Zoë Blending in with the Furniture

Zoë here -
People have always commented on how my brother and I blend in with hardwood floors. Well, I've found another place where I'm camouflaged. Well, okay, not really, but I like to think that no one can see me when I sit on the bookcase.

Adjusting to the New Chairs

Applejack here -
I'm having a hard time adjusting to these new chairs Mom got. The old ones were folding chairs and so I could stick my head out the back when I was lying on them. These, well.... aren't quite so comfortable, as you can see.

New Collars for (almost) Everyone!

Applejack here -
Mom bought new collars for me, Zoë, and Tucker today. I've had the same one since I was adopted and needed a new one, Zoë's had gotten stiff over time, and Tucker's had just broken.

I was used to having a plain blue collar, but now I have a fun blue one with reflective paw prints on it. Tucker used to have a red one with reflective fish on his, but they didn't have that style at the store so Mom got him a red one with reflective paws on it. We match. In a non-lame, cool guy way, not in a girly way.

Zoë used to have a plastic one (because she kept chewing on the regular fabric ones and destroying them quickly) with flowers on it and now she has an orange fabric one with little white daisies on it. She's feeling very proud, but Mom had to adjust it after Zoë started chewing on it and we were worried the cycle was starting all over again. But it's okay now.

Tucker's Army Crawl

Zoë here -
Mom was having chicken strips for dinner and they smelled so good that Tucker decided he wanted some.
So he jumped up on the chair and onto the edge of the table. He then laid down and pretended he wasn't interested in the chicken.
Then he started doing something that he considered brilliant.... he started to army crawl, very slowly, toward the plate. Then, as he got closer, he slowly stretched out his arm so he could try to snag a piece of chicken. Mom caught him, of course. Like she wasn't going to see him doing it? Give me a break. Not only did she see him do it, she got it on film.

Tuckmaster The Tubmaster

Tucker is so weird. He's obsessed with licking down the sides of the tub after someone takes a shower. Since he's been here, there have even been times when our Mom is in the shower and he starts crying loudly, telling her to hurry up and get out so he can lick the tub.


The strange thing he has started doing is jumping into the tub at odd hours of the day, to lie in wait of the next shower. He just lies down in the dry tub and hangs out there. It has freaked Mom out a few times, to all of a sudden hear a noise coming from inside the tub. Or the time she went to take a shower and he was in there waiting for her. Boy, did she yelp!

Assume the Position

Applejack here -
You know it's summer when we start doing our "cool down" poses again.

I like doing the "dead bug" pose (aka "The Gregor") while Zoë shows off her "frog" and "torpedo".

The Magic of Feliway

Zoë here -
Mom invested in some Feliway and she tried it out for the first time today. And what a difference bottled artificial feline facial pheromones make! Tucker and Caroline have gone from being freaked out to feeling quite at home.

Exhibit A: Carolina sleeping on the couch and not cowering atop the fridge.

Exhibit B: Tucker lounging on top of the bed and not cowering under it.
I guess that it's a good thing that they're not as freaked out anymore, but I hope this doesn't mean they're going to think they own the place now.

Contagious Anxiety

Applejack here -
I totally get how mobs of people start acting irrationally once they get a crazy idea in their head.
Here's how our feline version went down...
Mom decided to open the sliding door to the porch this morning because it's a cool, post-rain, 67 degrees outside and we all could use some fresh air.
I walked over to sit in front of the screen door. Carolina followed, very curious. Tucker came next, with some trepidation, but still curious. Then came Zoë, who found the area crowded, but tried to get close to the door just the same.
Then it happened. A bird chirped very loudly from the tree next to the porch. Tucker started growling at the bird (don't ask me why... hasn't he ever heard a bird before?), which caused Zoë to start growling, which made Carolina start growling, which started to freak me out. Our eyes all got big and as soon as Tucker made a move, we all jumped and ran to different parts of the room, Carolina to the top of the refrigerator.
All over some silly bird chirp.
Sheesh.

Nocturnal Fighting

Poor Mom, she hardly got any sleep last night because we kept having little fights with Tucker and Carolina in her bedroom throughout the night. I think she's mad. But Carolina started a lot of them. I swear.

A Rough Start

Zoë here -
Okay, I'll be honest, I'm not jazzed about the idea of having Tucker & Carolina stay with us. The first hour after their arrival today was full of hissing and growling (mostly mine, but Carolina has a mouth on her, too). Tucker scratched and bit my mom when she tried to pick him up, so I'm a little miffed at him. But Applejack and I have come back out after the initial shock of the situation and we are comfortably lounging in various rooms again.

I can't say the same for Carolina and Tucker.

For the last 5 hours (yes, FIVE HOURS) they've both been in the same place.
Tucker has been under the bed in the far corner and won't come out.

Carolina somehow managed to jump past all the stuff on top of the fridge and hunker down in a skinny space between the top of the fridge and the cabinet above it. What a weirdo.

(Update: 3 hours later, for a total of 8 hours spent hiding on top of the fridge, Carolina came down. She proceded to hiss at us a couple of times and then left us alone for awhile. Tucker finally came out from under the bed a few times, but always returned to his new bunker.)

The Return of the Cousins

Zoë here - Mom is in Durham now, hanging out with the Chases, and she warned us that she will be returning with the two cats, our "cousins", Tucker and Carolina. Apparently, their parents are going to Europe for 2 months and they will be coming to live with us during that time.
Granted, we all lived together in the Chase house for a good 2 1/2 years, but we had much more space there. A two-story house, lots of rooms, etc. But we'll be reunited under much more cramped conditions... our mom's 1-bedroom apartment. They just better not steal my sleeping spot on the ottoman!

Here's a picture from one of those rare days back at the Lyon Farm house where all four of us were happily in the same room together. In this case, we were enjoying the open windows on a breezy spring day (girls on the left, boys on the right).


Applejack here - Mom told me specifically that I need to not be a bully to Tucker while he's at our house. I told her I'm not a bully, but she just looked at me, like "Yes, you ARE." But I can be a good host, I promised her. See, here's a picture of Tucker and me getting along and sharing a chair back at the old house....

Besides, Tucker has challenged me to a rematch at backgammon, so we're sure to have some good times together this summer.

We're back!

Hey - Applejack here....
After a LONG hiatus, Zoë I have decided to start blogging again.
Since last we've posted, we've moved out of the Chase house (twice, really, since we all moved into a new house last summer) and into an apartment in Greensboro with our mom.
It's definitely a smaller space, but it's got GREAT windows.
















During the first week in our new place, I made a point to explore the fireplace, but was quickly removed from it and scolded. This picture was taken AFTER Mom's first attempt at cleaning the soot off.
Good times, good times.















Well, I need to go take my 8th nap of the day now, but there is more to come!