Sampson and Maxwell are just so funny. They sometimes do the most bizarre things. Almost every night, they have what we call "cat happy hour". They just all of a sudden start racing around the house like their tails are on fire and acting totally crazy. Then, they will just stop. No catnip for these cats. Sometimes Sampson will all of a sudden jump up and attack the ground. When he moves, there will be like, this teensy piece of dirt that must have suddenly moved. They also love to wrestle like human brothers do. However, this just tends to send fur everywhere. For example, I vacuumed Saturday. We came home from seeing Harry Potter on Saturday night and there were large tufts of hair all over their favorite open spot in the living room right next to the hardwood foyer area. Usually, it is Sampson's hair. He seems to lose a lot of their battles.
They also know words. They know "treats". If you say "Do you want TREATS?" they will run over to their scratching post and start scratching it furiously and looking over at you expectantly. This habit was formed when they were little and we were training them. If they started scratching something they shouldn't, we would go over to them and say "bad kitty" and then take them to the scratching post and make them scratch it with their little paws and then we would say "good kitty" and give them treats.
Maxwell loves "ice" and knows that word. If you say "Maxwell, do you want ICE?" he will rush into the kitchen and wait next to the fridge. You have to throw it to him and no matter how high you throw it he almost always hits it! He leaps magnificently and gracefully into the air and usually does a half twist in mid-air and bats it across the room and then chases after it! Sampson just watches. Sometimes he tries to play with it after Maxwell has chased it, but usually they start fighting over it. Those boys!
They both know the word "brush". Sampson loves to be brushed the most. If you say "Sampson, do you want to be BRUSHED?" Sampson will meow at you and walk towards you or towards the drawer where he knows we keep his brush.
Tonight they were bad and I "punished" them. Their cat food feeder was empty, so I went to the garage to get the big rubbermaid container we keep it in and I called Lauren while I was refilling their feeder. Well, I got off the phone with Lauren, and the door out to the garage was open (the garage is off limits to the cats, because there could be things out there that are bad for them, like fertilizer). I looked out there and they were both just checking out the garage. From experience, I know that calling them to come in might work for one of them, but usually not for both. So, I said, okay you want to be out there, fine...and I closed the door! And I waited. It was less than a minute. When I opened that door, they shot through the door side-by-side, like a furry black rocket and did not stop running until they were all the way across the house away from the garage. Hehe.
So, that being said, I know you are just all so amazed at our cats' abilities. They are so smart and entertaining! And cute.
Yesterday Scott and I went to visit Meme, my grandmother, at the nursing home. She seems to be declining somewhat. She isn't still on oxygen all the time, but she doesn't seem to be all there mentally. Her speech was a little slurred and she looked like she'd lost some weight. I know her vision is steadily decreasing, which is sad. She has macular degeneration, so we knew it would, but that doesn't make it any easier. They are giving her occupational therapy to help her eat her meals. I did get some pictures with Meme yesterday.
Ironically, as we were driving out to Dallas to see Meme, my dad called me because he and Stephanie were looking to buy a new computer and had no idea what to buy. So, we went to their house after we visited with Meme and Scott helped Stephanie shop for a new computer while Daddy and I fixed dinner. It was a nice visit. They have this white cat named Olivia who is aggressively affectionate and will rub you so hard you'd think she's trying to knock you over. She is pretty funny. I got a cute picture of her.
