Downhill Racer

Q: What happens when your cat decides to bed down in your son's ski racing supply bag?
A: Your son equips him for the slopes!

Mandy doesn't seem to appreciate Ben's attempts to keep his noggin safe

Oh!  Mandy was displeased because his eyes weren't protected!  He's a lot happier now that his goggles are in place

Ben and I debated at length about this post.  I thought it was a good candidate for Tragedy-averted Tuesday given the clear safety orientation of Ben's work here with Mandy.  Ben thought this was ridiculous because no tragedy was actually averted. I think that's ridiculous since the fact that Ben wasn't scratched or attacked while dressing Mandy up is nothing short of a minor miracle and Tragedy-averted Tuesday is all about how we (Ben) should have lost an eye, finger, or burned the house down and didn't.  But since Tragedy-averted Tuesday is pretty much all about Ben (coincidence?  I think not) I figured I'd let him decide what's approved fodder for our recurring theme and consequently this post is relegated to Ferocious Feline Friday :)

Steve v. Mandy

Steve and Mandy have a love-hate relationship - basically, they love to hate each other.  Or, rather, Steve loves to hate Mandy.  I don't think that Mandy can muster enough emotion to actually hate Steve.  Cats just don't care that much.

Their feud peaked last week when Mandy pooped outside of our bedroom door during the night.  And I mean right square outside of our bedroom door.  This was clearly a message but, honestly, I don't blame Mandy - somebody closed the basement door so he couldn't get outside or to his litter box.  But I have to admit that he was clearly intent on informing us in no uncertain terms about the unacceptability of that closed door.

So Steve started the day feeling, shall we say, less than happy about being a cat owner. 

About 11 am I received a very emphatic text, all in caps, from Steve informing me that the cat "CRAPPED ON THE CARPET AGAIN" (caps his) and that the cat may find himself shipped to a country specially selected for its fondness for frying up felines.

I was also entertained to learn that the cat's only response to Steve shouting at him (I'm sure this was a colorful if one-sided conversation) was that the cat "literally shrugged his shoulders at me.  Not figuratively, literally.  I didn't even know cats could do that."

A few minutes later I get a text asking me how long I "have had a lump of plastic cat crap lying in wait."  I protested my ignorance at the jest, but wasn't exonerated until Ben got home and fessed up to the whole brilliant scheme.

That's right, our youngest son, smelling blood amid the odors of cat feces in the morning, placed a gag pile of plastic poo in the basement before leaving for school.  I think Steve summed it up best in the final text I received from him: "Mastermind.  That's all I gotta say.  Mastermind."

Two Down, Seven to Go

Just wanted y'all to know that, although Mandy has had a rather tough go of it, we have not killed him yet.  At least he hasn't gone through all 9 lives in the 7 months we've had him, and we'll consider that a victory for all of us.

Mandy is equally well loved and villainized here in the Morningstar home.  The girls adore his fluffy softness and lavish him with affection, which he often tolerates.  The boys, on the other hand, are convinced that the cat is a jerk.  It really bothers them that he a) attacks them frequently b) doesn't care if you yell at him and c) pretty much just does whatever he wants.  The boys are dog people for sure - they want their pets to care what they think.  And Mandy, most assuredly, does not.

Mandy has also endured more emergency surgery than any other member of our home.  This doesn't endear him to Steve who usually has to handle the emergency vet trips.  Mandy has soundly lost two fights with neighborhood cats, respectively resulting in a shaved head and butt and 6 stitches in his hip.  Gross.  And hilarious.  We are hoping he either learns to stop fighting or to win soon, because this is getting expensive.

Two lives down, seven to go, and none lost to Morningstar children.  I'd consider that a fairly successful first 7 months of cat ownership.

(and judging by how frequently Ben carries the cat around like this, I think that the whole "I hate the cat" thing is just bravado)

The Cat has Issues

I'm not sure if he's lonely or if he's just run out of victims (although neither of these explanations seem logical since he still regularly attacks any unguarded fingers or toes and his swift passage away from the girls wouldn't indicate loneliness...) but Mandy a new friend/chew toy - Chairman Meow.

Chairman Meow joined our family with a host of other politically-incorrect-yet-hilarious gifts from the Kytes when we first announced our decision to adopt from China and has been an important part of Sasha's stuffed animal cadre ever since.  For now the girls seem content to share him with Mandy.  If jealousies ensue then we'll have to work out some sort of custody arrangement between them and the (live) cat.  We'll just cross that bridge when we come to it.

Mandarin Orange Morningstar

Welcome the newest Morningstar to the family - Mandarin Orange the kitten!

Now, before you get all high and mighty telling me that this is not the time to add a kitten to the family, allow me to point out that in these 6 months of craziness the only poor choices I've succumbed to are a ridiculous penchant for bike gear and a little ball of fluffy cuteness.  Not bad!

Mandy was rescued by a coworker and his wife - the wife works at an animal shelter and after Mandy's foster mom died they brought Mandy to their house and bottle fed him back to health.  He's now 11 weeks old and as cute and cuddly as can be and remarkably patient with the special brand of suffocating attention lavished by his 3 and 5-year-old mommies.

Both girls are beyond thrilled to have a kitty and everybody's doing a great job being gentle and giving Mandy (some) space.  Even Chorney is adjusting to the new addition and the two are tolerating each other well.

If you're wondering about the name, here's the story:
When we got Chorney, Sasha had only been home for a couple of months and we thought it would be fun to honor her heritage with Chorney's name, so we chose Chornaya, which is Russian for "Blackie".

When we were thinking about a name for Mandy, I thought maybe we'd do the same so I Googled, "Mandarin for orange" and, of course, Google returned lots of citrus hits.  Realizing my mistake, I laughed and thought, "Well, maybe Mandarin Orange wouldn't be a bad name!" and after consulting with the girls (who had lots of opinions) and the boys (who had none), Mandy stuck.

And just in case you think that Mandy isn't a good boy kitty name, I will immediately direct you over to Mandy Patinkin of Princess Bride fame.  If one of the world's greatest fictional swordsmen can be named Mandy, it's more than masculine enough for our cat.

Mandy's first day as a Morningstar was a resounding success and he's now sleeping soundly on my lap as I type.  After dinner the girls decided he was tired and tucked him in for a nap.  They were so proud of themselves that I didn't have the heart to tell them that the towel was for him to sleep on, not under, and he didn't seem to mind the blanket at all.  Thank goodness for patient and forgiving pets!