[ June 15th, 2009 at 12:01 pm ]

The other morning I awoke to find my two cats coming at me from both sides, as if they were a pair of lionesses on a hunt, stalking their prey. Twinkie was on my left and Molly was on my right. Instead of going at my jugular vein, however, they sat down next to me on the bed and began to purr.

[ May 26th, 2009 at 10:34 pm ]

I asked Molly if she wanted to sniff the groceries. She did.

[ May 2nd, 2009 at 1:58 pm ]

As I was eating egg salad, Molly, curled up on the top level of the cat tree, opened a single eye to peer at me. When I peered right back, she averted her gaze, feigning disinterest. I know she covets my egg salad.

[ April 22nd, 2009 at 8:09 pm ]

I tested my smoke detector just moments ago, pressing the button and listening for the “all’s well” tone, which it dutifully produced. The tone itself was piercing and shrill. Immediately afterward, I heard a small, plaintive meow from under the bed: Molly. The poor thing, she does not deal well with loud noises. Sneezes, movies with explosions, and drunken street kids in the alley are additional examples of noisy things Molly dislikes.

[ April 15th, 2009 at 2:55 pm ]

Twinkie and I learned a few things at the vet the other day.

1. Cats get acne too! Specifically, older cats apparently sometimes suffer from blackheads. To an untrained eye these may look like scabby sores that never seem to heal. Luckily the problem is much more benign than that. My vet shaved Twinkie’s chin, cleaned up the inflamed area, and gave me some topical zit cream to put on it. Problem solved.
2. If your cat has more earwax in one ear compared to the other, it could be a sign of an ear infection or an injury. In Twinkie’s case it was just earwax.
3. Twinkie may have a thyroid gland condition called hyperthyroidism, common in older cats. (In fact, Mia, the temperamental Siamese cat who was my childhood pet, had a pretty bad case of hyperthyroidism that eventually left her skeletally thin and even more temperamental by the time she died at 18 years old.) Blood tests can highlight a thyroid problem, but other symptoms to look for include an increased appetite and decreased weight, along with more vomiting and random meowing in the middle of the night. Treatment could involve orally medicating the cat for the rest of her life, or alternatively there is some sort of radiation therapy that’s effective. The jury’s still out on whether Twinkie really has a thyroid problem, but I’ll know more in a couple of months.

[ April 7th, 2009 at 10:13 pm ]

Here is the phrase that comes to mind every morning when Molly begs for cheese crumbs as I make my lunch:

Thanks, Hergé!

[ February 16th, 2009 at 1:35 pm ]

After many months of leaving the cat tree territory to Twinkie and Twinkie alone, Molly has moved back in. She prefers the top level, whereas Twinkie prefers the middle level, so it’s not as bad as it could be, I suppose. Still, this new encroachment is causing some strife because Molly loves to reach down from above and bat Twinkie on the ear. Twinkie is actually very tolerant of this behavior; she doesn’t give Molly any satisfaction by getting annoyed or fighting back. She just hunkers down a little more so that Molly can’t reach her. A few minutes ago, however, Molly took it a little too far. As usual, she was leaning down to bat Twinkie, and Twinkie was making herself as flat as possible, which made Molly lean even further down, down, down, until finally she lost her balance and toppled right out of the cat tree, tumbling onto the floor in a whirlwind of fur. She ran away into the bathroom and I haven’t seen her since. Has Molly learned a lesson? Time will tell.

[ December 10th, 2008 at 6:20 pm ]

This morning I gave Molly a science lesson. Here is what I told her:

“Water is the universal solvent. Do you know what that means, Molly? It means water will dissolve almost anything you put in it. Even cats dissolve in water, eventually!”

Molly was nonplussed.

[ December 9th, 2008 at 9:22 pm ]

In memoriam;

Grover, you were the first cat I ever lived with who tolerated and even, sometimes, appreciated my company. I have thought you and your stick legs poking into my chest frequently over the years.

Grover, you will be missed.

Twinkie and Molly, please don’t ever die.

[ December 3rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm ]

This morning I found the most amazing hairball. It was dense and small and it sat on the welcome mat just inside my front door. The hairball was exactly the same size and shape as a jellybean — much like a large pill, but even I could have swallowed it (or coughed it up) with little trouble. Normally my cats’ hairballs are much larger, say the size of a baby carrot or a piece of salt water taffy. The great mystery, of course: Whose hairball was this? Being gray in color, I surmise it was the handiwork of Twinkie, who doubtless spent days perfecting it. Perhaps it was a little gift from her to me. I did not express gratitude, exactly, but I did exclaim at the hairball’s pleasing dimensions.