Speaking of kitty cats

Sylvester strikes a pose for the camera. 

I met a furry guy yesterday. His name is Sylvester and he is really good at purring. And not afraid of strangers trying to pet him! He's quite the sweet little fella.

A friend I've met through my work contacted me about Sylvester. He is a stray that she has been taking care of for about eight months. He had been dumped in the woods near her house on a dead-end street, and shot at -- and now he is ill.

I went to see the two of them yesterday, took photos of the kitty and wrote a story for the paper.


Please take a minute and read it, if you would. It will make you both sad and happy.

Thanks!

Don't let the cat out of the bag

I turned around a few minutes ago when I was working and this is what I saw: Linus checking out a bag that our new printer was packed in.
We think he likes it.

Lucky stray cats get fed daily

Today I thought I'd continue the same theme as yesterday's post, featuring photos from my trip to "the hair salon from eclectic ville."

I wanted to show you some of the 14 outdoor cats that my hairdresser Maureen feeds every day. She said she and a friend have made sure they are all fixed. She doesn't need any more mouths to feed ~ she has two cats of her own at home.

I think this one is the greeter. I guess he (or she?) was afraid of me and thought the chair would be a safe spot to hide.

Who's that coming in the driveway?

Stay out of the garden. It's mine.

(I took this picture through a window from a distance.)

Are you lookin' at me?

I'm glad this guy was able to find a comfy spot on my car. He must have needed a nap.

Stay tuned for more pix ... I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Spoiled kitty?

Ever since his little brother Rigby died March 6, we have been showering our loopy Linus with scads of attention. Naturally he loves it, and increasingly he demands it.

Well sometimes he does.

Are we being bad kitty parents? Or is it OK to spoil Linus because he is and always will be a baby? They don't grow up like the human ones do, I've discovered. ;-)

Linus (seen here on the right) has taken to putting his favorite soft catnip toys in or next to his food bowls for safe keeping. I think it's adorable that he does that. I guess he figures he knows where to find them if he needs them.

When I clean up the area I'll take a photo and show you. ha ha

Have a great Thursday all!

Another day, another cat nap

Gotta put that tail somewhere!

I guess I should wash his bed. Lots of shedding going on.

A smile on a rainy Monday

I wish I had taken this photo. So adorable.

Awwww ...

Lookit that face!

Allegra took this with her phone in 2008 when our kitty cats alerted us to an interloper and we saw this little visitor wanting to come inside. I wanted to scoop him up, but I didn't. Minutes later when we looked again he was gone. I called the women I had adopted our cats from, and one of them brought over a safe trap just in case he returned.

We never saw this little guy after that morning. I felt badly about it, but couldn't bring him into the house with our two cats. I hope he has a good home.

=^. .^=

How does one get any work done...

when lumps of fur prevent access to one's computer and phone?

=^. .^=

My follow-up on saga of the abandoned cats reprinted here

(P.S. to fellow cat lovers: the blind kitten seems quite healthy and happy, as do the mama and the other kitten)

Three abandoned cats nearly ready for adoption

SEYMOUR — The three abandoned cats that ended up at Dr. Tara Nanavati’s veterinary office last month are doing much better and will soon be ready to be adopted.

Nanavati said he performed surgery last week on one of the cats that had lost both of its eyes and was left only with eye sockets. The kitten is healing well, he said.
The cat may be blind, but it doesn’t know anything different, Nanavati said.
“When they are blind I think they have a sixth sense,” he said. He tested the blind feline and found that it easily jumped into a cage with a raised edge to reach a food bowl.
Nanavati said the three cats, a mother cat, the blind kitten, and a kitten from another litter, will be ready for adoption by the middle of next week.
“I hope that they will be adopted by someone from the younger generation,” he said. “If an older person takes them, the cats could outlive them.”
He recommends that whoever does adopt them should keep them indoors to guarantee a long life. “The blind one would have to stay inside or else it would become somebody’s meal,” Nanavati said.
Publicity about the felines’ plight last month generated widespread interest among people wanting to help, Nanavati said.
The cats had been thrown from a car along Route 8. They were found in a box, and a good Samaritan took them to Ansonia Animal Control Officer Jean Roslonowski.
The surviving cats are in Roslonowski’s custody. They are being boarded at Nanavati’s veterinary office at 876 S. Main St.
“People are enthusiastic when they first hear about (animals with problems) but I need someone who is serious and ready to give long-term care,” Nanavati said. He said anyone interested in adopting a cat needs references.
For information about the cats or adoption, call 203-735-9915.

(This story appeared in the Oct. 24 New Haven Register.)

From the e-mail bag ~ wish I had written this!

Cat Haiku

You never feed me.
Perhaps I'll sleep on your face.
That will show you.

You must scratch me there!
Yes, above my tail! Behold,
elevator butt.

I need a new toy.
Tail of black dog keeps good time.
Pounce! good dog! good dog!

The rule for today.
Touch my tail, I shred your hand.
New rule tomorrow.

In deep sleep hear sound
Cat vomit hairball somewhere.
Will find in morning.

Grace personified
I leap into the window
I meant to do that

Blur of motion, then-
Silence, me, a paper bag
What is so funny?

The mighty hunter
Returns with gifts of plump birds
Your foot just squashed one.

You're always typing
Well, let's see you ignore my
Sitting on your hands.

My small cardboard box
You cannot see me if I
Can just hide my head.

Terrible battle
I fought for hours. Come and see!
What's a "term paper"?

Kitty likes plastic
Confuses for litter box
Don't leave tarp around

Small brave carnivores
Kill pine cones and mosquitoes
Fear vacuum cleaner

Want to trim my claws
Don't even think about it!
My yelps will wake the dead

I want to be close
To you. Can I fit my head
inside your armpit?

Wanna go outside.
Oh, no! Help! I got outside!
Let me back inside!

Oh no! Big One
has been trapped by newspaper.
Cat to the rescue!

Humans are so strange.
Mine lies still in the bed, then screams!
My claws aren't that sharp....

Cats meow out of angst
"Thumbs! If only we had thumbs!
We could break so much"

Litter box not there
You must have moved it again
I'll crap in the sink

The Big Ones snore now
Every room is dark and cold
time for "Cup Hockey"

We're almost equals
I purr to show I love you
Want to smell my butt.

=^. .^=

Creative photograph

Peek-a-boo kitty.

This is my entry for Week #3 of the Creative Photography competition Roger from Idaho Daily Photo hosts.
Thanks, Roger for doing the contest. It's fun, even though I never expect to win!
I love this photo, but I love all the photos I snap of our two cats.
= ^. .^ =

Actual factual feline follies

It's the next day...and the beat goes on.

These cats are keeping us amused as well as keeping me up at night. It's like having babies in the house again.
I need more sleep!

Early this morning Rigby's LOUD snurring (that's snore + purring) woke me up. It's kinda cute, but unfortunately it was only 3:45 a.m.
He nestles himself between us on the bed, all cozy, and makes himself dead weight. All 10 furry, danderific pounds of him.

Try turning over with him there, holding down the covers. It's a challenge.
I guess we could close the door, but I fear we'd be awakened by scratching, saying "Let me in!" in cat language.
This way, he comes in quietly and there is a chance I won't wake up.

I made an investment...

Regular readers know Ralph and I are kinda short on funds these days. He's not working, and his unemployment benefits ran out four weeks ago.
Not fun. Better days are coming for us, I'm sure. We have faith.

On Sunday I spotted a good deal that I simply couldn't pass up. Yep, I borrowed some money from my mother and I bought a condo.

Really.








OK, it's a cat condo.

April Fool!!!

Guess who?

Somebody looks relaxed as he digests his hearty breakfast.
I almost didn't post this picture, embarrassed by faded draperies and all, but I figured friends don't judge you by what your house looks like. Hope I'm right. ;-)

Boys with their toys = ^ . ^ =

Boy cats, that is. Yesterday we got the felines a scratching post and I garnished the base with catnip.
They liked it.

Humphrey never did that

We have been saying those four words a lot lately around our house.
Our two new cats are getting frisky, and brave, and often jump on things. The kind of stuff that Cat One, aka Humphrey, never did.

If they feel threatened, they make a beeline for the dusty enclave 'neath our bed. Other than that, they seem like they are adjusting.
They let me pet them, and have even been heard purrrrrrring.

I've got them on a schedule (yeah, right) of eating at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., although sometimes before I go to bed I put some food in their bowls for their midnight snacks. It's always gone by morning.

I'm trying to win over the furry fellas with food, and catnip, and so far my master plan seems to be working.

It has been quite a year

My first blogiversary. Yippee!!
I've had an interesting first year in the blogosphere, meeting new friends, learning stuff, going different places that other writers take me in their blogs. Much fun.

My first blog post was titled "Boomer in Bloom" and the first sentence was: Chronicling the travels of a middle-aged wife and mother of two teen-agers on what once was called the Information Superhighway.

Have I done that? I think so. My goal is to practice more creative writing. We'll see. That takes work!

My earliest commenters were my daughter, my sister-in-law Michele, two friends and a new acquaintance.
My first reader who arrived from the blogosphere was dear Joan, The Erstwhile Librarian. Thanks for discovering me, Joan! That was the beginning of my blog journey, or blourney, as Queen Mimi might say.
All I can say at the moment is on to year two ~ and bigger and better posts.
Looks like some of us are having a relaxing Monday morning! We just spotted them posing atop our headboard. At least the camera didn't spook them.

Today's the day...

...and I'm getting nervous.

In a little while we're going to pick up two cats and bring them home. We decided to just say no to the name Ringo. We like the name, but Kid One really wants to name one of the cats Rigby, so we thought the names would be confusingly similar. And we still haven't settled on another name for Kat Two.
Our son likes Thor, but I don't think so. He liked Milo, but his good friend just got a second cat and the family named him Milo, so we can't be copy cats.