Hot Mess

It's hot today.  Uncharacteristically.  Usually in the summer, the highs may reach the 50s. Today, it was 70.  It won't last, and it was gorgeous outside, but inside it is another story.  The buildings here are overheated all year round.  They have to be, even in the summer.  So, they are heated today, and it is smoking hot inside with no real way to cool them down.  I have a fan in every window, and we are still sweating. 

Gus is also suffering.  Since he is sporting a thick coat, he's really hot. After we came back from his big adventure, he played hard, knocked stuff off of shelves, dragged around one of Chad's socks and killed it repeatedly, then he crashed.  The only problem was, he likes to sleep by us. We are on the couch. The couch is leather.  It's cool at first, then it warms up as you stay in one place.  So Gus has migrated from the back of each section of couch every  10-15 min.  as he tries to nap. 

Proof below!

1st position

2nd position

3rd position

Up close since he's so cute

4th position

He just switched again, but believe it or not, I'm tired of taking the little slacker's picture--not really.  I'm just hot.

Gus's Big Adventure

Socks's daddy picked him up the other day, and since then Gus has been a little depressed, or bored.  So today I decided to take him on an adventure. There's not much you can do around here if your a kitty -- outside that is-- it's not safe.  There are lots of dogs roaming, there are owls, and foxes. Not that I'd let him outside anyway.

I took the four wheeler to the beach yesterday and it was so beautiful that I thought Gus might enjoy it.  I put him in his airplane carrier, because it's a little more comfortable than the hard plastic one, and strapped him to the front of the wheeler.

Gus in his carrier at the beach.

We rode down the beach a ways, but it was sort of bouncy, and I didn't want to jar the juices out of him!  He watched out of the screened sides and front, and I could see he was quiet and calm.  We didn't go for very long, but he was so good for his first outing (that wasn't to the vet)!

Before this, we went to his daddy's office.  Because, why not? I figured he could get out in a safe place where he was limited so he wouldn't get lost or hurt.  He was excited to be in a new place and explored like a mad kitty. His sniffer was going fast and he was flehmen at all the new scents. He explored daddy's toys, and didn't break anything, although he made sure to dust the entire desk.

Chad letting Gus out of the box.

No idea what he is doing.  Maybe trying to fit between plane and bottom of cabinets?

Cleaning behind the computers.

Trying to go on a plane ride?

The Most Spoiled

Gus, although he doesn't know it, lives the life of the rich and famous.  According to my husband, who really is funny but don't tell him it goes to his head, he's a million dollar cat.  Most of the lifestyle he enjoys has been provided by my niece, yes, the same one that convinced us to get him.

She's the one that bought his monstrous 7 ft tall cat tree.

Socks and Gus in tree

Yesterday, she told me to come over because she bought him a cat bed.  Before I show you the cuteness, one thing about Gus is he loves his comfort. This is strange to me.  Jinx always loved hard, cold surfaces.  He'd ignore a cushion for the tile floor.  Raz liked a lap. Even if a cushion was available, he'd be on your lap.  Gus loves pillow and blankies.  I keep a soft fuzzy blue blanky on the couch for him.  

Gus on his blue blanky

He loves to get on my couch pillows especially if there is a fuzzy blanket over them.  The problem is, they keep getting moved around.  This makes him sad.  

Gus on blanky over couch pillow

Don't get me wrong, he loves to be held, and sometimes that's what he wants, but when he wants to crash, he likes his royal arse on a plump, purple cushion.  Thus, the lovely watermelon bed.  I kid you not.  She bought him a watermelon.

Ready for a nap

How dare you take my picture

He loves it. He's sleeping the afternoon away right now inside of a watermelon.  Oy.

Crusty Gus

After school got out, I left Gus for a week to go to Utah to see my mom.  When I got back, he had a terrible crusty little chin.

Gus's crusty chin

I had no idea what was wrong.  When I felt it or examined it up close, it didn't look like an injury, it looked like a burn.  The problem was that the hair was still in it, so it wasn't a physical heat burn.  I took him to the vet.  

Apparently, he has something called, kitty chin acne.  Great, my baby was a teenager!  Not really, it's not caused by puberty or anything, but a type of allergic reaction.  The vet said the most common cause was plastic food bowls.

Gus has mainly stainless steel bowls.  However, my sister gave me this cute little blue plastic bowl, after I was discussing an article about food bowls-- regarding her dog who is food shy.  Apparently, a lot of animals struggle to eat in traditional shaped bowls because they jar their whiskers.  So the article was describing shallow low-rimmed bowls that wouldn't hit the whiskers but could still contain food or water.  Therefore, the cute plastic bowl.

Of course, it was Gus's favorite bowl.  Since I was going to Anchorage for a minute for a doctor's appointment, I found some similar shaped stainless steel bowls to replace the cute one. They are utilitarian and ugly, but low and non-whisker jarring.  

His chin is slowly clearing up. It's gross though, I have to scrap it and treat it with medicated wipes.  He hates it.  Ugh, off to do it again now!

Gus and Socks

I live in a native village.  This puts things into a unique perspective.  First, white people are definitely not first class citizens, maybe 3rd or 4th class.  Next, most school teachers, like me, only stay up here when school is in session, because their homes and often their families are somewhere in the lower 48. They leave for Christmas break, and they leave for summer break. 

I don't leave.  My family is scattered, I don't have another home, and my sister and niece live up here with me so Barrow, AK is my home year round. This puts me in a unique position for some of my friends.  My neighbor has me watering her plants and picking up her mail, and my very dear friend (she works with me and we are in the same church) left me her cat for a part of the summer. 

I might have mentioned Socks before in a previous post.  Socks helped us decide to get Gus.  We love Socks.

This is Socks playing with Gus's electronic mouse toy.

Socks is a very different personality from Gus.  He's very shy.  I don't think he's lived around another kitty before, but I'd have to run that by my friend!  Anyway, he struggled for about 3 days when he came to stay with us this time (the first time took him a week or more).  He wasn't really shy of us after a day, but he was terrified of Gus.

Now, if you knew Gus, you know that is the funniest statement ever.  Gus is a cottonball.  He looks and feels like one, and there isn't a mean bone in his body (his daddy even calls him the giant q-tip among other things).  He was confused by Socks.  Gus lived in a household with other cats, and we have long surmised that he may be lonely for another one.  He followed Socks around a little, curious, but wary (since Socks growled at him), but he wanted to make a friend.

Socks was so afraid, that he hid under our bed.  He went to the litter box, but he was afraid to get in it (maybe that he'd be ambushed? Unknown.) He was so afraid, he held it for two days, then exploded with pee all over my bed.  (I'm sorry I didn't tell you Deb, but everything is fine now Socks is good... no worries, I have pets and I have a very expensive mattress cover that protects the bed from everything!)

I felt terrible.  I cleaned up and put a new litter box under the bed for Socks, so he'd feel more welcome.  (I should have thought that through in advance, but Socks had spent time here before so I didn't think it would be a big deal).

Well, you guessed it. You can't separate cats.  Gus started using that litter box and Socks started using the old one in the utility room.  So, problem solved. After a week I put both litter boxes in there and there hasn't been a single accident or complaint since. 

Socks didn't eat for a couple of days either. I'd get him to eat a few treats if I put them under his face, but he was too nervous.  Then Gus started eating his food (the grass is always greener, you know) and Socks started eating Gus's food.  So I didn't have a righteous set of diarrhea to clean up, I had to start mixing their foods together. 

That progressed to tandem treat time.  Sorry Deb, but we have the bad habit of giving Gus his treats on the kitchen counter.  Raz trained us to do that, and we taught Gus.  Gus taught Socks. 

Gus and Socks eating treats on our kitchen counter.

Then, they started playing together.  First it was chase, you know, one cat would chase another down the hall and they'd reverse and come back. Then it was tandem running (Chad said they ran like a mule team up and down the hall shoulder to shoulder), and now it's full on wrestling. 

wrestling

These two are now fast friends. They sleep on the bed together, with or without us. They play together.  They still don't eat together; they like to eat out of each other's bowls though.  They are buddies!

Sorry it's so dark, but both boys on bed.

Gus and Socks playing