Expert Advice on Cat Health, Nutrition and Lifestyle.
After Ruby shared her top ten list last week, Allegra didn’t want to feel left out, so here is her “Top Ten Things About Allegra” list:
1. I love my Mom!
2. I love my sister Ruby, even though she can be a pain in the you-know-what sometimes.
3. I don’t like rainy days and thunderstorms.Continue Reading
Hi everyone, it’s Allegra! I’m writing this on a calm, sunny day – finally! After the earthquake and the hurricane last month, I thought we were done with scary weather, but apparently, not quite yet.
I had a bit of a rough week last week. You know by now that I’m not particularly fond of rainy days, especially not when it rains really hard. I don’t like the way the rain sounds against the house, and I’m really not comfortable being upstairs when it rains, because it’s that much closer to that annoying stuff falling from the sky. I prefer to stay downstairs, close to my safe space in the downstairs bathroom. When it gets really bad, I go in the shower stall behind the curtain. It’s my little safety cave.Continue Reading
It sure has been an exciting couple of weeks here since I last wrote. Earthquakes, hurricanes, my birthday, a Pettie win – I don’t even know where to start!
Last Tuesday afternoon, we were all just going about our business. For Ruby and me, that meant napping. For Mom, it meant doing some work on the computer. All of a sudden, this weird noise woke me from my nap. It wasn’t like anything I had ever heard before. Being the smart cat that I am, I immediately ran to my safe place behind the shower curtain in the downstairs bathroom. The noise didn’t stop, it only got louder. And then, the walls started shaking, and the ground under me was moving, too. It was really really scary. Mom was upstairs, and I could hear her crying out. I think she was really scared, too. Normally, when I get scared, I don’t come out of my safe place for a while, but I was so worried about Mom, I ran upstairs as soon as the house stopped shaking. I could tell she was pretty upset, she picked me up and hugged me and she was shaking. Ruby, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind that things got all wobbly. She looked at me and Mom like we had lost our minds. I think she was more curious than anything else.
As if that wasn’t enough change from our usual routine (I like our routine! I don’t like change!), Mom left the house very early one morning, and didn’t come back for a very long time. At first, I thought she’d actually gone away to sleep somewhere else, like she’d done once or twice before. I got really suspicious when Ronnie, our cat sitter, showed up to feed us dinner. We love Ronnie, but seeing her usually means Mom won’t be back for a while, and I don’t like that at all. But thankfully, Mom came home at night, even though it was really late. It was so late that she didn’t even play with us before she went to bed! She said she was going to something called BlogPaws, and that it was important for our blog that she be there. I don’t like it when Mom is not home, but if her being gone is good for our blog, I guess I can live with it.
Then on Saturday, things got really weird. It was my birthday. Mom said she’d be gone all day again, so Ruby and I were going to party while Mom was gone! Unfortunately, the weather turned really bad really fast. Some lady named Irene was responsible for a lot of heavy rain and wind, and I’m really scared of the sound of heavy rain. So instead of celebrating my birthday, I spent most of it in my safe place in the downstairs shower. Mom came home earlier that day than she had been the previous two days, and that made me feel a little better. She came and checked on me throughout the evening and even in the middle of the night to make sure I was okay. I love that she did that. I was trying to be brave, but every time I tried to come out of the bathroom, it was just too scary. It finally stopped raining Sunday morning, and life was back to normal for us. Mom also didn’t go away again that morning, which made me really really happy.
The best thing that happened all week, even better than my birthday, was that our blog won a Pettie for Best Pet Blog! Ruby and I worked really hard to get people to vote for us, and we’re so excited that all that hard work paid off. Thank you to all of you who voted for our blog. We’re so happy and proud!
After all this excitement, I’m ready for a couple of weeks of peace and quiet and nice weather. And lots of naps.
It’s my birthday today! I’m two years old!
And I got the best possible present I could have wanted for my birthday: Mom, Ruby and I won the 2011 Pettie for Best Pet Blog!
And the best part of that present is not only that it made Mom ecstatically happy, it also means that it will help lots of other kitties, because Mom will receive two checks of $500 each to go to Casey’s House and Kitten Associates. Thank you from Mom, and purrs from Ruby and me for voting for us!
I can’t wait to see what Mom has planned for my special day. Come on Ruby, it’s party time!
Our Mews and Nips from Around the Internet feature will resume next Saturday.
If you read my sister Ruby’s post last week, you already know that she’s had quite a few adventures. Ha, and Mom thought I was a handful when I was her age!
Now that the Pettie campaign is over, I have more time for other things again, but I have to admit, I liked having such an important job. Maybe Mom could run for something else. I think Ruby and I made a great team.
Mom said she’ll have some new products for us to test soon. Bring it on – I’m ready!
The nice thing about not having to work so hard is that I have more time for play. My favorite game right now is playing with these little plastic springs. Mom plays that game with us every morning after we’ve had our breakfast. She tosses them for us, and Ruby and I chase after them. Sometimes we play with the same spring and bat it back and forth, but most of the time, we prefer to have our own spring to chase.
Of course, since they’re small and bouncy, they frequently disappear under furniture. Part of the fun of the game is to watch Mom try to retrieve them, even if she’s not very good at it. Usually, she just goes to the closet where she keeps some of our toys, and gets out a new spring. So I’ve had to step in and get some of the springs out from under stuff.
As you can see in the video below, I’m quite good at it – I managed to find not just one, but two springs under the stove!
Things have been really exciting around here! Ruby and I are hard at work on Mom’s Pettie campaign. We really want her to win! Mom is the best, and she works really hard on this blog. Well, we work hard on it, too – so if she wins, we win, too!
And it’s not just the three of us who win, either: if Mom wins, she gets a ton of money. I don’t really know money, but Mom said she gets $1000 for each Pettie. That sounds like a lot of money to me! Anyway, if Mom wins, that money will go to two groups who help homeless cats find their forever homes, Casey’s House and Kitten Associates. Ruby and I both know what it’s like to be homeless. We don’t like to think about it anymore, and we know how lucky we are that Mom adopted us, so we really like it that she wants to help other cats be as lucky as we are, too.
Of course, I’m in charge of the campaign. Ruby just does what I tell her to do. We both love having such important jobs. Not that we don’t have enough to do just playing and napping and eating, but having a job makes us feel really important! So please help all of us win and vote for Mom’s blog twice a day through July 29.
When I’m not busy running Mom’s Pettie campaign, I make time to play with Ruby. She just loves to sneak up on me and then chase me through the house. Well, she thinks she’s sneaking up on me, but I always know she’s coming. I just let her think I’m surprised.
But I admit, the other day, she did startle me. I was sitting at the top of the stairs, just surveying things, when she came flying up the stairs out of nowhere. It was like a black and brown blur! I don’t know what she was after, but she sure as heck wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, because all of a sudden she realized that I was sitting right in her path! It happened so fast that I couldn’t even react and get out of the way. I thought for sure she was going to crash into me. But no, the little monkey simply leaped right over top of me! She jumped straight up in the air and landed behind me. She’s quite the jumper, I’ll give her that. Mom says she leaps like a dolphin.
I’m way too dignified for that kind of nonsense. After all, I’m almost two! I’m a big girl now.
And now I have to go. Mom says it’s time to pose for some more campaign photos. A campaign staffer’s work is never done!
Thank you for nominating us for two Petties.
We need your help to win – please vote every day!
I can’t believe it’s been a whole month since I last wrote on here! Well, not exactly – Ruby and I told you about our tunnel adventure a week ago. That was really something! I’m happy to report that the evil tunnel has remained calm, and that we enjoy playing with it again.
Everything is good here. I really like having Ruby around and I hardly ever get annoyed with her anymore. I still wish she’d tone it down a little when Mom gets our food ready. You wouldn’t believe the screaming that’s going on then! Like Mom isn’t getting our meals ready as fast as she can. Ruby really needs to cut her a break. But, I guess that’s why I’m the big sister. I’m the patient one. It’s good to be me.
Speaking of food. A pet food company sent Mom some cans of food that Mom says they want her to write a review about. We mostly eat raw food, but about once a week, Mom gives us canned food, too. I like both kinds. I think Ruby does, too, although with her, you’d probably never know, I think she’d eat anything Mom puts in front of her. She’s also very interested in whatever Mom is eating.
But I digress. So these cans of food have been sitting on the counter for a couple of days, but neither Ruby nor I can figure out how to open them. I wish Mom would hurry up already and let us try them. I told Mom I should probably be the one to write the review, but she obviously hasn’t made up her mind about that. But one way or the other, you’ll see a review soon. (Or else, you’ll see a news report titled “Cat Figures Out How to Open Can” because it’s just too tantalizing to have these cans sitting on the kitchen counter, right where we can see them!)
The only thing that’s been happening that I’m not too crazy about is the frequent storms we’ve been having. They haven’t been bad ones, but I hate any kind of storm, even just a rainstorm. The sound of the rain hitting the house really scares me. I run downstairs and hide in the shower stall behind the curtain. It’s dark and quiet in there, and it makes me feel a little safer.
Mom has been giving me magic water twice a day (Ingrid’s note: I give her Safe Space for Cats by Spirit Essences), and when a storm is coming, she gives me even more magic water (Ingrid’s note: I either give her Stress Stopper by Spirit Essences, or a blend of Anxiety and Animal Emergency Care by Green Hope Farm Flower Essences), and it helps make me less afraid, but during storms, I’m still not comfortable being anywhere else in the house except in my safe shower stall. Mom comes and checks on me frequently to make sure I’m okay and tries to coax me out, but I’d rather stay in my safe space.
What I don’t understand is why Mom can’t just make the bad weather go away. She can do everything else to make my life nice, why not this? I mean, come on, she can even open cans of food! Changing the weather should be a breeze compared to that!
Are you afraid of storms? What does your Mom or Dad do to help you not be afraid?
We had some excitement at our house the other day. I was working in my office when all of a sudden, I heard a strange noise coming from the kitty playroom downstairs. Now mind you, strange noises haven’t been all that unusual since Ruby joined our family and the girls started chasing each other through the house. They get so carried away that they occasionally bump into something or take something off a low shelf as they race by. In the beginning, I would go and check on them as soon as I heard anything unusual, but lately, I’ve come to realize that it’s just the new normal at our house. But that noise was different.
When I got to the top of the stairs, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Our crinkle tunnel had made its way halfway up the stairs, and it was still moving. All of a sudden, two cats came flying out of it in rapid succession, fur and tails puffed up as they scattered in opposite directions. But why don’t I let the girls tell you what happened.
Allegra: Ruby and I were playing in the kitty playroom. We were stalking each other – we love doing that! There are lots of places we can hide behind. We can lay in wait behind the bathroom door, or around the corner in Mom’s Reiki room. There’s also a big crinkle tunnel. It’s really great fun! I usually surprise Ruby when we play stalk each other. She’s not that good at paying attention, she gets distracted by all the toys that are everywhere in the kitty playroom.
Ruby: Not true! I always know exactly where she’s at! I just let her THINK that I don’t pay attention….
Allegra: Anyway, so the other day, we’re down there playing. I was crouched behind the play house, watching Ruby. She crawled into the crinkle tunnel. Ha! Now I knew I had her. She’d never pay attention to me coming up from behind her, and she was too busy making the tunnel crinkle to even hear me approach!
Ruby: I was checking out the tunnel. I love the sound it makes when you walk in it. Crinkle scrinch crick crinkle – very cool! I admit, I wasn’t paying attention to much of anything except those fun sounds, so it really took me by surprise when Allegra pounced on me from behind! Yikes!!! I tried to run out of the tunnel, but I couldn’t find the opening. Usually I just shoot out on the opposite side from where I went in, but the exit wasn’t there! Now what?
Allegra: I knew I’d get her! What I didn’t understand was why she didn’t run from me. Doesn’t she know yet that that’s how the game works?
Ruby: The front of the tunnel had collapsed, and I couldn’t get out! Allegra was behind me, so the only thing I could do was run forward. Now I didn’t just have Allegra chasing me, but the tunnel joined in the chase. All the cool noises weren’t so fun anymore all of a sudden. The tunnel had turned into a monster!
Allegra: I wanted to get away from Ruby and the tunnel, but I couldn’t! I got dragged along with the tunnel. It was awful! I yelled at Ruby that we needed to call for Mom to help us, but Ruby told me to shut up, we’d get in trouble.
Ruby: I just kept running – there was no time to get Mom. The tunnel monster was out to get us!
Allegra: I was getting more and more scared, when finally, I heard Mom’s footsteps at the top of the stairs. But she was too late to help us. Ruby managed to break free and raced up the stairs. I wasn’t far behind her and I tore off in the opposite direction. I was really really scared!
Ruby: I was pretty freaked out, too. Mom tried to grab me, but I wasn’t having any of it. What if the tunnel monster was going to come after all of us? I ran underneath the dining room table. Allegra hid under the sofa.
Allegra: I could tell Mom was worried and just wanted to check us over to make sure we were okay, but I was way too afraid to let even Mom near me right then and there.
Ruby: My heart was pounding really fast and I was still pretty scared, but then I heard Mom shake the treat bag, and I came out from under the dining room table.
Allegra: I heard the treat bag, too, but I was still too scared to even think about treats, and I decided to hide under the sofa for a while. Ruby, of course, was over the whole thing already and was busy gobbling up treats. Mom tried to coax me out from under the sofa. I wanted to, but I didn’t trust that everything was safe quite yet. When I finally came out, Mom praised me for being so brave and gave me treats, and I did eat them. I started to feel a little better. I very cautiously approached the stairs and looked down. It looked like the evil tunnel had disappeared, so I slowly made my way down the stairs, one step at a time. I peeked around the corner. Oh no – the evil thing was still down there! Mom saw me, and gave me another treat. Huh. Okay. So maybe it was going to be okay to go downstairs after all?
Ruby: I wasn’t so sure about going downstairs, either, but there were other things to keep me busy upstairs, so I didn’t even bother. I chased a bunch of toy mice instead. Wee!
Allegra: I finally got up the nerve to go all the way downstairs, and then I sniffed every inch of that tunnel, and spit on it for good measure. There! That surely dispelled the negative energy that thing had taken on all of a sudden!
And there you have it – Allegra and Ruby’s great tunnel adventure. From my perspective, my biggest fear was that they would associate the experience with each other, rather than the tunnel, and turn on each other. This is why I immediately brought out the treats, so they could associate coming off of this scary experience with something positive. I wasn’t surprised at Ruby’s quick recovery, but I was worried about Allegra, who, even though she’s improved considerably, is still my little scaredy cat. I was very proud of how quickly she came out from under the sofa and proceeded to explore downstairs. Perhaps Ruby’s fearless nature will eventually help Allegra get past her fears just by example.
Ruby: It was actually kind of fun. Maybe we can do it again…
Ingrid: Don’t even think about it, missy!
I can’t believe I now have to compete with my sister Ruby for time to write on here! Maybe I need to get my own catputer!
Even though I wasn’t sure at first what it was going to be like having a sister, and having to share Mom with her, I have to say that I really like having her here. She’s lots of fun to play with. I especially enjoy bopping her on the head.Continue Reading
Well! Do I have a lot to talk about today! There’s been some major excitement at our house. I know Mom couldn’t wait to tell you the news and she wrote about it yesterday. Yes, we have a new family member. And let me tell you, when Ruby first arrived here on Sunday morning, I was NOT thrilled, to put it mildly. Mom made me promise not to use swear words, so I’ll try to be good, but it’s not going to be easy!
Mom had been telling me for several days that I would get a new little sister. I didn’t really understand what that meant, I thought maybe she was buying me a new special toy. Then, on Friday, Mom put a second placemat on the floor in the kitchen across from mine. Hm. That was odd. Maybe Mom wanted me to have some variety in my dining experience? I could go for that! Oddly, food never appeared there, only a second water bowl. Since humans often do very strange things for no apparent reason, I didn’t give it much thought after taking a nice long drink from it.
When Mom set the cat carrier by the front door Sunday morning, I got a little worried. Surely she wasn’t taking me to the v-e-t? I was feeling just fine, so there really was no reason for that! When she picked up the empty carrier, I was starting to get a little suspicious. She told me that she would be back soon, and that she’d have my new little sister with her.
She wasn’t kidding. I heard the little pipsqueak cry the minute Mom came in the house. At first, I was curious, and I immediately went to sniff the carrier after Mom set it on the floor. I’m a smart girl, so it didn’t take me long to figure out that this was not a new toy. There was another cat in the carrier! What was Mom thinking??? I hissed and growled – at the carrier, but even more, at Mom! I was mad! Why did she have to go and bring another cat into our house? I thought we were perfectly happy together, just the two of us!
Mom said my new little sister’s name was Ruby. Whatever! She let me sniff the carrier for a good long time, then she took it upstairs. Of course I followed. I watched from a distance as Mom opened the carrier door, and Ruby bounded right out. That little thing doesn’t have any manners at all! Didn’t she know that this was my house, and that she should have asked my permission before entering? As she started to explore the house, I watched from a wary distance. If she came within a few feet of me, I hissed at her. And what did the little stinker do? She growled right back at me! The nerve!
Mom kept a close eye on both of us, and kept reassuring me that it was going to be okay, that she loved me more than anything, and that I was going to learn to love Ruby. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I sure as heck wasn’t feeling the love right then!
I have to admit, though, as the day went on, staying mad at Mome was getting a little old, and I even got tired of hissing at Ruby. By afternoon, I was exhausted, and the sunny loveseat was calling my name. It was time for a nap! I was so tired, I didn’t even care that Ruby stretched out for a nap of her own on the floor right below me.
When dinner time rolled around, I was starving. Being on guard all day is a lot of work! I inhaled my dinner and didn’t even pay attention to Ruby on the other side of the kitchen.
I was a little worried about bedtime. I love to sleep with Mom, I cuddle up against her back or her legs, and it’s the best feeling in the world. I was really hoping that Ruby the Intruder (ha! I crack myself up!) wasn’t going to mess that up for me. And this is why I love my Mom: I heard her explain to Ruby that it was time to go to bed, and that I was used to sleeping with Mom. She said Ruby would be welcome to join us, and that she hoped that eventually both of us would sleep in the bed with her, but that it might be a little too soon for me. She made sure that I was safely in bed, and left the bedroom door cracked open. She didn’t want Ruby to feel that she couldn’t come in if she wanted to. After all, it was Ruby’s first night in a strange new house. Much as I didn’t care about Ruby, I love that Mom was so concerned about her. That’s just how my Mom is!
Thankfully, Ruby didn’t come in the bedrom during the night. I fell into an exhausted sleep, feeling comforted and safe with Mom by my side. I know Mom didn’t get much sleep, she got up several times during the night and I heard her talk to Ruby in the living room, but I wasn’t going to budge from my safe and warm spot in Mom’s bed.
Monday morning, I woke up and thought maybe I had just dreamed the whole thing. Unfortunately, Ruby was still here. But I have to admit, she wasn’t quite as annoying as she was on Sunday. As the day went on, I hissed a little less, and mostly just watched her. By afternoon, we were hanging out on the loveseat together.
Yesterday, I relaxed even more. I still hissed and growled at her whenever she came too close for comfort, but it was getting kind of old. So a couple of times, when the little one came up real close to me, I decided not to hiss, and actually let her give me a nose tap. I also let her sit right next to me while Mom was brushing me. I love being brushed, and I wasn’t going to miss out on that just because Ruby has to have her nose in everything. Later in the day, I decided that maybe it was going to be fun to play with the little pipsqueak, and chased her without hissing at her. She chased me right back! This was actually kind of fun! We raced through the whole house a couple of times. Then I decided that I better hiss at her just a little bit, just to make sure she still remembered who was in charge. But I have to admit, it was fun!
And so it begins. I guess she’s here to stay. Mom keeps telling me that eventually I’ll love having a little sister, and that I’ll come to love Ruby. I guess I can already see that Mom might be right. As long as Ruby knows I’m in charge, it just might be okay.
The Conscious Cat has a new family member! Allegra and I are excited to welcome Ruby into our hearts and home. Well, right now, I might be a little more excited than Allegra, but considering that Ruby only came home yesterday morning, things have been going really well. Initially, Allegra was really mad at me for bringing this little intruder into her house, and she watched suspiciously as Ruby began to explore her new home. Whenever Ruby came too close for comfort, she made sure Ruby knew that Allegra was in charge!
By late afternoon, both cats were exhausted, and ready for a companionable nap in our sunny living room. I was amazed, and thrilled, that after less than six hours, they were that comfortable being in each others’ company. And yes, it’s almost uncanny how much alike they look. In the photo below, Ruby is on the floor, Allegra on the loveseat. On some of the photos I took yesterday, I actually had to look for identifying marks to tell them apart. Even though at eight pounds, Allegra is bigger than Ruby, depending on the camera angle, it was sometimes hard to tell!
I met Ruby on March 31 (coincidentally – or maybe no so coincidentally! – the same day I met Allegra a year ago). She was fostered through the SPCA of Northern Virginia, and lived with a lovely young couple and two big male cats. Her foster parents named her Cinnamon. The SPCA’s vet estimated her to be between six months and a year old – I’m leaning toward the lower end of that range, she’s tiny! She’s a total lovebug, in fact, her name in her initial vet record is Lovebug. She was found in someone’s backyard literally “asking” to be rescued. When the kind woman heard the little kitten crying, she opened the door and Ruby ran right up to her without any hesitation.
When I met her, her foster parents had just gotten home from work, so she was all wound up and eager to play. I spent about half an hour with her, and even though she was mostly focused on playing, she still occasionally jumped up on my lap. I just knew she was “the one.”
Everyone deals with loss at their own pace, and almost a year after losing Amber, I was finally ready to open my heart, and my home, to a new baby. I could have taken her home sooner, but wanted to wait until I had a few days in a row with few outside appointments so I could help Ruby settle into her new home and help her and Allegra adjust to each other.
Ruby is a very self-assured little kitten. She’s super affectionate – she likes to rub up against legs so affectionately that she tumbles over! I don’t think she knows how to play with other cats yet, the two big boys in her foster home were a little intimidating to her, but she’s able to endlessly entertain herself. Yesterday, she spent most of the day in my family room, which is really the kitty playroom. There’s no furniture, just cat trees, scratching posts, and toys everywhere. Allegra watched her every move, but didn’t participate in any play (although at times, it really seemed like she wanted to, but then she remembered that she was mad at me and the little intruder). After a while, they chased each other occasionally, and I’m hoping that as they get used to each other, they’ll learn to play with each other. In the meantime, I’m working on my hand-eye coordination so I can play with interactive toys with both of them at the same time!
She also had fun exploring stairs – her foster parents live in an apartment, so this was new territory for her. After the first few, somewhat klutzy, attempts, she now flies up and down both sets of stairs as if she had done it all her life.
Allegra is still withholding judgment as to whether all of this was really a good idea, but I’m sure you’ll hear from her in her own words in just a few days. And you never know, once Ruby settles in, you just might find her blogging here, too.
You can see wonderful “baby pictures” of Ruby (formerly Cinna), along with photos of her two foster “brothers,” on her foster parents’ photo blog.