This is Q.
Please pardon any typos. I am typing with my left paw. My right one is kinda sore today.
Yesterday was not good, but I have one of those stories to tell you.
The day started hot and got hotter. Then it got really hot. I know this because I spent the whole day baking in the heat. No food, no water, no one playing with me. Yeah, not a good day.
It started out fine. I ran outside to play and then the heat started to get to me. I found a shady spot under the old car and watched for a toy to appear. My favorite toys are birds, but sometimes I chase squirrels and bunnies.
Then Heather drove up in her new car, and I came out to say hello. I don't think she saw me, she didn't get out of the car. Sam came out of the house and climbed into Heather's car... I am not sure what happened next.
The next thing I remember I was in a lot of pain. My shoulder was so sore, and my leg hurt like crazy. Even my insides were yelling at me. I didn't cry though. I am too tough for that! I dragged myself to a bush in the shade, crawled onto the dirt underneath the branches, and waited for Frannie to find me.
Do you know, she came calling my name at least ten times during the day before she finally found me! Ten times! Talk about clueless. How could she not know I was there baking like lasagna? I was so thirsty I could barely get a squeak out to clue her in.
Finally, just before dark, she found me and carried me in. She put me down right in front of my food and water and tried to baby me. I wasn't having any of that though. Well, the food and water, yeah, I had plenty of that! Then I dragged myself down the stairs and hid in the pile of laundry under the clothes chute. Cool and comfy; just what I had dreamed of all day under that bush.
By this morning my side was feeling a lot better. I managed to climb back up the stairs using my hurt leg. It wasn't too bad. I'll bet tomorrow I will be out chasing birds again. I'll catch one for you if you'd like.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
While the cat is hot, the blog is Not
Q is greatly relieved that my optimism (see the previous blog) was off track. However, he is still a bit afraid to come back to the keyboard. Either that, or the summer heat has sapped his energy. He is, however, giving y'all a wave of the tail from the comfort of the shade under the kid's '88 Skylark.
No worries, he'll be back to blog sooner or later. I'm holding the treats hostage.
No worries, he'll be back to blog sooner or later. I'm holding the treats hostage.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Exponential growth!
Q isn’t up to blogging today.
I don’t know where he’s gotten to, but I suspect he’s hiding from the computer. I think he’s feeling a bit of “blog fright”. Is that the correct term for a fear of an online audience?
I mentioned to Q this morning that our blog follower number had quadrupled in the past week. Sounds impressive, right? Maybe not when you notice we still only have four followers, but I see the glass half full. I explained to him what so impressed me about the sudden surge.
The number of followers is showing the beginnings of exponential growth. Bear with me, statisticians. I know it’s not a large enough sample to be representative, but I like to dream big. It’s a hobby. Don’t knock my hobbies and I won’t knock yours, ok?
Ok, so for the first two months the blog was up, we had one follower. Then suddenly a second follower signed on. Q told me he got a little nervous shiver realizing he had an audience, but he dug in his paw pads and kept typing.
But now, only a couple days later, two more followers have signed on. I was so excited, I couldn’t contain my enthusiasm. “Q, if you keep adding followers at this rate, by the weekend you will have 20, by this time next week, 400, and then 160,000 followers! Wow, before you know it, the entire online world will be watching you”!
Yes, I overdid it. Poor Q went into shock. He bolted out of here so fast I heard him hit a wall at the back of the house; “whump.” Then a little whimper. I went to comfort him but he is nowhere to be found.
I’m heading to the store to pick up catnip and an ice pack to restore my cowardly lion to his usual brazen state. Hopefully he’ll soon have another story that he’s brave enough to share.
I don’t know where he’s gotten to, but I suspect he’s hiding from the computer. I think he’s feeling a bit of “blog fright”. Is that the correct term for a fear of an online audience?
I mentioned to Q this morning that our blog follower number had quadrupled in the past week. Sounds impressive, right? Maybe not when you notice we still only have four followers, but I see the glass half full. I explained to him what so impressed me about the sudden surge.
The number of followers is showing the beginnings of exponential growth. Bear with me, statisticians. I know it’s not a large enough sample to be representative, but I like to dream big. It’s a hobby. Don’t knock my hobbies and I won’t knock yours, ok?
Ok, so for the first two months the blog was up, we had one follower. Then suddenly a second follower signed on. Q told me he got a little nervous shiver realizing he had an audience, but he dug in his paw pads and kept typing.
But now, only a couple days later, two more followers have signed on. I was so excited, I couldn’t contain my enthusiasm. “Q, if you keep adding followers at this rate, by the weekend you will have 20, by this time next week, 400, and then 160,000 followers! Wow, before you know it, the entire online world will be watching you”!
Yes, I overdid it. Poor Q went into shock. He bolted out of here so fast I heard him hit a wall at the back of the house; “whump.” Then a little whimper. I went to comfort him but he is nowhere to be found.
I’m heading to the store to pick up catnip and an ice pack to restore my cowardly lion to his usual brazen state. Hopefully he’ll soon have another story that he’s brave enough to share.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Naming of The Q
People sometimes ask Frannie how I got my name. My full name is Cosmo Q Kitty, as you have likely noticed, but everyone knows me as “Q”. Or “Q-T”, or ”Scooby Q-bee Doo”, or “Q-rious”. Yeah, not cool. I think plain old “Q” is pretty cool though.
The quest for a name began the minute I came home to stay. A number of names were argued over by the three humans that live here. The ones that worried me were food names: Pumpkin, Ginger, Meatball. I didn’t want any hungry human thinking of me as food! In the end they spared me that and settled on my personal favorite.
Cosmo was the name of a quirky character on the “Seinfeld” TV show. Frannie wasn’t a fan of the show or the name, but she does love Sam. She also noticed that “quirky” starts with “Q”, which is her choice of names. She says she had three reasons for liking “Q” as a name.
First, and most obviously, is the patterning of stripes on my fur. The stripes circle around on my sides, and there is a crazy little cross stripe that makes me look like I have a furry “Q” tattooed on. It’s like a monogram, so it could be starting a great name like Quentin, or Quincy. Maybe even Quasimodo.
The “Q” stands alone, though, because of some kid in some book written in the dark ages. Back then Frannie was a still a kitten. She read a Beverly Cleary book called "Ramona the Pest", in which Ramona learned to write the letter “Q” by turning it into cat. Since reading that, Frannie has always thought that “Q” is for “Qat.” Or something like that.
The third reason is Star Trek. The kids here love Star Trek, Frannie is a John de Lancie fan, and de Lancie played a character named “Q” on the show. Frannie said Wikipedia summed me up pretty well in a blurb. “The character Q is a mischievous, seemingly omnipotent being who has taken an interest in humans”. Works for me!
I don’t think this quite makes me a Trekkie, but I do plan to live long and prosper. With a name pedigree like mine, wouldn’t you love to name your kitten after me?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_(Star_Trek)
The quest for a name began the minute I came home to stay. A number of names were argued over by the three humans that live here. The ones that worried me were food names: Pumpkin, Ginger, Meatball. I didn’t want any hungry human thinking of me as food! In the end they spared me that and settled on my personal favorite.
Cosmo was the name of a quirky character on the “Seinfeld” TV show. Frannie wasn’t a fan of the show or the name, but she does love Sam. She also noticed that “quirky” starts with “Q”, which is her choice of names. She says she had three reasons for liking “Q” as a name.
First, and most obviously, is the patterning of stripes on my fur. The stripes circle around on my sides, and there is a crazy little cross stripe that makes me look like I have a furry “Q” tattooed on. It’s like a monogram, so it could be starting a great name like Quentin, or Quincy. Maybe even Quasimodo.
The “Q” stands alone, though, because of some kid in some book written in the dark ages. Back then Frannie was a still a kitten. She read a Beverly Cleary book called "Ramona the Pest", in which Ramona learned to write the letter “Q” by turning it into cat. Since reading that, Frannie has always thought that “Q” is for “Qat.” Or something like that.
The third reason is Star Trek. The kids here love Star Trek, Frannie is a John de Lancie fan, and de Lancie played a character named “Q” on the show. Frannie said Wikipedia summed me up pretty well in a blurb. “The character Q is a mischievous, seemingly omnipotent being who has taken an interest in humans”. Works for me!
I don’t think this quite makes me a Trekkie, but I do plan to live long and prosper. With a name pedigree like mine, wouldn’t you love to name your kitten after me?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_(Star_Trek)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Rest of the Story
Here is the rest of the story, as promised. Well, most of the rest of the story is here. If you want more, you’ll have to drop by for a chat.
After that call, Heather took me and my box, put us both in this big noisy metal box that jerked and bumped and glided along. They call those boxes “cars”, and I kind of liked that first trip. That must be because I was too sick to know better. Someday I’ll tell you about the evil side of cars.
But anyway, the car took us to this house, and Heather carried me and the box inside. Suddenly there was a lot of noise again. Three new faces staring at me inside my box, saying “Aww, how cute!” And “Oh, so sweet!” Boy were they SCARY. I hunched my back up as high as I could and hissed my most ferocious HISSSSS! Problem was, it came out sounding more like a sneeze then a hiss. All four faces had the nerve to smile at me.
Then one of them reached in and picked me up. “Sam, don’t let him bite you”! I knew that voice from the phone. Good, I scared this Frannie person. Sam wasn’t scared though, he just smiled at my attempt at biting- which I admit was pretty pathetic. He carried me to a warm room full of socks and cables and other cat toys. It looked like cat heaven must look. (I’m not allowed in there any more, wouldn’t you know).
Anyway, he put me down on a soft red blanket and petted me until I stopped trying to hiss. I started to like it, or maybe I just got too worn out to care. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in my box and smelling kitten chow. Mmmm. It smelled so good; I just had to try some. I let Frannie pick me up without even trying to bite her. Hey, it’s hard to be hostile toward someone who is feeding you.
I was still feeling really worn out, so I just ate a few bites and settled back down. I know I slept a lot over the next two days, that box was really comfy. The next thing I remember was seeing Heather again. I had been laying on Frannie’s desktop while she typed on this computer thing, and then there was Heather, scooping me back into my box.
“Okay Mom, I’ll take him to the shelter now. Are you sure you don’t want to keep him? He’s so sweet and cuddly”!
“No, I have enough with two cats here. He’s so cute, someone will adopt him.” Frannie gave me a little pat on the head and Heather carried me and the box back out to her car. Rumble, bump, bump, jerk, glide…
The car stopped and Heather got out. I could hear kittens crying, “Help us; help!” Then from farther away, “Thank you”. Heather got back into the car and just sat staring over toward the kitten voices for a minute. Then rumble, glide, jerk, bump, bump…. She carried the box back into the house. Yes, this house. My house.
“Mom, the place is closed until tomorrow and someone left a cage full of kittens sitting there in the sun” It’s like 90 degrees and they don’t even have water!” Heather was very upset. “I moved the cage to the shade, but I couldn’t leave this kitten there. Please, let him stay one more night? I’ll take him back there when they’re open tomorrow”.
Sure enough, on the following day Heather came back and put me back into the box. By this time I was really getting comfortable with Frannie. I just hung out wherever she was and let her spoil me all she wanted. It was very nice. Heather noticed this and said, “You know you want to keep him, don’t you? If you want, he can be your birthday gift from me. I’ll pay for his shots. Look what a sweet kitten he is”!
Frannie looked. Then she looked away. “No. Thank you for offering, but I really shouldn’t. Midnight isn’t even happy having Fluffy around”. She gave me a quick glance again and I put on my cutest face and tried to smile. “No”, she said.
Heather gave it another try. “I just keep thinking about all the kittens in that cage, so many kittens. Some looked just like this one. They won’t all be adopted, you know….”
Frannie didn’t reply to that. She just patted me on the head, gave me a little kiss, and said, “Bye, kitten”.
So, back to the car; rumble, glide, bump, rrrrrrring! That was new. Heather’s cell phone was ringing.
“You changed your mind, didn’t you? Yes, I’ll pay for his shots and neutering. Yes. I knew you would! We’re turning around right now”.
Jerk, bump, glide... home again. Home to stay.
After that call, Heather took me and my box, put us both in this big noisy metal box that jerked and bumped and glided along. They call those boxes “cars”, and I kind of liked that first trip. That must be because I was too sick to know better. Someday I’ll tell you about the evil side of cars.
But anyway, the car took us to this house, and Heather carried me and the box inside. Suddenly there was a lot of noise again. Three new faces staring at me inside my box, saying “Aww, how cute!” And “Oh, so sweet!” Boy were they SCARY. I hunched my back up as high as I could and hissed my most ferocious HISSSSS! Problem was, it came out sounding more like a sneeze then a hiss. All four faces had the nerve to smile at me.
Then one of them reached in and picked me up. “Sam, don’t let him bite you”! I knew that voice from the phone. Good, I scared this Frannie person. Sam wasn’t scared though, he just smiled at my attempt at biting- which I admit was pretty pathetic. He carried me to a warm room full of socks and cables and other cat toys. It looked like cat heaven must look. (I’m not allowed in there any more, wouldn’t you know).
Anyway, he put me down on a soft red blanket and petted me until I stopped trying to hiss. I started to like it, or maybe I just got too worn out to care. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in my box and smelling kitten chow. Mmmm. It smelled so good; I just had to try some. I let Frannie pick me up without even trying to bite her. Hey, it’s hard to be hostile toward someone who is feeding you.
I was still feeling really worn out, so I just ate a few bites and settled back down. I know I slept a lot over the next two days, that box was really comfy. The next thing I remember was seeing Heather again. I had been laying on Frannie’s desktop while she typed on this computer thing, and then there was Heather, scooping me back into my box.
“Okay Mom, I’ll take him to the shelter now. Are you sure you don’t want to keep him? He’s so sweet and cuddly”!
“No, I have enough with two cats here. He’s so cute, someone will adopt him.” Frannie gave me a little pat on the head and Heather carried me and the box back out to her car. Rumble, bump, bump, jerk, glide…
The car stopped and Heather got out. I could hear kittens crying, “Help us; help!” Then from farther away, “Thank you”. Heather got back into the car and just sat staring over toward the kitten voices for a minute. Then rumble, glide, jerk, bump, bump…. She carried the box back into the house. Yes, this house. My house.
“Mom, the place is closed until tomorrow and someone left a cage full of kittens sitting there in the sun” It’s like 90 degrees and they don’t even have water!” Heather was very upset. “I moved the cage to the shade, but I couldn’t leave this kitten there. Please, let him stay one more night? I’ll take him back there when they’re open tomorrow”.
Sure enough, on the following day Heather came back and put me back into the box. By this time I was really getting comfortable with Frannie. I just hung out wherever she was and let her spoil me all she wanted. It was very nice. Heather noticed this and said, “You know you want to keep him, don’t you? If you want, he can be your birthday gift from me. I’ll pay for his shots. Look what a sweet kitten he is”!
Frannie looked. Then she looked away. “No. Thank you for offering, but I really shouldn’t. Midnight isn’t even happy having Fluffy around”. She gave me a quick glance again and I put on my cutest face and tried to smile. “No”, she said.
Heather gave it another try. “I just keep thinking about all the kittens in that cage, so many kittens. Some looked just like this one. They won’t all be adopted, you know….”
Frannie didn’t reply to that. She just patted me on the head, gave me a little kiss, and said, “Bye, kitten”.
So, back to the car; rumble, glide, bump, rrrrrrring! That was new. Heather’s cell phone was ringing.
“You changed your mind, didn’t you? Yes, I’ll pay for his shots and neutering. Yes. I knew you would! We’re turning around right now”.
Jerk, bump, glide... home again. Home to stay.
Monday, June 1, 2009
A Belated Happy Birthday to ME
I am not sure exactly when my birthday is, but I get to celebrate all I want right around now each year. I don’t even know what a birthday is, but I know it means I get extra treats, so that’s great. The other two cats that live here get spoiled a bit too. None of us know exactly when we were born, but at least old Midnight and I have a clue. Mr. Fluffy decided to live here when he was already an adult. He just showed up one night and never left. My story is much more interesting. I’d like to say “fun”, but it really wasn’t.
See, Frannie didn’t want me at first, and I didn’t want to be around any humans at all. It was a dark and stormy night… er, day, in mid-July of 2007. I was just a tiny kitten, about 6 weeks old, and I lost my mother somewhere out in the storm. I found my way into the boiler room of a hotel, soaking wet and so cold I swear my teeth were chattering. The rain was pounding and hissing, wind was whistling loudly, and the thunder was even louder. I thought I was safe to have a good cry unnoticed. It wasn’t to be.
See, an angel named Heather was the GM of that hotel. I don’t know if she has bionic hearing or what, but over all that noise she heard me crying. Wow, was I scared when she found me. I tried to bite her when she picked me up but I didn’t have strength left to do any damage.
She told me she couldn’t let me stay at the hotel. Animals were not allowed on the premises. She didn’t offer to let me out into the storm again either, though. She just dried me off with a towel, put me in a box with another towel, and picked up the phone.
“Mom, I found this kitten, could you keep it just overnight ‘til I find it a home…”. A faint groan sounded from the earpiece, and some mumbling. Frannie did not sound as nice as her daughter.
“But Mom, the shelter is closed, and I can’t keep it here…, just overnight, really.”
Well, I guess you know how that turned out. Next time I’ll tell you “the rest of the story”. Right now, I’m late for my nap.
See, Frannie didn’t want me at first, and I didn’t want to be around any humans at all. It was a dark and stormy night… er, day, in mid-July of 2007. I was just a tiny kitten, about 6 weeks old, and I lost my mother somewhere out in the storm. I found my way into the boiler room of a hotel, soaking wet and so cold I swear my teeth were chattering. The rain was pounding and hissing, wind was whistling loudly, and the thunder was even louder. I thought I was safe to have a good cry unnoticed. It wasn’t to be.
See, an angel named Heather was the GM of that hotel. I don’t know if she has bionic hearing or what, but over all that noise she heard me crying. Wow, was I scared when she found me. I tried to bite her when she picked me up but I didn’t have strength left to do any damage.
She told me she couldn’t let me stay at the hotel. Animals were not allowed on the premises. She didn’t offer to let me out into the storm again either, though. She just dried me off with a towel, put me in a box with another towel, and picked up the phone.
“Mom, I found this kitten, could you keep it just overnight ‘til I find it a home…”. A faint groan sounded from the earpiece, and some mumbling. Frannie did not sound as nice as her daughter.
“But Mom, the shelter is closed, and I can’t keep it here…, just overnight, really.”
Well, I guess you know how that turned out. Next time I’ll tell you “the rest of the story”. Right now, I’m late for my nap.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A Q "How To"
Today’s lesson is: How to get a sleeping human to pet you.
Step one: Position yourself between the human’s body and hands.
Step two: Snuggle up so they notice you. Purr.
Step three: Lever your nose under one of the human’s hands and lift it upward. This should get a petting motion started. If this is not successful, proceed to step four.
Step four: If needed, gently slide your paw beneath the hand and lift it just high enough to nuzzle your cold nose into the palm. If there is still no result, proceed to step five.
Step five: Roll backward, and continue to purr loudly enough to disturb your human's sleep. Now repeat steps three and four.
With persistence, this method will achieve the desired result.
One word of warning: if at any time you allow your claws to contact the sleeping human, you may find yourself taking an unwanted flight across the room. For your own safety, keep your claws sheathed at all times.
Step one: Position yourself between the human’s body and hands.
Step two: Snuggle up so they notice you. Purr.
Step three: Lever your nose under one of the human’s hands and lift it upward. This should get a petting motion started. If this is not successful, proceed to step four.
Step four: If needed, gently slide your paw beneath the hand and lift it just high enough to nuzzle your cold nose into the palm. If there is still no result, proceed to step five.
Step five: Roll backward, and continue to purr loudly enough to disturb your human's sleep. Now repeat steps three and four.
With persistence, this method will achieve the desired result.
One word of warning: if at any time you allow your claws to contact the sleeping human, you may find yourself taking an unwanted flight across the room. For your own safety, keep your claws sheathed at all times.
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