Who's da' cat?? I'm da' cat!!

Oh, yeah. I'm da' cat all right. Where did I say fraNkie probably was? In the messy garage or Tori's messy bedroom. Well, guess what? M found fraNkie in the garage tonight. How about that?

     Do you remember me mentioning a while back that fraNkie was not the brightest kit in the litter?? Mom gave me a hard time for picking on him when I said it, but honestly, I was just telling the truth. Okay, now I have proof. That cat has been in the garage since Saturday night with no food or water. Mom and M looked for him out there more than once. They called him from the door more than once. They left the door ajar more than once while they did people errands in and out. And did fraNkie come out? No. Not even to eat!! I'm sorry, but that is a d**b cat.

     Not only that, he won't come in tonight! He's hiding from Mom of all the d**b ideas. She brought him food and water and left it for him and he did eat a little. I went out to talk to him and "bring him in" as they say in the spy movies. (Oh, yeah, I love spy movies ... I watch them with M quite often.) Well, he wouldn't come in even for his brother. And after I told everyone that I missed him ... Sheesh, talk about embarrassing a fellow in front of his friends.

     Well, Mom is coming to shut down the computer so I have to run. I heard her tell M that they should leave the garage door open all night, even after they turn off the lights, so M went out and locked the big door in the front. We'll see if I can coax him into the house after my people are in bed. Wish me luck.

     And thanks for your kind thoughts. They probably are what made fraNkie show his tail to M tonight. (Literally: He thought he was hiding, but his big ole' butt was hanging out. LOL I told you fraNkie was d**b, but he's my brother and I love him.)

Very Bad News about fraNkie

My brother is missing. He slipped out of the house last Saturday when M was going in and out to do yard work. Mom looked for fraNkie when dinner time came and he didn't show up, but could not find him anywhere in the house or the garage. Personally, I think he could actually be in the garage or in their big girl's room because those are such a mess a cat could get lost. But I would never say that to Mom and M because it is a sore subject for them.  

I know Mom thought fraNkie would be home on Sunday, beside himself because he missed dinner, but it did not happen. And it has not happened since then either. Mom keeps checking the backyard and she's been putting out extra food for the wild cats, too, in case he is sneaking in to eat when she's not around. Mom is very sad. 

She told me that, while I'm her best cat ever, she really loved how soft and cuddly fraNkie could be when he decided to let her pet him. She misses him coming on their bed at night for pets and she misses his wonderful purring. Now, if I were not so certain of my place in Mom's heart, this might worry me, but I am not that kind of cat. I spend my special time with Mom every single day and even when I am not resting on her chest, she tells me how much she loves me. 

I have gotten the feeling lately that I might have to cut back on my kibbles and treats. Mom rearranges me when I snuggle down on her and says, "Smudge, I can't breathe!" There's no way I intend to give up my snuggles, so I guess I have to face my weight issues head on. I am not giving up snuggling with Mom. The snuggling I like more than anything else is crawling into the sleeve of her big sweatshirt when she's wearing it. Then she wraps it around me and it feels just like heaven, so safe and cozy. 

Well, enough about me. Worrying about fraNkie is getting Mom down and I wish I could figure out what to do. One night when M went out to feed the wild cats, I slipped out myself. I figured I could find fraNkie faster than anyone else since I know the cat territory. But I chickened out. That big dark yard reminded me of when I was scared and cold and sick, before Mom whispered me inside, and I couldn't take it. I ran back in the house as quick as I could. 

Sorry fraNkie, I didn't mean to let you down. I wish you would come home because Mom and M miss you and I do, too. (The mean cat doesn't care about that, though; she's hoping I'll go away now too so she can have Mom and M all to herself.) I did hear M say that if fraNkie didn't come back, they would get me another pet. That would be nice, but my brother would be nicer. 

If everyone thinks good thoughts about fraNkie coming home, maybe he will show up soon.

Smudge at Your Service

Smudge at Your Service

Mom finally stepped away from the computer without turning it off, so I can finally use it. She has been on this energy saving kick ever since the home show and she keeps turning things off and pulling plugs. I don't really mind the pulling plugs though because sometimes fraNkie and I like to nibble on the cords and when they are plugged in you can get an unpleasant jolt. Mom doesn't feel too well right now. I can tell because she isn't as playful as usual and she is really moving slowly, too.

I thought maybe her cuts were still hurting - she made a terrible noise when I ran across her stomach a few days after she got those cuts - but I heard her tell her friend they all healed fine. But now it is something else. What is it with people anyway? Cats are much more resilient and complain a whole lot less, too!

Back to Mom. She went to another doctor and when she came home, I thought she needed some catnip!! She told M that the doctor said she had chronic kidney disease stage III (moderate) and that she had to have more tests and - worst of all - she had to stop taking the pills that make her joints and muscles not hurt. Ever since, she has been making bad noises, and walking slow, and she needs to take pain medicine all day instead of just at night.

The doctor told her that if she doesn't take the joint medicine - something called NSAID - maybe her kidneys will get better. M asked her what that stage III part meant and she said it meant her kidneys, working together, only worked 30% of what they should. That kind of worries me because I think Jack went away because his kidneys didn't work right. I couldn't stand it if Mom went away. I may be the alpha cat around here nowadays, but I still need my cuddles on a regular basis. M tries, but he just can't cuddle like Mom can.

I especially like it when Mom is wearing a big sweater because I crawl into the sleeve as far as I can go and Mom puts the sweater over me, and then I just go into cat heaven. It is better than catnip! She seems to like it just as much I me. Well, there's a line here of cats with something to say, so I guess my turn is over.

its fraNkies turn now

Smudge is so bossy. I had to wait a long time for my turn. I like this new typing thing mom has cuz sometimes it fixes stuff and I don't even have to know how to do it. So if I seem smarter, im really not.

Ihave been having a lot of trouble with the mean cat. She gets really mad at me whn I snuggle with mom on the bed. She bats me with her claws out!! Mom cant seme to do anything with her and I am getting tired of it.

But I never bat her back. I jst lay on the bed real quiet and try to ve invisible. If the mean cat would jist let me, I would be her friend. I like to cuddle and I would cudd;e with her on the bed. Sometimes she lets me get a little close to her but not much.

Mom always wants to cuddle with me but I am not ready for interspecies cuddling. She can feed me treats from her hand and that's okay. She can brush me too as long as she keeps it in the bedroom wher it belongs. Boundaries, mom, boundaries. When I tiptoe out into the big part of the house it is pretty scary and I don't want anyone picking me up. That is the scariest. And I know mom wants to pick me up, I can see it in her eyes.

Of course as soft and round as I am that makes sense. She can hardly keep her hands off me. Training mom has been harder than I thought it would be. Oh here comes the mean cat. I have to hide.

You Can Call Me Ms. Trixie

Well, I chased off those two ruffians. They know that my human's desk chair belongs to me, so I can't think why they would even get near it. I am getting quite sick and tired of those boys. They take attention that should be mine. I have had to resort to sitting on my human's lap, something I thought I would never stoop to. Fawning and playing up to people has always been beneath me, but hard times force hard choices.

The big dumb kit, fraNkie, is almost all right. Sometimes I am tempted to try getting close to him like I did with Jack, but then I stop myself. NO ONE can replace Jack and I feel so sad remembering that he left and never came home again. And so what if I take it out on the juvenile delinquents? The dirty cat (his name is Smudge) really gets me going. He stalks me and chases me every day. When I call him on it, he claims that it's all in fun and he just wants to play. Right.

My position requires that I rise above it as much as possible without condoning bad behavior. That goes for cats and humans. Just to remind my human that she should treat me with respect, I think I'll leave a fresh hairball on her chair before I go in for evening treats. It will be quite amusing to watch her reaction when she finds it tomorrow morning.