That would translate into Frequently Asked Kitty Questions. I keep getting little sweet comments and questions about Mini and Bonus so I've compiled them here and added a few more tid bits about our precious four leggers.
In case I missed something you can also check out the Mini and Bonus category in the left hand sidebar or use the Google search button, also in the left sidebar, to type in cat, kitty, Mini, Bonus, pet, or anything else you might be wondering if I've posted about earlier.
Here we go:
Q: How did you come up with their names?
A: Mini was a tiny kitten, the smallest in her litter so we referred to her as mini before we got her and it stuck. Bonus is her "little" brother and he wasn't claimed when I went to pick Mini up and he came along for the ride. Of course he had to be named exactly what he was, a bonus. That day by the way was probably the best day in Wille's life, me not bringing home one long awaited for kitty, but two!
Q: Any nick names?
A: Amongst others, Mimi, Mimi-lee, Mimlan, lilla Fröken, Fis-Lisa, Fia-Lotta Larsson. Boomi, Bombulus, Bompe and Mr Handsome (pronounced in a pigeon English kind of way. Mistaa...)
Q: How do you keep your house so clean with two cats (and a husband an a fourteen year old, but that's a different FAQ post)?
A: Shooting wide angle shots hides a multitude of sins. There are as we speak paw prints on every window sill, and on every other surface too actually. I'm constantly wiping here and there and once a week I wipe all surfaces, vacuum the floors and mop them.
For paw prints on upholstery I resist the urge to wipe them off immediately but instead wait (impatiently I might add) for them to dry and then brush them off. If there's a stain I use a damp micro fiber rag to spot clean. Once a week I vacuum the sofa and the armchairs and about once a month or so I throw the covers in the laundy machine.
Q: I have cat hair everywhere! It's driving me nuts. Any solutions?
A: Like I said I vacuum all upholstery once a week but if either of the kitties have been laying in on spot for a long time and there's a huge amount of hair there I take a garment brush and brush it off. You can also put on rubber gloves and stroke the surface which will pick up the hair. Other than that vacuuming is really the best I feel. I also vigorously brush Mini and Bonus with a rubber brush during shedding season. They both love it and it's amazing the amount of hair that will come off. If I knew how to knit I could knit a scarf out of what I've brushed off Mini these past few weeks.
Q: How do you deal with your litter box?
A: Our cats prefer the outdoors but if the weather really sucks they do use the box which simply sits on the floor in a corner of the kitchen. I use the best cat litter available ( at least according to me) Ever Clean. It's more expensive than others but there's very little wasted as it's clumpforming and you can really keep the box fresh easily. We scoop as soon as we seen it having been used and there's very litlle smell. A broom and pan next to the box makes it really easy to sweep up any sand that has gotten outside of the box. The poop-scoop hangs inside of the under sink cabinet.
Q: How and where do you store cat food?
A: We keep a glass jar on the kitchen counter top with dryfood. There's always a glass dish for dry food on the floor under the counter. Mini and Bonus also have wet food, their current being salmon and tuna out of a bag. The little bags are kept in an ice cream container in the kitchen cabinet. The bulk of the dry food is stored in a large tub in the pantry in the basement. There's a plastic cup inside if the tub to use as a scoop.
Q: How do you keep the sheep skins that the cats use clean?
A:I tried washing the IKEA Ludde one but it came out all funny so that wasn't a great solution. The other ones I just shake like a mad person once a sweek, air out and vacuum. I let my nose determine if they are still OK and they really are. The cats love them so they stay as is.
Q: How do you keep your cats safe?
A: Mini and Bonus can come and go as they please through the kitty door but we do take precautions during the dark season. Mini wears a glow in the dark bell around her neck ( which hopefully also alerts a few birds that she's approaching) and I spray Bonus with a glow in the dark spray so he can be seen by any cars driving past. We also keep chocolate and chocolate drinks out of their way since chocolate is toxic to cats and we stopped using chemical lawn fertilizers. Also they are both insured so if we need to see the vet we can afford to no matter what.
Q: How's that cat door working for you?
A: It's great. It allows Mini and Bonus to go out and come inside even when we are not at home. We haven't had any unwanted visitors through there. Our cats just wouldn't allow it. There are magnets holding the flap closed so it doesn't flap about if there's a breeze and there's surprisingly little draft. Little princess Mini prefers to have the flap held open for her when we're around. She sits there and looks at it and meows until we oblige... Bonus on the other hand dives right through at high speeds. Oh, and to prevent them from dragging in more dirt than they already do, I cover the door mat where they land with a beige towel (beige matches the floor...). This soaks up some of the moisture and it can easily be shaken ouside or switched to a clean one.
Q: Do your cats claw at the furniture?
A: Yes, Mini does, but not a whole lot. And it's really not precious furniture so I don't get worked up about it. We do have a scratch post but they rarely use it. Sometimes the sisal door mats are used and that's fine. Also the oak tree outside on the deck is used frequently which probably saves the furniture a lot of wear and tear. Wille came up with a great idea when Mini and Bonus were kittens and when he wanted to show them to use the post. He used a laser pointer and pointed at the scratch post and both Mini and Bounus started clawing at it. We tried catnip spray and home grown dried catnip on it too but that didn't work at all.
Q: Where did you get the cute cat bed in the shape of a cat head?
A: I saw it in a magazine in someone's home and searched everywhere for one. It was made by Whiskas but has been discontinued. I ended up finding one on Ebay. Try doing a search for "cat bed whiskas" and you might get lucky.
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That concludes this Kitty FAQ session. Hope you find answers to your Mini and Bonus questions somewhere in there. And yes I know, they are soooo cute!
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Look what I saw this morning! Thank you AT!
