Vacation Travels: Birthday Gifts

Socks, patch and pin!

Books!
Also a puppy and kitten coloring book AND pencils!

The gift bag itself is perfect!

Gift tag on gift bag

Guess what this is!
Answer below

Cat glow-in-the-dark yard art

Enameled cat pin!

Cat scarf

Sleepshirt

I am very fortunate to have friends and family who showered me with birthday gifts last month!  And this doesn't include the excellent meals, trips to movies and shopping, and many other adventures that happened before, during and after my vacation.  Thank you all!  ☺👌😺💖

Picture 5 is a piece of cloth covered in photos of lions, tigers, birds and foxes, from Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, that go along with the tiger-striped socks.  Don't know what it's for?  It's for wiping one's eyeglasses!  Yeah, I had to be told too.  Thank you, BG!

What the Woolie?

Three woolies, with Chuck the culprit
sitting in the background

One woolie, found in the morning

Multiple woolies that didn't make
it through the cat flap!

The Hubby now refers to my oversized thick socks as "Woolies", and recently Chucky has been having a field day moving them around the house.  In the last photo, Chuck would not come back through the cat flap, because the woolies were bunched up in front!  Sometimes, Chuck uses silent stealth, and the woolie just appears.  Other times, he meows loudly, with his mouth full of sock, and we know what's coming!  The Hubby will not pick up the dropped woolies; he leaves them in situ for me to discover when home again.  And every day, I gather my socks from whence Chuck has left them, and place them back in the bedroom...in effect, resetting the game! We actually use this woolie game to monitor Chuck's health, because when he's feeling poorly, he leaves the socks alone.

Chuck The Nut

Chucky, in a moment of repose

A game piece, aka my woolly sock, found in the downstairs hallway

Chucky woke us up early this morning; he was meowing and running around.  He nipped at The Hubby's arm, and I got up to use the bathroom. Chuck jumped into my pajama bottoms as I sat on the pot!  He's never done that before!

He's been stealing my socks, and leaving them all over the house.  I've now placed four of my big, woolly socks for him to relocate each day; it's quite the game!  The Hubby witnesses the play; all I do is count my missing 'game pieces' when I get home, then retrieve them to reset the playing field.

Perhaps the new herbs and vitamins from Dr. Sheppard are helping out, or the warmish spring weather is making Chuck feel like a kitten again, but he's definitely acting like a nut.  We are delighted!

What the Toof...?

Oh noes!

Angel had a broken toof!  The nice veterinarian made it all better for her, and she is acting perfectly fine this morning.  Yesterday, as I held her before she was whisked into the bowels of the vet's office, she managed to shed a ton of fur...on me!

Fur all over my front

Fur all over my arm

These photos do not convey the extent of furs stuck to my winter coat! Poor Angel, she was not a happy camper yesterday morning.  But...I am glad we got her teefs cleaned and serviced, since she'd lost some weight since her last visit.  Her bloods came back normal...yay!

Chucky did not take Angel's capture and removal from the house well, however.  I had explained to him what was going to happen, but he was very unhappy all day, says The Hubby.  He even had an accident outside the litter box, and when I got home from work, his tail was low and he needed lots of lovin' and smoochin'.  So, that's what I did to both kitties, and all seemed normal when I left this morning.

And I received a surprise!

Sweet!

A co-worker gifted me with lovey dovey cat socks!  See what happens when people find out I'm a crazy lady with cats?  Totally unexpected; I will wear them this Sunday on St. Valentine's Day. Thanks, CS!

Wednesday Why

Why? Oh Why?

Do I tend to find wet and awful 'presents' from the kitties

while in my stocking feet?

Some cat...see picture below but I won't name names...

apparently has been losing her lunch

in the early morning hours.

Enough for a veterinarian visit this Thursday afternoon...

Shhh...be very quiet and don't say a word!

"WHATTT!!!  Oh, heck NO!!!"

Yes, my little flower...

You and I are visiting a holistic veterinarian recommended HIGHLY by 

cat friends.

Honestly, you are past due for a check-up, my black-and-white-and-pink cutie!

Obsession with Socks Continues

Found: in other bedroom

Found: in downstairs hall

Found: in upstairs hall

Found: in Chuck's new luxury box suite

Found: stuck under bedroom door
(Notice home-made cat flap cut into door!)

Chuck is still stealing my socks, and depositing them all over the house.  In the middle of the night, stepping on a soft, woolly sock can give a person a heart attack!  Wha...did I just step on a cat? A dead...something?  A hairball...or worse...?  Yet, I pick up all the socks, and put them back where they came from.  Seems to be a game that only Chuck and I play.  There are two blue and grey socks, two tan/grey, and two blue stripes/grey. Sometimes, all six socks are missing and other days Chuck doesn't take any.  He doesn't steal any other types of socks, such as dress socks or The Hubby's athletic ones.  He often carries two socks together, too, and I assure you that these are washed and clean socks.  Finding a sock in his new favorite box bed was a real treat!

My Socks Are Disappearing Again

This is how it looks when I go to bed or off to work...

What it looks like when I wake up or come home...

One sock found in the hall...

...other sock laying near the rocking chair

Nine days after Chuck's 'blow out' (go here for more information), and he's returning to his old ways!  Which means; meowing for attention, sleeping in the clothes baskets, and rearranging my socks. We continue to give him an anti-inflammatory for his guts, and have scheduled an cardiogram of his heart, and an ultra-sound of his abdomen.  We no longer add canned pumpkin to his food, believing that it could have contributed to his problem.  Will review ALL with the new veterinarian, who came highly recommended.  When Chuck was feeling really sick, he slept in the bed on top of the old bureau in the parlor, which put him quite a distance from his people. Having him sleep in the baskets means he's close at hand, and feeling better.  Yay!  I've never been so glad to NOT see my socks, or to hear Chuck's song of his people.  Angel has discontinued hissing too...whew!

Chuck hanging out on the pool table, something he discontinued
when feeling poorly.

Thanks again for the well-wishes, and I am off on a long-weekend vacay with my girl-pals.  If I have any cat-related news to share, I'll do it from on the road.  The hubby will take on the mantel of food service human to both the indoor and outdoor cats, and he says he'll scoop the litter boxes too.  Wow!  Will miss my furry friends, but some R&R should be delightful.  I'll miss the hubby too...

Chuck's Obsession - Update

This is how the day started...

See the two socks on top of the clean clothes...AND...

My slipper was taken too!

 

One sock, found in the hall on another occasion

Other sock, on one of Chuck's napping spots

Okay, okay...so yeah, it's hilarious that Chuck lugs around not only both of my socks, but also one SLIPPER too! Amazing!  There is no stranger sound that Chuck meowing for all his might, with a woolly sock in his mouth.

BUT WAIT...there's more!  Here's the funniest thing yet!  Friday night, it turned downright cold, and I jumped into bed wishing I still had my down comforter out.  But it's June, and I refused to go to the linen closet to retrieve it on sheer principle.  But, I managed to sleep, and in the morning, as usual, my socks were missing.  I looked here, I looked there, I even looked in the litter boxes.  AND YOU KNOW WHERE I FOUND MY SOCKS?!?!...hmmm...can you guess?  That's right...

On my feet!  I've never laughed so hard in my life when I realized I was looking for something that was ON MY BODY, keeping my toes warm. The hubby was both amused and concerned, as he rightfully should be. I think he was considering calling the men in the white coats...and poor Chuck, I ruined his fun for the morning, 'cause he wasn't gonna try to carry around my occupied socks!

Chuck's New Obsession...

...My socks!
We start each day, the socks resting on my slippers

Uh oh, one sock is missing!

There it is!  In the hallway...

This time, both socks showed up in the dining room

Today, socks on the stairs
Angel is not impressed

Chuck has been moving my socks around every day.  I pick them up and replace them on top of my slippers, then enjoy finding the socks elsewhere.