And Ruse ...

Ruse just LOVES to look out a window. He doesn't care what window; he just loves them all, especially if his mommy is right there, too. He makes no move to sneak outside when I open a door as Audace does.

Then and now

Frequently, I go back into the archives of this blog -- when Deb, ML, and all were trying to find forever homes for Grace and brood. The first one with photos is amazing.

There's Grace, all skinny and calm. In the first photo, she has baby Audace zonked out in her arms, so to speak! He still likes to sleep like that -- upside down -- unless it's cold, and he's all cuddled up with his mom or brother (or both!).

The second one is of Grace by herself -- her sweet little face, just staring off into the distance, as if to say, "This too shall pass." She is still like that: very calm, very patient, very watchful. The post also describes her as weighing 6.5# and having a voracious appetite -- well, guess what! She doesn't weigh 6.5# anymore, and fortunately she doesn't have a voracious appetite anymore either. She will always step back if the boys want to eat first!! What a good mom!

The third photo is wonderful. There's Brutus by her back legs, not going to let anyone get to the food first, if he can help it, I'm sure! And there's Audace, separate from the others (at the bottom center of the photo) -- he still likes to be off by himself, unless it's cold, of course. And there are Marigold and Ruse (I can't tell which is which, frankly) in their mommy's arms. I'm not sure about Marigold, but I know Ruse likes to be close to someone -- his mom or his bro or me (as a last resort, usually!).

Their little personalities sure do come through early, don't they? How wonderful and amazing!

Audace likes the spotlight

He poses and poses! What a beautiful ... 'scuse me ... handsome boy! He's now bigger than his mommy. Both he and Ruse have tails that are at least 2" longer than Grace's. I wonder if that's an indication of eventual full-grown size -- like puppies and their feet!!

Trying to keep warm

We've had some very COLD nights lately (cold for here, that is), and Grace knows exactly what to do: get those boys to cuddle! In these pictures, all three were crammed ... er, cuddling ... on a fleece jacket of mine. They certainly did stay warm!

No Movie Monday this week!

There have been a few times this past week when one or two or all three kitties were engaged in some fun stuff, but by the time I got my camera out and going, they were off to snooze or something. This morning, for instance, Ruse and Audace were playing chase in the laundry pile (sheets and towels). I was laughing and laughing ... and then they were off to check out the windows!

I've been worried about Deb Taylor. Her blog doesn't come up when I click on the link, either from my Favorites list or from another website. I checked CatBlogosphere and Pet Prayer & Praise -- found Deb's name among the "recovering beans" but still the link doesn't work. I sure hope she's recovering from whatever the problem is and that she's back in the pink ASAP.

UPDATE (3/6/07): I have heard from others that Deb is fine, but is working a lot. She took her blog down, and will put it back up (or start a new one?) when she has time to do it justice. I miss seeing all those lovely photos of those lovely kitties and their beautiful new house. And their version of Deck the Halls was a real scream! Hurry back, Taylor CatSSSSS!

Fun in the office

Here are Ruse and Audace, "helping" in my messy office. I've been doing taxes, and there are papers everywhere -- just what they like! The noises are marvelous, and there are boxes and bags to hide in and behind. Kitten-cats' dream come true!

Cats cause trouble

Boy, these guys can sure cause trouble! I've been letting them play in the garage since I don't let them outdoors. They can smell the car's tires, walk all over it, slide down the windshield, and then explore the rest of whatever's out there. With my Camry in the garage -- no problems. However, Anne and I have switched cars for child-chauffeuring reasons, and when I park the Windstar in my garage, it's much taller, of course. Oh, all three cats loved that one!

First problem was when one of them batted at the non-functioning light in the center of the garage ceiling ... and broke it. There were large and small pieces of glass everywhere, of course, and I'm still cleaning it up. Then I discovered that my garage door opener's remote worked only about ten feet right in front of the garage door. As you can see in the photos above and below, at least one of my little jewels has been chewing on the antenna -- it used to be about 10" long, and had a decent range. Now it's about 2" long and has almost no range at all!

Little rats! Now, I let them play in the garage only when there's no car in there. Audace has a terrible entitlement problem -- he seems to believe he's entitled to play out there every single time I come home from anywhere!

Kitty Movie Monday - for this week

Last Friday, Ruse was happily playing with one of Kira's bracelets that had been dropped on the floor and forgotten. You can see he is easily distracted! Funny boy!

And here's a link to the short movie I managed to get:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42UVg-K4Wrs (Kira had a cold and stayed with me last Friday, so that's "Blue's Clues" in the background!)

Traveling!

Audace loves to travel. He's our explorer, you know.

Last weekend, we took Audace and Ruse over to the Linehan house, but Ruse didn't enjoy himself. Audace was all over the place and seemed to have a great time. Austen even took him outside for a little while, and while he found that fascinating, he prefers the indoors. Ruse just wanted to go home to his mommy!

A whole week?

Wow, I can't believe it's been a week since I posted last. No new photos either. I need to get that camera in gear! In the meantime, you can see Audace at Kat's Cat of the Day today.

Grace, Audace, and Ruse have re-discovered the garage as a wonderful place to play, now that it's not freezing cold out there. It's hard to keep a car clean when they're all over it, sliding down the windshield, getting kitty-footprints all over everywhere! And those tires ... boy, are they fascinating!

I've traded cars with Anne for the weekdays (lots of child-chauffeuring in a sedan is a tight fit!), and the cats' excitement about playing in the garage has doubled, it seems. Now Anne's car (Windstar minivan) has all the kitty-footprints all over it and in it. One of their favorite places in the garage is IN the car. That's where most of the good smells are -- not to mention whatever the kids don't remove (fries, drinks, etc.). Heavenly play place for kitties!

Valentine's Day II

And here's a MUCH BETTER photo of Grace -- no weirdo camera angle to distort her loveliness! My little Valentine!!

Valentine's Day

Here are Ruse (foreground) and Grace, snoozing in my lap the other evening -- talk about a tight fit! But this is the epitome of loving cats -- snuggling up! I also think these are perfect images for Valentine's day!

Attachment

These guys will snooze on just about any article of clothing of mine. One day a week or so ago, I had thrown my robe on the bathroom counter before taking a shower, but I came back to discover this little scene! Needless to say, I had to use a different robe. Can't disturb the little princes, right?

Robyn Appreciation Day

Robyn, whose cats have their own blog ( House of the (Mostly) Black Cats ), is being honored today! It's Robyn Appreciation Day. You can read all about it at Cat Blogosphere -- the center of the world for news about our all-important little jewels, our little (and big) cats!

We all appreciate you, Robyn -- for your wonderful self, as well as your blog and comments on other people's blogs. Enjoy, enjoy!

Fast little guy!

It's been quite a while since this has happened around here: The other day when I came home, I couldn't find Ruse. Grace and Audace were right in front of me, wanting food, food, food, but no Ruse. Hmph! Where did the little imp get to now?

I finally remembered to look at the top of the kitchen cupboards -- and there he was! I managed to get only one photo of him up there, and then he was so fast about getting down that all I got was his rear end as he jumped from the cupboard to the fridge to the counter to the floor! Little rascal!!

"Widebody Wednesday"

Here's a rather unflattering photo of Grace, but her little face is so beautiful, I just couldn't bring myself to delete it from the camera. Yes, she has gained weight since she came to live her last June, but not as much as this photo indicates!! It's the foreshortening, isn't it, Grace?!! Cameras do such awful things to our images!

No tummies this week!

Audace was playing king of the climbing toy the other day. Ruse finally challenged him, and Grace did her usual watching from elsewhere!

Funny little souls!

KMM -- on our own #2

Here are little movies of our tiny friends as they played with Austen yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEh9Svy4TA4

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0liHeH3hlLY

They all had a wonderful time, and so did I!

UPDATE: Well, I went ahead and posted both of these on the actual Kitty Movie Monday website.

Another game

Audace likes to play "chase the ice cubes" in the water dish. Grace and Ruse will watch, but Audace puts his paw into the water, seeing what those things are that make that snap-crackle-pop noise!

Under-the-table game

Audace, who is fully visible, and Ruse (under the table) love this game, whether it's under the dining table or under a door somewhere. The door doesn't even have to be closed for this game to be fun!

Always entertaining!