Zoey has found a new resting spot. I actually had to touch up that photo with him sitting on my mouse pad. I’d be mad if it wasn’t so cute.

Davecat is the name we’ve given to a cat that visits our deck every so often. He and Franny do not like each other, so we often get scenes like this:

I think I’ve found a solution to our Tilly problem! First off, we need to get Tilly one of these from this website.

Wait, this one’s better.

So I guess I forgot to put something in place last night, because I woke up at about 12:30 to the sounds of cats hissing and running around. Both Zoey and Franny somehow got into the bedroom to see me and Tilly, and Tilly was not happy about it. I don’t remember exactly what happened, because I was still in that half-asleep phase, but I’ve got a few visible scratches on my face and some on my arm, so I suspect that there was a small skirmish involving two cats and the upper half of my body.

I grabbed Zoey and threw him out. Franny took the hint and left on her own accord (good girl). But that little taste of victory was enough to give Zoey hope. Between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m., he started scratching up the carpet seven times. The first two or three times, I just threatened to splash him with a glass of water and he ran away, but after that, I realized that he was going to keep trying.

I started trying to chase him so I could grab him and hold him under a running faucet, but he wised up and started running into Landon’s room. On the seventh time, he ran into the office instead, where I grabbed him and held his head under a running faucet for five seconds or so. That didn’t stop him from coming back at 5:00 a.m. like he normally does. So I’m bloody exhausted.

Bless his heart, the little buddy is just not psychologically capable of connecting his scratching with the water I’m drenching him with. This has been going on for six months and he still doesn’t get it. There’s no need to make the punishments any harsher until he gets that.

You can rest assured that you will never be as awesome as this cat:

I know the holiday season can really get to people. It’s supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but just today, I saw a customer screaming at a check-out clerk in Target. Not nice. So here’s a little inspiration to get you through the next four days. Hang in there, little buddy!

Merry Christmas from Zoey

And to all, a good night.

If you’re wondering about the llama, Zoey and the llama are actually getting along great now. They’re true pals.

Zoey is still whining every night. These were taken on two separate nights:

I only have to splash water in his face once or twice a night now, but it’s like he has a sixth sense that knows when I’ve reached my most restful sleep. He usually starts scratching between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning. Oh buddy…

Now lest you think Zoey is nothing but a pain, let me quickly say what a sweet cat Zoey really is. He’s a total snuggler. When we first got him, he would cradle himself in-between my arm and chest and wrap his front two paws around my forearm. He put himself there—I did nothing to put him there. He still does this from time to time, but he used to do it almost every day. He snuggles with Franny too.

I don’t believe that Zoey would last one day in the wild. Cuteness is his only natural defense. That, and blogability.

We taught Zoey some new tricks: