More Changes with Garfield and Chester

This is Janna - time for an update on the litter boxes and the boys!

The boys now have 3 litter boxes, down from the 4 we had while Garfield was creatively pooping.

The first and biggest step was removing the water from the bath tub and lining it with sticky paws double-sided tape for cats. I don't recall how much time passed - maybe 3 weeks - when my husband had enough and decided to remove litter box number 4 from our half bath. Garfield had one slip-up and my spouse did exactly what I thought he shouldn't have done - he picked up Garfield, looked him in the eye, and he explained to him authoritatively that he shouldn't do that. Incredibly, that worked! Garfield is also peeing more and more in the center of the boxes, rather than at the edges (with makes clean-up tricky.)

From when we first adopted Garfield and let him explore the house with Chester in another room

Was this this when Garfield made a date with the bathtub?

Chester and Garfield's behaviors are changing

Around September, Garfield started resting next to Chester (while C was sleeping), so that they were rump-to-rump. Increasingly, Garfield is sitting next to or near Chester more and for longer amounts of time. Paradoxically, sometimes Garfield will instead shoo Chester away and sit there for a bit; other times G will not stay there.  Garfield has also been sleeping in "Chester's" chair or sink when Chester is clearly not interested in resting in either of those places.

Which tail belongs to which cat?

Chester's Chair

Chester's sink

Beginning this month, Chester started to play with Da Bird in the way Garfield does and Garfield isn't interfering or chasing Chester away! The most intriguing event for me occurred maybe yesterday or the day before when the boys were rough-housing (running after each other and doing their classic/modern wrestling moves) - complete with Chester making garbled-sounding meows - and my husband brought Chester on the bed. Chester ran off and wanted to be back with Garfield!

As for me, I feel like a weight of dread and anxiety that I had been experiencing a few months ago regarding the boys' interactions has been lifted. I still have moments of fear such as when I hear Chester "squoke" (our term for what a meow resembling the sound a squeak toy makes; usually made by either of the boys when he doesn't want to be picked up) when he's tussling with Garfield, because I'm afraid that Garfield is hurting him. But then I'll inadvertently reach for a cat toy to move it out of the way and Chester comes running (from what I interpret as his "hiding place" from Garfield but I think it's more like a time-out spot) to play.

Are Exotic Shorthair cats for you?

Exotic Shorthair Chester here!

Exotic Shorthair cats are becoming more and more popular. You may wonder if we are the right breed for you, so I've put together a very short presentation. Please go to the comments section at the bottom of this page to leave any questions you may have so my people can answer them.

We're cats who like being near our people:

Our flat faces are normal to us and soon you'll agree that other cats look weird:

We like to play. When we're not playing we like to stare at our humans:

You might want to bathe us, which means you'll also give us a blow dry:

Our eyes may require daily cleaning, sometimes more than once a day:

Something that you may not find out in your reading about our breed is that some of us make noises.
Here are 2 videos of me grooming myself so you can start to get used to these sounds:

The sound is low on this video so you'll need to turn up your volume:

Garfield: I'm long

Hi! It's Garfield. Chester is very proud to be an exotical cat. I'm exotical, too but I'm long!

Here's my paw! I like this one because there's red around my paw pad.

These are the rest of my paws. My back paws are white and my other front paw has a little bit of red on my toes.

This is my face. I have some freckles on my nose. Mom used to think they were dirt and once she tried to clean them up!

 

You're probably going to think I'm being rude. I just want to show you my back! I have a long tail. It gets very puffy sometimes - mostly when I run after Chester!

I like to sit like this.

And on my back too!

But sometimes I try to do things when I'm on my back or I try to get up. They are both hard to do!
Here's a video so you can see what I mean!

Chester discusses his weight

Chester here! Now that I am a public figure, I am attracting some unwanted attention, mostly regarding my weight. My image consultants (mom and dad) suggest that I directly address the gossip. I am also available for follow up interviews since I live in New York City (or erm, as a last-minute replacement if the scheduled guest falls through.)

People are saying that I am either chubby or fat. Now I fully support a cat's decision to be his or her "happy weight" and I stand against feline obesity (see: Meow). However, I am NOT a fat cat!

I possess the ideal body type of my Exotic Shorthair breed as determined by the Cat Fanciers' Association,  which is a cobby or stocky build.

I have short legs:

A short and bushy tail:

And short a body. I also have small ears and a wide neck. Because I was a breeding cat, my head is large.

I now weigh approximately 8.20 lbs. I have gained a few ounces in my retirement, which is mostly the result of my new diet. I am on a prescription dental food to address my gingivitis. This food has "carbs".

I also require fiber since I am not a purrveyor of wet food. I do appreciate the gravy in Fancy Feast's flaked tuna which enables me to consume Benefiber. This has helped me to ::blush:: poop more effectively thereby stopping most instances of blood in the previously mentioned poop.

Here I am eating my tuna gravy and Benefiber:

Chester's blogging tips

Exotic Shorthair Chester here!

A lot of people and cats are under the impression that blogging is something that's easy. It's hard work but I have some tips that can help you to start your own blog or give you some ideas if you already have a blog.

I never know when inspiration will come:

Idea #897: String - compare different varieties of string. No, scratch that. No, don't scratch that. String, string...strin ::yawn:: s  t   r  i  n  g

Image is so important. I give thought to EVERY picture that appears in the blog:

  

The picture on the left - no, that is too, too ... no cat will be able to relate to me. I need to show an image of being RELATABLE and an everycat and yet NOT an everycat. The lower right one - I look too satisfied. I'm HUNGRY, HUNGRY (oh, is it time to eat?) ::ahem:: my work is never done - people have to come to the page thinking that my work is DONE but it's not. EVER. The upper right-hand one - now that's the picture - we'll go with that one ...wait... include the one on the left, also...and throw in a little bit about the photographer, too.

It's important to give it back. If you don't pass it on then you'll lose it and then it's not yours ::shivers::. I don't even know what that means but it's something that stuck with me and then it gave me the idea for this next story. My mom and dad went to Costco and gave me this box. I didn't want anything happening to this box, so I decided to write about it.

CHESTER RELAXES NEXT TO HIS FAVORITE BOX

 
Sir - what about this? "Human things that they put their food bowls on that double as a place to nap"

Kid, that's a nice try but people and cats don't come here for that. Which brings me to my next point - for every story that makes it here, there are like 10 that don't make it here. Don't worry about Garfield, he's on staff and isn't going anywhere!

Sometimes I won't blog about something but I'll do a video instead. So let the process take you where it takes you. It will take you...and then you'll be confused. Then do something because if you don't do something then all you are is confused. Got that?  Anyway, here's what happened with me and the string!

Garfield in "Ginger Furs" (or a a cat's take on a scene from Goldilocks and The Three Bears)

I'm Garfield...oh wait...I'm Ginger Furs and I am looking for a place to sleep!

Hey it's a box!

I don't like this box - I'm going to find somewhere else to sleep!  I don't know what that thing is but let me try it out!

Hmm, I dunno it's kinda small.

Ma - this is a dumb story - you know I like that tree. Okay, okay, I'll do it like we practiced it. And then I get a treat afterwards, right?

::clears throat and gets back into character:: Oh wait - do I see a place that is just right for me? I'm tired and wanna take a nap.

Goodnight!

PS: I forgot one of my lines. It's this: Chester, I mean Stripey Furs doesn't like sleeping here so I have it all to myself and he better not try to lick me.
PPs: it wasn't night time - sorry!!!

Chester with and without primping

Exotic Shorthair Chester here! Hey- in case you haven't heard the news, me and The Kid are in Catster. This is the link.

I wanted to let everyone know that it takes a lot to make a cat like me look good. Hours upon hours go into what you see in pictures and on video. Let me explain.

So here is the finished product:

It has filters and is one of like a thousand photos that ma took to get this perfect shot.

Do you want to know what I looked like before?* Gah!!:

After cleaning my eyes, there was a bath:

A lot of fur came off (but I got treats!):

I tolerated the blow drying:

They never get it *quite* right, though. Here I am cleaning myself. (I couldn't take the lack of filters anymore - I hope you don't mind!):

I hope this has revealed that it's a lot of work to get a cat like me ready for the camera.

Here's a video of me after all of the preparation:

*Don't worry - this is the absolute worst Chester's eyes can get when he wakes up in the morning. We are sure to clean them well when this happens - mom Janna

Exotic Shorthair Chester in "Massage Cat"

Chester here! I highly recommend my video called "Massage Cat". Be careful, though - it's so relaxing that you might fall asleep like I did!

Mom is very thankful today

This entry almost never happened. I actually did walk away from the computer after thinking that my heart isn't in the same place as the one that started this blog. But then, I thought about the happiness Chester and Garfield have brought into my life and realized that I'm so thankful that they are part of our family. 

Part of the reason why I started this blog was to share pictures and videos of Chester but both cats are so much more than the "cute" I originally wanted to feature. Chester and Garfield have been there for me and I for them and I love them so much.

Both cats come to my husband and I after we come home from work. And if we don't shower them with affection immediately, they follow us around until we respond. Chester currently likes to lick my fingers and flops on his side for my husband to rub his belly. Garfield prefers to sniff us and I'll pet the base of his tail and around the sides of his mouth and underneath his chin while my husband takes out a toy for Garfield to chase.

 This is a video from March 2012 of Chester saying hello when I come home from work

After we've all settled in, well, Garfield wants to play! Chester doesn't have Garfield's energy and he'll either watch from a vantage point of a box or a blanket after a nice kneading session, but lately he's been joining Garfield in the fun.

So thank you Chester and Garfield for being part of my life and my husband's, too!

Copy cat Garfield

Meow, meow, mew, mew. Where is everyone? Hi there, I'm Garfield! Meow, meow!!


.......

Thanks Garfield. Chester here! Garfield got bored and went to look at birds out the window.

In my last blog entry, I posted a video of me licking mom's finger and getting a face rub and then Garfield walked in front of my face and I sneezed and sneezed!

Mom felt bad and gave Garfield a face rub, too. So here's a video of Garfield, getting a face rub!

The Kid sure likes attention - he even started meowing when dad was watching a concert video of some band called Depeche Mode! Do you think Garfield can be a lead meower in a band?

An update from Chester and a new Chester video.

Exotic Shorthair Chester here!

Wow, Mom stayed home with me all of last week and daddy was also home for a few days. There was a very bad storm but we were lucky - it only made our apartment sway and creak. Once, mom started to close the window shade but I got worried so then she closed it only halfway. This is me relaxed that I can look outside (if I wanted to).

This is me and The Kid after the storm.

And this is The Kid sleeping after mom played with him. She couldn't go to work for a week because the power was out in the building where she works!

I haven't been posting many new videos featuring me so I thought I'd post a new one in which I clean mommy's finger. Also, if you ever want to see *all* of Garfield and my videos, you can see them on my YouToob Channel called ChesterSmooshyFace .

Garfield the Cat's makeover: 4 months later

Janna here for Chester who is sleeping right now. It's been over 4 months since Garfield became a member of our family and you'd never know by looking at him now that he was once a neglected cat. His fur has grown in beautifully and I wanted to document the dramatic "after". Just a note that I refer to his toy as "Da Bird" - of course it's the mouse by the same company!

Garfield...less wrestling, more litter boxes, and Mastering Da Bird

Chester here! There have been some changes apaw.

The Kid (Garfield) isn't wrestling with me as much as before (this is very good). Ma is hoping it's the Bully Remedy .One of the humans who looked after me and The Kid when the folks were away on holiday last week believes it cuz Garfield had to depend on me while ma and dad were gone. I'm just glad he's letting me nap and stare at ma like BG (before Garfield).

The other news is that Garfield now has two new litter boxes of his very own. When mom and dad were away, he started pooping behind one of the bathroom doors!  So now there's one box behind that door and one box in the bathtub (the humans drained the water - you can see this blog post for some background on the water in the bathtub). Dad isn't thrilled with the litter box in the bath but mom says she'd rather have Garfield using a litter box in a bathtub than using a rug as a litter box.

Amidst all of this new stuff, The Kid has mastered Da Bird - I think he's now better than me. Here's another demonstration, but put your volume down because it has a loudish and punky song:

Chester explains "good water"

Chester here! For a long time, my daddy wanted me to tell you about good water.  Today is when I'm going to tell you about good water and bad water.

See, bad water is located right next to the food in the kitchen. There's a HUGE chance that it will get dirty. And now that the Padawan cat learner is here, there's a worse chance than ever that the water will get yucky. We haven't gotten to the lesson on how to eat delicately, so he'll drop his food and then eat it off of the floor - ON PURPOSE!  Look at his face at the mention of  bad water. As you can see, even an apprentice cat won't touch the bad water.

Now, I'm going to tell you a story about good water so it helps you understand what I mean. It was my first New York City winter...and I was cold. I would sleep in mommy and daddy's bathroom on their soft bathmats to stay warm. One night, I woke up - not looking forward to the icky water - and there was a bowl of water a  few paws'-length away from me! I thought maybe I was having a dream but when I went to drink it, it was real! It was clean and fresh and I was so happy! Ever since then, I always go to the good water when I'm thirsty. (Dad put the water in the bathroom so Chester wouldn't haven't to walk to the kitchen for water when he was sleeping in the bathroom. By accident, we discovered what cats do in nature for water - they go to a stream or some other source of water, far away from their kill - mom.)

Mom tried to record me drinking good water - she doesn't understand I can't drink if someone is filming me! But here you can see how the water is in the bathroom, and not next to my food in the kitchen.

My son, grandaughter, and The Kid (Garfield)

Chester here! Marla - who owns my son Guillaume and my granddaughter Guinevere - was in New York last month and visited with mom and dad. I was kinda sleepy (she was over during my afternoon nap) so Garfield entertained in my absence. 

He tried out some of the catnip foil balls she brought as a gift:

Wow, what a great toy!

I'm sure you're wondering what the kitties look like - here are some pictures of them and their buddy Miette!

Guillaume and Miette

Guinevere and Guillaume

Guinevere

Guillaume. They have my good looks and catitude!

Which brings me to the one that mom calls Padawan and I simply refer to as The Kid - Garfield.

He has gotten his cat legs and wants to play - all the time. I'm glad he's acting like a cat and that he can jump so high with Da Bird but he wants to play at 11:00 in the morning and 11:00 at night. Did I mention who he wants to play with - it's me. He forgets I'm retired and like to sleep. Mom and dad bought something called Bully Remedy in the hope that he chills out a little. The Kid was also pooping and peeing in the bathtub that is next to the litter box. Dad did some research and mom had to buy something called Urine Destroyer. After they cleaned out the tub, mom and dad also filled it with water. That did the trick! And luckily for them, this is a guest bathroom so they don't wash up in this bathtub.

I would like say that is all for now but I have the very worst news of all. Garfield has something called Giardia in his system...and now I have it! We are not showing any symptoms but we have to take some medicine from this plastic thing and it tastes terrible, I dribbled it a couple of times on my ruff, and once I teared up once because I didn't want to take it and mom and dad made me do it. Garfield kind of looks forward to it because I go first and he likes to copy me. And he loves to eat so he thinks it's food. He resists swallowing it once he realizes it's not something to eat - but he doesn't hate it like I do. (Tonight is the last dosage - mom).

Things are getting back to the way things were BG (before Garfield). I'm back to kneading my fleecy blankies on the couch. I've even started to hang out in the bed with mom and dad at night on the blue fleecy blanky. Best, though, is that I'm playing more than I used to. Maybe that Bully Remedy is working after all because The Kid doesn't try to play when the toy is clearly meant for me.

Garfield the cat's makeover!

Chester here! Mom made a nine-minute short video with Garfield about this first bath. They are in the bathroom 'cuz this is before I said it was ok for him to come out into the rest of my apartment. I hope you like it even though I'm not in it.

How am I doing?

Chester here. My secretary has been neglecting her transcribing duties but she finally set aside some time for me so I can update my blog!

So there's this other cat - Garfield - living with me and my humans now. I know what you're all thinking...how am I doing?  Well, thank you for your concern.

At first I was pretty mad - who was this smelly cat behind the door in that small room where I sometimes wait for ma and dad?

Then I was perplexed.

Then I was pleased. Does this look familiar - it's in the picture above this one. They bought it for him - don't I look good sitting on it?

The thing is - this guy is no threat to me!

Actually, I've taken him under my paw. He needs a lot of help

About his dirty and smelly coat. I like to think I had something to do with him getting help. I took one whiff of his tail after his first bath (the one where he was covered in something called Fast Orange grease remover and then shampooed) and bit him on the back. Guy - do something with that stinky tail!

His tail needed to be cleaned again with the Fast Orange to get rid of that odor. After that, ma and dad washed his tail again with a stud tail creme to loosen more dirt and bathed him a few days later with a shampoo for oily coats. Finally - they got him really clean. Here's the kid after his last bath (he looks good, huh?)