Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of us at the PDX pride!  We hope you are having a lovely Christmas and holiday season with your families.  We've got a (fake) tree in the living room, and we haven't even bothered any of the ornaments, except bumping them occasionally with our noses or looking at them.  Missy likes sleeping on the packages and found one in a bag that looks like her!  We have a Christmas village that lights up, which is on a side table.  Little Bit and Scamper each have jumped up on the table once, but got down when Mommy told them to.  So, do you think we got presents?  Yep!  Lots and lots of boxes, ribbon, and paper to play with!  We also got food treats!

Tabby had a great Christmas visit last Wednesday to H., where she dressed up in her red felt cape like a Victorian lady.  Everyone loved that, and loved that the stroller had Christmas lights wrapped around the handle.

Watson has been missing since Dec. 7th.  We hope he comes back!  Everyone in the neighborhood has been alerted, posters are up, and Craigslist ads are also up.  Mommy and Mommy Erin have been checking shelters and the humane society for him, but no luck yet.

Happy Thanksgiving and new housemates!

We are very thankful for food, family, a home, friends, and our purrents.  We have extended family living with us now, because Erin and JJ have moved in with us for a while, bringing their cats Smokey (who has already been here for a few weeks), Scamper (JJ's cat), Dare, and Watson.

Scamper writes:

Hi!  I'm Scamper!  You may remember seeing me on this blog before, because Karen and Scott took Mommy and my boy to get me.  I was also the kitty who had the photo shoot in Salem.  I'm all grown up now!

Watson writes:

Hello, I'm Watson.  I'm an inside-outside kitty.  Mommy saw me at a pet store and saw that I was slated to be put to sleep.  She couldn't stand the idea of that, so she adopted me.  Since she probably will not be able to have more than two cats at a new apartment when she gets a new apartment, I will be Scott's parents' kitty in a couple weeks.  I'll get to live on a farm!

Dare writes:

Hello?  I'm a shy, scaredy kitty just over a year old.  Mommy found me under a bush in the parking lot of her apartment building and got me out, bringing me inside to live with her.  I bonded with her ex-boyfriend, but then he abandoned me.  I've been at this new house for about three weeks, and am just now letting Mommy Karen and Daddy Scott pet me.  I'm even letting Mommy Karen pick me up!  I still love Mommy (Erin) more, though!  I may need to go to a new home, because I think only Scamper and Smokey are going with Mommy and JJ when they find a new home.  But that won't be for a while yet, because we all need to get settled here first.  Mommy needed to move for her job, which is why we all moved here.  I'm very thankful for everyone here and for this place to live.

Therapy Cat Tales: Bazaar Time!

Tabby writes:

I got to see some of my friends at the bazaar on Saturday, because it was at H. I also met two former evaluators for the Delta Society! One even has been part of a cat team and been on TV! They were very happy to see another cat team. We were next to a booth benefiting an equine-assisted therapy and horse retirement farm, so I got to meet the lady who runs that! The other lady who helped her volunteers with the Oregon Zoo and does hands-on exhibits with birds. Wow! Mommy and I sold 3 of my books and one person made a card. It was a great day, but long!

Dona Nobis Pacem

BlogBlast4Peace

Remembering Skylar and Lydia

Lydia (pictured above) was Mommy's first girlcat, and Skylar (pictured below, with Carbon) was Mommy's first boycat.  Both were the sweetest, most loving kitties that she's ever met.  Today we celebrate their birthday, remembering them on this special day.  They were born on Oct. 26, 1999, to a tuxedo mom and a Siamese dad.  Their first family was the Rich family, who moved into a house across the street from Mommy in Portland, OR, in 2004.  Skylar and Lydia were both outside kitties as that time, and Skylar quickly adopted Mommy.  He would wait for her to come home, then follow her to her garden to eat tomatoes, nibble on peppermint, and "help" dig.  Lydia was more aloof, and Mommy didn't get to know her very well at first.

In 2005, the Richs had to move to Florida.  They and their daughter, Kayla, were devastated that they couldn't take Skylar and Lydia along, because they were going to be moving in with Mrs. Rich's mother (who was allergic to cats).  Mrs. Rich asked Mommy to adopt the kitties, because "Skylar has already adopted you!"  It was true!  Of course, Mommy said yes, so when she moved in with Daddy the tuxedos moved in as well.  Daddy even helped catch them when the Richs left.

They adjusted to inside life well, but Lydia was upset that her family had left her with these strangers.  She ran away once, during a brief time living at the home where Mommy was nannying, but she only went one apartment complex away and still had her tags.  Mommy went and got her, putting her in a backpack to carry her back.  When Lydia moved with her brother Skylar to Daddy's, she hid.  She also got back at her new surroundings by pooping on the couch.  That all changed when Daddy started to have knee problems.  One day he woke up to Lydia lying on his side, staring him in the face.  She "told" him, "I know you're hurting, and I'll be here to take care of you."

From then on, until the day she died, Daddy was her person.  She was his constant guardian, best cat friend, devoted nurse, and companion.  Skylar's person, of course, was Mommy, until Lydia died.  Then he took over Daddy in her place.

They were the reigning king and queen of the household, deferring to each other and taking care of the rest of the kitties.  They helped raise fosters and permanent family, including Rori, Tabby, Carbon, Little Bit, Starla, and Smokey.  Lydia trained Rori to follow in her footsteps as alpha cat of the household, and Skylar picked Starla to be his companion kitty after Lydia died.

Skylar and Lydia will live forever in the hearts of all who knew them.  Many thanks to the Rich family for letting us know these two wonderful spirits.

Lydia died in Oct. 2008 and Skylar in July 2010.

Therapy Cat Tales: Halloween Costumes!

Tabby writes:

Happy early Halloween!  At least it was for all the people we visited today!  Mommy and I both wore our candy corn witch costumes from last year to visit my friends at H., because it's our last visit before Halloween.  I was very good and kept my costume (minus hat) on for most of the time, only walking out of it once.  I love dressing up!  My costume feels like a blanket, so I went to sleep on the bus and the MAX.  I even slept through a pigeon walking under my stroller at the MAX stop at Pioneer Courthouse Square!  Mommy tried to wake me up to see the pigeon, but I was fast asleep.

As we left home, Mommy had to be very careful pushing the stroller, because there were so many wooly caterpillars on the sidewalk.  She counted 5 in half a block!  I was more interested in the grasshoppers, and wanted to get out to catch them, but I had to stay in the stroller.  We were just crossing the street when the bus came, but luckily it saw us and stopped for us.

Most of the people on the bus were happy to see us in our costumes, and two people told us that it totally made their day to see us, especially me.  *purrs*  That's why I do my job, and why I'm good at it!  The people on the bus had a lot of questions about putting a costume on a cat, animal-assisted therapy, and (of course) me.  Everyone was all smiles by the time we got to the transit center!  A job well-done!

After that excitement, I went to sleep.  Mommy forgot my witch hat on the first bus, but was able to get the bus driver to open the bus again so she could retrieve it.  People in downtown Portland loved our matching costumes when we got off the next bus.  Many smiles again, and some laughter all around.

I woke up again when we got on the MAX, because Mommy wanted me to get out of the carrier bag and just ride in the stroller.  When I got out, a little girl in front of us squealed, "It's a KITTY!"  She was wearing a Hello Kitty shirt, so obviously she wanted to pet me, and her parents let her.  A lady in front of us on the other side wanted to pet me, and since she was sitting I got to sit in her lap.

As we walked in the doors at H., three people came over to see our costumes.  Two of them I'd met before, but one I hadn't met.  Then, some more people came down the hall and stopped to talk and admire me.  Lots of petting and everyone telling others in the hallway to come see me!  It was 10 minutes before we got in the door of the office to get the list of people to visit!

We got the same reaction on the two floors we visit.  The nurses and other people who work there were telling others to come see me in my cute costume, plus some of the people I visited had relatives visiting them at the same time.  E. was almost asleep, but she woke up for her favorite kitty visitor.  I hopped into bed to snuggle with her for a few minutes.  R. loved seeing my costume and asked all kinds of questions about it.  Mommy made me wear the hat for a couple minutes so she could see what it looked like on me, too.  The hat falls upside-down, so then I wear it on my neck.  It looks silly that way, so I don't usually wear it except to show it off.  Another R., the one who lives on the 3rd floor, moved to the 2nd floor.  Her son was visiting her, so I got to visit with both of them.  Her son was telling us all about his mean cat.  I'm glad no one in my house is as mean as that cat!

P. was dozing, but woke up when we came in.  She loved my costume, and felt every inch of it so she could "see" it.  She played tails with me again!  I love that game.  N. had a visitor:  her niece.  Both of them loved seeing me.  They let me explore the room and petted me while they talked with Mommy.  After a bit, I figured out a closet door was open, and all Mommy could see was my leash!  As soon as she called me, I came out, and everyone had a good laugh.  I'd just been looking for a cozy place to curl up and take a nap again.  Visiting is tiring work!

When we got back to the transit center by our house, Mommy saw the bus driver for the bus she normally takes to work.  They'd been talking about my book and about me the last time she rode that bus, so we just had to go over to say hi!  The lady loved seeing me and told me repeatedly what a good kitty I am!  *purrs*  She is going to buy my book for her grandchildren!

Happy National Feral Cat Day!

Tigress writes:

I'm learning to eat from the inside food bowl, although I prefer to eat food on the plate rather than from the bowl.  That way, I don't have to worry about one of the inside kitties guarding the food.  I love getting pets from the mommy and the daddy, and I've touched noses with almost all the inside kitties now.  I'm not sure why, but it's warm and dry inside that house.  There's no rain in there, even when it's raining outside!

I caught sight of another kitty inside, but the humans said it was just my reflection in the door.  I went over to Rori to say hi, and the mommy closed the door!  I got scared, but I didn't freak out, just twirled around a bit.  She opened the door again and I just stared at it.  I was glad when she said that the door would open when I want it to, and they would not trap me inside for long if I want back outside.

This inside-the-house thing is very strange, but so is being petted!  Why do I purr so loudly when I'm petted, and why do scritches feel good?  I even let the other female human pet me, the one who comes on some weekends.  The little human who comes with her sat down on the floor and put his hand out, so I sniffed it and rubbed against it.  I didn't let the little human pet me yet, though.

Happy National Feral Cat Day to all ferals, semi-ferals, and former ferals!  Keep up the trap-neuter-return work and advocate for all kitties!

Love,

Tigress, Miss Marble, Rori, and Missy Kitty (our feral, semi-feral, and former ferals)

Hello again and exciting news!

Freya writes:

Hi!  Sorry we haven't written for a long time, but we've been busy!  Tigress has learned to eat from the inside bowl sometimes and is letting Erin pet her when Erin and JJ come to visit.  Last time, she even sniffed JJ's fingers!

It's been sunny and warm lately, but yesterday morning we woke up and the world was cold and wet.  No fun!  Well, I thought it was no fun, but I found out differently.  Last night, the invasion of the frogs started again!  Mommy calls them the plague of froggies.  When she came home last night, seven froggies were stuck to the front door and one was on top of the door frame!  They had to be brushed onto the sidewalk and the ground before she could come in the door.  We didn't get any inside, but then I saw some on the back door.

That's what they look like when they splat on the door!  They stick!  They can actually hop up the door.  I told the others, and they all came to look.  I tried catching them, but they were on the outside of the door.  Darn it!

We also have a visitor, but I'll let her tell about that.  She's fun to play with!

Smokey writes:

Hello!  I'm Smokey, and I'm Little Bit's sister, from the same litter.  I'm also Starla's cousin.  If you were a friend of the PDX pride when we were on Catster, or a few years ago on here, you may remember me.  My mommy is Erin, and my human brother is JJ.  I usually live with them, but I've been staying with the PDX pride, Mommy Karen, and Daddy Scott for a few weeks while things settle down at my house.  Dare, the youngest kitty in my family, was acting up because her person left.  That made me nervous, so I started guarding the litter box and the food.  I also chased Dare and terrorized her.  Mommy thought it was best to remove me from my home for a while to see how Dare did.  Well, that little cat was the problem, not me!  So I'm going to be going back to my real home in a week or so, and Dare will come to this house.  We'll see then if she starts using the litter box properly again!

I miss my family, but I knew some of the kitties here already.  Of course, I know my biological family, but Rori, Tabby, and Carbon were also part of my first family because I came to live with the PDX pride when Cousin Starla did.  She, Little Bit, and I would come and go in the house in Portland when we were all kittens.  I didn't know the newer cats here in this house, but I settled in pretty easily and now play chase with everyone up and down the hallway!  My favorite place to sleep is on the top of the recliner, above Daddy Scott's head.

Tabby writes:

Exciting news!  Exciting news!  My book is now available on Amazon.com and also for the Kindle!  It is now priced at $9.99 for the paperback and $2.99 for the Kindle version.  That's a 50% savings over the Blurb edition, plus now it has the electronic edition.  Wow!  I've already sold one for the Kindle!

I've been visiting again since September, but we've had so much going on with everything here (and Mommy started teaching her classes again) that I haven't had time to write.  One of my friends at H. actually went to the next floor up to find us, because we'd missed her on her floor.  She found a nurse, who found us, so we went to visit the lady!  I have a couple new friends, too.  Our next visit is on Wednesday, and both Mommy and I will dress up in our Halloween costumes for it!

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to the Big Kitty of the House!

Rori writes:

Today's my Gotcha Day anniversary!  Five years ago, when my humans were living in the little house in Portland, I was just a baby kitten.  I was only four weeks old, and somehow my brother and I had gotten away from our mama.  Mommy Erin, who lived with Daddy and Mommy at the time, saw us running across the street from Spongebob's house to Dale's house.  Dale was the neighbor, and he had a lot of old tires in his yard.  My brother hid in one, and I hid in another.  Well, Mommy Erin and Mommy came over to find us!  My brother ran behind Dale's garage, but I was too scared.  I hid inside a tire!  I didn't know what to think of these tall beings coming towards me and making strange noises at me!  I peeked out at them, while they tried to convince me to come to their hands.  Finally, Mommy reached in and picked me out.  She handed me to Mommy Erin, and then took the following picture of me.  You can see how scared I was, but I also knew that I'd better hold on!

My mommies caught my brother, Knut, too.  The stinker walked right into a crate baited with tuna!  By that time, I was being cuddled by Daddy.  Knut was adopted by one of Mommy's co-workers, Tritia, a little over a week later.  I became Mommy Erin's kitten and stayed in her room at least half the time.  After she moved out and had JJ, Daddy and Mommy adopted me, but we celebrate my Gotcha Day as the day that Mommy Erin found me.

I'm proud to be a member of this family and furmily, and the Big Kitty (alpha cat) of the household!

Happy Anniversary to Mommy & Daddy!

Happy 4th anniversary to our mommy and daddy!

We have been having a very exciting time here!  Last weekend, JJ spent a day and night with us.  It's very interesting having a 4 1/2-year-old here!  Tabby, Carbon, and Little Bit remembered right away who he was, even though they hadn't seen him for about a year.  Freya took a while to warm up to him, and Heimdall ran to hide in the bedroom (behind a closed door).  Missy, who's only seen him once, walked right up to him and rubbed against him for pets!

When Miss Marble came inside, she was ok until she realized that something she didn't know about was walking around and talking.  Then she made a beeline for the back door and wanted out!  Tigress wasn't sure about him, but she ended up coming a few steps in while he was watching quietly from behind Daddy in the hallway.  Later on, she got pets from Mommy through the door while JJ was watching beside Mommy.  Very brave!

Heimdall's saying he wants everyone to know he wasn't as chicken as it sounds.  He really ran to assess the situation, then came back out later after he'd had a good, long nap to think about things!  Poor Rori didn't know what to do, so she ran in circles around Daddy's chair, because JJ slept in the big bed in her room.  After he left, though, she was back up on the bed, then lay on the train tracks in the spare room (JJ's playroom, at the moment).  Rori just didn't know what JJ was, then figured out he's a human kitten.  She used to know what he was, but he's grown so much in the last year!

Remember Tabby writing about Tigress' birdie in the last post?  Well, yesterday Tigress had a baby bunny!  We've got wild bunnies around here, but none in our yard because of the ferals.  Obviously, the girls are such good huntresses that they scared them all away!  Tigress found one somewhere and brought it to show us.  We were watching through the glass, amazed, while she carried it around, let it go, ran a short distance away, then stalked it and caught it again.  Daddy got up to see what we were watching.  He went out to try to get the baby bunny away from Tigress, because he didn't want it to suffer.  She let it go and ran off, then he helped it decide where to go when it hopped away.  Daddy said the little bunny wasn't hurt at all, not even a bite mark!

Of Vishus Deer, Birdies, and Visiting

Tabby writes:

We've had a crazy week here at the PDX pride!  On Monday, Auntie Diane had back surgery at the same hospital where Daddy had his back surgery.  That meant that I could go visit her!  Mommy and Daddy took me there on Tuesday.  I snuggled right by Auntie Diane on her bed, purred, and got lots of petting.  Auntie Diane was so impressed with my visiting skills, and so were the nursing staff who came to take her for x-rays.  This was a special visit because it was for a family member and I could ride in an air-conditioned vehicle (not the bus).  My regular visiting schedule starts up again next month, when it won't be so hot out.

Miss Marble climbed a tree to go blue jay hunting on Thursday!  Yep, all the way to the top of our dead apple tree out back!  Of course, by the time she got to the top, the jay was long-gone.  Bummers.  I was watching out the kitchen window, and chattered at the jay as it flew off.  Miss Marble yelled for Mommy to come get her out of the tree, but Mommy said she could do it all by herself.  And, guess what?  She did!  She turned herself around and went back down the branch to the trunk.  By that time, Tigress had woken up.  Tigress bounded over to the tree, then put on the brakes when she realized that her sis was up there.  They talked for a few minutes, then Tigress shook her head at her crazy sister and went off to hunt her own food.  Miss Marble came the rest of the way down the tree.  Can you see her in the pics below?  I'll give you the two big pictures, then close-ups of the pictures.

Friday, Daddy looked out the back window and saw Tigress with a baby birdie in her mouth.  It was still alive, and Tig was playing with it.  She let it go, then batted it, then caught it again.  She brought it up to the deck to show Daddy, but he didn't want her playing with it up there.  He opened the door to make her drop the birdie, and in it came!  We had a baby birdie in the house!  We all were so excited, but Heimdall and Little Bit were the most excited.  They started to hunt it, stalking it as it ran around the house looking for a way out.  Daddy got down on hands and knees, trying to capture it, and finally succeeded.  He took it out to the back fence and let it go, telling it that it had better run away quickly.  It ran for a little while, then took off flying.

Yesterday, Daddy, Mommy, and I went to Goble to see how Auntie Diane was doing.  I met her mom and their new doggie, Timber.  Timber barks very loudly!  He's just a puppy, and was doing his best to guard his people from us.  Auntie Diane told him we were ok, but he didn't agree, so he got crated.  I, however, was very calm and curled up on the couch between Auntie Diane and Mommy.  Everyone was so proud of me!  After the visit with them, we went to Gramma and Grampa's.  They live in the town where I was born:  Clatskanie.  I wasn't born in their yard, but that's the same town.  I got pets from Gramma while she and Mommy talked.  Grampa and Daddy did stuff on the computer.  I saw two of their kitties:  Elizabeth and Eeyore.  Pinky was around then, too, but he didn't come out to be seen.  They are all three 12 years old!  That's really old for kitties!

When we left, it was dark.  Daddy knows to drive slower in the dark around there, because there are deer that can run onto the road.  Well, guess what happened?  Yep, a deer ran in front of the car.  He ran to the middle of the road, then just stood there.  We thought we were going to be safe and drive past him, since he was facing away from us and the other side of the road was clear.  Nope, he turned around and came toward us again.  He ran right into Daddy's side of the car!  He hit the door and the front of the car, leaving a big dent.  He also pooped on the car!  It was really scary, and I saw the whole thing because I was standing on Mommy's purse!  Can you believe that deer got back up after it hit us and ran into the woods?  We went back to Gramma and Grampa's so Grampa could check on the car.  We ended up switching the car for the truck (since Grampa owns both vehicles) and drove back home in the truck.  We were all so glad to be back home again safely!

Happy 5th birthday to Rori!

Happy birthday to the Big Kitty of the house, our alpha cat Rori!  Hard to believe that she's 5 years old already!  Happy birthday to her adopted-out brother Knut as well.  We get updates on him occasionally, and he's doing fine at his home with a co-worker of Mommy's.  Rori's celebrating her birthday by snuggling with Starla, watching birdies out the window, and watching out for everyone in the household.

Happy 2nd Gotcha Day Anniversary to the Twins!!

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to the twins:  Freya and Heimdall!  Two years ago today is when Mommy and Daddy went down to Salem Friends of Felines and adopted them.  The twins cried in the carrier on the way home, but when they got out all they wanted to do was go adventuring inside the house!  Everything about a house was new to them, because they hadn't been in one since they were tiny kittens.  Of course, now, two years later, they're showing Miss Marble and even Tigress the ropes concerning house life.  Yep, Freya's taken over the mothering duties of Miss Marble completely, just as she did with her own brother and the other kittens in the kitten room at SFOF.  Both of them have been trying to encourage Tigress to come inside more and more, and Tigress has succeeded in coming in to eat from the inside food bowl twice now.  Freya still harasses Aunties Rori and Missy, but even that has calmed down considerably.  Rori even snuggles with Freya; seldom, but she does!  Heimdall enjoys being anywhere Mommy is, preferably on her lap.

Remembering Skylar

Can't believe it's already been two years since our beloved Skylar made his journey to the Bridge.  We know he's watching over us and smiling at us all, especially at the twins he sent us so soon after he left.  He would be very proud of all his family, those who knew him and those who have come to be part of our family after he left.

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to Tabby and Carbon!

Tabby writes:

Has it really been 7 years since Mommy and Daddy saw the "Free Kittens" sign in Clatskanie, OR, and took Carbon and me home?  We were so little, and it was such a hot day that day!  I was only 4 weeks old, and Carbon was only 5 weeks old.  We snuggled into our new purrents' arms, then Carbon climbed up to hide on Daddy's shoulder while I tried to play with Mommy's hair.  They carried us into the truck in a box, but I wanted to explore the truck.  I already was a car cat!  Carbon threw up on the way home, because he wasn't feeling well from being outside.  He's long-haired, and all black, so the heat was worse for him.  When we got to our new home and were let out to explore, we had so much fun investigating everything!  Carbon fell asleep in Daddy's stinky work boot, and I dove head-first into Mommy's birthday cake plate!  Later on, we both climbed up the inside back of Daddy's dresser, using the drawers as steps, and fell asleep in the top two drawers!

I'm doing sooooo much better now than I had been, mostly because Mommy and Daddy are giving me fluids every day.  They want to give me a whole unit of fluids, but only 1/2 unit can fit in me at a time.  So I get the 1/2 unit.  No visiting for me until I feel better, my purrents say.  Thank you all for your purrs and prayers!  They really do help so much!  I love you all!

R.K. brought a birthday present to show Mommy yesterday!

R.K. writes:

It was about this time last year when my mama raccoon brought us by to see the human home and food source for the first time.  In fact, the feline kits came by one year ago yesterday for the first time!  Well, I thought I'd continue the tradition.  Yep, that's right:  this half-blind raccoon who thinks she's a kitty had kits!  I've got two healthy furballs, and they're a month or two old.  I'm not telling exactly how old they are, though.  They're about 1/4 to 1/3 my size, and I'm still nursing them, although one of them tried the cat food tonight.  I was so proud!  They played on the deck while I ate, except when the sensor light scared them.  There's space under the deck, so they ran down there when the light was too much for them.  They had a lot of fun playing on the deck, though!  They both investigated (and exclaimed about) the ladder that's lying on there, and had fun jumping in and out of the squares.  One played with the rope that's attached to the ladder, tossing the end up and catching it.  The other found a dead mouse that Tigress had presented to the humans.  My silly kit picked the mouse up and couldn't decide what it was!  It held the mouse between its front paws while standing up, turned the mouse over and over between its paws, then walked off with it to the edge of the deck.  Five minutes later, it was still carrying the dead mouse around, trying to decide if it was food or a toy!

Happy birthday to our mommy!

Happy birthday, Mommy!

She's taking care of us and Daddy now, so we wanted to say an extra-special happy birthday to our mommy.  We're going to give her lots of snuggles today!

P.S.  We want to say thanks for the purrayers for Tabby.  She wrote a post previous to this one on this bloggie, and is doing a lot better.

Tabby's doing better yesterday and today.

Tabby writes:

How come I can't remember a whole evening and night?  Carbon says I was acting weird, and Mommy calls it hallucinating.  I just simply can't remember anything from then.  I'm doing better now, and have been doing well for almost 24 hours.  Daddy was able to drive to the vet's to get me fluids tonight!  He's much less hurty than he was, and we're all grateful for that.  Both my purrents gave me sub-q fluids tonight, but only half a unit because I was so wiggly.  I really don't like how it feels going in!  It helps, but it feels so funny, and then I get a lump for a while until it absorbs.  I'm resting behind Mommy while she's helping me type right now, though.  No drooling, even!

Please pray for Tabby!

The PDX pride Mommy here:  Please pray/think good thoughts for Tabby.  She got heat stroke yesterday (it got to 88 Farenheit in our house, even with the ac on!) and started hallucinating.  I'm calling the vet in the morning to see what they recommend, and putting cold cloths on her in the meantime.  She's doing better now.

Daddy's back home!

Daddy's back home!  We all got some snuggle time with him yesterday.  :)  He's got a scar on his back from the surgery, but he's starting to walk better and won't be in as much pain as he was before having surgery.  He loved that Tabby visited him at the hospital, and told her that she behaved so well when she was there visiting him.  It'll be a while until he feels well again, but he'll heal with all of us snuggling and purring!  Thanks for your purrrayers as well.

Tabby and Mommy visited Daddy in the hospital

Tabby writes:

I got to go with Mommy and Grandpa to visit Daddy in the hospital!  I didn't know where we were going, so I got scared that they were taking me back to the vet.  Nope, we went someplace called a hospital, which is a bigger version of a human vet.  I cheered up a lady in one of the waiting rooms, got petted by two little girls, and surprised one of the intake nurses.  The intake nurse asked Mommy all kinds of questions about me after learning about my important job of visiting Daddy.

Then, we finally got to see Daddy.  He was in a strange bed with a couple machines hooked up to him.  He was napping when we got there, but woke up for a bit.  He was still very groggy, and threw up a little since he got woken up.  I wanted to sit in his lap, but I couldn't find his lap!  I headed for his tummy instead, and got warned off.  Mommy put me on Daddy's legs, so I snuggled there.  I wanted to be closer, but they wouldn't let me.  I knew I was helping Daddy by being there and purrrrrrrring on him, though!  We stayed about 20 minutes with Daddy, then went back home.  Daddy gets to come back home tomorrow.

I had another drooling episode tonight, but not for very long.  I may need another anti-nausea injection next week.  That helped me the last time!

Daddy's just had back surgery.

Mommy just got a phone call from Daddy's surgeon.  Daddy's out of surgery now!  He just had back surgery to remove some bone spurs from his lower back that were making it very painful for him.  They were also putting pressure on a nerve that made his feet tingly.  He'll stay in the hospital today and tonight, then come back home tomorrow.  We're so glad the surgery went well!  Mommy's going to go to see him later today.

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Fourth of July if you celebrated it, and that all furries steered clear of the fireworks!

Tabby most likely has pancreatitis.

Tabby writes:

It wasn't a seizure!  The vet said it was most likely pancreatitis.  I got fluids and some anti-nausea medicine, and am back home.  Carbon's trying to clean the vet smell off me!  Thank you for your purrs.

Please purr for Tabby!

Tabby writes:

I'm not doing well again.  :(  Is this what a seizure feels like?  I drool and get scared when it happens, so I cry out for Mommy and Daddy.  They wipe the drool off and snuggle me.  They'll take me in to the vet in the morning and see what the vet thinks.  Please purr for me!

Surprising Sunday!

Tigress writes:

I'm scared of the big booms and the funny lights in the sky.  They come every night now, and last for a long time!  I run to the deck and stay very close to the door, because I feel safe where the humans and food are.  Last night, while the big booms and lights were in the sky, the mommy fed us and R.K. on the deck.  Since I was staying so close to the door, the mommy put her hand out.  I sniffed it and bumped it with my nose again, so she asked if she could pet my ears.  I've been letting her do that for a couple weeks now, and it feels good to be petted on my ears.  Last night, though, I needed a little more reassurance, so I let her pet my back from my shoulder down to the middle of my back!  I turned my head, and then I positioned myself so she could pet me at a better angle!  I surprised both her and myself by doing that, but it felt like when my mom-cat and dad-cat used to groom me.  This morning, I let her do it again!

Heimdall ate my spider friend!

Rori writes:

*cries and glares at Heimdall*  Heimdall ate my spider friend!  I found a very interesting, large spider on the lip of the garbage can last night!  I was watching it, up on my hind legs so I could see it better because I'm a small kitty.  Mommy thought I was trying to get into the garbage can, but then she saw what I was looking at.  Spiders are my friends!  I had one at the old house, watched it spin its web between the stove and the wall in the kitchen, for a few months before it disappeared.  I didn't let anyone else near it.  My nephew Heimdall saw what I was looking at last night, though, and started stalking it.  I warned him by cuffing him, but he wouldn't stop.  I followed it around the corner of the garbage can, then couldn't see it anymore, so I backed off to watch from a distance in case it came back out.  So did Heimdall, but he saw it first, pawed it, and ate it!  Ate my spider friend!

No more yellow in Tabby's ears!

Tabby writes:

No more yellow in my ears!  Mommy's been checking my ears to see if the jaundice is going away, and the color has been gradually coming back.  Tonight, the yellow was gone, replaced by all healthy, purply skin!  Heimdall was checking my ears, too, helping Mommy.

Happy Daddy's Day!

Happy Daddy's Day to all the daddies out there!  Missy's hanging out with Daddy today, snuggling on the couch to keep him company while he takes a nap.  Freya hopped up earlier to stand on Daddy's side and tell him that she was up there to snuggle with him, then lay down and rested.  He had to laugh that she woke him up to tell him she was there to snuggle!

Grandpa was over on Friday night, and we all ran up to greet him and get pets.  Missy tried to crawl in his jacket sleeve!  Freya likes flopping over on her side so that he can rub her side, and then Heimdall gets jealous of his sister and does the same thing.

Happy birthday to Tabby!

Tabby writes:

Today's my 7th birthday!  Wow!  Mommy says that I need to behave as a 7-year-old now.  I think she said that because I was screaming at her, though.  She was working on the computer and I wanted pets.  After asking her a few times, I screamed at her.  I'm usually pretty good about asking and waiting, but it's my birthday so I think I deserve a few pets and hugs this early!  I got them, but I had to behave properly for a little while first.  That was fine with me, because I knew I'd get my pets and birthday hugs then.

I've been teaching our raccoon kitty (R.K., the one who acts like she's a kitty) how to behave lately.  I've taught her to lie down on the other side of the glass from me.  I've also taught her how to touch noses, even though the glass is in the way so we can't really touch.  Grandma came by a few days ago and saw us doing both those things.  She loved it!  She hadn't really believed our purrents when they said that R.K. behaves like a kitty, but now she believes it!

Happy birthday to Carbon!

Carbon writes:

Wow!  Today's my 7th birthday!  It's raining here today, so I'm going to spend my birthday snuggling with my purrents and running around with Little Bit.  Maybe I'll watch the rain from the back door as well.  Rainy days are great days to snuggle, though.

Sumptuous Sunday!

Miss Marble writes:

Does anyone want to come over for a mousie feast?  Daddy just finished mowing the lawn with the new riding lawn mower, and there are all kinds of fat, juicy field mice running around!  I just caught two really good ones.  *licks lips*  I was inside while Daddy was mowing, because Mommy wouldn't let me go outside then.  I tried to tell her I wanted out, but it didn't work.  I'm actually glad I wasn't out with the lawn mower, but I saw the mice jumping out of the way and wanted to chase them.

The raccoon with the bad eye (it's mostly blind in one eye) was also out in the yard hunting, but I think she was mostly interested in the salamanders.  It was good hunting for both of us!  The raccoon is one of the litter that's the same age as me, and this one is named R.K. (Raccoon Kitty) because she has learned how to behave like my sister and me!  She curls up on the deck like us and reaches up to the door handle like us.

I sleep on the bed now when I'm inside.  I love curling up on the cozy blanket, especially if Mama Freya is up there to snuggle with me.  I also like attacking Mommy's feet under the blanket, but I have to remember to use soft paws (claws in), otherwise she tells me I'm hurting her and snaps her fingers.  If she does that, I run away and come back once she is quiet again.

Tigress writes:

Yummy mice!  It was scary watching the daddy on the loud monster, but fun watching the mice scurry away from it.  I'm hunting, too, but staying back from the mown parts of the yard for a while.  I don't want to have that monster come and get me, too, even though no one's riding it now.  It's just sitting quietly by itself, so I think it's alright.  That's what the one next door does, and it's safe when no one's on it.

I've invented a new game!  I play it with the mommy!  She sticks her hand out the sliding window-door, and that's my cue to slink along the wall.  I get almost to her hand, then crouch down and reach my right paw up to tag her fingers.  I sniff them, then touch them again!  I'm very brave!  I even let her touch my ear when I'm eating sometimes, and other times just let her have her hand out toward me while I'm eating close by the door.  My sister wants to know why I don't just come inside again and let the mommy and the daddy pet me, but I'm not that brave yet.  I've seen how much everyone else enjoys that, but I'm not ready for that yet.  I do enjoy my game with the hand, though!

Therapy Cat Tales from 5/16/12

Tabby writes:

I'm back to visiting again!  Yay!  I wore a special outfit called a bunad today, because it's Norway's Constitution Day tomorrow.  My bunad is the national costume (national outfit) of Norway.  There are many different variations of the bunad, so not all of them look like mine.  I've got a dress, a shawl, a funny hat that fits over my ears, and a purse!  I wore them for the pictures, but I walked out of the shawl and the hat got in the way, so I ended up only wearing the dress for visiting.  I wore the rest to show a couple friends while visiting, though.

S. was surprised to see my bunad, so I had to show off the whole outfit for her.  Then we got our list of friends to visit with and went to our floor.  Another S. was in the lobby, so we said hi to her.  She was so happy to see me, and said she's missed seeing me.  I missed seeing all my friends, too!

In the tv room, A. was sitting by himself.  His special friend, G., died yesterday.  G. was a very special lady and always lit up when I came.  She'd laugh and play with me, sometimes feeding me Fig Newtons!  I'm going to miss her.  I climbed into A.'s lap, pushed my head into his hand, and meowed softly at him.  He almost cried as he petted me and hugged me!

I saw my friend T. in a bed, when she's usually up and about in her walker or a wheelchair.  That confused me, but I walked right in and jumped up on her bed.  She didn't remember me, but she was so glad I came to visit her!

When we visited R., she'd been eating pretzels.  She put them in a plastic cup before I jumped on the bed, but the bed still smelled of them.  She offered Mommy one, and so I was offered part of one, but I didn't want it today.  I loved R.'s blanket!  It was so soft and snuggly!  I curled up on her hands and on the blanket, listening to stories about her cat knocking down a bird feeder in an attempt to catch the birds.  Her cat also made his way back home after being moved, after she left.  The cat went back, but no one was there to feed him, so he walked across the freeway again and to the new home, where he stayed for the rest of his life.  Pretty amazing!

M. wanted to pet me today!  She used to be afraid of cats, even though her husband had cats the whole time they were married.  She's not ever been afraid of me, though!  She likes me, but she's not sure sometimes what I'm trying to do.  I asked her for pets, and she didn't know what I was doing, so Mommy told her.  Then she petted me.  I guess she just needs training like I was trained.  She wanted to see my full bunad, so Mommy put it on me.  M. thought that was the cutest thing she'd ever seen!  She said I was a very good girl, wearing all of that, especially the hat.

P. was walking without her walker, but she's not supposed to.  She had left it by her bed to answer the door, so she held onto my stroller as we walked in until she got to her walker.  Then she was safe.  She missed me, too, and thought that I'd come without seeing her.  She didn't know I'd been sick and not come at all.  So she was very glad to know that she hadn't missed her visits with me!

While we were waiting for the bus home, there was a baby girl crying.  I was dozing, but popped my head up when I heard her!  The man next to us, who was admiring me, laughed at that.  The mom of the little girl brought her over to see me, and the little girl got to pet me!  She was very gentle, even though she petted the wrong way.  She has a kitty at home, so was making a baby sign for kitty as she was talking with her mom.

When we got back home, the duck family was swimming in the marsh!  I hadn't seen the ducklings this year, so that was very exciting!

Happy Mother's Day, Happy Birthdays, and update on Tabby

Happy Mother's Day to all moms, kitty moms, and those who have taken on the role of mom!

Tigress and Miss Marble (and their adopted-out brother Hemming) all turned one year old yesterday!  They're all doing very well.  Tigress even gave us a present, a nice mousie on the porch.

Tabby was all ready to go to the Doggie Dash yesterday, but Mommy wasn't.  Tabby got a ride around the block, then Mommy's tummy decided to give her a surprise.  Guess she had something called food poisoning from something she ate on Friday.  Tabby's eating dry food consistently now, and drinking water on her own, but getting fed some canned food to supplement the dry food.

Good news for Tabby!

Tabby writes:

I'm back to normal!!!!  Well, I'm still not feeling well, but I'm back to wanting lots of pets and attention, asking for pets, talking, and drinking water!  Mommy's still force-feeding me some, but I'm eating bites of dry food throughout the day, too.  Not much, but some.  Mommy says that I may even get to go to the Doggie Dash with her tomorrow!

Update on Tabby

Tabby writes:

Mommy's still having to force-feed me, but now I'm eating a can a day of the canned food.  I should be eating 2 cans, but that would be too much food for my system to handle when I'm not feeling well.  So we're doing 4 feedings a day, 1/4 can each time.

A couple hours ago, I wanted some of Mommy's soy milk and raisin bran cereal!  It smelled so yummy, so she let me have some on a plate (after checking that there were no raisins in what I got, because that could make me sicker).  I ate a few bites on my own!

Update on Tabby

Tabby writes:

I'm taking my medicine and being a good girl drinking water from the water bowl.  Mommy got me some (human) baby food, chicken-flavored, which is more watery than the canned food.  Funny, it makes me thirstier!  Maybe that's from the medicine, though?

Good news, bad news for Tabby

Tabby writes:

We just got the results back from my latest blood test.  It's not hyper-T.  It's mild hepatitis.  My thyroid levels are all within range, so it's just the liver levels that are elevated.  I'm getting three medicines to take for the next few weeks, because I've either got:

1.  A primary infection that is causing my liver some trouble.

or

2.  My liver's having some trouble and I got a secondary infection.

The good thing is it's not contagious to the other cats or to humans.

P.S.  There's a slight possibility that it's cancer of the liver, but that's a very slight possibility.  We'll do the medicines for the infection first, and then I'll have another blood test once I'm over the infection.

Newsflash: Tigress came inside today!

Tigress writes:

Wow!  Guess what?!  I decided that inside isn't the bad place I thought it was.  Being inside for a day changed my mind, even though I hated the trap and hated that I was inside when it was happening.  Now that I've had a couple days to think it over, though, I'm finding it very interesting.

Today, I decided that I wanted to check it out more.  When the daddy opened the door for my sister, I was right there.  The daddy left the door open a little for me to socialize with the inside cats.  Freya was busy grooming my sister, because she kind of thinks my sister is her own kitten.  I could tell my sister was happy, so I looked at the door, then looked at the daddy and meowed.  He opened the door a little more, and I walked through!

I went to the food bowl first and sniffed it, then sniffed the water bowl.  I walked back out the door, and the daddy called to the mommy to come see me.  She watched from the hallway and he watched from the living room as I came back inside and sniffed the bowls again.  Then I walked into the kitchen, still crouching low because I was unsure what was going to happen.  My sister wanted to come see me, so she hopped down from her spot on the blanket-covered table.  That sound scared me, though, and I ran back outside!

A little later, I went back over to the now-semi-closed door.  Heimdall had his head out the door, sniffing the outside air, so I walked along the wall until I got to the door (just in case he was going to come outside).  He turned toward me and we touched noses!

Vet appointment for Tabby tomorrow

Tabby writes:

I'm going in tomorrow for the vampires (aka vet techs) to take more of my blood for thyroid testing.  Thanks for all the purrs, prayers, and good thoughts!  I love all of you so much!

P.S.  I drank some water on my own, went poop (formed and in the box) on my own, and got force-fed 1 whole teaspoon of food.

Newsflash: Tabby's eating on her own!

Tabby writes:

Newsflash:  I'm eating the crunchies (dry food) Mommy just set out for me!  Only a few bites, but I ate them!  *purrs*

Results of Tabby's blood test

Tabby writes:

The vet called today with the results of my bloodwork.  My liver enzyme levels are elevated, so the vet thinks that I probably have hyperthyroidism (also known as hyper-T).  It's managed with medication (methimazole) and retesting as needed.  I go in on Friday for them to test my thyroid levels with more blood draws, to see that the diagnosis is correct and to evaluate the dosage of medication.  Thanks so much for all your purrs, prayers, and good thoughts!  I ate (was force-fed by Mommy) one whole teaspoon of food at my last feeding! *glares at Mommy, though*

Updates on Tigress and Tabby

Tabby writes:

Mommy's making sure I eat something, but I don't want to!  She's force-feeding me canned food, but she can only get 1/2 teaspoon into me at a time before I absolutely refuse and spit the glob out.  I'm keeping the food down (except for once yesterday morning), but it's not tasting or smelling good to me.  We're hoping for the results of my blood test back on Monday.  The vet's office was supposed to tell us on Friday, but they didn't call, so my purrents will call on Monday to see what's going on with the results.  Thanks for all your purrs, prayers, and well-wishes!

Tigress writes:

I had a very scary couple of days!  I was inside in that trap thing for a few hours, then the humans picked me up and put me into a car.  I've never been in a car, and I was taught to stay well away from roads when I was still a very young kitten.  Being this close to humans is new to me, too, even though I'd seen them on the other side of the glass before.  The humans took me to a vet place, called the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, where they left me!  There were other cats in traps, and they were as scared and confused as I was.  We all were so quiet, except for a couple screaming cats, because we were so scared.  Since we'd all lived outside, we knew that silence was the key to being invisible.

It didn't work this time.  I was picked up again in the trap and carried somewhere, then given a shot.  I suddenly felt very sleepy!  When I woke up, I had been poked a couple more times (vaccinations), had part of my right ear gone (to mark me as a fixed, cared-for feral), and had been cut open then glued shut!  I had also been shaved on my belly.

While I was under anesthesia, the vet discovered that I was pregnant.  Mommy and Daddy had thought I might be, probably two or three weeks along, but made the decision to go ahead with my spay anyway.  They said that I would be much healthier that way, and not have to have all the stress of young motherhood.  It was a heart-wrenching decision for them, especially for Mommy, but they feel that it was for the best.  With the kittens, I was 9.1 pounds before my spay.

The humans came and took me back home.  I'm a very good car cat, actually, and they were really proud of me.  I didn't sing in the car, just watched everything going by.  Seatbelts are the most interesting part of the car!  I had gotten one of my claws caught in the trap wire, so I was bleeding a little from that, but it stopped right away.  I've got two extra toes on my right front paw and three extra on my left front paw, so it's no wonder I got one caught.

Yesterday, I was recovered more from the anesthesia, and wanting out of that trap!  I tried and tried to find a way out, especially after I peed on the newspaper.  My sister came inside to check on me and was trying to help me get out, but neither of us could find the way to open the trap.  Finally, Mommy took the trap outside and let me go.  I slithered out and zoomed under the deck, while my sister mewed happily.  I was back in a few hours for dinner, though!

Tigress back outside after recovering from her spay.  Notice her eartip.

Tigress is trapped, and that's a good thing!

Tigress writes:

Hi, Striped Girl here, although I've got a real name now.  I'm named Tigress!  The daddy chose my name.  A couple days ago, this strange wire box reappeared on top of our eating place on the deck.  My sister wasn't afraid of it, so she went right in to eat and I followed her.  There was yummy soft food in the wire box, so that wasn't too bad.  I was nervous about it, but my sister wasn't, and I trust her judgement.

Turns out it was a trap!  Literally!  This morning, when I went to eat, my sister was already inside the house visiting with everyone.  The mommy put the yummy soft food in the wire box and called me, so I went in to eat.  At first, it was fine, because the plate was close and I could reach the food easily.  I stepped forward two paws to get a chunk of food that had fallen in back of the paper plate, and SNAP went the trap door!  I freaked out, tried to get out, called for my sister in my loudest voice, but nothing worked.

The mommy came outside, put a towel over the trap, and picked it up with me inside!  I was so scared, more scared than I've ever been in my life!  Then, all of a sudden, I realized there were other cats around me, cats that I had seen and smelled before.  Rori came and lay down beside the trap once the mommy put it down, reassuring me by her presence that this is a house where cats are welcome.  She told me that it is safe in here and that everyone loves me.  I calmed right down.  Then, another cat came over.  His name is Heimdall, and he kind of scared me at first, because he jumped on top of the trap!  I wasn't sure what was going on, so I held very still, but then I realized that he was just sniffing me.

Heimdall and Rori investigating me and reassuring me.

Ack!  Heimdall's on top of the trap!

My sister was startled to see me in the trap, because it reminded her of when she was trapped.  She wanted outside again, so the mommy let her out.  Two minutes later, she wanted back in.  She then came over to me and showed me one of her favorite toys, called a Crazy Circle.  It's a ball that goes around each time you bat at it.  I've never had any toys that didn't smell of the outdoors, so I watched this new thing closely.  My sister tried to give it to me by pushing it against the trap wall, but I couldn't get to it through the wire.  She lay down against the wall and batted the ball around so I could see how it worked.

The mommy says I'm going to go to the vet place later on today to get spayed.  I'll be trapped in this wire box for the weekend while I heal, then I'll get to go back outside to my home.

Tabby's vet visit went well.

Tabby writes:

My vet visit went well. I love our doctors! I got fluids, which I didn't like because the lump went over to the side. They took some blood for testing, and we'll get results tomorrow. My teeth, eyes, fur, and ears all look good, as well as other vitals. We'll know more when the blood test results come back.

Tabby's eating!

Tabby writes:

Mommy gave me some more very soft food (she calls it "pate") a few minutes ago.  I licked it and licked it, and then I bit it!  I only took a few bites, but Mommy says that it was so good of me to take some bites.  I let Carbon have some of it, too.

Tabby's not feeling well.

Tabby writes:

I'm not feeling well.  I've been losing a lot of weight, even more than I was supposed to.  I have a vet appointment tomorrow, so until then I'm snuggling with Mommy and Daddy.  They've been trying to feed me yummy canned food, but I only lick the juice.  Carbon eats the rest for me, and so do the others, but the juice is yummy.  Sorry I haven't written about my visits to H. recently.  Mommy hasn't felt like typing for me when I've not been feeling well, but my visits went well and I enjoyed snuggling on people's beds.  They're doing a lot of construction at H. right now, and Little Bit freaked out, so we're not bringing her back there.

Happy birthday to Little Bit!

Little Bit writes:

It's my 4th birthday today, or as near as my purrents have decided.  Four years ago, my sisters Smokey, Baby Chiba, and I were born to our mama Boo-Boo Kitty in Portland, OR.  Smokey lives with a friend, and Baby Chiba died as a kitten, and I'm doing really well with everyone here in Vancouver, WA!

I didn't go visiting when Tabby went a week ago (she promises to write about it later), because I fell off the top of the stroller while Mommy was getting us ready.  She had put me in the carrier, put the carrier on the stroller, and then turned to talk to one of the twins.  I rolled myself off the stroller!  I'm fine, but I was shaken up for about 10 minutes afterward and didn't want to go back into the carrier.  Mommy promises never to do that again, and always to have at least one hand on the carrier if it's on the stroller.  It scared her as much as it did me!

I'm having a great birthday running around with the twins!  I hopped up to groom my half-sister Rori (who's almost a year older than me) for a while this morning, then got back down off the bed to play again.  ZOOOOOOM!!!!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from all of us at the PDX pride!

Happy birthday to Freya & Heimdall!

Freya & Heimdall write:

It's our birthday today!  We're 2 years old!  We're celebrating with Miss Marble this morning, because she's inside for one of her visits.  She actually snuggled on Mommy's lap for a few minutes!  We're so proud of our niece.

Later on today, we'll get treats (and everyone else will, too) in honor of our birthdays, plus lots of snuggles and playtime.

In case you're wondering which is which, Freya's grooming Heimdall in the picture.  We look so much alike that sometimes even our purrents have trouble telling us apart from a distance, MOL!

Starla writes:

Belated thanks for remembering my Gotcha Day.  I had a good day, quiet, just the way I like it.  I got to stay out with everyone for the whole day!  Usually, I'm in the bedroom for half the day, because Carbon thinks it's fun to attack me.  But on my Gotcha Day on the 3rd, I was out for the whole day and he was in the office for the whole day.  Everyone else went back and forth between all the rooms.

Feral Friday: Leopard & Miss Marble

Mama Leopard writes:

I've been coming regularly to the food place now, and have greeted my family in purrson.  I'm nervous around them, but I've let them groom me and rub against me.  I won't let Tux eat with me yet, though.  I will let my girls eat with me, just not Tux.

Why did the humans switch the water bowls?  Do you see the grey one in the picture?  That used to be the water bowl, before I went away.  Now the white one is the water bowl, but the grey one is still there.  I went to drink out of the grey one like I used to, but there was no water in it.  The lady told me that the water is now in the white one.  Why?  I drank it, but it's confusing.

I remember the name the humans gave me, and respond to it.  I've also meowed at them, but am still really nervous around them, like I was before I had my kids last year.  It will take a while of being around here again to get used to the humans watching me.  I get very nervous when my daughter goes in their house, but she always comes back out again and tells me she had fun.

Miss Marble writes:

I know my mama is always nervous when I go inside, as is my daddy, but I'm really ok!  I love visiting with my friends inside!  The humans always talk softly to me and pet me, give me toys, feed me, and make me feel happy.  My aunties and uncles all love me, and I love them.

I sat on chairs yesterday!  I got up on the wooden chair that Auntie Freya loves, and it's comfortable!  I took a bath on it and almost fell asleep.  Then Mommy came over, so I asked to be petted.  She sat down and picked me up to sit on her lap.  I was nervous about being that close to her, but her lap was a good place to be for a few minutes.  The other chair I was brave enough to get on was actually the organ bench.  It's got a puffy top that feels good to my paws.  My aunties and uncles say it's like a pillow.  I don't know what a pillow is, but if it's like that organ bench then it must be a comfy place, too!  I took a little nap on the organ bench before getting down.  I've also walked down the hallway on my own some more, plus gone into the living room to have Mommy pet me.  I'm not brave enough to go over to get pets from Daddy in his big recliner chair yet.  That chair squeaks like a giant mouse when Daddy sits up!  It scared me the first time, and I shot back over to the door.  They said it was ok, so I went back for more pets, then the chair squeaked again.  The second time, I was able to tell it was the chair, so I didn't go running away.  I just looked at it and meowed back to it!

Therapy Cat Tales from 2/22/12

Tabby writes:

Hmph!  S. invited Little Bit to come along on my visiting day, too!  It wouldn't have been so bad, except I had to share the stroller with her and she wanted to lie on me instead of in the stroller!  At first, she was in the stroller like she was supposed to be, but then she decided that it was more comfortable to be on me!  Hissing at her didn't stop her, so I swatted.  Mommy separated us, and no one was hurt, but I was in a grumpy mood for my visit.

We ran into one of Mommy's friends from high school on the bus, so that was fun to meet her.  She and Mommy talked for a long time, but she petted both Little Bit and me as well, complimenting us on our soft fur.  She rode the MAX train with us, too.  On the MAX, there were two guys who had seen me before, but another passenger hadn't.  One of the guys who had seen me before was telling the new guy about my work and how spoiled I am, having my own stroller and clothes.  He jokingly said that Mommy even dresses us in diapers, and the guy believed him!  The new guy asked Mommy if that was true, and she laughed and told him no.  Everyone had a good laugh about that!

S. wasn't at H. when we got there, but R. was.  She met Little Bit, who was freaked by the doors opening automatically.  Little Bit tried to go into the corner and also tried to go into R. and V.'s office, but Mommy wouldn't let her.  Little Bit calmed down after she got to sit on Mommy's lap, though.  We got our list of people to visit and went back out to the hallway.  Some people were getting a tour, and saw us right away.  They were introduced to us, and Little Bit climbed on Mommy's shoulders.  I was being very good and stayed in the stroller!  I was a very good example.  Mommy explained about our work and told them Little Bit was visiting for the first time (and still in training).  Then we went up to visit our friends.

I stayed in the stroller most of the time, but Little Bit hopped out and said hi to people.  She rode on the stroller canopy instead of in with me, so that I wouldn't get hissy or swat while we were visiting.  I did swat once, but that's when she hopped back in one time, so she broke the rules first.  Everyone loved Little Bit just as much as they love me!  They petted me and paid attention to me, too, but Little Bit was the star this time.  G. rubbed her face and she snuggled with S., except she didn't want to snuggle against S. like I do.  She wanted to lie on the bed, but not totally snuggle with her.

Mommy was pleasantly surprised when we got to one room, because two of her church friends were there!  We got to meet L., who usually lives on another floor but needed to have a nurse look after her for a while.  V. was there visiting L.!  Little Bit went to greet them while I greeted L.'s roommate and picked a snuggle spot on the bed.  After a while, Little Bit went to snuggle against V. and I got to see L. and V., too.  L. had a book on her little table, so I didn't know if I was allowed to be up with the book.  As soon as it was moved, I settled down on the table and got petted a lot.  I know the rules!

Little Bit doesn't know the rules, but she's learning.  She wanted to go in R.'s closet, but she wasn't allowed in there.  R. is a new friend, and absolutely loved visiting with both of us!  When she opened the door and saw kitties, her eyes just lit right up!  She sat on the floor to pet us, and petted both of us equally.  *purrs*  I stayed in my stroller, but Little Bit wanted to explore.  Mommy kept her reined in on a short leash, though, so she wouldn't get into trouble.  Little Bit didn't like that very much, but she loved all the attention and being in a new place.  After a couple minutes, she went over to R. on her own and climbed on her for pets.  Little Bit broke a rule, though.  She jumped up on R.'s counter!  R. told her it was ok and offered her water, but Little Bit wasn't thirsty.  I wasn't, either.  I was just sleepy.

On the way home, Little Bit tried to snuggle on top of me again, but I wouldn't let her, so we snuggled side-by-side.  Well, she was still on top of me for some of the time, but not all the time.  We stopped at Petco to see if they had a bag carrier on sale, and ended up getting a really nice one for only $14, when it originally was over $50!  Little Bit hopped right in, so we got it!  The clerk loved seeing us and came around the counter to pet both of us.  I was just so happy that Little Bit had her own place to be, instead of on me!

Newsflash: Mama Leopard's Back!!!!!!!

Leopard writes:

Hello, anyone remember me?  I'm the feral cat who had Miss Marble, Striped Girl, Hemming, and the other kitten last spring.  I disappeared when my kittens were around 10 weeks old.  One of my kittens disappeared around the same time, but the rest were brought by Tux to the people and Tux also helped raise them.  He taught them what they needed to know to be good adults.  Now my kittens are just over 9 months old, and I've returned!

I showed up yesterday in the middle of the day to eat at the deck feeding area.  Yum!  I'm very wary of the humans now, like I used to be before my kittens were born.  I didn't bring the other kitten back with me, and no indication where I've been for the past 7 or 8 months.  The humans wish I could tell them the whole story.  I didn't come to eat at the same time as the others, so the humans don't know if I've seen my family again yet.  I've smelled them, though, and am happy they're still around and are doing well.  Miss Marble smells different, but I think it's still my girl because her scent trail is mixed in with the others I recognize.  I don't smell my boy anywhere, though.  The humans say they found him a good home and that his name is now Hemming.

I have been eating well, and have a nice, fluffy winter coat.  I don't have any new scars, and am still the same self-assured kitty I was.  I'm glad to be back!

Movie Monday: Miss Marble!

Miss Marble writes:

Oh, hi!  I'm visiting inside more and more!  I like it where it's warm by the heat vent, but I've been learning how to play spring and exploring around the open area.  I've been in the kitchen and down the hall a little, even!  Auntie Freya brought over her spring to show me, so she's been teaching me how to play with that.  Missy came over and greeted me, but didn't want to groom me when I asked her.  Mommy and Daddy pet me a lot, which I love, and I lean against their legs while purring.  Everyone loves me, and I love everyone!  I'm not ready to stay inside forever, though.  I like visiting inside for 20 minutes or so, then ask to be let out again.  I'm coming in at least three times a day, though!

I like this chair.  Mommy or Daddy sit in it while they pet me.  I've been put on the chair, but I don't like staying up there yet.

Freya likes to play with me when I'm under the chair!  I was wrestling with her for a while this morning.  She's become my "mommy-auntie":  my substitute mama kitty.

 I now am not concerned at all when I'm eating from the inside food bowl.  Auntie Rori can even sniff my tail tip, and all I did was flick it at her nose!

I found a new toy this morning!  It's a blue ball, and I can pick it up in my claws to shake it!  The blue is a crocheted covering for a ping-pong ball, but the ball itself got squashed.  It doesn't roll well now, but it's still a lot of fun to play with!