Aby-a-Day – Day 365 of 365

Kylie gives Jacoby his New Year’s kiss a little early…

Happy new year, Abyfriends!

Aby-a-Day – Day 364 of 365

I think Jacoby is really going to miss the tree when we take it down.

It’s like his own personal fort. The new bed under there just makes it even better.

More Cheezburger Abys

This morning there were two Abyssinian photos featured on I Can Has Cheezburger!

First, Ceiling Cat as an Aby…how much does this cat look like Jake? Right down to the smug, self-satisfied smile!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Then, a row of Aby kittens, taken by none other than the immortal Peter Hasselbom…

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Aby-a-Day – Day 363 of 365

Jacoby also enjoyed his catnip duck sauce packet.

He licked it until, as Steve Martin so delicately said once upon a time, it had cat spit all over it.

I caught him licking the hot mustard packet, too. “What? If I lick them, they’re mine, right?”

I don’t think that trick works on Tessie, Jake.

Or did you just not want to lick the squirting hot sauce?

Aby-a-Day – Day 362 of 365

Jacoby got a fresh plate of his favourite crispy catnip bacon for Christmas…

“Hey c’mon, they’re in a ziploc bag! Somebody open it! Someone with thumbs!”

Angel, however, preferred the Big Daddy.

Aby-a-Day – Day 361 of 365

We’ve been having a bit of weather here in Boston over Christmas weekend; you could say we’ve definitely had a white Christmas.

Jacoby’s seen snow before, of course, but it’s been a while…he was pretty interested in that white stuff outside the window.

The problem with using the flash is, you can’t really see what it looks like outside. Of course, without the flash, it’s tough to get a decent photo of any cat, let alone an Abyssinian.

Sadly, we don’t have the greatest view out our window…but at least you can see the snow!

Aby-a-Day – Day 360 of 365

Angel also had her share of holiday cheer, of course.

Her favourite stocking stuffers were the Catnip Sauce Packets and her Hey Pais Blue Ridge Mouse.

But the toy she loved most was a new thing I found from Petstages: a Blinking Buddy. Petstages has a great line of nighttime toys for cats to play with quietly while their owners are sleeping. I think it’s a brilliant idea and I wonder why no one has thought of it before, since cats are nocturnal and all.

Angel loves lights and things that move, so this was a no-brainer.

It’s so gratifying when you find the perfect toy for your cat. It may seem silly to people who don’t have cats, but they really do love their play things.

If I wanted to custom design a toy for Angel, I couldn’t have done a better job.

Aby-a-Day – Day 359 of 365

Happy Christmas, everyone! It was quite the cat toy and catnip orgy at our house this morning.

One of Jacoby’s favourite toys was his catnip hash brown.

Although, he also liked his LL Bean faux shearling coat and, well, everyone loved the FroliCat Dart.

Hard to say what he liked best…he also got more of his crispy catnip bacon and his chew mice. Probably the most popular gift overall was the fabulous boomerang bed from Like Kittysville. Everyone took a turn in it, it was that popular.

It was either that, or the squirrel tail I got him at the fly fishing shop. Or the fact that we finally took all the boxes away and he could play under the tree again. He was going bonkers with all the catnip, toys and new things. Just watch:

Happy Christmas, Aby Friends!

Thank you all for your comments and friendship, and we all wish you a prosperous new year.

Aby-a-Day – Day 358 of 365

Jacoby waits patiently for midnight to come and for it to be Christmas.

Aby-a-Day – Day 357 of 365

Jacoby is actually very responsive to vocal stimuli. He comes when he’s called, and if you speak to him in a praising, “cuddly” tone, he’ll preen and roll and rub things just as if you were touching him.

He was standing on this bench when I told him how handsome he was and “purred” at him. This is his half-roll, half-elevator butt reaction.

He’s also kneading with his front paws, and I didn’t touch him at all! This is all in response to my voice.

He reacts more to people talking to him than any other cat I’ve had. This may be related to the fact that he also talks more than any cat I’ve had, including the Siamese. Sometimes, you hear him in the other room, making little chirping sounds to himself.

Aby-a-Day – Day 356 of 365

It was decided that the red-and-white pawprint bandanna and the Santa hat that were included in the Santa Exchange package should belong to Jacoby.

This was mostly decided by the other cats.

He wasn’t nearly as put out as this photo makes him look.

As always, Jake was a good sport about it all. He was actually purring.

Especially when it was Tessie’s turn to try on the bandanna!

Aby-a-Day – Day 355 of 365

Another gift in the Santa Exchange package was this happy smiley feather guy.

I don’t know if he had catnip inside, or if it was just the feathers that made him such a hit.

Whatever it was, Jacoby really liked this little guy.

Angel…not so much.

Aby-a-Day – Day 354 of 365

We did a Santa Exchange with some kitties who live in Montreal, and the package came last weekend. In it were toys for everyone.

Angel really liked these little mice.

They rattled, and they were fun to bat.

See how much fun she had?

Jake’s Cautionary Tale…For Cats Only

Jacoby told his harrowing escalator adventure over on Abyfriends Sonny & Cher’s For Cats Only blog.

Aby-a Day – Day 353 of 365

Jacoby is simply fascinated by all things Christmas. He loves the tree and he often sits beneath it or next to it, watching the lights move. He’s also very interested in the stockings, which hang in the window with care since we don’t have a chimney.

He goes up on the windowsill at least once a day to get a closer look at them.

He shows off his impeccable balance and goatlike surefootedness as he steps around the decorations. Sometimes, he reaches up to touch one of the stockings.

But only his own. He only ever grabs at his own stocking, never at any of the others. It’s not the easiest target, and it doesn’t smell that much different from the other cats’ stockings, but somehow, he only ever goes after his own stocking.

This is only his second Christmas; he hasn’t had time to have really learned the difference between his own stocking and any other stocking. So…

How does he know which one’s his? They’ve been up almost a month, and I’ve only seen him try to get his own.

Aby-a-Day – Day 352 of 365

Every other Saturday, I clip all the cats’ claws. Today was one such Saturday.

Angel’s not a big fan of claw-clipping day.

Sparkle’s Xmas eCard

Sparkle the Designer Cat has published her holiday greeting card:

Be sure to also check out the Holiday eCard Fail. Totally reminds me of something Tessie would do. I love the look on Sparkle’s face, too.

Aby-a-Day – Day 351 of 365

This photo really makes me laugh. It looks like Jacoby’s just clocked out and he’s off duty and headed home (perhaps with a stop at the catnip bar along the way).

It inexplicably reminds me of those old Warner Brothers “Sheepdog and Wolf” cartoons: “Good night Ralph,” “Good night Sam, see you tomorrow…”

Aby-a-Day – Day 350 of 365

I love this photo of Jacoby and Tessie (and the mistletoe hat).

I just wish I could do something about that eyeshine!

We just weighed all the cats tonight. Tessie and Jake actually weigh exactly the same: 11.2 lbs. He gained a little, and she lost a little. They definitely don’t look like they weigh the same.

When I woke up this morning, both of them were curled up on me. Tessie was on my chest, and Jake was draped over my shoulder and arm. No wonder I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, with almost 22½ lbs holding me down!