LostWoods Blog

I came home from work this afternoon and as I was pulling up to the garage, I glanced up toward my bedroom window to see who might be sitting there waiting for me to come home. (Or so I tell myself. More likely they are just watching for birds or something.) Much to my shock, I see Kaela and Ollie Bear on the roof.

Yikes!

How the *#%*#% did they get up there?

Then I notice a hole in the window screen just big enough for a squirmy and determined cat body to get through.

I park the car in the garage, dash in the house, toss my purse on the counter, drop my coat on the couch on the way by, and run up the stairs.

I get to the bedroom and see several cats on the bed and window sill. No doubt they were discussing amongst themselves if going out to the roof was a good idea. I shooed them away from the window, then took off the screen and called to the cats on the roof.

Ollie, sweetheart that he is (he loves his lisa-mom), came right over and jumped up to the window. Good boy! Kaela came over, looked at me, and left. Bad cat! I call to her some more, but like any cat who doesn’t want to do what she is asked, she ignored me.

I closed the window so no other cats could make their escape and went downstairs. I hollered to Ken, “we have a problem!” and explained we had a cat on the roof. Or maybe more than one cat on the roof. I was doing a head count as I walked, but I was feeling a little stressed and more concerned about at least getting Kaela before I launched a full accounting of the furry family.

We went to the garage and retrieved the six foot ladder, which I put up next to the house. I climbed up to the top and stood there calling Kaela. She came within about four feet of the edge of the roof, then went back up. While she was doing this, I spotted Ariane walking along the roof ridge over the shop. Okay, two cats on the roof.

I called. They ignored. I called some more. They explored the roof.

Ken went in the house and got a piece of leftover pork roast. He started tossing pieces of it on the roof, in hopes of luring them close enough to the edge that I could grab them. After a bit, Kaela decided pork roast was worth it and I grabbed her. Ariane wasn’t nearly as interested in cold pork as she was in exploring the entire lower roof. (Luckily nobody went up on the higher part of our two story house — they confined their adventure to the one story portion over the cat room, garage, and shop.)

Ken went back in the garage and got out another ladder, which he carried around to the back of the garage. Next thing I knew, he was on the roof, attempting to herd Ariane over to me. That worked, sorta. She came over by me, but too high up for me to grab.

Finally, I went back in the house. I chased all the cats out of our bedroom and closed the door. I opened the window again and left the room to get a can of cat food. (Ariane LOVES wet food.) As I was getting the can, I heard Ken yell for me. Ariane had jumped back into the bedroom. I quickly closed the window.

A full head count ensued, checking to make sure nobody else was running amuck outside or on the roof. All safe and sound. Whew! Just in time for it to start snowing — wouldn’t have wanted Ken or them to be up on the roof in the snow.

This weekend we’ll repair the screen with pet screen so they can’t get through it again. Yes, I do leave my bedroom windows open almost all the time, so the screen has to be fixed soon — even if it is just mid-February.

Update: First of a couple of posts I had in my drafts. While the Royals except Riordan are now livening up their new families’ homes, I thought you might enjoy hearing about their behavior shortly before they left. And for the record, Riordan has taken over the title of Naughtiest kitten in the house, despite us having younger kittens around who also get into trouble. The younger kittens also seem to idolize their older cousin. I came out of my office this morning to find Riordan lying in the hall outside the door with Aspen and Oliver snuggled up to him. Where was my camera when I needed it?!

Original post dated 8/26/2010:

I cheated you out of pictures of the Royals. The summer and their growing up just raced by me. Tomorrow they will be 13 weeks old. It’s hard to imagine they will be leaving soon. Well, Tatiana, Brendan, and Reagan will be leaving soon. Alaric and Riordan are still available, but I do have a few emails to respond to, so they may have homes, too.

Just like Basia’s kittens last year, these babies are sweet and loving. They are also funny and very naughty. In fact, Tatiana – the naughtiest of the bunch, although Reagan and Brendan have been giving her a run for the title – has become known as “Naughty Tati”. Plants, curtains, chairs, books in the bookcase, legs… nothing is safe! I’ve actually been trying to teach these little monsters to behave more than I do with the other kittens and they just think it’s another game. And housework is a game, too. Reagan was chasing the vacuum around the other day attacking it while I was using it! Sweep? Ha! Not until they leave! Sweeping is an excellent game. Their latest fun thing — started by Brendan and Reagan — is to leap through the air with all four paws extended, trying to grab my legs and tackle me as I walk by. Little brats!

First of all, for all the kitten cam addicts — the kitten cam is back online. www.lostwoodswegies.com/kittencam I had it off after I moved the kittens to our bedroom because I needed to move my pc back to the hippo room so it would be close enough for the camera cable to reach. That’s done, so look for the kitten cam during the day and into the evening for the next few weeks at least. The Royals are getting more active, so they’ll be fun to watch when they aren’t sleeping. And you never know who else you’ll see. Kendi seem especially fond of the little kittens and spends quite a bit of time with them.

By now you should all be used to me whining about what a pain three week old kittens are to photograph. I muddled through and have photos of the Royals. Actually, there are some really cute photos. But I had to try several times to get pics of Tatiana. That little girl can MOVE! She’d race across the top of the dresser at full speed and I’d have to grab her before she ran right off the side. She did not want to look at me — she had places to go! This little girl is full of tortietude and going to be quite the handful, I think.

My other news of the day is that Kefira appears to be pregnant. (Susanne, is that you I can hear cheering clear across the country???) I guess all it took was me talking bad about her and how she was never going to get pregnant… Danica was romancing with McCoy, too, so I’m hoping to see some pink on her soon. And then McCoy can go home to his real family when I go to Colorado at the end of July. More babies! What fun!

I can hardly believe that the Valentines are fourteen weeks old already. The time has just flown by! I’m trying to be good… I took their weekly photos this afternoon and before I post them to the Facebook page, I’ll post them in here for all of you. Then I’ll go put them on the FB page.

They weren’t very good for group shots, so I’ll have to try later in the week.

The kittens are quickly approaching my favorite age and watching them reminds me of why I so like them at six weeks or so. One of the joys of raising kittens is watching their development. The first two weeks or so they spend most of their time eating and sleeping. From two to three weeks they start moving around more and exploring, sometimes escaping from the kennel. But mostly they stay in a small area – nursing, sleeping, creeping around, and trying to learn to get up on their feet and really walk. Almost overnight during that third week, they “get it”.

And then the real fun begins.

They run. They pounce. They climb. They wrestle. They aren’t very good at it yet, but they are no longer infants, they are toddlers. And they are hilarious.

And so it is with the Valentines. When I left for Colorado last week they were still mostly staying in their kennel, although they could be coaxed out. Even then they didn’t go very far. When I got home, they were spending almost no time in the kennel and had been exploring the entire bedroom for days – taking a big liking to under the bed and in the closet.

This morning I was watching them as they climbed up the little cat condo, then moved onto the cedar chest, and considered climbing onto the bed from there. They go head first down the kitten condo to the floor, then take off across the room. They hide inside the condo and attack each other. They pounce on the toys, and then run off the other direction. And they are brave – swatting the big cats’ tails and batting at their faces. Luckily, the big cats are good natured and put up with the Valentines’ silliness. (The QoE has been avoiding our bedroom – I don’t think she wants to deal with them…)

So far only Carwyn is interested in eating solid food. He loves wet food and also is drinking water. Tanith and Taavi are still holding out for Dawnie-mom’s milk. I’ve seen Taavi and Carwyn both use the litter boxes – always good news!

I’m looking forward to the weekend. Time for catching up on the housework I didn’t do the past two weekends, playing with kittens, and even taking kitten photos on time. I also hope to do some research for stuff I’m writing. More on that one of these days… when there is more to tell. The kittens at Red Canyon will be seven weeks old, so I’d imagine Brenda will send pictures on Sunday for her website. She’s been great about getting pictures done each week and I’ve even been a fairly reliable web mistress who gets them posted in a timely manner. Last night I added a link to a video of her kittens to her website. I rather like the idea of taking short videos of the kittens and posting links for people to watch. I may try that this weekend, too.

The last thing I have today is a picture. I was thrilled to get some time with my mom and dad when I went to Colorado last week. My dad loves cats – he has three living in the shop (workshop, farm equipment garage – not a store kind of shop.) Usually I’m terrible about taking pictures at family gatherings and the like, but I remembered to get the camera out for a change. Here is a picture of my dad with Natane.

Things happen when I’m gone. Things like the kittens becoming VERY mobile and running all over our bedroom, so the Kitten Cam that was set up to focus on the kennel isn’t showing much of anything. Ken decided it was silly to turn it on to show an empty kennel. So if you’ve been missing the Kitten Cam, don’t worry, it will be back – probably tomorrow morning. Among my tasks for the evening are moving it to a better location and angle for showing the Valentines as they grow and explore our bedroom. Although, Ken tells me they like it under the bed and in the closet – both places the cam isn’t much use! I will give them more toys and things to play on in hopes they will stay in camera range for you.

Also, because I was gone all weekend, arriving home about 8 last night, I didn’t get the four week photos of the furry babies taken. That, too, is high on the list of things to do this evening. They grew so much in the five days I was gone! Tanith was the first one to come to me when I went in the room and greeted them. The boys were sleeping in the closet. Tanith also followed me all over the bathroom and bedroom this morning as I was getting ready for work. She seems to be the most outgoing at the moment, although the boys are friendly, too. They were just more interested in playing than visiting with me.

Show news… I took Natane to this show because I really don’t have anyone else to show at the moment. AZWegie Simon was competing in Cats class, so I didn’t want to take Basia. Either she’d beat Simon in the ring, taking points away from his quest for an International Win this year or she’d get her furry little behind beat by the big, handsome boy and I’d have spent $90 for no reason. Both scenarios were unattractive and so she stayed home. I wasn’t expecting Natane to do anything much at the show, but I needed SOMEONE to show. When I got to the show, that thought of her just being shown for the experience of being handled was reinforced when I looked at the catalog and saw that she’d be competing against a boy I knew to be bigger and to have a longer coat.

The results of the show were a surprise…

Natane took Best of Breed in eight of the twelve rings, and got seven finals: Best LH Alter, 2nd Best AB Alter, 3rd Best AB Alter, 3rd Best LH Alter, two 4th Best AB Alter, and a 5th Best AB Alter. The count was low, so all the rings were top 5 rather than top 10 finals. This should make Natane a Double Grand Champion Alter, with enough finals for her Triple. (But not enough points yet.) If the show had been more competitive, I don’t think she’d have earned as many finals, but I am not turning down the finals or the points! She received many compliments from judges and spectators alike. Spectators were especially taken with her beautiful silver color. I admit – I have become a HUGE fan for silver and silver torbies. Definitely my favorite colors of cat. I’m also very fond of Natane’s eyes – shape, size, and color. If I could have those eyes on every kitten born at LostWoods, I’d be a very happy breeder.

Even if Natane hadn’t been getting a bunch of finals, it still would have been a wonderful weekend. Brenda and Sondra came to the show and hung out all weekend even though they weren’t showing anyone. We all had the pleasure of meeting Carol Jenner, Simon’s human slave, in person (finally!) and spending the weekend getting know her better. We also met Deb’s angel, Liz Hansen, and wish we could have spent more time with her. Alas, she was clerking, so her time from chatting and goofing around was very limited. I’m looking forward to seeing more of both women at future shows.

Last bit of news before I go is that Keegan delivered five babies last week. So now Deb has 17 (!!!) kittens there at AZWegie. She has posted some pictures of everyone on her website so be sure to go check them out. Beautiful babies!

Well, I didn’t get the bonus shots of the kittens posted this week. They are on the LostWoods Facebook page but I feel obligated to at least say something interesting – or try – when I post here and that takes time as well as something original to say. I’ll make sure I get some extra three week pictures posted here after I take photos this weekend or Monday. They are getting funny and cuter by the minute. The other night Tanith was toddling around the kennel and decided to “attack” Dawnie. She reached over and swatted Dawnie’s face, then fell over. They are starting to wash themselves — or try anyway. Mostly they lick at their paws and flail around. I gave them some toys the other evening, but so far they could care less.

I’m working this weekend, then will be taking next Thursday through Monday off to go to Colorado. A quick visit to my parents, then Denver for the TICA cat show, and home again with McCoy. Basia, Danica, and Kefira will all be excited to see him. And then I’ll probably be in the same shape as Deb at AZWegie – three litters born very close together and a bunch of kittens wreaking havoc in my house. Not that I’ll really be complaining or anything! LOL! I won’t be home until Monday, so I know that the four week pictures will be at least a day late. Maybe two.

Speaking of Deb and the AZWegie clan, Fantasia had her babies last week and I have a photo of the contented mother and her beautiful babies that I’ll include in this post. And as I’m writing this post, Scarlet is in labor with Keegan showing signs of delivering any time, too. Gabe (dad to Dawnflower’s Valentines) is the dad of Fantasia’s kittens and of Scarlet’s soon-to-be-born litter. McCoy is the dad of Keegan’s litter. I can’t wait to see the latest additions to the AZWegie family!

I did spend a little bit of time last night posting the latest pictures of Tori’s babies to the ForestKatz website. Donna took new pictures last night and sent them to me. I thought I better get them added to the site before I lost these, too. BTW, Jim and Donna are having problems coming up with a theme and names for this litter, so maybe we ought to help them out. If you send me suggestions, I’ll be sure to pass them on. This is Tori’s last litter, then she’s retiring from motherhood to rule the house full time. She’s been an awesome mom-cat and I’m sure Donna will miss watching her raise her babies to be the fearless, friendly, and smart cats they are. If you ever have the opportunity to talk with Donna in person, ask her to tell you some stories about Tori’s mothering… I guarantee you’ll laugh until you cry. After hearing them, you, too will likely agree with Donna’s assessment that if Tori had thumbs, she’d run the world and we’d all be her slaves. In a couple of the pictures of the kittens, you’ll also see Tori hanging out.

A short update this evening. If you’ve been watching the kitten cam you might have noticed that Dawnie and the Valentines have moved from their bed to the kennel. Dawnie had been spending a bit more time outside the bed, stretching out to take naps when the babies didn’t need her. The bed is a little cramped for her, so I can understand why she’d rest outside it. So I moved the kittens across the room to the kennel last night.

Dawnie sniffed them and the kennel, then went to sit in the bed, giving me dirty looks for daring to move her kids. I picked her up and put her back in the kennel and she consented to stay with the babies. And at least this evening, she mostly stays there even when the kittens are sleeping. All in all, a better place for the whole family.

The kittens were all little piggies in the past 24 hours. Taavi gained a full ounce while Tanith and Carywyn each gained ,9 ounces. That’s about three times what I expect in a day. They probably won’t keep that up, but it’s always nice to see them have a great day.

I realized last night that I hadn’t told you all that Torianna had her litter of kittens awhile back. This is her last litter and soon she will be retiring to be the Queen of Everything full time at ForestKatz. There are a few pictures of her kittens on their site if you’d like to see her kids. I need to nag Jim and Donna for new pictures of them so I can update their site. I also have a few pictures of Lucy’s litter to post as three of her kids are still in need of homes. If you’re looking for a kitten right now, Jim and Donna would love to hear from you.

I’ve been meaning to post these pictures all week and just haven’t gotten to it. Bill and Kaye sent me some new pictures of Odin Kyrith (from the New Companions litter). He’s a big handsome boy — reminds me very much of his older sister, Lira Bug.

I also have some pictures of Keegan from my trip to WY last weekend.

Dawnflower is home and is looking gorgeous. She feels pregnant with her round tummy, but she’s not hugely rounded yet. But I wouldn’t expect that quite yet. Give her another week or so. The first couple days she was home she was being very hesitant with the other cats. I put her in the guest room the first couple nights and during the day I’d just let one or two of the other cats — mostly Talia and Natane — go upstairs during the day. That way Dawnie could be out of the guest room and reacquaint herself with her surroundings without worrying about the other cats. Basia was being the meanest, and she got exiled to Jeremy’s former bedroom for the day on Tuesday. She’s been much nicer since then. I will try to get some new pictures of Dawnie this weekend. Now Dawnie is roaming the house and playing like she never left. She is very excited about our nightly games of little red fairly.

Another thing I need to do this weekend if I get time is scan some pictures of Lander (from the Little Lions litter) and some pictures of Seely (the Joyful litter) so I can share them with you. Both boys look wonderful!

One last note… I set up a page for LostWoods in Facebook. If you’re on FB and want to become a fan, do a search for LostWoods Norwegian Forest Cats. If I remember, I’ll update this post with a link this evening. (but don’t hold your breath… I’ve been awfully forgetful lately!)

Dear Daddy-Jim and Momma-Donna,

lisa-mom says you read this blog sometimes so I went in the office while she was at work, found where she wrote down the new password, and decided to tell you — and the whole rest of the world — how mean my lisa-mom is. I want to come back to Texas where it’s warm!

It’s been cold here for awhile now. Remember when I was just little and I told you I thought snow looked like a soft blanket? Well, the first time lisa-mom let me check out the snow I learned that it is NOT!!!! It’s cold and wet and HORRIBLE! I do NOT like it! I do NOT want to be in it! I do NOT even want to sit by the door and watch it come down like some other stupid cats I could name. (Some of them even want to go out in it. Stupid, I tell you!)

lisa-mom knows how I feel about snow. But she teases me all the time and tells me how my coat will keep me warm and I should go outside and let her take pictures. I tell her no. I go hide when she opens the door. I said Grandma Shira wants HER picture taken in the snow. So does Uncle Spaz. But what does she do? She THROWS ME OUT INTO THE SNOW! It was so deep, it’s a wonder I didn’t get lost trying to find my way back to the house. I stood there shivering and looking mad and what did she do? She crouched down with that stupid camera and took my picture. Me, all covered in snow. Me shivering. And she laughed at me!

So as soon as I can figure out how to get to the airport without walking in the cold and the snow all that way, I’m going to charge a plane ticket to you and come back to Texas where it’s warm. lisa-mom tried to tell me it snowed there, too, but I think she’s making it up. Besides, you’d never throw me out in the snow. Would you? I love you both best. lisa-mom is mean. Ken-dad keeps telling me to chill out (I think that means he’s going to throw me in the snow, too) and to go back to Texas. Do you suppose I could him to take me to the airport? Maybe I’ll talk to him about it tonight before lisa-mom gets home.

Love,
Basia

P.S. I found my Grandma-Donna’s phone number and called her this morning just in case you don’t want me to come to Texas. She said I could come to Florida. I told her I heard that was the Sunshine State and she said that was true. That sounds like a good place to be, too. All I know is I want to go somewhere warm. All the blanket caves in the world don’t make up for being thrown in the snow!