Seriously, Bettie is the most creative kitty I've ever had. She also has a knack to do things just to annoy you and knows exactly which button to push...

Sunday morning for example, she awakened me at 7 am (nice !) because she was trying to chew and claw my brand new dusty pink Longchamp bag (super nice !).

Today, even though she's got 3 or 4 toys in my office, she chose to play with my mini-disc recorder. When I took it from her, she picked something from Thierry's desk to play with instead.

She loves to climb on my lap when I'm about to get up and go to the bathroom. She then follows me there and watch me.

She meows back when you tell her not to do something because she's got attitoooode, you know.

And best of all, she slept ON my new Stitch tattoo (after copious kneading) when it was sore or itchy. Now the skin's back to normal, she's back to sleeping on my legs.

And strangely, I wouldn't trade her for any other kitty. We're so much alike it's weird at times. She's the closest thing to a mini-me I'll ever have and it might explain why sometimes I feel like strangling her.

Blythou out.

Bettie the kitty and I have a complicated relationship. She loves me quite exclusively, she's jealous if I pay attention to other animals and she hates it when I'm not around.

She can get very difficult (she's very vocal, she destroys my stuff, clims on my laptop, etc.) if she thiks I don't pay her enough attention. But she's also a very peculiar kitty with an incredible personality. She "talks", she wiggles around like a crazed spaghetti if you pet her, she gets nuts with pleasure if she sees you with a brush (she adores being groomed), she knows how to turn on the light and the radio, she carries her "babies" around (a collection of stuffed rabbits I found in the street) and shows them to you proudly, etc.

Recently, I was so busy and caught up in various things that she just seemed like a burden to me...

And I went and saw Bolt, the new Disney movie... When I saw Mittens, the skinny stray kitty who plays tough but is a big softy who never got over the fact she's been abandonned, I nearly cried. She reminded so much of Bettie, who's also been abandonned as a teeny tiny kitten. When I came back from the movies, I hugged her and since, we've been on better terms.

I no longer consider her like my daughter. Because she's not human, despite all I wanted to believe. She'll probably die before me, leaving a major void in my life. But she's still the only thing standing between my dream chihuahua and me, because I know she'd be miserable if I took care of a pup-pup.

Right now, she's asleep in my office and she looks so happy that I'd love to know what she's dreaming of.

Blythou out

Pinku II has arrived. As expected, Pinku's pink. And cute. And pink. And you can hang danglies from it.

It's also a camera, a video camera, a radio, a MP3 player. The sound is great. The ringtones are awful, so I'll have to do a little downloading. I also need a nice pic to use as a background.

On a totally different note : Bettie's been sick again. Last week, she's been unable to keep any food down for a day. Today, she threw up her favorite meal, fresh poached chicken. Last time one of my cats got sick like that, it was Cleo. She was 17 and had cancer.

Blythou out.

All my pets (and some of my dolls) have a theme song. It might sound crazy, but not so much coming from someone who pictures inanimate objects wearing Converse sneakers and doing little dances.

Bettie's theme song is "Tiger Feet" from Mud, because when she was a kitten, she had big, floppy tiger feet.

Cleo's was "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth" from the Dandy Warhols, because Thierry and I used to sing it to her (we had changed the lyrics to "Poupinette is so passé", Poupinette being one of her nicknames) while patting her head and she usually stood there, transfixed.

Armand's theme song is "Jacky", the Marc Almond version, because he's handsome and dumb. It can also be "Sexy Boy" from Air.

Eloise Chihuahua already has a song, it's "Eloise", of course, the Damned version.

Abba has a theme song, even though she isn't my pet and it's "Chihuahua" by DJ Bobo, because Abba needs an energetic song to match her temper !

If an ambulance and two strong male nurses come ring my door soon, I wouldn't be *that* surprises now...
Blythou out.

Bettie has reached new heights in her quirky/pseudo human behaviour. As I've mentionned it countless times before, she mimics me in every aspect possible.

Yesterday evening, she climbed on the diner table and started eating grapes. Yes, you've read it. Grapes. Bettie is a cat. She's eaten weird things in the past, such as green beans, lemon sherbet, melon, tofu, strawberries, apples.

But grapes. Seriously ? She's probably found out that it's currently my #1 fruit (besides apples, of course).

What's next ? Will she learn to use the computer ? The wii, maybe ? Or will she start wearing skinny jeans ? Or start to crochet ? I'm not sure she's a cat. More like a genetic experiment of some kind.

Blythou out.

I've got a confession to make.

Everytime I sign up on an embarrassing forum (such as a really crappy pop band that i need to get infos about in order to write an article), I use "Bettie" for my alias.

Yes, I know, it's lousy to tarnish Bettie's reputation like that.

Blythou out.

Bettie & Armand are very busy looking drop dead cute today.



Blythou out.

Last week, I noticed Bettie had put on a little weight. Nothing spectacular, but she went from skinny to just moderately thin. Bettie's 8 year old, she's considered a senior cat, now but she's always been tiny, very muscular and I love her that way.

And yesterday, I did it. I bought diet cat food for her. Worse, even... While I put the bag of cat food in my grocery basket, I told myself I was doing this for her own good. Yeah, sure, Bettie wants to squeeze her kitty butt in size 0 slim jeans.

After years of calling Bettie my "cat daughter", I'm afraid I really see her as part of me. We have a fusional relationship. She sleeps every night on top of me, spends a couple of hours on my lap everyday, she's angry at me if I'm not home enough.
We're both small but very annoying, tough, hyper, prone to mood swings, stronger than we look, fiercely loyal to the people we love & obsessed with cleaning (she grooms her brother Armand *all* the time).

And I bought her diet cat food. Because you're supposed to hand your obsessions over from mother to daughter, aren't you ? I think I was sensible in choosing to remain child-free.

Blythou out.

In the last few days, Bettie has invaded the KB shelf twice. I suppose she wanted to lick the mini-Stitchies who live there as well... (We've recently discovered that Bettie EXCLUSIVELY lick and groom the Stitch plushies around, she ignores the other stuffed toys for obscure reasons... This cat freaks me out).

I'm sick and tired of cleaning up her mess, putting back all the re-ment stuff on the coffee table, setting the girlies back in their chair, etc. And soon, Bettie won't be the only one to mess up the girlies. My god daughter is old enough to walk & grab the Takaras (who live on the lower level with their Petshops pets) and I don't want her to a) swallow re-ment minis, shoes, etc. b) mess up the girls and c) be the grouch who tells her she can't touch this or that or that and all that as well.

So basically, I have few options.

I either replace my shelf with a glass cabinet or I sell most of the girls and only keep a couple who'll live on a top shelf. I don't know where I can find the right sort of cabinet, so I'm unsure of what I'll do.

I'm glad I didn't get Star Dancer after all. And that I've resisted the evil lure of Ichigo Heaven...

Blythou out.

Dear pets,

Could you, pretty please with chicken on top, stop making my life so hellish ?

I can understand your need to rush around and chase each other while making all sorts of weird noises : you only want to liven up the place while I'm trying to work. But why do you have to dive in the water bowl ? Ok, Armand, your fluffy underpaws make you slide across the floor, but you should be aware of that factor by now. And Abba, yes, I'm talking to you, missy, is it necessary to splash in the water in order to turn my corridor into a disaster zone ?

Then, would it be possible to NOT knock my wastebasket while playing and, in case you inadventently do so, I'd love it if you could try to NOT spread its contents all over the office floor ? While you are at it, my cell phone is NOT a toy. And when I've plugged it, it means I want it recharged, so do NOT unplug it while chasing each other. I know, I know, I repeat myself.

Oh, and lastly, Abba, my sweetie, could you please stop playing with poop ? Why do you insist on chewing on Armand's doo-doo while I feed you nice dog food ? And if you really want to chew on poop, at least, do it when I'm not eating.

If you really want to do all the above, I'll understand. After all, I've declined to buy you a wii (they were sold out, I told you) and I probably don't give you enough pocket money. But if you could do all this on separate days instead of in a couple of hours span, that'd be fine.

Thanks for your attention.

Blythou out.

Tibiloo's left this morning after two days of shopping, dolly-fun (Tibi took care of two of my KBs), drinking & puppy-teaching. She was sad to leave Abba, but I hope she knows her pup-pup will be well loved and cared for while she's away.

I've taken Abba for her first walk on our own. She did her pee-pee twice. We made a little visit to my friend Melissa who works at V2 round the corner. Abba got petted, kissed and admired. Then on our way back, she took a great big poopoo and happily came home to chase Armand who's lazing around.

Bettie's no longer hostile, she's just curious and tries to sniff the newcomer who's stealing her mom's attention.

I'll take photos later. Right now, it's work-work-work... with a puplette on my lap and the two cats playing with the toy Tibi got them around my desk.

Blythou out.

When the night goes down, when the appartment is quiet, a strange figure emerges from the shadows.

It's Super Bettie, the cat with the broken tail who's smarter than any other cat on the planet.

Her superpowers ? Fast-action tongue that grooms any fluffy cat or doll in sight. The Breath of Death so powerful it can paralyze anyone in a 10 foot radius with its tuna stench. The Annoying Meow, so grating for the nerves it drives all the evil away. The not-so-evil and the nice too.

Beware, food containers left unguarded.
Beware, freshly pressed laundry left unattended.
Beware, doll shoes and small accessories.

Don't cross the path of Super Bettie, the silky avenger.

This entry is dedicated to Tibiloo in particular. I know she loves nothing more than a dressed pet. Esp. if that pet is Bettie, who's her favorite in the family.

Blythou out.

I haven't posted a pic of the furry kids in a while. Here they are, as busy as Titus their best bunny buddy.

The chair they're sleeping on is my desk chair. They're usually outraged when I dare claim it in order to, erm, work. I have to explain them that mommy needs to use the computer, in order to earn money to buy them expensive vet food & toys.

Armand usually complies. Bettie too, after growling at me. And when I complain about her bad temper, she usually talks back, letting me know she takes after me. *Le sigh*

Blythou out.

Bettie can be the most annoying cat in the world. Right now, her favorite habit consists of sitting on my lap for 30 mins. or so, then climbing on my desk, walking on the laptop keyboard and jumping off, having taken care of knocking down my cell phone... And then, she changes her mind and comes back on my lap, after having dug her claws on the arms of my relatively new chair.

I'm torn between killing her (and using her fur to make Blythe coats for the winter and roasting her body to feed her to her brother) and torturing her slowly.

Or maybe, I should just cool down, even though nothing has been going right for the last couple of days. Nothing majorly wrong, mind you. But just enough to annoy me and make me realise I drink so much coffee that I'm a nervous wreck 99% of the time.

Blythou out.