Kitty Catch-Up - Smelly and Mo Get a New Housemate

Smelly and Mo have been very busy since we last posted. Lola has been running stairs to lose all that weight (she hasn't been back to the vet but I think she is looking slimmer and more acceptable for photos).

Here's some other stuff you've missed...

They moved down by the river (don't worry I moved with them)...

They watched the snow fall out the bedroom window...

Their boyfriend moved in (okay lets get real, my boyfriend moved in)  but what's mine is theirs so he's lucky enough to have moved in with three ladies instead of one!

Lola took a nap with mom...

Penny tried to fit in a pan...

Lola took a nap with mom...

Penny took a nap against some clothes...

They changed foods. Mainly because our past food got recalled for Salmonella: Diamond Cat Food Recall -- YIKES!
They now eat Nature's Recipe. Side note: I'm a firm believer in feeding your pets healthy food!

Penny tried to fit in a lunch box...

Last, but certainly not least, the biggest change Smelly and Mo have gone through is they got a new housemate! No I didn't go extra crazy cat lady. Derek has a cat named Misty  and just like Penny and Lola are my baggage, Misty is Derek's baggage.

The long and short of it, Smelly and Mo hate their new roommate. After trying to introduce the cats I thought "I should have blogged about this" and it was such a failure that I have to start over, so this time I'm documenting this madness.

The last time included, hissing, growling, chasing, fighting, blood, pee and a lot of kitty anger. We're hoping this time goes better. Stay tuned for the adventures of Smelly, Mo and Mitters, it's going to be hairy, to say the least.

Just so you know what to expect, after round 1 Misty got the nickname "Scar Face"

Penny and Lola won't let any feline in their space without a fight, time to throw down.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Smelly and Mo Get a Bath

That's right, bath time! Every animal needs to be bathed. Personally, I've never been one to personally bathe my cats BUT I was given Vet's Best "Waterless Cat Bath" and thought I'd give it a try then review it here on my blog. If you are not familiar with the product or the brand you can visit their website.

I was drawn to this product because it is all natural. I believe we should treat our animals like humans and be aware of what goes in and on their body! Then of course the fact that it was waterless was appealing. So does it work?

I'm going to say YES! I'm not sure how dirty your cat may be, but my cats are indoor cats so they aren't spending their days rolling around in dirt or anything. However, right before I got this product I came home to Penny having a sticky tail that smelt like something familiar. Turned out she had sat on some spilled laundry detergent! So I busted out the waterless cat bath (all you have to do is apply the foam straight to the cat's coat then massage it into their coat and skin). It took a few times to get the laundry detergent out of Smelly's tail but it worked! And she smelt good after.

Now it was time for the full body wash. Let's be honest, cats hate getting baths. Having a waterless product doesn't make them like it anymore but it sure as heck makes it easier. You can do the waterless bath on your cat by yourself. Although it helps to have someone help you apply the foam seeing as you most likely are desperately holding your cat down or as I did, sitting on the cat in hopes they don't run away. Don't worry, no cats were squished or harmed during bath time.

It only took about 5-10 minutes per cat for a full body wash. When I was done I set them free from my death grab and waited for them to dry. Of course, being cats they are going to clean themselves, which they did, but it's okay because the product is natural! They dry in about 10-15 minutes and then it is recommended you brush them, which I did. Now Smelly and Mo look good, smell good and although they acted like it was painful it really wasn't!

Here I am mid-bath! Smelly looks pretty happy eh?

I would recommend this product for anyone looking to save some bucks from taking your cat to the groomer. Plus you don't have to worry about the dreaded phone call (my family received this with our old cat, Kimmy) that says "I'm sorry but your cat was such a bitch we won't take her back!" What is also nice about this product is although you can always get it from the Vet's Best website I was in Petco the other day and they had it there as well, so it is easily accessible for you, easy to use on your cats and a money saver in the end. All in all, bath time was successful.

Smelly and Mo are now sleeping peacefully probably dreaming of the traumatizing act of being sat on and then rubbed down with bath foam.

*Don't worry dog owners, Vet's Best has lots of products for all furry family members!

Smelly and Mo Go to Tahoe

It's always an adventure when I decide to pack up the kids and head to grandma and grandpas house. I've learned from several occasions in kitty early years that the cats are better if left roaming the car than trapped in a cat cage. This way they can go where they want, watch the road, and not feel confined.

So the trip started out as it always does, smelling like poop. I'm assuming nerves is what makes each of the cats poop within 2 minutes that the car starts moving. At least they do it in the kitty litter box. I thought this trip was going to be a disaster because I was in my mom's jeep wrangler and it was so windy outside I couldn't hear a siren if it was going off next to me. The cats did surprisingly well, Lola didn't drool like usual and Penny just kinda looked at me every once in a while like "where the hell are you taking us lady."

One of my favorite parts of the ride was when Lola decided to stand up with her paws on the dashboard and I see her head going back and forth back and forth back and forth, only to realize she's mesmerized by the windshield wipers! I tried my best to get a picture of her... you can see her on the right there. She's also being a backseat driver.



Once in Tahoe the cats had a fabulous time as always. The first thing they did was sprint downstairs, I think they instantly remember there is a way for them to be outside at my parents house. Penny was the first to the doggy door (she was probably hoping her babies' daddy would be out there). However she only made it half way out the doggy door before she was stopped by several inches of snow. It was pretty funny watching Penny and Lola walk around the pen, through the snow just to be outside. They would do the whole take a step, pull the paw out, give it a shake, take the next paw out, give it a shake and so on. It looked like they were dancing.

At one point over the weekend I couldn't find Penny and I thought she'd maybe found a way to escape and get cozy with big black kitty but then she appeared! In my closet!



I thought the best part of this was how the hell she got up there. BUT turns out the best part was when she got stuck up there and couldn't find her way back down. Sometimes Penny is not the smartest cat of the litter. She paced back and forth trying to run down the hangers until she finally looked so helpless that I just helped her down. She definitely had the "well shit mom what do I do now look."

It only took a few hours for Lola to follow in Penny's footsteps. They're both up there!



I am convinced that Smelly is the leader and mo is the follower. Penny is much more daring than Lola but I think Lola is smarter for letting Penny check out the situation then she dives in once she knows its safe.

So other than some good sleeping and snow pawing the cats didn't cause too much trouble. There was no broken property and at one point my dad said "so do the cats still chew on weird things like wires, do I need to worry about my computer?" and I was like "well yeah they do but you're fine its just for a day that we're here." Next thing I know my mom is pointing and smiling and there's Lola gnawing on the leaves of one of my dad's fake plants.

Well Lola, thanks for proving me wrong, once again!

FLASHBACK: Smelly Gets Knocked Up

So whenever the cats take a break from destroying things, which trust me won't happen very often, I'm going to feature FLASHBACKS! These will be adventures from kitty past worth mentioning...

Tonight's FLASHBACK: Smelly Gets Knocked Up

There she is, Smelly, shining in all her beautiful kitten glory. What male kitty wouldn't want to be with her? Well apparently Smelly was too beautiful to resist for one specific male kitty in Lake Tahoe. I had been studying abroad and my parents were watching Smelly and Mo for me. They have an outdoor pen so the kids love going to grandma and grandpas house and getting to be outside.

So I get home from Spain and Smelly is nowhere to be found. After many tears and my mom freaking out thinking that she has lost my cat, turns out Smelly had just found her way out of the cage and was sneaking around with mr. black kitty in the backyard. I watched her one day. She sat on her rock, looking out into the infinite abyss, or really just into the woods and there he came right up to the cage. I'm sure the kitty meows exchanged were something along the lines of "hey pretty lady wanna head into the woods," Smelly (only 9 months old at the time) was probably like "sure you large handsome feline." The rest is history!

Next thing I know Penny is acting weird and having some bodily changes I won't express here. A little google search left me pretty positive that Smelly had done the dirty and she had some buns in the oven!

From here it was just a waiting game. No one was really sure when she got pregnant and it was kinda cool and gross when you could feel the babies moving around in her tummy. I had read that you are supposed to set up "nesting" areas around the house where the cat feels safe and so that's where she'll have her babies. Four "nesting" areas later, Smelly decided to have her babies in the hallway closet on top my towels and blankets. (Thanks Penny)

If you're wondering how you know when your cat is in labor, trust me YOU KNOW. I've never heard such sounds come out of an animal, kind of like when humans have kids! I'll spare you the details of Smelly's delivery but I will say she was a stud of a mom. She didn't try to kill any of her kids and her pregnancy was quick and fairly painless... well for me, looked like it hurt like hell for her.

So out popped... Kanye, Miloh, and Chunk!

They were adorable! It was hard not to keep them all for myself. I was more than thankful that Smelly only had 3 kittens, pretty rare really. She was a great mom. I would try and move the kittens into one of the "nesting" areas but Smelly was never having it, she'd come right over pick them up and take them back to where they were before.

Chunk was given to my brother and he has grown into a beautiful handsome lion...

This doesn't really express his size... seriously he is a lion...

How the hell Penny produced this guy I'll never know. But the point is, not only is Smelly the pretty one but her beautifulness led to her sluttiness. Moral of the story is... Keep large male Felines away from underage kitties.

P.S. Penny must know I was talking smack about her sexual ways because she just came up and sat right on top of the computer... Go ahead Penny this is your world anyway

P.S.S. Miloh and Kanye were both given to close friends and Miloh has been renamed Lua and Kanye has been renamed Kenya. From my understanding they are both doing fabulous