litter boxes...exciting stuff!

i have so very found what i want for my next major gift-receiving holiday. behold:

 

you can read all about its wonderfulness here...and you can watch videos! of it being wonderful!! i spent way too much time there recently.

i've also spent way too much time thinking about litter boxes. and their cleaning.

minou isn't hideous with her litter box - actually from horror stories i've heard over the years, she's actually pretty kind to us. but it still isn't much fun. clio is *appalled* that we allow the cat to do these things in.the.house. she's a neat freak, my clio girl...bless her heart for having lived with *me* all these years...

today we got some of the litter that this box uses so we can do a "test run" as it were and see if even just the litter on its own does what i need it to do...because i've become a freak about the litter box. not because i'm mean, but because i feel bad for the cat. i mean, if she could clean it out, i'm sure she would. and i wouldn't want to go into a dirty box to do *my* business, so...i'm sympathetic. i mean, i've seen convenience store bathrooms when i've really needed to go. i *totally* sympathize.

it may seem i don't toot clio's horn enough lately, so let me take this opportunity to say that she gets more and more accepting of the cat's weird ways every day...she's truly a saint, my little girl. and she has never ever ever approached the litter box as a buffet table. thank you, oh great heavens above...you cannot imagine how grateful i am of this fact. tomorrow...a clio post... (and the world gagged)

last night... *le sigh* ...the man and i were in bed for our normal evening "tv snuggle time" and clio was in her normal position, passed out at the foot of the bed. minou jumped up with all of us, snuggled between the man and clio and proceeded to nap as well. there we were, all four of us, snuggled on the bed watching tv and/or sleeping...ahhhhhhhhh....family time...precious stuff... :)

bonding

i know it's probably disgusting to keep hearing, but i'm truly amazed at how much minou has enriched our lives...still at some point early early early before the alarm goes off, i'm awakened by nuzzles and licks and purrs from her. she has her say, then wanders off again to let me snooze til the alarm finally goes off.

clio is not nearly as amused. she and the cat haven't played as much lately as they did last week or even the week before, and clio does seem to be having some "older sibling" issues. unfortunately, i don't really know how to help her with those. she gets fawned over just as much as she did before, she does still get quality time with both mom and dad...but it's still a different atmosphere here, and she's not wild about it. i think it's finally sunk in that the cat is not just visiting.

being a cat - a growing one, at that - minou sleeps a lot...more now even than when she first arrived. my theory chalks that up to feeling like she really is home and can relax.

just a few minutes ago, minou was asleep in the man's recliner and i took clio out for our midday outting. minou is *fascinated* by the fact that i take clio outside. unfortunately, between that and the living room window making a reappearance after the christmas tree came down means that she tried to rush me at the door the other day. not good. but i digress...

usually when we come back in, she's wide awake and staring at the door, eagerly awaiting our return. today was no exception. so i unhooked clio, scritched the kitty under her chin, and went to my desk to get back to work. before i got the chance to sit down, the cat had already leapt up and claimed my chair and was purr-meowing to me...i picked her up and snuggled her still sleepy self and got the slit-eyed "i'm so tiiiiiiiiiiiiired" look from her. she started purring like a motorboat and licked my nose and my cheek to say hi. then she stood up, stretched, and jumped down next to clio.

wandered up to clio's face, mewing quietly, and proceeded to lick clio on the nose.
melts me that the cat grooms the dog... :D

soon i'm sure that clio will bend to all the love and affection radiating from the cat, but for now...baby steps... :)

(note: originally posted today here.)

thoughts from the kitten:

ohhhhhhhhhh...the female human is my slave. cool.

tales of the minou

(note: originally posted here.)

the kitten is - how do you say...oh yes! - a trip and a damned half.

this morning i was awakened before dawn to her rubbing her face into my chin and cheeks and licking my face and hands. quite a feat, since i sleep face planted into my pillow. all the while purring like an outboard motor. she has yet to deliberately scratch any of us, but i managed to scratch myself by trying to pull my hand out from under her massive 2 pound weight. all the while, she's purring and rubbing. apparently i got boring, and she wandered off to torment the dog. i woke this morning to find her sleeping on the man...see, too cute.

i haven't had a cat around since i was a kid, and even that wasn't for long. apparently my family has always been too dog-like for true cats. i've always loved cats, and been fascinated by them, but as far as pets, even on my own it's always been dogs. i've had pets since literally before i was born. probably i was trying to play with the dog in utero.

the man, on the other hand, has always primarily had cats. some dogs, but mostly cats. and when we met, he had a cat. there's a long, looooong story about why he doesn't have a cat *now*, but i'll save that one for another time. (no, i didn't make him get rid of it, honest...)

minou arrived because i knew that although he loves clio to no end, and she adores him...there was a cat-shaped hole in the vicinity of the man's heartal region. i was apprehensive - even though i was the one who suggested a kitten - because i know that clio adores humans, not so much other four legged creatures.

we really went looking at the right time for all of us...minou loves both of us, loves to be petted and sometimes held, minou *adores* clio, and clio tolerates minou...it's win-win all around...

we found a great place for her food. actually, my mom suggested it, and it's worked out well. her food is in our tiny laundry room, and at night i can halfway close the folding door to keep clio out and still allow minou to access her food. i know, i'm supposed to keep her food away from stuff that can scare her...but she's been fine with it thus far. really, not much startles her, even at 5 months old. should i be afraid of that for later??

anyway, there's a swiffer mop propped between the wall and the dryer, right there at the doorway. yesterday, i noticed that the bottom had slid forward, halfway in the doorway. i thought, must move that...must get it out of minou's way. so i did. this morning, the damned thing had slid forward again. again, my thoughts are, get it outta the cat's way. i'm getting the man's coffee and lunch ready shortly after, and i hear, "slide...slide....WHACK..."

i turn in time to catch minou's mighty paw wrapped around the bottom - which is actually the top, since i have it sitting on its handle - of the swiffer, pulling it forward into the doorway and leaving it there in all its diagonal glory. apparently, we've installed safety-slash-early warning gear in our eating area.

she's fitting in amazingly well... :)