Cat Fights at Our House

From left to right: Louie and Hughie on my lap 2 weeks ago!

When our female cat Allie died in January the vet said that we might notice a battle between our two male cats for ruler of the house. We didn't notice anything at all until last week. Hughie and Louie are litter mates, so have been together forever. They turned 9 at the end of March. The boys (as we often refer to them), have playfully wrestled and fought for years, but in a nice way if that's possible?! Early last week after I fed them breakfast, Louie started attacking Hughie. 

Louie caught in the act of cleaning, put on his evil eyes :)

You know how cats have a special person that they respond to, well I'm Hughie's person, so now anytime Hughie gets up on my lap or comes near me Louie just comes close and shows Hughie his "evil" eyes and makes a funny sound and away they go. Poor Hughie is looking a bit haggard with all the cat drama. We are hearing a whole lot of hissing from Hughie, plus thundering cat paws chasing through the house. Good news for Hughie is he is much smaller than Louie and he can hide behind our low profile king-size bed and the wall. Louie won't fit. 

Hughie is hiding his eyes from Louie!

Last evening it occurred to me that a week ago we started giving Louie a new medicine for his constant upper respiratory problem (sneezing and coughing) and I noticed it's labeled "for canine use only"! I told Tim maybe Louie is having a really strange side effect that makes him think he's a dog ... and what do dogs like to do? Chase cats! 

Hopefully things will calm down really soon!

Keep on knitting!

Nancy

The Feline Abyss

Now looking at these two, I know what you're thinking. That they have neither the ambition nor the shadiness to be the culprits of the shenanigans to follow, however, let me set you straight.  The other day I was struck by a rare burst of spring cleaning. So I moved all the furniture in the living room to give the carpeting a little extra TLC with the vacuum. Under one chair I found the following: a Christmas tree ornament (so I don't vacuum under the furniture all that often. Big deal, I have other redeeming qualities. I know I do. Don't I?); numerous stitch markers; a toothbrush (NOT MINE! I brush my teeth frequently enough that I would know if my toothbrush was missing.); my pineapple charm necklace I got in Hawaii (now I can quit silently blaming my girls for cobbing my necklace); and a thimble. A thimble? I don't even sew! I got a D+ in sewing in junior high! But I'm not bitter about that grade. I actually use it to my advantage when my husband tells me he has a button that needs sewn back onto a shirt. I just tell him, "No can do-ski. Got a D+ in sewing and I would hate to disappoint 'Old Lady Sturms' with my less-than-stellar sewing skills. Just throw it away and buy a new shirt." And these were just a few of the treasures I found under the chair. And it's as if these two knew I'd found their stash! They shot over to the area like a couple of greased pigs out of a cannon. Hoarders. Mecca for Kitties. Also known as The Feline Abyss. Oh - did I mention I'm not bitter about that D+ in junior high sewing . . .

Happy Knitting!

Renee

We Love You Allie & Always Will

As a child I asked for a kitten every time I was up for a gift (Christmas, birthday, and any other gift giving event). Since my father didn't like cats my dream was never fulfilled until Tim and I were married and my dog had died. Our daughter Katie was 2 when we adopted the cutest little calico that we unanimously named Allie.

Allie knows Addi Turbos are the best needles!

Last Friday we sadly had to say good-bye to our Allie. She was almost 15, and had been sick for a couple of weeks. Last week everything went downhill and we found ourselves attempting to nurse her back to health. Unfortunately she was unable to eat, so she rapidly got weaker.


The weather on Thursday was in the 60s and sunny, so I opened the curtains to the back yard for Allie to look out if she felt like coming downstairs (she spent most of her time in our Master bathroom which is the where she began her life in our house). After much deliberation and many tears, Tim called the vet and scheduled to bring Allie in Friday morning. Friday morning we served her Maple Pecan Crunch cereal in a saucer of milk. She was so happy, considering she was constantly fighting to get into Tim's cereal bowl every morning.

Allie enjoyed her "maple milk" breakfast!

When we came home from the vet's office we found our other two cats looking nearly as sad as we did. To think they could sense the change in our home was amazing. Cats are funny creatures. We have been fortunate to have 3 of the sweetest cats belong to us ... or more likely we have belonged to them :)

If you've ever opened up your heart to a cat or a dog, you know as I do that the love of a pet is worth the pain of loss you endure in the end. We love you Allie, and always will.

One Monday last summer Allie was surfing Ravelry with me

Knitting a menagerie ...

Tim is golfing the City Tournament today at Waveland Golf Course. It's currently 91 degrees, humid, and very breezy. Hmmmm ... I'm sure glad I'm at the shop in the air conditioning where I can knit when I'm not busy!

At the shop Jean has gotten me interested in knitting stuffed animals. We are currently working our way through the Dangercraft animal and monster patterns! If you haven't ever seen any of her creatures, you must check them out. I've knitted Greta the Captivating Cat and you can find her (as well as Jean's Greta) on display at the shop. We have decided to knit a bunch of critters and display them at the shop. Our goal is to have an entire menagerie!

Greta was so much fun to knit and even the assembly was simple to complete. Jean found great instructions on Mochimochi Land for attaching the arms, tail, and ears, so that all went really slick (and you can't even tell they are sewn on)! Jean is planning on teaching Greta this summer, so watch our website for class info.

I promise I will find a good recipe for my next blog. I'm not working next week (can I say I'm excited?!) and will test a couple of new recipes on the family!

Crazy kitties!

What is it with cats? Have you ever noticed that if you lay your knitting down or decide to block something, your cat is all over it? I'm sure my cats aren't the only ones that do that.

Remember how we have been cleaning and organizing at our house this January? Well, the other day Katie cleaned her room and closet ... very thoroughly (thanks Katie). She found an old pair of ballet slippers that I felted for her a long time ago and dropped them on the counter in my bathroom. Of course I didn't bother to move them from that resting spot, so the other morning when I was getting ready to go to the shop, my cat Hughie (who follows me around like a puppy dog) was on the bathroom counter where the slippers were. Pretty soon Tim who was also getting ready noticed Hughie putting his front paws in the slippers. I ran and grabbed my cellphone and took this picture of him "wearing" those pink felted ballet slippers! A good laugh on Hughie is a great way to start my day!

Our good friend Debra sent us the picture below of her cat, Purl. Or at least the back half of Purl. Purl was hiding in the neck of Debra's Rowan Colourscapes sweater as it was blocking. Hmmmm ... I'm not sure, but maybe Debra shouldn't have blocked her sweater on Purl's bed! Silly kitty! Purl is also the kitty that likes to redecorate the house with Debra's yarn. She especially enjoys Debra's most expensive yarn to make "string" art throughout the house.

Does anyone have a good cat or dog story that relates to knitting or yarn? I'd love to hear them!

By the way, if Hughie looks familiar, he posed for my Ravelry avatar. Isn't he cute?

Nancy