1.31.2011

Real Mancats Decorate


You may not know it, but Casper is an interior decorator.  Indeed, he has a penchant for minimalist surroundings and clean surfaces.  I know this because every time I put something on a coffee table, bedside table, sideboard, console or occasional table it ends up on the floor.  I was laughing the other day when Jan from The Cat’s Meow, who recently celebrated a birthday, said Milo loves to knock down her cards because the exact same thing happens here.  I have long given up trying to cluster my Christmas cards on the sideboard in the dining room, I now attach them to grosgrain ribbons and hang them in long strands around the window frames (a little clear tape here and there prevents the strands from moving around tantalizingly).  I have boxes full of treasures that I have collected on my travels or that have been gifts which have enormous sentimental value to me, but none are displayed after many items ended up in pieces on the floor.  I still have them but if you look closely you can see that they have been skilfully pieced back together.  I consider myself somewhat of an expert with glue as a result of Casper’s decorating efforts. For a while our tallboys were an ornament oasis, but he eventually found those too; by jumping from a bedside table to the top of the door then down onto the dresser.  The only way to display something at my house is to nail it to the wall so I hang lots of paintings and ceramics.  I was thinking about asking Robert to install some shelves at a "beyond-cat" level, but then they would be so high I couldn't see what's up there either!

Be gone devil knick-knack!

1.28.2011

Stylish Blogger Award


Our new friends from Mewsings of Garden Cottage Cats kindly gave us the Stylish Blogger Award and we thank them very much.  If you don't know the Cottage Cats you must go and have a visit, their blog is exquisite and is like entering a magic fairyland!  The rules state that we must reveal seven facts about ourselves that you may not know and then name seven bloggers to whom we would like to pass along the award.

Our seven facts are:
  1. I have never heard Ben meow but he trills all the time
  2. Archie likes to chew my hair
  3. Casper is not interested in treats or any human food…nip is another matter though
  4. Jimmy is strangely un-photogenic; I don’t think I have one picture that is representative of how truly gorgeous he is
  5. Ben is the only one who scratches the sofa
  6. Mild-mannered Archie goes “puma” when he gets his nails trimmed  
  7. Jimmy is the loudest purrer of the boys
Our seven friends that we would like to pass the award to are:

  1. The Cat's Meow Milo and Alfie, two Devon cats who always make us smile
  2. Hook, Hand and Heart Wonderful weaver and handcrafter Pat and her five kitties
  3. It's All About the Cats Our friends Sadie, Benny and Tucker
  4. Pawprints on my Heart Dee's lovely blog from Ireland...nine cats and seven dogs!
  5. TK and Squashies Forever Home Thankfully back after a far too long absence
  6. Adan's Everyday + Lego The beautiful and talented Michico and her funny boys
  7. The Oliver and Ruby Chronicles Two feisty kittens discovering the world
We realize that this award is making the rounds at the moment, so our apologies if we name you and you have already received an award :-)

1.26.2011

Gingersday

 I read on the CB under Cat Events that Wednesday is Gingersday for all gorgeous ginger kitties.  Well, I sure do have a fine looking ginger snap at my house...

Need proof?

gorgeous side view
gorgeous straight-on
gorgeous in motion
Young Master Archie GG!

1.24.2011

Support Your Local Shelter!

Hi All,

Our friend Brian asked his friends if we would do a reminder post today about the importance of supporting your local shelter.  All of my kitties have been adopted from one kind of shelter or another, except for Casper who was born under a friend's porch.  I just can't begin to imagine what would have happened to Ben or Archie who were found on the street as kittens, or Molly who was just thrown away in a box with her babies, or Jimmy who was taken from an unsuitable home if there weren't rescues to look after them until they were adopted!  Every time I go to my local shelter they are brimming with beautiful cats who deserve loving homes and although they do a great job they are usually stretched pretty thin budget-wise!


We can't always give money to shelters, but there are other ways to help.  Usually your local shelter will have a website and on that website there will be a "Wish List"  The Wish list can have anything on it from incubators to food.  I knit cat blankets for my local shelter.  The kitties don't mind that my knitting is awful and not fancy because the blankets are warm and cozy when they are living in a metal cage. 


I look at my boys so happy and safe in my home and it really breaks my heart to think of animals out there who are not as fortunate.  I know that we are all animal lovers here in our blogging community and we do what we can, but let's spread the word around and try to get others involved to do a little something extra to help out our furry friends in need!

We are happy cats

We have a safe home

1.21.2011

Friday Flashback

When I was fourteen my sister Sarah (who is six years older) and I brought home a nine month old Abyssinian kitten.  Sarah had read about some kittens that would be available at a local cat show and dragged me along as her hapless accomplice.  I was very excited, but worried that we were going to get in big trouble for doing this without our parents knowing about it.  At the show she met a breeder from Virginia and selected a female kitten named Fanny Bryce Spartacus II.  Quite a mouthful for the tiny-boned, delicate creature that she was.  In the car home we renamed her Abby, which is a short form for the breed (Aby).
Abby came from a busy cattery, we never saw this cattery so we don’t know what it was like but she was VERY skittish and tense for a very long time.  After about a year though she settled in and became the most fantastic cat; highly intelligent, affectionate, loyal and so very beautiful.   She was also remarkably slender considering she was a complete glutton and thief of any food she could her paws on.  Perhaps there were a lot of cats around during her early months and maybe she didn’t get enough to eat, but you name it and she tried to steal it; bread, cheese, nuts, cereal, meringues, carrots, nothing was safe, our butter always had lick marks on it even if it was only left on the table for a minute or two.
  

My mum and I were out for lunch today and she was asking after my cats, in particular how our newcomer Jimmy was doing.  I said Jimmy was highly food motivated and regularly surfed the counters, much to my chagrin.  On Christmas day my family was witness to Jimmy’s extreme interest in some shrimps we had out on the coffee table which had to be guarded.  This was caught on camera http://catscats-catrina.blogspot.com/2011/01/wordless-wednesday.html.  My mum said “He’s a thief just like Abby” and I replied “Do you remember the time she tried to steal a pie?”  I'm not kidding, an entire pie!  We heard a huge clatter in the kitchen one day and Abby, a five pound cat had tried to make off with a pie which probably weighed as much as she did, that my mum had on a cooling rack.  Everything ended up on the floor…luckily face up!  We laughed and talked fondly about her antics as if it were yesterday but actually more than twenty-five years have passed since she went to the bridge.  Our beloved Abby died at age seven of a massive tumor in her chest.

PLEASE NOTE:  Unfortunately I have no pictures of Abby as she lived in a time well before digital cameras. The Abyssinian pictures I have used here came from a google search and were the closest representation of what she looked like that I could find.

PS - I do not endorse buying cats and prefer to rescue cats in need, but my sister is her own person and has the right to do as she wishes :-)

1.18.2011

Tuxie Tuesday

I took these pictures of Ben the other day and I think they are hilarious.  They look like some cheesy Sears Portrait Studio baby pictures.  Hope you get a giggle out of them but be sure to tell Ben we are laughing WITH him, not at him :-)



1.17.2011

Mancat Monday

It seems to me that one day Archie was a scrawny kitten and the next day he was a big strong mancat!
He is a very happy and relaxed fellow
My long, lean ginger snap

He doesn't have to always be in the action, but loves to watch whats going on
And let's not forget, he has the best juicy peach pads which drive me crazy!

1.14.2011

Friday Fun

Crop Circles?
Nope
Cat Circles?

Ok that's lame...do you have a better caption? :-)

1.10.2011

Tuxie Tuesday

Oh boy I'm exhausted!  Yesterday my lovely Clemmie and I had a picnic and she invited all our friends to come and join us.  We had tons of fun and played and played all day.  Today I'm napping and not moving at all.
I'm staying like this all day
Ok, I'll admit I moved a little...but not much!
Mummy says my tummy is snorgleable :-)
NOTE: Sorry folks I meant to press post options and I pressed publish instead; oops! oh well my Tuesday post will be a little early.

1.08.2011

Jimmy's Sister Needs Help!

Hi all, I would like you to meet Sparkles, she is Jimmy's sister and also a Winnie's Wish kitty.
Sparkles is six months old
Sparkles lives with Chrystal from Daily Dose of Dogs and Cats and has been feeling out of sorts since Jimmy left to come and live here with the my boys.  Sparkles has stopped playing with the other cathouse kitties and stopped playing with her toys.  She no longer wishes the companionship of her catmates and is now interested in human interaction exclusively.  Chrystal and her family run a busy shelter and boarding kennel and they do not have the time to lavish Sparkles with the attention she needs (although they would like to). 

Sparkles baby picture :-)
Sparkles needs a home and a human to call her own.  I am asking everyone who reads this to please spread the word and hopefully someone can come forward for Sparkles.  She is a sweet girl and just wants to love and be loved (don't we all).  It would probably be best if Sparkles was an only cat, so you could enjoy the full focus of her affections. 

What a beauty!
You can read all about Sparkles at Chrystal's blog, and I have included the link above.  If you know of anyone who could open their heart and home to a wonderfully attentive kitty please do not hesitate to contact Chrystal or myself.  Don't forget that thanks to the generous donation from KC, Winnie's Wish adoptions can be flown anywhere in the continental US for free!!!!   So don't let location stop you from adopting a loving kitty :-)

1.06.2011

Thankful (for Pam) Thursday

I am thankful for the wonderful and caring friends that I have in the CB.  I never tire of saying that and my feelings are continually affirmed. 

Today I am thankful specifically for knowing a generous lady named Pam from California and her five fine kitties: Petey, Jack, Spunky, Tabitha and Madison LaRue.  I was lucky to have the winning bid for a beautiful silver kitty necklace in Chrystal's Cathouse auction that was donated by Pam.  Today a rather large package arrived in the mail, I was a bit perplexed by this since a necklace is a small item.  Inside the box there was a treasure trove of goodies for my boys.  Pam claims that she was helping Santa with his busy schedule by delivering these toys to us but we think she and her gang had a hand/paw in it :-)  I feel so fortunate to know such fantastic people, thank you Pam for your thoughtfulness!!!

Cats: Ok mum enough chat, now show everyone what was in the package....

Well first of all I had to physically remove Jimmy from the box so we could unpack the contents.


In this picture you can see the beautiful silver necklace (bottom right), a kong kickeroo (a favourite around here), two sparkle balls that rattle, and a cat cube which is particularly great because they don't seem to be available in Canada!  Underneath Casper you can just make out the feather mouse that has a velcro opening where it can be filled with nip (supplied).


In the background you will note there is a Santa stocking still in the box.  It was filled with bags of Temptations and Party Mix, not to mention the two bags of Greenies (yum, yum) that you can see!

I love this picture because all four boys are together investigating all the loot before they broke away with their individual favourites.
Casper took the Kong Kickeroo

Ben selected the Feather Mouse (with nip)

Then Archie stole it from him.
After the excitement died down and the cats had dispersed, Jimmy found a cozy spot to be alone with his House Mouse :-)

Now here's the thing folks, Pam does not have a blog (although she visits many of us in the CB).  However, she has been flirting with the idea of starting one.  If you are leaving a comment today, lets give her some encouragement, there is always room for another great cat person in our community!

1.04.2011

Mancat Tuesday

Well we missed mancat Monday because we happily joined the birthday postings for a dear friend in the CB.  However, I very much wanted to post these cute pics of Archie and Jimmy so I've just bumped mancat Monday to Tuesday. I don't really think anyone will mind, except for maybe Ben...perhaps tomorrow will be Tuxy Wednesday - LOL!!!


Robert and I were watching a DVD and these two decided to join us.

But the movie wasn't about cats so they promptly fell asleep.

1.03.2011

Happy Birthday Judi!

A little birdie told us that there is a birthday over at Sammy and Andy's Place today... 

Kind-hearted Judi, thank you for all your help last year making a blog header and a Christmas card for my kitties.  The boys and I wish you a wonderful day filled with all the things you love :-)