Ha! You know how last week, I told you about my big refrigerator tumble and my unplanned shower, and how Mom was holding her breath, because these things usually come in three’s? Well, guess what.Continue Reading
Ruby’s Reflections
Ruby’s Reflections: Ruby and the Refrigerator
It’s my turn to write! Wee!!! Boy, do I have lots to tell you! I’ve had a couple of big adventures since I last wrote!
For starters, last week, I fell off the top of the refrigerator. Don’t worry, I’m fine. But see, I like to hang out there. The view from up there is awesome! I can see the kitchen, living room, dining room, and stairway. It’s so cool! And I like to roll around on top, and hang my head over the side and look at the world upside down. That’s what I was doing last week, when, all of a sudden, I started slipping off the side!
I was really scared, but thankfully Mom was in the kitchen and she saw me slip. She reacted quickly and grabbed me halfway down. I was so spooked that I wouldn’t let her hold on to me, and I landed right on top of a full glass of water that was sitting on the counter I was heading for. Yikes! Miraculously, the glass didn’t break, but I landed in the puddle of water it created when it toppled over, and that really creeped me out. Now I was scared and wet! I took off running. I didn’t even know where I was running to, I just wanted to get out of the kitchen!
When Mom finally caught up with me, I could tell she was upset. I didn’t do it on purpose, I just slipped! Then I realized that she wasn’t upset with me, she was worried that I had hurt myself. Well, maybe my pride was hurt – I felt a little silly. And I was wet. But otherwise, I was fine. Allegra was watching the whole thing and I could tell she was alternately worried, amused, and relieved.
Mom told me that this was enough excitement for her for a while. But apparently, it wasn’t for me.
A few days after the great refrigerator tumble, I got myself in trouble again. I like playing in the bathtub. It’s fun to get behind the shower curtain and just walk around in there, and pretend that nobody knows where I’m at. I go there periodically throughout the day. Mom goes in there once a day, and I always wait for her right outside. When she goes in there, strange things happen, and I don’t want any part of that.
Well, the other day, Mom was in there. But I forgot that she was. I took a flying leap through the crack between the shower curtain and the wall, right into the tub. That’s when I realized that there was water falling from the ceiling! Lots of water! Eeeeek!!! I tried to jump back out, but lost my footing on the wet bottom. By the time I finally got out, I was really wet!
I wanted to get a far away from the bathroom as I could as fast as I could, so I tore through the house, trying to get away from the wet – except, the wet was following me! I finally realized that there was no way I could outrun it, so I sat down and started to try and dry myself off. By that time, Mom had caught up with me and wiped me down with a towel. I can’t believe Mom goes in there and stands under that water every day. Humans are just weird. Why doesn’t she just lick herself clean like I do?
Humans say things come in three’s, but so far, I’ve been a good kitten and haven’t gotten myself in any more trouble. Besides, humans say a lot of strange things. I know Mom is holding her breath, though.
That’s it as far as excitement around here goes. I’m really going to try to be a good little kitten. But I can hear a roll of toilet paper calling my name…
Ruby’s Reflections: Fireworks and Vacuum Cleaners
It’s about time that I get to write on here again. Just because I’m little doesn’t mean I don’t have lots to say!
You’ll be happy to hear that I’ve refined my wake up tactics. I’m quite pleased with myself! In addition to bouncing all over the bed, I’ve now added chasing my tail to my repertoire. I dance and whirl around like a feline dervish (I have no idea what a dervish is, but it sounds cool), but I can never catch it! It’s a little frustrating, but quite entertaining! And evidently, it adds to Mom’s morning pleasure, because her groans get even louder than when I just jump up and down on top of her. Sometimes, she even participates in the game by giving me a gentle kick from under the covers. I love that! It makes me slide off the bed, and I jump right back on, and for good measure, I bite Mom’s toes through the covers! Wee!!! Sometimes, I get distracted because Allegra wants to get in on the game and starts to chase me out of the bedroom, so Mom gets a few extra minutes of sleep. Suck up! I think she just does it to earn brownie points with Mom.
We had some excitement the other night. All of a sudden, there were all these weird noises coming from outside. It didn’t sound like thunder, I already know what that sounds like, and unlike Allegra, who’s afraid of storms, that doesn’t bother me at all. But this was different – kind of a popping noise, followed by some swishy sounds, and then it sounded like sssssssss, weeeeee, ppppoooowww! I had to go see what that was! I ran to all the windows and looked out, but couldn’t see anything. Mom said it’s called fireworks, and that it was coming from some neighboring yards. Allegra, of course, was afraid of the noises and hidden away in her safe spot behind the downstairs shower curtain. Mom gave her her magic water (Ingrid’s note: Spirit Essences Stress Stopper has worked really well for Allegra’s fears of storms and loud noises), but she still wouldn’t come out.
I’m not afraid of anything! I’m a brave kitten! Bring it on! What? What did you say, Mom? Oh. Alright. There is one thing I’m afraid of, and that’s the monster Mom brings out once a week. She says it’s called a vacuum cleaner, but that’s far too kind a word for something that roars and eats small things that are on the floor. I mean, what if it eats me? I’m small! Oddly, Allegra isn’t afraid of the monster at all, she just sits a few feet away and watches Mom push it all through the house. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s because she’s bigger than me, and the monster can’t eat her. Thankfully, I found a place where the monster can’t get me: right on the very top of our big cat tree in the living room. I can keep an eye on things from up there, and keep a safe distance. So far, the monster hasn’t figured out how to climb.
And just so you can see what I have to put up with, here’s a video of me taking a leisurely bath (aren’t I just too cute!). And then – well, you’ll have to watch to see what happened!
Allegra and Ruby’s Great Adventure
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!
Ruby’s Reflections: Wake Up Tactics and the Stolen Shrimp
Check it out, everyone! Mom had the blog header changed to include me! How cool is that! I love my Mom!
Allegra and I have been having fun. She’s an awesome big sister. I know I annoy her sometimes, but she always forgives me very quickly, and then we play together and chase each other around the house.
I also have fun with Mom! I love to entertain her! I think one of her favorite things is when I first wake up in the morning, and I bounce all over the bed, back and forth. It’s my way to slowly warm up for the day ahead. Can I help it if it also serves to get Mom out of bed? I’m not sure why Mom always groans when I do it, because it feels so good! Some mornings, just to add a little variety, I play with her hair, or bop her on the head. It appears that on those mornings, breakfast is served earlier – hmmm. If you’re wondering where Allegra is when I do this: she usually watches and quietly cheers me on, but then looks all innocent when Mom opens her eyes to see who’s making all the racket.
Another thing I love to do with Mom is share her meals. She doesn’t seem to want to share, though, so it becomes a challenge, which, of course, makes me want to do it even more. I jump up on the table where she’s eating to check out what she’s having. She picks me up and sets me back on the floor. I climb right back up on the table. She puts me back down. I figure eventually she’ll get tired of this and just let me have some of her food, but so far, that’s never happened.
I almost pulled one over on her last week, though! She was having shrimp, and the smell just about did me in. I wanted some so badly! And I got my opportunity, too! Her attention was distracted for a moment, and that’s all I needed. I grabbed a big shrimp by its tail and started to take off with it. Drats – Mom saw me before I got away, and took the shrimp from me. I was mad, and I let her know it – I growled at her! I caught myself right away, though. What was I doing? I was growling at my Mom, who I love! And since she’s the best Mom ever, she broke off a small piece of the shrimp and let me have it. OMC, it was soooo good! I could eat that every day!
I love that Mom never gets mad at me. I know she gets exasperated sometimes, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a high maintenance kitty. I love to be around Mom, on top of Mom, or at least near Mom all the time, and I make sure she knows it. I talk, chirp, mew and purr all day long! I know that the purr always gets her – even if I’ve just done something she may not be entirely happy about, if I roll around on her lap and purr, all is forgiven. Good to know.
Now you’ll have to excuse me. I need to go find my sister and wake her up from her nap.
Mom wanted to show you this video of me enjoying the sunny window perch in her office. Am I cute or what!
Ruby’s Reflections: First Post
Hi everyone! It’s Ruby! I’m so excited that I get to write here, too! I’ve been here almost three weeks now, and it’s so great here! When I lived with my human foster parents and two big foster brothers, I didn’t know what a forever home was. Now I know: it’s kitty paradise, right here on earth!
I love my mom, and I love my big sister Allegra. I’m so happy! Sometimes, I get so happy that I have to jump for joy. I jump straight up in the air!
I know that my new big sister wasn’t too terribly happy when I first arrived here. She hissed and growled while I was exploring my new home. But even then, I knew we’d be best friends in no time, because I realized quickly that she wasn’t mad at me – she was mad at our mom! That’s who she was hissing and growling at! Thankfully, it didn’t take her long to stop being mad at Mom, and then she started making friends with me. At first she’d just watch me closely. After a few hours, we started to hang out together in the same room. Two days later, we were touching noses. You get where this is going – we’re definitely friends now, and I think this is only the beginning.
Neither one of us really knew how to play with other cats. I was too intimated by my two foster brothers to play with them, because quite frankly, they were giants compared to me! I was afraid I might get squished by one of them! Since it had just been Allegra and Mom for a long time, Allegra didn’t have any practice playing with other cats, either. But we’re both very smart, so we figured it out pretty quickly!
Our favorite thing is to chase each other through the house. We pretend to stalk each other around corners and from behind furniture, and then we pounce on each other. We run like the wind! Up and down stairs! Up and down cat trees! Up and down furniture! Wee!!!
I also love when Mom plays with both of us. One game that Allegra and I love is when Mom brings out these little plastic spring things. She says we can only play with them when she can watch us. I don’t know why, they’re totally fun and we could have a blast even without her watching us. Allegra says Mom worries that we might chew on them and maybe swallow little pieces if we’re not being supervised. Allegra says that’s what Moms do – they worry. That’s sweet. Anyway, we both love chasing these little springs all over the house, and the best part is that when we manage to bat them underneath a piece of furniture, we get to watch Mom retrieve them for us! Great fun for all, especially for Mom!
When we’re not playing, I like to look out the windows. There’s so much to see! There are birds, there are people walking by, sometimes, there are dogs out there, and the best part is that I can watch all of that and be safe inside our wonderful house! I have no desire to go outside. I lived outside for a while after I was abandoned, and let me tell you, it was scary out there, and there was nobody to take care of me. Take it from one who’s been there: being outside is highly overrated.
That’s all for today. Mom says I can write here again soon. Besides, I have to go chase my sister now. Life is good! Wee!!!