Feral...um...Saturday?

Sherbet writes:

*YAWNS*  Pardon me while I eat my breakfast.  I guess I slept through yesterday, because we got our Christmas present and I was too busy trying it out!  Rori and Dare love it, too, and everyone else was exploring it while Daddy was putting it together.  He bought it especially for me!  *smiles*

I was scared when I was hiding in Mommy's teaching shelf, because Panther would come and get me.  I pooped in the shelf!  It's now in another room, but I needed a hiding spot.  Daddy looked online and ordered this kitty tree!  I've never had a kitty tree before, and I didn't even know what it was for a while.  I thought it was interesting, but it smelled funny.  After a while, the smell went away almost completely.  That's when I took a chance and explored it when everyone else was sleeping.

This is my hidey-hole!  This is why Daddy bought it for me!  I can look out of here and hiss at Panther when he comes in the room, and he can't get me!  Well, he could if he tried, but he's too scared after I hiss at him and the others defend me.

It has six levels, two of which are platforms with a raised edge.  Perfect for napping spots!  Then there's my hidey-hole, and the other regular platforms, including the base.  The platforms and hidey-hole are carpeted, and the posts are wrapped with sisal.  I guess it's nice to scratch on, but I haven't tried it yet.  Rori and Dare have demonstrated it, though.  None of us have tried out the roof of the hidey-hole, but our purrents are sure that we'll get to that eventually.

The other big news is that I've been letting the humans pet me!  Mommy is able to pet my back, flank, and tail with the back of her hand.  Daddy is able to pet a whisker and get a nose-touch sometimes.  Auntie Shawnee is able to pet my tail, but she accidentally pets my feet.  I hate my feet touched!  Mommy Lana isn't able to get near me, but I watch her from the floor sometimes when she's got her door open.  I do the slow blink at everyone, because I'm pretty content all the time.

Meowy Christmas and Therapy Cat Tales!

Tabby writes:

Meowy Christmas!!!!!!!  I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written a therapy cat tale, but we've had a kind of crazy few months here.  I went to H. with Mommy and Auntie Shawnee in November for their holiday bazaar, but then didn't have my November visit.  I did this month, though!

Mommy!  This notebook cover's the picture Grammy took of me!  It also has one of her kitty blankies on it!

I chose the mackerel because they looked good enough to eat.  Unfortunately, I couldn't eat a notebook cover!

Are we done already?  How much did we make?

We ended up making about $30, and half of that we are donating to the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon.  They got the profits from all our kitty-related notebooks and greeting cards!

On our December visit to H. a couple weeks ago, I wore my Christmas outfit, which you can see in the first picture on this post.  I was so excited that Mommy only got one decent pic out of the photo shoot, because I was rolling around and air-kneading!

My friends were all there, and I made some new friends, too.  The man who meows at me loved my dress, and one of my new friends had her two daughters there, so they got to meet me, too!  Another new friend wanted me to snuggle on the bed with her, so I curled up right in the crook of her arm.  I love snuggling with my friends!

No, that's not a real person standing with us under the umbrella.  It's the umbrella man statue in Pioneer Courthouse Square!  He had an ugly Christmas sweater on this year!

Have a merry Christmas, everyone, and stay safe!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rori is thankful for a snuggle spot in Mommy's office room.
Dare is thankful for Mommy's licky-arm.
Sherbet is thankful for his shelf and that there is food, water, and a litter box in Mommy's office room.
Panther is thankful for Daddy's lap.
Autumn is thankful for Daddy and for Mama Lana.
Little Bit is thankful for flea medicine.
Freya is thankful for snuggle laps and fuzzies to play with.
Heimdall is thankful for flea medicine and Mommy.
Missy is thankful for Daddy.
Tabby is thankful for everyone and a tote to sleep on top of.
Carbon is thankful for food.
Starla is thankful for open windows with screens, sun puddles, and a nice day.
Niss is thankful for food and a place to hang out on the deck.

We are all thankful for YOU!

Mean Purrents!

Sherbet writes:

Auntie Rori, is this how purrents are supposed to act?  (Sherbet looks at Rori, who's sound asleep, snuggling next to him.)  Mommy, why did you and Daddy double-team me with a big blankie at 4 in the morning?  You wanted to put what on me?  Flea medicine?  I don't want them to get medicine; I want them off me.  Oh?  That's what flea medicine does?  Is that why I don't feel them crawling around my nose so much now?  Ok, I think.  I'll forgive you for putting the stuff on me, but it'll take me a while to forgive Daddy for chasing me around the room and wrapping me up in the big blankie.

Mommy writes:

This was Sherbet's first time having flea medicine put on him, and he was thoroughly traumatized, as only a true feral can get from something like this.  Rori decided to cheer him up by snuggling with him for hours; as the alpha of the household she knows that her job is to care for the others.

Dona Nobis Pacem

Happy Meowloween!!!

Happy Meowloween from all of us at the PDX pride!  We'll be celebrating while being safely indoors.  Lana and Logan got a pumpkin, and Lana's going to carve it today.  We've already been investigating it, and Autumn can't wait to jump inside!  We don't get trick-or-treaters at our house, so Mommy is going over to Grammy's house to do a "haunted yard" and hand out treats while in costume.  Tabby isn't going with her, because it will probably be cold and rainy.

Stay safe and away from that scary door, and don't forget to paw the clocks back before you go to bed on Halloween night!

Remembering Skylar and Lydia on their Birthday

Today we remember Skylar and Lydia especially, because today is their birthday.  They were Mommy's first kitties, and they were born on October 26, 1999.  Lydia lived until 2008, and Skylar lived until 2010.

They started out being part of the Rich family in Portland, who were neighbors of Mommy.  Skylar would garden with Mommy, eating tomatoes!  Lydia took a while to warm up to Mommy, but she would watch while bird-hunting.  They were inside-outside cats, a bonded pair of littermates, who would cry at the screen door if one of them was inside while the other one was outside.  They loved the Rich family, and considered the kids their people.

When the Richs had to move across the country, they asked Mommy to adopt Skylar and Lydia, because Skylar had already adopted Mommy!  Of course, Mommy said she would.  Mommy became Skylar's person, but it took a while for Lydia to choose Daddy.  At first, Skylar and Lydia lived at Mommy's boss' house, because Mommy was a nanny.  After a few months, and a few escape attempts, Skylar and Lydia were brought over to Daddy's and introduced to (then kittens) Tabby and Carbon.  Immediately, Lydia became the alpha cat of the household, although she gave her brother more leeway than anyone else.  She ruled the household with an iron paw, and could send anyone (including Skylar) flying across the floor with a double-paw slap!

After hiding and making it obvious that she despised the relocations, Lydia made up her mind to choose Daddy as her person because she wanted to help him heal.  He had just had knee surgery and was confined to the couch for most of the time.  One day, while he was sleeping, Lydia climbed up on his side and settled down.  When he woke up, she was staring right into his eyes, telling him that she was here for him and would always be.  From then on, he was her person.

After Lydia died, Skylar was heartbroken.  A few months later, we thought we were going to lose him, too, but then Starla came into his life.  She was a young cat, just over a year old at the time, and very skittish, having come from an abusive and neglectful home.  Skylar adopted her as "his kitten", and the two bonded almost like he had with his sister.

Three days after Skylar died, we adopted the "new" tuxedo twins, Freya and Heimdall, who are now five years old.  They remind us every day of their aunt and uncle, and are a constant joy in all our lives.  We know, absolutely, that our original tuxedo twins sent them to us!

Happy Birthday at the Bridge, dear angels Skylar and Lydia!  We love you and will never forget you!

Feral Friday: MOUSES!!! There are TWO of them!!!

Niss writes:

OMC, I just got a huge surprise!  All this time, I thought there was only one tuxedo cat in this house.  Now, I see there are two!  I was wondering why one cat had two names.  Now, I know that there is a girlcat named Freya who usually watches me through the sliding glass door, and a boycat named Heimdall who likes to stick his nose out sometimes.  MOUSES!!!  They had me fooled!

I asked for food at the door, and when the lady put the food outside, Heimdall stuck his nose out to sniff me.  I was surprised that he was that close, so I stepped back, but I didn't hiss this time!  I was curious, because I smelled that he was a boycat and I had thought the tuxedo was a girlcat.  Then, Freya walked over and said hi to me as well!  Wow!  Ok, there's the one I'd smelled before!  Now it all makes sense!!!  I did a complete double-take, then looked all the way up at the lady for an explanation!  She laughed, but in a good way, and explained that it was Uncle Heimdall and Auntie Freya, and that they're twins.  Wow!  Then she shut the door so I could eat and mull over the new information.

Happy National Feral Cat Day!

Sherbet writes:

Happy National Feral Cat Day!  I'm proud to say that I'm an inside feral.  Last year around this time, Mommy and Daddy trapped me and got me fixed.  They were going to let me outside again, the "R" part of T-N-R (trap-neuter-return), but I had other ideas, MOL!  I didn't want to go back outside!  I bit Mommy's finger when she opened the trap, dashed out, and hopped onto the desk in the dining room!  Here is a picture of me in the trap and then one of me on the desk:

I watched everyone for about two hours, then climbed down and ran into another room.  I found a nice cave, which now I know was a bed, to hide under/in.  I spent a few months under there, and every so often one of the other cats would come say hi to me (usually Dare, Rori, or Tabby).

After Daddy took the bed out, cleaned the room, and gave me a nice box and open carrier to call my own, I became a much happier cat!  I learned where the other rooms were in the house, learned to tolerate the humans coming into my room (although I still hid in my new carrier/house), and even touched Mommy's fingers one day!

The next breakthrough came when Mommy was away, but Daddy told her about it and she saw where I was when she came back.  I found a shelf in Mommy's office room and that became my new home!  Rori is hanging out with me in the picture.  There's another shelf, too, and I'm currently hanging out in it!  The only really scary thing in here is the door to the room, because it swings when Mommy puts her backpack on the knob or takes the backpack off.  I'm always worried that the door's going to come get me, but it hasn't yet!

I love being able to walk out into the hallway, and even to the dining room to eat with the others if I want to!  I'm not afraid of the others or worried that the humans will chase or grab at me.  If the humans get too close, I still move to safety, but I have multiple safe spots and I walk to get there instead of scoot or run!  I'm very proud of myself for the accomplishments in the last year!

Now, I'll turn the stage over to our current outside feral boy.

Niss writes:

Um, hi?  Have any of you seen Auntie Tigress in the last few weeks?  She went away and I don't know where she went.  I still smell her around occasionally, but I haven't seen her for a while, and it bothers me.  I'm hanging out closer to the food because I don't want to lose my way or miss her when she comes back.

The humans still haven't put me in a box and taken me to have a surgery done, whatever those things are.  I hear them talking about it, but they say that I'm too skittish yet and the want me to know it's safe when I come back here from the surgery.  They say that after I get the surgery done, I will calm down a bit more and not be so worried about where girlcats are.  That would be just fine with me!  I'm now just over two years old.  Last year at this time, I didn't even know where this nice place was, and now it's my home!  I also didn't have a name last year, and now I do, and a great one at that, after a fellow blogging cat.  Everyone says I look like he did, and he was a feral boy, too.  Does that mean that he celebrated National Feral Cat Day every year, too?

We all hope you have good noms today, a safe place to hang out and nap, and humans who care for you!  If you know of anyone who could use some tips on feral (unsocialized) cats, Alley Cat Allies has some awesome resources!  If you see an eartipped cat, say hi to your neighborhood feral!

Looking for a way to introduce the idea of T-N-R to children?  Check out Mommy's book, Three Feral Kittens, on Amazon!

Tabby's Therapy Cat Tales from Yesterday

Tabby writes:

First of all, our daddy says thanks for the birthday wishes from two weeks ago, and sorry we haven't been keeping up our bloggie!  We've had a busy and crazy few weeks.  Daddy had a good birthday, but his daddy is on hospice care now due to liver cancer.  I can't go visit Daddy's daddy and help him, because he lives a ways from here.  Mommy was hospitalized last week with pancreatitis, and I couldn't go visit her in the hospital, either!  Daddy took care of us while Mommy was there, but now Mommy's back home so they both are taking care of us again.  Purrrrrrrrrs.

Another comforting purr to each of the families of three ladies I visit at H.  A couple weeks ago, one lady died, and then today two ladies died on two separate floors.  I was excited to go visiting again, because we missed our visit at H.G. last week.  I knew it was going to be a special visit this time, too, because Mommy was getting out our candy-corn witch costumes!  I love my costume; it feels like a blankie!  I watched her until it was time for my "bath" with the pet wipes, then Mommy put me into my carrier bag.  I didn't even fuss, which is unusual and meant that I really did want to go visiting!

When we got to H., we went into the restroom, and that's when we met the daughter of the lady who died this morning.  She talked to Mommy and petted me for about five minutes.  I'm glad I was able to help her!  When we went to S.'s office, she told us what had happened as well, so we wouldn't be surprised.  Then we went to visit the other people on our list, with S. asking at each doorway like she usually does.  I was very sleepy today, so I didn't get out and walk like I sometimes do.  I walked on the beds, but not on the floor.  Of course, I had my harness on under my candy-corn witch outfit.

At one of the rooms, I kept on shaking my head, looking from the room to Mommy and back again.  Mommy wondered why I was doing that, but she found out soon enough.  S. had gone into the room to ask the lady's son if they would like us to visit, because the lady was in a coma and had been for most of the last day or so.  Turns out, the lady had died a couple hours before, and her son was sitting in her room having some quiet time with her before the body was moved.  S. apologized and quickly left the room.  After S. came out into the hallway again, I lay down calmly in my stroller again.  If the son had wanted to visit with me, that would've been fine with me, but I could tell what had happened.

A new friend wanted to pet me in the hallway then motioned for me to follow her into her room so she could pet me more!  Her daughter and son (I think) were there with her, and they loved that I was visiting with their mom!  The lady was almost in tears saying goodbye to me, because she loved that I'd come to see her.  Another lady in another room was telling us about their 19-year-old cat they used to have, and about the pug they have now.  I guess the pug acts like a cat and is smaller than I am, and she's full-grown!

Happy 9th Gotcha Day to Rori!

Rori writes:

Believe it or not, I was once this small!  That's Mommy Erin with me at 4 weeks old, when I was first brought in to my forever home.  Nine years ago today, Mommy Erin came running into the house, saying "There are kittens crossing the road!  There's kittens in the neighbor's yard!"  Sure enough, my brother, Knut, and I had crossed the road by ourselves at 4 weeks old and were having a grand time playing in the tires in Dale's yard.  Mommy and Mommy Erin climbed the fence and saw us disappearing around the corner of the house.  They chased us around for a bit, and my brother ran off, but I hid in a tire.  I thought they wouldn't be able to see me there, but they saw my eyes!  Mommy picked me out of the tire, which was on its side on the ground, and handed me to Mommy Erin.  Mommy Erin brought me inside and handed me to Daddy, then both mommies went out to get my brother.

They had to entice him into a carrier by putting a can of tuna in, then shutting the door while he was munching!  After we had a bath, we snuggled together and got warm, then ate some KMR.  It wasn't our mama-cat's milk, but it was pretty good!

My brother got adopted out soon after that, after he was old enough.  I became Mommy Erin's kitten!  I especially loved sitting on her laptop keyboard after she was done using it, because it was warm!  When JJ was born, Mommy Erin asked if I could stay with Mommy and Daddy because she had her hands full caring for the new baby.  Of course, that worked out just fine, and I became a permanent member of their household, then soon became the Big Kitty (alpha cat).

Eight years and a lot of household changes later, I'm still Big Kitty and loving it!  We have two other humans staying with us temporarily, and I just now am letting both of them see me and semi-interact with me.  They still don't get to pet me, though!  I snuggle with Mommy and Daddy sometimes, and keep tabs on my auntie, uncle, half-sister, cousins, nieces, and nephews.  The only one I'm biologically related to is Little Bit.  We had the same dad, but not the same mom.  My mom-cat was a feral named Rachel, and our dad-cat was a pet cat named SpongeBob.

Happy 9th Purrthday to Rori!

Rori writes:

Wow!  I'm 9 years old?  I don't feel like I'm a senior cat!  It's hard to believe that 9 years ago today in a yard in SE Portland, OR, USA, my mom-cat gave birth to my brother Knut and me.  I think we had other littermates, too, but I'm not sure because it was so long ago and I was so young (4 weeks old) when I got adopted.  My mom-cat, Rachel, was a feral, and my dad-cat, Spongebob, was an unfixed pet.  My brother's dad remains unknown.  I only know who my dad-cat was because Little Bit and I have the same dad-cat (and so do two of Little Bit's kittens).  Little Bit and I aren't littermates, though.  I'm the older sister!

Here's a picture of my brother, Knut, hugging me in our sleep.  We had just had a bath, and are approximately 4 1/2 weeks old in that picture.

Here's Knut a few years ago, playing at being a Jedi!  His mommy, my mommy's coworker Tritia, took this picture while she was folding laundry.  Our mommies like to compare notes on how we're doing, because we still have some of the same quirks and personality traits, despite having been in separate homes since we were about two months old.

Happy 5th Gotcha Day Annifursary to Freya & Heimdall!

Happy 5th Gotcha Day Annifursary to us!  Five years ago today, we were kittens at Salem Friends of Felines in Salem, OR.  We didn't know it then, but our lives were about to change drastically, and for the better!  SFOF is a wonderful no-kill shelter, and they have kitties in rooms where the public can come in and socialize with them, plus foster homes for those who need more direct socialization.

We loved being part of the kitten room clowder, but we were 3 1/2 months old and the oldest in the kitten room.  We really dreamed of a home of our own, like our other two siblings had.  They were adopted before our new purrents met us.  Instead of our current names, Freya was Furkins and Heimdall was Fonz.  Do we look like those names to you?  Our siblings also had names starting with F.

The day before we got adopted, Mommy had seen Heimdall's picture online on the Save A Cat game on Facebook.  It's a game that uses real shelter cats' profiles from Petfinder and donates ad-based revenue to the participating shelters.  She and Daddy had been thinking about getting one or two tuxedo kittens, but it was only two days after Skylar had passed and they weren't thinking about doing that right away.  Little did they know what Skylar and Lydia had planned for all of us!

Anyway, Mommy saw Heimdall's picture and noticed how much he looked like Skylar.  She went running out to Daddy and showed him the picture, then he searched for the rest of our biological family on Petfinder.  He found Freya's picture, and noticed right off how much she looked like Lydia!  The rest, as they say, is history!

Mommy and Daddy went down the next day and met us.  At first, we didn't want to interact with them, but then they found our favorite toys (a fleece wand and a feather wand) and played with us for a bit.  We were surprised, though, when Daddy came back in with a carrier and the lady who volunteered there.  The lady picked us up and put us in the carrier, with Daddy reassuring us and Mommy watching from outside the room.  We cried a bit, but once we got into the car Freya put her paws through the carrier mesh the whole way home.  Heimdall curled up against her in the back of the carrier.

We got our new names on the way home.  Mommy named Freya and Daddy named Heimdall, which is kind of cool because Daddy is Freya's person and Mommy is Heimdall's person.  That's the way everyone knew it was going to be, too, because Mommy was Skylar's person and Daddy was Lydia's.  So why wouldn't it be expected that the same would be true for us?  Freya is the Norse goddess of war and beauty, and Heimdall is the Norse god who is the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge.

Once we got home, we came out of our carrier with our tails and heads held high, exploring our new home with all the excitement and wonder that comes with kittenhood!  Our new family greeted us like long-lost friends, and we've been here ever since!

Remembering Skylar....

Skylar, there isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of you and how you lit up our lives.  I dreamt about you, and woke up feeling a presence behind me on the pillow.  No one was there, at least no one living, but I believe you came to visit us so I smiled and said hi to you.

In some ways, it doesn't seem like it could be five years since you left us.  In others, it seems like more than that because our lives have changed so much since then.  Your other mommy, Erin, and your little boy, JJ, are doing fine.  We know you loved them just as much as you loved your daddy and me.  We all tell JJ how you knew he was there before Erin did, and how you used to sit on Erin and purr at him.  I'm so glad that Erin could be with us when we said goodbye to you, hard as that was for all involved, including Dr. C.

You were one special boy, Skylar, and we cherish your memory and the memories of our time with you.  You were so full of life, even at the end when you were so sick.  You kept your word, sending us new twins in the form of Freya & Heimdall, who inherited the same respect from the others as you and Lydia had.  We see your influence in their lives every day, even though you never actually met them.  There's a reason we gave Heimdall your name as his middle name, because his personality matches yours in so many inexplicable ways.  He's sleeping on the computer desk as I'm typing this, dreaming away.

Carbon took over your role in the household when you left, and has become just as much the "bouncer" of the family as you were, keeping peace between the others, although always deferential to Rori, who is still our Big Kitty (alpha).

I'm sure you greeted my mom last year and are taking good care of her, along with the other furries she knew in life.  That gives me some comfort.  I know you're with your beloved sister Lydia, and the others who went to the Bridge.

We miss you so much, dear Skylar, but we're glad to have had the gift of knowing both you and your sister while you lived.  Thank you.

Love,

your mommy Karen.

Happy 10th Gotcha Day, Tabby & Carbon!

Happy 10th Gotcha Day to Tabby and Carbon!  This is a picture of them when they were just a few weeks old, after they came to live with Daddy.  They were in a free kittens cage in Clatskanie, OR, where Daddy grew up.  He and Mommy were driving through on their way to Long Beach, WA, for their first beach trip together, and Mommy saw a sign on the feed store billboard:  Free Kittens.  All the way down and all the way back, Daddy kept asking Mommy to help him remember to stop.  Sure enough, there were two little kittens in the cage on the porch!  Carbon was 5 weeks old and Tabby was 4 weeks old.

Needless to say, the rest was history!  Daddy picked up Carbon while Mommy picked up Tabby, then they switched after a few minutes.  Carbon threw up on the way home, but Tabby loved the trip, even looking out the side window and trying to climb on Daddy (who was driving).

Once at their new home, the little house in SE Portland, Tabby dove headfirst into Mommy's cake while Carbon curled up in Daddy's work boot for a nap!  Later on, after playing, eating, and using the litter box, it got really quiet in the house.  Daddy and Mommy noticed and started looking for the kittens.  They looked everywhere, to no avail, until Daddy had a brainstorm.  He opened the top two drawers of his dresser, and four blinking, sleepy eyes, along with two big yawns, greeted him!  The kittens had climbed up the back of the dresser using the drawers as stairsteps!

Daddy's a lifesaver!

Autumn writes:

We're so proud of our daddy!  We've been hearing little birdies cheeping in the fireplace for a few weeks now.  Our purrents said the birdies built a nest way up high in the chimney and the sounds were echoing down to us in the house.  Daddy put a big piece of cardboard across the opening so that we couldn't get to them and they couldn't get in the house itself, in case they came down that far.

A few days ago, I woke Daddy up trying to climb the fireplace screen to see if I could move that cardboard piece.  I could hear the birdies even clearer, and they made quite a racket!  Their nest fell down into the fireplace!  Our purrents put the junk mail in the fireplace instead of shredding it, but we haven't been able to light a fire for a while because of the nest.  That turned out to be very lucky for the little birdies!  There were four alive, and one that had been dead for a while.  The four live ones let Daddy pick them up (with gloves, of course) and put them in the cardboard base of a water bottle package.  They were flopping around and trying to fly, but couldn't yet.  Mommy says they'd just gotten their adult feathers but hadn't learned how to fly yet.  She said they looked like robins, and the nest was made of sticks.  I thought they looked like fun to play with, but Daddy said ikke (meaning no).

Daddy took them out and put them up on the top of the roof so the mama birdie could find them.  We heard them cheeping the next morning, so they survived until then and were calling for their mama.  We hope they're ok now and have learned to fly!  Please don't make anymore nests in our chimney, birdies!  Daddy's going to put a chimney cap on it so they can't get in.

Happy 10th purrthday, Tabby!

Tabby writes:

No, this isn't how I'm dressing for my purrthday today, but it is how I'm going to dress for my next visit to H.!  It's my 10th purrthday today!  Carbon had his last week, so it's my turn now!  Yay!  I'm asking Mommy right away if I can have the same yummy treats we got last week, and I'm sure she'll say we can!  Although we've been getting into the treats without being given them, lately, oopsie!  Daddy put the swag bag from the Doggie Dash on the floor, and a certain just-over-a-year-old found out that there were Temptations in small packages in there.  Oops!  I might've told her to check, but I'm not telling.  I had fun yesterday opening a bite-sized package and chasing it around the floor for about 15 minutes, then eating all the treats that dropped out of it.  Yummy!  There actually aren't that many per package, since they're the sample-sized ones.  I wanted to chase another package, but our purrents are limiting it to one package per kitty, with the fun exercise to go along with it.

Happy 10th Purrthday, Carbon!

Carbon writes:

Thanks for all the purrthday wishes!  Wowee, I can't believe I'm 10 years old today!  Seems like just yesterday I was a kitten in Clatskanie, OR, with my momcat and siblings.  I'm the old man of the household, but I still feel like a kitten sometimes!  Auntie Shawnee got to see me play the other day when she was here helping Mommy sort through some things.  She also helped Daddy get a new futon mattress for us, and it came with strings!  She was flipping the strings for Autumn, and I stalked them, too.  POUNCE!!!!  I had one in my mouth and was bunny-kicking it before she knew what had happened, and Mommy was just giggling!  See, Auntie Shawnee, I DO still play!  I also wanted to use Auntie Shawnee's purse as a chair, but she wouldn't let me after she saw me snuggled on it.  I don't even know why, but it wasn't there when I came back from having a bite to eat.  I lay down on the arm of the couch instead.

We'll put some pictures of all the excitement and new things that appeared over the last week, but that post will be up later on this week.

Yummy Treats!

Little Bit:  Freya, what do you have there?
Freya:  They're some new treats that we got in the mail!  The nice folks at Chewy.com sent us these new Greenies to try!
Autumn:  Fun paper, Auntie Freya, can I play?
Freya:  Yes, Autumn, but don't spill the Greenies.
Little Bit:  She can't; they're resealable.  See the top of the bag?  That keeps them from falling out and keeps them safe from kitten paws.
Autumn:  But not kitten teeth!  Can we open them yet?
Freya:  Better let Mommy give you some, rather than trying to bite the packet.  You know she doesn't like when we help ourselves, because then we tend to eat too many at once!

Rori:  They sure smell good!  What flavor are they?
Mommy:  They're tuna-flavored and salmon-flavored.  The tuna flavor is the SmartBites Hairball Control formula and the salmon flavor is the Healthy Skin and Fur formula.
Rori:  Does this mean that they'll help with my matting?
Mommy:  Yes, but you still have to let me brush the shed fur before the mats start.
Rori:  Do I get these treats afterward?  Please?
Mommy:  I can do that!

Sherbet:  Are these even food?  They taste too good to be real food?
Mommy:  They're called treats, Sherbet.  They're special, not part of your regular food.
Sherbet:  I think I like treats!

Disclaimer:  We were given the Greenies by the people at Chewy.com in exchange for a review.
  All opinions are our own and not influenced by the sponsors.

Sherbet's Miracle!

Everyone else has been playing with Mommy's hand, and I decided I wanted a try!  This just happened, and Mommy's in awe.  Actually, so am I!  I was very gentle and used soft paws (i.e. no claws).  This video was taken after I had touched her a few times in a row.  After the first time it happened, she turned around to find seven of the others had gathered in the room and were witnesses!

Bad Mommy forgot Tigress' Birthday!

Tigress writes:

I'm so embarrassed!  Mommy was bad and forgot my purrthday!  Mommy, I turned four years old on May 12th, and you're only letting everyone know now?  I've been 4 for two whole weeks now!

I've been trying to teach Little Nissy that it's ok to come inside the house.  He's still not sure about the door, but he's getting braver every day.  When we come up to eat together, I go first to make sure it's ok.  He follows, and then we both meow for food.  He's learning that the door will open but that no one will come out.  I'm very proud of him for that!  He even will eat when Autumn and Tabby stick their heads out the door, and when Mommy and Daddy have fingers to sniff.  He hasn't wanted to sniff the fingers, but he doesn't immediately back away now.  It's tough raising a kitten, even one who was half-grown by the time I adopted him!

My own mom-cat, Leopard, disappeared when I was a few months old, so I was raised by my dad-cat, Tuxie.  He and Leopard had been bringing me to our purrents' deck for a while by the time Leopard disappeared, so Tuxie asked the people for help in raising me and my siblings, Miss Marble and Hemming.  We all turned out just fine, even with all of that!  My other sibling disappeared when Leopard disappeared.  When Leopard came back, months later, my other sibling didn't come with her, so we don't know what happened there.

Hemming probably celebrated our purrthday with his adoptive mommy, and I celebrated here (because I knew it was our purrthday).  Mommy did give us special treats, so some part of her brain connected that it was a special day, even if she didn't remember what it was.  More about the treats on Friday, because I'll let one of the others tell about that.  I took my treats outside with Little Nissy when we got the treats.  It was his first time eating treats, but he loves them just as much as the rest of us!

I know my sister, Miss Marble, is smiling at us from the Rainbow Bridge.  She would love that I have someone else outside to social-eat with and to team-hunt with.

Mom-cat Leopard, Hemming, Miss Marble, and the other sibling in summer 2011.

Hemming, the other sibling, Leopard, Miss Marble, and Tigress in summer 2011.

Feral Friday: What's Up?

Sherbet writes:

I haz a sockie!  I saw one of Daddy's sockies fall over by the dresser, and this time I didn't hiss at it.  This time, I got an idea!  I scrambled out of my carrier box, grabbed the sockie, and high-tailed it back in the box before Mommy got back in from hanging up the towel she'd taken from the top of the dresser.  She came back in to retrieve the sockie, and it wasn't there!  I had it and was already furring it up!  It makes a comfy little pillow, and I like putting my fur pillows (piles of shedded fur) on it, too.  You might be able to see it under my front paws if you biggify my piccie.

Little Nissy writes:

Thanks so much for the nice welcome on my post last week!  It's great to meet all of you.  Here are some better pictures of me.  The mommy took them while she had the door cracked a little.  A few of the inside kitties were trying to sniff at me, and I didn't like that, but then Mama Tigress came back outside to reassure me.  I didn't want to have my picture taken after that, but I came back to eat again once the door was shut.

Mouses, Mommy, can't you just let me eat?  Wait, am I too young yet to say "Mouses"?  The kitty I'm named after said it, but he was older than I am.  I'm just over a year old.

Mama Tigress making sure I know it's ok to get my picture taken.  She tried to get back out the door while the mommy was taking pictures, but her head wouldn't fit through.  She had to wait for the mommy to open it wider, and then she came back out to me.  The mommy closed the door a little again so that aunties Autumn and Dare wouldn't sneak out.

Mama Tigress says we are probably truly related, because I may have extra toes like she does.  The humans can't tell for sure, but it looks like I do from the pictures that the mommy took yesterday.  I also, umm, need to have a surgery, they said?  Something that little boykits have?  Mama Tigress says it's not a big deal, and her brother had that surgery, so it must be ok.  The humans want me to get a little more used to the door before that happens, though.

I Have a Name!

Hi, everyone!  I'm Tigress' little friend.  She told me about this yard a few months ago, and I've been a regular ever since.  I'm a young boy kit, probably just over a year old.  I'm feral, but I'm OK with sniffing the human hands from about five inches away when they put food out for us.  Tigress treats me like her own kitten, even though I'm not really.

The humans told me about a blogging friend who just went to the Bridge.  His name was Nerissa, and he started out as a feral boy like me.  I look kind of like him, so the humans asked him mommy if I could be named after him.  So, I'm Little Nerissa, and will have the nicknames of Nissy or Rissa.

 Thanks, Nissy's family, for my new name!

May the Fourth Be With You!

Happy Star Wars Day from Heimdall! He decided to dress up as Yoda for the occasion!

Catching Some Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Well, it's the end of the A to Z Challenge!  We're glad that we had this opportunity, and what a fun challenge and month this has been!  We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have!  Now it's time for some well-deserved rest.

Rori and her brother Knut as kittens

Carbon

Rori as a kitten and Auntie Lydia, with Tabby by the dresser

Spooky 1 and Carbon

Little Bit's kittens:  Cloud, with Squishy and Kai (and Tiger's paw)

Tiger

Kai on Mommy's neck

Heimdall

Rori

Panther

Little Bit