Everything I Know I Learned from Cats

Bored now.
I grew up an only child with two working parents. This leads me to theorize that I was raised largely by cats, since they were my primary caregivers in my parents' absence. Their feline parenting may well explain many, if not most, of my human neuroses.
I, like cats, have have two speeds: OFF (left) and ON (right).
Such neuroses include, but are not limited to: resistance to change, preoccupation with self, expectation of food and attention upon demand, the need for reassurance of love with affection (this affection may or may not be returned), suspicion of new people and situations, a quickness to judge, anxiety disorder, proneness to displays of haughty self-righteousness, fondness for frequent naps, neediness with a paradoxical independent streak, a short attention span, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
OFF.
Cats have also taught me the following:

1. The only two words you really need to know are "Me" and "Now."
2. Always wait at least 15 seconds before responding.
3. When responding, do so as if it's an inconvenience.
4. Keep your priorities in order: Food, Sleep, and Food.
5. If you can't eat it, sleep on it, or play with it, it's not worth getting excited about.
6. You don't have to pout for long--just long enough to make your point.
7. Never let them forget who's really in charge.
8. Every day is Independence Day.

Raspberries, a new tree, & hair to celebrate

The first fruits of our labor.
Some of them are black, and some are golden.
Morgan picked one out of the bowl for further investigation...
...but she didn't actually eat it.
It didn't make a good toy, either. Too flimsy.
Spouse is building us a cat tree.
No one seems to mind that it isn't finished yet.
There was mention elsewhere of big hair, and I felt it necessary to embarrass myself by posting pictures of some of my more celebratory 'dos. From left to right, you may observe Obsidian Kitten in 1986, 1988, and 1989.

No wonder I now demand a cut that requires no more than a towel-dry.

To Fight Over, and Snooze Upon...

I haven't been able to sit still for very long lately, so I began needle-felting some cat toys. I can't really make the girls much with yarn since Isis likes to eat yarn, so I tried to felt them a fish.

Chris, my dear spouse, says it can't be a fish because it has no fins. I can't bear to be wrong, so I decided that it's a kuhli loach, a kind of bottom-feeder we had in our aquarium when I was growing up. And the girls seemed to think it was worth fighting over, fish or no fish.


Earlier, I'd been working on a catnip mouse for Rebekah's Critter Charity Drive. I found Morgan sleeping on the unfinished specimen. She looks cranky here because I'd just followed some stray yarn to her tail and pulled the mouse out from under her belly, waking her up. She must've dragged it off the tv tray while I wasn't looking and then fallen asleep on it. (At least she's not a yarn-eater like Isis.)

I was making progress on my critter blanket until my other assistant woke up and had to test it out. It's the yellow and white thing below (yes, you have seen it before). Underneath it is the familiar and much-loved orange and pink Snowball Bed from the S'n'B book. It remains quite popular among the four-leggeds in our home.


Here the girls model the felted cat-squid. This toy was destined for a new home.

So was this very strange Pippi-Longstocking-legged Jumping Spider.

You can stop now if you're tired of cats-in-projects photos, but Chris caught Morgan rolling around in the tentacle basket today.

She got all excited when he tried to take her picture...

Grrrrrr!
And just look at the mitts on this girl...