UPDATE!

hi cats and humans and other (furry and not-so-furry) friends!! it has been awhile, and if you read my human mom's blog, you will already know what i have to say.  we are in the process of doing some autumn cleaning; this has included taking stock of our internet and "real" lives, and deciding what we want to keep and what we want to throw away or perhaps change.  mom and i have decided to re-invent our blogs... i might stay at this address, or i might follow her wherever she decides to place her new and (of course) improved blog.  we are working on this endeavour now, this week.  i hope you will stay tuned, as i will post any new address or other info here for any readers who wish to follow me to my new home!  
til' then, 
***purrrrrs***
-dorian

UPDATE

Okay, y'all, sooo very sorry that this blog has been stagnating for such a long time... there are a variety of reasons for that, but, well, we're going to get into all of that at a later date (but not very much later!).  For now, I'm going to be placing this blog into retirement; it's time to re-invent, revamp, rejuvenate, re-DO everything in my life ... I've already started away from the internet; but now I want to start writing online about some things!  If you are a follower of mine, you will be notified of where and when you can read my new stuff if you should wish to do so... please stay tuned!

...And I'm Back Too!

I like to watch TV like I'm doing here, and take a nap on my cat bed...

Stole Mom's favorite futon seat!

...Yes, it's been a long time!  My human friends, human mom, and I have been busy with all sorts of things, and Mom was sick for awhile... so we took a longer break from blogging than I thought we were going to do!  I'm happy to be back, writing AND reading cat (and other pet) blogs!   
I'll add a few of the recent pictures my human mom has taken...like:

                                                      

Tricked!  I sniffed Mom's phone, and she took a close-up!

You see, for reasons I can't exactly explain, I don't like having my picture taken.  Sorry, Mom!!  I just don't like it!  My poor human mom goes around begging me for "just one or two" pictures (all the time), and she doesn't use a flash, which is pretty cool, because those hurt my eyes! ...still, I just don't like it.. so if I see the camera, I quickly and smoothly (as if it's just a coincidence, haha!) either bury my head in my paws or simply look another direction.  She hates it!  What can I say?  A cat wants to do what he wants to do... and vice versa, I'm afraid...
I had to learn quickly that the phones humans carry have cameras in them too!  I didn't know at first, but now I hide whenever the traditional camera OR the cell phone points my way!  BEWARE, you camera-shy felines and dogs!  What will they think of next?  They will have cameras to take cutesy little pictures of us right inside our food bowls or something!  :)
Speaking of standing my kitty ground on some things, my humans think that I am going through a "teenage" phase.  Maybe so!  I haven't really known any teenagers before (either animal or human); and while Mom knows that the age of a 7-year-old cat like me doesn't translate technically to that of a teen in human years, she says I act like one!  I hope I don't have to learn to drive a car though ....I don't like riding in those things!  ....Reading over my haunches and shoulders as I paw this blog post out today, Mom said that I have a sassy attitude, moreso than when I was a baby cat (for some reason, she likes to call me a baby-cat, rather than a kitten, in my younger days...parents!)... she says I can be moody and sometimes out of the blue I just go "reeeaaaawww!!" and swish my tail, warning that I don't wish to be pet or played with, out of the blue... that's me!  But we are always best of friends again soon, right Mom?  She says yes... 
So, you might have noticed that I said I'm now a SEVEN-year-old... yep!  I had my birthday last weekend, on July 2!!!  It was FUN!!!!  I know last year I posted pictures and a full party report after my special day ... so I'll be back soon to catch you up with all that!*****PURRRRS*******--DORIAN

Back Soon!

This blog and any others associated with it will return on April ? 2011! (asap! we are just a tiny bit behind-schedule!)

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Late Thursday / Early Friday

Happiest Friday to you all!!! I am still awake writing on Thursday "night," but I bet a lot of you won't read this until you rise early in the morning. I've taken on a lot of my humans' sleeping and waking up characteristics, as I'm sure many of you cats will understand. I used to wake up at dawn and dusk, thinking for some reason that I might like to hunt for something ... a toy perhaps? A treat? (right! in the place i used to live, back then, i lived in a small cage where nice ladies brought me my kibble and water, and mostly i took naps and passed notes to the other few adult cats... another time, I'll share all of that stuff). Of course, I later learned that my natural sleep-wake schedule was because of the feline's crepuscular habits! In case any dogs or humans or other pets/people need to know, that just means we hunt for food (in our natural habitat), and thus have most energy, in the early (dawn) hours and the late afternoon. My human mom just likes that word!

In fact, my mom explained to me that no one in my forever home has a normal "shift" that they work 5 days week... at all hours of the day, someone or other is coming or going from my home. It has always been that way, really, and I think I have come to like it...

I didn't have any idea what stories or news of cat life around here I was going to share today, but you know... when I put my paws to the keys, I find that the communication just pours out! I can tell when I visit my animal friends' (that's all of YOU and your staff members... hehe) blogs that they seem to do it the same way! Our lives have been really enriched (those of us who have these blogs and loving families and all sorts of gardens and toys and beds and other animal "siblings," etc...) by being adopted (in most cases of the blogger cats I know) into a loving, committed forever home! Some days, I can be like any cat, demanding my way and announcing my own schedule for shedding on the couch, lying in the middle of the hallway, and choosing when I'll have some treats thank you! (We must be ourselves after all, right?) But when it comes down to it, I don't think I'm a bad roommate at all. I mean, well, let's just say that while I might shed my hair and )the occasional claw onto the carpet... I ain't the only one that needs to remember to pick up after themselves sometimes :) Especially now that we all have our very own rooms (it never loses the excitement for me!!! i hope you cats will not mistake me for bragging; i'm definitely not! i never knew a pet could have his own entire room before, unless it was an, ahem, a dog with a pen outside or something, which I find most distasteful to me personally)! Well, if I'm not being tooo toooo annoying yet, I must share with you the final touch that we made to my room, something that I was unsure of at first:

It's called a bean-bag, and it squishes down to make a little nest for me when I nap. Mom covered it with one of my all-time favorite warm blankets and placed it where I could see straight down the hallway (I can't bear to miss any activity, new smells coming in, or new voices and faces).... so here I am in the "bean bag" chair / nest. Ask your humans for one; my mom says that they are "old-school" and many humans might have some lying around if you like to play with them :) And of course, I would be happy to have you visit and play with mine if any cats are in my neighborhood sometime!

Time for a nap already!

 ---***PUURRRRSS*** -Dori-Cat

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Friday!!

T.G.I.F., right, cats!! Although, I guess one might argue that everyday is a weekend day for us felines!


I haven't forgotten to post my pictures of my play-room ... Mom said something about technological difficulties and needing a new "sd card."  It's all human mumbo-jumbo to me, but here are a few new ones of me, doing what I do!

Sound asleep on my outstretched paws!

That's my belly; what more can I say!?

Mom created a homepage with my eyes on it... I see you!

Playtime

Friends!  Please forgive a cat for being away from the blogs (both his own and all of yours) for too long!  I hope you all have not given up on this guy!  It is late at night, or depending on how you look at it, early in the morning here in my new playroom, and I have been so busy!  My mom and I have been putting the finishing touches on my very own room, which I wrote about last time, and which has been taking up so much of my time; I even sleep in there some nights!  I never thought I'd like sleeping in a separate room alone, but cats, I have to admit, it's fun to have my own little space, my own bathroom in there (well, litter box room, to be specific), and so given the fact that I'm a 6 year old now, I go and sleep the night in there on occasion.  I do miss snuggling up in the big, warm bed with Mom though, and I always come back the next night!


My point, although it might not seem like it, is NOT to brag all about our new apartment :)  I just wanted to let my friends know that we finally finished moving my toys and houses and various kitty belongings in, so we are able to take some pictures.  Mom said first thing tomorrow, when the daylight is right, we will have a photo shoot; and then, you KNOW I'll be back here to share my room with all of you!  I hope to catch up on all my favorite pet blogs then too!
until then... ****PUUUURRRRS*****--Dorian

Getting Settled

I hope that all my furry and not-very-furry friends are having a great week so far!  I have been a busy cat, as usual ...


As  I think I mentioned before, my human mom and I moved in to a new apartment about 10 days ago.  Mom promised me it would be a new "kingdom" for me, and she wasn't lying!  This apartment is so luxurious and huge, that I am still busy exploring every little nook and hidey hole!  


Truth be told, in our last place, there were hardly any good hiding places, and no long or wide rooms and hallways for a big tomcat to run and play in.  We had to make do with very little when we moved that time; but now we are happy to be doing a little better ... Now Mom and I have room to play hide-n-go-seek; there's room for me to run and jump the furniture, tear down hallways and around corners; and -- get this! -- there is space enough here for me to have my very OWN room!!!!  

(here I am surveying and supervising the moving activities and thinking about drinking a bit of that coffee behind me!)

It's not really a BEDROOM, as the humans usually call them, because I sleep in my favorite of two or three cat beds most nights ... and definitely I always sleep wherever my human mom sleeps!  I have a favorite cardboard box that is just the right size for me, and I like that the best, better than any store-bought bed I have seen!  Sometimes I like to sleep atop an ottoman we have, which my mom has covered with a flannel blanket that I love.  And occasionally, I sleep on top of my blankets, on top of my human (never directly ON the human though, that's uncomfortable and I meooow!)!  


Sooo, my new room of my very own is more like a cat play-room!  We only have our things half un-packed, but already it's a cat's life here!  My room has a sunny window, a dish of water just for in there, a closet space that is used for my litter box (my own bathroom, haha), and some of my toys and cubes to crawl in.  Soon it will have bean bag chairs and maybe my basket of toys too.  My mom will help me decide how to organize it.  


My "uncle Sam," my human uncle, says that this photo (above) looks like it should be in the back of a book if I write one; that it should be an about-the-author picture, haha!  Truthfully, my mane DOES look gigantic in this photo; I mean, it's fluffier each year, but this picture makes it look insane!  


I'm off to mark everything here with my scent again!  A cat has to do these things! ***Purrrrs*** --Dorian

Cupcake #2 and His New, Forever Home (and NAME!)

Thus far, our man Cupcake was a young tomcat just getting along in his small and often-confusing world... When The Flood of 1994 came literally into his basement, trapping him high up on a shelf, not knowing when or whether anyone was going to come and try to rescue him ... and whether they would be successful if they did.


Cupcake didn't know it, but outside of his own basement, nearly the entire city (population over 175,000 at the time) was under water in some way.  The MAJORITY of homes had at least a foot deep of rain water in their basements and / or first floor rooms.  Even worse for our cat friend's situation was the fact that about half of ALL the main streets (forget about the small side roads!) were closed, damaged and flooded too.  


Cupcake is stoic when he tells his story to other cats... It's difficult even to imagine how he felt each day, waiting and hoping and wondering, and afraid.  He tells me that he drank the ample supply of water, even though it wasn't very gourmet in flavor; and it was SIX days without kibbles or any food at all before they got to him!!!  The Man had known Cupcake needed him, knew that he needed to get to that basement somehow, but after a couple of days dealing with human emergencies in his neighborhood, The Man STILL could not get to the house on foot, nor in a car, no way, no how.  All of Grandma's family was horrified, devastated, frightened, upset, panicked ... almost as much as Cupcake himself, he suspects.  But he never lingers too long on this part of the events.  Because what might have been a tragic ending to a young, furry life, instead became a sparkling opportunity...


After announcing to his family that the road was un-blocked and he was going to see what had become of the cat, The Man left his house and arrived at Grandma's place.  He immediately opened the basement door, where he could see that the water had mostly retreated from the area.   He called Cupcake #2's name, he craned his neck down around the stairway railing, but he saw NO SIGN of the cat.  He walked the entire length and width of the un-furnished basement, barely noting the damage, noting instead that there was no sign of the cat anywhere.  Feeling very sad but holding onto a teeny-tiny shred of hope, The Man prepared a small bowl of Cupcake's favorite delicacies (salmon-flavored canned food, plus a couple of crunchy treats) and a bowl of fresh, cold water.  The Man put these on the top step, just where he always left them. Pondering what to do, how to find Cupcake #2 and thinking about the cat's short life, The Man was startled out of his revelry by a noise that sounded like ... well, it sounded like crunching of food! ... and was that... lapping of water on a little tongue?   He shoved his chair back from where he was sitting at the desk upstairs so fast that Cupcake #2 remembers feeling weakly afraid, that maybe he should run back to safety (that top shelf had been perfect camouflage as well).  But he was too exhausted.  Starving and thirsting for REAL water, he practically inhaled everything put out for him, then looked up with huge, amber Ragdoll eyes for the first time directly into the face of The Man who, somehow Cupcake #2's instincts told him, was there to save him.


ONE MONTH LATER


It had been another day of unexpected-ness.  But THIS day, Cupcake had known it from the moment the humans arrived at his house that morning, was special.  He could feel it even in his tail, that sensation letting him know that this was somehow a ... sparkly day, a day for HIM.


A different human man and his wife had arrived at the house with the usual Man.  The Wife carried a roomy, brand-new-looking, blanket-interiored cat carrier with her.  Both of them took one look at the large, fluffy gray Ragdoll-mix that Cupcake #2 had become; immediately, they were ooh'ing and aaah'ing and making cooing noises to him.  He was startled by these newcomers, but his instincts told him they were very good people and that their behavior was welcoming him.  He hardly noticed as the Husband packed up his few meager belongings -- a catnip ball here, a small plush mouse there.  Meanwhile, the Wife picked Cupcake up himself, all 14 pounds of him, and ruffled his ample coat gently... "What a big sweetie," she whispered to him.  He had become as still as a rock, not being used to human handling at ALL but thinking at the same time that he just might like it.


As you can surely figure out, these were Cupcake's forever-humans, who had come to take him out of his solitary home where The Flood had nearly taken him away with its rushing water.  They couldn't have been a better fit for Cupcake #2:  each of his humans had always loved pets and had animals in their homes, and each especially ADORED cats.  In fact, Sabrina was waiting at home to become his new, shiny, black-haired sister cat.


After bravely making acquaintance with the vet and a cat groomer who shaved ALL of his matted fur off his body and tail (It couldn't be combed or conditioned, he overheard the groomer explain to his new humans), it was time to go home.  HOME!  But right before he was carried inside and let out to explore, his new humans presented him with a gift, a name-tag like he'd seen other pets wear in the neighborhood.  And his new Mom had a statement to make as she hung it lovingly around his neck:


"This is your new tag with a new NAME for you on it," she explained, fastening his shiny gift around his hairless neck.  "You've survived more than most cats EVER even see in their lives, and you are a big boy now, a tough tomcat.  So we are giving you a new name for your new life with us..."  As his new Dad lifted the feline gently out of the carrier to bring him inside his forever home (a two-story house with windows everywhere (!) and lots of sunshine, blankets, and plenty of space to run and roll around), his Mom reached out to stroke his head with caring fingers and said:


Welcome to your new house, Rocky!  This is where you belong, now and forever.


Blogger's note:  Rocky has lived the past 16 years with that same family, and also with Sabrina, his same-aged sibling.  He definitely grew into his name, in size and fluff and personality.   He became a happy, healthy, playful (although always shy of strangers and never, ever a fan of water!) cat through the loving, careful, and patient attention of his new owners, to whom all of us that love him are just as grateful as he is for adopting him into their lives.  And now, here's the "man," the legend himself (he's skinnier now in his older age, but still healthy and playful)...

 

A Boy Named Cupcake, Part Two (of Three)

...When we last left Cupcake #2, he was living as a young bachelor, somewhat abandoned by all humans he had known, although it had never been those humans' intention for such a fate to be Cupcake #2's.  Wondering about The Man who came regularly, patrolling his territory, and napping in the warm sunshine of his very own house:  all of these had  to be put on hold immediately one night.


In the darkest part of the night, while Cupcake #2 was sleeping in a favorite corner of one of his house's beds, a terrible storm erupted in the skies outside.  Knowing that thunder and lightning often meant hours of loud, slapping rain at the windows and howling winds, Cupcake repaired to the basement quickly.  Although it had never been a favorite hang-out, it was always a safe HIDE-out for sure.  Once in the basement, Cupcake tried to sleep again, but found himself awoken very soon by what seemed like a new kind of rain. In his young life, he had seen rains through the windows and screen doors, quite a few times.  But THIS rain was harder, louder, taking on a life of its own it would seem, than anything the young cat had ever experienced.  He didn't like it, so he spent the next hours prowling nervously.  The thunderstorm went on all night long...


As morning hours began to wane, and Cupcake knew the sky would soon lighten even just a little bit, even with the rain, he realized he had not even THOUGHT about his food and water all night.  Looking back now, he'll tell you it must have been some sort of Divine/Feline Intervention that caused him to race up to the top basement step; that is where The Man kept Cupcake's water and variety of foods.  Having worried and prowled himself right out of energy, Cupcake recalls devouring most of his food and almost all of the water.  It might have been his late-night meal that saved his life... 


Because no sooner had he finished it, then he heard the leak.  His basement hide-out was ... no, it couldn't... COULD IT BE? ... leaking rain down the walls, onto the floor and very rapidly into puddles!?!  He didn't have much time to consider this phenomenon as more and more rain seemed to materialize from nowhere onto the walls and floors of Cupcake's hide-out.  He considered going back to the upper rooms, but at the top of the stairs, he found that the door had blown shut sometime in the night, where it was usually left open just widely enough for a cat to slither through.  


What to do!  Cupcake didn't know what would happen or when the water would stop seeping and dripping into his basement home.  So he acted quickly and instinctively and darted around searching for something he'd never had to target before:  the highest, driest, most hidden spot there was.  And he found it briskly, making his way up a "staircase" of sorts, a pile of plastic crates beside the washing machine... and from the washing machine onto the highest wooden shelf, made by Grandma's late husband many years before and still strong (and dry, in the center of the room).


Cupcake #2 watched the waters rise in the basement of his home for about two hours, he figures, before he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.  The water did not seem to be climbing anywhere near to him; however, it HAD climbed almost all the way to the middle of the washing and drying-human-clothes machines!  This observation he made the next morning, when a bright sun shone through the window wells, apparently having melted away the storms...


Cupcake #2 opened his alert and shining eyes to behold all of the wreckage:  the off-center, slightly-floating machinery!  A favorite blanket of his that had been on the floor, now half-sunken, half-on-the-surface, a soggy mess of heavy material.  A toy mouse, reeking of soaked catnip, sailed by.  Cupcake did not take long to have the thought that he did not know how to swim.  And anyway, what cat in his right mind WANTED to swim; that had always been his take on the matter.  He would have done it, to survive, if he knew how, but the fact remained, that he didn't know how.  


The spunky little boy-cat spent that morning exploring from the higher shelves.  He dipped a paw here, a tip of the nose there, taking the temperature of things, literally and figuratively.  Even if he could open that door at the top of the basement staircase, even if The Man would come and open it, even if it were standing there open right now ... How was anyone going to get to him, or him TO anyone?  


It was time to use all of his cat brain power ...
(our story will be continued later today--PROMISE)

Cupcake #2 - Intermission

Sorry, sorry, everyone!  I have to just get that out there first!  I meant very sincerely to write the rest of Cupcake #2's legendary story the following day, and not to have anyone unduly on the edge of his or her tail or worrying themselves to the point of hairballs!... Not that I fancy myself THAT good of a cat-blogger ;)  


So I promise that I will tell you the second (and in my opinion, BEST) part of Cupcake #2's (although you mightn't be calling him exactly that when you've read the whole tale ... stay tuned!) before this day is over -- this day being Monday, Nov. 1 where I am on the planet :)


I just have to share with you by way of explanation -- and some good, healthy cat "venting" -- that un-beknownst to ME, my human mom had been planning for us to MOVE to a NEW APARTMENT this past weekend.... WELL!!!  I'm assuming that most of my reader-cats have moved at least once or twice, at least to come to your forever-home if you are fortunate enough to have one just now.   Personally, this was MY SIXTH move since I was a wee litter mate!  But I stayed up ALL night on Saturday, exploring very thoroughly and diligently rubbing my scent on as many things as I possibly could!  Then I spent a warm and sunny Halloween afternoon catching up on my nap.  Don't tell my humans yet, because I'm still feigning a bit of irritation, but I think I like this (bigger, sunnier!) place.


Check back later for the story.  A guy needs his kibble breakfast before he can write properly.


***PURRRS*** --Dorian

A Boy Named Cupcake, Part One

...and actually, the boy in today's story was called Cupcake #2.  That was at first, when he was adopted by a very old lady, who had for many years owned cats, and always named them Cupcake.   Well, Cupcake didn't know it when he was a wee kitten adopted by an old grandma in the early stages of Alzheimer's ... but he would go on to be a Father of many cat generations.  I don't mean that he wasn't neutered (lol); many of us house-cats are, and he was no exception.   What I mean is, his life of survival and adventure leading eventually to a wonderful forever haven, a true home after so much tumult ... I think it makes him a symbolic forefather to us younger cats!


But let's begin at the beginning!  Unfortunately, Cupcake's first six months of life with Grandma were chaotic.  Oh, he was well-loved by his owner, and always fed and given fresh water.  Grandma had been a cat-lover and -owner for so long, the habits of caring for feline friends were well-ingrained in her memory.  Sadly, it was the more recent memories that she began to lose first (alas, Grandma was my human mom's Grandma, so I will let Mom tell her own tale of life with Grandma ... I will tell the tale of the boy named Cupcake).  But although Cupcake #2 was fed and watered and loved, Grandma was always unpredictable, given the ebb and flow of her mind.  Sometimes she would scurry in and out of the house all day long on errands Cupcake #2 knew nothing about.  Other times, she would remain inside all day, and he didn't know what the routine would be.


On Sundays, Grandma's family would come to visit.  That is when the family saw that she was in failing health, and that each week she was worse.  My mom rarely even saw Cupcake #2, because if he wasn't hiding from the strangers -- and everyone but Grandma was certainly a stranger -- Grandma was banishing him anyway (everyone in the family except my mom has bad cat allergies) with a brisk: "Cupcake, to the basement!"  She had water and toys and food and litter for him down there, but mostly it was barren, a land of cold, unfinished floor and underground and laundry smells.  It wasn't Cupcake #2's favorite place to be, but nor was being around the family.  So he would spend Sunday afternoons napping in a small patch of sunlight that slipped cautiously through the above-ground window near his basement ceiling, and lapping up some food when he awoke.  Soon enough, it would be time; the door would be opened, the scents and sounds of family would be gone, and Grandma would welcome him back upstairs into his world.  


But then It happened... well, the first It of Cupcake's young life... one day the family arrived to find that Grandma had been making a habit of either not eating at all for a whole day (forgetting to do so) and / or preparing inappropriate meals such as canned cat food for herself.  After a painful process, Grandma's family had to move her to a home where she would have help from professionals in caring for herself.  Cupcake #2 of course could not accompany her there.   Grandma's mind was slipping away so badly that she was incapable of remembering the sad parting after a time.  But Cupcake #2 was confused and saddened by it for a great while.


Some might say that the following year or so (for no one knows or can recall the exact amount of months that passed) is when Cupcake #2 became a true adult Tomcat, a "man" on his own.  He was never sure how he felt about it; being independent by nature, he was usually fine.  He remained in his home, but no one else lived there, no cats or animals of any sort, and no humans either.  On certain days, Cupcake #2 wasn't sure he liked being "independent" allll the time.  He had been domesticated, was born of a domestic house-cat mother, among domestic litter-mates.  He missed having people around, or a person at least.  He even missed having a couple of cats around, as he recalled having had when he was nestled in nursing with his brothers as a baby. 


There was The Man though.  The Man (Grandma's son, as it turned out) came every other day and put fresh, delicious food (special kinds!  treats!  new flavors!) out for Cupcake #2, replenished his water, and stayed to pet and play with him if Cupcake would allow it.  Usually, however, he did not allow it.  After all, Cupcake didn't know The Man very well, and he didn't live with him.  He appreciated the food and sustenance, but he preferred most of the time to prowl about his territory on his own.  Sometimes humans could be unpredictable, that he knew somehow, instinctively.


Thus it was for many months, Cupcake #2 and The Man sort of co-habitating and co-existing.  The Man came frequently, sometimes more than every other day, to do something with lots of papers and files and such.  He spoke on the phone and did lots of things outside in the yard.  Cupcake #2 watched all of this from behind the TV, which was warm, when The Man was inside; and he watched from a favorite bedroom window when The Man was outside.  


More than once, Cupcake #2 heard The Man say his name while talking on the telephone like Grandma used to do.  Cupcake #2 never completely liked the phone, because it always took attention away from him.  When Grandma used to talk on it, he would meow and nuzzle and leap onto her lap, with only lukewarm petting and results for his efforts.  But with The Man on the phone, and talking about HIM no less, Cupcake #2 took interest... he heard The Man asking many times what the phone thought he should do with Cupcake #2.  He heard The Man say to the telephone that he felt sad that Cupcake #2 lived alone and that his own family could not allow him to live with them and their allergies.  He even heard The Man begin to ask the phone if it knew someone good who might like to "take" Cupcake #2.  This last bit was something the meaning of which the feline puzzled for days ...


... For days until it left his mind out of necessity.  Because he had to use everything in his mind and body to survive what happened next ....

Birds and Battle Wounds

I am enjoying some extended summer days here in my part of the world!  Just before sitting down to paw this blog post, I was watching and listening intently to a very raucous bird conversation taking place right outside on my balcony!!!  Well, you can imagine that I went running, feet barely touching the floor, when I heard that!  I hunched way down behind a storage box and prowled closer and closer to the window, because of course I don't want the birds to see me first when I'm ... uh, studying them.  They sure were LOUD, and it seemed to me that one really SQUAWKY guy was holding forth with one tiny, CHIRPY one.  Hmmm ... I could not translate, but I am fascinated by birds and their language and their flippy-flappy wings and their movements in general.  One second they are in the tree and I can only hear them, then the next they come hurtling full-speed down right in front of my screen door!!!  Hmmm... I sometimes see those ads when my humans watch TV for something called Rosetta Stone... it teaches the humans other human languages... wonder whether a cat could learn a bird language?  Dog?  or ... perhaps... mouse????  

you know, so that i could converse with this little green guy (at the front/center of my picture)

 I also am really excited to report that I am feeling like a better-than-new cat since recovering from that dark, dark week when the v-e-t did dental work, my mom chased me around for TEN days with medicines that she poured into my cheek pocket two times a day, my gums hurt too much to crunch my kibbles (so they fed me tuna... hmmm not too bad, I thought I hated it in the past!) and milk and mashed-up "crunchy" food... shudder!... and I hid under the bed in my secret cave where no one can reach me with human arms (triumph!) for a couple of days ... well, it really was bad.  But NOW! I am running and playing and snuggling with Mom (somehow I sense that the v-e-t MADE her do that to me, with the medicine and stuff, so I'm not mad), and eating my favorite crunchy treats when I behave well for grooming and stuff!  I feel wonderful and spritely!  I asked Mom to take a picture of my one remaining battle wound, because that too is covering up FAST!  Long-haired cats will understand, I'm sure!  So here's me just this morning:

Check out my right paw, the one in the bottom front of the picture; do you see the chunk taken out of my otherwise-fluffy-long white fur?  That's where the you-know-who SHAVED me to insert an i.v.  I don't really know what that means and wasn't awake for it, and that's fine by me!  All I know is that last week it was pink cat skin that gave me a shiver, so I always laid with my other paw covering it.  But already it has very short, white hair (one little part of me knows what it's like to be hairless or very short-haired now, hehe) on it.  My human mom says it's fascinating to watch me grow my fur back so fast and efficiently!  I say I'd like my regular ol' paw back please.  Although, the girl cats say it makes me look sorta tough :)

****PURRRRS****to all, Dorian

It's Really Me!

Hi friends, furry and not-so-furry!  I'm happy to be back to my blog, and also to be back to reading YOUR blogs (which I'll be doing next)!  If you read my human mom's post last week (I let her be a guest-blogger in my absence), you know where I've been.  But just to re-cap, and to tell it from MY perspective ...

I guess most of you cats, and cat-parents, know already that some indoor kitties are prone to dental problems.  I am one of these, unfortunately.  I already had to have my teeth cleaned by the V-E-T a couple years ago... and then last week, I had to go THERE again, this time to get them cleaned and to get a few of 'em pulled out too!  What can I tell you?  I sure do hate to ride in the car; I complain vocally to my humans the WHOLE way there and back usually, just in case it might change their minds!  This time I was too sleepy from the medicines to complain on the way home.  In fact, I was sleepy for 2 or 3 days!  Thanks to everyone who sent comments or emails to my mom!  I think that maybe... just maybe... she needed them even more than I did!  I was okay... just mad that I had to go there, and tired, and my gums hurt where my teeth used to be... So I went under the bed and did NOT come out again for those few days!  Only to visit my litter box!


But now I am playing more, and not in pain.  It's actually better than when I had my infected teeth and irritated gums, because now I can crunch up my food.  And now I don't have that stuff going on making me feel tired and less playful!  In fact, I think I should already be eating my favorite Temptations treats (crunchy outside with soft, flavorful insides!) and my dry food!  But Mom says that for a few more days I have to take my medicine and also eat my regular food which is mushed-up with warm water.  ICK.  I think that I can do it, but only for a FEW days more!  


I hope that everyone out there has had a good week.  If any of you blogging cats or cat owners out there have ever gone through dental problems, my mom would love to hear your stories.  Me too!  I am her first pet cat, and she is the only human that I remember or have ever really known, or ever CHOSEN for myself (that part is most important!).  So we are learning about each other as we go, and I know that my mom worried about me when I was under the bed for those few days and didn't want to come out.  She didn't want to miss any signs that I wasn't reacting normally, or that I was feeling very badly.  She checked on me under there all the time!  And even though I tried to press my claws into the carpet so that no one would get me out, she pulled me outta there when it was time for medication, and when she wanted to look at my eyes and feel my cold, wet nose!  I might complain, but I do love my mom :)  And nothing makes you appreciate your humans and your own place that you live (where you have carefully marked everything with your scent!) like a day at the V-E-T place!  


***PURRRRRS*** Just-Like-New Dorian

Separation Anxiety

Reprinted from TerminallyUniq (An update on Dorian by his mom):


Yes, I'm BACK!  This is a happy event (coming back to my main blog) for me, as I'm sure it is for my loyal readers reader.


However, I feel all out-of-sorts.  I can't decide whether to take a nap or to try to stay busy ... and I think the latter will lead to mania, with me just running around and starting various projects, which no doubt need to be done but none of which I will finish.  The whole thinking process about all of it just exhausts me, and then I guess I should just take that nap... But I have some new books, and maybe I could read, and I'm just out-of-sorts!


The problem?  My precious baby Dorian-Cat is at the Vet today.  For the whole day.  He's being put under anesthesia and getting his teeth cleaned.  At his recent appointment they found some pretty bad gum irritation and tooth decay starting, and he might have to have one tooth pulled.  I didn't know how prone he was to this problem, but I have resolved to work on teeth-brushing with him.  He will hate it, but it's better than this!!!!  


I had to take my Dori to the vet clinic by 8 a.m. and will not be able to pick him up until 5... I have done this once before, and everything was just fine.  I like my vet, and my cat was great, he did great, and he was sleepy but healthy, everything worked out... But I hate it so much!  It's really obvious to me today how much our lives at home are intertwined!  I got up off the couch and was gingerly putting my feet down, just in case he was lying there, like I always do, because he tends to get under foot.  But then of course, I realized, he's not here!  Then the guys who do lawn work at our apartment complex came by, and they had the loud leaf-blower out, and I jumped up to shut the door, because Dori hates that... but I realized that it won't bother him if he's all the way at the clinic.  I hate this!  It's the weirdest thing ever to be at home with my cat NOT at home.   It's like what?  Why would he be away somewhere?  He doesn't go on play dates or anything, like, without me.  


I do not care if I sound like a poorly-adjusted, co-dependent, over-attached cat mom.  I don't like him to be there, or anywhere, without me.  He only trusts me 100%.  He trusts a few other humans close to that, but believe me, they ain't at the veterinary clinic.  Oh, sadness... Oh, anxiety... I want my baby back!  I must pass the time now, so that soon they will call and the day will be done.  

Nap Time

Hope everyone is having a good start to their week!  Mom and I have been kind of laying low; Mom's trying to get some house work done, cleaning and stuff... I guess there is a lot of fur and tiny, fine cat hairs to be cleaned and v-a-c-u-u-m-e-d (I can barely think that word!!) ... wonder who those are from!? ;)  Anyway, because my humans are so busy, and Mom is also working on a new blog project this week, we are taking a little break.  More time for me to play out on the balcony and take naps though!  I will be back to my regular blogging in about a week, or two at the most.  Mom will too, if your humans follow hers!  Until then, ***PURRRRS***--Dorian

A Quick Note on a Thursday Evening

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I just woke from a nap to find it had rained quite a lot while I was dreaming!  Mom took a nap too, but now we are both up; I'm watching the birds that have come out hunting and playing and tweeting!  Plus, I think that I hear Mom rustling bags for my dinner!  Hope everyone is having a good day!  ***Purrrrs***Dorian

Hi Everyone!  Hope this late-summer day finds everyone sunning themselves and napping as needed!  I've been doing all of the above, but of course, Mom had out her camera, so I allowed her to make me into her model a few times!

Here's one of me on my "house."  If you cats don't have one yet, you really need a fancy, carpeted house with places to climb and hidey-holes on it!  I love mine, and Mom moved it to a high place atop a sturdy desk, so I can watch over my turf!  


If you look to the right, you'll see our new profile picture.  I don't actually mind posing too much, because I get lots of pets and snuggles!  I was looking downward, because you know, we cats have a tendency to get glowing robot "red-eye" sometimes :)


**Purrrrs**--Dorian

Lazy Sundays

Goooood Morning, Cats, Dogs, Humans and other friends!  It's still technically morning here anyway!  My human mom and I had a nice, long sleep today.  Sundays are good for lazy naps and stretching, strolling to get a snack every now and then, and prowling out to the porch to investigate the birds and squirrels.  


Yesterday was hard, because I woke up early and was ready for my breakfast!  I nuzzled my mom, but she was very sick with one of her migraines.  Barfing and everything!!  Geez, she thinks it's bad when I have my hairballs!  Well, when I saw that she was not going to open the blinds or get my food right away, I curled up on my favorite plush ottoman and decided to get some extra zzzzz's stored up.  Mom and I slept and slept!  Then Mom's boyfriend came over to save the day!!  He got dinner for her AND filled MY bowl with fresh kibbles!  Yay, Dan!   We love him!

Pretty soon Mom was feeling better.  We opened our door for fresh air (that's also how I keep tabs on all the birds and bugs around here!), and I got fresh water to drink and fresh litter box.  Better late than never, right?!  


I hope all of you are having a nice August weekend.  We are enjoying a break from the hot-hot-hot right now.  Today is just warm-warm-warm.
***Purrrrrrrs***** --Dorian

It has been a WILD weekend here at our humble abode!  The main activity was that my human-grandma has been coming and going, brining boxes and bins full of strange-scented things from her house; she says they are my mom's old things from when SHE was a kitten...oops, I mean a little kid!  Anyway, I guess my mom is supposed to throw away stuff she doesn't want and re-pack the other things for storage.  Well, I didn't like this at all!   I always hate it when people are moving large objects over my head and all around, especially before I have a chance to inspect them thoroughly!  ...But then!!!!  Mom began working on them, and guess what!  I have one huge, sturdy, purrrrrfect new box to hide and play and sleep in, one that Mom emptied!  She says I can keep it now!  No way!!!! It's so tall, with such wide flaps, that we have to lay it on its side so that I can get in!!!  Mom said she might cut a few holes to make it a REAL kitty-house for me, with dual-entrances... Hmmm, I think I might not be so quick to hide next time I see Grandma coming with new objects in her arms!

Today's picture is NOT me with my new box (those will be coming soon though!); rather, it's one I hadn't posted yet that I really like ... I'm helping one of my favorite humans named Dan balance his checkbook!  I love to help with all sorts of tasks!