Lurking Laundry Basket- When Laundry Strikes Back

 FVV3JFS9P6ET

The kids are asleep and I can finally try to get some sleep myself! I walk past the empty laundry basket on the floor at the end of my bed and think I should move that. I know I'll probably get up in the middle of the night, as happens often with little ones, and trip over it!

I'm too tired to bother and since I took that mental note, I'm sure I'll remember it's there now.

I get into bed and get all comfy and snuggly in the blankets. Just as I start to doze off, I hear a crash downstairs! I listen for a second, knowing that Rascal must have knocked something off of the counter. All is quiet, but I get up to see what it was. As I rush around the bed, I trip right over the laundry basket! Bet you didn't see that coming!

I get up and go downstairs to find my purse on the floor, not the kitchen counter where I left it. I scoop it up so my husband won't have to trip over it in the morning and head back to bed. I push that laundry basket against the wall before getting back into bed.

I start to fall asleep again and hear another crash! It was a completely different sound and this time it was in the room at the end of the bed! I barely see Rocco in the dim light racing out of the room as I jump from bed to see what happened. And... I trip over the laundry basket. For a split second I think, how in the world did it get back where I had moved it from, but now it's upside-down?!!

Then I realize, Rocco had jumped up on the edge of it, like he probably does all the time when it's full, but being empty, it flipped over. He rocketed into the air and sped out of there with his fur all poofed out in every direction! I calmly pushed the laundry basket against the wall again, leaving it upside-down, shook my head, and crawled back into bed. Hoping fervently for no more surprises.

Taunting of the Cats- Little Brown Bird Has His Day

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We were out of town for a weekend so the cats were on lock down. We left them with plenty of food and water and family came to check on them while we were away, of course. The dog stayed elsewhere.

Now, Rascal and Rocco are not super affectionate toward us. They moved in when they were already three years old, so didn't have that bonding time as kittens, plus, they have each other to cuddle with. They rarely sleep upstairs, let alone in our bed. Every once in a while, usually when they want some wet food in the morning and I'm trying to get past the big fur balls on the counter rubbing against my arms to find the coffee pot, they will show some love. Most of the time that show of affection consists of sitting on whatever I'm doing or needing at the time; paperwork, art, sewing, my purse, phone, you name it!

Rascal sitting on my purse

However, when we walked back through that front door, they showered us with rubs, purrs, bumping into our hands for petting.... The poor things must have thought we were never coming back! When satisfied, they bolted out the door and then I saw something that I just had to share with you!

A little brown bird was hopping around on the ground in front of our house. I had seen him there each of the two days before we left. He would hop back and forth out front, in clear view of the window, chirping now and again. Or be in the tree right out front, then, every so often, swoop in front of the window, always when a cat was sitting or napping there. Or he would fly up to the roof of the carport and hop back and forth when a cat was just below. It was like he was taunting them!

I didn't get a photo so my son drew him

When I saw him the day we returned, I just knew he'd been teasing Rascal and Rocco the entire weekend and it must have been torture for them to be stuck inside! As soon as they were back out, they were both immediately up the tree across the street, in the neighbors yard. The same bird was in the tree.

Rocco jumped over to the roof, Rascal was clinging to the tree trunk. Their eyes were wild and savage as they looked up at this pompous little bird perched just above them on a high branch, chirping away. He seemed not to notice them for a long moment, and they were frozen, ready to pounce! I watched, wondering if the hunters would be successful and get their vengeance! Then he casually flew off.

Rocco, stayed on the roof a while waiting for someone to rescue him. When he realized no one was climbing up to get him, despite his meows, he ungracefully climbed (slid with claws dug in) head first down the tree trunk. Rascal had jumped down long before.

They prowled the neighborhood for a short time and then came in to inspect the luggage we had unloaded from the car. As soon as the front door closed, I head a chirping sound! That little twerp of a brown bird was hopping back and forth in front of the house again.

Very Best, Most Awesome, Cat Blog Ever Awarded to US!

or something of the sort. In any case....

We've been awarded! 

By our new friends at Cherry City Kitties! 

 

Normally the cats leave the blogging up to me, they have more important things to do. But, I'll let them take over for this one.

Someone finally appreciates how fabulous we are (of course, who wouldn't)! Thank you! Thank you! *bowing* *proud nose held high* *bowing* *nose in the air again*

Okay, try not over do it, boys!
 

There's a catch of course, we have to answer all these questions so everyone can know us better and then pass the award on to some other deserving blogs, but that won't be hard to do! Ha, bet they didn't know that. 

They did as they were given the award before us. 

No matter, we'll postpone our naps this once and get to it:

What is your favorite treat?  
Besides catnip, licking the butter dish and licking the salt off the kids crackers when our human's are not looking. If you haven't tried it, you definitely should. Don't tell!

Your favorite toy? 

There are not enough loose strings in the world!

Favorite place to sleep? 
We never stay in one place, too long. Would hate to be predictable! The only spot we frequent regularly is the sunny kitchen window. However, sleeping in unexpected places is our specialty! And anything left on the table begs to be napped upon.

Favorite T.V. show to watch with your humans?  
Not into T.V., though there's a crawl space behind it that we investigate once in a while. 

What was your naughtiest naughty?

Oh, to pick just one? Hmm..
For me, Rascal, probably sleeping on the female human's freshly homemade apple pie (it was covered with foil, so I don't know what she got all bent out of shape for!)...so warm!

As for me, Rocco, I don't have a history of naughtiness, but walking along the headboard the other night and dropping one of the male human's heavy collectable trucks on his head while he was sleeping resulted in my being rudely tossed out of the room in the middle of the night!

How did you meet your humans?
They came to check out the annoying little kittens in the shelter we stayed in for a while (though I hate to admit that we ever stayed anywhere under 5 stars), but quickly realized we were the only exceptional cats there. Since it seemed they could be taught quickly, we allowed them to bring us home with them, even though they had little kids. Full story here.

Let me just mention how they threw themselves at us, sprawled on the floor, purring, and practically begging for their tummy's to be rubbed, while the timid kittens all hid themselves. What a display! No shame or dignity whatsoever.

Ahem! Anyways...

We don't mind the kids as long as they don't squeeze us and we love when they feed us!

What do you like most about being a cat?
We are free to nap whenever and wherever we please, of course!

What shelter/rescue do you give paws up too?
It would have to be the one we stayed in, the Santa Cruz SPCA. They did take good care of us, even if wasn't the luxury we are accustomed to.
 

What is your favorite cat holiday?
Not just a cat holiday, but National Adoption Weekend was our favorite until the female went and adopted a dog on the last one! Still don't know what she was thinking!

What is the one thing you do that makes your humans smile the most?
When we fall off of stuff, we always get a laugh from them! (They think we do it on accident, but we are so talented, we make it look like that). Of course, they love when we are cuddly, but we don't want to be known as softies! Our human may have mislead you, so let us clarify: We're lean, mean, growling machines! Watch out if you're in our neighborhood!

Caught cuddling! The big softies!

Wow, that was tiring. Off to take our nap now.  Let us know if our human adds ridiculous pics of us. They're all doctored we swear!!  

Would I do that?! *wink* 

Turning the computer over to her...

Here are some fellow pet blogs I enjoy and award the Liebster Award to:

 

The Cujo Cat Chronicles

Team Small Dog

Feline Funnies

Da Bengal Boyz

Pudding and Parfait 

Congrats! I like you! I really like you! 

I had to look up the rules, but so you won't have to, here they are (wasn't that nice of me?):

- List 11 random facts about yourself (seems this rule has been forgotten by pet bloggers, I'll leave it up to you if you want to include it)

- Answer the 11 questions which are given to you by your nominator 

- Ask 11 new questions for all the bloggers that you nominate to win the award 

- Nominate bloggers with 200 followers or less (hard to know for sure, since there are now so many ways to follow. I just looked for newer or smaller # of followers on Google+ or FB pages, whatever was listed on each blog)

- Go to each of the bloggers pages and let them know about their nomination

1. What is your favorite place to be scratched?

2. What is your favorite thing to do of all time?

3. Favorite place to sleep?

4. What is the worst thing you've ever done?

5. Do you hide from new people or not?

6. Why?

7. What do you hate most?

8. Favorite toy?

9. Which do you like better, indoors or outdoors?
10. Why?
11. Who is your best friend?

Have fun and I look forward to reading your posts, so let me know when they're up!

Cat Cleans up After Easter

Easter eggs are just so irresistible!

This cat has to have one! Aww, he's playing, wait...no, he's cleaning up! No need for this basket anymore and lets get this table cleared. How nice of you Rascal.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter!

 

How to Create a Cat's Garden, Patio, or Outdoor Space

It's spring again! The time of year to begin planting your garden. What will you plant?

When planning your garden, yard, patio, or whatever outdoor space you have, you should definitely take into consideration all members of your family, specifically your cats. They are family, after all, and will spend much time there, probably more than you!

 

Here are a few tips from Rascal and Rocco on how to achieve the perfect space for the feline(s) you love:

Start with plenty of comfortable places to nap. This is probably the most important!

yes, that's a cat in there (see pic at the top of this post)

Rascal, not to be outdone, climbed in the pot as soon as it was vacant!

  Patio furniture with cushions are always a safe bet.

 However, make sure you replace old rusty furniture that could be dangerous with super plush pillows.

fyi, I don't know if this particular plant is edible, but it sure is pretty!

  Of course, lots of greenery, but edible plants are even better. No poisonous ones, please! Obviously no pesticides, either.

 Gophers can be great fun to try to get at! We encourage you to allow them to pop in.  

Personally, I would say gophers will eat your plants and you should get rid of them yourself before your cat sticks his head in a hole, gets bit, has a gopher tooth embedded in his cheek, you have to rush him to the vet, thousands of  $$$ for surgery and appointments later you have a cat with an abscess that has to be drained and remain indoors for days while you attempt to keep him from draining on anything but the towel he refuses to stay on, not to mention his scratching, feeding only fluids through a tube..., oh, was that just my cat?? Sorry, where were we...

tomato plants up a trellis make for a great hiding spot

 Lots of greenery, yes. Vines for hiding in are fun.

  If you must have outdoor toys about for kids, make them as cat friendly as possible when not in use. For example, pick up small toys that could be stepped on or tripped over so there's room to zip around in the pedal car when you're not home.

  Covering a sandbox is rude, it should be an outdoor litter box, but if you simply have to, laying patio cushions over the top makes for a cozy, sunny day bed.










 Speaking of rude, it is also uncouth to cover and/or fence in your garden beds. Again, these make for perfect litter boxes, and the soil is so much softer that litter!

tomato cages lain across the soil to deter cats from digging up the seeds and using the bed as a litter box

 If you have a high fence, installing a cat shelf has many benefits! The cats can get up high away from kids and dogs, or just have easy access to get on or over the fence.

 But, please make sure the shelf is strong enough for your more robust cats!!

Fail

 Having some sort of high place is very important. A place to store the hose is necessary, why not mount it on a wall and build a roof over it? Your cats with thank you to have a place to look down on you from. Especially when you're using that horrid hose!

  Be sure there is plenty of room to prowl as well as large decorative pots and other items to pounce out from behind.

 And last, but certainly not least, lots of sunny area for lounging and napping. A paved or tiled patio is lovely for soaking in the warmth of the sun and also cooling down in the shade. Or even just a few large stepping stones, which look great, but also get nice and toasty in the sunshine.

I do hope this was informative and helpful! Feel free to comment and share your ideas, concerns, and more tips with us! Good luck planning your kitty cat's garden and enjoy the sunshine!

Carnival of the Cats #471

We're over at the New Tuxedo Gang Hideout today. Come play and see what some of our cat friends are up to!

Can't get enough of Carnival of the Cats #470

iInfidel graciously hosted the Carnival and we are here enjoying meeting so many wonderful kitties!