Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to Missy!

Missy writes:

*Opens one eye and then both eyes in amazement*  Oh, hi, everyone!  What a nice surprise to wake up to messages on our bloggie for me!  Yes, today's my Gotcha Day anniversary.  Three years ago, Mommy and Daddy decided to adopt me!  I'd been living with them for a good part of the year by then, but that was my official adoption day.  I first came to live with them in the middle of May, 2011, after walking down the sidewalk outside Mommy's work yelling for food.  Mommy stopped her class to come find me, caught me, then she and Daddy put me in the car.  Later on, when they opened the car to get in after Mommy's class was over, I escaped and hid from them.  It took them 45 minutes to catch me again!  That time, I stayed caught.  I rode home in the space between Daddy's door and his seat while he drove, and he petted me the whole time to help me relax.

I was feral but socialized when I found my purrents, and this year they found out that I'd been spayed somewhere along the line.  I may have had a home as a kitten, or I may have found a kind human who got me spayed but couldn't keep me.  I was fed by the guys at the Franz bakery across the street from where Mommy works, and I caught my food as well.

Tomorrow's my 5th birthday, so double happiness for me!  Stay safe tonight, everyone, and out of the way of fireworks.  Tell your humans to stay safe if they're partying, too!

Happy New Year!  Here's to a great 2014!

Skylar's three-year Bridge Day anniversary

It's been three years since Skylar became an angel.  What a lot has changed in that time!  We still miss him every single day, but treasure the memories, especially as we see Heimdall & Freya grow into their adult selves.  When Freya carries her fuzzy socks around the house, meowing to them, we're reminded of Skylar's sister Lydia doing the same thing with yarn puffballs.  When Heimdall snuggles into our arms or gets a funny look on his face and dashes around the house yowling at the top of his lungs, we laugh and remember Skylar doing the same things.

Those years with Skylar grow ever sweeter looking back.  He was the mommy's first kitty, and adopted her before she officially adopted him.  He was almost five years old at the time of his adoption, fully his adult self, but still willing to start his life over with Mommy and Daddy, his littermate, and two small kittens (Tabby and Carbon).  Between that day and the end of his life, he was honorary uncle to many foster kittens, enjoying every minute of playing tails with them and teaching them how to play.  Mommy was his person, but he adopted Mommy Erin as his second person, then Daddy as his third person and (then baby) JJ as his fourth person.  He loved to terrorize his sister Lydia, but she loved putting up with it.  It was a game between the two of them.

Even at the end, old and crochety as he was, he would come over for a snuggle and a proffered lap to sleep in.  He loved being held like a baby.  He never lost his wonderful Siamese yowl, especially when it came to food, and was the official timekeeper of the household.

We love and miss you every day, Skylar.  Thank you for sharing our lives and letting us into yours!

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!

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.

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!

Happy First Gotcha Day Anniversary to the Twins!!!

 Heimdall writes:

Mommy says it's been a whole year today since she and Daddy came to get us at Salem Friends of Felines.  Wow!  I remember being scared to leave my friends in the kitten room, and glad my sister was with me wherever we were going.  I'm so glad that we came to live with our family!  Mommy says that she asked Uncle Skylar to send them a new tuxedo kitten or kittens, and then she saw my picture on Save A Cat on Facebook, which uses Petfinder ads.  She told Daddy, and Daddy saw my sister's picture.  The next day, they came to get us both!

My favorite activities are kitten-watching (in the picture above) and snuggling with Mommy.  At night, I love snuggling right against her hand or her arm.  If I'm sleeping and wake up and don't feel her arm there, I move so that I'm touching her.  I also like hopping up on the recliner and snuggling with Daddy when he takes his after-work nap.  But mostly I like kitten-watching and trying to play with the kittens through the window!

Freya writes:

Wow, it's been a year already!  When Mommy and Daddy came to see us at Salem Friends of Felines, I didn't want to pay any attention to them, and squirmed to be put back on the snoozing shelf when they picked me up.  They were insistent on seeing me, though, and I'm so glad they did!  I remember talking the whole way home, putting my paws through the carrier door to grab Mommy's hand while my brother stayed in the back of the carrier.  I knew we were going somewhere good, and I wanted to be out to find out where it was!

Now, my favorite activities are playing with sockies, my blue hedgehog with the squeaker and bell in it, and annoying Rori.  I always want to play or snuggle with her, and she sometimes lets me, but not always.  I also love being brushed by Mommy, and will hop up every evening to snuggle and get my brushies!  I love my brushies!

Lydia's Bridge Day Anniversary

Sweet Lady Lydia, today marks two years since you flew away to the Bridge.  I still miss you every day, and I know your dad does, too.  Skylar is with you now, together again just as you were in life, and I know you both are looking down on us.

Freya is sooo much like you, love.  Sometimes, I think Rori thinks Freya's you in miniature.  Sometimes I think we all do.  She could be you come back to us, she's that similar in looks & behavior.  She is learning to snuggle with her daddy just like you did, and Rori is teaching her how to be a lady of the house (when Freya's not chasing Rori wanting her to play, lol).  Freya & Heimdall are bonded and act like you and Skylar, and we're forever grateful for them, knowing that you and your brother had a paw in sending them to us.

We love you so much, Lydia, and will always love you!  We honor and cherish your memory today and always.

Love,

Mom.

Happy Anniversary to Mommy & Daddy!

Happy anniversary, Mommy & Daddy!!!  We love you!!!  It's their 2nd anniversary today!

Pictured from left to right:  Erin D. (Skylar's Mommy Erin), Mommy, Daddy, West (one of Daddy's work friends), Grandpa Mike (Mommy's dad), and Keon & Hannah (kids of Mommy's best high school friend).

Happy Gotcha Day to Meeeeee!!! :)

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

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

I love my family!

Love,

Starla.

Happy anniversary, Mommy & Daddy!

Happy 1st anniversary to our mommy & daddy!