Category Archives: cats

Jan7

New Cat Tree

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With Lumi at the vet from 9-4 today, it was prime time to assemble the tree without having to explain every step to him.

Yes, I do that. He wants to know, and listens intently.


I also wouldn’t have to fight him for the box, or fish screws out from under the fridge.

I dug all the parts out of the box, looking for the instructions. Oh dear, only one sheet. 

Oh dear…


That’s the instructions? This might take a while.

Hubby went out with the dog for a walk, and I set to work. It took about an hour, and I only had to re-do one part that I’d assembled backwards.


Ta-da! The old and the new. This is where it will live, right in the kitchen! It is taller than I am (I’d guess 5ft 10in or about 178cm) and very sturdy. I’ve disassembled the old one, and will see if our local SPCA wants it.

I did make one change. There are supposed to be two ‘ladders’ but I only put on one.


With – it blocks most of the largest platform. I figure the boys will use that as a step to get higher and not run up it.


So I left it off. Better, I think.


Lokii likes it!


Lumi loves it! He is only just back from his surgery so is a bit doped up still, and rather sleepy and clumsy. But he went right to the highest level and looked so proud of himself.

I’d recommend this tree, at least for now. Will see how it holds up to how Lumi launches himself onto and off of it.

Jan6

Piggy Peggy Update

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After ten days off work for the holidays, I wondered if my Work Cat would have forgotten me, or given up on me.

Worries unfounded! Tuesday at lunch, she was right there.


We had an amazing time! I got her on my lap, and the purring was deafening. I put my knit hat on my knees as her claws are super sharp, and she started kneading it. And drooling all over it! Ewww. Cute, but ewww. I have to wear that, Piggie!

She is well fed, despite being a piggie. So we have moved to a new level. Now it isn’t the food she wants, it is the cuddles.


When she was on my lap, the best thing happened. 

At one point, she gave a big sigh.

If you know cats like I do, you know that meant she finally felt comfortable and could relax for a bit. Shortly before that, we did a nose-bump. She had been fearful to look me in the face for so long! Nose-bump and a happy sigh of relief? What a good kitty.


This is also good – see that curled paw? Another sign of a happy cat. I’m grateful to her for making my lunch break so much more pleasurable – and clearly she is grateful to me for the company, too. 

Jan5

Weekend Project

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We finally have our new cat tree. It’s in a box, in bits, and it will be my job to assemble it. Don’t feel bad for me – I truly enjoy assembling flat pack furniture. If I could get a job assembling IKEA stuff, I’d jump on it! First found out I like doing this sort of thing when mom bought dad a new gas grill, and I assembled it in my bedroom. Barely a teen, I think? I love learning how things fit together and seeing where the points of strength and balance are. I’m looking forward to it!


This is what it looks like in the box. Old cheapo cat tree in the background! Poor thing was always too wobbly and prone to falling over. I reinforced it, but Lumi-Zoomie has just about killed it. And I do so hate to see him belly-flop on the 1ft square top and scramble to get his back feet up, too.

I did screw up. I didn’t get the right colour! I meant to get the grey/black one. Dammit. I never buy anything online and effed it up. Oh well – the ‘barney beige’ will set Lumi off nicely, I hope!

Hope this monster fits in our kitchen. We don’t have a corner left to put it in, so this beast will be centre of the room – which isn’t that big to begin with.

I’ll miss the old one – the bottom bit is a cat cave and we called it ‘the moon.’ iDJ would ask me, “Guess where Spotty is?” 

“In the moon!” Always. Sigh. Miss him.

Lumi prefers to be up high and has eschewed The Moon, so he will like this one a lot better.


We will be saying good bye to those bad boys on Saturday. I can’t wait. Lokii can’t wait either – it was bad enough when Spot tried to hump him! Lumi is too aggressive and bites. Poor Lokii.

Of course they are still best buddies.

Dec18

Hope for Tomorrow 

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I have no idea if the Electoral College will do the right thing tomorrow. In theory, people like DJT are the reason it was created – of course other people have more sinister theories on why it still exists.

Until tomorrow, then; more Lumi. He has been my go-to-guy when I need hugs and cuddles. Since I last posted about him, he has learned to jump into my arms. This is something I’ve taught my cats for over 13 years. It is pretty easy to do – but kittens get over excited at first and jump when you aren’t asking, or looking, and sometimes it ends in a bloody back or legs. In any case, he and I have a routine now. When I get dressed for work in the morning, he launches himself at me and talks in my ears while purring madly. I have been late to work because he doesn’t want to let go!


When I come home and change out of my work gear, he does it again. It’s a nice welcome home.


He does do ‘bad’ things – the TV is still a target, as are the plants in the bathroom (my gerbera daisies). He broke a Welsh pottery cat I had, but it was by accident. He does parkour, you see, but sometimes awkwardly.

Surprisingly, he hasn’t gone mental on the Christmas tree. I don’t know what it is about how I raise furry kids, but I’ve never had one that treated a tree like a climbing post. We only put plastic baubles or ornaments at the bottom of the tree, so they can remove them and play if they want to. After a week, only three balls have been removed. Lokii is just as guilty of that, in any case.


Zoomed in so not the best quality – but this is where he sits on a Thursday when iDJ is spinning his decks upstairs. Kind of funny – how does he know? 


Kitten-bellah cures all ills. Yes, I stick my face in his fur and snorgle him. 

Now, I haven’t put a picture of me up for a while – not since the accidental blogging disaster a few years ago. But I love this picture.


Lumi wanted hugs while we were getting ready to go out shopping yesterday. 

I bought this Wile E. Coyote hat last year, and I love it to bits. Wore it all day yesterday, and made so many little kids smile. Even got a high-five from one little guy. 

Hope some cute kitten-ness helps tonight. Those of us who have been literally nauseated since November need all we can get right now. Everyone else? Here’s a cute-ass kitten!

Dec14

Piggy Peggy

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I have a “work cat” now. I’m pretty sure she has a home at one of the houses next to my workplace.

I go outside at lunchtime, weather permitting. I have a cozy spot outside of the warehouse where I can read and relax for a bit.  It can’t really be too cold for me here, but too windy or rainy sends me elsewhere.

Two or maybe even three months ago, I had a visitor while eating. A black and white kitty had silently appeared in the parking lot and was watching me.


Of course I gave her some of my lunch!

And it became a ‘thing.’ She was very shy, always snuck into view without my seeing what direction she had come from, and would not get closer to me. But she had a great sense of when my lunch break was. 

No kitty love? Good thing I’m persistent, and I do have chicken at lunch every day! 


At the end of November, I saw her every day for a week. She finally let me pet her and gave me lots of head-butts and shared some drool. Aww. I started calling her ‘Piggy’ when she got very brave and tried to steal the rest of my lunch, too! Then I decided that was a bit mean, so I started calling her Piggy Peggy.

Once she allowed me to touch her, I looked and stroked her all over, to check her health. She was pretty clean, but had burrs in her tail and some evidence of ear mites (brown goo in the ears). It wasn’t a bad case, however – and no sign of fleas.

During the once-over, I felt her belly and found that she seemed to have mammary gland swelling. Oh no! Could she be pregnant this late in the year? This seemed evidence to me, along with the mites, that she isn’t being cared for in the best way possible. Maybe she was a stray after all, or had been dumped and was surviving on handouts.

I got worried when she went missing for over two weeks. I wasn’t there every day, but I looked for her and called for her whenever I was outside. Nothing. Dammit.

Today, she was back! And instead of silently appearing, she walked up to me shouting, ‘Where have you been?’ I was so happy to see her again. She kept her distance at first, but before long I was being drooled on again.


She loves my stinky boots. Except when I’m walking – then she is scared and that makes me sad.

After eating way too much of my lunch (which she doesn’t bolt down like she is starving, by the way – it’s just really tasty chicken my cats at home go crazy for, too), I got in some good loving and when I felt her little kitty boobies? Smaller! So she isn’t pregnant now, but had a litter in September or thereabouts. While I’m not happy that she isn’t spayed, at least I’m not worrying about her having a litter of kittens in the middle of winter with no shelter.


She’s a pretty and affectionate girl, I really hope she gets some proper healthcare.

Dec10

Blogger’s Kitty Needs Help

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Please help. My friend, met through blogging many years ago and now someone I would call a real friend, like so many of you.

Despite never having met in person, I love this woman. With all the hardships she has had over the last year with car troubles and housing issues – her cat suddenly becoming sick with no clear diagnosis is her top priority. Even a few dollars will help.

Guardian kitty.


Methos looking out for his new human. Guardian Kitty.


And now – same precious kitty and same beloved girl. They have been best friends for her whole life. Please help, even 5 or 10 will add up. She misses her friend while he is in the veterinarian hospital, trying to find out what is wrong.

Please help my friend take care of her good kitty, and keep her daughter’s best friend around as long as possible.

Go Fund Me for Methos.

Nov7

Election Therapy?

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My stomach is in knots about the election tomorrow. I think a lot of you are feeling the same, no matter where in the world you live.

I did my part and voted – it is all I can do!

But maybe not all. Maybe some adorable Lumi pictures will help take your mind off of the potential political world disaster that will come to a close late Tuesday?


The brothers in Spot’s bed.


The nose!


The sleepy face.


The not-so sleepy face!


Hugs for all. 


More sleepy nose-face.


Very awake! About to start trouble.


Wise kitten says vote! 

Oct29

Bassicly Beautiful 

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My bass. MINE. Not one that I get a few nervous seconds to play, while always worried I’d break “his” instrument. Or be laughed at and belittled because I want to play, too. MINE. All for me, and now I can be the one looking askance if someone else touches my bass. 30 something years I’ve been wanting one of my own – and finally I do. 

Rock on, everyone. 

Oct13

More Lumi

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Yeah, I’ll likely be doing a lot more cat posts! Most of you won’t mind 🙂


Still having kitty cuddles. This isn’t going to stop unless someone has a major personality change. It can happen – but for now, the boys are buddies. 


Sleepy kitten! He seems to have bags under his eyes when he gets tired. 


Tired of being sat on? Shortly after I took this, Lokii flopped down on Lumi’s head and nearly smothered him. Lokii gets tired, too! All that playing. And the warm fire right there to stare into.


Kitten smiles…

…and kitten looks rather demented when chatting with me when he wakes up!