Is She or Isn't She?

You may be wondering why Princess was not included in the neutering. That would be because I suspected she might be already pregnant. I woke up one morning a couple of weeks back and noticed something was different between them. I observed them even more carefully than usual when I came home that evening.. he was no longer chasing her like a jacked-up madman.. He was actually tending to her, walking with her side-by-side, looking at her, just totally tending to her now. I could tell something had happened between them. And then I felt her belly as I stroked her and felt a couple of slight bumps. Oh-mah-GOD.. So I called the vet and discussed it and came to the conclusion that it would be a risky situation to pursue any neutering at this time. I have to know for sure.

IF she IS pregnant, we are going ahead with the kittens. This time, THIS time, Princess will enjoy motherhood..

And of course, when he came home after his day at the vet's, I finally got my confirmation through his ... boorish, drug-fueled behavior :), that they had indeed "done it".. I mean, he knew the moves, she never freaked out about it, they were both quite familiar with the whole ritual.

OH-MAH-GOD.

What In Gawd's Name's Going AWN??!!

Gabriel here but let me just skiip all tha pleasantries for naw and get raaght down to the point: Ah had quaaite an interestene day and Ah thank mom has actually rescued me from it awl. Yeah, sir, she came and took me away from all thaat. Ah couldn't even SEE her, Ah tell ya.. Ah could just smell her there for a while, aw-mah- GAWD! So we came home aand she plopped me down on the floor in mah carrier when Pipi comes around. Here Ah am, still in mah carrier and all of a sudden Pipi starts to go mad. Next thang Ah know, Ah'm out and looking raight at Pipi when all of a sudden? She loses it! Ah tell ya, her tail went so big, it scared me!.. And she even hunched her back at me, can you believe it?

Aw-MAH-GAWD!

"Pipi?!!! Honey?! Whaat are you doin?? It's ME, can't you teeell??" She wouldn't give me a chance, she went hidin' behand the couch and started growling to herself laike a crazy-woman. Mom then took me upstairs. Ah tried to walk a little bit but this thang around my neck kept bothering me a little. Ah tried walking and then Ah'd lose my balance and somehow wobble on my belly right to left, left to right... like a "bowling pin", Ah thank mom would say.

Anywah, next thang Ah know, there's Pipi again curious as hell, looking me over; an' then going back into her new crazy act, growling, hissing, hunch-back, bushy-tail and all. A total Halloween act. "Pipi, honey! What is the matter with you??" I tried to reason with her, as Ah took steps toward her. The more Ah walked toward her, the more Ah wobbled laike a bowling pin. And then the closer Ah'd get, the more she'd hiss and run the other way. That made me run after her even more.

Ah can't have that, not from my little Pipi. After all we've had? Naw, sir - Ah can't just leave that alone, Ah have to run after her naw and do some damage control. But sum'thin was really spooking her and Ah couldn't quite figure out whaaat.

Ah lost sight of her again, she hid behand the couches. And there's mom again, trying to run interference, getting me back upstairs again, but Ah could smell Pipi she was now behand the upstairs couch growling laike a retard. It just didn't make any seeense! And then there she'd go off, like a bullet .. laike a bat out of hell and down the stairs agin! "Pipi! Pipi??! Stop, please! Ah'm running after ya, you can't go hide from me. Not like this! Where are you??" Ah tried to plead with her as Ah wobbled down the stairs with this thang on my neck getting in the way. AW-MAH-GAWD!

At least mom came to my rescue again and took the thang off my neck. And then a miracle happened: Ah could walk properly again and Ah could find Pipi under the bed. Ah seized the moment, Ah had to reconnect with her as best Ah could. "Pipi, honey.. what is the matter with you?" Our noses finally touched and she came to her senses, she calmed down. She said that thang around mah neck really spooked her but it was allright now. So, Ah started following her all over, Ah had to make sure we were just as tight as before. Ah don't care how woozy Ah felt, at least Ah wasn't wobbling left and right like before. "Pipi, honey! Remember the good times? We can have it all over again, you know? 'Cmon sweetie. How 'bout we do it raight here?" Ah mumbled as we both stood on the bedroom stool. Mom may have been standing right there next to us but at the time it didn't matter. Ah just couldn't help mahself. "'Cmon, honey, raight now, okay?" Ah begged as Ah got her on the scruff and stradled her. "I don't think so, not right now", she said, looking right at mom. Ah tried, Ah tried again, and she slapped me one. But Ah didn't give up. "Gabriel! She's looking right AT us!!".

Ah must've gotten her by the scruff at least ten times but no-go... Ah just didn't care who was watching. So Ah tried to entice her a different way: We went down to see mah carrier. "See, honey? It's all good, Ah waws in that carrier. Ain't it cool?!!" We both went back in it and she smelled that thang all over, very carefully. "Well.. I don't know.. I guess it's allright.. ", she said. And there was that thang next to it, that thang on my neck lying down on the floor now. She went over to it and carefully inspected it, smelled it real good. " Aww, 'cmon honey! Let's try and do it raiight here! Raaaight next to the THANG and the carrier all at once! ", Ah got excited again and tried to get 'er by the scruff for the umptenth thyme. But, naw.. she woulnd't budge gawd-damit!

Ah was kand of grateful when mom finally had me sleep in a different room that night .. even though she put the thang around mah neck again. At least Ah didn't have to deal with Pipi's insanity all over again. Ah mean, not that she didn't try.. Before mom could close the door, Pipi ran up and saw me with the thang on mah neck and started all up again, bushing her tail and hurling obscenities at me.

You know what? Ah, thought: Ah'm gonna turn mah back on this now.. Ah thank Ah'm really ready for bed now, enough is enough.

The Neutering

The deed is unfortunately done. Gabriel has been neutered and I was a wreck all day while he was at the vet's. I couldn't wait to pick him up at the end of the day, I kept worrying that something would happen to him. I picked him up all right. I decided I would give you all an account as to what happened afterwards from his perspective first. Followed by Princess's perspective. And if you haven't connected all the dots after that, I will fill them in with my account. It'll be fun! :)

The Evolution of Gabriel Greer

Gabriel has had his 6th month birthday now. He was said to be born on September 16th, 2008 and March 16th marked his sixth month in life. When he first arrived in the home, he was quite unsettled and nervous. For the following couple of weeks or so, he had displayed a ... 'bad temper', a very willful kind of attitude... kind of like.. "don't mess with meee when Ah'm playing!" and "don't mess with meee when I'm busy!". And, "don't smother me in front of 'Pipi'!!" :))

Well all that is in the past now. Gabriel (or, Googie just between you all and me), actually now stands in place enjoying the stroking of my hands on his back, from head to tail, over and over. He'll take the time-out and enjoy the love..

He has grown exponentially into a full-fledged, full-bodied adult-like male cat. But his voice is still squeaky and I'm now wondering if it will ever mature into a tom-cat's voice. His voice, actually, is the only way to tell that he is still technically a ... kitten. He's got this long fur all over, and his tail has grown to be very large and fluffy - it looks like a puffed out tail at all times. (No-no! He's not afraid of anything, trust me! :)) And his paws are huge and fluffy too. He's got this lion's mane-like fur all around his face and neck and chest, no wonder he used to be nick-named "the lion" in his foster-home. His eyes continue to change colors, sometimes they're hazel, sometimes they get a darker shade with a bit of green in them .. sometimes they looks hazel-gray. Depends on his mood.

And he comes to me every time I call him. That is, every time I call him "Gabriel". He comes bouncing over, fluffy tail up in the air, "chirping" at me "Mmmm???" And then he'll park on my stomach if I'm lying down and go to work on me. He closes his eyes and seems to go into a different realm as I start to stroke his head. He is the most affectionate cat I've ever known...
And Princess is taking all that in, so to speak, looking from just a foot away, as she seems content to just lie there and preserve her own independence. She doesn't seem jealous, she leaves us in peace to have our time together. (Besides, she gets her time with me later too. )

... Along with this 6th-month birthday, Gabriel is scheduled to go to the vet's this coming week, on Thursday, March 26th. And so is Princess. We are having a double-fixer kind of day, and I am dreading it. I don't know how this is going to affect him, as he appears to be more 'touchy' and sensitive than her. Yes, they are getting neutered that day, and I will be picking them up at the end of the day, I have opted not to leave them alone overnight in there.

The Most Amazing Thing

The most amazing thing happened the other day. I was about to leave for the day but I lost track of Gabriel. Princess was standing in the middle of the living room looking at me while I started to call him: "Gabriel?? Gabriel, where are you??!! " I then looked at her and thought I'd get cute again: "Where IS he? Have you seen him?" She never took her eyes off of me. And then the incredible happened: Without missing a beat, I mean right in the moment after I said that, she swung her neck and face upwards while glancing upstairs; and then back at me.

I thought, nahh.. Did she really? I ran upstairs and found Gabriel on a window sill in a different room, focusing on the birds outside. I then reflected on what Debbie had done once whenI had visited her (Debbie being a big cat lover, having many rescued cats in her household). She had asked her cat where was "Rudy"(?) and apparently the cat had done the same thing that Princess did here but in a subtler, faster manner that only her owner would notice.

Maybe only the cat's "owner" can tell these things and this, to me, was so obvious with Princess it was both comical and unbelievable all at the same time. I mean, that neck of hers turned right over, that little face swung right around and upwards, looking right at the ceiling and then back to me.

But it should not be any surprise. She knew way too many things in the household already shortly after her arrival. I mean, if a cat knows to run upstairs when she first hears the words "time to go to beddie-bye", and runs right over to the food bowl when she first hears "time for 'nummy-num' ! " - why wouldn't she also get the question 'where is he?" :))

Cat Communication 401 Tips

Hey, here's a tip YOU can try next time you're annoyed with your cat. Or just want to have some fun: Crouch a little lower than your normal standing height, begin slowwwly to take steps toward your cat. In my case? Princess. If she's not looking at you yet, she will. Then make sure you begin to stare at her, right in her eyes. Keep ... 'stalking', slowwwly. Keep staring.

It won't take long.. Princess gets spooked at this ... cat-language every time. So, if I'm ever mad at her about anything? I won't have to say a word - just stare and crouch... act like a cat! She'll get it.

("What'd I DO? ! Whoop! I don't care, I'll just run! ")

he, he! :)))

Googie Encounters The Cable Guy

We had an agreeable young man come into the house today to adjust some settings. This was literally the first time that Googie encountered a strange male presence in the house. Princess got into her scaredy-cat mode and bolted up the stairs like the literal 'bat-out-of-hell'.

And then Googie had to make a decision: He stood in the middle of the living room, assessing the situation while the cable guy got busy in one corner. He stood there, looking up the stairs for a moment, taking note that Princess got all spooked-out. His fluffy paws all wide apart, literally frozen for a few moments. He looked at me trying to get a signal, a sense as to what was going on. He then turned to the cable guy... He had to figure out, 'Do I bolt or do I stay and protect mom?'.. He has a very protective spirit, Googie-Gabriel, you know, if you've read previous entries..

He stayed. Stayed nearby and observed carefully the interaction and 'doings' of the strange cable man. It was all good, he figured, all gooood.

Why Does Googie Have An Accent?

Some of you might be wondering why does 'Googie' have a Southern accent, hey maybe all of you might wonder about that. After all, the original Princess never had an accent, so ... why him?

Let me try to put this into words... it's the way he carries himself. The way he swayed from side to side when he walked as a younger kitten. The way he pounces on his 'prey' toy, or on Princess - he has a certain bounce, somehow with his belly first in a pompous sort of way that you'd have to see to appreciate. Yet he misses things that Princess doesn't miss. He misses key catch phrases (he still doesn't get the 'dinner call'); he loses track of a fast moving toy flying about in the air, while she's on it all the time ... he's a little slow in some things and she has to show him the way. But he's so protective over her, no matter how much she picks fights with him. When he would hear a distressed 'call' from Princess, he would run right over to her. And then of course, when it comes to me, he just slobers all over my face (he loves to lick my eyebrows for some reason, or my nose, or my cheeks..). He's big, he's strong, he has lots of love to give - more than any other cat I ever had. But he gets outsmarted by a female half his size...

And that is all why he's got a Southern accent.

A Trip to the Groomer

Today I took Gabriel to the nearby groomer for the first time. They're only a couple blocks away from our house so.. he didn't have to go through a wrangling car ride. But as I was putting him in his carrier, Princess was looking on kinda worried and I had to reassure them both that this was "okay". Her little face is so expressive, you can see every single change of mood and emotion as it passes through her eyes. So we got to the groomer's and we lucked out, he was the only "cat groomer" who does this for years. A true expert.

Gabriel got real upset for about a minute as I sat the carrier down at the reception area, he sounded very alarmed actually. As I tried to calm him down the groomer came over with his reinforcements, harness, protective gloves, neck protector, the works. The carrier top opened and Gabriel meowed something at him. The groomer then got him by the scruff which actually upset me more than anybody else. "Are you SURE this is okay? I never ... " He had to now pacify ME, as I got worried he might hurt him, as I looked at Googie's eyes getting all dilated. I mean suddenly, he had shut up.. real fast. The groomer assured me that it was all good.

Within a few minutes he was done, returning Googie in good order; I never heard a peep the whole time during the nail clipping. So we got back with Googie all quiet now during the short card ride back home. As he settled back in one of his favorite spots, I suddenly noticed that he was now gazing at me. I looked back at him, his eyes wide and focused right on mine - he did not look away. We could have sat there, staring at each other for who knows how long. It was as if he was seeing something new. Did he understand this to be a "rescue" of some sort from the 'strange cat groomer'? Or did he get that he was being pampered?

Whatever it was, it must have been good. Cats don't just stare right at you without a good reason. :)

The Meaning of "Stop Fighting"

Princess here... oh, I've been quite busy these days. Handling 'Googie' over here.. (What a name! hah!) Anyway, mom keeps yelling at me when we play 'cause I guess we do play kinda hard.. He's slow and I always take advantage of him like that. Especially when mom catches up beating each other up and says: "Stop fighting!". He stops, and I seize the moment and sock him one right on his face. Every time.. He never sees it coming 'cause he focuses on what mom just said.

Anyway, one time she was real mad 'cause I was winning. I had him by a headlock, I tell ya.. My paw was right around his neck and I had his head, biting it from behind. When she yelled, "Stop it! STOP FIGHTING!", she bellowed. I knew I was in trouble immediately, I mean you know.. I got caught red-handed, 'er red-pawed.

... So I stopped biting him on that head of his and started licking him right then and there, trying to pretend it was all good, so she could see I wasn't "fighting".