn't imagine life without him now.

Bonus fact - my birthday party (Ollie's too) is this Sat! You're all invited!

Now, I would like to tag the following seven kitties:
Caesar, Luna, DaisyMaeMaus, Zevo Calamari, Miles, Bonnie and Patches

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Nora, the Piano Playing Cat


Wow! Not only is Pee Wee Martini (contender for World's Ugliest Dog) from Philly but so is Nora, the Piano Playing Cat. You all know about Nora, right??? Check our her beautiful piano playing on YouTube.

We also learned by reading this month's Greater Philly Tails that Nora will be featured in an upcoming educational film created by the National Science Foundation. The NSF film will feature kitties, woofies, and other pets doing our typical miraculous and wonderful stuff that we do. Apparently, some humans need to be convinced that we do these amazing things so they're making a film to help them finally get it. Way to go, Nora!

Monday, May 07, 2007

ManCat Monday



This weekend mommy and daddy went to visit a very special ManCat named Calvin. Mommy used to live with Calvin when she lived with our Uncle Mike. Calvin is a beautiful orange and white kitty but one day he went missing. Calvin was gone for weeks. His daddy was very sad and very scared and worried. Calvin was missing for what seemed like forever and everybody had pretty much given up hope. But then Calvin was found!! When he was found he was all skinny and sick and had some pretty scary neurological damage so nobody knows all the bad things that happened to him while he was gone. Now he is fat again and just as loving and wonderful as ever (according to Mommy). He is just a little "special" in that he tilts his head sideways a lot more than usual. We are so happy they found our cousin Cal Cal, Special ManCat Extraordinaire!

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Vote for Pee Wee Martini


In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, we read about a woofie named Pee Wee Martini who lives in Philadelphia (Fishtown actually, which we have decided we must soon go visit for obvious reasons). Pee Wee is trying to get himself voted World's Ugliest Dog. We are definitely going to vote for him! By the way our mommy says he is not ugly but beautiful in his uniqueness. We think mommy is crazy and Pee Wee is one ugly woofie! Vote for Pee Wee Martini.