Gun-Hee the Ski Bunny

My husband discovered that Gun-Hee likes to watch skiing on TV when he put on a Ski training DVD…

Gun-Hee is with me all day at work!

At work I have my Office Assistant turned on. I have it on “Links,” the cat. He meows and purrs and does all sorts of catly things…

He’s also a solid golden brown with a bit of white…he reminds me of someone…

You have to admit, there is a resemblance…

He even wears a blue collar! And the meow does sound a lot like his. I think whoever programmed this has an Abyssinian.

Gun-Hee’s big day out

It was a really nice day today, and I had some errands to run. I hated to leave Gun-Hee at home, so…I took him with me. We walked to the post office (he rode in his backpack carrier because I had boxes to carry) and while we waited for our number to be called, I let Gun-Hee out to explore on his leash.

It was then that I discovered, to my dismay, that I had left my camera card in the card reader at home. No photos of our big day out! But I used the camera on my phone to capture these, at least…

The post office was a little busy; there were some little kids running around and a baby crying, and several people…but he handled it like a champ. He wasn’t fazed at all! He just explored as much as I would let him. He got also got to meet some of the regular postal workers I see on a daily basis, which was nice; they’d been hearing about him for months!

After we sent our packages off, we got on the red line to go to Cambridge. Gun-Hee is really starting to love riding the T. We managed to get a single seat at the end of a car and I let him out, but I’d only allow him to go on the windowsill or my lap. He was okay with that…and when we got to Charles/MGH he got to look out the window, which he loves.

We got off at Davis; I needed to pick up some more L-Lysine for him. It was kind of nice, going to the vet when he didn’t have an appointment. It was a chance to show him that something bad doesn’t necessarily happen to him every time he goes in there.

We went to my apartment; he napped on the cat tree while I went to Porter Square to do some shopping. Then, after a little lunch, we got back on the T and headed south. I let him out on his leash on the train again, and when we got back to the building I didn’t bother to put him back in his carrier; I just let him ride in on my shoulder. He walked on the elevator all by himself (I was so impressed!) and then we walked back to our place.

The other three cats sniffed the new smells off of him while I put away the groceries. Then he crashed out on his heating pad bed – big day for a little kitten!

But I am so proud of him. He was so good today. Only a couple of people asked if they could pet him, and when they did he was very gracious. And I was impressed by the number of people who came up to me and asked, “Is he an Abyssinian?” I guess the general public is more up on their cat breeds than I gave them credit for.

I know part of it is his personality…but part of it, too, is the bond that he and I are developing. I can take him out and ask him to do these things because he loves me and trusts me…and he does the things I ask and ends up enjoying them because he trusts me and knows I wouldn’t ask him to do anything that would hurt him. It’s a heady feeling…scary, but all together awesome.

The King of the Box

I’d put this Shutterfly box next to the door to take it to the recycling bin. Gun-Hee saw it and had other ideas…

Kylie and Tessie were interested in Gun-Hee’s cardboard castle.

Kylie was, perhaps, a little more than just interested.

Bam! Gun-Hee’s castle has been stormed! He’s still in there, by the way…

Gun-Hee knows college basketball

Gun-Hee loves watching basketball on TV. I think it’s because it has the largest ball of all sports, and he can see it the best. He was definitely following the ball today.

Six months ago today…

Gun-Hee was born six months ago today, on September 16, 2006. Three months ago today, on December 16, I took Gun-Hee home for the first time.

Here he is earlier tonight, a big six-month-old boy.

Before and after the Operation

Yesterday was the Big Day, the day almost every kitten faces…Gun-Hee went to the vet to be neutered.

Blissfully unaware, he spent the morning of the operation engaged in typical kitteny behaviour…

Gun-Hee in the window

These are from this weekend. Gun-Hee insists on being photogenic in absolutely every context…

My little boy’s growing up!

My camera card got corrupted. Not sure how that happened. But I took some photos of Gun-Hee on our way home tonight, riding the T…there was one totally awesome one, but it was one of the ones that got corrupted.

These are the only two that survived:

Gun-Hee will be six months old on Friday (and at the same time, we’ll have been together for three months). Tomorrow, he goes to the vet to have the operation. Gun-Hee is going to the vet between 8 and 8:30 tomorrow, and when he comes home, he will be slightly less than he was before.

What is a cat toy?

Apparently, whatever the cat says is a cat toy.

Gun-Hee has decided that the kitchen sponge is a toy. He goes up on the counter to grab it off the sink (which he is not supposed to do). Then he drags it all over the house. This morning it was in bed with us. With a few hunks taken out of it.

Never thought of a sponge being a toy. Guess I never knew what I was missing.

Such a good kitten!

I’m having breakfast. Usually, when we are eating, Gun-Hee gets put into his show cage because he tends to climb on our shoulders and attempts to intercept the food on its way from plate to mouth.

Generally, the cage is kept zipped shut, so the adult cats don’t eat the kitten food we keep inside to mollify Gun-Hee. But for some reason, it got left unzipped last night.

So I pour myself a bowl of cereal, add milk, and sit down on the sofa. We hear the distinctive sound of the hammocks in the show cage shifting.

“Did you put him in there?” my husband asked.

“No!” I said. Then I thought about it a second. “You know…I think he put himself in there. I got the cereal and came over here, and he must have just gone straight in there. I know I had to put him in there yesterday when I had cereal.”

“He put himself in there? How?”

“I think you left it unzippped last night.” A look at the door confirmed that this was indeed the case. “Huh. He must have just figured that since I was eating and he usually gets put in there when we’re eating, he might as well just go ahead and go into the cage on his own.”

And he’s crashed out on his hammock, even as I type this, despite breakfast being finished. What a good kitten!

Six months on Friday

Next Friday, Gun-Hee will be 6 months old, and he’ll have been living with us for three of those months. Next Wednesday, he’s going to the vet to have the operation.

He’s an amazing cat. Physically gorgeous, and his personality is even more beautiful. I could not have gotten a better best friend had I gone to the kitten store and ordered one up custom.

Which is not to say he isn’t a complete terror and a total brat. He is; that’s part of being a lively and healthy kitten! Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s 5,000 worth of what it’s like to live with Gun-Hee.

Ooooh, shrimp! Can I have it?
(He stole, and ate, three whole shrimp while they were thawing in the sink!)

Napping with Kylie on the heated cat bed…this is a rare quiet moment.

Watching the fish…

He loves the bigscreen TV, and often tries to interact with it.
He seems to like shows with lots of dialogue.
Here he is, trying to get two of the characters on Miami: CSI to play with him…

A sketch I made today…

…during a meeting at work…

Gun-Hee jumps on Mom’s Shoulder

As often happens with cameras and kittens, an attempt to capture an everyday occurrence doesn’t exactly go as planned…