"Friends" no more!

We have REALLY been having to put our heads together to process all we want to say in this post, because really, it's a little hurtful.  You'll know why in a minute.  Here's the story:

Back at Christmas, Mom got some gift cards to Walmart, which is the store where our Aunt Patty says you can find everything you need for life (!!).  Mom couldn't decide what she wanted to do with them because they added up to a pretty good amount of money.  During tax season, she's working allllllll the time, and evidently usually buys something to make it not seem like such a yucky time of year - or that's what she said anyway.  Since this was the first tax season we'd spent with her, we didn't really know what to expect - and now, we do vouch for the fact that she's gone A LOT!  

Anyway, she decided to use those gift cards and add a little money to them to get a new TV for her bedroom. We didn't understand at first, because she really only ever watched the Today Show while she got ready in the mornings, but we were like 'Whatever...'.  Her other one was old and heavy, and we have to admit, this one is bigger and clearer, but we digress....

So, after she got it home and hooked up, we were all on her bed watching 'Friends' one night.  We'd seen it a few times before and thought it was funny, but this one night really was hurtful.  We couldn't even believe our ears, so Josie had to get up closer to be sure what she was seeing and hearing:

Then, next thing you know, here comes this girl, Phoebe, on the screen:

And she starts singing THIS song (!!), and as we listen closer, EVERYONE joins in:

After Mom realized what was going on and could tell that we heard it, she turned the sound down and started loving on us a lot.  She assured us that is NOT the way she feels, and that's why we have such a good home here with her.  We do appreciate that, but were a little puzzled that she giggled at that song.  We think she believed we couldn't hear her, but we have a keeeeeen sense of hearing, and very little gets by us!

Even though we're boycotting 'Friends' now, we still pile up on her bed to play and watch TV, and we still catch Mom watching that show sometimes, but every time Phoebe starts singing, Mom turns the sound waayyyy down, just in case it's this one, so we don't have to hear it anymore!

Well, we are emotionally drained having to relive this experience, so we need to go nap, but we just wanted to give you a heads up and give some friendly 'cat owner' advice.  If you have a cat, take it from us - don't let them hear this song!

Sleepless in Hampton...

Mom was not too happy with us this morning! We kept her up all night playing, running and chasing each other all over the place and she said the last time she looked at the clock, it was 3:25am!  She had a hard time getting up this morning, and she told us it was OUR fault!  

We can’t really smart back and tell her this because we’ll get in trouble, but it really is HER fault because she got that red laser thing out and played with it with us right before bedtime! I mean, what in the world was she thinking? She’s old enough to know that you can’t get us that riled up and expect us to calm down right away when she put it up! She told us that she’s going to bed early tonight and that we better act right! We do feel bad about her having to go to work today while we’ve been able to lay around the house and catch up on our sleep, but hey – that’s the life of a cat, huh?

Don’t mention to Mom that we were on the computer or complaining or we’ll get in trouble again, but thanks for letting us vent!

Kitnip and Banana Bread!

We have been SO busy this week we’ve hardly had time to decide what we want to blog about!  After the birthday celebration on Monday, Mom got home on Tuesday and there was a package we’d ordered outside waiting on us!  Since we can’t open doors (yet) or anything like that, we had to wait for her to bring it in.  We thought she’d never get home! 

What we ordered was from an ad we saw on Facebook the other day – something called a ‘Kitnip Box’.  It looked fun, and they were offering a discount of 17.76% for July orders – and even we cats can figure out why they did that!  It’s a thing you can subscribe to monthly, and they send us treats and toys every month!  We decided to give it a shot, and we were not disappointed!  They offer two different sizes, but we just got the box for one cat since we didn’t know what it would be like, and the one for two cats was $29.99!!  We loved the things that were in there!  Here are some pictures of us investigating (being sure the box wasn’t banged up in delivery and harming the contents!), opening the box, investigating what was inside, playing with some of the toys, then, like EVERY cat, we had to play with the BOX, too!  No box is ever safe with a cat around!  We are thinking we might pool our allowances and keep doing this each month, because we did really like it, but we’re still meowing back and forth about it.  Here are our pictures:  

Wednesday night, we just played around the house, and last night, our cousin, Grace, came over and brought us some banana bread - well, it was really for us and Mom.  Josie decided to stay off the ledge this time and actually played with her some, and I (Roxie) played some, but I really wanted to check out the banana bread.  They had their back turned, and I sneaked getting a crumb of it, then when Grace saw me, she gave me a better taste of it.  Grace makes some awesome banana bread!  Doesn't it look good??

      


We haven't decided what we're doing this weekend, but we will be resting up from this week for sure!  It's been a busy one!  

Thanks for checking in on us - we love keeping in touch!  

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Today is my birthday, and first of all, I want to say thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!  Birthdays are a load of fun, and I'm about to tell you allll about mine!

It's kinda funny how we decided to celebrate my birthday today since Mom didn't get me right away, so here's why we decided on today:  Grace and her friend found me on October 13 and brought me to Mom's that night.  Later that week, when I got sick and Mom took me to the emergency vet (read my very first post on here if you missed that story!), they asked Mom how old I was.  Of course, she had NO idea, but she thought I was about 6 weeks old.  Well, the doctor at the vet had news for her - she told her I was about 12 weeks old!!  Since my mom knows all about math, she figured out that was about 12 weeks, or 3 months, so she backed up the day she got me three months, and asked me if it would be okay if we celebrated my birthday on July 13.  (Mom is so smart to be able to figure all of that out so easily!)  When she asked the other day, I knew today was close, so I said, "SURE!!"  In cat talk, that kinda comes out like 'Meow!' but she understood and we went with today!

I knew today would be special when Mom was busy taking pictures of me all morning, then when I saw this hat she drew on me, I asked if we could share it with our friends on Facebook, and she told me, "Sure - go ahead" - so I did! I loved reading the messages and seeing the well-wishes!

When Mom got home today, I had no idea what was in store, but she sure didn't disappoint!  She came home with a couple of new toys, some of my favorite food, some of my favorite 'Temptations' treats, and a book called "50 Games to Play with Your Cat"!!  Wow!  I thought I'd hit the jackpot!!!  Here are a couple of pictures of me with all of my treats (but I told Mom I was too hungry to pose and look at her when I was on the counter - to just open the can of food because I was famished waiting on this special birthday dinner!  I shared some with Roxie and she was eating hers on the floor.):

Also, and this is really cool, Mom has a red laser light that she got out tonight and let Roxie and  me play with!  Out of all the time we've been here, this is the first time we've ever gotten to do that!  Here's a video of us chasing that red light - talk about FUN!!!

This next thing wasn't really part of my birthday surprise, but when I left Roxie playing with that red light, I found something else to entertain myself with - a FLY that had gotten in the house when Mom came in tonight!  Here are a couple of shots of me trying to play with it - although it didn't cooperate too much!  Mom couldn't believe I could jump this high!  She just said, "Josie, you crazy cat!"  I think she meant it!!  

                                                                                           
It has been a full day, so I need to go rest, plus I think Mom wants to play with that red laser light with us some more before she goes to bed.  I think she likes that as much as Roxie and I do!

Thanks again for all the birthday wishes!  It has been a great day!  MEEE-OOWWWW!!!!!

Mail from Mimi

We got our very first mail from our Mimi last Friday, July 3!  We had no idea what it was, and you may wonder what is was that came in a bag like this, too:

As tricky as it was to get this bag open, we finally did, and the smell was HEAVEN!!!  She made us each a catnip toy, and we love us some catnip!  Since this was the very first mail we've ever gotten, Mom wanted to video us, so we're including the video here.  You'll notice that Roxie gets REALLY into hers, and I (Josie) like mine, too, but that day, I was also a little bit preoccupied with the bags mom brought home from the store.  You never know what she might come home with, and I didn't want to miss a thing!  I wanted to check it out before she got it all put away!  Be sure to watch, because toward the end, I try to smell of Roxie's new toy, and she just snatches it away, real mean like.  She needs to learn how to share!  

         

We ordered something else that should come in the mail next week, but it's a surprise, so we'll share that when it comes, too!

Mom gets to spend ALLLL day with us today, so we're gonna go play with her and help her clean out some junk in the extra bedroom so she doesn't look like a hoarder.

We'll post again soon!  Have a great weekend!

A visit from Grace

Our cousin, Grace, came over to visit us the other night, and after talking it over today and trying to decide what to post about next, we decided we wanted to share this story first.  We are each going to give our perspectives, so I (Roxie) will go first, then Josie will tell her version...you'll see why at the end!

Roxie:  On Monday night, our cousin, Grace, came over to pick up something Mom had ordered her for her birthday - which was back in April!  It had been on back order and finally came in.  Grace wanted to see us since it had been such a LONG time since she'd been over to visit (maybe not a long time in people years, but in cat years, it's been a long time!).  As soon as she walked in, she said, 'They're so BIG!"  Well, you know how girls take to being called 'big' so we kinda scattered a little bit to rethink things.  I listened to her and Mom talking and decided she sounded nice, so I wanted to play with her and spend some time with her.  I chased things that she and Mom threw, let her feel how soft my fur is, hid from her a little bit, and I even let her hold me AND I purred for her!  She really liked me a lot, and I liked her, too!  I hope she comes over again soon!  Here are some pictures from our visit:
 
                   

Now, Josie will give you her version:

Josie:  Ummmm....I was scared!

We're gonna rest and regroup, then we'll post again soon - after we decide on the next topic!

Thanks for checking in on us!

Blog Commenting and Robots - YIKES!!

Mom had a few people tell her they can't comment on our blog!  She checked into it this morning from another computer, so if you want to comment there (or  here if  you're reading the blog now) here's how to do it:

**Under 'Comments', type  your comment, then in a dropdown box where it says 'Comment as', choose 'Name/URL'.  You can type in your name, but do not need to use a web address to publish your comment.

**After that, hit 'Continue.'  There will be a 'Publish' or 'Preview' box (if you want to look at your comment before sending it through), and you may have to choose your name from another dropdown box (Mom can't remember), but your info should be in that dropdown box.

**After you're happy with your comment, choose the 'Publish' box.  you will need to be sure to check the box that comes up saying you aren't a 'Robot,' but after that, your comment should post fine.

Like I said, Mom tried it this morning from another computer and it worked, so hopefully it will work for you!  We really do check in to see who is reading about us!

**Be sure to check that you aren't a 'Robot' though, because we are really, really SCARED of robots!!

Roxie's Rundown :)

Hey!  Mom and Josie told me I can post next, so since Josie told her story the other day, I thought I'd tell mine. We really are two lucky kitties!

As Josie said the other day, she came to live with Mom in October of last year. From what I understand, she was just an attention hog and wouldn't let mom leave for work in the mornings because she kept roaming around the door, making Mom feel bad for having to leave. That really does sound bad, but it was good for me, because Mom decided she needed to get another cat to keep Josie company and calm her down some, because she was REALLY rambunctious when Mom got home at night after being alone all day! Mom kept going back and forth about it and could never decide when was the right time to act on getting a second cat. Her friend that she works with, Ms Judy, kept going to her office every day and saying, 'So, are we a family of two, or a family of three now?,' and Mom kept saying, 'Just two!'

Since I don't really know about this story except what I've heard, I'll speed past the part where Mom kept looking at Petsmart, the Humane Society, etc, looking for the perfect kitty. She really wanted a gray one, but was mainly just looking for one that would be a good match for Josie, because she had a strong personality! She was 'thisclose' to getting one from Petsmart because it was a gray cat, but just wasn't at peace with whether that was the right thing to do. She decided against that one because of that and kept plugging along. Once it got to the end of the year and tax season was about to start, Mom was getting concerned! She told me she was sitting at her desk having lunch on January 2 of this year, looking on websites at kittens, and really just prayed about it - she told God, "If I'm supposed to get another cat to keep Josie company, I'm going to need to you drop it in my lap like you did with Josie. I don't want to make a mistake, and I don't want to get one that will squash Josie's personality.  I also need for it to be a girl!"  Well, about two hours after that (seriously), about 3:20 that very afternoon, her friend, Ms Pam, was at the vet with her dog and sent Mom a picture of me saying that I was there and needed a home! I'm really glad Mom told Ms Pam she was looking for another cat!  Here's the picture Ms Pam sent:

They told her that I was a girl (which my Mom wanted), had already had my shots (which Mom would have had to get for me anyway), and that it would cost $80 to adopt me, but that would include having me fixed when I got old enough (which she was going to do anyway- and it would have been a lot more that that for having me fixed, plus the shots and everything else)!!  

Mom left work early to to check me out at the vet.  I was evidently a little love and everyone there told her how sweet I was!  She could see that I got along with other cats because they had an older one out in the office there and we got along fine!  Mom told them she would adopt me and come back the next morning with a carrier, and that's where my story with Mom began!  

Mom's friend at work, Ms Judy, had been off for the holidays, so when Ms Judy asked Mom on January 5, when they were both back at work, "So, are we a family of two or a family of three now?", and Mom's answer was "We're a family of three!", Ms Judy was REALLY happy!  

I love my mom because she takes good care of me.  Josie wasn't especially nice to me when I came 'home' but Mom was very protective and let us get used to each other little by little, but seriously, here's what I had to deal with - look at Josie hissing at me when Mom brought me home!!  She hissed and hissed and growled and growled - tried intimidating me by staring me down, just not being very welcoming!  Can you believe this?  Just look at her hissing at me, even showing her teeth (!!):  

Mom kept us separated while she was at work for about a week, but when she got home, she'd let us have the run of the house together while she was close by to watch.  The first day she left us out together was on a Sunday since she'd only be gone part of the day.  When she got home, there was no blood and everyone was alive, so that was a good sign!  God answered Mom's prayers in that Josie had a sibling by the time her tax season hours started, she could see we would get along great, and He gave her one thing she wanted, but didn't mention in her prayer - that I am gray!  She loves on me a lot, and I like that!

Josie still likes to pick fights every now and then, but that's okay because I like to do that, too, sometimes!  I'm a lot bigger than this now, and I've grown into my ears (!!), but this me the day after I came 'home' to stay, with a toy her friend, Ms Dee, gave us.   

So now you have the stories of Josie and me.  All of our posts won't be nearly this long, but we just thought it was best to start off by introducing ourselves.  I need to go take a nap, anyway, 'cause you know, cats sleep about 16-18 hours per day, and I'm behind for today! Recounting all of this has worn me out - meowt - ?! We'll ask Mom to let you know when we post again!  

Let's get this party started!!

Well, the day has come that Mom promised, and she asked me to kick off this blog with the very first post!  I am SO honored!  Roxie and I have been talking about it, and we have some great ideas - mostly antics that we're going to be part of and things that are fun to us, so we think this will be fun and hope that you like it, too!

To start off with, I'll introduce myself to anyone who is new or doesn't know my story and say that my name is Josie! My mom's niece, Grace, and a friend found me on October 13 of last year on the side of the road.  Grace's mom wouldn't let me stay there since they have other animals, and Grace's friend's mom wouldn't let me stay there either (!!), so good ol' 'Aunt Dianne' (aka Mom) came to the rescue - literally!  This is a picture of me the night I met Mom. As you can see, I felt at home right away!

Mom was only going to keep me for a few days until they (Grace and her friend) could take me to Petsmart over the weekend to be adopted, but I got sick the first few days she had me. Being the good mom she is, she took me to the emergency vet and spent almost $200 to find out I had a fever and an abscess on the lower part of my jaw. Long story short, she took me to her regular vet on Monday and spent another $123. I think she didn't say anything to me because she didn't want to hurt my feelings, but I overheard her telling someone that after she spent that much on me before I'd even been with her a week, I certainly wasn't going anywhere! I was really glad to hear her say that, because I like it here. I feel safe and protected, she has lots of toys, and she kinda let me rule the roost - for a little while anyway - but that's a story for another day! Here's a picture of Mom and me the first day she called me a 'keeper.' I may not look too much like it here, but I was really happy, and obviously, Mom was, too!

Well, this typing thing is kinda hard since I don't have any thumbs, so I'll wrap it up for now, but we'll post again soon.  I may let Roxie post next, but we'll see!