Read to Me

One of the things mom did a lot last year, was read. I love it when she reads. I get lap time.

I don't even mind that she balances her book on me while she reads. It's all about being in mom's lap. Sometimes, she reads out loud from the book she's reading. I don't get what she's talking about, but she gives nice ear scritches when she's reading.

She does complain that I get cat furs all over.

Pffft. Every book should have cat fur in it. It adds to the value.

Love,

Pilchard

Moooo-ooom! He's on My Side of the House

I know you haven't heard from us in awhile. Life's been kind of chaotic. Mom worked a lot and she didn't have a lot of free time, nor, she said, inspiration for writing. I don't understand that. I should be all the inspiration she needs.

Things changed in the summer in a big way. Mom left Mija and I to take a "vay-kay-shun", whatever that is. We just know that this guy came over and fed us every day. He's okay. He knows how to open cans.

When she came back, she brought something with her.

His name is "Hamlet". He's little, or he was back in July. She said a friend of hers found him in a drain pipe trying to stay above water. That friend couldn't find him a home so mom said he could come live with us. Did she ask us? No. She said he rode back from Virginia under the front passenger seat of the car.

Well, I'm not sure about this. I try to have my own space but he finds me.

He has so much energy and a dignified lady like myself, just wants to amble through the house, sit on mom's lap and NOT be chased. I like to sit in the sunshine. I'm not interested in sharing it.

It seems Mija and I don't have veto power over whether he lives here so I guess we have to get used to this. Harumph.

(Mom's note:  Don't let her fool you. This was last week.

For all her haughtiness, Pilchard has gotten used to Hamlet faster than Mija has. I keep trying to get a video of the two of them playing, but she's wise to the sound of the camera. Mija still complains but Pilchard goes out of her way to find him when she wants a wrestle. The best part, having a kitten in the house has improved the health of both of them. They were a bit on the chunky side, but are now down to optimum weight, thanks to playing chase. He's also a love bug and they have noticed. I get both of them in my lap at night when I get home from work. Pilchard taught him about the camera. He knows it and ceases to be cute when I point it at him. Darned cats.)

Love,

Pilchard

Decisions Decisions

I fervently wish, sometimes, that my life could be as simple as Pilchard's. Oh to have my only life decision be which box shall I sit in today.

We got quite a few items in boxes over Christmas. She had quite the choice. Eventually, this one became her favorite.

I think it's because it is perfectly Pilchard-sized. I've since recycled most of the other boxes because I kind of need floor space...for more boxes.

Love,

Pilchard's mom

On the Deck

These are the days mom likes. They are warm and sunny. If she likes them, that means the window in the office is open and I can go outside.

Because mom's college football team isn't always on TV, she will sit at her computer and listen to it. The deck railing is level with the window so it's easy for me to step outside in the warm air and sunshine. I decided to see what was in this pot on the railing.

The plants have died for the season because we had a frost. I see squirrels digging in here, but I don't see what they are digging for.

I walk back and forth, from the window to the edge.

Or, I lie down on the ledge. It's perfectly Pilchard-sized.

Mom likes taking my photo in the sunshine because she says it shows that black cats have all sorts of colors in their fur.

I don't know about colors. I just know that the sunshine feels really good.

Mom says I can stay outside so long as I don't leave the deck railing. She leaves the back door open and I'll jump down and come inside when I get too warm. Most of the time, I just sit and look. There are birds in the sky and I can hear squirrels yelling at me.

Pretty soon, mom says, she won't be able to open the windows and we'll get this stuff called "snow". I think I remember that. It makes this white stuff on the deck that's cold when I walk on it.

I like these warm weekend days like mom does.

Love,

Pilchard

A Week With Pilchard

Ugh. Mom and her flashy box. She had the "bright" idea to take a photo a day and show you how life is for me. She will tell me that in her "next life", whatever that is, she's coming back as a housecat.

A week ago Sunday, mom did laundry. She brings it upstairs and dumps it in the middle of the bed.

There's usually enough for both Mija and I to make nests for sleeping.

On Monday, we start a week of mom going to work. She gets up and wanders into the kitchen. I race ahead and hop up onto the footstool.

From here, I can see the kitchen and mom's attempts at breakfast. Plus, I can remind her not to leave the house without ear scratches and treats.

Mija and I go back to mom's bed where we spend the day while she's working. When she comes home, Mija hops down and goes to greet mom. I wait. Here's where I was on Tuesday.

I know she'll come back here to find me. This is my spot.

Wednesday morning, mom made frozen waffles and sat down to read and eat her waffles before getting dressed for work. I decided some supervision was in order.

Waffles are not as good as treats. Maple syrup makes my fur sticky. How do humans eat that stuff?

On Thursday evening, there was a nice breeze coming in through the window. We've had a lot of birds in the trees outside the window so I like to watch them.

Mom had to leave early in the morning on Friday. She said she spent a lot of time in the car. I don't like to go anywhere in the car so I don't know how she can spend all day with that thing. When she came home, she gave us extra treats because she was gone for a long time.

With the change of seasons, mom gets noisier on Saturdays. She will, sometimes, watch this stuff called "football" on TV. I can sit in her lap except she gets very excited when her team scores something called a "touchdown". Mom will cheer and try to jump up so lying in her lap is useless. I go to the back of the recliner.

She calls me her "Hawkeye cat". I don't know what that means but I do know this blanket is so soft and I like to lie on it. I just wish mom wasn't so noisy.

On Sunday, it was combing time.

I had a nasty hairball last week. It scared me so much that I stepped in it. That meant I had to get my feet washed which was most unpleasant. I got shut in the bathroom while we cleaned my toes. Then I ran under the bed while mom cleaned up the mess in the hall. I was so embarrassed. She combs me about once a week, but said that probably wasn't enough so I have been combed every 2-3 days. She keeps telling me how pretty I am and, actually, rubbing my chin on the comb does feel nice.

So, that's my week. What's your week like?

Love,

Pilchard

Look Mom!

As summer winds down, I find bugs tend to come into the house more. Such was the case last month. I was in my home office and I heard the girls racing around the living room. Then, I heard the distinctive sound of a cat with prey. Oh dear. What, on earth, could they have now.

That's a very large grasshopper. I have no idea how it got into the house, but Pilchard had it cornered, so to speak.

I tried to catch it to toss it outside, not because I didn't want them eating it, but because I didn't want them colliding with something, knocking something over, or getting hurt while chasing it. But, it vaulted away from me and I lost it. Never did find it or any pieces.

We have moths coming in now and I try to catch those and toss them outside for the same reason as mentioned above. It gives them exercise to chase moths, but they don't always watch where they are jumping.

Happy end of summer buggy days to you.

Pilchard's mom

Summer Life

It's been a rough month for mom. She got sick on the 2nd and is only now getting back into life. She didn't do a whole lot around the house even though she's been on a cleaning kick since reading a book about tidying up your life. It gets kind of scary when she's determined to clean. Is she going to clean us, too?

At the end of July, she finished the last drawer in her dresser. I had to examine the space, you know.

It was perfectly Pilchard sized.

Mom left the drawer open so I could sleep there, if I wanted. Of course, if she's going to take my picture, I don't want to sleep there.

Then, she cleaned out some boxes which she gave to me to examine.

UGH! This is half a size too small. I simply can't lie down in it.

But most of this month has been giving mom cat scans.

She plops down into the recliner, puts up her feet and I join her. She says a purring cat makes being sick not quite so yucky. Just doin' ma job here.

Love,

Pilchard

On second thought, maybe this box isn't so bad. I figured it out overnight.

I Fail to See a Problem Here

Ah the joys of summer. I like to stretch out on mom's bed.

Mom, pretty much, lets me lie wherever I want, except when she goes to sleep at night. Then my sister and I have to make room for her. /sigh

Last weekend, mom got a new washer. All this new noise in the house and banging and voices we didn't know made us hide. When we came out of hiding, my sister and I went to mom's bed. It's a comforting place to be. Mom wanted to take a nap after she did laundry with her new washer.

HA! She just threw up her hands and wound up taking a nap in the recliner in the living room. I fail to see what the problem is. I have my spot and Mija has hers. Mom has other places she can nap.

Love,

Pilchard

Summer

It's summer! After a rather chilly end to spring where mom had to put the heat on a couple of times at the end of May and the beginning of June, she can finally open the windows so we can have breezes.

I like the cool night breezes on the fur and mom sits to the right where she can give me scritches. She has this all nice and set up for me. Sometimes, I see animals of the night come up onto the deck, but most of the time, I just get to snooze in the night air.

But, with summer come thunderstorms. I don't like thunderstorms. They scare me. This year, most of the ones we've had have occurred when mom's been home and I can hide near her. I don't care what she says, they are big and scary.

When we get that flash of light and the boom of thunder, I sometimes go behind the recliner. Mom recognized that I feel safe back there so she put a blanket down for me.

She doesn't try to get me to move. She just lets me stay. I feel safe here and I brought one of my mouse toys back there, too, for comfort.

We had a bit of water in the basement so mom's been cleaning down there. I went down today and she has a fan going, which I don't like so I won't hide down there when there's a storm about. Do you have a special place you go when there's thunder or do you like to watch the storms?

Stay safe in the heat and the heavy rains.

Pilchard

I Know That Face

It's a gray Monday in Chicagoland. It's been gray and drizzly for days now. Every time I think I can go mow my lawn, it rains. We needed the rain here, but now, not so much. The gray is getting to the house panther. She "yelled" at me to get out of bed a full 30 minutes BEFORE the alarm went off. I have no idea why, either. The food and water dishes were full and I cleaned the litter box Sunday afternoon. So, we're all grumpy.

At work, one of my company's web sites is not working. Equipment is not working. People aren't returning calls so we can plan out the next two days. Matt and Tara have monopolized the microwave so I can't reheat my lunch. And then, a news story comes across my Facebook feed. Wait...I know this face.

Was it here or from another of the cat blogs I frequent that I stumbled upon the Facebook offer from the artist who runs One Drawing Daily? You just need to like and share his post on Facebook and then send him a photo and you could see your pet's face as a drawing. Of course I had to send in my house panther's face.

What would he do with a long-haired black cat? I think the result is wonderful. In another month, I need to remember to send in a photo of Pilchard's sister, Mija. A tortoiseshell should be easy, right?

So, if you are on Facebook, hit up his page. Send in your house panther's photo. It might be your regal feline's image he draws next.

Love,

Pilchard's mom

Morning

So mornings are better now that the sun comes in the window and lands on my scratching post. Mom stumbles out of bed and I race her to the living room, climbing up to watch her come into the room.

Ugh! She's got that flashy box. Well, I'm just going to turn around then.

Mom goes to get her cereal and I just sit and wait. Does she still have that box? I can give her a cold shoulder, but I don't want to go too far, like moving. The sunshine feels really nice on my fur.

Mom likes to run her hands over my fur when I'm sitting here.

Oh hi. Are you done taking photos, mom? I guess the flashy part didn't go off in my face. I like that. Is it time for you to go to work? Okay, I'll go sleep on your bed then and wait for you to come home.

Love

Pilchard

Spring

It's finally spring here. Mom washed the inside of some of the windows and then threw them open to let the breeze go through the house. A couple she washed were in her office. I like the smell of spring breezes. An open window was so irresistible.

Mom couldn't see me at first because of the way the windows are divided. She got a little worried I'd jumped off the deck. I'm not allowed to do that. No mom. I'm right here.

There are so many smells. I'm just checking things out. Are you going to come out and wash the outside of the windows so I can really see out when I sit by the window?

I explored the deck railing just a bit farther from the house.

Mom said this was as far as I could go. Actually, this is fine with me. There can be some loud noises, like the motorcycle of the guy who lives next door, that scare me. Mom gave me a combing today too, to help get rid of my winter coat and the breeze through my fur was really nice.

After awhile, though, I'd rather be closer to mom so I can have ear scratches, so I came inside.

She said the window will stay open unless it gets too chilly for her so I'm welcome to stay here all day. My sister isn't interested in going out on the deck. She would rather sleep in the chair on the other side of mom.

Hooray for spring! How is it by you?

Love,

Pilchard

Home

Mom's been gone, a lot, lately. First, she went to the wedding of those two people who came to visit us back in December, Carole and Larry. Carole is her daughter. When mom is gone, usually her friend, Pam, comes to check up on us. Mija and I know Pam. We will come say, "Hi" or, at the very least, not run and hide when Pam comes over. Mija likes to follow Pam around, telling her about her day. Me? Well, I'm more of a supervisory cat. I watch and only let Pam know when she's done something not the way mom would or when mom is "late" in coming back to us.

Then, last weekend, mom was gone for 2 days because her mom celebrated her 80th birthday. This lady came to stay with us for a couple of days before they went to the wedding. We weren't real sure about her when she stayed with us, although she did give some okay ear skritches. Pam couldn't check up on us so this guy named "Rob" came by. We aren't used to him, yet, so both of us hid. He always talks to us when he's in the house, telling us what he's doing, but we miss mom.

Add to these trips is the fact that mom is working some long hours and these hours involve driving places where she's gone all day and then some. She has to get up way before her usual time and then comes home later than usual. So, everything is out of kilter at our house.

Yesterday, she left at 7:30 and didn't get back until 7:30. She says it's just until work ceases to be crazy, but we miss her. She decided, when she got home, that checking her emails could wait. She plopped down in the recliner and did counted cross-stitch. I hopped up next to her.

Usually, I sleep in her lap, but she was stitching and I decided that was annoying. Mom says that my belly is irresistible when I'm lying next to her. I let her rub my belly for awhile. I even let her take my photo because I could keep my eyes closed.

After awhile, I moved because mom kept running her hands through my fur. How can a lady get any beauty sleep when you humans keep petting us?

Then, this morning, as mom was getting ready for work, there was thunder and lightning. I don't like those. I have a hiding place to watch.

Mom gave me my morning treats here and promised she'd be home later, at her usual time, and we'd have lap time. She says she can't promise she won't have to travel for work but says she won't be going away for a couple of months. That's good. I miss lap time.

Love,

Pilchard

Spring Is Coming

This past weekend was wonderfully warm. Mom kept trying to get us to come outside, but she should know by now that Mija and I just don't care for the out of doors, even if she's standing on the deck with the door open. So, she gave up, but she decided the house needed to be aired out, and she opened a window.

I hopped up onto the shelf and stuck my face in the warm breeze. WOW. You could smell a change in the weather. Mom didn't open the window far enough that I could be tempted to go out on the sill. I could just sit in the sunshine and the warm breeze.

After giving the air a lot of sniffs, I sat down to bask in the sunshine. Man was that nice. It's been so cold that I got kind of hot sitting here. Mom went into the living room to do some cross-stitch and I followed her, after a bit.

I decided that even with all the sunshine, sitting on the cat tree watching mom was the best place to be.

Hope spring is coming where you are.

Love,

Pilchard

Mom Went Shopping

So Mom went shopping on Saturday. This means she leaves us on a day when she's usually home. It's so confusing when she does that. She came back with a bunch of bags. They make somewhat scary noises when she brings them inside.

In one of the bags, she got a pair of new shoes.

Meh, okay. Shoes are shoes. I guess the humans have to wear these. The best part of these shoes things was...they came in a box! 

It's the perfect size. See?

Mom was kind of irritated. "I have a big box for you, 2 scratching pads, a circular pad, 2 catnip infused paper bags and the only place you want to sleep is in the shoe box." Well, duh.

She took my picture with the price tag on the box.

She says $39.99 is too cheap for me. She says I'm priceless.

Love,

Pilchard