Earl Grey

Earl Grey is a one-year-old, lively, curious and affectionate cat who had a really bad problem recently. He is recovering nicely now and really wants to be more active than he is supposed to be.

Earl Grey is a cat who felt fantastic
Until he ate a piece of plastic.
He got really sick,
But his vet turned the trick.
Now he's back on his way to feeling fantastic.

1000th Visitor Contest Winners

Because I got over-excited about finding a winner and didn't check all my comments before announcing a winner, I am now announcing two winners. Danielle, who was my actual 1000th visitor, and Yuki & Kimiko, who where the closest to make a comment in my 1000th Visitor Contest post. Danielle chose the donation, so I have donated $10 to Jody of Cat's Eye in her name. I haven't heard yet from Yuki & Kimiko, but I hope they will see this and contact me.

UPDATE: Yuki & Kimiko have contacted me and also wanted to make a donation to Jody of Cat's Eye. So that's another $10 for Jody. Yay!

Pepi

Pepi was an outside cat who, along with Gree, took to hanging around the House of (Mostly) Black Cats. Mom Robyn fed and watered them and gradually tamed them. Pepi and Gree were brought inside a closed off porch this last winter because the weather got too cold for them to stay outside any more. They got used to being inside and now they are both inside kitties. Pepi is the only man cat in the house and he likes to show off how fierce he is. He really did catch a mouse in the hall a few months ago.

                              Pepi is a House Panther supreme.
                              See him bare his fangs and scream!
                                     He caught the mouse
                                     Who came into the house.
                              He stalks the jungle in his dream.

Brandi

Brandi is a sweet kitty who has been giving her Mama Carol all the love and support she can while they are going through some very rough times. Carol has been out of work for several months now. Things could get even rougher, as they will soon lose the apartment they are living in now and the only place Carol can find to live won't allow Brandi to come with her. Let's try to get some kitty mojo going. I ask all of you who read this post to send good thoughts, prayers, purrs and kitty love to Brandi and Carol. If you would like to send them a donation, email me.

UPDATE: I have learned that things may not be as desperate as I thought. It is not set in stone that Brandi and Carol will have to move, but they are having problems with their present landlord.

Brandi's Mama WILL get a jobbie, you'll see,
Then Brandi will be as happy as can be.
There'll be pizza with ham,
And glad cries of "Here I am!"
When Mama comes home from work, you'll see.

Mini

Mini was a starving outside kitty rescued by Mom Robyn. She got her name because she was a real Skinny Mini. It didn't take long for her to fill out with all the good food and loving she got at the House of (Mostly) Black Cats. Evidently, Mini still remembers when it was so hard to get enough to eat, because her favorite thing of all is food, especially treats.

                                Mini the Moocher loves to eat.
                                Temptations are her favorite treat.
                                         This little Mini
                                         Is no longer skinny
                                 At all because she loves her meat.

1000th Visitor Contest

I am fast approaching my 1000th visitor. I would like to send out a small prize package to my 1000th visitor. If you are the lucky one, please leave a comment and email me your snail-mail address. I promise I won't use your address for anything else. If you would prefer, I will make a $10 donation in your name to your favorite charity.

On another note, I only have to write limericks for three more kitties to finish the nice long list of requests that Beau sent me. If you would like to nominate a kitty for a limerick, just drop me an email or make a request in the comments.

Jasmine

Jasmine came to live with Gizzy and the Lady Mom about a year after Gizzy was rescued from being a little feral kitten. She and Gizzy like each other and lived together as a two cat household for many years before Millie bounded onto the scene. I decided to try to look at the situation from Jasmine's point of view. She and Gizzy had grown old together very happily and both of them were quite content with the way things were. Jasmine was also not feeling very well when Millie appeared and that may help explain why Jasmine took an instant dislike to Millie. Here was this very energetic kitten disrupting her nice quiet routine and cozying up to her friend Gizzy. Here is what may be going through Jasmine's mind.

I do not like that kitten Millie.
She's far too fast and much too silly.
I don't want to play,
So please go away.
Somebody save me from this pesky Millie.

Flower Quiz

I am a Sunflower What Flower Are You?

"When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can't find something good about the world and your fellow human."

I found this quiz over at Daisy Mae Maus' blog and I really like it.

Edsel

Here is Edsel in his gangster hat. He lives in Michigan and has a great backyard to play in. He is kind of shy, but he dearly loves Boni. He got into trouble in May of 2006 when he got into a bet with Magoo about whose team would win in hockey. Edsel lost and sent Magoo six cans of Stinky Goodness. Canadian customs held up the shipment and wanted to talk to Edsel about sending items over the border that were possibly a biohazard. Edsel panicked a bit and went on the lam. That's how he became a gangster. The problem was settled and Edsel returned home from where he was hiding out in the Big Piney Woods. He is also a member of the Tuxedo Gang.

Edsel is a tuxedo gangster dude.
Did you hear how he tried to smuggle cat food?
Boni is his gun moll.
She is a tuxie doll.
This is a pair of kitties with 'tude!

Boni Maroni

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This is a very recent picture of Boni after she got into the nip. Boni was rescued from being a starving outdoor kitty by Grandma and Mom Robyn. She got her name from the song because she really was as skinny as a stick of macaroni. She filled out quickly. When she joined the Tuxedo Gang, she decided to become a tuxedo gun moll. Then when Edsel had to go on the lam, she became his tuxedo gangster gun moll. There will be more about Edsel very soon.

                               Boni Maroni is a tuxedo gun moll.
                               Her ganster pal Edsel thinks she's a doll.
                                      They wear felt hats
                                      With their tuxie spats.
                              They have lots of fun when they dance at a ball.

Little Pink Pig

Little Pink Pig is neither little (for a cat) nor a pig. He is a Sphynx and he weighs in at a hefty 24 pounds. He was purchased from a breeder to be a little brother to Grover, a Devon Rex. He is now hugely bigger than his older brother but the two of them get along pretty well. I found Little Pink Pig when I was reading Dragonheart's meme a week or so ago. I noticed that Dragonheart had tagged him, so I went over to check out his blog. I ended up reading the whole blog. Little Pink Pig and Grover don't post much, more's the pity, but what is there is well worth reading. Both Little Pink Pig and Grover have a wicked sense of humor. I saw this picture and the limerick practically leapt into my mind.

There is a cat named Little Pink Pig.
His tail is narrow, but his bits are big.
He tried to hide 'em,
But everyone spied 'em,
Unfortunately for Little Pink Pig.

Sanjee

Beau suggested that I do limericks for all the cats in the House of (Mostly) Black Cats and I decided to start with Sanjee. Sanjee is the Queen Bee of the house and a reporter for the CatBlogosphere. She was rescued from behind a car repair shop when she was four weeks old and adopted by Mom Robyn the very next day. The incident described in the limerick took place way back in January of 2006, but it stuck in my mind. Mom Robyn sells really primo organic catnip and Sanjee sniffed out the drawer where it was kept. She opened the drawer and climbed right in.

                                    Sanjee loves her nip, yes, she does.
                                    It's the nippiest nip that ever was.
                                           She opened the drawer,
                                          Then she said, "Mwar!"
                                    As the heady aroma gave her a buzz.

Daisy Mae Maus

Daisy Mae Maus and her brother, Huckleberry Finn (now at the Bridge), joined the Feline Americans when her family moved away and they stayed. They slept outside the Mom's window until she invited them in. Daisy Mae now rules the house. I got the idea for this limerick from reading her New Year's Resolution not to kick so much butt and her Mom's comment that the resolution would be broken the next day.

If you visit the home of Daisy Mae Maus
You'll see Feline Americans all over the house.
Daisy Mae is the boss,
But she never gets cross,
She just kicks fuzzy butt all over the house.

Mia

Beau also suggested that I do a limerick for Mia. While I was reading through Mia and Ghost's blog, I was struck by how often the blog entries were about other cats and their people. Mia is often wishing someone a happy birthday, or offering sympathy for cats and people who are ill or mourning a death in the family. That totally caring attitude is what led to the following limerick.

                                               Mia is a cat who is kind.
                                               She always keeps others in mind.
                                                       She remembers their birthdays,
                                                       Unhappy days, and mirth days.
                                               She is a friend to all cat- and human-kind.

Monkee

Yes, I admit it. I wrote this limerick just so I could use this picture. I don't know much about Monkee except that he is one of the Brats that Ayla the Grump finds so annoying. I do know that he is one of the culprits who stole her new bed. I also know that he does this little trick fairly often because he likes the warmth from the pilot light.

Look at Monkee sitting in a pan.
He can stay warm if any cat can.
Don't turn up the heat!
You'll burn his poor feet!
Funny ole Monkee, sitting in a pan.

Ghost

Beau sent me several excellent suggestions for cats to do limericks about and Ghost was one of them, so here she is. Twelve years ago, Ghost was a very hungry, dirty, little kitty who found her way to what is now her forever home. The lady who is now her Mom started feeding her and slowly, slowly got Ghost to trust her enough to come inside, where she has been ever since. Ghost still doesn't trust other people and disappears behind the washing machine whenever she feels threatened. She lost an eye to a nasty infection and she doesn't have any teeth, but she seems very content with the life she leads now.

Ghost is a cat who has an apt name:
Her fur so white and her eye of green flame.
Don't mess with her;
You'll hear a "GRRR!"
Then she'll disappear and won't respond to her name.

Get Well Soon, Earl Grey

Earl Grey had exploratory surgery yesterday evening and needs our good wishes and prayers. Please to to his blog at http://thefurrykids.blogspot.com/ and leave a message for him and his family.

Darling Millie

There are so many things to say about Millie that I could just go on and on, but I will try to keep this fairly short. Last June Malcolm found a tiny black and white kitty in the road who had been hit by a car. Unable to locate an owner, he took the kitten to the vet and agreed to pay the bill. The poor little kitten had a shattered right rear leg and had to have a titanium rod put in so she could walk again. Even with the vet giving Malcolm a big "Good Samaritan" discount, this ran the bill up to $1300 which was really more than Malcolm could afford. Malcolm's plight, and the kitten's, was brought to the attention of the Cat Blogosphere and the money was raised to pay the bill. The members of the Cat Blogosphere also found the kitten a home and named her Millie, for the thousand dollars it took to make her well again. Now she lives with Jasmine and Gizzy and the Lady Mom and you would never know that she had been injured. Millie was very shy to begin with and it was months before she would let Lady Mom touch her, but by last Christmas, she was accepting petting. Jasmine still doesn't like Millie at all, but Gizzy took to her fairly quickly and lets her snuggle with him, but being an older cat, he's not much for playing with her. Millie has made her own fun and last Christmas she discovered the greatest cat toy ever.

Millie climbed the Christmas tree,
All the pretties for to see.
She wouldn't stop
'Til she got to the top
Of the beautiful Christmas tree.

Mittens Polypaws

Here is a beautiful picture of Mittens. She was adopted from a shelter where CalicoMom was working when she was seven years old. She is an older kitty now and sleeps a lot. She has always been very shy, but she and Patches get along pretty well. Mittens is a polydactyl, which is how she got her name.

Mittens Polypaws has lots of toes.
White ones. Black ones. Pink? Some of those.
She is very shy
When strangers are nigh,
But she might like to meet Mistrie Rose.

Grr

Here is Grr suspiciously eyeing a hand coming toward her. Grr does not like being petted or held by anyone, except the Blonde Girl, and she hates being picked up by anyone at all. Grr, Midnight and Cocoa are all from the same litter of a feral mother and were found living in an abandoned car. The mother, Midnight and Cocoa were all captured fairly easily, but Grr wanted none of it. When she was finally caught and reunited with her sister and brother, Grr was still very upset and growled and everyone and everycat. That's how she got her name. She still keeps to herself most of the time.

There is a lovely girl cat named Grr
She has beautiful, but untouchable, fur.
She loves the Blonde Girl,
But growls she will hurl
At any other hand which approaches her fur.

Fudge Ripple

Tuesday was a very sad day for Daisy Mae Maus and all of the other Feline Americans, as Fudge Ripple went to the Bridge. He had recently been declared the Cat of the Quarter. He loved Chinese takeout BBQ pork and could smell it coming from down the street. He was China Cat's Valentine last month. We will all miss him very much and I send out my heartfelt condolences to all the Feline Americans and their humans.

Fudge Ripple was as sweet as his name.
He will live forever in Feline American fame.
He loved pork BBQ,
Though he had few teeth to chew.
We'll all miss Fudgie and praise his name.

Artsy Catsy -- Rocky

Here is Rocky of Artsy Catsy with part of his hair-clip collection. Rocky had a rough start in life when he was orphaned at one day old. A racoon sent his feral mother and all his siblings to the Bridge. How he managed to survive the attack is a mystery, but Sharolyn, who is now a member of Artsy Catsy, found and saved him. He is now the CEO of the company and does his very best to keep the humans and other cats in line. He has a food bowl shaped like a crown with "King" written on it, so everyone knows who is in charge. Artsy Catsy is a combination of six humans and fifteen cats who produce cat-themed artwork and they are very good at it. You really should check it out, if you haven't already. Note: I corrected some information in Rocky's bio after reading his post for 3/16/07.

Artsy Catsy is a firm you should know.
Rocky works hard as the CEO.
He says, "Keep the people in line
And all will be fine."
Hail Rocky, the tough guy CEO!

William of Mass Destruction

Here is William doing one of his favorite things, attacking the weather-stripping on the door. This and the way he goes after paper towels and toilet paper is how he got his name. He loves chewing on weather-stripping so much that once he got into his Mom's bedroom and opened a drawer where she was keeping a new package of weather-stripping. He had a grand time with it. William lives with Olivia, who has a kangaroo inside her (which she blames for the mischief she gets into), and Caroline, who bites his ears. He had an older brother, Eddie, who went to the Bridge not long ago. William also enjoys watching all the birds who visit the feeders his Mom has put up.

William attacks the weather-stripping.
He says, "It's lots more fun than 'nipping."
It's off of the door
And all over the floor
Before you can say, "What's that ripping?"

Buddah Pest

This is Buddah Pest taking a little rest after playing his little heart out last Christmas. You may be wondering how such a cute little black kitty got a name like Buddah Pest. Originally, it was just Buddah, but he wanted to play with Max constantly immediately after he arrived and gave poor Max no peace. If Max did manage to find somewhere Buddah couldn't find him, he went to Thumper or the Spouse Thingy or the Boy for attention. That is how he got the Pest added. He has settled down a little since then, but he still tears around the house at top speed.

Buddah Pest runs like his tail's on fire,
Upstairs and down. Will he ever tire?
Then, suddenly, look,
He's asleep in a nook.
He turns on and off, this little live wire.

Mao

Mao used to have a brother named Junior, whom he loved very, very much. Unfortunately, Junior went to the Bridge and Mao became very depressed. He stopped playing and withdrew into himself. Then one day the Food Lady brought Skeezix home. Mao keeps saying that he doesn't like the "little wite rat", but he has rediscovered the joys of snuggling. Mao also likes going outside, but he got grounded for a long time last year when he went out and stayed out all night. Mao is also the one who came up with the idea for marketing Mao and Rocky's Vishus Deer Repellent. This is only fitting, as Mao is the one who first told Skeezix about the vishus deer who eat juicy young cats.

Mao is the bestest bro,
Though he doesn't want the world to know.
The wite rat can snuggle
With nary a struggle.
Mao's protests are mostly for show.

Don't Get Around Much Any More

People stuff is taking up more and more of my time lately. I simply can't read as many blogs as I used to per day. I'm not purposely ignoring any of you and I will still read as many blogs as I can. I'm sorry if I appear to be neglecting anyone.

KC

Here is a picture of KC enjoying a well-earned nap. I like this picture because it shows off her golden paw and also shows her favorite toy, a camera strap. KC is the kitty the term Tough-A Tortie was invented for. She started life as a feral, was caught and taken to a shelter where she was labelled as unfit for adoption and things looked bleak for her. Two very caring people, Deb and Karen C, got her out of the shelter and found her a new home, where she lives with Missy and Bear. Then when she was spayed, she got a nasty infection, but she toughed her way through that, as well. Now she is happy and active and is a star reporter for the CatBlogosphere.

                                      KC is truly a Tough-A Tortie.
                                      She lived by her wits and was captured through sortie.
                                             The shelter said she was mean
                                             And not to be seen
                                      But Deb and Karen C saved our brave little tortie.

Ayla the Grump

Ayla is an older cat who lives with eight younger cats who seem determined to drive her crazy. She is the matriarch, though, and she rules them with an iron paw. She probably wished she had an iron paw for real when they stole her brand new bed. The whole family recently moved and while Ayla enjoys the new house, it seems cold to her. Here she is after finally finding someplace relatively warm to take a nap.

What makes Ayla such a grump?
She wants to give the Brats a thump.
They grab the best places,
All the nice warm spaces.
It's enough to make anyone grump.

Luna

Here is Luna with some of her snuggle buddies. Luna has one of the most striking faces I have ever seen. The combination of the colors above her eyes and her very blue eyes make her an unforgettably beautiful cat. She lives in Spain and does her blog in both Spanish and English. Luna and some of her Spanish cat friends, especially Anita, are gatorristas, plotting to take over the world. I fell in love with that word, gatorrista, the first time I saw it. I don't know a lot of Spanish, but I didn't need any explanation for it. It just seems the perfect word for a cat with a plan. This limerick is about something that happened to Luna last August. Due to a negligent vet, Luna was lost in the woods for 32 days.

Luna is a Spanish gatita
Whose bad vet let her get perdita.
Everyone looked around
Until at last she was found
Then we celebrated our good senorita.

Beau

Beau is a good-natured cat who does a lot to help out in the cat-blogging community. He has been a steady contributor to the Prayers and Praise blog from its very beginning. He does the Sunday Sermons there and is always on the alert for cats and people who need our help and prayers.

                                       Our friend Beau is a Southern gent
                                       With a kind heart and words well-meant.
                                                He has paws to pray
                                                And connect every day.
                                       He gives sermons full of encouragement.

Cheysuli

The CatBlogosphere is all a-buzz about the upcoming wedding of Cheysuli and Latte. They may even adopt Princess Tara. This is just one of Cheysuli's many accomplishments. She won the Ms Litterbox competition and she is running for President. She does all this and still has time to relax on a pretty rug, looking gorgeous. Many humans would love to know how she does it. I think the answer is pretty simple -- she's a Meezer.

                                               Cheysuli is running for President.
                                               She'll all the kitties represent.
                                                         "A Cat Pres is great!"
                                                         "Cheysuli '08!"
                                               Read the signs of every cat resident.

Sammy

I did Miles a couple of days ago, so now it's Sammy's turn. I really like this picture of Sammy because it shows off his very blue eyes. Sammy is a fun-loving Meezer who likes to perfom gravity experiments in the middle of the night if he needs some attention. He also knows how to turn off the alarm in the morning. Sammy is actually getting two limericks because I know that he lays claim to all the toys, but I don't know just how he keeps Miles from playing with them. Here are two possible ways.

Sammy and Miles are two Meezer boys,
But Sammy's the one with all the toys.
Under the couch, under the chair,
Under the bed, look everywhere.
Where has Sammy hidden the toys?

Sammy and Miles are two Meezer boys,
But Sammy's the one with all the toys.
"Don't you dare touch one hair
Of that mousie right there.
It's mine!" snarls Sammy, when Miles annoys.