Lucky (not as cute as he appears)

Last night we were relaxing on the couch...with four cats. Mike had G and Aggie on him and I had Lucky and Tuffy sprawled across my outstreached legs. Tuffy on my shins and Lucky on my thighs. Suddenly, Lucky jumps up, stands on Tuffy and bites down on his back. Tuffy hardly stirs. We laugh, I pull Lucky off, he lies back down, and we return to TV.

A little while later I said to Mike: "What the heck was that about? What do you think about Lucky getting up and jumping on Tuffy?" I hardly finish the sentence and Lucky does the exact same thing again.

Wha????!?!?

Cat parts - Lucky collage

Cat Parts - Tuffy collage

Cat parts

I love my cats. Obviously. And sometimes I just take and take and take pictures of them. And I get some pretty strange shots.

Before and After

Our Aggie is such a sweet, shy kitty. She's just recently decided that she might join us downstairs once in a while. Even more surprising is that she is following the trend the others have started. Now, I know for you non-catpeople - this is pretty disgusting but some of our kitties like to sit on top of the fridge. I know, I know - health hazards, fur, etc. I don't eat anything that ever comes remotely close to touching my counters (or feed anyone things that do). If you could see how happy they are staring out the window from their fridge perch you might understand. And - if Aggie - the shyest of shy cats gets up there - she's more than welcome.

So - here's Aggie one step above the fridge on a ledge at the top of the kitchen. She's acting lovable and rolling around up there wanting her belly rubbed.





And here's Aggie during her "mishap". She rolled right off the ledge onto the fridge. I was just trying to take a picture of cute little Aggie and thanks to the wonders of old, slow technology - I got another picture I didn't mean to take. A kitty in mid-air. She didn't fall far - mind you - but it sure was funny (to us at least).

Heartwarming...

Lately, I've seen and heard about a lot of sad animals. What with Katrina and the fact that it seems to be squirrel season here at my work. (I work accross the street from a park.)

Anyway, a heartwarming story for sappy animal lovers like me:

Company donates artificial leg for puppy

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10048748/

Aggie

Here's our Aggie. She was a bit younger in this picture - but I think it's a good one of her. She was (and still is) a very shy cat but she's getting braver. She's actually been on top of the fridge a lot lately. Which is something for her - she has to actually come out from under the bed to do that.

For the time being...

Since I'm out of cat photos - and since my last few posts have been "politically charged" - I thought I'd share one of my favorite pics of W.

I promise this pic has not been doctored in anyway. It was just poor placement of the fella. I found this picture on Yahoo a day after the 4th of July this year. I hope you enjoy it.

Great Quote

"The United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership," said Majority Leader Bill Frist. "They have no convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas," the Republican leader said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051101/ap_on_go_co/senate_iraq_7


Lovely quote. Seems like this quote could be useful somewhere...

or maybe retracted.

Here's our answer

From the BoozeNews website theboozenews.com:
Last week was the premier of “The Bum Trading Card” and it seems like people either like it or hated it. For those who hated it, it was extremely nice of you to send lengthy emails and post us on your blogs, but in the end you just wasted a bunch of people’s time and didn’t help anyone. Rather than blame us for their situation, get up from your computer and go work in a soup kitchen.

For those of you that don't know, The Booze News is a student run publication at the University of Illinois dedicated to bringing the students news they actually care about. We tackle the hard issues of drinking, partying, relationships, and let's face it, we kick ass.

Hardly a message that the U of I should want to present.

THEY HAVE BUM TRADING CARD #2 OUT. I don't know THIS person - but, nontheless, I'm certain he is a real person.

If you're still offended - e-mail them at stuff@theboozenews.com

Objectification

Over the weekend, my husband and I went to our normal Saturday bar for a few drinks with friends. Mike always picks up this little college paper and reads it there. He likes the politcal views in the paper. He stumbled along this disturbing image:



This is a REAL PERSON that we've seen downtown. The Pokemon catch phrase printed accross his picture has a double entendre that I find alarming. My friend, gnightgirl, has already blogged about this and received a comment from the owner of the paper this lovely picture was printed in (www.theboozenews.com). Check out her blog ("This Just In" - see link on my blog) if you're interested. They say they gave THEM sandwiches and money for their time. (Wait, there's going to be more of these cards?!?!?!) I've just written them this morning and will post a reply if I receive one.

And if you're appalled and live in the area - then please write the people at the magazine. And whoever else you can.

I feel like a jerk...

I picked up Ally from the vet today. We spayed and declawed her. I will never declaw a cat again. I don't care what the kitties do to me - scratch me, ruin my furniture, my bedspread, my curtains, my lamp...They don't deserve it. Obviously, it's not beneficial to them at all. It's not as bad as doing it for aesthetic reasons like clipping their ears or boxing their tales (or whatever the terminology for those procedures are). Ilaiy don't read this part -



Her paws aren't attractive. When I look at her little white-turned-pink scabby paws - my stomach sinks and I want to cry. And when I look at her three or four inch incision from her spaying - I just want to hold her and curl up with her and cry. And you know what she did? She rubbed my face and purred and purred and she loves me. She seems to have no idea that this was MY doing.

Ilaiy - you can read again - I blogged about this about a week ago asking for opinions. I received one from "anonymous" and, I concur with everything she or he (I have a feeling it was a she for some reason) said. I knew all of the facts that she listed before I did this. In the past, I even looked for those plastic nail covers and never found them. And I thank anonymous for her comment. She did what I asked - she gave me her opinion. My husband responded to anonymous with his classic, scathing, and sometimes amusing wit. He's right - Ally's better off than if we'd left her as a stray and she loves us. And she's happy. Even though right now she's in pain.

I don't know how to wrap this up or resolve these feelings. I sang really loudly to a song I heard on the radio while on my way back to work after dropping Ally off at home. That let me have a little pity party for myself (and Ally) and be melancholy for a while - also let release some frustration. In a short while - she'll be feeling like herself again (hopefully). And I'm sure I will too. My mother always said I had a flair for the dramatic and maybe I'm just being dramatic here. But, I hope I don't forget this. I will do it differently next time.

Sist - Forgive me!!

OK, I had to seek permission from my mom before I posted this blog because it could get her in trouble. Here it is: a picture of my sister and her homecoming date and the little message my mom sent with it.

Mallory and date for Homecoming at date’s house. I'm so bad. I forgot his name.

Love ya,
The Mom

I still don't know his name. Wait - they told me last night. I've forgotten already. Maybe Mal will comment and tell us.

Stolen Blog

My mom sent me an e-mail with the latest pics of her kitties. I really like her descriptions of the pictures and I feel like I'm stealing but - here it is anyway:

#1 Grandpa Jack and Archie.

#2 Lump (Abby) in my CLEAN sheets.

#3 Abby (Lump) enjoying me making my bed with her in it at the same time. It's our game she plays every time!!!

Question

OK, so I don't have a beautiful new picture of any of my kitties. But, I wanted to blog anyway. Next Thursday (Oct. 20th) we take Ally in to get spayed. We've been trying to decide if we should declaw her. 3 out of 4 of the other kitties are declawed. We didn't declaw the oldest one due to his age. We've since been struggling with the idea because it is kinda cruel. And, I've worried about her running outside and not being able to climb a tree.

Whaddya think?

Big A$$ Cat

Please pay no attention to the fat a$$ owner holding her cat. Just look at the size of the creature she is holding. [No animals were harmed during the taking of this picture. He just looks a little uncomfortable.]

Sleeping Cutie

My parents' new kitten has made himself at home.

Love birds

OK, so they're not birds - they're cats...

(I think the wraparound leg is a nice touch.)

Don't tell Grandma

I got this tree as a secretary's day gift a few years ago. I didn't have a house or anywhere to put an indoor tree so my grandmother took the tree. She watered and cared for it and, for whatever reason, decided to give it back to my plant-killing self. As you might be able to tell, the tree has absolutely "bit the dust" and we are just going to have to throw it away. It's completely dead, has absolutely no leaves and now all of the branches are broken completely off. I think you can guess why.

Crazy Marcy Coffee

What the heck happened?!?!?!?!?!?

I woke up at 5-something this morning to the sound of a thunderstorm. The cats automatically thought it was time to get up and eat. They proceeded to crawl accross me and glare at me from the various places they like to perch from. I kept tossing and turning and trying to avoid hyper, impatient kitties that were in the way of my getting more precious sleep time in!!!

Finally, I stumble out of bed. I can't seem to wake up at all. I thought: "maybe after I take a shower I'll wake up." That turned to: "maybe while I'm driving I'll wake up." To: "maybe when I get to work I'll wake up."

I felt like a walking zombie, until I tried the infamous "Crazy Marcy Coffee" - i.e. coffee mixed with a packet of hot chocolate.

That did the trick. I'm finally awake.

Frickin' Mondays!!!