Ps...To reduce the amout of spam comments this blog is getting, I'm turing off the comments section - but hop on over to www.manohmanny.blogspot.com to leave Manny some love.  A google or blogger account is not required. Come on over...

We are back from Ireland and have moved into our new home! We've been very busy unpacking and settling in, but I'm happy to say, we are all accounted for.  Yes, The Husband; Manny; two "fishies" and I successfully moved into our new home.  One couch and one box spring were not so successful.  It was a tiresome move with some tears (mine); cries (Manny) and plenty of cursing (everyone). 

But I'll cut to the chase, I know everyone wants to hear about Manny and how he handled the move.  He was a champ! The vet gave Manny  Acepromazine to help Manny get through the hour drive and subsequent move.  It worked!  Manny cried a little bit when we first put him the dreaded cat carrier, but once in the car he surprisingly settled in for the ride.  His calm demeanor obviously had a lot to do with the tranquilizer, but it was a relief that he didn't spend the car ride meowing in feigned agony. 

When we arrived in the new place, we put Manny in a spare bedroom that we were going to keep closed during the entire move.  We set him up with his water and food bowls; the litter box; and his beloved fish towel and blankets that we kept in his hideout (under the bed) at our old place.  He snuggled into the blankets and napped.  He was pretty much out of it for the rest of the day.  A couple of times when I checked up on him, I saw that he had wrapped all the blankets around himself.  He looked like a lil pig in the blanket. 

Towards midnight, the Acepromazine wore off and he started to meow to be let out of the room.  I was nervous about letting him out but didn't want him to spend his first night crying.  When we let him out we brought him into our room, hoping that we could confine him in there until morning.  He was completely fine with that.  I think he just wanted him Mom (and Dad).  He sniffed around our room for a bit and once he was finished jumped onto the mattress and purred away. 

The next day we let Manny explore and he had a busy schedule of sniffing boxes and inspecting the furniture.  When he wasn't sniffing around, he was busy trying to wedge himself under my dresser. It's amazing how he is able to flatten himself out and squeeze himself into the smallest of places.  It's like he unhinges all his bones and just slides right in. I am so glad he had a collar on because it allowed me to find him when he hid amidst the boxes.

We have a second floor in our new place and Manny has been completely intrigued with the stairs.  At first he just stood at the top looking at me like "you have got to be kidding me, where is the nearest elevator?".  But his curiosity got the better of himself and he gingerly walked down sideways to visit the downstairs.  Now, about three weeks later, he runs up and down the stairs like he's running a marathon.  He's back to jumping up on the couch to watch TV, although he prefers to stay upstairs for the time being.  He still goes to his hideout, and The Husband and I joke that he's busy redecorating down there.  He's been eating and purring - two signs that give me great comfort.  It basically let's me know that he's doing ok and is pretty content with his surroundings. 

I'm sure there will be more Manny adventures headed our way and we'll be back to share them with you soon.  Excuse me while I figure out what's in box no. one hundred and fifty five.

One of my long time readers, Helen, gave me a lil nudge the other day.  She politely pointed out that its been over a month (cringe) since my last post and her cats (pictured below) were desperately waiting for another post.  Okay, maybe I added the desperately part, but nonetheless the picture worked and we can all thank Helen for this post. 

This time I have a pretty valid excuse for not posting in over a month (cringe, again).  We're moving! By October.  So for the past several weeks my house has been in total disarray with boxes everywhere.   I can not be creative in such cluttered conditions!  Not buying it?  Ok, well, there are still boxes everywhere and if I'm going to do anything after I get home from a long day at work, I'm going to sit on the couch and watch tv - err...pack. Packing leaves little time for blogging about my favorite orange fur ball. 

Manny is taking the move in stride.  I keep reminding him that he will be moving and needs to start packing his things.  He stares blankly at me when I tell him that.  Actually, so does The Husband now that I think about it. Since we started putting our possessions in cardboard boxes and shoving everything into the dinning room Manny has turned into the Move Inspector.  Every morning I find him sniffing things and walking around the room just checking things out (how he found space to walk around in is beyond me).  In fact he's sitting under the table as I write this under the same chair we find him every morning.  The Husband thinks that Manny is watching over our stuff.  I think Manny, not literate in calendar, is just making sure he is not going to be left behind come move day. As if that would happen.  If I could put him in a box marked fragile now I would, but I'm pretty sure he would hate that.

So now besides packing (I hate packing) The Husband and I are in discussions over the best way to move Manny.  The vet suggested valium.  For Manny, that is.   We also need to figure out a way to move that Godforsaken fish tank.  The vet suggested valium. For me, not the fish.  With all that to think about, I'm surprised I just don't sit on the couch and watch the Family Guy after work -- oh wait, I do. 

With that said, I'm excited to be moving.  My faster commute to work will be a dream; and I'm ready for a new adventure of sorts.  Now if only I could snap my fingers and everything would be done for me, I'd be golden.

P.S. I leave for Ireland today. Yup, I'm a glutton. Good bye disarray, hellooo Emerald Isle.

Eddie, Esme and Simone, left to right in the photo. Helen writes, "Eddie gets called Eddie Spaghetti, and Simone is Simonee Spumoni - we haven't come up with an Italian connection for Esme".  Mannicotti Biscotti loves the Italian nicknames, btw.

You think I would understand that little mantra by now, but nope, can't say that I do.  I do know that if I wanna pet Manny it's best that you stick out your hand for the little orange guy to sniff and pet him ONLY where he wants to be pet.  Manny will make certain to direct your hand in the right spot by giving your hand a little brush with his head.  I know that just because Manny rolls on his back, doesn't mean that it's an open invitation to rub his furry belly.  I know that it doesn't matter if you're trying to write a long over due blog - if Manny wants to play with his mouse - we play with the mouse.  So in some aspects I know and respect the Manny Rules, but then incidences like the one below will crop up totally setting me back from being a full fledged Manny expert.  

Even something as innocuous as testing out a new can of food will wreck havoc on the household. It all started out so innocently.  It was a sunny day and I had just emerged from Penn Station on my way to the office when I spotted a well-know cat food company giving away samples of their new wet food "in a convenient pour and serve pouch".  The Husband and I scored some "real tuna dinner" pouches and thought Manny would like to try something other than Fancy Feast for dinner.  Seldom right and wrong again.  That night I decided to forgo the Fancy Feast in favor of my newly acquired free sample.  I opened the pouch and poured some into his bowl - they were right, it was convenient - however, the pouch eliminated the pop top tin can sound cats know and worship. Strike one.  Manny looked like at me like I was a crazy fool (and I was) for serving up something other than Fancy Feast.  He sniffed it, looked at me, then walked away.  Strike two.  When hunger won out, Manny came back to his bowl and gave the tuna a try.  He ate the whole thing and I thought we might have a winner - SCORE!

I came home from work the following day and was greeted by a nice pile of cat regurgitation.  Lovely as that was, I wasn't all that concerned as I cleaned up the mess.  When I went into the bathroom something in the bathtub caught my eye.  Oh. no. he. didn't.  Oh yes he did.  I called The Husband over to show him that Manny decided that the tub would be a good place for a second litter box.  Upon seeing Manny's bathtub deposits, The Husband mentioned that he better check out the (real) litter box asap.  That was a another nice surprise.  It looked like a battled was waged in that box and I felt awful.  I realized then and there that Manny's tummy had totally revolted the "real tuna dinner".  I gave Manny some extra pets that evening while apologizing over and over for being so stupid.  I also praised him for being so totally smart when he decided to grace the bathtub with his presence, instead of, oh, I don't know -- the carpet. 

Another lesson learned.  Stick to what you know or rather what your cat knows and likes.  Manny likes his Fancy Feast, so Manny will get Fancy Feast (and only The Feast) Note to self: don't pick up cat food samples on the corner of a Manhattan sidewalk.  It's not going to score me any points.

P.S. the rest of the samples we acquired by sticking out our greedy little hands are going to Manny's former shelter.  There has got to be a cat in there that will like it!

(Manny's NEW SPOT)

Last week, April 10th to be exact, I was walking to the train after work when The Husband pointed out the Empire State Building (ESB). 

"Look!", he said, pointing at the building like a first time NYC tourist. 

I looked up as I crossed the street, trying not to get ran over by an over zealous taxi.  "wow", I said, not that impressed.  I couldn't figure out what was so special. It's the same building I see every night and every morning and basically any other time I step out of the office. The [exasperated] Husband said, "notice the colors...see anything familiar..."

"OH YEAH!!!", I answered excitedly. The proverbial light bulb finally turned on! The Empire State Building was illuminated in bright orange and white....the same strippy color as my (ahem, our) Manny!  I stopped on the corner and fished for my phone to document the ESB adorned in Manny orange and white.  I didn't care about the people bumping into me and muttering, "tourist!" as they rushed past me.  I so had to take a quick picture so I could show everyone that the ESB decided to honor Manny on some random Thursday evening.  

Here's the view of the orange and white ESB from my phone:

Here's a picture of Manny on the same random Thursday night after I told him that the ESB was glowing in Orange and White. See the resemblance?

As you can see, Manny was not as excited about being honored by the ESB as I was.   Probably because he already knew the real reason why the ESB was glowing a beautiful orange and white.

It was in honor of the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), ASPCA Day (April 10, 2008).  Oh, right - I knew that.  Ok, so the ESB wasn't lit in honor of Manny, but I  can totally deal with taking a back seat to the ASPCA.  Knowing the ESB was the same color as Manny in honor of the ASPCA made me smile, and probably made my day, too.

***

Special "Hi!" to Manny's new readers and to those of you kind enough to drop us an email!

Hi Noelle -- Manny and I miss you!

I finally uploaded Manny's tie pictures onto the computer.  Here he is gallivanting in his necktie:

That's really the only pictures that came out okay.  Manny is a hard cat to photograph.  He thinks he's shy. 

In fact he would like to take the focus off of him just for a moment so he can show you his fish friends.  Here they are:

Manny's fish tank friends can be a whole other blog in itself.  Lots of crazy stuff happens in and around that fish tank (aka The Husband's pride and joy).

Like the time we came home and found that two of our fish (not pictured) were busy creating lots of little baby fish.  We were fish grandparents for like 30 minutes  before the new fish parents got hungry and turned their offspring into their sushi dinner. Eww.  We called The Twin, the self proclaimed fish guru to come and see the baby fish.  When he arrived, he said "I came as fast I can!" with his fish gear in hand.  The Husband and The Twin talked animatedly about how to proceed with our new fish friends.  I went to bed.  Manny hung around the tank looking mightily hungry. We decided to let my brother take home one of the fish who seemed to be acting aggressively to the new fish parents and their offspring.  About a month later, said fish surprised my brother with baby fish.

We get to experience lots of staring contests between cat and fish.  Manny loved to watch the now deceased algae sucker, Windex Jr. do his tank cleaning chores. Manny would get up on two paws to watch Windex Jr. move around the tank.  Manny and I miss Windex Jr. very much and hold a grunge towards the other fish the day I discovered a very mangled Windex Jr. at the bottom of the fish tank one night.  Tragic.

There was also that time that a fish mysteriously went missing and everyone pointed their fingers at sweet little Manny.  It was later determined that the fish met his untimely death when he hopped out of the tank while The Husband was cleaning the tank. 

We like to tell everyone that the fish are Manny's pets and the only reason we have the tank is for Manny's entertainment.  Its a lot better than telling people that my brother and my husband are obsessed with fish, fish tanks, and the maintenance thereof, and that they spend hours perusing fish stores for the latest in fish accessories, in my humble opinion...

anyways, we would like to wish you all a Happy Easter for those of you Eastering this weekend and a Happy Weekend for those of you not.

For about a week and a half Manny's been on stealth mode.  His old collar seemed to be irritating him so I took it off and let his neck breath for a little while until I purchased a new and improved collar. He's been wearing the same collar that he had on when I adopted him from the shelter.

A collar less Manny has resulted in me being startled no fewer than four times during the night.  With his collar, I can hear him come in the room; jump on the bed; and eat from his bowl, but without his collar, I have no idea what he's up to until he's doing it. 

When I drift off to sleep Manny takes that opportunity to pounce on the bed. Without the little bell jingling from his collar he's very sneaky.

The Husband and I decided to each pick out a collar and let you, the readers, decide which one Manny should wear. I won't divulge who picked what so as not to influence your decision.  We each were picked out the one we liked best, save for the blue one The Husband picked.  An orange cat with a blue collar would look too much like a Mets mascot in my eyes, and we can not have that now can we. 

Tale a look at the two collar choices, let it marinate, and vote. The poll is located above this post. 

 This is Manny's future we're talking about...