Christmas Cat!

Timmy can hardly wait til Christmas! Bring it on, Santa Cat!

Santa's Little Helper

This is Keli. She lived nearly 20 years with me.

The local shelter in Indianapolis had a fundraiser so we could have pets with Santa pictures taken for the price of a donation to the shelter. This was taken when she was still quite young, about 1990. She wasn't afraid of standing in line with all the dogs and kitties or being handled by the bearded man in red. I wonder now why they didn't have a separate day for cats and a separate day for dogs and other pets. And I think what a great way to raise funds, but I know of no other places that do this

It's Queen Bambi's Birthday!!!

On the day before ChrisMouse,
Not a creature was stirring, Well you know about the mouse.
The stockings were rolled in Mamma's bed to help keep her warm
In hopes that her kittens soon would be born.

Then we kittens were nestled all snug in soft warm fur,
While visions of our futures danced in our heads.
And Mamma in her little nest, and we newborns in her lap,
Had just settled our down for a long winter’s nap.

When out in the field there arose such a clatter,
Mama sprang from the nest to see what was the matter.
Her fur up in hackles, her eyes warned a flash,
She glanced around and put on her fierce guard.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen frost
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects nearby.
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
Mama told us it must be the Chris Mouse.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now ride to the new kittens so I can see them all!"

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

You see my friends, it was the day of my birth and that of my dear siblings out there in the field.

I remember it well. Though there are those who think that not possible. I remember my Mama so warm and loving, protecting us from the cold. She worried day and night where we would get food, when a stranger came along and offered us some, and took us all home. It wasn't long before the shelter took us in and helped us find forever homes. We knew we couldn't stay together, but we were happy to go. We said our farewells and began our new lives.

I was adopted by a sweet girl who went to school. We celebrated my first birthday and ChrisMouse with a great deal of joy. I was happy to be growing up, and a short time later I had kittens of my own. Then, I understood the deep love of my Mama, and fierce protection she gave us. Soon it was time to say good bye to my little ones. I still miss them sometimes, but I know they have good forever homes.

Then the day came when my school girl had to say good bye to me, and for a while I lived with her kin. This made me angry and they gave me back to the shelter, where I was unhappy until I met Miss E, and she took me as I was, grouchy and all. At first I scratched her. It was hard to trust, after all. But, I met my hero, Ninja, the all black cat, who I liked right away. He knows I'm a Queen and is there for me whenever I need him. Then along came precious little Spyder. Oh my, what an odd looking kitten with his odd mismatched eyes. He's got all white fur, like mine, but for that little black Mohawk style on the top of his head. Did I mention his strange eyes, one yellow, one blue. I knew he was special right away. We bonded like Mama and kitten, and I protected him fierce. But now he's growing and taking care of himself.

It's been a year of downs and ups, and now I am so fortunate, and grateful. I don't feel angry anymore. I don't bite or scratch. I have a home with beds to sleep on, lots of food or catnip anytime I want, room to play with toy mousies, and Miss E to take care of me, and visits by the Monk, a real special human. Everyone respects me and loves me. What more could a young Queen want?

Now, it's my birthday, a very special day!!! Even Catster is honoring my birthday in their site!

I am two years old by human time, and 24 in cat time.

We're going to have a party to celebrate and my favorite, salmon pie!
Ninja is going to test the cake first to make sure it is safe to eat.

I wish you could all be here, too. I look forward to many more birthdays to come.

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Yes, Virginia, there really is a Chris Mouse! 
You can read about him here!

Ninja on Guard

I noticed this the other day, and saw it again tonight.

But first get the picture. Ninja has put on weight since he came to live here. He's getting a bit chunky and heavy and slow moving. He would like to play with the others' but makes half hearted attempts. They tear through the house like banshees while he has barely made one swipe towards a mouse that they have carried off with them batting it through the air like a room to room volleyball game.

Since Bambi and Spyder play so hard and so often they have bonded. Bambi is a small size girl. She will be two years old on the day before Christmas. But, she still looks like she might be about 9 months old. She has delicate short legs and tiny paws, a short tail and a sweet round face and head.

When I brought spyder home he was claimed to be 3 months old, but when I took him to the vet, Dr. Neow, can you believe his name? he said Spyder was probably only two months old based on his teeth. In this very short time he has been with us, he now is almost as tall as Bambi. He's slim, but has long legs and long tail. I have a feeling it will be a very short time and he will be bigger than them both, perhaps as large as Jeffrey, who measures 34 inches from nose to tail. I think that is close to one meter.

Due to the bonding between them, I notice that Bambi's mother instinct is active. When she was adopted, I was told she had had kittens at one point, so I think she's got some motherly behaviors developed. I played a youtube vid with live kittens mewing, and she was in her in a flash looking for them and calling them. She also calls Spyder when she can't find him. She will lay on her side sometimes as if welcoming kittens. Keli never did that unless it was hot weather. When she and Spyder play, even though they get rough, she is always the top cat in the end and determines when they will stop, and he respects that.

Ninja has been craving more attention from me, so when I come in from being out, he comes up to me for pets, along with Bambi who has always greeted first. Later this evening after the two angel babies were tired of playing and somewhere in the other room, Ninja came up on the bed nudging me for attention. I picked him up to move him into an easier position to pet him, but he made a complaining sound. In an instant I heard Bambi's collar jingling. Ninja roughly pulled out of my grasp and leaped to the headboard. By this time she was all over him. Amazing how scared he appears to be as he crouches down and growls half heartedly in defense. She realized he hadn't been anywhere near her Spyder, and looked at me, then laid down beside me and kept staring at him until he looked away.