Wheat grass

Cats who live outdoors are sometimes seen grazing on grass which helps with digestion. Indoor cats do not have this opportunity and many times turn to eating common household plants which may be toxic to them. I usually grow a pot of wheat grass for Namiko to munch on. She absolutely loves the grass and eats it daily! Who knew this carnivore would have such a palate for plants.

Namiko and her monthly pot of freshly grown wheat grass.


Mowing it down with gusto:


Munch, munch, crunch, crunch


After she got her fill, I tried feeding her more by hand:


Notice the yawn midway. Cheeky little feline...

Turkey day

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! While the family has some roasted turkey for Thanksgiving, Namiko will partake in her own version of a turkey feast. No, no, I won't give her any table scraps, as many pet experts advise against. Instead, she will be enjoying a Turkey and Duck Entree from Wellness!

A Thanksgiving basket full of Namiko...


Enjoys this hearty meal of bird meat.


Gobble gobble goes Namiko!

Shoe snooze

Some of my favorite memories of baby Namiko include finding her asleep in the most unpredictable places. You might recall my previous post about the computer mouse. Well, how about a pair of tennis shoes this time!

Something about the opening of a shoe...


Lulled by some lingering foot scent?!


Adjusted herself to a more comfy position:


The magic of shoe snooze...

Sunshine

The weather is starting to change in SoCal. There's been a tiny bit of rain during the early dawn hours, for which we are grateful. Especially on chilly days, Namiko loves basking in the warm rays of the sun that seep into the house.

Facing the glorious warmth:


So relaxing and indulgent...


Shifting positions, Namiko decides she rather sit and let her tummy enjoy the sunshine too.


This is her first debut at YouTube, woohoo.

Standing up

Scottish Fold cats are also known for their inclination to stand up like a otter. Some cats of this breed tend to do this naturally. Namiko, on the other hand, needs some inspiration in the form of cat treats before she will bestow upon us this special stance.

A yummy catnip treat to sweeten the deal


And up she goes, with tongue out in anticipation!


She's able to do this more often now, ever since her lower half has gotten a bit fatter. Serves as a more stable base, I'm guessing.

Catnip

Some cats go crazy for catnip, some turn up their noses at it. In Namiko's case, her first encounter with catnip drove her absolutely mad! I merely let her sniff the lid off a container of dried catnip and before I knew it, she quickly yanked it away from my hand and immediately started licking, face rubbing, biting, and clawing the lid. I tried to take it away from her only to suffer major scratch injuries from a catnip intoxicated kitty. Only after half an hour did she settle down and return to the calm kitten we all recognized.

Namiko also has a toy stuffed with catnip, seen here under her paws:


It all starts with one sniff...


Then claw claw calw!


And many rounds of licking and head rubbing.


All this excitement eventually tires Namiko out.


I mean really, really tires her out.

First fav toy

Namiko's first favorite toy is this green fuzzy ball that was given to her as a gift from the Vet during her first visit to the cat hospital. Back then, the ball never left her side. We saw her carrying it around, swiping at it, flinging it up into the air and then catching it. This would go on for weeks!

Out of the blanket emerged young Namiko with her green ball:


Some claw action in play!


Face rubbing also included.


Namiko now has several other fuzzy balls of different color, but green is still her favorite.

Leg split

While busy typing on my laptop one night, I heard a long, drawn out meow behind my chair. Namiko is usually very vocal when she wants her human companions to provide her with some service, including giving her food or treats and cleaning the litter box after her "deposits".

Turning around in my chair, I found Namiko staring at me, split leg-style:


"What is it, dear Namiko?"


No answer this time but a sleepy drop of the eyelids...


I must have waited too long to turn around.

Iryu sighting

Most kittens are perfect lap cats when they are young. Namiko was no exception to this generalization, craving the warmth and security of her caretaker's lap when she was just a wee bit kitten.

Perfectly at ease as a lap cat:


Taking in some Zzz's at the same time shows a blossoming multitasking talent.


Oh wait, what is that above the unsuspecting kitten?


Why, it's Iryu from Team Medical Dragon performing an effortless Batista surgery!


Namiko has since transformed into a cheeky little feline that refuses to give into the lap.

Smoke signal

Wildfires raged through parts of SoCal this weekend, thanks in part to forceful Santa Ana winds and humidity down to the single digits. Namiko seemed a bit uneasy these last couple of days, almost as if she sensed something is awry. Perhaps her keen sense of smell led her to pick up the scent of smoke from many miles away and alerted her to fire danger.

Hiding under a shirt for safety:

Fish intrigue

Ah the curiosity of youth. Namiko's first encounters with things foreign to her intimate world deserve some blog time. She was definitely intrigued by her first sighting of tetras swimming around in our fresh water aquarium. Did she instinctively know this was potential sustenance?? Or were they just playthings that she could cat around with?

Eyeing her prey as they dart back and forth in front of her.


Oh no, a glass barrier to thaw her attempts at capture!


Resigned, simply watching and tapping on the glass will have to do for now.


Until she finds out how to push open the lid on the top...

Tower dreams

I just noticed a lot of the pictures posted up are of Namiko sleeping in one fashion or another. It's almost unavoidable since she naps away almost 80% of the day. And as a bonus, her amusing choice of slumbering positions/locations never stops to entertain (as one commenter pointed out!).

On top of her favorite Japanese cat tower, Namiko recuperates from a busy day of bug hunting around the house.


Zooming in on the kitty, the big belly reappears!


It's just begging to be poked.

Indigestion

Namiko is 13 months old now, and it is about the right time to switch her over from kitten formula to adult cat food. Her stomach is not taking the change too well, judging from what she left behind in the litter box. I'll have to take a step back and perform this transition even more gradually than expected. Such a sensitive tummy!

Are you excited about the new adult cat food, dear Namiko?





Not too much.

Angel Devil

There's always been two sides to Namiko's personality. As with most cats, there is the sweet, fragile loving side that makes you want to protect and cuddle her all day. And then there is the naughty troublemaker side of her that just begs to be chased after.

Even from her younger kitten months, this dichotomy is apparent. The innocent angel sitting peacefully on the bed:


Transformed into a devil that stalks your head in the middle of the night!


In a blink of an eye, the gargoyle-like creature is gone.. and one wonders if it was all imagined.


A cuddly kitten like this would never cause any trouble.. right?!

Ominous reminder

It was a relaxing weekend for Namiko filled with sunny mornings and chilly evenings. While enjoying her quiet days, she is innocently unaware of a postcard that arrived in the mail recently - a reminder to come to the Vet for a followup checkup! I'll have to make an appointment either this or next week. I wonder if she senses a shift in the air...

Blissfully unaware of things to come:

First pics

Going through all of Namiko's younger pictures brought back so many heartwarming memories. Nostalgia is thick in the air...

We first brought Namiko home back in December 2007. Here are some of the first pictures we took of her.


She looked so tiny and vulnerable!


Now she is a big ball of fur, but just as adorable in a teenage cat sorta way.

Back to the Spay

I wanted to share some pictures of Namiko when she was a younger kitten, so I've added a new category to lump all the past pictures into: "Blast to the Past".

Let me start off this series with pictures of Namiko after she got her spay surgery about 6 months ago. She was only gone a day for the operation, but it was a harrowing time for all of us who were fraught with worry. Homecoming was filled with joy and relief.

We had to put a collar on her for the first day because she wouldn't leave her stitches alone:

Of course, she hated every moment of it!

Her belly fur had to be shaved for the operation and tiny stitches were in place for many days:


Fortunately, the hair grew back pretty fast and belly fur is back to normal.


Namiko has hated trips to the Vet with a vengeance ever since. Poor kitty...

Meditation

History was made last night with the election of Barack Obama as the first African American president. Asked what she thought of this event, Namiko replied with a soulful "meoow oouw wooo...".

Being a creature of deep thoughts, Namiko contemplates the impact of this event for the future years


...and immediately falls into a meditative trance (i.e. snooze mode):


The primal instinct of Zzz's wins.

Bowl attention

Election day here in SoCal and across the U.S. Namiko remains ambivalent towards either candidate but hopes whoever wins will keep the welfare of felines close to his heart. Some clues to her political leanings? She does seem to prefer the blue litter box... hmmm...

Seated comfortably in her ballot bowl, Namiko awaits news of the next U.S. president:

Halloween scare

Halloween weekend was a stressful one for Namiko. The combination of a loud ringing doorbell and strange shrill voices from eager trick-or-treaters drove her to run and hide multiple times during All Hallow's Eve. To make things worse, neighbors decided to have an extremely loud weekend party, with blasting speakers and thumping base. Stressed out and jittery, Namiko decides this is her most hated holiday of the year.

Namiko hides inside a pair of brown pants again, away from the commotion:


Looks like Halloween is scary for her for all the wrong reasons.