Cat\’s Eye View

Yesterday, it got cold here. The weatherman claimed that a cold front moved in. I don’t mind cold. In fact, when you are wearing a permanent fur coat, a little cold is preferable to too hot.

But it means that I have to grow my fur back again. Ma says that when it gets too hot, I shed. She says I leave whole cats under the table and that they make giant attack dust bunnies out of my fur. I think she  ‘xagerates, just a bit.

But the truth is when it gets cold like it did last night, I have to eat more and spend more time in my bed, because we have to give the fur time to come back. Ma says she loves the spring and the fall, but I gotta say, it’s not a kitty’s favorite time of year. It goes back and forth. First I’m too hot and then I’m too cold. it gets to be just about right in the dead of winter and in the air conditioning of summer.

But then both of those times mean I lose my windows…I just need to move someplace where the temperature is a nice constant 65 degrees. Any suggestions?

Love ya, Rainy D. Kitty (the frozen)

Today my Ma said a word I hate: fleas!

No, I don’t have them! How dare you ask!

The problem is that this is the time of year that they try to sneak in. Usually in the early spring and in the mid-fall, someone (usually a friend with cats and fleas) brings one of the little blood suckers into my house. It’s not like I got out and get them, ya know.

Anyway, somehow or other, they sneak into the house and Ma goes to the vet and gets my Revolution. Now, if you have not been treated with Revolution, you might now know that it stings — a lot. I’ve tried to convince Ma that fleas aren’t as irritating as that stinky medicine, but she never listens.

So I make my indignity known and run off to the basement to hide after I get hit with the Revolution. I hate it, but man does that stuff work.

When I was a baby kitty, I had earmites and worms (but no fleas) and one dose cured me. I didn’t have to get it again for 6 months. Then, I had 8 fleas. Yup, Ma counted them when the Revolution made them fall off dead. Since then, every spring and every fall I get one treatment whether I need it or not.

I heard her say today it was time for a Revolution. She did mean my flea medicine, right?

Ma says she likes it when my fur is soft and snuggly and i like it when she pets me a lot.

So, we have an understanding.

At least once a day, and more during heavy shedding season, I agree to let her brush me. Now, you have to understand brushing is good for a kitty. It gets rid of the loose fur that might otherwise be furballs and it helps prevent me from shedding all over the house.

But it can be kind of uncomfortable. At first, the scratchy slicker brush feels pretty good, but then it gets kind of irritating. Imagine having some scratch the same spot over and over again. Yeah, just like that.

So we have an understanding. When I’m ready for the brush, I go and get Ma and yip at her a few times. If she’s not busy and sometiems even if she is, she says “Hit the table” and I jump up for my brushing. While I’m enjoying it, I’ll wallow around or walk back and forth pushing my fae against the brush. But when the tail starts to swing, it’s almost time to stop. Ma has learned to be more gentle then.

Finally, when it’s time to stop, I reach out and grab the brush with my front paw and pull it into my mouth. Then, I chew. Ma sas the hairbrush doesn’t go in the mouth.  Silly Ma. Everything goes in the mouth.

Yesterday was the day for the annual kid’s fair in Anna and a special event for weiner dogs. Yup, the dauschunds and their kinfolk had weiner dog races at the park.

I can’t imagine anything more humiliating. the dogs got dressed up in COSTUMES and some of them ran around in circles to amuse the people. One poor dog was forced to wear fairy wings. Can you picture it?

I saw the pictures today in the paper and I must say, I felt sorry for the dogs. There were some cute puppy pictures, but too many of the poor little guys were wearing sweaters and cutesy clothes. It was 85 degrees for goodness sake. No dog needs a sweater over his fur coat in 85 degrees.

Still, the people seemed to have a good time and the dogs were raising money for charity. So I guess a little humility is a good thing–if you’re a dog!

Yes, I know those aren’t real words, but I’m a cat, so sue me, k?

Yesterday my people bought be a new replacement for my tunnel…a cat cube. It’s made of this nylon stuff with round entry holes on three sides and streamers hanging from the roof.

It rocks.

Now, being a cat, I must explain that I generally scorn new toys. When I got my tunnel, I ignored it for weeks and had to be coaxed inside. The star bell thing and I still don’t get along and I only play with my scratching post when someone moves it and I need to put it back where it goes.

There have been exceptions of course. My first door mousy was so much fun I beat the squeak out of it in less than 24 hours. I immediately loved my cat tree. Ping pong balls are fun, but feather flips kinda suck.

So Ma thought i might be reticent to try the new cube, but as soon as Da popped it open, I went in to check it out. It’s a great place to hide. It looks like a big leopard box in the living room. I spent most of last night making it smell like me and sleeping in it.

This is a much better pressie than the last one. Maybe I’ll forgive them now for the vaccines.

Next month, my Ma, a bunch of people she knows, and about 899,985 other people are participating in the National Novel Writing in a month program.

It challenges writers to write 50,000 words of a brand new novel in one month. The idea is that a lot of writers (like Ma) revise and revise and never finish the book because they keep trying to make it perfect.

So the solution is to just write as fast as you can and worry about the tweaking and the editing later. It’s a really good idea.

And the program is free…

But the people who run it ahve to buy webspace and all those other administrative thingys that are needed to do something like this for almost a million people. that’s why Ma’s friend Michy made this little widget thingy. It helps people donate to the Office of Letters and Light, the parent company of the sponsors of the program.

But I can’t figure out how to make the widget work, so if you want to give go the Michy’s donation thing here.

People who wanna donate to make the program better can give if they want or just cheer on your favorite writer. I intend to curl up with my mousy, sacrifice some play time and yell, “Go, Ma!” Want to join me?

Remember, I’m a cat so these number things don’t mean a lot to me, but they seem important to people.

Love ya,

Rainy

Today, I heard the man on the television talking about the bailout and the stock market and the recesssion or maybe its a derpression. And, it made me a little sad.

i don’t know what all those words mean, but Ma tells me it means that some kitties don’t have homes anymore or that their people can’t afford to feed them. Tell me this isn’t happening!

Last week, I broke my tunnel. Ma said she got it for 99 cents at Goodwill, whatever that means and they didn’t have any more. So she searched for a week and found me a replacement. It’s not my tunnel, but it’s a good solid cat hidin’ hole. Ma said it was 10 times as expensive as my tunnel, but they got it for me anyway.

I thought if the ‘conomy was bad, people couldn’t buy nothing.

Ma said that the bailout means that some people can buy some things now, but that there will be hell to pay someday. I don’t think i like that.

I’m pretty sure I could have coem up with a better way to stimulate the ‘conomy. Like give everyone a new kitty and food and toys and vet care for a year. Then, the people will love their kitties so much that they’ll work hard to keep buying them stuff.

That’s how it works, right?

No?

Oh, well, I guess i can’t fix the economy, but guess what? Neither can Washington!

I’ve heard a lot of talk recently about vaccines. In kitties, people want to skip them because there is a tiny little danger of the site of the injection developing skin cancer. In people, mothers want to skip them because they’ve heard that the preservatives in the vaccine might be loosely linked to increasing autism.

Now, don’t get me started on what’s being diagnosed these days as autism. That’s another rant all its own.

This rant is completely focused on vaccines. I just had mine last week. They suck big time. They hurt, they involve going to see Dr. Kim (which means going outside) and they make me feel crummy for a day or two. I imagine it is very similar for babies.

Unlike babies, I am not exposed to a lot fo germs. I live only in my huse. I do not play with other kitties or go outside. No other animals are allowed inside my house. In short, the probability that I will get exposed to rabies or feline leukemia are pretty tiny. But Ma gets me vaccinated anyway based on the concept of herd immunity.

The basic concept is that if 80 or 90 percent of the population is immune to something, then major outbreaks don’t happen. So, even though I am an indoor only kitty, I am even more secure against rabies when everyone gets vaccinated.

The same is true of children. When you don’t vaccinate, you create a weakness in the population. then, the virus can take hold in that portion of the population, grow stronger and possibly spread to the rest of the population. One person chosing to be stubborn for very unscientific reasons can weaken the entire population. So, I get my shots.

I hate them. I hiss. I cry and I out, but I get them.  You should too and so should your people.

Love ya,

Rainy Kitty

My Ma & Da call opening the windows and the door money-saving. They say it means that there is no need to run the air conditioning and we save money.

I say its a special vacation.

I don’t actually like to go outside. It’s a scary, scary place. But it smells wonderful. So there is nothing better than an open door on a brisk fall day.

I can smell the squirrels when they come to steal the bread that Ma & Da put out for the birds.  I can watch the birds fight with the squirrels and I can say hello to all my family members that live in the back yard.  Ahhh, the joys of fall…

As you all know, i had to go to the vet on Wednesday. Ma said it was time for my shots and after my shots, I’ve been feeling crummy. Happens every year for a day ro two. Ma says it will happen to her next week when she gets her flu shot.

So, I’ve been more snuggly than usual and stealing Ma’s seat whenever I can. She has this big soft pillow that my Auntie Dawnie made for us and it feels nice on my back when I’m chilly.

Last night, I found out that blankeys can be comfy too. Da noticed that I was curled up tight to the pillow (thanks Auntie Dawn!)  Auntie Dawn lives in Seattle and you can buy her nifty crafts here. She likes to crochet and sometiems lets me play with the yarn. She’s coming to visit me for Halloween.

Anyway, Da saw that I was cold and got me a blankey. It was soft and fuzzy too and kept me warm all night. So, happiness is a warm blankey!