BOYCOTT HALLMARK CHANNEL!!!!!

Okay, this is from the Mistress, and when she's not happy, I'm not happy!!
I'm sorry it doesn't really have anything to do with kitty stuff.
Mistress got up later than usual this Monday morning, turned on the tube, she likes to start her day off with Step by Step, All in the Family and Little House On the Prairie, but like I said, she overslept.
When she did get to the TV, she found I Love Lucy on Hallmark Channel instead of Little House. She shrugged and thought "Okay, whatever, I miss Lucy anyway, they only usually have it on at either really early or really late." She checked the guide and found out that Little House would no longer be on Hallmark Channel!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, okay, I admit, and she admits that she does watch a little too much TV, especially since she lost her job, but she doesn't just sit there and stare at it, she gets breakfast, gets her emails, sometimes she reads, studies her Vet Assistant books, but mostly she has it on for noise and company.
And what better company than a wholesome two hours of Michael Landon?
Before, they had four hours of Little House on Hallmark, one at 9:00, one at 10:00, one at 2:00 and one at 3:00. Then since cable has shifted a bit and some cable companies don't offer TVLand anymore, they took it off TVLand. Oh well. Whatever. Even when Mistress worked, she finished her morning ritual with LHOTP!
Hey, 20 minutes of the show before a stressful day is better than nothing!
Then when she got laid off, the show was perfect to watch. There are some episodes she'd rather not watch, but she just left it on for noise anyway!
Now, they took I Love Lucy off of TVLand, that was INSANE!!!! but like I said, some cable companies don't offer TVLand anymore. Okay, so they put it on Hallmark. Okay, well, Lucy is kind of a Hallmark-y show cuz it's a very memorable show. I dare ya to find one person who hasn't seen all episodes, or even heard about the show!
Okay, so they took one Little House off the lineup. It was kinda odd, but still, three hours a day is just fine.
Then, cable companies were taking Lifetime off their offered channels (unthinkable!) so I guess Hallmark offered to put Golden Girls on their lineup.
Mistress loves Golden Girls too, and so does her friend Jennifer, and lots of women, men too! But it is NOT a Hallmark-y show! Hallmarky shows are: The Waltons, 7th Heaven, Murder She Wrote, Highway to Heaven, Touched By An Angel, even M*A*S*H and Little House! Plus the umpteen wonderful, heart-wrenching movies they play.
But Golden Girls? With talk of s*x and inuendos and stuff like that on a family channel?
I don't think so!!
What is happening to TV today? So many sick and twisted shows are on now, and I'm not saying Golden Girls is, Mistress loves it! But the shows they have on TVLand now. .. TVLand, that used to be as wholesome as blueberry pie! They now have 3rd Rock From the Sun, High School Confidential? and CSI NY??? And now Hallmark Channel? Playing sitcoms .. .sitcoms that many many people, including my Mistress enjoy, but still, when they take off the wholesome shows like The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie and put in hours, and too many hours, too, of Golden Girls and M*A*S*H (which, I'm sure is a very good show in it's own right), it means even Cable TV is going south. Where you can't even get your daily dose of Michael Landon, and I'm not talking Bonanza either!! What is this world coming to? What will the kids watch? Sex? violence? Sitcoms and dramas that don't give you that "touchy-feely good feeling" at the end are going. .. going. .. almost gone!
Mistress is glad that at least she has all the Little House's on DVD. She is now boycotting the Hallmark Channel, I think a lot of people are, because Hallmark just isn't Hallmark without Little House. If your humans feel the same way .. . then come with us and
BOYCOTT HALLMARK!!!!!!
Now, some people might think "Oh, it's only TV" or "Oh, I've got all the episodes on DVD anyway and it'll be nice to see them without the commercials" or "Oh, you're just making a big deal about nothing."
Well, maybe so. .. . but if you feel passionately about something. . .whatever it is, STICK WITH IT THROUGH THICK AND THIN!!! Like Mistress also feels that way about animals and becoming a Vet Assistant, about taking care of herself and me independantly. .. etc.

What the. . .. ?

Okay, so, my food bowl is gone, so is my water bowl!
So is my cute little paw mat, the garbage can, the "I dreamt my dishes were done" mat for Mistress to stand on while she gets back to reality and actually does her dishes, my food storage thing, plus the extra bags of food that I'm always trying to tip over, and even Squeakers' old kidney food storage thing is gone!
WHAT THE. .. .?
Then I saw them, they were all scattered around the living room? I don't get it.
Then Mistress started pushing this sponge on a stick around the kitchen and while she did that, she dipped it into an ooky thing of water and pushed it around some more!
Humans. . .but, whatever opens their tuna cans, I guess.
But it interupted the happy flow of things! She did it in the bathroom too!
I mean (and for what you were thinking, shame on you!) she moved my litterbox, and the rugs it was on top of, and everything else that I don't care about out, and she pushed that thing around and got all the ooky stuff out from under my box (phew) and all her ooky old hair and my ooky old hair, and even Squeakers' ooky old hair (yeah, she isn't a great housekeeper) from the shower drain.
Like they say in that commercial: Eeeeeeuuuuwww!!
But did she have to uproot my happy existance?
*sigh* I guess so
Mistress said some guys called Inspectors may come in tomorrow and check some apartments at random, she says it may be ours, it may not.
Any which way, I be hiding!
So at least my food is back to where it belongs, so is everything else I can poop into or cheekrub.
It better stay that way!

The Chase is On!

"One day or another I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha!"
Not if I can help it!
Mistress keeps following me around, singing that song and chasing me!
Sorry, poor dumb human, I'm faster and more agile, even at my age!
I don't know what she wants with me anyway, but I don't wanna find out! Maybe she wants to practice finding and naming my bones (she is studying to be a Vet Assistant and her latest test was on the Skeletal and Muscular system, she got an 88%!)
Do I look like a specimen? I am to be petted, not practiced on!
So I chased her around the table, she almost got me, but I slipped under a chair, she couldn't fit. I even went behind the sofa, one of my first and favorite hiding spots from long ago. . .okay, so not that long ago, almost two years ago.
I think it's safe to come out now, though, it doesn't look like she's gonna be chasin' me around much more tonight.
Phew! I think I still might keep my distance though!

Today was the last day of winter! YAAAAAAAAAY!! Although someone said something about snow next Thursday.
Ah, who cares? I stay inside anyway.
Another kitty was brought up to the Rainbow Bridge today,(above) he was just 10 days old and not even a full pound in weight, his mama gave birth to him, that's true, but then just ignored him, so the human had to feed him manually for 10 days, but it just didn't work, he was too small and dehydrated, going thru weight loss with diarrhea and even though the human tried her hardest by keeping him warm with a hot water bottle and a plug-in warmer in a carrier, and feeding him KRM (Kitten Replacement Milk) and making several trips to the vet, the poor little trouper just didn't make it, along with the rest of the litter who were stillborn.

For a better, and more interesting rendition of this poor kitty's fate: http://www.catster.com/cats/642754/diary/Sweet_and_sassy

Springtime is Near!

And it's really hitting me!
I wanna play!
I wanna play tricks on my human!
I wanna meow in the middle of the night!
A toy mouse is my best friend! Any and every mouse that I thought was so dumb before is fun to play with!
1 AM is The time to play!
Humans just get in the way of my mouse raceway! And when a mousie is hiding under something, she says "Ohhh! Did you lose your mousie? I'll get it for you!" Nooooo! That's not how it's supposed to work! I'm supposed to find it and dig it out, even if it means tipping over furniture!
Everything is my toy!
And. . did I mention .. . I Wanna Play!
Maybe cuz it's so cold in here right now, I have to play to stay warm? Nah, I just wanna play!
Oh. .. Look at the time! It's time for another Mouse Race! Squeakers has her mouse races up at the Bridge and I have mine down here!
Gotta go! Heeeere Mousie Mousie Mousie! I'm coming to get yoooooou!

Sandyball!

Left is Tabby, the cat on Catster *mentioned in entry below* who is having her second Rainbow Bridge Anniversary today, she was one of the oh-so many victims of the Menu Foods recalls.

The center picture is yours truly. Taking a very nice nap. Mistress wonders why I couldn't have done that at 1:30 this morning instead of meowing and kicking around my little green mouse. Oh that poor mouse!

Mistress was on the phone and she looked over and she saw me, but I was sound asleep! But she couldn't tell where my face was, it was all snuggled in, which should've given her a clue, like a Do Not Disturb sign, but NOOOOOO! She had to get the camera out!

But that didn't disturb me. No, she snapped a few pictures and I slept on. But for while I just kept sleeping and sleeping, all nice in a ball, but could she leave me that way?

Heck no! She said "Sandy?" and stuck her cold fingers under the ball and found my chin and woke me up!

How RUDE!!

Let sleeping cats lie, I say!

Then, when she was assured that I was okay, she tried to put me back in a ball! But it didn't matter, she disturbed me! You can't change that!

So I got up and had something to eat, and while I was munching, I was plotting. Planning what I will do to her when she wants to go to sleep tonight!

I don't think I'll ever sleep in a full ball-shape again. Mistress said it was cute, but I think it's too cute.

Midnight Meowings

Some time after Mistress went to bed, I got the urge to play! So I got up and there was a purrrfect green mousie on the floor. . .purrfect for Pre-Saint Patrick's Day play, so I hit it around a bit and I was having a blast! And then. ..
He disappeared!
I meowed and meowed and well, gosh darnit! He didn't come back, and all the meowing woke Mistress up! She got worried and she said "Sandy? Is there anything wrong? Are you sick? Oh no!"
Chill! I mean, I knew she was the nervous type, but I didn't realize it was that bad! Then she checked me out and she saw that I wasn't sick or hurt or anything, so then she said "What's wrong? Why don't you just come to bed, and we'll all get some sleep, and you can be quiet. .. "
I don't get her. At first she actually wanted me to talk! Who cares if it's 1:30 AM or PM? We kitties have no concept of time!
I let her carry me back to the bed, but as soon as she crawled back in, I jumped off and went looking for my little green friend.
All Mistress and I found this morning was a tuft of green on the floor!
My little friend is. . .. dead? But he's green! He's Irish, what happened to the Luck of the Irish?
Well I didn't kill him!

Anyway, celebrating a two-month Bridge anniversary today is Tabby. She's a friend of Squeakers on Catster, and she was a victim of Menu Foods' pet-food recall. Please purr for her family, who, I'm sure is having a rough day. There is a Life party for her all day on Catster, to celebrate her oh-so short life.

The Shower Meower

HAHAHA!
I scared my Mistress yet again!
She was standing under the water, she usually croons a dumb ole song when she's doing that, she says the acoustics are awesome and makes her sound good!
Those acoustics must be awesome . .. whatever acoustics are.
But this time she wasn't singing and she was quiet. I was worried cuz I thought something was wrong, like someone (invisible?) was trying to Furminate her! I stood by the door and started to meow. She thought she heard some meows, but then she shrugged it off, she thought it was the TV which she left on, or an ambulance driving by (the hospital is less than a mile away, plus at this place, the ambulance comes by more than kids do!)
As soon as she turned off the water, though, she realized it was me!
Duh!
She came out, all dripping wet and said "Sandy? Is there something wrong? Oh, what's wrong?" Women! They are great worriers, but very annoying! She even picked me up when she had nothing but a towel on!
Eeeeeuuuuuuwwwww!!!
She made sure I wasn't choking or anything, then went back in and closed the door, so I meowed again, and again!
She kept opening the door and looking at me
She finally came out. .. fully clothed, thank goodness and checked me out and made sure I was all right.
Why wouldn't I be?
Then she said to her friend Jen when she called "I swear, Sandy's starting to act as weird as Squeakers used to!
AHHHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOO!!!
I do NOT wanna act like that freak. .. er, may she rest in peace, NO WAY!
Next time Mistress promised she'd sing in the shower, to put my mind at ease.
That helps my mind, but not my ears!!

The Saga of the Food Bowl Continues. . .

Okay, so I'm a finicky old cat! Sue me!
I did like the higher food bowl. .. for about a half hour
Then I hated it, it was weird and it was too high!
Mistress kept playing tricks to get me to eat, like hand-feeding me, and giving me Squeakers' old kidney food, etc.
I would eat too, but not much.
finally, just before she called the vet in panic, she washed my dish!
Duh!
We kitties are clean, for Pete's sake, we like clean litterboxes and clean food bowls!
Now, I'm not saying my bowl was full of dried food and slobber, but it just needed to be cleaned, that's all!
And for days I've been following her to my food bowl, like I'm hungry. . .and I am, and meowing at her, humans are so sloooooooowwwww!
I also put her into close-to cardiac arrest last night! What fun!
It was kinda dry in here, so I made a noise with my throat, her back was turned, so I went and batted at something she had on the floor, she said it sounded like I was choking, so she yelled "SANDY!!" which really scared me, so I ran!
She chased me and I kept running and she kept saying "I just want to look at you!" but I wouldn't. Finally, when she calemed down, she turned around and I was lying, all comfy on the couch!

The FURMINATOR!

No, Arnold Schwartzenegger is not in this movie!
Mistress decided to Furminate me this morning!
She dragged me into the bathroom, closed the door, sat down with me and went to town with that thing, and WOW!
There was fur, fur EVERYWHERE!!
She was smart this time and actually wore an old shirt, but no pants *covers her mouth* Oops, was I not supposed to say that?
But the fur got all over her, me, the floor, and some landed on the sink and cabinet! She really took a lot of hair off.
The phone rang during this whole ordeal, but she couldn't answer it cuz she was covered in what she calls Sandyfur!
I was a good girl, I tolerated it, until she started in on my legs and tummy. Now, I don't mind if she pets my tummy, but that Furminator is not welcome to touch it!!
Finally she spanked my fanny. . .that's what she calls it. .. .but actually it's getting all the fur off me before she sets me free. But this time she had to spank her fanny too, cuz some stray fur wound up on her bottom! *puts paw over mouth again*
Oopsie .. .sorry Mistress!
No I'm not, it was really funny!
Then she gave me some treats, saying that I deserved them. .. you bet I did! That was pure torture!
Then she had to sweep up the Sandyfur. .. lots and lots of Sandyfur!
Am I bald now, I wonder?
Cuz she said "Wow Sandy, there's so much fur here I could build another cat!"
Then she got the vacuum out. Squeakers was afraid of it before, but I am not. I think my former owner used to vacuum a lot. It doesn't phase me any.
Now I feel cleaner, and ten pounds lighter *giggles*
But I still don't like that Furminator thing! I wish Arnold Schwarzenegger would take it away. .. or anybody!
Also, Mistress noticed this after Furminating me. . .I look darker without my topcoat! Jen Furminates both Twinkie and Lyndi at least once a week! and outside too! Mistress tried to do it outside, but she didn't want the neighbors to think she was murdering me, cuz I really put up a fuss!

The Bottom of the Food Bowl

I hate to say it, but my human can sometimes be actually smart!
Lately I haven't been eating quite as much as I used to, so Mistress started to worry, cuz that's how it started with Squeakers, first she didn't eat much, then she didn't eat at all, then Mistress found out it was a kidney problem, then she was put on meds, then Squeakers ate again, but before she went to the Bridge, she didn't eat at all again!
But that doesn't mean I have a kidney problem!
It just means I am old, okay, I admit it, I am getting up there in age! My bones are getting a little creaky. It sometimes is hard to bend all the way down to eat, oh I can eat, but to get the last few yuumy morsels in my dish, sometimes is verry hard.
Mistress even thought of putting me on my old cat food, the one I ate before I came to live with her. She didn't like buying a generic food like Alley Cat but I was thrilled to see my old food again!
But still, it didn't work. I refused to eat the food on the bottom of the bowl.
So, I guess, a light went on in her head ( I hope not, that's dangerous!) and she put my dish on top of Squeakers' old dish, she upturned it and put it on the mat, and put my dish on top! She did that with my water dish too! I like it alot
Now I can actually see the bottom of the food bowl again!