Harnessing the kitty power

One of the purchases that we were excited to make in the US and bring back to Bangalore with us this summer are harnesses for Mira and Chaya. When we return to the US we plan to fly them back with us and since we will have to collect them when we transfer planes (either in France or Germany) and keep them until we check in for our flight to Chicago we thought that it would be good if we could take them out of their carriers and not have them take off running through the airport. We figured that if we trained them to wear harness and could "walk" them around on a leash it would give them the chance to be out of their carrier for some time between the long flights but also give us the piece of mind that we won't lose them. So I bought two harnesses with matching leashes and once we returned to India in July we set about training them to get accustomed to both the harness and the leash. Let me just say that they were not (are still are not) thrilled to have the harness on but they have improved a ton. Initially as soon as the harness was put on Chaya she would fall over as though she had been shot and proceed to roll around in an attempt to get the thing off. She would get up, walk a few paces, then fall down again as though the harness had paralyzed her legs (have you ever seen video of those fainting goats, something like that). Mira, on the other hand, never fell over but would slink along the floor as though the harness was strapped with a fifty pound weight. In order to get them more excited about harness time I would give them plenty of treats but soon discovered that the best treat of all was letting them go outside, but only when their harness is on. Chaya loves to go outside and is pretty good at sneaking out when she is not supposed to so actually getting permission to go out is the best gift that I can give her. This past weekend we did some more training after about a month off (with Smoky's arrival I haven't wanted to stress them anymore and we haven't have time to do the training with all of the room switching and stuff) and I introduced them to their leashes. Everything went great, I took them up to the roof with their harnesses on and they played for about an hour until Mira decided that she wanted to go down to the ground floor and check that out. I put her on her leash and all was well, until Chaya showed up. I put her on her leash and soon learned a couple of valuable lessons about having cats on leashes. First, cats spook easily, and motorcycles are very scary when they are flying down the street. Second, one person can not handle two leashed and harnessed cats, this may be possible for dogs but I can't believe that it is for cats. Third, make sure that the harness is on tight enough that both cats can not slip out of it when they are trying to pull their hapless owner in half by going in two different directions. Luckily Eric ended up with only a scratch down his ankle and I spent 10 minutes trying to coax Chaya out of the gutter. Lesson learned, I don't think we'll be strolling down the street anytime soon. But don't they look cute in their harnesses?
Mira, wearing a Diane vonFurstenberg number in this season's hottest color, aquamarine.

Chaya looks gorgeous in her slimming Dolce & Gabbana cotton candy harness.

Strike a pose divas!

Will the Smoke ever clear?

This weekend will mark the fourth week that we have had Smoky with us in our home. It has been a really arduous and emotional month since we have grown to care for her so much but at the same time are so frustrated by her misbehaviors. She still urinates outside of the litter box though she has been a little better, but honestly she is generally kept in 2 rooms where we have put 4 litter boxes to increase her chances of hitting one. This week we noticed that she is spraying also, I am not sure if we missed this behavior since it is hard to notice or if this is just a new development. Her favorite places to spray and urinate are those spots that Mira and Chaya like to sleep so we feel that this is most likely passive aggression toward the girls. We have been keeping them separated but they still manage to fight at the door with Smoky attacking one side while Mira and Chaya bang away at the opposite side. Mira's diarrhea has persisted these four weeks and despite two different antibiotics, probiotics, and steroids, it is no better. We are exhausted with all of the stress that has descended on our previously happy little home. The girls are now so jumpy, even when Smoky is in her room, that if you try to pet them they jump a mile. Mira slinks around and they both lay just outside the door to Smoky's room, staring at it. We keep Smoky out in the house and the girls closed up while we are at home in the evenings but of course this means that we get no time with them which is really hard for all of us because they cry and meow because they want out.

Last night after I had a mini-breakdown following another door fighting session and two Smoky-sprayings I cried on the phone to my friend and cat-guru Yasmine and then had a talk with Eric about the situation. It just isn't getting any better but I am so hesitant to give up. We have decided to try one last-ditch effort: let them try to work it out (or fight it out) for themselves (supervised, of course). While we are at home we will let them be together and see if they can come to any sort of an understanding on their own. We will give it a week and reassess the situation at that time. In the words of Michael Buffer, "Let's get ready to rumble!" We started the grand experiment last night at around 8:30 or so. By 9:30 they had to be separated for the night because the fur was flying (literally, no joke, Smoky got a piece of Mira). We let them be together again this morning while we were getting ready for work and Smoky peed in the kitchen. So I guess so far everything is going swimmingly. Or not so much. It is going to be a long week I think. I wonder who will prevail at the end of the week? Judging from the pictures I would say Mira looks the scariest, Chaya's more a lover than a fighter, but Smoky is someone not to be messed with.

Our Bangalore Home

I have had a few requests in the past for pictures of our home in Bangalore. I found some pics on my computer today that I had taken probably in our first week in the place in November 2006 and was so impressed by how clean and organized it looked before we moved in and mucked it up I thought I would finally post them. Enjoy!
Our Living Room.

Look at our tiny TV!

This is what we now call Mira and Chaya's room (and Mom's when she visits).

This is what is now Eric's office and it is a huge mess compared to what this looks like!

Our bedroom, and I have no idea who Fiza is but we have been sleeping with her blanket for almost 2 years!

Our kitchen, with sink, our only counter space, our stove-top (with gas cylinder) and drinking water. And trust me, don't open the cupboard underneath...

Our nicely organized kitchen shelves (not anymore).

Dining room (and yes, that is our micro-washer).

Shower-head and geyser (micro-water heater).

Our Indian toilet, take a guess as to how to use it!