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Cool! I've just chased Leia into the spare room... I mean Leia has gone into the spare room of her own accord...  and hopefully she'll stay there long enough for me to post in her journal

Leia's really mean to me sometimes and won't let me do ANYTHING!  All I have to do is look at her and she takes a swipe at me and then I get the blame!  It's just not fair!  Here's a pic of me on the sofa keeping an eye on her in case she decides to attack me. (Ummm... that would be keeping an eye on Leia to work out if she's sleeping so you can attack her? - Meowmie).

Don't listen to what Meowmie says, I'm a teenager in kitty years and that means I know everything

Anyway, as I was saying, Leia is really mean to me sometimes. She just doesn't want to play with me all the time so what's a girl to do?  I just have to make her play with me and if that means having to pounce on her to wake her up, so be it. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! 

I don't like it when Meowmie gets upset with me for doing that though and I have to admit sometimes it is justified. I keep forgetting the 'no attacking Leia at bed time rule'. The other night I did it and Meowmie put me out of the bedroom for 15 minutes. I didn't like that at all and kept scratching at the door to let her know. When she did eventually let me back in, she asked me if I was going to be good now and settle down and go to sleep so of course I said 'yes Meowmie, I promise I will'. So she let me back and in and I got up on the bed. I couldn't resist getting one last swipe in at Leia though but after that I did curl up and go to sleep.

This is a pic of Xena and me looking out the window in Meowmie's bedroom. We really can get along when we want to, eg in this case there is something outside the window that we both wanted to see.

We also get along really well when we're both sleeping in front of the heater at night. We love lieing in front of it and blocking out all the heat so it doesn't get to Meowmie while she's on the computer. This really does take both of us to do - I'm just not big enough to do it all on my own but with the two of us lieing crosswise in front of it, it really is quite effective. Of course, Meowmie doesn't really like it when we do that, but being the kind, gracious Meowmie that she is, she puts up with it for fear of upsetting us. She doesn't even like moving in bed because she knows that one, or both of us, will get annoyed with her for moving. Instead, you should see her. She does these incredible acrobatic feats to get out of bed and not disturb us - I never knew a human could be so flexible!

BATHROOMS: Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare.

DOORS: Do not allow any closed doors in any room. To get door open, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season.

CHAIRS AND RUGS: If you have to throw up, get to a chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, shag is good. When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up so it is as long as a humans bare foot.

HAMPERING: If one of your humans is engaged in some activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping," otherwise known as "hampering." Following are the rules for "hampering:"

Here's Xena hampering... I mean helping Meowmie make the bed!

1) When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted.

2) For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself.

3) For paperwork, lie on the work in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work as possible or at least. Pretend to doze, but every so often reach out and slap the pencil or pen.

4) For people paying bills or working on income taxes or Christmas cards, keep in mind the aim: to hamper! First, sit on the paper being worked on. When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. After being removed for the second time, push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table, one at a time.

5) When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. Humans love to jump.

6) When human is working at computer, jump up on desk, walk across keyboard, bat at mouse pointer on screen and then lay in human's lap across arms, hampering typing in progress.

WALKING: As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human, especially: on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark, and when they first get up in the morning. This will help their coordination skills.

BEDTIME: Always sleep on the human at night so he/she cannot move around.

LITTER BOX: When using the litter box, be sure to kick as much litter out of the box as possible. Humans love the feel of kitty litter between their toes.

HIDING: Every now and then, hide in a place where the humans cannot find you. Do not come out for three to four hours under any circumstances. This will cause the humans to panic (which they love) thinking that you have run away or are lost. Once you do come out, the humans will cover you with love and kisses and you will probably get a treat.

ONE LAST THOUGHT: Whenever possible, get close to a human, especially their face, turn around, and present your butt to them. Humans love this, so do it often. And don't forget guests.

I thought it was about time I beat Xena at her own game so I decided to climb into Meowmie's lap before she could tonight so I got lots of cuddles.

Then I settled down and got comfy...

Aaahhhh, then it was time for a nap

I have to tell you about something dumb Xena did tonight. Meowmie was getting our food out of the cupboard and put it up on the bench. She then turned her back to wash out our food bowls and meanwhile I just sat there next to her like the good girl I usually am and waited patiently for Meowmie to get my food ready.  Anyway, Meowmie finished washing our bowls out and turned around and shut the cupboard door. She put our bowls down and I eagerly went to mine. At first Meowmie was concerned that Xena wasn't around cos she's usually the first one to push in and get to eat and did a quick search for her but then she thought 'oh well, she'll come and eat when she's ready'.  Then she walked away from the kitchen.

She had only walked a few steps when she heard the creaking of the cupboard door. Meowmie turned around just in time to see this little black head poking out of the cupboard. Xena had gone exploring while Meowmie was busy and had got locked in the cupboard when she shut it. Meowmie just couldn't stop laughing and Xena didn't even have the good grace to be embarrassed - she just went straight to her food bowl and started eating as if nothing had happened! If you think about it, it was kind of funny - especially since it didn't happen to me.

Xena and I have a few games we like to play together. The most fun one, in my opinion, is "Let's Keep Xena Off The Bed!" I don't think she likes it as much as I do though but she keeps coming back for more so she must enjoy it too. The rules of the game are that I am on the bed and must keep Xena off it at all costs. She'll run around the bed from side to side to try and find an opening so she can climb up but I have to anticipate her and get to that side of the bed first so I can stop her.

Of course, sometimes I do let her her climb up and I pretend I'm just not quick enough to stop her (I really am but just feel sorry for her sometimes). The only thing is that when I finally do let her on the bed, how does she repay me?  By taking a swipe at me!  She really must learn to be a bit more gentle. I actually have a tiny scratch on my nose from her swiping me all the time. It's very tiny and you do have to look hard to see it, but it's there!

We don't play this game when Meowmie is on the bed too because it's an unwritten rule that when Meowmie is on the bed, both of us are allowed on it so she can cuddle us both at the same time.

Xena and I think there is a monster hidden in the shower drain cos every so often it makes a gurgling noise lately. We keep trying to have a look down the plug hole but we can't see who it is making that noise. Meowmie laughs at us when we do that for some reason. Isn't she concerned too? The monster could escape and come and get us!  She did say something about getting the drain fixed soon. I wonder if that's the same as when Xena and I got 'fixed'?

Xena scared the life out of Meowmie today by jumping up onto the over 6 foot high wardrobe from our bed. I've never been able to jump up that high and Meowmie just presumed it was too high for kitties, esp one that is recovering from an operation!

It turned out to be a BIG mistake on Xena's part though. At first she thought she was so smart 'cos she managed to get up there and I can't but then she discovered that she couldn't get down again. She just sat up there and whinged until Meowmie got a step ladder and got her down from there. Not so smart now, are we Xena, huh?

She thinks she smart too because she climbs into Meowmie's lap all the time and gets lots of cuddles. I could do that too if I wanted to but I'm too independent and don't like hogging Meowmie's lap all the time. Whenever Meowmie and I are having cuddles on the bed tho, Xena just has to get in on the act and come and get cuddles too. She can't bear to see me and Meowmie just having time to ourselves. She's a bit jealous I think. Do I get jealous when she's on Meowmie's lap all the time having cuddles? No!  I just sit there and glare at her and whinge at Meowmie the whole time. But that doesn't mean I'm jealous. Oh no, I do it just cos I like sitting there glaring at Xena and whinging at Meowmie.

Guess who woke Meowmie up at 6.30am this morning by playing with a ping pong ball in the shower recess? She had a fun half an hour playing there. Hint: it wasn't me! I was fast asleep at the time too!  I'll have to teach Xena some tricks I think. For example, doesn't she know that playing with a ping pong ball in the bath tub makes a lot more noise than in the shower recess?  Meowmie wouldn't ordinarily mind if it was a weekday since she has to get up anyway but she's not too impressed with early morning starts on weekends, let me tell you from experience. A morning person my Meowmie is definitely NOT!

Xena is showing no ill effects from her operation which is good. She went to bed on Wednesday night with that collar thingie on but when Meowmie woke up Xena had managed to get it off and won't tell Meowmie where she's hidden it. She DOES pay attention to me sometimes   Meowmie does have a bigger one that the vet lent to her but it means that Xena won't be able to eat cos her mouth can't reach the food or water bowl when it's on. So far Xena has been good and not touched her stitches and Meowmie says her wound is looking good so we'll have to wait and see if we need the collar or not.

Xena has started smelling like Xena again which is good. It means I can go back to swiping her and not letting her on the bed again. I was beginning to think life was going to be pretty boring if I had to stay away and hide from her all the time again.

  Well Xena's home again and walking very wobbly at the moment. Meowmie says it's due to the anaesthetic. I haven't really gone near her since she has been home - she smells strange. Meowmie says she will start smelling like Xena again soon though but in the meantime I have to be kind to her and not chase her or swipe at her.

Meowmie rang the vet up this afternoon to see how Xena was going and the receptionist told her Xena was fine. Right on cue, Meowmie heard this loud 'Meow" over the phone. The receptionist laughed and said 'see?' Xena was in another room and still Meowmie could hear her over the phone! The receptionist reckoned Xena knew it was Meowmie on the phone and was saying 'come and pick me up mum, so far they've starved me, shaved me, cut me open and stitched me up again. I've had enough of this and just want to go home".

I don't think Xena is too impressed with that Elizabethan Collar thingie she has to wear. No wonder!  I didn't like it either when I had to wear it. She keeps bumping into things and the fact that she's still wobbly on her legs doesn't make things any easier for her either - but it's funny to watch

Xena has her stitches on her tummy. Mine was on the side near my left leg.  She's already tried to pull them out apparently. I did manage to pull one of mine out but luckily I didn't do any damage. I'll have to tell Xena she has to leave them alone otherwise she'll have to go back to the vet and I know she probably doesn't want that to happen.

The vet told Meowmie that Xena might not want to eat tonight but Meowmie told the vet that that would be a first and that Xena would probably eat something as soon as she got home. She could tell the vet didn't quite believe her and thought she knew better but sure enough, as soon as Xena was freed from her carrier, the first place she headed for was her food bowl! She ate a bit but not as much dinner as she usually would but she still did eat. Meowmie knows her girls!

Well, here I am all alone. Xena is finally at the vet's tonight and I have the place to just myself and Meowmie once again. It's not really as good as I thought it would be though. The bed seems so big without her on there and it's weird to sleep on it without keeping one eye open for a sneak attack!  There's no one to play with either   Oh I know Meowmie gives me lots of cuddles but she can't exactly fit under the bed with me, can she? And I can't chase her up on to the window sill.  Ho Hum!  It's actually a bit boring here all of a sudden. Could it be as Meowmie says and I'm actually... gasp!... missing Xena!  I don't really think that can be the reason at all... could it?

Meowmie was all set to take Xena to the vet for her op last night but wouldn't you know it?  Xena went on heat again yesterday morning!  I swear she's doing everything she can to delay the inevitable!  Meowmie had to ring up the vet and cancel again. The vet did say they can still do the op while she's on heat but it's a bit more complicated and costs a bit more. Meowmie considered it but decided she'd rather have the operation done when it's safest to do so, so now we're looking at either the end of the week or early next week. Third try lucky?

I'm not very happy tonight and neither is Meowmie. Meowmie was due to take Xena to the vet tonight so Xena can have her operation tomorrow but even though Meowmie started ringing for a taxi at 5.30pm, and rang twice inbetween, one still hadn't arrived by 6.20pm - the vet shuts at 6.30pm so Meowmie had to cancel both the taxi and Xena's operation. The taxi service's excuse is that there is a big Boxing Fight happing over in the Eastern States tonight and everyone is ringing for a taxi to get to the pub so they can watch the fight there. Surely, getting a kitty to the vet so she can have an operation is much more important than a stupid old fight

I was so looking forward to a peaceful 24 hours without Xena and now I have to wait until Monday evening when Meowmie will try again, to get her to the vet.  It's just not fair!

Meowmie thinks that Xena and I have gotten her a Mother's Day present but she's going to be disappointed unfortunately. Her reason for thinking so is that she came home from work on Friday and signed on to the internet and a friend told her that her MSN Messenger had shown her as being online all day. Now, Meowmie knows it wasn't her online all day so all she can think of is that we, kitties, were online internet shopping for her and is now waiting for the present to arrive. Unfortunately, she doesn't realise that even if we did want to get her something for Mother's Day (which we did, really we did) we couldn't because she doesn't give us any pocket money.  Maybe next year Meowmie?

Xena is so clumsy!  Meowmie calls me her 'beautiful girl' and Xena her 'clumsy girl' lol. Xena will sit right on the edge of the bed or the chair and forget then roll over and topple off all the time. I just sit and laugh at her and, secretly, I think Meowmie does too although she does make sure Xena is ok. She even tried to sit on the very thin frame of the clothes airer the other night and bent it out of shape when she toppled off. Maybe she'll get a bit more co-ordinated as she gets older. Meowmie certainly hopes so.

Meowmie told me yesterday that she thinks I'm losing weight, which is good cos really, I could stand to lose a couple of kilos. It must be all that running around I do to get away from Xena!  I have started to chase her back though so that is probably helping as well. Before Xena came, I didn't really get that much exercise but I'm beginning to like chasing her around. We have turns, she will chase me then I will chase her. Meowmie likes watching us except when we chase each other up on top of the bed at night and Meowmie suddenly has two kitties running around over the top of her when she's asleep. This is not too say that it's great between us two all the time now - we still have our moments where we swipe each other but we are learning to get along better now ("thank goodness", I hear Meowmie say!)

I've found another friend, one who doesn't pounce on me all the time. It's a Seal apparently and lives on Meomwie's bedhead. I've just discovered him though he tells me he's been there a while. I especially like the taste of his plastic whiskers but Meowmie stops me from sucking them for some reason.

Xena and I have been getting along better. I'm learning to swipe back at her when she swipes at me. That usually puts her in her place and leaves her wondering why her swipes aren't working anymore. I'm not running and hiding as much now which confuses her a bit I think.

This morning, much to Meowmie's delight, I even let Xena sniff my butt and then we touched noses a couple of times and I didn't say a word about it. Maybe I'm just getting a bit more tolerant.

Xena is on heat again. She was on heat for about 3 days a week ago and Meowmie thought that would be the one and only time before her op next Thursday but last Thursday she started yeowling again and sure enough, she is on heat again. Hopefully, it will only last another day or so. As I said, her op is next Thursday and she's going in the night before because Meowmie won't be able to get her there that morning so I should, at least, have 24 hours of peace before she gets home again. Then, hopefully, for a while, she'll be too doped up to cause much grief anyway. We will see!