Just because...

This cat

Gets into

everything

and

anything.

Here's to the year 2009 with Atticus the Sphynx.

Keepin' an eye on things

Atticus knew something was going on.
He couldn't figure it out though.

Most of his evening was spent on the back of the couch keeping an eye on the Christmas tree.

Just when I thought this cat would never quit.

He finally gave up and fell fast asleep.

Don't Wait Up...

The husband and I enjoyed a night out.

Came home to a house full of sleeping children, and one sleeping Grandma.

Leaving the children for the night is a big deal. It means Grandma is in charge of dinners, baths, bedtimes, and the supervision of non-stop sibling bickering.

We snuck into the house to find only one set of eyes waiting for us.

Almost as if to say, "Where ya been? Grandma worked her butt off, and things went well, but now I need someone to cuddle into bed with."

Oh, and the carseat in the hallway indicated Grandma was not brave enough to venture beyond the walls of our house with the kids.

Can't say that I blame her.

Thanks for the night out Grandma!

Winter with Atticus

We are a desert family. The warmer the better. When the weather gets cold, we get grumpy.

With the holidays just around the corner things have been busy. Yesterday I realized just how difficult having Atticus can be. Our number one problem is his non stop counter climbing, food scavenger*ing, knock down drag out I gotta have what you're eating attitude. I tried the squirt bottle full of water, in fact you can see it in the background of these pictures, but being a cat that must be bathed weekly, this doesn't faze him. So we have learned to pick our battles. Sometimes it just isn't important if he is up there.

Like last Saturday night, the house was cold, but he had no problem finding a warm spot.

A nice hot box of pizza.

Now, don't get me wrong. I do not always allow this. In fact he was sanctioned off in a bedroom while I sanitized the counter tops and prepared my favorite spinach dip for a party we will be attending.

I may be tolerant, but I'm not gross, and I would never serve cataminated (made that word up) food.

*blurry pictures taken with my cell phone

Atticus Meets The Tree

For the first time in 7 years we bought a live/fresh/real Christmas Tree.


For the first time in the 10 weeks that we've had Atticus I realized he just may be funny looking after all.

I call this the Yoda shot.

Atticus the Stalker

The morning of Thanksgiving I realized I overlooked something.

The fact that we cannot seem to keep Atticus off of the kitchen counters. I could only hope that once family and friends started to arrive, he would retreat into a quiet place and ride out the storm. No such luck. He was into everything, and even needed to be put away while the food was served. I was embarrassed that I couldn't keep him off of the tables, but as my mom always says, "It is what it is" so I tucked my embarrassment aside and tried not to let it ruin my day.

Before I knew it the day was almost over and I couldn't find him anywhere. Then we realized he was curled up in his favorite spot, sound asleep.

With so many people in and out of the house, we had quite a few unwanted flying house guests.

Atticus probably spent the entire day Friday stalking, chasing and jumping at them.

I don't know if he caught anything, but he gets an A for effort.

After A Bath

Homework Is Tiring...

Especially when you are pet in our household.

When we first brought Atticus home I worried about the reaction we would get from Toby the "I'm a Dog" dog.

All is well in our home.

And while I've missed some really cute photo ops...

This one speaks for itself.

In fact it was so cute it took me 15 minutes to realize the child responsible for the homework

was not where he was supposed to be.

This is probably the only pet I have ever had that could get away with walking on the kitchen counters.

Show and Tell

It was show and tell at school.

The printer at home was out of ink.

Our son desperately wanted to bring pictures of Atticus.

So he improvised, and let his artistic abilities flow.

He grabbed a couple of colored pencils and began to draw.

He said it didn't turn out as well as he wanted because he couldn't hold Atticus still and draw at the same time.

Not Much To Say...

I really have nothing important to type.

No new revelations as to living with a sphynx.

Just a million pictures of what I think is one of the cutest cats I have ever known.

And thanks to my dear friend Stephanie, I will no longer be able to call him a kitty.

Or if I do I will always break out into laughter and try my best not to pee my pants.

Thanks Steph! You way ruined the word kitty for me.

In the sun.

Where there is sunshine...

....there will be Atticus...

18 weeks old and growing fast.

Pet Quality

Breeders terms are all Greek to me. When the term "pet quality" was thrown our way I didn't think twice about the definition.


By definition a pet quality cat is a "non perfect" cat. A pedigree or purebred or whatever you want to call it, with or without some of the distinctions that make it a perfect show cat.



In the case of Atticus the Sphynx I am guessing his flaw would be the fur on his face, tail and feet.

Once I got over the fact that people actually show cats I realized his flaws would be of no concern to us whatsoever.

This cat has only been in our home for 11 days and he fits right in with our large family. He is nothing like any other kitten I have ever known.

He must be with someone, in the middle of the action at all times.

Working on the computer is his favorite pass time. His talent for web design is unsurpassed.

If you are able to look past the wrinkles, lack of hair, and over sized ears, you will quickly fall in love.

Grade D Meat

True confession time.

I have never put any thought into pet food. It comes in bags or cans. Some brands are good, others better. Most breeders have recommendations as to a brand or type. Iams is what Atticus was eating and the brand his breeder recommended we stick with.

Then I did a bit of research. Most pet foods are made with grade D meat. Also known as meat from 4D animals. Dead, Diseased, Dying and Disabled. These animals are already dead, dying or diseased before they reach the rendering plant. Road kill ~ Yummy! Not to mention the amounts of chemicals oozing out of the bodies of these various types of animals.

No thank you.

The switch is on to Blue Spa Select Formula by Blue Buffalo.

In time I am hoping to see improvements in his overall health.

The best way to bathe a cat

According to Atticus the best bath is a bath without water.

Last night was bath number two. His skin was filmy, his paws were dirty.

I've done the research, organized the sink area. Filled the sink with the perfect temperature of water, not too much not too little.

Scooped him up and slowly began to place him in.

Not so fun.

I tried to quickly and gently wash him, rinse him and dry him.

Once he was wrapped in the towel like a baby he was fine.

Cleaning his face and ears are the easy part.

Clipping his nails, a breeze.

If Atticus requires weekly baths surely he should get used to it eventually.

Right?

Please tell me it will get easier.

Big Ears

"I bet they're good listeners."

Those were the first words out of the mouth of our 7 year old when we showed him a picture of a sphynx.

When we asked him why he thought that his answer was quite simple.

"Because they have such big ears."

How right he was.

This is one of the smartest, most loving kittens I have ever known.

I fell in love with his little black nose.

I remember looking at the picture in the email from the lady that owned him, falling in love with his black nose.

I remember walking into the house to pick him up, his little nose just as cute as can be.

Slowly the black nose is fading.

I feel like such a goof. Underneath the built up dirt and grime is a cute little pink nose.

I knew this was going to take an enormous amount of dedication to his grooming and bathing.

When we brought him home I gave him what I will assume to be his first real bath. He hated it, so we took care of business as quickly as possible.

His eyes must be wiped daily, because of the lack of eye lashes.

But his nose? I had no idea his nose would fade before my eyes.

He said, and I quote...

"If you bring one of those things home I wont touch it."

My 16 year old son said he would have nothing to do with a sphynx. He couldn't understand why I wanted one.

His heart was set on a ferret. Mine, eh, not so much.

Atticus was home not more than an hour and I could tell he had a change of heart.

After a bath, nail clipping and something to eat he quickly settled down into what I have now realized is going to be his favorite "human blanket".

I woke up in the middle of the night to make the rounds and check on all the children and found him in my son's bed.

Funny how things work out sometimes.

Atticus Comes Home.

This was the day we've been waiting for. Atticus came home today.

We drove two and a half hours to pick him up. He talked the whole way home.....








....until I realized opening the door to the cat carrier would calm him down.

I fell in love with him instantly.

It seems as though he has quickly found his place in our family.

How lucky we are to have come across him.