Bath Time for Mr. Cosmo

"Who SAID I needed a bath?"

HI Everyone!! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything, but frankly there has been precious little to post about. We have been super busy with well, just life, and the babies continue to grow and thrive (Cosmo may be growing a little TOO much around the middle if you get my drift :-)

This is the week we decided to give them their fall baths (to look good for Thanksgiving company) and Mr. C drew the short straw to be first. Since this is getting routine for him we decided to have Mark document the experience. It's not all that exciting, but it was fun to do, well fun for US not so much for Mr. Cosmo! Star gets her bath on Tuesday, we probably won't shoot that one LOL

Enjoy, and everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

As Mickey would say, "rinse, rinse rinse"! :-)

The drying does take a while, but I'm just glad Mr. C doesn't mind the blow dryer!

Star (a.k.a. "Sissy") wondering when it will be HER turn.

"Geez Mon, aren't you done YET!!??"

Getting there, he's almost dry enough to finish on his own! All he needs is some snuggle time

All done and almost all dry!!!Lookin' good baby!!

The BEST Babies in the World!!!

Cosmo with his beautiful "cousins" Jennifer and Christina

And I don't make that claim lightly, though I do admit to being prejudiced in my cats' favor!!

Last weekend we had another family reunion here in Jamestown, this time my side of the family. Among the people coming were an eight year old boy and teen aged cousin girls. Ethan, the 8 year old, stayed with us here along with his mom my first cousin Deb and her hubby Eric. I was a little concerned about how the kids would react to having a small person in the house with us for a few days, but as usual I needn't have been.

Cosmo and Star never left Ethan alone, they followed him all over the house, tried to sleep with him at night, and played with him 'til they all dropped. It was so amazing to see these beautiful cats playing so happily with their cousin Ethan, it's like they had all been raised together.

We hosted a dinner and then a breakfast for the whole clan and Cosmo and Star got to meet their beautiful young cousins Jennifer and Christina. The girls carried Cosmo all over the house and he didn't struggle or ask to be put down, he was a perfect gentleman! Star was a bit more reticent about participating in all of the activities, but she still was so sweet and never put a paw wrong. Nope not a claw or tooth was seen, they were playful BUT gentle. They are the best cats in the world!!

Thankfully my cousin Deb and my husband Mark took lots of pictures of the goings on and I am posting some of them here, enjoy!!!

Sometimes you just HAVE to take a break! Ethan was hardly covered up before Cosmo joined him!

What ARE those tiny pieces?

More playing Leggos with Ethan, Star inspects them to be sure all the pieces are there!

It's Been A Whole Year!!!

Star and Cosmo, a year ago just little "babies"...

...and here they are today, almost all grown up!

It seems so hard to believe that it's been a whole year now since we brought our babies back home from Columbus. The time has flown and even though there were times, while being sleep deprived, that I wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into, it's been a wonderfully joyful learning experience!

Just hangin' in the kitchen!

To say the kids have grown is an understatement as you can tell from the pictures posted. The originals were taken in early August 2008 and at that time Cosmo weighed in at 5lbs, while Star weighed about 7.5 lbs. You see them as they are now one year later with Cosmo weighing 17lbs and Star weighing 13lbs. This means we started with 12.5 lbs of kitty one year ago and we now have 30lbs of kitty and still gaining, amazing!!! :-)

Star used to be so much larger than Cosmo, not anymore!!

They are such a joy and delight to live with we cannot imagine not having them as a huge part of our lives. They rescued us from our deep sorrow at having lost our first MC Gabriel, and are a blessing every day, even when they are "naughty" :-)

"Daddy" holding the distracted "babies"

Thanks Mickey for all YOU have done, and for these fur children you gave us, you are the best! Now....I have my eye on your little "Joy", what a beauty, hey Mark what do you think if......

A year ago I could hold them both very comfortably...

...today I am covered in "fur babies" when I hold them both at the same time!

Renovation Nation

Cosmo keeping a sharp eye on the contractors!

It's been forever since I posted anything to you all, sorry I've been so remiss. We are hosting a family reunion in about 3 weeks and we have been working like crazy to get things done at home for it. The house is being sided (something we have been in angst over for years due to the historic nature of our house), and we have painted and redone two bathrooms. The list goes on and on. BUT the kitties have been sailing through it all with only minor glitches now and then. They mostly LOVE watching the guys siding the house, it's their fave sport now, but they rest very little during the day so they are so tired at night.


Once and a while one of the guys will pound loudly and they will respond to it by looking up at us with those huge MC eyes, but in general they enjoy the chaos. I am posting a couple of pics of the babies, enjoy and have a great summer all of you!!

Star takes a break now and then choosing to observe the action from the upstairs landing, where she can keep her paw on the pulse without getting it dirty :-)

I Finally Got Smart, or "Smarter"

Star, getting some much deserved rest after being up all night!

It's been such an interesting week with the "kids". They seem to have grown up almost overnight (not in size but in "maturity") I wish I had known that all I had to do the help this along was to keep Cosmo with Star at night downstairs. DUH!!!

As you might know, Cosmo always slept with "Mom and Dad" and Star had charge of the downstairs at night for us while we slept. During the spring it became increasingly more apparent that Cosmo wanted to be up longer and get up earlier, so we decided that he needed to be with Star. The ONLY reason we didn't come to this conclusion earlier was that Cosmo was the "terminator" when it came to knocking things off of shelves ect.

Cosmo, still on the job!

He "mysteriously" has ceased doing this. (I believe in favor of looking out of windows at the deer eating my garden, chasing moths and other insects, while playing with Star all night) It's amazing but they are doing very well together, not making lots of mischief, and letting us sleep. YAAAYYYY!!!!

Star, winding down after a long night's work.

The nicest part is that they are so happy to see us in the morning, that we gets lots of "kitty kisses", head butts, and purring.

As I write they are asleep now after a long night on patrol. They are crowded together on top of the cat tower in my office, both looking like the angels they have become. (knock on wood :-)

Cosmo, looking so handsome always willing to pose for "mom".

PS I love both of these cats more than I ever thought I could, but (please don't tell Cosmo) that Star has found a special place in my heart. And to think that if I had not asked Mickey a last minute question about her, she may never have become ours!

Mr. Cosmo's Birthday...

Cosmo, one day old taken May 2, 2008. Thanks Mickey!!!

Hi everyone, hope you all had a nice weekend. We have been cleaning out the attic and garage, which explains why I didn't post this on Friday May 1st which is the actual day of C's first birthday.

Cosmo appearing to be "chowing down", but...

He's only in it for the Greenies!!

Here are some pics if him in what appears to be an irresponsible cupcake binge, but what is in actuality only Greenies on top of a cupcake. Don't worry he ingested no chocolate whatsoever. Enjoy!!

"Mommy" feeding Cosmo a "cupcake"

First Cat Show for Cosmo

Cosmo in his third show ring of the day. He is being evaluated by the judge.

Hi all, well we finally got our first crack at a cat show with Cosmo, and it was a little disappointing, but it was also a pleasure at the same time.

The show itself is very nice, and the people we met were wonderful, but Cosmo was not the Maine Coon Premier the judges were looking for this past weekend.

Our "neighbor" in the benching area shown with her little Himalayan girl. She did VERY well at the show.

I am now aware that politics raises its ugly head even at cat shows, and to be clear I am not so blind that I see no faults in my cat (though from what the breed standard states he had VERY few if any). But it "seemed" like the "fix" may have been in for a local breeder. I really want to avoid sounding like I am full of "sour grapes" because I am not, nor does the term apply to Cosmo as show success is definitely NOT unattainable for him. So I'll leave it at that, lesson learned....

Cosmo with Judge Honey.

Cosmo was stressed in the car on the way out and back (it's about a 45min. drive from our home to Erie, PA) but once at the show and "benched" he was fine. He loved watching all of the activity going on around him, and was alert and responsive to all of his admirers, and he had many!

This is what the benching area looks like at a cat show.

He behaved relatively well in the show ring itself, or so I am told since I couldn't bear to watch and stayed behind in the benching area :-) He only hissed a couple of times, and from what I understand this is normal for a cat as young as he is. (just under 1 year) Thank God no blood was shed :-)

Cat shows are interesting, and somewhat confusing if you have never been to one. They are unlike dog shows in many respects. Firstly, "neuters" or "premiers" are not shown in the dog world, but may compete in cat shows. And there is no central ring where everyone can see the competitors, but rather (at least at this show) there are 4 smaller rings where each of the 4 judges "sees" all of the cats at a show during the day. There are many breeds and categories to be seen. Cosmo was judged with the other long haired premiers, most of which were Maine Coons.

This is the guy who beat Cosmo in the "color category". Cosmo is a brown mac tabby with white, this kitty is a brown classic tabby with "high white".

As a spectator it's fun to go from ring to ring and watch the action. As a exhibitor it's a lot of "hurry up and waiting!!"

Cosmo came away with exactly the same result in each ring, two second places. One for color, and one other for, well something I am still trying to figure out.

Cosmo was as confused as we are as to what exactly he won, or didn't win :-)

The bottom line is that I feel I may have rushed into this show a little too soon. He was by far the youngest Premier there and needs to mature a bit physically before his next show. We have decided to give him 6 months to gain some coat and weight (he weighs 15 lbs, the winning MC Premier weighed around 20 lbs)

This past weekend we got our feet wet, and we liked the show experience very much. Now it's onward and upward!

We are now planning on going to the Columbus, OH show on December 5-6 where we can show him with his breeder Michele Cole. She'll be showing her own cats, but it will be nice for us to have her support there. I am really looking forward to it.

I've posted some of Mark's picture as you can see. He shot them on his digital Diana camera which gives the pics an interesting look, I hope you enjoy them!!

Phew!! Thank goodness THAT'S over with, what a LONG day!! Now I can relax :-)

Open Door Policy

It's a "tight fit" but Cosmo persevered!!!

I know it's been forever since I've added to the blog, but with starting a new venture , work, and the Holidays it's been crazy.

Since we are now on "spring break" we decided to address the "sleep situation". As you may remember, Star sleeps downstairs on her own while Cosmo bunks with us. I have felt badly about this since the beginning so now that we can "afford" to lose a little sleep we wanted to leave the house open at night and see what happens. It's been working out fine so far, no real problems except that Cosmo likes to get up with the birds @5:30AM and we are trying to "sleep in" a bit. If we do want to sleep in we take turns getting up with him. Star doesn't mind if she is up on her own independent little peach that she has probably had to become. Cosmo, however, wants company and will persist until he gets it. :-) This too shall pass though and they are so precious to us that a little sleep seems rather unimportant.

Now for some vital statistics:
Star is 15 months old and weighs 13.5lbs.
Cosmo is 11motnhs old and weighs 14.5lbs.

More exciting (?) news, Cosmo is officially in the Cat Nation Fanciers Cat Show in Erie on the 25th and 26th of April. He is participating in the "premiership" category which is for neutered and spayed purebreds. Wish us luck, there will likely be more blog entries until then.

I'll post some pictures this time of the "little " babies trying to wedge themselves into a tiny box something or other came in the other day. Also I have one of Cosmo being a clown, enjoy!!

Too bad there is no "clownish behavior" category at the cat show, Cosmo would win hands down!!

Even though we had thrown the box away, Star still wanted a go at getting into it!

Star's Turn in the Tub

What a beautiful girl she is, and look at those eyes!!

Yesterday we decided that it was past time for Star to have a bath. Michele @ Maine Delite suggests that you give a bath with the change of the seasons to get rid of old hair ect so we jumped the gun a bit on spring and went with it.

She took it pretty well, and though I know that she has been bathed in the past it has been a while. She really didn't panic, though she did struggle a little bit.

We did the total "show groom" just to get her good and fluffy and she looks stunning now.

My little "diva" on her favorite perch!

Her "baby brother" Cosmo watched from a distance seemingly glad that this time it was someone else's turn :-)

She also is not afraid of the blow drier so after wicking as much water as possible from her we blew her dry in about 25 minutes. The pictures tell the story, she is gorgeous!!

On an unrelated note, I sent in the show entry form for Cosmo on Saturday night, I am very excited. The show is at the end of April in Erie, PA and even though it's the last show of the year and he probably can't really get his Premiership this season (?) at least we will all get our feet wet, so to speak, and be all ready for the next show season.

My gorgeous babies!!

Mr. Cosmo's first Show Groom

Cosmo looking up at us wondering what it was all about after his "ordeal"

Well, I finally got the courage, and all of the stuff, to do a proper show groom on Cosmo. If we are going to show him, as we plan to in April, then this is something we needed to practice.

Now Cosmo is a very easy going kitten/cat, as LONG as he gets his own way that is. :-) He dislikes being brushed, and so I had my trepidations about doing an actual show groom on him. But all in all he did very well with it, only struggling for a while. It has quite a few steps to it, so as it went on in time he either decided to accept what was happening or just got tired LOL.

Cosmo looking a bit "scruffy" before his show groom.

The results were wonderful though, and Michele says he looked "stunning". He didn't stay that way too long, but hey he's a baby cat still and loves to get into "messy" things.

Here are some more pics of him right after he was dried. I was very happy that he accepted the blow drier as readily as he did too, it sure made what was a long process a bit shorter. If the first time was the worst then we should be able to do this at least a few tmes a year.

Cosmo, looking oh so sweet.

Thanks Michele for all of your help, thanks Mark for holding him while I scrubbed him, and thanks Cosmo for being such a "good boy".

The fluffy finished product, Cosmo lookin' good!

Getting Ready

The calm before the "groom"....

I know it's been ages since I've posted anything here. I am sorry about that, but it indicates two things. Firstly, I have had no time to do this , unfortunately, but secondly the "kids" have been going along in their daily routines with little or no drama.

But, I got an email from Michele, their breeder, telling me as an aside that Cosmo is "high show quality". I have been seriously thinking I should show him because in my own, not professional, opinion he is a good example of his breed. But after Mickey's note I think I really have to show him so....I have to give him his "show groom". I will cut and paste from Michele's web site just what this entails to give you an idea of what I'll be doing with him this weekend.

SHOW GROOM INSTRUCTION FOR MAINE COONS
First you dry bath the kitten/cat in Groomers Goop - rubbing it in the coat and working it to the skin.... you can use small amounts of warm water to help get it to the skin. Pay close attention to the mane, back of ears and the britches. Then you rinse, rinse, rinse,,,,,, then rinse in somewhat cooler water. Note: you really need to make sure all this is rinsed!

Next you bath the kitten/cat in Pet Silk Deep Cleanse shampoo. Then you rinse, rinse, rinse,,,,,, then rinse in somewhat cooler water

Next you bath the kitten/cat in whitening shampoo EZ Crystal White Shampoo. Then you rinse, rinse, rinse,,,,,, then rinse in somewhat cooler water (Note this is only for kittens/cats with white, silver or cream colors)

Final step and frankly one of the most important.... 1/4 cup of White Vinegar to a gallon of warm water...... rinse the kitten/cat with this and then cool water rinse until all areas are squeaky clean.

Towel and blow dry if possible,,, If kitten/cat will not tolerate the dryer, then towel dry completely and then use several paper towels and absorb most all the water you can. After the groom - DO NOT HANDLE THE KITTEN/CAT UNTIL THE SHOW!! AT THE SHOW, ONLY BRUSH BETWEEN RINGS to fluff the coat and tail ,,,,, as you handle and pet you kitten/cat,,,,, the oil in their coat will start to re-appear.

If the kitten/cat hair is full of static at the day of the show, use the Anti-stat Conditioner and Detangler - this is listed on the previous page...... use it by spraying lightly on the brush (not directly on the kitten/cat) to condition those fly-a-way areas. Make sure you use this sparingly as you can't take a wet looking kitten/cat in the rings. Best to use this when you get to the show @ 1/2 hour before entering the rings. ONLY use this if there is static.


This may all sound very extreme, however shows are won and lost on a groom. This insures that the kitten/cat is represented in the very best way. You will be amazed at how your kitten/cat looks !!!

Caution: do not over brush your kitten/cat!!! taking to much hair out of the kitten/cat by pulling with combs and brushes will thin the coat and the representation of the kitten/cat will be very poor at shows. Granted keep your kitten/cat brushed and tangle free, but don't over brush - especially that beautiful tail. They need that tail large and fluffy for the judging!!!

No, it doesn't scare me, exactly... I'll give you a blow by blow of how it went with pictures. Wish us all luck!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STAR!!!

Star wondering what it's all about. Luckily Taylor blew out that candle before any noses got singed.

I am a bit behind in my blogging (a bit?) and the day before yesterday was our Star's 1st birthday. She is such a treasure and we are so happy to have her. And to think that getting her was a last minute decision. Here are some pics of her on her "special day" with my dear friend's granddaughter Taylor, who is a"princess" by the way, and with her "baby bro" Cosmo. Enjoy!!!

Star in her birthday boa with "mommy".

Star and Cosmo, after the "party".