October is Coming! AKA: Pumpkinhead

GUESS WHAT OCTOBER IS?????????

October is the month we celebrate all the gatos birthday. Since we don't really know when they were born (they don't have the lineage that Maxine has) we celebrate them in the perfect month for the Black Radishes.

Do you know why?

Because they are the infamous black cats! Do you think they bring bad luck? Ride around on broom sticks? Do you think they eat pumpkin and beg for candy?

In honor of the fact that we are getting ready to ring in the new October, Maxine brings you:

PUMPKIN HEAD.

Rennovation for Cats

We are in the middle of rennovating our bathroom and who knew this would be a perfect time and place for the discovery of a new, easy and cheap cat engagement trick! Our contractors put butcher paper down on the floor to protect it as they come and go. Well, the cats have been wrestling over the new "territory" ever since. Seems they like the feel of the paper and they like having a new boundary to fuss over.

Below I will post a picture of our blown out bathroom. Do not ask the obvious question: where are they showering? It is not a pretty (or aromatic) answer!

Worth the Wait

So it's been awhile. We have been travelling and the Black Radishes have been going loco. I am surprised they have not been arrested for misbehavior and raising a ruckus and, well, general bad behavior all round.

To make it worse, we are now renovating. Did you know something odd about cats? If you close a door, it makes them want access to that room. Even if they never cared about that room before, in this case the bathroom, they do not like being told DO NOT ENTER.

Do not be fooled by the cute picture, these guys are ANIMALS!

Bones 2 Go

Guess what we realized Maxine was today????

A DOG!

She has so many non-doglike behaviors. She doesn't bark. She doesn't like to eat, she is very very picky. She doesn't slob or jump up on people or beg for food or pets. She doesn't tear things up or dig up the yard or steal food from the table. She doesn't like balls and certainly does not even understand a tug toy. In so many ways she is more like a cat!

But today, we tried for the first time to give maxine a BONE. We thought she would disregard it immediately, ignoring it in the way she does so well at the bark park when there is a dog she does not want anything to do with. Instead, she scarfed it down like, well, A DOG!

Tube-u-lar

As a part of the ongoing CAT TREE project, Jimmy purchased a long tube to see if it would interest the cats. Today we busted it out for the first time.

Simone is here approaching the tube, sniffing, wondering what it is all about.

Of course, a moment couldn't go by before Lulu just broke right into smelling the tube too and actually she was the first to walk through the tube.

Maybe we will put carpet on the outside and inside of the tube and see what the cats think of that! Or maybe we will paint it bright colors and roll them around the floor while they are in the tube!

Can you think of any other fun things we can do with the tube?

Covergirl

This morning after I posted the below blog, I looked up and saw Lulu in the bowl of the new tree. She was begging me to pet her, so I snapped a few of these shots. What a little cover girl!

Walk in the park

Maxine got to try a new bark park out this weekend. It is closer to our home and a big open space of green grass. She loved to run through the long lengths of green grass. We put the bright red bandana on her so we could easily spot her from a long distance.

The people at the park were amazed at her speed and strength. She was running and go the whole park mesmerized. There was a group having a picnic and they all had their jaws dropped staring at her run. Guess what she did? She ran right up real fast and stole a piece of chicken right off their picnic table!

This is her afterwards just taking a lazy walk in the green green grass.

Gato Hot Dog

Sometimes the little gatolinos get pretty darn comfortable when they nap . . .

Doesn't she look like a little gato hot dog?

New Cat Tree

Here is the latest cat tree Jimmy and I made this past weekend. It took a lot of work but the cats really seem to like it so it is all worth while.

Jimmy designed it using pipe and boards. The whole thing is set on a wood base with wheels on it. Every platform, including the base, is covered with sisel. Sisel is the scratchy material that cats love to scratch on.

The bowl is the best part - I made a little pillow that sits inside the bowl and it is perfect for sleeping. The whole thing is completely mobile since it is on wheels.

Today we moved it over by the bird window, where the cats love to watch the birds play in the red bird house. Sometimes, watching them puts them fast asleep! Look at little Lulu . . . .

Glad my blog site is back up and running. We have more pictures to post!