Mom and Dad are proud to present the winner of the July 2011 calendar page auction for Purrfect Pals!!

You better start working on that goat belly Mister!!

Purrfect Pals Black Cat Gala 2009 raised over $40k this year and had great fun doing it!!

..that Timberhaazy smells nice and gives good hugs!

Please don’t smell me.

Love, Timber

The cubs got a long beautifully this weekend.  In a clinical terms they have been displaying all the signs of being “preferred associates” including occasional allogrooming. (Miles to Timber; she almost NEVER licks him).  Timber is also becoming less inclined to flee at the first sign of obtrusion by Miles.  I even witnessed him planting his two front feet into her abdomen (ouch!!)  while glaring and hovering over her, ears flattened.  I don’t know how this stand off would have ended had I not shooed him away.  I was terribly proud of her for not surrendering her spot!!

Miles realizing he  has failed to maximize his potential to be a nuisance by merely sitting.

Mom and dad just got a FLIP! video recorder that we’ve been harassing the cubs with all week!  Here we have Timber and Miles in the back yard on a sunny afternoon wearing their “charisma”.  They each have a personalized security package for when we go outside.  Most importantly of course, they NEVER go outside alone.  Timber’s flares includes microchip, collar, Red Dingo ID tag in Mauve Sleeping Cat, giant day-glo bell and reflectors.  Miles flares include microchip, day-glo harness, leash, collar, Red Dingo ID tag in Green Fish Bones, two bells and the fear of god (instilled by my irrational fear of losing my cat).

In the wake of a poorly managed re-introduction after the recent Christmas separation; we have been managing a full blown crisis of constant cub battling.  We’re talking about the kind of screeching you hear from feral cats trying to maul each other in alleyways, hanks of fur flying around, attempted eye gouging and scabby faces… it’s been a nightmare.  One of the reasons we haven’t blogged about it is because it was just too awful to write about!  At this time however, we are tentatively through the worst of it.  I’m delighted to share that two of the easiest innovations have been an increasing their territory and giving Miles bell collar.  The least popular was a brief stint with Prozac… which stressed out cats force fed pills nightly not fun.  So, Miles wears a collar now.  Furnished with not one but TWO bells and a metal tag it telegraphs his every move unless he’s moving very slowly (which he does sometimes; it’s very entertaining) in an effort to be stealthy.  Such ambushes however, typically don’t pack the same wallop!  Here are a couple of pics of some of the new improvements allowing us to live together in relative peace:

Desperate times call for desperate measures!  I picked up this tip from listening to Temple Grandin talk about dogs and cats’ intense fear of slipping.  She recommends using a bathmat to increase their confidence on slippery surfaces.  Although the fridge top is accessible to our cats it’s never been a popular hang out so I added a clean bathmat to make it a more attractive roost.  Here Miles was stalking Timber from across the room. Timber was on top of the bookshelves which are now accessible due to the strategic placement of the cat tree.

OK, enough of this.  Time to go wake Timber up!! [*jingle-jingle*= Watch out!!]

An expensive lesson:  forget about owning nice furniture!  Mom and Dad presented two freshly recovered ivory velvet wing chairs in February.  Within two days they were reduced, by our industrious cubs, to nearly the same sad condition in which we found them on Craigs List  : (  About a week later we brought in the cat tree and true to their fickle nature they promptly abandoned our wing chairs for the vastly more entertaining tree; of course the damage was already done.

Before Miles and Timber:

I’m in there… even in the “Before” pictures!

After:

Yes, I think it’s time to get out the sign:  Bad Cat FREE to a BAD HOME!

Feb 19th Timber turned “Almost 5″!!  I am proud to report that at 5 she is in perfect health weighing in at her ideal weight (8 pounds) and displays no more signs of stress (anxiety induced dandruff!)  In honor of her Birthday we splurged on a new cat tree for two : )  The model we chose is a  rugged, dual cradled, four footer with just enough loft to command a premium view of the back yard.  The “cradle” concept allows each to have a hint of privacy, and they’ve each adopted a rung.  Timber has the bottom bunk of course while Miles is the crown prince up top.  True to each’s nature Timber’s bed is neat and tidy while Miles’ cradle is full of S’Wheat scoop and toenail clippings!

Timber was found on just such a snowy day as this in  February of 2005, in an affluent neighborhood in Cleveland.  A friend was jogging by when he happened upon her mewing in the crotch of this frozen tree and brought her home thinking rightfully that I would take her in.  His words to me on the phone where, “she is the most beautiful cat I’ve ever seen!”  What struck me about Timberhaazy when I met her is how brave a little thing she was.  Although clearly nervous she still came to me when called her out from under the bed and we became fast friends. (Well it took a couple of months while we searched for her original home- no one inquired!! I admit even then I was hoping to adopt a Bengal!)  Owning a Tortie however has been a great joy.  Timber’s temperament is affectionate and at times aloof though always brave and stalwart!!  I’m so proud of her.  Miles has been a tremendous challenge to her authority and yet she remains confident.  In a recent trip to the vet she was described as being a “red head” [as in the personality type -  Just like Daddy!]

Like everybody else, I became accustomed to the warm weather – I JUST don’t think I can do snow right now…

This is MUCH Better!!

Timber and I went outside today and Old Lady Timber encountered some type of beast in the bushes and scared me real bad as she screamed and bolted under the porch. I had to be a good little brother and cheer her up because she was real scared when she came back inside. Here we are back at the window (we’re not scared!).

In the event of a gray holiday in Seattle, here’s how we make the best of it:

Cat, coffee, computer.

And oh yes, chores.

Miles detects rotting fruit; rotting fruit means… flies!  Well… theoretically anyway.

As you can see, there are plenty of chores do to around here!!