olive sounds a little like randolph. no punches yet, thankfully.

Might I suggest trimming his claws. We're thinking about doing that with Olive (though I think we might get more injured by trying to do so). Her claws get stuck in everything...even though she uses a scratching post (and my chair).

In my household, claw-trimming requires two people - one to hold the cat and one to trim the claws. We do it the way we saw the vet do it: grab the cat by the scruff and turn him onto his side, then trim the claws. Works like a charm.

i trim harriet's claws, but have done so since she was a baby so it's never a big deal. plus, grabbing her when she's sleeping makes sure she's not as active as usual. we assume the spooning position: me, crossed legged. harriet, like a baby in front of me.

(and you were smart to go to LICH, which might have had people in handcuffs but at least is a far better hospital than that other one)

Oh, LIH was actually pretty great, as Brooklyn hospitals go. Far better than Methodist in Park Slope. My experience there was one of the worst that I've had in a long time.

We've always had a lot of trouble trimming Olive's claws. She moves A LOT, even when I wrap her in a towel, and I'm afraid that I'll cut too far down and make her bleed.

Wait, wait, wait...whoa. A cat story with no cat pictures? The audacity!

Nina has done that to me - I get into a staring contest with her and she sometimes will leap up and slap my face! So far no residual damage, but I have worried about that. Maybe both Lex and I should accept that we are lower on the pecking order (at least there's one person in your household that Olive can beat!).

I'm glad that Alexis is okay, I know that any trauma to the eye can be scary.

I can relate to the whole claw trimming issue. I have to put Sassy La Rue under my arm with her head behind my back sort of position while I or B try to trim her nails. It's not fun and we have to be super quick.

Irving actually had a guest appearance in a Where's Waldo game (Where are the Bloggers' Cats) that never got posted on my site. I'd love to be a part of this new project, too :-)

I'd like an Irving, please, so I can participate in this project. Irving has never been to Wisconsin, right? This is his big [virtual] chance.

I was lucky to bring home each of my two cats when they were just small kittens. Both are off-the-street specials; the second one was feral when I got him. Now they both sit very patiently on my lap when I clip their paws, figuring they'll just humor the eccentricities of the Food Lady who fills their chow bowls, and also because it's the only life they've known since they were little.

The best tip I got on trimming claws was to approach the whole thing incrementally. First you get the cat to sit in your lap, and just let you stroke, pet, and handle its paws, front and back. Mission accomplished. Reward. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until everyone is happy.

Then you take the next step of pressing their paws very gently to expose their claws. That's all. Reward. Repeat, repeat, repeat...Next, you extend their claws and just touch the tips with the trimming tool, but do not cut. Reward. Repeat...

When you do get around to trimming, clip extremely conservatively in the beginning, and maybe only a single nail or two on the first go if they're skittish. (I really think this would make a very apt trust-building exercise in a corporate environment!) When the whole process is associated with petting and treats and praise, plus repeated application, they're more likely to resign themselves to it over time. And did I mention treats?

I found that a nail clipper worked better for me than any of those specialized clipping scissors, which slipped around on my fingers a lot and just annoyed my cats. "Sheesh, Food Lady, could you hurry up over here? Because I want my treat already."

Confession: Not just any nail clipper. A Hello Kitty nail clipper. Because I'm crazy like that.

Count me in on the Irving Project!

May I sweeten the pot by mentioning that I work at The American Museum of Natural History?

Can you say Irving Chapman-Andrews?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Chapman_Andrews

Pete is a wild man, but he is extremely patient about getting nails trimmed and taking pills -- but I use Jen's method of slowly tricking him into thinking I'm just being sweet to him.

Clipping is a two person job at our house too. And a one paw at a time job. I trim until he (the cat, not the husband) starts to cry and then we stop.

Naughty indeed! But a great story nonetheless.

My cat Isabel was highly resistant to nail clipping as a kitten, but she's always loved the bathroom sink. So she'll curl up there happily, feeling safe, while I clip her claws. At first she'd only let me do the front two paws before she bailed, but those are the ones that really matter.

Sebastian, on the other hand, purrs all the way through ear cleaning and nail clipping. He is "one hundred percent housecat couch boy," as my 16-year-old neighbor has dubbed him.

For all you Muji fans out there, check out this small peice from the New York Observer (honestly I'd never heard of the place until this week, and now I've come across it twice):

Japanese retailer Muji has signed the first retail lease at the future New York Times headquarters on Eighth Avenue. The retailer, with products supposedly based on a "philosophy of simplicity, minimalism and consumer functionality," has taken 5,000 square feet in the tower for its American flagship.

The store, according to a release from Times tower developer Forest City Ratner, will overlook "the moss-and-birch-tree garden on the ground floor," and will open in time for the 2007 holiday season

So I guess the real question is, does this make up for Atlantic Yards?

Not a chance.

I guess I'll just have to take a trip to Japan.