3 Cats, 1 Piano

Baskicats

2011-06-18T23:37:00.000-05:00

Since starting this new job I've become much more positive about my upcoming piper payments, but I think I've been neglecting the children. They absolutely hate that I'm gone nearly 12 hours of the day, and to compensate, regularly smother me when I get home. For the few hours I manage to stay awake, I almost always play a few rounds of jingle ball fetch with Siren while Farva and Lucious fight over who sits in my lap and who sits on the arm of the couch right next to me.

I decided to pull this basket out of the closet, just to get a reaction out of the cats. Once they figured out that I wasn't leaving for work, they decided to just ignore me like cats are supposed to do most of the time. I wasn't having it, considering I had enough energy to actually give them the time of day and not fall asleep in 30 minutes. Snapped a few pictures for posterity, plan to rouse them again soon by doing dishes (Lucious almost always comes in the kitchen and meows at me like I'm going to finally cook for him). By the way, what's up with these people that cook for their animals? Why do the animals eat just as well if not better than the owners? That's insane. They're animals!! Do you really think they care about canned food vs. chopped up rotisserie?? Pleeeeease...

Siren is staring at the ceiling. There's nothing there. Lucious is staring at Siren, who was staring at the ceiling, but has now jumped down to investigate the newly-constructed pile of trash that needs to be taken out before she tears it apart. Farva is just walking around smelling things - well, now he's parked about 3 feet away from me, just sitting and looking sleepy. What an exciting Saturday night I'm having. Someday, I will have to board these suckers and actually go do something interesting for a couple weeks. It will happen, especially now that I have this thing called annual leave - I guess it means I get to have days off of work, and I think I still get paid for it! What kind of craziness is that? Certainly not something a piano teacher knows anything about.

Graduation, New Job, Same Cats

2011-05-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

Though it has been far too long since I last posted (yeah, I know it's been longer than 6 months...whatever, life got crazy and I took a tax preparation job to pay the bills), I aim to throw my updated goodness out here anyway. I have successfully graduated, found a new job, and begun to loathe the idea of paying financial institutions back for that hard-spent money they gave me to earn my master's. So, did I land a career in the field of my major? Of course not. Since when does that ever really happen? Haha!

Now, after a PhD is earned, it is almost always guaranteed that you can find a job in your field. Obviously, I don't desire to earn a PhD right away or I wouldn't be working for the state. So, as I continue to quietly dream of one day owning my very own piano studio out of a decent-sized-but-not-over-the-top house, I will pay the piper my dues and continue to research ways to make sure my business plan succeeds when the time for grant and loan applications comes around (I'm thinking 5 years tops).

As for the furry children, they are getting along handsomely with the new cat toys and miscellaneous treats and collapsible furniture I bring home (by collapsible, I mean paper sacks from the grocery store and Avon boxes). May be moving soon, and stairs may be involved. Can't wait to see how that goes down.

And Another One Bites the...

2010-09-23T01:32:00.000-05:00

Semester, not a cat. I don't kill cats for a living, no, I'm not freaky that way. The last time I killed an animal was on the Facebook game Fishville because I can't seem to keep up with anything. At any rate, here I am, checking in again. Once I graduate, I bet I'll be on here all the time, wishing and hoping anxiously for new people to have a gander and increase my page hits. Hah! We'll see how that works out...

So, all 3 cats have made a new home in this cardboard box that I can't get rid of now, though it probably poses a pretty good fire hazard risk, considering it's sitting next to an aquarium with a power strip in front of it...ehh, who cares, though? It's pretty much the highlight of my day (oh, that sounds sad) when all 3 of them fight over who gets to lay in the box and who gets to lay ontop of the box. It's like musical box. One cat goes in, one gets on top, and then mysterious music, obviously inaudible to humans, strikes a chord and off they go. About 5 minutes past cat-fur-in-the-air o'clock, a new seating arrangement is formed. Most of the time, the fat one ends up on the top, probably because he feels claustrophobic when attempting to mush squash his guts to fit in the opening...just kidding, but seriously, he's pretty fat. Do you see any part of the sink bowl in that picture? I didn't think so.

Ciao for now, maybe I'll be back in 6 months--but don't count on it.

So It's Been A While...

2010-04-22T22:09:00.000-05:00

I've been pretty busy with school this past semester, and I apologize for not getting back to this sooner. I'm planning to graduate next semester, so everything non-degree-related has been put on the shelf. Thought I'd check in with a quick update.

We got a new couch (so happy!) and moved all of the furniture around to accommodate the lovely sectional. It's pretty modern, with microfiber cushions on top of a leather base. Let me emphasize that...leather base. Really? Why we bought this particular piece of furniture, we don't remember. Probably because it was affordable and a huge improvement from the prior seating situation: a hand-me-down sectional which had caved in with broken boards that touched the floor. We surely did not think about how much yelling would be in our future. "Yelling?" You ask. Yes, yelling...repeatedly at cats that just don't seem to get the idea of a scratching post. These furballs seem to prefer the couch to the post now, and I'd prefer to get a squirt bottle with a wee bit o' vinegar in it. My vocal chords can't take any more of this screeching!

So...we got Siren fixed. That was an interesting event. I am very thankful for low-income spay and neuter clinics, and I'm happy I went to the one that I did. I overheard some other anxious pet parents talking about how bad this other clinic was, and that these people seemed much more organized. This made me feel much better about subjecting my poor feline to such trauma, as it could have been much worse. Make sure to research your clinics!

Sayonara/Aloha Cat Teeth

2009-11-23T01:52:00.000-06:00

Went away for the weekend. Came home to find the house in the same condition as we left it, but Farva was in a bit of disrepair. My fiance was scratching Farva's chin when he discovered a bump. He has the remains of a small laceration under his chin, the size of which could only be a cat's tooth.

Had Farva been bleeding and/or acting sickly, I wouldn't have given much thought to rushing him to the vet. However, he doesn't seem to be super sensitive about it, and he's been eating, sleeping, etc. like normal. This wound wasn't fresh anyway.

Now, the reason I'm assuming my poor cat has been bitten is because another cat has given me reason. No, not Siren. It's Lucious that has registered in the radar. He's missing a tooth, and has been for at least 3 weeks now.

As an interesting addition, I happened to step on said MIA tooth, which is now FAF (Found After the Fact).

You make the connection. It just makes sense to me.

So...Where's the Piano?

2009-11-07T20:11:00.000-06:00

I realize now that I've neglected a large part of the name of this blog. How's about I fix that?
I used to own this lovely Whitney by Kimball spinnet. This piano got me through my undergrad and half of my master's degree, so I never mind paying some homage to it. Possessing a durable, sturdy structure and reliable intonation with only 3 tunings over the time we spent together, the 42-year-old and I had some great times. Great memories.

As my needs for digital and recording components gradually increased, I realized that I was in need of a digital piano. Being extremely picky, it took me about 5 months to actually decide on something I could live with. Certain requirements had to be met, of which each had their own sub-requirements. With no financial limits it would have taken me, at most, all of 10 minutes to make that decision. I'll discuss reasoning in another post. For those of you out there that have even a small amount of experience in shopping for digital pianos--you know what I'm talking about.

Liter of Cola

2009-11-07T00:18:00.001-06:00

My lovely classic tabby, Farva, has been sneezing a lot. I think he might have allergies, but I can't be too sure, as the sneezes are random and I've tried observing typical triggers for them with no regulars found.

Over these 2 wonderful years of ownership, I've discovered this particularly rather odd posture that Farva sometimes assumes when bathing. After the session of fur cleaning ends, he often stays in this position, which looks much like that of a human in reclined form (take a look at the picture and tell me what you think).

I'm not concerned. I think it's cute, but makes me wonder what influenced him to find this comfortable.

Insta-Purr-O-Maticat

2009-11-03T13:01:00.000-06:00

It's so funny to observe the morning routine...my poor fiance gets up before I do some days, but the cats won't go in the living room until I get up. He complains, "Oh, here they come. Now they want attention."

At this very moment, Siren is staring at me and with no provocation is purring incessantly. Is this a Siamese thing? She has done this since we first brought her home. It's like her purr machine is on autopilot and won't turn off. I remember the first time I picked her up, she just started purring for no reason. It's as if she was happy merely to be given some attention.

Speaking of malfunctioning, she regularly prefers to make biscuits on blankets rather than people (like the other two). I'm getting stereo purring now (she's directly behind my head). She refuses to lay in our laps for more than a few seconds, which I'm going to say is because she's still young, but perhaps it's her breed.

Today's hidden word (look for bold letters) hint: It's a breed of cat (figures, huh?).

The Price is Right is Right.

2009-10-31T20:04:00.000-05:00

I am an advocate of eliminating extra cat production, so of course both of my males have been made cat-eunuchs. While Siren does not know of her ultimate fate, she soon will, as she has finally reached the age of eligibility for removal of some of that crazy.

I'm worried that she won't calm down. Really, seriously worried. I get so worried when I see that crazy look in her eyes that gives me the jitters for all things breakable. The two boys did a great deal of slowing down after their procedures, but Siren's different. My other two are both tabbies, with Lucious being part Maine Coon as well. These traits often yield much less craziness, so I'm definitely not used to other breed mixes.

Any insight into the foreseeable future for my peace of mind (or lack thereof)?

Also, another interesting observation: I've owned female cats before, and from what I can remember, they all yowled when going into that most lovely of heats. None of this has yet happened, and I'm hoping I get her to the vet before that starts in.

How Bout Cats?

2009-10-30T14:54:00.000-05:00

Guess I should introduce the sorry excuses for pets. Just kiddin', furballs. You know I love cleaning up your throw-up and stepping on your jingle balls.

I'll start chronologically from the eldest member of the 3-cat family and go from there:

Cat No. 1: Lucious, Age 3 yrs people-time

As the largest member of the animal troupe, Lucious weighs in at nearly 20 pounds (yeah, I put him on a diet, no he isn't losing weight). No special reason for the name, I just really liked it at the time. Sounded nice, worth a shot. He could've been Mr. Bigglesworth, but I couldn't give him such a people-y name. Having a prefix is far too sophisticated for this fatty.

Interesting habits:
1) When lying on the floor, it is often on his back, exposing a vast desert of white fur on his belly.
2) Our cats drink out of the aquarium, as it is easily the most accessible watering hole in the house with less of a daily need for refills. Lucious refuses to get on his hind legs when drinking from the aquarium, thus creating a choking effect. I'll take a picture next time I get a chance and put it on here.
3) He refuses to take treats from my (or anyone else's) hand. They must be thrown in the floor with enough force so as to make them bounce, after which Lucious will pounce with precision upon the moist snack.
4) He has identity issues. I find him (up to 4 times daily) sitting on the bathroom counter, meowing at his mirrored image.
5) He snores, and at times, that includes while he's awake.

Cat No. 2: Farva, Age 2 1/2 years people time

If you think he was named after the Super Trooper, you are right in your assumption. It was either that or Ramathorn. I almost considered renaming Lucious to make the awesome combo, "Car Ramrod"! Renaming is hard to do, though. I have enough trouble remembering the day of the week, so I decided not to complicate things any further.

Interesting habits:
1) Farva likes to chew on anything plastic, but especially cellophane and plastic bags. I find tidbits in the cat box, which is such a special present.
2) Nearly every night involves Farva making me into his personal cat mountain. When I need to roll over, he adjusts as needed, rather than getting down and laying at the foot of the bed or something.
3) One of my fiancee's friends is Farva's absolute favorite place to lay any time he comes up to visit. He completely bypasses us when his personal human chair is here.

Cat No. 3: Siren, Age 6 months people time

Siren came to us via Craigslist. I got kitten fever and started searching the web for possible additions to the family. Her previous owners were unable to keep her due to their concern for her safety. Their toddler was sort of flinging her around by her arms, so I can see how they might have been worried. Although the youngin' probably would have grown out of that, we couldn't turn down such a cute little fuzzball. She is crazy. Part Siamese, part Demon. Most of her day is spent sleeping, but we try to wake her up any time we're home and notice that loony cat recharging the batteries. She does some jingle ball work as well as pointless running around, but the real assault comes at night

Interesting Habits:
1) I don't know what she does to make it happen, but somehow she gets the boys all riled up and they start fighting with a great deal of vigor. They race around the house and leap and bound over and onto us while we're asleep. It's so not fair.
2) She's our #2 plastic chewer. But, she's not opposed to throwing in the occasional cardboard or other paper product.
3) She talks to us a lot. Sneak attacks happen often alongside a "MAAAH!"

I Finally Committed Myself

2009-10-30T14:45:00.000-05:00

Why not blog a little? I'm sitting here wondering how bills are going to get paid next month, and I'm thinking I should at least explore my options online. Screw it, though. I'll just get on here and do the one thing I told myself I'd never do...blog.

It just sounds so dumb. I never considered myself to be one of "those" people, and now I find myself somewhat interested in the process. It's crazy.