Pip: When I Run for President

This is what my campaign poster is gonna look like!

First Trip to the Vet

(Originally Published 2/14/2011)

Our humans took us for our first check up--at the Forest Hills Cat Hospital, which sadly, is no longer located in Forest Hills. At least it's still in Queens.

PIP: The vet examined me first. He said the folks at Northshore Animal League did a great job of sewing up my bad eye. He checked my other eye and said I have some sight in it. Duh--I knew that. I can get almost anywhere I want--on the couch, the bed and the tables. Very soon, I'm planning to figure out how to get onto the kitchen counter. All my food seems to magically appear from there.  

The last thing the vet did was take blood. Yuk. Definitely not my favorite thing.  I squirmed like crazy, and the vet tech hung onto me with all her might. Just wait until I'm bigger--I'll get even!

Marley: I was next. I've been in places like this before. I don't like being poked and prodded.

 

Dr. Neville said I have great teeth--look ma, no plaque! He said my teeth showed him I might be younger than five years old. That makes me four, right? 

 Dr. Neville examined my heart, too. He said Pip and I are both really healthy. That means we don't have to come back until almost next year. How long is a year?

Pip: My new collar

There are a million and one uses for packing tape—and I managed this one all by myself! 

Pip: Picture for Today

My human dad and me. We like to snooze together.

Marley: Picture for Today

(Orig. published Feb 2/2011)

 

This picture was taken the day I arrived. I was a little scared that day...

Marley and Pip at Play

The Northshore folks were really worried that Pip would terrorize Marley. They urged us to think long and hard about whether we were letting ourselves and Marley in for a bad time.

I'll just sit here quietly with my toy...

 We did worry about it, but decided to take our chances. When we brought Pip home, Marley had been with us for a week and had just decided that he was a full-fledged member of the household. That is, he stopped hiding next to the sofa and began lounging around in the middle of the living room floor.

So we were thrilled to see that they are good for each other. Pip is hyperactive; Marley is ... pretty darned laid back. When our upstairs neighbor and her son met Marley a day after we brought him home, they waved a catnip toy in front of him. Marley's reaction? Too much work. I'd rather sit here and look grand.

So we think Pip is going to keep Marley on his toes, in a good way. I'll even bet Marley lives longer because of it.

Maximum Claw

(Originally published Jan 30/2011)

To make up for the loss of his right eye and most of the sight in his left eye, Pip relies a lot on his claws and sense of smell—and on the fact that most of the furniture in the house stays in one place. 

Here’s what we haven’t yet figured out: How to keep him from racing across our bodies as we sit on the sofa (or Allen sits at his computer or walks around) with no warning and “maximum claw.”

This is a big problem for Allen, since Pip enjoys sitting on Allen’s shoulders and purring away as he types. We guess the close body contact feels good to Pip—makes him feel safe and secure. The problem is not being on the shoulders—the problem is deciding to jump down. Ouch, ouch, ouch. You can see the results below!