It’s summer, and I have a kitten. Things seem to be moving at even a more languid rate than I expect from summer hours. I blame the kitten. There are the additional tasks that come with caring for another creature – food, litter box cleanup, grooming – that I have tried to adjust for, waking up half an hour earlier than needed to make sure everything gets done. But there are two aspects of Having A Kitten I didn’t really factor in to my timing: playing and ogling.
I guess I knew that I would play with the kitten. But I didn’t realize that he would have specific Play Times that would require so much human participation. Don’t get me wrong – he can entertain himself. But sometimes, “entertaining himself” means getting into mischief, because he’s very curious and has no idea which activities/areas/objects are restricted. I have found it better for all involved to dedicate intensive one-on-one attention to him when he’s feeling playful. This turns into 30 minutes about three times a day where I am doing nothing but playing with him. We have a wand with some attachments that he loves to chase. We have some balls with bells inside that he loves for me to throw. I mentioned previously that he adores the little mylar crinkly balls. He has at one point had two spirals, which he loves, and also loves batting under the stove. Both of them are currently MIA.
The internet has implied for years that cats love boxes, and this cat does indeed love a box. We got a new vacuum and the box it came in has holes on two sides for handles. He loves hiding in the box and batting at things from inside the “windows.” He loves it when I throw a ball inside the box so it bounces of the far wall. We introduced him to the joy of a paper grocery bag today and he is having big fun with that. In fact, I had to take a fifteen-minute pause in writing this post because he hopped up onto the chair with me, purring loudly, planted himself firmly between me and my laptop, and then started biting my arm. So I got him a fresh bag and a feather toy which are currently distracting him very nicely. They are also distracting me, though.
That brings me to the next time adjustment, which is for ogling. He is so cute that I spend waaaaayyyyyy too much time watching him be cute and taking pictures and videos. Carla is also spending waaaaayyyyyyy too much time doing those things, and also picking up the kitten every time he’s not already in her arms, and also saying, “Mom! Look at what Lenny is doing!” and also giving me a play-by-play of what the cat is doing anytime I am not looking directly at him.
Anyway, I am living solidly in Kitten Adjusted Time (KAT) right now, which is super adorable but also super non-productive.
Let’s see. Despite the kitten and his darling antics, we still need to plan and prepare and consume meals. What shall we eat this week?
The rain persists, with little bursts of occasional sunshine. This makes it hard to know what I want to eat. Do I want warm and cozy things, like chicken paprikas and lentil soup? Or do I want fresh summery things like grilled chicken caprese salad or grilled summer squash with lemon-scallion dressing?
I better come up with SOMETHING.
Dinners for the Week of June 9-15
- Copycat Carbone Spicy Rigatoni: My husband requested this one and I’m a sucker for a good vodka sauce.
- Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork: We haven’t had this in a while but it sounds good. I have never simultaneously had a cat and a crockpot though, so… hmm. We combine this with caramelized onions, feta, Kalamata olives (for me), sun-dried tomatoes (for my husband), and put it all over brown rice to make yummy shredded pork and rice bowls.
- Sheet Pan Mediterranean Chicken and Veggies: I can use the leftover feta from the balsamic pork bowls for this, which will be tasty. I like to top this with a tangy cilantro dressing.
- Cold Noodle Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce: We haven’t had this in a long time but it sounds like a perfect summer meal. I may buy some flank steak so we can have some teriyaki steak to go on top of it. Bonus: my kid will eat steak.
- Pickle-Brined Chicken Tenders: This is a big hit around our house, even though it is a bit fussy to make. Carla hopes to have a friend over for a sleepover one of these nights, and this will be a good friend-friendly meal. (I typically make tacos for sleepover nights, but we just had a tacos-and-sleepover evening last week, and I’m not ready to do that exact combo again.) I need some sort of veggie for the side. We’ll have to see what looks good at the grocery store.
Okay, that looks like a respectable list of meals!
In case you were wondering: The kitten tired himself out attacking the paper bag I got him. He is now fast asleep, inside it.
Lenny is ridiculously adorable and is making me long for a kitten, despite already having two teenage cats. One piece of advice, which you can take or leave though: we cut the handles on any paper bags that the cats play with. Once you’ve chased a panic-stricken cat blindly tearing through the house in a desperate attempt to get away from the crinkly monster chasing them, except it keeps following them because it’s attached to their neck, you take precautions. It definitely may only be my dumbasses who have had this happen to them, but I just wanted to share as a FYI.
Oh eep! That is a very good tip, thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Nope – not just your dumbass – mine did the same thing, leaving shreds of bag throughout the house. It was hilarious but also sad because he was so terrified of the monster chasing him!
Oh my gosh, that sleeping in the bag pic is TOO SWEET!!!!
I cannot get enough of this cat.
Oh gosh, Lenny is so adorable. I would spend a lot of time fawning over him as well! Kittens are so joyful and fun! And then they conk out and you can watch them sleep!
I need to make that Mediterranean sheet pan dish sometime soon. It looks so good! I haven’t owned tahini in 10+ years and when I owned it before, I used it once. But I believe it’s an ingredient in the Shawarma dish, too. Although I feel like Phil will have a hard time finding it in the grocery store so I better google where it’s found so I can give him detailed directions.
It’s been rainy here, too. And this week is Paul’s water-themed camp. Womp womp. Hopefully the weather holds up for their outdoor aquatic center days. I’m wearing a sweater today since I am so cold!
Oh no! I hope the weather doesn’t put a damper (sorry, bad pun) on Paul’s camp fun!
I think tahini is a lot easier to find these days than it once was. I hope you make both dishes and enjoy them!
Awww, enjoy that beautiful kitty! My old girl also loves boxes and paper and plastic bags. Several times she’s gotten the handles of a plastic bag caught around her neck and dashed around the house. Once I got done laughing, I rescued her. 🙂 Yesterday I was sick (nausea and dizziness) and spent most of my day on the couch. Mari wouldn’t leave my side–purring, lying on me, next to me, bumping me and showing her love. Cats are the BEST!
Awww that is so wonderful to have her there for comfort, Margaret. I hope you are feeling much better today!
OMG this is so cute Suzanne. Look at those little paws! Batting at things! I’m dead. I AM DEAD FROM THE CUTE.
Carla’s “look at what Lenny is doing” reminds me of me, literally anytime Rex does anything. “Look at him, he’s so cute!” Literally he’s just lying there sleeping.
That cold noodle salad looks really good, I wonder if I should do that this week. A cold noodle salad is on tap for sure, I just was going to throw together a random sauce, but a peanut sauce? That sounds nice. It’s hot here! And we have no humidity so it’s lovely.
KAT FTW!!! I’ve spent a lot of the past year and a half on PAT. There are a lot of things that I have not done because of it, but I’ve gotten endless puppy snuggles so I still win.
I haven’t had peanut noodles in a while. Must do something about that.
I’m not trying to make anyone jealous, but my stepson works at Chipotle and he brought home a ton of their rice and chicken so that’s a good portion of our menu for this week. Normally I hate chicken but it’s a special limited edition chicken that’s really good.
You and the kitten are going to become close friends, spending so much time together. I haven’t made a cold noodle salad in a while… well, like since last summer when it was hot outside.
I loved your description of Lenny playing and all the time you spend watching, videoing and playing. It it perfectly described my kitten experiences, such joy and love.
I highly recommend ‘da bird’. It is a fantastic cat toy. Far superior to any other wand toy in my experience. Even 15yo cats who never played loved it.
A cat tunnel with holes and crinkley ends for playing is also fantastic for hours of entertainment, especially in conjunction with da bird.
enjoy your kitten time!!!
Oh COME ON, sleeping adorably INSIDE A BAG. Eve similarly used to give me a play by play of Lucy’s activities including “OH MY GOD, she’s breathing so cute!”. Honestly, she still does a good amount of the time. I remember when we first got Lucy and my day started to include sleeping with a wrapped-up puppy on my chest for forty-five minutes every afternoon. It did not suck.
KAT is the best time! You are totally enjoying Lenny and giving him all the love he deserves! What a cutie!!!! I am loving all the pics and descriptions of how he likes to play.
The day we brought the kittens home all work ceased and we all just sat in the living room staring at them.
Now they are almost 15 months old and they still love all those things you mentioned. The wand toys are a favorite, especially the fluorescent worms. We have one of those mylar balls lodged in the gap between the kitchen counter and the stove. I haven’t been able to get it out. Any new boxes that come into the house must stay for a while before they are broken down for recycling. At this age, they are basically kittens in adult cat bodies.
OMG, I love your cat.
I think the internet collectively wants to quit their jobs and sit and watch a nanny cam of Lenny all day. THE BAG. SLEEPING IN IT! I mean it’s just hopelessly cute, Suzanne.
We had Marry Me Chicken last night over pasta and I purposefully left a bit of pasta which I’ve added to a small pot of chicken noodle soup for supper tonight. The rest of the week is anyone’s guess.
KAT is the perfect definition of this period of kitten ownership! And truthfully, the ogling sticks around into adulthood – I still love to watch and photograph my “old man cat” at Mom’s house (he’s 11+ now!) <3 Lenny is absolutely ADORABLE, so savor these kitten hours 🙂
Lenny!!!! I’m with everyone else thinking that you couldn’t spend your time any better than admiring Lenny, taking pictures of him and sharing them on your blog! The last photo of him sleeping in the bag is THE BEST. I will now shut down my computer for the day because I won’t see anything better than that.
KAT. I never would have factored that into my schedule. Curly is babysitting for one of my little ones over the summer, and she is SO cute. Plus she loves me, so I have an excuse to hide by the computer. But the cute factor is distracting. I love the pic of kitty being worn out by a paper bag. Hilarious.
He is very adorable. I agree. But wow I had no idea how much playtime is required. I guess he will slow down a bit when getting older?
We are doing home vacation this week and I had to come up with seven meal ideas. Or even ten with both weekends? ugh. It’s always so hard. I am eating the freezer this week though. And some ordering in.
Yes, I can see why you’re living in KAT right now! Kittens are so, so fun, and so, so cute. I love how Lenny is obviously living his best life- lots of people around to play with him and snuggle with. I know it’s more work and pretty time consuming. It reminds me of what Gretchen Rubin says when you’re trying to decide between two options- “Pick the bigger life.” You definitely did that!
There will be a time when you come home and you don’t know where the cat is and you don’t see the cat until dinnertime. LOL. Ask me how I know. They don’t stay kittens. *sigh*
Zelda requires about ten minutes of cuddling these days and maybe thirty seconds of playtime. And I don’t begrudge her any of that time!
That is a VERY VERY CUTE kitten.
What an adorable addition to your family! That final picture where Lenny is sleeping but also kinda waving hello… I can’t get enough of it!! I’m getting second-hand KAT!
KAT! Yessss. How could you deny that sweet face anything?! Eloise also loves a box and a bag. Lila could care less about them. Lenny sleeping in the TJ’s bag is EVERYTHING.