Pink Jacket Timmy Cat

Timmy says, "Boys can wear pink if they wants to!" 

(Especially since the pink suede jacket was a free pick from the SPCA donation box!)

Hummingbirds Outside the Catio

Entertainment for the cats!

The hummingbirds do not harrass the cats (so far)!

The cats don't bother the hummingbirds. They stay still as statues!

Morning Tea in the Catio.

Earl Gray Tea with ginger, honey and Meyer lemon (fresh off the tree).

Queen Bambi stretching out. She never falls off the edge!

Watch out Timmy! 
While you're intent on watching the birdies your furry belly is in jeopardy! 
It doesn't fit that skinny shelf! 

Catio Window Cats

My cats are so spoiled with their 9 by 9 ft. catio! 

I had looked into having one like this built. 

But I didn't think it would be roomy enough for six cats to occupy peacefully! 

Though I wouldn't mind having one like this on my front kitchen window!

Not sure the source for this picture.
As soon as I find it, I will give credit where it is due or replace.

Odd Eye Morning Cat

Timmy says good morning! May I have some of your tea? No? Then why do you come into the catio every day this way?. It's torture, you know, when you sit there having toast and tea without offering us a treat too! Oh cruel cat mom! Note: Timmy says this while standing on my lap! Standing! I say! He weighs a ton!

Cats Face Off!

Bambi and Buffy have an altercation.

Lunch with Kittehs!

Home Sweet Catio. It's lunchtime with CatMom.

Black Kitty is Ninja-Boo
Stripe Kitty is Georgie
Ginger Kitty is Sunny-Boy
White Kitty is Queen Bambi
Sandwish and Tea is Mine!

Quiet Morning in the Qatio

Morning tea in the catio with Earl Grey double bergamot and Georgie Porgie.

Pink Cat at Night

Pinky staring at the leaves scattering in the darkness. 

Or was that a mousy?

House Panther in the Jungle

This is my handsome house panther, Ninja, who has a problem. He is behaving like he's living freely in the jungle.

Every so often he does not use the litter box. He chooses instead any receptacle made of plastic, such as an empty laundry basket, though there are plenty litter boxes about the house.

He has also occasionally peed on the guest bed, and a couple times on the carpet. I had to replace the mattress. It was so unsalvageable. The carpet, I used a product that removes the stain and odor.

I hope this doesn't turn out to be a medical issue. ManCats do have problems that way. It can be quite painful for them, and quite expensive at the vet's to treat it. If it's a behavior problem, I am still trying to figure it out.

Could be because his first two years were spent in a van with a homeless family. As he grew up, he got to have more freedom and often went outdoors to play. Perhaps he finds being confined to the house too stressful. Or maybe I'm not cleaning out the litter box often enough. Or, maybe it's the brand of litter I'm using. Or just plain stress?

I don't know how I can work with this, aside from letting him be an outside cat. My ex-feral, Sunny-boy is very attached to Ninja and would freak out if they had to be separated. I don't dare let Sunny be an outside cat. He is way too skittish. He would be miserable. My plan right now is to get another large litter box and add it to the ones I already have. My litter boxes are actually large plastic file boxes from the business supply store. They are much deeper than a regular litter box and offers a bit more privacy and less tracking of litter outside of the box.

Santa Cruz County Catio Tour 2016

CALLING ALL CAT LOVERS: Learn from experts and be inspired by the ingenuity of ten Santa Cruz County cat owners providing unique CATIOS, outdoor enclosures for their cats!

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Watsonville Catio location
10 Carita Ct
(Near Bronte and Bridge)

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 9

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What do bird-lovers and cat-lovers have in common? We all want what’s best for the animals we love. Lucky for us there's a unique solution that keeps cats and birds safe at the same time, and many of our neighbors are using it.

On Saturday, April 9, the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter and Native Animal Rescue of Santa Cruz County are teaming up to produce Santa Cruz County's first annual self-guided Catio Tour. 

You may ask, “What’s a catio?” Good question! Add the word “cat” to the word “patio,” and you get “catio.” A catio is an outdoor enclosure for cats; a place where cats can enjoy the outdoors and still be safe from predators. And just as important, wild birds can be safe from cats.

The purpose of the first Santa Cruz County Catio Tour is to educate the community about this highly successful way of protecting cats from predators and birds from cats. The catios on display run the gamut from small window boxes to large freestanding enclosures where cats and their owners can enjoy each other.

Eleven local catio owners from Boulder Creek to Watsonville have offered to exhibit their catios from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 9.

Please join us on these Catio Tour Events, hosted by Native Animal Rescue and Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter!

Something's Fishy

It’s been a busy day watching our dozen or so entertaining friends swimming in the Fish Tank! We were frightened a bit last week when CatMom started emptying out all the water. What was she going to do with our fishies? But, the Monk came to the rescue and brought in another temporary home for them, while the large tank was emptied.

I enjoy counting them, but always get confused! There are more than twelve, I am sure! Maybe less than 20. The new borrowed aquarium is so lovely! We, all three of us, cannot fit together in front of it, like we did on the bench that was in front of the larger aquarium. The Monk and CatMom emptied the big one completely now and we are sad to see it go. They said something about a leak. But the fishies don't seem to mind their new smaller home.

My favorite fish is the Oranda. I named her Splash! She has a huge red hat she wears atop her head. It is difficult to tell how she stays afloat! She seems so top heavy. The Monk says he is going to make fresh sushi, and we all get very interested. But, I know he is just joking around.

HRH Queen Bambi

Bug Eye Ninja Cat

Ninja Boo sees an insect on the wall.

 I no longer wonder 

what the definition of bug-eyed is!

Orange Marmalade Ginger Boy

This is Sunny Boy. His cat mom recently died. He previously was a feral. She tricked him into coming into her house when he was eight months old, and he adjusted. Not entirely tame as he cannot be picked up.

Now he is very traumatized because she is gone, strangers were invading his space, packing up things and moving furniture. 

He has now come to live with me. I've put him in a four-foot cage so he can feel safe. Fortunately, he is responding to my visits, though quite shy. Best part of my day was finally getting some winks and a tiny meow out of him. 

Maybe tomorrow he will venture out of his carrier, where he continues to hide, so that he can watch the birds out the window and see my other cats when they enter their catio. 

I'm hoping his transition into my home and with my other cats will be successful. Isn't he handsome? Sorry, not a good picture.

Eyebrow Cat

My name is Timmy.

I'm so cute my mommy can't help but love me

Ferals are Rescued Treasures

I donated 3 boxes of stuff and a kitten climbing structure to my local feral cat rescue organization: Project Purr's Rescued Treasures Thrift Shop, and came away with five cat books! My video reflects my cats, their catio and my visit to the shop.

New Year not Fun for Cats!

My cat, Buddha, was terrified of the fireworks people were shooting off last night for new year celebrations. 

I wish I would have put all the cats in one room and made it warmed up and sprayed Feliway, the cat relaxing spray and played a cat video for them. By the time, I realized Buddha was upset, he was pretty wild.

Be Careful Christmas

Please be careful of the tree decorations all fellow cat lovers

Healthy Cassie Cat did not eat and Christmas decorations

Last year, a friend's cat chewed on everything. The cat had an expensive surgery and nearly lost her life after she chewed the tree. When they operated they took out lots of tinsel and the small green tree spines. The vet said it happens every year and real tree pine needles are just as dangerous, as they can get caught in the lining of the intestine and create scar tissue. Have a safe and Happy Catmas everyone!

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

Cat Refuses To Go Outside!

Hi, dis is Timmy writing. When I got out of the house dat time fur nine too many days,  I thot I was gonna be alone furrever! Ya might say it wuz my own fault fur pushin' da door open and gettin' out. But, in my own deefence, I jus gotta say, it weren't all me.

Da door latch thingy-bopper thing was loose. I dint know it wus loose. I wuz just watchin' da birdies outside, cuz dey wuz eatin' da bird seed out there. I stood up so I could see dem better and whoops!!! Da door open like majick!

Well dat scared the heck outta all dem birdies and dey flew every which way. Den dat scared da heck outta me too and I ranned every which way too!

I dint know which way ta run furst. I wanted ta run with da birdies, but dey be flyin' and I don't has no wings ta foller dem up high. But I can leap high. So dat what I did. I leaped high up on da fence. Den I saw birdies over there somewhere, so I went after dem birdies on da udder side of da fence.

I had a really good time at furst. But, I wuz also kinda nervous and scared. I'm dat way naturally ya know. Dat's why my name is Timmy da Timid! Of course.

So, before ya knowed it. I was lost.

Timmy da Timid no go outside! Nope! Never!

Dat's when I went and hid in that old building. It looked a lot just like my own garage, but once I got inside I unnerstood it weren't mine. But, hey. I wuz so tired, I jus' had ta take a nap before I went home. But, somebody come along and shut dat door. I was stuck inside there for too many many furrever days!

Since I been back home, I not feelin very good. CatMom, she taking good care of me. Finally, I can eat now. I getting my handsome figure back in shape. But, sometimes my eye gets all sore. CatMom say I still too nervy. I think I da same old me. But now her getting dat catio built and she wants ta put music out dere for us cats to help us reelax.

I don't think I ever wants to go outside evver again!!! Music or no music! Ain't no music gonna make me reelax if I'm outside da house!!