Started With a Litter Now We're Here

        This last week I've been looking for something interesting to write about. While doing this I start to remember the past cats I have owned that left scars on my arms and legs. Cats have hissed at me, tore my curtains, pooped on my bed. Yet I still love cats. I have heard people say cats are, evil, mean, keep to themselves, all they do is scratch, don't like to play, are unfriendly. But what I've learned is cats are like people, some don't like to socialize and others cant go a day without talking.

     
  Hunter isn't like any of the cats I've owned. He comes to me purring, flopping down on my homework begging for my attention, wanting to play fetch ( I have never had a cat that could fetch before hunter ). Running all through out the house like a psycho because no one will give him attention. Laying next to me letting me know it is time for bed. Both him and Doug giving my mom, my little sister, and me a sad look as we leave the house for school/work. Doug came later into the family, so small and fragile. Now that he has grown a bit, his paws are huge and his face is maturing. He's not as talkative as Hunter, but when he wants to be heard, he lets us know. Doug's favorite thing to do is lay around the house on his tummy/back. When he walks around the house, he looks like a fluffy marshmallow flinching at anything that makes noise. Neither one of them have left scars like the cats before.So people can say all they want about cats and how they're mean, and non-sociable. But not all cats are like this, looking for the right cat is like going through friendships and heartbreaks to find the one who is for you. I know that I've went through many rough friendships and heartbreaks of my own. This last week I've been looking for something, I've found my little follower and my lil' bro.

Lil' Bro

A picture is worth a thousand words,
And it tells a story just as well,
Of a landscape, a smile, or a time,
When things were just completely perfect,
And lovelier than any rhyme. 

A picture is worth a thousand words, 
Depicting so many different things. 
For every person something unique, 
A wedding, a birth, or a sunset, 
Or a timeless, invaluable antique. 

A picture is worth a thousand words, 
Permanent proof that can't be erased. 
No matter how much you may want to, 
No matter how bad a mistake, 
You can't make a picture untrue. 

A picture is worth a thousand words, 
A life is worth much more. 
And looking over pictures shows, 
What moments were important to you, 
Since pictures are moments you chose. 

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words. Posted 16 May 2013. http://allpoetry.com/poem/10637545-A-Picture-is-                                                                                                   Worth-a-Thousand-Words-by-JustARose 
" Little Doug is on the floor again. Laying flat on his stomach to try and cool off. He looks so fluffy and adorable. It's crazy how much hes grown, I hope he just gets more gorgeous as he grows into a full cat." -Field notes 11/7     

                                                                                                  11/7/2014

When I look at this picture I see my little brother.

I don't see just a cat,

or a pet,

or some pest.

I see my little brother Doug.

A trouble maker when hes hyper.

A lover when I wake up in the morning.

A wrecking ball when hes hungry,

just like his sister (me),

looking for that one piece of food,

that didn't make it into the bowl.

A flat faced cat,

with an iron-man symbol on his forehead,

whose face sinks in the water bowl,

chin soaked.

One who always seems to be trying to cool off,

but can't because his family keeps turning on the heater.

So fluffy and cute,

but doesn't like cuddling.

sitting in front of us, at dinner,

waiting for us to sacrifice a piece of chicken to him.

When I look at this picture I see my little brother,

who is still young but growing,

little by little, 

his paws grow,

his meow grows stronger,

he plays more,

eats a ton. 

My little brother is what I see.

My little Follower

So small.
So fragile.
Yet full of strength,
of adventure.
Hair as white as sand from the marina.
Face so tiny like a mouse.
Ears like a bat.
Sleeping like an angel on my chest.
The soft vibrations of your purr,
filling my thoughts with happiness,
of how grateful I am to have you.
Playing catch,
attacking the mouse as if its live prey,
bringing it back to me as a gift.
Curling up next to me,
purring a lullaby.
The sad look you give me,
when I get ready to leave,
for school ,or sports.
The annoying ,whining sounds you make,
when your hungry,
reaching for the nasty thing called food,
that is supposedly healthy for you.
But that's not important.

Look at you now.
Bigger yet still so small and fragile.
Just as playful as ever.
Still fetching.
Telling me about your day,
telling on Doug when hes being bad.
Wanting my attention.
Following me when I walk into the bathroom,
to the kitchen,
the living room.
Finding you in my room,
sleeping in my closet.
I love you so much!
For letting me have the honor of taking care of you.
I know that some may say cats are,
rude,
selfish,
obnoxious,
or that they just can't stand them at all.
But you are the one that proves,
cats aren't like that.
They can be adorable,
caring,
loving,
just like you.

I Love You! <3

Purrfection

When I was younger the trait I love most about cats is when they purr. It makes me so sleepy and warm when my cats come to lay by me and purr. I know that my cats do it because they are happy or they are sleepy. But how do they do it? What makes them purr besides being satisfied? When I try to purr back to them I run out of breath. How do they accomplish purring without running out of breath? What else causes them to purr besides being happy? The purring that makes me melt inside and want to squeeze them to death for being so cute.  ( not literally squeezing to death... ha ha..)
" This morning I woke up to Hunter purring in my lap. I love it when he does that, because it's like he is telling me he loves me. And he is thanking me for all the food I've given him. He's so adorable! :)" Field notes 10/7/2014.

Picture of Hunter Sleeping from 10/26/2014

Picture of Douglas purring and rolling around from 10/26/2014

While reading this article I found some interesting information on purring. Purring can cause vibrations at a rate of twenty-five to one hundred and fifty vibrations per sec. ( whoa that's cool! ) Relatives of cats can also purr. For example a Civet, a small nocturnal creature found in Africa and southeast Asia. A Genet, a cat like mammal with short legs, spotted fur, is found in Africa, southwestern Europe, and Arabia. ( I've never heard of either of these cats until reading this article. Guess the cat family is bigger than I thought.) The Mongoose, Hyena ( Isn't the hyena also related to the dog family?), Guinea pig, Raccoon, Mt. Lion, and Bobcat can purr as well. However these small cats are unable to roar, because they do not fight for territory. In the article these smaller cats are referred to as "loners."( Not true they have us! ha ha ). Other big cats such as lions and tigers are unable to purr due to fighting prey in the wild, and fighting over territory. Instead these large cats are capable of roaring to help them in the wild. Cats also purr when in pain, in labor, ill, or injured. Experts theorize that purring is built in physical therapy for cats. What I like most about the article is that purring is referred to as calm and peaceful. Which is why cats do a better job at lowering blood pressure, giving relaxation, and giving positive reinforcement.

Wow! I didn't know cats purr when they are in pain or when they are in labor. I guess it is a way of taking pain medication without actually taking them. Which I feel is safer than taking medication anyways. Their body's being able to heal its self is awesome. Gosh how wonderful it would be if we could too. Maybe that's why they purr for us because they can sense our pain the same way dogs can. How great is that, your cat can help you get better without you even knowing it.( So maybe cats aren't as bad as some may think.)  ;)

                                                                 Work Citted

Annie, Stuart. "Why cats Purr". WebMD.  Reviewed by, Audrey Cook, BV&M. Reviewed on April 21, 2012. @ 2009 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved. Web.< http://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/why-cats-purr>

Flat Face Syndrome

When my cat Douglas eats/drinks , I wonder if he gets the same feeling I do when I get my face shoved into a cake. ( Sounds silly doesn't it? Wondering how a cat feels when eating or drinking water. ) The feeling of whip-cream going up my nose. The smell of sugar and butter. Shaking my head because I accidently tried to breath through my nose. My mouth full of the soft bread and sugery/buttery taste. ( mmmm.... cake sounds good! )

 I think this is how my cat feels when he drinks water. Lol. But he's not actually in water.

Unfortunatly because my wondering question is how does my cat Doug feel when he eats/drinks? I'm unable to research this. Although it would be interesting if my cat Douglas was able to tell me. Well either way its entertaing to watch him try his hardest to reach the food on the outer parts of the bowl or drink water without letting his face sink in. He's definetly a cutie when he does this. :)

Living a healthy life

I've been very worried about my cats lately, which is kinda silly, but not really. Since my cat Hunter was about nine months old, his nipples have shown and he has had a little pouch of fat ( I think it is either fat or just flabby skin.). At first it was just because he was growing and was a little chubby. But now his pouch has gotten bigger, and I'm afraid that I've been over feeding him. I don't want him to be so over weight that he gets diabetes or develops heart problems. My younger cat Douglas is also starting to get big too, not as much. Except I've done research on his species ( Himalayan Persian ) and it says that its easy for them to get over weight.

"My cat is getting fat. :( Hunter is not super overweight ,but hes fat enough to the point where I can see his nipples. When I pet him ,he has this flab of fat. Ha-ha. Hes my little fatty. :)" field-notes 10/8

http://fixit-foundation.org/articles/cat-obesity-and-exercise/?gclid=COP-0IX0qMECFVBffgodyCoAQA

So since I want my cats to stay healthy ,I have done some research. This article talks a lot about how cats are like humans when it comes to obesity. That they can get diabetes! Also, in some rare cases cats can develop a fatty liver. Which really doesn't sound good. The article also talks about how dry cat food is actually not healthy for cats. Dry cat food contains lots of carbohydrates which is not in a cats diet. Its hard for cats to process them since it is not naturally part of their diet. What is recommended instead of dry cat food is canned food. The wetness of the food helps hydrate the cat better, and helps send signals to the brain to stop eating when they are full. The last part of the article talks about getting your cat some exercise by using cat toys or other things that you have in the house.

Okay, so after reading this article I now know how to keep my cats healthy. Although neither one of my cats is over weight I want to make sure that they both live a healthy life. However, now I've ran into another problem ,wet cat food causes my cats poop to be runny. ( eewww!!!! ) If you have ever changed cat litter before, then you know that dealing with solid poop and the smell is bad enough. Dealing with runny poop is like a baby having diarrhea for the first time. It smells ten times worse, and looks like something you would find in your worst nightmares. So feeding my cats wet food is not going to work.
But maybe creating a playtime schedule for them will. A couple days a week I could spend extra time with them; playing with string or giving them catnip ( gotta go easy on the catnip though they got addicted and it made them really hyper). Or I can play Hunters favorite game with him, fetch. With Douglas I can get him to somehow use his scratcher more often. Its important that I get Doug to exercise because his species is known to have a sedentary life style. Hunter is active on his own, but maybe doing this will get him extra exercise. Making more time to play with my cats could also make them happier because I'm giving them attention and love. :) <3 ( Its actually proven that playing with your cats more often makes them happy and more active, I'm not just saying that. )

" I love it when I see my cat happy, his whiskers sticking out more than usual. It makes me smile. :) Then he rubs his face on my hand and meows/purs." field-notes 9/23
Well I will create a schedule to help get my cats extra playtime. ( time for a season of biggest loser!! ha-ha )

                                                            Picture of Douglas from 8/12

                                                              Picture of Hunter from 8/5

Getting to know a siamese

http://adventuresinner.hubpages.com/hub/5-Things-About-Siamese-Cats-You-Need-to-Know

While I was searching for information on Siamese cats, I came across this article. The article talks about how Siamese cats have their own individual personalities and they are not independent mellow cats. Siamese cats actually need a lot of attention ( even more than some dogs ) and they don't like to be alone. Which explains why my Siamese cat Hunter gets upset when everyone leaves in the morning for work and school. This article also has more things you should know about Siamese cats.

Pictures of my cat Hunter begging for my attention while I was doing homework last school year. His beautiful dark fur is so gorgeous.