The THIRD Day of Hippo-Mas!!!

On the Third Day of Hippo-Mas, my meow cat purred to me,
Three Costumes,


Two Sleeping Cats,


And a Very Grumpy Hippopotameow!

The SECOND Day of Hippo-Mas!!

On the Second Day of Hippo-Mas, my meow cat purred to me,

Two Sleeping Cats,


And a Very Grumpy Hippopotameow!

The FIRST Day of Hippo-Mas!

So I have heard that it is customary in humyn circles to begin the 12 days of Christmas sometime something like 12 days before Christmas day, but I believe that Hippo-mas should start on Christmas eve and travel 12 days forward, in order to extend the holiday ex-purr-aganza for all of my kitty fans. Also, this means that I will be having one post per day for at least the next 12 days, so my loyal fans should be sure to check back daily.

Time to sing along!!!!!

On the first day of Hippo-mas my meow cat purred to me:

A Very Grumpy Hippopotameow!

Games Hippos Play

I am purr-fectly sorry that I have not been updating the kitty blog as of late - I know that I am totally behind. I know that it is not good kitty manners to wait so long, since my audience waits with baited kitty-chow breath for all of my newest adventures. My only excuse is that Katie and Baxter have been out of town at debate tournaments and though I would normally let you in on all my cat-ploits via the desktop computer, it hasn't been working. Which is worse for me than you, since instead of cruising for pals on Catster, I had to make do with Animal Planet and the occasional nap.

I am a wee bit cranky at the moment, because I just had a bath. I understand its necessity, and I am purr-tastically excited about the Christmas pictures that are soon to follow - which I swear I will post ASAP, and will accompany my soon to be annual Hippo Christmas letter. The letter will stay on my blog for my legions of fans to visit, but I will mail cards so you can have a reminder all year of just how purr-ociously cute this Hippo is.

But for tonight, a game! Now that we have finally gotten the house together (and I obviously use the royal kitty we, since I would never deign to actually clean, and the vacuum gives me a little kitty scare) and cleaned, I have begun to play hide and seek.

To start, an easy one. If you cannot find me, you need remedial instruction in Hippo Hide and Seek.


Slightly harder, but pretty easy. Beautiful Hippo alert!


Can you see me? Where is Hippo?


Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Hippo-tine. You are lost and gone forever, oh my darling Hippo-tine. Can you find me?


Purrs and Smooches,
Hippo Bear

Hippo Loves the Yoga!

IMG_0616, originally uploaded by katekauf.

I have a new hobby that I wanted everyone to know about - Yoga! Whenever Katie gets her mat set up to do yoga with the TV, I like to do some stretches as well.

In other news, I am thinking about composing a Christmas letter to send along with the obvious photo of my purr-fect kitty self. I haven't quite decided yet, but I really do believe that the world would be interesting in reading a recap of the last year's adventures of the Hippo Bear.

More Soon!
Purrs and Smooches,
Hippo

So while this pretty kitty hesitates to update because it will obscure my purr-ific halloween photos, I had a couple of incredible pictures taken in the past couple of days that I just had to show.

First, I know that this is not the greatest picture of me ever, but it is a good indicates my new favorite place to sit - and to type. Though I still enjoy the coffee table and the kitchen floor, they are not nearly as exciting as running as fast as I can, jumping onto the couch and nestling as close as I can to both Katie and the laptop. It helps me to type, and whoa am I cute.

This is my new favorite photo of myself. I look so a-purr-able!

For some reason I have also decided to take naps next to my food dish. I am the only one who doesn't seem to find this hilarious, as Katie and Baxter take turns coming in and giggling at me. I guess I just had so much kitty chow that I needed a nap.

Happy Halloween!

I know that this post is late, but being a persian cat is so busy. I spent the weekend decompressing while Katie and Baxter were out of town, just chilling and watching TV. I thought about throwing a major party with the kitties in the basement apartment, but in the end decided that this pretty kitty's mental well being was more important than a keg of cream. Maybe I'm growing up?

I did wear my costume on Monday, but since no one was around to see it, it got rather old fast. Luckily, Katie and Baxter got home in the evening and we were able to spend a couple of hours purring and watching TV, cuddling up with kitty chow and a blanket.

I went to the vet yesterday, and I have gained half a pound! I hope that I am not getting fat, but my purr-cious self is only 7 pounds, so I figure I am maintaining my petite figure cat-tastically. And how can one resist the delectable taste of cat chow?

Anyways, I know the real reason that my loyal readers tune in is to see me in my costume, so I will not delay the suspense any longer.

Purrs and Smooches,
Hippo!


This is my best Halloween photo. Aren't I a cat-rageous dragon? The hat was especially fun to wear.


A close up of the hat. This picture is not my most flattering, but my cat-mittment to my dear readers shines through, as I am purr-fectly devoted to making sure you can see my lovely costume.


This is me and Katie hugging in my costume. I would list it as one of my favorites were her arm not in the way of my loveliness. But aren't I adorable?


And finally, my least flattering photo, but hilarious all the same. I did not like the way that I couldn't really move my legs while im-cat-onating a dragon. I really felt like I became the dragon, but it was hard work during the transformation!

Long Time, No Purrs

I know that it has been forever since this pretty kitty updated her blog, but life has been incredibly hectic here at the Hippo house. Katie and Baxter went out of town last weekend and I spent a calm one, hanging around and gorging myself on Animal Planet. I seem to have these itchy spots all over my purr-cious body, but they will not stop my enjoyment of the lazy Hippo lifestyle!

I thought I would add a couple of pictures for your enjoyment, though I will save the Halloween costume reveal for the actual day!

Purrs and Smooches,
Hippo


Baxter likes to think that this is his side of the couch, but we both know who's really in charge around here.


I can never decide whether the computer works better as a place to surf the internet or a rocking place for naps. Most of the time . . . the nap wins.


Did I mention that this is one of my favorite places to nap? Sometimes Baxter wants to move, though, and that just cramps my style.

Hippo Secret

I just thought that I would raise anticipation by letting you all in on a little secret in the hippoverse: I have my halloween costume all picked out!!!

Katie and I tried it on last night, and I must say that I look abs-fur-lutely purr-tastic in it, and for awhile thought about wearing it straight through from now until my first Halloween in our household, but decided against it, mostly because I knew that the sheer cuteness of me in my halloween costume would be too much for Baxter to handle and he might implode.

So it was out of the goodness of my kitty heart, I meow you, that I decided not to wear my pretty kitty costume until my photo session. But then, it's never coming off!!!!

Here is a hint about what I might be (though MUCH MUCH cuter and more purr-cious): A DRAGON!!!

Purrs and Kisses,
Hippo

Hippo Venturing out onto the internet!!!

I have joined Catster!!! You should all come visit and give me treats. I will see if I can do something to make my page less lime-green, since it is not pleasing to these persian kitty eyes. Something in a light teal or pink would be purr-fect, I think.

One picture of my loveliness, and then I must be off. Katie and Baxter have gone to Rochester to coach debate, and I'm going to watch Animal Planet and drink cream all night!



Purrs and Kisses,
Hippo

Bookshelves are the new windowsill

Though I have ringworm and am not the most beautiful ever in my purr-cious life, life is still excellent in the hippo-verse. I am sleepy because it is late, but I thought I would let my purr-tastic fans see my latest adventure. Look where I have learned to lay!
I like how cute I look, though I was not really in the mood to have my purr-tograph taken. And if you wanta close up of my beautiful fur, here it is:
Aren't I adorable?!? I do so love the Zizek.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens . . . These are a few of my Favorite Purrs!

Meow Meow!

Well, now that the Katie Birthday Extravaganza is over, things are settling down at the Hippo pad. I am pleased that almost all of the wrapping paper and boxes have been picked up; I love the wrapping paper and batting it about is a pasttime of mine, but I am always a meow-ier kitten when my apartment is clean. I am something of a neat cat like that.

On a sadder note, I have been rapt with attention at the hurricane. I am not normally drawn to cat-astrophe television, but I am an animal lover, and I am worried about those hidden by the disaster - the pets. I read a story on the internet about people being evacuated and not being allowed to take their pets, which makes this pretty kitty sad and bereft. I absolutely hate the bathtub, and I know that it is not even near the same scale, so I cannot imagine how awful it must be for those animals. If anyone is looking for more information on this subject or ways to help, I would suggest this site.

As a way to give everyone a little brightening on this sad day, I thought I would give a list of my favorite purrs:

1. I looooooove clean sheets. I would like to give them many purrs and smooches. Katie and I change the sheets together, and it is always a cat-tastic time.


2. Many purrs and kisses also go out to the dresser in my bedroom. I am not much of a jumper, but I do love to climb up through Baxter's sweaters and lay out on the dresser. It is always very cool, and I can stretch all the way out and survey my holdings. If I am a very nice kitty, sometimes Baxter and Katie will stop by and pet me on the head and scratch my chin.


3. I am doing a purr-tastic job helping Baxter write his dissertation! I have decided that although I am still more interested in representational practices and their effects of socioeconomic status and oppressed populations, I am taking more of an interest in both continental philosophy and pyschoanalysis, hoping to broaden my horizons and make a little bit more of an effort to be an educated kitten. So far, I believe I have been indispensable to the process, although my suggestion that Baxter use kitten themed titles for all of his chapters was not accepted.


4. I am going to be a supermodel! Katie insists that I must see the movie Zoolander, which I do not understand, but I have a distinctly favorite pose in photographs. I believe I have perfected my look, and love to emphasize my curvy shape and luscious fur.


5. Finally, my new favorite hobby is web design. I love visiting various cat-themed pursuits, be it cats in costumes, sinks, or just playing about. I continue to vociferously protest the blatant discrimination that faces Persian kitties in such endeavors, but as I believe that the most structural change occurs through working with the system, I visit them all the same. Besides, I need to start getting ideas for my Halloween Costume.


Thank you all for visiting!
Purr,
Hippo

Oh Hippo, You Came and You Purred Without Meowing, And You Fought With Your Mousey, Oh Hippo!!

Meowers. Its been a bit weird since my b-day last week, maybe partially becuz I have had a couple good doses of the catnip Baxter and Katie got for me. Katie also did a bit of cleaning in the living room and put all my toys in a very cute little basket on the floor. I had to pull the fishy-pole and the pink feather toy out to throw them around and a couple times it meant that I just played with pencils, blankets, rubber bands, books, electrical cords (umm, Katie and Baxter, if you're reading, ignore that last one) and the like.

One of the crazy things about the month of August is that once my birthday-extravaganza is over its time for the Katie birthday extravaganza. I have been saving up and consulted with Baxter about some things that she might like. Here's a picture of our pow-wow on the subject of Katie-presents:



Baxter has worked pretty consistently on his dissertation all week, which meant that I got to spend alot of time studying along with him, as well as occassionally taking a cat-nap or two on the desk. I hadn't read alot of The Interpretation of Dreams but as you can see based on this picture from today, I have really gotten into it.



I have been watching So You Think You Can Dance and in all honesty, I think a 2 hour tape of me sleeping in the window would be more entertaining. At least every 10 minutes I would rub my cute little paws on my face and you could go "awwww" instead of hearing pretentious dance people arbitrarily choose whether or not they "felt it." On the other hand I've been watching Kathy Griffin's reality show on E! and she is kinda meowtastic. She has two puppies and apparently no kitties, but a fountain that I would love to play with, stairs that I would love to run up and down, and lots of big windows to look out of.

Finally, there are two new puppies who live in my building and I have seen outside a couple times. One is a little black lab and the other is an 8 week old English Bulldog, I think they will be my new friends.

Purr,

Hippo

Birthday Kitty!

Hello All!

As I'm sure everyone is aware, yesterday was my first birthday! Katie and Baxter bought me some presents, though they have told me that I haven't received them all yet. I find this suspicious - don't they trust me with my purr-prises? Just this morning, I found CATNIP that had been being held from me. The sheer nerve.

So since I know it's what my fans demand, a few choice and purrtastic photos of my birthday, and then a few others.

Here is my first birthday present! I found it cat-tastically entertaining.


Another of me and my favorite toy!


And then a couple of me sitting on Baxter's neck! How cute am I, sitting up.




AND, MY CUTEST FACE EVER:

Cuz I've Got One Paw in My Pocket, and the Other One is Batting a Fuzzy Mouse

Sorry its been so long, I have been busy. Katie is still gone, my fur is less than perfectly shiny and smooth, and Baxter completely gives in to whatever I meow. Sometimes I just walk into the room and meow at him and then make him follow around the apartment as if I wanted something, even though I don't. Its pretty funny. I have also developed a couple new fun places to sit. My favorite is prolly (thats pretty sweet huh, I picked up some net-lingo there, /\/\e0w !!) over on Katie's nightstand which is almnost completely devoid of objects with her not around. Even glancing at this picture makes me purr with adorability:



Anyway, not much has been going on in this part of the world. The weather looks very nice outside, makes me kind of want to sit under a tree and chase birdies. Then I realize two things 1) I am not much of a jum-purr, since the top of the couch without a climb is kind of a stretch I doubt I would be able to reach up to the nest 2) I really like my comfy air-cat-ditioned bedroom. The only time the air-cat-ditioning hasnt been keeping my bunny-soft luxurious coat at a comfortable coolness since we've been home was yesterday, when some sort of storm wreaked havoc on our electicity.

I must admit, for the brave flat little face that I put up when I have to defend myself against a pink feathered toy, for instance, or when the shadow of my mobile toy strikes me in the wrong way, I am occassionally a bit of a scaredy cat. At first, the loud bark-like noises in the distance didn't deter me from sitting comfortably in the windows. But as the wind started to rattle them, I decided to move into the living room with Baxter, since, if nothing else, he would likely drown out the noise by talking to me about some television program that I had not been keeping up on or asking me what I want for my birthday. A concept, I have told him many times, that I do not understand. Though I must admit, a set of pink fuzzy sheets for my (excuse me, our) bed would be welcome.

When the lights started to flicker on and off, I had had it. I opened my big persian eyes as wide as I could, to let in the little bit of available light and crouched in the kitchen to wait out the storm. Almost 2 hours we had no lights, no TV, and nothing to keep my frantic self chilled and relaxed. When it was all over and done with I had to chill out with a couple White Persians, a delightful drink I developed featuring Vodka, Kahlua, Godiva White Chocolate Liquor, and Whipping Cream.

Finally, heres another pictures for my adoring paw-blic. This is a new game I have developed, called Pony Rides for Kitties. Hope you enjoy.



Purr,

Hippo