Belated Update!

Sorry for not providing any Charlie updates for a couple of weeks, but life (at work and at home) has been super busy! In the meantime, Charlie has been steadily growing. We've had her just for about a month now, and she's tripled in size from the tiny kitten we brought home just before Christmas!

Charlie still loves playing on her cat tree (cat condo), and she especially enjoys sitting in this vantage point and looking out the window.

Lately too she has discovered this rabbit fur rug in our family room. She likes the luxurious feel of it (maybe it reminds her of another cat???), and likes to lie in the afternoon sun.

Sometimes when the sun is too bright, Charlie has to cover her eyes...

This next shot shows clearly how big Charlie is getting! She is about 11-12 weeks old now.

But in case you think Charlie's life is just sleeping - you couldn't be more wrong. She's especially active in the morning and at night, and runs right through the house. Charlie has lots of toys, but another favourite pastime is playing with the washing hanging up in the kitchen. I think I caught the  "naughty" look on her face in this next shot.

Think Outside The Box

Charlie's new favourite things to play with are these empty cardboard drink boxes. We open them up at both ends, and Charlie has a great time sliding around on them, going inside, rolling along...you name it. A very simple, cheap way to keep a cat amused.

And here's a couple of (admittedly not very good) videos. Again, when Charlie notices she is being filmed, she always has an urge to attack the camera!

The Cat Tree Arrives

A VERY big box arrived about 8:30 this morning containing Charlie's cat tree (aka "cat condo"). I didn't have time to unbox or assemble it before going to work, so poor Charlie had to wait until we got home tonight.

It's made of very nice material and seems quite sturdy - a good buy for around $97 (as opposed to $200-$300 in pet shops). However, the assembly was NOT at all easy, with only one diagram and very few instructions at all. It took a while, but I finally managed to build it. I even made a few slight modifications along the way.

Here's the final result - an imposing 1.7m tall in our living room! Charlie seems to like it.

She especially likes the brown furry "mouse" that dangles down from the third level, and plays with it a lot. I think it may be a little dangerous, though, and I'm thinking of taking it down. We'll see how Charlie goes with it over the next couple of days.

Charlie was super excited while I was putting the darned thing together, and then proceeded to go to sleep in several different places on the cat tree. It's nice and comfortable. Plus, we've positioned it so she can see out of the main front windows, and it's in a nice place to get the morning sun.

Exploring The Kitchen Table

I think I mentioned yesterday that Charlie is now big enough to climb up onto our kitchen table, which has opened up a whole new world for her to explore. Here, she checks out a banana...

And here, she finds a nice sunny place on the edge of the table...

And here's a really cute shot of Charlie, looking up from one of our kitchen chairs. I wish I knew what she was thinking!

Back To The Vet

Charlie survived her second trip to the vet today for another vaccination. Actually, she was really good - she didn't stress out so much in the car, and was really great in the examination room. The vet checked her out and said she is doing fine - she seems healthy and normal.

She has to go back for another shot in a month, and then hopefully only a booster every year after that.

At home, she is still a bundle of energy. She can get up onto the kitchen table now, which opens up a whole new world of mischief for her. We're still waiting for her cat tree (cat condo?) to arrive - hopefully it will be tomorrow or Thursday, because Charlie really needs something new to explore.

Catching Up

Sorry there's been no posts for a week or so, but the New Year has been a busy time at our house, and I stared back at work on the 2nd of January. At least Blue and her mum were able to stay home and spend time with Charlie.

She is growing really fast! We've had her for just over three weeks now, and my estimate is that she has doubled in size! She's eating and drinking well, and now has dry food and water in the middle of the day. Then I spoil her at night with some fresh meat, canned food, and a tiny bit of kitten milk.

Anyway, here is the Charlie action you've been missing over the past few days. First of all, here she is sleeping on our yellow Hikosen Cara cat - and you can immediately see how long she's grown!

Charlie is always very cute when she's asleep...but awake, she wants to play all the time and she is a bundle of mischief and energy. She can jump higher now, and in the next shot you can see her sitting on one of our kitchen chairs. But today, she got her head stuck between the railings and I had to very carefully help her to get it out. Kittens will get into everything!

Speaking of getting into everything, we were watching some TV last night and Charlie decided to position herself in front of the screen and watch the action.

The next shot was taken in a quiet moment, when Charlie was sleeping on my lap early this morning. It's a close up of her cute little foot!

We had to take our heavy curtains down in the living room because Charlie wouldn't stop trying to climb on them. So yesterday we ordered her a "cat condo" climbing post, which we hope she'll like. And tomorrow, we have to take her back to the vet for her second immunisation. Ouch!