Our Field Trip

“Olivia, what did you do? Why am I in the bag in which we came from mama? Are they taking us back there; it will be freezing!”

Olivia sighs and shakes her head, then pauses for a moment.

“I did nothing wrong you big baby, and I do not think that they are taking us back to mama. Do you remember the last time we were in these things? We went to see the lady that sticks cold things in our butts”.

A shaking Oscar whispered, “Are you sure, Olivia? We thought we would be with mama forever, and all of a sudden we were in this bag. Just like today…I am not….”

“Oscar”, interrupted Olivia, “get a hold of yourself. We cannot do anything about where we are going anyway. Oh oh, I think we are moving. Meeeeeowwww Meeeeoooowww. Let me out of here!”

“Meeeeeoooooowwww. Mrrrraaaaugghhhh!” cried Oscar. This back and forth between the two of them continued for the remaining five minutes of the ride to….?

“Oscar, I….I think we have stopped.” The sound of car doors closing and opening, and with a tug of the carrier handle, Oscar and Olivia entered the cold air of the outdoors. They both were very quiet and still, not sure about where they were or where they were going. The door in front of them suddenly opened, and the warm air of the indoors jolted the travelers back to life.

“See you baby, we are at that place that puts things in our butts”, yelled Olivia. “I wonder how high you will jump this time.”

“Hush Olivia, those things are soooooo c-c-cold. Brrrrr”.

Olivia began to laugh when: “Ohh, 13 pounds for Oscar’s weight; that’s quite a weight for an 8 month old kitten”, stated the vet tech. “Oscar”, Olivia snickered, “you are fat! How is it you weigh double of what I do? Oh wait, I know this. BECAUSE YOU EAT ALL OF MY FOOD!!!!” Oscar just grunts, and both kittens remain silent until they enter the examination room.

They are both let out of the carriers, and Oscar immediately begins to examine the room. Olivia moves about the examining counter very cautiously. “Oooo, what is this?” Oscar leans forward and sniffs a container of pink liquid. “Ewwwwww, yuch! What the hell?!?” Oscar yells as he jumps onto the floor.

The door of the examining room swung open, and two women entered.

“Oscar, I do not like the looks of this. They are feeling on both of us, but yet acting as if we are not here. At least she knows now for sure that I am siamee……Yeeeeowwwww! What the hell? They did it to me again! She stuck that metal thing in my butt again. Owwie. “

“Oh Olivia, you are such a wimp. Now I….uh oh, my turn. Yeeeeeoooooowwwww! She got me too! Owww, that hurts? What the? She is playing with my bags….and….oohhhh…..I like this one. Heeee.”

“Oscar, you are crazy! She just put us into pain! She is mean!”

Olivia jumps off the table to hide behind a chair. A funny feeling began to set in with the kittens, one that is a very sleepy feeling. Soon the humans said their goodbyes, and before they knew it, Olivia and Oscar were in the car on the way home.

“Olivia, I feel very sleepy.” Olivia tilted her head, sighed, and said “yes, I am too. So very, very sleepy”.

Upon arrival at home, our kittens both found a warm, soft spot to make a bed, curled up into little balls, and slept the day away.

Schatzi

It has been almost six months since these kittens have come into my life. Before the kittens, my life was very simple. Wake up in the morning, go to the sandbox, paw the small human’s face to get it to pet me, eat, and then sleep in a sunny spot until the humans came home. After they arrived at home, more eating, some playing with toys, and so on.

That fateful summer afternoon changed my life forever. At first I could not understand the blocking of the kitchen that the bigger human did immediately after arriving home. The humans had been gone for many days and nights. They always came to say hello to me first but this time said hi to me only after blocking off the room, which seemed odd. Also odd was that the many things the humans bring in after they return from a long time away were not present.

After some time, the smaller human came in as well with the trap that I am put in to visit the doctor. Was that meowing I heard? No, it cannot be…or so I thought.

My fears were realized a week later when I first met the kittens. I had gone from getting all the attention to now having to share it with these kittens, very cute kittens. These little things smelled like poop, and their meows were very needy, loud, and shrill. Oh boy, this was going to take some getting used to, I thought to myself. One was very strange looking, the dark gray one, it looked like it was just a big head with paws. This one put a scare in me when he said something to the other one about “this one”, meaning me, maybe having some delicious milk for them. The only thing I remember about the rest of that day was hiding under the bed.

This went on as the days turned into weeks. This black one was not very bright; he once brought a chipmunk into the house! That was very gross, and is why I do not like going outside. Once the big human tried to bring me out with the kittens, and I peed on it as punishment. That was the last time the humans tried this, so I am sure that they got the point. The black one, Oscar, also jumps in the air and pees when he hears thunder. Sigh. The “great protector” he is not!

As the seasons changed, and the days grew cooler and shorter, the kittens were staying inside more often. I admit that they are beginning to grow on me, and there are times that I see them as being somewhat tolerable. This black one, Oscar, is more of a pain than his sister, Olivia. Oscar tries to jump on all the time, and steals food from everyone, including the humans. He has grown to be very big, but is overly playful most of the time and seems to always be hungry. My biggest problem with him is that he will jump on me without any notice. I want to be nice to him, but he is too crazy to trust right now. Maybe once his “traveling bags” as he calls them are removed, he will stop this behavior and behave like a proper house cat.

I see a little bit of myself in this Olivia. Although very whiny, she knows how to behave like a proper cat. Stay to yourself, do not approach me without permission, and to be blunt, stay out of my space. She does not fight for the human’s affections for the most part, unlike this Oscar. She knows the importance of slipping under the blankets to stay warm during this cold time of year, and properly covers up after herself in the sandboxes. Yes, in this one I see much potential.

I am curious to see what the next six months with these two will bring. I know from listening to the humans that both I and Oscar will have operations, mine on my aching teeth, and his to remove his traveling bags. If nothing else, I know that at minimum my life will be very interesting.

Christmas Gifts

“What are the humans up to now, Oscar? They are getting these little socks down from the tree.”

“I do not know, though they keep looking at us and laughing. This cannot be good for us,” sighed Oscar.

The humans placed 3 very small Christmas stockings on the floor, each one of them fat and full of goodies for the kittens. Schottzie was the first to approach, sniffing cautiously at first before sticking her nose into a stocking as far as she could get it.

“Hey, what is she doing?” cried out Olivia. “She seems to be very excited about some old socks. Oscar? Oscar?!?”

“Mmmpf mmm pfff yummffff”, mumbled Oscar as he too stuck his nose into one of the stockings on the floor.

“These stockings are delicious, Olivia, you must try one.”

Olivia carefully approached the last remaining stocking, first tapping on it with her paw, then sniffing carefully.

“Ooooo that smells delicious!” yelled Olivia. “And these are full of toy mice! So this is what Christmas is. These humans have done very well with this holiday.”

“Sure”, mumbled Oscar. “Christmas is delicious."

Cupboard Raid

“Olivia, I think I know where they hide the treats”.

“Are you sure Oscar?”

“Of course I am sure; watch this”

Oscar jumps onto the counter, and with a few flicks of his paw the cupboard door opens.

“Oooo, listen to how this package crinkles. This must be it.”

“Oscar, be careful…..eeek!”

The package, along with many smaller containers, come tumbling onto the floor.

“Oscar, you idiot, you almost killed us”

“Calm down, everything went according to plan. Now if only I could get into these…”

“Here we are. Uhh oh, these are not our treats!”

“Oscar, these are human cookies.”

“You kittens are foolish!”yelled Schottzie, “I will now shat on the floor to punish you for your foolishness”

Eeeeeeeeeeee…..thump.

“Ewwww. Run Oscar, it stinks like your butt in here”

Christmas Tree

Today was a very interesting day around here. The larger human brought into the house a very big bag that looked very heavy. It made a very fun, crinkly sound, so Oscar and I both had fun jumping on and off of it. The large human did not think it to be so much fun, and before long we had been banished from this bag by the human.

The human opened up the bag, which made a strange sound while it was opening. The human pulled out of the bag these little green sticks that looked like tree branches. Oscar and I went over to have a sniff, and these things smelled nothing like the branches of a tree. They looked like the branches of a tree, which made this very confusing. Ahhhh HAHHHHI yelled as I leapt into the bag. Ahhh HAHHHH! Oscar followed and jumped on me.

Oooo, these branches are so soft, and playing in this bag is so much fun. The human is not paying any attention to us, as he begins to connect the branches to a big, green stick. Hmm, it almost looks like….no, it cannot be. Can this human really be making a tree…inside….for us? Oooo my goodness, how wonderful a gift this will be! I wonder why the human is starting at the top. It does make for a funny looking tree.

After some time, the tree began to take shape. Olivia, tired out from playing in the bag was napping. I, however, knew that this bag would lead to great things, and decided to conserve my energy. Oh boy, was I correct in my thinking. I went to the sandbox to do, um, cat things, and upon my return behold! A tree has now sprouted up inside of our house. I ran as fast as I could and was soon to the top of the tree.

The first thing I noticed about this tree was that it was much more difficult to climb. The trees outside have thick branches towards the inside, and they get thinner as you move away from the tree. This tree had branches that stayed very thin no matter where you went. Also, the branches were very shiny and cold, as if they were covered in ice. Very, very, strange.

When I woke up, I found my brother straddling this tiny little branch at the top of the now built tree. It was hysterical to watch him attempt to move around up there. After watching him struggle, I decided to go and show him how to climb a tree properly.

Olivia, you…..you came to show me how to climb? You may have come to the tree; you may have climbed the tree, but your method of dismounting the tree sort of discounts your expert status. Howling for a human to lift you down, or jumping from the top to the ground are not “expert” methods of tree climbing.

Oscar, if you don’t stop this instant….

You will do what? Climb a tree to hide?

Ugh! I am out of here!!!!!

I cannot wait to see how she climbs with lights on the tree

Oscar! I heard you….

She’s Back!

The days and nights were dragging as I waited for Olivia to come home. I could hear the wind howling outside, making me think about how cold, hungry, and alone she must be. The howling wind was frustrating as I could not hear if she was meowing below the windows. What if she needed my help? How would I hear her with all of the noise the winds were making?

The morning has now come for the third time since I have last seen my sister. The humans continued to leave the door open in this little house they call a garage, and had left her bed, food, and water in the garage in case she came home and we could not hear her. I have not slept, eaten, or played very much. The humans spent time yesterday walking around outside, as I checked the windows and waited for any sound that could possibly be her.

The larger human walked around outside for a little bit before leaving for the day, leaving the bed, food, and water in the garage for her just in case. The smaller human stayed home for a while, and was getting ready to leave, when we heard it. Meeeeeooooowwwwww! Meeeeeooooowwwwww! Meeeeeooooowwwwww! Meeeeeooooowwwwww ! Olivia had come back!

Quickly we raced down the stairs, and the door opened, and there she was! My sister had come back home! Without saying a word, she darted up the stairs and went straight for the food bowl. She ate as if she had not eaten for three days.

Oscar, that is because I had not eaten for three days. There was no food inside of this garage that I was stuck in.

You silly kitten, you worried me so much! You cannot go anywhere without me anymore, Olivia. I will shadow you no matter what when we go outside.

Stop biting me Oscar!

I will stop only if you promise to stay close to me when we are outside.

Ok, ok, I promise.

Where, Oh Where, Can She Be?

The day began as it always does; we begin to play when the sun comes up, we eat, make some brownies in the sand, and find a warm soft place in which to lie down and nap. This day was a little different, though, as one of the humans was home much longer than normal. This allowed us to go outside in the morning to play and to hunt, which was a nice change for us.

Later that afternoon, being tired from all of the running around my sister and I were doing, I settled in for a little nap. When I woke up, it was nearly dark, and my sister was nowhere to be found. The humans were not worried, but I was. She had never gone out by herself before, so I did not know where she could be. Making things worse, the humans were not letting me out to go and look for her.

It began to grow darker, and I could tell that now the humans were beginning to worry. Olivia has never been gone this long by herself. I wished that I could go out to look for her. The big human grabbed this little stick that makes light, and soon went outside. It was some time before he came back, but when he did there was still no Olivia. The humans and I were checking the windows off and on for most of the night, and they would occasionally leave with this lighted stick, but soon the night was coming to an end, and still no Olivia.

The night was long, cold, and lonely. And quiet; very, very, quiet. When the next morning finally came, the big human went outside with me to look around. I sniffed at all of Olivia’s favorite places, and could not find a trace of her. The human was looking everywhere, including in the trees and on roofs, but no sigh of Olivia could be found. Where could this sister on mine be?