Football, Fireplace, Fall

Wowzers! Yesterday we had a big storm here in Sammamish. BIG STORM. We did NOT know what was happening.  The wind roared through here, but we were beyond brave. Beyond. Those big trees swaying didn't scare us at all. In fact, we were fascinated.

 

Here is Zuzu looking at the trees.

 

 

Of course, India was looking, too. But she gets bored pretty quickly and then goes to her usual spot in front of the fire place.

She always has her toes curled like that!

 

So we were pretty tired anyway from all the excitement- we'd never seen candles and flashlights. Last night the power came on again, so things rapidly went back to normal.

 

Today is football- which means everyone is near the television.  But we take some time to relax and play like regular cats. We love that packing paper that mom keeps on the floor for us, She even vacuums around it and cleans it up a bit. Here is a little 3 minute video you can enjoy (because we know you enjoy us!) to show how we use it.

 



 

 

 

Well, it looks like it will be dark at 4:30 today. So we'll be in front of the fire!

 

 



We play!

We are indoor kitties. Why? Well, we won't walk on a leash, that's why. That adorable little Wylla Stout Cinotto Miller over at theittybittykittycommittee.com  walks on a leash. Sits on shoulders. Looks at the world. But not us. In our neighborhood, there are bobcats (we've SEEN them!), bears, coyotes (the worst for us), and very predatory eagles. None of those animals seem very afraid of humans so we are pretty sure that we wouldn't last long out there.

So how do we cope with all those instincts to hunt that we have?
Well, first, we have one another. We get along great. There is NEVER any hissing.
There is only one documented case of a growl- that's all YOU, Zoubisou. India didn't want your turkey meat, she just wanted to smell it.


We chase one another all over the house. We learned to play tag from our human mom, because she thinks it is fun  to hide, then chase us, then run from us- we got the picture on how to play that game really fast. It is so much fun. She doesn't cooperate all the time, so we tag one another instead.

We have our cat trees- one is kind of crummy and one is very fancy. But we don't really think about that much. We like them both.

We like DaBird, and the toy like it that has a bug on the end. We like the feather wands that sound like birds. 
But what makes our day is the scrunched up packing paper that comes in amazon and petco boxes. Mom saves every piece of it, twists it into a snake, then piles it up. We have so much FUN in there- we hide our toys, jump one another, sleep, sit in the middle, and Zoubi even spends hours trying to untangle it and flatten it with her paws. She's pretty good at that!

Sometimes our sweet cat sitter, Sophia, comes to play. We love her. It makes it easy for us to stay home alone.

Well, that's a little insight into how we will spend this winter without all the animal life that we see the rest of the year.

Zoubisou (formerly Zelda Lamm)

Hi! I'm Zoubisou.


Yep, that's me as a baby kitten. I'm not like India Rose. She's a great big sister and all. In fact, she is the best big sister. But you see, I have a LOT of Siamese in me. I don't have the loud meow- my meow is very tiny. But I do have a very BIG personality. I'm friendly. I love to meet new people and see new things. I love to prance around and watch what everyone is doing. I'm not afraid of company either. You might wonder why that is. Unlike India, I had a fantastic start- sort of. Yeah, I was an orphan, too. But it ends there. I was brought to the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County in Washington. They called Laurie, the foster mom for The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. Laurie is a wonderful foster mom to many kittens. She names all of her foster kittens with fun names and my litter was named the Lamms. Yep- kittens called Lamms. Funny.  Anyhoo, I was there with my siblings named Baxter, Edna and Edison. We were VERY popular on Laurie's website. VERY popular. So I am very documented. Not many foster kitties get that sort of attention, and I am very proud of it. You can go to the website and look me up- Zelda Lamm was my name. I must say, I was stunningly adorable.
(www.theittybittykittycommittee.com)

My story is sort of short because my Mom and Dad picked me out of the Lamm lineup and asked Laurie if they could have me. At first, someone else had wanted me. But something happened and I didn't have to go with them.  So Mom and Dad visited Laurie in something called a "meet and greet". I had no idea this was some important meeting- I'd only been on the planet for about 6 weeks, so what did I know? I could barely stay awake. My Mom couldn't hold back the tears (she must cry around kittens a bunch or something is wrong with her) when she saw me sleeping on top of my brother, Baxter. See, she has a special love for anything Meezer, too, since her best friend cat was a meezer for 21 years, and she even had a second one for 18 years.  I have white paws because there is a Birman in my lineage. That is the part of me that is very sweet. The Meezer part makes me VERY smart and determined.  My Mom could see I was a sharp cookie. My Dad was worried because I didn't purr when he held me. My Mom pointed out that I weighed about 1 pound and he weighed about 225 pounds- so I was probably a little worried that he might eat me. Don't worry, I purred A LOT (and still do) once I got home.  After I got some little surgery to my girl parts (I don't know why), I got a yellow tag to wear and I went to my new home.

Me with my yellow tag

 

I was so looking forward to my new home. I couldn't WAIT! I didn't make a peep I was so excited.

When we got to Sammamish (haha-another funny name!), I was put in a special room so I could get used to my sister. No one told ME about a sister, but she was young, too. Her name is India and she has about 4 months on me. So she was still kind of young, herself. But she looked REALLY big to me.

I learned a lot from India- still do. I imitate everything she does. I want to hug her a lot, but she isn't much of a hugger. She lets me lick her once in a while. She has great manners.

We play like maniacs. I love to chase her around. I don't know if she is like a cat Mom to me, but she is really a great sister.
I try to be nice, but sometimes, I really would like to take over where she is.

 

You can probably see that she is tolerating me. She is like that. If I want something, she pretty much lets me have it. But now I have learned that it is okay if India gets to play. I won't try to take her toy away any more. See? I am learning to be a sweet sister kitty. But boy, it is hard.

I am one of those kitties that likes to fetch. I fetch a LOT. If I have missed my Mom, I really do miss her, I will search the house for a suitable toy I think she might like, and I will drop it on her laptop. She still hasn't figured out if I am GIVING it to her as a gift, or if I want her to throw it so I can fetch it again. Sometimes, I'm not sure myself. My favorite toy is the milk carton pop cap. I loooooove that! I hide them under my cat tree- I have a teensy selfish streak, I am sad to say. This is a picture of my stash that my Dad found when he went looking for all the pop caps I took. I've switched to stuffing them under the closet doors. You might notice I hid a few other things in there- I don't know what got over me!

I get a lot of questions about my name. It is from a French song from the 1960s that Mom and Dad heard on Mad Men. My Dad thought it was a great name. Sometimes I am called Zoubi and sometimes I am called ZuZu. Mostly it is Zuuuuuuuuu. I don't care much. I don't come to anything. Unless it is India. If India meows, I'm all over it.

What do I like (love)? I like everything! Oh wait, I do NOT like the vacuum. India seems fine with it though. Don't know what that's about. I would like to give a shout out to turkey meat and toys on sticks and sparkle balls. I LOVE sleeping with my Dad- he is like a big sofa. Every night I climb on his stomach and get in my "flying cat" position so I can get as close to him as possible. Then I go to sleep for hours. He's the best!

What do I hate? See the above thing about the vacuum cleaner. I'm not a fan of nail clippers, but I'll do it.

If you asked my Mom what I am like, she would say "Zoubi is adorable- a big bundle of friendly energy in a fur coat". Thanks, Mom! I feel lucky, too.

India Rose, formerly known as "Patches"

I am India Rose. My story began in Adams County. Somehow, someway, I was left by my mom. Don't know how- and I am SURE she wouldn't have left me voluntarily. Cats are pretty good moms- better than some people. They don't do drugs, get drunk, let boyfriends kitten sit while the mom hunts- you get the picture.  It was very, very cold. Below freezing, in fact. And the enemy of tiny kittens everywhere is getting cold. And I was VERY cold. So, I crawled up into the first car engine I could find. My new mom has told me several times that  most kitten stories would end right there. But I'm a clever girl, and somehow, someway, I didn't burn or get hurt by the engine. Unfortunately, I was stuck. The car driver went all the way (9 miles) to Walmart and went in to work. When she (my rescuer, Miss Sunny) came out, luckily she heard a teensy meow coming from the engine. Her friend came out to help her get me out of the engine and Sunny took me home. I don't like to sound ungrateful, but there were about 8 (I was too little to count) other cats at her house. I was scared, but I became a big fan of Miss Sunny's because she kept me warm and happy. I was sick, though. I had giardia, ear mites, an eye infection - but hey, I had a person loving me.  Sunny couldn't keep me though, so through the local pet rescue, she put my kitten self on that petfinder site. 

India as "Patches" on petfinder

 







Cute, eh?
My Mom and Dad had lost their little calico about 6 months earlier. She had a lymphoma and was 17. They were SO SAD- too sad to even get another kitten then. But my Mom says that it was as if they knew they were waiting for ME!! So very true. 
When my Mom saw my kitten self on Petfinder, she started to cry because she just KNEW I was her kitten. My Mom was an orphan for SIX MONTHS when she was born, and she felt that I, being an orphan, was just the cat for her.  My Dad was so excited that my Mom wanted another kitty that he said ""Let's DO IT!", and they immediately begged to have me. They filled out the long application and put the above charming photo all around their house to show I would have everything and be very loved. That picture was really one of my Mom holding my picture and hugging it. They were very nervous that it wouldn't work but they liked my Mom so much that they gave me to them!

There was, however, a problem. I was 4 hours away. And the rescue wouldn't let them come pick me up. That was a BAD decision. I was put in a rescue transport car, then transferred in Cle Elum, and somehow (I blush) I pooped on myself because I just had to go, and no on helped me. I was the only kitty in a car full of dogs. I was SO SCARED. The rescuer delivered me, and I was covered in poop and he washed me in water that got dirty fast... ick. But I was shivering, and about 5 hours later, it was clear I had pneumonia. I had to be RUSHED to the emergency vet.

I was ONE SICK KITTEN.  I got antibiotics, ear mite treatment, asthma treatment, fluids, and another bath. My Mom and Dad were so upset. They held me all night long and kept me warm. It wasn't easy since I liked running under the sofa because I just didn't know what all this meant. So far it didn't seem to be going that well.

Slowly, I got SO much better. I got to my forever home on a Saturday night, and on MONDAY I got to meet my real vet in Redmond. She was so sweet. I hid from her, but I did like her. She was very gentle. And every one at the vet office acted like they'd never seen a kitten as fine as me!

While I don't love going TO the vet- I do love my vet. She gets me. I'm a sensitive sort.
I had to get spayed because it wasn't done when I was a tiny kitten. It is hard to spay a kitten in a car engine! But it was tough on me. I had to wear a CONE. But my Mom slept on the sofa with me and held my head in her hand every night. She fed me by hand so I could eat, too. Maybe it was harder on her than it was on me! I learned to play while it was on because I am a very smart cat. I had to have an operation on my leg at the same time because I had a bad reaction to my kitten shot and it made a scary lump. They won't do THAT again!

After lots of little health issues, I am a big happy and healthy girl. Here are two pictures to compare how much I have grown.

Before:

baby India

 

 

After:



Nice, huh?  I am a big fluffy girl who weighs almost 9 pounds now! I'm about 18 months old. And did I mention I LOVE it when the fire is on??

What do I like (love)?  I like my family- especially my little sister but we can go into that later. I like salmon flavored cat food and my diet dry food. I like sparkle balls, feathers, and one special black stick. Just the stick. I like sleeping in the sun and sleeping on a table in the master bedroom. I like my furry blanket. I like my cat tree cubby. I like talking. I like stretching and patting my Mom on her leg to get her attention because she sits at the stupid computer box a lot. And I LOVE running around like a crazy pants - especially with my sister. And I really love watching the stuff out the window.

What do I hate? Ugh- I hate blood draws. I hate scary noises. I hate people who don't give me just a second to figure them out before they try to grab me. I hate it when my eye hurts from that virus thingy I got as a kitten but my mom puts cool eye drops in it and that helps. I really don't like it when my sister tries to push me around, but I now have permission to push her back.  I used to be so careful because she was so little. Not anymore!

Oh, and I HATE it when Mom and Dad go out of town. Though I have a human brother who is a great pet sitter, and now a new girl also sits with me. She is what is called a neighbor - her name is Sophia, which must be Italian for nice- and she is very sweet to me. She loves to play with cat toys, too, though I am not sure what she gets out of it.

If you asked my Mom to describe me, she'd say "India is a big furry ball of sweetness".  How great is that??

That is my intro. I hope you liked it!

Who are we?

We are two rescue kitties from Seattle. Well, technically, India came from Adams County, Washington, and Zoubisou came from Tacoma. And we do NOT like it when we are lumped into Seattle. We've never even driven THROUGH Seattle. We like to tell our own stories. So here we go!
See that navigation bar over there ----> just find a story you want to read!