Tongue Tuesday

Hello everyone!  First of all, we want to apologize to all our friends:  for the next two weeks, although we'll be posting, we may not get around to visiting all our friends.  It is getting near the end of the semester for our mom, and she has lots of projects and assignments to finish, and exams to study for.  So she is very busy and may not have time to help us visit all of our friends.  Know that we are thinking of all of you and purring for those who need it!  We will get her to help us visit you all again when her semester is over (April 15th is the last day that things are due).

Today, we have another video for you, showing Merlin grooming Devi.  You can see Merlin's tongue!

If you are having problems viewing the video, you can try viewing it here.

Have a wonderful day! Please leave us a comment here!

Mancat Meezer Monday: Play!

Merlin here, as you can see in this photo, I still like to play! I'm jumping after the whirlybird here. Too bad my mom cut off one of my paws in the photo, silly human. Oh well, it's still a good shot of me in action!

Merlin and Devi jumping after the whirlybird (click to enlarge)

Please leave your link with Mr. Linky so we can visit you! Thanks!

Frootbat Friday: Bowflex

Do you think my sister Devi and I should work out on the Bowflex? Mommy and Daddy seem to enjoy using it.

Posted by Merlin the Cancer Fighting Sphynx on Friday, 11 March 2016

Please leave your link with Mr. Linky below so we can visit you! Thanks!

Tuxie Tuesday: Cozy

Dragonheart here!  Merlin has been spending most of the time posting, but it's Tuxie Tuesday, so now it's my turn!

I like to curl up under the warm wool afghan that my mom crocheted!  It is very nice and very warm. Our mom has an Etsy shop, where she sells some of her crochet to pay for our vet bills!

Do you see the spots on my skin?  Those are age spots.  According to our veterinarian, most cats will have them as they get older.  You just can't see them on furry cats because of all the fur!  Since we Sphynx only have a bit of fur on our faces and our ears (and sometimes our tails), you can see the age spots on our skin.  Of course, some cats will have more age spots than others, and they will be more or less visible, depending on their colour.  I'm 9 years old (I'll be ten in July), and I'm a black and white tuxedo.  I have quite a few dark, visible age spots.  Merlin is 8 years old (he'll be 9 in September if he makes it until then), is seal lynx point and white in colouration, and he only has a few, light-coloured age spots.  Devi is 5 (she'll be 6 in April) and she doesn't have any age spots yet.

Mancat Meezer Monday: Grooming

Grooming is very important.  I like to find a warm sun spot to groom.  

My silly humans still try to bathe me every couple of weeks, despite the fact that I'm perfectly capable of grooming myself, as I demonstrate here.  They say it's because we Sphynx accumulate oil on our skin, because we don't have any fur for the oil to distribute itself through.  That may be true, but I still don't like being bathed.  I do like grooming though!

Merlin grooming

Merlin grooming

Heating Pad

Here I am enjoying the warmth of the heating pad! Or at least I was enjoying it until my little sister Devi came and...

Posted by Merlin the Cancer Fighting Sphynx on Sunday, 28 February 2016

Cats on Tuesday: 7 Random Things

I've done this meme lots of times, but Blue from Cats Unplugged tagged me for it again, so here are 7 Random Things About Me, some of which some of you will already know.

1. Because I have no eyelashes, and no eyebrow whiskers, I tend to get goopy eyes. The goop collects in the corners of my eyes. My humans (especially my mom) clean the goop if they are around, but when they aren't, when I shake my head, the goop goes flying everywhere! It sticks on the floor, the walls, the bedding, etc. If it's not wiped up when it's fresh, it really sticks to the walls or the hardwood floors, and it needs to be scraped off! It doesn't come off easily at all.
   
   
2. When I'm very dirty and in need of a bath, the oil that accumulates on my skin tends to rub off on anything that I lay on for any length of time. So the sheets, bedding, and even my mom's pjs all end up with my oil all over them, and need to be washed frequently!
   
   
3. My teeth also get stained brown from the oil my skin secretes. When I groom myself, some of the oil from my skin gets transferred to my teeth, and discolours them.
   
   
4. Being crepuscular, like all cats, I am most active at dusk and at dawn. At those times, I run through the house like a crazy cat, attacking my toys or anything that moves (including human ankles, or feet that are under the covers), and generally acting wild. My humans tend to call me "crazy cat" or "psycho kitty" at these times.
   
   
5. I have a very set routine in the morning. First, I wake up my dad with a gentle tap to his face. I am always very gentle, and just lightly tap him with my paw. If that doesn't wake him up, I breathe right in his face, and eventually that gets him up. While he uses the washroom, I sit at the top of the stairs, and meow for my breakfast. When he's done, we both go downstairs, and I am given my breakfast. I eat breakfast, then I do my crazy-cat routine described above. At this point, I usually curl back in bed next to my mom, but sometimes I amuse myself by running through the house and playing. When my mom gets up, I start meowing at her, and then I normally curl up in her lap while she eats breakfast. When she's done, I meow and meow, until she plays with me. We generally have a good playing session, and then I either go off and amuse myself, or else I curl up in her lap while she helps me with my blog, and then I usually stay there when she starts studying.
   
   
6. I like to get up high. The higher, the better. Sadly, there are only a few places in the house where I am allowed to get up high. My mom doesn't have any photos of me up high, because the minute she grabs the camera when I am up high, I immediately jump down.
   
   
7. I always like to be in the same room as my humans. If they are both at home, but in different rooms, I meow and meow. I want to be with both of them, so I don't like it when they aren't together! My meow is hard to ignore. As I've mentioned before, my meow sounds very much like that of a Siamese (which my mom says is due to my ancestry - my dam is a blue point Sphynx, and all pointed Sphynx have Siamese somewhere in their ancestry - it's how they introduced the pointed colours into the Sphynx breed).
   

Tags: Cats on Tuesday, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, hairless cat,

Cats on Tuesday: Bath Time!

I finally managed to convince my humans to take some photos of me during my weekly bath. As I've mentioned before, like all Sphynx, I need to be bathed regularly. In my case, about once a week. Sphynx groom themselves just like other cats, but our tongues can't keep up with the oil our skin secretes. Since we have no fur for the oil to distribute itself through, the oil builds up on our skin and can cause problems if it's not regularly removed through bathing.


I don't enjoy my baths, but I tolerate them. Basically, I just sit in the tub and let my humans wash me. I only start to complain if they are taking too long. In that case, I will start to meow, to let them know that my bath has gone on long enough.


After my bath, when my mom is drying me with a warm towel, I usually start to squirm, because I want to be out of the bathroom and have my treat of extra stinky goodness!


In the first two photos, my dad is holding me; in the last two, it's my mom. Normally, my dad holds me while my mom washes me. They took turns holding me this time for the photos.

(Click any photo to view a larger image)

Tags: Cats on Tuesday, Bath, Cat Bath, Cats being bathed, wet cat, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, hairless cat,

Thursday Thirteen: Random Facts

I've been tagged for the "Random Things About Me" meme, so I decided to make it into a Thursday Thirteen list.

1. Like all Sphynx, I am a real "cuddle bug" - I love cuddling! I am happiest when I'm curled up in one of my humans' laps.
   
   
2. I am very active and love playing. My favourite toys are all interactive ones - the Whirlybird, other wand toys like the Cat Charmer, the Red Dot (laser pointer), and various "fishing gloves."
   
   
3. I am very smart, and I know that the red dot comes out of the mouse-shaped laser pointer. When I want to play with the red dot, I jump up on my mom's desk, where the laser pointer is, and knock it off the desk. That way my humans know I want to chase the red dot.
   
   
4. If I want to play with something else, I meow and meow and meow. I have a very loud and insistent meow. My mom says that it is clear that I have some Siamese blood in me, because I meow like a Meezer (my dam was a blue point Sphynx and all pointed Sphynx have Siamese somewhere in their ancestry - that's how they got the pointed colours into the Sphynx breed).
   
   
5. I play "fetch" with the clear plastic bottle tops off of Powerade bottles. After playing hockey with one of them, I will then pick it up in my mouth and bring it back to my mom, so she can throw it for me and I can play hockey with it again.
   
   
6. In the litterbox, I'm a real digger. I dig, and dig, and dig, and dig. So my litter crystals tend to fly everywhere, even though I have a covered litterbox.
   
   
7. (Warning: May be TMI!) Although I normally cover, during my recent tummy troubles, I didn't always cover my business in the litterbox. *blush* Making stinkies was uncomfortable, so I wanted to get out of the litterbox as fast as possible!
   
   
8. (Warning: May be TMI!) During my tummy troubles, I also almost always had poo stuck to my bum after my litterbox trips. So I ended up leaving a lot of poo marks on various blankets, sheets, fleece throws, and other items around the house. So my humans were doing a lot of laundry! They would try to catch me whenever I came out of the litterbox, and wipe my bum, but of course they weren't always home when I used the litterbox. I did not like having my bum wiped.
   
   
9. My tummy troubles seem to be over! Wild (vishus deer, ie. venison, and green pea) food seems to be doing the trick for me! My stinkies are back to normal! I've been eating only the Wild stinky goodness, since it has fewer ingredients, so now we are going to try adding in some of the Wild crunchies, and see if my tummy can handle those too.
   
   
10. Because of my food allergies, I haven't had any treats since my tummy troubles began! My mom is now searching for some yummy treats that she can give me. I need to be properly rewarded after my weekly ear-cleanings and twice-weekly nail clippings, after all.
    
    
11. I need to have my claws, front and back, trimmed twice a week because they grow fast. They grow so fast due to my fast Sphynx metabolism.
    
    
12. When my claws start to get to long, I end up injuring myself. When I scratch, if I scratch too hard, my claws leave a boo-boo on my skin, since I don't have any fur to protect it. These scrapes always upset my mom for some reason.
    
    
13. I wake my dad up in the morning for head rubs and breakfast by gently tapping him on the face with my paw.
    

Tags: Thursday Thirteen, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, hairless cat,

Movie Monday: Need to Knead

I am so happy that my humans are back from their vacation, that I have been snuggling with them all weekend. I have also been meowing lots and lots to let them know that although I'm cuddling and snuggling with them, I'm still not happy that they went away.

In this movie, you can see that I'm very happy to be on my mom's lap and to have her petting me. I am kneading and kneading, totally happy to be cuddling in her lap. If you have trouble viewing the video, you can try viewing another version here.

Don't forget my Snuggle Auction to help with MontyQ's BabyBean's medical bills.

Tags: Movie Monday, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, hairless cat,

Thursday Thirteen: My Gizzy Quilt

I love my Gizzy Quilt. It lies next to a section of the wall-to-wall windows in the living room, where the afternoon sun blazes in. I love to lie on my Gizzy Quilt and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. You can see more Gizzy quilts here and learn how to get your own! Click any of the photos below to view a larger image.

#29 - 13 Photos of Me on My Gizzy Quilt

Tags: Thursday Thirteen, Quilt, Gizzy Quilt, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, hairless cat,

Photo Hunters: Fake

About | Theme: Fake | Blogroll

Fake

I'm an indoor-only cat. I have to be, due to my lack of fur, but it's also safer that way. There are too many dangers outside and too great a chance of being seriously injured. So, being an indoor-only cat, I have never seen a real mouse. I do, however, love to play with fake (toy) mousies, especially ones with feather-tails and ones that squeak! So here are two photos of me playing with one of my fake mice.

(Click either photo to view a larger image)

Tags: Photo Hunters, Photo Hunt, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, kitten, hairless cat, hairless kitten,

Movie Monday: Toy Chest

Kaze has her toy closet, and I have my toy chest. My humans store most of my toys, including my wand toys, in a hope chest. In this video, I am telling my humans that I want to play!

If you have problems viewing the YouTube version, you can try viewing an alternate version here.

Tags: Video, Movie Monday, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, kitten, hairless cat, hairless kitten,

Thursday Thirteen

#24 - 13 Things I'll Be Doing While My Humans Are In Berlin

So my humans are off to spend the weekend in Berlin. They'll be back on Sunday. While they are gone, here are 13 things I'll be doing:

1. Sleeping alone in their bed at night, between their pillows.
   
   
2. Waiting anxiously for the cat sitter to come twice a day to feed me, change my water, clean my litter, cuddle with me, and play with me.
   
   
3. Playing with the new toys my humans gave me since they are leaving me.
   
   
4. Playing with the cat sitter when she comes.
   
   
5. Naping in my sleeping bag.
   
   
6. Lying in the sun on my Gizzy quilt.
   
   
7. Watching birdies.
   
   
8. Using my scratching post.
   
   
9. Siting on my cat tree and watch everything that's happening outside.
   
   
10. Playing in my tent and wish Stella was here to play Tent Wars.
    
    
11. Visiting my blogging friends less than I normally do, since it's harder for me to get on the computer when my humans aren't here.
    
    
12. Missing my humans.
    
    
13. Waiting eagerly for their return.
    

Tags: Thursday Thirteen, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, kitten, hairless cat, hairless kitten,

Cats on Tuesday: Bird Watching

So my humans were finally able to catch me chittering at the birds on film! Unfortunately, you can't hear my chittering, but you can see my mouth moving, and at one point, you can hear my tail slapping against the chest that I'm sitting on. Bird watching is lots of fun! I get very excited whenever I see birds in our yard, and I start chittering at them, and my tail vigourously lashes back and forth. When I start chirping, my humans call it my "birdie noise."

If you have trouble viewing the YouTube version, you can try viewing another version here.

For those of you who can't view video, I have included a photo (a screen capture from the video) below.

To join in with Cats on Tuesday, check out My Cats and Funny Stories.

Tags: Cats on Tuesday, Bird Watching, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, kitten, hairless cat, hairless kitten,

Cats on Tuesday: My First Five Days

I was tagged for the "First Five Days in Your Forever Home" meme. This shouldn't be too difficult, since I started blogging when I first joined my humans in my Forever Home.

Day 1

The day started with a bath, and with having my nails clipped. A few hours later, two humans that I didn't know came to visit, and my breeder scooped me up, and handed me to the female human. She seemed nice enough, petting me, but I didn't know her, and so I was shaking. My older sister Flappy seemed to like these new humans, and was purring away and wandering all over them.

The humans talked with my breeder, and she provided them with some paperwork, and some cat food (yum!), some litter and some toys. Pretty soon I was put into a carrier with my familiar sleeping bag. There was also a fleece blanket in the carrier, but my sleeping bag was familiar, so I curled up in it.

I was brought to a car, when the female human kept me on her lap in the cage. I quickly fell asleep in my sleeping bag. I slept through most of the drive.

Eventually, we stopped, and my carrier was picked up and brought into a house. I was put into a room (which was my Nursery, or cat room), and my carrier door was opened. I meowed, since everything seemed strange, and I ran around the room, looking for my older sister Flappy, and the other cats. I couldn't find them.

The female human then picked me up, and put me in a litter box. It was different from the one I was used to, but had the same litter. So I knew it was a litter box. Then she showed me my water dish and food dish. Again, a little different, but the water was okay, and the food is what I've always eaten.

The humans had a nice cat tree, and they had a fuzzy fleece blanket on one of the platforms, so I hung out there for a while. Eventually I felt brave enough to play with the humans, chasing a feather on a string, and I then let them pet me. Later that evening, we all slept in the same room. I curled up next to the human female for a short time, and then went to sleep on the cat tree.

I made this blog post about my first day.

Day 2

I was still confined to the Nursery. I thoroughly explored this room. I really like the cat tree, which is similar to the ones my breeder had in her place. The two humans have a peacock feather on a string that was lots of fun to play with. I also had fun playing with the wand toy that consists of a ball and bell on the end of a long ribbon.

Every now and then, I would curl up in the female human's lap for a bit,and let her pet me. Then I would be off exploring the room again. I found a very cool cat tent that I checked out. The human female went out for several hours, but the human male stayed with me.

My mom wrote about this day on her blog.

Day 3

This was a very exciting day.! I was allowed to explore the rest of the house! Up until now, I had been confined to the Cat Nursery, so that I wouldn't be overwhelmed. Today I was allowed to explore the entire house. The human male was gone for a large portion of the day, but the human female kept me company for most of the day. She disappeared for about an hour and a half, and I was a little worried about being left alone, but she came back. She did lock me up in the Cat Nursery while she was gone.

When I explored the house, it turned out that the Cat Nursery was the largest room upstairs, but there were two other rooms to explore. One had a big bed that was comfy to jump on. The other room had this strange-looking machine (my humans say it's a Bowflex). There was one other room upstairs that I wasn't allowed into at that time. It turned out to be the bathroom.

I made my way down the stairs, all by myself, and found another HUGE room down there, with big windows that are wonderful to sit at. I found a very slippery couch - it was hard to jump up onto, since I can't dig my claws into it. My humans said it was made of leather. There was another couch that wass much easier to jump onto. There was also a cat tree in this big room for me. I also found a table that my humans eat at. They wouldn't let me jump on the table and eat with them at supper time.

There were an additional two rooms downstairs that I wasn't allowed into at the time. The doors were kept closed.

That evening, all of us (me and the two humans) slept in the Cat Nursery again.

Here is the post I made about my third day.

Day 4

Once again, I was allowed the run of the house (except for the few doors that remained closed). Once again, the human male was gone for most of the day, but the human female kept me company. Again, she was gone for a short while during the day (it turned out that she was going out to run when she left me) and I was locked in the Cat Nursery whenever she went out.

When my mom was home, I decided to try to help her study. For some reason, she didn't appreciate my help! Silly human.

On the evening of the fourth day, I was allowed to sleep with my humans in their big bed! My human dad blocked off the stairway so that I couldn't venture downstairs during the night, and they kept the doors to the Cat Nursery and their bedroom open, so I could get at my water, food and litterbox whenever I wanted to. I spent most of the night curled up between my two humans, under the covers.

I made this post on my fourth day. My mom made this post of me playing with my toys.

Day 5

On the fifth day, I participated in my first Thursday Thirteen! My mom also did a Thursday Thirteen, featuring photos of me!

Once again, I was allowed the run of (most of the) house during the day, and I spent a lot of the day either curled up in my mom's lap, curled up in my sleeping bag in my tent, or hanging out on my cat tree.

I had lots of fun playing with my toys, especially the toys with feathers on them, and the various wand toys. I was getting used to the routine around this place. I was fed stinky goodness three times a day: morning, noon and night. I had water and crunchies available all the time. My mom would head out for an hour or two in the middle of the day (to go for a run) and I would curl up in my sleeping bag and have a nap while she was out running. My dad was gone during most of the day, but he always came home in the late afternoon.

At night, I again slept in the humans' bed, between the two of them and under the covers.

I was really settling into my new home and enjoying living with these two humans.

To join in with Cats on Tuesday, check out My Cats and Funny Stories.

Tags: Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, kitten, hairless cat, hairless kitten, Cats on Tuesday

Cats on Tuesday

I am honoured that Gattina asked me to host Cats on Tuesday while she is on vacation.

This week, I will share with you the steps that my humans undertake when they give me my weekly bath.

First of all, my mom clips my claws, front and back. My nails grow quickly, due to my fast Sphynx metabolism, and so my front nails need to be clipped about twice a week, and my back ones once a week.

Then my mom cleans my ears. She puts some ear cleaner especially designed for cats in my ears, gently massages the base of the ear to loosen the wax, then carefully wipes out the inside of my ears with a cotton ball. She sometimes uses a q-tip as well, but only on the outer, visible portions of my ears. She never sticks it into the ear canal.

If my eyes are "goopy" and in need of being cleaned, my mom then cleans them. Since I have no eyebrows or eyelashes, my eyes tend to accumulate more "gunk" than normal cats' eyes. My mom dampens a cotton ball with a gentle eye cleanser, or with distilled water, and gently wipes around my eyes.

Next, I get brought up to the bathroom. There, my mom dampens a washcloth with warm water, and gently cleans the rest of my face. Dirt and oil tends to accumulate in my wrinkles, so she really concentrates on cleaning out the wrinkles very well.

Next, I am wrapped in a warm towel, and one paw at a time is exposed. My mom applies some cat shampoo to a washcloth, and cleans each of my paws, toes, claws, and claw sheaths in turn. Sometimes I try to escape at this point, but normally I sit quietly until at least two or three paws are clean.

Then, my mom unwraps me, and places me in the sink. The sink has been pre-filled with about 5-10 centimetres of warm water (2 to 4 inches) and there is a towel in the bottom for my feet to hold onto, so I don't slip. My dad holds me gently while my mom makes sure her washcloth is nice and warm. She then places some more shampoo on the washcloth and begins to wash me.

My mom starts by washing my back and tail, then cleans my hind legs and between my hind legs, while my dad holds my front legs and chest. Dirt tends to accumulate in the creases where my hind legs meet my body, so she focuses on that area a lot. Then she washes the rest of my belly.

She then moves on to wash my chest, my front legs, and my "armpits". The "armpits", where my front legs join my body, is another area where dirt and oil tends to accumulate, so she gently, but firmly and thoroughly, scrubs that area.

After I've been washed all over (rinsing the washcloth as necessary and adding more shampoo when required), my mom fills a plastic cup with warm water and proceeds to rinse me. It takes several repeats with the full cup of water to ensure all the soap has been rinsed off of me. This is the point where I usually try to escape, having stood quietly throughout the washing procedure, and so my dad keeps a good hold of me while I'm being rinsed.

Once I'm rinsed off, my mom grabs another warm towel, sits on the floor of the bathroom, and dad places me in her lap in the warm towel. My mom then dries me off. At this point in the procedure, I am always squirming. The bath is over, and I just want to escape and get my extra serving of stinky goodness! But my mom insists on thoroughly drying me off.

Finally, after I'm dry, the bathroom door is opened! I head downstairs, straight for my food bowl, because I know I will get an extra serving of stinky goodness for having been bathed. Normally I am fed Almo Nature wet food, either chicken and shrimps or tuna and shrimps, as a treat for getting a bath.

After I've eaten my stinky goodness, I normally sit down and finish my bath with a good grooming session. As good and thorough as the humans are, nothing can compare with my tongue. So I finish things off with a good tongue grooming.

The end result: a nice, clean Dragonheart, as can be seen in my photos.

All in all, getting a bath isn't all that bad. Although I don't enjoy it, I do tolerate it, since I need to be bathed weekly to stay healthy. If I'm not bathed regularly, the oil that my skin secretes can build up and cause all kinds of skin problems. Besides, I get extra stinky goodness after a bath.

Tags: Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, kitten, hairless cat, hairless kitten, bath, cat bath, bathing a cat, Sphynx bath, Sphynx bathing, Cats on Tuesday