The von Graf Family Miscreants

Emperor Norton aka Skitters the Brave born Feb 21, 2007 adopted April 22, 2007	The von Graf Family Miscreants	Harun Al Rashid aka Rascal born Oct 11, 2007 adopted Dec 16, 2007
My name is Emperor Norton, although I allow my family to call me Skitters. I have ruled my household as an only cat since I first adopted my humans, but apparently they thought I was getting lonely during the day.	November 3, 2007
	December 15, 2007	I am Harun Al Rashid, although my boy generally calls me Rascal. I will admit it seems quite fitting, as I love to cause trouble!
My humans like to take me for trips in the car. One store I don't mind visiting is called Petco, where they sell treats, toys, and interesting furniture for discerning cats like myself. Last weekend, however, they tricked me into visiting only to reveal their plan was to bring home a whole other cat! I voiced my disapproval of this decision, but was overruled.	December 15, 2007	I spent my early life with a very nice foster mommy through the Arizona Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, but I always knew I was looking for my real forever home. So I was actually quite excited when the time came for me to meet my new humans! They brought another cat, who was kind of rude, but they came with treats and lots of cuddles so I purred until they signed my adoption papers!
The next thing I know, this other cat is trying to take over my kingdom! He steals my toys, plays with my humans, and even tries to sleep in MY nap spots. He seems to ignore it when I growl, but a good cuff to the head usually gets him to leave me alone.	December 16, 2007	I love my new big brother! It's lots of fun to chase him around the house. There's also another cat who just doesn't talk much, but occasionally I give him a good bat to make sure he doesn't feel left out!
Did I mention that Rascal keeps hiding in MY boxes? I've stopped growling at him, though, and have even taught him how to chirp! Mostly we chase each other and play fight - bonus points if we manage to go up and over humans or tall furniture during the chase!		Skitters might be bigger than me, but I am fast and sneaky. Sometimes I can hide up high somewhere - Mommy and Daddy's bed works really well! - and jump down to try to land on his head.
I suppose if this little creature is here to stay, I'll need to at least teach him some basic skills. For example, grooming.	December 18, 2007	Silly Skitters, he thinks I don't know how to take a bath by myself! OK, so I might need a little help - I have a lot of fur for a little guy! But that doesn't mean I have to take these things seriously...
I'm beginning to see that there may be some advantages to having a little brother. For example, when we are not chasing each other around the house, we can team up to do things we are not supposed to do. I'm working on a way to make it look as though he's the one chewing on all the crinkly paper wrapped boxes under the tree...	December 19, 2007	Skitters says this tree has only been here for a few weeks, but it looks pretty permanent to me. As a bonus, there are tons of little cat toys hanging all over it. We can take turns batting them down and moving them around the house for mommy and daddy!

Rascal truly lives up to his name. I am trying to be nice - really I am! - but he seems to think I need to be attacked at every possible opportunity. For example, when I am lying quietly sleeping on mommy's bed, he'll just show up and pounce on me and start biting. It makes it very hard to get enough napping done, and some of the time mommy or daddy just has to be brought in to keep the peace!	December 21, 2007	Skitters is an old fuddy-duddy. He likes to just sit for hours at a time, staring out the window. Who has time for that! I just have too much energy. Tonight, though, we both just absolutely passed out on the bed. Bonus point - we tricked daddy into lying down for a bit too!

It took me a few days to get used to him, but I have to admit that having a little brother to play with is kind of fun. Most of the time we share our toys now, but I'm still not sure about him pouncing on my scratching block every time I try to earn some treats!	December 22, 2007	Skitters knows lots of tricks. Last night he taught me how to get up on the dining room table and knock things down; Daddy didn't like that trick. But there's this neat little ramp that feels good under my claws, and the humans get very happy when we use it. Treats appear out of nowhere!

Rascal eats much faster than I do. I'm not used to having to compete for my food, but I'm learning!	December 24, 2007	Mommy and Daddy mostly give us dry food that we can eat whenever we like, but every so often they give us some yummy canned food as a treat. Skitters says the part I like is called cheese sauce!


	December 25, 2007
I love boxes. Sometimes Mom and Dad end up with a pile of them in the kitchen. Today Mom got one that was full of paper! We helpfully redecorated the kitchen for her.	December 27, 2007	Mommy keeps talking about kids on snow days. I don't know what she's talking about, but my favourite part was letting her pile all of the paper back up so that I could dive into it! With a good run, I can slide all the way across the floor with a piece of paper!
	December 28, 2007



I do remember what it was like to be a little kitten, truly. It's just that now that I'm older, I sometimes need time to myself to think deep cat thoughts. There are a few places that I can sometimes hide from Rascal, especially as he cannot get up onto Mom and Dad's bed by himself. Apparently, however, my favourite nap places on the kitchen chairs just won't work anymore. I will need to think about this.	December 29, 2007	Sometimes I just need to be cuddled, why can't Skitters understand that? Luckily, I am so small that I can fit places he doesn't expect me to be able to!
Humans are so weird. For weeks now, they have been building up piles of pretty boxes in the living room, and then yelling at us when we, naturally enough, go exploring. Then this morning, the boy came home after being gone for days on end... and they just ripped everything apart! Fortunately, they let us in on the fun. We even got some presents ourselves! I'm especially fond of the little chicken treats that apparently came from a puppy in Connecticut!	December 30, 2007	My boy is home! My boy is home! I missed him so much! We just played all day. There were piles of paper, and bits of ribbon, and treats, and things that made noise! I really missed having my boy home to play with.
Everyone so often, Mommy goes nuts. She takes apart whole rooms and does something she calls "cleaning" and then puts it all together again. I love to help do things like make the bed, especially when the sheets are soft and warm out of the dryer and I can sneak under them. The boy is gone for the weekend again, though, which makes my little brother very sad. I try to cuddle him and keep him company whenever I can!	January 11, 2008	I miss my boy! But it's kind of fun to push his stuffed animals around and make a nest for myself.
	January 12, 2008
Some days, it is just impossible to get my naps in. No matter where I hide, that pesky little kitten worms his way in... and then refuses to sleep!	January 14, 2008	We have this great tunnel in the living room. It makes a neat obstacle course, especially when Skitters is inside it! One of my favourite things to do is to climb on his back!
The boy and my Mommy both have these lovely soft nesting chairs for napping in. Actually, they do other things in them like read books, no matter how many times I try to show them the perfection of the napping curve. I will say that when Rascal decides to curl up and be cuddly, he's actually quite nice to take naps with.	January 18, 2008	Prrrrrrr.

I finally got the chance to show Rascal the outside world! Mommy left the back door open when she went outside. I'm pretty sure she did it on purpose, but we took the opportunity to make a run for it! She wouldn't let us stay out for very long, especially when that interesting cat who lives on the other side of the wall showed up... but I got to show him a few key hiding places.	January 20, 2008	There's cool stuff outside that door the humans always keep closed! I couldn't believe all the smells! Skitters taught me how to roll in the dirt, but I'm not really sure that's a good idea. It meant that Mommy gave us both baths when we came back in!
Have I mentioned that Mommy does a lot of what she calls laundry? I like to help her, because it is very warm and soft when she puts it on the bed. Sometimes she folds parts of it and leaves them there, but I know how to rearrange them to be more comfortable. Sometimes I burrow down into the pile and take naps there. Boy was I surprised to wake up and discover Rascal was doing the same thing!	January 22, 2008	Skitters has been holding out on me again. This laundry stuff that Mommy does? It's so warm! I went in this afternoon and found Skitters just napping away. I think sometimes he hides from me! But today I decided not to wake him up right away to scold him, because, well, it was warm and soft. I wonder what other good napping spots he's been keeping from me?!
The best thing about beds? We can play jumping games. For example, when Rascal decides to take a nap, I can take a flying leap onto his head!	January 25, 2008	When the boy goes away, Mommy usually makes his bed. This is always fun to help with, but it's a lot of work. Sometimes I just get tired out!
A few weeks ago, Daddy put something he calls a bird feeder out on the patio. This is fantastic, because the birds come right down to my level! I just need to work out how to talk Mommy into letting me go outside! OK, into letting me go again. She did let me out yesterday, but she made so much noise opening the door that they all got away!	February 4, 2008	I am not sure what Skitters's fascination with the little flying animals is. They're kinda fun to watch, and he's taught me how to make chirping noises to talk to them... but chase them? He even went out in the rain yesterday! The rain!

Mommy spends a lot of time in the bathroom in the morning. There are very interesting little drawers under the sinks, but sometimes I like to get up on the counter and check out the stuff up there. Mommy can make very, very small amounts of water come out for me to play with!	February 5, 2008	I learn the best games from my big brother! Today he taught me how to get up on the counter in Mommy's bathroom and play with water. In return, I taught him how to hook the little metal cap out of the bathtub drain! It makes the best noises when we bat it across a tile floor in the middle of the night!
One of my favourite things to do with my day is just hang out on my nice soft bed and watch the bird network. Rascal makes me crazy sometimes - I'll be perfectly happy just napping away, and he'll come flying out of nowhere and land on top of me. But other times he'll just sit and contemplate with me - that's not so bad!	February 9, 2008	I've been growing up so much, but there's still a lot of things that my big brother can teach me. Plus, he's nice and warm to just curl up with!
Rascal and I have the run of most of the house, but Mom and Dad get pretty upset when we climb up on the table in the kitchen. Oh, also the kitchen counters... which is too bad, because there are fish up there! Anyway, to make up for it they built us a staircase to run up and down! I really like to perch on the very top and take a nap up there. Mommy calls it my gargoyle pose!	February 14, 2008	I love running up and down these bookcases! The best part, of course, is that sometimes Mommy hides treats on top!
	February 18, 2008	I love curling up with my boy! Sometimes I even curl up under the covers with him. Every so often, even Skitters comes to visit!
Today was beautiful! Mommy's been leaving the doors open so we can talk to the birds, but today she finally gave in and let us go out to play! Rascal makes too much noise, though.	February 29, 2008	The outside is kind of scary still! I went out and explored a little bit with Skitters, but I went right back inside by myself when Daddy said it was time. I know how to earn the extra treats!



It really doesn't matter where I hide to take my naps, Rascal seems to have no problem finding me and waking me up when he gets lonely...	March 13, 2008	Now that I'm getting more grown-up, I try to take my turn grooming my big brother. I just wish he'd be more appreciative!
I love the staircase Mommy and Daddy built for us. I keep trying to nap up top, but Rascal tends to get nosy and come wake me up even here! On the other hand, it's a great vantage point for spying...	March 17, 2008	Mommy taught me a song to sing to my big brother. It goes, "Anything you can do, I can do better..."
What can I say? We play hard. Sometimes we nap hard, too. Mommy says it is very funny to watch us run around like crazy and then just fall over asleep... but I say, why wait?!	March 18, 2008	I love to nap!

	April 27, 2008
Mom and Dad (and a team of people who talk some language we don't understand) have been very busy in the backyard. We've been watching most carefully, but today was the first time we were allowed to check out the extensive changes. The green stuff is apparently called "grass", and it is very soft to walk on. Daddy, however, can apparently control the rain over where the grass is, and that was not fun at all!	May 15, 2008	Know what's best about being allowed outside to play? All kinds of new smells!
	June 19, 2008
I like the back yard. I like to chase things. So today, Mommy and Daddy brought home something they called a "mouse." It does not look or smell like my toy mouse, but it was fun to chase around the yard!	July 28, 2008	What Skitters is not saying is that, well, we didn't really know what to do with this toy!
















I got bit by something in the back yard. It made me very, very sick. Mommy dragged me off to the mean vet, and they shot me up with things that made me very sleepy. But I'm feeling better now!	August 10, 2008	My poor big brother does not feel good. I keep trying to make him feel better. I like to cuddle with him!
Mommy got lots of boxes this week. The best part? Some of them were filled with tissue paper!	September 3, 2008	Shhhh, don't tell Skitters I am right behind him...
I like to sleep on people's feet. When I do that, they cannot move!	October 13, 2008	I like to curl up and prrrr at people. This is usually very effective at keeping them from trying to get out of bed!
I just do not get why the humans are always picking me up and touching me and trying to make me cuddle with them. I'm not super in to that kind of stuff, except when I'm trying to talk them into letting me out to play. But every so often...	October 30, 2008	There is nothing at all better than curling up with the people I love and just cuddling away. Except maybe treats, but the more I prr and cuddle, the more treats they seem to give me. I like cuddling with Skitters, too!
It's my birthday! OK, also Mommy's birthday. To celebrate, we actually got to go play in the backyard, where the humans have installed a lovely new play center for us. It's fun, and I even know how to get all the way up on the roof - a perfect place to spy on the evil Birds from. I will get them, one day...	February 21, 2009	The little boy tried to take me down one of the slides with him. I'm not so sure about that part, but it's kind of fun to hide under things and run up and down the stairs. Skitters is clearly crazy, though!