Ode to Marley....

Let me just talk about Marley a little bit here...

He is the sweetest kitty boy ever. Not that Reggie isn't, but they just have different personalities. Marley has always been a little spoiled. Probably because he is our first "baby" and the first sphynx we've owned. (I always tell him, "You'll always be our first sphynx Marley!") Ever since we got him back in Nov. 2007 he's been spoiled by us wrapping him up in his "kitty burritos". He hardly ever has to work to get snuggled in a blanket because we always help him out.

He HOWLS and MEOWS at me in the mornings while I'm making coffee or in the evenings while I'm doing dishes. Why is he howling you ask? Duh! "I just want you to scratch my head and rub my cheeks and chin". He does this after he's jumped up on the high pub kitchen table and makes endless noise until I've finished starting the coffee or take off my dish washing gloves. Then he just stands there while I give him his scritches and rubs. If I stop too soon, he let's me know that too.

Recently I've been putting one of their cat beds in the bottom of the bedroom closet. Then at night I'll put one of their fleece blankets in the kitty bed. Well, Marley lets me know when he's ready for bed because he'll just walk over to the empty cat bed and wait until I put his blanket in there. Then in he goes for the night!

We love you Marley so much and you are such a good big brother. You constantly give Reggie baths, even if he never returns the favor. You don't bite me or meow at me while I am performing "sphynx maintenance" on you. You cover your presents in the litter box unlike some other hairless kitty I know. You don't make a fuss at the V-E-T. You aren't even two years old yet, yet you are the most regal kitty we know. Here's to Marley, the sphynx kitty that opened up our hearts to hairlessness and we'll never look back!

This is Marley on the kitchen table. He likes sitting on the grocery bags after I've unpacked the groceries. By the way, his coloring is "blue and cream".

Reggie and his sweater

Contrary to what you may think, sphynx, at least my two, don't like sweaters! Here is Reggie and his attempt to get it off. Even tempting him with treats didn't fool him that he had it on. He kept walking backwards to get it off.

PS: Reggie's echocardiogram is Friday - Please keep him in your purrers.

"Movie Monday" starring Reggie & Marley!!!!

Who knew bags could be so entertaining?

"Have a great weekend everyone! One more full work week until Thanksgiving week!"

Cold Mornings = Snuggling

Sorry we haven't been blogging much lately; Mom has been busy at work and hasn't been taking many pictures of us either lately! (How rude!) She promises to get some soon though...

We live in Southern California and while today is supposed to be in the 90's (yes, it's November), the mornings the past few weeks have been cold!

So, instead of waking Mom up like we usually do, we come in and snuggle!

"Especially me! I get under the covers completely with Mom and curl up in a ball right by her hips"
-Reggie

We hope all our kitty blogger friends are staying warm this winter. Must be nice having hair!

This is the life...

Reggie: I love my toys so much! Sometimes I get very excited and play with them a really long time, until I tucker out and then decide it's time to wash myself. Such is the life of a sphynx! Then, after I am done playing I take a nap with my older brother.

I also got a bath yesterday. Not so much fun, but at least it's over with! This morning I actually got under the covers with my mom at 5:30am and slept with her until her alarm clock went off. My mom was happy that I didn't meow in her face and walk all over her like I usually do!

Here you can see my kitty pooch! All cats have them, they are just more noticeable on us cats without hair. You can also see my birthmarks on my right shoulder there - they weren't always there, but they are now!

Sorry, but I had to clean myself!

Nap time with Marley.

Marley and Reggie Overload!

Well, since I haven't posted much lately, here are some funny poses of Marley & Reggie sleeping at various times this weekend (no, I did not pose them!) as well as a video of them grooming - ENJOY! (in the background of the video you hear Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer!)

All Settled In....

Hi everybody! Well, we are all moved into our new home and so far, so good. Mom still has some boxes to unpack and has to organize the kitchen still, but we are doing just fine. We love the sunshine that comes in the window in the morning and we lounge here for hours in the morning, grooming and catching rays.

Our new home has hardwood floors and that was funny at first, but we are getting used to it. Mom says she still needs to buy a couple of rugs, which is a good thing because we make a lot of noise running around and chasing each other on these floors. It apparently sounds like a herd of elephants on the savanna when we do!

We hope everyone is doing well and since today is Columbus Day Mom will be home with us since she doesn't have work! Woo hoo!!! We have a feeling a nap session will be in order for all today.

Hair?...but I thought we were hairless.....

Yes, Sphynx do have hair! Here is an excerpt from the Cat Fanciers' Association:


COAT/SKIN: the appearance of this cat is one of hairlessness. Short, fine hair may be present on the feet, outer edges of the ears, the tail, and the scrotum. The bridge of the nose should be normally coated. The remainder of the body can range from completely hairless to a covering of soft peach-like fuzz whose length does not interfere with the appearance of hairlessness. This coat/skin texture creates a feeling of resistance when stroking the cat. Wrinkled skin is desirable, particularly around the muzzle, between the ears, and around the shoulders. There are usually no whiskers but if whiskers are present they are short and sparse.

Reggie has the hairy ears in the family as you can see!!!

Marley's ears are as smooth as they come, with practically no hair unless you look very closely.

In addition, Reggie has the peach-like fuzz that the CFA talks about. He really does feel like a fuzzy peach, although a lot warmer! Marley's coat is barely noticeable unless you look with a magnifying glass! He is not as soft as Reggie, but still has a very beautiful "coat"!

Let's just say that when you are half asleep and a kitty jumps on the bed to snuggle, you know who it is just by feeling the ears or petting their hairless bodies!!!

Mancat Monday

Well, someone told my mom that I am officially a mancat since I am over 1 year old now! So, I guess that means I get to participate in Mancat Mondays! Since you guys have only known me as a mancat, here are some pictures in my younger years....errr....younger months!

Doing what I do best! Sleeping away the day in the kitty condo!

I love getting on top of the kitchen table because it is a high pub table - my beans didn't like this at first but they have given up. As long as I don't start jumping up on the kitchen counters they can deal!

I like to get into everything as you already know. (Don't worry, I'm not as big as a paper bag! This bag is actually one of the smaller paper bags for the wine that my beans love to drink)

Here I am looking all handsome in the sunshine

This is one of the famous massages that I often get. As you can tell I totally love them!

How we met

Marley: Well, my mom and dad brought Reggie home when I was just 1 year old. I wasn't quite sure what to make of him, but I quickly adapted and only hissed at him a total of two times. My mom tried to keep us separated for awhile, but that didn't really work because I would just meow at the door and try to get in to the room where they were keeping this little guy. So, my mom and dad just gave up, especially because living in a 2 bedroom apartment there aren't many options (also she did know that we could make each other sick, but hoped for the best). For the first few days I would just rush Reggie and tackle him whenever he came out of his room. My mom and dad thought this was pretty funny, but they still kept pulling me off of Reggie. Reggie got overwhelmed too at times and would hide under furniture that my big body couldn't fit under. But eventually after about 10 days I got used to him and realized he wasn't going anywhere and stopped tackling him every chance I got. Here are some pictures from our first week together. As you can see Reggie tried to raise his two paws at me trying to fend me off (didn't work, but he tried).

Also, I never did get sick from Reggie besides a minor eye infection that healed up quickly with Terramycin and antibiotics. Reggie never got sick either (Mom was very thankful for this because she has had sick kittens before and it just stresses her out too much).

Lastly, many of you out there have been likening us to Dragonheart and Merlin! We know all about them. Our mom found them several months ago while "googling" and has been reading their blog ever since. She got really excited because she saw how Dragonheart loved his brother and she was anxious to get Marley a brother too!! We don't mind being compared to them because they are the bestest kitties and live all the way in Deutchland, which our mom and dad visited a couple of months ago while on vacation....Marley = Dragonheart, aka a good kitty, and Reggie = Merlin, a little terror at times who hates baths!!!

Also, we are very excited that our Gizzy Quilt is on its way! It should be here Monday! Thanks Millie!!!

Where's Waldo....errr....Where's Marley?

I am always amazed at the spots Marley finds to "hang out" in . Here are a few of some of the unusual spots he frequents...

Play, Play, Play.....then....NAP!

Marley and Reggie were running around like wild lions last night....after about 2 hours, I found them cuddling together. They are just so darn cute when they sleep together. So of course, I had to snap some pictures.

(The litter box continues to be used by rebellious Reggie - thanks goodness!....)

Cats Can Play Fetch Too!!!

Reggie loves this little mouse of his; well, it technically used to be Marley's, but he could care less about it now. Reggie will carry this around in his mouth and bring it over and drop it at my feet. I then throw it as far as I can, and he will bring it back....one time this same pattern must have continued for 50+ times! He is such a riot! I have to hide the mouse at night though so that he does not bring it on the bed at 6:00am ready to play fetch (yes, he did this before).

All I have to say is, "Where's your mousie?" and he gets all excited and knows we are about to embark on a game of fetch!!!

Oh, and on the litter box front Reggie seems to be using his litter box now from what I can tell....this new litter I bought, "Kitten Attract" seems to be working (I buy it at Petsmart)....we'll see if it continues!!

Sorry, should have muted the TV! I'm still learning, so ignore the obnoxious noise in the background!

Bath Time

Marley does not mind his baths. He is quite good and just stands there and takes it like a good kitty....Reggie on the other hand is a nightmare. Thus, I don't have any pictures of him in the bath at the present time....

Sphynx cats must have regular baths or else they can get skin infections....since they do not have hair there is nothing to absorb the natural body oils that all cats produce. My two boys get a bath every 2 weeks. Along with baths goes weekly (well, every 10 days) ear cleanings and nail cleanings as they get black waxy "gunk" in between their nails (again no hair to filter out the dirt and oils). Marley is very good with all these maintenance items....Reggie....not so much!!! I should count my blessings though - they could both be nightmares!

Good thing about bathing sphynx though - they are dry in no time!

Fast Forward to the Present.....

Marley is now 1 year and 2 months old and Reggie is almost 5 months old. They are pretty inseparable and love playing leap frog on the bed in the mornings (not fun for sleeping humans).