Boo

This is Boo, lounging in a nice sunspot.  Boo is the second smallest cat at Manx Mnews and the sweetest.  She really loves her Mom and this makes Abby jealous sometimes.  This means that Boo gets her Mom time in a room with a closed door, so it's just the two of them.  Boo isn't terribly fond of the other cats.  Abby picks on her, Ping and Gracie are too rambunctious for her, and Jinx just kind of ignores her.  Boo would rather spend her time by herself up on the cat tree or lying in a sunspot, or in Mom's lap.  She does explore the house and examine things, but usually leaves off what she is doing if another cat shows up.  Boo, Jinx and Ping are all littermates who showed up at their present forever home one day in August of 2004 after some cruel person dumped them.  They were the first cats to arrive.

                                        Sweet little Boo plays by herself.
                                        Ping, Jinx and Gracie are too rowdy by half,
                                                  And Abby whaps her,
                                                  Which puts a damper
                                       On playing with her, so Boo plays by herself.

Dinah and The Mites

Dinah
Solitair Noir
Nigel

Earl Gray

Bond

BJ (Brutus, Jr.)
Autumn
I promised that I would try to help Dinah and her Mites find forever homes, so I am putting an appeal here on my blog, too.  The link will take you directly with the post about how to adopt Dinah or any of her Mites.  I have also put up a rather crude link on my sidebar.  It is recommended that, if you can, you take two of the Mites, as they are very playful and strongly bonded to each other.  Dinah and the Mites have all been tested for diseases and have been pronouced perfectly healthy by a vet.

Dinah found her way to the home of Missy and KC, very pregnant, and was taken in immediately.  ML immediately took her to the vet and found out that she was quite young (she's about 10 months old now) and healthy.  She gave birth to her Mites on July 31.  Dinah has been a very good mother to them all.  For the whole story, see the beginning on Missy and KC's blog and the rest on the Mites' own blog.

                                    Dinah and her Mites need good forever homes.
                                    They need to be inside, so not one of them roams.
                                              So open your heart
                                              And give them a start
                                   On finding out what life is like in good forever homes.

Gigolo Kitty

This is Gigolo Kitty, the most outrageous cat in the blogosphere.  His is the most unique blog I have ever seen.  It portrays his constant search for love, money and adventure in photo-cartoon form.  He doesn't post often, but when he does it is always hilarious.  He lives with his Unfortunate Mistress and her roommate, Evil Troll.  He is always in trouble of one kind or another.  He went missing for quite a long time, but now he is back, with a new story just about to begin.

                                              Gigolo Kitty has returned at last.
                                              We feared his adventures were in the past.
                                                     Now his exploits droll,
                                                     Starring Evil Troll
                                              And Unfortunate Mistress, will come thick and fast.

Abby

Here is Abby, looking sweet as can be.  I chose this picture because I love her beautiful amber eyes and her long white whiskers.  Abby is a Manx and quite small.  She only weighs four pounds at eight years old.  She is the oldest of the cats at Manx Mnews and the Alpha cat, though she was the last to be adopted.  I learned from reading about Abby that not only are Manx cats tailless, their internal structure is a bit different, making them a bit more high maintenance than "regular" cats.  Abby was in her first home for three years, but her people decided that they didn't want to take care of her any more, due to the extra care that she required.  They gave her to some neighbors, with whose six-year old Abby had bonded.  She stayed there for another three years, but the father of the family never really liked her and made the poor little girl take her to a shelter.  The problem this time was that she was too affectionate and wanted attention too often to suit him.  Her forever Mom saw her there and fell in love with her immediately.  This was a little ironic, as she had gone to the shelter to look for a cat with a long, floofy tail.  Abby was delighted to be out of the shelter, but not at all happy to find out that she hadn't been taken back to her little girl.  In time, though, a very strong bond has developed between her and her Mom.  Abby soon took over as Alpha cat, despite her small size, by being a no-nonsense type of girl.  She now gets along pretty well with the other cats, though she and Boo have frequent disagreements.  Abby can stop Ping and Jinx from play-fighting with a glare and an aggressive posture if she thinks they are getting too rough.  Abby never learned to play with toys, but she loves her cardboard scratcher and the nip.  She still tears around the house as if her butt were on fire on occasion.

                                        Abby is the Alpha Manx,
                                        For which the other cats give thanks.
                                                She can stop a brawl
                                                With effort so small.
                                        Abby really gets respect from the ranks.

Derby

Here is a good picture of Derby upon top of the refrigerator.  He likes it up there, so he can see everything that is going on. Derby first lived with an elderly lady who had him declawed on all four paws when he had his hoo-haw-ectomy.  When she died, he was taken to a shelter where his present Mom found him.  He has lived with her since Derby Day in 2005, which is how he got his name.  He will be four years old next month.  Derby is a sassy cat, often getting into minor trouble and talking back to his Mom.  He got his collar off once and hid it so well that his Mom didn't find it for days.  Derby likes to play and watch the birdies through the sliding glass doors.  He loves sleeping with his Mom.  He is a very affectionate cat, even though he is sassy.  Every week he brings us Fang Shui Friday, which is a lot of fun.  I am not at all sure how to pronounce Fang Shui, so if the rhyme is wrong, please point it out to me and I will fix it.  UPDATE:  I found out the correct pronunciation for Fang Shui (thanks, Cheysuli) and the rhyme has been corrected.

                                               Derby is a very sassy cat.
                                               There is absolutely no doubt about that.
                                                           He studies Fang Shui,
                                                           So he knows the right way.
                                               Let's celebrate Derby, the Sassy Cat.

Percy

Here is Percy, lying on a magazine.  There is something about a glossy magazine that Percy simply cannot resist.  He will lick and lick the pages.  He even licked a hole in one page once.  Percy is a bit on the timid side.  When he first arrived at his new forever home, he barely came out of the bedroom for eight months.  After the big move, he hid under the bed for a very long time.  He is a bit more out and about now.  He loves the cat condo and the tunnel that the grandparents got for the kitties.  He likes to sleep on his Dad's legs, which keeps Dad from moving most of the night.  Percy is very partial to pants.  If anyone leaves a pair of pants out, Percy will nap on them.  He never lies down on any other piece of clothing, though.

                                         Percy likes to sleep on trousers.
                                         He snuggles in for a nap, then, wowsers!
                                               He sheds like mad.
                                               Now aren't you glad
                                         That for Percy's sake you left out your trousers?

Emily

Here is Emily, looking cute.  The Cats Stevens recently moved and Emily's new favorite place is the side of the bathtub, especially when the Mom is taking a bath.  There is a cute picture of this on their blog, but I chose this picture because it shows Emily's sweet face much better.  Emily prays for what she wants.  When she wants something, she sits up on her back paws and puts her front paws together.  When Emily wants to try out the food, she scoops some up in her front paw, then tastes it.  Emily sleeps with her Mom, but doesn't sleep through the night.  Every night she wakes up at least once, then feels the need for some petting.  She gently wakes up her Mom, who then pets her head a little, then they both go back to sleep.

                                            Emily will wake her Mom up for a pet.
                                            She's just as loving as a cat can get.
                                                      She snuggles and purrs
                                                      On that Mom of hers.
                                            It is the best way to wake up yet.

Card from Adan and Michico

I got my package from Adan and Michico on Thursday, but it's taken me until now to get a picture I could show you.  I love this picture of Adan reaching for a piece of tape.  Michico wrote me a very nice message on the back and there was Adan's pawprint, too.  There was also a wonderful bookmark, which I shall use often.  Thank you so much, Michico and Adan.

Eliot

This is Eliot playing with a ball and squiggle that came in The Cats Stephens' summer Secret Paws package.  Eliot is a very smart cat and spends a lot of time figuring out how things work.  He understands how doors work and can get some of the kitchen cabinets open.  Now the Mom puts rubber bands on the knobs to keep him out.  However, Emily has found out how to get the rubber bands off.  Eliot is the treat monster of his house.  He will do anything for treats, including trying to swipe them from the other kitties.  Eliot also loves bouncy balls and will come running from wherever he is if he hears one bounce.  The thing he like to do most, though, is investigate anything new with his paws.  Everything that comes into the house must be investigated and pawed by Eliot.

                                          If it is new, it gets touched by Eliot's paw.
                                          He must touch it and smell it; that's Kitty Law.
                                                If he had his way,
                                                Nothing new would stay
                                          That was not approved by Eliot's paw.

Abbie

Here is Abbie, helping out in the kitchen.  She likes the kitchen so much that she usually sleeps there, too.  Abbie loves to nibble on her Mom's toes.  She does it so gently that her Mom says that it tickles.  Don't wave a tail in her direction!  She can't resist pouncing on a moving tail.  Abbie and her three siblings were all adopted from shelters.  Yay for their Mom and Dad for opening their hearts to shelter kitties!

                          Abbie likes to help in the kitchen.
                          Her Momma finds this most bewitchin'.
                                  She loads the dishes
                                  With fervent wishes
                           From her Mom that nothing breaks in her kitchen.

Meow Like a Pirate

Your Pirate Name Is...

Surgeon Buxom Betty

What's Your Pirate Name?

My pirate name is:

Red Prudentilla Rackham

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Today is Meow like a Pirate Day, so get on your pirate gear, brush up on your pirate lingo and go for it.

                                                Meow like a pirate!  You know you wants to.
                                                Use colorful language and really cool fonts, too.
                                                          "Argh, matey!"  "Avast!"
                                                          "Curse your eyes!" and "Blast!"
                                                Will be heard on the blogs and other haunts, too.

Gretchen

Here is Gretchen in her brand new box bed.  Her old one wore out.  She really likes this new one because it is purple (her favorite color) and red and it has room for her sweetheart, Yoggie, to come snuggle with her.  Gretchen is three years old and has been with her current beans since she was a little kitten.  She really loves her Mom and has been known to squeeze between her Mom and the computer to get some much-needed attention.  Gretchen is a very clever cat and writes her own poetry.  What you can also see in her new box bed are the fluffheads.  She is quite fond of sleeping with them, but they don't provide much intellectual stimulation.  Gretchen's favorite toys are her mousies, her feather wand and her collection of 84 pink balls.  Catnip doesn't have much of an effect on her, but she does like playing with a catnip stuffed hamster on occasion.  Gretchen is an indoor only kitty and loves having the windows open for fresh air and interesting scents.

                                               Gretchen lies in a box near the computer.
                                               She sees lots of kitties, but none cuter
                                                       Than Yoggie, her sweet.
                                                        When in dreams they meet
                                               They fly 'cross the world on wings shiny as pewter.

Bailey

Here is Bailey, laughing at the idea Jade gave him of rolling in something really stinky, so the next time Kona picks her up in her mouth, she won't taste good at all.  Bailey and Jade are best friends and go hunting for rodents together.  Bailey is a Rat Terrier, so rodent hunting is right up her alley.  She is also quite a digger and had dug some holes under the fence so she could go visit the dog next door and, incidentally, get away from Kona.  The holes didn't go over well with the Dad, also known as the Master of the Universe.  They are all filled in now and Bailey hasn't dug any new ones.

                                        Bailey is quite the little digger.
                                        The holes start small, but then get bigger.
                                                Under the fence,
                                                To take her hence,
                                         When Kona is chasing Bailey the digger.

Stuff

Remember when I said that I had stuff going on that ate up my time and made it really difficult for me to do all the blog visiting that I wanted to?  Well, now I have even more stuff going on and it's getting to me a bit.  Sometimes, I just feel like I need to do something else, like watch some Doctor Who or play a role-playing game and go off in a dungeon and kill some monsters to blow off stress.  I will be blogging almost every day, but I just can't do it every day, like I intended when I started this blog.  That said, my real post for tonight will be up shortly.

Kona

This is Kona, one of the two woofies who lives with Lord Jaders.  She is a young dog, but still quite a bit larger than either Jade or Bailey.  She loves to play with the Mom and Dad and the Sticky Little People.  She also loves to chase Bailey and Jade.  Kona sometimes catches Bailey or Jade and when she does, she picks them up and carries them around for a little bit.  She never hurts them at all, but she does get slobber all over them.  Kona thinks this is hilarious, but neither Bailey nor Jade like it very much.  Now before you start to think, "Oh, meany Kona," Jade has been known to tease Kona, then make a dash for higher ground.

                                           Kona likes to play Chase the Kitty.
                                           Sometimes she catches her and it isn't pretty.
                                                     She gets dog slobber
                                                     All over Jade's fur.
                                           Jade really dislikes losing Chase the Kitty.

Lord Jaders

This is Lord Jaders up in her special tree.  This is one of her favorite spots and where she goes when she wants to get away from the woofies.  She lives with her beans and two woofies, Kona and Bailey.  Bailey is her best friend, but she doesn't get along with Kona so well because Kona just loves to chase her.  Jade is a silver tabby who is very gentle and lets Little Sticky People play with her without any problems.  She doesn't like people food at all.  She doesn't have any toys, because the Little Sticky People took them all.  This doesn't bother her because she would rather play with the people and woofies anyway.  She caught a dove once, but let it go unharmed.

                                   Lord Jaders climbs her tree to look around
                                   And sees the woofies down on the ground.
                                                 Her tongue she sticks out
                                                 When the woofies shout,
                                  'Cause she knows they can't get her so far from the ground.

Badness

Here is Badness, taking it easy on the couch.  Now how did such a sweet-looking kitty get a name like Badness?  Well, Badness can be a really tough cookie, especially with Daisy, the dog.  Badness likes to be in charge and she lets everyone know it.  She was the first cat to be adopted.  She was in a box in front of a supermarket, under a Free Kittens sign and she was the last one left.  The Mom took her home and Badness took over.  She is really affectionate with the Mom and Scrappy, though, so she's not all that bad.  Badness has a thing for wet hair.  When the Mom washes her hair, Badness wants to lick it and lick it.  She can't stand the hair dryer, though, so when that comes out, Badness splits.

                                      Badness would love to dry Momma's hair.
                                      She would lick it and lick it to dry it with care.
                                              Out comes the blowy-thing,
                                              There goes Badness -- zing!
                                      Momma says she can dry her own hair.

Scrappy

This is Scrappy, up on top of the cat tree, which is one of her favorite places. Scrappy was born under her Mom's parents' house and lived there until the Mom took her home.  She enjoys playing, but she really doesn't like it at all when Tucker pounces her.  She hisses at him and smacks him.  Some cats will think Scrappy is a little odd, as she doesn't like Stinky Goodness.  Her favorite way to get a drink of water is to jump into the sink and let the tap water drip on her head.  Then she drinks the water that falls off her head into the sink.  She thinks water tastes better after it has been filtered through fur.

                                           Scrappy likes to drink from the sink,
                                           But she doesn't do it the way you would think.
                                                  She sticks her head
                                                  Under the tap instead
                                            And drinks the water that drips in the sink.

Tucker

This is Tucker, getting high as a kite on the primo nip that Hot(M)BC sent in their secret paws package in July.  Tucker is the only boy in a family of three cats and one dog.  He loves his nip and he also really loves playing with toys.  His favorite is the trackball.  What he really loves to do, though, is pounce on his sisters and Daisy, the dog.  His sisters don't enjoy it much, but Daisy loves it.  Tucker and Daisy have a great time wrestling with each other and playing chase through the house.

                                                Tucker likes to pounce the other kitties.
                                                They don't like it and get the snitties.
                                                           So he pounces Daisy,
                                                           And they play like crazy,
                                                Much to the relief of the other kitties.

Daisy Sunshine

This is Daisy Sunshine. She is a small dog, not much bigger than the three cats she lives with and she loves to play in the snow. The only thing she doesn't like about snow is when she is out playing in it and is told to sit. Then she freezes her poor little bum. Daisy also likes to play with the cats, especially Tucker. She has her dog toys and the cats have their cat toys, but Daisy likes to play with some of the cat toys, too. She especially has a lot of fun with the trackball. Unfortunately, Dread Pirate Blogger ate a year's worth of Furry Logic, including all the Gotcha stories, so I can't tell you those.

Daisy Sunshine likes to play in the snow.
She kicks it and bites it and puts on a show.
She sits on her bum --
It starts to get numb.
That's one thing Daisy hates about snow.

Nice Matters

I feel very honored.  Both Gretchen and Mr. Hendrix have nominated me for this award.  I do believe that being nice matters very much and I do my best.  I must say that I think the Cat Blogosphere is one of the nicest places on the internet and I find great joy in being a small part of  it.  Now for the really fun part, passing the award on.  I give this award to all the cats at Bad Kitty Cats, because, although they are very mischievious cats, they are very nice to everyone and do a lot to help less fortunate cats.  I also give this award to all the cats at Forty Paws because they are all very nice cats and are also very helpful to everyone.

Boy

Here is Boy, the Genius Cat, with his favorite pink box.  He has learned how to use this box as a percussion intrument by lifting the lid and letting it go.  The box lid then falls back down with a satisfying thump.  He has also learned how to lift up the lid far enough to crawl into the box, then let the lid back down with himself in the box.  He can then thump the box lid from inside to his heart's content.  He really loves to do this at way too early in the morning, just to wake up his Mom.  Waking Mom up way too early is Boy's favorite pastime and this is only one of the many ways he has devised to do it.  Boy was born on or about November 15, 1993 to a feral mom who hung around a provision store near his present Mom's apartment.  His present Mom found him when he was very young, not yet completely weaned, but with no cat mother in sight.  She took him home and found out that he was a sick little boy, covered in fleas and with a runny tummy.  His new Mom took him to the vet and got him all fixed up.  He is now a very healthy cat and loves living with his Mom.  When he was about seven years old, him Mom moved, which he found to be a rather traumatic experience, but he is all settled in now.  Recently his Mom spent two months in China and brought back some really lovely pictures.  Boy has them up on his blog and they are really worth seeing.

                                              Boy uses a box to play percussion.
                                              This has prompted quite a discussion.
                                                       "Why three in the morning?"
                                                       Asks Mom without warning.
                                               Boy says, "That is the best time to play percussion."

Goodbye, Ayla

I found this image on the Cat Blogosphere site and I am not sure who originated it, but thank you; it's great.  I found the Cat Blogosphere itself through Max the Psychokitty, whom I found through Mows, which I found through the online site of Dilbert.  That was quite a while ago.  One of the first cat blogs I started reading when I started clicking on Max's links was Alya the Grump.  She had an attitude, similar to Max's, but also quite different.  Her outlook was a grumpy, elderly lady cat, surrounded by younger cats, whom she called the Brats.  She often gave one of them a good thump for annoying her.  There is one in particular, called The Annoying One, who wanted to cuddle with Ayla, who definitely did not want to be cuddled with.  Ayla treasured her privacy and mostly wanted to be left alone to eat and sleep in peace.

I am really going to miss Ayla.  I feel like I have lost an old and treasured friend.  I loved her grumpy ways and smart remarks.  I am going to miss all her "Bah"s when she comtemplated the strange ways of humans.  I am going to miss all the smiles she gave me when I read her accounts of what was happening around her.  Ayla had cancer and it had gotten to the point where her Mom was wondering how she would know when it was time to help Ayla cross the Rainbow Bridge.  Ayla took matters into her own paws and left on her own.

                                        Ayla decided not to wait any more.
                                        She said her goodbyes and went off to explore
                                                The path over the ridge
                                                That leads to the Bridge.
                                       We say goodbye, Ayla, though our hearts are sore.

Blade

This is Blade of The Zoo as a kitten.  He is the one standing up.  The other two kitties are Shawn and Rocky.  He looks just the same now, but bigger.  Blade, named after the Wesley Snipes character in the movie of the same name,  got his name because he scratched up the Mom pretty good when she tried to catch him the first time.  It took several months to catch him.  He was orphaned near the Dad's office when his mother was hit by a car.  The people from the office fed him, but he wouldn't let anyone get near him for quite some time.  The Mom finally caught him and took him to his forever home.  He is still quite a fighter.  He knows perfectly well that Snowy is the Alpha Cat, but Blade wants to be the Alpha.  He is always starting rumbles in the hall and annoying the other cats.  Every once in a while, Snowy smacks him down, just to show him who is really the boss.  Blade likes his cat food just fine, but he really loves chicken.  He has been known to steal whole pieces of chicken if they are left unattended for even a very short time.  The Mom usually gives him a bite of chicken when she is cooking, but one time the chicken was still very hot from being cooked.  She warned him, but Blade wouldn't listen.
                                               
                                              Blade got some chicken that was too hot.
                                              It burned his mouth, so he spit it out.
                                                                He whapped it around
                                                                Until it cooled down,
                                              Then he ate the chicken, 'cause he likes it a lot.

                                              

Doin' the Monty Q

 

                                                      The Lolcats are doin' the Monty Q.

Dinah's Mites are doin' it, too.

The cool cats in the contest did the Monty Q.

How about you?

                                              Everyone is doin' the Monty Q.
                                              Follow along and you can do it, too.
                                                    Lie on the floor, front legs out,
                                                    Back legs, too, and give a shout,
                                              'Cause now you are doin' the Monty Q.