Reclaiming Possum Territory

In many ways Ninja is spoiled rotten. In other ways he gets very little. For example: since the Vet told Miss E, that Ninja was overweight she has eliminated his constant access to munching. So, he has to wait the three times a day she gives him a small cup of kibble. She has decided that I need the same nutrition and I don't mind. A queen of my ranking must hold onself up to the scrutiny of all. So a svelt figure is an advantage. Ninja complains bitterly about his lack of sufficient nutrition. He claims he is being starved to death and stares at Miss E, hoping she will melt under his pressure and feed him. I think she has her radar closed down as it isn't working. Ninja pouts.

The Monk came to visit us again this weekend, and brought some fresh tuna for Ninja. He craves it so. Those two have a very special bond. It is endearing to watch them interact, gentleman to gentleman. The Monk brings out the best in Ninja, and it seems Ninja is the happiest when "his" Monk is here to visit. I kept my royal distance and required the Monk come to me to make his appeals for my attention. But, this weekend I was not in the mood to grant him my royal presence. I was still quite disgruntled about our unwanted visitor the other evening.

Though Spyder thinks the Opossum is ugly, it still serves it's purpose in the circle of life. The Opossum is the only marsupial in this country. It is quite harmless to others unless severely provoked. Usually it just falls down and plays dead until the attacker loses interest. Some neighbor cats on the street behind us two blocks away even eat their meals with their opossum.

Miss E would never permit that. Even though Opossums are one of the cleanest wild animals and serve a very good purpose in our lives by cleaning up unnwanted debris in our yards, they also carry diseases which Miss E does not wish to have us exposed. And she certainly doesn't need to catch anything either! It is quite distressing for all of us each time she is ill. We do our best to heal her, but Spyder hasn't learned the techniques yet and is quite unfocused.

Since the goal was to discourage the opossum from staying here, the Monk and Miss E spent all day Sunday cleaning up the back yard. They made an awful noise with some kind of machine cutting every bit of grass and plants down to an inch of their lives. We were sad to see them decimated that way and they cried out as they were chopped up. But, we explained to them they would soon be back nice and healthy soon. They were much to overgrown, and welcoming to the interloper in the state they were in. It was necessary so that the opossum would move on to more fertile grounds. After all, just a mile away nature's abundance awaits him with all his favorite foods calling out just to be enjoyed.

The Monk and Miss E worked so hard, when they came in we all crowded around them and sniffed them all over to give them comfort and praise them for a job well done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diseases carried or spread by Opossums:

tuberculosis,
relapsing fever,
herpes virus,
tularemia,
salmonella,
spotted fever,
toxoplasmosis,
coccidiosis,
trichomoniasis,
Chagas Disease,
yellow fever,
and rabies (rarely).

They are important reservoirs for leptospirosis (hemorrhagic jaundice) in wildlife and humans.

Springtime Adventures for Spyder

Hey, you guys! I sure has sumpin intresting to tell ya. Yur nots gonna bleeve it! Now dat spring is here, lotsa fings is different. And we have lotsa new fings to know about. At least that what Ninja and Bambi say. They say, I got so many new fings to learn about life, the world an everyfing!

We was all on the bed watchin out da big sliding glass door window. Neow that weather is warmer, Miss E, she leaves it open with the big screen closed. What a greats happy cat am I! So many new smells outside and hear better all the new springtime noises, and fresh air!

Ninja teaching me names of what is all the smells. Bambi, I mean, Queen Bambi, she teaching me names all the sounds, cos she is a "Entomologist". She say that how it spelled. She knows all da bugs and insects. Boff Ninja and Bambi knows a lot about the birdies. But, I know a secret that Mockingbird told me.

I can hardly keep up with them guys. I gets so tired I falls asleep. Then I hear Bambi growl. She never growl. Almost never. Ninja, he growl all the time, but not so much anymore, since he been losing weight.

I waked up when Bambi, I mean Queen Bambi, growled. It was almost dark time neow. Right there in front of the screen was an ugliest creature we evers did see. It had a long pointy nose and pointy ears, and tiny eyes, and very fat, and sticking out hair and short legs, and worse of all, long pink tail, look almost like him bald tail. And him smell bad, too.

Bambi still growl, but quiet now. Ninja say Opossum can'ts see us, but can hear us. So, we watch him and he climbing all over stuff on the back yard. Climbing on the flower pots and turn them over upside down and then knock down the birdie feeder. Then, Ungly, he commence to eat up all the birdie food. Him a Bad Boy!

I no like Ungly. Him make a mess in backyard. Him make a mess in speshul place where my Lady Dowager Keli is sleeping. She has nice speshul place there. She say she not really sleeping there, but it complicated for me unnerstand yet. I is mad at Mr. Ugnly, cos him mess it up her speshul place and him eat up all the birdie food and neow the birdies no will come back cos they no have no more foods.

I so mad ats Mr. Ungly, I leap off bed and pound on screen door make him go away. But, him ignore me. But, him no ignore Miss E when she come in to see what all noise is about.

Miss E spray him with the bottle. That so funny. He run away. That so funny. Miss E use spray bottle to keep us inside and she use spray bottle to keep him outside.

Cat Garden Lovers

Cat gardening could be so much fun, if only Miss E would let us go outside! We don't have our harnesses and leashes yet. But, outside is so inviting right now. The rain has stopped and the soil smells rich with interesting microbes. Yes, even me, a ninja, knows what a microbe is. And they are growing rapidly right now in all that warm weather. Awesome nose candy!

Miss E doesn't want us out there yet because the ground is still too moist, she says.  I think she is just putting us off, and maybe disciplining us a little bit for the time I tore holes in the screens and we all ran outside. She had a hard time catching us. Of course, honorable warrior that I am, I came in first. Bambi is extremely wild outside, it took forever to get her to come in. Poor Spyder got sick out there. He must have eaten something disgusting. So you can see why Miss E is hesitant to permit us to wander the garden.

However, today, she opened all the windows. What? You might say! Remember, please, that The Monk replaced all those torn screens with cat proof screens. So we can contentedly sit in the open windows observing the garden.


Miss E went out there and pulled up her little yellow flowers. The neighbor complained they were weeds, something called Oxalis.

And she picked out the big French snails roaming around the garden, and got rid of them. We wonder a bit about those French snails. Apparently people eat them as a delicacy. They call them Escargot. I wonder if they taste like sushi?

Then, suddenly, we got a couple whiffs of the most incredible aroma. CATNIP!!! We were all excited, except for Spyder. He's too young to imbibe. He says he doesn't like it. I think there's something wrong with his brain. He's more interested in talking to his invisible Lady Dowager Queen friend. What can they be talking about?

Bambi and I raced from window to window to gather up the smell of the CATNIP into our noses! Then we honed in on the front door, and got the best sniffs from beyond the screen. Miss E was trimming and clearing out the garden right there by the front door! It was torture to sit just a screen away from the CATNIP!

When Miss E entered we were all over her. She could barely get to the kitchen to wash her hands. Then she surprised us with a big clump of leaves right in the middle of the living room!

Bambi and I are in CATNIP heaven!

Words to the Wise from Mockingbird

Mockingbird is homeless. They came and took away his tree. It was very disturbing for every creature in the neighborhood while the machines made a meal of it.

We are much calmer now. After all, it is all part of the circle. Nothing stays the same and everything changes. I have advised Queen Bambi of this and she sadly agrees. One of her kittens was shortly of this world, and she grew to understand that though she always has her little one in her heart, she cannot dwell there, but be present an live each day with Spyder and I. We are her family now. Spyder is her kitten, even though he is now twice her size!

Bambi was the first to notice the buds on the fruit trees had opened. She has a very strong sniffer.

When she gave the alert, we ran to see, and there it was, the birth of the first bud. Life goes on!

Then we heard many birdies chirping every excitedly all at once. We ran quickly to the large plate glass window to watch them.

Miss E had put out some seed for them. We had an outstanding time watching them as more fruit tree buds unfurled before our very eyes.

All of a sudden the birds went silent and disappeared. Queen Bambi growled. "Off with his head!" She always says that when she is stressed out. She doesn't mean anything by it. But I wondered as she ran away from the great big yellow cat outside. No wonder the birds had disappeared. They enjoy frolicking for our attention. But, it's not safe with a huge cat like that out there. I told Bambi I would protect her, but by that time she was outta here. She split so fast, she was a blur. I took my duty seriously, and for my Queen, I stood my ground as Big Cat made his way through the backyard beneath the plum tree and disappeared from sight. But, I knew we would smell him for a long time after that.

Suddenly Mockingbird landed on a branch. He startled Spyder beside me. Sounding very much like a nightengale, he said, "I'm telling you, that young whippersnapper knows exactly whereof he speaks! She's real! Please extend to her Grace my deepest regards and joy in her return!" and off he flew in the direction where last I saw the big yellow cat.

Whereof he speaks? What kind of phrase is that?

Her Grace? Does he mean Bambi?

Spyder just purred and licked a paw. "He means about the Dowager Lady Cat. My rocking chair friend. The one who mothered me when I was alone." 

Ancient Ninja Kitty Healing Techniques Revealed

Today after Miss E came back from the doctor, Queen Bambi and I went to greet her. We knew right away she didn't feel good.

Spyder was sitting on the rocking chair next to  his invisible Lady Cat friend. He says she whispered to him that Miss E needs healing on her legs. I knew Miss E needed my help and I wasn't going to take time trying to talk sense into Spyder about invisible Lady Cats. So, When Miss E sat down to rest, I leapt up to her legs and began a healing massage!

I had to be careful because she was a bit tender, and I am a pretty strong and tough Masseur! Almost all cats have this healing ability. All do not necessarily use massage. I learned how to do acupuncture and acupressure during my prime years, and I still do both exceptionally well.

Miss E did a lot of hollering, but I know she will feel better if she would just let me finish the job! I'm sure it was my acupuncture needles she felt uncomfortable with. After all they are made of Cat Claw and not pure silver. So I put my acupuncture needles away and just did acupressure. She told me that maybe she would get me some customers and I could knead their backs!

She says I could make good money this way.

I like to give Miss E a massage, but I am pretty particular about touching strangers.

So, I hope she will forget about it!!!

Cat Apparition

We have respectfully avoided jumping up on the rocking chair all the time we have lived here. Even Jeffery never sat on it.

Something different about it makes it special and mysterious. Lately, Spyder began sitting under it a lot.

When we wake up from our naps, there he is. We've asked him why he sits there. He says he's talking to his friend.

We thought he meant his friend, Humphree, the dog who was lost. We thought he was pretending Humphree was here with us. But, no, he insists it is not.

Apparently, some invisible cat rests upon the rocker whispering secrets to Spyder. This all started last month, and we didn't pay much attention to it. But, it's continued and now we are wondering more and more what's going on?

Ninja tells me there are many stories of ghosts his teachers told him. When he was little he enjoyed the ghost stories, but as he grew up he realized it was part of his teachings.

This is all quite mysterious to me. How can there be something I don't understand? I have to admit we have previously seen something out of the corners of our eyes as I have mentioned before.

Lately, I have heard unfamiliar purring. Perhaps that is the whispering Spyder claims he hears from the lady cat who took care of him when he first came to live with us.

We've never seen her. But, he insists.

What are we going to do with this precocious young boy cat?

Perhaps it is more than his imagination.

Cosmo Cat

Today's fun posting is from my Florida friend, Guest Writer, John Rahn.

I had brought home from work, a tub - like a small Tupperware kind of thing - of STRONG catnip. I gave a little to the cats that day and they absolutely loved it.

I left for work the following evening (working the night shift) and had, what I thought, stored the catnip safely away; I had sealed it into a Ziploc bag, then wrapped it tightly in another large piece of plastic wrap, sealed it into the plastic container and placed it high up on the second shelf in the kitchen cupboard.

When I arrived home from work the following morning, the cupboard door was wide open, the plastic container was on the floor surrounded by bits of plastic wrap, an empty Ziploc bag and Catnip was all over the floor.

And there was Cosmo, right in the middle of it all, FLAT on his back, hind legs sprawled out, eyes glazed over and very ... happy.

I think I heard him say to me 'Dude, would you go get me a Snickers bar and bag of chips?'

Sushi Cat

Ninja loves Sushi. Now he loves the Sushi Cat game.
It's easy at first.
And lots of fun.
Then it will test your thinking!

Sushi Cat

Ninja was very disappointed this week when The Monk showed up without any sushi. The same thing happened last week. Though each time the Monk comes to visit he smells like he's been eating sushi, himself. Poor Ninja, he cannot get any Zen sustenance, and he wonders if he is not the number one ninja in the Monk's life, anymore. However, I do believe I can understand why our dear Monk does not bring sushi to Ninja anymore. It is quite expensive, I understand, though probably not as expensive as the jewels I wear upon my royal collar. Have you seen my lovely collar?

The first two times the Monk brought sushi, he shared it with Ninja a bit at a time. Ninja loved it. Neither Spyder nor I care for it. Of course, it makes perfect sense that a cat named Ninja would love to eat sushi. Don't you think?

The following week Miss E and The Monk decided that Ninja could have his own personal serving instead of having to wait for one bite at a time. The Monk, so knowledgeable about Japanese cuisine, knew exactly the type of raw fish to choose for Ninja based upon his distinctive preferences. At 12 dollars a pound you would think Ninja was the royalty around here!

 So, at The Monk's next visit while he and Miss E sat down for their meal, Ninja received a lovely plate decorated with the sliced pieces of Chirashi (he called it) for his enjoyment. Apparently Sushi is raw seafood accompanied by rice and seaweed and rolled up into little pillows, whereas Chirashi is carefully sliced raw seafood without accompaniments. Purrsons use vile tasting soy sauce and even more vile tasting wasabi to dip them in.

Ninja enjoyed his chirashi so much that he finished off the whole plateful and asked for more. Miss E and The Monk were surprised, but gave into Ninja's polite nudging. He really is a gentleman cat at heart. So, the Monk, respecting Ninja's request added more chirashi to Ninja's plate. Which, amazingly Ninja finished off in no time.

Upon Ninja's request for a third helping he was given just one more piece and told that was all. Ninja happily ate that, and waddled away. By the time he got to the doorway (please excuse me for saying so) Ninja left the contents of his stomach on the floor. He was so embarrassed he decided to clean it up himself. That was when Miss E swept him up in her arms while The Monk took care of the "gift" Ninja left for him.

Poor Ninja, now his tummy was as empty as it was before The Monk arrived. But, all he was permitted to ingest at that juncture was water.

Now, do you see why there has been no more 12 dollar chirashi for Ninja?

Dances with Cats

We had good intrestting time da other day when Miss E went away, we had a Purrty with da catnips.

I don't like catnips, but I likes ta see when Bambi and Ninja has catnips. They funny and like ta play.

We had other cats come ta our garden for catnips, too. One, his name White Paw, him was funny Mancat.

Him jump up on our fence and dance around and then, just like majik he open gate.

Him sniffing and eating catnips he dancing all over da place. Very funny!

I likes Mr. White Paw. Hope we sees him dance again.

And then a doggie come in yard.

I wanted to be furrends with him, but Ninja and Bambi said wait. Now is not the time.

But, funny thing happen.

Today the doggie come back and Miss E find him.

She bring him inside and say he is lost puppy doggie. He scared of Ninja and Bambi, but not scared of me. So, Humfree and me is now good furrends.

We cants keep him so Miss E gots to take him to shelter so his purrsons can find him and take home.

I hopes I see my Humfree furrend again soon.