New Year's Eve!

Well so far, New Year's Eve has brought alot of joy and it's only 946am! First off, Bag slept with us in the bedroom atop his cabinet (when he's usually been sleeping in the living room) last night and then crawled into bed with us this morning. Noodle was again all curled up on her pillow when we awoke but she had been playing in the living room almost until 3 this morning.

They wrestled a bit, then Noodle then Bag pee'd. They settled down back in bed, Bag napping and twitching and Noodle either on the window sill or in bed with us. At times she would help me with the laptop by sitting on the lap tray. She just came over to sit on my chest and get some scratches in. Now, they are wrestling.

They'll need to continue finding ways to occupy themselves as I try to get some work done. Hopefully Noodle won't poop when I'm on my call later.

Well, it's now 12pm and Noodle has been helpful since I finished this blog. Both she and Bag are now into digging into the trash can in the bathroom. It's actually more her than Bag. She does play with q-tips which she hunted down but only when I throw them at her. After that, she's bored with them.

Bag decided he had too much activity this morning so he settled into his spot in the closet. She was still active, so we played for some time.

I got on my work call at 11am and THEN she decides that now was a good time to poop. Thanks, Noodle! So I got off the phone and she must have pooped because I wasn't waiting out front of the litterbox for very long. She saw me mess with the wet wipes and quickly climbed up on the shelf. I started to check out the litterbox at which time she thought she could make her escape. Well, not if Momma can help it. I petted her and checked her butt, and there was some slight liquid-y residual but she cleaned up well. Of course, my first thought was, oh no - runny poop again! But her poop was hard and fell in the litterbox.

She continued to play a little and I petted her again but had to resume my call. She got tired of waiting and when I was done just before 12, I found her in the closet with her brother sleeping. That's just as well, since I have to leave soon for a meeting.

This will be one of the best New Year's with these two most-darling babies. I love them more each day but at the same time, shake my head at their antics. Kids!

I've since returned and there hasn't been much development. They both were still sleeping in the closet though Noodle seemed a little more awake than Bag. But not enough to come out and play.

Their toys still have not arrived and now the delivery date has been changed AGAIN to tomorrow. This will teach me not to fall for the "free shipping" gimmick. But in lieu of the toys to arrive, Dave created a tunnel for them to crawl through with a cardboard box and duct tape. They played with it a little but Noodle primarily ran around it, recognizing that we were taunting her from outside the tunnel.

She remained energetic all night. Turns out that Bag slept with us but Noodle was atop the black couch looking out the window all night and into the morning. What's up with that?

Back to Normal Noodle?

So yesterday Noodle didn't poop at all. We tracked her poop on the spreadsheet but we didn't hear her all night. In fact, she wasn't in bed when we fell asleep but she sure was there when we awoke this morning.

Again I waited for as long as I could but by 730 she had not pee'd or pooped but I had to leave for work. I set up their closet and played with them a little, even flipping up the blinds. She was hanging out on the bedroom windowsill and Bag had just finished his breakfast when I left.

Dave came home at lunch time to check on them and lo and behold, there was poop in the litterbox! It was apparently hers (he is now trained to identify their poop and pee - he is talented!). He checked the house and her butt for residuals but couldn't find any - what a good girl! I wish one of us had been home to witness this but at the same time, it was good to know that she is capable of having a clean, hard poop without the nosy parents around.

And the other great thing was she was on the bed when he arrived. She has always been either under the couch or in the closet, so for her to be sitting in bed while he entered the garage and the house is a big deal - good girl!

I came home this mid-afternoon and they were both in the closet. I petted Bag first but she emerged in the process. The two of them kept me company while I ate lunch (Bag joined me in my feast, too), checked emails, and read. They somehow got me to play with them, too. She likes to play with the plastic bag and catch the water bottle cap, then carry it back in her mouth and drop it in the bag. Endless hours of play!

Apparently that wore them out because they retired to the closet around 5-ish, which is OK because we were on our way out for the evening. I like knowing that they are napping while we are out; makes me believe that we aren't missing out on their energy.

When we got home, they both came out of the closet and greeted us in the hallway. I have no idea if they were already out of the closet or just heard us, but it was the best welcoming site, ever! We played with both, fed Bag his dinner, and although we are shutting down for the night, Noodle is still active while her brother stands guard in the hallway.

Unfortunately their toys did not arrive today, as estimated. I am hoping tomorrow! I think I might be more anxious and excited than they will be. And I hope tomorrow will be another good poopy day.

At the time of this blog, she is in the litterbox and Dave is on his way to check on her. We talked about installing a motion detected camera so we know when she visited the litterbox when we aren't around. He joked about sticking a thermometer in the poop itself to get a time estimate. I think not.

As it turned out, she pee'd and pooped and according to Dave, the poop fell off nicely into the litterbox. She should be set for the night. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Noodle's surprise

No, the surprise wasn't that she pooped a clean, hard poop that fell nicely and perfectly into the litterbox today. If only ... ! Rather, she hasn't pooped since her runny poop incident yesterday afternoon.

Her surprise - twice now - is that she somehow clawed her way to the top of both futon couches and hung out there! She had never shown interest in the couches really, especially the black one against the window. Then last night Dave went out to check on her and there she was, sitting atop the main futon, next to the Hello Kitty doll.

And then this morning when I was trying to get things done at the house, she ran to the black futon, climbed up the stairs with no problems, sniffed her way around another Hello Kitty doll, and clawed her way through the gray throw to make it up to the top! And this time, she chose the couch with the view - good girl! I cracked the blinds open and there she sat. It was extremely darling.

Unfortunately I had to leave for work and couldn't spend time with her and her brother, who was lying in his gray (too-small-for-him) bed (see photo). I don't know how long she stayed up there - I can't imagine too long because I'm sure the garage door opening and closing and the truck starting up startled her. They always do.

All day I was nervous to come home to find trails of runny poop all over the house. But no, for better or worse, all she did while we were gone was pee. She was napping in the closet when I returned and she's been in and out of the closet, playing and chasing everything she can find. In fact, now she is interested in hanging out in the hallway closet, after we had given up on that mission.

Sometimes she'll come up to you if you sit on the floor at her eye level and coax her over. It's really very darling. She seems to hunt you then all she wants is scratches. She did that several times tonight.

The night is still young for them (it's 830) so we don't know what other surprises are in store. But for now, we know they are both resting to re-energize themselves.

Time for a Change

Well, as it turns out, Noodle needed to change up the routine a bit. At the end of the last blog, we mentioned that she was pooping again - the fourth time today. And this time, it was runny poop! Oh no!

Dave stayed with her while I ran the sink water and grabbed towels. She got her butt and paw washed and for the most part, she did well. She meowed a bit but then calmed down. It does help to have two people bathing her, at least. I don't know what will happen if it's only one of us.

We toweled her off then cuddled with her a bit to let her know she didn't do anything wrong. She retired to her spot in the closet and the two of them settled down.

We just brought them out to spend some time with us and although they did stay for a few minutes, they are making their way to the bathroom. Noodle ate some of her food, which is now a mixture of mainly feline caviar and a bit of Evo, so it's not too much of a change. Bag sniffed it and chose to drink water instead. That's the hard part with having two cats and one having a specific dietary need. I'm sure other cat lovers understand.

She is now back in the closet and Bag is roaming around. Let's hope her stomach has settled down. Mine, on the other hand, has been upset since all of this started. Call it sympathy sensitive stomach...

Earlier we started a spreadsheet of her poop. Hopefully it'll show us a trend. So far, it appears that too much Evo is hard on her, but that's all speculation. This is unfortunate because it's a high quality food and it's also alot more accessible than the caviar. We'll see ... we will stick with what works for her.

Three Times the Charm + One

Since our last blog, Noodle has surprised us with three poopies so far this morning - around 645, 830, and again at 10-ish. Although all three were hard poopy (and combined it would have been one good poopy), they didn't fall immediately from her butt as we would have liked. We are just slightly concerned that this is going to be the trend especially with both of us at work, but in defense of Noodle, she did eat alot since the last blog. Starting yesterday, they've been eating a combo of Innova Evo and Wellness, and although I tried to see which they favored, I really couldn't tell. At least the poop is hard, but would be better and cleaner if they fell immediately rather than her carrying them around the house! I'm sure she doesn't intend to do that.

Her brother Bag got his usual breakfast and lunch (Momma sneaking in the wet food for him) and occasionally napped in the living room with us. They both have been in and out of the closet off and on, and at one point, Noodle was in bed than ran over to me to help me read the paper in the hallway.

As I type this, she made her way into the litterbox. Let's hope it's only to pee. (Oh wait, Dave just said she is doing both. That's 4 poopies!) We'll be making a spreadsheet of her poop to find some sort of pattern as to which food (combo) works best for her. Although most of this is physiological and has to do with the trauma to her rear end (which we suspect) and in which case we cannot do anything about ... at the very least, we can help her eat foods that will produce hard poopy but that will fall easily. Such is our lives, but it's a good one!

Last 2008 Weekend with the Babies

This is our last 2008 weekend with the babies, and I'm sorry to see it come to an end so soon. But we had good times today. They were romping around last night when we went to bed but when I awoke, there she was - right by my head on her pillow.

She slept until 536am when Dave got the lucky job of checking on her in the litterbox where she finally pooped (after 2 days). This time, she had poop stuck to her butt that he helped pull out from her bottom. I'm sure she wasn't comfortable and it wasn't fun for him, so we spent today trying to figure out her food issues. They are totally on the Innova Evo now that they finished their Feline Caviar (it's not very accessible as Evo or the Wellness brands) but we think more so than the food, it's because of the trauma to her rear end, she may have lost some muscles that can help her push her poop out successfully. But her poop was still hard (Dave rated a 7 to 7 1/2 on a 1-10 scale) so that was good - no messy poop, at least.

Bag pee'd around the lunchtime, then headed off for a nap in the closet with his sister. We took this time to run errands, including finding a bag of Feline Caviar at a dog grooming place near my office in North Seattle - we'll have it on hand so we'll see how her next poop is. We want to be careful about transitioning her too soon.

They were still asleep when we returned mid-afternoon but came out and hung out with us off and on. At times we would go and retrieve them from the closet and they would stay with us a bit. It's very calming to have them both here in the living room as we're watching tv, making dinner ... just plain ol hanging out. But in the end, it was too early in the day for them to be awake, so they are back napping until we are ready to go to bed, at which time they'll be ready to play, I'm sure.

Post-Christmas with the Babies

I got to have a nice and relaxing post-Christmas Day with the babies today. Noodle is training me to hang out in bed with her for as long as she deems it necessary. She and her brother pee'd last night and early this morning before Dave left for work but no poopie. That has me a little concerned since she is usually regular around the 7-8am timeframe.

But other than that, she has been very active this morning and I'm not sure I'm seeing signs of her letting up. She has given me facials, hunted her brother in the closet, was mesmerized by the melting snow outside (from both the bed and the windowsill), played with her milk rings and catnip cigar, gnawed my fingers, and eye'd my hair. When she wasn't active, she was napping and even laid close enough for some petting and purring.

I love that she isn't in hiding, and while I would love to live this life, come next week, it's back to the office so I wonder how she'll be when there aren't any humans around. She's such a ball of energy and cuteness, if only I could take her to work with me, though I can see how trying that would be. Bag would be more amenable to that idea, I think.

Their toys are supposed to arrive tomorrow - I hope so, what with this weather and the delivery delays people are experiencing. We're excited for more antics.

When Dave came home and cuddled with the babies, Bag did a surprising thing. He started licking Dave's hand! He had never done that before. He would bite, playfully of course, but not lick. Perhaps he learned something from his little sister? If so, how darling is that?

Merry Christmas Noodle & Bag!

What a wonderful first Christmas with the two babies! They have kept us entertained since yesterday's blog. Noodle had a poop stuck to her butt that, when I tried to pull off and clean her butt, she wasn't thrilled with and told me so. She and brother took turns sleeping in different areas of the bedroom closet, and we just decided that well, they were both comfortable in there, so why fight it? We nixed the hallway closet idea and made the bedroom closet more comfortable for them (and as clean as possible for us if there was an accident).

She slept with us last night again, though I think more on Dave's side because it's closer to the window. This morning, Bag joined us on his usual side (mine) so we had both babies in bed to wake up to.

Without fail, at 707am, Noodle peed and pooped, and Bag peed (but he pooped and got his butt wiped this afternoon). They hung out with us all morning, even getting their catnip cigar presents. Noodle however, seemed pretty mesmerized with the outside world, watching from the bed, then window, then back in bed. She was also adamant about getting that darn laser pointer! They wrestled around, chased each other, and only settled into the closet for their 10-hr + nap about an hour ago.

This is definitely a memorable Christmas with the two of them. We're looking forward to many more.

Christmas Eve with the Kids!

Today is Noodle's first Christmas Eve with us! It's barely noon and she has had quite the adventures. She must have gathered strength from her sleep last night because all morning, she's been romping around with her milk ring, wrestling with her brother, and watching (and sometimes "hunting") the snow from the bedroom window.

She did start off her morning with a pee, poop, and butt wipe, only to hang out in bed and help me on my laptop later. It really is very darling to watch her in all of her antics, freaking out when the milk ring falls on her head, and even simply enjoying her mellowing out to the snow. A couple of times I'd see her struggle to get up on the bed without the use of her stairs - she knows where they are, but true to the nature of this family, she was exhibiting her stubborn trait.

I am afraid to move, for fear that she will retreat into the bedroom closet, which has been opened for her all morning but which has been occupied by her brother. She's calmed down a bit now, watching the snow from the bed, but it's only a matter of time until she gets all riled up again. I'm sure there will be more antics to come.

Another Day in the Noodle Life

It'll be odd to go back to work, after having spent so much time with Noodle. I'll be home the rest of the week and my one goal is to encourage her to hang out in the hallway closet versus the bedroom closet. I don't think I'll meet my goal. She is pretty set on it. She spent most of this afternoon in there, even though she stayed and hung out in the living room, but only if I retrieved her. At one point though, she and I crawled out to the living room ... at cat eye level.

The good thing is that she is knows when we're sleeping and joins us. Last night, she and her brother were playing - after she pooped and peed for Dave - but when I awoke, there was she, on her pillow. She spent a few minutes on the bedroom window looking out at the snow - good girl, but that's probably the most contact she's going to have with snow.

I think she did a quick poop this morning, probably hoping to miss the butt wiping, but got one anyway. Her brother peed too ... at least the cleanup afterwards is all done in one swoop.

Bag has been sleeping on the couch ALL morning ... I don't know how they do it. She saw him but left him alone while chasing my bathrobe strap. She tired of that, and is back in the closet. We'll see what tonite brings when their Daddy gets home.

Momma's Snow Day

Momma worked from home again with her babies today. Nothing too exciting happened, though. Noodle and Bag are really cute when they tag team on the morning pee and poop. Noodle pooped twice, once this morning and then around the lunch time. She now knows that I'm sitting there waiting to check and wipe her butt, so she sits on the lower shelf and waits me out. That's alright when I'm at home but on days when I have to head out, it's no game! It's hard to tell if she pee'd or pooped because she does it behind the curtain for privacy, and if I went and checked the litterbox, she'll undoubtedly take off.

This morning, she had a poop bit stuck to her butt. I didn't see it, but sure felt it with the cat wipe. Yuck!

She spent her usual time in the bedroom closet but did come out once or twice on her own, or with my "assistance". She and Bag romped quite a bit, and I must say, she instigated most of the wrestling.

She also clawed my thigh when grabbing for my drawstring and later on, I just gave her my bathrobe strap. Bag slept off and on (when he wasn't getting pounced on) and later went out on the deck. Maybe someday she will be comfortable to head out there, too.

When Dave got home, she was in the closet but he brought her out, cuddled with her, and although she got off the couch, she was hanging out in the living room next to her ball toy and feather boa. Whoops - she just ran back into the bedroom because he came in from the garage. Although she is used to many sounds of the house, she isn't used to people coming and going. Hopefully in time, though. It's something we can not do!

Just Another Day for Noodle

It was a simple day today for Noodle. She spent the morning with us and playing with her bro, then settled into the closet. I'm still trying to encourage her to hang out in the hallway closet but I guess it isn't as cozy as the bedroom closet. She and her bro tag teamed on the peeing and pooping this morning (such good babies) so I wasn't too concerned that she was in the closet all afternoon - it's good when she does her potty thing at night and in the morning because then we know she's good to go (or so we hope).

We did get them an electronic toy but she was not having any of it. The movements made her extremely scared so now we know to get her only toys that SHE can control. Bag played with it a bit but didn't seemed too amused.

She reminds us of a vampire - sleepy and hidden in the dark during the day but active at night. Seeing as how it's now the evening, we expect her to come out soon. She has also the sharp teeth - we have the marks on our arms to prove it.

4 weeks!!!

Well, it's official! Noodle has been part of our family for 4 weeks now, as of 2pm this Sat afternoon. Obviously, it has been the most wonderful, fun-filled, anxiety-ridden, patience-testing, house-accomodating four weeks ever. Both babies have done remarkably well, getting used to each other, to us, and to compromises. It seems clear to us that they get along pretty nicely, but also know when to leave each other alone.

For the trauma that Noodle has endured, she sure has trusted us quickly, what with the facials (although none last night), the purring (she is always wanting them scratches!), and the constant cuddling. I hope she's getting used to the frequent butt wipes though her meowing is part of the program.

She was social half the day today. They both slept in the bed until about 1045am but then as we were doing things around the house (Dave started packing for his trip), she found her way into the closet again. This time though, Bag took her spot and Dave had removed the suitcase for his trip, so her space had been changed somewhat. We are trying to coax her out of the closet and into the hallway closet instead. But I guess it's not as cozy. But we have better access to her if she's in the closet versus under the couch.

She got some of her claws clipped and her butt clipped so with all of that activity, she is now under the couch. I am still hoping some day she will be comfortable enough to hang out in the open. Well, only time will tell. Let's see what the next four weeks will bring.

Another Full Day with Momma

It was another work-at-home day today. Fortunately, I had work and the babies to keep me busy. Not skipping a beat, Noodle gave me three facials on my nose just before wake up, but that was after peeing (for Dave) and pooping (for me). Her brother pooped with her in sympathy and got his butt wiped, too, from which he walked away but then got chased by me.

After romping around some, she settled into the closet while I got some work done. Bag kept me company in the living room most of the time, if he isn't asking for food or sitting on the deck.

Around 1 or 2pm, I randomly saw Noodle in front of the bathroom door. She must have gotten something to eat or drink. But then she came out to the living room and played with us for all of the afternoon. She settled down some but was back at it, with her brother or the feather boa or the ball chaser toy.

This evening though, she settled down under the couch but she wasn't too far in so I'll take what I can get. She was bathing Dave's finger while sitting on the couch but is now next to Bag on the ground romping with her toy mouse. We'll see what tonite brings.

We did witness some playtime which we would like to share..very kewt...

Noodle's cat baths

We have never experienced a cat that bathes us. Once, we had a cat that drooled on us - we were told she did that when she's content, but never one that cleaned us. Last night was the first night Noodle did not give me a facial, even tho we slept face to face. She did, however, bath her brother's face - that was very darling. He sat still for it, or at least didn't seem to mind. Now, she is bathing Dave.

Although she's cute and all, her tongue is prickly, so her baths hurt on particular areas like the forehead and cheeks. At times she'll hold down your face to finish her bath. She's a woman on a mission.

Snow Day!

Per usual, Noodle slept with us pretty much all last night, and then pee'd (and I think poopy, too) before Dave went to work. So they were both awake and romping around very early this morning when I was still sleepy. I guess that's what happens when I wake up at 4 in the morning.

I got to spend today with both babies because of the snow. Our area got 9" and we're supposed to get more this weekend. They slept later this morning while I was on a conference call, but then the three of us played together in the afternoon. I didn't know that I could play with a feather boa for one hour - amazing. I swear, I think most of the time, they are just wondering how long they can get me to entertain THEM?

Well, whatever they were thinking, they are really cute, so they pretty much get away with everything.

They weren't too much into the snow. Bag went out on the deck a couple of times to check it out and also sat on the couch looking out the window. But Noodle would look at it fall from far away, as if she was afraid.

She still startles easily so we hope in time she'll calm down and recognize most of the noises, like the neighbors or us coming home.

After too much playing, she scooted into the closet to nap but Dave decided she needed to be social so here she is in his arms, napping and getting petted in the living room. What a life, while her brother sleeps above the filing cabinet (he was atop the kitchen cabinet the other night).

No Snow for Noodle

Today was supposed to have been the big snow day. Well, we never got any (so far) in Redmond. But as it turned out, I worked from home anyway because of a meeting in the area. That was nice, since I got to monitor them both while getting some work done.

She had not pooped before bed last night but did this morning around 730, along with her brother a few minutes earlier. Yes, they can be a team when they want to be. Speaking of last night, she again slept with us and again tried to give me a facial. I had to turn her down since I can see this going on for the next 14 years!

The three of us hung out in the morning but she ended up under the couch when I had to leave. She emerged immediately when I returned and greeted her. At the very least, I hope she begins to recognize us and emerge on her own soon after our return home. I brought home a couple of cat pads thinking that might encourage them to hang out with us on the couch or in the living room but they were both more intrigued with the box the pads came in. Isn't that usually the case?

She's back in the closet, at least she's more accessible that way. Bag is sitting on the pad here on the couch, after some encouragement. Hopefully she'll come out to play when Daddy gets home.

No Surprises

Noodle was in classic form last night. She went to bed with us and poop'd around 10. I was hoping she'd sleep through the night but I woke just before 2 to the longest facial I have gotten from her so far. Several times I tried to get her not to bathe my eye or put her claws on my face. Although she stopped for a few seconds, she just found another part of my face to bathe. Sigh.

They were both awake when Dave got up for work and while Bag went to pee, she waited for him then they played. At around 730, she decided to poop, followed by her brother, so both of them got their butts wiped. It's pretty cute when she meows during her butt wiping because he'll come over and meow with her, as if in sympathy.

Then they kept me company throughout the morning as I got ready for work, and I was certainly bummed to have left them at home.

They did well all day - no activity in the litterbox. She was under the couch when Dave got home, and he gave her the closet where she hung out until I arrived home. We played for some time, and she even hung out in front of the bathroom while Bag sneaked his dinner. They played a bit but she hissed at him at one point, but not in a bad way.

He is now in the kitchen resting, and she is somewhere in the bedroom with her daddy. It's hard spending time with the both of them when they are in separate rooms. She seems not to like hanging out on the couch, although earlier on, she did. Maybe she realizes the bed is bigger and more comfortable for her. Who knows what cats really think?

Home Alone, Again!

Well, after four glorious days off with the babies, it was time to return to work. Noodle slept the majority of the night with us ... I would say about 4-5 hrs, which is the longest I've slept at one time since she's been with us. She slept on her own pillow, although this morning, I did get a swipe to my left eye and another facial, all in good play when she decided the "walk the pillows".

Last night around 11, she pooped before bed, so that was reassuring. And it was a good poop, too. So she was good throughout the night. Instead of pooping this morning, she romped around with her brother, and there was a particular incident where they romped for a bit too long for one of their liking because one of them hissed a pretty good hiss. I got there too late to figure out which one but it was clear that they needed a break.

Eventually I had to get to work, and as she didn't poopy when I left, I was pretty anxious all day. I was pretty nervous returning home but alas, all was well! I did my checks throughout the house and could not find any traces. There was nothing in the litterbox and her butt was clean (as clean as a cat's butt gets). She was under the couch but it didn't take her long to come out. We played a little but she made it into the bedroom and soon, back into the closet. I figured that she was alot more accessible in the closet than under the couch. Though we want to, it's probably not a good idea to give her the closet unsupervised - last thing we need is unseen poop on our clothes and suitcases!

Bag got to eat his dinner in the meantime, and the three of us spent time in the closet or on the bed resting. She just got done playing paws under the door with her brother and then ran to the bathroom. I've been trying to get her used to her wall cat scratching post by running it against her but she is taking more to the catnip on it.

They just finished chasing each other and she is now resting in his day bed in the living room but eyeing him at the same time.

BTW, she has been with us for 3 weeks now - what an interesting, most wonderful, life-changing 3 weeks. We are looking forward to the next 14-15 years with her and Bag! Hopefully in time she will become less skittish, more used to the sounds of life, and be more comfortable hanging out in the living room rather than the closet or under the couch but we will let her tell us when that will be. We are just happy she's here.

a drop of Noodle

Yesterday (after our last blog) Noodle was playing with Bag in the bedroom per their usual morning routine and as I was brushing my teeth, Dave comes in with Noodle in his arms and a dry poop to dispose of. Apparently she had dropped one just a few seconds earlier. We don't know why because she wasn't headed to the litterbox at all. Dave put her in there but she didn't go. So of course now, I'm always looking for a trail of dropped poop (even more than normal).

Other than that, she went on her usual routine - playing, resting, eating, and eventually finding her way back to the closet. We brought her out at 6, hoping she'd poop again before we headed out for the evening. She didn't but retreated to under the couch.

When we returned home last night, there was only pee in the litterbox and it was quiet. As it was late, they joined us in bed and same routine with Noodle - she slept on my pillows so I had to sleep around her. It was just close to 5 that she went to the litterbox and did a small but hard poop. She and Bag played afterwards and in fact, she hung out with us for a good portion of the morning.

She's been in the closet since this afternoon, but did come out for another poop. I think this was to complete her first poop this morning. I was fortunate to witness this one. Bag apparently had to go too so here she is pooping and here he is peeing. What a team.

They've been crashed out later this afternoon, surely to gather strength for tonight's round of cat and mouse. We can't wait!

Mini Marshmallows!

We gave Noodle another cozy and dark hiding spot - our bedroom closet.

It was only a matter of time until she sneaked her way in there - she sure is quick when she wants to be! So rather than fighting it, we thought it was a more comfortable spot than under the couch. So she spent a good portion of last evening there, but when Dave went to check on her after 9, she had made her way to the bed. How darling!

She stayed in bed with us all night, although I don't think I got more than a couple of hours of sleep. When she was awake, so was I. Hard to sleep through the two "facials" she gave (including right on my eye) and considering that she laid on and took my pillow ... ! At one point she stretched herself so she'd be as long as the pillow. How can I take that away from her, although I will have to be careful because she might have a penchant for pulling my hair now. We played chase the fingers under the sheet while both Daddy and brother slept.

Bag used the litterbox around 3am and a couple of hours later, it was Noodle's turn (which meant Dave got to get up). She did good though she had a "mini marshallow" poop stuck to her butt that came off easily when he wiped her. Now, that will be the image I'll have when I see mini marshmallows.

Throughout the morning, both brother and sister played together, ate, rested, and bit their Dad's feet and fingers. Bag had his morning breakfast (the wet stuff that she unfortunately, can't have). She is now in the closet tucked underneath my clothes and Bag is wandering around wondering what his dad is up to - too much movement going on! Maybe I'll go let him out on the deck ...

We have one more day at home with them, then it's back to work - too bad we can't make a living out of watching them.

the Noodle we know?

Seems that the Noodle we know is making a comeback after yesterday's flurry of activities. She finally came out from hiding (under the couch) last night around 9-ish. She pee'd around 11 or so then off and on slept in bed with us. I did get another facial from her sometime in the wee hours of the morning, and she and her bro went at each other again.

Our new mattress is now much thicker than our old one, so we were concerned that the stairs would be too short for her. I didn't see her but at one point, I turned around and there she was. And earlier this morning, we saw her use the stairs, although she's figured out that jumping off the bed from anywhere was faster. She also jumps onto her brother, we think.

Early this morning, she had a successful (hard) poopy! Yeah! But we still need to monitor just to make sure she is getting whatever it is, out of her system. She hung out on the window a bit and then joined the rest of us in bed. I don't think she likes being left alone in bed because once we were up and moving, she scrambled to the laundry room then headed for under the couch, where she remains.

I've been trying to coax her out with her blue ball toy but I think she has figured out a way to watch the game without exerting energy by making Momma play it!

too much excitement!

In addition to the soft poop this morning, Noodle got her first visit from the mattress delivery guys. She decided not to have anything to do with them so she hid in her usual under-the-couch spot. I think she was still traumatized by the bath and this visit by strangers was too soon.

She calmed down a bit when Dave visited with her, but still scurried under.

She got another visitor, Nancy, who was much calmer for her. Although she did not care for the sound of the groomer, she did well with the hair clippings around her butt. But that's probably enough grooming for her for awhile.

I think today is a going to be a hide-out kind of day, which is fine since she has had alot of activity in such a short amount of time. Hopefully she'll remember that life from under the couch isn't so bad, especially now that she has a fluffier bed to play in.

I forgot to mention that she now has figured out how to get up on the windowsill in the bedroom. She learned that she can get up and down from there using her cat condo. It was such a great surprise because I had thought the windowsill was too slippery for her. But yesterday I went to check on her one more time and there she was! I need to get that photo uploaded.

full of surprises!

Just when I thought Noodle was settling into a routine, she manages to surprise us again. She used to sleep through the night, or most of it, but lately has been napping in the middle of the night, then romps around in bed. Sometimes I'll turn around and there she is ... staring at me. And this morning, she was bathing my face, so how can anyone sleep through that??

And of course, she had a bout of soft poop again. She had been doing fine, and in fact had a hard poop just minutes before. But then romped around and ran back into the litterbox. Fortunately, we were both home today so into the bathroom we went. The poor thing got her butt wiped then bathed. We petted her afterwards to let her know she didn't do anything wrong, but she is back under the couch. She had been hanging out on the window and on the bed all day yesterday.

It was kinda cute in the bathroom. Bag joined us, and meowed for her. Perhaps he was sensing her pain?

Today the plan is to get her butt shaved so I'm sure she'll enjoy that! It's a full day of excitement for little Noodle.

Noodle's plan?

Well, Noodle seems to be settling into a routine, at least for the past 2 days. She poops in the early hours of the morning (when we're sleeping, of course) which means butt wipes when we're half-asleep. But then she goes back to sleeping with us.

In the mornings, she no longer poops for me before I go to work. Bummer! I wanted to go to work knowing she has a blank slate for the day. She does go sometime during the day, tho. Then she retreats to her space under the couch. In the evening, she comes out for some food, to be curious and perhaps to be social (?), and romps with her brother for a few rounds.

Then she settles down in bed, where we join her. We tried to get Bag to join us but he was more interested in his day bed. They both seem content where they are, so certainly we dare not disturb these two in their king/queendom.

She has been doing well with her poopie, even pooping on her own today when we weren't around. I think she's bored with her food but she doesn't have that much more to go on her caviar. We've also been sprinkling in the Evo to move over once the caviar is done. I, of course, just want to keep feeding her whatever she wants - such a cute little face, it's hard to resist but once the soft poop comes out ... well, that'll make me pay!

with her bro

Noodle spent a good portion of today playing with her bro, getting petted quite a bit, and hanging out under the couch but she hasn't poopy today. I still haven't figured out how exactly to coax her out from under the couch. She did come scurrying out when I was refilling the food bowl. But then sniffed it and decided she didn't want to eat it - I hope she isn't getting tired of it. I don't want to be changing her food too often.

I sure wish I could speak Noodle language.

Bag, in the meantime, has been hanging out in his day bed. I'm glad he likes it, except I think he may not sleep with us at night now. Kids!

a busy Sunday

Both Noodle and her brother Bag had a busy Sunday today. Right off the bat, fresh from a bathroom trip and a good night's sleep, she and her bro had to sit through our annual photo-taking session. While we want the whole family in the photo, we also don't want to make this too traumatic for them so we've always taken them here at the house. This year is our first year at our new place, so we all gathered in front of the fireplace. Our girlfriend AMJ came by to play photographer. All of you pet lovers know how hard it is to get a photo just right of EVERYONE, so we ended up with the best we could snap.

Afterwards, Noodle had had enough of being social, so she went to her hangout under the couch where she stayed off and on all afternoon and evening. She emerged now and then to play with her bro, give all of us cat baths, and eat. We had tried for a couple of days now, but she finally slept and hung out in her new day bed. Her brother got his today too and he's been in his ALL evening!

Later, she woke up and immediately climbed her kitty stairs to get up to the couch where we were, and has been sitting with us for at least an hour now. We are so grateful! This is what we've been hoping for. I'm not sure she'll be as social tomorrow, but we will enjoy it while we can.

We are so proud of the two of them, for having come this far in two weeks. They seem to play OK with each other, but also leave each other alone OK, too. There has been very little hissing and no growling. At times, they just do their own thing and at other times they are only focused on each other. We just love our babies!

Look at me...I'm cute!

So here is our little Noodle laying on the futon showing how cute she can be...

coming up on 2 weeks!

In just a few hours, Noodle will have been here for 2 weeks! Without repeating myself too much, she is just the most adorable doll that ever is! I may have forgotten to note that she had found a way to slip through the gate bars when we had it up - sneaky!

It didn't take long for us to notice the remarkable resemblances between Noodle and me, and Bag and Dave. Dare we compile this list?

Noodle and Momma - we have/are:

issues with our rear left extremity

adorable in our own way

small/petite

quite vocal for our size

a pure & true blessing to all that know us

feisty

crafty

stubborn

nice, long, defensive nails/claws

likes to pounce on unsuspecting others

spend too much time in the bathroom

works on HER schedule!

Bag and Daddy - we have/are:

cute

ALWAYS in trouble but too cute to get punished

tall/long

stubborn

our collections of Surefires and mouses

good natured and easygoing - not a mean bone to be found

always has a duh, "What?" look on our face

ALWAYS "helpful"

finds ways to amuse himself

I'm sure there will be more. In the meantime, we've posted more photos of our babies.

Settling into her routine?

Noodle has been getting slightly predictable ... as predictable as a cat in her situation can be. She seems to poop early in the morning before I leave for work, and then in the evening when we're both home (which means it's Dave's turn!). I'm not sure she poops while we're gone because we haven't seen signs of that, but I guess it's good that we're around when does. She also seems to pee almost at the same time.

And then there's the I'm-hanging-out-underneath-the-couch syndrome and coming-out-when-I-want-to. But tonite ... lo and behold, she emerged on her own around 530 and has hung out with us all night so far. She and Bag didn't play much tonite (at least not yet).

As for the playing, she and Bag go in spurts. They do their own thing as much as they get into playing. Seems that they gather energy and strength overnight, and then it's off to the circus in the mornings. Perhaps they sleep all day while we're at work, but later tonite, I'm sure they'll be at it.

They have been great bed buddies, though. It's so wonderful that she has adapted to sleeping with the 3 of us so well, even though she sleeps less than all of us. She wakes us up with her cat bathes and romps, but she is better to wake up to than the alarm clock, for sure.

She seems to have let go of the bathroom fine. She is hardly in there now and drinks and eats in the main area. It's Bag who drinks and eats in the bathroom! Maybe we have to wean HIM off!

We are extremely pleased with her amazing progress in less than 2 weeks. She is so feisty, it's amazing. We are so glad that they have each other to keep them company. They are darling together - we can't get enough of them!

What Progress!

Well, in just about a week and a half, little Noodle has made such significant progress in her new home. She has accepted and plays with Bag (can defend herself successfully), survived a soft poop incident and is successfully back to hard-pooping, eats and drinks water and poopies and pees regularly, learned to use the stairs to get up and down on the couches and bed, sleeps with us most of the night, and is becoming more social around the clock. I think it's safe to say she is becoming comfortable in her own skin here ... after all, it is HER home.

She and Bag got another scratching lounge tonite, although it is becoming evident that they each need their own. I guess it's back to the pet store tomorrow. Our house is now being filled with cat toys everywhere, which is absolutely wonderful.

It is too wonderful to watch the two of them romp around. I don't know how if they are being too rough on each other, but neither one shows hesitation or fear, really. They keep coming back for more.

Although she was under the couch when I came home and for several episodes afterwards, she is now on the other couch, just hanging out. I think I better close this blog and go do some petting!

Home alone ... again!

It is really difficult to leave the babies home alone, especially for a full work day. (Who invented work, anyway?!) Noodle was off and on sleeping and hanging out with us last night, while her brother Bag slept through the night. Somehow I woke at 414 and couldn't go back to sleep because I would miss her cuteness.

At 7, she decided to do her poop deed for me. She tolerated the butt wipe, even purring at one point but really not liking it. I need to figure out another system for her. Her poopy was hard enough to drop and not stick to her (lest she fall in it) but still deserving of a wipe. Bag decided he needed to pee afterwards, so I thought their bathroom adventures were done. But Bag figured he needed to poop too, so he got his bottom wiped as well (good thing, too). I can't believe I let him walk around the house like that. It must be uncomfortable to have a dirty butt.

She ended up under the couch again, off and on. But did come out to check out the hallway closet, which of course, delayed me leaving for work. But that's OK. Bag seemed in need of attention, even hovering by the garage door when I left. I hope the two will play today and wear each other out so they get in a good nap.

Dave came home before I did and Noodle was still under the couch. He retrieved her and it seems that although she seems to resist every time, she ends up purring and sitting with us for awhile. Tonite Bag chased her around some but she didn't seem into playing. Perhaps she needs her 4hr+ nap and then she'll be wired tonight. She is again, now under the other couch. Pretty soon she'll run out of hiding spots in this tiny place.

Our full first day home alone!

Noodle and Bag slept with us most of last night (yeah!) but got in their romping before I headed to work. As far as we knew, Noodle had not poopy. We had earlier installed a baby monitor to try and listen. We heard her at 530 in the litterbox in the bathroom, so I kicked Dave to go check (he had to get up early anyway). She didn't have to go pee or poopy at all, just playing.

After he left, they started getting feisty with each other. And for the first time that we could tell, they were actually making contact in their play (at least we hope it's play). They were cuddling and wrestling and rolling around. They took turns chasing and teasing. It was darling. I was just sorry I had to get up and head to work and miss this.

Since we had not seen her poopy, we weren't sure if we should give her run of the house or put her in the bathroom. We decided that we'd let her decide - if, by the time I had to leave, she voluntarily went into her condo in the bathroom, then we'd keep her there. But if she was still somewhere in the house, then we would take a chance. We agreed that if there were poopy accidents, that we would both agree to scrub and clean even if it took us all night. It just breaks our heart to keep her in the bathroom (when we are trying to move her out of there).

Noodle decided that she'd rather have run of the house (she was smackdab in the middle of the bed), so I checked the litterbox and found some poop but couldn't tell if it was hers or Bag. But it was time to head to work. This was the first day that she'd be alone for a full workday with her brother.

Dave checked on her at lunch, and found little poop that, again could be hers but we weren't sure. There was no accident - yeah! And she was in her condo in the bathroom while Bag was in bed.

I arrived home just before 6pm and she was under the couch. She hung out under there for most of tonite ... maybe this is her new hiding spot. Anyway, she eventually came out when I was playing with the flashlight. She let me pet her for awhile, then helped me refill the food bowl. She ate some then headed to the litterbox! With trash can, flashlight, and wet wipes in tow, Bag and I waited. And what did we see??

We watched her poop - finally! It wasn't the hardest poop but it was hard enough to fall. Of course, had she fallen in on her bottom, that would have been a fun mess to clean up. The poor thing was struggling on her paw.

She got a good wipe and went on her way. Her brother came in to pee after I cleaned up, and on his way out, she popped around the corner and tapped him on the head. He didn't hiss or growl, but simply looked startled and walked away. I, on the other hand, had to crack up.

Off and on tonight, she was under the couch, then Dave retrieved her to hang out with us on the couch. She emerged on her own later to watch me play mouse with Bag. She's now eating ... wonder if she's going to try for another litterbox round? If so, now is better than when we're sleeping!

Finally! I am so glad to see that she is pooping (hard) again. Today was quite the day of progress.