a girl in her element

Here’s a girl we could all take some lessons from -

Heyyyy mommm, what’s up?  I’m just chillin’, thinkin’ about catchin’ some ZZZs. (And yes, this is totally how Kritter would talk… well, at least in my slightly messed up head)

I’m realllllly tired… from all the work I’ve been doin’.  Ya know, the laser chasin’, twisty tie kickin’, tuna munchin’ and nappin’ I’ve been doin’.

Soooo… ummm, ya think I can get some privacy?   It’s kinda hard to sleep when you’re sittin’ here, starin’ at me, blindin’ me with your camera.  There’s no way I’ll fall asleep.

*Five minutes later*

Finally, I’m asleep.  Dreamin’ about rainbows and unicorns… or tuna and catnip.

I’m wandering along the streets of downtown Denver, minding my own business.

I see a squirrel scamper down from a tree.  Nothing new.  Less than 15 minutes ago, I saw two of them running around doing some kind of mating dance.  These squirrels here in Denver are crazy.

So this squirrel starts burrowing in a pile of leaves.  He doesn’t even notice that I’m there watching him.  Being the dork I am, I decide I want a photo of this.  I hurriedly whip my camera out and snap – this is what I got…

He flashed me!

Either that he’s doing an uncanny impersonation of Kevin from Home Alone.

Our house can’t be haunted.  It shouldn’t be.  But there are days that these two rascals make me believe otherwise…

Big Brown (BB) – Hey, let’s both stare off into space, look like we’re concentrating on something and freak the girl out.

Little Black (LB) - Great idea!  There’s nothing more entertaining than freaking Tuna Lady out with our laser eyes. 

BB – Ooh, what’s that up there?!  Is it a bug?  A ghost?  A shiny light reflection?

LB – Ah, it’s nothing but look at her face.  She looks confused.  It’s working!  It’s working!  It’s working!

LB - Okay, time to change directions.  Do it slowly and concentrate hard!

LB - Wait… what are we doing again?

BB - We’re pretending there are ghosts in the house!  Come on!  You’re ruining the act.  Pretend to be mystified.

LB - I don’t know… I don’t think this is going to work.

BB - Yes, it is!  Look!  Look at her face! That is the face of a confused lady.  Come on!  Keep staring off into space.

LB - Whatever, dude.  I don’t want to be labeled as the ‘crazy cat that’s always confused.’

BB – Fine, but I swear it was working. ‘Sides, you’re already the crazy cat that’s always confused so ha!

And it was working.  It really, really was.  They were just perched in the hallway staring at absolutely nothing… at least nothing that I could see.  There was a little part of me… okay, okay, a big part of me that was desperate to know what they were concentrating on.  Crazy, crazy cats…

I never thought I’d be that girl.  It turns out I am.  I am that girl who dresses her pet.  In anticipation of Halloween and the inevitable costume, let’s take a peek at some of Kritter’s fashionable threads.

“Mommmmmm, do I HAVE to wear this thing?  All the other kids are dressing up as cool things like superheros.  Why do I have to be a giraffe?”

“Fine, you want me to wear a hoodie.  I’ll sit here looking smug while I secretly plot how I’m going to embarrass you.”

“A football jersey?  I could get on board with this.  Watch me as I lay here in a the garbage can you just bought that I tipped over.  Don’t I look cute?”

And the football jersey was the one costumer that Kritter was cool with.  When I tried to take it off of her to wash it, she menacingly growled at me.  Once I finally wrestled it off her, washed it and returned to put it back on her, she was fully cooperative and purred when she was once again transformed into a little quarterback.

Element Girl wants to know…

Do you dress your pets up?  If so, what are they going to be this Halloween?

In last week’s “Check Me Out” I checked out a book called “Real Food for Cats.”  I’d never previously entertained the idea of cooking for my cats, and I can’t say I’m sold on it after flipping through this book.  Many of the recipes are far too involved and pricey.  Most times, I barely take that long to prepare a meal for human consumption, and if I’m not eating lamb, they’re not either.  In addition to that, while I’m not a veterinarian and have a relatively limited knowledge base on what cats require nutritionally, I questioned how many of these ingredients in the book were actually safe for kitty diets.  Nevertheless, it was entertaining to flip through the book and if for nothing else but the very comical sketches.

I did, however, come across one recipe that seemed manageable and I thought might be appealing to the kitties.   It’s called “Tabby Tuna Popsicles.”  A simple treat made with tuna and catnip, the two treats that never fail to make Kritter and Thomas drool and beg… kind of like when I spot someone with a good bowl of mac and cheese.

Seriously cannot get enough of these drawings!

Tell me there isn’t an eerily uncanny resemblance to these two rascals, even down to their sizes!

Okay… we now return to our regularly scheduled programming – Tabby Tuna Popsicles brought to you by Element Girl and two very enthusiastic pets.

You’ll need an ice tray, tuna and some catnip.  And yes, that catnip container has been mutilated by two very crafty and desperate cats who attempted to claw a hole straight to the goods.

Drain all the water from the tuna into a container.  Add a little bit of tuna and a little bit of extra water.  Dump some catnip in there.  Hold your breath.  Maybe close your eyes.  Stir it all up.

Distribute evenly throughout the ice tray.  Keep on holding your breath, but perhaps open your eyes  or at least one, so as not to completely miss the ice tray.

I added a cat treat to each.  The recipe didn’t call for it, but hey, when do I ever stick to recipes?  Why start now?

Throw the ice tray in the freezer for a few hours.  Attempt to entertain salivating cats in the meantime.  When they’re finally frozen and you’ve run out of ideas to distract frenzied felines, serve and watch them lick away.

They both finished these to the very last drop.  They consumed them so fast that I was beginning to wonder if they had secretly arranged to hold a kitty version of “World’s Fastest Eater…”  Umm, maybe “World’s Fastest Licker.”  They both certainly would have given other cats a run for their money.

Seriously cannot get enough of these pictures…

Okay, I’m done now.  I promise!

Technically speaking, almost every corner in the house can be designated as a ‘cat corner.’  The kitties love finding a corner, curling up and dozing off into a happy cat slumber.   But no corner in the house deserves the name ‘cat corner’ more than this one.

Oops, the kitties’ water dispenser was being cleaned and refilled.

Thomas checking it out.  I took his minute long slurrpppp as a sign of approval that the water was fit for him.

Back-up stash of kitty food and treats.  These were bags of food and treats that I scored for free with coupons.  It’s not their main supply of food and only gets broken into on the off chance that they’re out of their regular brand.

Canned food dispensers stocked with Trader Joe’s, Weruva and Pet Promise food.

Lots and lots of kitty food.  The white container stores their Taste of the Wild dry food.

Saving the best for last.  I love this mat. It’s the perfect size for this corner, and it’s made out of a rubbery material that’s super easy to clean (a must have since my offer to construct cat bibs was met with ruthless stares from a boy and two cats) .  I guess sometimes it does pay off to tag along on trips to Lowe’s.  If it hadn’t been for finding this mat there, I potentially would have morphed into a very whiny and obnoxious girl while wandering Lowe’s for four hours.

Element Girl wants to know…

How do you organize your pet(s)’ supplies?

Ignoring the human pleas to stop “blinding the cats while they eat,”  I invaded their personal spaces (hey, they do it to me while I’m eating!) and got some cute critter close-ups.

There’s something very amusing about a cat with her tongue sticking out.  Don’t believe me?  Look…

Kritter when she was just a few months old.  You can’t honestly tell me that doesn’t make you smile… even just a little bit.

Avery intense looking Thomas happily chomping away

In the end, no cats were harmed in the process.  All four kitty eyes are still in perfect working order, and two kitty bellies are full and satisfied.  And yes, I do realize that the next time they invade my space while I enjoy a meal, I can’t say a word.