the season

It's winter, which means colder temperatures and frequent rain.

It also means it's snuggle season, which means Nahum is in demand.

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Thanks everyone for the supportive comments from yesterday's post.

prologue

With so many delightful cats to feature, it's been awhile since I've written much about my personal world.

For quite a while now I've been feeling kind of emotionally frozen, where I know the emotions are in there but accessing, naming and expressing them has been arduous. Having first noticed this shift last Spring, around the time when my mother’s health started to decline leads me to believe the reality of facing her mortality has overwhelmed my emotional system. My mom continues to hang in there, although her chronic atrial fibrillation and crazy high heart rate are really working her over, not to mention the cancer. She goes in sometime this month for a comparison scan which will tell us the status of the cancer.

In addition to my emotional disconnectedness, after having moved thousands of miles away from my faith community twelve years ago, I’ve come to recognize that my spiritual faith has withered over the years from lack of consistent nourishment. My soul longs for deeper connection. 

Having recognized these things, I’ve recently embarked on a journey to open my heart and soul further to the richness of what life has to offer. I’m not sure where this journey will take me and I’m a bit apprehensive about heading into the unknown, however I’m tired of living a relatively black and white life in a world that I know has millions and millions of colors. I’m tired of surviving and am ready to thrive.

I’ve got a few ideas of how to start my journey. I’m planning to reread a series of books that once stirred intense emotions several years ago when I first read them in hopes that this may ‘prime the emotional pump’. I blogged about them at the time, the Warriors series of cat-based adventure books. I’m also planning to invest in my spirituality by intentionally creating space for connecting and seeking more meaningful relationship with God. I desire to have an openness toward stepping into opportunities that may further my journey as they arise.

I do not wander alone. I am thankful to have Laura, the cats, and other friends all of which keep me firmly grounded in what is good, what is true. Every so often I will share updates related to this journey, so stay tuned.

Now it's time to prepare some snacks. Good snacks are essential for having a good journey!

black cat party

Almost every night on the back porch, Oliver hosts a black cat party!

You can come too if you're all black...

and you like to hang out in the wee hours of the morning.

Sometimes the party starts early.

Come on, get up!! Let's party!

Food is provided, but quantities are limited.

There are only two warm beds...

 so sometimes you gotta negotiate...

and sometimes you gotta share the bed.

Who let the white cat in?!

There's always plenty to do...

sometimes even wildlife to watch.

It's always a good time at Oliver's all night black cat parties!!

If you meet the criteria and wanna party, please consider yourself invited!

Party! Party!

bustin' the moves

Nahum doesn't get nearly as much play as he would like. Above all else, he loves it when I take him upstairs all by himself and play sparklestrand-toy with just him. That individual play time means the world to him and he completely comes alive. I so love seeing him beam with joy and delight.

Even after all these years he's still quite nimble and fast.

Sometimes faster than the cameraman!

He also loves digging the toy out from under a blanket

His paw moves faster than the speed of light!

Victory at last

Playing with Nahum is mutually beneficial for all involved. Definitely a win-win!!

Speaking of winning, congrats to Katnip Lounge and Terry - both winners of the puzzle giveaway!! Marilyn you're the runner-up, so if you're interested, please email me so I can send you the next cat puzzle I get.

another cat puzzle

You might remember that back in November we did a fun cat puzzle, well, since that was so much fun we decided to try another! This one is the Mega Brands - Oh Fred! 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

photo courtesy of Laura

Willow trying to eat a piece

photo courtesy of Laura

Even with all the kitty help, it still took us several weeks to complete the puzzle.

The secret of how an unfinished puzzle makes it through the night, cover it with a board! 

Finished at last! 

As you can see a piece was missing! After the puzzle was put away I found the missing piece across the room on the floor. Hmmm, I'm guessing it was either stuck on Nahum's long butt furs or little scavenger Willow carried it away!

And then it's time for the next puzzle.    photo courtesy of Laura 

This second cat puzzle was challenging because most of the colors were yellows or browns. Even with the challenge, it was still fun! 

Now that we have completed these two cat puzzles they need a new home. Anyone want the challenge of a cat puzzle? If you want one, tell me which one you want in a comment and I'll mail it to you! If more than one of you want them, then I'll select the lucky person via a random drawing! I'll pick the winner on Monday, January 7th, so the deadline for entry is Sunday night at 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Please note: you will receive the puzzle in the original box, you must supply your own helper cats!

Photobomb practice

Buddy's taking Princeton's advice from Prancer Pie's Photobomb Friday and trying the photobomb thing.

How'd I do? 

last visitor of the year

When I tried to get out of bed this morning, I lost my balance and fell back into the bed. That was the first sign that today was not going to go well. I quickly realized everything was spinning and I was dizzy - welcome back my friend vertigo. I spent nearly all day resting my head against a pillow, sleeping as being conscious was miserable. And sadly I haven't had a touch of alcohol! I even had to cancel my plans to celebrate the new year with friends. Sigh.

Even though I felt horrid, I did get to spend four hours this morning cuddling with my Oliver in bed. I also had the opportunity to look his injuries over in the daylight and his claws weren't as bad off as they first appeared last night. The claws are still in rough shape but at least they are still there! Seeing that brightened my spirits a little. I decided to hold off on the vet visit for now and to continue to observe him for other signs of distress.

Thanks everyone for the kind emails and comments. I greatly appreciate all the feedback. One follower mentioned Oliver might have internal injuries if he was hit by a car, which is something I hadn't considered. Seeing that he let me hold him many times today and I could touch him anywhere without him reacting, I'm thinking he's most likely fine, but again, I will be observing him closely.

Laura saw the white cat again this evening. It was visiting with Theo through the front porch door. Then a little while later, I saw it walking away from the backyard, it's really big. Apparently, the fight with Oliver wasn't enough to keep it away. Sigh.

Since it's been coming around more, I thought I should review the images from the back porch camera to see if it has come onto the back porch yet. And indeed, it showed up about 2:15 this morning.

As you can see, the visiting cat is wearing a collar. It's not a cat I recognize from the neighborhood. Oliver and MK are sharing the bed as they both intently watch this interloper.

The visitor rolls in the nip...

and plays with Oliver's toys. But it doesn't express much interest in the food.

Now I'll need to figure out what to do with this visiting cat. Next time I get the chance I will see if it's friendly and has any identification on the collar.

Isn't there some kind of superstition about the first unexpected visitor of the new year? Something about if they are a dark haired gentleman then you will have good luck for that year. I suppose it's good this visitor came before the start of the new year! I think this is the first lighter colored cat that has visited.

It's really hard not being able to fully protect the ones you love. I so wish I could bring Oliver and his family inside so they could all be safe and fully cared for, but with feral cats, it doesn't work that way. I obviously need more practice at learning how to do what I can to help and then to let go of what I can't control. Sigh.

I'll let you know a little secret, I'm working on a therapeutic approach to get Oliver to stop spraying so maybe someday he can be a full-time inside kitty! If it works, you'll hear a lot more about it!

Meanwhile, I'll focus on apprehending this collared visitor! But first, I think it's time for bed once again.