Now, I probably shoulds pick out a nice picture of the twerp that highlights his…um…good…qualities. Problem is, I’m not a nice big sister. Especially since this guy just stole my treats again! So, I will instead introduce Ichigo with pictures taken from Ichigo’s second day here…after Mom found a couple of ticks and fleas on him.

Oh yes, this is Ichigo after his first flea and tick bath!

Yuppers, my baby brother was not a happy kitten that day. Sadly enough, he didn’t let it get him down for long. Then he was purring and being lovey-dovey with MY MOM again. Hmph.

Ichigo didn’t get no kitty-equivalent of dead sea minerals or anything like that either. It was a straight forward and simple flea and tick bath using the stuff from Hartz. I kinda sympathized a little, what with the whole getting wet and stuff. But honestly, I hate those little itchy and bitey bugs that make me feel as dirty as a doggy. So I’m glad Mom gave him a bath right away upon finding Ichigo’s hitchhikers.

I hads planned to blog about it, but yesterday just wasn’t a day I felt like writing. Neither did Mom really. She had a kinda rough day at work, and to top it off, yesterday marked the one year anniversary of sister Isis’ passing.

Last year, on July 25th, my big sister Isis passed away suddenly and it left both Mom and me reeling in shock. Isis was 14 going on 15 human years of age, so even though she lived a good long life, it felt like it was still all too brief.

Over the past year, Mom and I have had a lot of rough spots and Isis’ absence was felt even stronger during the high and low points of the year. When Mom finally found a job after over a year of searching, neither of us really rejoiced. It meant the start of long days cooped up in the house all by myself and Mom coming home to a house devoid of Isis’ happy “welcome home” greeting that Mom had come to expect over the years. Halloween came and went with no new costumes for Isis, or having fun messing with the trick or treaters. Holiday cooking was especially dull, because Isis wasn’t there in the kitchen to help monitor the procedures and let the humans know when things were and were not ready to be taken out of the oven. Grandma and Mom are so accustomed to Isis telling them when things that don’t look ready are (and vice versa) that they both burnt some of the food initially. They just forgots to check the foods themselves – Isis always meowed and pawed at the oven door to let them know!

Speaking of kitchens, the first time Mom opened a can of food (it was green beans), after Isis passed away, with the can opener she started crying. Whenever one of the humans ever opened a can of food (whether it was our food or not) Isis would come running into the kitchen from where ever she was, singing at the top of her lungs. No one does this in our house anymore and Mom misses it, but if I try to do it, well, it feels awkward and it will always make Mom cry no matter how happy of a mood she’s in so I don’t do it.

Christmas came and there were no decorations. Mom had barely started her new job and was working full time (because of training) and her paycheck was going to her past due bills and keeping food in our tummies and the utilities on. She was exhausted and felt no need to spend time decorating a house no one would really see, she had other things to do. But in honesty, she just didn’t want a reminder of who was gone. Isis was the “Christmas Kitty” – she loved the decorations, especially lights, and could sit for hours just staring at the tree or the displays Mom made. Needless to say, Mom also didn’t go driving around looking at the displays people do in their yards like she used to. Isis loved viewing the displays and Mom would take her for a drive every holiday. There were even some humans who looked forward to Isis visiting them each year!

When we got the severe winter weather, where there was tons of snow on the ground (in the desert!), temperatures dropped to below freezing (in the desert!), and our pipes froze (in the desert!), we both couldn’t help but wonder how Isis would have handled it. Isis hated cold weather and always parked herself in front of a heater, under blankets, or in Mom’s lap – sometimes all three at once! And to top it off, as soon as the weather dropped, Isis wanted warm clothes. She wore her hoodie, her sweaters, or her jackets all day everyday and even then she was listless and tried to hibernate the cold months away. How would Isis have reacted to the crazy weather we had? It’s something both of us wish we could have seen, even if it meant putting up with Very!Grumpy!Isis.

Going to the vet for the first time since Isis passed away was a strange and frightening experiance. I don’t mind riding in the car with Mom – for short distances. But when we go on a long trip I knows for sure where we’re going. Somehow, with my big sister looking out for me, the trips never seemed that scary. Just, ya know, the part where we’re there and they stab us. This time though, the trip was long and scary and uncomfortable, and the actual experience was very very frightening. I hate to admit it, but I even made a mess in my carrier. That’s something I hadn’t done since I was a kitten.

It’s been one year since my big sister Isis went to the rainbow bridge and both Mom and me miss her terribly. It feels like it was just yesterday that Isis was with us, and that at any moment she might still pop her head out from one of her napping spots and give us a funny look for thinking she was gone when she was right there all along. Mom and I know this won’t be happening any time soon, and we realize now that we’re very fortunate to have known such a special kitty, and should focus on the happy times we had together; but sometimes the house still feels a little emptier, a little colder, for the warm and loving kitty who is no longer with us.

Big sister Isis, we miss you and hope you’re doing okay wherever you are now. Love you bunches!

ETA: Mom and I made a special video we would like to share with you, but we’re having troubles uploading it to Youtube right now. It’s timing out? So we will try to get it up tomorrow when Mom is at work and can use a faster connection. Please check back for the video!

So, Youtube just didn’t like our video at all. Instead, we uploaded it to Vimeo:

I mentioned Mom was looking to adopt this one older kitty whose Mommy was moving and couldn’t take her with her, but turns out that human was able to find a home for her kitty where the kitty would be the only one. So she didn’t get to become my new sister. That’s okay I guess.

There’s been lots of ads in the classifieds here lately where folks are trying to find homes for kittens. Mom has called bunches of ‘em, but people don’t answer their phones! She leaves a detailed message, no call-back. Then the following week we see their ad in the classifieds again. Well duh humans, you have to do some work on your end too! Kitties won’t get new homes on their own! But last night Mom finally reached someone, and she is all set to go and pick out a kitten today around 4pm.

So, it’s offurcial, I will have a younger sibling today.

The anticipation is killing me!

I might not get a younger sibling though. Mom saw an ad in the classified that made her upset. A human is moving and is unable to take her kitty with her and is trying to find her a good home. She’s an adult kitty already too. Mom gave the lady a call but the lady is unsure because her kitty has never lived with another cat and is very territorial.

Not really sure what the humans are planning there. They stayed on the phone for a bit hashing things out. We’ll see though!

I saw some pretty cool ads in the classifieds too, but Mom just ignored the ones I tried to point out to her. Like one that had Ordinateurs in big bold letters – that looked promising. I didn’t know what it was about, but it looked cool. Mom eventually said she wasn’t in the market for a computer, so I guess that’s what it means? She showed me other ads in different human languages and said they were the same ones. One in Spanish and one in English too. Wow, the human that wrote them ads really wants to sell their stuff!

Mom was not only looking for a sibling for me in the classifieds, but looking for places to sell some of her stuff. Mom is trying to sell one of her instruments (it’s called a bassoon) and her bike too. No luck on two of those quests, but she seems determined to at least find me a sibling.

Worst yet, she put some of that premier dead sea body lotion she has on her legs, and she’s wearing shorts, so the scent rubbed off onto the computer chair. It’s not bad smelling…for being smelly stuff that humans put on their skin, but it’s still making me wanna sneeze.

My got some of that stuff for a gift, and she seems to like it, but she doesn’t use it very often. She “treats” herself with it and uses it sparingly. Most of the time she sticks with these simple lotions that smell funny and have funny names. One is named “baby lotion” but smells nothing like babies. The other sounds like it should smell yummy (cocoa and butter?) but doesn’t. Weird humans, can’t name things worth a darn.

Ah, but I’m getting sidetracked!

I gots to log in to SuperPoke! Pets though and I played with Natasha, she’s my online virtual pet. She’s a white little kitty.

Mom usually makes reaallly cool habitats for her pet that are so purrrrty. Mine don’t usually come out too good, but this time I made one that I am very proud of. It’s for the 4th of July; which is that holiday humans celebrate as this country’s birthday and they do this with lots of barbecues and loud booms. I have the habitat up already too! Here’s a screenshot of it:

It’s actually too big to fit on the blog so I shrunk it down, so please clicks to see the full image.

I’m really prouds of how it came out too! Do you like it?

Are there any other kitties (and doggies too) who play on SPP.com? Or maybe their humans do? If yes, please add me as a friend! I’m at: denalibali.superpokepets.com! If you don’t have a pet, that’s okay, you should get one today, right away! And then add me as a friend! It’s lots of fun.

See, Mom thinks I spend too much time locked up in this house all by myself. She says that it’s not healthy for me. But she won’t lets me go outside and spend the day outdoors while she’s at work either. Grrrr! Really, it makes about as much sense as a dude without an RV buying 5th wheel insurance. Uh, yeah. Odd humor…see, we have this neighbor who bought 5th wheel insurance (and no, at the time we didn’t know what it was for either) but he was convinced it was for the spare in his trunk but it’s something to do with RVs (those vehicles humans can travel in that are like mini-trailer homes that drive on the roads like a truck. Anyways, it’s kinda become a joke ’round here. “Makes as much sense as 5th wheel insurance” is what the humans say here now.

Buts anyway, so Mom is debating over whether or not she should gets me a furriend. She’s thinking about adopting another kitty or a small doggy that can stay indoors in this small house no problem.

But there is a problem, I don’t wants a new sibling. I just really want Mom to spend more time with me and let me spend hours a day outside. Is that too much to ask? I guess so, because Mom is seriously considering it. She’s also considering allowing the Old Man to take me since he says he misses me and that I act more like he’s my owner then Mom is. I don’t know why Mom would think that. The Old Man is fun, sure, and always gives me all the food I can eat whenever I so much as look at him….but he’s not Mom. And Mom is really concerned about me spending all day every day by myself locked up with a limited supply of food and water.

Maybe I should try a bit harder to catch these mice here in this house? Maybe Mom will realize I don’t need company (plenty to keep me occupied, thanks you!) and that I like it here with her just fine.

Hows do we fixes this so Mom doesn’t do something drastic like getting me a new furriend for company (especially a doggy!) or Mom lets the Old Man take me to live with him? I really do loves my Mom, I miss her during the day, and in the evening I spend some time with her, it’s just I got my own things I like to do at that time and I don’t like sleeping in the bedroom much……so…?

So, weather-wise, it’s all good. We’re getting temps in the high 70′s so no complaints there. The little space heaters, thick blankets, heated mattress pads, sweaters, gloves, and what nots are pretty much packed away for good now.

One space heater has stayed out though ’cause Mom hurt her leg (wearing heels! hah!) so sometimes she turns it on when she’s sitting down at the desk and puts the little heater underneath the desk so it’ll warm her leg and keep her calf muscles from cramping. But that’s gotten better lately!

I still maintains that she’d never have that problem if she wouldn’t wear clickety-clackety shoes that make my tail twitch in remembered pain….but hey, what does this kitty know?

Mom’s getting exhausted with her work though. She works every day and only gets Sunday off ’cause, hello, banks not open Sundays! She’s not there till close, sure, but she also has a long drive to and from work and has errands and stuff to race around and do after work too. In short, I think my Mom’s gonna ask them to start giving her a day off. I thinks she needs it. As it is, she gets home and races around to get things done or put away, then drops into bed only to get up early and do it all again.

I also donts understand why she works everyday, but according to the schedule posted on the corkboard by her desk, the other folks (parttimers and fulltimers) get to have days off every week.

And did I mention puppies? Yeah, puppies. One week someone threw a puppy here that made Mom cry because its fur was the same color as Isis so when Mom saw it curled up asleep by the door one day when she came home she started calling out “Isis! Isis! Why are you outside?!” Before it even clicked that it just couldn’t be Isis ever again. That’s why I really didn’t like that puppy.

We took it to the shelter, but then, about a week and a half later another puppy was abandoned and found its way to us. It was black with a little brown and she was very protective of Mom. Mom wanted to keep her and had already nicknamed her German Chocolate. But you could tell she was gonna be a big dog, and this house has a very small yard and is a small house to boot. Plus it’s right by the road. Not an ideal home for a big doggy.

Thankfully Mom decided to take German Chocolate to the shelter too so she could go to a good home.

Then, a couple of days later, we saw another puppy, about the same size as the other two dead on the side of the road. And another neighbor found another abandoned puppy on his property. Luckily he found it before his mean dogs could hurt it.

I think someone had a litter of puppies they just couldn’t afford and dumped them. Jerks.

Mom has used Vistaprint to order address labels, a mouse pad, and business cards for herself. She’s also bought a deposit ink stamper, personalized magnets, t-shirts, and pens for Grandma’s business too. Right nows, they have a special going on where you can get everything (that’s part of the promo)for $0 and you just pay the shipping. Inbox Dollars members get $5 for ordering. You can picks from pens, tote bags, mouse pads, business cards, calendars, invitations, and more right now. And of course, if your shipping is less then $5, well then you pretty much gots it for free, right? Right.

Mommy decided to get herself a new tote bag and she used the logo she had made for the blog (’cause Mom’s advertised us a few times with fellow furry-bloggers ’round here!) and the logo has both a picture of me and my sister. Here’s a shrunk down version of the logo:

Now, when Mom goes out somewhere she’ll have both me and my sister with her. Isn’t that awesome? The tote bag should arrive in a week or so. When it does I’ll be sure to take pictures and post here!

ETA: Mom would like me say that she really likes Vistaprint and Inbox Dollars, and if any of your humans have questions about either, please feel free to post ‘em here or email us and she’ll answer ‘em for you if she can.

So, this is where my Mom would like your helps.

Do your humans have an insurance/medical coverage for your and your furriends? If yes, could you tell us a little bit about them and what you think? Really good stuff to know would be:

• How much do you pay and do you pay monthly or annually?
• When you go to the vet, do you have to: pay a percentage of the bill and they cover the rest; does you provider cover it all up front; or do you have to cover it and then get reimbursed?
• What does your provider cover and what does it not cover?
• What have your experiences with your provider been like? Any stories to share, bad or good?
• What kind of information does your provider require in order to cover a pet?
• What kind of animals will they cover? Purebreeds, mixed, above a certain age (or below) – what?
• Anything else you thinks we might need to know?

But! That’s not why I’m posting this entry. You see, while we were there some squirrels were there running around. And, as you may remembers, the other house has a squirrel problem. I thinks this is the real reason Mom let the Old Man and Grandma take Shizuku back to the other house, he likes hunting squirrels too and there really aren’t any at our new home. But, that’s not what’s important.

What’s important is that these squirrels had the nerve to play on the lawn in plain sight of me, like I wouldn’t even hunt them let alones catch them. That made me very, very mad. How dares they insult my hunting skillz!

So I gave chase, I stalked them all over the property, chased ‘em up trees, and climbed under piled timber and vehicles too. And I never caught ‘em. Then, Grandma had enough and opened the door to let her doggy, Big Momma, out and off she shot.

It didn’t even take ten minutes before she had caught a squirrel and killed it. Then she brought it over to Grandma and Mom and they were so very proud of her. Shizuku, for the record, never joined in the hunt. He stayed at Mom’s feet and only growled and barked when the squirrel-hunt got too close to Mom for his liking.

I’m glad Big Momma caught one of those annoying, insulting, trouble-making nut munchers, but I’m also mad too. I couldn’t catch one! I’ve always been a great huntress, but I failed so badly, and in front of Mom too. I blame this on my inability to gets out and hunts more.

Still though, it was fun visiting Grandma, and even Shizuku and Big Momma too.