City Cats Go Rural...

It is exactly a year now since I moved from Toronto, the city I had lived in all my life and fourth largest in North America, to Cobourg; town of 18,000 people. As you can see not one word has been written here in 2015 and honestly I almost forgot how to put up a post but I wanted any remaining blogging friends that I have to know I am alive and well and living the country life.

the house and family in caricature

Nine months after my fiftieth birthday my husband and I pulled up stakes and moved ourselves along with our beloved five cats and dog to Northumberland County. It was a somewhat unexpected change, we had talked about leaving the city at a time in the future, maybe ten or fifteen years from now but then we found ourselves quite by accident in Cobourg and were charmed by the town...three days later we bought this house!

the actual house

Our transition here has been seamless and surprisingly easy. However, the day we moved the boys out was not seamless and easy it was stressful and difficult. They had been staying safely at my mum's house during the big part of the move. The day we picked them up was extremely hot and humid and the air conditioning in Robert's SUV had just broken that morning. So if you can imagine five tense and overheated cats in carriers all panting, meowing, and (uncharacteristically) growling for an hour, it was without a doubt the most stressful component of the entire move.

let us out!!!

Upon arrival, I took them immediately up to our bedroom, put a litter box in our ensuite (temporarily), opened all the closet doors and released them from their carriers. They bolted or slunk under the bed and into the closets, I stayed for a little while talking calmly to them but eventually left when nobody seemed to be listening to me.  I said to my husband "they are shaken, I'm thinking this will be a long transition!" Then about half an hour later I noticed their little faces started appearing at the door.  No longer frightened but indignant they had been locked in.

I was amazed and even considered making them stay in the bedroom for a while but once they were no longer hiding and sitting at the door it seemed a silly idea.  So I let them out to explore the house as they liked. It took them all of a day to acclimate and as you can see from the photos, they have been relaxed and happy here ever since. The dog of course adapts anywhere but as we all know cats can be a little trickier, it was a huge relief for us that the boys did so well in such a short time!

Rio at the beach at the bottom of our street

 Well there you have it folks, a little update on my furry family....hopefully better late than never :-)
 

Help!

Hello Friends,

****Please note, Saturday morning I managed to fix things!!!!!  YAY

I have been away from blogging for quite sometime and Blogger has changed a bit in my absence.  Today I seem to have inadvertently deleted my "About Me" button/gadget from my sidebar and I can't get it back.  I can't even add a gadget/field anymore...any suggestions from my more practiced blogger friends?

The boys are very angry with me that I have messed with their blog.

Here's Ben giving me the accusatory paw and Jimmy looking unimpressed with my ineptitude - LOL! 

Mancat Monday Massage

Hello friends,

I attempted to post this video on my facebook page but sadly only the audio came through.  I thought I'd try it on the blog and see if I fared any better.  Here is Casper enjoying a nice massage on his furs from the vacuum :-)

Please be so kind to tell me if you can see it.  Thank you!

Ben's Gotcha Day and other news

Hello friends, it's been a while between posts again because things have been very hectic here at Cat's Cats.  Robert slipped on the ice at the end of January and broke his leg in two places, this required surgery for a titanium rod to be inserted into the bone.  He was in the hospital for five days then home for two weeks and quite unable to do things for himself.  He is much better now thank goodness, zooming around on crutches and back at work :-)

During that time we missed Casper and Archie's Gotcha Day on February 9, (2008 and 2010 respectively).  Lots of dear friends remembered but had to go all the way back to January 22 to find a post to leave their comments!  Thank you so very much.

Then today I look at the calendar and realize that it is Ben's Gotcha Day already (2009)!!!!  I am so very lucky to have these delightful cats who enrich my life every day.  It's hard to believe that the years pass so swiftly, it seems only yesterday they were wee.

baby Casper and his sister Fluffy

Casper and baby Ben

baby Archie in his plane

Thanks for popping by, love to all!
Cat and the cats xx

It's Valentine's Day!!!

Archie's special ladycat is the beautiful and talented Neytiri from Clooney's Num Num Fund and she made him a this wonderful Valentine.  Archie considers himself the luckiest mancat in the Blogosphere!!!

I would like to wish all cats, kittens and their peeps a very happy Valentine's day filled with lots of love!!!!

Btw, comments are off today so you can spend more time snuggling with your sweethearts  :-)

Happy New Year!

And so it's time to reflect on another year that has come to a close with alarming speed!

2013 started off with breast cancer and a fourth surgery.  It was determined that the lumpectomies and tissue excision was not working and the situation could not be saved.  Thankfully my lymph nodes were clear and I did not require chemotherapy or radiation, I felt so very lucky about that!  I underwent a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction in a five and a half hour operation.  The recovery was estimated at twelve to sixteen weeks but really it has taken me almost the whole year to feel like myself again.  I had a little complication that required another surgery in February and a lot of trouble with my shoulders as a result of trauma to the general area, but weekly physiotherapy has helped me tremendously.  Then just when I was gleefully preparing to say good-bye to 2013 which has been the most difficult year of my life (next to 2011 when I lost my brother), and looking forward to my birthday and Christmas, things got worse.  My beloved father died quite unexpectedly at the beginning of December.  My family is bereft beyond description.  We are fortunate however to have each other, so many people are alone this time of year and I could not imagine coping with this kind of loss by myself.  Our Christmas was subdued but we were together and the bonds of love kept us going.  It is with a heavy heart that I ring in the new year but I would like to wish all my cat blogging friends who are so very dear to me a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014 filled with love and many blessings.

Here's to a new year, with new possibilities for all of us :-)

lots of love,
Cat and the cats xoxo

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Dear friends, it has been a particularly difficult year for me but I have been sustained and supported by the kind friendships of the Cat Blogosphere.  Thank you so very much!

I would like to wish each and every one of you and your families all the joy of Christmas.  May peace and love surround you.

Love,
Cat and the cats

PS - comments are off :-)

Best Birthday Cake Ever!!!!

Hi friends, we had a little soiree on Saturday night to celebrate my 50th birthday.  I wanted to share some pictures of my cake with you because it was amazing and I know that my fellow bloggers and lovers of all things feline could appreciate it more than anyone :-)

Inside it was chocolate with mint buttercream between the layers.

But of course the best part was kitties all around it :-)

Notice this guy's tail,

and these two playing with the string!

Mellow Mancat Monday

Casper blissing with mum :-)

Friday's Fabulous Find

Hello friends, I'd like to tell all of you about a wonderful new item I bought for the kitties, it's from Etsy of course where I find so many lovely handmade things!  This is the Bright Night 10' ceramic fountain from Thirsty Cat Fountains  

My boys love drinking from fountains and I have had several that they liked, but I did not.  The fountains I had used in the past were plastic or stainless steel and I found that after about a year they just did not come clean anymore no matter how hard I scrubbed!  I wanted to try a ceramic fountain and had this shop in my favourites for quite a while. I was always a little put off by the high cost of shipping to Canada but the fountains are so gorgeous I checked in every now and again to see what was available.

I must confess that I no longer begrudge the cost of shipping because this package arrived safely and swiftly in just four days!!!

With clear, easy to follow assembly and care instructions (there is also a youtube video) and all the components in tact.  I washed the fountain and put it together in about one minute and it was ready for cat use.

The starburst mound in the centre hides the pump and the scallop shell that you see in the left part of the fountain conceals where the pump cord exits the feedthrough.

It is both beautiful and practical.  My boys and I loved it immediately!!!

Friday Fun

I bet you can't see me...

 Here I am!!!!!

It's me Archie having fun on top of the wardrobe in the sunroom.

 I'm hanging out in a basket and look, there is one for my special ladycat Tiri too :-)

Hmmmm, tastes pretty good!

Tiri would you like to come over for a visit?!?!

Friends on Friday

This is how I woke up this morning...

with Ben and Kip snuggled in beside me.  Bliss!!!

Formerly Feral Friday

Sweet Kip has taken to burrowing under the covers.

Isn't he adorable :-)

Whiney Wednesday

This is my bedside table.  It does not hold a lamp, or a book I’m reading, or my laptop, or even my morning cup of coffee.  What it usually holds is a cat, doing this….

Casper

or this

Jimmy

or this

Kip and Archie

and this

Ben (with Archie's behind)

But truth be told I wouldn't have it any other way!!!!

Casual Friday

For a Tuxedo cat, Ben is very informal today - LOL!!!

he says "Enjoy the weekend everyone"

Thankful Thursday

Ben and Jimmy are thankful that the new water meter has been installed in the basement and the man is now gone.

They emerge from the bedroom to see if the coast is clear!