HALLOWEEN AGAIN, AND I'M STILL ALIVE!

Here it is near the end of October, with Halloween only a few days away. My she-p is giving me that come-hither look, like she wants to do something disgusting to me to celebrate the day. I've seen that little tiny orange crown of pumpkins she brought home from a party, and I suspect it's for me since it's about the right size for my head. If she manages to get it settled atop my handsome brow and gets a picture of it, I'll post it here. Don't hold your breath, though. I'm quicker that she is, and twice as clever. And always glad to report I'm still alive!

Two of my fish have died, but the others are turning into giant fish. That's four that still swim the little pond and keep me entertained. There are two orange ones, a blue and orange one and a white one with a gray back. Don't know what they are, but they're some kind of fish, and they sure look tasty.

Not much goin' on around here these days. We were taking a trip to Utah, but guess that's on hold for now since I haven't seen any bags packed and waiting by the door. Oh well. Guess I'll have to content myself to staying home for awhile. It's not so bad, though, because sometimes we have company that comes and pats my head and massages my lovely back. U-m-m-m. It feels so good to be a much-loved (and admired) pussycat.

Gotta' go now. Nap time - purr-r-r-r.

DODGING FALLING PEOPLE

Let me tell you, it has been fun times at the OK Corral lately! And frankly, just as scary. My she-person has been sort of out of it because of some medication she was on. My he-p had to help her walk, that's how bad she was. She finally got a little better, then one day decided to take a flying leap across the floor, then slid into a piece of furniture head-first. Believe me, I scooted out of sight. I didn't know if she was aiming for me or not, but I wasn't taking any chances. My precious little furry body is much too valuable to have broken by the likes of her landing on top of me.

Then her face turned a sickly yellow and both eyes got black. I couldn't even look at her. Looked like a raccoon running loose in my house.

Things are finally getting back to normal, although her eyes still don't look right.

My fish pond has been a source of contentment for me because I can climb up in a window where I'm safe from falling she-ps. My fish are growing, all six of them, and they're so much fun to watch as they swim around, chasing each other. When my he-p goes out to feed them, they now rush up to meet him instead of hiding out until he's gone. I don't guess they've spotted me yet. I could give them a good scare if I walked up to the edge of the pond, but then I'm too scared of water to go near. I'll keep watching from the safety of my window, thank you.

One night we looked out and saw some kind of animal skulking around the edge of the pond, but I scared it away. Kind of looked like a hungry little kitty, but who knows. It was dark. If any animal gets to catch those fish, I want it to be me-me-me.

Gotta run now. The Direct TV guy is here and I need to supervise.

Purr-r-r-r.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE IN SMALL TOWN, AZ

Another fine day here in the Southwest. This morning when my she-person got up, I was lying by my he-person on the couch soaking up his adoration. She didn't even speak to me as she waltzed into the living room; she just went straight to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Well, I was having none of that! I ran as fast as I could to get to the kitchen before she did so I could be greeted properly.

She bent down to pet me, then I quickly scrambled to finish my leftover food from last night so she would have to feed me, too, before she left the kitchen. Listen, I've learned that in this household, you have to meet opportunity head-on. Crash into it, if you have to!

Last week, or maybe it was the week before, my human auntie and uncle from California came over to visit. I love having visitors. They reminded me of the green plants at their house, and I realized my she-person had brought in a green plant home a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't real, but hey, I could pretend it was. So, even though I had tasted it before and found it to be lacking in reality, I made it a regular habit to sneak up on it and try to chew the silk and plastic leaves just so my auntie would notice me. Some of the leaves look like grass, but they're really not that tasty. Shucks, everyone just fussed at me and chased me away.

I love having company. Just a few minutes ago I was snoozing under the bed when I heard a knock on the door. I was out from under that bed and into the living room before my he-person, who was sitting nearby, could get there. I am not intentionally skipping any chances to be admired by anyone who might be packing treats or pats on the head.

I'm looking forward to taking another trip soon. Don't know yet if we're heading west or north, but I can't wait. I fell in love with hotel living on our last trip because I had new territory to explore almost every day. I don't know how those homebody kitties can stand being cooped up in one place all the time. I gotta' roam! Maybe I'll even get to go see my aunties and uncles in California again. They're so much fun! I think they and my people used to be a wild bunch, but they're all pretty tame now. I wouldn't mention it out loud, but it might have something to do with age...

I'm not getting any younger, either, so guess I'd better go get some beauty rest. It never hurts, even though I'm beautiful in spite of everything.

Home at last!

I have my eye on my California auntie's house plant. As soon as my people leave the room, I plan to mow it down. Notice the gleam in my eye!

After arriving at home, I quickly settled into my regular routine. However, my people decided I needed more stimulation, so my he-p rushed out and bought three Koi fish to put in my pond along with the surviving two gold fish (well, one is black). The little bitty orange one fell in love with one of the big Koi fish and wouldn't leave it alone! Boy did I have a great time watching them chase around the pond.

Then my people went out and bought some plants to put in the pond. It's a whole new world out there now, and the fish swim around and under the plants. What fun it is to watch them and pretend I'm stalking them. Too bad I can't get out there to try my hand at fishing, but if that pump and fountain was to come on while I was at the edge, I'd be into the next county before my people could blink their eyes. That fountain startles me even if I'm only lying on the window sill looking out. Inky does not like water! Maybe my she-p will post some pictures of the pond when she gets flowers planted around it. She planted some, but they didn't survive the heat for even 24 hours.

I've located all my toys now and have dragged every one of them into the middle of the floor where I can find them easily. I was kinda pooped for the first few days after we got home, like my people, but I can't wait to go on another traveling adventure. This trip was just too fast to suit me or my she-p, but that's the way it had to be. They couldn't even stop off to visit friends and show me off because we had to hurry and get back home. I do love being shown off, and always make sure everyone notices me whether they want to or not. Heck, I'm so handsome, how can they resist me. I even won my grandma over a little bit.

My she-p wasn't able to post the picture of me on my California auntie and uncle's hearth with the previous post, so sorry it wasn't there. Here it is, a little late but still me. Ain't it wondrous how pictures capture me in all my splendor?

Traveling is fun!

This is going to be a long post since I've been traveling again, and didn't take time to write while I was on the road. This time we went by car. Not as comfy, but much faster than the motorhome. First we stopped off at my human uncle and auntie's home in Southern California, where I tried my best to mow down houseplants. Above is a photo of me pretending to enjoy lying on the hearth of their fireplace, but if you look you'll see that I've got my eye on a big, green, yummy plant. My auntie, uncle and people are a little smarter than the average fool, so they kept a close eye on me while I pretended to be content to just lie there. (Oops, my she-p hasn't been able to import the photo yet. She'll try later.)

Leaving there on a Saturday morning, we headed northwest to hook up with I-5, but first we went over some mountains that had me wailing for a few minutes. As we approached Bakersfield, my she-p spotted the big red barn she had seen the last time we went through, when my he-p pretended to not hear her say "stop!" This time she was driving, so she swung in and jumped out to buy some fresh produce. Nothing looked tempting to me, so I crawled back in my crate and went back to sleep.

Our first night was spent in Sacramento. Not too much to recommend it as far as I was concerned. My people stepped out to get some breakfast, but before they left, my he-p told me if I wanted to go with them when they got back, I needed to be waiting by the door. Well, I surprised him. I was sitting in my crate when they got back, rarin' to go, thank you very much!

I raised a ruckus again when we went over the Siskiyou Mountains in No. CA and So. Oregon. Something about those downhill curves upsets my system. I don't get sick, but I just don't like them!

We stayed the next night in Albany, OR. Nice hotel, but we were anxious to get on the road the next morning for the rest of our trip. We finally arrived around noon the next day, and that night I got to see the beautiful human nieces. They are so sweet. The oldest is graduating from high school in a couple of days, so that's why we're there. It was cold and raining the entire time we were there, but I stayed in the hotel room and was nice and cozy. Meanwhile, my people wore coats to keep warm and to try and stay dry. And complained, loudly and constantly.

After heading to a restaurant on Thursday morning to meet the nieces, we left there headed to Eastern WA. We arrived there sometime in the afternoon. I slept most of the way, so what do I know about the trip. My she-p stopped once to buy some more produce (cherries, this time), but otherwise, we were just plowing along. It was still raining on and off, even after we got to Spokane. Yuck. I might have been born in this type of climate (I mean, who knows where I was born?) but I do love the sunshine and warm weather in Arizona!

We stayed in Spokane for two-and-one-half days while my people took my he-p's mother shopping and out to eat at her favorite places. The hotel was super, so I was quite comfy staying there while my people did their running around. Mom is 93 and in assisted living now, but she even came to visit me in the hotel. I don't think that was her idea, exactly, but like me, she went where my people took her. When she headed to the bathroom, I promptly accompanied her. I don't think she ever had a cat follow her around. She's not an animal fan! But she did laugh at me and my antics. Hey, I'm amusing. What can I say?

On Sunday morning, we headed east through Montana, then turned south on I-15 through Idaho and Utah. I love Montana, but Idaho wasn't my favorite scenery until we reached Pocatello, where it gets hilly (but not too) and green. We quickly covered Idaho, except that we had to slow down to 45 through every danged town because of construction. Thank goodness there aren't too many towns in that part of the country. We spent the night in Idaho Falls in a motel. This was definitely not my favorite place. It was right across from the falls, but because it was centrally located, it was busy and noisy. And old! We had a kitchen, but I'm not sure it served any purpose since my she-p didn't cook up any treats there. We had stayed in La Quinta Inns up until that night, so I was slightly spoiled by their new, really nice rooms.

We headed down to So. UT the next day, and finally reached Kanab, Utah. This place is gorgeous, and we stayed at a historic lodge--Parry Lodge. It's where the movie stars stayed when they were in the area filming the western picture shows during the 30s to the 70s. The lodge was wonderful. We stayed in the Ray Milland cottage. We found out that in August, Kanab hosts a Western Legends festival,. A lot of old stars show up, and some of their children come if their famous parent is no longer living. Sounds like fun, but we don't know if we can get a room or an RV site since it's only a couple of months away. Maybe next year...

The next morning after breakfast, my people headed out to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. This is a wonderful place that rescues abused and abandoned companion animals. They have a section for horses, bunnies, donkeys, cats, dogs, and various other animals. They rehabilitated Michael Vick's pit bulls that had been used for fighting, adopting the success story dogs out to new, loving families. Some were too injured emotionally and physically to ever be safe in a family home.

Best Friends has lots of volunteers who show up for awhile and help care for the animals in addition to a large, loving staff. They even let children over five volunteer to help with things like feeding, petting, walking, etc. My people want to go back and take the entire tour and maybe volunteer for a few days. There are even a couple of full hook-up RV sites located within the sanctuary, but they are often reserved far in advance. There are also a few RV parks in town and around the area, since this is within a short drive of several National Parks.

Check out Best Friends website at www.bestfriends.org to find out all the amazing things they do. My people joined so they can get the magazine to keep up with what's going on there. They also receive discounts on the RV sites and cabins that are rented out to visitors.

When we left Kanab my people weren't sure if we would be able to make it home without taking a long detour through Grand Canyon National Park because of fires raging outside Flagstaff. We were lucky because the road reopened right before we got there. However, there were still little fires spurting in the woods right beside the road. Let me tell you, that scared me too death. As soon as I smelled that smoke, I started carrying on like someone was choking me. I was choking on the smoke. I was trying to tell my people to get the heck out of there, but they just kept driving until we got through the burning area. Whoo-o-o. What a relief it was to breath fresh air again. We managed to get home by mid-afternoon.

What fun to see my home again and find all my toys just where I had left them. I had some resting up to do, but you can read about my antics once I reached home in the next post. Purr-r-r-r.

Trouble on the home front

Around here, I'm in hot water one minute and loved to pieces the next. My people aren't to blame. Let's just say I have attitude! I just love thinking up new ways to stir up some excitement.

On Friday after my people came home from shopping, they found me with one eye closed, and I was dashing around like something was after me. They called the vet to get an appointment since my eye was obviously bothering me. It's probably that pesky chronic infection that crops up about once a year, so they loaded me up into my carrier and into the car I went. Oh joy! When they opened the door to get me out in the vet's parking lot, there I calmly sat with both eyes wide open as if nothing in the world was bothering me.

My he-person went ahead and got my carrier out of the car and started into the vet's office. Meanwhile, my she-p. asked him to sit down on a bench outside the door for a minute so she could check my eye again. I looked up with the most wide-eyed innocent look I could give. Yep, everything looked fine, so she went inside and canceled the appointment. Yippee!!! Saved from a fate worse than getting squirted with a water hose!

By the time I got home, I was holding my eye closed and acting weird again. Since I licked my plate clean at feeding time they knew I couldn't be sick, so they decided to wait until the next day to see what transpired. Well, they should have realized that the sight of that vet's parking lot had given me only a temporary miraculous cure. Since it was temporary, it was over as soon as I got safely home. Now my eye hurt like heck again. Too late to call the vet back. My people hunted up the bottle of eye drops from last time and saw the date had expired, so next day they went into the vet's office and bought another bottle. Dang!

I've been getting held tight and strangled four times a day ever since while they struggle to get a couple of drops into my eye. The first couple of times I gave my giant-size panther roar to try to scare them, but they just ignored it and kept hanging on. I can't seem to faze them with my worst behavior and loudest squall like I can the vet, so now I've pretty much accepted my fate and get treated regularly. It does take two of them to hold me down--proving I'm still the big, tough macho panther-kitty I've always been. And I'm much better, thank you. Not happy when I'm being treated, but my eye is better.

And by the way, last visit to the vet I found out there's a big warning label on my chart because of my macho attitude. YES -- I'm dangerous! Don't mess with Inky!

By the way, my he-person finally bought six goldfish for my pond and I have loved watching them outside the window, but one-by-one they've died. One was getting really big, but a great big lizard got into the pond and my he-p. thinks it may have eaten that one. Maybe it killed the other ones, too. I don't know--do lizards eat goldfish? The fish may be getting over- or under-fed too, since the food directions are written in French, and my people are lucky to read basic English. They may need to buy a book on goldfish before they replace the fish so maybe they'll know what they're doing. Or maybe talk to someone who knows something about fish! My people only know how to eat them. Not goldfish--silly--just big fish.

Meanwhile, I'm still looking for those fish, but mostly I'm sleeping in the corner between the big window and the patio door so I can quickly get up to see the pond if I hear anything going on there.

Gotta go now. It's nap time again. Purr-r-r-r.

Missed A Vet Appointment by the Hair on My Chinny-chin-chin

Here it is, April . . . spring. Yippee! The doors and windows have been open so I can look outside and smell the sweet air, and watch and listen to the birdies. They have certainly been busy lately. And my he-person hooked up the little fountain and pond pump just outside my favorite window. It like to have scared me to death the first time I heard the pump come on, but now I just look outside cautiously before jumping up on the window sill. Don't want no surprises sneaking up on me!

My people have been out looking for fish to put in the little pond so I will have some more excitement than normal. Not that anything is ever normal around here!

I was supposed to go have x-rays and get blood drawn on Tuesday, but my people decided since it wasn't anything that would actually help me, they canceled. The vet was going to gas me to put me under since I'm such a big, scary threat to her staff, so my people were a little bit concerned about having me sedated just to see where my innards stand. Hey, they're still there--that's all I need to know--and they all seem to be working okay right now. I eat like the pig I am, and I even try to finagle more food from my people, and on most days I play like a maniac. That's all I care about. I chase my fat rat that squeaks plus a dozen other things, plus run back and forth trying to get my people to chase me. That's so much fun!

I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (oops, I guess I'm not exactly bushy-tailed since my tail is only about an inch long and none too bushy). Still, I'm as full of spunk as ever.

The wind is blowing here again, so I guess that means my doors and windows will stay closed. My she-person has hay fever, and gets to sneezing and coughing when too much pollen blows inside. Now that scares m, since it always startles me when she sets into doing it. And I guess they are going out to eat again since I don't see any activity in the kitchen, nor do I smell anything that resembles food. Oh well, I'll just snooze until they're ready to leave, then I'll demand my supper. Okay, they're not likely to forget, but I do love to carry on just to make sure I get fed before they step out the door, even if they're just going to the laundry room.

A sweet kitty like me can never be too careful about making sure I receive plenty of things like food--and treats! Purr-r-r-r.

Surviving life in the 'burbs

Hey y'all. It's a gorgeous day, so I'm relaxing in the sun. It's been a little dreary for the last few days. My people drove up to Sedona a few days ago to pick up a new mattress and got caught in real, falling from the sky snow. Then they proceeded to move things around in the house to replace the mattress. Since it was their mattress that was being replaced, they stood the old one up by the front door while they put the new one in. I promptly climbed to the top and explored around the arched window above the door. Wow--who knew there was a window up there. I wish they would leave the mattress there so I could climb up anytime I want and catch some rays.

Meanwhile, they had to air up the new mattress, which meant that it made some very unusual noises. I don't go under the bed anymore because of the strange noises I've heard there. It might be something wild that will get me. However, as soon as the bed was made, I did promptly lie on top of it and take a long snooze. I'm a good mattress tester, and I pronounce it very comfy.

They then moved their mattress into the guest bedroom after they moved the old one out of there. Seems that when our visitor came with the kitty, it got scared and dug a hole through the bottom of the box springs so it could hide. Hey, I can sympathize with that. After all, I was waiting outside its door, ready to scare the heck out of it.

I had my own scare in the middle of the night just after the new mattress went into the master bedroom. I was heading for my box in the bathroom, but the door was slightly ajar and so I had to sneak up on it and peek under to make sure nothing would grab me from the other side. Then I suddenly heard scratching behind me and I jumped straight up in the air. I whirled around and my she-person was laughing her head off. She had seen me sneaking up on the door and decided to scratch the mattress, which nearly skeered me to death.

A sweet little kitty like me doesn't deserve such behavior from the people who are supposed to protect me. However, I got my revenge later that night when I begged treats off my she-person, then cried to my he-person so he would think I hadn't had them yet. Yep, you guessed it. I got double treats that night. I have my ways of getting revenge. And I want to get really big and strong on treats so I can intimidate the vet when I go back again.

I'll have to practice my scary squall, too, so I can make believers of everyone in the vet's office. They want to stretch me out and take pictures of my innards, and that does not please me. And they want to draw blood. I don't know what they do with it, but I would like to keep it, thank you very much. Don't come at me with any needles cause I'm a big and strong and scary panther.

Time to get back to my nap. Life is mostly good.....purr-r-r-r.

Christmas Tree and Wintry Weather

Geesh, who knew I would take such a long vacation from posting. It wasn't intentional on my part. You'll have to take it up with my people, who are supposed to keep me on schedule and do my typing. Obviously, they've been negligent lately! In fact, I thought I posted after Christmas, but obviously I was wrong. So here's to bring you up to date.

Christmas was a big to-do since we're in a house. Who knew it meant bringing a tree into the living room and decorating it? That was some surprise! My he-person carried a huge box in and proceeded to open it up and lift tree parts out. I thought trees came in one piece from out-of-doors and smelled like fresh air. A quick taste of a needle told me this wasn't my kind of tree, but it would do for relaxing under.

I immediately claimed my spot under the tree and spent most of my time there throughout the holidays admiring the lights. I was interested in the decorations they were putting on, but other than sniff a couple, I didn't mess with them. I would have liked to climb the tree, but since it didn't smell natural I decided against it. Still, I bit off needles occasionally to test them just to make sure I wasn't mistaken the first and second and third time about them being real. Nope--they still tasted like plastic.

My people had a couple of parties and I was eager to be in the middle so that the guests could all admire my beauty. Who better to provide entertainment than me? Then there was quite a slowdown following the holidays.

One wintry day we woke up and found white stuff floating down from the sky. It actually coated some of the tree limbs and lay about an inch deep on the ground. What a wondrous sight, especially here in the Arizona desert. My people decided maybe I would like to go out in it. I guess they were wrong! They opened the patio door and I made a beeline for it, then I heard raindrops. Yikes! I skidded to a stop, and within an hour, all the beautiful white stuff was gone. Bummer.

I'm still fat and sassy and still get cortisone pills every other day. I love them! Of course, my people think I don't know they're inside those delicious pill pockets, but I know. I just play along and eat those "treats" so fast that I don't taste the pills. I have to go to the vet every 3 months for check-ups, but the last time, the vet carried me back out to my people after a short time and told them I wasn't in the mood for an exam that day. Hey, maybe I have finally made a believer out of her when I roar like a lion. And believe me, that's one thing I do very well!

I'm kinda looking forward to a trip this spring to the Great Northwest. Been there, done that, but maybe there will be some surprises this time. I will get to see my people's sweet nieces, so I know I'll get some extra attention from them. I'll have to be on my best behavior, though.

Until next time. . .purr-r-r-r.