Neighbor Cats

I found some friends while walking the neighborhood.  Okay, I know the one in the middle is a statue, but I liked it nonetheless.  The flirty tabby at the top was so lovey that he wouldn't hold still long enough for a really good face pic, but I simply love those mini-stripes!  Purrs galore too!  The ginger fellow on the porch was nervous, so I kept my distance to prevent him from running away...plus the front door was open and I did NOT want the human occupants to think I was being creepy, or a cat snatcher or something.

And as I type this, Chucky has discovered that I moved the area rug, and he's laid claim to it.  How do cats do that...find the exact center of things?  He looks pretty comfortable.

Have a terrific weekend, folks!  My friends are coming in for a holiday.  We so bad, we vacation in Detroit!  Hubby stays home, to guard the fort, feed all the kitties, and watch as many pre-season and college football games, baseball, tennis, and any other sporting things as he can stand without any 'interference' from me.  Hope he remembers to police the litter boxes now and again.  And Chucky is snoring...

10 Year Gotcha Day Anniversary for Angel and Chuck

Young Chuck

Baby Angel

Hard to believe that the hubby and I picked up two flea-bitten, wormy and scraggly kittens ten years ago today!  I rode in the backseat of our old Toyota Camry, with their box on my lap, while hubby got lost in his nervousness to get home quickly with our precious cargo.  After medication, baths, and a new world full of love and litter boxes, Angel and Chuck have grown into wonderful cats, brimming with personality and mischief.   They have changed our lives.

Happy Anniversary, little ones!  

Wait...where are you?  Oh, napping of course!

Cats are just not sentimental.  They will, of course, enjoy the tuna treats!

Cutie Cat Photos

Feral kitten near co-workers home

We are planning our trapping expedition to rescue this little one, his two siblings and the mama kitty in a few weeks.  The kittens are too young to try now.  I will borrow a few more humane traps from All About Animals Rescue in Warren, Michigan, then we will try to catch all of them for TNR.  My co-worker will feed them, since they live in the field across the street from her home.  We thought we had a barn where we could work on socializing them, but that deal fell through.  I will post more photos soon; maybe we can get them a home yet!  

Tonya

 Miss T. looks splendid in her new do!  Florida gets pretty hot, ya know.  She had a few mats in her fur, so a trip to the vet's office for a check-up netted her a spa day.  And she's healthy too...yay!

Sweetie Toes

Tried to capture the bits of white fur on Sweeties's back legs.  Look at those hooks!  She is just beginning to get used to me getting close to her with my phone.

I'm just chillaxin'; it wasn't me!

A nameless someone has peed over the side of the litter box recently. Just sayin'! 

Don't look at me; I'm too cute to pee over the side!

 Yes, my Angel...you are too cute!  And you have no shame either...

Dig that crazy nail polish...

Patty wants petting no matter what, no matter where, no matter when.

Who am I to deny him?

Black on Black

Striped Chuck

I found an informative article about how black cats get their coloring on Catster.com, The Science Behind the Fur: What Makes Black Cats Black?  In it, I found that black cats are often black-on-black tabbies!  So I dug through my photo gallery, and found one pic of Chucky that looks like he's got tabby stripes - do you see them?  National Black Cat Appreciation Day was August 17, so I'm a bit late on that, but aren't black cats wonderful?  Chucky is like a sleek, long limousine, and I love looking at Sweetie's fur, with all of the white hairs all over.

Sweetie

Lurv

Yep, that's my face and Patty's posterior!  He lurvs wrapping his tail around me; in this case, it's my chin.  Not the most flattering photo of moi, but that silly grin says a lot.  I lurv Patty right back!  Geez, where did all the crinkles at my eyes come from?!?

For more cat lurv, try Colehauscats, where Pia and Dexter share their ginger cat romance story.  Adorable!

Hello to Hobo

Spring 2009

Brought Sweetie to lunch

Winter 2010

Not afraid of the camera!

Last visit in 2011

Today: Living Large

Today: Looking Good!

Today I ran into an old friend...Hobo!  We first met in 2009, when Hobo showed up in our backyard.  Hobo faithfully showed up twice a day for meals for years.  He brought Sweetie to the food bowls when she was heavily pregnant (we had not seen her prior to that), and he even babysat her two kittens, (neither looked like Hobo).  We TNR'd both of them.  Hobo stopped coming around about the same time Patty O'Malley showed up, in 2012.  Hobo apparently simply moved down the alley to the other end of the block, and it appears that several kind people feed him.  I only hope someone has also made him a nice warm shelter too, but I just like to be able to visit him from time to time to say hello.  One gentleman I met says he calls the cat O.C., for Outside Cat.  He will always be Hobo to us.

Sweetie

Recovering from spay surgery in 2009

Winter Fluffy in 2012

Excuse me!

Can't a girl get any privacy?  Patty photobomb

Ta Da!  Drum roll please....introducing Sweetie!  Formerly known as Mama Mia, Sweetie is a Friendly Feral who has been with us for over five years.  Yes, she once had kittens, but those days are long behind her, and she just wants to be a sweetie from now on.  She sleeps in the Cat Hotel, first floor level, and dislikes eating her kibble from the bowl, preferring kibble poured directly on the feeding station floor.  I wipe things down to make sure she's not licking up dirt and snail trails.  I insist that Sweetie and Patty O'Malley get plenty of wet food too, which Patty usually pushes over the bowl's edge and he eats it off the tabletop!  What is it with these two?

We've tried for years to re-name Sweetie, which is why Mama Mia stuck to her for so long.  Last week, the hubby had a 'a-HA' moment, and the light bulb that went off over his head was 'Sweetie'.  Of course I liked the name right away, since I already baby-talk her with "who's my little sweetheart?"  Sweetie has come a long way since her early days as a scaredy feral who ran anytime a human was around, and now I can pet her and give her chin scritches.  The hubby's new campaign is to get to hold Sweetie someday soon, and again I'm all in with this!

Say hello to Sweetie!

Book Review: A Cat Named Darwin By William Jordan

• Title: A Cat Named Darwin: Embracing the Bond Between Man and Pet (also: How a Stray Cat Changed a Man into a Human Being)
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition edition (November 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395986427
• ISBN-13: 978-0395986424
• 
  
• 
  
  
  The book begins with this:
  
  
  I was born a Homo sapiens.
  Then I became a biologist.
  Then, I became a cat.
  
  
  You have no idea.
  Read on, friend.
  
  
  Now, if that doesn't pique your interest!  The book is delightfully written by William Jordan, as the story of man meeting a stray cat, and the addition of the feline to his Long Beach, California life.  The blend of science from a biologist's lexicon of knowledge, and the heartfelt emotions stirred by Darwin is a terrific read.  There is not a sappy moment anywhere in this book, and Darwin is no sweet snuggle-bunny, but a true street cat who knows when he's found his home.  Mr. Jordan writes honestly and ironically, having grown up with dogs only.  His conversion to a cat dude is witty, funny, and painfully truthful.  When does chemical reactions in the brain and body form into love and companionship?  Pick up a copy, and enjoy Darwin's travels with his human companion.

Hellos...and Good-Byes

Persephone

Aries

You may remember that I mentioned a mean neighbor's cat who I've tried to shoo out of the yard.  Anyone with a cat knows that cats cannot be shoo'd!  So, taking the advice from some smart comment's, I tried to make friends.  Aries, the boy in the second photo, growls and makes these really threatening noises when I approach.  But after a couple of kibble feedings, he's now letting me pet him and scritch him under the chin!  He continues to growl, while he's head-butting me!  Weird, but I accept his friendship offer.  And his sister Persephone is a little doll; she just keeps purring and comin' back for more luvin'.  She would not sit still for a good photo, but obviously Kindness works!  A big hello to Aries and Persephone!  Oh, and there is a mini-dachshund named Zeus living there too, but that little dog knows better than to wander into our wild-cat backyard sanctuary.  Great names, no?

And I'd like to welcome Emily at Stillness at Cherith.  They just lost their sweetie kitty Lucy, and quickly decided that Oscar and Winston needed a new sister.  Emily is a cute little kitty, and I am wishing the whole family purrs on the loss of Lucy, and hugs to Emily.

More 'Welcome!' signs to Magoo at my niece's house, and Izzy and Ivan at William of Mass Destruction, whom I have mentioned before.

Poppy

Now some goodbyes:
Poppy was 20 plus years old when she left for the Rainbow Bridge in October 2013.  I just recently learned she was gone, as she lived Up North with her humans.  Poppy arrived as a kitten, with her momma and sisters, in Macomb Township, Michigan.  All were trapped, spayed, then fed and cared for.  When the humans moved, Poppy and a few remaining sisters went along.  Poppy was the last of her family, and although deaf and blind, she still enjoyed getting brushed and snuggled.  Farewell, Old Girl.

My aunt lost her kitty Putchka to a bladder tumor a few weeks ago.  I have no photo of her, but I know she was once a pariah cat at a home full of people and animals.  My aunt removed her from that awful experience, and gave her a home of her very own.  The two lived together for many years, so now it's quiet at the house.  However, the neighbor's cat is welcome to find his way inside from time to time, and he continues to visit for a nap on the couch, some petting from my aunt, and a nibble of food.  She is considering a new cat, but will give herself some time first.  Adieu, Putchka.

Amber

Amber has been ill for awhile, with a fast-growing tumor.  Her humans took her to the bestest veterinarian, and they started on a course to keep Amber as healthy and pain-free as possible.  She left for the Rainbow Bridge a week ago, less than two weeks after her sister Sugarbear.  Amber and Sugarbear's humans are sad, yet they have Tonya and Spit Spot to hug and purr with.  Tonya and Spit Spot were strays, but they hung around the backyard long enough to become tamed, then incorporated into the feline family, called The Cat Crew.  Amber and Sugarbear's brother cat Colby passed in 2012.  So long, sweet Amber.

Tonya

Spit Spot

I love my cats, and heck, I love other people's cats too!  It is hard to live without them, but the tremendous joy and love we receive when they are with us is just too fantastic.  May we always remember the warmth, the purrs, and the beautiful moments of love.  Kindness...that's the key!  Open your kitty-loving arms and say, "Hello!"

Get Shorty

Shorty was found running around a parking lot at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.  Paws For The Cause Feral Cat Rescue directors L & M chased the little guy down, and got him to the veterinarian stat!  Shorty only weighted 14 ounces, and was probably five weeks old.  Now, healthy and happy, he's looking for his furrever home.  I had the delighted pleasure of being his love interest this afternoon; having never met me before, he still stuck his nose to mine in the first couple of seconds!  He's a handsome boy, and lookee...he's got a heart shape on his nose!  Squee galore!  Wish I had better photos of him rolling around for tummy rubs and adorable paw play, but I was too busy rubbing his tummy and playing with his paws to grab my phone.  Plus, I love his name...Shorty.  I'll have to ask about that: was he named for the Elmore Leonard book, or was he so teeny, tiny when they first snagged him?

I made my link above to Paws For The Cause's Facebook link this time, since that's where all the good stuff is.  If you are interested in Shorty or want to look at any of their other adoptable kitties, follow that link!