The Times they are A-Changin'

So I've decided to do a complete makeover, including a new name, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I've created an Etsy ID with the same name. I don't have anything listed there yet, but wanted to go ahead and get my ducks in a row. Second, I wanted something a little more personalized, and finally, I like to talk about my cats. You may have noticed them creeping into some (most?) of my posts anyway so with the new name I don't need to worry that I'm talking about them too much and I even have a few cat-centric posts in mind besides the one I did on creating a litterbox area for them. So there you have it - I'm now One Girl, Two Cats.

And since we're on the topic of my cats, let me formally introduce them. Chloe is my almost-eight year old gray girl kitty. She was born in a feral colony outside my old apartment building. I went on to find homes for her mom's next litter and had everyone in the colony neutered using the Trap-Neuter-Release principles recommended by feral cat advocates like Alley Cat Allies and Alley Cat Rescue. She has very soft fur and is a little high maintenance and probably smarter than I am. I taught her a few tricks like "sit," "sit up," "high fives," "lay down," and "turn in a circle." She's trained me to give her a treat when she flops on the floor and when I see her "in the position" I say "roll over" (she does) but she has to initiate this one with the floor flop.

Quincy is my three-ish year old boy kitty. He was a stray found by someone I used to work with. I adopted him when he was 10-12 mths old and his 2-year adoption anniversary is coming up on July 1. Do you see how his tail curls? It is like that almost all the time. It is a recessive gene and I think makes him extra cute. He can straighten it when he wants, but its natural state is curled up onto his back. It's funny to watch him get excited over a bird and flap it back and forth without uncurling it first. He loves to play games, chase stuff (toys, Chloe), pounce on stuff (Chloe, me), and watch birds and squirrels out of the window. He doesn't know any tricks. They're both indoor-only cats except for an occasional supervised foray onto the balcony.