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!
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Happy Meowloween!!!
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!
Monday, October 26, 2015
Remembering Skylar and Lydia on their Birthday
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!
Friday, October 23, 2015
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.
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.
Friday, October 16, 2015
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!
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:
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?
Looking for a way to introduce the idea of T-N-R to children? Check out Mommy's book, Three Feral Kittens, on Amazon!
Thursday, October 15, 2015
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!
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!