Lazy Sunday Afternoon

The kids love to nap together, spreading out across the king size bed. Even with the blinds closed, the room is heated by the sun. Everyone sleeps much closer together at night.

There's always a lot of jostling for position, mostly caused by Rudy and Issey, the usual trouble-makers. Rudy can't get close enough to me, but sends out a loud growl if anyone comes within a couple of feet of him. Issey loves to wind up Rudy! I don't think it's about being jealous of me....He just enjoys getting a rise out of Rudy....as if Rudy were his squeaky toy. I no longer intervene, and now it ends a bit sooner. Both Santino and Sophie leave quietly if they don't like what is going on. :-) (I suffer in silence.)

Thanksgiving

I have many things for which to be grateful, but today I want express special gratitude for the companionship, affection, and giggles my cats provide me.

Santino and Issey sleep and play together. Both of them excel at bedmaking, often surprising me by wrapping themselves up in the sheets.

Rudy loves to watch me brush my teeth, and is always waiting IN the shower. His idea of fun is to watch the shower head, see the first few drops forming and run out of the stall before getting wet. I cooperate by turning the shower knob on very slowly. :-)

They play games of various complexity, and I love it when their games involve me! And, by the way, I am grateful for the time I have to fully appreciate my kitties.

Slow Learner

Of course I would not be referring to my cats!

I once had a friend...a rocket scientist....exclaim that he would have a problem with having cats smarter than him. I bit my tongue to keep from saying the obvious "I can't speak for all breeds, but don't ever get a Siamese, an Abyssinian, or a Balinese!"

Though I have no need to be smarter than my cats, I would...at least...like to be AS smart as.:-)
After all, there are FOUR of them...though I don't know how Sophie would come out intelligence wise.

Last night I had fed the kitties their we food dinner, ending in a little cooked chicken for dessert.
Stuffed to the gills (I assumed) they had retreated for naps while I prepared my own dinner. The coast was clear when I left one of the cooked pork chops out to cool before placing it in the refrigerator. A few minutes later I came back into the kitchen....and that's when I discovered I really am on the slow side. :-)

Issey had the hot porkchop on the floor and was gingerly gnawing on it. Duh....We have done this before! Issey considers ALL food prey. Hahah...he was probably only attempting to save me from getting fatter!

Santino

Caught exiting the pot and pan cabinet in the kitchen. Issey is still inside, no doubt looking for food and wondering why there's nothing IN the pots!
Santino is a laid back happy kitty....












There are very few things that Santino insists on:

*To get on the dining table when there are guests.
*To be given Pitr-Pats on demand.
*To be given a little bite of everything that Issey has, even of things which Santino does not like.
*To be brushed on demand. He wants the RIGHT to eat it....which he does not.
To have his daily fill of sisal.

My Four Kids

Sophie loves to lie on the living room floor, always in exactly the same spot.

Sometimes they are cooperative and sometimes not so much....just like humans! Rudy is jealous of Issey so I did not expect to see the two very close, but neither would even look at me when I called to them. It's this kind of behavior which prompts people to believe that cats are independent. I think of it more in terms of "free" or "healthy"....even as "having inner lives".





















I looked at Issey and Santino together and said "awwwww". It will take Santino some time to learn that I no longer use the flash and it's safe for him to open his eyes.

Life Goes On

Two dishes of food, usually turkey or chicken in one, and beef, deer, or tuna in the other. They are soooooo happy! Rudy is the only one who would prefer to be alone when he eats, but since he is overweight, I am not inclined to oblige him.











Doesn't Issey look sweet? I love his folded paws.










Issey now weighs a little over 8 pounds. He still looks like he is all legs and people still refer to him as skinny. He is anything but skinny, but they don't have the opportunity to caress his solid silken body.











I have begun trying my shooting without flash. In this case, I got the image to be light enough by "pushing" it in my photo editing program...the simple one, not Photoshop which I keep avoiding as being too complicated.












Sometimes all the kitties, including Sophie, and I are in bed together. This morning I woke up with all of them, Sophie quite close. She even walked over me.:-)

Napping

We do a lot of napping here! As a matter of fact, I think we have napping perfected. We can do it in the sun, in the shade, alone or together. We can do it sprawled out on the floor, or cramped in small spaces. Best of all, is napping under the covers, curled up with Mommy.