Latest from the Manor

Patch has always been a little vacuum cleaner; despite our best efforts to keep small objects out of paws reach, he manages to find something to devour. Two days ago he coughed up a hair tie. It appeared to be my brother's...no doubt stolen from his room. Now Skye is beginning to copy Patch and is increasingly on the hunt for random garbage to nibble on. The two of them have been spending more and more time in the house, hence the promotion of like habits to develop between the siblings :0).

Speaking of Skye, she has two nicknames now. Sly and Spy. These she's earned...likes to hide from people and count coup on them by suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Often you'll see a only a tail visible from under one of the living room chairs. If you have food though, out she comes! Right on your lap, sniffing up to the bowl bravely. Loses all shyness when food is in your grasp...anything...a bowl of soup, toast, chips, cereal...two nights ago she was lucky; I was eating tuna. Of course I spooned a generous portion into her bowl which she inhaled....

May have mentioned this before, but for Neko it goes like this: we pet him, he's very content then finds something to bite onto (usually a bed blanket, hat or jacket), begins to knead and nurse. This he'll do several times throughout the evening as I study on my bed. Poor Neek is an orphan like my aunt's friend's cat who does the same....he was also bottle fed by people.

Tianni is still the matriarch of the house, the ex-eBay model who is retired. She's lost her left fang and since, her right one seems to be growing into a saber tooth. Because it is used the most? That is our theory...but really it has grown.

Sometime I'll post her pic modeling a pearl necklace mom sold on eBay a few years back. Yes, it was in the actual auction! 'Yanni made a stunning model with her classic black kitty good looks! As a matter of fact, she just came into my room and is now on my bed purring loudly. I didn't even pet her yet :0)...telepathic, I tell you. No mystery there.

Skye

She ate a whole spider yesterday. All of the kitties love the laser pointer. Skye couldn't finish her wet food today, but Priscilla then Neko gladly stepped in to do the job. I need to get a new digital camera so, above all else, I can take stunning pictures of all the cats ;).

Skye the little beggar

I got home from school today and snapped open a can of pop-top soup. Skye was right beneath my feet; crying at the sound. She needs a Paddington getup...tattered hat, patchy jacket, etc. Neko continues to rebuff Patch's attempts at friendliness. Patch is co-dependent...I can't walk down the street without him following me and letting out little honk-meows (his trademark). Tianni is as viable as ever; determined to get into my room every moment though I've been trying to keep all the kitties out until the remnants of Frosti's spray have faded (though we washed everything). Priscilla's gaining weight now since she has an obession with cheese....and she needs it :).

Cheese

Skye and Priscilla won't leave mum alone when she's eating cheese. A neighbor says Neko looks like a raccoon when he walks on the fence, so it has been confirmed by outside opinion; we knew he was part raccoon since the day he came home from the Marina.

Where do I begin?

Here is Tianni in characteristic ink blot/blob mode. Tonight, Skye was smelling something on the ground about a third of the way into the street...yes, she likes to keep her mommies on their toes! Neko's nose has healed from a nasty infection. It was very swollen, then one day it began to drain and return to its normal size. Frosti did his business on my bed recently. At first, we didn't know which of the kitties had done the deed. When I laid down to rest, my pillow smelled, well, fermented. I thought it simply needed washing until I reached over to feel my sheets, and they were damp. Whewwwwwww! The next day, mom caught Frosti spraying the chair in the garage. Then she asked me if I thought there was anywhere else in my room he might have went. I thought for a moment and realized he had been climbing around in my closet and over a pile of folded blankets only a week or so earlier. I went to check, and yes, they'd been "marked." I recalled that day having thought there was a whiff of kitty pee in the air....

Today, mom found a pillow with a big yellow stain. She barely had to show me and I could smell Frosti's brew. Poor wittle Fwosti! Now he has to stay outside. He wasn't much of an indoor cat to begin with and has never let us pet him :(. Now, he spends his afternoons on the patio and still sleeps with his brother and sister.

These days, Neko curls up into a tight ball while sleeping. He looks like a tiger shrimp straight from the skillet!

Kitty capers!

When I got out of the shower the other day, Neko was waiting on the hamper just outside the door. He peered in at me inquisitively, impatiently. I left the bathroom and he went in hurriedly. He wanted to drink up the droplets of human-essence-infused bathwater left in the tub. I came into my room and, a short time later, heard something fall. It was a few empty bottles of shampoo, and it spooked Neko such that he came running out! Poor wittle man!!

Picked a few berries that same day, then came into the house through the back screen door. It takes a while to close completely. I stood there talking to my mom, who was still out in the patio, when I suddenly saw a paw desperately trying to prevent the door from closing. Priscilla!

Frosty was missing for nearly two days. After mom called for him, she heard meowing coming from the neighbor's shed next door. Sure enough, he was trapped inside...he's gotten himself into this predicament before. Our ninety-one year old neighbor is not fond of cats, so mom has devised a rescue scheme to retrieve Frosty whenever this happens. She accomplished her mission successfully once again today :D!

Neko has spoiled fish breath. Tianni looks more and more like an old lady each day. Patch now has the nickname "Patchie Honey Sweetie!"

Patch's puffy paw and....

Yesterday, Patch got stung by a bee on his right paw :(! Mom tried to get him thereafter, but he scampered away to the next door neighbor's yard! He came into the house a short time later and took a nap. He appeared ok, but mom and I took a look at his puffy paw just in case. We couldn't find a stinger. He's recovering quite well, and was back to his normal self today...poor wittle Patchie!!

Frosty is the daredevil. Once when Tianni was growling at him and trying to get away, he boldy followed her into the hallway, then got a quick swat on his tender little spotted nose :(! He tried this with Neko recently on the sidewalk, but it resulted in Neek putting up his dukes for a serious duel. Mom had to separate them before anything happened!

Priscilla is spending more time in the house :). She presently has no matts in her fur, thanks to mom's natural grooming technique which was successful over a period of weeks. I pet her and praise her for being such a good hunter!

Tianni is beginning to look like an end table with skinny, balding legs and rotund abdomen :). Sweet as ever, but just as sinister if she wants to be...as always...;)...seems she is the sweetest yet the meanest of all the kitties!