Post 524: Sox and Molly

My sister sent me this photo, showing her new cat Molly with Sox’s photo as a screensaver on her monitor.

Sox and Molly

I have to admit, it brought a tear or two. I remember and miss Louie the ginger cat every day, so I know how my sister feels having lost Sox. She hasn’t given up hope he might show up again some day.

This one is the day Louie had an epiphany: The bottom part of his lair barfs water! He was very, very alarmed!

Good old Louie! I have this photo enlarged and hanging on the wall behind my computer. It makes me smile, and reminds me what a super cat Louie was.

Andy rearranged the photo in the frame. I decided to leave it as is because living with cats is to accept a little chaos!

Post 484: a dreaded anniversary

Tomorrow is the third anniversary of the death of Louie the ginger cat.

This is how he slept by my computer desk when I was on the computer. He was an affectionate cat, a cat happy to be with me, near me. He was a rescue cat his veterinarian estimated to be five years old when I got him. My only regret with Louie is I didn’t get to know him as a kitten. I bet he was a hoot! And exceptionally cute. I just know that.

louie-ponders-an-outside-life

When he couldn’t be outside, he liked to look out the back door, in this way. As a big cat, the settee was right sized for perching on the arm.

Louie came into my life because he was picked up in the northwest part of town by the animal control officer: Louie had a record! Two things came out of that period in his life: He liked to go outdoors and he became extremely stressed when I took him in the car to the veterinarian’s for care and shots. I don’t think his experience being caught by the animal control officer was pleasant.

grumpy

Louie inspired me. This photo, for example, became one of several Louie photos that ended up on coffee mugs I still use.

grumpy coffee =mug

Yeah, Louie hated TACO the tuxedo cat, a unclaimed cat still in the neighborhood by some miracle. (Andy and Dougy find him fascinating but scary.)

TACO came in and sampled Louie’s food. Louie was spitting mad.

My favorite photo of Louie, though, is one you’ve probably seen before if you pay attention to backgrounds in videos of the boys: Louie as Captain Me-Ow!

New Louies Cape_Complete

That photo’s on mugs, shopping totes, and a poster hanging on the wall behind my computer. That way Louie is always in my thoughts. He was good cat. A great cat.

Louie died on August 1, 2011. When I made the memorial video on the second anniversary of Louie’s death last year…well, here is the memorial video from last year:

It still makes me cry.

Post 395: ¡Cinco de Mayo!

Today is the fifth of May. ¡Cinco de Mayo!

Though I don’t live in a community where this holiday is observed in any major way, it is, nonetheless, increasingly popular as more of the state’s population comes from or has family ties to Mexico.

One of my great nieces was born on this day, so, even if I barely know any Spanish and hail from a long line of Northern Europeans, I like to think I can celebrate this holiday, too! Cinco de Mayo. A day of celebration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo#Background

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!Tenga un feliz Cinco de Mayo! [Have a happy Cinco de Mayo!]

Post 318: mugging

Shortly after I retired, I discovered zazzle.com, one of several places where you can create custom designs on a variety of items. Though I’ve made t-shirt, a Louie the ginger cat calendar, postage stamp, poster, Christmas card, and business card designs, many just for my use, my favorites are coffee mugs.

New Louies Cape_Complete

Without a doubt, my cat coffee mug designs are my favorites since, well, my cats are great subjects, starting with the late Louie the ginger cat. My favorite Louie mug features this image, a combination of my photo and New Zealand friend Peter Studt’s droll super hero outfit painted on it.

That image made a great poster, too, which hangs over the settee:

Thanks to Andy, Louie the Ginger Cat as Captain Me-Ow is tilted in his frame! To live with cats is to accept a certain level of chaos and destruction!

There were others; there will be more.

Today, I added these two to my mug designs:

dougy mug

andy mug

I guess it is obvious why I might like these two designs for mugs! Of course, since today is the last day of a 40% off sale on mugs, I decided I needed two of each design. I have the design in 15 ounce mugs, but that is a lot more coffee than I want to drink at one sitting! I’ll use them for water or pencils, and the new, smaller mugs for coffee.

Post 297: David’s heart is not so good.

I’ve subscribed to many YouTube accounts featuring cats over the years. One of my favorite’s is David’s Zeus & Phoebe’s Cat Sanctuary.

I suppose part of their appeal is the fact they are ginger cats. The late Louie was a ginger cat, and I think they are pretty, intelligent, entertaining, and just pretty darn wonderful cats. Watch any of the Zeus and Phoebe videos, and you’ll see what I mean.

Another part of these videos’ appeal is David, Zeus and Phoebe’s human. He not only makes long and interesting videos for people who love cats (guilty!), the videos are informative, often have useful recommendations for helping you give your cat or cats a better life. I like him and his very well-trained cats a lot.

Sadly, David learned late last week a bronchitis issue he’s had for a long time actually is misdiagnosed (or undiagnosed…?) congestive heart failure. David will die, his doctor told him, without major heart surgery, not the news someone who just had a 50th birthday wants to hear.

David entered the hospital this morning, February 3rd, and, if you’ve watched the video above, you learned he will have his very extensive heart surgery today to try to repair his broken heart. Prayers and thoughts for David, who has been on my mind since I watched his video yesterday announcing why he can’t post any new videos on either of his YouTube channels for at least three months…if everything works out.

As someone who has two cats, I try to imagine how I’d assure they have good care if I die or have major health issues that end my ability to have them around. That gave me concern about Phoebe and Zeus. How would David have the medical care he needs yet assure his little buddies get as much care and love as they get at home in Colorado?

David has family in a close-by state, it turns out. They will care for David’s cats as long as needed. I feel relieved for the cats that they are assured a happy future, regardless of David’s outcome. On the other hand, I hope and pray that future can be with David three months down the road.

Post 283: the continuum

People who follow this blog, facebook, and YouTube know Andy and Dougy aren’t my first cats.

First there was the short-lived Freckles, almost mythical for the short presence she had in my life.

Freckles and Me

Then there was Louis (AKA Louie), as handsome an orange tabby cat as I’ve ever seen, and a cat with tons of personality and cattitude. I miss Louie. A lot.

Louie was a beautiful cat, sweet dispositioned, and a character.

You may remember this Louie morality play, which I put together for a German friend’s two then-very young son and daughter.

Louie had to deal with TACO, the neighborhood tuxedo cat no one claims.

DSCN0384

So do the boys, though they’ve never actually been outside to meet him there, like Louie regularly did.

Dougy found TACO terrifying!

This is another video you may remember. It’s a classic Andy and Dougy as a team video:

Louie liked to sleep in the dryer, so I put something soft in there for his comfort:

This one is the day Louie had an epiphany: The bottom part of his lair barfs water! He was very, very alarmed!

Andy likes Louie’s old hidey-hole, too!

Andy likes the dryer, too. Since he’s half Louie’s size, though, I have to verify he’s not in there before I toss wet clothes in it!

The cast of characters changes, but some things stay the same.

Post 270: same old, same old

One nice thing about cats is they are very, very set in their routines! If you don’t mind the 3 AM wake-up call, living with Andy and Dougy mostly is an easy thing. The only fault Andy has is a thing for clawing my new leather-covered very expensive computer chair. Dougy has his sofa and his ottoman that get the claw treatment.

Thanks to Andy, Louie the Ginger Cat as Captain Me-Ow is tilted in his frame! To live with cats is to accept a certain level of chaos and destruction!

Oh well! Suck it in, Doug! Kitties WILL be kitties!

So, because cats are very, very set in their routines, it came as no surprise that Dougy was on my bed meowing emphatically at slightly before 3 AM this New Year’s Day: “Get up! Get up! It’s ‘feed the kitty time’! NOW!”

Andy stretched out, sphinx-like and as inscrutable, in a dresser drawer I leave open (for the cats, of course). His intent, though, was not in doubt. He was there to back up Dougy if I didn’t get up. Meow!

So I did. “Feed the kitty time, boys,” I think I said out loud as we scrambled over each other to the kitchen. Of that there was no doubt!

Fed, the kitties and I went in the front room to watch the news. Well, I watch the news, and they take over their favorite perches, to sleep. By this time, I’m wide awake, so it’s good I’ve learned to go to bed at sundown so I get some sleep before “feed the kitty time”!

Here they are: Dougy on the ottoman, and Andy stretched out on the side table! The kitties must be fed. Yep. Now we sleep in front of the guy we woke up at 3 AM!

hoarfrost on the dill and other scenes from Autumn 2010

October 27 2010 first freeze

October 20, 2010, when this photo was taken, we’d had our first hard frost of the season. Conventional wisdom is the middle of September is when the first hard frost comes.

rosa blooming

Thanks to a favorable micro-climate close to the stucco exterior wall of my apartment, this rose was blooming well into November 2010.

dill with hoarfrost

Taken December 12, 2010, of hoarfrost on dill that grew in my little herb garden, this photo also is a favorite photo of Louie the ginger cat, on his morning walk.

DSCN2240

You’ve seen a similar photo recently, also from Autumn 2010. The other shot of this same row of trees, however, illustrated a comment on clouds. What the heck! Here that “cloud photo” is again:

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Have a happy Autumn, keep your toes toasty, and enjoy the fruits of the harvest! Two hours to go!

seasonalvariations-edited

Wake up! >Mrow<

You can tell a cat, but not much, as the joke goes. They definitely respond to people differently than dogs do, but it isn’t as critical as how we respond to them. Ask Andy. Ask Dougy. What is a kitty to do when it’s breakfast time and your human won’t get out of bed?

My boys are predictably accurate about the time. They know when it’s three in the morning, so pester me for as long as it takes to make sure I’m up and feeding them by that time. Believe it, they do pester me until I get up to feed the kitties, and all stops are out if I try to sleep past three.

How demanding can a cat that sleeps 23-3/4 hours a day be!?

Here are some of their favorite cat tricks to get me out of bed:

1. Standing by my bed, meowing. [Not effective because neither Andy nor Dougy meows very loud. If I am awake, I know that it signals more harassment until I get up; if not, I don’t hear it. FAIL!]

2. Jumping on my bed and meowing by my head. [A bit more effective, but usually a FAIL because of the same reasons standing by my bed and meowing is a FAIL. Andy just jumps on my bed, but usually stares at me long enough to try to decide if I’m faking sleep or am actually sleeping. He is my stealthy cat. After a short time, he’ll jump over to a favorite spot on top of the little bookcase next to my bed. There’s a fan on it, a folded blanket for his comfort, but, best yet, a good view of me in bed where he can see me but I can’t see him. He watches, watches, watches…! You know you are watched when Andy watches you. Dougy, however, scratches on the mattress, which irritates me but usually doesn’t achieve the desired effect. Then he jumps, landing by my head. The moment he lands he always meows, just once. The landing can wake me. The meow just tells me which of the two landed. Andy makes no sound. I try to not open my eyes, though, and pretend I am still asleep. Between them, they sometimes have success.]

3a. Walking on me. [Less effective than it could be because their predecessor, Louie, weighed as much as both Andy and Dougy together. Dougy usually is the designated walker, and I kind of like it when he does because it feels like a massage. FAIL.]

3b. Andy and Dougy are rank amateurs compared with the late Louie. He’d usually walk on me, starting at one end, then end at the other after he took a slow stroll on my body. I handled his almost 24 pounds (10.8 kilos or so) treading on me except for that spot between my pelvis and bottom of my rib cage. When he landed there, it hurt like heck unless I anticipated it and tensed my muscles. When I tensed my muscles, he’d hop off my body, stroll to my face, and start to stick his butt in it. He knew I was awake and that I always got up before he got his butt too close to my face. I definitely hopped up and fed the kitty! Louie was a tough cat, a veteran of the streets. You couldn’t fool him by keeping your eyes closed!

Louie reacts

Cute or not, you didn’t want Louie’s butt in your face. As a boy cat, he sometimes was less than fastidious about personal hygiene…!

louie ponders an outside life

4. Knead the human. [Definitely a FAIL because Dougy, who has has a “mommy fixation” on my beard, doesn’t realize that kneading feels good so long as he doesn’t do it on bare skin. Plus, he has to nestle up to me to do it, which gives me a chance to gain more rest when I stroke his fur. That in turn prompts more kneading. I’m having a good time, Dougy’s forgetting why he’s kneading me because he’s having a good time, too. I just have to make sure he doesn’t get in my beard. It creeps me out when he nestles in my beard, and tries to nurse. ICK!]

5. Sniff the human’s face! [SUCCESS! I know where those little kitty faces have been, so the moment I sense one coming my way, I fend it off. They know I’m awake then, and gloves are off till they get me out of bed. This is when they start to gang harass me. Otherwise it’s a solo business, each in his turn. Besides, those cat whiskers tickle!]

6. Wag your tail in the human’s face. [This is a recent development that is guaranteed to get the point across to me: Get up. NOW! Absolute SUCCESS! Fie on you, Dougy. You discovered my kyptonite! Andy hasn’t learned this trick yet.]

7. Late in life, Louie discovered something that makes him unique among the four cats I’ve had in my life. His failsafe method to get me up? He’d stand on my shoulder with his back feet, put his front feet on my blankets, then walk my blankets down toward my waist. When you are a 24 pound cat, you can do this!

different cats, different styles

Before I had a cat, I imagined what it might be like. None of them has been a neck warmer, however sweet that would be on a blizzardy January Nebraska night.

I had an impression of what I wanted in my pound cat...!

I imagined this is what having a cat would be like!

Dougy is the closest to a body part warmer of any of my cats. When he stops by for a cat nap in the middle of the night, he walks on me, meows to ask me if I’m awake, kneads any exposed skin he can find, then snuggles between my chest and top arm. He wraps all four legs around my arm, and I suspect I keep him warm, rather than the other way around. Ha!

Dougy loves my computer desk…when I’m trying to use it!

Andy isn’t a snuggle bunny. He likes to sleep, instead, by a small fan on top of a small bookcase by my bed. There’s a window behind it, which I crack open for the fresh air. I suspect night sounds are what interests Andy, not a chance to share my bedroom! From the bookcase to my bed is a small jump.

From my bed, he can jump to a television stand and a drawer I leave open for his amusement in case he needs a way up to catch an occasional fly, spider, or moth. A cat chasing a critter pretty much ends any possibility of sleep. On the other hand, a fly, spider, or moth loose in the room doesn’t help sleep conditions either. Dougy always comes running when he hears Andy on the hunt.

Andy before a haircut. That piece of cottonwood is a favorite perch.

Two cats hunting definitely end any possibility of sleep!

Louie the ginger cat was big enough to kick me out of bed had he chosen to sleep there. He visited only to wake me up to feed him. This he did by several means: tail end in my face, sniffing my nose, patting me roughly with a big paw (claws barely out for effect), walking up and down my body, and, toward the end, he self-taught himself to put his front paws on my covers, his rear paws on me, and push my covers down! When a nearly 24 pound (10.8kg) cat pushes your covers off, you get up!

Louie climbed on the kitchen table to check out this bouquet. Bad kitty!

Then there was little Freckles, the cat only those who’ve been around since fall of 2009 will remember. She was a small teenaged cat, like Louie, that I rescued from the city pound. She was my first cat.

Freckles was a sweet kitty.

She was a nervous little tabby cat, having spent weeks in the pound at a time they caged cats next to the dogs. They couldn’t see each other, but they definitely were aware of each other through smell and sound. She relaxed immediately at home when I brought her to the apartment: No more dogs!

That first night, I brought her out to rest on my chest while I sat in my recliner. The moment I picked her up, she began a purring, a surprisingly loud purr for such a petite cat. I pet her till I fell asleep. The vibrations of her purring felt so good on my chest! When I woke up, she was still there, still purring.

Freckles wasn’t big enough to warm anything much, though she warmed my heart.

Different cats, different styles.