Tantalizing Toy

A 10 cent pipe cleaner from a craft store provides hours and hours of fun. Bamboo is wide-eyed and alert.When they tire of it, we usually find it placed inside the food dish.

Da Boyz

It's a Compulsion

Chop Chop just can't help himself. That inch and a half ledge simply calls to him. He's a much larger cat than his brother, and he has that swinging tummy pouch one often sees on dominant cats. Chops just gets this crazed look in his eye and goes for the big leap, but it is not as easy as it once was to stay comfortably balanced. The lower picture, you can see him using his claws for security.

Yin and Yang

Three comfy beds in the house, but Bamboo and Chop Chop often choose the cat tower/condo that has a round bed surface, about 14" wide, to catnap. When things are very quiet in the house, they are usually here. My presence to take this picture woke them both up and I got Chop Chop mid-yawn. I love this because it shows how different two brothers can be. I can't quite put my finger on the Bamboo's expression. It wasn't long after this that Bamboo escaped on a 9-day unauthorized excursion that worried me silly.

Bamboo's Big Workout

Well, you see, we bought this treadmill- you know, to get fit and all that. Well I got on, and someone joined me. None other than Bamboo, the scaredy cat of the family, the one that doesn't like anything new, who hides (for a while) when company comes to visit. So there I was, speeding along at .5 miles per hour and an incline of 3 when Bamboo bumps me off to see what all this was about. I quick hollered to my husband to get the camera. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. This was not staged, nor encouraged. And still photography doesn't do it justice...he was moving.

Note BB's tail is straight up. He is excited!

Bamboo slipped off the treadmill only once. After that he got the hang of it.


Bamboo stayed on the treadmill for several minutes. Here, he is investigating the source of the motor sound. His brother is just visible left center, showed absolutely no interest in a fitness program, though he is the one that needs it most. Whenever I go on the treadmill (not enough), Bamboo comes in and sitsonthe ironing board I have near by. I am usually going a little faster than his preferred speed, but he watches me intently.

The view from up here

This morning, at 5:30 a.m. Chop Chop raced through the room, and jumped atop a door in our bedroom. Farmers have roosters, we have Chop Chop.

Now Chop Chop is no spring chicken anymore. He is a bit of a chunky monkey these days, and his added weight makes balancing on an inch and a half fulcrum a bit precarious. He uses his paws to steady himself. All my doors have scratch marks on them. Little teeny tiny scratches, kitty patina on painted surfaces!


I think, I mean I know Choppers does this to get attention. He will sit up there perplexed until one of us rescues him. So we are in the Siamese rescue business, sort of. I wonder if he does this when we aren't around? He just may be...and getting down on his own so we are none the wiser!

Rescuing a Siamese! Yes, they need your help!

This is a wonderful resource to adopt a Siamese, learn more about them, or donate your time as a driver, interviewer or foster "meowmy." When I lost my Siamese cat for 9-days (more about that later), the ladies from this organization, who never met me before, were so caring, gracious and helpful. What a bunch of wonderful people. Love - Adopt - Help- please visit their site:
http://www.siameserescue.org/

To Jump or Not to Jump...That is the Question

I was told Siamese are either a lap cat or a shoulder cat. Chop Chop is the jumper. If you visit our house he will likely jump on your shoulder. All of our doors to our house have claw marks on them, thanks to Chop Chop. Here, he is deciding on what I am going to feed him.

Like most wives, I take too long in the bathroom. I drive my husband to the guest bath where he gets no privacy. A guy can't take a shower in peace. After any shower, Bamboo (sitting on the blue towel) hops in the tub and sticks his head under the faucet and waits for the diverter (technical jargon from a plumber's daughter) to drop. Then he attacks the water that gurgles out. We have video of this but it's not digital. Chop Chop in his favorite pose atop a door

My Little Angels

This is about as good as it's going to get. They stood still so I could introduce you! Bamboo is the seal point, bottom left. He has brilliant blue eyes and a nice mask...just one tiny tuft of fur missing over his right eye, otherwise he'd be just perfect. Chop Chop is standing, appropriate because he is the Alpha cat of these litter mate brothers, born on June 20, 2000. Chop Chop is a chocolate point,

and his nose, mysteriously turned pink during his first year. I've been told by breeders that this is probably a genetic trait. I think it makes Chop Chop look like quite the character, which he is, and which you shall soon see!

Meezer Mom

I've been a human mother of Siamese cats since 2000. Maybe I should re-phrase that. I have been owned by two Siamese cats since 2000. Prior to that, I have always been a dog owner, most recently Great Danes, so having Siamese cats in my home was quite the experience!

Most pet owners I know are very attached to their four legged family members, and most are breed loyal. So I am not going to say that Siamese cats are the greatest thing since sliced bread, because, well, your just not likely to believe me.

But they are an endless source of entertainment - and I think over the years, they've gotten quite a reputation for being a little mean. Lady and the Tramp had something to do with that. Those slinky cartoon meezers connived to wreck a house, kill the family fish, and steal an innocent baby's milk. The most common question I get from the curious is, "Oh, aren't those cats mean, or nasty?"

Of course the answer is no. The picture on left, taken by my daughter, is of 9-year old Bamboo in mid- yawn. It is a formidiable picture, and mental image many of of the Siamese. I post this picture on my Facebook Siamese cat photo album. The caption reads: I used to have a Great Dane guard my house, now I have Bamboo. Of course, there are bad apples in every bunch, but in a loving home, with well-adjusted human owner, all pets have the opportunity to be angels. Mine included.

This blog isn't meant to be earth shattering or news breaking. My little boys, Bamboo and Chop Chop, you I hope you will get to meet through my photographs, are my angels and my devils. We've had Lady and the Tramp scenes at home, for certain, but what I have learned, through the adventures of Bamboo and Chop Chop, are the little life lessons worth sharing.