It's World Spay Day!

Do you have an unfixed cat?  At what age can you get your cat spayed or neutered?  What are the benefits to fixing your cat?  The purrfessionals here at the PDX pride will answer your questions!

Happy World Spay Day from all of us!

Rori here!  As the Big Kitty of the household, it is my solemn duty to inform you unspayed or unneutered cats of the blogosphere to get your acts together and schedule your fixing surgeries!  It's an important step in your independence as a cat-of-the-world to get this done!

1.  Spaying and neutering prevents unwanted and/or "surprise" litters.
2.  Spaying before the cat goes into heat for the first time greatly decreases a female cat's risk of breast cancer.  To learn more about breast cancer in cats, please visit our friend Sugar at her website:  Sugar Rub!
3.  Neutering greatly reduces a male cat's "nuisance" behavior, including spraying, yowling, and territorial marking, as well as makes the urine smell less strong.
4.  Spaying and neutering reduces the number of adult cats that are dumped, killed, and given to shelters.

I was spayed while I was in heat for the first time, which is more expensive than spaying while a cat is not in heat.  My yowling was intolerable, so that's why I was spayed while in heat.  However, this can create other health problems, such as weight gain.  I am now a very chunky girl!

Friends do not let friends go unspayed!  No, I am not having s*x with Smokey!  She went into heat for the first time, and I decided to discipline her by scruffing her.  I let her know that going unspayed is not tolerated in MY household!  She was much calmer after being spayed, and got adopted to Mama Erin soon after.

A happy, healthy, spayed Smokey!

Starla here to say how glad I am that I got spared the rigors of teen pregnancy!  My aunt had three kittens very young, and the boys were chasing me as well.  Somehow, I never got pregnant at that time, but most female kitties get pregnant their first time.  The next time I went into heat, my people had already scheduled my spay appointment through the Spay and Save program in Portland, Oregon, one of many low-cost spay and neuter programs around the country.

I was very lucky to get my spay when I did, because there were three male cats that were trying to get me pregnant.  If I hadn't had my spay, I'm sure I would have ended up a teen mama with a litter to find homes for, like my cousin Little Bit and my aunt Boo-Boo Kitty.

Hi, Little Bit here, and this is what happens when you don't get spayed!  I'm Smokey's sister, Rori's half-sister, and Starla's cousin.  My dad Spongebob (also Rori's dad) is an unfixed male who roams the neighborhood and has befriended all the ferals within a three-block radius.  His friends also included my mom, Boo-Boo Kitty, who had a litter of three.  My other sister, Baby Chiba, had a different dad and died as a kitten.  Yes, cats can get pregnant by more than one male in the same heat cycle, so the kittens in a litter can have different dads!

When I grew up, my original people didn't want my forever family to get me spayed, and so I remained intact.  My original people were not responsible pet owners!  They only decided to give me to my forever family after a tragic thing happened:

1.  My mama cat, Boo-Boo Kitty, got pregnant again and had a litter of four.
2.  I went into my first heat cycle just after my mama cat got pregnant and had a litter of four.  My kittens were born when I was five months old, just a kitten myself!  Two of my litter had the same dad as I, which is not unusual for cats.
3.  The dog my original family owned got pregnant by another of the same litter (the dog's brother, who was a neighbor) and had a litter of 10 puppies.
4.  My original people got an eviction notice because of the amount of animals in their house.
5.  They decided to take all of us kitties except two of Boo-Boo's kittens (who already had homes) to the humane society.  But after driving around to two humane societies, they were told that it was the middle of "kitten season" and the kittens would be put-to-sleep if they were surrendered.  The people didn't want that to happen.
6.  After hearing this from the second shelter they went to, they stopped by the side of the road and threw Boo-Boo Kitty out of the car, then drove away!  I still don't know what ever happened to her after that.
7.  They drove to a fast-food restaurant, rolled down the window halfway, and went inside to eat.  Mind you, this was with my two 8-week-old baby sisters, myself, and my litter of four three-week-old boys in the vehicle.  When they got back out to the vehicle, they didn't see me and drove off anyway.
8.  They went back home and brought my baby sisters over to my forever family, two houses down, and told them the story I've just told you.  My forever daddy human was so mad that he took my baby sisters inside and left my forever mommy human to talk to the lady.
9.  My mommy went to get the box with my kittens in it from the lady's vehicle and found me in there as well!  She brought all of us back home with her.
10.  My new family found homes for all of us, but only I stayed with them as part of their forever family.  Everyone else who came with me on that horrid trip found wonderful new homes!  One of my babies had a birth defect, but even he found a forever home for the few months he lived.

I went into heat again a few days after we got to our new family's home.  Yes, I was nursing my three-week-old boys at the time, and continued to nurse.  I could've gotten spayed while I was still nursing, but my people chose to wait until I'd weaned the kittens to spay me.

I'm Tigress, and I was a teen mom as well.  However, my family chose to have my kittens spay-aborted because I was a feral kitten at the time of my pregnancy.  I was spayed through a trap-neuter-return program run by the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, which provides low-cost or free spays and neuters, first vaccinations, and humane trap rentals.  If I hadn't had my spay, there would have been at least two and possibly as many as five more feral cats that would have needed socializing, feeding, trapping, spaying or neutering, and adoption.  I got pregnant at the age of 4 months.

Please don't wait to get spayed or neutered!  Tell your humans to schedule your surgery today!  If your humans need financial assistance, it is available in most areas of the U.S. and Canada, and in some other countries as well.  If you are a feral cat, please tell your human to visit the Alley Cat Allies website for more information.

For World Spay Day events in your area, check out the official website.

Cat-A-Lympics "Snow Day" Event!

Panther reporting from the Cat-A-Lympic stadium!  The cathletes have all gathered for the first events, and are ready to go!  The spectators are gathering on their blankies and strollers along the edges of the snowfield for the "Snow Day" event, hosted by us here at the PDX pride.  Our judge, Grandma, is taking her place at the judges' stand.

Watch your paws, kitties and doggies!  This snowfield is extra-thick, over 5 inches plus a sheet of ice.  We don't want anyfurry to get hurt on the course!

Our first competitor is Tigress.  She gracefully dances around the snowfield, skimming the top, then ends her performance by pawing together a snowball.  Wow!

If you would like to pawticipate in the "Snow Day" event, here's what you do:

1.  Grab the Cat-A-Lympics event badge at the bottom of this page.
2.  Post it on your blog somewhere with a link back to this blog post.
3.  Create a blog post with your "Snow Day" entry and link back to this blog post.  Your entry must have a pawticipant of some non-human species, snow, and be a real photo or video.  Editing for photo quality is ok, but no extreme photoshopping, please.  That would be unsportsmanlike!
4.  Leave a comment on this post letting us know you're entering the event!

We'll post the list of pawticipants here through Caturday, Feb. 22nd.  We'll post the gold, silver, and bronze winners on Sunday, Feb. 23rd.

Good luck to all pawticipants, and stay safe during the Cat-A-Lympics!

"Snow Day" event pawticipants, in order of entry:

Tigress of the PDX pride (see above)

PhotoHunt: Intri-CAT?

Are you a PhotoHunter?

News Repurrt: Feral Friday, Weather Watch, and New Visitors!

Rori writes:

See how much snow we've gotten?  It all has fallen within the last 16 hours, at the time of purring this repurrt.  We were supposed to get about 5 inches yesterday, but I think we got more than that!  I'm happy that my clowder stays inside and Tigress joins us on days like this.

Tigress writes:

I'm glad, too, Auntie Rori!  Although, I had a lot of fun squishing the snow between my paws to make little snowballs on the deck earlier, and pounced around a lot, but that's before it got as deep as it is.  And as cold as it is!  I slept under the rose bushes for a while, but then I got too much snow on me, so I moved to sleep behind the spare tire that's leaning up against the wall.  That way, I didn't get too much snow on my fur.  I much prefer sleeping inside, though!

I've wanted to stay outside a lot of the time for two reasons, and both have to do with visitors!  There's an orange kitty that's been hanging around in my territory, and I've got to show him that he's trespassing!  Daddy saw him two nights ago, but the kitty didn't stay to be seen long.  Good!  This is my house and my yard.  Daddy says I need to share for a while until they can see if the kitty needs taking care of or if it has a home.  It can't have this home, though.

The other visitor is inside, and she's actually not a true visitor.  She's moved in.  Her name's Grandma.  I've made a meowing acquaintance with her through the back door, and seen her sometimes when I've been inside, but new humans really scare me.  I always ask my purrents for out when I see her.  She tries to not scare me, but it will be a while until I get used to her.

Heimdall writes:

Oh, Tigress!  You don't need to worry about Grandma!  She's very nice and loves all of us.  She calls us her grandcats, which we are, and she makes stuff for us.  She gives us blankies she's made, and pets us with her feet (which I know you like).  She can't pet us with her hands right now because she's not feeling well, but she finds other ways to let us know she loves us.  She's moved into the room with the big bed, but Daddy sleeps on the couch and Mommy sleeps on the little bed, so you can still snuggle with them!  That's what the rest of us do.  We wish we were allowed in Grandma's room, but we can't be up on the bed or chairs or snuggle with her.  Even Carbon waits outside the room until he knows she's asleep before continuing with his evening!  Rori has let Grandma see her, and that's saying a lot!

Sad about Catster/Dogster

Sad. Very, very sad. Even though we're not on Dogster and Catster anymore, and haven't been for 3 years, the friendships forged there will last a lifetime. We met most of our FB friends there, many while running "Skylar's Restaurant". We've all shared the joys & sorrows, been there for each other during every trial possible when caring for lives of beings so dependent on us, and rejoiced in adoptions. Thankful for communities where these friendships will continue to thrive. For those on Catster & Dogster, please save your pages as soon as possible.

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!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of us at the PDX pride!

May your Christmas be filled with love, peace, and laughter, and may the new year be bright!

PhotoHunt: Mellow & Tabby's Therapy Cat Tales

Tabby writes:

Wednesday was a very mellow day, because the snow had melted and the weather warmed up.  We were supposed to go visiting last week, but it was down to freezing by the time we would've been coming back home.  That's too cold for me to be outside!  I'm an inside kitty, so I don't have much of a winter coat!  My fur gets a little thicker for winter and I shed, but I don't grow the very thick coat like outside kitties do.

It was really raining on Wednesday, so Mommy brought my little umbrella along and I wore my raincoat.  I was all nice and warm then!  At one point, I wanted to crawl into my carrier bag instead, while we were going from one inside place to another inside place, but Mommy put my jacket on me instead.  I had fun watching everything go by then, and didn't worry that I was not in the bag.  I had a wet head, but the rest of my fur was dry.  My jacket doesn't have a hat or a hood, but it has a collar that I curl in if I need to.  Sometimes, I end up wearing the jacket over my head and looking out an armhole!

When we got to the Lloyd Center MAX stop and got off the MAX light rail train, we got a surprise!  Some things were lined up along the street, but they didn't look familiar.  I know what most cars look like, but these were shorter than cars and they had branches sticking out from the windows!  What were those?

Mommy laughed and told me they were cars, too, and they had reindeer antlers!  There were three of them lined up, plus some people in blue shirts advertising Car2Go.  One of the people was dressed as Santa, but I didn't get my picture taken with him.  He didn't want to pose with me.  They all wanted to pet me, though, and one of them asked a ton of questions about therapy cats!  I love being an ambassador kitty for all therapy cats!

H. had a decorated Christmas tree with lighted packages around the bottom of it, plus poinsettias on all the little tables in the lobby.  There were Christmas lights in some places, too.  I didn't get my picture taken with any of it, though, because we were running late and didn't want to keep my friends waiting longer than we needed to.  I didn't wear my "Santa Baby" dress like I normally do for my December visit, but I had the mini Christmas lights blinking around my stroller handle, so everyone loved those.  We visited with a lot of ladies named M.  Well, their real names were longer than that, and not all the same name that starts with M., but I can't tell you their real names.

One lady named A.M. loves holding me on her lap and snuggling with me while she talks with Mommy.  I watched her tv while she petted me and snuggled with me (and talked).  She kept saying she wished that she had a camera to take a picture of me.  She didn't have a camera, though, not even a disposable one (which she wants to get).  Our friend S., who walks around with us at H., has a cameraphone, so Mommy asked her if she would take a picture of A.M. and me.  S. said that of course she would!  A.M. almost cried, she was so happy!  She said that was the best Christmas present in the world!  I posed on the arm of the recliner and we both looked at S. for the picture.  It turned out really cute, and I wish I could share it with everyone!  A.M. is going to find a nice frame for it and put it on her table!  *purrs*

Another of my friends, one of the M.'s, talked about a kitty she had when she was young.  Her mom didn't especially like Kate the kitty because Kate was always pregnant or nursing kittens.  At that time, they didn't spay or neuter cats.  M.'s mom didn't let Kate in the house, but would pour some milk into a bowl and set it out for her and the kittens after she milked.  I think that M.'s mom must've liked Kate more than she let on, if she fed her!  M.'s mom was Norwegian, so M. knows some Norwegian.  She and Mommy had a conversation in Norwegian about Christmas and about how Mommy knew how to speak that language!  S. was present and couldn't understand a word of it, but I was listening and could understand a bit.  I used to go to classes, and I pay attention when Mommy teaches her internet class.  She speaks some of it to us around the house, too.  Daddy understands more than he lets on, but only says a few words of it.

My friend who used to be afraid of cats and now loves me was in her room, so we had a nice visit with her.  She's another M.  She, S., and Mommy had a great conversation about traditional Christmas food and desserts.  Mommy was telling about her family and about Great-Grandma coming out west from South Dakota after Great-Grandma married Great-Grandpa.  The rest of the family on that side lives in South Dakota still, and my great-uncle sends cookie boxes back to them every year as their Christmas gift.

This picture was taken at C., where we visit after we visit H.  I get to share this picture because there's no identifying information in it.  I love how their tree looks!  You can see the lights on my stroller in this picture, too, as well as my jacket.

The elevator at C. wasn't working properly.  One side of it was broken, and it was dinnertime, so everyone was using the other side or the service elevator.  We waited and waited for it!  Finally it came, then we got to visit P.  We had a great visit, then we rode the service elevator back downstairs again.  Mommy talked with a couple staff members at C., and we might have more people to visit with next time!  There isn't a regular scheduling person for outside visitors, but the different floors have schedules so we'll be on one of those schedules.

After we got done visiting, we went downtown Portland to see the big Christmas tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square.  We found a funny thing!  This is a bronze statue of a man holding an umbrella, but look what he's wearing!  If that's not mellow, we don't know what is!

Are you a photohunter?

Snow Day and a Fundraiser Announcement

Tigress writes:

Yesterday, we all woke up to snow!  The first snowfall of the winter!  I was very glad to be inside the warm (and dry) house, but was as hyper as everyone else.  We ran up and down the hallway playing THOE (thundering herd of elephants), woke Mommy up by jumping on the bed, and chittered at the leaves the wind was blowing around in the yard.

After Mommy was fully awake, I let her know I wanted to go out to play in the snow.  I was out for a good two hours before I wanted back in!  I pounced on half-buried leaves, played in the crisp, frozen grass, and made pawprints on the deck.  I hunted for a while, but everything was staying in dens and not out to be hunted.  After it started warming up so the snow was starting to melt, I asked to be let back inside again.

Panther was so jealous!  He wanted out to play in the snow, too, but Mommy wouldn't let him.  He sniffed me all over when I came back in and told me how jealous he was!

Some of you kitties who are world travelers might know that there are two cities called Vancouver on the west coast of North America.  We live in the south Vancouver, which is Vancouver, Washington, USA.  The other Vancouver is Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and it's only about 8 hours away, almost directly north of us.  They are having the same cold weather and starting to have snow.  The kitties up there could really use some help right now, so we'd like to tell you about a fundraiser to help them.

Amy Lowry, a Vancouver, BC, graphics designer, is donating $1 for each item purchased in her Etsy store to the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association.  VOKRA is a unique no-kill, cats-only rescue that is based around foster homes rather than a brick-and-mortar shelter building.  It was started 13 years ago and, according to the website, helped find homes for almost 2,000 cats last year!  VOKRA also has a T-N-R program.  If you would like more information about VOKRA, their website is here.  If you would like more information about the fundraiser, including some stores that carry Amy Lowry's products, her infographic is here.  Thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tabby is thankful for her family, friends, those she visits, toy springs, food, water, and Mommy and Daddy.

Carbon is thankful for windows that he can look out, Mommy and Daddy, and a long hallway to run up and down.

Rori is thankful for a closet to hang out in when she wants to be by herself, snuggles with Mommy, scratcher, and her family.

Little Bit is thankful for toys, scratcher, the office chair, and Daddy.

Starla is thankful for her cave under the sink, food, medicine for her anxiety, and a family who understands her needs.

Missy is thankful for the printer to lie on, snuggles with Daddy, a warm home, and her family.

Freya is thankful for scratcher, toys, sockies, Mommy and Daddy, her brother, Tigress, and the rest of her family.

Heimdall is thankful for snuggles with Mommy, his sister, the bathtub with fresh shower water, scratcher, toys, food, water, and the rest of his family.

Dare is thankful for the couch to snuggle on, Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy, a home and foster family, toys, and food.

Panther is thankful for an inside foster home and foster family, Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy, Tigress, toys, food, water, the litter box, and health.

Tigress is thankful for the warm house, the ability to go in and out the door, food, liquid water in the house, her inside family, and Mommy and Daddy.

We are all thankful for YOU, our friends!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy 1st Birthday to Panther!!!

Panther writes:

Happy birthday?  What's a birthday?  Foster Mommy gave me (and everyone else) treats today and she and Foster Daddy are telling me I'm a year old today!  Am I really that old?  They are saying that I'm an adult now.  The other kitties tell me that I can act as silly as I want, still, though.  Good!

I'm all healed from my sinus infection now, my eyes have both cleared up, and I'm feeling a lot better.  I don't feel like fighting anymore, although I still haven't figured out the best way to ask the others to play with me.  I go up to them and swat, thinking that will get them to play, but I just get hissed at.  That's not what I want!  I have figured out how to play with Tigress, though.  She's teaching me to tilt my head first, then wait until she makes a move to play.  If I don't do that, she swats at me and hisses.  If I tilt my head first, then she does that and moves to the side, looking at me over her shoulder.  I know that it's ok to go after her, then.  Fun!

Foster Mommy hasn't been feeling well, and came back from somewhere smelling like I did when I came home from the vet.  She said she went to the doctor.  She's feeling better now, but all of us have been piled on her while she lies on the couch or the bed.  Foster Daddy is taking care of our litter box, food, and water for a few days.  Foster Mommy will be ok, though.  She says she had something called a polyp that needed to be removed.

I'm still up for adoption, so if you know of anyone who would like a sweet mancat as their very own, let us know!  My foster purrents will put my Craigslist ad back up after the new year.  They always take down foster ads during the holidays, to prevent boomerang pets.  Please, tell everyone to give promises of pets and not the actual pets as gifts, especially during the holidays.  It's too stressful for us to go to new homes when everything is different and busier!  It's best to wait until the house is calmed down and guests have left, then pick out the perfect pet with the person who is getting the gift.

Panther's Wordy Wednesday

Panther writes:

MEOWWW-OWWW-OWWW!!!!!

I had surgery on Monday night!  I am now almost 1 year old, so it was time for me to be neutered.  Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy say that it will help me not pick fights with the other kitties in the household.  Good, because I don't want to be in fights anymore!

My foster purrents took me to the vet Monday afternoon, and left me there!  I was afraid, but I had a Snoopy toy that the vet place gave me.  Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy put their smells on it before they left, so I would have something to snuggle with that smelled of home.  The vet place does that for all the patients who have to be away from our purrents for any length of time.  I even got to take my Snoopy home, but I think I may have ruined it.  More on that in a few minutes.

About 7:30 pm on Monday, the people took some of my blood and then gave me a sleepy shot.  I felt so relaxed!  I took a nap, and when I woke up I felt something was missing.  I tried to figure out what it was, but I couldn't move like I wanted to.  The people said to be calm, and they petted me while I was figuring out how to wake up.  Finally, I was able to stand.  My balance was off and I wobbled around the cage I was in.  I found the food, water, and box, and took some sips of water.  After a while more, I ate something and used the box.  Then I took another nap with my Snoopy.  The vet people talked to me and sometimes I talked back.  I tried telling them I wanted out to follow them around, but they didn't let me out.  They wouldn't tell me where my foster purrents were, either.

I was able to go home on Tuesday afternoon.  Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy came to get me about 2 pm, just after the people gave me my medicine for my respiratory infection.  I wondered where Foster Mommy was, because she's the one who usually gives me that medicine.  Then, all of a sudden, there she was, and Foster Daddy, too!  I was so glad to see them; I talked for about 3 minutes straight!  One of the people came out to talk with them about my medicines and give her report on how I did.  She said I was a very good boy, and I finally found out what had happened.  I was neutered!  No wonder it felt different back there!

On the way home, I kept looking up through the mesh of the carrier at my foster purrents, just to make sure they were really there.  It was so good to see them again!  I was glad they were taking me back home with them.  I really didn't want to stay at that vet place anymore!

All of a sudden, I felt something.  Oh, no!  I chirped at Foster Mommy, then pleaded with her with my eyes.  She said it was ok, so I peed in the carrier.  I had been holding it in for a while, trying to wait until we got home, but I just couldn't hold it anymore!  It soaked through the carrier wall and got on Foster Mommy's shoe.  She moved me a little but she and Foster Daddy said it was still ok.  They knew I wasn't trying to be bad.  Foster Daddy told me that it wouldn't hurt the floor of the truck.  I was glad to hear that!

When we got home, Foster Mommy tilted the carrier a little so that the pee would drip out onto the driveway.  I watched it intently, then looked up at her to tell her that it had drained all the way out from under me.  Then we went inside, into the bathroom.  She put the carrier on one of Starla's pee pads and opened it up.  I checked with her that it was ok to come out, then Foster Daddy guarded the bathroom door while Foster Mommy took a bunch of wipes to clean me up.  Boy, was I ever wet and stinky!  Even Starla said so, from under the sink!  Starla didn't want me to come near, so she hissed at me, but I was more interested in getting that stinky pee off myself.  I helped by licking the tip of my tail and my legs.  I was more careful with the hurting spots, but I tried to clean those, too.

After I was as clean as I could get, I went out to greet my aunties and uncles.  Pretty much everyone came to greet me.  Auntie Freya watched over me because she could tell I was hurting and had been to the vet.  Tigress came inside and I wrapped one arm around her, then licked her shoulder!  I'd missed her the most of anyone, because she came from where I came from:  outside.  She was glad to see me, too, but surprised and confused by my hug.  She put up with me doing that, though.

Besides my Clavamox for my upper respiratory infection, which I still have a bit of, I also have Metacam for the pain and swelling.  The swelling has gone down quite a bit already, but it will go down even more with that.  I go back in a few days for a recheck and to get my boosters for my vaccinations.

Dona Nobis Pacem

Today is the day set aside in the Blogosphere for the BlogBlast for Peace.  We at the PDX pride celebrate this day by reciting the Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, the truth;
Where there is doubt, the faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Happy Halloween!

 Panther:  Do I scare you?  This is my best Halloween cat pose!

 Carbon:  I'd rather be cute than scary!

Freya & Heimdall:  We love you!  Happy Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday

TCC Halloween Costume Dress-Up Day!

We're not yet members of the Tabby Cat Club, but we noticed their dress-up day was open to everyone.  Here are our posts for this year's Halloween costumes!

Tabby and Mommy dressed up to visit the nursing home.  They're candy-corn witches, with costumes that match!

Heimdall made a great Yoda.  Hey, even his new harness matches!

Carbon even decided to play along with the Yoda dress-up game, for once!

Sunday Summary

We've had a lot going on this week here at the PDX pride!!!  Socializing, a vet visit, hunting monsters, being afraid of Mommy's witch hat (for a Halloween party at her work), and hanging out with Daddy.  We'll let each other tell the highlights of the week.

Tigress writes:

I love my house and my inside family!  It's so nice being inside when it's wet outside, especially when it's cold.  Even when it's dry outside, I realize now that my inside family wants me to come inside to visit them at night.  I've been spending almost a third of the time in with them, especially at night, but they let me out when I want.  I even hopped up on the bed when Mommy was sleeping to let her know I wanted out one time, and another time I walked all the way to Daddy's chair when the TV was on to let him know I wanted out!  I realize that TV isn't as scary as I originally thought, but I still don't like it.  Panther and I have been getting along well.  I am worried about his eyes and ears, so I make sure to check on him every time I come in.  I'll let him tell how he's doing, though.

Panther writes:

I had to go to the vet again!  Foster Mommy and Grandpa took me this time, because Foster Daddy started a new job and was very tired after a week of training.  That's fine, because I like Grandpa.  I knew what the vet was going to check, and growled at the nurse when she took out the thermometer.  They were very nice to me, though.  I got some new medicine that's really helping me!  It's a liquid medicine, so no more drops in my eyes.  The vet said my eye infection turned into an upper-respiratory infection.

The medicine is helping me so much that I now feel like playing again!  This morning, I was running around trying to get my aunties and uncles to play with me, but they kept on growling and hissing.  That made me nervous, so I attacked them!  Mommy and Daddy yelled at me for it and stomped their feet or clapped to break up the fights.  Not fun, and certainly not playing!  I don't even know why I keep on getting into fights.  I don't want to!  Somehow, I manage to start fights, though.  I try to make up for it afterward by trying to apologize to whoever I attacked, but they don't want to accept my apologies until a few hours later.  Why not?  Inside kitty rules are very confusing!

Little Bit writes:

I tackled a monster, but it won!  No, I'm not talking about Panther, although I did fight with him and won.  I'm talking about the air monster that lives underneath the house.  It blows my fur around when I stand over the vent, and is nice and warm right now, but it makes a horrible sound when it starts up.  Since it's started to be a little colder here, the air monster has been making sounds more often.  I decided a few nights ago to fight it.  Big mistake!  It was in the middle of the night, so the house was mostly quiet, meaning I could hear the air monster start up.  I went over to its escape route and attacked!  I pulled its door open, but the door itself made such a horrible noise that I ran away!  It clanged and banged, squeaking as it came up, then banged down to the floor when I ran!  Mommy woke up and put the door back on the vent, because she didn't want anyone exploring the monster's lair.  She calls it ductwork.

Tabby writes:

I put myself to bed last night!  We were all out together for a long time, because Carbon, Starla, and I have been getting along better again.  I start getting sleepy around midnight, so I curled up with Daddy for a bit, then told him I wanted to be carried into the green room for night-night time.  He said I could go to bed myself.  I walked over to Mommy, got my good-night petting, then walked down the hall.  I hopped up onto the tote I've chosen as my bed, then yelled down the hall for Mommy to come in to tuck me in!  She came in, petted me again, kissed the top of my head, turned out the light and shut the door.  ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!  Later on, she let Carbon in to join me when it was night-night time for him.

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.

Mini Mancat Monday Eye Repurrt

Panther writes:

My owie eye is doing better!  It's still very winky, and very weepy, but I can see better out of it.  That is, until Foster Mommy puts the drops in and everything goes watery!  Unfortunately, since it's so weepy, the dried goop covers my ear and the side of my face.  That's the side I like to sleep on, so it drips down over my fur when I sleep.  The infection also got into my other eye!  Foster Daddy says it's because I wipe my paw over both eyes to try to clean them, so I spread the infection from one to the other.  That means I have to get the drops in both eyes now!  Grrrrrrr....

On the other paw, Auntie Tigress and I are actually getting along!  She and I weren't sure about each other when she came back last week, because of her chasing me and me taking her territory when we'd seen each other last.  I told her I didn't mean to take her territory and that I've been guarding it well.  She forgave me and actually has been trying to headbutt me!  She's also been checking on me and my hurty eyes when they go watery after Foster Mommy puts the drops in.  She sniffs my face and leans against my side, then walks away.  That's her way of giving me a hug, I think!  Unless she surprises me by it, I like it.  If I'm surprised and don't know she's there before she does that, then I hiss or growl but immediately realize who it is and stop.  Foster Mommy thinks it's the cutest thing, and so does Foster Daddy (but he hasn't seen her do that yet)!

I don't like that Auntie Tigress gets to go outside during the day and I don't.  I get mad at that and cry at the door for a few minutes, then go pout in the hallway.  I understand it's because I'm still taking my medicine, but why does she get so much attention when she comes back in?  My foster purrents say it's because she's still learning what being inside means.  Ok, but it didn't take me that long to adjust!  She adjusted easier to using the box than I have, though.  I still don't cover, and I whine at the door for about 10 minutes before going in to use the box.  She covers and doesn't whine about it.  Showoff!

I did one thing that she hasn't done, though.  I snuggled with Foster Daddy on the big chair!  I was looking up at him, so Foster Mommy picked me up and put me behind his knees.  Both of them encouraged me to lie down and petted me, so I curled in that spot.  It was so comfy that I snuggled and purred almost naturally!  I didn't stay long, but they said that was good for a first try snuggling behind someone's knees!

PhotoHunt: Zip!

Our stroller zips up to keep us safe when we need to be!  Tabby can usually ride in it without it being zipped, and Heimdall is learning to do that, but the rest of us need it zipped up if we ride in it.

Are you a photohunter?