Andy sees me turn on the laptop. He hopes I’ll play cat games for him!
Dougy is cool about it. He’d rather doze. He knows how the string hides behind the screen . It upsets him!
No cat games, no fun! Andy pouts.
Dougy has the box all to himself! Andy doesn’t feel like challenging him today.
(I played kitty videos for Andy later, after I checked my e-mail and bank balance,)
Here’s the latest photo of my friend Deborah’s kitties, Charles (front) and André.
Deborah writes: “The boys send their regards. I caught them sitting suspiciously close together a few days ago. Maybe it’s because the heat is off!”
The kitty boys are happy to have a day off to show that their kitty friends Charles and André are doing well in New Hampshire!
Andy and Dougy get along, yet there are times when they treat each other like prey. Andy minds his own business here, yet Dougy waits for him to hop down within “pounce” range! RAWR!
(Andy suspects something’s up and stays on top of the carrier.)
Andy enjoys a little sun before he cleans up.
“Say what!?” Dougy pops up out of nowhere. Andy’s main concern is the fresh supply of potent Maine ‘nip Doug (the human) just put out. Andy doesn’t like to share ‘nip!
Andy’s had as much ‘nip as he needs for now. Maybe Dougy can have some, too. Or not. Everything’s fuzzy and warm. Oh yeah! It’s Andy’s fine sunny day and it’s time for his nap!
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Just in time to make the post deadline today, my Seattle sister sends this new photo of her beautiful tuxedo kitty, Molly:
She writes: “This is Molly’s favorite outdoor activity…when the sun is shining. Otherwise, she doesn’t like to go outside.”
Here’s the other side of Molly! Her kitty cousins, Andy and Dougy, agree with her that sun is fun!
So does my friend Deborah’s handsome kitty boy. He’s been to France, so he should know, “Le soleil! Le soleil! Le soleil! “ (I think this is André , though light on his chest almost makes him look more like Charles….)
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I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the kitty boys’ favorite kitties!
Andre the Bombay cat had a hitchhiker on his whisker.
A little closer look at the bug….
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Thanks to my friend Deborah for letting me use this photo. I am exhausted today, and this photo is charming enough by itself without any further commentary, photos, or effort on my part!
Charles and André, Deborah’s Bombay kitties
My friend Deborah recently hosted grandchildren at her home, and they came up with an interesting game for Deborah’s two cats.
I noticed that my grandson C. was pretty good at imitating the voices of sportscasters. I told him he might have a future as a sportscaster but that by the time he was an adult all sports were liable to be broadcast on the Internet and that on the Internet cats rule!!!
André Breton (Monsieur Moustache)
So we came up with the idea for Internet Cat Wrestling, governed by the IICWA (International Internet Cat Wrestling Association).
Charles is a handsome black kitty!
Like all sports, the rules had to be codified, so while I was cooking dinner, C. and I made the rules.
Some of them can only be read by him apparently, and there had to be exactly ten which got harder as the dinner making reached a crucial stage, but here are the ones I can decipher:
1) both awake
2) both in same room
4) only hand and mouth
7) cat can have a coach
10) sportsmanship at all times
Charles and R. are BFFFF’s (Best Fur Friend and Friend Forever)!
The game is played as a best of 10 rounds each day for a week and involves dangling their favorite cat toy (a multicolored felt wand on a pole) in front of them until one or the other traps it in their mouth or under their paw.
Seeing C. (just finished second grade) write down the rules inspired R. (mid-kindergarten) to write her own set of rules which seems to consist of a lot of “no”s only one of which I can decipher with certainty: “5. No C.” although “no shoes, no cats, no boot, and yes Mom” are strong candidates.
R.’s rules
André won the series, not surprisingly, as he is much more a game player than Charles. André is quick on his paws and does not mind flying around to chase the wand, while Charles prefers to conserve his energy.
For half brothers they are very different. Charles does have the ability to get a grip with his mouth and not let go despite tugs from the referee but there are no points awarded for tenacity.
The Award Ceremony: André vs. Charles
At the end of the week, during our Camp Monster dinner party with their parents and A. and his wife in attendance, C. presented the awards: a fish for André The Vainquer and fish juice to Charles The Sportsmanship Winner (by default — the loser always gets the sportsmanship award).
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I hope you enjoyed this story from my friend Deborah! Her kitty boys are BFFF (Best Fur Friends Forever) of my kitty boys (Andy on recliner arm, and Dougy on floor), who were glad to have a day free of me nagging them to stand still for photos or “Do something… anything… interesting, dag nab it!”
…but my friend Deborah shows the snow in Maine is clearly on the blow. Look at this drift outside Deborah’s window!
And poor Charles the kitty and his brother André have to deal with a boring window where few birds and the neighborhood squirrel can deal with this hill of snow. Since it’s not that easy to see Charles, I’ve highlighted where he’s watching birds in this photo…. (You have to look closely!)
I don’t know about you, but I won’t complain about the piddly snow we had here in Western Nebraska a bit back when I see what Deborah’s dealing with now.
No, not Andy and Dougy (though they do wish you a blessed Christmas), but from my friend Deborah’s Charles and André, here in a holiday photo slide show.
“Meow! Meow!”
Deborah assures me Charles enjoys dressing up, and that he purrs while in costume. On the other hand, Dougy and Andy prefer to walk around in their birthday suits!
Even though Charles no longer meows for Serena, I am sure he still misses her. Both boys have been eating a lot more of late, even demanding to be fed three times two days ago. As long as Charles does not get too big, I guess it is OK. Everyone seems to be more hungry on winter days.
We’ve had a lot more chases and playtime of late and they both demand more affection. I hope they are not feeling I might disappear them too and they better stay on my good side.
I decided to give them a little excitement so I cut down a small fir in the yard that I would have pruned next spring anyway, stuck it in a pot of geranium that has somehow survived the frosts to date, bought a few ornaments and voilà! We have a Christmas tree for the first time in years if not decades. It helps that the tree is free and would have been sacrificed anyway come spring and that I had a few ornaments in storage already. André has already started batting at them from the arm of the sofa, but having lined the pot with pine cones I hope they will stay out of it. Yeah, right.
Well they do like it when I change things up so they were pretty excited.
I don’t know how you feel about dressing cats up. I remember Louie wears a cape. I have been an offender since I was a young girl on that score. Not every day or anything. I found this Santa outfit in a thrift store earlier this year and took it out today. Boy did I underestimate how big Charles is! Maybe it will fit the squirrel who lives under the porch!
Now that our Christmas decorations are finished, we can relax and enjoy the rest of the month.
