For the Love of Cats.....

It's out the door! It was a week of intense work to get the 19 page scrapbook of Street Cat Rescue adoption stories done.
Here you can see a partial page on Sophie. It was an expensive and time-consuming undertaking.....much more so than I remembered from 10 years ago. It had been that long since I had made one, and now I remember why. To enjoy it, I would need to make it a year's art project...more along an artist's journal or altered book style.

Yes, I know it's not about me. My heart goes out to all abandoned cats, and I can only hope that this book will help in the efforts to get them cared for.

Extraordinary People

Sophie and Santino are allowing Rudy to join them for their dinner snack. Occasionally there are four heads in the dish!

I love peace, cannot tolerate fighting, and so have the expectation that the pets with whom I share my home be peaceful. My kitties have always wanted to please me. Happy co-incident? I don't think so. Cats are no less appreciate than dogs....and, often, more so than humans. Or, perhaps, cats are particularly susceptible to picking up energy. Peace permeates my home. I would think it's my imagination, but almost everyone who comes in my home remarks on it. I accept that gratefully as a lovely compliment. I have worked for it.....I continue to work for it.

Monday I am taking Santino to meet and interview a vet recommended by a neighbor. I need to check on how this vet handles him before making an appointment with him for a neuter. I want no less in a vet than I did from a pediatrician. Does he/she appreciate the precious life I am entrusting him/her with? It isn't that I don't care as much about my other fur children. It's just that there is something about a Balinese that is so much like a human baby that the bond and the fierce need to protect is particularly strong. The vet who had Blu will not have Santino! I cannot overlook the fact that he treated Blu as a "just a cat" and not the extraordinary creature he was.

My cats are extraordinary people. LOL

dogs and cat - oh my!

Okay, I know there are dogs in this picture but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap this yesterday. Over the long Memorial day week-end I took home the rug from the bottom of the crate and the two brown pillows that lay in front of the crate. They were in serious need of a washing. Anyway, I put them back when we returned. The dogs seemed happy to have clean bedding. That is Jake in the box and the beagle is named Cappy. I was working on the computer which means my back is to this scence. I just happened to turn around and see Leroy asleep on the little pillow next to Cappy.

Sunday Afternoon Nap

I walked into the bedroom yesterday afternoon, and this is what I witnessed. I just kept the camera aimed as the action unfolded. Neither Santino or Sophie sleep very deeply and always keep alert to my whereabouts, so my hopes for some 'peacefully asleep' shots went quickly down the tubes.











This is a typical afternoon at our house!




Sometimes I feel a little sorry for Sophie.
It's that resigned look on her face that just kills me. She is very patient and so sweet!







I keep checking both for scabs, but neither kitty is breaking skin.









Miki watched, but did not move. Rudy's interest definitely was limited. His attitude is that the "visitors" have stayed long enough. He is grumbling, but polite.

My Boys...All are Growing

Why is the window open? We'd better guard it!













Mom! The window is open!!!














Santino in a rare contemplative moment










Coming over to check out the camera

Have you seen this look before?

Here's Sophie.....with that disgusted look on her kitty face...I'm sure you've seen it before if you are owned by a cat. I was quite busy with a tag book swap where I had to compile 44 books...and she was getting fed up because I wasn't paying attention to her every need!!!

Poor kitty! Of course, once I took a break to pay attention to her, she couldn't care less & went into the bedroom to sleep. Gotta love the kitties.

Leroy - pain in the butt

Leroy's latest trick is to be a pain in the butt when ever you try to do something at the counter. Here my DH was trying to read one of his journals and Leroy wouldn't have it.
This morning we had a client standing where DH is in the photo and Leroy laid down on the client's checkbook not allowing him to write out the check. Leroy demanded to be petted and his belly scratched. After which the client was then allowed to finish writing the check. Good thing the client was a cat person as he understood Leroy's demands.

Jungle Leroy

This is Leroy when he was about 12 weeks. I think he thought he was exploring the deepest darkest jungle there ever was. If he tried that trick now he would flatten all the plants in the pot. He weighs in at around 15 pounds now. Yes , he is a tad over weight but he is a big boned boy and carries his weight well.

Sophie Speaks

Uh oh....He's up to something!
















All I can say is that everyone is lucky I'm around to watch Santino!











Now what's he having fun with?










O.K. , you can stop now. The squirrel is dead.











He looks tired. I think I can get him to bed!
















Phew! I finally got him to sleep! Now I can nap, too. I'm a such a good baby-sitter!

Kitty Life

This is Sophie's most favorite perch, which she now shares with Santino. When Santino first climbs up, Sophie grooms him, and he chews on her a bit. She pins him down and licks him until he goes to sleep. So sweet!



Santino loves the sisal post. And, he loves "Big Bali Mom Blankie". Sometimes he annoys me by sleeping with "her" instead of me.













Since Sophie stopped being afraid of the camera, she seems to always be posing! Miki, too, but he does his "posing" in the same sleep position. It has never been easy to get a good photo of him.

Alyce, Kitten, Dorothy, and DJ HELP

I am sorry I wasn't more clear on what my expectations were. If you want to share in this blog, I need photos and a blog entry from each of you at the minimum of once a month. Please let me know if you cannot do that so I will remove your name as a contributor.

If there is anyone else who would like to participate at a once a month minimum, please let me know. I love talking about my cats....but, let's face it....the adventures of indoor cats are somewhat limited.

Chaska

Cat-Lady Helpers

We cat-ladies must really look out for each other if there's to be any hope of out-smarting our cats. So, with this in mind, I share with you a new product on the market. http://www.pledge.com/fabric-sweeper/

I did buy one, although getting furniture which blends nicely with hair is more practical. I am testing out the sweeper on the cats directly. They don't mind.

Santino's former mom suggested I feed him yogurt for his stinky breath and stinky butt syndrome, and and it took some time to locate it unflavored. When I unpacked my grocery sacks, Santino was right there, and you can imagine my excitement, I'm sure. "Oh, my sweet, I brought you a treat!", I said and he

Have any of you found a cat-English dictionary? I need one! I can't tell you what Santino said about the yogurt because I haven't a clue as to how to spell it. I can imagine what he meant, though, and you probably can, too. I have a trick up my sleeve, though. Since I have trouble keeping him out of my breakfast plate, tomorrow it will have yogurt mixed in with the cottage cheese he wants.

Besides my needing the dictionary, I also would like to find out how to stop horizontal scratching of furniture and carpeting. Help!

Play and Sleep

Santino now has learned to pounce only on Sophie who is always ready to play. In the evening just before going to bed we have a good twenty minute play-time with interactive toys, with me waving one in each hand. It takes really paying close attention to keep from having mid-air collisions! Everything was going well, with the older cats deferring to Santino, until I got Da Bird! Sophie, who previously took turns, is so crazy about it that she is suddenly quicker and faster than anyone else. Miki usually just watches, but last night he chased Rudy around happily. I don't know what to do about Da Bird. It's great toy for a single cat household!
When Santino sleeps, he usually chooses which ever room I am in, but even though he appears fast asleep, when I leave the room, he is right behind me. Not so, with this new soft couch throw. It is so soft it must feel just like a Balinese mom. It was a good purchase. I love wrapping up in "Balinese mom", too when watching a video. :-)

Family Dynamics

Sophie plays all the time now....mostly with Santino. She must be pretty gentle as she's never made him scream. Miki watches all this in seeming disapproval, but neither does he leave the room.









Santino taking "time out" from play in the bedroom. It's their favorite room for play and for sleep......at least during the day. At night, only Santino sleeps with me. The other three I have to shut out of my bedroom ....It's the only way I get any rest.
It's odd that Santino keeps his tail bent when sitting down, even though there is no kink in his tail.


I keep the blind up on one of the bedroom windows and Sophie can sit there for hours looking out. Sometimes she stalks bugs that only she can see, and has slammed into the window, forgetting that she was separated by glass.

Miki in his typical suffering pose....notice the ears pulled back....as all the silliness is going on around him. Miki was my much older cat, Zippy's, kitten, and spent much time wrapped in Zippy's paws as Zippy aged. Unfortunately, losing him, left an empty spot in Miki's heart and no matter what I have tried, I have not been able to change that.

Funny Baby Santino

Santino now has taken over Sophie's favorite spot. Inititally, she would not allow him on the highest perch, but she has succumbed. Baby seems to be winning.

I assure you, he is only yawning.:-) Miki is the yowler in our household. Santino merely cries....when he doesn't know where I am, when he is hungry, when he wants me to get up, and when it's taking me too long to get his food dished out.

I cry when he presents his stinky butt to my face early in the morning. It is NOT a good way to wake up! I think he wants me to clean him like his mother did. He cleans himself eventually, but never without first trying to get me to do it. Prince Santino!

Pablo Santino Picasso

Santino cleared off a spot for himself and was watching me work rather intently when he fell asleep. He doesn't play with any of my materials, only sweeps them off to make a place for himself. He is even leaving the feathers I had out alone! It could be that this is because there are so many toys on the floor......Sophie empties the toy box.......but I think he wants to grow up to be an artist like his mommy.

Kitten Portraits

It's difficult to get decent photos of the kittens as I have no one to distract them . Even that might not work as I am still as slow as I would be if I were shooting film. I don't like to delete dozens of bad shots.

Here is Santino who has his 5 mo. birthday tomorrow. I don't think it's possible for a kitty to be more spoiled. I am his mommy-servant. I wonder what becomes of Balinese whose humans aren't as ready to serve as I am..........Do they sleep, then? Do they chew the couch pillows?

This is my beautiful Sophie, about 12 months, but I always address her as "pretty girl". It.s been a long time since I've had a female kitty. Look at those pretty pink paw-pads. She is very good with Santino, but makes sure he understands that games are played by her rules.