Friday, December 30, 2011

BK gets his name!



Henceforth, BK shall be known as Oliver! A sweet name for a sweet cat!

We celebrated his new name with lots of nip!!




Plenty of nip for everyone! I put out some extra nip for Oliver to share with his family. Hopefully he saves some for them, because Mama Kitty loves it too!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

wrap up

Oh what a fun Christmas!! And I've got the pictures to prove it.

We started with some play!

Willow getting her toy

Gotch ya!

Theo merging with his carrot!

I love my carrot!

Rose enjoying her scratching post perch

After all that play it was nap-time!

Willow's perfected her napping technique.

Buddy and The Cat Guy even found time for a nap.
They're obviously still working on their napping form.

We had visitors!

Our friend Lisa and her woofie, Gromit, celebrated the day with us!

Then came time to open the gifts!

Nahum, the best fuzzy gift under the tree!

Look what was in my stocking! 3-D Cat Playing Cards!! Fun!

These were in Laura's stocking - a set of 3 adorable Cat Ring Holders!
The little bells around their necks even work! So cute!

The best gift of all was for BK.

BK got a name for Christmas! Stay tuned to find out his new name...

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!

BK gave me the best Christmas gift ever, he brought over his family for a visit on the night of Christmas eve! I didn't get any pictures because I didn't want to risk scaring them away.

I recognized Mama Kitty and I think the other one must have been one of the kittens but it seemed kind of big compared to the last time I saw it. It was jet black with a faint white spot on it's chest just like BK and Mama Kitty. If it was a kitten, that doesn't bode well for the other one that was absent. If it wasn't one of the kittens maybe it was a visiting cousin in town for the holiday?! Whoever it was, it was quite friendly with BK and Mama Kitty - definitely family!

All three cats ate together, played in the yard together and hung out at BK's house. So fun to see more of BK's family! I hope they come back for more! Seeing how fast the food bowl went down, it made me wonder if the family is coming over for midnight snacks each night, because every night I fill up the bowl but by morning it's empty.

Earlier on Christmas eve, I arranged for Theo and BK to meet up again. This time it went much more positively. BK was curious but not agressive. Theo was slightly interested. They didn't make physical contact but just hung out together on the porch, looking each other over. I'll take the lack of aggression as a success!


Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your day is filled with many blessings and delightful gifts!!

As I enjoy the holiday with family and friends, my heart also remembers that on this day last year, a fellow cat guy and blogger, Greg_1948 unexpectedly lost his beloved Verty to the Bridge. I also think of Admiral Hestorb's mom who is without her beloved Admiral on this Christmas. And my heart thinks of Parker, enjoying her last Christmas with her family. Prayers and purrs to you all.

Friday, December 23, 2011

first contact

Having endured ten Pacific Northwest winters thus far, this one has been the driest that I can remember, which is a wonderful gift. It means I'm getting a bit of a reprieve from my seasonal affective disorder-induced depression! It also means I've had more opportunities to play with BK in the yard. Today we played some string.



Ack! The string not let go!



Theo, watching the string play from the kitchen window

I decided to move along the kitty introduction effort. I figured the first phase has been ongoing, with them getting to smell each other. My clothes smell like the inside kitties from loving on them so much and then after holding and loving on BK I come inside smelling like him.

Phase two was going to involve a one-on-one meeting on the back porch with BK and Nahum, our ambassador. When I got the basket of leashes and harness out, Nahum scrambled away, yielding the honor to Theo. So, bold and tenacious Theo would get to be the one to make first contact with BK.

Theo didn't express a whole lot of interest in BK, he seemed more interested in getting around BK so he could go explore the yard! BK took more of an aggressive stance, ears back and growling. He cowered in the doorway and watched Theo with great interest. Theo pretty much ignored him.

Right after this picture was snapped, Theo, bored with not getting to go outside, walked away from BK, going back toward the house. BK seized the moment and pounced on Theo's back. I yelled and BK scurried out the door. Theo was not happy but thankfully wasn't injured. He did have a serious case of poofy tail though, in fact it took him along time to give up the poofy tail.

First contact didn't quite go as well as I had hoped although it wasn't really all that surprising. BK has been living on the street for quite sometime and I'm sure it will take a long long time for him to trust the other cats. So, we will keep working on it, one tiny step at a time. I've learned from this experience that BK doesn't fight fair, that will be important to watch going forward.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

many blessings!

Way back in October, I won some free cards from Shutterfly on Linda's A La Carte giveaway and I just got around to placing my order. With the thousands of options available, it took me forever to think of what I wanted. So, here's the final product - Simply Willow. Now I gotta wait for them to arrive in the post - I can't wait!!



5x7 Folded Card
View the entire collection of cards.


And in other very exciting news, I received my first award! Thanks to Random Felines for the honor. I can now boast that fourwhitepaws is an award winning blog!! How cool is that?!

"Liebster" means dear, dearest, favorite or beloved in German. The requirements of receiving the award are to link back to who gave it to you, paste the Award on your blog, then choose 5 of your favorite blogs to pass the award on to that are up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers, let them know by leaving a comment on their blog and hope that the 5 blogs chosen will keep on spreading the love by passing the award on to 5 more blogs.

So, after considerable consultation with all my kitties, we have decided to pass the award on to these awesome blogs. If you haven't already, check out these great blogs:

  • Homeless Cat Care - Debra has a huge generous heart for taking care of feral and homeless cats. Her recent post, Remembering Sunny, really touched my heart. Debra just doesn't take care of homeless cats, she invites them to forever live in her heart. 
  • God's Little People - Joan should be a candidate for sainthood! She does an amazing job of care taking the feral and abandoned cats on a small Greek Island. To see what I am talking about, check out her recent post, A prayer and a healing thought for Bessie. The world so needs more Debra's and Joan's in it.
  • A Cat In Gloves Catches No Mice - follow the adventures of KitKat, Gizmo and Denali! Their amazing humans took them with them on an exotic vacation where they saw kangaroos right from their vacation house window!
  • The Very Best Cats - Motor and Tiger are two fun ginger kitties that almost look identical! Not too long ago a doggie, Jack, joined the family. Their mommy is a very talented artist and creates many fun and beautiful designs.
  • Brett Seymour Photography - This blog has nothing to do with cats. Brett works for the National Park Service as an underwater photographer. He travels the world capturing the most incredible photos. He recently traveled to the Arctic Circle to assist Parks Canada in documenting the wreck of the HMS Investigator. His series of posts on the HMS Investigator really bring history to life. On his personal website, he shares many of his amazing photographs, including a tribute to the USS Arizona. I think what really makes Brett's work truly amazing is that his kind heart is revealed through his photography and writing.
Honorable mention goes to GraceNotes - Laura posts inspired words and pictures from her heart. If it wasn't for the sporadic long passages of time between posts, GraceNotes would have taken home a Liebster Award. Maybe if she gets some encouragement from new readers she'll dedicate more time to creating new posts!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

eyes are watching

Often when I look outside, this is what I see:


Do you see him? BK is hanging out in his house looking at me. Here's a closer shot:


He just hangs out in there, looking really bored. I've been trying to play with him more, but I don't have as much time as I would like for him. And the more time I spend with him the more the inside kitties don't get their time. I so wish he could come inside and integrate in the family.

I have been thinking through how I might start to introduce BK to the inside cats. I was thinking of starting with Nahum or Theo first. If I get the right chance, I may try that out soon. I don't know how to get Buddy to like BK, but I suppose I can cross that bridge when it comes. The few times I have held BK up to look into the kitchen from the back door, he seems really interested.

Mama Kitty has been coming around a little more. I see her sometimes in the early evenings when she comes to get some food. She is very fearful, even the light of the flashlight sends her running. I've got a long way to go to gain her trust enough to be able to touch her. Still no sign of the kittens.

I want to try to follow Mama Kitty sometime when she leaves the house to try to find out where she goes. I've thought of getting a GPS collar (like the Tagg Pet Tracker) to track BK's whereabouts hoping he might lead me to Mama Kitty and the kittens. I tried a regular breakaway collar on BK the other day and he wanted nothing to do with that. So, getting a more bulky GPS collar on him is not gonna work!

As Greg_1948 pointed out awhile ago, BK needs a real name. As I visit with him I work through possibilities, hopefully he'll soon tell me his name. Every time I pickup BK I notice how solid he feels. He's like a solid chunk of a cat. He's not squishy fat, just solid. His solidity and broad stature brings the name "Tank" to mind. But I'll let you know when he officially has his name. BK also needs his own page on the blog - I'm working on that too!

Monday, December 19, 2011

fort fun!

A fun way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, build a kitty fort!!


The fort was built for the boys - no girls allowed! 

Willow insisted on trying to get in...

She even tried to take down our flag!


Security breach!!

One Willow smile and I was toast - girls now allowed!!

Lets do some scratching!



then some pounce!!





Buddy stopped in to see what all the fuss was about. 
He stormed off muttering something about the younger generation.


Too much fun! Time to nap in the fort!!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Christmas preparations

Having a full size Christmas tree and five energetic cats is quite the challenge. Even though we decorated it as we wanted it sometime last week, each cat continues to make their own adjustments.

Over the weekend Theo toppled the tree as he was climbing it. I can't believe that has only happened once so far!

Theo doing his spaz dance for Rose.

Each kitty gets their own stocking.

Willow, grazing on the Douglas Fir.

Theo, adjusting the lights.

Willow, checking out the angel ornament.

Nahum, adjusting the string of red beads.

Willow, decapitating the angel.

Willow, contemplating other needed changes.


Nahum and Rose proudly posing with their handiwork.