The Cat Palace

The kitties get a long-awaited cat tree!

It wasn’t even built and already it’s getting good reviews.

And yes, as you may have noticed, it is a BLUE cat tree. Blue!! It matches our decor! Not the standard beige. I’m not sure who’s happier, the cats or me.

The finished product. It stands about 6 feet tall.

Now, for some photos of the lovely kittens enjoying their new palace.

Queen of the Castle, indeed.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cat treeeee”

Tansy intensely enjoys the tree.

The mice have lasted a surprisingly long time. Resilient, furry little things… aren’t the faces adorable?

“Do you like your new tree, Merlin?”

“Yes I do, Mom, very much!”

Well, I think the tree is possibly better than anything we could have made ourselves.

I’d say we’re all happy with it!

Advertisements

Merlin & Tansy: the Yin and Yang of the Cat World

Hello everyone! Merlin and Tansy have been doing just fine.

They still tousle pretty rough sometimes (I find little scratches on Merlin every now and then), but I believe now it’s just a normal part of the cat hierarchy.

I know Tansy loves Merlin. We have proof. The other day, while washing Merlin in the guest bathroom with the door shut, he meowed quite loudly in protest.

Tansy came running to the door, scratching and meowing like crazy! I opened the door and she slinked in, jumping up on the sink counter. Discovering that we were not hurting her little brother, Tansy sauntered away, cool as a cat can be. So Tansy’s cool demeanor is only a front; she’s fiercely protective of her little Merlin.

Who wouldn’t love this lil’ goof??

Merlin, meanwhile, had his last 2 vaccines at the vet yesterday. He also had fun with the scale, and has gained almost a full pound since last visit! He’s up to 4 lbs 9 oz. In fear I asked the tech, “Is he overweight?” She checked along his spine and pinched his skin, determining that no, he is not overweight (despite our best efforts).

WOW! He’s catching up to Tansy rather quickly. It will be interesting to see what happens when they are the same size.

The vet tech was once again impressed with his beautiful coloring and personality. Merlin is somewhat of a celebrity there!

At the end of the day, it looks like Ian and I are doing this kitten thing right. The cats (and I) love the litter I painstakingly researched. They are getting used to eating rehydrated raw pellets for meal times, which makes their poop less stinky and less runny. It also allows me to add more water to their diet! And Merlin and Tansy love the toys, the tunnel, the window seat, and the horizontal scratched.

We feel like accomplished cat parents! After all, we just what what’s best for our little babies.

Enter: Merlin the Goblin (ahem I mean Sphynx)

Merlin came home to us last night!! My wonderful sister looked after him for hours while I was stuck at work. He got to play with his brother (Anni’s new little one) while waiting.

He is SO CUTE! So handsome and wrinkly and perfect in every way. I could not be happier with the little miscreant.

It took him and Tansy all of 10 minutes to get used to each other. I’ve been a little nervous, watching them play fight. Merlin will jump Tansy, run and away, and get tackled from behind. Then Tansy, aka The Scrapper, pins him under her and shows him whose boss.

In all fairness, Tansy is bigger, and she was here first! Merlin has a few small scratches, but according to the vet, that’s just part of growing up. So I will try not to worry.

Their first vet trip this morning went very well! Lots of pitiful mewling during the 6 minute car ride. “We’re doing this for your own good,” definitely fell on deaf ears.

Tansy is healthy: her weight is perfect, her coat is soft and shiny, and her teeth are growing in on time. The vet was impressed that we were able to find a female Orange Tabby to adopt (they’re very rare).

And Merlin, of course, was an instant hit. He cuddled with the vet. He cuddled with the secretary. And he cuddled with all the vet techs in the back. Such a player. I’m pretty sure his photo is going up on the wall, they were that impressed with him. He’s also healthy, but he did need a shot. He meowed once in surprise, then went right back to playing.

It’s been a crazy Friday/Saturday, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re loving our new cat babies and taking care to spoil them has been so fun. Welcome to the Brech family, little ones!

Enter: Tansy the Tabby

Tansy has come home! And WOW, what an amazing kitty she is.

Her foster mom obviously loved her, and parting with her seemed a little tough.

In the car, she meowed maybe 5 times… we were so proud of how well she took the trip!

She even stuck her head and shoulders out in wonder. Then quickly ducked back to safety! When we got home, Tansy crept rather boldly from her carrier. She instantly roamed the place and sniffed everything. Then, after a brief span of hiding under the bed, it became… PLAY TIME!! And by play time, I mean, “shoot we need more toys” time.

If Merlin doesn’t come soon, Tansy may turn into the Destroyer of Curtains. I do have to say, it looks like our Feliway diffuser is working. She’s already warming up to Ian.

We’ve absolutely fallen in love already… I hope you do, too.

Tansy Comes Home Today

Today is the day Tansy comes home!

As you can see, we are all prepared and so excited to bring our newest member of the family home.

We’re meeting her foster mom today at 5. If all goes well (which I’m sure it will), we’ll be driving home with our precious little orange tabby girl by 5:30!

More updates and pics to come soon.

FOUND: the Perfect Lady Friend for Merlin

Who’s ready for some exciting news? It turn out, due to a miscommunication, Merlin’s Gotcha Day is a lot closer than the 22nd.

It’s the 1st, depending on how the neutering on the 28th goes!

OMG guys…ONE AND A HALF WEEKS LEFT!

Needless to say, I’ve been ordering the necessities (and then some) these past two weeks. Luckily, I had all my shopping lists ready to go.

What’s even more exciting is that I’ve also had time to find a lady friend for Merlin.

Meet… Tansy, who comes home in two days!

Her name comes from a favorite character from our beloved childhood series, Redwall.

Isn’t she precious???

She’s a rare orange female with the friendliest, sweetest disposition you ever did meet. Even her foster mom says she is “very special”, and has been very selectively screening interested adopters.

Apparently, Ian and I make the cut, though!

We’re hoping her sunny disposition will help her and Merlin get along.

Stay tuned for pictures on Tansy’s Gotcha Day this Thursday!

Week 9 Photos

You guessed it! Our awesome breeder Melissa keeps sending pics our way!

I've been looking at these pics all day. Even at work. I honestly think it's good for my health. Lowers my heart rate.

I mean look at this guy!! He's growing so much! My guess is he'll be a big one… look at that long snout. It's only been a week since the last photos!

THE BELLY.

Oh my goodness, that belly!! He's going to be a little chubbers. I love it.

I love his striking aqua eyes.

And his mysterious skin color (what is it? Lilac? Lilac point? Sepia?) is so handsome. I can just imagine the velvety feel of those wrinkles.

Even my non-sphynx-loving-coworkers couldn't say a bad thing about him. Possibly due to the fact I was cooing over him and possibly getting teary-eyed. Whatever works. DON'T SAY MY BABY IS UGLY I WONT BELIEVE YOU.

In other news, our official Gotcha Day has been scheduled for September 22! So we still have about 2 months to go. That's ok. More time to get our ducks on a row before Merlin and Friend come home. But…it's getting harder to wait!!

8 Weeks… and Growing

It's time for more Merlin pics!

He'll be 8 weeks old at the end of the month. Our breeder has been graciously providing us with more photos!

Look at that tummy!! We're guessing our lil' wizard is going to be a pretty big guy. He certainly seems to have an appetite.

Aw look at those eyes! And those EARS! It'll be fun to watch him (kind of) grow into them.

We can't believe how fast Merlin is growing, but every week we grow more ready to bring him home.

Moving Progress

Hey all! We are in the process of moving closer to Seattle. So far, we have moved all of our bigs things and most of our little stuff, too. Our things are here but not necessarily put away…yikes! 

However, our furniture is set up so I can share a pic of what the huge living room looks like! It’s plenty of space for our future Miss and Mister kitty to frolic through. 

The heart is where we’ll put the custom cat tree. I have it all planned out.

I’m trying not to buy cat stuff right now. It’s really, really tough. My Chewy.com and Petco shopping carts are like a mile long. 

Hubby was like, “Let’s wait to buy cat stuff till we need it.” He’s onto me, I’d say!  He knows my “buy now” finger is getting itchy.

Ok, ok, I’ll wait… a month. But soon this apartment will be primed and ready for kittens!! Merlin and Girl Kitty (we haven’t picked her name yet) will be extremely spoiled and there’s not much (read: nothing) Hubby can do to stop it.

Merlin at 6 weeks

Merlin is growing so fast! So far he still looks kind of chocolate-lilac and has bright blue eyes.