Happy Belated Birthdays to Tigress & Miss Marble!

Tigress says:

Hi!  I've been coming inside regularly to meow at the mommy and daddy and socialize with the inside kitties.  Carbon and I have especially been bonding, although I don't always let him sniff me as much as he'd like.  I always ask him to lick my head, though.  I don't stay inside long, just long enough to reacquaint myself with everything and everyone, and then I go back out.  Mommy's been shutting the door more when I come in, so now I know that it will open when I ask it to.  I reach up to the handle to let her know I want it to open.  I even let the little human boy pet me last week!

The humans say my sister, brother, and I are now two years old.  Wow!  That's as old as our mom was when she had us!  We turned two on Mother's Day, the 12th, but the humans were on vacation then so they couldn't help us write our blog post.  Mommy wished me a happy Mother's Day, even though my babies weren't born before I got spayed last year.  She doesn't know if I know I was a mom, but that doesn't matter to her if I know it or not.

Miss Marble says:

We're two years old?  Wow, that's old!  On our birthday, I came inside as usual at night.  Mommy has had a cold, so she's been sleeping in a big chair in the living room.  I am used to snuggling with her on the bed, so I didn't recognize that she was sleeping in the chair until Sunday.  She called me over to her, but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to sit with her.  I reached up and she told me to jump up to her.  It took me a few minutes, but I did, then settled in a circle in her lap, purring happily and cleaning her hand as she petted me.  I fell asleep in her lap and she fell asleep also.  At one point, Carbon hopped up to snuggle with us!  I was washing, so I decided to be nice and wash his tail for him.  Boy, that was not what he wanted at all!  I got slapped in the face, but he didn't have his claws out.  He got told off by Mommy and wasn't allowed to snuggle with us anymore.  I didn't know why Uncle Carbon didn't want me to wash him, but I wasn't too fazed by it because I got to stay on Mommy's lap and snuggle some more.

I fell asleep again with Mommy petting me, but had a very bad dream or was sleeping extra-hard, or something, because I did a bad thing.  I scratched Mommy's hand when she tried to pet me after resting!  I reacted instinctively and reached out with claws to bat it away, leaving a scratch.  I immediately mewed like a baby kitten to tell her I was sorry, and she forgave me right away.  She knew it was just an instinctive reaction and not something I would have done if I'd been all the way awake.  I hopped down after that and went to Mama Freya for some reassurance (aka grooming).  I'm lucky to have an inside-mama-cat, even though she's not my real mama-cat!

PhotoHunt: Lazy (and Tabby's Doggie Dash Report)

Tabby writes:

Do I look lazy in this picture?  If so, I deserved my rest!  Mommy and I had just gotten done walking the 2.5-mile Doggie Dash!  Well, Mommy walked it and I rode in the stroller, so I guess I was lazy for that part, but it was hot out today and I got a lot of attention because I was the only kitty there.

Because of river traffic holding the bridge up just before we got there, we arrived later than expected and were unable to meet Auntie Diana, who helped make the balloon arches.  She works at the Oregon Humane Society.  Isn't it great that all these people (and more) turned out to help the animals at OHS?

K103, a local radio station, is the main sponsor of the event every year.  The man on the right is from there, the lady on the left is the director of OHS, and the others are also event sponsors.  The man was talking about all the different dog breeds he could see from the truck/stage, then said that he hadn't seen a cat yet but there usually are one or two who come.  Mommy rolled me over to the truck/stage and waited until the awards had been given, then held me up and pointed to me.  The man announced me and Mommy held me up high so that everyone could see the "intrepid cat" who had come!  He was laughing that it was like the beginning scene from The Lion King!

Mommy loves huskies, so she was very happy to see these four!  She tried to get a picture of them posing on some rocks, but it was washed-out because the sun was so bright on the river.  I stayed in my stroller most of the time, but thought that all the doggies were very interesting to sniff.  I touched noses with a few, got licked by some, but put my ears back at a couple who thought they might be able to jump into my stroller with me.  As one lady put it, I didn't want them to burst my personal-space bubble inside which I was invisible (or so I thought)!

Two of Mommy's students saw her and waved us over before the walk started, so we ended up walking most of the time with the "Bad to the Bone" team.  Kelley (in the middle with the little dog) and Julie (at the end in the vest) are in Mommy's Norwegian language class.  It was fun walking with them!  Of course, we had to stop a few times to let other people take pictures of me, since I was a novelty among the dogs, but that kind of goes with the territory.  I had doggies sniffing me out before their people knew I was there, then would hear, "Oh, there's the cat!"  Mommy just smiled and said how I am such a good girl and such a special kitty to be able to do this.  I agree, of course!

Mommy had someone take this picture of us at the finish line.  I look like I'm unhappy, but it's just because I was looking into the bright sun.  I really was sleepy and wanted to be in the shade napping, so that's when Mommy let me lie down on the park bench and rest.  When we were about to cross the finish line, a couple dog walkers were joking with Mommy:  "We'd better hurry up and cross the finish line before the cat does!"  But then those same people pointed me out to the announcer at the finish line, who announced me again!  Wow, and whew!  Glad I'm home now!

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PhotoHunt: Under

Freya says:

I love hiding under the covers when the bed is being made!  I become a bed monster, then my brother pounces on me.  :)  Mommy calls this picture my glamour shot.

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P.S.  Have you checked out Tabby's fundraising contest yet?  It's in our previous post, and supports the Oregon Humane Society.

Doggie Dash 2013: Tabby's Fundraising Challenge

Tabby is asking all her friends to purrrlease support her and the PDX pride mommy as they walk the Oregon Humane Society's Doggie Dash on May 11th.  She is challenging her fellow pet-bloggers, and the winner gets a free copy of her e-book for children!

There are two ways to win:

1.  Donate on our personal fundraising page below and leave a comment here afterward saying you donated (with the name used on the donation) so we can match it up.

OR

2.  Donate as above and leave a comment, then get your friends to do the same and comment, noting who sent them in their comment.

So, if Carbon donates x amount and that amount is the highest donated, he would get the prize.  If Starla donates y amount and gets five friends to donate z each and they all comment on this page that Starla sent them, she would get the prize even though she personally donated less than Carbon. If one of Starla's friends donates, gets others to donate, and those others credit the friend in their comments, the friend would win the prize if the amount adds up to the highest amount.

Here is the link to our fundraising page:

Doggie Dash 2013: Tabby and Karen Thompson - Doggie Dash 2013

PhotoHunt: ZOOM!!!

ZOOM goes Dare!  When she first came to live here, she wasn't sure about anyone and never stayed out in the open for long.  Now she's a confident young cat around us, and will even peek at strangers from a safe hiding spot.  She is up for adoption in the Vancouver, WA/Portland, OR, area.

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Therapy Cat Tales from 4/17/13

Tabby writes:

I celebrated Earth Day early on my visit yesterday!  The bandana I'm wearing says "Canines for Clean Water" as a reminder that everyone needs to pick up after their pets when they are out.  Please always bring a roll of poop bags with you so that you're ready to clean up after your pet, regardless of species.  Thank you!  If you are a resident of Clark County, Washington, your pet can join the campaign here.

A little girl on the bus called me a "meow-pup"!  She was about 14 months old, and can say a few words.  She thought I was a puppy, so her mommy and my mommy were correcting her.  Then she saw I was a kitty and said "kitty" while petting me.  After she was done petting me, she said "pup-pup" again and got corrected again.  Her mommy said, "What does a kitty say?"  "Meow!"  The little girl then looked at me and said, quite clearly, "meow-pup".

Mommy and I did a photo shoot at H., just an informal one, using the ladies' lounge as a backdrop.  We think the pictures turned out really well, and the staff want Mommy to send some to their publicity director to use in newsletters.  I was mugging for the camera, as you can see!  I always pose for the camera when I see one.

After the pictures, we went into the office to see R.  She wanted to see the pictures, so Mommy took out her camera and I immediately posed again.  R. laughed and looked at the shots.  I got bored, so I asked R. to pet me.  She really got a kick out of that, and had me ask her a few more times, petting me a lot each time I did so.  I love showing off!

S. went with us on our rounds for a few people, then V. took over because S. had to leave for the day.  V. told us that my friend who had talked coherently to me but not to the humans last visit had died.  We were very sad to hear that, because we were looking forward to visiting more with her.  E. was very talkative today, though, and another V. told me that I was the best company she'd had all week!  D. meowed at me again.  I always think it's so funny when people do that!  I just watch them and smile.

My best visit today was with a surprise friend.  When I went into M.'s room, Mommy noticed the name on the door.  She started smiling, let me have as much leash as I wanted, and walked in behind me.  "Hello, stranger," she said.  M. looked up, surprised, after greeting me, and said Mommy's name.  She is someone Mommy knows from her former church!  They've known each other since 2002, but hadn't seen each other for a few years since we'd moved to Vancouver and Mommy had changed churches.  They caught up with each other while I snuggled on M.'s bed behind her (but still where I could get petted occasionally).  Then, M.'s husband and son came to visit her, followed closely by M.'s pastor!  It was a good first day at H. for M.

Daddy was running errands in Portland, so he came and picked us up in the car.  I hadn't ridden in the car since the deer hit us a while ago, because it was getting repaired.  I was very nervous about getting into the car, because I remembered the deer, but Daddy reassured me that there were no deer around to run into us again.  I snuggled on Mommy's lap while Daddy drove.  I think it's very interesting that the cars take turns getting on the freeway.  Did you know they do that?  The lights give the cars turns and they wait in line.  I just figured that out today!  I sat up very tall and turned my head to indicate which car was going to go next.  Mommy and Daddy laughed and told me I was correct!

NW Pet & Companion Fair 2013

Tabby writes:

It was so cold today when we left the house!  I didn't know where we were going, and why Mommy Erin and JJ were coming with us, but I was sure it wasn't to visit my friends at H.  It was the wrong day and the wrong time!  Mommy Erin held me for part of the time, because I was shivering.  I had my jacket on, plus a fleece blanket, but it was still cold.  Mommy didn't think it would be that cold this morning, and she wished she had had another blanket for me to wrap up in.

Mommy Erin keeping me warm.

I was fine once we got the the Expo Center, though, because it was warm inside.  There were a lot of doggies waiting in line to check in, so I got sniffed and licked.  That was ok with me, though.  Mommy signed a waiver that said if I clawed anyone she would take full responsibility, although that would never happen.  I'm too well-behaved to do that!  I said hi to the lady at the check-in table, who was wearing a cat shirt.  Then we went over to another table where JJ got to throw a small sample bag of dog food at a bowl.  Why didn't they have an eating contest instead of a throwing contest?  I guess they couldn't, for humans.  Anyway, he won a pin.  Then, we got to see the fluffy black girl-cat who looks like Carbon!  She rides around on her humans' shoulders and goes to the Doggie Dash every year as well.  It was my first time meeting her, although Mommy's been introduced to her before.  Mommy Erin held me up to touch noses with her while she was on her daddy's shoulders.  We touched noses, sniffed, then I got hissed at!  I didn't take offense at her doing that, though, just gave her a puzzled look and got back into my stroller.  Mommy, Mommy Erin, and the cat's daddy all laughed and said the black cat was just jealous.

Hissy black girl-cat

Besides the black cat, there were two other cats visiting the expo with their families.  They were both young kittens, so that's great for their socialization and experience to visit places so young!  One was just over a year old and had a jacket harness like I used to use.  He was riding on his mommy's shoulder, looking behind her wide-eyed at everything.  The other kitten was only a couple months old, if that, and was an orange tabby.  She didn't know what to make of people, let alone all the doggies, sounds, and activity, so she clung to her mommy and was very interested in everything.  Her nose was going a mile a minute!

We saw a lady who recognized me from seeing me on the MAX.  That was fun to be remembered on sight!  Also, a lady at the Dove Lewis booth remembered me from when I modeled at Boutiques Unleashed, and had just been telling someone about me!  Another lady at another booth is going to buy the Kindle version of my book to read to her new baby.

We talked with a few people about therapy cat work, but mainly I snuggled in my stroller while Mommy went around to the booths collecting information and seeing what there was to see.  Mommy Erin and JJ got to hold birds, but I couldn't go in that part so Mommy didn't get to do that.  We all went to see the wild animals and saw a bobcat in a kitty tree!  That's right:  it was in housecat furniture!  One man kept looking from me to the bobcat and back like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Bobcat (lynx) in a domestic cat tree

Mommy Erin and JJ got to hold a Patagonian Mara, also known as a cavy, and a miniature pig.  They even got their pictures taken with them!

PhotoHunt: Scrumptious

Our wedding cake was definitely scrumptious!  We got married in August 2008 and had a beautiful wedding.  The cake was a white cake with raspberry filling, frosted with real whipped cream, and decorated with cat figurines as well as the bride & groom.  Perfect for us!

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