memorial day

from US Naval Institute: Cats in the Sea Services

Memorial Day 2011

Recognizing that not every soldier gets to return to their earthly home.

return of fish toy

One of Max's favorite toys was the Fish Toy by West Paw Design. After Max's death. it took me awhile before I would let the other cats play with Max's fish. The fish is about 6" long. The soft fleece material is made from recycled plastic bottles. There is a little bell inside that rattles and there is a bit of organic catnip inside.

Max hanging out with his favorite fish toy, Oct 25, 2008

Kitten Rose enjoy's Max's fish toy, Sept 29, 2010

Eventually, Theo discovered the fish toy and he destroyed it. Theo has a way of tearing things up. He gutted the fish so he could get at the catnip that was sewn in. I was quite annoyed because this toy had belonged to Max.

Remembering that Rose enjoyed the fish when she was so tiny, the other day I decided to look for a new one. I ordered three so I would have a backup supply. Sadly, they are harder to find now which translates into a higher price.

Theo tearing open the package trying to get at the fish

New fish

Theo loves the fish

Tastes good

Rose is indifferent. She hasn't shown any interest yet in the new fish.

looking good

new bug toy!

Thanks to Neko Flies, the kitties have a new bug toy! I recently won a Neko Flies giveaway! The timing was perfect, my Kragonfly has finally expired so I was in need of a new bug toy.

I got the Kittycada this time. All the cats were immediately interested, but Theo couldn't contain himself while I tried to remove the toy from the packaging. I held it way in the air and he was jumping like a crazy cat!

A close-up of the Kittycada. 

Like the Kragonfly, the Kittycada is made of very good quality materials. And like the Kragonfly, the cats went bonkers for it. Neko Flies are still the only toy that all the cats go nuts over.

Focus

Making the catch

Eating the prize

Hunt mode

Nom nom nom...

The Kittycada is a big hit. Shortly after bringing it out, Willow started to chew on it and I heard a big crunch. She started to act like something weird was in her mouth, I feared she had broken a tooth. Turns out, she had chewed off one of the hard plastic eyes of the bug, which was a little smaller than a BB. I immediately plucked out the other eye. I don't remember the Kragonfly having hard eyes, but maybe it does.

Thanks Neko Flies for making such great bug toys!

inspection

Good news!

Fourwhitepaws Hobby Cattery just passed it's official inspection by the city animal control officer!

It was a very grueling inspection, ok, maybe grueling is over stating it a bit. After a long conversation with Nahum and Theo about the conditions of their captivity he was convinced we took good care of the kitties and all was well. Thankfully, Theo didn't give him his starving-cat-who's-about-to-expire routine. I am sure we passed because Nahum offered the inspector to rub his tummys.

The inspector even said that with our two large enclosed porches, we could have many more cats! 

hobby cattery license

It's official. Fourwhitepaws hobby cattery is now officially licensed by the city. Back in October, I posted about the city's requirement that any household with more than two cats is required to get a hobby cattery license. The law reads:

“Hobby kennel or cattery” means any facility or residence where more than two, but less than seven, sexually neutered dogs or sexually neutered cats, or combinations thereof in excess of two dogs and two cats, are kept, or harbored, for the enjoyment of the species only. In addition to the hobby kennel fee (see Section 6.04.100 of this chapter), each dog and cat must be licensed individually at regular fees.

I was hoping to get a license that would be suitable for framing, but alas, it was only a computer printout. Maybe you have to pay extra to get the fancy looking license.

Getting the hobby cattery license comes with some risk. The animal control officer needs to inspect your house to make sure the conditions are suitable for the number of animals you have. The inspection is scheduled for this coming weekend.

Here is a little of what the inspector will experience.

Theo: "they never feed me, they make me beg for food... they eat three meals a day and countless snacks but they only give me two tiny foods and that's only after i remind them to feed me. they get meat, they give me a few dry nuggets..."

Rose: [being extra skittish giving the impression she has been abused by the evil humans] "squeak squeak!"

Nahum:"they buy all these toys but they never wiggle them for me. i carry the toys around trying to get them to play but they only want to point a flashy box thing at me. i even roll over and show my tummys but..."

Willow: [charms fully activated] "look at how cute i am. i be forever grateful if you give me a few nuggets from this bin. please, please, please..."

happy news!

I was unable to resist the temptation. I gave in and inquired with Purrfect Pals about sweet Ivan Inder.

Happily, I learned that one of the volunteers at the Average Joe Cat Show also fell in love with Ivan. She is currently fostering him and seeing how he does with her other cat. If he does ok with the other cat, then Ivan will have his forever home!

Ivan, hopefully on his way to his new forever home!

Yahooo for Ivan!

irresistible Nahum

happy gotcha day!!!

It's Willow's and Nahum's gotcha day! Two years ago today, we fell in love with them both in the middle of a Petsmart and took them home!

A big thanks to Oasis for Animals, for rescuing them and giving them a chance at life. 

I am very blessed to have Willow and Nahum in my life.

nothing average about Average Joe

The Average Joe Cat Show is an annual fundraising event hosted by Purrfect Pals, an amazingly awesome local cat shelter and sanctuary. I had the pleasure of attending yesterday's show! It was a blast to see so many cats and so many cat people together!

There were many elements to the show. In the main hall, vendors lined the outside walls. In the middle were rows and rows of show cats. This show was quite different from a regular cat show. These are regular house cats (kittypets) who are entered into many different categories, such as: longest whiskers, loudest purr, most average, prettiest eyes, softest fur in the west, etc. Many of the show cats were from various rescue groups and were available for adoption!

The judges roamed the hall looking over each cat. (Two of the judges can be seen in the above picture, they are in the judges robes.) There were also people's choice awards given out. Tickets could be purchased and placed in the cups above each cat's cage. The cats with the most tickets won the category.

Another room held a silent auction. I bid on two items but was outbid before it was over. The third room was the most dangerous, the kitty adoption room! A big room full of beautiful kitty's that are ready to go home! And sure enough, I almost came home with another cat, Ivan, more on that later! I didn't hear the final adoption number, but about midway through the show, it was announced that 12 cats had been adopted so far that day! Yeah! 

There were numerous cats walking around on leashes! Maybe next year I can bring Theo!

Some kitties were scared.

kitty loves!

love the fluffy! 

Purrfect Pals hosts an annual auction fundraiser (The Black Cat Ball). One of the items that brings in a lot of money is getting your cat's picture on some private label bottles of wine. That would be pretty cool!

This cat looked like a larger version of Theo!

Laura, trying to resist the suggestion to adopt!

beauty!

sleepy beauty!

There were many vendors set up giving out samples and information about their offerings. We left with three bags of loot!

The Feral Cat Spay and Neuter Project was selling these t-shirts!

A wall plaque available in the silent auction.

One of the vendors, Animal Comforts, makes these amazing cat beds. I was tempted to get one for Willow, but I feared if I gave her one she would never leave it and I would never see her again!

These figurines reminded me of my mom's collection of porcelain dog figurines. I was tempted to buy her a cat figurine and send it to her just to see what would happen!

Part of the Average Joe Cat Show involves a photograph competition. The photos were listed on the Average Joe website and people vote on the photos in each category ($1 per vote). The winning photos were displayed at the show.

Max could have won this category easily.

This one looks just like my Willow!

Now, the adoptable kitties room. It was very difficult to leave the show without adding another to our hobby cattery.

Kittens galore!

Many adoptable sweet kitties.

A teenage mom-kitty and her foster mom, whose name I didn't catch.

One of the teenage mom's kittens, available for adoption!

Meet Ivan Inder, a very sweet 10 year old boy who stole my heart. He's available for adoption, his details can be found here.

gorgeous blue eyes!

curious and active.

ready for a nap after a long day.

take me home!

Both Laura and I were very drawn to Ivan. We might have taken him home with us except a note on his cage stated he doesn't like other cats. I am wondering if this is really true, since he seemed very easy going in an energetic room full of other cats and people. I'm having a hard time letting go of sweet Ivan. He's been looking for a new home too long, since August 15 2010. 

The 2011 Average Joe Cat Show was a delightful way to spend the day. I hope Purrfect Pals raised a lot of money from this event and I hope many kitties found their forever homes. Thanks to the significant number of volunteers who helped make the event a success! Also thanks to Purrfect Pals for serving the kitties of our community, I love what you do! 

I'm already looking forward to next year's show!