Blanket moment

Happy New Year to everyone! To bring in the new year of 2009, I present to you exciting pictures of Namiko on top of a folded blanket....!!! Okay okay, not quite that exciting, but I hope you will enjoy the pictures anyway.

Namiko lays herself across the top of a blanket


Enjoying the softness of the fabric she is..


Looking straight into the camera with no shyness


A touch of coyness in a blink of an eye


Paws crossed and attentive to her caretaker's wishes...

... Not!!! She is beholden to no one.

Namiko wishes everyone a wonderful 2009!!! =D

Funny vocals

When Namiko sees a bird outside the window or a bug buzzing around the house, she never fails to inform us with some very strange chirping or yapping noises. It's hard to describe the sounds she makes but it's definitely not a normal "meow"!

I was fortunate enough to catch her making those noises yesterday when a bird was flying around in the yard outside.


Namiko is so weird, haha.

Stair stare

Namiko had a very uneventful Christmas. I sang some Christmas carols for her but she looked at me as if I was speaking in tongues (understandably). Because of the holidays, there was plenty of commotion going on in the main living area downstairs. Many times, we would find her peeking at us from the top of the stairs.

High above lies Namiko at her lookout point:


Spying on the humanoids buzzing around down below.


"Namiko... Namiko!", we call out to her to come down.


Our efforts prove futile time and time again, as she stays locked to her spot on top.

Window view

Namiko spends a good amount of time in her fluffy Petco bed in front of my bedroom window. With this new bed, Namiko now has something warmer and softer to sleep in than the donabe or carrier. Situating the bed right in front of the window was a no brainer since she loves to look outside so much.

Getting past the window blinds can be a trial sometimes


At first Namiko refused to sleep in the new bed, no matter how much coaxing was done with treats and catnip. Then I tried spraying it with the Feliway Comfort Zone Spray and to my surprise, she stayed in the bed! (after a lot of sniffing...) Whether it was a coincidence or not, Namiko doesn't hesitate to sleep there now.

Fountain sitting

We bought Namiko a Catit water fountain so she can drink more water. She's been very wary of the fountain but I have seen her drink from the dome and the bowl part a couple of times. It might take some time for her to "trust" the fountain before she uses it regularly, her being a super scaredy cat and all.

Namiko relaxing next to the fountain:


During those rare times that she does drink from the fountain, she always stops once I get my camera, argh!

Alone time

Namiko is at a stage of adolescence development where she enjoys spending time by herself, away from the noise and fussing coming from her human companions. With this in mind, it is of no real surprise that I found Namiko sitting by herself outside in the hallway.

Silent and contemplative, Namiko sits in her usual relaxed position.


What could she be looking at?


Ah ha, she is staring at the... wall?!


Or maybe around the edge of the wall.


A pear-shaped silhouette, nice and plump.

Freezing cold

Namiko experienced an extremely cold and stormy night. Even the humans couldn't stand the cold and finally turned on the heater for the house. Namiko seemed happier with the rise in temperature, but she still slept through most of the day and night.

The warmer air draws out a sleepy Namiko from her carrier:


She used to snuggle up with me in bed when it was cold. Alas, those young kitten days are gone.

Monitor baby

Monitor fascination for Namiko started at an early age. She was hypnotized by the movement of the mouse cursor on the screen and often clawed at it. Luckily her tiny trimmed nails left no marks on the screen's surface. Phew!

Baby Namiko as a small ball of fluffy goodness sitting in front of the computer monitor.



I thought about buying those DVDs made to entertain cats, with videos of birds and squirrels and such, but I really worry about claw marks on the TV screen.

Carrier incubation

Extremely cold weather has arrived in SoCal. The rain has cleared the sky of the usual brown haze and smog, and the blue horizon sparkles with puffy white cotton-like clouds.

And where is Namiko during this period of freezing temperatures? In the most unexpected of places: the dreaded carrier that usually means a trip to the Vet!


The enclosure of the carrier must be keep more of the cold away.


It is also a perfect place to spy on legs walking past unsuspectingly.


I also have a hard-sided cat carrier, but I very much prefer the soft-sided one from Sherpa.

Baby play

I found this old video I took of Namiko when she was a baby kitten. She was so tiny and vulnerable back then, we were always afraid we wouldn't see her and step on her by mistake.



Ah, gone are the days when she depended on us so much. Now she is such an independent cat, sometimes even turning her nose up at us when we give her our attention. So cheeky!!!

Donabe retake

The donabe is once again the target of a sleepy Namiko. What is it that draws her time after time...? Perhaps the roundness of its design or the texture of the clay? No matter, snooze is top priority for a delicate feline like herself.

Curled up in the donabe.


"Oh did you want to cook with this pot?", her sleepy eyes inquire.


Not waiting for a reply, the slumber quickly resumes.


No, no, no thoughts at all about bringing the donabe, with her still in it, to the stove. Although she looks scrumptious enough to munch on. =D~

Feather fascination

Namiko really does love her sparkling feather toy. There are times when she gets really worked up and ends up pulling the wand out of my hand, carrying it away to her desired location.

Here she is guarding her treasure, frog-like legs retracted.


Motionless forward propulsion!


It's a good day to be a feline with her feather toy.


A very good day...


Go Go-CAT!!!

Catnip ball

I recently bought an edible catnip ball called Pawbreakers for Namiko to enjoy. The first time Namiko experienced the ball was half a year ago and she did not find it very interesting. Now, however, she finds it quite tasty and would sometimes swat at it around the house. Maybe her palate has matured enough now to appreciate the flavorful sensation.

At first, it was hard for Namiko to keep the ball in place as she licks away.


Once she got more control of the situation, a long licking session ensues.


Yes, yes, she likes licking her own "paw" just as much.

Sit and muse

The dry and forceful Santa Ana winds are back. Namiko seems not too scared of the loud noises the wind is making while it blows violently against the window panels and walls of the house. Yet she is afraid of a small hand-held vacuum cleaner... what a mystery! ?_?

Namiko sitting at her leisure with seemingly not a care in the world.











A good exercise in neck muscle rotation.

Window view

Being an indoor cat, Namiko experiences the world outside through the house windows (and the occasional scary trip to the Vet ). She often watches intently as cars and people go past the house, day or night. Sometimes when I arrive home from work in my car, I would find her sitting at the window looking at me.

Baby Namiko experiencing the strange sounds, sights, and smells of the world beyond the window.


Now that she is bigger, Namiko barely fits on the window's edge but still loves to keep watch of things moving past her lookout point, especially birds flying by.


Maybe one day we can build her a little enclosure that extends outside the window. =D

Sparkling feather

One way to get Namiko running into a room is to shake a sparkling feather toy. The combined noise of the mylar crackling and feathers swishing makes Namiko go nuts!

Enticing her with the toy


Getting ready...


And attack!


Her favorite brand is the GO-CAT Sparkling Tickler:

It's made in the U.S., so Namiko is doing her part in stimulating the economy!

Sitting mania

I have so many pictures of Namiko sitting on her nice fluffy bottom. I will sporadically post them as the days go by. Hopefully, you will enjoy them, as they are some of my favorite pics!

Sitting perfectly centered and balanced.


And at peace with all that is good in life

Sleepy chair

My black chair is one place Namiko loves to sleep on. Even as a baby kitten, she felt the inclination to take catnaps there. Perhaps that is why there is so much cat hair stuck on the bottom part of the chair. I have to be careful with where I sit when I'm wearing dark pants.

Baby Namiko snuggled up comfortably.


Now older, wiser, and bigger, but still quite content with her catnap spot.


Opps, woken up by my incessant clicking with the camera.


Gomen ne, Namiko-chan!

Comfort

Thank goodness cats are immune to the human cold virus. I've been sick for a while now, and if I had to stay away from Namiko, it would have been difficult for both me and her. She seems to be sniffing me more often than usual, especially around the face. Perhaps she can smell the virus and the havoc it's wrecking on my cells.

Namiko taking a breather on my chair, as I sneeze and cough away.


Hopefully her kitty vibes will help quicken my recovery!


I definitely feel more at ease when she's purring away around me.

White fuzzy ball

After another visit to the Vet, Namiko received her newest fuzzy ball toy. She was really scared and stressed out like previous hospital visits. I felt horrible during the whole trip and tried to comfort her as best I can. Namiko is such a scaredy cat..

Her new ball is white this time.


Namiko was reluctant to play with it at first, giving it barely a glance and a sniff.


But after settling down, she gave the new ball all of her attention. (It kindda blends in with her white fur ^^;;;)


Out came the nose push...


The mouth grab!


And some face rubs.


Ah, how quickly the Vet trip has faded into the past.


..until the next visit in two months for her vaccinations!