Pet Photo Fails!

Hobo and Sweetie, but the camera focused on the screen instead!
Back when I was unable to approach them closely. 😽

Whoopsie, The PO'Ms backside...
Sorta TMI (too much information), right? 🙀

Am I boring you, Angel?...and it's blurry 😸

Chuck was being less than gentlecatly...and it's blurry! 😼

Aries, the neighbor's cat, is out of focus
We called him 'Romeo' for years, since it appeared he was hanging around Sweetie... 😻

Yep, that a power upchuck that splattered all over...
Not so much a photo fail, but a FAIL nonetheless...and every one of us has had to clean up something like this! 😾

Let's Hop!

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The Hubby Says...

The Hubby tells me that I am a negative person, always seeing the downside of things.  When I told him that Aries was rehomed, he told me that I should be happy instead of worried that the cat may not be in the perfect place.  Whaaaayall...maybe The Hubby has a point, but he's not exactly Mr. Sunshine either!  Who told me that I'd never get Patty O'Malley and Sweetie up The Stairway to Heaven?  Huh...who was that, dear?  I had Patty in the door last night; he made a couple of turns around then out he went again.  That's farther than he's been before!

Okay, I acknowledge my control-freak nature, and I may not be very trusting sometimes.  The world is a weird place!  I am grateful for my family, my job, and my friends.  I am grateful for the blog community that I've come to know and love.  I am grateful for libraries, books, and newspapers, not to mention THE INTERNET.

I am truly thankful for the cats in my life; those who are here, and the ones that have left for new homes or for The Rainbow Bridge.  Each one has left pawprints in my heart.

Sir Chucks-a-lot

Sweet Angel

Pattus O'Mallus

Sweetie, Yard Munchkin

Hobo, the feral who lives down the street

And to Sammy, George, Honey and Sneakers...and the neighborhood cats and dogs that I regularly see, pet, and talk to.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Two Again

These are the last photos taken of Aries, the neighbor's cat who lived with us all summer long.  See me smooching and hugging on him? About a month ago, Aries disappeared.  When I caught up with my neighbor last Sunday afternoon, she told me that both Aries and their other cat Persephone were now living, "...where they won't be living outside anymore."  She had rehomed them.

So a fond Farewell to Aries, with whom I spent a lot of time.  Since 2009, he was a staple in our backyard; only a resident this year.  I wish him and Persephone the very best, and hope that their new caretakers bring them to the veterinarian regularly, feed them the best they can, and love them both as much as I have.  Bon Voyage!

Sweetie and Patty O'Malley prefer playing duet, and it's easier to carry two food bowls rather than three.  However, both The Hubby and I tend to keep looking around for Aries, even though we know we won't see him.  Habits like that take time to change.

By Dawn's Early Light

Chuck's black fur turns rusty in the morning pink light

Angel simply looks like an angel!

Patty O'Malley did not want me to get into the car!

Aries ran to me with head bonks and meows...
one of the most difficult days to leave home for work!

Goose update!  His human just let me know that he has come out of hiding and is talking with her this morning, which he did not do yesterday.  This is good!  However, he's not eating and that has her concerned.  Another veterinarian visit is likely for today, since his human stayed home from work to nurse him. Keep those good purrs and vibes going for this little fighter!

Sunday with The 'O' Cats

Bath Time!

Confrontation

Sweetie does not like posing for the camera; I have to creep up on her. Yesterday, she sat in the garden giving herself a bath, then had a conversation with a squirrel, who ran away quickly!

Aries, with our cat garden statue

Yummy sunshine!

Patty keeps an eye on the proceedings

Aries enjoyed the bright sunshine.  He allows me to pick him up and snuggle him too!  Aries is a sweet kitty, but of course Patty O'Malley has to get in on any photo action.

"You should only be taking photos of me!"

"Seriously, while I'm eating?"

"I love you so much, here is my butt!"

Patty wants to be wherever I am.  On a quiet, sunny Sunday afternoon, he's gets his rearend in my face, as evidenced by the last photo.  Gee...thanks, Patty!

Nicknames

We all have our cutesy widdle sillums names for our kitties, but do we tell other people about it?

NO, we don't!  Sometimes they are too wacky, and would take too much explanation.

That is...until today!  I'm going to broadcast for all to read, the goofy nicknames that I call our cats.

Chuck

Chucky gets called:

Chuckinator

BBC (Big Black Cat)

Brogums

His Sleekness

Pooper
My Boy

His Largeness

Manimal

Limousine
Handsome

Angel

Angel is called:

Pinky

Princess

B&W (Black and White)

Wee One

Sissy
My Girl

Her Highness

Angelinka

Angelova
Bunny Rabbit
Pretty

Patty O'Malley

We call him:

Pattus O'Mallus

Fat Boy

Squeaker

Clowny

Alley Cat
Stripey
Boyfriend
Handsome

Sweetie

Sweetie's nicknames are:

Mama

Mamasita

Lady

Queenie
Cutie
Girlfriend
Pretty

Aries

Well, we really haven't had too many nicknames for Aries, other than that we used

           to call him Romeo before we discovered that he had humans and a home.

He has been a bit aggressive when I walk out with food bowls in hand; even Patty has taken to hanging back rather than face him, but I don't like dropping into negative-land with Brat or Bad Boy.  Aries needs MORE love, not less!  He is a real sweet kitty, when he isn't afraid to show it.

Thank you all for the terrific comments yesterday!

August 16, 2016: A Remarkable Day for the 'O' Cats!

August 16, 2016: A Remarkable Day for the 'O' Cats!*

Why, you ask?

Because The Hubby put out his hand, and Patty O'Malley, Aries...
AND
Sweetie all gave him rubs!

Snoozing Aries

Patty and I just have to be touching somehow

That's Sweetie, up on the Stairway to Heaven!

Yep, The Hubby is working his way into their little cat hearts...YAY!

Wait...there's MORE!

Not only that, Sweetie allowed me to put Advantage II Flea treatment on her.  She has NEVER allowed me that much license to touch her before.  This time, she just kept eating at her bowl, while I doused her between the shoulderblades.  Patty O'Malley got his too, but that's not news.

All of this progress, but still not much further with convincing Patty or Sweetie up the stairs.  Next week, I'll start trying daily.  Maybe making it so normal to them, that they overcome their hesitancy.

I'm off for a mini-vacation weekend; see you next week.
Have fun, all!

* not posted until today because it was National Black Cat Appreciation Day yesterday.

Evidence!

Please excuse the poor quality of these photos, but they had to be taken as covertly as possible!

Yep, that's The Hubby in the backyard, petting Aries!  Aries is really a lover. I had to document the moment in a split second while watching out the back window screen and the netting that we've wrapped the balcony in for cat security.  Plus, The Hubby HATES having his photo taken, so shhh...don't tell him.

 

 

I too manage to get some petting time in with Aries every day.  He seems to enjoy the old wooden steps that The Hubby set against the maple tree.  We now call them "Aries's Bleachers" or "The Bleachers".

Lap Cat

Aries, my new lap cat!

Yep, who knew?  Aries, the neighbor's cat who now eats and sleeps on our backyard deck, is also my new lap cat!  No other kitty of our acquaintance will make use of human lap real estate, but Aries is a lover and gave me some purrs and pets.

See Patty photobombing Aries?

Patty O'Malley, of course, takes exception to any other cat receiving attention from me, and he manages to get in the way of photos or petting sessions when the mood is upon him.  Little Sweetie will give Patty a swat and a yowl, but she runs off out of range, and Aries turns his back of disdain to me, as a warning from getting too close or else Patty will break up the party!  As much as I've tried to put an end to this territorial display from Patty, he continues to do it and we all just have to live with it.

Which cat is which?

Cow-colored Cat A

Cat B (never mind the goofy person in the background!)

 Hard to tell these two kitties apart!

Actually, it's easy!  Cat A is Angel; her ears are pink inside, and she has white and black fur on them too.  Cat B is Aries: his ears are all black, and are dark inside.

However, in a quick glance, it's hard to distinguish which one is which. Surprisingly, Angel and Aries are about the same body size, although I'm guessing that Aries is somewhat older, plus he's a boy.  He spends most of his time in our backyard, and he hasn't missed a meal since we've set out a bowl of his very own, rather than having to eat up Patty and Sweetie's leftovers.  I think he's moved into Mama's House; the empty shelter we built in 2009 when Sweetie had her kittens.  I'll get photographic evidence soon!

Aries loves to be petted and smooched, and he's easily picked up and carried.  Cannot say the same thing for Angel: although she purrs when petted, she dislikes being handled (although she relaxes for The Hubby...), and she would rather observe from beyond arms-length.  To have her walk toward a human is such a big deal!  We love her pink nose and her pink ears and her white whiskers and her shy ways to distraction, and Aries is making himself into a loving part of our cat world too.

Intermission Over

A long holiday weekend, a vacation day off from work, and excellent weather kept me away from the computer.  The Hubby and I spent some quality time together (read: we went out to lunch and watched a lot of Wimbledon tennis on TV!)

Trying to keep up with my daily exercise, I managed to snap a few photos of some of the critters that I recently had to pleasure to meet:

Sly, striking a post

Sly and his brother Sneakers live at the 15 minute mark on my evening trek; I first nabbed some photos of them here.

Handsome fellow

This gorgeous grey fellow was casually walking down the street when he stopped to allow me to worship him for a little while.  I believe he is cared for at the nearby house, where I've seen feral cat shelters, although this guy was very tame.

Persephone

Persephone is Aries's 'sister', meaning she and Aries live at the same house, which is our backyard neighbor.  Persephone spends all of her time in the front yard, where I see her as I'm walking by.

Muddy Waters

Evidence!

Two babies...

...and three more!

There are raccoons around too; they use the cat's drinking water to wash their hands.  Almost every morning, I find muddy water...and a raccoon hand print!  A couple of weeks ago, I spied five baby raccoons in a tree at dusk, which is why my phone took such blurry photos.  Could they be the rascally creatures making mud in our water bowl?  I sternly warn Patty O'Malley, Sweetie and Aries to avoid any raccoon, because they can be really mean to cats, and especially kittens.

I'll visit all of my blogging friends soon, to catch up on your news!