Happy Birthday to the Twins!

 

 

 

 

It's Freya's (top) & Heimdall's (side) 11th birthday today!  We're celebrating with snuggles, games of red dot, and playing chase.  We're also going to get canned food for dinner!

Happy 8th Birthday to Little Bit!

Little Bit writes:

Today's my 8th purrthday, and my sister Smokey's as well!  Smokey lives with Mommy Erin and is celebrating with her today.  We were born in SE Portland to a sweet black kitty named Boo-Boo.  She and our cousin Starla (Boo-Boo's sister's kitten) belonged to neighbors two doors down from the house that my purrents lived in then.  Boo-Boo and Starla used to go over to eat with the ferals in their yard, so they brought us over as soon as we were able.  We had another littermate sister, Baby Chiba, but she got eaten by our people's puppy when she was a kitten.

My dad-cat is Spongebob, who lived with a neighbor across the street.  He's a huge Maine Coon!  No one knows for sure who Smokey's dad-cat is, and Baby Chiba's dad-cat was Outdoor Fluffy Buddy.  She looked like his "mini-me"!

From left to right on the porch:  Starla, Little Bit, Smokey     From left to right on the steps:  Outdoor Fluffy Buddy, Boo-Boo Kitty     Summer 2008

Baby Chiba and Starla     Summer 2008

Little Bit     Summer 2008

Smokey     Summer 2008

Happy 6th Purrthday to the Twins!

Happy 6th purrthday to Freya and Heimdall!  In 2010, they were born to a pet cat in Salem, OR, and were two out of a litter of four.  The other two were taken with them to Salem Friends of Felines.  Freya was given the shelter name of Furkins and Heimdall was given the shelter name of Fonz.  The other siblings were given the shelter names of Fizz and Fink.  They were already adopted by the time we saw Freya and Heimdall.

Their mom-cat was a tuxie and their dad-cat was a neighborhood Siamese.  They were born at their mom-cat's home, but the humans there didn't want to keep them and got the mom-cat spayed shortly after.

Happy purrthday, twins!  We love you both!

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!

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.

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.

Happy 5th Birthday to the Twins!

Freya writes:

It's our birthday today!  For a birthday present, we want Sherbet to come out to play, or at least play pawsies with us.  Can you see me sticking my paws underneath the door trying to get him to play?  I'm going to have a fun day running around the house and playing with everyone.

Heimdall writes:

I want Sherbet to play, too, although I've been asking him to play tails by sticking my tail underneath the door and wagging it at him.  It works with everyone else, so why doesn't it work with him?  Our purrents say it's because he likes to be in a box in there, but he can't see the door from his box, so he doesn't see us trying to play with him.  If I were in there, I'd want to have some company and someone to play with!

I've got a goopy eye that's getting better, so I'm going to spend my day snuggling with Mommy either on the bed or sleeping on the desk while she does computer stuff.  She cleans my eye to help it feel better, and that's working.  I may need medicine for it, but that's ok, too.  As long as I get my snuggle hand under my head, I'm happy!

Happy Birthdays Yesterday and Happy Thanksgiving Today!

Panther is thankful that it was his birthday yesterday, and for two loving families (and hopefully the chance to go back to his forever home).

Sherbet is thankful for this nice deck and tree place where the people put out food for him, for his birthday yesterday, for his brother Panther inside, and for Auntie Tigress watching out for him.

Tabby is thankful for her visiting (even though she hasn't gone the last couple months due to other things on the schedule for Mommy), for friends, and for a loving family.

Carbon is thankful for Mommy and Daddy who take care of picking up his hairballs and missed litterbox times and still let him snuggle with them.

Little Bit is so thankful that she wasn't hurt when she fell off the mantle and bounced off the fireplace screen a few days ago.

Freya is thankful for fuzzy sockies, family, and her brother.

Heimdall is thankful for Mommy, snuggling, and his sister.

Rori is thankful for starting to get over her fear of coats and loud shoes and for family.

Autumn is thankful for a loving foster family and so many teachers and playmates.

Tigress is thankful for snuggles, a loving family, and the ability to go outside still as well as hang out inside.

Starla is thankful for her space in the bathroom and for a relatively peaceful household.

Dare is thankful for climbing spaces and snuggling.

We all are very thankful for YOU!

Remembering Skylar & Lydia on their birthday

 Lydia

10-26-1999

to

10-13-2008

 

Skylar

10-26-1999

to

7-23-2010

Forever in our Hearts

Skylar and Lydia came into our lives in the summer of 2005, even before Tabby and Carbon did.  Skylar actually came into Mommy's life two years before that, while she was gardening.  He wandered over and started eating a cherry tomato that was on the ground!  Mommy laughed and called him over, petted him, and found out his name from his collar tag.  He lived with the Rich family, who had just moved in across the street from Mommy.  For a while after that, Skylar would garden with Mommy and walk her to and from the bus stop, greeting her as she came home from work as well.  She met the Rich family and became a kid-sitter for their daughter.  She also met Lydia, Skylar's littermate sister, who at that time was much shyer around people than Skylar was.

When their family had to move across the country and leave the kitties behind, it was decided with a lot of tearful farewells to have Mommy adopt Skylar and Lydia because, as Mrs. Rich said, "Skylar has already adopted you."  It was totally true!  Later on, Lydia adopted Daddy as her person and Skylar adopted a second person, Mommy Erin.  Lydia became the Big Kitty (alpha cat) of the household, and reigned supreme until her death, at which point she appointed Rori as the next Big Kitty.  Skylar was everyone's favorite uncle, teaching the kittens, playing tails, wrestling, and generally enjoying life.  Even as he aged and got sick, he still loved begging for food with his Siamese yowl and playing with straw wrappers and strings.

Happy 7th Purrthday to Rori!

 Rori writes:

Yay, it's my birthday!  Happy 7th birthday to me, and to my brother, Knut, also!  He lives with a friend of Mommy's, but it's his birthday, too, because we were from the same litter.  We were born in a backyard in SE Portland, Oregon.  Our mom-cat was a feral named Rachel, and my dad-cat is a pet cat named Spongebob.  He's also Little Bit's dad-cat, but her mom-cat was named Boo-Boo Kitty and Little Bit's younger than I am.

Here's a picture of Auntie Tabby helping me learn about footstools, down, and up.  Wasn't I a cute kitten?  This was taken soon after I was caught and learned about inside and humans.  I was about 5 weeks old in this picture.

Here's a picture of Auntie Tabby snuggling with my brother, Knut.  He was named Neo at the time, because he's got color points on his ears and tail.  He's also got a spot on his face, and a pink spot on one ear.

This is a silly picture of my brother, all grown up.  He's pretending to be a jedi!

I'm going to celebrate my birthday by saying hi to Grandma and letting her pet me like I did yesterday.  I may even let Mommy brush my fur!

Happy Birthday to our Little Bit and Mommy Erin's Smokey!

Little Bit writes:

It's my birthday!  My sisters' birthdays, too!  Yay!  *runs around in excitement, playing THOE with Dare*  I'm now 6 years old!  I don't feel like I'm 6 years old.  I've still got all the energy of a kitten!  My sister, Smokey, acts like a grumpy old lady a lot of the time, but she still has the energy of a kitten when she wants to play.  She lives with Mommy Erin, so I don't get to see her since they moved out last year.  Here's a picture of her, though!

Our other littermate, Baby Chiba, is at the Bridge.  She was a kitten when she died.  We're thinking fondly of her today as well!  We don't know where our mama, Boo-Boo Kitty, is, but we remember her well!  She was a good mama to us.

Happy Birthday to Freya & Heimdall!

Wait, it's our birthday already?  How can we be four years old?  It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we were babies.  We were born to a pet tuxedo cat, but the dad in the household didn't want us kittens.  There were four of us in the litter:  two boys and two girls.  We weren't named until we got to the shelter, and then we all got names starting with F:  Fonz (Heimdall), Furkins (Freya), Fizz, and Fink.  Our momcat stayed a pet cat to our first family.  We kittens were brought to Salem Friends of Felines in Salem, OR, where we were taken care of, checked out by a vet, and given a temporary home in the kitten room.  That's a special part of the shelter where all the kittens hang out!  It's a pretty cool room, about half the size of a typical bathroom in a human house, with shelves, cat toys, hiding boxes with cutouts to play paws in, and cat trees.  Of course, it also has litter boxes, food bowls, and water bowls.  Oh, and a window to see the humans.  Anyone who visits the shelter can go visit the kittens, and we loved it there.  We were there for a long time, though!

We plan to celebrate our 4th birthday by snuggling with Mommy and Daddy, maybe getting petted by Grandma, and playing with the rest of the family.  Oh, and possibly birdwatching, because the spring birds are starting to arrive!

In case you're wondering who is who in the picture, Freya is on the left and Heimdall is on the right.  We love our daddy's slippers!

Happy Birthday at the Bridge to Skylar & Lydia!

The PDX pride Mommy writes:

Happy birthday to my two half-Siamese loves!  I will never forget you two and the joy you brought to everyone's lives.  I know that your first family, the Rich family, loved you both very much and were sad to leave you.  They made sure that you were in good hands, and I feel so blessed that I was chosen as your adoptive family!  Skylar, remember how we used to garden together, you eating tomatoes and leaving pawprints in the soft dirt?  And how you would run to greet me when I came home from work, walking me to my door, talking to me the whole way?  Remember when you ran away and the neighbor girls found you, carrying you back to where I was staying at a friend's house?  I am so grateful that you chose me before your first family chose me.

Lydia, remember how you were so upset and mad at moving that you messed up the futon?  How you absolutely loved to play with your feather wand?  I will never forget the first time you woke me up by looking into my eyes and touching your nose to mine.  Or when you snuggled in my arms with your head resting under my chin and one ear around my nose while I slept.  Your daddy will always remember when he was recovering from his knee surgery and woke up to find you lying on his legs looking at him, telling him you would be there through everything and take care of him.

We love you and miss you both every day!  Thank you for the years you both spent with us.  Your legacy lives on in the happy lives of the rest of the cat family whom you knew, loved, and raised:  Tabby, Carbon, Rori, Starla, and Little Bit.  Your legacy works through them to manifest itself in the care and training of each of our other cats, whether they are part of our forever family or fosters.  It never mattered to either of you if someone was a foster or a forever; you loved them just the same:  completely, with your whole hearts.  You both took it upon yourselves to teach, love, nurture, and train the other cats, and became honorary auntie and uncle to them all.

Happy Belated Birthdays to Tigress & Miss Marble!

Tigress says:

Hi!  I've been coming inside regularly to meow at the mommy and daddy and socialize with the inside kitties.  Carbon and I have especially been bonding, although I don't always let him sniff me as much as he'd like.  I always ask him to lick my head, though.  I don't stay inside long, just long enough to reacquaint myself with everything and everyone, and then I go back out.  Mommy's been shutting the door more when I come in, so now I know that it will open when I ask it to.  I reach up to the handle to let her know I want it to open.  I even let the little human boy pet me last week!

The humans say my sister, brother, and I are now two years old.  Wow!  That's as old as our mom was when she had us!  We turned two on Mother's Day, the 12th, but the humans were on vacation then so they couldn't help us write our blog post.  Mommy wished me a happy Mother's Day, even though my babies weren't born before I got spayed last year.  She doesn't know if I know I was a mom, but that doesn't matter to her if I know it or not.

Miss Marble says:

We're two years old?  Wow, that's old!  On our birthday, I came inside as usual at night.  Mommy has had a cold, so she's been sleeping in a big chair in the living room.  I am used to snuggling with her on the bed, so I didn't recognize that she was sleeping in the chair until Sunday.  She called me over to her, but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to sit with her.  I reached up and she told me to jump up to her.  It took me a few minutes, but I did, then settled in a circle in her lap, purring happily and cleaning her hand as she petted me.  I fell asleep in her lap and she fell asleep also.  At one point, Carbon hopped up to snuggle with us!  I was washing, so I decided to be nice and wash his tail for him.  Boy, that was not what he wanted at all!  I got slapped in the face, but he didn't have his claws out.  He got told off by Mommy and wasn't allowed to snuggle with us anymore.  I didn't know why Uncle Carbon didn't want me to wash him, but I wasn't too fazed by it because I got to stay on Mommy's lap and snuggle some more.

I fell asleep again with Mommy petting me, but had a very bad dream or was sleeping extra-hard, or something, because I did a bad thing.  I scratched Mommy's hand when she tried to pet me after resting!  I reacted instinctively and reached out with claws to bat it away, leaving a scratch.  I immediately mewed like a baby kitten to tell her I was sorry, and she forgave me right away.  She knew it was just an instinctive reaction and not something I would have done if I'd been all the way awake.  I hopped down after that and went to Mama Freya for some reassurance (aka grooming).  I'm lucky to have an inside-mama-cat, even though she's not my real mama-cat!

Celebrating more birthdays!

Happy 5th birthday to Erin's Smokey and our Little Bit!  Wow, can't believe these two girls are that old already.  Smokey acts older than she is, but Little Bit acts like a kitten still.  Little Bit is zooming up and down the hallway, almost running over Dare on her way around the house!  Smokey sometimes snuggles with the other cats, and sometimes plays, but most of the time she acts like a grumpy old lady, proving that you can never tell personalities only by heredity.

Remembering their sister, Baby Chiba, who went to the Bridge as a kitten.  These girls had a tough first year, being neglected by their original family.  Smokey was abandoned along with her cousin-cat Starla, whom we adopted.  Little Bit got pregnant when she had just turned 1, and had four little boy-kits.  We fostered them all and found homes for three of them.  One ended up dying of genetic complications.

Even though we love these girls, please remember it's important to spay and neuter your pets!  It's also important to spay and neuter feral cats.  Little Bit's dad was a pet cat, Smokey's dad was probably a feral, and their mom was feral-born.

From left to right on the porch:  Starla, Little Bit, Smokey.  From left to right in the back:  Outdoor Fluffy Buddy, Boo-Boo Kitty.

Smokey as a kitten

Little Bit as a kitten

Baby Chiba and Starla as kittens

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.

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 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.

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 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.