Mancat Monday - Ready to Snuggle with DaisyMae Maus

Well, it's another Mancat Monday and

I am ready to snuggle with my lovely girlfriend cat, DaisyMae Maus. I need to let Rocky know that, while she and I love to flirt with other cats, we really are special to one another.

It may be cold outside, DMM, but it's warm next to me.

Smooches,

Jake

Mancat Monday and an Award

The things a Mancat must endure:

Here I was enjoying the view out of the computer/catroom window, when Mom had to document my every move with the camera.

She wanted me to look directly at the camera, but I showed her who was boss. Besides, she had that awful camera flash and my eyes would have looked like headlights had I cooperated.

Next she caught me sleeping on the living room sofa. Can't a mancat get any rest around here?

I'll show her!

~Jake

Way too long ago, our friend Karl of the Cat Realm presented us with the Premio Dardos Award! "With the Premium Dardos, recognize the values that each blogger shows each day in commitment to transmit cultural values, ethical, literary, personal etc. that, in short, demonstrate their creativity by alive thinking that remains intact from their letters and words."

We are very much honored that he bestowed this award on us. We think that it was our environmental post that made him think of us. Thank you, Karl!

In the spirit of the award, we must pass it along to five other deserving bloggers. Because we don't blog as regularly now, we don't have a good sense of those who already received this. Excuse us if some are multiple awardees. We choose these wonderful blogs:

Skeezix the Cat (He probably received this five times over, but we think he is just great!)

Rosie and Cheeto (Unfortunately, they don't blog very often any more either.)

The Cats P (What a gorgeous family!)

DaisyMae Maus and the Feline Americans (Jake's girlfriend and her four brothers)

The Ginger Darlings (Breathtaking photos with a home setting of the coast of Wales coupled with delightfully descriptive passages)

~J&B

Second Blogoversary on Mancat Monday

It's our second blogoversary! We started blogging back in 2006 after being inspired by our friends Kismet and Skeezix. Our first post was rather lame, but our secretary was thrilled just to be able to upload photos. Our dear friends Rosie and Cheeto were our first visitors. We have made the most wonderful friends across the US and around the world. This is such a great supportive community. I have a beautiful girlfriend cat DaisyMae Maus in San Diego and Bathsheba even found a nice mancat Bubbles to like and admire her. (Why, I'll never understand.)



As most of our friends know, I like to hang out on the deck. Here I am with a pot of cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), and I am just waiting for a tasty ruby-throated hummingbird to alight.

Why don't they ever seem to visit when I'm standing here? Mom recently heard some cool hummingbird facts from a dear friend that she wanted to relate, but I told her no because this is MY blog and is supposed to be all about ME.









Well, if no birdies are going to come by when I am out in the open, I must go undercover and await them. You may think that I'm asleep, but this mancat is always on alert.






P.S. From Bathsheba: Jake, this is a joint blog, and it's NOT all about you. I want to let all our dear friends know that I really appreciated all the birthday wishes and hope to visit all of your blogs soon to thank you personally. I was overwhelmed by your sentiments.






P.P.S. We accepted Karl's challenge in memory of Anastasia and we encourage you to do the same.

Jake's Mancat Monday

Hello, everyone! Thanks for stopping by! It's been ages since I last posted. Blame it on my worthless secretary. It's unfortunate that I'm so dependent upon her. She said that she's trying to have a "social life." I might just have to fire her and hire a new secretary--if only I could find one.

I'm dedicating this post to my girlfriend cat DaisyMae Maus who still likes me despite the paucity of my visits and posts. She's very understanding of my clerical predicament. It was a great weekend, and I spent a lot of time patrolling my deck.

Here I am checking out the bird feeders.

And here I am below the feeders seeing if I can catch any slow moving birdies. No such luck this time!

And for Mancat Monday, I show you my outdoor scratching post. I've torn it to shreds. My grandpa made it years ago (for another kitty), and it is very sturdy unlike many of the ones you can buy in the stores. I just wish that Mom would recover it for me because it's not very satisfying to scratch on the bare metal post.

Our dear friends Rosie and Cheeto tagged us for the Seven Weird Things meme. We'll try to complete that this week.

~Jake

Mancat Monday - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Everyone! And Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to my lovely girlfriend cat DaisyMae Maus!

Big man cats start the new year with an excellent credit rating. Mine is so good that I am receiving credit card offers in the mail!
Look! Zero percent APR!

And no annual fee! Just think of all the great gifts I could order on the Internet for my beautiful DaisyMae! Now I just need that secretary of mine to verify my income and I'll be all set.

My friends Rosie and Cheeto made some word puzzles of some of our cat friends' names including my grumpy sister Bathsheba. See if you can guess this one:

plus

Again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~Jake

I'm not grumpy, and I wish everyone a Happy New Year, too!

~Bathsheba

Present from My Girlfriend DaisyMae Maus

Oh, look, I got a package in the mail from my beautiful girlfriend DaisyMae Maus!

~Jake

Hey, Jake! I see that it's addressed to ME too!

Mom made us wait till tonight to help us open the box. It had a lot of tape on it. (Please excuse the date; Mom had a problem with the batteries, and the camera defaulted to 1/1/05.)

Look at what was inside the heavy box! Ceramic cats! Aren't they beautiful!

~Bathsheba

Not as beautiful as DaisyMae.

~Jake

Well, Mom LOVES them! She is especially fond of the sitting tabby because it reminds her of Precious, our long ago sister who was a torbie Maine coon.

Thank you, DMM and the Feline Americans! What wonderful gifts.

~Bathsheba

One Year Blogoversary and Pawsitive Thoughts for Our Friend Anastasia

Wow! We've started blogging one year ago today! We're up to post 232 so we average about one post every day and half--not too bad considering our secretary always claims to be too busy to let us blog as much as we would like. Our first post was not particularly exciting, but our friends Rosie and Cheeto discovered us right away so that's why they'll always be special to us and appear at the top of our links list. Skeezix also gave us publicity so we'll always be grateful to him.
Mom has been a little worried about me lately because she thinks that I have been grooming myself incessantly.

I think that it's important to be well-groomed.

I like to look good for the ladies - especially my beautiful DaisyMae.

~Jake

Jake, as usual, you are so full of yourself. We need to thank all the wonderful cats who have visited us over this past year. We're very grateful for all the warm friendships we have made. We only wish we had more time to visit everyone and that we had the ability to leave witty comments! Daisy is our idol in the visiting department. The cat blogosphere is a welcoming and nurturing place.

Speaking of the friends we have made, we join our fellow cats in the blogosphere and pledge to send all our positive energy over to the desert southwest at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time for the safe return of our friend Anastasia. She has been missing for several days now and Karl, the maid, and the butler are frantic with worry. Now I know that I worried my mom very much when I ran away from home about ten years ago for two weeks at a time. Let's all hope that Anastasia is just asserting some independence and that she will return on her own unscathed. (Credit to Skeezix for the creation of this great graphic.)

~Bathsheba

Five Things Meme

Adan tagged Jake for the five things meme, and Luxor tagged both of us.

Five Things that Changed Our Lives:

Jake: Mom fostering my biological teen-aged unwed cat mother. A kind woman from my mom’s office found my cat mom on the streets on a very cold winter day. She took her in temporarily, but was going on vacation to Arizona. Mom agreed to foster my biological mother and even named her Katerina Kitty. When Mom’s friend returned from vacation, they found a permanent home for Katerina—with a guy who worked for their IT department. Mom had noticed that Katerina had a voracious appetite, but she had never been around a pregnant cat before. When the new guy took her to the vet for a checkup, it was confirmed. Mom agreed to take one of the kittens so that’s how I got my home.

J&B: Having Dad move in with us in August of 1994. He worked from home so we were very fortunate to have someone home with us during the day. Plus, he believed in FREEDOM. Mom had only let us outside under CLOSE supervision until that point, but Dad let us in and out as we pleased. It was great!

J&B: Having Dad move away last month. That makes us sad and we miss him a lot. It hasn’t quite sunk in, though, that this is permanent and not just one of his long vacation trips.

J&B: Reading the interplay between Kismet and Skeezix on Kismet’s blog last summer. Mom introduced us to reading some cat blogs (actually her former political blogger brother told her about cat blogging), but we were hooked after following the witty comments on Kismet’s blog. We’ve met so many great friends on the web.

J&B: Skeezix’s valentine contest. DaisyMae Maus, my beautiful girlfriend cat found me, Jake. And that wonderful Bubbles produced the most awesome Valentine video for me with the Monkees’ song “I’m a Believer.” We both were very lucky in love. ~Bathsheba

Five Things Meme

Last week we were tagged by friends DaisyMae Maus, Tara, and Rosie and Cheeto for the Five Things Meme. Here goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
J&B: We were mourning the loss of our 19 year old big sister Precious and our grandpa. He used to take care of us when Mom went on vacations.
B: Actually, exactly 10 years ago, I ran away for the first time. I was gone from July 11-23. Mom worried excessively, posted signs, called the shelters, and searched and searched. I never told her where I went. I simply emerged from the woods that Wednesday evening by announcing myself with my little voice.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
J&B: Last year we were just discovering cat blogging. We started reading Kismet and Skeezix and some other kitties. We started our own blog by the end of August.
J: One year ago this month I had to start taking pills with all my meals because I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.

Five snacks we enjoy:
J: Chicken, salmon, cheese, Bathsheba's food, Temptations and all treats. Am I limited to ONLY FIVE because I could go on and on here.
B: Milk (just a little taste is all Mom gives me), Butter (or margarine), cheddar cheese, Temptations and treats that Mom feeds by hand

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
J&B: The only song for which we know all the lyrics is the "Cat Anthem." That's what our grandma calls our purring. We leave the regular singing to Dad.

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
J&B: Being a millionaire is not what it used to be many years ago. We have simple tastes (just keep the food coming!) and a comfortable home with an awesome jungle garden so we are satisfied. We could have Mom home more if she did not have to go to "work." We read that some of the other blogging cats would invest in the Temptations company. We think investing would be a good idea. We could then split the income between Mom (so she didn't have to work) and donations to animal charities for years to come.

Five bad habits:
J: 1. Peeing on things in the house. (Very bad). 2. Digging my claws into Mom's arm to make biscuits when she's holding me. 3. Pushing Bathsheba out of the way and taking her food. 4. Scratching on the screen. 5. Peeing on things. (Do you get the idea that that's BAD?)
B: 1. Sometimes giving Mom the bitey when she touches me. (I then later apologize.) 2. Hissing at Mom sometimes. 3. Scratching and making my fur fly (This affects Dad's allergies.) 4. Making a mess of my meals by dropping my food all around the floor. 5. Waking Mom up on weekends. (I don't think this is bad, but she does.)

Five things you like doing:
J: Hanging out on the deck with Dad, chasing bugs, going in the woods, playing fishing pole-type games with my dad, EATING
B: Sleeping on my kitchen chair, sleeping on the bed with Mom (near her, but not generally touching her), playing with the dangling strings that hang from my kitchen chair cushion, getting drinks of water from the bathroom sink faucet, getting treats from Mom.

Five things you would never wear again:
J&B: That awful pink wig!
J: That French artist Halloween costume, the birthday party hat
B: That embarrassing hula girl Halloween costume, the birthday party hat.
We don't like to wear anything but our furs!

Five favorite toys:
Our answers vary depending on the time of the year.
J: 1. Bugs, 2. dangly things that Dad animates for me, 3. catnip toys especially when they're new
B: 4. Chair cushion strings, 5. hockey pucks/aka bottle caps

Since we're late in responding to this meme, most cats have been tagged by now. If you haven't been tagged yet officially, consider yourself tagged by us.

Roses for DaisyMae Maus

My girlfriendcat DaisyMae Maus is very special and beautiful. She and I are so secure in our love that she's also Rocky the Gutter Cat's Spiciest Vixen, and I am one of Madness's Chippendudes. We cats like our independence, you know.

Just to show DaisyMae how I feel about her, I present myself with these red roses from my jungle garden. I'm sitting atop my 6 ft. high fence and the view is great. Come teleport over, DaisyMae!

Purrs,

~Jake

Balance

My lovely girlfriendcat DaisyMae tagged me for a meme about balance in our lives. She said that she was tagging both Bathsheba and me, but we all know she really meant just me.

Here’s what I’m supposed to do:
To participate, write a post about balance in life and link back to this post. Answer any or all of the following questions or simply share your thoughts about life balance.

How do you achieve balance in your life? I could say that I’m very graceful and automatically balanced because I can walk along the deck rail or garden timbers without falling off, but I don’t guess that’s what the question is asking. I try to balance my life between eating, sleeping, loving, and adventuring. I’m coddled by my mother, but I like to balance that mushy stuff with hanging out with Dad and going on my adventures in the great outdoors—in my own backyard or the little woods beyond.

What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life? I think the biggest challenge is getting people to do what I want and attend to my needs. Sometimes it’s just a matter of communication and knowing the power of a cute face and expressive eyes.

What are your priorities? Number one is EATING, of course. Sleeping is very important too. And it’s very important to me to have my freedom in the yard. That might not work for all cats, but I would go stir crazy if I had to stay cooped up in my house with my sister.

How have your priorities changed over time and why? When I was much younger, I think that playing was more of a priority, but today sleeping is much more important. Now don’t get the idea that I’m dull or something, because I’m not, but a man’s gotta take some important naps between prowling and patrolling.

What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives? Don’t get stressed out about stupid people things like going to a JOB and making money. People make life too complicated. Just relax, look cute, and allow people to cuddle you. Everything will work out in your favor. People will beg to wait on you.

Now it’s my turn to tag five others. so I’m tagging: Rosie and Cheeto (together or singularly), Bubbles, Eclair (when her lady recovers from her surgery - Best Wishes!), and Chase.

~Jake

Letter to Mom and Dad

Dear Mom and Dad,

We are tired of pretending to hate each other and have decided to run away to the tropics together. Now that we’re older, we think that year-round warm air and sunshine is the best thing. It’s been a good run in Virginia, but we just can’t keep up the pretext of hate any more. We’re actually secret lovers. You tried to raise us as brother and sister, but we’re not really related, after all! Please tell DaisyMae and Bubbles that we didn’t mean to hurt them, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

By the time you wake up, we will be all packed and gone. We took one of your credit cards so you don’t have to worry that we won’t have any money. You’ve been great parents, but it’s time for us to leave the nest and be true to ourselves. Maybe once you get over the shock of what we have done, you can accept us and even come visit.

Goodbye!

Love,
Jake and Bathsheba

Five Reasons We Blog

Our friends DaisyMae, Bubbles, and Chairman Mao all tagged us for the "five reasons we blog" meme. (Thank you, all!) We were going to do "Five for Friday," but Mom decided to watch one of her new Jane Austen DVDs instead of helping us blog last night! Imagine that! She loves Jane Austen's novels and became obsessed with her favorite Pride and Prejudice when Dad gave her as a Christmas present the 10th anniversary edition of the BBC miniseries staring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Seeing how pleased she was with that gift, (and the fact that she likes to play some of her favorite scenes before going to sleep at night at least a few times a week), he decided that he was on a roll. For her birthday he bought her Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson. She watched Emma for the first time last night though she had seen it in a movie theater about ten years ago.

Anyway, enough about Mom and back to the subject at hand. Why we blog was once the subject of one of our Thursday Thirteen posts, but we actually had more than 13 reasons. Here we'll try to narrow it down to five:

1. To make new friends and learn about their lives.


2. To keep Mom from watching all those murder shows on TV: Law & Order, CSI, etc.


3. To give Mom a reason to take hundreds of photos of us.


4. Because it's fun.


5. Because it's addictive, and we can't stop!

We think most everyone has been tagged on this by now, but if they haven't been yet, we tag the Famous Five in Wellington, New Zealand: Orb & Jupiter & Mitten the Smitten Kitten & Poppygirl-AKA Princess Poppygirl & Teeny Tiny Tottie Mctabby - AKA -tottie. They've been going through a rough time lately, but we've always enjoyed reading about their adventures in such a faraway land.

Mom told me that I have to report on Jake. He did something to his right paw and has been limping around on it since this morning. Mom couldn't find anything obviously wrong, and he didn't cry when she touched it. Hmmph! I think he may be faking just to get Mom and Dad's sympathy. It didn't deter him from successfully begging for pieces of roast chicken at dinner tonight. (Yes, I did get a little, too.) Mom will take him to the vet if he doesn't improve by Monday.

~Bathsheba

Thank You, Everyone!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everyone! I had a great day. After seeing so many of my friends with one, I finally got a Whirly-Bird of my own. It is so cool! It's like those birdies we have outside, except that I can catch this one! Woohoo! Mom promised to take pictures and post them later this week or over the weekend.

My beautiful girlfriend DaisyMae Maus brought her lovely Southern California weather with her (temps in the low 80s!) when she teleported over today with tuna juice, nip, and toys. Sweet! She even featured me on her blog! How cool is that!

I came inside just to do this post, then I want to return to the deck because it's still nice and mild outside.

Thanks again, everyone. And smooches to my DaisyMae. It's great to be a teenager!

~Jake

Bonnie's Meme - Jake's Turn

Now it's my turn! My Valentine DaisyMae Maus tagged me. (Thanks, DaisyMae.)

A. Name four places you have lived:
1. A townhouse in Centreville, VA where I was born.
2. My house with Mom and Dad.
3. The back deck of my house
4. That’s it! My life has been very stable.

B. Four things I love to watch
1. Birds
2. Squirrels
3. Butterflies in the summer
4. Mom when she's making food.

C. Four places I have been outside my home
1. In the yard and outside our fence!
2. The Vet
3. Grandma and Grandpa’s old house (where Mom grew up)
4. The nursing home where grandma is now.

D. Four websites I visit daily
1. DaisyMae Maus – she’s my lovely Valentine
2. Skeezix
3. Daisy the Curly Cat
4. As many cat blogs as I can

E. Four of my favorite foods.
1. Most flavors of Fancy Feast except some of the sliced varieties (though I will eat them all)
2. Temptations, of course! And I’ve started horning in on Mom’s bedtime Temptation ritual with Bathsheba. I can hear that nightstand drawer and the crinkle of the package from all over the house.
3. Bathsheba’s food or any other crunchy cat food
4. Chicken
Do I have to stop at four? I like SO MANY things.

F. Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Lying on Dad’s legs as he stretches out on the sofa.
2. Lying on my throne in the cat/computer room.
3. In the refrigerator – as long as the lunchmeat and cheese drawer were open.
4. In front of my dish filled with food.

G. Four toys I have owned and played with:
1. Fishing pole toy
2. Crinkle ball
3. Catnip mouse (I need a new one, Mom!)
4. Feathers on a wand.

H. Four nicknames people call me
1. Jakie Boy
2. Little Man (I want to be BIG Man, but that would be Dad.)
3. Jakula
4. “The Baby” (I HATE this. It’s just because I’m the youngest in the house.)

I. Regarding catnip:
***Love it***
It’s nice.
Could take it or leave it.
Don't like it or can't have it.

J. Regarding cat grass:
Love it
It’s nice.
Could take it or leave it
***Don't like it*** or can't have it. (I like the REAL stuff that grows outside, especially those tasty clumps at the edges of the lawn. The crop isn’t very good this time of year, though.)

K. First things I buy after winning the lottery:
1. This is too hard. I would have to let Mom and Dad advise me since I’ve never had any money.

L. Four things I do besides eat sleep and litter box:
1. Cruise the Jake Highway outside.
2. Keep my deck safe from pesky raccoons.
3. Intimidate Bathsheba with just a look or a little pounce on her back.
4. Hang out on the deck with Dad.

M. Four things I want to do this summer:
1. Catch a squirrel.
2. Take a nap in the cool shade of a bush.
3. Hang out on the deck.
4. Visit a certain someone in San Diego.

N. My four most prized possessions that have limited value to anyone else:
1. My dirty cat bed out on the deck. (I don’t like it as much when Mom washes the cover. I also think my scent keeps Bathsheba out of it.)
2. My crinkle ball.
3. My torn up purr pads.
4. My luxuriously soft fur coat.

O. What I am going to do before tomorrow is over:
1. Eat at least two square meals, plus whatever else I can scrounge up or beg.
2. Sleep on top of Dad’s long legs.
3. Bother ‘Sheba.
4. Let Mom kiss and cuddle me and give her some purrs.

P.Which of the following is your favorite place to hide and play:
***paper bags*** (I LOVE empty cat food bags.)
plastic bags
boxes (These are fun too, but I have to go with the paper.)
Other (explain)

Q. Four other pets that Momma has had with me
1. Bathsheba (ugh!)
2. Wonderful Precious, a Maine coon
3. Zoe, Mom’s sister’s cat, who lived with us for a few weeks. She pretty much stayed in one room and didn’t bother us.
4. That’s it!

R. Four furiends I tag to respond:

Bubbles
Cocoa
George of The Crew
Catzee

Bathsheba was right. That was exhausting!

~Jake

Then I Saw Her Face

Here's the photo that inspired Bubbles' Valentine video.

And here's one where I look a little more demure.

Happy Valentine's Day, Bubbles.

Love,

~Bathsheba

And a Happy Valentine's Day to DaisyMae Maus. I would share my throne with you.

Love,

~Jake

Vote for Bubbles and Bathsheba

Bubbles' great video Valentine to me is a finalist in Skeezix's Valentine's Day contest! It's both touching and funny! You'll laugh, you'll cry! You've just gotta watch it! And vote by midnight PST Monday, February 12! Hurry, time is running out.

~Bathsheba

Even I endorse this Valentine, so vote now! There may be no living with 'Sheba if her boyfriend's Valentine does not win. In that case, I may have to teleport over to San Diego permanently for the warmth and understanding of my lovely DaisyMae Maus. Vote for Bubble's Valentine for peace in my Virginia home.

~Jake

A Dusting of Snow

Brrr. It's been bitter cold lately, and last night we got a little snow. It was barely a dusting, but the schools around here closed anyway. You cats from the north may not understand this, but in the Washington, D.C. area, the joke is that schools close when there's a flake of snow. Like last week, Mom tried to get a photo of me in the snow, but I had already done my business before she came after me with her camera. She had to content herself with taking a picture of my pawprints. Once again, her camera has the wrong date, because she took the pictures TODAY.





It was much more comfortable to just look at the white fluff from the back of the chair in the living room.

Mom is disappointed that there isn't enough snow for cross country skiing in the battlefield park. It was warm for so long this winter, and now when it's finally cold, the air is too dry to produce much snow. Whenever there's too much snow, I don't like to leave my deck, and I do my business by spraying the grill cover. Dad doesn't like that!

I'm still looking for my special Valentine. We're having computer problems at home so Mom is using one elsewhere just for now. That probably means that I won't be able to post a Valentine in the contest by tomorrow evening. Some nice lady cats indicated some interest in me! DaisyMae Maus seemed to flirt with me, but I think she prefers Rocky. She is about the right age, though.

Stay warm, you cute kitties.

Love,

~Jake

P.S. Today was our Grandpa's birthday. He died nearly 10 years ago, but we all still miss him. He really loved kitties, especially his Siamese cat Marcellus followed by Toby, another Siamese. We're thinking of you, Grandpa.

~J&B

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

Beautiful spicy vixen DaisyMae is my Valentine! I am the luckiest cat! Maybe I can escape the cold by teleporting over to San Diego!

~Jake

No, I am the luckiest! Bubbles picked me! And he produced the greatest Valentine video. It was both funny and romantic. I was embarrassed by the hula costume when Mom dressed me in it for Halloween, but Bubbles must have liked it.

~Bathsheba