Quasi

Quasi is a part-Siamese white cat with blue eyes and lots of catitude. He regularly shows his displeasure at being left alone by trashing the house. He is a master of shredding TP and hacking up hairballs in inconvenient places. He has written a book, The World is Your Litter Box, and his blog has a lot of information about it. He also blogs about a lot of interesting things having to do with cats, but not a whole lot about himself. I did find a limerick-inspiring story about one of the times he climbed the Christmas tree.

                                     Quasi climbed the Christmas tree.
                                     He got up as high as he could be.
                                           Then the tree fell down
                                           With a crashing sound.
                                     The thud and the boom made Quasi flee.

Award

Oh, I am so embarrassed. I forgot to mention that Boy also gave me the Friends award with the hearts. Thank you, Boy. I got this lovely award from Piggy. Thank you, Piggy. I love it. You make my day, too. There aren't any rules attached to this award. Just hand it out to whoever you like and as many as you like. I will pass this award on to:

Gattina
Missy, KC, Smokey, Sol, BJ and Faith Boo
Boy
Beethoven
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids
Sanjee, Boni, Pepe, Mini and Gree

Faith Boomerang

On October 29, 2007, ML got a call from a neighbor who said that she saw a momcat carrying three tiny kittens up onto the Sherwood porch. ML checked and, sure enough, there was a tortie momcat with three kittens, just waiting to be taken inside. Although she still had Dinah and all her Mites, along with Missy and KC, ML just had to take in these cats, too. ML swears that there is a sign that only cats can read on her front porch which says that all kittens and their mothers are welcome there. Off they went to the bathroom, which Dinah and the Mites had just vacated. When they all checked out healthy, they joined the merry crew romping all over the house. This was just about more than Missy could stand, but KC was having a ball. Missy got her very own quiet room in a large closet. When Dinah, the Mites, Mama Tortie and her three were old enough, off they went to the no-kill shelter to find their forever homes. ML was very sad, as the house seemed too empty and much too quiet. Very soon, she got a message from the shelter that Mama Tortie and Baby Tortie were unadoptable, as they were too wild. They were going to be sent to a refuge for unadoptable cats. ML let Mama Tortie go, as she and Missy didn't get along well at all, but she went and picked up Baby Tortie. After dealing with KC, ML knew all about fractious tortie kittens. In fact, ML suspects that KC told Faith just how to get a forever home with the Sherwoods. Faith Boomerang got her name from a friend who had told ML when she was so sad about all the kittens leaving that she just had to have faith and the fact that she boomeranged back.

Faith Boo, as she is usually called, is the most fractious and mischievous of the cats in the Sherwood home. She is very creative in making paper art, using TP and paper towels as her favorite media. She loves to get in places where she is not supposed to be, like inside the kitchen cabinets. At first ML couldn't figure out how she got in there, then remembered that KC knew how to open the door to the cabinet where the treats are kept. Obviously, KC had showed Faith how to open the cabinet door and Faith realized that it would work with any cabinet door. Faith loves to play with toys and the other cats. There is a red kitty tent that she has claimed as her own. She adores KC, but she is also very fond of the three boys. Wherever there is something interesting going on, Faith is right in the middle of it.

                                     Faith Boo likes to get into trouble.
                                     When mischief's afoot, she's there on the double.
                                                 She is very smart
                                                 With her paper art.
                                     Little Faith Boo just loves trouble.

Farewell, Misty

Misty was a beautiful cat with very floofy gray fur. She also had a white undercoat, which gave her a very rich look. She was gorgeous and she knew it. She loved to model for the camera. Her Mom adopted her when she was a kitten. She had kidney problems for half her life. Three years ago she had to have a kidney removed. When she got CRF it was very hard on her. She purred a lot, but never meowed at all. Just recently she started to meow at her Mom, telling her it was time for her to go to the Rainbow Bridge. This was very hard on her Mom, as PooPoo went to the Bridge only last month. Luckily Dumplin' has just joined the family to cheer her up a bit. Misty was a calm and loving cat and will be greatly missed.

                                      Misty had such gorgeous fur.
                                      It was gray and floofy and suited her.
                                          To the Bridge she flew
                                          To Taffy and PooPoo.
                                      She's having fun, but we are missing her.

Farewell, Bandit

Bandit was a outside kitty that ML fed, petted and tried to convince to become an indoor kitty. A lot of other neighbors tried to convince him that life inside was better, too, but he always refused. He liked roaming around the neighborhood and getting fed in many different places. He always showed up at the Sherwood house at six pm for dinner, though. He also accompanied ML to the mailbox, rubbing up against her legs and mewing until she petted him and rubbed his tummy. Then he was off again, looking for new adventures. Unfortunately, he was hit by a cat and went to the Rainbow Bridge. Everyone in the neighborhood will miss him a lot.

                                     Bandit was a cat who lived on his own.
                                     He wouldn't let anyone give him a home.
                                            He got hit by a car
                                            And travelled quite far --
                                     Off to the Bridge to be no more alone.

More Awards

Thoughts for Paws and Boy gave me this delightful award. Thank you so much. Here are the rules:

“LOVE YA” award-winner… These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I would like to pass this award along to:

Black Cat
Daisy the Curly Cat
Princess and Pierro
LC, Ayla and Iza
Grrreta
Samantha and Mr. Tigger
Whicky, Angel, Oliver and Gerry
Barb, Gandalf and Grayson

Roxy gave me this really neat award because she thinks that I am very creative. Thank you so much Roxy. Here are the rules:

List 6 things that make you happy. Pass the award on to 6 bloggers for Kreativ. Link to the blogger who gave you the award. Link to the blogs receiving the award. Notify the recipients.

Here are six things that make me happy:

1. The wonderful friends I have made while blogging.
2. Sunshine and blue skies.
3. Reading a good book.
4. Writing my limericks.
5. Cooking something that my Mom really likes.
6. Flowers.

I would now like to pass this award on to:

Zoolatry for the wonderful images that they make.
Diamond Emerald-Eyes, also for wonderful images.
HoTMBC for the invention of the nip ravioli, one of the best cat toys ever.
DKM for her great snuggles and the invention of the squiggle, also one of the best cat toys ever.
Forty Paws for their great hammocks.
Opus for all the work he has done to make CCSI so good and the adventures on the Magic Flying Bus.

Award

I am way behind in posting about the awards I have been given lately. I got this nice award from the House of (Mostly) Black Cats and Jan's Funny Farm. Thank you all very much Here are the rules:

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight kitties who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I give this award to:

Diamond
The Chesney Cats
Kimo and Sabi
China Cat
Sunny, Rascal and Olive Oyl
Theo, Diego-san and Thompson
Faz
all the cats at Forty Paws

BJ

This is handsome BJ just after he discovered kitty grass. He really enjoys it. BJ stands for Brutus Junior and he is also sometimes called Bubba. BJ may well have been the first of Dinah's Mites to be born. He was the largest. He was the first to open his eyes and the first to discover that KC was on the other side of the bathroom door. This led to him being the youngest kitten ever photographed doing the Monty Q on purpose:He was playing pawsie with KC at only a few weeks old.

BJ has always been a leader among the kitties. This doesn't mean he has any wish to be Alpha cat, he just likes starting things off. This is the photo that lead to part of the limerick. BJ dearly loves his brother Sol and they are often together. BJ is very sociable and would much rather nap and play with another kitty or human than be alone.

                                       A leader of kitties has always been BJ.
                                       He likes to start off exploration and play.
                                             He'll grab up his snake
                                             And give it a shake.
                                        Tug-of-war with Faith Boo is soon underway.

Happy Valentine's Day

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day. Would you believe it? I forgot my own blogoversary. My first blog post was February 11, 2007. It has been a very eventful two years, with over 400 limericks and many happy events and many sad ones, too. I am very glad I decided to start this blog because I have met many new friends and had such fun. I have wept a lot of tears, too, but that is part of belonging to such a large and loving group as the Cat Blogosphere. On the whole, I would have to say that there is much more joy than sadness to be had here and I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am.

Farewell, Jake

I know I am late with this one. I think I have mentioned that doing a bunch of these in a row takes a bit out of me and sometimes I have to take a little break between them. Jake was all Mancat and very adventurous. He loved being outside and would lounge in his bed under the table on the deck, watching for anything interesting. He would nap under shrubs or race around the yard. He had access to a small woodland and loved to explore it. That's where he probably picked up the small bullet in his chest that was found when his chest was x-rayed to see if he had digit-lung cancer. Unfortunately he did. He also had a malignant mass in his small intestine. When it became obvious that Jake was suffering, his Mom made that terribly hard decision and took him for that last trip to the vet to be sent on to the Rainbow Bridge. Jake was 14 years old, almost 15, as his birthday was March 27th. Jake was a really happy cat. He loved to eat, up until he got sick. He adored catnip. He really liked popcorn and could catch thrown kernels in midair. He could also catch sparkle balls in flight. All in all, Jake had a great life and I am sure that he is enjoying himself hugely at the Rainbow Bridge.

                                          A very tough Mancat was Jake.
                                          Even a bullet he could take.
                                                    Digit-lung brought him low,
                                                    So he had to go
                                          To the Bridge to run and play did Jake.

Farewell, Salvador

I have been thinking all day about what I could say about Salvador. We only knew him as a grumpy, older kitty who gave Huffle a hard time. I do know that he liked to go outside and loved to try to catch birds. There was some affection between Salvador and Huffle, because Huffle spent a lot of time the day after Salvador went to the Bridge waiting at the door for Salvador to come home again. The Mom and Dad are missing Salvador a lot because they had him for 15 years. He was about one when they adopted him, so he was 16 when he was helped to the Bridge. He had a fast-growing mass on his kidney that couldn't be treated and he had stopped eating, so it was time for him to go.

                                     Salvador got old and grumpy.
                                     On Huffle he liked to thumpy.
                                            To the Bridge he went,
                                            By Mom and Dad sent
                                      To play in the sun and no more be grumpy.

Farewell, Bear

This one makes me really sad. I did limericks for Buzzerbee, Meep and Twizzler before Bear joined the family. I said to myself that I needed to do a limerick for him, but I would wait until I knew more about him. Now, sadly, I won't ever know more about him. Bear was adopted almost a year ago from Kitty Angels, which is where both Buzzerbee and Meep were adopted. He was, of course, FIV+ and it really did a number on him. After Meep went to the Bridge, his Mom and Dad went on a short vacation, boarding Twizzler and Bear at their vet's, as they always do when they are going to be gone, and had the vet check them both out, also as usual. This time the tests showed that Bear was in renal failure and his kidney function was down by 75%. This was shocking news, as Bear had shown no signs of being ill. In fact, he had lately become more sociable with his humans than he had been. Bear came home after being treated with sub-q fluids and the news that he might only live another 1-3 months. Then he went into heart failure and there was nothing that the emergency vet could do for him. Monday would have been Bear's first Gotcha Day. Bear was adopted because Twizzler wanted to play with Meep a lot more than Meep wanted to play with Twizzler. Bear fit right in. At first he was kept in the office and there was a lot of sniffing at the door going on. The Mom and Dad went out to dinner one night and when they got home the office door was open and Meep, Twizzler and Bear were all hanging out together. The three of them had managed to get the door open. Bear was a lot bigger than Meep and Twizzler, but he was very gentle with both of them. Soon Bear and Twizzler were wrestling and chasing each other all over the house. Bear also really enjoyed playing with his wand toy with a fish on the string. Now poor Twizzler is an only cat and the beans are all heart-broken. Stop by and leave them some purrs or hugs.

                                    He went to the Bridge much too soon, did Bear.
                                    Of course, Meep was awaiting him there.
                                          He left Twizz behind
                                          And beans with tears blind.
                                    They're having great fun, are Buzz, Meep and Bear.

Farewell, Prissy

Prissy was a very beautiful cat and she knew it. She always kept herself looking good. Up until her last year, she was very active and playful. Even though she became very ill during her last year, she remained very loving. The other cat, Alexa, always deferred to Prissy, letting her eat or drink first. Not too long ago, she surprised everyone when she batted a catnip mouse away from Alexa and played with it for a little while, though she could hardly see and hadn't played in a long time. When she became blind, she was moved to the laundry room with a big pillow and a basket with a blanket to sleep in. That is where she was when she went to the Rainbow Bridge, on her own terms, in the middle of the night. She had a long life, twenty years, with her loving family, who miss her terribly.

                                     Prissy was a cat with style.
                                     She strove to be gorgeous all the while.
                                             She lived twenty years.
                                             Now her Mom's in tears,
                                     But Prissy went to the Bridge with style.

Tarot Card

I didn't have a limerick ready for today, but I found this over at Willthink4wine and found it interesting. Gandalf and Grayson will be posting over there from now on, but I'm frustrated, because I can't figure out how to comment over there.

You are Judgement

Happiness, Content, Joy.

Judgment is related to the Hebrew letter Shin, which is fiery and spiritual. A break from the past, going forward.

With Fire as its ruling element, Judgement is about rebirth or ressurection. The idea of Judgement day is that the dead rise, their sins are forgiven, and they move onto heaven. The Judgement card is similar, it asks the resurrection to summon the past, forgive it, and let it go. There are wounds from the past that we never let heal, sins we've committed that we refuse to forgive, bad habits we haven't the courage to lose. Judgement advises us to finally face these, recognize that the past is past, and put them to rest, absolutely and irrevocably. This is also a card of healing, quite literally from an accident or illness, as well as a card signaling great transformation, renewal, change.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Farewell, Mystery

Mystery was a green iguana who lived with Smeagol, Strider and Gizmo. She was given to the Mom as a present while she was in college. She grew to about five feet long, most of that being tail. Mystery spent most of her time in the basement in her large enclosure. When the weather was warm, she got to go outside on her harness and leash. She didn't much care for her harness and would sometimes try to roll around to see if she could get out of it. The cats would go down to the basement to visit her sometimes, but they never played together. Mystery enjoyed her live with her basking lamp and plenty of food. She really wanted to get out and climb the trees, but she never got to do that. I imagine that she is climbing lots of trees at the Bridge now.

                                     Mystery had a great life.
                                     She never knew hunger or strife.
                                             She ran off to play
                                             At the Bridge all day.
                                     Now she's climbing trees in her new life.

Maxwell

Lilly Lu asked me to do a limerick for her little brother, Maxwell, for his second birthday, which is today. Happy Birthday, Maxie! Maxwell's full name is Maxwell Mufsa Million. He was rescued by a vet tech, who asked for someone to take him in. A well-meaning lady, who didn't know much about fostering, took him in, but he was shut up in a bathroom with six other cats. Someone also sent a picture of him to Mom Laura, who fell in love with him at once. Mu Shue, who was very sick at this time, jumped off the couch to come see the picture and give his approval. Mu Shue went to the Rainbow Bridge on July 21st and Maxwell moved in on August 2nd. The introductions went very well indeed. There was no hissing or growling at all. Iris took to him right away and they were playing together within minutes. Lilly Lu decided to ignore him at first, but soon came over to sniff him over. Maxwell was afraid of Lilly Lu at first, but now they get along pretty well. Lilly Lu has whapped Maxwell a couple of times for lying on her Gizzy quilt or in the pong chair. At first Mom Laura was told that Maxwell was four years old, but it turns out that he was just a few days short of being one and a half. Maxwell loves to play with toys and adores nip. He also loves to play with Iris. Maxwell is part Maine Coon and maybe that explains his fondness for water. He will try to get in the shower with Mom Laura or in the tub or in the twins' little tub. He likes to splash the water from the drinking fountain all around. Iris and Maxwell usually have a rousing game of chase all around the apartment at two or three in the morning.

                                          Iris is the one Maxwell loves to chase.
                                          All around the apartment they race.
                                                Three AM is the time
                                                That they find sublime.
                                           Iris will run and Maxie will chase.

Sol

This picture of Sol was taken last August when he was working on his furniture art. Sol was the last of the Mites to be born and the smallest. He has grown quite a bit since then and is now the largest of the Mites living in the Sherwood home. His full name is Noir Solitare. The Noir is because he is almost completely black, with just a little bit of white in his armpits and he had one white whisker. The Solitare was because he kept to himself a bit when he was very little, but he is a very sociable cat now. He loves to hang out with his brothers. He also likes to play with KC and Faith Boomerang. He isn't shy about jumping up into a lap for some cuddle time. He also enjoys climbing, but he doesn't do it as much as Smokey does.

This is Sol's work of art. I think this is his Mom's computer chair, but I could be mistaken. So far, Sol is the only kitty caught working on this chair, so the work is all his.

                                   Sol likes to practice furniture art.
                                   On the computer chair he has made a great start.
                                          He's exposed the green
                                          That should never be seen.
                                   How far will Sol go with his furniture art?