meeyauw: Feline Friday

Showing posts with label Feline Friday. Show all posts

Friday, December 23, 2022

Mother Cat

Bob is a friend who is a mechanic with his own auto body garage and tractor trailer towing business. I seldom ask him to help with my car because he always insists on free (except parts). Bob was Barton's Selectboard chair for years, many of which when I was Selectboard clerk. Jody was also on the Selectboard for part of that time, which is where we met. We are all friends now in private life.

This is Mother Cat. She's never been a mother, though. She is 18 years old! She is a bit stiff in the legs and is completely deaf. She lives in the shop. There was another cat, Brother Cat, but he had a heart attack and died at 16 years old last year.

I want to thank Bob for repairing my soft tire (for free). It was important on these roads and with studs on an all-wheel Subaru. You can't replace one tire: you have to replace them all. I don't want to get all new winter tires at this time of the season. He saved me.

Merry Christmas, Mother Cat!

🎅🎄🤶

Feline Friday at
Comedy Plus

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Thursday, December 22, 2022

A Major Announcement

My little funny face.

When I adopted Betsy she was three years old and had lived with the same people her entire life. I re-named her Betsy. Betsy never learned to respond to her new name. There was a broken bridge between us that I couldn't find a way to mend. She is sweet, playful and responsive; but there has always been a distance that I didn't understand. She knows the routines of the house and races me up to bed every night but never stayed.

I have always cracked up with her funny faces that change literally from second to second.
These two photos were actually one second apart.

Four nights ago I spent some time with Betsy and, messing with her, called her Poppy — her first given name — and

BOOM!

She became alert, gave me eye contact, relaxed and opened up. I continued to talk to her with that name, and everything has changed. She takes no guff from Nell anymore (who can be a bully occasionally) and even inspects Lucy for smells from the outside and for doggie dirt on her face; just like Nell does. She comes to me when I call her by name; and comes quickly!

I have a new cat living with me.

When she came to bed that night, she slept closer to me and stayed longer. She now stays the night. She reaches for my hand for rubs and pets. She purrs more. She has chirped at me!

I swear that she felt invisible before and now feels seen. Can this even be true? Have any of you had this experience?

So Betsy is now officially Poppy. Again.

Feline Friday at
Comedy Plus

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Thursday, September 01, 2022

Feline Friday: Nell & Oliver Video plus . . .

Above, Baby Nell and Oliver have an "argument."

It is a very dark video. I didn't know what I was doing back then.

Wait for the end!

In three weeks, I am planning to adopt a cat. I don't know if it will be a kitten or an adult that is Nell's age. But we all know what will happen: it will be a cat that I simply fall in love with no matter what the age. I have to wait because I'm having a new furnace installed for the winter and don't want the new cat to be scared when that happens. I wanted all of you to be the second to know (my kids were the first)!

💗 I'm so excited I can barely stand it! 💗

More kitties here!

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Friday, August 26, 2022

Feline Friday: Confession

August 12, 2020

Dearest Jody,

We had a near catastrophe this morning. But you would not understand because I have not told all the truth to you. You brought me four swallowtail larvae: two late instars, a tiny first instar, and one in the middle. I never told you that the tiny one and the one huge one disappeared. Amelia and I searched and searched but could not find them in the enclosure or in the house (I have had caterpillars run on me before, especially Monarchs). You went to a lot of trouble for these little guys and are so deeply invested that I did not want to disappoint you.

I continued the search over the next few days for a chrysalis, hoping the big one ran away and pupated under a table, or in a dark corner somewhere. It did. I found it today. I went into the kitchen to make breakfast (which seldom happens) and Nelly the Naughty Cat was leaping about the windows trying to catch a bug. It was your butterfly! He had to have pupated yesterday because he was totally dry and ready to leave.

And it's a boy!

But I couldn't get a camera and save the butterfly, too.

I had to yell at Nelly, which brought Lucy racing down to the kitchen to help me. Lucy is a great cat wrangler and loves the times that they are naughty. Nelly ran into the basement. I went for the camera, which was charging, because I lost that spare battery, so I had to reload the battery. By that time, Nelly had returned to slaughter the butterfly. But one word to Lucy and Nelly was in the basement again. I took the photos. I got him on my finger to pose a bit. But I had to release him because he was beating his wings on the window and destroying his scales.

You have never met Nelly in real life before. Here she is this morning trying to take the lens cover off of the camera. She has her sweet moments. But she is a killer and I am grateful for her mousing capabilities.