Aby-a-Day – May 31: Dis iz mah fort, no gurls allowed!

Sometimes, I’ll suddenly realise that I haven’t seen Jacoby in a while. And even though we live in a rather small apartment, it’s pretty amazing how many hiding places there are for a cat.

I finally found Jake burrowed inside the moving blanket.

It was very a very warm and secluded napping spot, undiscovered and unsullied by the other cats.

Jake did not want to come out, either. The only reason I found him was I noticed a slight movement when I leaned over the moving blanket.

Of course, the reason the moving blanket was out behind the sofa where he could sleep in it was because we had just bought a new bag of World’s Best Litter; just as a precaution (because, and I quote, “Why would we need to protect a bag of litter? Who would possibly want to chew into a bag of litter?”) we protected the bag with the moving blanket.

Obviously, we failed. I have no idea…maybe it’s the corn? That would be ironic; we spend more money buying dry cat food with less grain in it and then he gnaws his ways into 100% corn litter. We were also protecting a bulk pack of toilet paper under the moving blanket, because Jake has had his moments with unattended rolls of TP, but at least for now he seems to have outgrown that particular oral fixation.

Still, you never know…

Aby-a-Day – May 30: I Am Curious, Yellow (Hipstamatic Monday)

This is the textbook example of an interested Aby.

When you look up the word “curious” in your Funk & Wagnall’s, this is the picture you should see next to it.

Aby-a-Day – May 29: My Cat From Hell

We’ve started watching My Cat From Hell on Animal Planet. It’s a pretty interesting show, and the host, Jackson Galaxy, has a lot of good insights.

Angel’s definitely a fan!

This is pretty much what Jacoby does to me in the morning…

…the only thing that would make it more accurate would be to transform Bucky from a Siamese to an Aby, but today’s Get Fuzzy describes my life. Minus the carpet fibres and the barfing on the computer, maybe, but it’s always “food o’clock” in Jake’s world.

(click to embiggen)

The strip which got me hooked on this comic in the first place was very similar. It was one of the very first ones that Darby Conley (who lives in Boston, by the way) drew, and it involved Rob eating a sandwich. Bucky’s head appears over the tabletop and he says, “Is that tuna? Can I have it?”
Rob, chewing, responds, “Don’t you mean, ‘can I have some of it?”
And Bucky answers, “No…I think I could eat it all.”

And that, too, is so very like Jake, who tries to grab the food off of my fork as I’m lifting it to my mouth.

Aby-a-Day – May 28: You’d be so nice to wake up to

…the best morning of the whole week!

Jacoby loves it when we don’t run off in the morning!

Aby-a-Day – May 27: Like human, like cat (Fashion Friday)

I got Jacoby a little folding raincoat that we can carry around in case of sudden summer thundershowers. It’s actually a well-made, well-fitting design and it looks great on him (it’s made in Canada – just like Jake!).

Kris in our building took these photos of us when we came home from going out on a rainy afternoon, the pair of us in our raincoats. We make quite the team.

Don’t we, Jakey?

Ali the Aby needs a home!

I happened to check Purebreds Plus’ website today to see if there were any Abys, and I discovered Ali!

Ali is a tiny little red Aby girl who weighs just over 5lbs! Her description on the website says: Ali is a purebred 5-6 year old female Red Abyssinian. She was surrendered to rescue when her owners moved and could only have one cat in their new home. Ali was pretty upset by all the changes in her life but that is behind her and she is ready to go to her forever home.

Ali is delightful, a beautiful clear red color, petite and friendly. She weighs all of 5lbs. 11oz. She will delight you with her athletic feats and carry on a conversation with you. Her perfect adoptive home would be indoors with adults (maybe also older respectful children), where she can be a part of her family, helping on the computer, cooking, styling your hair or whatever she may want to be involved with. She would be happiest as an only cat or with one other calm cat. Please understand the Aby personality. Abys are not for everyone. http://www.cfa.org/client/breedabyssinian.aspx

Ali is healthy, current on vaccinations, spayed, FELV/FIV – neg/neg, and microchipped and litter box perfect. She is fostered in Pleasanton. If you would like more information about Ali, contact her foster mom, Karen at (925) 462-1608 or k.pahler@comcast.net if you have questions

She’s a bit older than Angel, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she and Angel were related. She looks like a wonderful little girl. If you’re in NorCal (or are willing to fly out there) and need an Aby in your life, check out Ali.

Peter Hasselbom can has Cheezburger!

One of his photos was featured yesterday on I Can Has Cheezburger…

It’s a photo of either Belle or Kolan, and you can see the original here, on his Flickr site.

Aby-a-Day – May 26: Yeah, Jake, whatever…good luck with that.

Being an Abyssinian, Angel, of course, had to see what Jacoby was up to in the kitchen.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“That’s it?! THAT’S what all the fuss is about?”

“Dude, seriously, I have better things to do with my time.”

If you’re in the market for an Aby kitten…

…I happen to know where you can get an AWESOME one!

Sherry, Jacoby’s breeder, sent me an email today: I have some kittens available, 3 Ruddy boys and 1 Red boy if you know of anyone who might be interested. They were born Feb. 9.

They’re about the same age Jake was when I got him. And, oh, they are so cute!

The little ruddy guy off on his own nomming his paw reminds me so much of Jake…and the little red guy is so sleepy, he’s all, “Dude…I’m trying to sleep, here…Du…hey! Tail!”

Four little boycats, the grandsons of Scar…and, tangentally, it means that there’s a good chance that Jake carries Red since Dillin does. If you’re interested, or know anybody who is, I can vouch for their personalities! 🙂

Aby-a-Day – May 25: Wordless Wednesday (It works for seagulls!)

Aby-a-Day – May 24: The cat’s in the (treat) bag

I came home from work one evening to my husband showing me what happened when he inadvertantly left the treat cupboard in the kitchen open.

See those tooth marks? Someone knows where the treats are hidden, and wasted no time in liberating them once the coast was clear.

As if there was any question who the freedom fighter was…

…As soon as we started talking about the purloined treats, Jacoby came running back into the kitchen to demonstrate his achievement.

“See? First, I bit it like this…”

“…and then, I shook it, like this!”

Aby-a-Day – May 23: Basking in the sun (Hipstamatic Monday)

This photo was taken at the same time as this Wordless Wednesday photo from a few weeks ago. I love the way Hipstamatic magnifies the sunbeams!

I like to think this is how cats see sunbeams, which is why they’re so good at finding them.

Aby-a-Day – May 22: You’ll never walk – or do anything else – alone. EVER.

Living with an Abyssinian means never having to be in the bathroom alone.

I always have an eager companion “helping” me.

And the best part is, it doesn’t seem to really matter whether or not I actually need any help!

Aby-a-Day – May 21: Oh the things you will see!

We see some interesting things along the Harborwalk.

What do you suppose…?

It must be something very impressive!

It is! It’s a ginormous pile of sand. You can tell that Jacoby just wants to pull that cover off and go to town on it…

They played me!!

I woke up this morning before my husband, without the usual weekend assistance of Jacoby biting my head. When I got up, all the kitties escorted me to the kitchen to show me their empty bowls. Since I was the first one awake, I obligingly gave them their daily ration of crunchies, which they tucked into.

When my husband got up a short while later, he checked their bowls and commented, “Wow, there’s still a lot of food left.”

“Oh, yeah, I gave them their dry food already,” I explained, believing he thought it had been there since yesterday.

“You what!?” He said. “But I fed them already this morning!”

“You did? When? Their bowls were empty when I got up…” I was starting to smell a bay rum-scented rat.

“6am! They woke me up so I fed them and went back to bed.”

Those sneaky little brats! “THEY PLAYED ME!” I cried. “Those little sneaks PLAYED me! I should have known something was fishy when Jake wasn’t biting awake…”

Such is life with devious felines of the Aby persuasion.

Aby-a-Day – May 20: Put me in, coach! (Fashion Friday)

Since he’s named after Jacoby Ellsbury, and his registered name is Pellburn Jacoby Stealin’ Home, of course Jake has a Red Sox jacket.

He actually got it for his birthday last year, but he needed to grow into it, and it also needed some alterations to make it fit properly.

I added a hole in the back for his leash, too.

He also has an authentic-looking home jersey and a Red Sox cap (it’s a state law that all residents must own at least one Red Sox cap).

If only I could find a way to take him to Fenway!

Meow Mingle, Moderncat and Jackson Galaxy!

Since I am a Northern California native, born in Sacramento and raised in Davis, it takes a lot to make me wish I was in LA,

There was a post on Moderncat today about the event next Wednesday and, oh! I would love to go to this with Jacoby as my date. Moderncat is one of my favourite blogs, and Jackson Galaxy, star of the new Animal Planet show “My Cat From Hell,” is my new personal hero.

How much fun would we have at this thing?

Aby-a-Day – May 19: No better place

I don’t think we’re ever happier than when we’re walking home along the Channel.

I think Jacoby enjoys it as much as I do.

It may be an industrial area, next to a major train station and not far from an international airport, but it’s also just beautiful, especially at dusk.

We can see the Prudential Building on our way home, too.

“Mo-o-om! Are you coming, or what!?”

Aby-a-Day – May 18: Wordless Wednesday (Summer Street Bridge)