Kitty Limericks

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T20:54:00.001-07:00

I am sorry that this turned out all blurry. My hand must have shaken as I took the picture. I finally got my Christmas decorating, such as it is, done today. I put up this little tree and decorated it with the Christmas cards I received from members of the Cat Blogosphere, got out Herman's stocking and put a couple of things in it and put a Christmas wreath on the front door. This is the first time I have done any Christmas decorating since my Mother died. I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas full of love.

Beau

2011-12-01T19:26:00.001-07:00

This is Brutus on the left and Gentleman Beau on the right sharing a bed and acting like brothers. I didn't originally intend to write another limerick for Beau. I had already written one for him years ago that you can find here. I did my pick a random blog thing and came up with Jersey Fresh. I decided to write a limerick for Emily first, then Brutus, then Marigold. I spent an evening reading the blog and went to bed, thinking about Emily. As often happens, when I woke up the next morning, I had a limerick in my head, but it wasn't about Emily; it was about Beau. Not being one to waste an inspiration, I decided to go with it.

Beau lived and blogged happily with his Mom Cathy for many years. Not too long ago, Cathy got an infection that just wouldn't heal. She had other health issues as well and she eventually died, leaving Beau all alone. Arrangements were made to have Beau move to New Jersey to live with a neighbor of Rose and the Royals. At first things seemed to be working out, but Beau had issues that weren't being resolved. For one thing, the neighbor lived right next door to a large dog and that seemed to be upsetting Beau quite a bit. Eventually, it was decided that Beau would move in with the Royals. He was was given a room without other cats at first and was rather shy about the whole thing. It didn't take him too long to decide that he was in a safe place and he started to come out and let Rose pet him. Having been an only cat his whole life, he didn't take to the Royals nearly as quickly, but now he and Brutus have become very friendly. I am thinking that it won't be much longer before they all get along famously.

                                                    Beau came to the Royals sad and afraid,
                                                    But for him cunning plans were laid
                                                                To treat him with care
                                                                So he would come out where
                                                    Welcome to the family he could be made.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T23:54:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving! My mother used these china quail each Thanksgiving as decorations on the table, so they always make me think of Thanksgiving. May you all have lots and lots to be thankful for.

Farewell, Emma

2011-11-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here's Emma with her nip banana. I chose this picture for her farewell post because this is the way I want to remember her. I want to thank all of you for your purrs for Emma. I really appreciate them. I buried her in the flower garden near the bird feeder. If you want to read Emma's story, it is just a few posts down with her happy limerick. If you want to read about her death, it is over on Herman's Hideaway. A few of you may wonder why I didn't rush Emma off to the emergency vet when I found her in the litter box, too weak to get out. The nearest emergency vet is a 45 minute drive from here. I did consider it, but the stress of moving her would have probably meant that she would have run off to the Rainbow Bridge on the way. Even if she had survived the trip, there would have been nothing that they could have done for her. She exhibited all the symptoms of Feline Leukemia that Herman did, but they were much worse. I thought it best to just let her go here at home in her room where she felt most comfortable. I will miss her terribly and I think that Herman will miss her, too. I let Herman see her and smell her and touch her before I buried her, but I don't know if he understands why she didn't respond to him. I hope so.

   Goodbye, Emma, my sweet little one.
                                                 It's all too soon that you are gone.
                                                           You fly away free,
                                                           But for Herman and me
                                                 It's a sad time here all alone.

Dona Nobis Pacem

2011-11-04T00:19:00.000-06:00

Today is Blog Blast for Peace, started by Mimi Lennox. On this day we all put up our peace globes and dare to dream that one day the world will be at peace. To me it looks like we are making some progress, but we still have a long way to go. We all need to do all we can to give peace a home in our lives and our world. We need to be a bit more forgiving of our neighbors and friends and all those around us. If we all have peace in our hearts, then world peace will follow. Peace be with you today and every day.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:29:00.000-06:00

I hope you all have a Happy Halloween with lots of treats and no tricks, unless you like them.

Keiko

2011-10-27T20:46:00.000-06:00

Here is Keiko on the living room table. She is the only one allowed up here. It could be because she has the honor of being the first kitty to be adopted into the Kitty Quartet or it could be that she is so sneaky and determined that the Mom has given up on trying to keep her off the table. If I read and did my addition right, Keiko is four years old. She is full of energy and loves to be up high. She was delighted when her family moved into a house with stairs. She likes to climb up the stairs on the wrong side, that is, outside of the bannister rails. This makes her Mom nervous, but she hasn't fallen yet. Keiko also likes to hang out on top of the refrigerator and on any shelf she can find room enough for her. She likes her nip quite a bit. For some reason, when she was adopted, she didn't know about playing with toys. Her Mom and Dad have slowly taught her the fun of toys and Keiko is learning. Keiko is very fond of milk and her Mom or Dad will often dip their finger in their milk and let Keiko lick their finger. The only thing that Keiko doesn't like about her life as part of the Kitty Quartet is that her brother Kenji likes to chase her and try to wrestle with her. Keiko doesn't want to kitty wrestle and wishes that Kenji would limit his wrestling to his brother Ryker.

                                                   Keiko likes to sit on the table.
                                                   She grins because she's the only cat able
                                                          To sit there with no fear
                                                          Because Mom makes it clear,
                                                   "I don't want kitties on my table!"

Tenzing

2011-09-25T18:30:00.001-06:00

I didn't think it would take me this long to get back to the hang of writing kitty limericks. Sorry about the delay. First some information, as Kitty Limericks has been neglected for so long. You may wonder, how do I select the kitties to write limericks for? Most of the time it is entirely random. Sometimes I see something on a blog that inspires me. If you would like to have me write a limerick for you or some other kitty (or woofie or any other blogging animal) just drop me an note to nyctolopsATvlaDOTcom or tell me in the comments.

Now to tell you about Tenzing. He moved in with Jack and Persephone March 1, 2010. Somebody had moved and left him behind all alone. The OTW and Big One rescued him and brought him home. He was about five months old at the time. He was big for his age and continues to be big. The OTW (opposable thumbs woman) wonders if he could be part Maine Coon. He has the size and long fur for it. Jack and Persephone have not been best pleased with their new brother. Jack calls him The Unnecessary Kitten and Persephone calls him the Orinch Meniss. He has fit himself into the family and can be caught snoozing with both Jack and Persephone, though neither one really likes to play with him, still. The photo shows Tenzing doing his second favorite thing in the whole world, rolling outside. Once let outside, he will roll and roll and roll. He just loves it. His favorite thing is house-trashing. I chatted with OTW not long ago and she thought that maybe he just doesn't realize how big he has grown or how strong his tail is or maybe he just likes to play "Will it bounce or will it break?" Whatever the reason, if something is on a shelf or table, Tenzing is likely to knock it down. He loves to climb the indoor tree. He loves to climb up the shelves. He has been known to knock over a floor lamp by pushing something over on it. Jack just loves to have fun. He always has fun, wherever he is. Put him in a room by himself for time-out and he will find a way to have fun in there.

Tenzing has fun wherever he goes.
                                                   It keeps him Mom on her toes.
                                                       To Jack and Persephone he'll say,
                                                       "Please, won't you come play?"
                                                  Unfortunately, they mostly say, "Noes!"

Emma

2011-09-03T18:20:00.000-06:00

Now that I am retired and have lots of time to do what I want, Kitty Limericks is coming back. I am really rusty on limerick writing, so I am starting with Emma. This is still my favorite photo of Emma. It is the first good picture I got of her and the only time I got close enough to her with the camera to get a portrait photo. Emma came into my (and Herman's) life on March 1st of this year. She was brought into the Espanola Animal Shelter (high kill rate) by a couple who found her hanging around their yard. They had been feeding her outside and noticed that the other cats in the neighborhood were being really mean to her. They decided to bring her inside, but first took her to the shelter's spay and neuter clinic for a checkup and to be spayed. The shelter did a workup on her and discovered that she was FeLV+. The couple who brought her in decided that they didn't want to keep her after all. I don't know if it was because of her diagnosis, or if they just had second thoughts about adopting a stray kitty. At any rate, the shelter couldn't keep her for any length of time because they are always overcrowded and she was considered hard to adopt out. The foster homes were all full and couldn't take an FeLV+ cat because she would have to be isolated. A lady who worked at the shelter remembered that Herman's foster Mom had a room for kitties who needed to be isolated and contacted her. Herman's foster Mom was also full up, but she told the lady at the shelter that she knew the perfect person to take in this kitty. Herman's foster Mom called me up and gave me the contact information. I called up the shelter lady as soon as possible and told her that I would be delighted to take her in, as I already had a cat with FeLV. We had a long conversation about the personalities of both cats and decided that there was a very good chance that Herman and the yet-unnamed kitty would get along. I made sure that she understood that if they didn't get along, I was willing to foster the kitty until I could find her a home. The call ended with, "When can you come pick her up?" Herman's foster Mom and picked her up the very next day.

It turned out that I needn't have worried at all about them getting along. My concerns were that Herman had always been an only cat in his two homes and much of his contact with other cats had been of the fighting kind. On the plus side, Herman had been acting a bit lonely. He wasn't playing as much as he had been. He was sort of moping around during the day, but being very clingy at night. I think he actually wanted a companion cat. When I brought Emma home (she didn't have a name yet, not for several days), the first thing I did was put her carrier in the middle of the living room floor. Herman greeted me, but ignored the carrier until Emma meowed softly. Then he slowly sauntered over to inspect the carrier. When he got up to the door, Emma backed to the very back of the carrier and hissed at him. Herman backed up just a little ways and lay down on the floor, looking at Emma. I took this for a good sign.

I had set up Herman's safe room for Emma. She had a litter box waiting and I brought her food and water as soon as we let her out of the carrier. She made herself right at home. She availed herself of all three facilities almost immediately and accepted my caresses right away. She was obviously not a feral-born cat, but must have escaped (or been dumped) from a home at a very early age, as she is only a year and a half old now. I don't know which it was, but all attempts to locate the former home failed. Herman insisted on coming into Emma's room with me every time I went in to feed, water, scoop the box and spend time with her. I let him stay until Emma hissed at him. To do him justice, he backed off every time he heard the hiss. He was a perfect gentleman toward her at all times. Herman wanted to be friends with her so badly, but Emma was scared of him. No wonder, he is twice her size. On the nineteenth day of Emma being in her safe room, I was awakened by loud thumping on that door. I thought Herman was trying to get in, so I got up to tell him to leave her alone until breakfast time. I found Herman right outside the door all right, but the latch hadn't engaged fully and Herman could have pushed the door open any time he liked. The noise came from Emma trying to get out. I opened the door, Herman and Emma kissed noses and they have been mostly friends every since. There is the occasional spat, but I have never seen any poofed-up tails or arched backs, so they have never been really serious about it.

Emma is very active. She wants to go everywhere, see everything, do everything. She even entices Herman to chase her by running right past his nose at top speed or even jumping over him. Sometimes, Emma has had enough of Herman and she goes to one of several spots where he can't or won't follow. I have never seen any kitty wrestling, but that isn't surprising, due to the difference in their sizes. Emma really does run wherever she goes. Oh, I have seen her occasionally start to just saunter down the hall, the way Herman does, but she soon picks up the pace. At night, as I go to my room, I see her flashing white feet ahead of me in the dimly lit hallway.

                                                  Emma runs wherever she goes.
The reason why, only she knows.
                                                             She runs and she leaps
                                                             Way up high, where she sleeps.
                                                  I love to watch those flashing white toes.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

May you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Sammy and Andy made this for Herman's blog and I like it so much that I am using it for my blog, too. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with lots of family and friends and good cheer.

Farewell, Gatsbi

2010-11-29T00:10:00.000-07:00

Gatsbi lived at Forty Paws for eleven years. Ma and Pa found her feral mother and her siblings and brought them inside. The mother became a barn cat, because she was simply too wild to accept a life indoors. The other kittens all found forever homes with other people, but Gatsbi stayed at Forty Paws because she had neurological problems. The vet thought that she must have suffered brain or spinal cord damage shortly after she was born. This meant that she could not jump and had trouble climbing. She had diabetes, but that was well under control. She adapted to the new house well and decided to live upstairs. Then one day she became rather lethargic and had a very low temperature. She was not eating or digesting well, either. Off she went to the vet, who tried everything he could think of, but nothing would bring her temperature up to normal and she didn't seem to be enjoying life much any more. Ma and Pa made the very hard decision to help her cross the Rainbow Bridge. The vet who treated her and her regular vet reviewed her case and decided that she probably had intestinal cancer. She was quite a kitty and Ma and Pa are missing her terribly.

Gatsbi got sick and no one knew why.
                                                      To make her better the vet did try.
                                                                    He tried every way
                                                                    To get her to stay
                                                       But Gatsbi off to the Bridge did fly.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T00:17:00.000-07:00

I just want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I am thankful that I am healthy this year. I am very thankful for Herman to share my life with. I am thankful for my family and friends, including all my online friends.

Clementine

2010-07-12T00:33:00.001-06:00

This is Clementine in the laundry basket. Samantha had been sitting in it not long before. Clementine has become a typical little sister. Anywhere that Samantha goes, Clementine wants to go there, too. Clementine first showed up at the house on December 13, 2009. The Mom and Dad heard a kitty meowing on the second floor patio and there she was. The Mom took her out some food and let her in the house when it began to get really cold. Samantha was not terribly pleased about that, but there was nothing she could do about it. The Mom and Dad asked all around the neighborhood, but nobody was missing a little orange kitten, so she stayed. At first she was called TOK, The Orange Kitten, but she soon got her name of Clementine. She soon went to the vet and checked out as completely healthy. The vet estimated that she was somewhere between six months and three years old. She doesn't seem to have grown much, so she is probably at least one year old. She didn't act at all feral, so she must have belonged to somebody at one time. At first there was lots of hissing on Samantha's part, but it didn't bother Clementine and the hissing soon tapered off. Now the two of them pounce each other and wrestle. Clementine loves to play, especially with Samantha, but Samantha isn't always willing. Clementine also hunts bugs and investigates everything she can reach. She likes to drink water out of the bathtub. She uses her paw to check the water temperature to see that it's not too hot, then dips her paw in the water and brings it up to her mouth.

                                                 Clemmie likes to go where Samantha was
                                                 If you ask her why, she just says, "Because . . ."
                                                           She pounces on Sam
                                                           With a jump then wham!
                                                Kitty wrestling has started with flying paws.

Farewell, Rascal

2010-07-05T00:33:00.000-06:00

I started reading Rascal's blog when I discovered cat blogging. I read it regularly back in the days where you could get through the entire Cat Blogosphere blog list in a few hours. Then the Cat Blogosphere expanded exponentially and I found myself reading it less and less, trying to visit more and more blogs. I regret that.

Rascal has a remarkable gotcha story, which you should really read in its entirety. It starts here. Rascal came into his new home as a tiny kitten in 2000 and started off his new life by forgetting where the litter box was and pooping on the carpet his very first day. His Dad had been a cat-hater not long ago and his Mom was afraid that Rascal's time with them was going to be very short, but his Dad laughed and said that he just needed to be shown the litter box again. That was the start of ten wonderful years. I wrote a short bio and limerick for Rascal which you can find here.

In February of 2008, Rascal was diagnosed with feline lymphoma and the vet gave him six months to live with chemotherapy. Rascal was always a fighter and an mighty wrestler. With the help of the chemo, he wrestled his lymphoma to a standstill and went into remission for two years. Not long ago the lymphoma came back, but Rascal managed to fight it off for another five months. He lost weight, but not his zest for life. The morning of the day he was helped to the Rainbow Bridge, he had been out hunting mice and chipmunks. When his Mom found him panting on the kitchen floor that afternoon, she knew what had to be done. The lymphoma was filling his lungs with fluid and it was time to help him to the Bridge.

                                              Rascal had his good days and bad,
                                              Which made his family happy and sad.
                                                         One really bad day
                                                          He just went away
                                               To the Bridge where none of his days are bad.

Happy Fourth of July

2010-07-04T00:24:00.000-06:00

Donkey Doodle Dandy is here to wish you a happy and safe Fourth of July.

I am planning to alternate posts between Kitty Limericks and Herman's Hideaway, as I used to before Herman got sick. I think he is probably as well now as he is going to get. The poop will probably just stay the way it is, but it doesn't really bother either of us, except that I have to keep giving him his Centrine to keep the poop puddles from coming back. I am a bit undecided on what to do about the tribute posts. There is no way I can keep up with all of the kitties who go to the Bridge. The Cat Blogosphere has gotten so big that there are bound to be kitties going away quite often. I am trying to decide whether it is better to do some tributes mixed in with the happy limericks, or just stick to the happy limericks. If you would like a limerick of your own, just mention it in the comments or send me an email. You don't have to be a kitty. I do limericks for all our animal companions.

Kiara

2010-07-02T00:49:00.001-06:00

That is a catnip plant that Kiara is lying next to. Kiara really loves the nip and sometimes she overdoes it. When her Mom had Meeko for about a year, she was worried that Meeko was lonely, so she went to an adoption fair at a pet store and found Kiara. She liked her very much and brought Meeko into the store to meet her. They seemed to like each other, so the Mom brought Kiara home the very next day. That's when the trouble started. It wasn't too bad, but Meeko liked to start a fight with Kiara to remind her who was there first. They have calmed way down, but Meeko still occasionally pounces Kiara. As you can see, Kiara is a very floofy tortie and she has an incredibly floofy tail. She loves her Daddy best. She loves to drink out of the bathroom tap and will actually race her Mom to the bathroom, so she can jump up on the sink and get her drink. Some house guests have been a little perturbed when Kiara has followed them into the bathroom and demanded a drink from the sink. Kiara is eight years old now.

                                                Kiara really loves her nip.
                                                It sends her on a little trip
                                                    To doze and dream
                                                    Of a lovely scheme
                                               To get a lifetime supply of nip.

Happy Birthday, ML

2010-05-23T00:01:00.001-06:00

Have a glorious birthday, ML! You do so much for the whole Cat Blogosphere (and the other animals, too) that we simply cannot thank you enough. You put in an enormous amount of work to keep the Cat Blogosphere running and set up money raisers for pet owners in need and make really fine graphics that I am totally in awe of where you find all the time. I really hope that you understand how much you are appreciated. I have written a silly little limerick for you. I am woefully out of practice, but I hope you like it.

ML is just the bestest Mom.
She loves all the kitties, wherever they're from.
She will never rest
'Til she's done her best
To help the kitties be well and calm.

Farewell, Ziggy

2010-02-09T01:04:00.000-07:00

One day a small kitty showed up where the family at Sheep Thrills Farm parked their cars and followed them to the house. He then parked himself on a bench and stared into the sun room through the window. Because they are nice and kind people, they set up a nice place for him in the barn and got him some food and water. They didn't bring him inside right away because they already had a houseful of cats and two dogs. Every day, Ziggy would be back on the bench, staring in the sunroom window. Finally they couldn't stand it any more and decided that they could at least fix him up a place in the basement. You can guess how long that lasted. Ziggy moved right in and became part of the family for 17 years. He absolutely loved to play fetch. He had a rabbit-fur mousie that he would bring to anyone who would sit still for a little while. He would fetch the thrown mousie for hours if the person would keep throwing it. He only stopped this game after he had a bad fall and injured his back. Ziggy was a big cat, weighing up to 26 pounds. He had a big frame to go with it and the vet said that he was in perfect health. He did develop a thyroid problem, but that was easily controlled with medication. This winter, he just didn't seem to be himself. He got one problem after another, ending up with pneumonia. He died on his heating pad with his Mom petting him. He is sorely missed.

Ziggy got his new home by staring
                                          At the folks he sensed were caring.
                                               They welcomed him in
                                               To their cozy den.
                                           Now he's at the Bridge, where it's all about sharing.

Meeko

2010-02-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

Meeko has discovered that the Blurpy's toys are a lot of fun and make good pillows, too. Meeko also likes to nap in the easy chair and on the Blurpy's blanket. She adores getting cuddles from her Mom. Rolling around on the floor is one of her favorite things to do. She is more delicate about approaching the catnip plant than her sister Kiara is. Kiara tends to overdo it and ends up asleep on the floor in no time. Meeko takes it easy and just gets a little high. Catnip bubbles are another thing altogether. The Mom got a bottle of catnip bubbles and started blowing them one day. Kiara ran away from them, but Meeko was interested. She pawed at one, then hissed at it. The Mom kept blowing bubbles and Meeko would hiss at any one that got close to her. Meeko is allowed out in the garden with Mom when Mom is gardening. One day Meeko decided to get a closer look at the birds and climbed a tree. The Mom was startled when she saw Meeko five feet up the tree. Meeko got down again OK. Meeko and Kiara certainly know all about the M-word. Their Dad is in the Air Force and they move regularly. They have lived in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico. They will probably be moving to Montana soon.

   Meeko hissed at the catnip bubbles.
                                   Something about them caused her troubles.
                                                    She climbed up a tree
                                                    The birdies to see.
                                  And that gave her Mom her own kind of troubles.

Farewell, Floyd

2010-02-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is the last of the old tributes that I will be making. I am three months behind and there is no way that I will ever catch up. I will still be making tribute posts every other post, but I am going to work from the newest back. To all of you who are being skipped, I am very sorry, but I just can't do all of them any more.

Floyd came to live with his Mom as a kitten adopted from a shelter in 1996. He was very active and quite a little terror at times. One day he decided that he really wanted some chocolate pudding. Of course, his Mom wouldn't let him have any, so he jumped into the bowl. He was unceremoniously picked up and rushed to the bathroom for a bath. He calmed down a bit as he grew and on his first birthday, he welcomed a new kitten, Kirzon into the house. Later Lola moved in and he welcomed her, too. Floyd grew into a gentle giant, much bigger than the other cats, but very gentle with them. He never quite knew how big he was and he was always trying to fit where he saw the other cats go, like into a box, but he didn't fit. Floyd was diagnosed with lymphoma last February. The treatments didn't work as well with him as they have with other cats, and he was helped to the Bridge at the end of October. He stayed gentle and loving up to the end.

   Floyd welcomed the kittens in.
                                       He greeted them with a lick and a grin.
                                             He got lymphoma
                                             And left his home-a.
                                       Now he's at the Bridge, welcoming kitties in.

DVD Arrived

2010-01-30T01:31:00.002-07:00

The DVD I won at Fiona's auction arrived and I have already watched it. It's pretty interesting. I like it. Thank you.

Rusty

2010-01-25T01:06:00.000-07:00

This is the picture that won Rusty an Honorable Mention in Baby Patches' photo contest. Things are sad over at Jan's Funny Farm right now. Crystal went to the Rainbow Bridge. I am going to carry on with Rusty's limerick anyway and hope that maybe it will cheer them up a little, if they see it. I looked and looked, but didn't find out much about Rusty. He really liked the catnip candy corn that all the cats got for Christmas. He will close his eyes every time he sees the camera. He loves his food and he's a big cat, but he's just floofy.

Rusty is a ginger Mancat.

He looks big, but it's floof, not fat.

He will close his eyes

When the camera he spies.

He hates the flash and that is that.

Farewell, Private

2010-01-23T00:59:00.002-07:00

Jimbo's Mom Finn takes care of as many stray cats as she can. Where they live shelters are almost non-existent and some of the conditions where stray cats and dogs are taken are horrible. Not too long ago, Private showed up with her two sisters, Rudy and Coconut. They were welcomed in. The three of them were practically inseparable and they spent a lot of time playing in the big tree. One night last October Private, who was always very active, became suddenly lethargic. Mama Finn was getting her ready to go to the vet the next morning when she just suddenly stopped breathing. The family has no idea what happened to Private, but they all miss her very much, especially her sister Coconut.

Update: I can't believe I forgot to put in the limerick. My only excuse is that my head is so full of snot from my allergies that I can't think straight. I also wanted to mention that shortly after Private, Rudy and Coconut showed up, someone left a cardboard box with four almost newborn kittens in it in Mama Finn's front yard. The kittens were accepting nourishment, but they weren't thriving without their motherly contact. They were in a large cage to protect them. Mama Finn tried putting the adult female cats in the cage with the kittens one at a time, but they didn't like each other. Private was very interested in the kittens, so Mama Finn put her in with them and they all got along very well.

                                                     Private came as one of three.
                                                     They all had fun up in the tree.
                                                              Private ran away
                                                              To the Bridge to play.
                                                     Now Rudy and Coconut miss her glee.

Pen Arrived

2010-01-20T00:41:00.000-07:00

The pen that the Spouse Thingy made arrived in the mail today. It is totally awesome. It looks even better than the photos. Thank you, Thumper.

In other news, I am finding it impossible to post to two blogs and do my visiting and research all on the same night, so I am going to start alternating posting to Kitty Limericks and Herman's Hideaway. I'll do a limerick tomorrow and get back to Herman on Thursday. Tonight, I am really tired, so I am just going to do a short post for Herman and do some visiting.

Herman

2010-01-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

I have been researching a kitty who won't talk to me yet, so I decided to write a limerick for the kitty I know best. Herman was born on June 3, 2007 and went to his first home. His first family kept him inside and took pretty good care of him, but they never got him vaccinated or neutered. Then they moved away and gave Herman to their neighbors. The neighbors never got him vaccinated or neutered, either. They decided that they were allergic to him and instead of taking him to the shelter, they just tossed him out in the back yard, though they did continue to feed him and give him water. Evidently, Herman got into lots of fights with intruder cats and by the time the neighbors finally did take him to the shelter in May 2009, he had both FeLV and FIV. A very nice foster lady took him in and got him neutered and got him a lion cut for the awful mats he had developed while he was living outside. I found out about him in November and adopted him on November 16th. We knew that we were right for each other the first time we met. Herman is full of fun and love and is eager to share it all with me. He likes to watch the birds from his platform and play with his toys, especially any kind of ball. He is quite a soccer player. He thinks that water is strictly for drinking and doesn't want anything else to do with it. He loves to eat and has put on some weight since he moved in with me. He sleeps with me every night and curls up right next to me for some pre-sleep scritches. I fall asleep listening to him purr. He doesn't wake me up in the morning, but if he sees my eyes open, he wants his breakfast. He has started tickling the end of my nose with his toehawks to let me know that he knows that I am awake.

   Herman's as frisky as can be,
                               Though he has FeLV and FIV.
                                           He tickles my nose
                                           With the floof 'tween his toes,
                               Which means, "I want my breakfast, MommIEE!"

Farewell, BG

2010-01-11T01:34:00.002-07:00

I am so far behind with the tribute posts that I will probably never catch up. I will keep doing them every few posts, though.

This is my favorite picture of BG. BG was a Jack Russell terrier who showed up one Labor Day at Mia and Ghost's house. No one knew where she came from and no one claimed her, so she stayed. She was always a very happy dog and loved to run and play. Mia liked her, but Ghost always hissed at her, but then Ghost hissed at almost everything. She loved to go for rides in the car and play with her toys. Sometimes she hid behind the couch. She hardly ever barked, just sometimes at cows or at a squeaky toy when she got excited playing. Last October she started having trouble breathing and things went from bad to worse very quickly. She was helped to the Bridge because she couldn't be cured.

                                                 BG was a Jack Russell terrier.
                                                 She loved life; no dog was merrier.
                                                        She would run and play
                                                        In the yard all day.
                                                 Now she's gone to the Bridge, this happy terrier.

Smudge

2010-01-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

Smudge is the more active of the two cats who live with Kas. This makes sense, as he is only nine months old. He just loves to play fetch. He will even go under the lounge, where he barely fits, to retrieve a toy. Smudge has a favorite toy, Squeaky Mouse. He will go anywhere and do anything to get Squeaky Mouse. Kas has to hide it at night or the squeaking will wake her up in the middle of the night. Sometimes Smudge finds it and she is awoken by the squeaking anyway. Smudge is also a mighty hunter. He will leap way up in the air after a moth. Moths on the outside of the screen door drive him nuts. Smudge is not a lap cat. Sometimes Kas is able to bribe Smudge up on her lap with some duck jerky, but he never stays long. One of Smudge's favorite games is to pounce on Spider to start a wresting match or a chase session. Spider is all to happy to oblige. The two cats also groom each other and nap together sometimes.

                                        Smudge loves to play with Squeaky Mouse.
                                        He bats it around all over the house.
                                              Kas hides it at night
                                              So she can sleep tight.
                                        Sometimes Smudge finds it and goodbye, quiet house.

Spider

2010-01-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

By request, I am writing limericks for Spider and Smudge. Here is Spider looking quite calm on the table where he is not supposed to be. Doesn't seem to faze him much, does it? Spider is five years old and a former shelter cat. He is a real cuddle puss and loves to sit in Kas' lap. He will jump through a hoop for treats, especially duck jerky. Spider, Smudge and Kas live in Canberra, Australia. The other day, Spider figured out how to open a sliding door to get outside and he and Smudge gave Kas a scary time, until she caught Spider and Smudge followed them back inside. Luckily the two of them were a bit intimidated by being outside and were just creeping around the yard and easy to catch. Spider is the more easy-going of the two cats, but he will cheerfully join in a wrestling match whenever Smudge pounces on him. The two of them really enjoy a good race through the house, as well. Spider wasn't too happy when Smudge joined the family at first, but now they get on well together. This time of year there are lots of moths and other bugs to hunt and Spider enjoys this a lot. The cat grass has grown up to munching height and Spider loves getting a chance to "mow" it.

                                                 Spider likes to chill and relax,
                                                 But he always has to watch his back,
                                                       For Smudge will pounce
                                                       With a mighty bounce
                                                 And that's the start of a wrestling match.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T23:17:00.003-07:00

I hope that everyone has a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. I am researching some kitties for limericks, but my sore ribs have taken a lot out of me and sometimes I find myself falling asleep at the computer and need to go to bed before I'm ready to quit. At least working at the computer doesn't hurt any more.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T20:36:00.004-07:00

Sorry I haven't gotten back to the limericks yet. I overdid it the last time I blogged and made myself sore again. I am slowly getting better and think I have figured out how to space myself out blogging, so I don't get sore again. My physical therapists are very happy with my progress. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate.

Auction for Fiona

2009-12-19T00:55:00.002-07:00

I just want to help spread the news about the auctions to help pay Fiona's vet bills. There are new items offered each week and they look great.

I am sorry that I haven't been blogging in so long. I had a bad fall on the evening of December 8th and cracked two ribs. I spent the next week in bed, only able to feed myself and Herman and take care of our bathroom needs. I am getting a little better now and can finally bear to sit in my computer chair again. I will try to get back to the limericks soon.

Salem

2009-12-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

This is Salem of The Zoo in one of her many napping spots. At 13 years old, she has become a champion napper. She likes all the big beds, the top of the cat tree, the closet shelf and her own pink bed on the floor. Sometimes her Mom even brings her food in bed, so she doesn't have to get up to eat. Some of the other cats are a bit jealous of this, but as the elder Alpha cat, she deserves it. It isn't that Salem isn't active. She still likes to go outside on her harness and leash. Salem is pretty calm. The only time she gets a little put out is when one of the woofies steals her pink bed. Usually she just finds another spot, or gets up somewhere and waits until the woofy gets up, then takes her bed back.

                                                    Salem loves to snooze around.
                                                    Sometimes way above the ground.
                                                             Or she'll sleep in her bed
                                                             On the ground instead.
                                                    Salem just loves napping around.

The Shelter Pet Project

2009-12-03T20:35:00.001-07:00

I have been meaning to do this for some time, but I kept putting it off. I feel that this project is very important to help save the lives of many healthy and treatable pets who are euthanized each year. If I can help save just a few, that is reason enough to post about it. Here are a few facts:

Each year approximately 4 million pets are adopted.
Of the 8 million pets that enter animal shelters each year, approximately 3 million healthy and treatable pets are euthanized.
It is estimated that 17 million people will acquire a pet within the next year.
To save all the healthy and treatable pets that are euthanized, we just need 3 million of these people to adopt.

To find out more about this project go here. I recently adopted Herman from Friends of the Shelter where he was in a foster home. He is not what many people would consider a perfect pet, as he has some health issues, but he is the perfect pet for me. He was sad and lonely and so was I. Now both of us are much happier and no longer lonely. If you are going to adopt a pet, please check your local shelter first. I am sure that there is a cat or dog who there who would be thrilled to go home with you.

Adopt from your shelter, oh, please do.
The cats and dogs are waiting for you.
Each pet girl and boy
Will bring you such joy.
You want to adopt them; you know that you do.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T01:20:00.003-07:00

I want to wish all my friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Herman came into my life at just the right time. This was going to be a kind of lonely Thanksgiving without my parents, but now I have Herman to keep me company. My little cold has prevented me from sharing this Thanksgiving with my family, but I won't be alone. I will try to visit as many of you as possible and I will also try to get back to the limericks very soon. I slept all afternoon Wednesday and I am feeling quite a bit better now. Love to you all.

Farewell, Kimiko

2009-11-22T00:40:00.004-07:00

I am really getting behind with these. It's been almost a month since Kimiko went to the Rainbow Bridge. Kimiko was one of the older cats in the house. Her Mom found her in a dumpster near her work with four siblings. No one knows how the kittens got in the dumpster. The momcat was hanging around the dumpster and that is what alerted the Mom to look inside. She found the five baby kittens, but could not catch the mother. She took all of them home and socialized, litterbox trained and found homes for all the rest, but kept Kimiko. Kimiko loved her Mom very much and always wanted to be near her. She also loved to hop in the laundry basket as soon as the clothes came out of the dryer. Her favorite treat was fishy flakes and her eyes would get really big when she saw them come out and get put in a bowl. She was very vocal and told her Mom all about everything. She loved to be held and cuddled in her Mom's arms. Kimiko got small cell intestinal cancer. Usually this disease is slow-acting and responds well to chemo. In Kimiko's case it was very aggressive and nothing seemed to slow it down. Kimiko had to be helped to the Rainbow Bridge not long after her diagnosis. Her family is still missing her very much.

                                    Kimiko's cancer came on fast.
                                    She tried her best, but could not last.
                                            Alas, now on Earth
                                            Of her there's a dearth.
                                   She is at the Bridge, having a blast.

Limerick Tomorrow

2009-11-21T00:19:00.002-07:00

I will definitely start up the limericks again tomorrow. I already have one written, but I am too tired to post it tonight. I have had a busy day, as you can see on Herman's new blog. It isn't much to look at and it has my profile, but at least it's a start.

Playful Herman

2009-11-20T00:24:00.003-07:00

I managed to get a much better picture of Herman this morning. Since I knew that the light level was high enough that the flash wouldn't go off, I got much closer to him. I know now, thanks to your kind advice, that I shouldn't be shooting toward the window, as I still am here, but I was close enough and low enough that the picture came out all right. I took this picture just after our cuddle and play session and he was still making biscuits on the carpet. He loves it when I get down on the floor with him. I think the hopping up on the bed and hopping off was him testing to see whether it was allowed and if he felt comfortable enough with me to join me. He slept on my feet for a few hours Wednesday night. I was expecting him to meow me awake for breakfast Thursday morning, but he didn't. This was probably because I noticed just before I went to bed that he had eaten almost all of his Stinky Goodness, so I gave him some more. I think one of his previous families had punished him for jumping up on the furniture because when I got up early to put out the trash bin, he was sitting on a big pillow I had put on top of some storage boxes in front of the window near the bird feeder. As soon as he noticed me, he jumped down and ran as if he had been caught doing something wrong. He is slowly learning that jumping up on the furniture in this house is allowed, though he still very rarely does it. When I went back to bed after putting out the trash and making sure that he wasn't ready for more food yet, I had just gotten settled in good when I heard a meow from the foot of the bed. I scratched on the covers and told Herman that it was OK and he joined me in bed. He came up to me and I gave him some scritches. Then the most amazing thing happened. I had my hand flat on the bed scritching his cheek when he nestled his head into the palm of my hand, closed his eyes, started purring and went to sleep. Now that is trust and love.

Herman is making great strides in the playing department. At first he would only bite and paw at his toys for a minute or two, then lose interest. After I got him the kicker toy, he started bunnykicking. Today I noticed that he is batting them around. Tomorrow I am going to try out Da Bird on him again. The first time I tried it, he just watched it for a few seconds, then walked away. The second time, I waved it around slowly, then let it stop and he walked up and sniffed the feathers for a bit before walking away. Now that he is batting toys around, maybe he will bat at it. This morning I rolled a ball for him and he chased it. That was the first time that I had seen him show any interest in the ball at all. I found one of his little mousies in the kitchen and scooted it across the floor to him. He batted it around so vigorously that he knocked it under the dishwasher. He was so disappointed when it disappeared. I got down and looked, but couldn't see it and I couldn't feel it, as far as I could reach. I think he must have knocked it over the hose and way to the back and it just might have to stay there. He meowed at me for a long time after I gave up trying to get it out. Of course, I brought him a new toy when I came home from work. It's like a miniature tennis ball with a fuzzy tail. He groomed the tail, but didn't seem much interested in the rest of it. I do notice that most of the toys change position during the night. I think Herman will be completely over his depression very soon. I got his vet papers today and they state that he just turned two in June. The shelter had told me that he was three or four. No wonder he was so depressed, going through two homes in one year and eleven months, with the second one not being much of a home at all. I wonder how long he will sleep with me tonight.

Settling In

2009-11-19T00:23:00.003-07:00

Here is the first picture of Herman. I obviously have a LOT to learn about taking pictures of cats. He is lounging against his scratcher, which he doesn't use; he prefers the carpet. I need to find him a better one, but there aren't any available in this little town. If you biggify, you can actually see him. Sorry it's so dark. I don't understand it. The picture was taken in bright sunlight, so the flash wouldn't go off and alarm him. I'm sorry I didn't blog last night. I pooped out at 11:00 pm. Herman didn't spend the night with me Monday night, but he jumped up on the bed once, then jumped back off again. Tuesday night he jumped up three times and down again. The fourth time, it looked like he was going to stay, but the alarm went off and he ran. I had to get up early to get the bags of donations out for charity. Herman likes his breakfast early. Tuesday morning he meowed me awake at 6:00, so I got up and fed him, then went back to bed. Wednesday morning, he meowed me awake at 4:45 and I told him that it was much to early. He finally gave up. The alarm went off at six, so I dragged out the bags, then fed him, then went back to bed. I usually get up at ten. By then Herman was ready for his midmorning snack.

Monday night, Herman would only let me pet him a little bit. Maybe he wasn't sure what was going on quite yet. Tuesday, I got down on the floor with him and he let me pet him for a long time. We had three nice sessions like this, periodically interrupted by the dryer alarm, as it was laundry day. At one point, he was cuddled up right beside me, on his back, making happy feet in the air and purring. He has a rumbly, but very soft purr. I keep buying him toys. I found a fairly long tube, made of hemp and stuffed with organic catnip. When I wiggled it on the floor, he pounced on it, bit it, clawed it, rubbed his face on it and bunnykicked it good. I was so happy that tears came to my eyes. Herman hadn't played with toys in a long time because he was so sad. He certainly plays now.

Wednesday I had to go back to work and I wondered what Herman's reaction would be. He was taking his afternoon nap in his mancat cave when I left. When I came home, he soon appeared, meowing loudly, probably asking me where the heck I had been and why was his dinner so late. I was afraid that he would be feeling abandoned and maybe a bit sulky, but he was delighted to see me and we had a great play and scritch session after he ate his dinner. I got to clean up my first kitty barf. Herman is a nibbler, so he always has food out. I was getting my lunch and he was eating again and whoopsie! I think he probably just ate a bit too fast. Maybe the smells from my lunch warming up stimulated his appetite a bit too much.

I will set up Herman with his own blog soon and get back to the limericks soon, maybe tomorrow night, for the limericks, anyway. As I recollect, setting up a blog takes some time and I probably won't have much until Friday. A huge thank you to you all for welcoming Herman so warmly. I'm in love and I'm probably boring the pants off some of you with my new kitty ravings.

Welcome Home, Herman

2009-11-17T01:00:00.002-07:00

Herman came home a little after 11:00 Monday night. The plan was to close him up in his safe room for the night to let him adjust. He was supposed to be nervous and a bit shy. Ha! I let him out of his carrier once the foster lady and I had gotten him into his room and the door shut and he came right out and rubbed up against my legs. I got him some water and he lapped some up. I got him some food and the foster lady brought out the tuna that she had lured him into the carrier with and he dug right in. Then he used his litter box and came right over to where I was sitting and rubbed up against my legs again. I started to pet him and he let me for a little while, then he gave me a little nip to let me know that he had enough for now. He is just a tiny bit nervous about letting me touch him for any length of time, but then he comes right back for more. Best of all, he has already lost the sad, droopy look that I saw in his foster home. His ears and tail both came up after only a few minutes. The cat who never plays found one of the catnip mice I scattered around on the floor for him just after I let him out of the box and mouthed it and rubbed up against it and even rolled over on his back holding it. It only lasted a minute or two, but it is behavior he has not exhibited since he was brought into the shelter last May. Herman is very talkative. After the foster lady left, I went to the door to go get a plastic bag to scoop up his litter box deposit. He came to the door with me. I asked him if he wanted to come along and he meowed at me. So I opened the door and he walked down the hall with me to get the plastic bag, with him meowing all the time. Herman is having none of this safe room business. He wanted to see the whole house right away, so I walked around with him following at first, then leading. I think Herman knows a forever home when he sees and smells one. So much for having another couple of days to finish the cleaning while Herman stayed in his room adjusting. He is adjusted already and I think he loves it. He has been rubbing his cheeks on every corner in the house. I didn't realize just how much nervous tension I have been carrying around, worried that something would go wrong until everything went right and it left. I am exhausted and going to bed very soon. I am leaving my door open, bedroom cat-ready or not, although I don't think there is anything in the room that would hurt him, just things that might break if he knocked them down and a lot of dust. I won't be at all surprised if Herman joins me in bed tonight. Both the foster lady and I are overjoyed. She gave me a big hug as she left and told me that she had almost given up hope of finding a home for Herman and that she felt sure that he had found his special home at last. I think so, too. I believe that even Herman thinks so. He sure is making himself at home.

Behind Schedule

2009-11-16T00:32:00.002-07:00

I had some time all plotted out this morning for kitchen counter scrubbing, floor mopping, dusting and vacuuming and then things started to happen, like phone calls, and I never got any of it done. I do have time tomorrow morning, if nothing else happens, but this means that I still haven't gotten started on my room. I thought about doing some of my room tonight, but I had a really busy day at work and came home too tired to do anything but blog a bit. I can always sleep in Herman's room, if he shows signs of wanting company all night. The couch in there is a hide-a-bed. I kind of think he will want his own space tomorrow night, though, and I just might be able to get my room in shape Tuesday, my day off. I surprised myself at how quickly I got the living room and kitchen cleared of stuff that wasn't kitty friendly. I am happy, excited and nervous. I tried telling myself today that if there was anything that would make the Friends of the Shelter change their minds about letting me adopt Herman, they would have asked me about it already. I guess the only thing I have to worry about is that the foster lady said that sometimes the cat liked the person, but hated the house and would get so fractious that he or she had to be returned. I think that Herman will be so glad to get out of that room he's been in for the last few months and into a home with just himself and one person that he will just settle in nicely. I also believe that fractious cats just need some space and time and love, though there may be cases where that doesn't work. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, Herman will be settling into his new life.

Getting Ready

2009-11-15T00:42:00.002-07:00

I have called Herman's foster lady and she suggested that she bring Herman over Monday night, so he can spend the night in his safe room and I will be there for him in the morning and all day, as I have Tuesday off. I have been busy getting ready. Herman's safe room is all set for him. The living room and kitchen are ready except for the cleaning and putting the safety locks on the cabinet where I keep the cleaning supplies and the cabinets where the good china is stored. I haven't even started on my bedroom yet and it is a total wreck. I hope I can get it in shape by the time Herman starts to think that sleeping with me might be fun. He will be spending the first few days in his safe room with the door shut. I have gotten some good advice about that. I hadn't even considered that he might be overwhelmed by the extent of the change in his life and learning one room will probably be quite enough for him to begin with. I know what I have to do and how I am going to go about it, but it seems like there is just so much of it. I am such a packrat that there is stuff everywhere. I am buying storage boxes and I think I will just throw bunches of stuff in the boxes and go through everything later, just so I can get things cleared off. I am excited, happy and very nervous. Part of me is still afraid that something will go wrong at the last minute, but that's just my nature. I am a bit of a worrywart. Wish me luck.

Herman Has a New Home!

2009-11-13T12:39:00.002-07:00

Your purrs and pug snorts worked! The screener called me at 7:00 this morning and interviewed me over the phone. I passed with flying colors. Herman is now officially my kitty. The foster lady suggested that I give him his own room, at least to begin with, and I spent the rest of the morning working on getting it ready for him. I won't close him in, but he will have his own space to feel comfortable in. There's a nice hidey-hole for him under a corner table, an easy chair, a sofa and a spot on a shelf where he can look out the window. The foster lady and I agreed that I would pick up Herman on my next day off that I don't have any commitments, so he will be arriving early next week, possibly Tuesday. That way I can spend the whole day with him before I have to go back to work. I know what he eats and what kind of litter he likes, so I'll be picking that up for him tomorrow. I already bought some toys, a brush and some food dishes for him.

Speaking of what he eats, that leads me to a problem. Herman is currently eating Purina Kitten Chow (for the extra protein he needs), dry Friskies and Fancy Feast. Everything I read last night about FeLV and FIV says that a cat needs the best nutrition possible, high in both protein and fat, to live as long as possible. From what little I know about cat nutrition, this isn't the best diet for him. Can anyone point me to a book about caring for a cat with FeLV/FIV or a good one on cat nutrition? Herman cannot eat raw foods, because his doubly weakened immune system can't handle the bacteria that might be on it. I would be willing to cook for him, if that is the best route.

Thank all of you for your support in this and any help you can give me on tips for caring for Herman. I am thrilled that he is going to come live with me. I will be really busy until, and after, his arrival, but I will be checking in from time to time and posting updates. It may be Friday the 13th, but it is a very lucky day for both Herman and me.

Second Step Successful

2009-11-13T00:00:00.002-07:00

Things are going well. I met the foster lady and Herman this morning. The foster lady thinks that I just might be the perfect match for Herman. Most important is that Herman likes me. The foster lady says that he is a bit shy and not very trusting of people, but he came right out to meet me. I did have a small bowl of tuna in my hands, but the foster lady says that he doesn't often come right out to meet someone. Herman let me pet his back while he ate his tuna, then he went back to his safe spot for a minute. I crouched right down and just stayed still and he came back out, sniffed my fingers and gave one of them a little lick, then rubbed his chin up against my fingers for some scritches, which I gave him. He talked to me a bit, too. He is unhappy. His tail was droopy the entire time. I so much want to give him a home and make him happy. Now I just have to get through the screening process. The foster lady said that they probably would want to know how I would take care of him, so I am off to learn as much about feline leukemia and FIV as I can.

I am finding it very hard to concentrate on limericks for some reason. Grin. I will get back to them once this is resolved and I find out whether Herman will be coming to live with me or not. Right now, I am too excited and nervous to be able to do them justice.

Excitement

2009-11-11T23:12:00.002-07:00

My plan was to get the house in order and all cleaned up and just the way I wanted it, then get some good cat furniture, then go cat hunting. However, I saw a flyer for a cat who needs a home NOW. His name is Herman and he's 3-4 years old. His previous family really neglected him, leaving him outside, unneutered and unvaccinated. He got FeLV and HIV and terrible mats in his long gray and white fur. At present, he's in a foster home, locked up in a room by himself with little contact even with the foster lady. He took a dislike to her when she and another volunteer tried to cut out his mats themselves. He has been professionally shaved and checks out healthy except for his virii. He is sad and lonely. When I saw the flyer, something inside me said, "This kitty needs you," so I called the foster lady and left my number. This morning she called me back and was very excited that I wanted to adopt Herman. I go to meet him in the morning. If that goes well, then all I have to do is go through the screening process. I ran around this morning, putting away all the picture frames with glass in them and cleaning off the table by the window, so he will have a good view of the bird feeders. The screening process has me a bit worried. I have heard that they can be pretty strict about who they let adopt animals. I have no idea what they are looking for, except that they don't want to give an animal to someone who would abuse or neglect it. Will my really messy house count against me? Does anybody know anything about this process?

Gracie

2009-11-11T00:23:00.005-07:00

I just love this photo of Gracie enjoying the sunshine. Gracie hasn't been blogging long, just since the end of September, so I can't tell you a whole lot about her. She lives out in the country, where the tradition is that cats live outside to keep down the rodent population. She first showed up in July, shortly after Sassy, Guy and Punkie went missing. There was an outdoor party going on and she was drawn by the food smells. Lots of people wanted to pet her and coo over her. It wasn't long before the Dad noticed that she was starving; her ribs were sticking out much too much, so he went and got her some food. The Mom was not happy about this, as she didn't want to get attached to another kitty. She was still heartsore from Sassy, Guy and Punkie. Gracie worked on her, pulling out all the cute stops and before long, a few days at the most, she won the Mom over. Gracie got named and taken to the vet to get checked out, get her shots and her microchip and to get spayed. The vet said that Gracie had to stay indoors for ten days after her surgery. Gracie was delighted. It wasn't long before Gracie was sleeping in the bed with her new Mom and Dad. Then the Mom got all sad about the ten days coming to an end and Gracie would have to go outside again. However, Gracie had been working her kitty magic on the Dad and it was decided that Gracie would be an inside cat. She couldn't be happier. She doesn't even try to walk out an open door. Gracie now has her own kitty condo and she seems to really enjoy playing with shoe strings. One of her favorite toys is a hand, especially her Dad's. Everyone enjoys the hand game very much, except when Gracie gets a little excited and bites down a little bit too hard. She has learned to back off quickly when this happens, though.

                                     Gracie knows how to get her desire.
                                     Her pitiful look sets humans on fire
                                             To serve her and feed her,
                                             To love her and need her.
                                    It's a good thing a home was her only desire.

Farewell, Beezer

2009-11-10T01:25:00.005-07:00

Someone mentioned recently in a comment that I must hate doing these. Hate is the wrong word. It makes me sad, yes, and I wish that only very old friends had to go to the Bridge, but I also feel that it is an act of love to say farewell and that's why I do it. This one is hard to write, because I have known Beezer for a long time. Back before I had a blog, I used to read Beezer's blog all the time. Then I started blogging and time got shorter and Beezer started blogging less and I just stopped going by much at all. I hadn't been by in ages when I read on the CB that Beezer had gone to the Rainbow Bridge. It came as a shock. I did write Beezer's story and limerick, which you can find here. Beezer was with his Mom as an only cat for almost 10 years. She first saw him in a department store window the day before Thanksgiving, which is how the shelter he came from encouraged people to adopt kitties and puppies. I always loved Beezer's adoption story. He was a mellow and loving cat. He loved to sit in his Mom's lap. He got sick all of a sudden and went quickly, at home with his Mom. She is missing him terribly.

                                  It's hard to say farewell to Beezer.
                                  He wasn't really even a geezer.
                                        He got sick and left
                                        His Mama bereft.
                                  Have fun at the Bridge, dear friend Beezer.

Farewell, Shadow Lady

2009-11-09T00:21:00.005-07:00

This was supposed to be a happy post about Shadow Lady, the only cat at Jewel Girl's house that I hadn't done a limerick for. I had written her happy limerick and chosen the picture below to go with it, then I had my tooth problems and didn't get it posted in time.

Shadow Lady was the calm, collected elder cat of the house. Nothing ever seemed to bother her and she left the rough-housing and play to the younger cats. Her idea of fun was to find a great place to nap, like a handy lap. Last summer, Jewel Girl let her out into the back yard to enjoy the sun and grass and Shadow Lady loved it. Shadow Lady was born on March 5th, 1995, as one of a litter of eight. She lived the longest of any of them. She went into a sudden decline a few days ago and the vet determined that her kidneys had failed. She went to the Rainbow Bridge on November 6th. Jewel Girl is really sad right now. Here are Shadow Lady's two limericks.

                                       Shadow Lady is a gentle cat.
                                       She seldom, if ever, has a spat.
                                               She takes her naps
                                               In convenient laps,
                                       Which is something she is very good at.

                                        We now say farewell to Shadow Lady.
                                        She's lounging around someplace shady,
                                                  With grass 'neath her toes
                                                  And not any woes.
                                        Have fun at the Bridge, dear Shadow Lady.

Farewell, Baby Pickles

2009-11-08T00:28:00.005-07:00

I am back to feeling mostly human again, so it's back to the limericks. There are going to be three farewell posts in a row because Shadow Lady was up after Pickles, but she went to the Bridge, too, so her post won't be a happy one.

Patrick went to the Rainbow Bridge on August 4th and the Mom found Baby Pickles the very next day. She was delighted because he looked almost exactly like Patrick -- all white with some Siamese in the mix. Pickles was born deaf, but that never slowed him down. He was all over the place and having a great time with Christopher. Then in early October he had a seizure of some kind. The Mom knew just what to do and got some glucose into him and kept him warm. He seemed to come out of it just fine. Everything seemed to be going well until the Mom found that he had run off to the Rainbow Bridge very early on the morning of October 17th. She thinks that he had another seizure. There must have been something wrong with his little insides. This really tore the Mom up emotionally, but things are getting better now. There is a new little kitten in the house, Bug. She was part of a rescued feral litter and very sick. She is much better now, and the Mom is cautiously hopeful.

                                      Baby Pickles left us much too soon.
                                      He fell into a deathly swoon,
                                            And floated away
                                            To the Bridge to play.
                                      Now he runs and jumps and chases the Moon.

Dona Nobis Pacem

2009-11-05T16:44:00.003-07:00

Thank you very much to The Meezers: Miles, Sammy, Billy and Meezermom for putting this lovely graphic together for me. I was unable to do it myself.

I really do believe that the only way we will get world peace is for all of us to treat each other better as individuals. When no one is is desperate need and we can be content with what we have, there will be no more wars. It may sound terribly naive and it may be, but that is what I believe.

Help, Please

2009-11-03T22:42:00.003-07:00

I have been having a pretty rough time lately. Yesterday I went to the dentist to get a small cavity filled and have a sore tooth looked at. The dentist couldn't find the cavity, but the sore tooth (a molar) was cracked right through and infected. It had to be pulled and it came apart, so the dentist had to dig for the roots. I feel terrible. I am not in any real pain, just a general feeling of exhaustion and malaise. I have always had a terrible time putting my Peace Globe together and I just can't do it myself in time. Would some kind soul do it for me? Here is my globe:

Here is my picture that I always use:
Here is my limerick:

Love thy neighbor as thyself.
Covet not his goods or pelf.
Be willing to share
To show that you care,
And Peace will come, all by itself.

If some kind soul could just put them all together and e-mail me the finished product to: nyctolopsATvlaDOTcom I would be very grateful.

Aniwa Scrat

2009-11-02T00:44:00.004-07:00

This is the look that got Aniwa her forever home. She was all alone outside, starving and cold on an October 12th, with snow flurries in the air. She saw her new Mom and gave her this look and that was all it took. Well, could you resist it? Spooky Do welcomed Aniwa into the family right away and she has never forgotten it. To this day she loves to initiate play with Spooky Do, usually by giving him a bat on the head. This leads to a spirited wrestling match, sometimes followed by a mutual grooming session. When Kin Kin showed up, Aniwa was delighted. Here was someone who loved to play as much as she did. The two of them have become fast friends. Aniwa is a small cat and Kin Kin is quickly catching up to her in size. In fact, he may be as big as she is now, though he is still a kitten. Aniwa is often the first cat to size up a new toy in the house. She was the first one to play with the new tunnel. She has a favorite spot on a high shelf which has a cloth on top of it. She loves to get up there to watch the action below and nap. Lately she has been sharing it with Kin Kin. It appears that he followed her up there one day and now he enjoys it as much as she does. When the Halloween pumpkin appeared in the house, Aniwa was all over it. She rubbed up against the stem. When the top was cut off, she inspected the inside carefully and started to play with the insides. Her Mom made sure she didn't make a mess, though. Once it was carved, she was content to just look at it.

                                                 Aniwa says, "Will you play with me?"
                                                 Spooky may say no, but Kin Kin says, "Whee!"
                                                               They wrestle and chase
                                                               All over the place.
                                                 They have such fun as they play with glee.

Farewell, Tabbygail

2009-11-01T00:14:00.004-06:00

Tabbygail didn't have a blog, but you can read about her last sickness on the Purrs and Prayers Blog and you can read about her on her Catster page. Tabbygail was lost or abandoned in her Mom's neighborhood in January 2000 and found her way to her Mom's house. Her Mom suspects that their house has a sign, visible only to cats, which says, "Hungry cats welcome here." After feeding Tabbygail for a couple of weeks, she started to become more approachable and the humans suspected that she might be pregnant. When the weather turned really nasty in February, they brought her inside and she gave birth to four kittens, which the family also adopted. Her family thinks she was three or four years old when she was adopted. Once Tabbygail got used to her new humans, she became very affectionate and loved to be brushed. She loved to watch birds and squirrels out the window and chatter at them. She had a favorite toy leather mouse which she played with. She was really enjoying life until she developed a tumor. It was in a place which made it almost impossible to remove. Rather than risk losing her on the operating table, her family decided on an alternate treatment and Tabbygail was doing well on this treatment until she developed a complication in her lungs. This was making it very difficult for her to breathe, so her family made the difficult decision to send her on to the Rainbow Bridge on October 17th.

                                                 We now say goodbye to sweet Tabbygail.
                                                 She had a good life till her health did fail.
                                                         She went to the Bridge
                                                         Just over the ridge
                                                 To play forever, did sweet Tabbygail.

Miss Peach's and Mickey's Wedding

2009-10-31T00:23:00.002-06:00

Miss Peach and Mickey are getting married today. You can attend by following this link. I am so excited. I followed the wooing with much joy. I wish them all the happiness in the world.

                                                 Miss Peach and Mickey get married today.
                                                 The kitties are gathered in splendid array.
                                                         Let's toast them long life
                                                         Without pain or strife
                                                  Then throw rice and shout, "Hip-hip-hooray!"

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T21:30:00.003-06:00

I am putting up my Halloween post a little early, so I can also put up my post for Miss Peach's and Mickey's wedding for tomorrow. Fred and I would like to wish you a very Happy Halloween. Stay warm and safe, but have lots and lots of fun.

                                                 Have a Happy Halloween!
                                                 Beware, take care, if the Moon turns green.
                                                                 Strange creatures fly
                                                                 With a watchful eye
                                                 Looking for meat for their soup tureen.

Luna

2009-10-30T00:31:00.005-06:00

Luna's beans made a request that I fit Luna into Halloween week, as she is definitely a black cat. She has the most gorgeous green eyes. Here she is sitting on a lap, one of her favorite things. Luna's beans are very much involved in making electronic music, so there are wires and cables all over the place. Fortunately, Luna is not at all interested in them. What she does go for is the ties that hold them neatly in place. She leaves the ties alone while they are on the cables, but if she finds one on the floor, it instantly becomes a toy. She never gets to play with one long, because someone always takes it away from her. It wouldn't be good if she bit off a bit of the plastic and swallowed it. Luna is fond of toys and adores catnip. She always has a really good time when the catnip on her scratcher is refreshed. She loves basking in the sunlight. Where she lives now has a private patio with a high wall, so she can go outside. She loves it. She has her own little pot of cat grass on which to nibble. Luna asked me to remind you that she is hosting the Halloween edition of Weekend Cat Blogging, so get your posts in.

                                                 Luna's a black cat with eyes of green --
                                                 One of the prettiest I've ever seen.
                                                          She loves her nip;
                                                          Goes on a trip.
                                                 Now she's ready for Halloween.

Anakin Andrae

2009-10-29T00:15:00.004-06:00

When the Mom first put this toy down for the kitties to play with, Anakin pounced on it and claimed it for his very own. He growled at any other cat who tried to get near it. Anakin is the youngest and smallest of the cats, but he is growing fast and is nearly as big as Aniwa now. The Mom discovered that Anakin and Aniwa sound too much alike to the cats and it was causing confusion, so Anakin is always called Kin Kin now and he answers to that name. One day the Dad went hiking in a nearby National Forest and when he returned to the car, he discovered a tiny, very bedraggled and muddy kitten nearby. The kitten ran under the car and pawed at the tire. The Dad got him away from the car, but didn't have any way to keep him safe and warm in the car, so he sped home to get a carrier and some towels. When he got back, a lady had the kitten in her arms. He asked if it were her cat and she replied that she found him and was going to take him to the Humane Society. The Dad explained that he had brought a carrier and towels to take the kitten home and give him a forever home. The lady handed the Dad the kitten and that is how Kin Kin found his forever home. At first, the other cats weren't thrilled by this newcomer, but it didn't take long at all for Spooky Do to welcome him and for Aniwa to discover that he liked to play as much as she did. Aniwa seems to be Kin Kin's favorite among the other cats, probably because she is closest to him in age. They play together a lot. Kin Kin is very adventurous and has already discovered how to climb up to Aniwa's favorite high shelf.

                                                Kin Kin staunchly defends his toy.
                                                He is such a brave panther boy.
                                                      He will growl and hiss
                                                      And take it amiss
                                                 If any cat comes near his toy.

Farewell, Pierre

2009-10-28T00:25:00.004-06:00

It is easy to tell from this photo why Pierre's nickname was Tarzancito. This was his very favorite spot to sit and watch the world. He loved climbing through the trees and was very good at it. He also loved playing in the garden of the abandoned house next door. He is buried there now. Pierre was also a very loving cat and loved curling up with the family on the couch to watch TV. Pierre was always a very active cat and when his family found him listless one day, they rushed him to the vet. He had a very bad case of kidney stones with complications. He was such a tough mancat that by the time he showed any symptoms of there being something wrong, it was too late to save him. The vet tried overnight, but he only got worse, so his family sent him along to the Rainbow Bridge to end his suffering. They loved him very much and still miss him terribly.

                                                 Pierre just loved to climb in trees.
                                                 He scampered through the branches with ease.
                                                       He got kidney stones,
                                                       Which hurt down to his bones.
                                                 Now he's at the Bridge, climbing the trees.

Spooky Do

2009-10-27T00:16:00.005-06:00

As promised, today it's back to the limericks. As it is Halloween week, I am doing only black and orange cats. Above is Spooky Do, doing his best to live up to his name. I think that Spooky Do is the largest of the cats in his house and he is now quite the mellow guy. He welcomed Nelly and Anakin into the family without any fuss. Aniwa likes to attack him, but it never goes beyond the wrestling match stage and they are often seen grooming each other. Spooky Do's favorite thing is to climb into containers: bags, boxes, plastic bins. He has a favorite blue plastic bin that he often naps in. He loves to chew on plastic grocery bags, just to hear them crackle, perhaps. He likes to get up on a high shelf to keep an eye on what is going on.

                                                 Spooky Do likes to sit in boxes.
                                                 He jumps right in and settles his 'tockses
                                                       To look at the world
                                                       Before him unfurled.
                                                  He also likes to nap in his boxes.

Feeding the Birds

2009-10-26T00:17:00.006-06:00

Unfortunately, it's happening again. The kitties and woofies are going to the Rainbow Bridge faster than I can keep up with them, even if I do a tribute post every day. I am not going to do that, as I can't handle it emotionally any more and it makes my blog look like an obituary page. I will do the tributes in between the fun posts, even if it means that the tributes appear long after the event.

I thought I would tell you about my adventures in bird feeding. It all started many years ago when my family discovered that the ravens who hang around liked to eat chicken skin and just about any other food that we wanted to discard. The ravens are a riot to watch and we were soon getting fat from the grocery store, just to feed them. There weren't any ravens around this morning and I didn't have anything for them, so there isn't a photo of the ravens.

This is the suet feeder in the crabapple tree next door. For many years, we had birds spending the winter based in this tree, eating the crabapples. Then about two-three years ago we had a late frost and all the crabapple blossoms were killed. I didn't want the birds to starve, so I put up this feeder and put out a big block of birdseed. Every critter in the neighborhood enjoyed that block of birdseed, including the raccoons and deer. The ravens really like the suet, too, though I also get smaller birds eating it. I have kept it full every since, but decided against another big block of birdseed.

This is the finch feeder, which contains thistle seed. This spring a pair of house finches built a nest in our carport and I wanted to make sure that the babies had enough to eat near their nest, so I put this feeder up. They were emptying it every day at first, but now it last two-three days.

When my Mom began to get very frail, there was very little that she could do and she got bored. I put up this general small bird feeder to give her something to watch. I also thought that the tweeting of the small birds might amuse her. It worked, to some extent. Up until winter arrived, this feeder was also being emptied every day, but now it generally lasts two days. I started putting just the cheap seed in it, but the hulls were making quite a mess on the ground, so now I use the no waste bird seed. It attracts a variety of small birds, including finches, sparrows and juncos. I have also seen a dove or two on the ground, eating up what the smaller birds drop.

This was my attempt to take a picture of the feeders with birds actually using them. It didn't turn out very well, but you might just be able to make out some birds if you click on the picture to make it bigger. That's my adventures in feeding the birds. It's a reasonably inexpensive hobby and I am really enjoying it. I love hearing all the tweeting just after I fill up the feeders.

Tocktober

2009-10-25T00:14:00.003-06:00

Things did not turn out at all the way I had planned them. I had been having a regular flock of birdies around the bigger bird feeder and thought that I would refill the feeder, then back off far enough that the birdies wouldn't feel threatened and photograph some bird tocks for Derby, as that is the only kind of tocks around here. Unfortunately, winter arrived and this happened:

Most of the birds took off for warmer climes and the ravens wouldn't hold still long enough for me to photograph their tocks. So here are the only tocks I could photograph for you, Derby:

I don't know if stuffed tocks count, but I did my best.

Farewell, Rosendo

2009-10-21T00:18:00.005-06:00

This one just breaks my heart. Gretchen's Mom was writing a story about how an abandoned kitty got adopted and found a forever home. Her husband didn't know anything about the story, but he brought an abandoned kitten home with him. The kitten's name in the story was Rosy, but Rosendo was a little boy kitty, so he got named Rosendo, which is Spanish. He was starving and sick. You can see how tiny he was in the picture below:

He got the very best care possible, but on what would have been his fifth day with Gretchen and her beans, the kitty angels called him home. What is really tragic is that Gretchen threw a major hissy fit when he first came home, but she was just getting used to the idea that he would stay when he went to the Rainbow Bridge. It isn't all sad though. Gretchen's Mom found Sophie and she has moved in. Gretchen threw three days' worth of hissy fits, but now has accepted the fact that she has a new sister. Let us be comforted by the fact that little Rosendo had four days of unmitigated love and attention that he otherwise would not have had, hadn't the male human found him and brought him home.

                                                There was a kitty named Rosendo.
                                                Whose cuteness caused our hearts to bend-o.
                                                             He was skinny and sick;
                                                             His life sped by quick.
                                                 Have fun at the Bridge, little Rosendo.

PS. I don't really want to take away from the feeling of sorrow for the untimely death of Rosendo, but I feel that I must tell you of what is going on right now. I feel lower than a toad's belly now and I can't go on with the limericks. I knew to expect it, as I felt it with my Father's death. I am going to post a Tocktober post tomorrow and tell you about my bird feeding efforts the day after. I will get back to the limericks after that, I hope. I have had the comforting dream of my Mother telling me that she is all right now and with my Father, so I hope that my feeling of crushing sadness will go away soon. I just hope that I can de-clutter the house soon and adopt some kitties to keep me company. I wish I could stop waking up in the middle of the night, feeling that my Mother needs me and not being able to sleep again. Sorry to burden you with my troubles.

Nelly Dancy

2009-10-20T00:15:00.004-06:00

Nelly Dancy has begun sticking her tongue out lately. Is she showing her opinion of the flashy box? Nelly has a very expressive face and it's always easy to tell what she is feeling. She was adopted into her forever home in November of 2008 when her previous family was moving and didn't want to, or couldn't, take her along. She fit in easily with the other cats and was very welcoming to Anakin when he came along. Nelly is full of energy and is usually up to something. She loves to attack toes and toys. Nelly is fascinated by the Outdoors and will try to sneak outside every time she spots an open door. Last summer she succeeded in getting out and made a beeline for a mountain ash tree in the yard. She climbed up to the very top in her bid to get to stay outside for a while. This ploy succeeded, at least for a while. She wouldn't come down and someone had to climb up a ladder to reach her.

                                                 One day Nelly sneaked outside.
                                                 She climbed to the top of a tree to hide.
                                                         Her humans saw her --
                                                         It caused a bother,
                                                But they got her down and back safe inside.

Farewell, Tiny Tim

2009-10-19T00:25:00.004-06:00

Here is Tiny Tim, soaking up the sunshine. He was named after Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, as he showed up on December 26, 2001, with a lame leg. He got rescued and his leg healed up fine. Tim loved sitting in the sunshine and also going outside in the garden, though not as much as some of the other cats. Tim also very much enjoyed pouncing on Longfellow or whacking him on the bum as he was about to jump off the porch. Tim knew that the catnip is kept in a drawer in a table. He would go sit on the table when he wanted catnip. A while ago, Tim lost interest in eating and drinking and started panting. Off to the vet he went and it was discovered that he had Pyothorax, a fairly rare condition in which an abscess forms in the thoracic cavity and fluid builds up. There is a treatment, involving 5-10 days at the vet having the fluid drained, but there is no guarantee that the fluid won't just fill up again. Tiny Tim always hated going to the vet and his family decided that such a prolonged stay for maybe little gain would be harder on him than just saying goodbye. He was helped to the Rainbow Bridge on September 28th.

                                                 Tiny Tim fought the good fight,
                                                 But Pyothorax sapped his might.
                                                        His Mom helped him go
                                                        On his journey so
                                                 Long to the Bridge, where he plays in the light.

Daisy Dukes

2009-10-18T00:17:00.005-06:00

Daisy Dukes is a beautiful, polydactyl calico with lovely green eyes. This is a very unusual picture. Daisy loves to sleep on the very softest things she can find and this fleece blanket is just perfect for her. What is unusual is that the new kitten Anakin is also sleeping there. The other cats have taken to Anakin pretty well, but Daisy has been avoiding him. She isn't mean to him or anything; she has just been staying away from him, though she does hiss at him occasionally. So now the question is, has Daisy finally accepted Anakin or was the fleece just too irresistible, despite his being there? I guess it is possible that Daisy was there first and Anakin joined her after she went to sleep. Notice how she has snuggled her face right into the fleece. This is a typical sleeping position for her. Daisy has lots of fun when she isn't napping. She really enjoys paper bags. Once in a great while, her Mom lets her go out in the back yard, under careful observation. There is a comforter with a daisy pattern on it that is her favorite place to nap. I call it a quilt in the limerick to make the line scan.

                                                 Daisy chooses the softest place
                                                 To take her nap and rest her face.
                                                       The quilt with daisies
                                                       Brings on the lazies.
                                                 That has become her favorite place.

Farewell, Jake

2009-10-17T00:13:00.004-06:00

This is a hard one to write because it is so sad. Jake and Spot were inside kitties living with their Mom and two Kidbeans. They started blogging in 2006, but didn't blog very much at all. Then a boyfriend who didn't like cats moved in and Jake and Spot became outdoor only cats in the summer of 2008. The last we heard from them on their blog was that the Mom had gotten a doghouse, put it in the basement and put fleece blankets in it to keep them warm for the winter. That was September 2008. It must have worked because we didn't hear anything more until just recently. Jake was killed by a car. His Mom has lost her information to get into his blog, so it hasn't been updated since September 2008. She is just devastated.

                                                 Jake and Spot had to live in the yard.
                                                 They liked it fine, 'cept the door was barred.
                                                           A car hit poor Jake;
                                                           A trip he did take
                                                  To the Rainbow Bridge where nothing is hard.

Awards

2009-10-16T00:18:00.010-06:00

Oh, wowie! I got two awards today. First the one that I am most excited about. Mark, LC, Ayla and Iza designed this award just for me. The photo is of Edward Lear, master limerick writer. He wrote hundreds of them. The most famous one is this:

                                             There was a young lady from Niger
                                             Who smilingly rode on a tiger.
                                                     They returned from the ride
                                                     With the lady inside
                                            And the smile on the face of the tiger.

He wrote lots of other poems, too, but most of them have become rather obscure. His best known one is "The Owl and the Pussycat" which I think will be well-loved forever. I am so very happy that I will celebrate with a limerick of my own:

                                               Thank you so much for my limerick prize.
                                               I truly appreciate you guys.*
                                                           They are fun to do**
                                                          And to know that you
                                               Really like them, too, is the bestest prize.

*Well, one guy and three gals, but I was going for the rhyme.
**The tribute ones aren't really fun, but they are done with love and I always feel gratified when they come out right.

I also got this one from Mark, LC, Ayla and Iza. They are really spoiling me. I don't understand much Portugese, really just enough to recognize the language when I see it, but I do know a few words and I think it says, "This blog is a dream." Thank you so much. I didn't see any rules, but I feel that I should pass it on. I would like to give this award to:

Perfectly Parker
Shadow, Molly, Trooder and Jake
Diego-san, Theo and Thompson
Brian
Cheysuli and Gemini

Loki

2009-10-15T00:42:00.004-06:00

Loki has had a rather interesting life so far. Originally, he lived with his Daddycat, Nana's younger son. Then Daddycat lost his job and finding a new one would involve a lot of travel, so last May Loki came to live with his Nana for the summer, or so he thought. Nana has two dogs, so Loki moving in with them was rather a shock for both the dogs and Loki. They all get along fine now, though Loki does sometimes object to having his butt sniffed while he is napping on a chair. Daddycat has found a new job, but it involves moving around a lot, so Loki is living with Nana from now on, or until things settle down for Daddycat. Loki misses Daddycat, but he comes to visit whenever he can. Nana is spoiling Loki a bit. She buys him lots of toys and has introduced him to cat treats, which he never had before. Nana has discovered that Loki really likes catnip and she keeps a special stash for him. Loki knows where the stash is and will love all over Nana while looking at the catnip drawer. This usually works for him, but not always. In visiting around the cat blogs, Loki discovered Reese and fell in love. He dreams of her often.

                                                 Loki's in love with a cat named Reese.
                                                 Just seeing her makes him squeeze
                                                         His eyes in delight.
                                                         He dreams all night
                                                 Of the fun he could have with his darling Reese.

Farewell, Mrs. B

2009-10-14T00:34:00.003-06:00

I think Mrs. B was about 10 years old. She had a rough time of it before she found her forever home. Someone found Mrs. B in their backyard. She was in bad shape and they took her to a neighbor who rescued cats. This Nice Lady took Mrs. B to a vet who discovered that she was FIV+ and insisted that she be put to sleep. The Nice Lady was having none of that and took her to another vet, who treated her for her immediate problems, including diarrhea, and who said that she could live a long life with the right care. Mrs. B was about two years old at the time and was definitely not a feral cat. She had obviously been an inside cat, but how she got to be in the condition she was found in we will never know. Foster Dad took in Mrs. B to nurse her to health, but then she developed some alarming symptoms, so off the vet she went again. This time it was discovered that she had heart worms. This is often fatal, but Mrs. B pulled through. Mrs. B, called Bobbi at the time, was being kept inside, but she sneaked out one day and was terrorized by Foster Dad's dog. She wasn't hurt, but she was traumatized. Mrs. B went back to live with the Nice Lady, I think. About this time, Random Drift's Mom was looking to adopt a cat, as her Kalahari had gone to the Rainbow Bridge and her apartment seemed much too empty. She didn't have any luck at PetSmart and told a fellow worker that she was looking for a cat to adopt, but didn't know where to look. This fellow worker knew the Nice Lady and took the Mom to see her and Mrs. B. Mrs. B went home with the Mom and stayed there for eight years. She was never sick until just recently, when she got so sick that she had to be helped to the Rainbow Bridge. Mrs. B was a calm cat, but she did like to sneak out to eat grass. She never left the yard; she just wanted her salad. Her Mom took to growing cat grass in the house to see if that would stop her from sneaking out. Mrs. B loved to watch TV, especially Meerkat Manor. She would come running whenever she heard the theme music. For a long time, the Mom thought that Mrs. B just didn't like to play at all. She provided lots of cat toys for Mrs. B and Bubbles, but Mrs. B ignored all of them. Then one day Mrs. B found a milk ring on the floor. All of a sudden Mrs. B was playing all over the place. She never did play with anything else, though. Mostly she slept on her own special pillow, but she would sit on the couch with the Mom to watch TV.

                                                 We say goodbye to Mrs. B.
                                                 She lived quite well with her FIV.
                                                        Milk rings gave her joy
                                                        Like no other toy.
                                                 Now she's at the Bridge, eating grass carefree.

Huffle Mawson

2009-10-13T00:11:00.006-06:00

Here is Huffle Mawson in her parsley pot. It was one of her favorite places to sit in her back garden. When her Mom decided to redo and improve the garden because it has mostly gone to weeds, the parsley pot disappeared. Huffle was quite upset by this turn of events. After much begging by Huffle and a campaign started by Angus Mhor to get the Cat Blogosphere involved in getting Huffle a new parsley pot, this appeared:

Huffle is quite pleased with the cat grass, cat mint and catnip planted in the two little pots, but has yet to sit in her new parsley pot. She has been too busy hiding under the new plants in the garden, waiting for a chance to pounce on the evil birds who have been taunting her.

Huffle's Mom and Dad brought her home from a shelter four years ago and named her Stella. When her Dad noticed that she was quite the explorer and loved to investigate anything and everything, he added the Mawson, after the arctic explorer. When her Mom noticed that she liked to huff at things, lots of things, she started calling her Hufflepuff. This was soon shortened to Huffle and that is what she answers to now. When she first moved in, Huffle had a brother named Salvador. He didn't like her much and gave her a rough time. Even so, Huffle missed him when he went to the Rainbow Bridge. Huffle loves to play outside on her deck and in her garden. She thinks that all of her Mom's new plants are delicious, but her Mom objects to her tasting them. Maybe that's why she planted Huffle's new pots, thinking that Huffle would stick to her cat grass, mint and nip. Huffle is also determined to catch a bird or two, but she hasn't been successful yet.

                                                 Huffle lost her parsley pot.
                                                 It was something she liked a lot.
                                                      She got a new one,
                                                      But it wasn't a blue one,
                                                 So Huffle ignores her parsley pot.

Farewell, Baby-Dot and Baby-Tuxie

2009-10-12T00:20:00.003-06:00

This is Baby-Dot, having a little look around.

And this is Baby-Tuxie, going exploring. These two brothers were abandoned, along with one other sibling, who is being fostered by someone else, by their feral mother in a lady's yard. She was caring for them on her porch, but couldn't take them inside because her son is very allergic to cats. She called a vet, who knew that PDX Pride's Mom fosters tiny kittens and she took them in. Unfortunately, they both died within hours of each other only a few days later. They were only 2 1/2 weeks old. There was a problem with their formula, but that in itself wasn't enough to have caused them to go to the Rainbow Bridge. Maybe there was something wrong with their little insides. Despite the short time that they knew them PDX Pride's Mom and Dad grew attached to the little ones and are still very sad about it.

                                                 Two little tuxies were fighting for life.
                                                 Their foster Mom helped in their strife,
                                                            But they left anyway
                                                            And all we can say
                                                 Is, "Have fun, tiny tuxies, in you new life!"

Trooder

2009-10-11T00:26:00.005-06:00

By special request, today is Trooder day. This is his very first Gotcha Day, so be sure to drop by and wish him joy. Trooder is four years old. He was found in a feral colony by a very nice couple who were surprised by how friendly he was. They took him to Grayson County Humane Society. He was quite a mess. His fur was terribly matted and he had diarrhea and ticks. They cleaned him up and discovered that he walked funny because his left front ankle had been broken and didn't heal properly. He was a big hit with everyone, but no one adopted him and his time was running out. A group called N.O.A.H. took him in and put him up for adoption. His forever Mom found him at the store where she always shopped for food for Jake and the cats. He was huddled in the back of the cage, but came forward and meowed when he saw her. The lady who was handling the adoptions took him out of the cage and handed him to his soon-to-be Mom. She was very hesitant, but when they went to the quiet room and Trooder sat next to her and purred, then put his paw on her hand, she just knew that this was the new kitty for her. She took him home that very day. It turns out that Trooder has arthritis and his limp will never completely go away, but it is much better now that he is getting treatment for it. The shelter and NOAH called him Nowhere Man, but the Mom decided that he needed a new name. She tried Big Guy, but he didn't respond. The Dad called him Thumper because of the noise he made walking across the kitchen floor and he sort of responded to that. He was also called the Introoder, because that is how Molly, Shadow and Jake saw him. This got shortened to Trooder and suddenly, he was responding to that name. Shadow was the first one to make friends with Trooder. Molly was slower to come to accept him, but they get along fairly well now. Trooder still hisses at Jake sometimes and guards the human litterbox room from him. This is to prevent Jake from eating out of the litter box and that makes the Mom very happy. Trooder was so happy that he had a new home that he started to gain weight. He needed to gain some weight, as he was pretty skinny. However, he now has a jiggly belly and may have to go on a diet. This brings us to Trooder's first limerick:

                                                 Trooder may have to go on a diet,
                                                 But shhhh, the Mom is keeping it quiet.
                                                         Trooder loves his eats
                                                         And he loves his treats.
                                                It will be hard keeping him on a diet.

Because today is the first anniversary of Trooder's Gotcha Day and
because his Mom may not let him see the first limerick, here is a
special Gotcha Day limerick for him:

                                               We celebrate Trooder's Gotcha Day.
                                               Everycat come and shout, "Hooray!"
                                                         Kitties far and near
                                                         Raise a mighty cheer
                                               And toast Trooder's first Gotcha Day!

Patches

2009-10-10T00:17:00.004-06:00

Here is Patches doing her meatloaf impression. This seems to be a typical position for her. Patches started out life as an outside kitty and spent the first half of her life rather wild. She had two male cats taking care of her for a long time, but oddly enough, didn't have any kittens. All three of them used to hang around Caspersmom's house quite a bit. When it got cold, Patches used to go up on the roof and curl around the stovepipe. Caspersmom was afraid that she would get burned so she put out a nice box with warm blankets in it for her. Then something bad started to happen. One of Patches' guardians disappeared and the other on got so badly maimed that he had to be sent to the Rainbow Bridge. Caspersmom brought Patches inside and she has been there ever since. She turned 15 in July. Since Patches had never been inside before, it took her a while to get used to it. For the first few years, she was rarely seen. She hid during the day and came out to eat and use the litterbox at night. Casper was adopted about the same time and now Patches will occasionally allow Casper to groom her a bit. Patches has decided that the Mom is her best friend. She will sit beside her to watch TV and get petted. When it is time for the Mom to eat, Patches will sit in the chair beside her and get petted and eat a few morsels. When the cats got to go outside at their old house, Patches was the last one out and the first one back in. She decided that she liked the inside much better than the outside. Patches loves to be warm more than anything. When the stove is on, she will lie beside it. The Mom gave her a sweater once, to keep her warm, but she was out of it in about 5 minutes.

                                           Patches is the small and shy one.
                                           If you look for her, she might be gone.
                                                She streaks like a winner
                                                When it's time for dinner
                                           And sits with her Mom 'til the food is gone.

Farewell, Drebin

2009-10-09T00:10:00.005-06:00

I had planned to write about Patches today, but then I decided to start alternating the fun limericks with the tributes now. This will give me a bit more time for research, as Patches' limerick is already written and alternating the limericks will, hopefully, keep me from giving myself a sad. I don't know much about Drebin at all. He didn't have a blog. His Dad worked with Mr. Tuck's Mom and he told her that Drebin had sneaked out of the door and disappeared on July 29th. His family looked and looked for him and found and adopted Oliver from a shelter in the process. Finally, Mr. Tuck's Mom learned that Drebin had been found around September 19th, but he had already gone to the Bridge. At least his family knows what happened to him, sad as it is. I am sure that he is having a great time at the Rainbow Bridge right now.

                                                 Drebin made his escape and ran away.
                                                 His Mama hunted for him night and day.
                                                        She found him at last,
                                                        But his life had passed.
                                                 Now he's at the Bridge, always at play.

Help!

2009-10-08T00:53:00.004-06:00

I will get back to the limericks tomorrow, but I wanted to write this tonight. I want to write tributes for the kitties who went to the Rainbow Bridge while I was away, but I need some more information on some of them. Did Drebin appear on another blog before he was mentioned on Oliver's Weekly Scoop? Does anyone have the URL for Jake's blog?

This house is beginning to feel lonesome and I think I just might adopt a kitty or two, but the house needs to be made kitty-friendly first. My Mother loved cut glass and there is a lot of this about:

Also, does anyone know what kind of plant this is and if it is dangerous to kitties?

It may take quite a while for me to get the house ready, but I feel that there is most likely a kitty or two in my future.

Cleo

2009-10-07T00:27:00.004-06:00

What could that be under the rug?

It's Cleo, of course. Playing with this rug is one of Cleo's very favorite things. She is also very fond of boxes. The Mom found Cleo hanging around outside the house, looking very uncared-for and hungry. She invited her in and she has been a member of the family ever since. Cleo is the adventurous one and was the one who was most likely to jump over the fence at the old house when they had a back yard to play in. Cleo could be very bad at not coming in when she was called. It got to the point where the Mom would bring Cleo in while the other kitties played outside, because she just wouldn't mind. Other than that, Cleo is very well behaved and gets along well with Casper and not quite so well with Patches. Lately, though, Cleo and Patches have been seen sharing a sunspot or a nap spot, though not touching each other.

                                                 Cleo loves to play with the rug.
                                                 She rolls up in it, all warm and snug.
                                                         She can disappear,
                                                         Including her rear,
                                                 When Cleo decides to hide in the rug.

Hams Are Here!

2009-10-04T18:42:00.003-06:00

My souvenir hams from the Hams of the Werld Tour arrived yesterday and the timing was perfect. I gave one to my older nephew for his cat and one to my brother for Dodger and this one is going to my best friend's cats. Poor things, they will have to share one for the two of them. Aren't they the cutest things? I hope to be getting back to the limericks soon. My life will be getting back to what is going to be normal Wednesday, when I go back to work. Tonight and tomorrow night I intend to do some research and visiting and hopefully come up with a limerick for a Thursday post. Maybe I will get lucky and a limerick will come to me before then. I will miss Mom a whole lot, but so far I am doing pretty well. See you soon.

Mom Passed Away

2009-09-28T23:19:00.005-06:00

Update: If any of you would like to see my Mom's obituary, you can find it online here.

I didn't post any updates on my Mom because by the time there were any changes, things went downhill in a hurry. My Mom passed away this evening. It really was a blessed release because she was really suffering. At least near the end she went to sleep and passed peacefully. She lived a full and wonderful life and left it at home, where she wanted to be. I don't know when I'll get back to the limericks, but I will start visiting again, as I think it will comfort me. Thank you all for your kind and comforting comments on my previous post.

Goodbye for Now

2009-09-19T23:36:00.003-06:00

It really pains me to have to do this, especially after all the nice comments I just got, but I have to stop blogging for a while. My Mother has become very fragile and often needs me during the night. This means that I have to go to bed as early as possible in order to get enough sleep and that leaves no time for blogging. I am not totally disappearing, I hope. I will try to visit some when I can, but I simply do not have the time to research or write posts any more. I won't be gone forever, but it may be quite a while before I post again. I will miss you all very much.

Casper

2009-09-19T00:25:00.004-06:00

I totally forgot about Meow Like a Pirate Day, so I will give it a miss this year. I had nothing at all prepared, but I had been working on this post for a while, so I will go ahead with it.

Casper is a fifteen-year-old tabby, but I think he looks like he has some Siamese in him somewhere. He has the most beautiful blue eyes, but they rarely show up in his photos, because he tends to close them or squint when the flashy box comes out. His Mom found him hanging out in back of the motel she was running and adopted him. Before they moved last year, they had a fenced back yard where the kitties could play and hunt frogs and lizards. Casper was very good at hunting the frogs. He never ate them, but he did play them to death, unless his Mom managed to rescue them. He loves to put the bitey on cardboard boxes. He does a lot more napping these days, but sometimes the urge to play comes out and he bounces around like a youngster. He gets along fine with his sisters. He has always had a crush on Missy Blue-Eyes and they have been valentines, but he finally overcame his shyness and asked permission to court her. She accepted and I trust that they will have much happiness together.

                                              Casper, named for the friendly ghost,
                                              Just declared his love for the cat he loves most.
                                                       Missy and Casper,
                                                       Never lackluster,
                                              Are congratulated by their friends in a host.

Farewell, MrSippi

2009-09-07T00:10:00.004-06:00

I just love MrSippi's name. He got it because his forever Mom and Dad found him in a ditch near the Mississippi river. He had fallen or been thrown from a moving car and his little face was smashed in so badly that he couldn't eat. They planned to take him home to the cat rescue place, but on the way they fell in love with him and took him to the vet instead. MrSippi lived with two cats, Mama and Caroline, and two Siberian Huskies, Thor and Marco Polo. Caroline went to the Bridge before him. MrSippi was sad about that, as Caroline was his best friend. He didn't get along very well with Mama. They usually hissed at each other quite a bit. He got along fine with the dogs, though he would give Marco Polo an occasional nose swat when Marco got too nosy. They all have a big back yard with a six foot fence, so they could all go outside to play. MrSippi would look for a way out, because he wanted to go visit his girlfriend, Huffle Mawson. Just recently, he discovered a way and he went to visit her. They had a lovely time together, then he teleported back. The Mom grew catnip in the garden and MrSippi really enjoyed the fresh leaves. A couple of days ago, MrSippi suddenly got very sick and was rushed to the vet. The vet discovered that he had a raging infection of some kind and was in terrible pain. His Mom and Dad decided to send him on to the Bridge to end his suffering. They really miss him. I worked and worked on this limerick to find a way of including MrSippi's trip to see Huffle and that he went to the Bridge without it appearing that one led to the other and I just didn't seem to be able to manage it. Of course there is no connection.

                                                 MrSippi longed to be free
                                                 For Huffle Mawson he yearned to see.
                                                         He traveled over
                                                         To see his lover.
                                                 Now he waits at the Bridge for his family.

Mr. Tuck

2009-09-06T00:19:00.005-06:00

I finally get to write a happy limerick again, and who is happier than Mr. Tuck? Mr. Tuck started out life as a feral kitty, but he was caught when he was quite young and taken to the vet to get his shots and be neutered. The vet tipped his ear after neutering him. I know that this is a standard practice for trap/neuter/release programs, but Mr. Tuck wasn't going to be released. He went to a shelter where Jen and Frank found him and adopted him. Mr. Tuck has always been a happy kitty, full of fun and mischief. He adores his beans and loves to be cuddled. They both work, so Mr. Tuck sleeps most of the day and he rushes to greet them when they get home. He wants his loving and he wants it now. When he was small, he used to get bored in the middle of the night, so he would wake Jen up to play with him. He is mostly over this now that he is a mancat, but he wakes Frank up at 5:30 every morning. Mr. Tuck is mostly gentle with the wakening, or he tries to be. He starts with the soft paw on the face, followed by loud purring in the ear. If that doesn't work, he tries running across the bed at full speed, making sure that at least one paw lands on Frank's stomach. If all else fails, there is the toe chomp. Mr. Tuck has fishy toys and mousie toys. He has twice put a fishy in his water bowl, but has never done it with a mousie. He is one smart cat. I know that kittens don't react to catnip, but I don't know how old they get before they start to react to it. On the other hand, Mr. Tuck seems to actively dislike it. He will totally ignore any toy that has catnip in it. He loves feathers. He is very good at stripping the feathers from a toy, then just playing with the feathers. Mr. Tuck has a great sense of balance. He has been known to lie on top of the flat-screen TV.

                                                Mr. Tuck is a mischievous boy.
                                                He knows what he wants and is never coy.
                                                      Early morning he wakes his bean.
                                                      He can't be stopped by any means.
                                                He can't be bribed with a treat or a toy.

Farewell, Machiko

2009-09-04T00:02:00.004-06:00

There are two tribes of cats at Jimbo's house: the inside cats and the outside cats. The outside cats are allowed and encouraged to come inside, but they prefer the outside life. The weather is pretty nice year round in Malaysia, except for the rains, so this isn't really a problem. They have really nice trees to climb and bushes to sleep under, out of the sun. When the rains get really heavy, some of the outside cats come in to stay dry. I think Machiko may have been one of the outside cats, because all of the pictures of him, except for the ones where he is sitting or lying in boxes are of him outside. There were thirteen cats until Machiko went to the Rainbow Bridge. The family adopts all the strays who come to their house. One of the reasons they do this is because some the shelters in Malaysia have real problems when it comes to taking care of their charges. All of the cats get vet care and are fixed and find love, food and water in abundance. Machiko had lived with the family for eight years. His health started to fail recently and he just passed away quietly. The family are really missing him.

                                      Machiko loved to sit in boxes.
                                      It's one of life's paradoxes.
                                             Outside he loved to stay
                                              But he would come in to play.
                                      Now he's at the Bridge with plenty of boxes.

Farewell, Nickodemus

2009-09-03T01:29:00.005-06:00

Things are really sad over at Thoughts Fur Paws. Nickodemus was helped to the Rainbow Bridge after a very hard decision at the emergency vet's on August 22. He was nineteen years old and in failing health, mostly kidney problems. Jamie is really sad because Nickodemus had been with him for over half his life. Jamie's Mom is also really sad, because Nickodemus was her best friend for years. Nickodemus was rescued from the woods when he was seven weeks old. He had never even seen a human before. He became an inside cat and it took him months to get used to it. Once he did, though, he loved it. He loved to snuggle into warm spots. His very favorite food was fish. He loved to be loved and now he is being missed terribly.

                                                Nickodemus had a great life.
                                                He lived inside, away from strife.
                                                      He got lots of scritches
                                                      To soothe his itches.
                                                He went to the Bridge to start a new life.

Farewell, Percy

2009-09-01T00:14:00.003-06:00

Percy went through a lot lately. I wrote his story and a happy limerick for him before all his troubles started, which you can find here. Percy and Eliot were cagemates and were adopted together. Percy was the oldest cat of the Cats Stephens and the most picked on. He was on the timid side and would rather hide from the other cats than fight with them. He tore a hole in the fabric under the box springs and made his own kitty hammock inside them. This was a great hiding place and made things rather difficult for his Mom when she had to give him medicine. Percy may not have got on well with the other cats, but he adored his humans and sought out their company for snuggles, naps and petting. Last year he developed a sore lump on his right forepaw and had to go to the vet. Percy really hated going to the vet. She determined that there was a growth there and there were two options. She could go in and get enough tissue for a biopsy, then determine what needed to be done next, or she could remove the whole growth, which might mean removing one of Percy's toes, then biopsy the growth and see if anything else needed to be done. To save Percy as much pain as possible, the family told the vet to remove all of the growth, even the toe if necessary. Once the vet got in, she decided to try to save the toe, but she didn't get all of the growth. The lump turned out to be nerve-sheath sarcoma, which can grow really fast and get very nasty in a hurry. Unfortunately, since she didn't get all of it, this meant that Percy's toe would have to be removed as soon as possible after he healed from the first surgery. Waiting too long might mean that Percy would lose the whole leg. As you can imagine, the family wasn't too happy with the vet and took Percy to another practice for his toe removal. In the meantime, the family decided to move to California, not too far from where Grandma lived. Since Percy would have a long recovery time and the picking on him from the other cats wasn't getting any better, they decided to take Percy along while they looked for a place to move into and leave him with Grandma. Percy loved Grandma and Grandma loved Percy and, best of all from Percy's point of view, she didn't have any other cats. Percy got spoiled rotten at Grandma's and he loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, after a few months of this idyllic existence, Percy got sick. They thought he had a bladder infection, but it turned out to be serious blockage, requiring surgery. Percy's kidneys were showing signs of failure and he just generally was not in good health. Rather than put poor Percy through yet another surgery, which might not buy him a whole lot of time anyway, the family decided that the best thing for Percy was to send him on to the Rainbow Bridge. The whole family is missing Percy terribly.

                                                 Percy loved to lie in the sun.
                                                 He'd hit the nip for a little fun.
                                                          To the Bridge he was sent
                                                          Because his health just went.
                                                 Now he can find plenty of sun.

Farewell, Dale

2009-08-31T00:31:00.005-06:00

I don't know a whole lot about Dale, but I will share what I learned. Dale was the elder cat and he took Genghis Khat under his wing when he joined the family. He taught him how to hunt catnip mousies and, after Genghis calmed down enough to be allowed outside under supervison, he taught him the best places to hunt for bugs. Dale and Genghis enjoyed kitty wrestling quite a bit. Genghis like to play with Dale so much that he would wear Dale out. Then Dale would retire and snarl at Genghis if he tried to continue the game. Dale went to the Bridge on his own on the morning of August 13th. His family miss him very much. Genghis is discovering that being an only cat can be a bit lonely.

                                                 Dale was the elder cat.
                                                 He taught Genghis to hunt so well that
                                                       Catnip mousies were found
                                                        In the house all around.
                                                  Now he's at the Bridge where living is phat.

Farwell, Jake

2009-08-30T00:39:00.006-06:00

There's a note on Jake's blog not to copy photos, but his Mom gave me permission to pick what I wanted. I chose this one because you can see Jake's handsome blue eyes. Jake was adopted from a family who had a new baby and were moving and didn't want him any more. At first Jake was very timid and spent his first week in his forever home hiding behind a bookcase. He gradually got used to the idea that his new home was safe and welcoming and came out. He developed a very special relationship with his Mom. He always slept in the same room as she did. When she woke up in the morning, he would give a big stretch, then go into the kitchen for breakfast. His personality really developed when Micah was adopted three years later. Jake and Micah became best buds and Jake got confident enough to claim the post of Alpha cat. On October 3, 2008, Jake was diagnosed with CRF. His family took good care of him with medications, special food and fluids. Jake himself was quite a fighter, too. He got very sick in February. Finally the vet said that he could do nothing more for him and sent him home. His family was very sad, thinking that they would have him for a few days, then have to send him on to the Rainbow Bridge. Jake had other ideas. Once he got home, he rallied and got as completely well as was possible for him. Things went pretty well until early August, when he began going downhill. He went to the Bridge on his own on August 11.

                                            Jake was a fighter, for sure.
                                            He had CRF, for which there is no cure.
                                                  He fought whole-hearted
                                                  Until he departed
                                            For the Rainbow Bridge where joys are so pure.

Farewell, Joey L.

2009-08-27T00:32:00.005-06:00

This is another really hard one. Joey L. and her brother Jimmy were a litter of two born on June 22, 2008. They were practically inseparable during their short life together. Joey would sometimes go off and find a dark hidey-hole for a nap alone, but that didn't happen often. They played together, ate together and napped together. Now Jimmy has lost his playfulness and appetite and may have to go to the vet for a checkup to see if it's grief or something else. The two of them were always full of mischief and fun. Criz had to keep a close eye on them, because they had a talent for destruction if left alone. Their favorite napping spot became in Criz's closet with his shoes. Joey was Criz's alarm clock. She woke him up every morning at 8:3o without fail. The only health problem I found that Joey had before she got so sick was that she had an eye irritation and had to wear a home-made cone for a while to keep her from rubbing it. A short time ago, Joey got listless and uninterested in food. The vet determined that something was wrong with her liver and Criz was still waiting on the results of the tests when Joey went to the Bridge. Criz is devastated. He had been syringe feeding her and keeping her hydrated and trying his best to keep her comfortable, but nothing worked.

                                         The time has come to say farewell
                                         To sweet little kitty Joey L.
                                               She would run and play
                                               All the live-long day.
                                          Now she's gone to the Bridge, has sweet Joey L.

Farewell, Riley

2009-08-26T01:26:00.004-06:00

I tried to do this last night, but the limerick wouldn't come. I think part of me really didn't want to write this post, because now I have to really admit that Riley has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. He was far too young to leave. Riley and Tiki were born in a friend's garage on May 23, 2006 and joined their forever family 6 1/2 weeks later. Kesey, the dog, welcomed them. That's Kesey's pink pig that Riley is with in the photo. It's Kesey's favorite toy and he used to bring it to Riley sometimes. See, Riley loved his sister Tiki and his Mom and Dad, but he adored Kesey and Kesey adored him. Riley gave Kesey kitty kisses every day and Kesey sometimes gave Riley a bath. They played chase very often. I told Riley's story and wrote him a limerick here. The main thing that has happened to Riley since I wrote his story is that he discovered the joys of strollering. He got to go out whenever Kesey went for a walk. When the magic word "walk" was uttered, Kesey ran to his leash and Riley ran to his stroller. Tiki hasn't yet wanted to get in the stroller. Now comes the really hard part. Riley seemed to be having a little trouble breathing, so his Mom and Dad took him to the vet, thinking he had a kitty cold. The vet didn't like the sounds he was hearing from Riley's chest and kept him overnight for observation and tests. The next day, the vet decided that Riley had a lot of fluid in his chest and was inserting a drain when Riley's heart stopped. The vet got it going again, but by that time Riley had no brain function, so they let him go to the Rainbow Bridge. They vet now thinks that there was more in Riley's chest cavity than fluids, probably lymphoma, which could have been crowding his lungs and heart. This is terrible. Riley was such a loving cat, full of mischief and enthusiasm. He is leaving a huge empty space in his family.

                                      Riley was such a lover boy
                                      He filled the entire house with joy.
                                            The very air was fraught
                                            With the laughter he brought.
                                      Oh, how he'll be missed, this marvelous boy!

Farewell, Turnip

2009-08-24T00:34:00.005-06:00

From what I have observed in reading blogs about cats, when there are four or more cats living together, two personality types always seem to appear. There always seems to be an Alpha cat (in the case of Turnip's house, there were two, Buddy and Charlie) and there always seems to be one cat who is so laid back that nothing ever bothers him. This was Turnip. Turnip was always the first cat to welcome a new cat into the family. When the very aggressive Charlie joined the group, it's like Turnip said to him, "Hi, you want to be the boss? Fine with me." Turnip's story started about 13 years ago when the Mom was teaching in an inner city school in Connecticut. She found an obviously uncared-for, but very friendly female cat behind the school and took her home and named her Matilda. Even though Matilda was younger than the other cats, she acted as though she wanted to mother them all. As it turned out, Matilda was soon to be a mother for real. She gave birth to five kittens, including Zorro and Turnip. Turnip got his name because daughter Amy said that she always wanted to have a cat named Turnip. The Mom kept all of them, save one which she gave to her son. By the time that the family moved to New Hampshire, only Turnip and Zorro were left. Turnip loved other cats, but was a bit shy around humans. He was also a bit timid about going outside. He always stayed pretty close to the house. Where Zorro is a very active outside hunter, Turnip preferred to hunt inside the house. Zorro discovered how to bring live mice inside and let them go and Turnip was always on them in a flash. Turnip had appointed himself the eradicator of intruders into the house. In the Vermont house, he sometimes found snakes in the basement. The Mom was once carrying an armload of bedclothes to make up the bed in the spare room for weekend guests and stepped on something wet and gooey. She thought it was a hairball, but when she could look down, she saw what looked like a wet red cord. It wasn't until she saw a few scales left on the head that she figured out that Turnip, who was resting on the bed, had caught and skinned a snake. When she cried out her disgust, Turnip gave her that look of utmost innocence that everyone who lives with cats knows well. Of the cats who go outside, Turnip was the most unlikely to ever get hit by a car, because he usually stayed within sight of the house, which is far away from the road. The one time that he ventured near the road, he got hit. I can only guess that he was chasing something, maybe another snake, and wasn't paying attention to where he was going. The family is hit hard, because it wasn't that long ago that Charlie went to the Bridge.

                                       Turnip was such a kindly soul.
                                       He welcomed new cats without a growl,
                                             But show him a snake --
                                             It's skin off he'd take.
                                        Now he's gone to the Bridge in the grass to roll.

Farewell, Charlie

2009-08-22T21:39:00.004-06:00

I was behind on my farewell posts before my modem died and I am even farther behind now. I am not even going to try to do them in any specific order, but I will try very hard to make sure I don't miss any.

Charlie Taylor Sherwood was a 14 year old Devon Rex. He had lived since he was a kitten with a lady who lived in an apartment not far from the Sherwoods. The lady got old and had health problems and dementia. She got sick and was taken to the hospital, then to hospice. She was so sick that she couldn't say anything about Charlie being left all alone in the apartment. It was days, perhaps many days, before anyone remembered about him. I am not too sure about this next part. I know that the Sherwoods got an urgent call about a cat in desperate need and that cat was Charlie, but I don't know whether Auntie Deb and ML got him from the apartment or if someone else got him from the apartment and took him to a shelter, which then called them. I do know that they took him straight to the vet and he was in pretty bad shape. His kidneys had started to fail and he had a heart condition. Of course, he was also very dehydrated and starving. Then he got fluid in his lungs, sort of like kitty pneumonia. Things looked very bad for him, but he rallied and got to go to his new home. Things were a little hissy at first, but settled down fairly quickly. Charlie turned out to be quite the lap cat, taking to both Daddy Charley and ML. ML was delighted because she had always wanted a lap cat, but none of the rest of them was much for lap sitting. Things looked really good for a while, with Charlie making friends, or at least tolerating and being tolerated by the other cats. He was eating and drinking well and put on some weight. He was still going in for regular vet visits, to check his heart and lungs. He developed fluid around the lungs, but was still doing pretty well. Then he got sick again. He didn't want to eat or drink and he had trouble controlling his urine. He had gone into kidney failure again and it was time to say goodbye. The Sherwoods only knew Charlie from late April to mid-August, but he carved out quite a place for himself in their hearts. I don't know if the lady that he lived with for almost all of his life is still alive, but I think that a joyful reunion at the Rainbow Bridge has already happened or will happen soon.

                                                 Charlie had a great home of his own,
                                                 'Til his human got sick, leaving him all alone.
                                                        Taylors and Sherwoods found him
                                                        And to their hearts bound him.
                                                   Now he's at the Bridge, nevermore on his own.

Tuna

2009-08-21T20:21:00.006-06:00

This post is by special request from Jamie at Thoughts Fur Paws and Sandra, Tuna's Mom. Tuna was one of those once-in-a-lifetime cats who touch their human companions hearts so much that the love between them is all-consuming. Tuna was born on October 18th, 1995 and was sent to the Rainbow Bridge on March 23rd, 2007. Even after all this time, Sandra can hardly think about her without crying. The second picture is Tuna and Sandra with the Christmas tree at Tuna's last Christmas. Christmas was Tuna's very favorite time of year. Tuna loved going outside and especially loved chasing leaves and bringing them back to the front door of the house, where she would leave them. One day in 2005, Sandra was playing with Tuna and giving her a tummy rub when she noticed four lumps on her stomach. She was surprised, as the lumps hadn't been there a couple of days before. She rushed Tuna to the vet as soon as possible and soon learned that Tuna had both fibro sarcoma and spindell cell sarcoma, very bad news indeed. Tuna had two operations and two full courses of chemo over the next two years, but the cancer always came back, usually within a few weeks of the end of the chemo course. Tuna fought very hard, but near the end her weight was down to only three pounds. When the vet told Sandra that there was nothing more he could do for Tuna and the kindest thing would be to send her on to the Rainbow Bridge, Sandra was heart-broken. She took Tuna home for two more days to say goodbye. She pampered Tuna as much as she could and took her out in her stroller. Her brother Blackie found a leaf and brought it to Tuna. Sandra found this immensely touching. When the time came, Tuna went softly and gently, in Sandra's arms. Sandra couldn't bear to let the vet take her body away for a long time, but she finally did. Tuna is now buried in a pet cemetery, where Sandra can visit her. Sandra doesn't have a blog, but if you would like to leave her some comforting words, I will see to it that she gets them by e-mail.

                                                Tuna loved Christmas and leaves to chase.
                                                When Autumn winds blew, away she'd race.
                                                           Cancer took her away
                                                           To the Bridge to play.
                                                Leaving Sandra to mourn, with tears on her face.

Whoops!

2009-08-21T19:30:00.002-06:00

I apologize for my long absence. My sick modem finally died, but not in an obvious manner. I spent days trying to track down why it wasn't connecting until I finally decided that it just wasn't working, despite all the right lights being on. Then I had to wait for a new modem. It arrived and I couldn't get it to connect. It took more days to find out that the protocol for connecting a new modem to my ISP had changed completely, but I am finally back and will be posting later tonight.

Farewell, Blossom

2009-08-07T00:45:00.004-06:00

Gemel held Blossom in her arms for the last time on July 13th, as the vet helped her on her way to the Rainbow Bridge. Blossom was on old cat when Gemel adopted her late in 2005 and she had been getting more and more frail. Something went wrong with her back legs and she was in pain, so Gemel made the heart-wrenching decision to help her go so she wouldn't suffer any more. Back in 2005, Gemel had decided that she wanted to adopt an old, sick or homeless cat. Her husband was against the idea, as they were renting. He wanted to wait until their own home was ready. Just after he had said this, Gemel and a friend of hers went for a walk. Gemel had a definite feeling that on the way home she just had to go down a certain street. She kept feeling that something very important was going to happen. As they turned down that certain street, a long-haired white cat, very dirty and matted, came almost running, but limping, toward Gemel, while meowing very loudly. Gemel picked her up and the cat immediately began purring. Gemel decided that she had to take her home, despite what her husband had said. He was against keeping her at first, but soon relented. Blossom had found her forever home at last. Blossom loved to go out walking on a leash and loved to visit the beach. In cold weather, her very favorite thing was the fire. She would hop in her bed by the fire and stay for as long as the fire lasted. At night, she slept with her humans. As it is winter now in Australia, where Blossom lived, she had been enjoying her fire very much.

                                        Blossom ran to the Bridge through the cold.
                                        She went because she was tired and old.
                                                Although it grieved her,
                                                Her Mom relieved her
                                        Of all of her pain from being so old.

Farewell, Obi-Wan

2009-08-06T00:23:00.006-06:00

Life at The Cat Street Boyz just won't be the same without Obi-Wan around. Obi-Wan was a pure white standard poodle with a wonderful personality. He was always full of life and fun. He loved to play with his poodle brother Luke and all seven of the kitties. They have a huge fenced in back yard where they can all run around and play. Sometimes Obi would get a little excited and chase the kitties, but they knew it was all in fun. There may occasionally have been some tail-poofing involved, but I included that line mostly for the rhyme. Obi loved to give the kitties a bath, which didn't take long with his tongue. The kitties liked to use him for a big fuzzy pillow when he napped. It is suspected that Von Willebrand disease is what carried him off. This is a disease which is found in poodles which thins the blood and prevents clotting, leading to internal bleeding and death. It usually runs in families, but no dog in Obi's line tested positive for it. Whatever it was, it was fast. He fell ill Monday morning, July 20th, and was gone that same evening. The vets tried everything, including a blood transfusion from a Great Dane, but it only helped for a little while. The family is devastated. Obi was only four years old.

                                Obi-Wan was a cat-loving woofy.
                                Sometimes he'd chase them and make their tails poofy.
                                                     Then he'd lick them clean,
                                                     Never being mean.
                                He really was a first-class woofy.

Farewell, Hans

2009-08-05T01:04:00.006-06:00

It's back to the farewell posts again. Obi should have been first, but Blogger did it again and I couldn't access his blog last night. Luckily, Hans is on Wordpress, so I could research him for a post. Hans was a lilac otter Netherlands Dwarf bunny. His Mom bought him from a breeder as a little guy. He was very happy in his new home, though Buttons wasn't too happy about it at first. From the very beginning, Hans loved to be loved. He especially liked to have his ears petted and his chin scritched. His Mom liked to pet him until he fell asleep. Poor Hans developed problems, though. Before he was a year old, he got an abscess in his jawbone and all four of his incisors had to be pulled. This meant that he could still chew his food fine, but he could no longer nip off bites. He still liked to chew (or gum) his grass mat, though. With antibiotic treatment, the abscess went away, but then it came back again. He seemed to be doing well on a new antibiotic treatment, but then he suddenly hopped off the to the Rainbow Bridge from his Mom's arms shortly after she gave him his injection. As you can imagine, this caused his Mom great distress. She was afraid that she had done something wrong. However, the vet and people on bunny blogs and forums were able to assure her that subcutaneous injections like those she gave Hans every day could not cause such a sudden departure. It is most likely that something else was going on in Hans' body that he could no longer fight off. It is possible that Hans felt so safe and secure in his Mom's arms and he was tired of fighting, so he just relaxed and let go. It's really sad, not least because Hans had just recently celebrated his first birthday.

                                         Hans had lots of trouble with teeth.
                                         He lost his incisors, above and beneath.
                                               In Mom's arms he felt warm
                                               And safe from all harm,
                                         So he hopped off to the Bridge, to look for his teeth.

Maverick

2009-08-04T00:24:00.007-06:00

In some ways Maverick is all dog. He loves to go for rides in the truck. Heck, he loves just sitting in the truck. He loves rawhide chew toys. He loves going for walks on his leash. In other ways, Maverick appears to be part cat. One of his favorite places to sit or nap is on top of the couch. He loves to play with toy mice. He likes to play chase with Mr. Tigger and Samantha. He prefers cat food to dog food so much that now Mr. Tigger and Samantha get their food up on the counter, where Maverick can't get to it. He will make a dash at an open door, hoping to get outside. He managed it once and scared his beans half to death when they discovered him missing. A neighbor reported that he had been seen with another neighbor. It turns out that Maverick just went a few doors away to play with some other dogs. Maverick is a rat terrier. He came to live with Mr. Tigger and Ariel, the cat who came before, when he was just a puppy. He is seven years old now. He belonged to the Sonbean. When the Sonbean moved out, Maverick moved out with him. However, now some or all of the Sonbean's family have developed an allergy to Maverick, so last February, he came back to live with Mr. Tigger and Samantha. Mr. Tigger and Maverick seemed to remember each other, so there was little fuss between them. In fact, Mr. Tigger and Maverick often stand nose to nose, as if they are having a conversation. Samantha was a different story. At first, she didn't want anything at all to do with Maverick and hissed at him whenever she thought he came too close to her. Now they get along fine.

                                        Maverick is a dog who acts like a cat.
                                        He sits on the back of the couch, like that.
                                                     He plays with toy mice
                                                     And is off in a trice
                                        If somebody throws one near where he's at.

Award

2009-08-02T01:17:00.001-06:00

I am getting so frustrated I want to scream. For the last two nights I have been unable to access any Blogspot URLs when I want to visit or post. My time is very limited and I can only count on being able to blog between midnight and 2:00am Mountain Time. Has anyone else had this problem? ~~The date is wrong on this post, as I started it Friday, then lost access and I don't know how to change the date.~~ I am way behind in my tribute posts, but I wanted to do this post and maybe one other before I get back to them.

Shadow, Molly, Trooder and Jake gave me this award on July 22nd and so did Jana, on the same day. I have read that the translation is "Your blog doesn't stink", but I think it's more like "Your blog is like nectar." The rules are very simple: put the badge on your blog, link back to the person(s) who gave it to you and pass it along to five other bloggers. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I would like to pass this award on to:

Faz
Lorianna
Roxy
Princess and Pierro
LC, Ayla and Iza

Stryder

2009-07-28T01:18:00.005-06:00

Stryder turned five on April 1st. He is the one who enjoys playing with toys the most. Scotchy will play with them occasionally, but Stryder is the one who lays claim to all toys coming into the house and gets the most enjoyment out of them. He also enjoys going outside a lot. This got him into a bit of trouble when he was just a very young cat. Stryder is one of Sugar's five kittens, all boys. Two of them were adopted by some people who own a farm and three of them stayed with Kellykat. Frodo, Gandalf and Stryder all liked to go outside and romp in the grass. There is a formerly feral cat who lives next door named Lucky and he really likes to roam. Frodo started hanging around with him and went off with him one day, never to return. Then Gandalf started hanging around with Lucky and went off with him, also never to return. Then it was Stryder's turn. He also went off with Lucky and disappeared, but he came back after two weeks. Kellykat rushed him to the vet to make sure that nothing untoward had happened to him while he was gone. He was fine, but the vet recommended that it was time to have him neutered. Stryder got the operation and has stayed close to home ever since.

                                       Stryder loves to play with his toys.
                                       The catnip inside them gives him joys.
                                               Now he's running around
                                               With his paws off the ground
                                        After playing with his catnip toys.

Farewell, Sugar

2009-07-24T00:26:00.004-06:00

Very early Wednesday morning Sugar went to the Rainbow Bridge on her own. The trauma of her wounds from the wild dog attack in addition to her kidney disease were just too much for her body to handle. She is being sorely missed. There is a story that I meant to include in her other post, but I got too wrapped up in what had happened to her and forgot it. I will tell it now, as it may lighten up the sadness a bit. Last Christmas Sugar decided to bring home a gift for everyone. I don't know exactly what it was, but it was alive and when Sugar let it loose in the house, it provided much entertainment for all the cats. Kellykat finally caught it and put it outside again, still alive, much to the disappointment of all the felines.

                                          To the Rainbow Bridge Sugar had to go
                                          Because her body was damaged so.
                                                         She tiptoed away
                                                         Ere the break of day
                                           For she saw the Bridge was all aglow.