We have finally achieved kitty integration. Jeff left the cats alone all day- and didn't panic at lunch time- and I came home and we still have 3 cats!!

I leave the house before Jeffie does. He forgot to separate the cats this morning. Ooops. Well they're getting along a lot better now so it will probably be ok. Lets just hope we still have 3 cats when we get home!

**UPDATE** Jeff went home at lunch time because he was so worried about it. They were fine. I don't know if he left them together or not but it sounds like they're ready to all hang out together now.

My Boyfriend's cats: Itchy and Scratchy. Itcy is the grey one, Scratchy the black one.

Does anyone have any suggestions for integrating a 3 year old male tabby who's very laid back with a 16 year old female who's highstrung?? I am so completely frustrated. Daphny just hisses and hisses and hisses. We're making pogress but its so slow its ridiculous. Simba would love to be friends with her but she's just not having any of it.

Things with Kat are so odd right now. It's like both of us realize that the relationship is over but neither one of us wants to be the one to cut the cord. Sigh, but the more I think about it, the more I think this is the right thing to do. One thing that annoyed me was that I was talking with my mother about all of this and how I'm going to miss the rats. My mom says we'll get you a kitty cat. As awesome as that idea is, getting a kitten is not going to replace me loosing the girls. I kind of wanted to smack her for saying that. Although I've never been a dog person, I'm finding myself thinking alot about getting one. But I don't think my parents would let me get a dog when I move back in with them. Never mind the fact I've never had a dog and wouldn't have any idea on how to take care of one.

On saturday, Kat and I went to the National Zoo and saw Tai Shan. He is so freaking adorable. I do believe it's illegal to be as cute as he is. Incase you don't know, he's the panda cub born to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. Fuzz ball.

*Sniff* I'm so happy!!!

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- The parents of a baby penguin, whose theft from a British zoo just before Christmas attracted worldwide attention, have produced a new egg.

Toga, a three-month-old jackass penguin, was snatched from Amazon World Zoo Park on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, after thieves broke in one night last month.

Pictures of his crestfallen parents Kyala and Oscar made the front page of many newspapers while donations and messages of support flooded in from all over the world.

Despite a number of reported sightings, Toga, who could only survive a matter of days without his parents, was never found.

"There's some good news at last," zoo manager Kath Bright told Reuters on Monday after staff discovered Kyala and Oscar were expecting their second offspring.

"They have been very lovey-dovey," she said, adding the egg should hatch in about 40 days.

Toga, zoo staff believe, might have been stolen for a private collector or by someone who thought he would make a good Christmas present, perhaps inspired by the hit documentary film "March of the Penguins".

There is still an outstanding 25,000 pound ($44,440) reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.

"It would be nice to know what did happen to him and why he was taken," Bright s

The person who stole the baby penguin from the UK zoo needs to return the baby NOW! I'm so upset over this story. Who would steal a penguin?? The mother and the father are both very upset. The mother refuses to eat. Whomever stole the penguin baby needs to rot in hell (if you believe in that sort of thing). I keep getting teary eyed because I want the baby penguin back with its parents-alive. The person who stole it has no concious and needs to be bitch smacked

Don't ask me why I find this funny but I do

From CNN

Legislation would require pet to be included in evacuations
More would leave if pets allowed, lawmakers say

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal disaster grants to state and local governments should be conditioned on how they accommodate pets in their evacuation plans, say lawmakers disturbed that some Hurricane Katrina victims refused to leave home because they couldn't take their animals with them.

"I cannot help but wonder how many more people could have been saved had they been able to take their pets," Rep. Tom Lantos, D-California, said Thursday.

Lantos and Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Connecticut, and Barney Frank, D-Massaschusetts, are sponsoring a bill that would require that state and local disaster preparedness plans required for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding include provisions for household pets and service animals.

Go to CNN and look for the link to the video that says A Squirrel's best friend. It's a video of this dog in florida who is nursing a baby squirrel. The son of a couple found a baby squirrel and brought it home and the took started producing milk so it could nursing him/her. The video is incredibly sweet.

Don't get me wrong, I feel terrible for all the people in the south who have lost their lives, their family members and their homes. However, I wish someone would tell me where I could donate money to help the little fuzzies of the south.

EUREKA!!! Help the animals!!!!!

If you want to see total cuteness, go here to see the Panda in Washington DC. You can't see the baby cub because she's constantly cuddling it and holding it tight to her chest- which is a huge improvement over the last panda mother who had no motherly instincts

I'd like to continue my rodent-themed posts by sharing this picture with you. The look on the kitten's face is priceless!

*Click to enlarge*

Empress here helping to fill in the spaces while Pixie and Kat are away on a well-deserved vacation. I was planning on starting my posts off with a story of my own pet rats, but seeing that Pixie & Kat lost one of their little ones just before leaving, I think I’ll save that for some other time.

But I can still talk about rodents of some sort! And I’d like to talk about squirrels. Buzz and I have seven bird feeders around our house. The three that we have hanging on the deck are the targets of the squirrels. Now, I don’t mind if the squirrels patrol the deck looking for bird seed that has fallen, but I don’t want them climbing up and eating the “good stuff”, ya know? Except that I absolutely love rodents and my attempts at chasing them off the porch are sometimes half-hearted. They are really quite cute when you have the opportunity to see them up close and watch their little noses twitch and see them sit up and eat their food with their hands. They are adorable! But I think ours are getting bold. Or they have my number. They don’t run very far any more when I chase them. In fact, yesterday, one of them took off, making it seem like he was running away from me but then I looked out and saw two tiny feet clinging to the side of the deck, just waiting for me to go back inside.

I had to laugh! So, yeah, they’re pesky, but they’re funny little buggers, too!

Click to enlarge

I went out to cvs in a desperate quest for therma care heating pads. I was PISSED because they didn't have any menstrual ones. I have one for my back but it's a bit overkill in size. Anyway I would have been more mad after my walk for no reason but I saw a young guy walking his baby beagle. Yes I mean a beagle puppy. It couldn't have been more than 2 months old. It was SOOOO Cute. The puppy was obviously still getting used to his/her legs and was hopping around. The puppy still had all it's puppy fuzz. I wanted to take it home!

The condo Kat and I live in backs up into the woods. Over the weekend Kat pointed out from our bedroom window that a bird is nesting maybe 5 feet from our window. It's SOOOO awesome to check on the bird everymorning. I can't wait til the eggs hatch.

Next month it will be 5 years since we had to euthanize Dusky boy. Dusky boy was the cat who I grew up with. He adored me, he followed me everywhere. Everyone knows he was my cat. Last night I had a dream about him and now I really miss him. He was so un cat like. He loved being held. He loved dancing with my mom (in her arms). He loved to hug me. When holding him against my chest he would put one arm on one on my shoulders and the other on my opposite shoulder. He was a silver tabby and the most beautiful cat that ever lived. I always said I wanted him to live until I met the person I would spend the rest of my life with. He never liked any of my boyfriends, but he liked Kat. He wasn't jealous of her. I miss him like we euthanized him yesterday.

You MUST go to this if you like kittens!! EEEEKKKK!

Two of our friends live on a farm in the middle of nowhere Virginia. They have these Great Pyranese dogs who are so beautiful. The first one they ever got had to be put down. Poor Bodie, he was such a sweet dog. We will miss you fuzzy one.

Kat and I were watching the Westminster Kennel Dog show last night. I LOVED the fact the Great Pyranese won the working group and the Norfolk won the terrier groups. It's rare that my favorites win the groups. I can't wait to see tonight who wins best of show. ALl those fuzzy faces, who can resist?