Therapy Cat Tales from 12/10/10

The rain held off this time, and I was all comfy in my new carrier with my new, warm, fleece raincoat.  :)  It rained a little, but just drizzling and not pouring.  I can't wait until it snows again, though!  I like watching it float down!  When we were at the first bus stop, Mommy took my picture so everyone can see what my new carrier looks like strapped to my stroller.  We have to use both on some of the buses, so that's why we have the new carrier.  This is the one I picked out at the Halloween party, and I love it!  The bag hanging from the stroller is the carrier's bag; it folds down to fit in that.  Very handy for us!

I got some chin scritches from a couple of fellow bus riders while Mommy talked with them on the way to Portland.  Then I got to get out of the carrier and into the stroller.  Boy was I ever surprised when I looked out and saw a GIANT tree!  It was 75 feet tall!  It's the Portland city tree, and it's all decorated with lights!  Mommy says we're going to have a real tree like that in the house this year, only it won't be that tall.  Will it smell as good?

There were trees at H. as well when we got there, all decorated and pretty, but they were fake like the tree we have had the last few years.  I didn't get to investigate them too closely because there were also poinsettias and those can make kitties very sick.  Pretty to look at from a distance, though, but I knew not to jump up by one.

The first thing I did when we got to H., besides go up to the office door, was to go in and show off my pretty new coat to everyone in the office.  I'm very proud of it, and love how toasty-warm I am in it!  :)  >^..^<  Then Mommy showed off my Christmas dress that I'm going to wear for visiting on Christmas Eve.  Yes, I'll be sure to have her take pictures of me in it!  The ladies loved my coat and dress just as much as we do.

As we were getting ready to go up to visit with my friends, a student from the local high school came in.  A group was coming for their first day volunteering.  They were all excited to meet me, and most had never heard of animal-assisted therapy at all, let alone a kitty having a job as important as mine!  They followed us all around while I worked, nine of them, while Mommy explained the health benefits (mental, physical, emotional) of interacting with me.  I kept on looking at them, making sure they were following me, as I went into rooms.  I was soooo proud to show off my skills, do my tricks, have them meet my friends, and have them learn about my work!  Ears up, tail up, proud walk!  :)  >^..^<

We had a short visit because some of the people were gone on adventures outside the building (to the store or elsewhere important) and others were sleeping.  As we were walking to the MAX light rail, we saw a squirrel in the park, eating a nut.  I was too tired to even be bothered by it, but Mommy took a few pictures of it.  I rested on the way home, because being a teacher for a day is very tiring!  We heard about other bus riders' kitties and angel kitties on the ride home, once they found out they were riding with a cat.  I always bring out stories in people, and I love it!  Mommy loves hearing the stories, too.

Our entry for the Bird & Squirrel Watching competition

Thanks to the Furry Bambinos for hosting this competition! At our old house, we had lots of things to watch: birds, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, dogs, and the other cats. So here's some pictures of us looking at them, and some of them looking at us.

Carbon (l) and Rori (r) squirrel-watching

Here's who we were watching! Yep, he's eating the ferals' kitty food.

Rori watching and growling at the dogs in the neighbor's front yard.

Little Bit (l) and Starla (r) looking at each other. View from out the same window as the top picture.

Our raccoon friend, who later brought her three babies to eat and play on the porch.

Baby Possum, whose mommy brought him when he was kitten-sized. He came back as an adult (as pictured) to eat almost every night.

The raccoons and possums were very polite and always let the feral cats eat first. They would watch us, and watch our humans, but we always told them that it was just fine for them to eat the food. We'd rather they ate that than stinky old garbage! We loved the outside friends, and miss them, but now we've got a whole new backyard to watch!

Photo Friday: Wildlife

These guys, along with a flock of starlings, share the cat food on the back porch with the feral cats and provide hours of entertainment for our inside kitties.

Photo Friday posts

Photo Friday: The Team

Just found the "Photo Friday" fun, so sorry my post is late.

Here's the tag team of squirrel watchers, Carbon (on left) and Rori (on right)...






and here's their squirrel friend, totally unconcerned that cats are watching him!

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