Less White Space, More Fur Space

A few weekends ago I photographed some stuff, using the back of a large poster my white backdrop (use what you got!). I laid the poster face down on the floor in our entry way so I had plenty of room to move around. I left the room to go grab a prop, which took me no longer than 2 minutes, and came back to this.

Apparently Harley was feeling ready for his closeup and wasn't afraid to bare all. Maybe it's just me, but it looks like he's posing for a centerfold picture, sprawling out across the set.

I know I have shared some crazy things our cats have done in the past (see a few here, here, and here), but this one takes the cake. The room is extremely large (9 X 18 feet) and Harley couldn't help himself but to lay down on this single sheet of paper, which couldn't be larger than 30 X 40 inches. What an odd feline we have.

PS: Tomorrow (September 18) is our blog-iversary, so check back to wish us a happy one!

Picture Me Here

By now you all know some weird places our cats like to laze about in our house (cabinet, under an umbrella, placemat), but here's a new one that even surprised me.

I've been slowly collecting frames to hang a large collage on the wall in our grand staircase and was playing around with how to arrange them the other day. I stepped away from my mess for only a few minutes and came back to Benny trying to curl himself up on this one frame.

I let him lay there long enough to snap these few pictures, then kicked him off. Maybe this was his way of saying "Don't forget to frame a picture of me!"

Cat Napping

Yes, I put those place mats on the kitchen table just for your sleeping pleasure.

No, no, go back to sleep, don't let this camera in your face disturb your restless slumber.

You are SO lucky you're cute.

Hoo are you? Hoo? Hoo?

A few years ago, I learned that Joann Fabric stores carry a small selection of home decor items that typically changes each season, meaning lots of good clearance finds. But contrary to what you are imagining right now, the items are actually modern and fresh. (In fact, the wall art in our master bath is from Joann's.) So, after returning to Joann's for which felt like the 18th time last week, I couldn't pass up this clearance-aisle, 1960s-inspired ceramic owl statue anymore. (If I remember correctly, I think he was about $40 originally and rang up $10.)

As soon as he was out of my Joann Fabric's shopping bag, Harley and Benny were at the top of this media stand in our freshly painted living room checking him out, then The Who's "Who Are You" immediately started playing in my head.

(Look, a squirrel!)

Now, I'll probably have it in my head all day, but at least I've got this guy to thank.

Feeling Guilty

Every time Justin and I leave the cats at home when we go on vacation, I feel guilty and inevitably end up buying them treats or new toys. And when we went to Hawaii, it was no different, except that I supplied them with new toys before we left so they had some fun stuff to play with while we were gone. After presenting them with two new faux mice, I snapped some shots of them going wild.

Here they are not quite sure what to make of them...

and about 2 seconds later. (For those that are wondering, yes, that's Harley.)

Seeing that Harley was having all the fun, Benny decided to wait his turn...

until he saw an opening, snagged one for himself...

and tried to hide it in a basket that had been temporarily placed on the floor.

Anyone else feel guilty about leaving their canine, rodent, or feline family member at home when you go on a trip? Do you surprise them with a treat when you get home to get back on their good side?

Cats in the Cabinet

Let's be honest, cats are curious animals. They chase each other around, fall asleep in the most interesting positions, and are crazy for catnip and tuna. It is even more fun when you get them when they are kittens because you watch them grow up and see how their personalities develop. Your assumptions, when they are kittens about their adult behaviors, can be spot on or the complete opposite.

We adopted Harley and Benny about three and half years ago. They are brothers from the same litter and act just as that. Surprisingly, Harley was the smallest of the bunch, but if you saw him today, you would be none the wiser. He must of learned the scrappy behaviors before we got him, because he can definitely hold his own. We chose Benny out of the lot because we wanted the calmest of the bunch and he fell asleep in Justin's hands when we visited them around 6 weeks old. From this we assumed Benny would love to be held and sleep in our laps, but only part of that was true. Benny doesn't mind being held and up until recently, was not a lap cat. About a month ago, out of the blue, Benny decided to test Justin's lap out and was happy to stand on his lap while being petted. A few weeks later, Justin reported that not only did Benny lay in his lap, but fell asleep as well.

Another odd change that has occurred is what I call "anything-you-can-do-I-can-do." This pertains to actions as well as following behaviors. Harley must be the big brother between the two, because Benny has become prone to mimicking Harley's behavior, no matter how naughty it is. I believe that the Christmas Tree murder was a team effort.

Last weekend, I was digging through recipes for our New Year's Eve party and in effect left the cupboard door open. So, what does my frisky feline do? He peeks in and decides to test out the cupboard's weight limit. Fortunately, his husky 15 pounds didn't tear it down, but it was funny seeing him jump in face first and smash his head into the back of the cupboard while his rump was not all the way up yet.

And, in the competitive brotherly spirit, Benny was quick to replace him as soon as Harley dismounted his post.

A clear example of the anything-you-can-do-I-can-do mentality of my fur babies.

Sour Puss

After the Christmas Tree fiasco I did some major googling for ways to kitty-proof your holiday decorations. I found some ok suggestions but the majority of them included major decor upheavals (surround your tree with child gates) or 24/7 surveillance (lock up your cat when you can't watch him), all of which I was not willing to implement. We already shoot them with a water spray bottle whenever they are being naughty, but contrary to some suggestions, they do not learn that being shot with a jet stream of water means NO, even after 4 years.

Then I came across a Cat 101 page that told me cats naturally do not like the smell of oranges, rotten apples, onions, and garlic. How come I have never known this? I've only owned cats my entire life! I continued reading and found out that by inconspicuously placing orange peels (the best smelling of the latter) around off-limit areas, cats will stay away. You can also spray your tree with diluted citronella oil or rub the trunk with oranges. I was weary of spraying or rubbing my tree with anything in case it discolored it, so I picked up a ¢78 orange from the store and sliced it up. Before I went the distance and distributed the slices around our trees, I tested my cats' reactions and was happy to see them crane their necks back and even run away. All systems were a go at that point.

Various sites suggested placing peels around the trees, but since I don't particularly like eating oranges, I left the fruit attached and put them in small ramekins to keep it clean.

Not only are they an unnoticeable fix, but their scent makes my house smell like I just cleaned everything. Bonus!

So far, I have not had another crime scene in my home and while some ornaments get knocked off occasionally, I prefer that to a whole tree face-plant.

Hopefully this helps my fellow feline-lovers out there!

What goes up, must come down

Our big project for the long holiday weekend was, like most of the rest of the population, to put up our holiday decorations. (I will be sharing photos of our hard work soon, but this story must be posted first.)

This year, we put up two Christmas trees, yippee! We were fortunate to inherit a hand-me-down tree the year previous last and scored some major deals on ornaments after Christmas last year. So in addition to our white and silver adorned tree in the front of the house, we frosted our old one with red and gold in the family room. Justin and I finished putting up the second tree Saturday afternoon while getting in the holiday spirit watching The Holiday (one of my favorite movies).

The cats always get rowdy when we break out the decor and generally make it up the tree a few times each holiday season, but unbeknownst to us, the extra weight they gained last year would be the downfall to our already-on-the-brink-of-a-Charlie-Brown Christmas tree.

This is what I found when I padded downstairs Sunday morning.

At the sight of this Christmas tree murder, I literally gasped as my hands covered my mouth. All of our hard work! Here's one of the little suspects returning to the crime scene.

I didn't have the heart to count the number of bodies (ornaments), but if I had to guess I would say at least 15 lost their lives and the star was seriously injured.

After Justin and I cleaned up the mess and patched our tree back up, we anchored the base with extra paver bricks left over from our patio install last summer. That should hold the tree up, but hopefully they don't bend it or break off the top half like my mom's cats did a couple years ago, though it does make for a nice cat stand. Fingers crossed that the bandits don't hit again.

Here Kitty Kitty

By now, you must have figured out that there are more than Justin and I living in our humble abode. We also share our space with two curious and spirited kiddos–er–I mean kitties. Harley has been an accessory in a few of the photos throughout the last couple months.

Post: A Tale of Two Chairs

Post: Happy Belated Anniversary to Us!

Post: Decoranza IV: I'll have a sideboard with that

Post: Decoranza IV: I'll have a sideboard with that

Benny is the less attention-seeking and hasn't added his creative flare in any of my projects, but he is quite cute and gets himself in some interesting spots.

Of course, I couldn't sign off with out posting some photos of when they were kittens (almost 4 years ago!). Check out these cutie-pies.

Look for more of them in the future. I'm sure they'll "drop in".