In this season of giving thanks, counting one’s blessings, I have to add two to the long list: Purdytail and Fluffybutt. You know them by different names…!
They came to me when I was grieving the loss of Louie the ginger cat, and they added just the right element of fun back into my life. I mean, who can resist the charms of kittens?

Purdytail (AKA Andy) and Fluffybutt (AKA Dougy)
I don’t usually use their nicknames. Andy is so serious a little cat he just doesn’t seem like the nickname sort, even though his nickname features his handsome tail.
His brother Dougy, however, is a full-fledged character, and the name Dougy seems to capture that sense of him.
By any name, though, Andy and Dougy are a joy in my life, the best reason ever to get up in the morning, if only to see what they destroyed with their claws in the night. 😉
You are blessed to have your precious fur kids to help you smile every day. We feel the same about Ali. Our Fuzzy cat died of cancer at the age of 14 and four months later we got Ali. She could never replace Fuzzy but she has created a spot on our hearts all her own.
Similarly, Andy, then Dougy came into my life after Louie the ginger cat died of lymphoma. Just as you say: they can’t replace Louie, but they found their own corner of my heart! We – you and I – are fortunate to have our fur buddies! I wouldn’t have much of anything to blog about if it weren’t for the boys~!
I do not think my heart would smile as much as it does with out Ali.
Totally understanding what you say!
Did you get a “Pretty-kitty” for your sister’s cat?
I did for her missing cat Sox some time back. I think Molly would look great on a mug!
Those cat mugs are super cool… I am seriously considering doing mugs for my cats (two) as well… Happy weekend :star: Aquileana 😀
You will be happy you did. I have several featuring my late cat Louie (not to mention several featuring my current two rascals!), and it cheers me up to use those Louie mugs, remembering what a wonderful companion he was.
“Fluffybutt” – I am reminded of a cat named Monty (long departed now) that belonged to an old friend. Monty ate a piece of USED dental floss he dragged out of the trash can. She and her husband anxiously awaited for the floss to emerge from the other end of their cat, fearing the worst. All things must pass, and Monty was known as “Old Flossbutt” after that. 🙂
Curiously funny yet disgusting!LOL!
I think having cats greatly improves one’s life! So glad you are enjoying yours. Ours have been tearing up the house lately! Ellie
I do, too. For one thing, it helps you to learn patience. Sometimes! Just the laughs they bring and the pleasure of petting them and hearing that low rumble of a purr make having cats worth it.
It’s great that you can find morning joy in their nighttime destruction!
Just because the boys are predigre Persians doesn’t mean they aren’t naughty, and anyone who decides to open their home to critters needs to be prepared for a little mayhem!
Yes, we have two critters in our house and they are both destructionists. Sometimes against each other.
Two seems to be the start of all mayhem, though one can do a lot if he/she is particularly creative!
Vanessa from farfetchedfriends was kind enough to send me a mug featuring Maggie. I never place it in the dishwasher and the pictures are still vivid. Love the mugs & the joy the boys bring you my friend!
That was very thoughtful of her! Yes, it is a great lot of fun to have favorite critters on your coffee mugs and other things (like shopping totes).
The mugs are cool. It’s so true us kitties have different personalities and mom couldn’t have me being real lovey dovey in a post because I am anything but tender. However, I do have my moments as I’m sure Andy does.
(((Shoko)))
Oh, Andy is a sweetheart in his own way! He likes to have his ears “scritched” and his whiskers rubbed, so he’ll sit just outside of where he thinks I can catch and pick him up but close enough to do that, and we have our moment! When I catch him asleep, he wakes up in a very sweet mood every time, and I try to make use of that time to pet and “scritch” him so he knows I love his little self!
Nice mugs, I still enjoy mine too from Zazzle. Furry friends are the best inspiration ever.
I enjoy my cat mugs, that’s for sure! Are your mugs available for sale? I presume they feature those lovely botanical-themed photos you do on your blogs to accompany the poems, or vice versa.
Yes they are, see http://www.zazzle.com/Anarette and then browse the category “mugs”.
You have a lovely selection. The posters, for those who haven’t purchased these before from Zazzle, are on heavy paper and are of photographic quality. I was very impressed with the one I had made of Louie the ginger cat in his Captain Me-Ow outfit because it was a very poor photo to start with, taken in poor light and the flash didn’t flash. I imagine those made from your photos are spectacular!
Yes the posters are great. I especially love the one I made at Cumberland island (fairy tale forest). It hangs at a central place in my house.
Thanks for providing the links! For some reason I could not reply to last comment so I am doing it this way :).
My pleasure! Your blog and blog items are high quality, things I think others reading my blog might enjoy, too!
BTW let me know if you have a special request…
I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!
I went back to your blog, and I do remember, now, seeing these before. You have some lovely gifts available, and I attach the link to the page in your blogs where people can see for themselves what I mean! I hope they spend a little time familiarizing themselves with your blog, too. It is one of those calming, thoughtful places of beauty, and I always look forward to new posts by you, Anarette!
http://anarette.com/home/ link to Anarette’s blog
http://www.zazzle.com/Anarette?rf=238252311971447506 direct link to where you can order gifts featuring photos by Anarette…
Love the mugs! I received my samples of mugs from Zazzle yesterday. Wow, their quality is really really good. It compares to the Zen mug that I had made here, which i went “top of the line” on. 🙂
I’ve been very pleased with the quality, price, and service of Zazzle. The best part is you don’t have to maintain an inventory, so they take care of everything but spending the profits for you. Ha! My cupboard is full of mugs with cats on them, so the four with Elayne designs will fit right in, even though one is a squirrel, and another is a doggy. They are great designs! Her drawings are soooo droll!
Yes, Elayne does wonderful work. She’s working on a couple of more for Xmas. The only problem with Zazzle, from a retailer point of view, You barely make any “profit” unless your selling hundreds of units at a time. But It’s still a lot of fun. 🙂
One I made periodically gets big hits. It’s a simple t-shirt with the slogan “body by Prednisone” on the front, and the web address of the Vasculitis Foundation on the back. The tedious part, though, is all the profits are for that organization.
I’d be happy if I could transfer that design to them so they could get the profits directly, but end up periodically figuring out how much of the profits got to them, then rounding that number up to the next increment of $10. That said, I need to send them a check again for the last batch of t-shirts and a mug with a vasculitis message design sold.
As for profits, mine haven’t been too staggering, but periodically get used to reduce the cost of a personal order by a few dollars.
Ah so you know of what I speak! 🙂
Yep!