So this is Christmas...

It was Christmas in the Hairy Harris household today!

Here is a selection of pictures and videos of the dogs and cats getting their gifts!

Lexi checking out the presents

Oscar checking out part of the kitties gift!

Oscar playing with the scrunchy foil cat toy

Lexi playing with the foil scrunchy toy

Hiding under the tree!

Helping himself to his gift!

Videos :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from the Furry ones!

I will post lots of Christmas pics of them getting their presents etc next week! :)

So far, the tree is still up, though I have had to put quite a few decoration back ON the tree again.

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Enjoy the time with your families :)

Christmas

On Saturday I put the Christmas tree up. I wasn't doing to put it up, because I figured with 4 cats the chances of the tree being upright and still having decoration on it was zilch. However the lack of Christmas spirit drove me to put it up!

So James helped me get all the decorations down from storage and I pulled them all into the house after James helped me reorganise the loungeroom! So then I began to unpack the Christmas tree branches. It went something like this...

*pulls out 1 branch*
*pulls cat out of tree box and shoos other cat away that was chewing on branch*
*pulls out another branch*
*pulls 2 cats out of tree box and shoos other 2 cats away that were chewing on branches*
*pulls out another branch*
*pulls 3 cats out of tree box and shoos other cat away that was chewing on branches*
*pulls out another branch*
*pulls cat out of tree box and shoos other 3 cats away that were chewing on branches*

Repeat until Taneile is insane!!@#$!@#$!@

Then I got out the decorations... let's do this one pictorially...

Then I tested the train for around the tree


Surprisingly the tree is still standing and all the decorations are still on it!!

Catch up...

It's been a long time since I updated the blog, as I've been a bit slack.

So here is what you missed...

Bandit chewed the air ring at the top of the pool. It's come off twice since, but luckily, he had nothing to do with it on those occasions!

Also, Bandit has decided visitors are evil. But apparently only if they come in through the carport. He will bark at them and then run away. Then come back and bark again and run away. I don't think he gets how to do "big scary Rottweiler." The running away bit kinda takes away from the "scary dog" bit ;) If they walk out from the house then he is happy to sit on their feet and lean on them, as he does to those of us he likes.

My rose garden has been in bloom, so I've been bringing roses inside to enjoy. Lexi appreciates that I do that and shows me how much by EATING MY ROSES! Lucky she is gorgeous and snuggly and adorable, otherwise she'd be slippers by now.

Evidence...

What??? I am INNOCENT!

Oh and we are getting chickens! They won't be coming until they are 12 weeks, so they won't join us until March.

His royal highness

Oscar the Great... Here he is reclining on the leather highback chair with leopard print cushions hheheh

More cat and dog love videos

Well Bandit and Bert give me lots of footage ;)

I was looking tonight at videos I took when Lexi was little and how little she was and also of Syd when he was little tacker! I should post some of them on the blog. I can't believe Lexi is a year old already and how big she is now!

Now... puppy love...

The cat who watches the bird...

sits at the door a lot.

Since the weather has been a tad warmer, we've been leaving the front door open. So the cats have been sitting at the security door and watching the birds. We've decided to put a bird bath in eventually so that it encourages the birds to be near the door (and our bedroom window.)

Here are the awesome foursome...

I also took a pic and it's interesting how much Oscars markings are like Lexis!

Some days I just shake my head...

It has been a beautiful weekend, so we had the front door open most of the weekend. So the cats have been sitting at the door. Waiting for someone to come rescue them maybe? Who knows.

Bert humped my leg this weekend. Yep you read it correctly, the cat humped my leg. While licking my leg. I really need to start shaving my legs more often. James has also taught him to hi-5. He now does it on command (well 75% of the time anyway!)

All the cats are desperately protesting the removal of the lovely soft fluffy blanket from our bed by scratching the doona cover. Actually, it was more digging than scratching. Lexi just kinda flipped out and threw herself around a bit. She LOVES hiding under that blanket. I think she's no longer talking to us. She's still talking to herself however, so the nightly routine of meandering accompanied by wails is still firmly in place.

Oscar has decided that the back door being open is AWESOME and that he will scale the security door, spiderman style ;)

Syd, well he's curled up the bed between James and I at the moment. He seems to be more snuggly to me lately, I am not sure why? I am helping Mum get him to swallow his Lysine tablets every day. He's getting much better at it though :) Hopefully it helps to cut down the frequency of his cat flu!

Elly is her usual gorgeous princess self and has loved all the cuddles she'd had over the relaxing weekend we've had. She kept jumping up on the bed with us :)

Bandit is his usuall silly self, though he is turning into a good dog and we are having less issues with him. Will be interesting once we clean up the deck next weekend what he does. In the next few months, I will be tempted to sew up the cushions he ripped apart and put them back on the couch outside and see if he leaves them alone. Might be tempting fate though!

Oscar - Looking startled.

Bandit and Lexi, doing, um I am not sure what...

I've been REALLY slack...

But in fairness I've been dealing with stupid health issues.

So, it was Lexi's birthday yesterday, she turned the big 1! ;) My baby is growing up!

Here is a video of Bandit having his nightly beauty routine. You can also see the birthday girl and her new toy (the round one with the ball in it and fluffy mouse on top.) She loves it and will drag it under our bed and spend AGES flicking the ball around.



I'll catch up on some recent pics and video in the next week or so!

Just some pics

Well it's been a long hiatus... things have just been crazy busy. I have heaps of pics so I might just post some pics each few days :)

These are from tonight :)

They are planning a take over...

Unhappy about the state of food, lack of tuna and hot cooked meals 3 times a day, they are planning a take over and I have photographic proof!

Just after the meeting in my tshirt drawer was called to order...

Bert was in on it too, he just didn't want to have the evidence against him...

Oh Bertie, what have they done to you! You were my ally! You snuggle up to me and keep me warm at night and now you've turned on me too.

Now I know to sleep with one eye open and watch the evil posse.

Waiter!! Waiter!! Honestly, the service here is horrendous.

We often catch Bandit sitting up to the outdoor table like he is waiting for his order to be taken...
Exhibit 1...

Then when he has to wait too long, he curls up.
Exhibit 2...

Then eventually he gives up and goes to sleep.
Exhibit 3...

On the up side, at least he isn't eating the seats ;)

Busted!

While she acts like a cranky old diva, the Lecki-puss really does love her feline brother.

Caught in the act TWICE yesterday...

Photographic evidence... kissing Oscar

Video evidence... grooming Bert!

Wind it up and then wind it down...

It's official our cats are a bit touched...

Oscar is sleeping in my bra... when he first got into my bra he started licking it. Seriously, I dunno if we choose insane animals or if we make them insane. Perhaps there is a large gas leak (other than James!LOL!) that only affected animals.

Then James was washing his hands, apparently this is scintillating stuff.

Brace yourself for another incredibly interesting act of hand washing!

Super kitty!

Thankfully Syd's eye is starting to look better. Both this morning and this afternoon there was not much running out of it and it isn't as swollen or closed up :) Hopefully we have turned a corner! The antibiotics shot hopefully knocked it on the head before it got worse :)

Now onto to Bert the Superkitty, keeping the information super highway safe ;)

Pancakes, Cat Flu and Fricken Lasers

So poor Syd has cat flu again :( I came home from work and his eye was 1/2 closed and full of gunk. So I rang the vet who said to bring him down straight away. A shot of 14 day antibiotics, and a shot of antiinflammatories later, and he seems ok, except for the gunk coming out his eye. He has to have eye drops twice a day. Here's hoping it doesn't get worse and that no one else gets struck down (the boys had it not long before moving in with us.) The vet said it could be the stress of bringing the boys into the house or them bringing it back in again.

Last night, James had pancakes (after two successive blackouts!) and he always gives the last pancakes to the dogs. Now the cats get 1/4 pancake each. Though Oscar ate 1/2 on his own and Syd and Lexi weren't interested. Bert decided to play with his..


Speak of playing, even though Syd isn't feeling well, he was still up for a game of chase the laser!

Bedtime routine...

Some nights Bandit jumps straight into his crate, without issue. Other days, he would prefer to not get in, not that he doesn't like the crate, but he loves us more heheh

Case and point...
Me trying to get him to go to bed...



Some time later...
Me STILL trying to get him to go to bed (the cat bed doesn't count!)



Some time even later...
Success finally, and it only took bribing him with a lolly to get him in there!



Funnily enough he is more than happy in there and we haven't heard a peep since he went in, but still, he would prefer to have cuddles with us than go to bed!

Settling in ;)

Oscar has definitely warmed up and spent the afternoon going between James and I and finally settled on sleeping on my arm (while I was marking exams, one handed hehe)

Bert is very comfortable and sleeps on or next to my head or next each night. Though last night at one stage we had both Bert and Oscar under the covers between us, and Lexi was asleep on my legs ;)

I love my Daddy, but he's dirty!

Lexi loves her Daddy, but she isn't sure about his grooming habits.

She thought she'd help him out...

New cat tree, w00t!

I ordered a new cat tree on Sunday and it arrived today. Our old one had baldy patches LOL At least they used it! They also broke off the dangly ball bits from jumping on then hehehe

The new one seems much more sturdy and also has lots of places for them to scratch and we can replace the rope on the poles ;)

I also loved it because of the dangle mice and swinging rope! Also the many hidey holes ;) Plus it has the hammock and padded bed part.

Here they are enjoying the new tree tonight...

Bert seems to be enjoying it!

Also, James stole my cat already...

New additions...

We went for one... and basically got a 2 for one.

The foster carers REALLY didn't want them separated, so I kept them together and took them both.

So without further ado... introducing

Bert... a gorgeous little cuddle bug who has licked and rubbed on my lots already! He is now sitting on the bed.

Oscar... he is going to be a BIG boy. He is affectionate (he was already rubbing against me) but he is also a bit shy. He has been keeping to the bathroom (sitting on the sink playing in water LOL!)

and just to prove there is two, because they look the same... (I can only now tell them apart because of their eyebrows and Oscar is bigger!)

So far so good, Lexi is a bit put out, because she is a diva. Syd couldn't care less, he went and got into Elly's crate and is asleep. Here is how we are going (not too bad, they are in the same room and other than Lexi growling.) Bert is pretty gutsy LOL. No hissing or growling from Syd, or either of the boys, just from Lexi.)

Annoying younger brothers...

Bandit and Elly's relationship is very much that of older sister and younger brother. Bandit plays his part perfectly. He has the right mix of adorable and bloody annoying.

They also are good at the jealously thing. If we are cuddling one of them, the other can't have that and will weasle in, and then the other will weasle in again and this is repeated over and over. When this happens Bandit, in a mix of jealously an excitement, will bite Elly on the neck, or on the tail. Though I often see him following her around the yard holding her tail like an elephant. Most of the time she just ignores it, until she can't anymore, and then will bark or nip at him to stop. Apparently not hard enough, because he still does it, over and over ;)

Why you don't leave puppies with cardboard...

We've had a stack of cardboard out in the backyard for weeks, probably even months. Bandit hadn't touched it. Until today...

He did this...



and the backyard ended up looking like this...



Note: it *was* in a nice neat pile.

New beds!

Today the kitties new beds arrived.

Lexi seems to LOVE her new bed. She isn't keen on sharing though! Syd tried to get in with her, and she kicked him out, literally. In fairness, he only got in to annoy her, he was trying to bite her on the neck.

Syd seems to like the grey one, and I think I will keep the blue one for the new addition, because Syd doesn't seem to like it (I tried putting him in it, and he kept getting out.)

Here are our new beds...

awwww kitties!

I can't wait until we get our new addition, assuming we find one soonish! I really hope that one of the rescue ones are what we are looking for. I had hoped for a really large ginger boy, but I think that I will either have to wait for a really big one or just get one that is the normal size that Lexi and Syd are.

I am home sick and they really do make you feel better. I am in bed, and they are on the bed with me. Of course they have to lie right where my feet should go, and I have to contortion myself to be able to lie down, but how could I want to move this...

This was them earlier...

brrrrr

Tonight we had our first lesson for intermediate obedience school. The dogs went well and we have 2 weeks to practice. In beginners the dogs were taught to always sit when we stop. Now they have to learn to sometimes stand and sometimes drop, given our command.

It was COLD there, about 5 degrees and raining. Apparently we might be in for snow around here tomorrow (I know it's snowing close by already!)

Then tonight when we put the dogs to bed, I asked James to take a few pics of the dogs in their crates, so that I could post it on a forum.

So, here is Bandit, I call this picture "being in crate so funny!"

Not so adorable...

Tonight I was giving Syd a cuddle when not wearing my glasses and he took exception to a lil bit of love and swatted my eyelid with claws out.

I am not sporting a cut eyelid. I hope I don't end up with a black eye! People won't believe that my kitten did it.

If I had to put money on which of them would maim me, it would be Lexi, or Bandit (but only because he's unco, not intentionally.)

Hopefully we will have internet faster than dialup speeds soon, so that I can upload pics and videos!

We did it!

Sorry, I am a little late in posting this, but both Elly and Bandit passed obedience training with flying colours! The assessor said that they were both equal second best dogs in the assessment.

I was worried that Bandit was too full on kangaroo poo to actually pay attention to the treats in the assessment. But luckily he's a greedy big thing, so he still focused for the assessment. Every week when we get there he spends his time sniffing out and eating the poo that the kangaroos so kindly leave for him.

So next week, we start intermediate :)

BTW, apologies to those who have left comments, but for some reason when I try to comment it is sending me round in circles, so I will try again tonight!

Hurricane Bandit

This is why we spend every weekend cleaning up the deck. We have semi given up, and will just sweep once he grows out of it, in a year or two LOL! At least with this he isn't destroying anything (as much!) Lucky he is adorable and affectionate and very very sweet natured (like when he was so busy trying to get onto James' chest for a cuddle that he smacked James in the mouth with his big fat paw!)

We think we might get a broom handle for him to play with, and it might stop him backyard blitzing our yard!

My cat uses toilet paper...

Our quest to toilet train the cats is a somewhat frustrating endeavour. We were hoping it would be easy, after all the instructions make it sound so easy!! While you are meant to just pop the red disc in the holder on the toilet and then take away your cats litter tray and show them the litter in the disc, in practice it meant Lexi wee'd in the shower MORE and Syd started pooing on the floor.

So then we tried the orange disc (which has a hole in the middle) and surprisingly we had some success with that for a few days and then that stopped. So then we decided to try going back to the litter tray and slowly moving it up higher. We did this for 2 weeks until now it is ockey strapped onto the toilet. Our plan is to then put the orange ring into the litter tray and then take the litter tray away and leave the orange ring in the holder. I will put the orange ring in the litter tray this weekend (I only make changes on weekends so that I don't have to come home to "surprises.")

So Syd, being the cultured feline that he is, makes sure that he cleans up after himself. He paws away at the edge of the tray like a demon. His latest trick though, is to paw at the toilet roll. Today though, he was being a good and tidy kitty and not only pawed at it, but tore it off and used it to cover his poo ;)

That's right, my cat uses toilet paper!

Getting a good photo is hard!

I struggle to get a good picture of Bandit! Elly isn't so hard, she will at least sit still... and she gives me something to work with!

Cute Elly...

Mean Elly (ok actually she was yawning, but still)...

At least I got a couple of good profile shots of Bandit.

Porn Addict

ok, so I went to get my dinner and came back to this...

I think the most amusing thing is the look of fear at being caught in her eyes!!!

The adorable Syd!

Sometimes it seems as though Lexi always gets the limelight. She is the Bengal and therefore the cheeky and hilarious one. Syd is the quiet happy kitty.

This is Syd's normal behaviour. He loves my Mum tickling his belly. He will also flop for me, except I am not like Mum and won't keep following him and doing it for 10 or 15 minutes LOL! She wonders why I say he is HER cat hehehe

Floppy Syd


With all that flopping, one gets very tired, but we can't let anyone know that we are tired, so we pretend we are sitting ;)

Obedience training practice

This Tuesday we will have our test for obedience training. Elly has been fantastic every week, following James going anything and everything he tells her. Bandit OTOH has been fantastic some weeks, and then other weeks where he has struggled to be able to sit. He gets very excited when he sees the other dogs and wants to play. Luckily last week for the practice run, he was perfect. Hopefully that doesn't mean that he bombs it this week in the actual assessment!

Here are some videos of them having a practice today!

Bandit's practice!


Elly's practice!

What have we been up to lately?

Well, I figured I would post some videos that I already have of them all!

Elly and Bandit playing Tug O War!

Bandit and Lexi having cuddles

Cats helping themselves to the dogs food!

That's about it for now :)

Hairy Harris' Intro

Well the best place to start is to introduce yourself, right?

So, here are the stars of this blog:

Elly - 5 year old Rotti. She LOVES her Dad VERY much and will follow him to the ends of the earth! She is obsessed with the cats (she stares at them!), but other than that is a very well behaved dog.



Bandit - 11 month old Rotti, our newest recruit. Bandit was a rescue dog that we were going to look after for a week, in February. But now he's with us for good ;) He's an incredibly affectionate dog that craves human attention. He is also still in his puppy stage and destroys EVERYTHING!



Lexi - 8 month old silver spotted Bengal. We got Lexi from a breeder at 12 weeks, and it is true that Bengals are a LOT like dogs. She has an amazing personality, and is very chatty. She loves to sleep on my legs.



Syd - 7 month old blue DSH. We got Syd from the RSPCA in Feb, when he was 12 weeks. Unfortunately poor little thing also came with cat flu (that he also passed onto Lexi) but I ended up back at the vets a few times in the first few weeks we had him. He is growing at a much slower rate than Lexi, but he is a gorgeous kitty who flops on the floor for cuddles and has a huge affection for sleeping on my laptop or rubbing his nose on my face in the middle of the night.