Amber & Happy Monkeys

I am still pretty sick, but I managed to venture out today and experienced the Snowpocalypse Aftermath first hand.  Mostly, it meant climbing some street corner snow banks, and trudging through slush.

To prepare for this dangerous adventure, I armed myself with three items of prime safety: my ridiculous big snow boots, my super soft hoody (no, really, have you felt how soft it is?) and a novelty-t.

This novelty t is from the Short-Haired Lady Coffee Place near Nick.  Nick goes there almost every day to work, but I like to go there because they have coffee.  And because I fit in good with my increasingly short hairstyle.  And now that I own this shirt, I like to go there even more because they support monkey happiness.

Close up:

Not all monkeys going into space were happy.  But this one sure is.  He must like coffee, too.  Or short-haired ladies.

Thank you for the nice shirt, Nick.

Amber & New Winter, New Hat

I love this hat I got with Amy Bee last year.

But with my new shorter hair, it is super itchy on my head.  To the point where, if you are in Boston and it is totally winter, you might still choose to go hatless to avoid the itching.

So, I got this new hat today.

Pretty nondescript and a little like the fuzzy "gorilla hat" I had back when that guy wrapped central park in orange fabric.

(I had such a nice time.  Jimmy, you rule.)

But...

SURPRISE!

There is a (faux) animal on the top of it.

I had planned to cut the animal off, but it's really grown on me.  But, if I change my mind, it will make a great cat enrichment device.

Hats and friends are indispensable in winter.

Amber & Pica Pooja

Today is the very special celebration of Pica Pooja, on which we contemplate and take lessons from the myriad qualities contained in the small kitty of Pickles.  "Pica" is the avatar of Pickles we recognize when he is sleeping in a small and curly ball.  But we know, even then, that he has a mighty mew inside him, ready to call for more play and joy in the world, being, as he is, the champion of fun and fleece wand.

Pica Pooja actually begins with the brother, Ginger, waking us by ritually grooming our hair with his tongue.  No one is a bigger devotee of Pickles than Ginger.

Later, there will be playful brother wrestling with feats of strength like Head Banging on Floor Loudly and Kicka Kicka Kicka, but the morning starts out slow with a plate of wet food, sprinkled with Pickles Powder.  As we sprinkle the Pickles Powder on the food, we are reminded that all kitties have special needs but some kitties have more special needs than others, and we say "Bam!" to remember the shock we had when we got the vet bills from Pickles's most special hospital pilgrimage.

And tonight, the celebration will really kick into high gear with many, many enrichments.  We may do Treats in Open Envelopes, or Treats Hidden Under Dixie Cups, or Treats Stolen While Taking them Out of the Bag Because Somebody with Curly Fur Is Too Impatient.

Pickles fur reminds us, again, to experience joy.  The hair could grow in straight lines, but it chooses instead to take a more circuitous route, to stop and form curls around the roses.

And Pickles reminds us that the highest form of love of the self and life is loving others, including those who are baby and needy.  We could, for example, spend more time painting our toe nails or ironing shirts, but isn't it ultimately more rewarding--and enjoyable for ourselves--to instead run back and forth through the house with the fleece wand, hiding behind doorframes and ducking beside the bed.  Doesn't that bring rewards that are many, many times beyond?

Amber & Success vs. Failure

This playing thing is hard work.  There have been some minor successes, though.  For example, the new game we call Chair Mouse.  To play, the kitty sits on the folding chair and I move Flatty McMousington around, in between the slats of the seat, through the back and peeking around the sides.

Pickles actually is the key Chair Mouse player, but he absolutely refused to do be enticed on camera.  Of course, we had just played for about forty minutes before I got the idea to film.  So, he might have been a little pooped.  Ginger stepped up as a wonderful understudy.

Figure A:


The chair, as it turns out, is key to the efficacy of the game in soothing kitty anxiety.  Played, for example, on a kitty resting place, and it actually may increase kitty anxieties.

Figure B:


Kitty play FAIL.

Amber & Strengths vs. Weaknesses

I've been doing a more structured play time with the kitties every evening before their dinner time.  Not only is group play supposed to help with kitty relations (since Woody came back from the hospital he has no patience for his little brothers, and inexplicably, Tiggy has even less than he does), but more diversion is supposed to help with Pickles's anxiety which is a prime suspect in his pee problems.  Energy spent on PLAY EMOTION means less energy spent on FEAR.  (Illustration of FEAR provided by Pickles's eyes.)

On Monday, I wrapped a few treats in four little strips of brown paper bag and gave one to each kitty.  There was some initial sniffing, but, even though they had seen me put the treats inside, no one seemed to understand that the treats were still in there.  I tried partially unwrapping each treat pack, but only Woody really did any digging.  Ginger did mostly eat one corner of his paper pouch, but then didn't seem to notice that he had exposed the treats.  Sigh.

So, today, I bought one of these things.

See how the cat in the illustration is poking at the toy?  Well, Tiggy, Pickles and Ginger all did that.  They even worked together to knock it about and knock out the treats.  But Pickles?  He took a couple of sniffs, tried to eat treats the others knocked out, and then retreated to the blue donut with the cardboard it came with.

So, let's just say his weakness is Problem Solving and leave the hidden treat games to the other cats.  And then think up another game that somehow uses his strengths: Curliness and Babyness.

And in the meantime, I'll be playing the game where he and I chase each other up and down the length of the apartment until he decides it is dinner time.  (Sorry downstairs neighbor.)

Amber & It's All In There

This weekend, a new kitty environment was added to my household.

This Super Fabulous Kitty House really sums up the weekend.  It was made by my fantastic sister.

Candice is seen here prepping for her trip to the Gulf where she helped out with the oil clean up efforts by wrapping herself in toilet paper and then rolling around on the beach.  See?  She is not only very giving of environments to the kitties, but she also helps out the other Al Gore kind of environment.

In addition to being made by the birthday girl, out of the box which contained an air conditioner present from my parents which made my apartment completely livable again, which they gave me on their visit, and which my dad and Bernard installed, the Super Fabulous Kitty House also reminds me of all the fun games the cats played in it all weekend which reminds me that I had a super fun time watching the World Cup Soccer game on Sunday with Nick and Diana after brunch at La Palapa.  And that reminds me of huevos rancheros con salsa verde.  And that pile of green stew and white creamy stuff on an egg makes me happy.

See?  The Super Fabulous Kitty House is really quite representative of my whole weekend.

Amber & Birthday Feast

Yesterday was Kevin's pusses tenth birthday. It's hard to believe, but that means that the black puss, who was once a tiny bat-eared baby, is now an elder cat.

And the gray boy has finally grown into his wise, but not wizened, gray appearance.


To celebrate, Kevin and Diana gave the boys a special meal of sardines! Here is the gray beast overcome with anticipation.


And here is the ultimate silkster posing with the box patiently, awaiting the reward for being ten years a good cat.Finally, the boys indulged in their fancy, very special birthday treat.


Although some of the boys didn't necessarily wait to be served.


But, it's that kind of initiative that makes the pusses, and America, great.

Happy birthday to the boys and to their kitty parents who took excellent care of them all these years!

Amber & Small Pets

When I lived in Madisonwisconsin, I thought seriously about getting a small, cage-living pet to both satisfy my need for expanding my love-recipients and to provide some enrichment for Woody & Tiggy. I really wanted a hedgie-- I don't know if you know, but I love hedgies-- but they are illegal in many states, including the one I live in.

Cuteoverload.com has showed me that having a hedgie would have been a mistake.

I think having him as a pet would only activate Pet Hedgie's FEAR system.

Amber & Cat Care Instructions

In the event you were ever to at-sit for me, you would get instructions like the following.

I have four cats, Woody, Tiggy, Ginger, and Pickles. Please feel free to fondle the babies. I would advise against trying to touch Tiggy, and Woody might want some pats, but you'll have to sense him out.

On Friday morning, I left the kitties with two dishes of wet food and two dishes of dry. That will hold them over until Saturday.

All of the foods are in the kitchen on the floor. The kittens and Woody eat together, but Tiggy seldom joins them. When you come, you can put down two cans of wet food. There are two different brand foods. Make sure when you do a feeding that you only dish out one brand per feeding. But, you can do whichever brand you like. If you try to serve two different flavors, it causes fighting-- the kittens want whatever Woody is eating, Woody wants the kittens to leave him be, etc.

All of the food is on the white shelves in the kitchen. To serve the wet food, you put one can on a big dish and then sort of mush it with your fork. To that mush, you add one can of water and mix it together to form a sort of stew consistency.

The dry food is in the same spot. You can just fill up the bowls. The kittens eat pretty much constantly, so those bowls should be filled at all times.

There are also some treats on the top of the bookshelf in the bedroom. You can give each kitten one and then Woody and then Tiggy. Tiggy doesn't really like them and won't eat hers but she sniffs it and walks away. It's good for her to have the option.

There are four litter boxes: two in the bathroom, one in the living room near the T.V., and one in my bedroom behind the rocking chair. You'll need to scoop all of them for poops and pees. There will be LOTS. Because they eat constantly, kittens all do the OPPOSITE constantly. There is a plastic bag on the bathroom doorknob and another one in the kitchen. You can use those and just bring them out with you when you go. Don't flush the litter! It clogs 95% of the time. The scoop is a pink thing on the back of the open box in the bathroom. There is also an open bag of litter in the bathroom with a bowl in it. You can add one bowl of litter to each box after you scoop. Because there are kittens who pee 50 times a day, I have tried putting in way more litter and it seems to work good.

For enrichment, you can open the window gate in the bedroom while you're there. The babies like to look out. You can also take the sleeping bag on the foot of the bed and sort of spread it out differently to mix it up. And I left a red sheet on the end of the bed that you can make a nest out of on the couch, too.

Ginger's favorite game is sponge ball. There are these spongey balls (a pink one, an orange one, some are painted like soccer balls) that you bounce and he goes nuts for. The balls get lost regularly, so you may have to go on an explore under furniture to find them. He can carry it around in his mouth, which is super cute. And he's learned to growl-- the new fun part of the game is that he holds the sponge ball in his mouth and growls near other cats to try to provoke them.

Pickles favorite game is throwing fur mice. Or maybe it's wrassling on his back and biting your hand.

Tiggy's favorite game is being left alone. You can open the top dresser drawer and the cabinet for her to go in.

Woody might like some rubs. You can use the blue brush near the canned food or a people brush and just brush his head between his ears. He HATES to have his body brushed, but LOVES his head groomed.

If there is hissing or the adults make noise at the kittens, let them be. It's important they can assert themselves to the kittens. They're not that stressed out-- they're just telling the kittens they don't play that crap.

There are three water dishes which will definitely need to be refilled. The kittens clean their toys in their dishes, so they empty about once each day. The dishes are under the table, in the hall outside the bathroom, and against the big blue wall in the bedroom. Rinse and refill them in the bathroom-- the kitchen water is nasty-tasting and they don't like it. If Woody shows interest in sink hands, the new way we do it is that I fill my hands up with water in the sink and he sits on the edge of the tub. I then put my hands right in front of him and he drinks. We usually do this three times in a row.

If Ginger's eyes are goopy, there is an eye wash near the lamp in the bedroom you can just drop in his eyes. Hold him tight, he doesn't mind it so much, although he hates the antibiotic cream (so you don't have to do that). There are also "pet wipes" you can use to clean the boogers if you need to.

I left the heat on in both the living room and bedroom. Windows are open in the kitchen and living room, and the bathroom (no screen! DO NOT OPEN MORE!) is cracked.

I am HIGHLY reachable in Boston, or you can't let me know if there are any questions at present. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Amber & Kitty Services

I am good with kitties.  I work hard at it.  And it feels nice to be good to them at every opportunity.  Therefore, I like to offer my kitty services to my friends, including kitty rubs, nail clipping, kitty sitting visits

and kitty enrichment activities.

I love kitties.

Amber & Code Green

Santa was up to mischief this year and brought me my first Code Green at the zoo. I was down at Gibbon Ridge with Keeper Becky a little before the goal departure time of noon. We were handing out today's enrichment of cooked pasta with papaya and tomato sauce (my recipe) when we heard a bird keeper call one on the radio. A Code Green means that an animal is out of its primary enclosure. Becky says this happens most in birds, but also in small mammals sometimes. But, it's more rare that an animal gets outside like today's "flighted bird." We listened on the radio for a while as keepers from all areas came to help try to corner the bird. There was even a net gun just in case. The bird was on the roof for a while, and then flew down into a tree, and then was flying around in the valley. At that point, Becky and Lori headed out to help wrangle the bird and I hopped on my bike and headed home.

I sure hope they caught the little guy and brought him back inside!

Amber & Scented Pants

On Sunday at the zoo, Keeper Becky created a really interesting enrichment activity for the gorillas. We took donated clothing (Dockers, polo shirts, a baby fleece hat) and put different extract scents on them (spearmint oil, orange extract, almond extract, and anise oil). Gorillas like different fabrics; they use them for their bedding and also wrap them on their heads or shoulders and "wear" them. Adding scent made the clothing that much more enriching!

Baraka didn't really seem interested in any of the scents, but Kojo seemed quite enamored of the almond scented pants. He wrapped them around his shoulders and walked around sniffing the cuffs.

I like to give my kitties enrichment, too. Usually, their enrichment comes in the form of a box with a sheet in it, or a game of tent on the couch, or exploration of the high-up shelves in the closet. But, maybe kitties would like scented pants?

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