Thank You

I was going to write about my attention hog this time. As I wrote it though it was longer than I thought. So I decided to make it a two part post about him next week. After I do my “Sleepy Sunday” post. I started doing that on Sundays to try having a regular feature. Just something simple and easy so even if I don't feel like blogging I would still be able to post.





Girl Kitty!



Squirrel just after getting spayed.

So this time just wanted to thank everyone for the comments and support. Fist let me reply to the comments I received on my last post. As always your remarks are kind, encouraging, and positive. I would like to thank everyone for the comments they have left. I have enjoyed them, even if I did not get a chance to reply to some of them.




Mitten Kitten on the couch.



Lil' Bit. (Notice anything different here?)



As for Blackie, I will try to get more pictures of her to post and mention her more in the future (Black cats are one of my favorites also). I will also ask “M” if it is OK for me to post the pictures I have of her cat. Neko is solid black, she is larger about the size of Mittens, except she is a short hair. Some one in our complex was leaving her out most of the time. Turned out it was her ex boyfriends cat, I believe she just did not care about the cat. She was getting ready to move, but did not want to take the cat with her. (I think she was just going to abandon it) I talked “M” into taking her in. She named it Neko after adopting it. After a couple of months I was able to talk her into keeping Neko as an indoors only cat. “M” has a kind hart and did not need much persuading.




Mizz Purrzzy with her babies.



Mizz Purrzzy up for adoption.



Martian has not been posted anywhere as being adoptable, for a few reasons. I am not sure how to on CB, nor if I would want to. I see so many cats in desperate need, special needs cats or some needing to be saved from being put to sleep. I would not want to take space or attention away from any of those cats. Our situation is not desperate, just occasionally frustrating. I am not on Facebook or Twitter, I would feel more comfortable knowing he goes to a real cat lover. As he was formally feral he is not exactly the cat for everyone. In the past I tried Craigslist with Mizz Purrzzy, but with so many cats in my area only got replys asking if she was a kitten (I post adult cat). One did ask if she was good with kids, I had to reply I have not seen her around cats but she is very loving and playful and think she would be. They did not write back.




Clock wise from the top
Blackie,Pretty,Ugly,TJ,Thor.
My neighbors 5 cats.



 

Thomas Cattacus!

When I first got Mittens I added her to Catster as adoptable. Mizz Purrzzy is also listed as adoptable I have never gotten an inquiry. There is a young girl that started at work when I did. She said as soon as she gets settled and can save up for the pet deposit she would like to take in one of my cats. So I do ask around with people I know and have them ask around. I also will talk about it on my blog here amongst cat lovers. Most all of my cats are adoptable, even Girl. But she would take a very special home before I would even consider it with her. I know she would be happier as an only kitty, in a very quite home, no kids, indoors only. It would break my heart but to make her happy I would let her go.




 

The Martian was pretty beat up when I first saw him.



Blackie!!
Just look at the pretty kitty ignore the mess.



As for some of the other comments thank you all for the encouragement, support, and suggestions. It is so nice to know that so many people really care about cats. I feel they are often misunderstood and distrusted, being my special cause. I do like all pets, dogs, ferrets, birds, etc. As to creating images, I have tried Gimp in the past, thanks for the recommendation. From what I remember it is mostly just a photo editor. So if any one has any suggestions on a program that will let me draw pictures from scratch I would appreciate it.

As to the pictures this time, just a mixed lot. Some may have been posted before. I did make sure I got at least one of all 12 cats posted. Some more than once.
     

The Forgotten Ones



 Thomas Cattacus

 Part of the problem with having so many cats running around, is it seems that some can get lost in the mix. If you are a regular reader you might have noticed that some of my little ones get written about more than the others. While some appear to get all the attention, others are neglected fading into the background. This is only semi-true, sometimes there is not much happening with them leaving nothing to tell. This post is dedicated to them, the quite ones, the forgotten ones.

 Lounging on the back of the recliner.

I will start with Tom, he has been with me as long or longer than Girl. I have forgotten which one came first. He is a true tomcat, fierce, proud, strong, independent, mostly a loner. I never really tried to make him a house cat. He comes and goes as he pleases, sometimes disappearing for a week or more at a time. For a while he came around most every day, then as more cats started hanging around regularly, his stays became less frequent. When I only had the 3 indoor kitties, he would show up as I left for work so I would leave him in all day, while I was away. Other days he would come in and stay from a few hours to most of the day.

Stud, drives the girls wild.

When he first showed up he was scruff, probably the dirtiest cat I had ever seen. Not dirty from having just rolled in the dirt and weeds, but as if he rarely cleaned himself. Shortly after keeping him in for a week when he was neutered, followed a month later taking him to have his infected leg taken care of. Another 4 day indoor stay, he soon cleaned up his act, becoming a clean and attractive cat. He is not one much for other cats, although all the girls thought he was a stud. Every time he came in they would crowd around him, vying for his affection. This drove him crazy naturally. I feel very fond of him, what with his strong independent spirit. He is a very proud cat, fit to be a king. I just wish he would come around more. When he does he gets prefurred treatment, taking priority over the others. I try to make him feel welcome so maybe he will come by more often.



Thor



Next is Thor, he is one of my neighbors 5 cats, also the only one not neutered. He used to come in every day, staying around for a while most days. A long haired cat a bit dirty and unkempt, as his owners do not take much interest in him, leaving him mostly on his own. When I decided to take up the challenge of taming the Martian, causing him to hang around more, the two of them would start to fight. Neither one was neutered at that time. Then on Thanksgiving weekend last year, just after the Martian was neutered and allowed to stay in the house they got into a fight inside. That is when I got scratched up separating them. See my post on Battle Scars.



 Such puffy cheeks!



I had to stop letting him in, plus had to chase him away to prevent any fights. Thor stopped coming around for a while. He is a loving cat, although his owners father thinks he is mean. They just don't spend any time with their cats. Lately though I have been able to let him in more. The Martian usually ignores him, might grow when Thor gets into his face, but they do not try to fight, much. With time and supervision there will be a peace. The Martian and TJ get along well enough that I can leave them both inside while I am gone at work. I hope to be able to work to this between him an Thor as well.



Such a pretty cat!



I think Blackie took a disliking to the Martian as well, she does not hang around as much as she used to. Now she will come in and eat, then go right back out. Maybe if I am home she will stay in and take a nap before going back out. So like Tom and Thor I do not have a lot of pictures of her, none of them being around much anymore. She use to start purring just as soon as I picked her up, I called her my rag doll because she would go limp in my arms. She is a beautiful long haired solid black cat. She is very physic also, just as soon as I clean house she will roll around the weeds getting covered, then come in and track it through the house.



On the outside ledge wanting in.



Lastly as it always seems to be is Girl. I have written a couple of posts on just her. She is my sweetie pie, pretty girl, number one cat. Number one because she is the first one I decided to adopt, also because she holds a special place in my heart. I have had to practice tough love with her, to help get her out of her shell. (It was harder on me than it was on her.) She will spend most of her time being quite, either hiding under the bed or running away from the other cats. She does not play nor is she very active on her own, defiantly never part of the group. For a while I could go a day and a half with out seeing her, even though she was inside the whole time.



Girl Kitty!!!!



Just started recently though when I feed her, I put her food in the bedroom and shut the door. She has been content to stay in there with the door closed. Then when I go to bed she will stay on top of the bed even with 3 or 4 other cats until I fall asleep. Not every night but maybe 2 or 3 in a row. She has not played but once or twice sense the last the last time I mentioned it. With the others pressing in demanding attention she does not get as much as she deserves. When I do try to spend time with her one of the others will come up causing her to leave. I just wish I could find a happy medium some where.

It would be nice if I could find a home for some of them. The Martian I would very much love to find a home for, as he is an attention hog, my next post will cover this in more detail. If it was just Girl and Lil' Bit, I am sure she would become more out going. I just do not think I could part with Squirrel, Mittens or even Mizz Purrzzy. Mittens does not bother her much but the other two will give Girl chase, much to her disliking.



Such a sad face.



Well that is the update on the forgotten ones, with some pictures so you can see who they are. Although I do not talk about them much they are still cared for. Some more than others. What can I say I play favorites among my children.
 
           

Sleepy Sunday

This weekend I have Sunday off, I think I might join them this afternoon for a nap.

                                              Mittens favorite pillow.

           A bath before bed time. Mittens tells Mizz Purrzzy to wash behind her ears.

                                             Squirrel in the box.

                                            A Pretty pair of pictures.

                                       Brave Girl napping in the front room.

 Taking turns. (They only sleep in the bed when I pick it up to vacuum) That’s Ugly in the first pic, just a big ball of fur.

      

Shameless Self Promo



Kittens Prayer


Just as the tittle of the blog states, this is a plug for my stores at Zazzle and Cafe Press. Links are in the tittles under each image. I started these up a while back, partly for fun (something to try out) partly to raise some extra funds. Taking care of my cats plus all the strays I figure every little bit helps. (Speaking of which Lil' Bit is in my lap right now demanding to be petted) All the proceeds goes to the cats. I have two philosophizes, “It's all about the cats” & “Cats first” . I find I buy their food first, then pay my bills and groceries next. Much like a parent I guess, I know how to do with out the extras, like little kids they do not understand. I keep them fat and happy, plus it keeps me from gaining weight from eating junk food. Over all a nice arrangement.




Maneki Neko





Lucky Cat




What prompted me to write this post, was that I had gotten an email offering a discount for mentioning a company in one of my posts with a link to their site. They suggested I offer it as a giveaway. I was going to include it in this post, but after giving it some consideration I decided not to. Probably a reputable company but one never knows with unsolicited emails. I am sure some of you have gotten similar offers, and may have had great success with it. I was just concerned about promising something I might not be able to deliver.



Please Spay & Neuter!

Stone Maneki Neko




Any ways I decided to do an entire post promoting sales, thinking I was going to include aforementioned company in it somewhere. Now however I am just going to post some images I created and have available at my two online shops. Same images at each mostly, just that they have different products and prices. I hope to be able to add to these in the future, as I have a dozen or more ideas. However I do not have Photoshop or other software to create the images I want. I am trying to find someone to help me do this.



Lil' Bit helped.



Right now my items are basic and only somewhat creative. If I had any artistic talent I could draw and scan them, alas I do not. Here are some of the better ones, I hope you like them. Remember all proceeds go to the kitties. Each image is linked to either Zazzle or Cafe Press, also I have a link to each on the side.



Hello!



Oh and Squirrel says hello.

Sleepy Sundays

Ahh Sunday, the day of rest, at least it is suppose to be. I start a new early morning shift today, will have to leave the house soon. As for my little ones well......


Can you guess which pair I wear everyday?





Tom stopped by for a bit.



The bed is full.



Everyone loves my jeans for some reason.



Squirrel did make it to the computer room.



Leisure is such hard work..... you never know when you are done!







    


Vet Visit



Lil' Bit prowling

 Just took Lil' Bit in to see the vet for her yearly exam with shots. She weighed in at 6 pounds 12.5 ounces. Last year they made a mistake recording her at 8 lb 11 oz, understandable with the confusion. I had taken all of them in for one large appointment most of them at 8lb. Mittens over 12, she needs to diet. So she got 3 shots, the vet pronounced her healthy and fit agreeing that 8 lbs had to be wrong other wise she would be a roly poly fur ball.




Smug cat.



Poor thing did not fair too well. I had the day off so took her in during the morning. After we got home she was unusually quite and calm. (She is almost always running around the house, jumping around very active) I went to look for her, found her laying on my computer chair. She spent most of the day there. She was very grouchy all day, growling at Squirrel when she walked by. (Those two always play together).



All worked up running around the house.



She did come out later in the day. Lil' Bit is the brave one, she will growl down the Martian, who weighs in just under 15 pounds, at any time. He normally slowly backs down. This time she was so fierce he ran away. She has no patience, if she gets a claw stuck while sharpening them she will growl ready to fight because she is stuck. “M” was over one day and heard this, she thought that my cats were getting ready to fight. Well with every step Lil' Bit took she was growling up a storm causing all of the others to seek shelter. Soon she laid back down, much to everyone’s relief. I guess she was very sore from the shots, she took them hard last year also. Poor little thing.



Martian calmly walks away.



Over all this year went very well, much better than last year. The vet was even able to get her temp, and physically check her over. Last year, I took all 4 of my cats in. (This was just before or just after Mizz Purrzzy joined us, Martian was not hanging around yet). I pegged her as the calmest so planned to catch her last to put into a carrier. Girl can run and hide easily, normally spending most of her time hiding from the others. I closed her in the bedroom, lured her out with food. Then I got Squirrel as once I started caging cats I knew she would run. Worried that Mittens would start getting nervous I grabbed her next.



Sitting pretty.



Lil' Bit does not like to be held (unless SHE jumps into your lap, then she is very loving) but is mostly out and about, where I am able to grab her. Normally she squirms but I can carry her around. Last year after seeing the others caged she got very antsy. After a couple of scratches (she had never scratched before or after) and the third time I caught her. I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and back (no I did not pick her up or carry her this way as a cat can get hurt like that) supporting her with my other arm. She bit me, did a 360 roll out of my arms. Leaving me with a hand full of hair, her with a big bald spot in the middle of her back. The vet was concerned about this thinking something was wrong I had to explain the situation to her.



On the prowl.



I let her calm down for about 15 min before trying again. I managed to get her to the vet along with the others. She was mad for 2 days. The vet had to use gloves and a towel to be able to handle her. She got the minimal of exams that day, with a very quick once over by the vet. That may also be why they got her weight wrong. Learning from my mistakes this year she was the only one I took in. The others are due so will start taking them in, but not all at the same time. Much less stress on them I believe.
      

Sleepy Sunday

Cat Naps

The day starts out innocently enough, every one shares a special treat. Some fresh milk. Then it is nap time.

Squirrel takes the high ground in the cat tree.

Mittens loves her boxes to sleep in.

While Mizz Purrzzy takes the back of the recliner.

Lil' Bit snuggles in another box bed.

While Ugly hides in her box, all curled up comfy like.

A change of positions when Ugly decides to join Lil' Bit on top of the cabinets.

Mittens decided to join Squirrel on their beach towel.

They curl up next to each other to start their long day of napping.

All tangled up and comfy like best friends should be.

The twins Pretty, Ugly choose to team up on an end table.

But you just can not keep Mitten away from my shoes

Lil' Bit figured it was finally time for bed.

Squirrel joins Lil' Bit in the bedroom, Nesting in my clean jeans on top of the dresser.

Back in the front room the twins change napping spots.

They did decide to go out to play in the sun.

Last but not least Tom decides to drop by for a nap. He does not come around so much any more with all the other kitties hanging around. So this is a rare treat indeed.


This is how Sundays are spent at my place, with everyone laying around all day. As you can imagine all that moving around must be extremely tiring work. Requiring lots of cat naps to rest up between moves. Of course with a house full of cats most days are like this.