Life is pretty difficult for a house cat.

After several weeks of stress, clawing, and the occasional full blown cat fight, peace has return in the home.  Gordo and Loco are on house arrest due to embarrassing encounters with the neighbors... I won't go into details but we were told of stolen hams, lunches gone awry, other kitties getting bullied, and worst yet, a certain orange-brown feline sprawled in the neighbor's bed.  Eh'.  Ya, que pena doesn't come close.  Reigning in the boys was not without its difficulties, but happily everyone is once again content to be at home.  Even little Tutis only makes quick runs out.  The rain and cold seems to have curbed her excitement for exploration.

And this weekend is a long one thanks to Chile's defeat of Peru during some war some time ago.  So, we are all enjoying relaxing at home.  Taking cat naps when we please, raking leaves, taking care of the neighbor's chickens, and Pablo is in the process of making us a new kitchen table.  I hope to show you photos of that soon... when he finishes... 

What do you do when you're driving home, late at night, in the rain, and a little kitten is stumbling towards you, alone, sick and scared?

If you're me, you tell your husband, "STOP THE CAR!" You rush out, scoop up teeny tiny weightless gooey-eyed animal, you do a quick perimeter check for owners, mother, or other kitties, and back to the car you go. In the span of five minutes your household feline population has increased by 33%.  Your husband rolls his eyes and home you go.

So that is how Tutaina came into our lives last weekend.  And you might be thinking that now our house is complete chaos with two adult cats and one kitten, but Gordo and Loco appear to be terrified of the babe.  They keep their distance, or better yet, stay outside all together.  The answer to keeping cat hair off of your couch... find yourself a kitten.

If you want to know how we came up with her name, listen to this Colombian Christmas carol.

We're off.  If you happen to be traveling through IND, YYZ, SCL, or ZAL in the next 24 hours you might just see a girl and her cat hiking from terminal to terminal.  Gordo was checked at the gate, Loco serves as my bonafide carry on.  Already its been a bit of a traumatizing experience, but with any luck by Friday afternoon we'll be seeing you in Chile.

This is what I recently found on my counter.  With a certain 15lb cat sitting next to it licking his paws.

Dear Gordo,

Please tell me, why do you like carbs so much?  I must remind you that you are a cat.  Cats are supposed to eat meat.  Not muffins, or cakes, peanuts, popcorn or rice.  And certainly not the freshly baked zucchini bread from my Aunt.  I usually store these food stuffs securely in cabinets, behind closed doors, at a hight not reachable by your like, because if I let my guard down one iota, you attack.  You don't zip across the yard tormenting rodents and birds.  You don't climb trees or stalk rabbit holes.  No. You sit.  And you wait.  Until our backs are turned.  And then, you sink your canines into my pastries.  Pure maliciousness. 

This summer has been a bit of a weird one.  At least for me.  Rather than spending my days sweating out the horrible desert heat of Arabia, I have been partaking in barbecues, spending time with family, cutting the grass, listening to the pitter patter of rain, and generally enjoying Indiana summer.  With my cats.  Yes, that is right, the felines were transported across the world.  Which I must say, is no small feat, but proved not nearly as difficult as I had imagined it might be.  These street cats have been sprung from the confines of their second-story apartment in the middle of nowhere Saudi Arabia, to be let loose upon the world.  Or at least my midwestern neighborhood.  Birds, moles, voles, chipmunks, be warned.  Gordo might be too lazy to hurt a fly, but Loco is a cold-hearted killer.

Pablo and I have almost one hundred percent (I guess that would make it like 95%) moved out of Saudi Arabia.  Our lives, now legally cemented by the government of Colombia, are soon to take a new path. A path which leads us out of the troubled holy land, across the world, and onto a new adventure.  We will be trading in the stark sandy landscape for a very very green one, complete with some of the world's tallest trees and the smallest deer.  Pablo has moved there already.  The kitties and I will join him at the end of summer.  We are fortunate enough to spend the first few months of marriage on separate continents.  

When you've got a case of the Mondays.  Or, let's be honest, a case of the Monday-Fridays, find yourself a uni-cat.  Bathe in his glory.

Merry Christmas from Gordo & Loco

Gordo: "This is the ugliest tree I have ever seen."
Loco: "Last year's was pretty bad too."
Gordo: "These lights look like an Alien Piñata."
Loco: "We must destroy it."

the only thing cuter than one....

...is two.  sleeping together, with their arms around one another.  i love gordo's head wrinkles.

-photo credits to Pablo

an update from Gordo

"Hey guys, its been awhile since I have given you an update on my life.  I have been eating a lot (though we never get tuna anymore, that is a bunch of bull@#$%), sleeping a lot, and biting my brother.  I've been taken to that freakin' vet about 10 times now, yes my paw is slightly inflammed, but I just can't help but lick it, and yes, my testicles still haven't descended.  Though that doesn't make me any less of a man...

...next time you do laundry, you should try taking a nap in the basket, it is nice and cozy, and the humans really love it if you sit on their clean laundry :)"

-Gordo, formerly known as Tiger

strange cookie

Does anyone else have a Saudi Arabian street cat sitting on their shoulder right now?

I eat my Cheerios, read my email, with Lion (aka Crazy) looking over my shoulder.  What a strange cookie this feline is.

Have a super start to the week!