Sushi Friday

Almost every Friday Eve and I go out for sushi, and last night was no exception. We came home with a little fishy treat for Tulip again. Someone's a spoiled girl!

Enjoying some yellowtail.




Mmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm! Yutaka makes the best sashimi!

Feline Pine followup

Just to follow up on our switch to Feline Pine kitty litter, things are going great. Tulip seems content to use it. At first she didn't seem to know what to make of it. Maybe she didn't like the texture. She would get in the box, pee, and get out without covering it. She always used it, but seemed like she wanted to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. Now she seems to be back to normal.

Everyone is sneezing less without the clay dust from the old clumping litter. Kitty doesn't smell like aftershave anymore (from the perfume in the old litter). Life is pretty good. We highly recommend it if you haven't tried it.

New toy

I went out to dinner with some friends last night. After dinner we ended up at Muttropolis where I bought Tulip kitty a fleece rattle ball. I actually stood there and shook them all to see which one had the most pleasant rattle. Dork!

When I got home, kitty was lounging at the top of the stairs waiting for me. I opened up the bag and dropped the ball next to her. The rattle startled her. After I gave her a pet to reassure her, she sniffed at the ball a bit. The next thing I knew, she was batting it all over the house at top speed.

When I left for work this morning, kitty was rolling around on the bed with her new ball, which has come to be known at "snake" (since it sounds a bit like a rattlesnake). Can I pick the toys or what!

Present from Jan

Yesterday Eve called to tell me that Tulip received a present in the mail. It was from my sister-in-law Jan. Jan gave kitty some fun toys when she and my brother were visiting last fall, so I was curious to see what it was. I told Eve we should videotape Tulip opening her package.

Last night I set up the camera and put the package down on the floor. Eve coaxed kitty over to it with her birdie toy. Once she realized the package was there she was smelling it, rubbing her head on it, pawing at it. It was adorable. Then Eve helped her open it up. Tu was running around, jumping in and out of the picture. At one point she was in mid-air. It was hilarious. Her present was a package of Greenies which are kitty treats. Eve took one out and put it on the floor. Kitty grabbed it and ran off with it, stopping to chomp it down in 2 bites.

I was SO thrilled we got all of that on camera. We could hardly wait to watch it. Eve came over and I hit Play on the camera. Only to realize that I had never pressed Record. We missed the entire thing. *siiiiiiiiigh* That's about right.

I wonder if that ever happens on movie sets?

What's in a name?

I have a habit of making up nicknames for people. The general rule seems to be that the more I like you, the more nicknames you have.

With that in mind, here is a list of Tulip kitty's assorted aliases. Mostly we call her Tu, but among other things she is also known as:

Twolips / Twowips
Toot / Toots
Tutu
Miss Kitty / Kitty
Punk / Punky / Punk Rocker
Squints
Stripes
Sweets
Girl
Little Tiger
Tiggy
Fangy / Fangy Fangums
Head Bangy

Birdie

Someone is spoiled! Caprice gave Tulip kitty one of those feather duster type toys. At first she didn't really know what to do with it. That is until Eve discovered that if you flap it up and down it sounds like a bird flying around the house. Kitty flipped out when she heard that! It's now at the top of her favorites list. Here she is hunting her new "birdie".

Kitty vs. Pom

Tulip kitty has some new toys. We've been keeping an eye out for more fabric balls like the one Jan got her a while back. That seems to be her favorite toy of all. Well, we found some that are similar. They came in a little fish-shaped mesh bag along with a couple mice and a pom pom. That idea hadn't occurred to me! We decided to save the rest of the toys and gave her the pom pom. It was pretty darn cute to watch because sometimes she appeared to not hear it when it rolled by. Poms are tricky! As you can see, she's quickly getting the hang of it.

Stinky bear

I was hanging out on the bed with Tulip kitty this morning. She was (and still is) as ornery as anything. I was probably risking my life laying with my face next to her. But I figured I was okay because I had Wyatt in between us as a buffer. I suddenly realized that something stunk. At first I thought it was me because I hadn't taken a shower yet. I finally figured out that it was Wyatt. He stunk! I immediately took him downstairs and tossed him in the laundry. I don't even want to know what that smell was.

Well, Wyatt got showered and coiffed and came back upstairs. Kitty was eager to check him out. But apparently she decided that just because he smelled good, didn't mean he wasn't getting an ass-kicking. Fangs out!

The soccer ball returns!

Yesterday Eve finally found Tulip's kitty's soccer ball. It was under a folding step stool next to the fridge. That's why we couldn't see it. Kitty must have batted it around for half an hour afer she found it. She was so excited! She was whacking it all over the place and carrying it around in her teeth. It was adorable. I'm so glad it turned up, because she doesn't enjoy the mini tennis balls as much. Now she'll be getting some exercise again.

Kitty closeup

Here's a closeup of Tulip Kitty putting the hurt on Tiggy Tiger. Man, she's tough! Better Tiger than me...

Tennis anyone?

We haven’t been able to locate Tulip kitty’s catnip ball for a few days now. I can’t imagine where she hid it. There are only so many places it could be in our small condo. And yet we can’t find it.

Last night while we were at the supermarket Eve found a new present for Miss Tulip. It was a package of 3 tiny tennis balls. Looks like kitty is taking up a new sport!

When we got home, Eve opened up the package and gave Tulip all 3 balls. They stink like rubber, so she was very curious about them. They’re quite a bit heavier and harder than I expected. She makes a little pouty face when they bump her in the nose. They make a pretty good racket (no pun intended) when they’re rolling around on the hardwood floors. She spent most of the evening chasing them around the house. I heard one thump its way down the front stairs. I woke up this morning to her batting one around the living room. I guess kitty approves! Video coming soon…

More bowling fun

Eve got a new phone today, so she was messing around with the video camera on it. She took this video of Tulip kitty and I bowling. The quality isn't that great, but you get the idea. Kitty loves this bowling game.

Kitty soccer video

Here's a poorly mashed together video of Tulip kitty playing with her catnip ball. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, there is a cute moment (at right about the 1 minute mark) where Tulip is playing, then suddenly notices that the plant is missing. Subtle, but cute. At about the mid-way mark we are playing kitty soccer, but she loses interest, so we give up. The rest is basically Eve and I trying to get her to ignore the camera and play.

Late-night soccer match

Earlier today it was pretty hot in here. There were about 200 screaming kids in our swimming pool, so I ended up closing the sliding door to the deck. Without the circulation, everybody was groggy. I was sprawled on the bed studying. Eve was sprawled on the couch napping. Tulip was sprawled on the rug in the hallway snoozing under the breeze from the ceiling fan. Apparently those two are well rested.

Right now I'm trying to do some homework. Eve and Tulip kitty are down the front stairs kicking up a ruckus. They're playing soccer, as Eve has come to call their new game. I just heard her say to Tulip, "Alright Mia Hamm. Is it half time yet?". Tulip's not ready to settle down yet. I can hear her flying up and down the stairs and her little ball bouncing all over the place. I'm sure our neighbors love us.

We seriously need to wire this house with cameras...

New game

Eve invented a new game to play with Tulip and her new catnip ball. In our front entrance is a fairly long, steep staircase that leads up to our living space from the front door. Eve goes down to the bottom of the stairs. Tulip sits somewhere around the middle of the staircase. Eve throws the ball up to the top of the stairs where it bounces off the wall and bounces back downstairs. Kitty likes to chase the ball up and down the stairs. Sometimes she'll swat the ball out of the air as it passes over her. Sometimes she runs up and down the stairs after it. Sometimes she just sits there and listens to it bouncing around. Sometimes when we're all upstairs, she'll pick up the ball in her little mouth and head downstairs with it. Then she'll howl until someone comes down to play with her. Not that she's spoiled or anything.

Must set up video cameras all around the house...

Kitty likes music

Tulip kitty has been extra sweet since I returned from Boston. She's been sleeping on the bed every night. A few times she has woken up in the middle of the night and started licking my hand because she wanted some pets. Awww.

Eve has been really working on getting her to realize that Tulip is her name. She's started to respond a lot more when we call her. We're still working on the "come here when I call you" thing. It's cute though. She's becoming a lot more interactive with us, even when it's not play time.

Last night when I got home from work, it was just Tulip and I for the evening. We were hanging out in the office drinking beer and listening to some music. She seemed to like the music. She laid there sprawled out next to the speakers with her head back and that semi-smile look about her (Like the face she's making in the sandstorm post). She was definitely listening, and seemed to be enjoying herself. It really makes me wonder what she thinks of everything. Her world is an interesting place.

Wyatt Bear

Here's the picture of Tulip kitty snuggling with Wyatt Bear from the other morning.

Kitty on a string

Finally, a video of Tulip playing with her string on a stick. It's not the most exciting video ever. She was pretty low-key tonight. It was a pretty good example of her following the string around by listening to it though. She can hear that string rubbing against the floor from the other side of the house.

Invisible string

Tulip loves her new string-on-a-stick toy so much, that's all she wants to do! I'll walk around the house with it dragging behind me and she follows me all around chasing after it. In fact, I'm apparently known as the String Lady now. Even when I don't have the string she still follows me around, running around my legs looking for it. Invisible string! At least she's getting some exercise.

It's become the new routine to play this game right before bed. She's so interested in playing with it that she'll chase it up onto the bed. Eventually she'll get tired and flop over and go to sleep. Everybody wins!

When I left for work yesterday I left the string on top of the kitchen table. I purposely left all the chairs pushed in all the way so she wouldn't get up there and get the string. When I came home, the string was next to her scratching post. Are you sure she's blind?

Kitty bowling

Here's a video of Tulip playing her "bowling" game tonight. It works out great because the ball can't get away from her. She's pretty good at it!