The Arwen and Toby Show

Arwen takes up a defensive position in an old grocery bag.

Toby scouts.

Hmmm...

The fake fight is on!

Note his claws are out and hers aren't. 

She is very gentle with him.

Hey, where'd he go?

...And where did he get that toy?

It's impossible to catch them in focus when they are galloping around the house after each other.

I thought I'd at least give you a sense of size, motion, and general hilarity.

Day 65: Detente, achieved.

I was pretty nervous when Toby walked up to Rufus in the windowsill, but Rufus didn't even blink. The two of them shared the space companionably for half an hour.

Toby is now 9 weeks and a day old. He's officially out of the danger zone for orphaned kittens. He's eating well, using his box, and playing like a mad thing. He looks more like a real cat every day.

 I'm not so sure detente has been achieved with Sophie, but at least she didn't beat up on him.

Look at that sleepy kitty smile!

A buddy for Toby

Arwen, the cat who mulls things over, has been watching Toby closely since I brought him into the house. She came to two conclusions over the past few days:

1. Yes, that is definitely a cat.
2. It wants to play, unlike the other old fogey cats around here.

They have made approaches to playing before, but he was very tiny and she was a bit rough. He has grown, and she has modified her approach. They started playing yesterday, with Daisy watching and occasionally intervening on Toby's behalf by putting herself between them, with no barking or growling; I was watching Daisy to make sure it stayed that way.

This morning, with Daisy sound asleep in another room, I spent the time between 4 and 5 a.m. watching Arwen teach Toby how to play tag and hide-and-seek. He's good at tag but tends to forget he is hiding and/or seeking. I stayed close in case Toby needed someone to referee (he's not quite two pounds, and she's somewhere around eleven to twelve), but they were very good with each other.

Day 59 and it's PLAYTIME!

It was a fun morning at our house between first and second kitty breakfast!

My favorite toy is this jingle ball tied to a string.

I take it away from the apes and run with it.

And I mean RUN.

Sometimes I narrowly avoid smacking into things.

Sometimes I smack into things.

The packing paper is also a lot of fun.

So is the camera. 

I charged the camera right after this was taken.

Mean mommy won't let me play with the camera. 

I. Shall. Sulk.

(Closeup of adorable sulk.)

Well, if sulking won't work, I'll wash.

The paper rustled!

Why is Mommy snapping her fingers and whistling that West Side Story tune?

I'll show her. I'll climb up on her back and wash myself!

She won't be able to move, 

and Daddy will be laughing so hard he has trouble taking a photo.

All grudges forgotten. Snuggles make up for anything.

Day 58, some closeups

Sunday afternoon's pictures:

He was starting to tire after a play session.

Such a pensive expression!

Tiny pink tongue!

You're not going to move me, are you? 

I am very comfortable right here by your leg.

What do you mean, your leg is going to sleep?

It must need rest, then.

A scare on his 8-week birthday

Toby started having diarrhea hourly at 2 a.m. and stopped eating or playing. At 4 I called the longsuffering vet (Dr. Mike was on call) and took him in. All the signs were good; it seems he's just having difficulty adjusting to weaning (which was all his idea) and worming (will spare you the details, but he needed it). No infection, adequate hydration, generally doing quite well except for the runs. We'll put a bit of pumpkin in his food to add fiber and keep an eye on him. Since it's a weekend, he will probably throw in a couple of cliffhangers. I don't know how many lives he's got, but I'm beginning to think I've used several of mine as well. Oh, wait, this is the only one I get.

Toby had gone downhill so quickly other times that I may have hit the panic button a little early this time.Poor Matt has had very little sleep indeed. Since the air is too bad to do farmers' market, we were going to be home anyway.

Here is the cat himself, napping with his elephant. Remember when that elephant was almost as big as he was?

Camera Roll Fun

Toby! Look how long your tail is! 

Matt calls this "Cubit Cat." 

Kick that scunner toy!

Or snuggle.