Wordy Wednesday {Abby Jumps}

We had a few A/C guys going in and out of the house through the kitchen this past Saturday. Gracie and Abby were keenly interested in what was happening and they both wanted to dash outside. So, we put up this sheet of plywood that was almost 5 feet tall between the kitchen and the rest of the house. Gracie just sat on the other side crying and eventually gave up. However, this temporary wall did not work with Abby as you will soon see. Please ignore the sound (of my voice)! Keep in mind that Abby is just over 8 months old. Dan does some awesome editing (merged two clips)! Enjoy!

Not so Macro Monday {Abby Gail}

The pictures showcased here were taken on December 4th, 2013 at seven months old. (Her birth date is estimated to be May 1st, 2013.) I am quickly discovering that Abby Gail is photogenic. My other two cats, Chessie and Gracie are not so easy to photograph due to their coloring. But, Abby is a different story. She is turning into a dark little beauty. Yes, her markings have darkened up some since the last update at five months.

These pictures were taken December 4th with my long lens. I am still learning how to use this newest piece of camera equipment. I found it interesting that I should have a faster shutter speed with the longer lens than with the regular or macro lens.

Anyway, enjoy her seven months old pictures. By the way, the clothespin is used to tighten up the harness some as it is too big for her at the moment.

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Macro Monday {Shades of Gray}

Abby Gail, 8/8/2013

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I crashed briefly early Friday morning (before getting up) with a double whammy which included a migraine. I had plans of posting more DIY pictures of the pantry and processing more pictures last Friday; but, due to the fact I had crashed and was busy over the weekend, I never got the chance to do what I wanted to do.

So, I am using an oldie but a goodie for today's macro. I just never published it (until now) because other macros I liked better. Also, I believe that not many people like to see macros of pets/animals. So, I try not to showcase them often.

I will work on the DIY pictures of the pantry and post them sooner or later this week as long as things goes well with me / us.

Wordy Wednesday {Abby}

Hey! Let Me See Your Camera!

I was trying to capture Abby Gail interacting with Chessie; but, when she is awake and active, she is not cooperative. She is more interested in the camera itself. The other day, Dan was trying to get pictures of her outside with his camera and she walked right up to his camera sticking her nose in the lens making him laugh.

Below is the only decent picture I was able to capture of Abby's interaction with Chessie. And please, ignore that nasty old chair. It is Dad's old lazyboy and I was planning on getting it fixed up and reupholstered. Chessie certainly loves to sleep on it a lot.

Hey! Whatcha doing? Get up!

These were taken back in August when I was sick. Abby has since grown up just a tad and is now six months old. She is the same length and almost the same height as our Gracie; but, is a heck tinier size-wise if that makes sense.

Anyway, you can see the size difference between Abby and Chessie. Chessie is a purebred Gentle Giant (Maine Coon) and Abby is... well... we just do not know. The more time passes, the more Dan thinks she has some exotic cat in her. I think she will always be half wild; but, she has adjusted well to being an indoor cat (with supervised outdoor visits).

I have no worries for either Chessie or Abby when they cross paths. It is really funny and cute to see them interact. As you know, Chessie is tons bigger than Abby. I would say she is almost three times bigger at the moment. She just tolerates Abby and then when she had enough, she will whack her. Sometimes she will stomp on her with two paws simultaneously almost trapping her on the ground and Abby will then flee and not bother her for a time.

Abby still harasses our special needs cat, Gracie; but, not as often. I have her well trained. If I catch her harassing Gracie, I will say "timeout". She then makes the choice of either calming herself down or continuing to harass Gracie. If she continues to harass her, I will go open the extended pantry door and point towards the room telling Abby "timeout". She will often trot her way inside and I will shut the door behind her. She seems to know that she needs to be calm around Gracie and if she is not, she will get a timeout. There have been times where she is just so out of control (so excited) that we have to chase her down and place her into the pantry ourselves. But, most of the time, she puts herself into timeout.

I know that this technique sounds odd; but, she (Abby) does not like to be handled or held. She does not mind being carried from one place to another most of the time. However, if she is held or handled, she will often go nuts after a few seconds. It takes two people to clip her front nails. And yes, I have tried waiting until she is sleeping which is what I do with Chessie and Gracie when it needs to be done; but, it never fails that Abby comes wide awake and refuses to let me handle her paws and clip her nails. She screams bloody murder, bites and struggles. I will let her go because I do not want her to get hurt. You would think after all this time, she would get used to it (getting nails clipped). But, no. She goes berserk. Thus, I have to get Dan to hold her while I clip her nails. It is not a fun job.

Anyway, this timeout training technique we are doing is a way to give her respect and for her to show us respect. It seems to be working rather well for us simply because she is too dang smart. It did not take her long to understand certain words I use such as "timeout", "down" and "come". And oh, I am trying to get her to stand up on command. I am not sure if I will succeed; but, she is doing it when I feed her wet food in the morning. I need to find a clicker training gadget for cats to train for fun. I think it will interest the both of us and keep her focused (mind active) and get her energy spent at the same time. I think she may even take to cat agility training.

Update on Kitten (Abby Gail)

Remember this awful first picture of the kitten I posted about way back in May?

Well, look at her now!

9/19/2013

She is approximately five months old today. She has all her shots and has been spayed. I have not actively sought her new home yet. I had hoped that being spayed would turn her into a somewhat normal kitten. Nope. She is a little holy terror constantly burning up energy.

What?!? I is not a terror. 8/2/2013

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I be cooperative. What lovely fangs I have when you ask me to smile 8/2/2013

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Due to the fact that she bounces off walls (literally), can be destructive if not given the attention she needs to burn off energy, is hardheaded, etc., and etc., she is not an ideal pet for families with small children and/or with animals that may have special needs. She has learned to be gentle and not used claws. However, she can turn on you in a heartbeat if she is frustrated. She is slowly learning to attack her toys instead of her humans. It is not easy trying to train her up in the way she should go. Ha!

Seriously? I not bad... 8/29/2013

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Let the evidence show... 8/29/2013

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I is adorable and amiable! 8/29/2013

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Yes, she is on occasion. She is definitely not a lap kitten. She would rather lay beside you than on you. Sometimes, she comes bounding out of nowhere while I am sitting (taking a break) landing on my chest burying her head into my hair and neck and starts purring and kneading away. I think she does this when she needs calming down desperately. I do have a way of soothing her and once she gets calmer, off she goes! Dan gets amused when she does this while he is there. He has become her buddy when I go to bed – he plays with her too and I think she looks forward to that time.

9/12/2013

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Because of all this and more, I am afraid most people will not have the patience and/or understanding of her personality and she will end up getting thrown out or handed over to a shelter or the pound.

She reminds me of City the Kitty so much. He is a Bengal/Manx mix and they believe he was thrown out on account of his personality (high energy and high maintenance). Believe you me, he was a holy terror and even ended up on the My Cat from Hell TV show where the cat doctor (Jackson Galaxy) helped the owners out immensely. City the Kitty’s history both scares and saddens me. I know the same thing could happen to this little one.

We believe she will be a larger than average size cat due to her weight gain tracks higher than average (according to the vet). However, she will always be lanky and lean due to her built.

Dan and I have been researching what she could be due to her unusual marking and coloring and we narrowed it down to one of two things. She is either a Tabby Abby (Abyssinian mx) or one of the serval hybrids (e.g. Savannah) mixed with a tabby.

When we examined her fur up close when she was younger, we could not see any ticking. So, we assumed she was more of something other than a Tabby Abby. However, Dan examined her fur again the other day and noticed that some of her fur does have ticking ending with black on the tips. Because of this, I am thinking she is more of Abby (Abyssinian) Tabby. Her personality does fit the breed to a T and I have read that Abyssinian traits (genes) can be dominant.

By the way, the kitten’s name is now Abby Gail.

Wordy Wednesday {The Sock Thief}

While sorting laundry one day, I caught a sock thief in action. The below series of pictures is a reenactment of the actual crime. I was very surprised when I first witnessed her blatantly steal a sock right out of a laundry basket. She made me laugh so hard.

You cannot help but love this mischievous criminal in spite of her being an aficionado of socks. Yes, she adores socks of all kinds and will pick those over most toys she owns.

I slayed it for you. Slurp!

This same criminal will also steal and attack clean sorted socks. Oh for the shame!

A Moment of Silence

A rare moment of silence from kitten.

Wordy Wednesday {Kitten on Camera Bag}

{pictures shot on July 11, 2013}

I am trying to cooperate…

But, I have other pressing matters…

I am sleepy and want a nap….

Okay! Okay! Okay! Happy now?

Oh, what was that? The Sandman calling?

Update on Rescued Kitten

Warning: Picture laden post {16 total}

6/15/2013
{ I tried to showcase her “necklace” with pendant. At certain times, the pendant part really darkens and it really does look like a rope or chain with a pendant.}

It is time for the rescued kitten update. She just went for her second set of shots last Friday and weighed 2.2 lbs. Most shelters and vets within the San Antonio area will spay or neuter a kitten at two lbs. to get it ready for adoption asap; but, the one (and nearest) vet we are seeing does not want to spay her until she reaches four pounds. Great. (That was sarcasm.) The longer I take care of this kitten, the more I am going to want to keep her.

6/15/2013

She is doing well. She is getting long and lanky. Her legs seemed awfully short compared to her body for awhile; but, her legs are lengthening now. She is extremely active with two speeds – fast and naps. She loves to chase her tail almost to the point of obsession and this is in spite of having tons of normal cat toys. She prefers balled up papers, strings and pill bottles over the usual cat toys. I had to give her a long leather shoelace because the one short string she found just was not safe for either her or the big cats. She loves to drag it around the house and Dan has caught her running full blast with the thing. She has also taken a huge red rat (toy) from the Bigs and carries it all over the house with her mouth. She even jumped onto our bed once and then played quietly with the toy. The thing used to be about half her size; so, that is a huge achievement in itself not to mention that the bed is a higher than normal.

6/17/2013
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She has taken over the lower shelves on cat trees (Chessie uses the higher up ones). She loves to sleep beside me (or between us). She will occasionally get on my lap to sleep; but, it is rare. She is not much of a cuddle bug unless she is feeling needy and then tries to nestle into my neck and knead. Ugh. The poor little thing was separated from its mother way too soon; but, I am hoping she will outgrow this behavior.

6/17/2013
{She used to fit inside this basket; but, rapidly outgrew this place to sleep.}

She is feisty and will often jump one of the Bigs at her own peril. She received a beat down from Gracie earlier this morning for harassing her too much. It looks severe and vicious when this happens; but, in reality, the kitten isn’t harmed. She (the kitten) worships Gracie; but, Gracie is not so keen on her.

6/17/2013

I so tired. Leave me be. I am clocking out.

Going, going and gone in split seconds.

I have found the big cats and the kitten waiting patiently (or is that impatiently?) for me at the door and man, it seems crowded. But, they are all playing nice most of the time. Chessie (the elderly cat) only had to tap kitten on the forehead once or twice to put her in place and kitten rarely bothers Chessie. It’s Gracie that she harasses and with Gracie being a tripod, cannot fight like a normal cat. Kitten is beginning to challenge her and I, for one, will not stand for that kind of behavior as Gracie will always be top cat no matter what.

6/17/2013

She often can be found sleeping in the “dump” – a basket or box full of papers headed to recycling dumpster(s) at local school

6/18/2013

6/19/2013

The above two images were taken with crappy phone. A couple of rare occasions of sleeping on my lap.

6/24/2013

Taken with Dan’s iPhone; Look at how big she has gotten in a matter of five or six days!

Above three pictures taken on 6/26/2013

Her love affair with the cat tree(s).

6/27/2013
Sleeping Beauty. (yeah, right.)
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6/27/2013

Taken with crappy phone. I thought it looked humorous as she looked like she was walking or running on my jeans/legs while sleeping.

7/1/2013

Taken with Dan’s iPhone. Hilarious! She has fallen asleep between us like this several times.