Cat Napping

Most people would like it when an ad hits close to home. It always scares me a little. Take this ad:

Cute little kitten on the pillow, staring at the owner as she sleeps. You might think it's precious. I think it's terrifying. Why? Because it's my reality.

That's Chaplin, curled up on the pillow next to me. If I stir in the middle of the night and my hand comes anywhere near him, he'll bite (not breaking the skin - he just wants to let me know he has teeth). And sometimes, when I wake up, he's moved closer to my face, staring right at me - so close I can feel him breathing on my face. 

So do I find that Fancy Feast ad sweet? Nope. I definitely don't want to buy that food out of fear it will encourage the cat to get even closer to me. He's bigger than my head and I've had at least one dream that I can remember in which the cat curled up on my face and smothered me. It was not comforting.

I'd rather they stick to the ads in which some pristine cat eats the food from a fancy dish. Far, far away from the bedroom.

My Handy Grandpa

That's my grandpa in the yellow shirt. I wish the picture was a little closer so you could appreciate his long hair and goatee. Don't ask me why he's grown out the hair - I suppose it's because he can.

He's very handy. He can fix things. He also likes to build things. When he was visiting me a few months ago, I was saying I needed to get Chaplin one of those cat tree things - you know, the carpeted climbing thingys. My grandpa told me he could make one. At Christmastime, I saw what he had done so far. This weekend, he delivered it. It looked a little top heavy to me, but I figured it would be stable. Here it is:
Chaplin has climbed on it (not all the way to the top). He had knocked it over a few times. That concerns me. I've also noticed he's been pulling at the carpet and I see glue exposed. Now I'm worried he might eat the glue.

Now, I hate the idea of having to throw this thing out, but I don't want Chaplin to get hurt. Really - I don't! I like him when he's all cuddly! I don't want to hurt my grandpa's feelings. I know he spent a lot of time working on it. So, I don't know what to do with this. Any thoughts?

My Furkids Getting Cozy

Charley usually stays as far away from Chaplin as possible. But if he lays down and Chaplin comes his way, Charley will stay put - until attacked. Since my Mom asked (or demanded) I update a picture of the kids, I decided to post these taken late this afternoon. They were sleeping before they heard me turn the camera on. Look at how close they are! I cannot how big Chaplin is at just 5 months old. He has more growing to do!

I'm So Tired

And I can't sleep.

No matter what I do, this adorable kitten of mine has decided I must be awake.

He pounces on me in my sleep. If I lock him out of the bedroom, he cries. LOUDLY.

He woke me up three times overnight. The last time, at 7:15, I just got up. Now, it's too late to go back to bed. I guess I'll just need to load up on caffeine so I can get through the day.

I'm hoping to keep Chaplin from being nocturnal. I keep waking him up when he goes to sleep.
Any other ideas???

Is There Kitty Daycare?

My kitten is crazy. I pretty much just like him when he's sleeping. All morning, I have been picking up after him. He has pulled things out of the pantry - even though the door is closed. He likes to take a mouth full of food, drop it on the table, then eat half of it before going back into the bowl and repeating. He scattered catalogs all over my office. He pushed bills off my desk. He has knocked over a lamp - twice. He has used every ounce of his little kitten strength to pull Charley's toys out of the box. When I got out of the shower, he jumped in and knocked over everything in his reach.

That was Monday before 11:30. We have only been awake since 8AM.

I am asking about kitty daycare because I think he needs to do more than wrestle with Charley. As I type this, he has settled down on the sofa for a nap. He's cute. I still don't forgive him for this daily knucklheadedness. Do they make those gerbil wheels in cat sizes? I'm open to suggestions on how to wear him out and keep him out of trouble during the daytime.

Luckily, he hasn't learned how to jump onto the counters. Yet.

Aren't They Cute?

This morning, my mom was asking me about pictures of the kids.

MOM: Have you posted any pictures of the kids lately?
ME: No.
MOM: How am I supposed to know what they look like?
ME: You could visit.
MOM: True.

In case you haven't heard, my parents love road trips. They take them to all kinds of places, sometimes spending more than 24 hours on the road to reach their destination. However, they haven't come to see me in months. Mom, Dad, I'm not counting that Saturday trip for the funeral. That was NOT a visit - even if you came to my house and worked magic to get my router to play nice.

Now that my cool air is working, it's the perfect time to make the 2-hour trip to see me for more than a few hours. I won't even make you do work around the house!

Since I may still have to wait until November for my parents to come see us (and then it would be to see Fun Mom run the marathon), I'm posting this cute picture of the kids napping after a morning of wrestling.

He's Getting HUGE!

Here is Chaplin today. He is 13-weeks old. He is incredibly curious. He thinks he needs to check out EVERYTHING! When I opened that box yesterday, he immediately jumped in. I had to take him out of it a few times just so I could see what was inside!Here he is sleeping on the sofa, I believe this was two weeks ago. He's precious - more so when he's asleep.

So Cute!

Despite moments of attacking each other, Charley & Chaplin are starting to like each other. For the last two days, I have walked into my bedroom to see them napping on my bed. I've managed to take pictures without them jumping off the bed (my big fear with Charley as he could hurt his back).The black lump at the top is Charley, nuzzled against he pictures. And there's Chaplin, laying on top of my clothes.

Brothers. So cute!

From A Kitten To A Tiger

Because of his very distinct markings, I sometimes think of Chaplin as a grey tiger. He has just a hint of orange around his face, though he won't sit still long enough for me to get a good shot of it. Count on seeing those when I get them. And now, at my mom's request, pictures of her grandkitten.
Here he is at 10-weeks. He and Charley sometimes play. And last night, when I was going to bed, Charley was already there, with his back to the pillows and Chaplin was asleep on the pillows. By the time I got to my camera, Chaplin was up and trying to play/attack Charley. I keep hoping they'll relax around each other soon.

My Wild And CRAZY Kids

The kids are kind of getting along. But they often get into this wild game of going after each other. I took a little video this morning to show them in action. As usual in these little sparring matches, no one gets hurt.

Now if I could just get them to nap...

NOTE: I'm not sure why blogger makes the video so dark. As soon as I figure out the fancy editing equipment on my computer, I'll turn out better videos. Stay tuned.

Crazy Kitten

Sometimes Chaplin has moments of cuteness.Other times, he has moments of wild beast.Still, he's adorable - except when he bites. I'm trying to break him of that. I know, he's just 9-weeks-old, I shouldn't be so hard on him. But his teeth are like razor blades. Maybe not razor blades. I suppose it's more like a stapler.

He's almost as tall as Charley. And he has gotten longer. But he's not as long as Charley. He weighs a little more than 3lbs. He has become fixated with the pantry. Every time I open the door, he darts in there. No matter how many times I remove him, he keeps running back into it. BTW - my pantry is not the walk-in kind. It's basically a closet.

So there's my Chaplin update of the week - mainly for my Mom's benefit. She wants to know how her grandkitten is doing.

Play Time

Little Chaplin is now 8-weeks-old. He LOVES to play. He's also fond of chasing Charley (and being chased by Charley). He also likes to climb. I need to get that on video before he figures out he can jump. Here he is playing on one toy that keeps him busy for a while.

How Cute Is THIS?

Chaplin took a nap on the sofa this afternoon. I reached for my phone and snapped a few pictures. I can't believe how big he's gotten! He's seven weeks old now. He's still a talker, a cuddler, and (about an hour before bedtime) a party cat.

He's not happy I put a collar on him. I have it as small as it will go and it's still a little big. When I first tried it two weeks ago, he could slide his front paws through it. Not anymore!