The Chronicles of Samson: Olympic Diver

[ChicknThief]

Samson is doing really well! He is keeping himself very clean (FINALLY!) and I don't have to bathe him anywhere near as often. More like once a week or less. He is also becoming quite the tidy little eater. He used to just slop it all over the floor and his face and his paws and the wall etc. Now he keeps his little feet out of the bowl and manages to keep his nose out of it too for the most part.

And the most important success of all.....

He's burying his poops!!

I was beginning to wonder if he would ever learn. Our whole house was a tad bit smelly because he wouldn't cover up his doodoos. But this morning, I opened the bathroom door for his morning romp and I couldn't smell anything! I didn't see any poops in the litter box.... none behind the toilet... none in his towel... Maybe he didn't go? But no! I shook the box and lo and behold, a poopie

He had just buried it like a good little fuzzball.

He is officially in the hilarious-kitten stage. He had his first true spaz moment yesterday. He was playing on his scratch furniture, and then all of a sudden it was like someone hit the fast-forward button. He was ripping around at mach 1 and whenever he tried to turn, he was going too fast and would just roll instead.

 

[Adenium]

I think he needs a brother or sister now to help him chase

I love that stage - if only they stayed in it longer. We had so much fun with the fishing-pole style toys, getting ours to jump and flip in the air going after their little fish and feathers and other toys. They still do it, but nothing matches that kitten fervor.

Lucky you with buried poo. Only two of our four bury. Sigh. I'm happy you have buried treasure to hunt for though!

 

[ChicknThief]

Adenium.... you are a HORRIBLE influence

I would love to have animals running all over the house, but I think at that point I would be in as much danger as they would haha. We are pushing limits as it is. There is no way I am going to upset that delicate balance with another kitten, no matter how much I would love another.

And yes! I was beginning to think he would never learn. And he is even consistent about it. Same scenario this morning! No uncovered poopies, no bad smell. Just one clean soft little kitten

This morning even Jamison admitted that he is getting cuter by the day! I think this is in direct correlation with the fact that he is getting less and less messy by the day. So apparently clean = cute in his mind. He even admitted that I was right about it being a "kitten stage" and that he would grow out of it.

Ah yes. This victory is sweet indeed. Samson isn't going anywhere. Ever.

Well, except for this weekend lol. Jamison and I are going camping this weekend to celebrate our 1 year anniversary and my mother is going to babysit Samson while we are gone. Oh! And she wants to foster one of Samson's brothers, so it's possible that he will get to play with his long lost littermate while we are gone this weekend!

 

[leadwolf1]

Sounds like you and Samson will be very happy together Just don't forget your friends on byc that want to get continuous doses of Samson cuteness

 

[canesisters]

I still just LOVE the perma-booger on his nose!

 

[Adenium]

No, no, not a bad influence, just very helpful and enabling......

When we had plans to get our first from a breeder, I sat there researching and pointing out all the articles to my then-boyfriend about the benefits of multi-cat households. He softened at that, but really caved when the next litter was born and he saw our little Bali at 1 hour old. He had wanted cats for years, though, so I didn't have a big battle to fight. Funny how I clean most of the barf/poo disasters though.

I second leadwolf's reminder that your BYC friends will need updates. Take lots of pictures and video while he's still little!

Hope your camping trip goes well, you deserve a little vacation after all this drama. Bet you'll miss the little pooper though.

 

[ChicknThief]

We're back!

It was quite a trip. I tell you, I have been camping all my life, and never have I ever been so accident prone as I was this weekend!

On the whole it was a pretty good trip. We managed to get everything loaded up and get on the road by 5:45 Friday night. I had just bought Samson a kitty carrier and he was none to pleased with it at first. He just cried and cried and no amount of sweet talking or petting could console him. That is, until I got the bright idea to roll the windows up and use the AC instead. Worked like a charm. Poor little guy was just afraid of all the noise from the windows. He quieted right down and went to sleep.

We arrived at my mother's house at around 6:30. Unfortunately she was at work, so I left him with my little sister (13 and very responsible) after explaining his eating and sleeping schedules. Leaving him there was harder than I thought it would be.

After we left, I decided we should stop by my mother's work to say hi, as well as to leave instructions for Samson's care. I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket so to speak haha. Well, on the way there, Jamison's work phone starts to ring. Not good. He picks it up and is informed that there is a water flow fire alarm going off at his building in Davis (90 minutes in the wrong direction). Can he dispatch immediately?

Uh, no he most certainly cannot! Luckily he was able to manage it over the phone, otherwise we would have had to go all the way back to Davis, and then probably home. We went to the store to pick up some ice, etc, visited my mom for a bit, and then we were on our way!

By the time we got to the campsite, it was already almost dark (what are those little lights in the sky? They seem vaguely familiar...). But no biggie! My dad and stepmom loaded me up with camping gear for my last birthday, and I have a propane lantern!

Do I know how to use one? Meh, details. I can figure it out.

*20 minutes later*

Who the heck needs a lantern anyway? Flashlights are much better.

We get the tent set up, inflate the matresses (Jamison has a bad back and can't sleep on the ground), and sit down for citronella candle lit turkey sandwiches. We finally collapse into bed sometime after 10 and sleep peacefully until we are awakened by the sound of a thousand birds beckoning us to come outside and begin our day.

Once we are up, I decide to make us a yummy "campin brekfist". I whip out my brand-new, never used propane grill and my brand new box of campin pots and pans. Once we get the grill set up, I start pulling the pans out of the box...

Hmm... Well... This will be interesting. The pans are very thin, very small, and very not nonstick. And also, I may or may not have forgotten to pack any cooking spray or butter.

It's all good! I'll just cook the eggs in the stew pot, and throw in some carne asada in with the bell peppers and eggs. That way the grease from the meat will act as a non-stick agent, right?

Unfortunately, I wasn't aware that my grill has only two settings. Inferno, and room temperature. This was not helpful considering I had nothing to keep the eggs from adhering to the pot. Ever the optimist, I decide to go for it anyway. What's the worst that can happen?

You know what's even better than a scamble? A breakfast burrito! Mmm. No honey, don't look in the tortilla. Just don't.

All stuffed from breakfast, we pack up the small ice chest and head to the river. We get there before anyone else, and we manage to nab the most coveted spot on the river. A beautiful piece of sand surrounded by watersmoothed boulders that separate you from the rest of the fray. We lay out our towels, take off our shirts.... BOOM. Wind. Ah well, no biggie. We will just wait for it to die off. For now we can content ourselves with lying on the beach and having a beer or two. After a couple of hours the wind still hasn't died down enough to get in the water, but we don't mind too much. We have kept ourselves busy with rock-climbing, beach lounging (hello sunburn!), reading... oh yea. And fighting. Who fights on their 1 year anniversary trip? Apparently we do. On a crowded beach. Oi.

We march back to the truck, thoroughly aggravated with each other. We go buy some firewood and drive back to the campsite in silence. Where we sit and be silent for a while longer. Finally, I put on my big girl pants and go sit next to him. He explodes one last time and ends with "what do you want?" I just touch his arm and calmly reply that all I want is him. Can we stop fighting now?

After one of the most amazing kisses ever, we were back on the right track.

We went for a walk down to the nearest gas station to buy some butter (yea cooking!) and some more beer. Ever tried Shocktop Raspberry Wheat? It's delicious. It's like raspberry soda for adults.

By now it's dinner time and we have a great meal planned. Shish kabobs with chicken, carne asada, and bell peppers, and a rice dish on the side. We chopped all the veggies and meat, and I started preparing the rice. I get the stove all set up, put a little extra butter in there so it wouldn't stick and left it alone for a second or two. A second or two too long apparently. The slats on the grill were spaced just a leeetle further apart than I thought, and the rice pot took a dive and dumped rice and water all over the grill. I quickly turned it off and picked up the pot. The pot hadn't even gotten hot yet. So naturally the grill slats wouldn't be hot either, right?



I picked up that grill and I swear you could hear me shouting from a county over. The picture doesn't do these blisters justice. I kept putting ice on them and running them under cold water until finally I remembered an old trick I learned somewhere. I poured myself a big glass of milk and stuck my whole hand in there. Instant relief.

Alright, I didn't really want rice anyway. Haha.

The kabobs were delicious, and we washed them down with a bottle of champagne, which we drank straight out of the bottle in true campers fashion.

The next morning we packed up camp and took off. We stopped and my dad and stepmoms place for a quick visit which turned into a 4 hour long visit, and I am so glad it did. I don't get to see my family very often, and I have really missed them recently. We swapped stories and told my dad all about our little misadventures this weekend. When we finally did get up to leave, it was around 2 in the afternoon. I took Jamison to this little diner in downtown Nevada City called the South Pine Cafe. It's in a pretty hippie area so all the food in there is very healthy and organic. Very different from any restaurant I have ever been to, and very very tasty.

Finally, we were on to pick up my baby boy. I had called him both mornings we were gone to make sure he remembered me. I really missed that little stinker. When we got there, he seemed very subdued and mopey. But I was informed that he was a good boy while we were gone and had no accidents! His mopey sullen mood didn't improve until we had been home for a couple of hours. But once it wore off, I swear it was like someone fed him kitty crack! I have never yet seen him so spunky.

I took another video for you all.

Sadly, the camera makes him a little nervous, so he isn't nearly as rambunctious here as he typically is...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=4213607225419

Again, it's on facebook because I can't load it here.

 

[ChicknThief]

Samson met his little sister yesterday! It was quite the interesting reunion! Haha. He didn't really know what to make of her. I am taking her to my mother this evening, who will be fostering her indefinitely. Video here....

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=405698309471770

After a little bit, they warmed up to each other and were playing around... Video here...

https://www.facebook.com/jessica.petrie.52/posts/255234664576828



Let me tell you, Florence is opposite Samson in pretty much every way. He is squat and tubby, she is long and lanky. She is very calm and laid back, he is a firecracker 24/7. She knows how to play fight with another cat, and he most certainly does not. It was kind of sad. He would pick a fight and try to play, and then she would promptly whup his butt and he would come running to me to save him

I seem to have raised a pansy boy. I didn't realize how much different they were going to be! I am amazed.

 

[ChicknThief]

Samson is now officially trustworthy! He hadn't had an accident in a while, so last night Jamison and I decided to try letting him sleep outside of the bathroom, loose in the house. He isn't quite big enough to get on and off the bed, so we had him stay downstairs. He did great! No accidents anywhere. He got up and used the litterbox like a good boy

He did so well that today he doesn't have to stay in the bathroom while we are at work. It's his first day having the run of the house while we are gone. Now I just hope he doesn't make a fool out of me haha.

He is getting so big too! He is coming into his lanky teenager stage. I love the first picture haha. "How dare you take pictures of me, human!?"

 

[Adenium]

So cute and pretty at the same time. Hooray for freedom!

Have you invested in lint rollers yet? I have them in my work bag, at the front door, in the car....everywhere.