All about the cats

So this is how lame I am, I am home on a Friday night blogging about cats. I swear I am not a crazy cat lady. Mostly I am just bored. I am taking a night off from life, and this is the most interesting thing I could come up with. Anyway, I just wanted to post some old and updated pictures of the cats and tell you all a little bit about each one so you can get to know them. Wow. I am lame.

Oliver

Oliver was my original cat. I picked him out because he was so cute and I loved how his ears looked too big for his head. He was the only boy in his litter, and for some reason I wanted a boy cat. After I picked him out, I had to wait a little while until he was weaned so I could take him home. Born on July 1, 2007, he was around 12 weeks when I finally picked him up. It was a Thursday night, which was my first mistake. He was so scared and sad. He cried all night long and I didn't get much sleep, which was a bummer because I had to work the next day. I was so worried about leaving him at my house alone. I took two 30 min lunches that day so I could run home and check on him and John checked in on him a couple of times too. He was doing ok, but he just cried and cried. I talked about it with John and I decided maybe I should adopt one of his sisters too so he could have a playmate. John took me back to Melissa's (she runs a cat sanctuary) and found out that his sister, Gypsy, had been crying a lot since I took Oliver so we decided they must have been friends and we took Gypsy home with us. Oliver seemed so much happier, the crying stopped, and he was really protective of his sister; it was very cute.

Baby Oliver, at about 8 weeks the first day I met him

At home, probably around 14 weeks (yes, I lived in a place with blue shag carpet)

Oliver is truly a curious cat. He gets in to everything. He like to chew on things, mostly paper (especially cardboard). He likes to crawl into boxes, he can just very high, and he likes poking around (I assume looking for trouble). He loves to cuddle and be petted. He purrs very loud, and very often. He goes wild for tuna fish or any wet/canned cat food. He likes to play with q-tips and bottle caps. He is very good at opening drawers. He likes to pull clothes out of my drawers, which I find all over the floor when I get home. He sleeps on his back a lot, which I think is really cute. He is very playful, loves to chase things, and is always trying to get outside. One of his favorite spots in perched near the window so he can see everything going on outside.

Yep, always getting into everything

Hoping to go outside-Logan, winter 2008

Last weekend, in Logan at John's

Gypsy

Gypsy joined the family just one day after Oliver. I worried I wouldn't love having 2 cats, but I was happy Oliver had a playmate. Gypsy bonded with John from the beginning and I think she has always preferred him over me. My love for Gypsy has grown slowly over time, and now I may even prefer her over Oliver because she is very independent and not as demanding as Oliver. I think I traumatized her the first weekend I had her because Izzy came to visit and was really excited to see the cats. Of course the kitties were terrified, but I cornered Gypsy under the bed and pulled her out so Izzy could see and pet at least one of the cats. I'm not sure Gypsy has ever forgiven me for that.

Kitten Gypsy...I don't have many pictures of her that little because she spent so much time under the bed

Just lounging

She is a very skiddish cat. She seems nervous all the time, like somebody is always going to attack her. She can be very playful too, and she is very determined. She is very well behaved. She is content to lay in bed while Oliver runs all over the house. She also wants to be petted, but will always keep an open escape route and will run if you make a sudden movement. She is hard to catch, but once I can get her she has a lot of patience when it comes to getting her nails clipped or brushed or whatever it is I'm trying to do. Gypsy is a beautiful cat and has great coloring.

In the cat tree at our house in Lake Powell

Gypsy now

Their favorite spot in Lake Powell

Aren't they cute?

Oreo & Tinkerbell

John has 2 cats as well, and for 3 months he had all 4 together at his house. The cats get along pretty well. His cats are Oreo and Tinkerbell. He adopted Oreo from the Humane Society about 7-8 years ago. They are best friends and it's pretty cute. Oreo has a nickname, "double stuff" because he is a very large cat. He does like to eat. He is high maintenance though. He likes to have his food "fluffed" before he will eat it and he prefers to drink water from a glass. He also likes boxes and will always get inside one, even if it is really too small for him. It's very funny to watch. He loves to sleep on John's lap or next to John's face at night.

See? It's funny.

Tinkerbell started out as John's sister's cat, which I think her kids picked out and she was named by a 3-year-old girl. When his sister moved to Oregon, they didn't take the cat with them. She stayed with John's mom for awhile, but they didn't get a long too well. John decided to take her when he moved out of the fraternity house and was able to bring Oreo to live with him at Jeff's. Tinkerbell has now adopted John's roommate Braydon and prefers to sleep on his bed at night. She is a very independent cat and loves to go outside. Sometimes she comes home very dirty, but so far, she always comes home.

Tink

Tinkerbell and Oreo

So now you know more than you probably ever wanted to know about our cats. For us though, our cats are basically like our kids. John spoils all the cats much more than I do and I am more strict. John is a true cat person though, and I am still learning. I have actually loved having my cats though and I missed them when I was staying with my parents. I've gotten used to their company and I would be sad if there was ever a time I had to give them up. One of the reasons I decided to get a cat/cats was to help me with my committment issues. I know that sounds weird, but it has worked. I now think about their needs as well as mine, I have had to make comprimises and sacrfices. Finding an apartment was much harder. Vacations take some extra planning to make sure the cats are taken care of. They have been to Lake Powell and back with me and they have put up with several moves and always seem to adjust quickly. I really do love my little fur balls, and I don't care who makes fun of me for it. :-)

Just doing their thing (I couldn't get them all 4 in the shot at once)