Exotic shorthair Garfield: in the window!

Mew, mew, it's Garfield.

Ma had some fun with a photo that daddy took of me when I was on the window sill:

She's also getting better at using the new camera. Here are a couple more photos of me in the window!:

Exotic Shorthair (flat face, Garfield) cats relaxing!

Garfield and Chester relaxing on a sunny evening!

Handsome Garfield!

It's me, Garfield - mew, mew!

Ma took a picture of me and she thinks I look very handsome in it.

Here it is!

Cat who sits like a Corgi dog!

Mew mew - it's Garfield! A few days ago I shared a video of me on the table splooting - you can find the post and the video here. Here are some photos of me sitting in a sploot!

 

The end!

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:

Chester's sporting a shorter 'do

Like many cats during this time of year, Chester is shedding his winter coat. His winter coat is extra plushy and dense. There's so much fur that comes off after a good grooming that lately our garbage bin looks like a bag of cotton balls exploded in it.

Shortly after Chester arrived in NY, he started shedding his Spring coat. It was also about the time that he discovered the window sills. Even in a high rise building overlooking a highway, there's lots to keep a cat interested! These pictures are from July 16, 2011.

Chester, people, his table, and fireworks

The days that Chester was with us was turning into weeks. A.'s allergies and asthma were not acting up so we didn't have to fall back on our contingency plan which was giving the boy to A.'s cousin in Minneapolis. 

Growing up, there were always cats in the house because my sister had - um - a thing for taking in strays. Which meant the cats could play with each other, go outside, or nap in any number of places. But they - including the Siamese Neffie who sat on my back at night while I slept - didn't require our constant attention. Chester, however, had to be in the center of everything - and it was getting exhausting!

The beginning of July 2011, Chester had a new favorite spot - the dining room table. Just an aside that we were still using contact lens solution around his eyes and nose. It wasn't doing a very good job, though, and the boy's nose is crusty. We soon purchased something called Eye Envy which did the trick in cleaning his face.

I moved my 2 antique Lucky Cats into my clothes closet. I have a few on display but these are the ones that are easy to replace!

My friend calls this picture ode to a lost whisker

Yes, his fur is as soft as it looks. Even the orange fur! He has tabby coloring but it feels like cotton balls.

July 4th fireworks were going off over the water and we invited friends to watch. It was also a great opportunity for the locals who "met" Chester online to meet him in person - and help this new mommy give the furboy the attention he deserved!  He was such a charmer - I couldn't believe it. When he wasn't on the couch accepting rubs and pets, he was on the dining room rug taking in everything. That included keeping tabs on the dining room table. It wasn't where it was supposed to be - we moved it against the far wall. And it was covered with food. Chester was patient - but there came a time where he needed to reclaim his table! After a couple of hours, there he was eying the table, butt maneuvering, getting ready to jump. A few of us saw what was happening and intercepted him after he landed on the tabletop - luckily not on anything. In true Chester fashion, he just walked away after he was returned to the floor and did something else.

He didn't mind the fireworks - except during the finale where so many fireworks went off at the same time and for a couple of minutes. I sat with him and petted him and soothed him with my voice during that period - he was in the corner and was still - which was unusual for him. I realized he did have his limits and felt kind of bad for complaining about him being a handful. He made an instant recovery once the fireworks were over but from then on - whenever motorcycles pass on the highway or helicopters fly by - I'm there by his side to let him know everything's ok.

Chester doesn't play well with others...other cats that is

(Flashback to June/July 2011) A. and I were still in awe that we had a cat. I never thought that I would have a cat of my own. A. was allergic to cats and has asthma. We did have a dwarf bunny rabbit for 12 years. Yes, that little guy lived to be 12. His name was Harey but the vet dubbed him "The Energizer Bunny".  

After he passed away, A. was devastated and I figured we wouldn't have pets since the bun affected his asthma. 

But then came Chester

Chester meowed when I approached the door to leave for work in the morning. I was filled with guilt because it sounded like crying. When I returned home, he would be waiting by the door. I thought it was time for Chester to have a friend other than his Kong.

The cattery retired a girl cat and was looking to find her a new home. This was a white girl who the breeder told A. Chester liked. I contacted the breeder about getting her as a "friend" for our boy. Well, she said that he was best-suited to be the only cat.  He started fights with and beat up the other cats - Persians! - in the cattery. Really? This cat:

Oh boy! To this day, it's hard for me to believe that Chester could be the aggressor - especially because he's so little - but I wouldn't want to make life miserable for another cat. As someone at work pointed out to me, cats sleep most of the day anyway!

Chester is in the bathroom sink

Chester is almost done shedding his winter coat. Coupled with it being unseasonably warm means it must be time to sleep in the bathroom sink!

Continuing the story of when Chester first became a member of our family, here are some pictures from July 2011 of Chester in the bathroom sink.

 

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!