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I apologize for the crass nature of this post. But...it's about butts. Brutus can finally lick his. This is a bit of a big deal. Congrats on your new trick, Brutus.  And congrats on the weight loss. 

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The wind is SUPER strong today! Brutus has been in the sill all day. I think he is anxious. 

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Such a lover tonight. 

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This is the first time I've actually caught him in his cat bed. 

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Going to get the mail and Brutus was mad I didn't bring him with me!

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Brutus loves not crafting. 

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My brother pretty much hates cats...and Brutus is no exception. In fact, Brutus has earned the hatred, by hissing and attacking Mike at every opportunity out there. 

But Mike has embraced the fact that I am a crazy cat lady and generally finds little funny gifts for me. Like this CCL dish towel. Love it. 

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Being particularly handsome tonight. 

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I heard a crash around 2am...one guess is that Brutus just wanted to plug the speakers in and listen to some good tunes. 

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He checks my receipts. Digs them out of my purse and everything. 

"Someone needs to keep an eye on the budget..."

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Someone is happy to have his snuggle buddy back. I missed you too. 

168

Hiding underneath the shower curtain while my water warms up. Not a great hiding space, Brutus. 

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I've taken nearly 20 pictures of Brutus today. He won't sit still and everything is blurry. CAT! We have a photo project to do and you apparently have no interest in it. Jerk. 

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Turned on the iPad. Opened it. And started my Google Drive. Apparently Brutus wants me to work on my book. Thanks for keeping me on track, Brute. 

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We don't do "all hands on deck." We do "all paws on Kate."

 

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Close up. He's so fierce. 

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I think Brutus is very sweet when he sleeps. 

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I was up at 4am, studying for finals (I know, really classy) and Brutus wanted in on the action. The allure of the lap outweighed the shame of being a book stand.

161

Happy Mother's day to all my moms in the world. I use the plural because I have a lot of people who have parented me throughout the years: friends, friend's moms, aunts, even an uncle, sisters, RA's from school...so many people who have loved me and nurtured my journey. Thank you all!

And while I can honestly say that I am not ready to be a mom in the traditional sense, I am so happy to be a kitty mama. Brutus is an unusual creature and sometimes pretty difficult to love, but I love him still. He is not well behaved and rarely does what he is told. He is loud when I want to sleep and begs me to nap with him when I really should be studying or working. Sometimes, when he escapes from the house, I think, well now I've really screwed this up for good. I feed him boring meals and I hate cleaning his bathroom. But as fate would have it, we are each others.

I assume that many moms have similar sentiments towards their kiddos, even if they are fleeting moments of frustration. But I would also wager that you love the feeling of your charge settling down next to you. You probably also laugh when they go completely crazy playing with a new toy. I'm sure that you tend to look past their faults and see them for what they really are: beautiful and special in a way that only you can understand.

Yes, I am just a kitty mama...but I really like being your kitty mama, Brutus.

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Thank you, Brutus, for not judging me and my Christmas jammies. I'm glad you don't discriminate.

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Brutus has come around to the green bean treats. We are already on our second bag.

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My vet is the BEST. This postcard was addressed to Brutus, reminding him to reschedule his wellness check, or to have his human to call for him.

155

He keeps biting me when I left my fingers to swipe the page.

154

This kitty mama is happy to have snuggles tonight.

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Today was a perfect day to sit and read outside with Brutus. Yes, I realize this solidifies my crazy cat lady status.

152

It's national hug your cat day. Brutus wasn't as excited about celebrating as I was. Obviously the creators of this holiday didn't have a cat who was part bobcat.

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Viper cat.

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Today marked another 4am wake-up yowl, curtesy of Brutus. I'm assuming he is hungry, but I'm not allowed to feed him any more than what he is already getting....

After discussing this with the vet's office, it was suggested that I offered him green beans as a between-meal-filler. So I promptly went the the store and bought the biggest bag of green beans a girl could find. Brutus loves to eat, so we're going to bust through these FAST.

Um, no. Here's what happened: I put the beans in the bowl. Brutus looked at the beans. Then at me. Then back to the bowl. **sniff sniff** Back to me. **begin staring contest with the beans, a fight he will not lose**

Fifteen minutes later, he picks one up with his teeth, shakes his head violently, and tosses the bean across the kitchen. He repeated that about six times.

Okay. They are pretty bland, I get that. So I mixed a couple if kernels of kibble into the bowl. He acted more interested. It was a while five minutes later that I realized he was just pushing the beans around to get to the kibble.

CAT!! Well, it's now been over an hour. He is curious at five minute increments...and I think he has eaten a total of three beans. It's a start...