Sweet Jo...it is not so

Sweet Josie...oh my.  I can't tell you how many times we've said those two words together...usually following something like, 'that stupid cat' or 'bad kitty.'  Somehow, Meepie has sent word down to Sweet Josie that her purpose in life is to make us miserable and regret our decision to put Meepie to sleep.  I just know it.

Our adorable little fur ball has turned into psycho attack kitty.  I cannot walk through the house without being savagely attacked at the ankles.  I have resorted to wearing long pants because of all the scratches on the backs of my legs.  She is relentless.  This loving little kitten, the one who would not leave me alone at night...licking my face and cheeks, lying on my head or across my neck...yeah, that's the one who will now jump up on the bed, sit down, put her ears up and pounce on my face.  I'm not joking.  Jay thinks it's hilarious because out of nowhere, literally, she will attack my face or any exposed flesh and hang on as if her life depended upon it.

A month ago I researched cat behavior online.  Apparently, I'm not supposed to wear long pants because it is basically enabling her bad behavior.  Hmm.  (Forget that, I'm trying to keep myself from bleeding to death.)  I should set aside time each day for 'ritualistic play' with the kitten.  Okay, I've tried this.  I'll calmly grab the sweet thang and try to play with her, using a toy or even my hand, and it always ends in bloodshed and me wanting to strangle the precious kitty.

Amazingly enough, every single night, once the lights are off in the house, Josie will jump up on the bed and find the perfect spot on or near my legs and sleep there nearly all night long. What a sweet kitty.  I guess it's a good thing that Jay and I are early risers for the most part because this little gem won't let us sleep past 6 or 6:15.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that she will get on the bed and cause a commotion until one of us gets up.  Her favorite trick is jumping up on the headboard and rustling the mini blinds.  That noise is like no other.  It is imperative that we check her food dish before bedtime because if it is running low and happens to empty during the night, she will kick her alarm into overdrive.

We have tried shutting our bedroom door to keep her out, but her persistence is never lacking.  She has discovered that jumping up and hitting the door handle over and over will also ensure a response from us. She  is like that child who wants attention and doesn't care if it's positive or negative attention.  She just wants to get her point across.

Josie's redeeming quality is her quirkiness and spunk.  She reminds us so much of Meepie when we find her in weird places or up to no good.  Below are a few pictures I've taken over the past month or so of some of her tricks.

Looks comfy, doesn't it?

Do you see me now?

I was cooking supper and one of the kids told me to try to find kitty, that she was staring right at me...sure enough, the little sneak was lounging behind the TV.








Apparently lying behind the screen didn't cut it....she immediately switched to plan B to get our attention.

We don't give her enough credit.  She's a genius.  "How do I get the humans' attention?  Ah, yes, they're always staring at that big, noisy square.  I'll try the other side."

Wish I had a picture of all of them, hidden message maybe?

Last weekend we went camping.  When we came home on Sunday morning, I noticed Hank the Tank's chew sticks all over the living room floor.  Weird.  I asked Jay if he had done it when he was home the night before feeding the animals.  No.  Then it dawned on me...Lane and his friends had been playing with Hank earlier in the week and had left the plastic bag of chew sticks on his top bunk.  We had found the sweet kitty licking one of the sticks a day or two before. After a quick search, I found the empty plastic bag on the top bunk.  Little Josie, as if to protest her lonely weekend, brought every single chew stick out of the bag and into the living room.  There were about a dozen sticks total.

No worries, we're just friends.

Her new favorite spot is right next to the fish bowl.  My coworker gave us their goldfish and Josie is in love.  She will watch that fish for hours.  Fortunately, the fish has not been attacked (that we know of).  

Not sure if I have mentioned before, but Josie, like Meep, prefers water from a glass, literally.  I have the same glass on my nightstand for Josie that I had for Meep.  Well, Josie has found bigger and better things...this fish bowl is glass and provides an endless supply of water.  Can you imagine what poor Sherlock thinks when that enormous head reaches down and her tongue comes out for a drink? Downside, the water in the fishbowl is always low...

This one has been a while (you can see how much Josie has grown).  The kids and I were gone one Saturday morning, and Jay sent me this picture.  The living room window was open and the little miss brought her treasure inside for Jay to see.  

A few weeks before this, she had brought a bird in through the window and let it loose in Lane's room.  We have an open door/window policy at our house, all of God's creatures are welcome to come inside...ahhhhh!

We're going to keep Sweet Josie around for a while, hopefully, but we welcome better behavior anytime soon.  In the meantime, I'll be wearing long pants...or I'll be in line at the blood bank.