Doggie Dash 2013: Tabby's Fundraising Challenge

Tabby is asking all her friends to purrrlease support her and the PDX pride mommy as they walk the Oregon Humane Society's Doggie Dash on May 11th.  She is challenging her fellow pet-bloggers, and the winner gets a free copy of her e-book for children!

There are two ways to win:

1.  Donate on our personal fundraising page below and leave a comment here afterward saying you donated (with the name used on the donation) so we can match it up.

OR

2.  Donate as above and leave a comment, then get your friends to do the same and comment, noting who sent them in their comment.

So, if Carbon donates x amount and that amount is the highest donated, he would get the prize.  If Starla donates y amount and gets five friends to donate z each and they all comment on this page that Starla sent them, she would get the prize even though she personally donated less than Carbon. If one of Starla's friends donates, gets others to donate, and those others credit the friend in their comments, the friend would win the prize if the amount adds up to the highest amount.

Here is the link to our fundraising page:

Doggie Dash 2013: Tabby and Karen Thompson - Doggie Dash 2013

PhotoHunt: ZOOM!!!

ZOOM goes Dare!  When she first came to live here, she wasn't sure about anyone and never stayed out in the open for long.  Now she's a confident young cat around us, and will even peek at strangers from a safe hiding spot.  She is up for adoption in the Vancouver, WA/Portland, OR, area.

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Therapy Cat Tales from 4/17/13

Tabby writes:

I celebrated Earth Day early on my visit yesterday!  The bandana I'm wearing says "Canines for Clean Water" as a reminder that everyone needs to pick up after their pets when they are out.  Please always bring a roll of poop bags with you so that you're ready to clean up after your pet, regardless of species.  Thank you!  If you are a resident of Clark County, Washington, your pet can join the campaign here.

A little girl on the bus called me a "meow-pup"!  She was about 14 months old, and can say a few words.  She thought I was a puppy, so her mommy and my mommy were correcting her.  Then she saw I was a kitty and said "kitty" while petting me.  After she was done petting me, she said "pup-pup" again and got corrected again.  Her mommy said, "What does a kitty say?"  "Meow!"  The little girl then looked at me and said, quite clearly, "meow-pup".

Mommy and I did a photo shoot at H., just an informal one, using the ladies' lounge as a backdrop.  We think the pictures turned out really well, and the staff want Mommy to send some to their publicity director to use in newsletters.  I was mugging for the camera, as you can see!  I always pose for the camera when I see one.

After the pictures, we went into the office to see R.  She wanted to see the pictures, so Mommy took out her camera and I immediately posed again.  R. laughed and looked at the shots.  I got bored, so I asked R. to pet me.  She really got a kick out of that, and had me ask her a few more times, petting me a lot each time I did so.  I love showing off!

S. went with us on our rounds for a few people, then V. took over because S. had to leave for the day.  V. told us that my friend who had talked coherently to me but not to the humans last visit had died.  We were very sad to hear that, because we were looking forward to visiting more with her.  E. was very talkative today, though, and another V. told me that I was the best company she'd had all week!  D. meowed at me again.  I always think it's so funny when people do that!  I just watch them and smile.

My best visit today was with a surprise friend.  When I went into M.'s room, Mommy noticed the name on the door.  She started smiling, let me have as much leash as I wanted, and walked in behind me.  "Hello, stranger," she said.  M. looked up, surprised, after greeting me, and said Mommy's name.  She is someone Mommy knows from her former church!  They've known each other since 2002, but hadn't seen each other for a few years since we'd moved to Vancouver and Mommy had changed churches.  They caught up with each other while I snuggled on M.'s bed behind her (but still where I could get petted occasionally).  Then, M.'s husband and son came to visit her, followed closely by M.'s pastor!  It was a good first day at H. for M.

Daddy was running errands in Portland, so he came and picked us up in the car.  I hadn't ridden in the car since the deer hit us a while ago, because it was getting repaired.  I was very nervous about getting into the car, because I remembered the deer, but Daddy reassured me that there were no deer around to run into us again.  I snuggled on Mommy's lap while Daddy drove.  I think it's very interesting that the cars take turns getting on the freeway.  Did you know they do that?  The lights give the cars turns and they wait in line.  I just figured that out today!  I sat up very tall and turned my head to indicate which car was going to go next.  Mommy and Daddy laughed and told me I was correct!

NW Pet & Companion Fair 2013

Tabby writes:

It was so cold today when we left the house!  I didn't know where we were going, and why Mommy Erin and JJ were coming with us, but I was sure it wasn't to visit my friends at H.  It was the wrong day and the wrong time!  Mommy Erin held me for part of the time, because I was shivering.  I had my jacket on, plus a fleece blanket, but it was still cold.  Mommy didn't think it would be that cold this morning, and she wished she had had another blanket for me to wrap up in.

Mommy Erin keeping me warm.

I was fine once we got the the Expo Center, though, because it was warm inside.  There were a lot of doggies waiting in line to check in, so I got sniffed and licked.  That was ok with me, though.  Mommy signed a waiver that said if I clawed anyone she would take full responsibility, although that would never happen.  I'm too well-behaved to do that!  I said hi to the lady at the check-in table, who was wearing a cat shirt.  Then we went over to another table where JJ got to throw a small sample bag of dog food at a bowl.  Why didn't they have an eating contest instead of a throwing contest?  I guess they couldn't, for humans.  Anyway, he won a pin.  Then, we got to see the fluffy black girl-cat who looks like Carbon!  She rides around on her humans' shoulders and goes to the Doggie Dash every year as well.  It was my first time meeting her, although Mommy's been introduced to her before.  Mommy Erin held me up to touch noses with her while she was on her daddy's shoulders.  We touched noses, sniffed, then I got hissed at!  I didn't take offense at her doing that, though, just gave her a puzzled look and got back into my stroller.  Mommy, Mommy Erin, and the cat's daddy all laughed and said the black cat was just jealous.

Hissy black girl-cat

Besides the black cat, there were two other cats visiting the expo with their families.  They were both young kittens, so that's great for their socialization and experience to visit places so young!  One was just over a year old and had a jacket harness like I used to use.  He was riding on his mommy's shoulder, looking behind her wide-eyed at everything.  The other kitten was only a couple months old, if that, and was an orange tabby.  She didn't know what to make of people, let alone all the doggies, sounds, and activity, so she clung to her mommy and was very interested in everything.  Her nose was going a mile a minute!

We saw a lady who recognized me from seeing me on the MAX.  That was fun to be remembered on sight!  Also, a lady at the Dove Lewis booth remembered me from when I modeled at Boutiques Unleashed, and had just been telling someone about me!  Another lady at another booth is going to buy the Kindle version of my book to read to her new baby.

We talked with a few people about therapy cat work, but mainly I snuggled in my stroller while Mommy went around to the booths collecting information and seeing what there was to see.  Mommy Erin and JJ got to hold birds, but I couldn't go in that part so Mommy didn't get to do that.  We all went to see the wild animals and saw a bobcat in a kitty tree!  That's right:  it was in housecat furniture!  One man kept looking from me to the bobcat and back like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Bobcat (lynx) in a domestic cat tree

Mommy Erin and JJ got to hold a Patagonian Mara, also known as a cavy, and a miniature pig.  They even got their pictures taken with them!

PhotoHunt: Scrumptious

Our wedding cake was definitely scrumptious!  We got married in August 2008 and had a beautiful wedding.  The cake was a white cake with raspberry filling, frosted with real whipped cream, and decorated with cat figurines as well as the bride & groom.  Perfect for us!

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PhotoHunt: Quirky

My banana's quirky peel!  I thought this was pretty cool.  Some pictures you just have to take, regardless of how strange they seem.

Join in the PhotoHunt!

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

Happy Easter!

We hope you all have a safe and happy Easter!

Happy birthdays to Freya & Heimdall!

Freya writes:

Today was my birthday and my brother Heimdall's birthday!  It's kind of hard to believe that we're now three years old.  Does that mean we have to act grown-up?  I sure hope not!  Even though I enjoy my role as a little mama to the semi-feral girls, I'm glad I don't have to be their real mama kitty!  Miss Marble still expects me to be her mama, and that's nice, but I'd much rather play and wrestle with her.

Heimdall writes:

But, wait, sis!  You act like my mama, too, and have since we were little!  I would miss if you didn't clean my ears and wash my face.  My "grown-up" role is to make sure that Mommy is doing ok.  Sometimes she needs a reminder to take her nap, so I tell her that it's time to sleep.  I also wake her up when her alarm goes off, although she seems to think that snuggling isn't the best way to make her get up.  What's wrong with that?  Everyone needs a good snuggle in the morning!

PhotoHunt: Flow

This fountain is in the park by where Tabby goes visiting, so she gets to watch the water flow in the summer.  Right now, it's just brick with holes in it, but in the summertime the water comes up through the pipes under the brick.  It's controlled so it varies in height from bubbling up from the brick to arcing like in the picture.  Portland has a lot of public parks with water features that people can swim in, jump through, bike through, etc.  This is one of Mommy's favorite.

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Therapy Cat Tales

Tabby writes:

I've missed my friends at H. so much!  I almost didn't get to go today, though.  I was a bad girl this morning.  I waited on the bed until Starla came out from under the bed (where she was sleeping) and jumped on top of her, starting a cat fight.  Mommy clapped and we ran in opposite directions, so no one was hurt.  I got kicked out of the bedroom, so I was a bit pouty to start out when we left the house.

That changed when I got on the bus, because a rainstorm hit just after we boarded!  I fell asleep listening to the rain on the bus roof, nice and warm in my carrier, with my jacket over my back.  At one point, while switching between MAX light rail trains, Mommy answered questions about how to train cats to ride in strollers.  Then, I got sniffed by a nice dog whose person wanted to pet me.  She pulled her dog back, but then Mommy said I was dog-friendly, so the dog got to sniff me.  We also found someone who does trap-neuter-return work and listened to cat socialization stories.  That's always fun!

We managed to miss another huge cloudburst by just two minutes!  Mommy was almost running to get to H., because the sky darkened, the air smelled different, and the temperature dropped considerably.  I sat up in my stroller, noticing the changes, and kept looking at Mommy.  Hurry, please!  I don't want to be in the rain!  We got in the doors, then the hail started!  The wind was blowing so much that the doors thought people were wanting to come in!  The silly doors started opening and closing, but it was just the weather.

R. walked around with us today, which she hasn't done in a while.  She said I'm a miracle cat, because I made a huge difference for three people today.  I visited more people than that, but it was a major visit for those three.

A. was lying on his side taking a nap when we came in, but quickly woke up when he heard that I was there.  He invited me up on the bed with him, then scooped me up close to his chest.  "My kitty!  It's so good to have my kitty here!"  R. told him not to squish me, but I was happily purring in his arms and snuggling.  R. said she wished she had brought her camera to take a picture, because we were so cute together.

M. is from another place nearby, named C., but at H. for a short time before she goes back to C.  R. has known her for a long time, so she knew she would want to see me.  Sure enough, M. told us that having me visit her made her whole day!  I love hearing that!  Her leg didn't feel good, so it was in a cast.  I snuggled with her other leg and let her pet me.  She's going to talk with some people at C. and see if we can come visit there once in a while.  They have dog teams visit, but not cat teams yet, even though many residents have cats of their own at C.

E. was the best visit of the day!  She usually doesn't respond to the dog teams visiting, except to watch them, so R. didn't know how she would do with me.  Turns out, it was the highlight of her day, probably of her week!  She tried to get out of bed when R. told her I was there!  She almost sat up straight on her own.  She usually has choppy speech, taking her time with articulating her thoughts and not saying cohesive sentences.  However, when talking to me, she spoke in complete sentences and remembered most of the words she wanted!  She told me that she had cats when she was younger, but not for a while.  She also talked about my fur and about me snuggling on her blankets.  She tried to talk with R. and Mommy, but she couldn't say what she wanted, so she gave up and talked to me again fluently.  What an amazing experience!  We stayed a longer time with her, because I was helping her so much.

I showed R. how I play tails with P.  R. didn't know that P. could play tails, because P. has low vision, but she does just fine with that game.  I started in right away after I greeted her, and she got my tail a few times before I turned around to let her pet my head and neck.

I was really worn out by all my work today, so I crashed in the stroller in the office while waiting for Mommy to get ready to leave H.  I started snoring!  I slept most of the way home, then woke up for our last transfer and the walk home.  Mommy and I were both very glad to be inside, out of the cold wind!

Happy birthday to Starla!

Starla writes:

Wow!  Thank you, friends, for remembering my birthday!  Mommy didn't write my blog post earlier, because she's in charge of JJ for today, and a 5-year-old playing superheroes takes precedence over writing a blog post, even if it's a birthday blog post.

That's fine, though, because I got my birthday present last night.  I got to be out for a good part of the day yesterday, instead of being out only at night, but then I went into my room for the night.  Turns out, Tabby had snuck in, too!  She and Carbon were supposed to be out, because we used to fight all the time.  All of a sudden, three hours later, Mommy and Erin heard Tabby talking from the bedroom!  They let her out and checked on me, but I was doing fine.  Tabby was being really kind to me!

They talked it over, and decided to let me out and about with everyone else to see how it went.  I walked under the couch when I saw Tabby and stayed under there for a bit, but then I came back out when Mommy sat down in the chair to read.  Carbon saw me, so I went back under the couch.  Tabby, Carbon, and Little Bit all checked on me at various times, and I growled a little at them, but we all were pretty peaceful the rest of the evening.

When Daddy got home, he was pretty impressed with everyone!  I came out to eat, drink, use the box, and socialize.  I was still wary of Carbon, and somewhat of Tabby, but I got to see both of them acting normally instead of chasing me.  That helped to realize that they were acting normal like I act.  Everyone took naps, and I chose a spot behind the bookcase to take my nap.

All of a sudden, Carbon woke up and wanted to play, but no one else was awake.  He smelled me out and surprised me out of my sleep.  It turned into a rolling cat fight, but I won!  I ran away and he didn't follow me!  We ran over Daddy and woke him up, then I ran past Mommy in the hallway.  She got Carbon out from under the couch and put him in the bedroom.  I got to stay out with Tabby for a while longer!

Miss Marble's leg is better!

Miss Marble writes:

My leg is feeling much better now!  Thank you all very much for your purrs and prayers!  I stayed inside last night and the night before, and took it easy during the day outside.  Tigress brought me fresh-caught mice to help me, so I didn't need to go hunting and could rest my leg.  I'm putting weight on it normally this afternoon.  I probably just strained it hunting or playing.

PhotoHunt: Upper

Smokey prefers the upper level on her chair, while Scamper and Starla both prefer the lower level.

If you would like to join the photo hunt, click here.

Miss Marble's leg hurts

Miss Marble writes:

My right hind leg hurts!  I don't want to put weight on it, although I can.  Tonight, I came around to the front door when the back door wouldn't open, to see if there was someone at the front door of the house.  Mommy's dad's car was in the driveway, with Mommy and her dad inside.  They saw that I was limping, so Mommy got out and tried to get me.  I ran around the house, so she went inside and got me to come in through the back door.  She checked me over for obvious tears, bites, or breaks, but she didn't find any.  She and her dad brought the groceries in, because they had just come from the store, while I cried for outside.  Then, Mommy checked me over again, because I was stretching up to the door handle while standing on both my hind legs, but I still was favoring my right leg.

I didn't like her checking my leg.  I tried biting, tried batting her away, but neither very forcefully so I didn't hurt her.  I didn't want her to hurt, but I did want her to stop bothering my leg.  She stretched it out, then checked all the muscle groups and bones that she could touch.  The back of the top part of my leg is what I reacted to the most.

She called Daddy, who told her to monitor me.  He also said if I wanted to go out that much, to let me out.  I was kept inside for a while, but then I was let back out because I was putting everyone else on edge with my screaming for outside.  My sister and I were sitting on opposite sides of the back door, screaming to be with each other.  Mommy hopes I will come inside in a little while when it's time to snuggle with her, like I've been doing almost every night since my last ordeal.

Daddy thinks it's probably a strain or a sprain, and everyone is hoping that it will feel better on its own.  I don't want to go to that vet place again, even though they were nice to me there.

Wordy Wednesday: News!

Tigress writes:

Some of you guessed that I was the one hiding under the chair (kudos to Sparkle!), on my first big adventure inside since my spay a few months ago!  Well, was it ever an adventure!  I'd met some of the inside cats before, just to sniff or touch noses, from either my spay-recovery trap or the open door.  This was my first official meeting with Dare and Scamper, though.

Dare decided that I was interesting enough to follow around the house.  Yes, you read that right!  I explored the house!  I first ate from the food plate, then had some water, with my sister's encouragement while others looked on and Mommy petted me.  Then the heater went on and Mommy asked me if it was ok if she shut the door to keep the warm air in.  She and Daddy have been\ doing that with me for a few weeks now, and I like the warmth on my fur.  It really is much warmer with the door shut.  When the heat went on, I was a little startled by the sound, but then it became interesting when I saw the blinds move over the vent.  I went to explore it, and meowed happily when I felt the wind blowing my fur!

Somebody was on something called a chair, underneath something called a table.  My sister hopped up on one of the chair things, but I was too chicken to join her.  I walked under the table, then to the computer desk.  I found a long, open place called a hallway, but didn't go down it.  I was much more interested in the living room, which was really open.  It reminded me of my deck, so I felt safer there.  There were more chairs, although these were covered in something soft, and a big chair called a couch.  I walked around until I heard Daddy snoring, then dove under the couch into the corner.  Dare followed me but let me have some space, which I was glad about since she'd been following me nose-to-tail since I walked in.  Mommy tried to get a good picture of me, but every time she got close, I moved to another place.  If she aimed the camera at the couch, I moved underneath the chair.  If she tried to crouch down to take a picture of the chair, I ran to the couch again.  I was way too quick for her!  She got a picture of Dare checking on me, though.  (See two posts back.)

After all that exploring, and the nice warmth of the heater, I was getting very sleepy.  I felt comfortable and safe under the blue chair, and I knew my sister was inside as well, so I took a nap.  I thought I would only sleep for a little while, but I slept five hours!  Mommy was so happy!  She stayed up in case I wanted out, but she didn't think I would stay in that long!  I was soooo tired.

As soon as I woke up, I started pacing and crying.  I'd forgotten for a few minutes that I'd come inside, so I was very disoriented and felt trapped.  I ran all over the place, tried to get out the door (which wasn't open right away), then tried to get out the stove!  Yep, I thought the stove was the door!  Mommy opened the door a little way, then came into the kitchen to get me.  She thought she'd herd me toward the door, but I didn't want to move from the corner.  She picked me up right under the armpits, gently but firmly, and "flew" me to the door, opening it further when we got to it.  I went right out, then she put some food outside to let me know it was ok.

Just a few minutes ago, I came in again for some food and to explore the dining room a little.  She shut the door, but let me out right away when I asked her to.  Maybe it's a Wednesday morning thing?

Fluffy Tuxie writes:

Hi!  I'm a reticent guy, but the outside girls have kept me company for a few months out here in the yard.  I've been around since just before Tigress got spayed, but hadn't come close until this last week.  I decided it's much nicer when the people know I'm here, because then they come with scoops of food for me.  Can you see me at the door waiting for my scoop while Scamper eats?

I'm longhaired, with white boots, shirtfront, stomach, and nose (except for a black splotch on my nose).  I'm about as big as Carbon, but younger.  The people think I'm about three or four years old, but I'm not telling.  I could be as young as two.

I'm getting to the point now where I only run a short distance away when the people open the door.  I run to the edge of the deck, sometimes diving but most of the time staying up, then turn and look at them.  Once they close the door, then I approach the food and eat.  However, the lady didn't close the door all the way one time last week because she was talking to me, and I approached to eat.  She put her hand within sniffing distance and held it there while I ate.  Then, I came closer at the same time as she reached down, and her fingers brushed my fur!  I pulled away, looked at her, looked at her hand, then went back to eating.  It felt kind of nice to be touched!  She touched me again, very gently, and I leaned in so she was petting the edges of my long fur.  I let her do that for about two minutes, then I had enough and walked away.  She shut the door so I could eat in peace then.

Wordless Wednesday: It's Tigress!

Almost-Wordless Wednesday: Who's inside?

Who's under the chair, Dare?

Therapy Cat Tales from 1/16/13

Tabby writes:

Happy New Year!  My purrents say it's been the new year for a few weeks now, but this is my first note since it became 2013.  We're back to visiting!  I got to cheer up people on the bus on the way to H. on Wednesday, as usual, and heard a lot of cat stories.  I took a nap on the MAX light-rail train, except for once when someone wanted to pet me.

I wore my new NurtureCALM 24/7 Feline Calming Pheromone Collar, which is helping Carbon, Starla, and me get along at home.  Carbon and I were ganging up on Starla sometimes, but now that has changed.  Starla even wants to snuggle with me, and I've given her head a grooming or two!  We're still in separate rooms most of the time, but we can be on the bed at the same time for a few minutes now.  S. thought my calming collar was cute.  It's purple, too, which looks good with my fur.

All I wanted to do at H. was snuggle and sleep.  Mommy was a little embarrassed about that, because usually I want to interact more with my friends.  It was so cold outside, plus it had snowed on Monday, so it felt like the perfect day to snooze!  I curled up on beds right next to my friends' legs to show them I was there, and they petted me while I snuggled.  One lady had a nice, plush robe on, and was sitting in a recliner.  That was the perfect place for a nap!  I squeezed between her and the arm of the chair, turned around, and snuggled in with a purr.  She petted me and I closed my eyes for a snooze while she talked with S. and Mommy.

We didn't stay as long as we usually do, because of how tired I was, but we visited with 10 people!  That's not including the people we saw in the hallway and elevator, even.  It's no wonder I was tired!

On the way back, we had a nice bus driver who remembered me even though it had been about 2 months since we'd ridden his bus.  When we got on the bus, he said, "Oh, there's the nice kitty!"  I was happy he remembered me.  When we got to our stop, it was the last one on the line and time for him to go home.  He got to pet me!

Erin was leaving the house as we were walking home, so I got to say hi to her.  Then it was time to eat, use the box, and sleep some more.  I played later on, but I needed my rest!

Miss Marble's all healed!

Miss Marble writes:

It has been a long two weeks!  That's how long my purrents say I've been stuck inside.  I went to the doctor yesterday for my post-surgery checkup.  I did not want to go into that box again!  I fought tooth and claw for my freedom, but Mommy scruffed me and shoved me into the carrier.  I talked and cried the whole ride there, then told the receptionist all about it while she asked me questions and listened sympathetically to my complaints.

The vet was nice, and I headbutted her stethoscope when she checked my breathing and heartbeat.  Then she turned me around so she could check if my stitches had dissolved on their own.  I didn't want her to check back there!  I remembered the last time I was in that room and what they did, at least until I was too groggy to remember.  I didn't want that to happen again!  Mommy and Daddy both reassured me that we were all going home in an hour and then I could be free again.  I only half-believed them, but they were right!  The vet said my stitches had dissolved on their own, once she and Mommy wrangled me enough to check.  I scrambled right back into that box as soon as I was let loose again, believe me!  Daddy put it right back up on the table, and in I went!  Oh, and they said I weigh 10.5 pounds now.

The vet said I was healthy enough to go back outside with my sister, so once we got back home Daddy opened the door and opened the carrier.  While the other kitties sniffed the carrier, I scooted out the door to my waiting sister.  Tigress was so happy to see me!  She sniffed me all over, gave me a few kisses, then tailed me as I went off to make sure my outside world hadn't changed much while I was away from it.  I explored under the deck, around the yard, along my favorite hunting trails, everywhere.  It was all the same, with the exception of being snowy and cold!  Snow got on my back, but I just shrugged it off.  I still have my warm, extra fur, so I'm well-insulated against the wet and cold.

Tigress went in to get some pets and visit with the inside kitties while she ate, but I wasn't going to go back in yet.  I got pets from Daddy, but I want to be outside for a while.  I know I'll trust them again, but I need to be outside for a few days again.

Thank you so much for all your purrs, prayers, and well-wishes!  They mean a lot!  Kitty kisses to everyone!