Chase

Diamond Emerald-Eyes requested a limerick for Chase, so here it is.  I read Chase's whole blog, but never found out whether she is a ladycat or he is a mancat.  The only other Chase I know is a mancat, so I will opt for using "he" as a pronoun to refer to Chase.  UPDATE:  I found out, with a lot of help in the comments, that Chase is a ladycat, so I have changed all the "he"s to "she"s.  Thank you everyone.  This is a picture of Chase napping in the car.  She loves to go for car rides and often naps in the car.  Chase is a very special kitty.  When she was around four months old, she was hit by a car.  A very nice man took her to a vet clinic and left some money to help pay for her expenses.  Chase ended up losing a hind leg and, due to the trauma of the accident, her eyelids, nose and all the skin on her face just sloughed off.  Plastic surgery was tried twice, but didn't work.  Chase's face may look raw, but it is just tissue and she is in no pain.  Melissa had just started working at the vet clinic when Chase was brought in and she became her patient.  She would take her home with her at night and on the weekends, so she wouldn't be lonely.  Melissa ended up adopting Chase because she just fell in love with her.  Because she has no nose, Chase has no sense of smell, so she tastes things to learn more about them.  She has a kitty brother and two doggy sisters.  She would love to groom all of them, but Zooey, her kitty brother, doesn't like it, so Chase mostly grooms the dogs.  Because she has no eyelids, Chase must have drops put in her eyes several times a day.  She also likes to nap in dark places, like under the bed.  She has discovered that under the covers, curled up against her mom is the very best place to sleep.  Chase has recently joined Paws for Friendship and is now a therapy cat.  She loves going out and meeting new people and other therapy pets.  She has the cutest pink harness with little angel wings on it to wear on her trips.

                            Chase really likes to ride in the car.
                            It means she will meet new friends near and far.
                                           She's in Paws for Friendship
                                           And feels a kinship
                            To the people and pets she meets near and far.

Award and Fun Stuff

My good friend Roxy, the Devil Dog gave me this award.  I am really excited about it because it is "presented to a successful blogger, one who can “be the blog” - making it their own, staying with it, interacting with the readers, and just plain having fun."  I would like to pass this award on to Max, the Psychokitty, as he has been doing all of this longer than any of us.

I don't remember where I first saw this, but I got a real kick out of it.  Congratulations to all my readers, because you are all really smart!  Isn't that great?

Get a Cash Advance

The weird thing is that the first time I tried this (at Black Cat's blog), the result was Genius.  I guess I posted some less than genius stuff recently.  Chuckle.

Maggy

This is Maggy of Zoolatry giving her opinion of dressing up in clothes of any sort.  Maggy is a Himalayan and has a very long, thick coat.  This means that she and Zoey have to be professionally groomed every few months to keep looking their best.  They don't like it much, but they are very pleased with the results.  Maggy and Zoey are also very fond of the grandkids and can be seen snoozing with one of them in their latest post.

                             Sweet little Maggy doesn't like to wear clothes.
                             Her Mom has tried it often enough, Heaven knows.
                                     So virtually
                                     Is the way it must be.
                             It is the only way sweet Maggy wears clothes.

Donny

First, some sad news.  Kallie, big sister to Jeter Harris and Mickey Mantle, has gone to the Bridge.  Please visit them and give them some comfort.

I timed this limerick just right, because I got to snag this picture of Donny raising his paw for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.  This group helped Donny's Mom with her kidney transplant.  Donny is Marie's and Casey's brother.  He and Marie were adopted together two years ago from a rescue group.  It is very likely that Donny and Marie and littermates.  Donny loves to protect the house from any insects who invade.  He also likes to play with anything at all that has feathers on it.  Donny and Marie were adopted as company for Casey, who was really missing her big sister, Missy, who had gone to the Bridge.  Casey wasn't to thrilled with the two three-month old kittens at first, especially as they considered her tail to be the best toy ever.  They all get along pretty well now, even though Donny still considers Casey's tail to be a wonderful toy.  Donny loves his Mom best.  Whenever she sits at the computer, he will come up to her and give a mournful cry until she stops what she is doing to give him pets and scritches.  Donny is a little jealous of his Mom.  If he sees another kitty getting a lot of attention from her, he will go over and get some of the attention for himself.  Donny and Marie love to wrestle with each other.  Casey is content to sit and watch.

                                   There is a young Whitester cat named Donny,
                                   Who will pounce a feather with a "Hey, nonny-nonny!"
                                            He'll pounce Casey's tail,
                                            At which she will rail.
                                  Then he'll wrestle Marie, will young Whitester Donny.

Casey

The top picture is of Casey showing off her beautiful tummy.  I love the way she matches the carpet.  Casey is what you might call a mostly Meezer.  She has the Meezer points, build and voice, but her fur is a bit fluffier than most Meezers, though not as fluffy as a Himalayan and her tummy is a bit stripey.  She is a rescued feral and is very glad to have a forever home, even though she has to share it will Donny and Marie.  The second picture is some of Casey's handiwork at improving the house decor.  Casey loves socks and will pull them out of the dirty clothes hamper to carry them around the house and use them to decorate.  She is especially apt to do this when her Mom and Dad have left her alone with Donny and Marie for what she considers too long a time.  She will pull socks out of the hamper when her Mom and Dad are home, too.  Casey tolerates her younger siblings, though she is not terribly fond of them.  She loves catnip and will guard her catnip mouse zealously.  Casey sometimes cries when she is carrying socks around in her mouth and that leads into the limerick.

                           Casey, Meezer Diva, sings opera with socks.
                           She puts them everywhere; her decor rocks.
                                  She has tears in her eyes
                                  As she carries her prize.
                           She cries and she sings as she carries her socks.

Obi

This is Obi of Forty Paws on his very favorite cat tree.  Obi was another victim of the Crazy Cat Lady, born with Feline Herpes1, which means that he gets huge eye goobers in his right eye, which have to be wiped away frequently, and his nose runs quite a bit.  He was kept in a cage in the Crazy Cat Lady's garage for the first nine months of his life, along with Reno, Sally and Smokey.  When Obi, Sally and Smokey got horrible diarrhea, they were adopted out to another lady, who didn't keep up with their medication, and they finally ended up with Maw and Paw, who did keep up the medication and finally got the diarrhea under control.  Then Obi developed a horrible bladder infection which resulted in his getting a penile urethrostomy.  He had to wear the biggest, most uncomfortable-looking e-collar I have ever seen until he had healed up, so he wouldn't lick his privates and get scar tissue which would have made peeing very uncomforable for him.  After all that, you would expect him to be a slightly grumpy cat, but Obi is a very happy cat.  He doesn't like having his eye goobers removed, or his ears cleaned or being brushed frequently to prevent matts from developing in his armpits, but he puts up with it in good grace.  He bounces when he walks and loves to be loved.  When he first arrived at Forty Paws, he couldn't jump or climb, from being confined for so long, but you should see him now.  When he wakes up each morning, he races around the house, then climbs every cat tree, just because he can.  He is a bit afraid of things and believes in pre-emptive whapping.  If he doesn't like the way another cat is looking at him, he whaps them.  He also whaps other cats when he wants in the food bowl they are already eating from, or if they are in Maw's lap and he wants to be in Maw's lap.  Obi loves to wrestle with Sally, Reno and Smokey, but not with the other cats.  He is the only floofy cat at Forty Paws and leaves fur everywhere.  This gives him a bit of a hairball problem, but Maw is really good at keeping it under control.

                                 Obi is a cat who is happy.
                                 He loves to sit in his Maw's lappy.
                                       He runs through the room
                                       With a bounce in his zoom
                                 And climbs all the cat trees to show he is happy.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, all of you who celebrate it.  May you have a wonderful day full of family and friends and good food.  Things have been kind of rough for me lately, so I decided I better think of the things that I am thankful for.  I am thankful for in-home hospice, so that my sister-in-law and brother can spend as much time together as possible.  I am thankful that my brother has a job which let him save up his vacation days and take them now, so he can stay home with his wife.  I am thankful that my older nephew now has a wife and two lovely boys, to help him get through this difficult time.  I am thankful that when my Mother fell three weeks ago she only cracked a vertebra and didn't break anything, like her pelvis.  I am thankful for all our wonderful friends, who are making sure that my Mother gets to her doctor appointments.  I am thankful that my Mother is beginning to feel a bit better.  I am thankful for all my online friends, who have helped me so much during the bad times and provide me with so much good cheer all the time.  I am thankful that I have Thanksgiving Day and Friday off, so I can cook a good meal for my Mother and me, then rest up a bit, because I am exhausted.  Grin.  There is nothing like working in a grocery store the week before Thanksgiving to make you grateful that the big day has finally arrived.

Eric

Here is Eric playing with his favorite toy, Scruffy Rat.  Eric has had Scruffy Rat since he was a little kitten and he loves it dearly.  It is losing its fur and most of the stuffing has come out, but Eric refuses all attempts to get him a replacement.  He carries it around in his mouth, tosses it into the air, puts the bitey on it, bunny kicks it and uses it for a pillow to nap on.  Eric and Flynn are litter brothers and they are approximately the same size, but Eric weighs 21 pounds and Flynn weighs 13 pounds.  They both get exactly the same food in the same amounts, though Eric does eat more mice than Flynn.  That's because Flynn would rather catch the mice than eat them, so he gives them to Eric after he catches them, though Flynn does eat some himself.  The main difference is that Flynn is more active than Eric.  Eric would rather nap than run, while Flynn is always chasing after prey and climbing trees.  Eric can run and chase prey and climb trees, he just doesn't like doing it as much as Flynn does.

                                     Eric loves the rat which is scruffy.
                                     It's losing its fur and is not very fluffy.
                                            He carries it around
                                            And sleeps with it, sound.
                                     It's his favorite toy when he wants to play rough-y.

Flynn

Eric and Flynn are two Engligh cats who live in the country near Plymouth.  Their Mum and Dad board horses, so there is plenty of room for them to roam around and enjoy the outside.  Flynn is the best hunter of the two and he loves to catch mice.  In the first picture he has discovered a mouse in the hedge and is zeroing in on it.  In the second picture, Flynn is in danger of having his butt snuffled by a horse while he is concentrating on getting the mouse.  In this case, the horse only watched, but on other occasions a horse has snuffled Flynn's butt, which causes him to jump really high in the air because it's a scary thing to have happen.  Flynn's favorite toy is a catnip carrot, which he has no intention of sharing with Eric.  Eric does grab it once in a while, but Flynn always gets it back.  Flynn catches mice, rats and moles on a regular basis.  He caught a snake once, which scared his Mum half to death, because there are poisonous vipers where they live.  The one Flynn caught turned out to be harmless, though.  Flynn is very generous with his catches and usually gives the mice to Eric to eat.  Once in a while, Flynn catches a bird, which makes his Mum unhappy.  If she sees him in time, she takes the bird away and lets it go again.  Other times, Flynn has eaten the bird before being seen.

                              Flynn is a cat who runs mice through their courses,
                              Except when interrupted by butt-snuffling horses.
                                            Then he jumps up far
                                            And the mice laugh, "Har!  Har!"
                               Then Flynn goes back to running mice through their courses.

7 Facts Meme

I was tagged by Black Cat to do the seven random facts meme.  Here are the rules:

* Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog;

* Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself;

* Tag 7 random people at the end of your post & include links to their blogs;

* Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I am having some trouble coming up with seven random facts about me that I haven't mentioned before and that would at least be interesting.

1.  I really, really like Doctor Who.  I have copies of the entire original series and am now collecting the new series as it comes out.  I also have the novels, the audios of the missing stories and most of the Big Finish audios.

2. I don't have to trim my hair, except to even it off.  It grows down to the middle of my back and stops.

3. I am clumsy with my feet.  I have broken most of my toes and six of my metatarsals at various times, starting when I was a child and slid into first base playing whiffleball.  First base was a tree.  I broke my left big toe.

4.  I love musicals and have quite a bunch of them on tape and DVD.

5. I am a night person.  I don't do well early in the morning at all.  I volunteered to work the afternoon-evening shift all the time, much to the delight of my co-workers, who hate working the last shift in the deli.

6. I like working jigsaw puzzles.  I used to spend a lot of time at JigZone before I started blogging.

7. I love reading science fiction, fantasy and mysteries.  Every once in a while I will read a history book, a biography, or a science book, but mostly I read fiction.

I will tag:

Aelou, Chancy, Vincent and Mike, Sly, Nikita and Angus.

Zoey

Here is little Zoey helping her Dad with his files.  Zoey is around 2o months old and a blue point Himalayan.  She is a small cat and likes it that way, all the better to fit into Dad's lap and arms.  She also fits very well on Dad's desk, so she can help him with his work.  In case you haven't noticed yet, Zoey really loves her Dad and he loves her right back.  Zoey has a crooked little fang that sticks out of her mouth and gives her a very amusing expression.  It's impossible to look at that face and not smile.  Besides sitting on or with her Dad, Zoey loves to sit in the window and watch the lizards.  She has found a certain window that has a plethora of lizards to watch.  Zoey is also the first cat to get into stuff.  If the doorbell rings, she runs to see who is there.  If she hears a faucet drip, she is right there to investigate.  If she finds an open drawer, she is in it in a minute, searching for treasure.  Treasure for Zoey is things like Q-tips and cotton balls, which she thinks make great toys.  Zoey is also very special in that she appears on two blogs.  She and Maggy both appear all the time on Zoolatry and she also makes quite a few appearances on Cat in the Bag, her Dad's blog.

                                      Zoey is a kitty who loves her Dad.
                                      Just being with him makes her glad.
                                               She helps with his files,
                                               Which makes him all smiles.
                                      She snuggles in his lap, 'cause she loves her Dad.

Emma

Emma lives with two other kitties, Benji and Marley, and a woofie named Sammy. She was born outside in 2006, but was rescued along with her Mom and siblings. She lives with Kat now and loves it. Her very favorite toy is crumpled up paper balls, but her second favorite is bubbles. She also really loves catnip. She is blind in one eye, but it happened when she was such a tiny kitten that it hasn't affected her at all. Emma also shares her home with foster kitties from time to time.

                                                Emma really loves to play with bubbles.
                                                When Benji joins in her enjoyment doubles.
                                                            She could chase and play
                                                            With bubbles all day,
                                                 As long as Kat keeps blowing bubbles.

Yoggie

Here is Yoggie doing one of his favorite things, walking on the fence.  There are two very nice videos of his fence-walking abilities here.  Yoggie was named after a yoghurt made with wild strawberries that his Mom and Dad really like.  He was adopted from a shelter in Germany in 2006, but now lives in Sweden.  He really likes the bigger house and garden.  The only problem is that the house where they live now used to belong to a couple of cats who now live next door.  They still think of the garden as theirs and Yoggie has had several fights with them.  Unfortunately one of the two cats, the white one, has now run away and Yoggie feels bad about that.  Hopefully someone has taken him in and he is safe now.  Yoggie likes to play tennis with his toy mousies.  He loves hunting bugs and birds in his garden.  He has even made friends with a hedgehog who came to visit.  Yoggie and Gretchen write poetry to one another as they conduct a long-distance romance.  It is really very sweet.

                                              Yoggie really likes to walk on the fence,
                                              Though seeing him there makes his Mom wince.
                                                             He balances fine
                                                             As he walks the line.
                                              Yoggie is really good at walking the fence.

                                       

Nubee Wan Kenobi

This is Nubee Wan Kenobi, Jedi cat, chilling out between parties and adventures.  Sometimes he spells his name Nubi Wan Kenobi.  He is very strong in the Force, so strong that no one can see his Jedi robes or light-saber unless he wants them to.  He is also a charter member of Pooses for Peace and Bite and Run.  Being very brave, he usually leads the charge during Bite and Run attacks.  Onlookers occasionally catch a flash of him in his Jedi robes, waving his light-saber, at these times.

                                  Nubee Wan Kenobi is a Jedi kitty.
                                  When he waves his light-saber, it's really pretty.
                                              Get out of the way
                                              When he enters the fray,
                                   'Cause he leads the Bite and Run Committee.

Miss Boo

This is Miss Boo with the tiara that one of Queen Elizabeth's corgies gave her.  She was dating this corgi for a while, but it was all a devious plot.  She dumped the two royal corgies in the Louvre during the heist there to try to shift the blame for the missing artwork onto them.  Miss Boo is quite an adventuress and very light-pawed.  She loves to party with the glitterati, who then discover that various bits of jewelry (especially earrings), watches and designer sunglasses go missing.  She is a charter member of Pooses for Peace and Bite and Run.  She had a wonderful birthday bash at Moulin Rouge recently, which led into the heist at the Louvre.  Miss Boo throws awesome parties, but watch your jewelry.

                                It is so much fun to party with Boo,
                                But wear cheap earrings whenever you do.
                                        They may disappear,
                                        Right off of your ear,
                               If you wear diamond earrings to party with Boo.

Zevo Calamari

I would like to thank every one who voted for me in the 2007 Weblog Awards.  I got 64 votes, which I think is great.  I didn't win, but I feel very honored to have been a finalist.

Here is Zevo Calamari relaxing on the laundry between adventures.  She lives with Miss Boo and Nubee Wan Kenobi in Salem, Mass., along with a pet human or two.  Zevo is an activist cat and has organized the Pooses for Peace movement along with the Bite and Run campaign to show certain people just what the kitties think of them.  The three of them also like to party hardy and teleport all over the world having fun, when they are not busy with their activism.  If you would like to join Pooses for Peace or Bite and Run, Zevo would be happy to hear from you.  You can even take lessons in the best tactics for Bite and Run.  Karl Rove found out more than he wanted to know about Bite and Run last August.

                                  Zevo Calamari has a lot of class.
                                  She bit Karl Rove right on the -- ask
                                          Karl Rove just where
                                          The teeth laid him bare.
                                  Then three kitties in black ran off through the grass.

Dandelion

Here is Dandelion, waiting for someone to turn on the water, so he can get a drink.  Dandelion lives with Prince Muddy Paws and Myst.  At eighteen years old, he is the oldest cat in the house and the biggest.  He is the Alpha cat, though Myst gets big ideas about that sometimes.  Dandelion is a very gentle cat and never uses his size to lord it over the other cats.  Dandelion lived his first year as an outside cat and may miss being outside at times.  The human staff have to watch out for him when a door is opened, as sometimes he thinks about going outside.  He likes to watch everything out the window.  In spite of his age, he is very healthy, except for his hearing.  He started losing his hearing some time ago and is now completely deaf.  He compensates for this by being very watchful.  He used to listen for the car to tell him that the staff was coming home, but now he sits by the window and watches for the car.  Being deaf gives him one advantage.  He now enjoys watching the lightning during a thunderstorm, while Muddy and Myst hide under the bed.  He also enjoys watching fireworks.

                                     Dandelion actually likes July.
                                     He enjoys watching fireworks light up the sky.
                                            He can't hear the boomies
                                            That make his two roomies
                                     Hide under the bed out of sight of the sky.

Dona Nobis Pacem

I almost forgot that today was the day.  Many thanks to Sanni for making my globe for me.

Myst

Writing about Gemini and Georgia reminded me of two other cats who have been neglected.  I wrote about Prince Muddy Paws last July, but never wrote about the two other cats who live with him.  This is Myst, a tiny shaded silver Persian.  Terry (the Mom) says that Myst is the smallest Persian she has ever seen.  Myst has never been the healthiest of cats and that is one of the reasons Terry adopted him.  She felt that he needed a good home, so he would be well taken care of.  Last spring he started getting one urinary tract infection after another and was acting a bit grumpy, which wasn't really like him.  Finally the vet found that he had two kidney stones, which were surgically removed last July.  It took Myst a while to recover from the surgery and a bit of an adverse reaction to the antibiotic he was on afterwards, but now he is more active than he had been in a year.  He is healthier than he has been in a long time and is feeling really good.  Myst has always had a lot of fire in his personality and it is really showing up now.  Not too long ago the neighbor's dog, who is about ten times Myst's size, got out of his yard and came over to look through the storm door.  Myst let out a screech that brought Terry and Muddy running to see what was the matter and there was Myst, threatening the life of this big dog, tail puffed up and all his fur standing out.  Myst also thinks that he should be the Alpha cat, though Dandelion fills that position, being the oldest and biggest cat in the house.  Every once in a while, Myst challenges Dandelion, but Dandelion doesn't have any trouble rolling Myst over.  Myst and Muddy chase each other all over the house and pounce on each other all the time.  Myst also loves to be brushed. Anytime he sees that Muddy is getting brushed, Myst jumps up to get in on the action. Myst's favorite place to sleep in on the computer monitor, until he gets too warm, then he claims Terry's favorite chair.  Myst will also lie or sit in front of the storm door for hours, watching the world go by.  He especially likes to watch the leaves blowing by in the fall.  Myst is a great bug hunter and will pounce on any bug that gets into the house, if Muddy doesn't spot it first.

                                         Myst is a tiny cat full of fire.
                                         To be top kitty is his desire.
                                               He's always tryin'
                                               To best Dandelion,
                                         But Dandelion always thwarts his desire.

Georgia

Georgia lives with Cheysuli and Gemini.  She is quite elderly and has a benign brain tumor.  It doesn't bother her much, but it has made her quite unsteady on her feet and unable to jump like she used to.  Her favorite napping place is on the bed and when she became unable to get up there any more, her Mom got her a nice set of stairs, covered with a sheepskin-like material, which gives her added traction, to get up to the bed again.  She spends a great deal of her time napping, but she still loves to go outside with her Mom to sniff around.  She loves the fact that she gets to eat as much as she likes whenever she likes.  She gets to eat alone much of the time, so the other cats don't bother her.  She also likes it that Gemini and Cheysuli get in trouble if they bother her, but if she decides to pick on them a bit, she gets praised for being feisty.  Life is good for Georgia and she is enjoying it.

                                      Georgia is an elderly lady.
                                      She has a brain tumor, which makes her unsteady.
                                              She has stairs so neat
                                              And soft for her feet
                                     To go up to the bed when to nap she's ready.

Gemini

Yes, Gemini, it's finally your turn.  Cheysuli let me know several days ago that Gemini was feeling left out because I hadn't written a limerick for her yet.  Gemini has been coming by every day since then to check.  Gemini is about 2 1/2 years old now.  Her Mom found her as a tiny kitten, about four weeks old, hiding in the yard, but mewing pitifully.  Her Mom had just lost two older cats and the house was feeling rather lonesome with just Georgia around.  Her Mom brought her inside and took her to the vet to check for diseases and Gemini was in good health, but very hungry and lonely.  Gemini fit right in quite quickly and soon became very fond of Georgia.  Gemini got her name as an anagram from the names of the two cats who had died just before she showed up.  It seemed an appropriate name, as she was taking the place of two cats.  Gemini loved to play with Georgia and she still hasn't gotten used to the idea that Georgia has gotten quite old now and can't play like she used to.  Gemini still gives Georgia gentle head butts, but now Georgia falls over when butted.  Gemini took to catnip quite early in life and soon began dropping her catnip mice in her water bowl.  Maybe she was making catnip tea?  Gemini has never quite gotten over her initial fear of people and will be quite shy when visitors come over. She still loves her toys and will play at every opportunity.  She lets her Mom know that she wants attention by getting between her Mom and the computer monitor.  She loves to go outside on her harness.  She got out by herself this past summer through a hole in the screen door that some visiting woofies had chewed.  Once out, her Mom thinks that she couldn't get back in, as she found some of Gemini's fur in the screen.  She was gone for a couple of days, but got found again just as she had been found the first time.  She was hiding near the fence and mewing pitifully.  The screen door has been fixed and Gemini seems content to stick with going out on her harness.

                                 Gemini is a cat who is still partly feral.
                                 She doesn't much care for wearing apparel.
                                         She wants Mom's attention,
                                         She's not shy to mention,
                                 But she's shy with strangers 'cause she's still partly feral.

                       

2007 Weblog Finalist -- Best Pet Blog

I am so excited.  I am a finalist in the 2007 Weblog Awards for best pet blog.  This is a great honor and I am just flabbergasted.  Please go and vote for me.

Smokey

This is Smokey, sleeping in his favorite position.  Smokey is the largest cat at Forty Paws, but he doesn't really throw his weight around.  He is pretty much fearless and loves to rassle with his siblings, Reno, Sally and Obi.  He will even rassle with Dorf, the only cat brave enough to try that.  He is a little naughty, in that he loves to chase Jenny, just to hear her scream.  Smokey
thinks that Jenny really likes the game and the screams are just playing.   Like Reno, Sally and Obi, Smokey was born to a mother with Feline Herpes Virus 1 and it has affected his right eye.  His right eye looks a little cross-eyed and leaks brown protein constantly.  He will wipe his eye on anything around him, including the other cats.  The brown stuff will fly from his eye whenever he shakes his head, decorating the floor and walls.  He keeps Maw busy cleaning up after him.  He hates it when she tries to wipe his eye, though he will rub the stuff off on her clothing.  He loves to be brushed, but the brown guard hairs never come off in the brush, just the white and fawn fur.  To look at the brush after his brushing, you would never guess that the fur came from him.  He loves tuna.

                                    Smokey is a Mancat, big and tough.
                                    He rassles his siblings, but doesn't get rough.
                                          He chases Jenny,
                                          Who screams like a banshee.
                                    She secretly likes it, but soon has enough.

Diamond Emerald-Eyes

Diamond Emerald-Eyes is an American a Domestic Shorthair black tabby with a diamond shaped white spot on her chest, which is how she got her name. When she lies in the sun, you can just make out the very faint stripe pattern in her fur. She got lost from her first family and was a wild kitty for a while, then got taken in by one family for a little while, then found her forever home. She lives in Florida in a swampy region, so there is lots of wildlife for her to observe. She is an indoor/outdoor kitty, but she is very street-smart and always watches out for cars. She knows to stay away from most of the wildlife as well, though she does hang around with some of the wild kitties down by the canal at times. She likes nip and has a nip mat. When she lies down on her nip mat, that is a signal to her Bean that she wants some nip. She likes to play with toy mice and nip toys. She also likes to watch TV. Since her Bean isn't much of a TV watcher, she will sometimes go next door to watch with a neighbor. Diamond loves to sit in her Bean's lap and have her Bean read to her. Among the wildlife in her area of Florida is the roof rat. These rats have found a way to get into Diamond's attic. She leaves them alone if they stay up there, but if they come downstairs, look out!

                                         Diamond's house has rats in the attic.
                                         When they come downstairs, things get dramatic.
                                                     With speed that perplexes
                                                     The rats become exes.
                                         Diamond's skill makes her Bean ecstatic.