A surprise for the cats

I was at Trader Joe's doing some food shopping when I spotted this card board cat scratcher. I usually get Bosco and Mr. Binx a new scratcher every couple of months. They are big fans, especially Bosco.

I got the double wide since Bosco is not a small cat (17lbs!!!)

Bosco wasted no time testing out the new scratcher.

I was trying to be sneaky and take pictures but I was caught.

Testing continues. 

Mr. Binx gets in on the action too. Bosco thinks the scratcher is his. He's always sitting or sleeping on it and Mr. Binx will get in a quick scratch when he can. I keep telling Bosco to share but due to him being a cat he ignores me.

Stick your face in things

Sorry, I really have no better title for this blog post.

I'm currently typing this while Mr. Binx sticks his face in the air conditioner and then jumps back when he realizes that there's something blowing out of there. He then tries again about 30 seconds later. You'd think he'd learn but then again if he could learn he'd be doing my laundry by now.

I was starting to think how this reminded me of my brother. When he was a baby my mom would put out the sprinkler and I would jump through it while my brother would sit there and let it spray him in the face. He'd look surprised for a moment and then do it again. Baby Chinese water torture, except he liked it. There are pictures to prove this. Maybe I should get him a sprinkler for Christmas.

Sticking your face in things is not a summer time event though. When I was a kid I would convince my friends that we should stick our faces in the snow and see who could last the longest. This was not a fun game. Once I figured this out I decided I would be the referee and make sure no one cheated. On a ski trip to Vermont I remembered this game and convinced Nate, Jackie and Dave to do this. Uncle Scott came out and asked me what was going on. I calmly replied that they were sticking their faces in the snow and I was making sure no one cheated. He shook his head and walked back into the house.

I'm thinking people like to stick their faces in things around me. I'd like to have a better persuasion power but you take what you can get.

Cat voicemails

Sorry if I got you all excited with that title thinking that I trained my cats to leave voicemails. If that was the case I would be rich and rolling around in catnip with the kitties.

My mother left me a voicemail about her cat, Mr. Binx. The star of the sink video. For those of you who don't know, although Mr. Binx lives with me he is my mother's cat. He beats up my mom's boyfriend's dog so I took him in so that my mother could move in with her boyfriend. She still pays his vet bill and gives me food and litter. She is still the mom. After seeing the video she left me a voicemail.

"Hi Ginny. I saw the video of Mr. Binx drinking from the sink, it's really cute. I just wanted to let you know that he likes the water to be run slower so he can drink it with out being splashed. Just thought I'd let you know. Ok, bye."

I don't really have much else to say except that I stared at my phone for a second and started cracking up. This is a typical voicemail from my mom. I informed Mr. Binx that I would run the water slower for him.

Why I can't use my sink

I try to take myself seriously but the cat won't let me

Sometimes I think I should be a more serious blogger. Give you some life advice, (try not to eat too many french fries) or blogging advice, (Drink wine from a box and be yourself). But I have a serious problem. I sit at my computer ready to share my brilliant mind with the world and then this happens.

"Oh cool you're trying to type..."

"Can I see what you're typing?"

"Blogging about boxed wine and falling asleep on people....."

"Lady this is crap! I better sit here on your keyboard and supervise."

It's always fun when your cats wake you up chasing a mouse

I woke up around midnight to shuffling in the corner of my studio. I had fallen asleep with the tv on so I could see both cats in the corner doing something. It's no good when the cats are doing "something" in the corner. It's like two kids that just found matches. I sit up to get a better look and that's when I see something tiny go running across the floor with both cats taking off after it.

A fucking mouse.

I immediately yell to Bosco "Don't touch it! You just got over tape worm!" Bosco ignores me and comes to a sliding stop around the area where the mouse ran to. Mr. Binx is sitting right near him. I throw off my blankets and turn on the light. I get down on my hands and knees trying to see if I can find the mouse. I don't have a plan. It's not like I can catch it but I feel like when you see a mouse you at least look for it. The mouse is no where to be found.

Now I'm freaking out because I don't want Bosco to eat another flea from a mouse and get a tape worm again. My other thought is - has he eaten a mouse before? How else would he ingest a mouse flea? I mean good job for being super mouser cat but I'd prefer that he not get tape worm again.

I'm hoping that the cats are scaring the mice away. Bosco can spot a bug a mile away. Anything moving (or not moving) that is alive he will attempt to get it. If I hadn't stepped in I'm sure Bosco would have killed the mouse. I would have let him except that I don't want him to get a tape worm again from a damn mouse flea.

I haven't seen any signs of mice. No mouse poop on any of the counters, floor or shelves in the kitchen. No holes in cereal boxes. I know the signs because I've lived through a mouse infestation before. I don't hate mice. I use to have pet mice. But I don't want them in my apartment.

Apparently mice don't like the smell of peppermint. Maybe I should buy some old candy canes left over from Christmas and hide them around my apartment. Or even better, get the cats to eat candy canes so when they open their mouths they have fresh breath and keep the mice away.

So mouse. Go tell all your mouse friends "There are two cats there guys. One has the eyes of a hawk and is really large. The other one is smaller but a good backup. There also seems to be a candy cane infestation. Let's find another human to terrorize."

Cats are not cheap and they don't care.

Bosco had his dental surgery yesterday. My vet called me when he was through and said he did well and explained what he did. He cleaned his teeth and had to pull four of them. Oh and he has a tape worm! I knew it. I told him to check for worms because I googled his symptoms and everything pointed to a tape worm. Apparently he somehow somewhere ate a flea. He doesn't have fleas but he ingested one and got a tape worm. Both cats do not go outside but there are dogs in my building and I have let them out in the hall outside my door as a little adventure. He also could have ingested a flea from a mouse. I haven't seen a mouse but this is an old building.

The total cost of this vet trip: $1,350.00. Just typing that out makes me want to vomit.

I had a good cry after I got off the phone with the vet because that's what I do when I get really angry or really sad or really happy. I can totally relate to Kristen Bell on that. Just when I think I'm getting back on my feet something comes along that empties my bank account. I know I'm not the only one this happens to but this is my blog so woe is meeeeeeeee!!! My mother has offered to pay for the hotel room when we go to visit my brother and baby Hunter which is really nice of her. I just need to scrape up money for the plane ticket.

I need to list a few things that are good right now so I don't flip out.

• the guy at the corner store being super nice.
• the giant bag of Reese's Pieces I bought.
• the cats don't have fleas.
• it's super nice out yesterday.

Also, cute vet kitty. My vet has two cats that live in the office. They just hang out in their little beds and kitty towers or right on the front desk.

 Hey! I'm trying to write a check here fluffers.

Bosco is doing good. He's was sleepy when he got back. The vet tech said he was the sweetest cat and when they put him on a little blanket when he was waking up he started being all cute and kneading it with his paws.

Look at all the meds I have for him! Ugh, crazy. The vet expects me to force pills down his throat multiple times a day. My mom told me to wet the meds and then mush it in with food. The medicine for the tape worm must be gross because both cats would not touch it in their food so I had to hold them down and make them take it which was awful. Luckily that is done until two weeks when they need it again. The other pill that I can't sprinkle in food I crushed up and hid in deli turkey. Bosco ate it up no problem. I also have to squirt pain meds in his mouth. After he takes it he looks nuts. His eyes get all huge and he stares off into space. It's really funny.

No if only I could get a medicine for wallet pain?

Ok after this, I will stop talking about cats so much, I swear.

Fashion cats for my birthday.

Fashion cats all up in this blog! This would be my birthday present from some of my fav bloggers. They know me too well.

Mr. Binx and Bosco read Fashion Cats. I told them to pick out outfits but they don't seem to be interested in kitty couture.

The best part of Fashion Cats is not the photos of cats in kitty clothing, it's the introduction of the book. It reads like an interview with the creative mind behind Fashion Cats.

From this "interview" we learn that the creator of fashion cats hears voices in her head but it's just God telling her to "do something". That "do something" is to make clothes for cats. I really wish God  would tell me what my calling is. If it's goldfish clothing I'll do it!

The only opinions she listens to is that of fortune-tellers and people with mystical powers. I prefer wizards myself but to each their own. Dumbledore and Gandalf know what's up. If I was going to seek advice from anyone it would be them.

I was going to do a vlog but my good webcam is not syncing up and by that I mean the picture and the sound does not match. I have a built in webcam but the picture quality is horrible. Maybe I'll do it anyways.

I'm so pumped for my birthday party tonight.

I'm 28 or a million whateverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

p.s. Thank you Ally for my postcard! I hope to visit Gay Street someday. If you would like to send me a postcard for my postcard wall email me ginnyissassy@gmail.com

I ate the world's supply of kettle corn.

You probably think I give Bosco special treatment because I post more pictures of him on my blog. This is not the case. It's just really hard to get a picture of Mr. Binx. The minute I point my camera or phone at him he gets all excited and tries to climb up on me or rub on the camera. I got him last night though.

Bloggin and nails. That was my super exciting Saturday night. 

Family portrait. Bosco in his favorite spot - my lap.

I finally got my popcorn. I am a popcorn addict. I probably eat about four bags a week. I use to eat kettle corn but I can't find it anywhere. I tried the non-microwave kettle corn but it's not the same. I think I might have eaten the world's supply of microwavable kettle corn. Sorry about that.

Today is Dave's birthday! He thinks he's old. Ancient at 24. We're celebrating next weekend along with my birthday where I pretend I'm turning 27 again.

I watched both Alien and Aliens this weekend and my DVD player is working again. I was having issues with discs skipping and freezing. I was going to say screw it and buy a new one but I decided to try blowing in it as a last ditch effort. I mean it worked with Nintendo right? So I blew inside the DVD player and it's totally fine now. Weird. If only blowing in something would always work.

How to get your cat to give himself a bath in the tub

Mr. Binx comes into the bathroom the second I run the water for the shower. He sits and waits for me to finish and the second I turn the water off he meows and jumps into the tub. After a few minutes of tub licking comes bath time in the tub. It's really quite convenient when your cat does his own bath time and cleans your tub for you.

Mr. Binx says hello.

Isn't he handsome.

I've been playing around with the ShakeItPhoto app.  It's my new favorite app!  You even have to shake your phone like you would an actual Polaroid picture.  I'll be testing it out the rest of the weekend.  Thank you Mr. Binx for being my furry test subject.

Why I get no sleep