Timmy Remembers the Young Feral Kittens

Since da weather has been nice, MomCat has been letting Queen Bambi go out in da garden with her. Bambi is a Wild One! But, me and Buffy would rather stay inside where it's safe. Today, we watched Bambi through da window. She wuz rolling in da dirt! Phew! You wouldn't believe how she smells when she comes back inside! Ya'd neber know her wuz a Queen!

She tells us dat Shadow is outside buried deep in da dirt and she always goes over to his rock pile to say hello to him. But, Buffy and I know dat even though Shadow's body is buried, he is not dere because he left for da Rainbow Bridge. And who knows? Maybe he is already back into his new life as a kitten again. We sure hope he will be a healthier one this time.

Dat's Buffy an' me sniffin' da door

It was two years ago when we first realized CatMom had brought home Shadow and his brother, Pinky. We had our nose at da door of the room day was in. We could smell der sweet kitten smell, and were so curious. We wanted ta get in der and check them out. But, CatMom was very protective of dem. She dint want us to scare dem.

Dis is Shadow and Pinky when dey first came ta live with us. They were about six weeks old at da time. Ain't dey da cutest widdle kitts ya eber did see?

We sure do miss those widdle guys!

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!

Garden Pathway Fit for a Queen

Our lovely gentleman friend, The Monk, arrived this afternoon for a visit and tea. He did not bring any of that nasty sushi Ninja is so fond of. Thank heavens!

I was so surprised to see him, as were Ninja and Spyder. I thought he would be up in San Francisco with Miss E at the doctor. But, he drove all the way down here to check on us.

I understand that it is a long way according to Ninja who has been around longer than I. So, I must presume he knows what he is talking about. He's had so many adventures in his eight years.

I was delighted to learn The Monk brought us thirty cans of cat food! I prefer that to sushi as you know. Of course, he didn’t open them all. Ninja and Spyder were hoping for a big feast! Their eyes are bigger than their tummies. And that would be quite barbarian of them. I would not put up with it.

The Monk petted us, gave the fish their nutrients, then went out and performed some gardening.
It looks like he is going to make a royal pathway out there for me to walk upon. He is so thoughtful to think of my needs this way. I can hardly wait to see how the new garden will look when he is finished.

Telling Her of His Death

Yesterday, when Esther came to help out, I just couldn't bear to tell her about Jeffery. He always greeted her when she arrived. I'm sure he had affection for her, though he had an ulterior motive, too. She always opened a fresh can of cat food for him. Because his tummy couldn't tolerate as much food as the other cats, she would give him a quarter of a can at a time, over a period of three or four hours. Because he would eat and then ask to go out, then a short time later ask to come in and eat again, he was very happy that she accommodated him.

I couldn't bear to tell Ester about Jeffery's not being with us anymore. I knew I would fall apart. I needed some time to just process the whole thing. So, I kept running out to do an errand or two and we didn't have much time to chat.

So, today when she arrived, I asked her to go out into the garden with me in front of Jeffery's pine tree. I showed her the little curved bridge I had created and the little pile of dirt beneath it, the catnip and flowers (now wilted) I had placed upon it. I explained that Jeffery was there, and the circumstances surrounding his death. She had a very astute observation that had not quite occurred to me.

I had presumed that Jeffery had freaked out because of memories of being caged regarding the fire. What Esther pointed out to me was that the area I was driving by when Jeffery started freaking out was the very area where the forest fire had occurred. Maybe he could smell the remnants of the scorched trees, where the trauma had occurred and that was what had triggered his freaking out.

Later, I was sorting through some papers and came across the veterinary records of last July when I first adopted Jeffery. I recall that when I adopted him from the shelter, where he was scheduled for euthansia I had to sign a waiver saying I knew he was very old and not in the best of health. I had not remembered what I now have read on his medical record from last year. He had a heart murmur and signs of renal disease.

It is all making better sense to me now. I am more grateful that he lasted as long as he did. I'm not feeling quite so guilty that I put him in the car inside the cage. I had been feeling it was my fault. If I hadn't done that, maybe he could have still been with us.