My Cat, the Handyman

My kitten Chessie, in typical family tradition, has decided to shatter the boundaries and mores of society (catciety?) by acquiring an avid interest in plumbing, carpentry, and machinery.  Given that  she is an indoor kitten, these career paths have been restricted to domestic plumbing, carpentry, and machinery.  She is particularly fond of the dishwasher, chairs, and anything involving the toilet or its pipes.

Chessie in action on/around chairs is a bit harder to capture than the moments when she actually sits still on them, so the images below are of her brief periods of rest.  And while I do have photos of her in the bathroom, it seems kind of whacky and odd to include those in this pictorial.  Thus, I have limited this lil “My Cat, the Handyman” instagram set to Chessie’s affinity for chairs and the dishwasher.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

A Tale of Too Many Kitties

Once upon a time about six months ago, a stray cat decided that my spouse’s work was her new home.  She was scraggly and flea-bit, but also social and chatty.  Ace, kitty-lover that she is (one of the many reasons we go well together), nursed and groomed her back to health.

Soon Kitty was a regular fixture at the warehouse/showroom.  She looked so young that no one guessed she could be of breeding age… until her belly started growing.  It grew fast, and it grew BIG.

Indeed, Kitty had taken up residence because she was preggers.  A couple months later, Kitty popped out EIGHT kittens, and was subsequently referred to as Mama instead of Kitty.

Amongst these kittens was Chessie, aka THE CUTEST KITTEN EVER, who I fell in love with and who either fell in love with me back or just quickly got really good at accepting my Elmira-like affections.  Once the litter was about nine weeks old, we took them from downtown L.A. to our home in WeHo to get them ready for adoption, and the first few were quickly whisked away.  A week or two later, Ace and I posted this flyer I made on our facebooks:

Mission: 50% successful.  The two black cats were taken that week.  Now it is a couple weeks later, and the two remaining kittens, who are steadfastly zooming through kittenhood, are still here.  They are both boys, about 14 weeks old, and have lots of energy and affection to offer.  As mentioned in the ad, they’ve been dewormed and tested negative for diseases.  If you are in the Los Angeles area and know of someone trustworthy, responsible, wonderful, loving, and in need of a new pet, please contact me on twitter @rawknrollariane, or Ace at the above handle there.

We call him Blondie. He loves laps, and is the mellower of the two.

This is Red. He enjoys perching on shoulders, and has plenty of stamina for play.

In Praise of Special Ear

Everyone has quirks, and some quirks are quirkier than other quirks.  That said, I LOVE SPECIAL EAR.  For those who are unfamiliar with this term, which yes I did make up, Special Ear is when an animal’s ear, or ears, are flipped inside out.  I think it makes them look freaking adorable, in a, you know… special kind of way.

Before I share these Instagram photos of my cats Chessie and Pies with their Special Ears, I’d like a devote a moment of silence for my wonderful cat Bill whose ears refuse to go special.  I have tried numerous times this afternoon, ever since I decided to write this blog an hour ago, and they just. won’t. stay. when you flip them.  As I used to say to my RnR employees, back when I was an employer, we all have our talents.  Bill has many others, of course, and is making a heck of a living as a label model for Buffalo Bill Cowboy Kale Chips.  (Insert silence here.)

      

Chessie being sleepy and happy to let me specialize her ears.

Pies' ear specialized itself, and she left it. She is not the sort of girl to let you play with her ears.

This could also fall into the "Chessie's Homies" category, as this couch is as much her friend as assorted chairs, etc.