Kitties learn new tricks

Yes we've been a long time between posts but well we've been too busy cuddling to post :) See our boys have learned a new trick or two. Sure Arthur is the master of the flirt, teasing you into the bedroom and onto the bed where he will ensnare you with belly rubs and purrs until hours are lost and you dont know how.

Beowulf has masterd the purrbush (another type of ambush) he'll wait till you go into the bedroom and corner you there on the bed curl up and begin the loudest purrs and make you feel guilty for leaving him and before you know it hours are lost and you don't know how you let yourself get caught, again.

Well the newest trick they've learned is how to get us to bed. The actual time varies but we know when they are starting to get us ready for bed. They will begin with meows and when they have our attention a not so sublte heading to the bedroom. This will persist until we finally give in and go into the bedroom. But not just go in there and then leave. This is their signal that it is time for their humans to go to bed. The "nagging" does not end and escalates until we have done our pre bedtime preparations, climbed into bed and shut the lights off. Then and only then do they cease the nagging and curl up in the bed happy now that we can all go to bed :)

Random Shots

Sometimes time just slips by us and before we know it there is dust collecting on this blog once again. But that doesnt mean many cute and endearing things havent been happening around the house. Here are some shots of the boys doing many of the things that make us love them so much.

Arthur napping in one of the desk chairs

Beowulf found a cuddly place to "hide"

Sweet kitty dreams for Arthur.

Suppertime! Beowulf mistook our dinner time for his.

What Happens When the Lights Go Out

Liz took these pictures the other night, with only the light from the TV on and using a low light setting on the camera. I was completely asleep and not aware I was being photographed. This is the kind of thing that happens every night (not the photography, but the pose).

The Best Christmas Present Ever

Whew! The vet called this morning to let us know the biopsy came out negative. Arthur will be fine. Liz was so nervous when she saw the vet's number on caller ID this morning, she almost didn't answer.

The good news is that we just have to take him back in a week to have his stitches removed. Meanwhile, he has to wear this silly looking collar to make sure he doesn't try to groom the stitched area.

The collar makes him look like a renaissance king, a court jester, or a patient at the dentist's office. He's a little upset at the indignity of it, but he'll be ok, as long as he doesn't pull it off and his brother doesn't try to groom that area.

We've been keeping a close eye on the boys to try to stop them from wrestling, which they do at least twice a day, but I'm not sure what will happen when I leave them alone for a few hours to attend Christmas dinner at Liz's parents' house. I'd stay here to watch the boys, but Liz would kill me.

Health Scare: Could Arthur Have Cancer?

My biggest nightmare is that one of my boys will develop a serious illness so I'm always on the look out for something abnormal in their appearance or behavior. This morning, I was petting Arthur when I felt a bump on the lower portion of his back. Every time in the past I've felt something odd on one of our boys, I'd call Liz over and she'd determine that whatever I'd felt was just a tuft of matted fur and that I was just paranoid.

However, today, we discovered that Arthur has a raised brown bump - it looks like a large mole - on his back, and I don't think it was there before. We're going to call the vet tomorrow and try to get the next available appointment, but I don't know if the holidays are going to mean the vet is out of the office a bit. I am very nervous and upset and it's hard to put it out of my mind and think about other things. Losing one of my boys is the worst thing I can possibly imagine. I hope it's just a harmless mole like people get, but I don't think it was there before. Has anyone experienced this?

UPDATE 12/22/08 2:15 PM
Just took Arthur to the Vet. They are keeping him for a little while to do a biopsy so they can send it for tests to determine if its harmless or not. Will be going back at 4PM to pick him up then have to wait two days for the test results.

UPDATE 12/22/08 4:20 PM
Returned home with Arthur. He is soo not happy with me right now but he doesnt seem to have suffered ill from today's adventure. He has a soft collar around his neck to keep him from messing with the stiches from where the biopsy was done. He has a small shaved section that we need to keep protected from him and his brother messing with the stiches. Other than that its a 48 hour wait to see what the lab results say and a kitty who is not happy over being forced out in this cold weather to have all this done to him.

Kitty in a Basket

Both boys love sitting in the laundry basket on top of piles of clothes. They like it so much that Liz leaves the other-wise clean comforter in the basket sometimes so Arthur can use it as a bed.

Don't Blame Me If My Clothing Has Fur

Liz gets a bit upset when she puts clean clothing down on the bed and the boys lie down on top of it, depositing a healthy coating of fur. Oddly enough, if I don't have a special occasion like a big meeting or conference, I don't mind if there's a little fur on my clothes. I'll find a strand or two of orange and white hair on my pants throughout the day and it'll remind me that my boys are waiting for me at home. How weird is that?

Closets, Drawers, Wherever

Liz was putting away laundry the other day and opened one of the drawers in her armoire. We had our back turned for only a moment when Beowulf found himself a new nest.

Wrestling Over the Laundry

Allowing the boys into the bedroom has also meant allowing them to mess with the laundry we keep in there. Sometimes, we'll find them napping on top of a pile of dirty clothes or, in this case, wrestling over the clothes we were about to wash.

Why I Got No Work Done Today

Now that Beowulf and Arthur are allowed in the bedroom, they spend a lot of their time lying on the bed, tempting otherwise diligent humans to take afternoon naps with them.

Today, I had the day off from work and had all the best intentions. I was going to spend the day working on some programming projects I've been meaning to do for our site (the job, which I started last year around this time, has been keeping me very busy), but instead I walked into the bedroom, saw this, and just had to lie down with my boys.