Membership Process

Dear Pablo, fan club members and friends,

I wanted to take this opportunity to show you all how very long my whiskers are. And also to explain the rigorous process that we here at the Pablo Fan Club Headquarters go through to determine the suitability of Fan Club members. It actually is very easy to qualify - you just have to demonstrate an interest in the Fan Club and an admiration for Pablo by posting a comment both on this blog and on Pablo's. Whenever anycat (or dog and recently even a human) expresses interest in joining, we just quickly check that they indeed have commented on Pablo's blog and we add them straightaway! Every once in a while, we also try to compare our comments with Pablo's to seek other admirers and add them. This is a challenging task, so if we missed you as a potential member, please let us know.

I know that a lot of cats have very long blogroll lists to include everycat in the blogosphere. I really appreciate that spirit and enjoy being an active member of the cat blogosphere. But the Fan Club Chairfeline Committee has decided to limit our blogroll to just club members to keep our sidebar streamlined and most useful for us, for Pablo and for the club members. We are considering adding a separate list for other friends, but have not reached a consensus yet. Our sidebar is getting kind of long.

A hearty welcome to our newest members The Crew (George, Max, Tipper and Misty), Marilyn MonREOW, Mickey Mantle, Caricature (our first human member), Ceasar and Prinnie, Diamond, Kassiel y Antonia (los Gárgolas), Marie, Mr Hendrix, Parker, Samantha and Tigger, Sultanfus and Guy and, finally, Suzanne, our lovely senior citizen lady-cat.

Phoebe's True Confessions

Dear Pablo,

Thank you for tagging me for the confessions game. I have thought long and hard about what I should confess. Here is what I came up with.
1. Sometimes when I sit on our computer desk I spread myself out and stretch and then, kerplunk! the basket with Very Important Papers falls onto the floor.
2. I have not been vomiting much anymore. But when I do, I usually eat it afterwards... it is all nice and mushy and it still tastes pretty much the same.
3. Sometimes, Tracy let's me stay in the bedroom with her until Denis comes to bed later (they sleep at different times). Often, I get so excited that I can't decide where I want to lay down and I walk back and forth around her head. I accidentally step on her hair and she says "ouch" and then she has me leave.
4. I still try to sneak out the front door sometimes. Not as often since I have become an Outdoor Explorer, though.
5. This is the most embarrassing one... I know I said in my advice to Possum that she should practice being aloof and not letting your people know how much you like them. But actually, I'm not so good at doing that myself. I sometimes follow Tracy around like a D-O-G.

I hope that you don't think any less of me for my confessions, Pablo.

My Favorite Mouse

Dear Pablo and fan club members,

The other day Denis was cleaning and he found my long lost mouse hiding under some furniture. As you can see, he is a furry, purple mouse with pink ears. He is my favorite mouse to play with. I carry him around by his tail with my mouth. I chase him around in the kitchen. I throw him into the air. I wrestle with him in the living room. I think his name might be George... I hope he doesn't get away again.

True Confessions

Dear Pablo and fan club members,

Chairman Mao tagged me for this game which was invented by his sister Marilyn MonREOW. We are supposed to tell about the naughty things that we do - as many as we like - and tag as many friends as we like. Well, I'm not sure that I would say the things that I am going to list are naughty, per se. Let's just say that the people and I have a difference of opinion about the appropriateness of certain habits...

1. I like to chomp on flowers that are brought into the house. Tracy sometimes gets the great idea to cut some pretty flowers and put them in the kitchen in a glass of water. The smell great! Things that smell great often taste great too. However, I get chased away when I am caught at sampling them.
2. I like to play with post-it notes. They are very interesting as they are slightly sticky on one side. I take them to my food or water dish so that I can play with them again. The people complain that they have important notes written on those things and I get them all wet or food crumbs on them. Hurmph! What a silly place to write important notes...
3. Another interesting thing to chew on is photographic paper. It is pretty rare to find some laying around the house - Tracy guards it in a box which I can't get open. I don't think it is very nice of her to keep it all to herself. Christmas is a good time to find some lying unguarded on the coffee table. People send them in the mail to us.
4. I like to sit on top of the stereo tower furniture. It is a great tall place to be and look over the living room. Denis doesn't like that at all!
5. I like to go into the "guest room" and look around. There is lots of very interesting stuff piled all over the place in there. The people keep the door closed as Phoebe and I are not allowed to go in there. But if they have to go in there for something, they have to open the door and I sometimes run int and hide under the bed. Sometimes, they squirt me with water to make me exit.
6. I like to lounge on top of any human that is available at the moment. This is a completely fitting place for a cat to be, of course. But Tracy says I get very heavy and she can't change positions. So after a while, she often pushes me off. I just give it a few minutes and get back in my rightful place.

Well, that's all I can think of. As you can easily see, there is nothing particularly naughty about what I do.

I would like to tag Pablo, Faz, Suzanne and Zippy.

Grandma's house

Dear Pablo and fan club members,

Thank you all so much for your good wishes for our vacation at Grandma's house. In this picture, you can see the lovely toilet facilities that she provides and one of my special Grandma toys. That toy jumps up and down from a springy cord.

On my vacation, Grandma and I went for a walk nearly every day. We decided to just leave my harness on to make it more convenient. I liked that just fine, so I didn't have to bother with getting it on and off over my ears. We patrolled the grounds at my house and I always checked to see if Tracy and Denis were home yet by going onto the porch and checking at the door. But then Grandma would say, "no, they're not home yet" and take me back to her place. Pablo, you were right. It was a long vacation. In the end, I was ready to go home. Let's go Tracy!

Vacation

Dear Pablo and fan club members,

Phoebe and I are going on vacation for a week starting tomorrow. We are going to Grandma's house for some rest and relaxation. As I have mentioned before, Grandma is an excellent hostess and knows how to run a tight ship. The litter box gets cleaned daily (which is often a shortfall in our house), the water stays fresh and there's lots of recreation time. When a cat has a need, Grandma is right there to accommodate. Plus, Phoebe wants you to know that Grandma's shoes smell great (She's a little weird, that kid. She likes to hug Grandma's shoes.)

So, we will be away from the computer for a time. I know that you will all miss us terribly and we will miss all of you. Especially you, Pablo. We will think of you daily.

Oh, in case you were wondering, Tracy and Denis are going to Portland to visit all their friends from when we lived there. Boy am I glad they aren't taking us on that long car ride.

Testimonial

Dear Pablo and fan club members,

I would like to publicly thank club member and prominent physician Dr. Daisy for helping me out with my IBS problem. Daisy recently completed her Milton-Bradley medical training and is working on her surgery residency. When she witnessed the indignity of my daily pill-taking ritual, she vowed to study IBS and try to help me out. Well, on her excellent medical advice, Tracy bought me a harness and took me outside on regular walks. Since I have been going outside, I have only vomited twice and my pills have been reduced to every 2-3 days. I'm not sure if it is the exercise, the fresh air or the high quality grass munching that has done the trick. But Dr. Daisy, I am so grateful for your assistance. I recommend Dr. Daisy to any ailing kitty.