Sprankeltje

Happy Halloween, everyone.  There has been good news and bad news lately.  Miss Peach is eating again, which is very good news.  Mia ran off to the Rainbow Bridge a few hours ago, which is very bad news.  Please go congratulate Miss Peach and give condolences to Mia's family.

Some of you are wondering about the Dutch cookies in LOKi's post.  All I know about them is that they are called stroopwafels.  The photo is of Sprankeltje, usually called Bean, sitting on the very edge of a chair back.  She loves to do this, but then she starts to fall asleep.  She gets more and more relaxed, her head sinks lower and lower on her chest, then she falls off the chair back.  She never gets hurt doing this and she never seems to learn to get down before she falls asleep.  Sprankeltje is Dutch for Little Sparkle, which suits her well.  Her nickname is Bean, shortened from String Bean, because when she first came to live at her forever home she had very long legs and a small body.  She has filled out quite a bit since then, but the name has stayed.  Bean is a very thoughtful kitty.  Whenever she has to throw up, she makes a certain meow to alert her Mom that she is about to hurl.  Unfortunately, she also likes to find a hidey spot before she throws up, so her Mom doesn't always find her in time.

                                          Bean alerts Mom when she's about to hurl,
                                          Because she is such a thoughtful girl.
                                                  Mom rushes to fetch
                                                  Something to catch
                                          Whatever it is Bean is going to hurl.

LOKi

This is LOKi.  He is a big mancat who lives with his sister, called Bean, and his humans.  He hasn't blogged since July, but the archives make interesting reading.  He likes snuggling with his Mom, spying on the neighbors, digging almost to China, licking his Mom whenever she is wearing perfume or sunblock (it has a flavor) and teasing his sister.  He also likes cookies, especially ginger snaps and Dutch cookies.  He loves his toys, espcially the nip ones.  In fact, he loves nip in any form.  When the Christmas tree goes up, he loves drinking the water the tree sits in.

                                        LOKi is a cat whom variety favors.
                                        First he is there, spying on the neighbors.
                                                  Then he digs a hole
                                                  For whatever goal.
                                         Then he is begging for cookies, especially Dutch flavors.

Tyler

I'd like to introduce you all to Tyler.  He's the middle kitty in a houseful of five.  He has two older sisters, Kali and Cookie, and a younger sister, Sophie, and a younger brother, Jake.  Sophie and Jake are still kittens and give Tyler a bit of grief, but he looks after them like a good big brother should.  Tyler is pretty new to blogging, having just started in July.  His blog is a fun read.  Tyler is an active fellow.  He really likes to get hold of plastic, so he can chew on it.  His Mom is always on the lookout and takes it away from him before he can chew on it too much.  Tyler is very clever and has figured out how to open all the cabinet doors in the kitchen.  He is also quite good at taking off his collar and hiding it.  He likes his Temptations, but he always gives them a good sniff before eating them.  Tyler is pretty easy going, but when he gets nipped up, he puts the bitey on everything around him, including the other kitties and his Mom.  He has developed a fondness for cookies and because he can open the cabinet doors, he sometimes just helps himself.

                                           Cookies are what Tyler likes to bite,
                                           Though his Mom keeps them out of sight.
                                                          The cupboard with care
                                                          He opens and there
                                          He pulls out the cookies and from each takes one bite.

Get Well, Miss Peach

I only found out very late last night (early this morning) that the CatBlogosphere has tagged everyone for Adan's meme for Miss Peach.  I got up extra early this morning so I could join in.  Here is the meme, as written by Adan:

Hey, everyone, this time, I decide to start this cherish meme, here are some ways (depends on which person you write), and bring our love to Miss Peach~! She always makes us know what love is!
1. tell us what is the most sweetest warm thing you will do to your mommy (what is the sweetest thing that your kitty will do to you)
2. And, hug your mommy, tightly... (and, hug your kitty....tightly...)
3. Tag your good friend...
4. Leave your computer, and continuing hug each other...

I only have memories of cats who came before, but here is one I particularly remember with fondness.  Louise and I had a nightly ritual.  I would go to bed and lie down on my back.  Louise would jump up on my chest and make biscuits, without using her claws,  and purr.  She would continue to purr until we both fell asleep.

Thank you, Monty Q for the second graphic.

Please get better, Miss Peach.  We all love and cherish you deeply.

Ivy

I made a mistake about Ivy in yesterday's post.  She has been in the StrangeRanger house over a winter, so the limerick wasn't premature.  She has absolutely no desire to ever go 
outside again.  She wandered into the yard on May 3, 2006.  She was in very bad shape: starving, so badly bitten by fleas that she had anemia from it, fur all matted, sores on her sides.  She got an immediate trip to the vet and was boarded there for a time while the Ranger household tried to find her home.  She had been wearing a collar, but no tag, so she had belonged to someone at some time.  No one claimed her, though, and no one else wanted to adopt her, so she came home with the Rangers.  She and Maddie were kept apart for quite a while, as Maddie didn't like the idea of another cat in her house at all.  There were a few issues, but the two cats are getting along pretty well now.  Ivy is about 15 years old.  She is not a tear around the house type, but she has taken quite a fancy to the new dining room carpet.  She rolls around on it and rubs her face against it.  She looks like a cat with catnip, but there is no catnip involved.  Her favorite sleeping position is in a chair with her feet up.  She can stay like that for hours, sound asleep.

                                         Ivy likes to sleep with her feet in the air,
                                         Propped up on the back of her favorite chair.
                                                         She can sleep for hours
                                                         With her legs like towers
                                          And her feet sticking way up in the air.

Maddie

Before I get on with Maddie's story, I would like to say how much I hope that Miss Peach will start feeling better very soon.  I think the whole CatBlogosphere is very worried about her and we all wish her well.  Hugs to her Mommy and Lapdaddy.

I couldn't find a picture of Maddie walking around in the snow, so here is a picture of her enjoying bubbles.  She really likes playing with bubbles, but she doesn't like the catnip kind, just the regular kind.  She also really enjoys lying in any sunspots she finds.  Maddie is a cat who really likes to play and she can be very demanding when she wants someone to play with her.  She enjoys catnip toys very much.  She recently turned seven, but that hasn't slowed her down any.  She lives with her beans and another cat, named Ivy.  Maddie didn't like it much when Ivy came to live with her and she still doesn't like it much, but she is much more tolerant of Ivy now.  Maddie is a Maine Coon and likes to go outside on her harness in all kinds of weather, except rain.  Unlike most cats I know, she even likes the snow.  The cold doesn't bother her because of her very thick coat.  Ivy hasn't been there for a winter yet, so the limerick is a bit premature, but based on Ivy's total disinterest in going outside ever again, I think the reaction described will be a true one.

                                          Maddie really loves to walk in the snow.
                                          She's ready to put on her harness and go.
                                                    The cold never fazes her.
                                                    In fact, it amazes her
                                         That Ivy never wants to put toes in the snow.

G.T.

This is G.T. up on top of one of the cat trees at Forty Paws, showing off his splint after he broke his leg about a year ago.  G.T. is  probably the most active cat at Forty Paws.  He loves to tear around the house like his butt was on fire, racing across the floor, leaping up on furniture, jumping from the top of the cat tree to the top of the china cabinet and back again.  One day he missed his jump from the top of the cat tree to the top of the china cabinet and broke his leg in three places.  He had to wear a splint for 12 weeks, but that didn't stop him from climbing up to the top of the cat trees.

G.T. is seven years old.  He loves people food, especially aerosol whipped cream, grated sharp cheddar cheese, salmon patties and Maw's homemade chicken pot pie.  He does not like tuna.  G.T. is the cat most likely to start a game of Thundering Herd of Elephants.  He has also picked up Dorf's habit of picking on Reno, Obi and Bow, but he gets into trouble for that.  He will often wait crouched at the cat flap to the cat enclosure, hoping some bird will mistakenly blunder in there.  If one does, he is on it in a flash.

                                  G.T. runs through the house like his tail is on fire.
                                  He leaps from the cat tree to get even higher.
                                                  He once broke his leg
                                                  And walked with a peg,
                                 But he still climbed the cat tree, 'cause he likes it up higher.

Baby Mao

Here are pictures of Baby Mao and some of his handiwork.  Or should that be paw-work?  The most distinctive thing about Baby Mao is the way he manages to spread poo prints all over the house.  He often has an aroma about him, too.  He is so famous for it that he has started the Smelly Cat Club.  Baby Mao is Yao-lin's little brother and is a little over a year old.  Yao-lin wasn't thrilled with getting a little brother at first and he still complains about Baby Mao quite a bit, but they seem to be getting along most of the time.  Baby Mao is an energetic lynx-point Meezer and often tears around the house like his tail is on fire.  He loves to play, play, play with all his toys and with Yao-lin.  The one thing he cannot stand is being alone.  If he finds himself alone in a room, he will cry.  This usually results in someone coming to find out what is the matter, then he is happy again.

                                             Baby Mao always smells of poo
                                             Despite anything his beans can do.
                                                   He leaves brown prints
                                                   On leather or chintz.
                                              Oh, Baby Mao, what did you doo?        

Miz Allie Cat

I would like to introduce you to Miz Allie Cat.  She is a sixteen year old calico cat who lives with her Mom and a dog named Foxy.  She seems to get along with the dog pretty well, though she uses an occasional whap to keep the dog in line.  She has only been blogging since August, but she gives lots of very helpful advice on living with and caring for cats.

                                            Miz Allie Cat gives very good advice.
                                            No kitty ever has to ask twice
                                                  About good food to eat
                                                  Or how to treat
                                             Troublesome hairballs.  And she's so nice.

Award and Book Stuff

Cat Naps in Italy were kind enough to give me this award. Thank you very much Opus and Roscoe. I would like to pass it along to Oreo, my buddy who encouraged me to start this blog, and Oscar in Australia.

I would like to pass the Sweet Award on to Meep and Twizzler. They are both very sweet kitties.

I have gotten several comments lately about collecting the limericks together into a book. This is a project that I will undertake at some time. It will take an awful lot of limericks to fill up a book, but I would like some input from all of you about what should go into it. It will, of course, include all the limericks from the blog, but should it be just the limericks, or should I include the information about the subjects of the limericks, too? Would you like to see the limericks which did not make it onto the blog because I thought of better ones? Should I include limericks that I have written for other projects? Should I write some limericks just for the book, so there will be new material? Please let me know your thoughts, or any suggestions you might have. I have made a good start, as I will post my 200th limerick tomorrow.

Buzzerbee

It just didn't feel right to write about Meep and Twizzler and not include Buzzerbee, even though he went to the Bridge in June.  I got permission from his Mom first, because I didn't want to cause any more pain, but she said that she would like a limerick for Buzzerbee, too.

I started reading the adventures of Buzzerbee and Meep when I first started reading cat blogs.  They got a new blog in 2006, so I couldn't check on some of the stuff I remember about Buzzerbee, so I have to trust my memory.  I remember Buzzerbee as being quite a character.  I distinctly remember a picture of him in the fanlight of the door.  No one could figure out how he got up there, but he was enjoying the view.  Buzzerbee was adopted as an adult cat from Kitty Angels.  No one knew for sure how old he was, but he was an active kitty and a bit mischievious.  He was an only kitty for a couple of years, as being FIV+ he could only live with other FIV+ kitties.  Then his Mom and Dad found Meep at Kitty Angels and brought him home.  Buzzerbee didn't like this turn of events at all at first, but soon he and Meep became fast friends.  They loved to pounce each other and wrestle, with Buzzerbee doing most of the pouncing and Meep doing most of the head bopping.

The two pictures were taken last December.  In the first one, Buzzerbee is telling Meep that it's time to be nice to each other because Santa Paws is watching.  After the head bop from Meep, Buzzerbee is laughing and telling Meep that Santa Paws saw that and now Meep is going to get kitty litter in his stocking.  Meep seems quite crestfallen.  I chose these two pictures because this is the way I remember Buzzerbee best.

                                                 Buzzerbee loved to play with Meep.
                                                 Buzz would pounce him when Meep was asleep.
                                                           Meep would bop with a paw;
                                                           Buzzerbee would guffaw.
                                                 How they loved to play, Buzzerbee and Meep.

Twizzler

First, some very good news.  My brother and sister-in-law got home about 9pm Wednesday.  The flight went fine and my sister-in-law is feeling pretty good.  She is going in to see her doctor today, just to make sure her lungs are OK again, but my brother feels that her problems on that score are over.  Thanks again for all your purrs and prayers.

This is Twizzler, Meep's new brother.  That's his name because he is long and skinny and likes to twist around a lot.  In fact, he's a chocolate Twizzler.  He's a Meezer and he likes to talk a lot.  That suits Meep just fine, because Meep likes to talk a lot, too.  He is FIV+, like Meep, and about five years old.  He is very friendly and he and Meep took to each other right away.  The Mom and Dad brought him home from Dr. Wendy's vet office on August 22nd.  He was found roaming around by himself, very skinny and anemic, very near the vet office and Dr. Wendy took him in to try to find him a home.  No one knows why he was on his own, but he has a very good home now.  Twizzler had to be isolated from Meep until September 19th because he turned out to be a little sick when he first came home and because they had to run his feline leukemia test twice, just to make very sure that he didn't have anything bad that he could give to Meep.  You have to be very cautious with FIV+ cats because their immune systems are compromised.  Meep and Twizzler got acquainted through the door while Twizzler was isolated, so that when Twizzler finally got to come out, they already knew each other a bit.  Now they play and snuggle together all the time.

                                                 Twizzler is a chocolate seal-point Siamese.
                                                 He fit his way into Meep's house with ease.
                                                       He stayed by himself-y
                                                       'Til they knew he was healthy.
                                                Now he and Meep love each other to tease.

Meep

This is Meep with his lion cut.  He gets these periodically because he is a very floofy cat and he gets terrible mats and tangles.  He doesn't groom himself for some reason and daily brushings just can't keep up with the mats that he develops.


This is how Meep looks most of the time.  Here he is with his favorite toy, Pookie.  He also has a favorite pillow, which he kisses every night before going to sleep on it.  Meep loves to investigate paper bags.  Meep is about four years old and FIV+, which means he can only live with other FIV+ cats.  He was originally adopted as a brother and playmate for Buzzerbee, who went to the Bridge a while ago.  They loved each other very much and Meep got rather lonely without Buzz.  Now he has a new brother and playmate, Twizzler, who just moved in recently.  I'll be writing more about Twizzler tomorrow.

Meep doesn't like the process of getting his lion cut, but he really likes it once it's done.  He runs around the house and plays a whole lot more.  You can see how he's giving the scratching post a workout.

                                     Meep loves to be trimmed like a lion.
                                     It gets rid of the mats and tangles so tryin'.
                                         He scratches the post
                                         That he likes the most,
                                     Then throws back his head and roars like a lion.

Good News and Award

Mia and Ghost, two of the sweetest kitties I know, have given me this Halloween treat award. Thank you very much. I know who really deserves this award -- all of you who have been coming by my blog and giving me comfort, support, love, friendship, purrs, prayers, nosebumps, whisker tickles, nose licks, snuggles, cuddles and hugs. I think most of you already have this award, but I will spend some time looking to see who doesn't have it yet and update this post later.

Right now I want to share some really good news about my sister-in-law. I just heard from my brother that she is feeling really good and walking around the floor three times a day. She is now off oxygen in the hospital. They have plane reservations and will by flying home later today. Yay! My sister-in-law will need oxygen in the plane, but won't need it once she gets home. The blood clot in the lungs crisis is over. She will be checking in with her own doctor tomorrow, but the doctors in Vancouver think that she is as well as she can be for now. Thank you all so very much for helping me get through this very scary incident. I am sure that all your prayers and purrs helped tremendously.

Castle

I love this video of Castle getting crazy with the catnip cigar. Castle and Storm don't react much to catnip, so the Mom went to a pet supply store and asked them for the strongest catnip they had, to see if the two cats would react to it. The answer is obviously, yes! Castle is Storm's brother. In fact, the Mom and Dad had decided to adopt Castle, but when they went to pick him up, he and Storm were so obviously deeply attached to each other, they decided to adopt Storm, too. Castle really, really hates to go to the vet. Whenever he gets put into the PTU, he starts crying as if he were being tortured. When he was being taken in for his tooth extractions, he made so much noise that the neighbors came out to see if he were all right. Poor Castle lost five teeth on that trip, so I can't blame him at all for making such a fuss. He is feeling much better now.

                                                 Castle pounced on the catnip cigar.
                                                 He hasn't even let Storm sniff it so far.
                                                        He sniffs it and licks it,
                                                        Bites it and kicks it.
                                                 See Castle enjoy the catnip cigar!

Community Blogger Award

Both Luxor and The Cat Realm gave me this very wonderful award. This award originated here. I am so grateful. I started this blog for my own amusement and to give back to the Cat Blogosphere for all the fun I have reading the blogs and making such wonderful friends. Now I get an award for it. I am really rather overwhelmed. Thank you very much.

Now I get to pass it along. First I want to present this award to Millie. The Bizzy for Gizzy quilts started out as a way to pay for Gizzy's enormous vet bills, but now they are often auctioned off to help other kitties or beans in need.

Next I want to present his award to the House of (Mostly) Black Cats. It would be impossible to list all the charity auctions they have arranged and all the drives they have organized to help whoever needed it. They are really amazing.

Next I would like to present this award to Diva Kitty and the Fluffies. DKM knits snuggles for her local shelter and also knits them for charity auctions. I can't even imagine how many she has done and it is all for others, though I am sure that Sophia has her own.

UPDATE: My sister-in-law is responding to treatment better than expected. Keep your fingers crossed.

Harlie

Here is Harlie, Mattingly's little sister.  She was born on March 23, 2006 and was adopted when still a little kitten to be company for Mattingly.  The two of them took to each other right away, though Harlie would act a little aggressively toward Mattingly at times.  Harlie would pounce on Mattingly, they would wrestle, then Harlie would start hissing at Mattingly.  Mattingly would back off and go lie down somewhere and Harlie would pounce on him again.  They love each other very much and cannot stand being apart.  When Harlie got her ladygardenectomy, the vet said that they should be separated overnight, because Mattingly might react adversely to the vet smells and Harlie needed to rest.  That didn't work at all.  When Harlie found herself all alone in the bathroom with the door closed, she started crying and crying for Mattingly, then trying to dig under the door, then trying to reach the doorknob.  Mattingly was on the other side of the door, talking to Harlie and crying, too.  The Mom figured that all this activity wasn't doing Harlie's stitches any good, so she decided to let Harlie out.  However, Harlie had managed to lock the door and the Mom and Dad didn't have a key.  It took quite a bit of work to get the door open.  When Harlie finally came out, all Mattingly wanted to do was give her a bath.  Harlie loves all kinds of toys, but her favorite is a crocheted disk.  It started out to be a crocheted ball, but Harlie stole it before it was finished.  The Dad likes to throw it like a little frisbee and Harlie catches it with her paws, then puts it in her mouth.  Sometimes she will take it back for another throw and sometimes she just plays with it.

                                               Harlie loves her crocheted disk.
                                               Flip it into the air -- she has never missed.
                                                       She grabs it with paws,
                                                       Well-equipped with claws
                                               To catch in mid-air her crocheted disk.

Mattingly

First I want to tell you all how grateful I am for the outpouring of good wishes, purrs and prayers.  I am very touched.  I had very leaky eyes while reading the nice comments this morning, but they were tears of gratitude, not sadness.  Secondly, I have had some very good news from my brother.  It appears that the blood clot in my sister-in-laws lungs has dissolved.  The Doctor gave her a breathing test today and her O2 level never fell below 90%, even when she was off the oxygen and walking around.  This means that she very well could be discharged on Tuesday and come home.  Your purrayers really work fast!  Now on with the limericks.

This is Mattingly.  He lives in New York City with his sister Harlie and his Mom and Dad.  He was born around May 30, 2005.  His Mom and Dad found him as a dirty, sick, very hungry kitten on a street near their home and adopted him.  He is now a happy and healthy boy.  Mattingly is very shy.  He says that only about 10 people have ever petted him in his life.  When company comes, he hides under the bed and won't come out for anything.  Sometimes he stays under the bed for a couple of hours after the guests have left, just to make sure the coast is clear.  Before Harlie came, he used to lick his Mom's face quite a bit, but now he rarely licks her face at all.  Mattingly loves to play with his toys and if he can't find any he wants to play with, he will knock stuff off the tables and play with that.  He gets active and lonesome every evening about 11:00 or 11:30 and will meow loudly until Harlie comes to play with him.

                                      Mattingly is as shy as can be.
                                      He says, "Nobody strange is going to pet me!"
                                            When he hears the bell,
                                            He runs pell-mell
                                       Under the bed 'til the house is guest-free.

October Is a Rotten Month

UPDATE:  I got some good news from my brother.  My sister-in-law's condition is NOT deteriorating and her doctor thinks that there is a good chance that she may be able to come home after all.  I really, really hope that she can come home, because she will feel so much better if all her family can be near to her.  Her two sisters and two sons will be flying out to Vancouver as soon as possible to be with her and this will help her, too.

I took a picture of some fall foliage at my house, so this post wouldn't be completely depressing, but I can't get my camera to talk to my computer, so no picture.

Things are really sad around my house right now.  October 9th was the twelfth anniversary of my father's death.  On October 10th, my brother called to say that my sister-in-law is in a hospital in Vancouver with the biggest blood clot in her lungs that the doctors there have ever seen.  She may not survive long enough to come home to Albuquerque.  The day my mother and I got back from vacation in August, my brother told us that my sister-in-law had been diagnosed with terminal panceatic cancer.  It had already spread to her liver and lymph nodes and there was nothing to be done that would be of any help to her.  My brother and sister-in-law planned a short vacation as a last time to have some fun together.  They were to fly to Vancouver and board a cruise ship and sail down the coast for four days, ending in San Diego.  They got to Vancouver and my sister-in-law became ill.  The doctors are trying to dissolve the blood clot, but now there are signs that her liver is failing.  I feel so bad for them.

I feel even worse for their older son, my nephew.  Today is his birthday.  He got married last spring and his mother-in-law died of lung cancer just a couple of weeks ago.  Now his mother is dying.  He was very close to my father.  Now his birthday will be forever bracketed by his grandfather's death and his mother's.  Of course, we don't know how long she has left, but it is going to be very bad for him.

I haven't been able to write any limericks since we got the news.  I will keep trying, because it takes my mind off my sorrow, but it's just not working right now.  Maybe tomorrow.  Sorry to dump all this on you, but it helps me a bit to talk about it.

Miss Peach

Miss Peach is out of her frying pan most of the time now and even got caught up on the table licking the butter in the butter dish.  Her Mom was so glad to see her so active and interested again she served Miss Peach some butter on a china dish by her frying pan.  Breakfast (almost) in bed.  Since Miss Peach is feeling so much better, I thought I would post the limerick I was working on when I found out that she was so sick.  Miss Peach is an elderly marmalade Devon Rex with Victorian sensibilities.  She loves the finer things in life, like friends and art.  She is a very caring kitty and is always on hand to give purrs to those in sorrow or sickness.  She is simply one of the sweetest kitties around.  The limerick was inspired by a post about her inviting Adan over for tea and the picture that Michico painted of the occasion.

                                 Miss Peach is a true Victorian lady.
                                 She has nothing to do with anything shady.
                                         So proper and prim,
                                         She has tea on a whim
                                 Outside under a tree cool and shady.

Jackson

I'd like to introduce you to Jackson, a wire-haired fox terrier who lives in the UK.  He is Miss Peach's NOMSS friend and a very interesting fellow.  He is eight years old and came to his present home from a wire-hair terrier rescue in August of 2004.  He was found as a stray and starving when he was rescued.  He must have had a rough time of it, because when he first moved into his present home, he cringed any time someone raised their hand above their waist and the first time his new Dad removed his belt from his pants to get undressed, Jackson ran and hid under the bed.  He has had some health problems, including bladder stones and degenerative disc disease, but he is doing fine now.  He loves to play with toys, especially anything rubbery and loves to go on walks.  He is not terribly fond of other dogs, but he now has two close dog friends who are Irish terriers.  They all like to play together and go on walks together.  Jackson lives with his humans and four dogs on wheels named Seymour, Barnaby, Dunstan and Hamilton. He likes them because he can push them around. They occasionally blog, too. One of Jackson's favorite toys is a large red tyre (or tire in North America).  He loves to put the tyre in his bed, then root it out and toss it, then do it all over again.  He makes some interesting noises while he does this and he only makes these particular sounds while he is playing with his big red tyre.

                             Jackson loves to play with his big red tyre.
                             He growls and snarls in a way I admire.
                                    He roots in his bed
                                    With his paws and his head,
                            The better to find his big red tyre.

Andrewbun

This is Andrew Baron, usually known as Andrewbun.  He turned one year old in July.  He is a very lucky bunny.  His Mom found him when he was three weeks old, in a cage crowded with baby bunnies.  A man was selling them as food for pet snakes.  His Mom fell in love with him at once and took him home.  He shares his home with his humans, three dogs and two chinchillas.  He gets along with the dogs just fine, but he dislikes the chinchillas.  He gets lot of free time out of his hutch to play with his toys, get quality time with Mom and keep in shape by running the Bunny 500 through the house and doing binkies.  He only has to stay in his hutch at night and when his Mom is at work.  This is so he doesn't chew up everything in the house.  Bunnies do love to chew and Andrew is no exception.  He occasionally gets into trouble for chewing on the rug and wires.  Andrew also loves treats of all kinds, which take the form of banana treats, carrot treats or fresh fruit or vegetables.  He must have a treat in his bowl of pellets at night, or he will dump out the entire bowl looking for his treat.  He then refuses to eat any of the dumped pellets and his Mom has to start all over with a fresh bowl.

                                    Andrew wants his treat at night.
                                    Mom better give in without a fight.
                                              Give him his bunny crack
                                              Or he will fight back
                                    By tossing his pellets out of sight.

Storm

Writing about how Jasmine fought her cancer and lived more that a year longer than anyone expected her to live reminded me of another cat who is doing an excellent job of fighting cancer.  This is Storm, The Furry Fighter, who is an eleven year old seal point Siamese.  She was diagnosed with lymphoma in December 2006.  She went through seven months of chemotherapy and is now in remission.  The vet said that cats diagnosed with her condition usually lived six to nine months.  Storm in now in her tenth month since her diagnosis and is still doing very well, apart from occasional barfy spells, which may be due more to her developing a sensitivity to certain foods, or scar tissue on her insides from the chemo, than to her cancer.  She is truly putting up a good fight.  Storm lives with her bean Mom and Dad and Castle, her Meezer brother.  Storm has lots of fun playing with Castle and with her toys.  She doesn't usually get much of a buzz from catnip, but certain toys have more of an effect on her, which she really enjoys.  Let's cheer Storm on in her fight.

                                  Storm is a kitty who battles the odds.
                                  She's a Furry Fighter who never nods.
                                            The sick-ups may drain her,
                                             But Hope will sustain her.
                                 Storm is a kitty who will beat the odds.

Goodbye Jasmine

This is Jasmine on her very own Gizzy quilt.  This picture is from last summer, before she got so sick.  I don't remember where I first heard about Millie, but I read her story from the very beginning and that is how I met Jasmine.  Jasmine really never liked Millie and I could see her point of view.  Millie invaded HER house and made friends with HER Gizzy and took the attention of HER Mom.  That last one especially ticked Jasmine off.  Jasmine had always been Mom's lap kitty and didn't want to share.  I always had a soft spot for Jasmine.  When Millie came, Jasmine wasn't expected to live long at all.  That was in August, 2006.  She had had mammary cancer and had a tumor in her eye.  But Jasmine was a fighter.  I think that she didn't want to leave Gizzy or her Mom and so she fought with everything she had to stay alive.  Maybe when Gizzy went to the Bridge, she just gave up.  Jasmine loved Gizzy very much.  Maybe the two of them couldn't stand being apart any more, so Jasmine joined Gizzy at the Bridge.  I am really going to miss reading about her grumpy ways and how she inspected each and every Gizzy quilt personally.  You can read another limerick I wrote for Jasmine here.

                                          Jasmine, sweet Jasmine, went and Crossed Over.
                                          Now she and Gizzy are romping in clover.
                                                   Sad Mom's left behind;
                                                   With tears she is blind,
                                          But she knows that sweet Jasmine's troubles are over.

Desktop Meme

When I was mentioning in comments on this meme that my desktop was boring, this is what I was talking about.  A few months before I started blogging, I had my computer radically upgraded and the man who did it also reinstalled Windows and I couldn't find the desktop that I had been using anywhere.  I guess I was being a bit stupid, but I just couldn't figure out how to get it back.  This meme made me renew my search and I finally figured out how to get back the desktop that I had been using before.


This is my favorite image of the ones which came with Windows and the one that I had been using for a long time.  Miss Peach told me how easy it was to use any picture I had on my hard drive as a desktop, so I decided to do a little experimenting.  It didn't work quite the way she said, because of the program in which I store my photos, but I figured it out.


This is what my desktop looks like now.  I think I'll keep it for a while.  Thanks, TT, for tagging me for this meme.  It finally got me to do something about my boring desktop.

Here are the rules for the meme:

Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop.It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.


Here’s how you can do a screen capture:

1.Go to your desktop and press the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).

Mommy bean note: On a laptop you use the Fn + prt sc keys then paste it into a graphics program.

2.Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and doing a Paste (CTRL + V). If you wish, you can “edit” the image before saving it.

3.Post the picture on your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop if you want. You can explain why you prefer such a look or why it is full of icons. Things like that.

4.Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktops as well.

5.Add your name to the list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants. Others who have played:Francine of La Place de Cherie, Chez Francine, Bloggishi, Unchained Melody, LadyJava’s Lounge, Mariuca, Revellian Dot ComDesktop, Emila’s Illustrated Blog, Spiff, The Spaceman, Rolando, Brown Baron, The Kat House, MAX, Mother's Home!, I Was Born2Cree8, Skittles' Place, Faz the Cat, Sweet Ariel, The Cat Realm, TT, Kitty Limericks

I tag Tamra Maew, Baby Mao, The Big Piney Woods Cats, Boy, and Caesar and Princess.

Gracie

Gracie just loves the catnip banana.  In fact, Gracie likes anything that she can play with, especially her brother Ping.  In July 2005 the Mom and Dad at Manx Mnews had been caring for a feral cat they named Buttons, but Buttons had disappeared.  One of the places they went to look for Buttons was Animal Control.  Outside the door, there was this tabby kitten who was begging everyone who went by for attention.  When they asked about her inside, they were told that the kitten had showed up by herself a couple of weeks earlier and they were hoping someone would adopt her.  The Mom and Dad went through Animal Control, a very sad experience, but didn't find Buttons.  On the way out, they stopped again to look at the little tabby kitten and decided that they just couldn't leave her there.  So Gracie came home with them.  This turned out to be a great thing for Ping, because Ping is a very active, outgoing cat and his personality didn't match any of the other cats.  He was too rambunctious for Abby and Boo and Jinx tolerated him, but just didn't want to play as much as Ping did.  Gracie was perfect for him.  They hit it off from the very start and have been best buddies and playmates ever since.  And where is Ping's limerick, you may be asking yourself.  He was the first of the Manx Mnews cats that I did and you can find his limerick here.

                                       Youngster Gracie is Ping's best friend.
                                       The play between them will never end.
                                               They play Pounce and Chase;
                                                Down the hall they race.
                                        Gracie made Ping's lonliness end.

Jinx

Handsome Mr. Jinx is the most laid-back of the cats at Manx Mnews.  His two favorite activities are eating and napping.  He especially likes to nap on top of any pillow he can find.  He really likes his comfort.  He likes to wrestle with Ping, but Ping is the one who initiates the play.  Jinx likes to cuddle, but he does not like to be held.  He gets along just fine with all of the other cats, but curls up most often with Ping.

                                          Jinx the cat is laid back and lazy.
                                          He grins as he watches the others go crazy.
                                                 Sometimes Ping bites his tail,
                                                 Which does make him flail,
                                          But most of the time he is laid back and lazy.

Miss Peach

I was working on a limerick for Miss Peach when I found out that she had caught a nasty cold, so I wrote a "Get Well" limerick for her for today and will post her regular limerick when she is all better.  Miss Peach is an elderly cat and even a cold can be dangerous.  The good news is that she is feeling a bit better now.  I send her all my good wishes for a speedy recovery.

                                Miss Peach is sweet, warm and fuzzy,
                                But right now she's feeling a bit muzzy.
                                       She's got a bad cold,
                                       But she's fighting it bold.
                                 Please send Miss Peach thoughts warm and fuzzy.