Monday, April 30, 2012

a monday funny

Thank you everyone who shared your thoughts about the possible ear tip. I can't be sure but I'm going to assume for now that it's an ear tip. I'll keep watching them all and see if I see any signs of any new black cats showing up.


This comic was posted on Meow.com's Facebook page a week or so ago. It fits perfectly for my life! I was a dog person for all my life, up until 2003, when my friends Tom and Sarah introduced me to the amazingness of cats with their three, Elmo, Lucy and Misha.


The expression on the visitor-guy's face is priceless! Some of my non-cat friends have had a very similar look when they come over and experience all the swarming kitties!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

mystery

We got ourselves a mystery here.

I was getting ready for bed and looked at the back porch camera and noticed there was a black kitty snoozing atop Oliver's guest house - nothing new there.


I needed to lock the back door and hoped to turn off the light, so I went out to the mudroom to do so. The kitty didn't leave, it just watched me through the window in the door.


That's when I noticed something peculiar.


Does this cat look ear-tipped to you? 

The cat's left ear looks slightly different than it's right ear, but it still looks rounded to me. 

The picture is blurry due to not being able to use the flash through the glass. 
Let's get a closer look at that ear...


Ok, lets zoom in even more...

LEFT EAR

For comparison, here's the right ear zoomed in.
RIGHT EAR

I would think an ear tipped cat would be obviously ear tipped. And this ear still looks a bit rounded on top and has a matching black border all around it's edge like the other ear.

Oliver's three siblings were all ear tipped when they were neutered/spayed. And this guy is not Oliver but I know he is friends with Oliver. Just after taking the last picture, Oliver came onto the porch too and hung out. I also saw one of the ear tipped siblings (not MK) on the porch too.

Could this is a different black cat with a white spot on it's chest who's also part of the Family?! Or maybe the TNR clinic only took off a tiny bit of it's ear?

Oliver's not talking, so it remains a mystery. Let me know what you think, does this cat look ear tipped to you?

Friday, April 27, 2012

fishy friday

So many ways to spend a Thursday night. Out of all the things I could think of to do, the thing that sounded the most fun was to make a few kitty toys out of some old denim jeans.

I find tremendous freedom playing with mediums in which I have no training. As I see it, I can't screw it up if I was never taught how to do it right! Sewing is one of those creative things that is tons of fun because I have no expectations of producing any award winning results.

Before getting underway, I had to get some ABBA jamming on the hi-fi, then it was time to sew. I quickly learned that sewing catnip filled toys in the same room with curious cats, who demand to assist, makes for quite the challenge!

Curious, Nahum, checking things out

The quality control inspector checks out the stitching

The finished product!
Can you tell I didn't restrict my creativity by using a pattern?!

Next up, the product testing phase...

Willow gives it the sniff-test...

then comes the bite test.

Willow approves.

Theo gives it the kickeroo test. It passes.

The finished fishes won't win any beauty awards, but the kitties don't care, they love them and I had a good time! Now, I think I'll make a few more for the ferals to enjoy.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

visiting zonkerville

Laura strolled through Zonkerville recently and snapped a few pictures of some of the residents.





Wednesday, April 25, 2012

safe place

Yikes, it feels like it's been a long week already and it's only Tuesday!


I sooooo wanted to trade places with Rose today. I could have used a nap cuddled safely in the paws of my big fluffy Nahum. Is it wrong to covet your cat's snuggle partner?!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

all night porch parties

After suspecting that Oliver was having some of his friends over on his porch during the night, I setup my network camera to spy on them. Sure enough, there were multiple black kitties hanging out with Oliver all through the night. Party all night, sleep all day - that's Oliver's MO.

MK on left, unnamed sibling in middle and Oliver on right


party at Oliver's!


Oliver and MK having some fun


Oliver watches MK play with the bunny

Through the power of technology, I am able to record Oliver's comings and goings on his porch. Oliver and MK spend much of the night together, playing and just hanging out together. More and more I see them play, which is so much fun. I've provided them a selection of toys, the nip nanner is the definitely the most popular. Here's a short video of Oliver and MK having a good time.


I could watch these ferals for hours. It's so fun to see them having fun and enjoying themselves. There's so much more to life for a cat than just day to day surviving. Helping the ferals have some safe, playful fun in their lives makes them happy and makes me happy.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Oliver pays a visit

Oliver has spent most of his day hanging out on my bed! In fact he's still here, curled up right beside me. He knows how to make himself right at home.


Earlier this morning, when all the boy-kitties were enjoying the sun-soaked front porch, I took a moment to secure them out there and let Oliver inside to explore the house. He quickly darted upstairs, a place he hadn't explored yet. I followed him and ushered him back down stairs. I didn't want him lingering up there because there are too many things for him to get into and if he decided to spray, it would be a big mess to clean up. And of course, he immediately ran back upstairs!

It's funny to me how an outside kitty who finally gets a moment
 inside wants to spend time looking out the window at the outside!

A new perspective! He's usually parked outside this window on the roof, asking to come inside! I covered the window with black paper to keep Buddy from seeing Oliver out there and going crazy.

So this time I decided to hang out with him. After a quick inspection of his new territory he hopped up on the bed and parked on the LL Bean cat mat. That was at 9am this morning and here it is over five hours later and he hasn't left!

He really loves the LL Bean cat mat. All the kitties actually love this thing!

I got to enjoy my first nap with him and he's asked for quite a few tummy rubs! He's such a sweetie!


He's doing great, although he growls occasionally at the kitties outside the door or other sounds that make him nervous. The inside kitties are doing great too, they camp outside the bedroom door, trying to catch a glance of him from under the door.


I left Oliver unattended in the bedroom while I had some lunch. As I was preparing my lunch, I let the indoor kitties out on Oliver's back porch, a place they used to have regular access to until it became Oliver's home. They sniffed every square centimeter of that space! So far, I'm quite pleased that there's been no spraying.


Meanwhile, my fondness for Oliver continues to grow.

A quick update on Buddy. He continues to get better each day. He's nearly back to his old self, which is wonderful!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

update on The Budster

The morning after his dental surgery, Buddy was very sedated. He didn't show up for breakfast that day so we had to find him in the house. He didn't move from his spot for a good part of that day. Slowly on Tuesday afternoon he started to come to life more and since then he continues to gain energy each day. He's still not completely back to his old self yet but he's well on his way.


Buddy's biggest need lately seems to be tummy tubs and cuddles. He is typically rather cuddly, but lately he has been non-stop cuddle-boy. He seems to get great comfort by snuggling with me and having his tummy rubbed. Of course I don't mind taking care of those needs one bit!


Thankfully, I've had a light work schedule so far this week, so I have been able to be home a lot to take care of Buddy's needs. Definitely a win-win for all involved!


Buddy has resumed his play with Nahum. Those two seem to really enjoy each other, it's fun to watch, although since the surgery, I have been concerned about Buddy tearing out his stitches. So far so good. 








Nahum baits Buddy to tussle by flashing his irresistible fluffy tummy - who can resist such a scrumptious delight?!


Buddy is starting to look at home again and has even taken back up to playing with his favorite toys.


This is the look I get nightly. He parks in the middle of the floor and just stares at me. He's telling me, "it's late and it's time to go to bed so we can snuggle." So, I'd better not keep him waiting...

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

the Budster returns

Buddy's dental went well! Yahooo!! He's now back at home.

The vet found some tooth material that had remained from his previous extraction site back last summer. She gave several reasons why this might have happened, including the possibility that maybe it was just missed. Regardless, the remaining tooth material and more of the root were extracted.

Pre-surgery Buddy

It kills me to think that Buddy might have been in pain the majority of his time with me. I sure hope this fixes him up and makes him more comfortable and thus makes him eat better.

Right now, he's not comfortable at all. Since returning from the vet this afternoon, he hasn't done anything except pace the floor with his tail held low. The most settled he's been was when he let me rub his tummy for a time. I'm hoping he sleeps well, although I'm not expecting it. Seeing him pace has really spiked my anxiety level. So now we're giving him his pain medicine and I might need a dose for me too!

I'll keep you posted on how his post-op recovery goes.


Buddy is not the only source of my anxiety tonight. I actually awoke early this morning to the sound of a cat fight outside, somewhere in the front the house. I hate that sound, especially, when I imagine that it probably involves my sweet Oliver.

Later that morning, I went to feed Oliver his breakfast and there was a bunch of cat poop there on the floor of Oliver's enclosed porch, just outside the backdoor. I knew Oliver would never do such a thing but I was puzzled as to who done it.

After some investigative work, I'm pretty sure now who left their poop-o-gram. Laura said she had seen the Evil Bushy Kitty hanging around the back step yesterday and tonight she saw him on the back porch, hanging out on one of Oliver's viewing shelves. (If you don't know how Evil Bushy Kitty earned his name, read this post from last October.)

Evil Bushy Kitty, doing his evil thing on the neighbor's shrubbery (March 2012)

When I came home from work this evening, Oliver was patrolling his yard, looking out for any intruders. He was on high alert. He's not happy with Evil Bushy Kitty, and I can't blame him - in fact, I'm not happy with Evil Bushy Kitty either.

I don't know if Evil Bushy Kitty has a home, nor do I know if he's fixed. He always runs away when I try to talk to him or approach him. I'm thinking I might need to trap him and survey his privates. If he's not fixed, that will be simple enough to take care of. If he is fixed then I'm not sure what to do.

In the meantime, I have to worry about Oliver's well-being with this intruder marking up Oliver's porch (and my house!) I would love to hear anyone suggestions of how I might dissuade Evil Bushy Kitty from coming onto Oliver's porch while also allowing Oliver access.

We have had a stretch of warmer temperatures, which means I will soon need to solve my problem of Oliver's future. Over the Easter weekend, I carried Oliver in my arms several times throughout the house while the cats got to smell and see him. I even set him down and let him meet Theo, which didn't go so well (Theo swatted at him and tried to pounce on him). Buddy went crazy whenever he saw Oliver, but when I carried Oliver into a new room away from Buddy, he settled down, which gave me a little hope. As soon as Buddy makes visual contact of Oliver, he goes ballistic.

And a wonderful note to end on. Laura was going out for an afternoon walk today and Oliver asked her to pick him up and snuggle him! That's never happened before, he's only wanted me to hold him - so that's pretty exciting! He's warming up to her. Yea!!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter wrap-up

A wonderful Easter Sunday is nearly in the books. The glorious sunshine and warm weather really added to the specialness of the day. Let me share with you some of the highlights.

tummies were rubbed...

food prepped...

food inspected...

food double and triple inspected...

food test-tested...

more tummies rubbed...

some lounging occurred...

Gromit (friend's chocolate lab, aka the big brown beast) enjoyed...

amazing dinner feasted upon...

a long walk in the sun was had...

neighborhood kitties adored...

scrumptious chocolate dessert was savored...

more tummies were rubbed...

dishes were done...

mixed species lounging occurred...

zonkerville was visited... 

and mousies were gathered!

All in all, it was a splendid Easter Sunday! I hope your's was amazing as well!