9/05/02
Finally! An update that's actually worth something! I got the digicam software running, so Willoughby was finally able to upload his new photos to the site. Hooray for Mom!! There aren't a lot, but it's a whole new page to give you your "cute Birman photo fix". Also, with the power of DHTML, Willoughby found a way to download an entire page from my webpage onto his so that you can all see photos of my trip to Spain without having to go to my site. I always knew he was a computer genious.
There should be more photos coming within the next month or so. My digital camera is about to take a trip with my mom to China, so I have to upload all the photos from it before she leaves. I have to make sure there'll be enough space for the zillions of photos I'm sure she'll take. :)
Anyway, that's it for now. Take a look at the new pages, and have a great weekend!
8/08/02
Yikes! Where has the time gone? 3 months and no update? Shame on me! I know I promised new photos last time I updated, but my stupid digicam program has decided to lose some of its files, so I can't upload pics right now. I've been trying, trust me. So let's see. What's new? Well, Willoughby had his first birthday in June! I don't think he knew what was going on, but he had "Happy Birthday" sung to him about a hundred different times to tip him off. We sort of celebrated my boyfriend's birthday and Willoughby's birthday all at the same time since they're only 5 days apart. Speaking of Willoughby's daddy, everything's going smoothly between us now. All 3 of us are in the new apartment, and all is well. Especially since I was gone for almost 2 weeks in Spain recently. That old bit about absence making the heart grow fonder really does have some truth to it. I recommend that one half of any troubled couple should take a European vacation (just don't argue about which one it is!)! LOL. The vacation was great, but I was really happy to come home to everything here. Our anniversary came and went without much pomp and circumstance, but that was ok. We ordered pizza and watched tv together, happily, which was the important thing. Anyway, I've been working on a couple websites for a friend of mine and getting paid for it (thank goodness...not having a job has been tough on the bank account lately! lol!). Willoughby's been helping too. His creative input is very important, since I know he can be a pretty great webmaster...for a cat and all. I would love to post the sites here, but they're not suitable for all viewers, so I'll refrain. When I'm done working on those sites Willoughby and I may start revamping this one. He's been telling me that he thinks it needs a change, so once I stop monopolizing all the computer time, he can get in here and start working his magic with mommy to oversee things. That's all for now. Wish me luck in getting the digicam software working again. Hopefully the next time I post, there'll be some new pictures in the gallery!
5/10/02
Well, it looks like I'm long overdue for a bulletin update! Things have finally started to settle down here a bit. Willoughby has gotten adjusted to living at my mom's house with ease, and now romps around like he's been here forever. In fact, I think he may enjoy it even more than he did the other house because now he has stairs to climb up, and lots of fun places to hide. As far as his dad and I go, we're still trying to work through some things. He got a job transfer to a nearby city that he's been waiting for, so he'll be moving there this weekend. It's only about 35 minutes away, but it's much farther apart than we are now (3 minutes by car). Our anniversary is exactly 2 months away from today, so hopefully we'll stick it out to make it there.
On a lighter note, Willoughby's done some interesting things since the last time I wrote! :) First, he caught and ate his first, and second flys. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, since I've never owned a cat before. I thought he was crazy for a while as he was chasing the fly back and forth to the windowsill, but once I realized what he was doing I was totally engrossed by it. Then he caught the thing and started knocking it around. At first I didn't think he'd eat it, but just as soon as that thought entered my head he scooped it up with his paw and put it in his mouth. >GULP!< Down it went, to never be seen again. The second fly meal started much the same as the first, but this time he decided to spit the fly out after putting it in his mouth. Then he picked it up and put it back in his mouth....only to immediately spit it out again. I don't know if it just wasn't as tasty as the one he remembered or what, but this went on 5 or 6 times until he left the scene of the crime having eaten the fly...or so I thought! About an hour later he jumped back on the window sill, started digging for the gold he'd left behind earlier, managed to scoop it out of the window track, and finally ate it. Maybe it's like meatloaf....better the second day...or second hour as the case may be.
Then yesterday we went for our first official walk outside. The only reason we went was because he'd snuck out the door the other night as someone opened the front door and I figured, like a teenager, that if I forbade him to go, he'd just want to go more. Good thing we live in a condo on the second floor because otherwise he may have run downstairs, through the gate, and to the busy street! Anyway, I harnessed and leashed him up and we went out to the walkway. It was quite a funny sight because he stayed glued to the wall at every second he was walking. Every second he wasn't walking, he was flopped on the floor, protesting the silly getup he had to wear to go out. Finally, I decided to take the elevator down to the first floor's courtyard so he could roam around in "nature". At first he walked around the nearest pole 6 or 7 times, making me look like a fool going in circles, but once he got used to it he started venturing further, even jumping up to the ledges of the planted areas. There was a white kitty inside someone's house who was quite intrigued by Willoughby and stood on the back of their couch to get a better look, staring and tail-swishing the whole time. I'll bet the poor thing was jealous that *he* didn't get to go on walks. hehe. We stayed out for about half an hour or so, and then back in the elevator we went. When we got back to the front door he didn't want to go back in! I had to swoop him up and carry him back inside. I hope I haven't created a monster. I've heard stories of cats who got a taste of the outdoors and always wanted 'out' afterwards. Maybe a walk a few times a week will do him good though. There really is no substitute for fresh air and free bugs.
Well, that's it for now. Check back soon to see if there are any new updates. I should be posting some new pictures as soon as my digital camera makes it back to me. Happy Mother's Day to all the Meowmies and Mommies out there.
3/18/02
It sure has been a long time since I wrote the last bulletin, eh? There really hasn't been much to update lately though. Rather than working on his own website, WIlloughby has been helping me fix my old page to bring it back up to date. I hadn't touched it in around 3 years so I figured it was just about time. I'm so glad I have him to help me with my HTML, and he sure is a great stress reliever when I'm fed up with all the revamping! The newest update on our lives (both his and mine) is that we're now both staying at my mom's house rather than our own. Why, you ask? Well, not to get into too much detail, but his daddy and I are spending some time apart to figure out why we're really together. This came about yesterday (Sunday), after many long nights and long discussions about our relationship. I really hated uprooting Willoughby and all of our things, but if all goes well it'll make for a much happier living situation for all involved. Hopefully we'll come to some sort of friendly decision that we can live with, either together or apart. Please forgive us if there aren't any new updates for a while longer. I know Willoughby was planning on starting an Easter contest for you all to participate in (and win prizes for), but with all that's going on right now I think he's spending more time trying to adjust to a new living situation, than trying to make additions to his webpage. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the next bulletin I write will have tales of what a wonderful life we're all living! And Happy Easter!
2/10/02
I tried to update this section last night, but my silly computer froze on me and so the chain reaction of subsequent computer problems began. Thank goodness for a good night's rest! Anyway, Willoughby is still in creation mode. He uploaded about 30 new pictures to his new 2nd page of color photos, and added more to his sleeping photos. He also added another page to his awards section to accomodate his growing number of awards (thanks, everyone!), and made a new site map on the index page so you can now see all the pages he has to offer ya. He's been sort of a feisty thing these past few days, and I don't know if it's because he's been working so hard on the webpage or if he's just getting to that stage in his kittenhood where he wants to make it known that he's the big, powerful one in the household. Whatever the reason, I sure have the scratches on my face to prove it. Anyone know what he's up to? I'm a first time cat-owner with this one, so this is all new to me. He's usually not like this, so it's strange. Any ideas?
2/06/02
Well, at this hour I suppose it'd almost technically be Feb.7, but since my clock is still hanging at 11:54...um...nevermind. Willoughby's been at it again. He's been fixing java-script bugs for a couple days now, and it finally seems to be all squared away...thanks to some help from the guys at Dynamic Drive. All that frantic typing I heard in the wee hours of the morning started to really grate on my nerves! I guess he also had some time to make a new page for his growing numbers of awards, and a new page for Valentine's Day. I was looking it over and it seems he wrote an original haiku poem for the page. Such brains for a 7 1/2 month old!
It seems he now needs a bit of relaxation time for himself because as we speak, he's going through his "nighttime crazies" routine. This is something he's just started the past few days and it consists of him running at lightning speeds across the carpet, chasing imaginary mice, and jumping to Air Jordan-like heights to nip at my toes as I'm typing. I'm acutally sitting here curled up as tight as I can possibly get on a breakfast bar stool so that my toes will be safe from the incessant gnawing. Anyone know of anything to calm the kid down during these "turn-mommy-into-a-chew-toy" times??
1/30/02
Let me tell ya. Willoughby has been busy, busy, busy these past two days. Yesterday, he scoured all over the net and found some great kitty astrology for you all, and posted everything on the site. (He's a gemini and, boy, did the shoe ever fit!) So if you have a minute, why don't you take a look and see how well your kitty's match up to their astrological signs too.
Then all this morning and well into this afternoon he was slaving away on a new survey for all his friends to take. He took frequent naps though, so rest assured...he's no work-a-holic. He's napping by his kitty tunnel in the sun as we speak. Guess all that work tuckered the little guy out. Maybe he's recharging the battery for tomorrow's website updates. I guess we'll have to wait and see...
1/26/01
Well, had to give the boy a bath tonight. He was starting to smell like pigeon poop (don't ask me why I know what that smells like!). I walked into the bathroom earlier tonight and he followed me, and then jumped right into the tub. Figuring that it was a sign, I got out his towel, cranked up the bathroom heater, filled the tub, and the party began. Bath #4 seems to have been the most difficult one so far. I don't know if it's because he's getting wise to the scene or what. He still didn't intentionally scratch me, but because I was sitting in the tub with him (like I always do), he tried to get to higher ground...higher ground meaning my leg and shoulder. So I got a few small claw marks, but nothing so bad that it broke skin. No biting or anything, but he sure was causing a racket. Got all soaped up...twice...and then it was time to ring the little bugger out. That was easy because as soon as he was lifted out of the water all 4 legs wraped around the nearest arm so the other one was free to squeeze. I also managed to get the towel all ready with him in the same position. I got him all bundled up like a baby, and held him like one too, until he stopped shaking and got sleepy. Next was the most difficult part for me....blow drying. Now, I don't know about you, but my little one *hates* the thing. He'll go to the farthest corner of the bathroom to get away from it, even if it involves hiding behind the jumbo bag of litter or jumping into his box and getting all sloppy again. I finally got him dry enough with lots of finageling, and when I opened the bathroom door he was more than willing to skip on out. Afterwards he got lots of snacks with mom and dad because he was so cooperative. I'll bet it's almost worth the bath for all the yummy's he gets afterwards! And he smells just like a baby now...no more pigeon poop! I guess we'll have to do a bath a month from now on, but don't tell Willoughby...he may not come near me again!
1/25/02
Hi, and welcome! This is my first posting since Willoughby created this page. For anyone reading this who's not familiar with the Birman breed I'm going to describe a few of their characteristics so that you can get a better idea of what they're about...or at least what *my* baby is like!
Birmans are known as the Sacred Cat of Burma. If you ever encounter one you'll know why! They are truly amazing creatures, from their glorious fur to their dog-like qualities, once you meet one, you'll never forget it.
My search for a Birman started when I met my boyfriend's mom's cat. When I asked her what breed he was she said he was a lynx point. At that time I knew nothing about cats because I'd been a dog owner all my life, so I thought that Lynx point was a breed. I did all sorts of searching on the web and one of my searches turned up a list of Birman websites. I took a look and after seeing the first picture it was like,"BINGO! That's him!" I started doing all kinds of research on Birmans and found out that they were just the breed for me for many reasons.
First, they're relatively quiet. Because we live in an apartment with very thin walls it was important to find a cat that wouldn't talk my ear off. So far Willoughby has been pretty true to form. He's just now beginning to discover that he kinda fancys the sound of his own voice so he's been a bit more chatty. He's at his most vocal at 3 different times. If I'm in the shower and he's not he likes to make his distaste for the situation known. If I'm in the kitchen with food and he's not eating some of it, he whines. If I walk in the door and don't touch him immediately, he whines until he gets his way. Most of the time the noises he makes are through closed lips. Whether it's because he's lazy or just for effect..it's hilarious. He's even developed a new meow. Rather than the traditional kind that begins with an "m" he's coined the word "Geow". He's been using it in triplicate saying,"geow, geow, geeeoooowww". Such brilliance, but then again, doesn't everyone say that about their cat?
Second, they have beautiful long fur that's "wash-and-wear". They don't require more than a once a week brushing, but because he likes it, he gets several a week. Baths only need to be given once every 3 months or so, but because of a few mishaps, Willougby's had 3 so far. The first one was purely experimental, but the subsequent 2 were the result of the dreaded dingleberry. He's been really wonderful through all of them, although I know they're not his favorite. The thing I can't understand is why he loves being in the tub so much. If I get in to take a shower, he has to jump in. He'll sit at the back of the tub and there he'll remain without even realizing that his tail has become glued to the bottom of the tub from all the water touching it. He'll even stay in once I turn the shower head on. The only thing that gets him to move is when the water finally reaches his paw. At that point he jumps out, feigning surprise, and sits on the bath mat whining until I poke my head out and talk to him.
Third, Birmans are very much like dogs. Willoughby will greet me at the door and follow me around the house for as long as he feels I'm doing something interesting. If I come home and neglect to pet him *immediately*, he'll cry until I do. For someone that has always had dogs, but who lives in an apartment, a Birman was the perfect choice. He even begs like a dog. He's the first one in the kitchen when the refrigerator is opened or the microwave beep sounds...begging for a morsel. Right now we're working on leash training so he can go outside, but it's not going all that well. We've gotten as far as getting the harness on, and he'll put up with it...but when it comes to that darned leash...! As soon as it goes on he flips around for a bit and then lays down. Every time he gets brave and tries to stand up, he realizes that the blasted thing is still attached and lays right back down. I have a feeling he'll never take a liking to the leash, but I'd kick myself if I said I never tried. We're also working on potty training. That's going much better than the leash. So far we're up to 5 phone books under the litter box and I'm proud to say that there have been zero accidents and no rebellion. Not bad for a teenager. You know, there really are some perks to owning a cat...I've never met a dog that would sleep on my face!
Anyway, that's all for now. If any of you have tips on leash training or potty training, please pass it on. So far the best site I've found for the potty is Susan Dennis' website.