DiNozzo's Affection

This morning I jumped in bed with Jen as I often do when she sleeps late.  It used to be about getting her up to feed me, but now I just like the extra attention.  Plus I like to sleep on the bed after she’s made it.  She was just about to get up when I came in the room, so she told me it was okay to jump up and hung out with me for a little bit.  Not that I always wait for her permission to jump onto the bed, but if she’s up, it’s better to wait than accidentally scratch her because she moved (or accidentally get smacked in the face).

Lately, DiNozzo is often with Jen.  He’s been really clingy since Loki passed away, and he has decided to cling to Jen most of the time.  Usually she will pet both of us, and if he gets aggressive, she shields me and tells him to go away.  This morning, she was ignoring him and only paying attention to me.  DiNozzo then shocked us both: he gave me a headbutt and licked my forehead!  This is the stuff he used to do with Loki, never with me.  He then was sniffing my ears and gave me another headbutt.

Maybe we will be friends after all.  I don’t see us ever being as close as he and Loki were, but it is a move in the right direction.  Jen says I need to stop ambushing him because he doesn’t like it.  What can I say?  That’s how I express affection!  Jen should know that—I’m always smacking her legs or trying to push her down the stairs.  Not really, but she needs to move faster when it’s food time.

I Miss the Birds

Installing siding makes a lot of noise!

I haven't been sitting at my favorite window much since they cut down my tree. The humans had to move everything off the patio for the siding installation, so the only thing out there is a table that is too big to fit inside. It's just so empty...

Most of the patio stuff went to the basement, but there are parts of Jen’s greenhouse in the dining room. I went into the basement again and it was so full! More than usual! Patio chairs, the top of Jen’s greenhouse, a couple plant stands, and a bunch of stuff that was outside.

It was easier for me to stay out of Jen’s reach because there were more places for me to hide, so I ended up locked in the basement for about two hours. Then, when Jen came down to move the laundry to the dryer, I decided I was ready to leave. I was extra nice to her after that since I knew I wasn’t supposed to be down there.

My favorite window is now just a place to get some sun. Before, there were always birds and squirrels outside, hunting for food or just chilling in my lilac tree. Yes, I considered that to be MY tree. It was where I liked to rest when I was homeless, giving me a good hiding spot and plenty of shade. Now it's gone, and so are the birds, so I see no point in looking out the window. I’ll nap on the bench, but there is nothing to watch outside.

Jordan’s window isn’t as entertaining either. You can see more from there, but they cut the tree branches—well, “butchered” is the term Jen uses, and I can see her point. The branches were just hacked off randomly, leaving dead branches while killing healthy ones. There are still squirrels and birds, they are just farther away than they used to be. I hate this.

They started pounding on the walls to install the siding. I was concerned and was watching them to make sure they weren’t trying to destroy my house! Jen is worried that the birds in the wall will get stuck, but we think that as long as they get to that spot before the birds are nesting, the pounding will drive them out long enough for the guy to cover the hole.

We hope that’s what will happen. Neither of us want birds to die from being trapped in the wall. That would just be terrible!

My Lilac is Gone!

I was bad again yesterday and ran outside.  Jen was doing something in the garden and I saw a chance, so I took it.  She didn’t even try to stop me.

When I got out there, I noticed that my favorite tree is gone!  I could see from the window that it wasn’t there, but it just didn’t actually hit me until I went outside.  The lilac that I sat under when I was homeless was just a stump!

I knew Jen was really upset the other day about something, but I wasn’t sure what.  Now I understand: it was because they cut down her lilac and Rose of Sharon.  They are putting up siding in the complex and we are the last row to get it.  They said they can’t install it with the tall plants, so they cut them down.

Jen said they will grow back, but it will take years.  This is why she really wanted to buy a house in 2019.  Stupid cancer ruined everything.  Without the lilac, it felt way too exposed outside and I didn’t feel safe.  As soon as Jen opened the door to come back outside, I ran past her and up the steps.  I know I’m not supposed to go out anyway, and now it just doesn’t feel safe.

No wonder there have been fewer birds lately.  Where are they supposed to sit???

My Food Obsession

Pondering about my life

I was using Loki’s old smart feeder for a few days to prevent Misha from eating all of my food. I’m back to eating normally again (and pooping normally). The hairball gel really helped get my digestive system working smoothly, and now I get it every few days to prevent this from happening again.

It took me awhile to feel comfortable eating out of the smart feeder. It still feels weird that Loki isn’t around, even though it’s been almost five months. Once I learned how it worked and understood that I was allowed to eat from it, I enjoyed being able to graze as I wanted. Unfortunately, the humans measure my food and I guess I was eating all of it before lunch time.

I have always loved food. I can be picky sometimes when it comes to different meats—I don’t like beef and I’m not much of a fan of fish. When Loki was getting wet food, DiNozzo and I would occasionally get a little bit too. If it was beef, I would walk away. Loki always liked it, but I do not.

I know some humans think it’s weird that I am so picky, and yet so overweight. You would be too if you were starving and then suddenly had food available all the time. That’s why Jen got the smart feeders for Loki and DiNozzo: they only opened for them, keeping me from eating their food.

Jen gave me a couple of days to adjust to the smart feeder, but then said I obviously couldn’t handle it. She said she’s the same with some junk food, which is why she doesn’t buy things like Coca-Cola and Middleswarth potato chips. With me, she decided to go back to my automated feeder, which helps me to spread my food across five meals throughout the day. I get enough food, just not all at once because I will eat all of it in the morning.

I guess I’m a little like a hobbit: I get breakfast, then second breakfast, then lunch, then dinner, and then a late supper. Sometimes I leave a little bit to eat later, but usually Misha eats it. She gets in trouble for doing this and I get a little bit more food. If I act like I’m starving, Jen and Jordan will check the camera to see if Misha stole my food, then give me a little more of she did. I like Misha, but I do wish she would stop eating my food and go eat her own.

At least everything is back to normal, including my meals and playtime with DiNozzo. He has gone back to hating me as usual, though he was sniffing me the other day when we were both laying with Jen. At least I know she will shield me if he tries to attack. She’s done it before.

I really do have the best humans.

Feeling Better

I am finally feeling better and am mostly back to normal.  Jen was giving me special food that Loki used to get and a gel that she said helps with hairballs.  I’ve had this gel before, but it’s a little expensive for us right now.  I was getting special treats for a while to help with my hairballs, but, again, they are expensive.

Jordan said I should be using Loki’s old feeder so Misha can’t get to my food when I walk away.  I had a special meal of real chicken one evening, and when I left, and when the humans were not looking, Misha finished it.  When Misha went to bed the one night, Jen gave me some dry food, some ground turkey baby food, and more chicken.  Misha snuck back downstairs after the humans went to bed and ate ALL OF IT!!

Sometimes I can hear the humans on this white thing that they call a “Ring camera.”  It sits near the TV and faces my feeder.  If Misha tries to sneak my food and Jen or Jordan suspects that she is doing exactly that, they will speak through the camera to make her stop.  It worked at first, but I guess Misha figured out that they are not there to stop her, so she continues to eat my food.

Jen cleaned up Loki’s smart feeder and set it down for me to use.  I remember that I was never allowed to eat from it, so it just doesn’t feel right.  She eventually gave me food in my automatic feeder like normal once I was back to eating again.  I definitely feel better, though I’m still not eating all of my meals.  I was even getting into trouble when Jen’s mom was doing laundry.  I’m not supposed to go into the basement, so I waited for her to open the door and ran past her.  She has been nicer to me than usual since I haven’t been feeling well, but I’m still not supposed to be in the basement.

At least I know that Jen can tell when I am not feeling well and will take care of me.  And I swear that DiNozzo actually was a little concerned about me!  Maybe we will be friends someday.

A New Vet

It’s been a rough few months in my family. We had our first Christmas without Loki. Though DiNozzo and I got new toys and were allowed to open our presents ourselves, it just isn’t the same without Loki.

Jordan has been home from work because he was injured at his job. He wasn’t even allowed to lift me for almost three months! I like having him around more, but he was in pain for a long time. I heard Jen say he probably cracked a rib. She was pretty mad when it happened—at Jordan’s employer, not at him. Jen always says “safety first,” and they said there was broken machinery at the job, which is why Jordan got hurt.

This past Monday, Jen’s mom left for her Florida vacation, but was back Tuesday because of car problems. She was hoping it could be fixed quickly, but no one can figure out what is wrong with it yet, so she had to cancel her trip. Jen is trying to start working freelance for a customer service company—something she really doesn’t like doing—and she was waiting for peace and quiet to complete her account setup. It seems the car has screwed up everyone’s plans right now.

On Tuesday, I started to not feel too good and wasn’t really hungry. Jen noticed I was just laying around, and she definitely noticed that I wasn’t really eating. She started to get pretty upset, concerned that I was going to have health issues like Loki. It is very similar, but I am much younger than he was when his health started to go downhill, so I should bounce back.

Jen and Jordan took me to a new vet to help. I hate the vet and kept giving her angry looks. At least this time Jen didn’t get angry with the vet like at the other place—she said we will never see those veterinarians again.

They took my temperature and gave me a shot. I started to feel a little better, but still not well. Jen gave me some chicken baby food, which she already had because of Loki. It was okay—I’m not a huge fan, but at least it was easy to eat. Jen told me I need to eat and drink more water. She’s very worried about me, which means that she really cares about me. I knew I picked the right family.

Hopefully I start to feel better soon. Aside from making Jen upset, I hate feeling sick.

Life Moves On

Loki

I was never really that close with Loki. I admired him and liked to ambush him, but I’m just not a cuddly cat, especially when it comes to other cats. DiNozzo and Loki were close, and lately DiNozzo has been extra clingy with Jen. He and I still don’t get along, but we are tolerating each other more.

DiNozzo usually spends time upstairs while I claim the downstairs. He likes to sleep on Jen and Jordan’s bed during the day, and on the futon in Jordan’s game room at night. Sometimes I will also sleep upstairs, more so when it gets colder—our furnace is terrible and the first floor is probably at least ten degrees colder than the second.

Sometimes DiNozzo will hiss at me, sometimes not. Jen has been working with both of us to stop the fighting. I get in trouble for chasing DiNozzo and he gets in trouble for hitting me when I’m sleeping. I really want to play with him, but he just doesn’t like me. It’s okay though because our humans make sure we feel like we’re part of the family and that we each have space away from each other.

Jen did talk about maybe getting another cat now that Loki is gone. She said she would kind of like to get a kitten because she hasn’t had one since Loki was a baby and Jordan has never had a kitten. But Jen also said she doesn’t really want to get another cat. Our apartment has restrictions, which might have changed, so we don’t even known if we could. Plus Jen said that she’s concerned DiNozzo might not like a new cat since he hated me, and with a kitten, they are afraid I might hurt it—accidentally of course. Sometimes I just don’t know my own strength.

It's going to take a long time for our family to get over the loss of Loki. He truly was a special boy and the house feels kind of empty without him. The humans hung a nice portrait of him above the TV in the living room, giving the feeling that he is watching over all of us.

I proudly carry on what I have learned from Loki, keeping my family safe and guarding our home. I miss ambushing him from the basement steps and stealing little bits of his food. I know the humans miss him very much, as does DiNozzo. They say that Loki lived a very long and fulfilling life, I just came toward the end of it and missed his younger days. Supposedly he was quite a handful when he was younger, and Jen says I have a lot of Loki’s traits.

DiNozzo and I will never be as close as he was with Loki, and that’s okay, but we are a little closer than we before. My family is still healing from this loss, and I will always be there for them to make them laugh and smile.

Loki

We lost Loki today.  He had been in poor health for a while and the past few days have been really rough.

Our entire family is saddened by this event.  It will take some time for us to recover.  All we can do is be there for each other.  He was a very special cat and will be missed dearly.

April 10, 2005 to October 5, 2022

New Trimmer

After my most recent vet visit, Jen bought a new trimmer and tried to use it on me a few times. I kept trying to get away, so she would stop and put it away. She didn't fight me and force me to get a trim, which is odd for her.

A couple days ago, I was just chilling on top of our cat house when Jen came over with the trimmer and started trimming the hair around my rear end. I didn't really fight--I was tired and she's done this so many time without actually cutting hair.

I tried to get away after about a minute, but she held me still and continued to cut my hair. Eventually I did escape and she followed me. She just kept trying with the trimmer. She cornered me on the couch and shaved off the last of my matted fur, which, I will admit, it felt really good to be rid of that. Then she turned off the trimmer and I got some treats. I guess that was it--we were done.

All that time I fought the trimmer and that was it? Well that wasn't so bad! I'll probably fight next time too, but I'd rather Jen do it than the vet, and from what Jen was saying, I think she'd prefer that too.

It is really nice to be free of mats again. I don't even know how they happen so quickly! Both Jordan and Jen brush me, yet I get mats where I can reach to groom myself. Most of the time, Jen is able to brush them out, but there have been a few tough ones that she grabbed the scissors and cut my hair. Now she uses the trimmer on any she finds that she can't comb out. These humans certainly are obsessed with hair!

Vet Again

Taking a nap on the couch next to Jen

 Yesterday, the humans took me to the vet again.

I was having trouble cleaning my rear end and Jen gave me a bath last week.  I always hate that, but usually I feel better after.  This time I had more problems and a few days later I really smelled bad again.  My butt really hurt and Jen could tell I was uncomfortable.  She said I had matted fur and she grabbed the scissors.  I was in pain, so I lashed out, tried to bite her, and scratched her a bunch.  That's when she called the vet.

The mean vet lady and her lackey trimmed my nails and scrubbed my rear end.  They gave me a shot that they said will help with my infection and looked at my butt.  Humans really are weird if they like looking at cat butts so much.  They tried to cut the matted fur, but I started screaming and acting aggressively, so they took me back to Jen, saying I was grumpy.  I'd like to know how the vet would feel if I started messing with her butt!

Jen and the vet had a conversation about my problems.  Somehow I contracted worms, so the vet put some sort of liquid on my back.  Jen still doesn't understand how I could have gotten worms, and I really don't know either.  We hope they didn't pass to the other cats, especially Loki since he has enough health problems.  Jen has been inspecting their butts at random--they look really confused when she does it.  It's actually kind of funny.

Today I am really sore, but Jen has been making sure I eat and that the dog leaves me alone.  Mostly, I've just been resting.  I am starting to feel better and have been walking around a little bit.  We got a box from Chewy today and it had new catnip bananas in it, so Jen gave one to me to play with.  I'm still a little mad at her, and I think she's still a little mad at me for the way I behaved, but we'll get over it.

I heard them talking about taking me back to the vet to get the rest of the mats out, but I know Jen is hesitant to do it.  She had a disagreement with the vet over a review on something called Google.  From what I could hear, Jen said she likes the vets, but not the office people, and the vet was making excuses.  Jen got really mad, so I'm not sure I'll be seeing that mean vet lady again.

The humans were discussing a different vet office and something called a "groomer."  Jen has been out of work for several months, so she said it will have to wait.  I like having her home, but I can tell she's getting really frustrated that we can't afford things, especially since Loki needs to eat special food.  I know I didn't help the situation, I just really hate it when people touch my rear end.

Misha

Misha

I never really told you about our dog, Misha.  She is an 11-year-old Labrador/Border Collie mix and is very respectful of us cats.  Sometimes she has a ton of energy, other times she sleeps all day and just lounges around.  If there is snow on the ground, she gets super excited and loves to play in it.  I usually like to watch her from my perch at the window.  She's not bad...for a dog.

When I first came to live with my family, I did not like Misha at all.  She is much bigger than me and seemed unhappy to have another "fluff ball with claws," as Jen described it in dog terms.  She never growled at me or tried to hurt me, she just did not let me push her around.

Now that we've lived together for a while, we get along better, but we are not what I would call "friends."  Sometimes she irritates me and I take a swing at her.  I don't usually hit her, I just give a warning swing.  She always backs away and gives me space.  Loki lets her lick his ears, which I think is weird.  They get along really well.  DiNozzo and Misha have a strange relationship.  She likes him but seems to be a little scared of him.  I can understand that—that cat is a little crazy.

My biggest issues with Misha are food and competition for our humans' attention.  She will eat my food if I don't finish it, and now that I have the automatic feeder, I like to savor my meals.  Granted, it is a little hard for me to get all the food out since the bowl isn't that big.  I like to pull pieces out with my paws and eat them that way.  It definitely makes me feel more full and less hungry between meals.  If I leave my food unattended for a long time, Misha will eat it.  I've seen Loki do that too.  I'm a little more lenient with him since I like to eat his food.

Misha and I waiting for Loki to get full

Misha often hangs out with Jordan while we cats hang out with Jen, but sometimes I want Jordan's attention and she wants Jen's.  That works fine when we switch off, not so much when we are both trying to sit next to Jen on the couch.  Fortunately, DiNozzo has trained Misha to let cats have space, so she usually leaves.  There are times when we both lay on the couch together.  I am not crazy about this, but Jen seems to like it.

Misha trying to hide from the fireworks

Over the summer, there are often a lot of loud noises, which Jen says are fireworks.  This always scares Misha and she tries to hide in the couch pillows.  Sometimes I get scared too, but most of the time I get angry because I feel like something is threatening my family and hurting our dog.  DiNozzo usually tries to calm Misha, which is nice.  Last year we sat with Jen on her bed while there were explosions outside.  Loki never seems to mind them—I think he's partially deaf.  Or maybe he's just that brave, which could be true.  He is the toughest cat I've ever met.

DiNozzo defends us from the fireworks

Misha is the only one who gets to go outside regularly, which I don't think is really fair.  She gets to go to the park and gets to pee outside.  Jen has tried to take me to the park, but I hate my harness and don't want to walk with it on.  Misha also gets extra treats, some human food, like cheese and something called "peanut butter," and sometimes she gets these hard treats that she likes to chew on.  Sometimes they are bones, sometimes something else.  I guess we get wet cat food and she only has dry food, and we have a lot of furniture to play on, so maybe it's fair.

I'm okay with Misha for the most part, but I still don't like dogs.  Or DiNozzo.