Thursday, March 25, 2010

Go Team Tabby!!!

Tabby writes:

Yep, I've got my fundraising shirt on again, and you know what that means: it's time for the annual Cat Adoption Team Care-A-Thon!

We support the Cat Adoption Team because it does such great work with the homeless kitties in our area. CAT helps stray cats and kittens get the medical care they need, then find their original owners or get adopted into new, loving homes. They also train foster families, educate the community, and provide a cat food bank.

CAT's 12th anniversary is this spring. We are challenging our supporters to donate in increments of $12 and challenge 12 (or more) friends to do the same.

$12 will pay to test one cat for feline leukemia and feline aids

$24 will help stock a “kitten baby bag” for a foster family

$48 will neuter five male cats through the subsidized program for families in financial need

$120 will vaccinate and spay two female cats to keep them healthy and prevent the birth of unwanted kittens

If you can donate even $1 it helps so much! Last year, thanks in large part to the cats and humans of the CB, we raised $97 for the CAT! Let's see if we can beat that this year! The widget below will take you to my fundraising page, where you can donate and share the page with others through widgets, Facebook, Twitter, and/or e-mail.

Even if you cannot donate, we would appreciate if you could spread the word about this fundraiser and help these homeless kittens and cats. As you know, kitten season is just starting, so let's do what we can to help support this wonderful organization of caring humans!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

PhotoHunt: Three


My favorite "three" picture: Carbon, Rori, & Smokey (foster cat, now adopted to our friend Erin). Immediately after this picture was taken, Tabby lay down the same way on the other side of Carbon! This picture was taken last year.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Photo Friday: Children


Summer fun eating out with my second-cousin's kids! :)



My nieces & nephew
(above: Desiree, below: Raven, Davina, & Storm, with our cat Skylar)


Photo Friday

Feral Friday

Carbon writes:

We have a feral at our new house! No pictures of him yet, but he came last night to eat. I was at the back sliding glass door (aka large window), the same one in the raccoon video from yesterday's post, watching the grass blow in the wind, when all of a sudden I saw someone! My tail started twitching like mad, so Daddy came over to see who it was that I saw. This black & white cat, the same one that Daddy had seen a few days ago, and that had come to eat but ran off, was out there. He/she came up and ate some food, while I watched excitedly through the window. I thought maybe he would stay to talk, so I was chirping at him, but he got kind of scared by my tail wagging. I think he thought maybe Daddy would let me out to meet him, but what could've scared him about that? All I would do would be sniff and try to make friends! Anyway, he ran off, then came back and finished eating. It was all very exciting! I spent the rest of the night at the window, waiting for him to come back. He's not a classic tuxedo, but looks very much like our feral Tux from the old house, so we're naming him "Tuxedo" for lack of a better name at this time.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Window Views: the Nighttime Version!

For our Window Views on Thursday post this week, we feature our nighttime visitor: a raccoon! He or she started coming by on Saturday evening, and the next night we got a video of him. We had put out food on the deck for a feral tuxedo cat that Daddy had seen running around in the yard, and the raccoon noticed the food so he stopped by to eat. The cat came two nights ago, but is feral so ran when it noticed all the activity inside. The raccoon, on the other paw, has no problem with us watching! Last night, Little Bit jumped at the glass trying to get the raccoon to play, and scared it by doing that, but then the raccoon walked right up to the glass and lowered its head, crouching down in a similar way to a play bow! So we think it's probably lonely and wants some friends, so it comes by to eat and enjoy our company. We sure enjoy it! Here's our video below! :) Featuring: Rori, Little Bit, Tabby, and the raccoon.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

No, Tabby really isn't grumpy; she just wanted down and Mommy wouldn't let her until the picture was taken, MOL! Hope you all have a great day, with lots of feasting and snuggles!

Erin go bragh!

P.S. Mommy's also celebrating the birthdays of her grandma (her dad's mom) and her uncle (her mom's brother). She's also remembering the birthday of her first pet, our angel "auntie" woofie Trixi.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

PhotoHunt: Spiral


Fountain at Holladay Park by Lloyd Center
Portland, OR, USA

Friday, March 12, 2010

Photo Friday: Nightlife


Fireworks at Long Beach, WA, USA, last 4th of July.
Copyright 2009: Karen Thompson/Trace Elements

Thursday, March 11, 2010

I love music! Music means snuggles!

Spooky writes:

Guess what?! Music playing on the computer means that Mommy has a snuggle lap for me! Tonight I was flopped on the floor of the dining room after eating, when all of a sudden I heard a song coming from the computer in the kitty tree room. I knew Mommy was in there, so I went running at top speed, came around the corner, skidded to a halt in front of the computer chair, and jumped up in her lap! Snuggles, loves, and singing, all equal a happy ME!!!!!! And a happy MOMMY!!!!!!

Oh, and a jealous Carbon kitty who spat at me as I raced by and then he went and hid under the bed, MOL. I was too focused on getting my snuggles that I didn't chase him this time.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Therapy Cat Tales

Tabby writes:

(from yesterday's diary/visit)

Such a bright, beautiful day today! It was still cold enough that I had a fleece blankie in my stroller, but not so cold that I had to have a jacket. There are so many things to sniff and look at now that spring is coming: cherry trees, magnolia trees, rhododendrons, trailing flowers, people and dogs out and about.

H. was a busy place today, because there was a formal party for all the residents. The party wasn't until after our visit, so we had plenty of time before our friends had to get dressed up, but the decorating started early. I sniffed decorations while Mommy put our things in the office (my carrier and her book bag), then we went to see who we could find. On the way, I visited with one of the ladies in the office, and with the receptionist.

There are more people on the floor! Lots of new faces, hands, and laps! I met a little human boy, his mom, and his grandma. The grandma is living there, and the rest of the family came to visit her. The mom pointed me out to the boy: "See the kitty?" Mommy told them all they could pet me, and they all three had the biggest smiles! The grandma had heard about me, but not met me yet, so she was overjoyed to actually meet me! Then I created a traffic jam in the hallway by the elevator, because more people wanted to visit with me, and one of the ladies' security alarms made the elevator alarm sound. That was soooo loud, but I was ok with it. I basically ignored it, which made Mommy proud.

I saw all my regulars, except for one of the ladies whose name starts with P. had died. We are sad about that, but happy that she isn't suffering anymore. I guess that's what happens when you work where I do. There was another room that didn't have anyone in it, but the bedding was being changed, so that means that there will probably be new friends there again next time I visit.

I got to visit with C. twice. She got a new wheelchair, so now her legs are raised up more and she has more of a lap for me! I settled right down on her lap this time, and she was so incredibly happy! She had a huge smile, twinkles in her eyes, and petted me as she watched everyone going by to see if they saw that she had a cat on her lap! A couple people stopped and mentioned that I was on her lap, and her smile got wider and wider! :) Of course, I just settled in more and purrrrrrrred away! Then, after she went to her room to lie down for a while, we were making our rounds and stopped to see her roommate. After her roommate visited with me, I got to visit with C. again on her bed. I lay down alongside her, and she petted me, smiling.

I wanted to play with G. today! I love her bed, and she gets quite a kick out of that. As she was petting me, I reached out and tagged her hand (without claws, just batting it)! Then, I reached out again and touched her finger with my paw. She picked my paw up and moved it a little, then went back to petting me, laughing. We did that game a couple more times, then I rolled over for tummy rubs on her bed while she made jokes about the bed being too big for me. I thought it was just the right size!

M. was getting a little mixed up with her chronology today. She told me that her cat, the one she always tells me about, had been lost but had just come back home. Other than that, she was making sense. She's in her mid-80's, and doing really well for her age! Mommy told her that, and she smiled and said it was because she knew her limits and knew when to ask for help. We believe that! We love visiting with her, and she loves me.

Well, EVERYONE loves me, and I love EVERYONE! :) >^..^<

A., another new person, had family visiting as well. Her niece and nephews were there. As soon as I came close enough so they could see who/what I was, one of the men said, "Is that a therapy cat?" Mommy was happy that he could tell that right away! They all petted me and talked to me, and I did some of my tricks for them. The lady (the niece) asked for the name of somewhere to get a cat certified for therapy work, because she has a cat at home who she says would be perfect for this kind of work too! Yay, another working feline! I'm proud to have inspired another probable cat team. :)

Another lady had her granddaughter visiting, but I walked right in anyway. They said it was just fine, and the lady patted her bed, so I got up there and charmed them completely. Her neighbor in the next room was in her wheelchair in the hallway waiting for me when I got back out there, and didn't want to hold me but wanted to ask a million questions about me, my training, and my harness. At this point, I was out of the stroller walking on my leash. I wear my harness all the time, with Mommy holding my leash, for safety reasons. Sometimes I walk, sometimes stroll, and sometimes Mommy carries me. It all depends on how long we're there and how many people we visit. I love to both walk and stroll, but sometimes I get too tired to walk around.

One of the last people we visited was Mr. G. He had some papers he was working on, but he quickly put them aside when we walked in. He loves cats and had quite a few growing up and as an adult. I sat on his lap and he petted me. He said one of the saddest things, but also one of the happiest, that we have ever heard. He said, "I'd forgotten how soft their fur is." Imagine forgetting what kitty fur feels like! I'm so glad that he can remember, at least for a few minutes, while he pets me!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Happy Gotcha Day to Meeeeee!!! :)


Today's my Gotcha Day!!!! Last year at this time, I was a scared outdoor kitty who had been living in Mommy & Daddy's basement after being abandoned by their neighbors. They brought me inside, then had me spayed the next day. As soon as I was brought home from my spay, Skylar curled up with me to reassure me and keep me warm. He looked at me, looked at Daddy, looked at me again, and snuggled close to me. Daddy said to Mommy, "Well, it looks like Skylar wants to keep her!" And that was that! :)

Now, a year later, we are in a new, bigger house, and I have a little snuggle buddy of my own: the new kitten, Spooky. I'm not sure what he wants me to do, but he snuggles close to me, and sometimes right up against me. I'm ok with that, but sometimes he lowers his head and Mommy says he wants me to wash him. I don't know how to wash another kitty, never having had the opportunity before. My purrents are sure I'll learn eventually.

I love my family!

Love,

Starla.