The Day After Chris Mouse

I must say, I'm a bit miffed! How could she leave us alone for three days? How dare she? The Queen is not happy!!!

On the other paw... she did leave us well supplied with Nepeta Cataria You know the delicacy... the beautiful green with the fragrance of heaven.


Ah.... Yes, indeed!

And she left us with fresh litter to make our toilette sweet and tolerable... you know the stuff. Of course, you do. And lots of clean water and nibblets galore.

And in the middle of the night The Chris Mouse came to visit and gave me my birthday present!!!
I'm now the age of... Well, never mind! A lady cat never reveals her age. Well, at least... not this one.

So, now she is home and we cuddle in bed while she sleeps

Mutual Cat Appreciation Society

There's nothing better than returning home to four loving Cats 
*who are so glad to see you that you can't walk anywhere without one of them rubbing against your legs, *who all want to sit on your lap, 
*who wont let you go to the bathroom by yourself, 
*who line up on your body like dead weights when you go to bed, to make sure you don't disappear again! >^..^<

Queen Bambi's Adventure

I was such a naughty girl today! Santa Cat is not going to like that, I'm sure!

I love to waits by the front door whenever anyone comes in or goes out. I have practiced sitting back and pretending that all I am interested in is greeting people when they arrive. But, today I made a run for it!

It is fruitless for Mom to call me. Why does she think I would come to her when I've just gotten my freedom to be naughty?

I likes to roll around on the sidewalk and in the dirt I just runs away and laughs at her. It reminds me a song I once heard: "You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man".

But, Mom, she surprise me. Unlike other times she didn't bother to come outside and frantically try to get back into the house. That's always been part of my fun in escaping.

Today, Mom just gave up and let me go roll on the sidewalk and run around the side yard and leap over the fence. Well. I mean, I couldn't leap over the fence this time. In fact I couldn't even climb it. I've gotten a little too much extra fluff on me to be able to do that! So annoying! Mom calls me her "Butterball". Today Mom said she wasn't going to waste her time trying to tempt me to come in. She didn't even go open a can of food and tap on it with the spoon. She said she wasn't going to "participate in such a fiasco" and Can you believe it? She shut the door on me!!!

That sure put a damper on my spirits. After all, half the fun of running out the door is getting Mom to play with me. I really make her work for it, too. Really make her have to go after me and entice me. It's always fun to see what she will do.

She always circles around behind me, always goes to great lengths to pretend she's not after me. Just as soon as she gets near me, I run for the bushes. Then she comes to the bushes and gets down on her hands and knees kissing the air and begging for me to come out. I act like I'm going to come to her. Just when she has her hand right near me, I run right past her! "Ha! Ha! You can't catch me I'm Queen Bambi!"

You should see her trying to get up from behind the bushes! Tee hee!

Now, now... don't go worrying about me. I'm not going to run away. Not really! I'm not going to run down the street like that time in the middle of the night when Mom followed me into the neighbor's yard wearing only her nightgown and bare feet. She fell down when I ran up the tree and I felt so sorry, I have never done that again. Plus, as usual those doggies next door set up to barking like banshees whenever I'm outside. I can't figure out how they know! Maybe it's the jingle bell on my collar?

I hope Santa Cat will give me some extra points for being a good girl. I didn't stay out long this time. My mousemates followed me from window to window watching me, and it was no fun without Mom. So, I came back to the front door and meeowed to come in like a good girl. I didn't even roll in the dirt either. That should count for something.

Ever since I came back in I have been following Mom around the house, and climbing up on her every time she sits down, and rubbing my face all over her to let her know I'm sorry for distressing her. I can't promise not to do it again. But, I did want to make it up to her by giving her all that loving.

She Who Sleeps with Cat Wakes with Cat

This is why I like to sleep with cats!

Honoring the Mouse

MOUSIE and ME

by Timmy da Timid

In my mouth

that's where he belongs,

or dancing on my paws, tight in claws,

or flipped in the air, tossed so high.

I smack him across the room,

my best friend, Mousie.

Caught in a corner somewhere,

we play hide and seek.

"I found you! I found you!" I mew

when I hear him squeak.

Oh, my mousie, my favorite thing!

I drop him into my water bowl

he might be thirsty, you know.

or maybe he'd like to swim

I sniff my mousie and lick him,

and take a nibble or two.

but I won’t chew.

I'd have no one to play with,

I would miss him.

Wouldn't you?

I like to carry him tightly in my teeth

and hide him beneath the curtains,

under the rocking chair,

or by the front door.

So, when people come in

they squeal in surprise.

I think they like mousie as much as me.

But, I don't want to share.

I take him behind the sofa

where he can sleep,

way in the back to safely keep,

so the others won't find him,

and they never do.

Mousie has hard little eyes

a missing tail,

scrunched up fur

all sticky from play.

He has no more whiskers.

I don't know where his ears went.

They just disappeared one day.

Really, and truly.

I didn't eat them. I swear!

They must be hiding

somewhere over there.

In the middle of night,

with the moon shining bright,

we are alone, Mousie and me.

Running back and forth we play joyously.

Leaping and scrabbling across the floor

we tear up rugs, throw pillows with glee.

Then, slide into the kitchen,

where he hides from me

under the fridge just out of reach.

I stretch, and poke until my friend

is in my clutches again.

All tired out, I carry Mousie

to my bed, roll on top of him

to hide and protect him

to get myself comfy

and purr him to sleep.

I dream of him and me playing.

Oh, how I love my Mousie!

Serval - Big Cat Rescue

Wow!
Maybe Timmy has some Serval relatives.
He looks so much like Tonga with that coloring near his ears.
Don't you think?

Watch the youtube video and you can see what we mean.



Old Jeffery had a tooth missing up top. Maybe he also had a surgery to remove it.

Detective Pinkerton of Santa Cruz, California

Pinky Cat of Santa Cruz a few days after adoption.
He is on top of his little brother, Shadow.

I still wonder where you are, Pinky. I worry how it was for you at the shelter. I know they gave you the medical treatment you needed. I wish I could have paid for it and kept you. But, at least the shelter people kept you instead of releasing you back into the wild. After all you had been a found feral kitten at age 5 weeks.

I was told you were fine. Was it an adventure for you? I can imagine it was, my little guy. I understand you adjusted well, you loved and were loved. You were quite the lovey boy! You were always right out there ready to take on the world, investigating everything. You were afraid of nothing!

Ninja would growl at you, but that wasn't a problem.All the other cats gave way to Ninja! But, you just walked right up to him and stuck your nose in his face as if to say "how do ya do". I never saw you back down once. You were so outgoing! I understand that is because you were your mama's first born. That's also why we gave the name, "Shadow" to your brother. You led the way and he followed you, like a shadow.

They lost their feral mom cat so young.
They nursed on whatever they could... usually me.

I was told your brother didn't fare so well as you did at the shelter. Shadow was very frightened, hid in the back of the cage and hissed at anyone who came near him and clawed anyone who tried to hold him. Still, he got the medical treatment he needed too. You both had Giardia.

Rather than return Shadow to the wild, or put him to sleep because he was "too feral" to be adopted, the shelter people offered for me to keep your brother. Of course I said yes. I wasn't sure if Shadow would be the same. Would he be wild and untame because of his experiences in the shelter? But, I love him, too. Do you miss your brother?

My heart aches for you Pinky of Santa Cruz. I shall always call you that in the hopes that some day whoever adopted you will read this blog and know you had loving care. And if by any chance whatsoever that they need to find a new home for you, perhaps they will let me know.

I miss my little boy. Pinky, I wonder where you are. 

Even though I have your brother here by my side, it is not enough. 

I should be happy to have him, and not be missing you. At least there's that. 

Shadow is happy here. He hated and feared the shelter.

Dearest Pinky of Santa Cruz, my heart breaks missing you. 

And I know your brother misses you too.

Timmy needs no halloween costume. He is spooky enough just as he is!

Timmy is an odd eye cat. This is called complete heterochromia.

Return of the Prodigal Son

I will always love you darling Pinky!

I'm a basket case. So emotional tonight. The feral rescue program lady called me to tell me that the kittens I gave up to them are now cured of Giardia.

I didn't have much choice but to give them up. They were so sick, and I'd spent a month's worth of income on vet bills, plus the expense of Ninja's euthanasia on top of that. I was just beside myself. I didn't want them to suffer anymore.

It seemed the only thing I could do was to have Project Purr take them and get them cared for.

Only one of them, (Pinky), is going to be put up for adoption as he is "people friendly". She told  me the other one, (Shadow), is totally freaking out, snarls at people, wont come out of the corner of the cage and is acting too feral.

She asked me if I would take him back.

Yes of course!

My heart is breaking that he suffered so much that he reverted to feral behavior.

He was so tame and loving with me. I hope he can be mama's baby again.

Shadow Kitty Looking for a Home

Shadow is four months old now.

Doesn't he have the most beautiful face?

Shadow has long hair in his ears like a lynx. 

Can you believe the length of them?

Shadow has the most unusual looking tail.

It's white on the underside and fluffier than the rest of him.

Quite distinguished. Don't you think?

Shadow is quite the mellow personality.

I caught this picture of him yawning.

It's a little fuzzy, but I thought it was cute.

Isn't he adorable?

Shadow has a brother whose pic I will post later. It would like for them to be adopted together. 

An Open Statement to the Lung Cancer Alliance

To Whom it May Concern:

I had bone cancer (Sarcoma) in my youth and now as a senior citizen I presently am dealing with Leukemia. I am also a Cat Lover whose beloved cat just died of Liver Cancer. I am ashamed, embarrassed and cringing at your recent ad campaign to bring awareness to lung cancer. 

ARE YOU THAT DESPERATE? 

Both the cancers I have suffered from are extremely rare, as is Liver Cancer in cats. There are awareness campaigns for them often trying to raise funding for research. It's admirable to want to raise awareness and funding. But you certainly have the money to spend on this expensive, outrageous, DISGUSTING method of manipulating the public. HOW DARE YOU? 

I already know that Lung Cancer exists. Two of my friends have died from two different forms of Lung Cancer. (RIP Linda and Mrs. Sandstrom)

Do you understand how offensive this is? I know my two friends who had Lung Cancer would have also found this campaign revolting, too.

Not only is this degrading to those who "DESERVE TO DIE" but I would not donate a penny to support Lung Cancer unless there is a PUBLIC APOLOGY for this campaign.

SHAME ON YOU!

From: Elizabeth Munroz, on behalf of Queen Bambi, Timmy, Buffy, Pinky and Shadow

In memory of Ninja, Jeffery and Keli

RIP Keli 1989 ~ 2008

RIP Jeffery 1992 ~ 2008

RIP Ninja 2001 ~ 2012

Ninja Comforted by Timmy

This video was two weeks ago. I thought it odd that Timmy was paying such attention to Ninja the way he was and grabbed the camera. Ninja didn't growl and hiss at Timmy either. They were not the best of friends, but here it seemed there was a closeness. I didn't understand how sick Ninja was. But, apparently Timmy did.



               ...............Rest in Peace Beloved Ninja............

Kittens in a Cage

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Pinky took to climbing like a monkey right away in the cage.

Pinky loves to jump up and hang unto the scratching post

In order to social the kittens to the big cats, the cage was a safe place for them.

Uh oh! Pinky and Shadow notice a kitty on the book shelf.

Too much of a temptation for Pinky, he knocks the kitty off the shelf.

Luckily, it didn't break!

Pinky is about ten weeks old in this picture.

Pinky Kitten

 This is Pinky

Isn't he a cutie?

Pinky resembles a kitty I once had as a child. See his little brother hiding beneath him?

Pinky is about 9 weeks old in these pictures

Pinky has the most unusual eyes.

The kids (kits) got to go outside today!

The sliding glass doors in their room leads out into a screened in Gazebo. Today was a nice day and so I let them out.

Ninja and Bambi are always trying to get out any door they can all the time, so they were out in a flash to investigate. They seemed a bit disappointed, though. They couldn't figure out how to get beyond the screening.

Timmy and Buffy were very nervous about being outside. Timmy has accidentally gotten outside twice and was traumatized by his experiences.

Buffy has never been outside under any circumstances. She handled the adventure much better than Timmy did sniffing around and very interested in an insect flying by.

I even brought the kittens out in the large carrier. Since they are feral, and have been living in the bathroom the last two weeks they seemed quite happy to be outdoors and were very interested in the birds outside.

I took a lot of pictures but they didn't turn out well. I had the camera on the wrong settings! By the time I realized it, dusk was upon us, it was chilly and time to go in.

You might not be able to discern the screening. Bambi is sitting before the zipper opening to wistfully gazing at the big outside world and all the nearby dirt where she would just LOVE to roll around in! The gazebo has an old carpet for it's "flooring". Someday it will be something more attractive. You will notice some shelves to her left. That is where my bonsai collection is displayed.

New Baby Kittens

I was so busy when the new baby kittens came here that I didn't get a chance to post pictures. So, now I'm catching up.

 These kittens were ferals found up in the hillsides of Royal Oaks on the border of Santa Cruz County California, when they were about five weeks old and nurtured for a month before I met them in the bathroom of my friend Patty, who I had visited for a Memorial day get together.

Patty had the turned her bathroom into the "Kitten Nursery and Infirmary". As guests arrived we were invited to view the kittens. The moment I laid eyes on Pinky, I knew I wanted him. His brother stayed hidden in the shadows. He was a bit of a shy guy.

I once had a kitty like Pinky when I was a little girl, and here was my opportunity to take this one home. As it turned out, I took them both. They were so young and it seemed a crime to separate them.

I found it very difficult to get good pictures of them. So tiny. The light in my bathroom was less than ideal, and I just didn't want to use the flash on their little baby blue eyes. Therefore the blurry pictures.

Photos taken on May 30, 2012

Feral Kittens New Home

These are the feral kittens, Pinky and Shadow. 

Shadow on the left seems quite scared. 

He's not really as tiny as he looks. 

They are both the same size.

Shadow yawning while Pinky looks on.

Shadow has longer hair than Pinky. 

They both have blue eyes, but Shadow's are changing.

Sniffer Cats

We are so curious! We can't help it. We is sniffing at the door! We know there's something on the other side that wasn't there before!

Buffy da Bampire Flayer and Timmy da Timid gots to inbestagate!

Ninja's Tummy Better

Now that I'm feeling better, I thort I'd write and let Mom have a break. She needs it, those other lazy cats have kept her busy all day with their demands.

First, Buffy rolled all over her this morning when she was trying to sleep. She's funny that way. Mom wants to give her petting when she's up and awake, but Buffy snubs her. Then, when Mom is all helpless and sleeping, that's when Buffy decides she wants her loving. Funny thing is, I think it's because Mom has a REALLY LOUD PURR when she's sleeping. So, maybe Buffy thinks it's time for a purring fest. Purrsonally, I find it quite annoying and leave the room when Mom gets that noisy! I can't blame her, though. Try as she might, she simply is NOT a cat!

Then, Timmy trails Mom into the baffroom insisting on attenshun when Mom has important purrsonal stuff to do. We all think he's crazy. Who wants to sit on the edge of that big porcelain pond filled with water while Mom is in there? None of us but that silly Timmy! He says it's the only alone time he can get with her. But, that's a fib. He's snuggled up to her right this minute. Let's face it. Timmy was a slough kitten before he was rescued, so he thinks it's natural to hang out at the edge of all that dangerous water!

Queen Bambi keeps Mom busy with all her royal requirements. Mom does NOT allow any fur on top of the fish tank. But, Bambi is always challenging her on that. Bambi jumps up. Mom puts her down. Just as soon as Mom is busy with something else, Bambi jumps up again. And so on and so forth. Bambi has her reasoning, which I'm sure she will tell you about later. I'm not allowed to speak for HRH (unless she makes a decree for me to make an announcement).

Now the important stuff! I want to thank effurrybody fur all your well wishes, good purrs and head bumps during my recent ailment. Truly, I am feeling much better. No more of that up-chucking! And Mom gives me a little squirt of tuna flavored medicine to settle my tummy she got speshully made just for me by the furmacist at the Compounding Furmacy. I was gonna put a link, but they don't have a website. Guess they are too busy making good kitty medicine.

And thank you to my wunnerful Monk fur bringing me the get well flowers! Mom says I don't look very happy about them. She's right. Does anybody ever think of bringing in a big bouquet of catnip? But, I can't complain about the roasted chicken I have been dining on all week, so I wont say anything grumpy about them flowers.

Miss Handling Cat Paws

This is Buffy da Bampire Flayer. If she weren't all tired out from flaying bampires she would flay me with her many claws. So, whilst she sleeps, let's take a look at her polydactyl paws.

Ninja's Tummy

Ninja's Vet has called to tell me that Ninja does not have kidney disease.

He does have one enlarged kidney and one shrunken kidney but apparently the enlarged kidney is functioning.

I wonder if other kitties out there have the same??

Ninja does not have diabetes and does not have thyroid disease.

All that is good news, and we are all happy about that. But, we still don't know what has caused his vomiting and huge amount of weight loss.

We have decided to feed extra food to Ninja separately, in the kitchen. He has full access to his regular dry food, Blue Buffalo. But now he has a couple spoonsfull of specialty wet food, too.

I asked the Vet what else the problem could be. He said that cats have tummy problems just like people do, stomach ulcers, for example.

Perhaps this is Ninja's problem. So, he has ordered Zantac for him to take daily, also known as Ranitidine.

Since he weighs so little, he cannot take Zantac for people and has to have a specialty compound pharmacist to create his medicine.

Fortunately, Ninja likes the flavor and allows me to give it to him without a struggle.

I have been giving Ninja his medicine for almost a week.

He is having less episodes of vomiting. So, I am hoping it is working and he will get better.

Ninja and the Vet

When Ninja came to live with me, he weighed 11 pounds, He was 8 years old. It wasn't long before he fattened up and weighed 13 pounds. That's when he got too heavy to jump to the top of the armoir where I fed the kittens full calorie food.

Ninja and chubby Bambi had a lower perch for their weight loss diet food. This worked out quite well. Though Bambi doesn't seem to have lost weight, Ninja began to turn into his old svelt self. It wasn't long before he could jump up on the armoir and that was the time I let him eat the same food the young cats ate. They were no longer kittens and just on regular diet by this time.


Lately, I've noticed Ninja not being able to hold down his meals.

At first I thought maybe hairballs, so I gave him Petromalt weekly. Still he continued to up-chuck a bit of his food. Then he began to up-chuck a watery foamy stuff. Now it's happening every day.

Suddenly, I've noticed when I pick him up he is lighter than any of the other cats. I became alarmed!

Diabetes? Kidney Disease? A tumor blocking his intestines? After reading up on all the possible symptoms, all the treatment options, and warnings to get him to a vet and not wait until he is too weak, I called the vet and made an immediate appointment.

Ninja really didn't complain too much about putting him in his carrier and he was quiet enough in the car, and such a GOOD BOY during the weigh in not complaining or struggling.

I felt horrified when I learned he only weighs 8 pounds 4 ounces.

With tears in my eyes I told the vet we had weighed him two weeks ago at home. He had weighed 9 pounds 8 ounces.

And that was what triggered my researching and making the decision to see the vet.

The vet thoroughly examined Ninja. I'm really worried now. Apparently he only has one functioning kidney, and it is huge. The other one has deteriorated down to a nub.

He has also lost muscle mass. Not a good sign at all.

I know he wasn't always this way. The vet would have noticed it on previous exams. At this point, he is not saying Ninja has kidney disease. He's saying that might be the most obvious possibility. But, he could also have diabetes. Or Thyroid disease. Or a combination.

I hope it's Thyroid disease! The vet says that is the easiest and least expensive to treat.

The vet has ordered blood tests which cost me nearly one quarter of my month's income.

If it is kidney disease or diabetes, I may have to make a very painful decision.

Buffy da Bampire Flayer at Rest

Kitty Vs. Feathers

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Dis is Buffy da Bampire Flayer at play! Enjoy!!