Truffle had a ball

Chester here! Mom had a surprise for me and whipped out the old bowler hat, pipe, and bowtie - I thought maybe it's picture time!

From Profile Photos

Next thing you know, I'm back in the South and attending my first party - Miss Truffle's debutante ball. I was quite nervous as other cats haven't seen me looking like this but then I saw lots of other cats all dressed up, too! Click here to see Truffle's post and pictures from the ball. I didn't see the ball, or a kick toy for that matter, but then a nice door mouse explained that "ball" is just another name for a formal and special party before he scampered away. I guess he realized I was all set for play! (And that I was hungry.)

I had water from a nice crystal goblet and some tuna treats and then I saw her, a vision in a black mask - it was Zoey. We danced and that was just swell. Then I made my way over to a nice fleecy blankie and watched the entrance of the other cats and enjoyed seeing Truffle dancing the night away. Wow - does her mom Paula know how to throw a good Ball!

Mom's staycation

Chester here. I was expecting the usual to happen after those two days that my humans stay at home with me  but mom surprised me and didn't leave the apartment for most of the day yesterday! And she hasn't left today yet, either! It turns out she's on a staycation. This sounds a lot like what I do all the time but for people it means that they do it for only a few days.

I'm not sure why but when humans talk about anything with "-cation" in it, others want to know what they "did." I didn't like the first part - mom and dad took me outside in my walking jacket and leash for the first time. More on that in another blog entry.  I'm sure you all want to see what I looked like, though ::sigh:: Please whatever you do, DO NOT tell the other cats and dogs about this.

Then they went out for a birthday dinner for mom at a french bistro - I can't pronounce the name. (It's La Boite en Bois Chester's mom.)

Mom also slept and slept and slept. I did, too.

Here I'm sleeping on mom's hand - she wanted it back after awhile but it was very comfy.

On Monday she went out of the house to get a 20-minute neck and back massage. Even though she slept so much, her neck and upper back were still really tight from the stress of her dad being sick, the virus she had that made her so achy and worn out, her big work project, and insomnia. She says it really helped and was only $20! I get my neck rubs for free but for a human that's a "good deal".

Ok, I'm sure you're dying to see another picture of me in my "walking jacket". My human parents have been doing practice runs with me in the apartment hallway so I get used to the harness. Dad took this picture of me - it's from before I started shedding so I look a little scruffy:

I'm in the dishwasher!

I've still been spending nights in the bathroom sink because I have my spring coat now but it feels like summer outside! I was so hot that I was even in the sink earlier this morning. Mom groomed me today even though I wasn't thrilled about it. Dad's allergies were acting up so mom did a good sweeping and mopping of the floors. Speaking of chores, mom was nice enough to let me lay in the dishwasher after she unloaded the dishes. She did this once before (a picture of that earlier occasion is below) but only once, because she heard the tragic story of an exotic shorthair who snuck into the clothes dryer and died and she doesn't want anything like that to happen to me.

Chester plays with straws

After about of week of playing with his Kong Kickeroo, Chester moved onto a new toy that we introduced to him - the plastic straw. He would play soccer with the straw and then pounce on it. He got so excited that his tail would get bushy - which was so cute!

Exotic Shorthair Chester: Dusty Chester and pictures from his first bath at his forever home

You may remember that Chester had fun on the top of the armoire and that he rolled over in the dust to play with me. Here are some pictures!

That's 6 years worth of dust - oy vey!  Luckily, the bath we had scheduled for last week had to be postponed until today since A. was away on business.

A. and I have gotten better at bathing and drying Chester since we gave him his first bath in his forever home.

Here are some pictures from that first bath:

And I have gotten used to the fact that Chester will voice his protest which initially caused me to feel uneasy.

(He's so little!)

But Chester goes along with the routine since he has received monthly baths his whole life and even moves his head, body, and legs in the direction of the heat from the blow dryer. The first couple of times, we dried him on the floor of the kitchen so he was DONE with the whole thing before he was completely free of water.

Chester walking away after his first bath - not dry yet!

We now have a station set up adjacent to the sink so getting him dry doesn't take as long as it used to and he doesn't walk away before Andy and I are done.

Exotic Shorthair Chester: Today I bought dusting wipes - for the cat

Chester began living in his new forever home on Father's Day of 2011 so there's much more to tell. I'm going to interrupt with an update on some more recent adventures.

Chester became very interested in the tv chest in the master bedroom. First, he attempted to jump into the small shelf in the middle and when that didn't work he leapt in front of the tv. It wasn't such a great place for him, though - something about there not being enough room for both him and the tv. A. and I moved his cat tree (which wasn't getting much use) into our bedroom. And voila he climbed onto it immediately! The next day, I shifted the position of the tree because the openings of the condo faced the wrong way. I also moved the tree closer to the armoire because it looked better than way. A. wasn't thrilled with the change because he thought the cat would jump onto the top of the armoire. But Chester hadn't been the best jumper in the past, I argued, so he knew better than to do that.

Last night when I came home I discovered a trail of dust left by Mr. Kitty (Chester's current nickname when he's not going by "The Kitty") indicating something happened. Clue #1: Two dense, flat pieces of dust (that looked like grey packed snow) on the floor of the bedroom, between his cat tree and the tv armoire. Clue #2: Three lighter pieces of the grey dust on the top tray of his cat tree. Clue #3 (This involved getting on a step ladder to view) paw prints in the dense dust on the top of the armoire. A. came home from a business trip close to 11:00 PM so I didn't clean the evidence so he could see for himself and we could both have a laugh.

This morning as I'm brushing my teeth and walking out of the bathroom, there's Mr. Kitty on the top of the armoire (!), sitting and looking very proud of himself.  So now I really need to clean the top of the armoire. I collect a Swiffer cloth,  dustpan, and step ladder.  And yes, you can probably guess where this is going as I climb and dust. Of course - Mr. Kitty lays down at the edge of the armoire in the not-snow and wants to play! I tried to clean The Kitty with my hands as best I could in the one minute I had left before I had to finish getting ready for work.

During lunch I went to Petco to purchase a slicker brush since Mr. Kitty is shedding his winter coat. And that's where I discovered - and bought - cat dusting cloths!