As requested, kitten update

Well, I have been sending Kitty updates via my iPhone, but this one merited a full post and... video. Of course, tribe SUCKS at embedding (and is not great at links either), etc. so I will point you to the YouTube and let you figure it out.

www.youtube.com/watch

Kitten sitting in Piedmont?

Now that Tabitha is back, and she and the kitten have returned to their regularly scheduled wrasteling/napping/eating/attention seeking routine, it occurs to me that we need to secure caretakers for them while we are away with my family for the holidays.

At the moment, the plans include two trips:

The first one is the weekend of December 13-14. We might be able to get our neighbor to check in with the kitties that weekend, but we still need to ask her. If not, it would be nice if someone could make sure to stop by and make sure they have what they need, and give the kitten some lovin'.

Also, we are probably going to leave for the big family xmass on Sunday the 21st, although there is a chance we may need to leave later, say on Tuesday night instead (workload dependent). For that one we are likely to be back on the 28th, although we might go on another trip I am not sure if the best plan to have someone take Yorick and someone (else?) come check in on Tabitha, or if someone wants to come stay at our place while we are gone. It is in Piedmont, so we are walking distance from lots of great restaurants and shops, and we have plenty of DVDs and cable to keep you entertained, not to mention wireless.

Let me know if you are interested/available.
Thanks!

And the cat came back...

Yay! I happy to report, that Will's plan to sleep light so that he might hear Tabitha worked. He heard her early this morning, and although could not catch her, at least we knew she was nearby. After a shower (which apparently scared her away from the open front door), I went outside and looked around again. I opened the shed with the electrical box, and was hissed at. When I looked up (I had opened it to see if she was hiding under it) There was Tabitha, crouched on top. As soon as I started talking to her, she started scolding me soundly. I had to pull her out awkwardly, but once I had her, she did not struggle too much, and allowed me to bring her inside. She got a nice wet catfood treat (half of Yorick's breakfast) which she scarfed down, and has graced my lap a couple time since.

Edited to add photo of her dumping 3 days worth of shedding on me.

Missing my cat...

Monday night I was standing in the doorway with the kitten in hand, and trying to invite our upstairs neighbor kitty, Buddy, in to play, which, I know was a dumb idea, especially since Tabitha has been antsy to get out and defend her new territory from all the other neighbor cats. She was right there in the doorway trying to let Buddy know she was not impressed with him in the slightest, and took the opportunity to dart out of the door after him. Yeah, I know it was not the smartest thing I could do, knowing she has been anxious to get outside and engage the other kitties. Well, she has not returned, and since we moved in a couple of months ago, I am not sure how well she will be able to find her way back home. Also, since we are not there most of the day, even if she does come home, we will not be there to let her in, so she only has a small window of time when she can find us. She is also a notoriously shy cat when it comes to humans, and hates to be picked up (sometimes even I cannot use two hands to pet her on the off chance that I am trying to pick her up).

The good news is that she had her collar on (although she has wiggled out of it at times) and although the address is the old one, that is only 2 miles away, and they all know her and me (and the phone is still correct). Also, she has been chipped, and although it does not work like a GPS, if she is found and brought to a shelter or vet, they have the info to contact me. Here is hoping she makes it home soon.

No snuggles yet...

... but we have caught Tabitha and Yorick actually playing together! They move too fast for me to capture it on my iPhone camera properly (this is the best I could get), but both Will and I have seen it several times this weekend. The funny thing is they seem to want to play different games. Tabitha is rather fond of Tag. She used to do this with Sasha too. Tabitha sneaks up to the other cat, and bats at him or her a couple times to get their attention, then bolts into the other room. She seems to want the other cat to chase her, so she can then ambush them as they come around the corner. Sasha would play along occasionally, but would tired of it quickly, and often not even bother chasing her past the first room. Of course, Tabitha is far too fast for Yorick, who still has some growing to do, not to mention he has yet to figure out that he is supposed to chase her in the first place. Yorick, on the other hand, prefers Hide-n-Seek. Now, that is a game where he has the advantage! He can still fit into much smaller spaces than Tabitha can, so has many more perfect hiding spots. Tabitha, however, can't be bothered to actually search for him. I am sure they will figure it out eventually. For now we are just glad that she is taking a hand (or perhaps I should say: paw) in keeping the ankle-bitter entertained.

Making himself at home...

For the fans of the little tyke, formerly known as Hoodie or Joey, I am sure I am due an update.

Yorick has adjusted to his life and has settled in well enough. Or really, Will and I have adjusted to the routine of having a kitten in the house. He stills spends the nights and days we are off at work in his room (the bathroom, equipped with the big bed Kitty loaned us, as well as all his other necessaries), although he is certain he is missing out on something when he is in there. He has been seen eating kitten kibble when he is hungry and we have not provided wet kitten food for him quickly enough, although he still prefers the wet food (he graduated from baby food a couple of dasy after arriving). Tabitha has recently discovered that she prefers kitten kibble, and is been found stealing his food several times.

Speaking of Tabitha, although yet to be snuggling with him, she has finally reduced the frequency of her hissing and growling, and just the other day, we witnessed her playing with him. Yes, playing. I am sure she would deny it, but we each have witnessed clear playful behavior towards Yorick. She used to try to coax Shasha to play with her, by sneak attacking her, then running onto the other room, to try to get her to follow. Both Will and I have seen her do this with Yorick on different occasions, with minor success. He seems to enjoy the play, but does not get he is supposed to follow her, so it just looks like she is running away from a kitten. The indignity; if she only knew it makes her look like a wuss. But I appreciate her efforts, and we are often encouraging her to "knock him around" since he needs to work off that kitten energy on something other than our ankles. Now, that is something we hope he grows out of soon! He is in full fledge ATTACK! mode with anything he can reach, especially our feet and hands.

We have him scheduled to see our local vet for his 3-week follow-up shots next weekend. I got him some new toys the other day, which he seemed to enjoy (seen above, a fuzzy lobster and a furry pineapple).

We have accepted another furry overlord

Ever since moving into the new place with just me, Will and my kitty, we have noticed a change in personality the otherwise shy Tabitha. My kitty has become an attention whore, who is clearly lonely and misses having another kitty around. Now, introducing her to the other kitty she lived with for most of her life so far was not a problem because they were both about 4-5 months old, and all it took was a weekend of discovering that they could become playmates. I was sad to split them up but, was not planning to get another kitty in our already too small of an apartment. The other household we just left agreed, and have since gotten a new kitten, which helped the remaining cat settle down a lot (she was being a pain also). Well, Tabitha has really been driving us nuts with her loneliness, so I had been seriously considering it might actually be time to cave and get another kitty. Lo and behold, but Kitty discovers an abandon kitten in her backyard (long story, so read her posts for details). So, a couple of days ago, Will and I went over there (we needed to pick up something of ours she brought home from faire for us anyway, but this was added incentive) and we spent the evening bonding with the little tyke. Well, Will was totally won over, and had already decided his new name should Yorick.

This past Saturday, after Kitty took the kitten known as Joey to the vet and he got the seal of approval, she brought him and his fan club over to give him a proper send-off. He spent most of that evening, after they left, bonding with Will. Tabitha is not pleased, and has still not relented to accept the intruder. Even after we gave him a bath tonight, and we could clearly use a professional tongue to help dry him off, she would have nothing to do with him aside from hissing and growling. I hope she gets over herself, and sees how nice it will be to not be an only cat soon.

Meanwhile, there is more kitten porn both on my tribe photos and on my flickr account. You have been warned of the cute.
www.flickr.com/photos/rag...8739289527/

Move update: Call for help

So, Will and I found a place to rent in... (wait for it)... Piedmont. Woot! And, while there are some things I could wish were different (tiny kitchen with an electric stove and no dishwasher, shared laundry facilities), it is in Pied*f*ing*mont! The property manager was certain we would fit in because the other tenants are artsy types. So far those we have met seem nice.

Now for the complication. We need to move this weekend (mostly on Saturday), and don't have vehicles large enough to move the bigger items. So, anyone with a truck able to lend a hand? Happy to cover gas money, and recompense with suitable food and drink, of course. At least the move is not far (less than a mile between locations), and we have been moving smaller stuff over already.

Job offer

Been working here as a freelancer for over 9 months, and recently "interviewed" for the position. Just got offered the job today. Woot!