Pets Post

*Please excuse the centered text and small font - the normal size kept getting cut off on the sides!


I have access to tons of pictures of my pets right now
(I only use my phone camera because my digital is awful!),
so I feel it is time for a non-IF
(I took my first BCP this morning!)
post to talk about my other "babies".

 

 

First is our newest and youngest cat, Bella Dodger O.

 



                              

This was the first week we had her; she was about 5 weeks old and beyond adorable

Look at how small she was!!!

This was a couple of weeks ago - she's so big now, about 4 months old!

Bella has been amazing and such a comfort to me during the past few months.
She cuddles with me all night, every night, right under my chin.
She "massages" my neck, well,
 really its my throat and purrs and drools all over my shirt all night long.
I wouldn't have it any other way.

When I brought her home, the only cat (of our 2 cats)
who would even hang out with her was Milo.
He is 3 years old and is the most cuddly pet I've ever had.
We found him about a week after we got back
from our Honeymoon in 2007.
It was Thanksgiving weekend and we were at
DH's parent's house about 10 miles from where we live now.
We were in the garage and heard a strange sound outside.
They opened the door and there was this little grey kitty.
I immediately picked him up (did I care if it had diseases or fleas? Nope.)
and held him while he purred like a diesel engine.
DH's dad wouldn't let the kitty in the house so
they made a make-shift hut for him on the porch outside
and his mom let me give him some food.
I stayed up all night, worried about him and in the morning
we took him back to our apartment in the "city" and I decided we HAD to keep him.
DH wasn't thrilled and worried about how Jack would react,
but Jack needed a companion when we were at work all day.
I took him to the vet that Monday who gave him a clean bill of health
and estimated his age to be about 5 months.
He sure was skinny but that didn't last long.

Milo loves to hide!

Recently he started peeing all over my stuff, sometimes on the carpet, etc.
We took him to the vet who said he didn't show
any signs of an infection but put him on meds anyway.
He stopped peeing for awhile
(he's not spraying, just marking my stuff, typically my clothes)
but he's picked it up again. Grrrr!

 





Milo also didn't like that Bella got Kitten Milk and he didn't,
so he'd demand that I share some with him -
he got to lick the lid of her container.
Now, he gets to have a bite of her kitten soft food,
or else he'll eat her entire dish.
He's the dominant eater in the house.

Finally, we get to Jack Daniels O.

He is five years old and we adopted him from a pet store in October, 2005.

We wanted to get a kitten so badly

(because I have a cockatiel and wanted to train the cat from day 1 not to eat him)

and none of the humane societies had any kittens

so we went to a pet store (which is now closed).

I've always felt bad that we didn't rescue Jack but at

the same time, we don't know what we'd do without him.

He's big, he's loud, and he's really super duper gay.

Yes, our cat is out and he is proud of it.

He's the diva of our cats (even though there's a girl now,

Jack's still the queen-bitch) and lets us know it at all times.

However, here's the strange thing about Jack: he plays fetch.

Like a dog, we will throw his ball,

he will pick it up with his mouth, and bring it back to us.

Over and over.

He did this as a kitten and had a couple of favorite balls.

Then, and I think it was when he got neutered, he stopped.

We haven't been able to get him to do it since then.

But about 3 weeks ago,

he found a favorite ball again and brought it to us.

We weren't sure if that's what he was

 doing but when we threw it, he brought it back.

That ball, a bunch of yarn that looked like a

nerf koozie ball, got destroyed in about 4 days.

So last weekend DH bought a bunch of yarn

and made more balls for Jack (all kinds of colors).

Sure enough, Jack loves the pink and purple balls. Quite the lady.

As you can see, Jack didn't approve of Bella sleeping by him.

His attitude has since changed....

I'd like to enter into evidence a picture from this past Sunday

when Jack and Bella cuddled for hours.

 Jack initiated the cuddle-fest.

I knew he'd love her - she's a Tuxedo cat, just like him!

He's super grumpy with anyone who

is not me or DH, but he is my baby.

He has always been a fan of my hair

(what gay cat isn't?)

and used to sleep in my hair at night

but ever since Bella started sleeping with me,

Jack sleeps between DH's legs at night.

And last, but not least, is Teo.

He is a 16 year old cockatiel who my mom got in the mid-90's

 but as she has different phases, Teo passed.

She named him and I have no idea where she got the name,

but when he sqwaks, it sounds like TEE-OH!

So I guess that works.

Cockatiels typically attach themselves to one person

and since I came home alone after school every day,

guess who he got attached to?

Mom and I hand-fed him and that's

what usually causes the strong attachment.

HE even used to sleep with me at night.

He'd poop in the garbage can next to the bed.

Very smart bird.

He goes everywhere with me -

his choice, trust me the screaming gets quite loud!.

I got him a giant cage in 2009 and he's been happier than ever!

Isn't he beautiful? He takes excellent care of himself!

I wish he could get modeling jobs...

Teo usually sits on my knee or chest when we watch TV.

He puffs up and goes to sleep - it's really cute!

Also, Teo loves to sing. His favorites are the

Oscar Mayer Wiener song

and yelling "Here Kitty Kitty Kitty"!

There were a lot of years that I just stayed home

and read books and didn't have a lot of friends.

He was my little buddy. Still is! 

I love to spoil him with fruits and veggies,

pastas and especially his favorite, popcorn.

Jack was the only cat to not try to bat Teo around.

He did at first but we'd spray Jack with the spray bottle so that stopped.

Once in awhile, for fun, he'll stalk Teo but he never touches him.

Teo doesn't have his wings clipped for the

purpose of allowing him to fly to safety when necessary.

Milo has always chased and batted Teo around but Teo's pretty quick,

as am I and Milo gets sprayed or a swat on the butt. He doesn't care.

I think he laughs about it, acutally.

Bella is a little butthead and chases him all the time.

She's never tried to bite or claw him, but she LOVES the chase.

Teo is so quick, and again, as am I,

and Bella gets sprayed and we yell "NO!" to get her to stop.

I guess Jack's the good one. :)

Finally, I want you to see how spoiled our cats are.

Behold my 28th birthday presents.

That I bought.

For our cats:

Cat Tree #1 - they LOVED it!!!!

Then we set up Cat Tree #2 (middle) and Cat Tree #3 (far left).

We had one already that we'd build in 2008,

so they have FOUR cat trees in their own cat room!

Who does this for their cats? Nutjob infertile cat ladies do.



They play on these things constantly.
During the day they sleep in front of the
window and look at the bird feeder we put outside
"their" window.

Bella showing her dominance.

In addition to the cats having their own room and windows,

in the bathroom upstairs we have a metal shelving unit

behind the toilet that faces the window.

Do you think we have anything decorative or purpose-based
on those shelves like towels or toiletries?
 Nope!
Jack and Milo knocked them all down to
look out the window the first day it was set up.
So what is it now?
A kitty bunk bed.
With three bunks.
Lined with long-folded towels for them to lay on and look out the window.

What are they going to do when we have kids?