Saturday, April 27, 2013

blooming Rose

There I was, sitting on the couch with my Nahum parked next to me, innocently catching up on blogs.

Up jumped Rose - she parked herself right in Nahum's fluff, her way of asking for cuddles.


Of course Nahum obliged, he can't seem to say no to her.

Then the most bizarre thing happened. She stood in my lap and I petted her.


It was like she forgot she was afraid of humans.


She stood there for pets and soaked them in. Is this Rose?!


She loved it! I loved it!

Then she needed some more Nahum cuddles.


Wow!


What a week!

Friday, April 26, 2013

a boy and his outside cats (part II)

So, let me see, where did I leave off on telling the story of the amazing events of Wednesday afternoon...

Oh, that's right, I had gotten out the trap for a photo shoot and Oliver was checking it out.


And then suddenly another black cat appeared!


It's Pierre!!!!


Look at that tail! 


He looks like he owns the place!



I've never seen Pierre so brazen and looking so chill about it all. Wow!


I thought I would give him a try with the string, maybe he would want to play?











Yep, he LOVED playing string!! For thirty glorious minutes we played string.



Seeing Pierre at ease with me in the yard delighted my soul. Getting to play with him up close was such a gift!! I was beaming from head to toe and truth be told, I'm still beaming! 

There's something about winning the trust of a feral cat that brings me such joy. Cats are made for giving and receiving love, the wild ones just have to move through their fears so they can be free to fully experience the loves they were built for. (I actually believe the same is true for humans.)

I often look down at the black blob of purring kitty putty in my lap and I remember the time when Oliver didn't trust me. He would run from the yard anytime I came outside. Oliver was my first experience with a wild cat and I was a bit reluctant on trusting him too, I feared getting bit. Oh how things have changed! Now his face lights up when he sees me (and truth be told, my face lights up too when I see him!) and he comes running over to me. It seems Pierre is following in his daddy's paw-steps. It's only a matter of time before Pierre is competing with Oliver for lap snuggles!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

a boy and his outside cat (part I)

I took advantage of the brilliant sunshine yesterday and spent some time out in the yard. It didn't take long for Oliver to find me. And since I had my camera and a good subject, I figured I could get some good practice taking challenging photos of a black cat in the direct sunlight. 













Things were going so well with the photoshoot, I decided to stage some pictures with a trap for a future backyardTNR blog post. So, I grabbed the trap and got it ready to go.


I couldn't believe what happened next...

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

redo

And this week started off with such promise,
I think it's time to go back to the Willow and try again...


Tuesday, April 23, 2013

stayin warm

like two peas in a pod...

Pierre and MK love snuggling together!


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Oliver Wednesday

Every morning I rejoice at the sight of Oliver. We have our morning routine, I feed him and his two sons special breakfast on the back porch. When he's done eating, he comes around to the front of the house and lets himself into the screened front porch. He politely hangs out and waits for me to collect him and transport him up to the bedroom for some snuggles.

Now if you want to read further, you must promise to keep a secret. Oliver doesn't want word to get out on the street about what a snuggle bum he really is. He's got to protect his image as a tough outside kitty and if the other tough outside kitties really knew how sweet and gentle he is, he might lose some street cred.


Oliver loves to snuggle under the flannel sheets

 or just hang out on top of the bed

These paws are for lovin



Tuesday's are the nights I work late. When I arrive home, Oliver's always there to greet me.

The view from through the windshield


Something amazing happened over the weekend.

My friend was coming into the house via the back porch and noticed Oliver in the red bed. She started to approach him to pet him when she paused only a few feet away, something about him didn't quite look right. She glanced up at the loft bed and noticed Oliver was in the loft bed - so then who was this other black cat hanging out in the red bed?!? It was Pierre! This is the first time ever Pierre didn't run off the porch when a human approached!

Pierre is taming nicely thanks to Oliver teaching him that some humans can be trusted. It's only a matter of time before I get to love on him up close! I can't wait!! Laura keenly noted that "Oliver seems like a great facilitator for your feral recovery group." I couldn't agree more! Go Mr. Oliver!!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Milo


My sweet little kitten foster boy is now known as Milo, from The Phantom Tollbooth, one of my all time favorite books! Milo is curious, playful and adventurous.

Milo has recently turned a corner.


Nancy was over on Sunday and bravely trimmed his razor sharp claws, so now we can work with him more easily (with less bloodshed!) Since then he's been wanting more time outside the cage to play and explore.


Laura's been doing a fantastic job helping him feel comfortable and secure outside the safety of his cage.



Milo meets Willow up close

Theo's turn to check out Milo

With Milo being more at ease now, our work is done and it's time to say goodbye. He'll be going to an adoption room at Paddywack most likely tomorrow. They have a colony adoption room, so he'll enjoy the company of other cats and the staff really enjoys working with the cats, so he'll get lots of love and play.