Of happy healthy kitties

It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all the
kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters in this
group. Let's hear about them.

I have three at the moment. I miss Tony dearly, and he was a wonderful owner
to me, but I have three characters to share.

1. Stripey Thing - he is 7 years old and is the sweetest guy I know. He is a
long haired orange kitty with stripes. He has an ability to tell who is at
the door just by how they ring the doorbell - I don't understand it. For his
friends, he greets them at the top of the stairs. Someone not having the
preferred status of friend and he hides out in the closet until they leave.
If I take an afternoon nap, he curls up under the covers with me. Sometimes
he is still there when I wake up. He won't do it during the night. He is a
cat, he doesn't have to explain odd behavior. At night, he snuggles up next
to my legs on the side next to the wall. I always know it is him because he
jumps up so silently and without touching me that when he suddenly appears
next to my legs, I have no doubt who it is. He is still very active and will
tear around the apartment with the least provocation. And dare I forget his
love affair with pom-pom balls. I have no idea where he gets them at this
point, but I know for a fact he has thousands. I can always tell how often
he has eaten in a certain time period because he drops a ball in for each
time he eats. And it is a regular bedtime ritual that he will bring me a
pom-pom to throw and he retrieves until I throw it (unintentionally)
someplace where he can't find it. He is also in love with Mr. Red Dot and
will make himself dizzy chasing it in a circle.

2. My Mattie Marie - She is 5 years old now. Round is the only word I can
use to describe her. She isn't over weight, and fact has quite the girlish
figure. But when you look at her, every body proportion she has screams
round. Her spot is on my left side with my left arm around her and her head
on my chest. She is the announcer of the empty (almost) food bowl. At the
moment, she is trying to figure out how to get the best of the Stripey Thing
who is hiding under a blanket that has been draped over a chair. It seems
that being under the blanket is the position of power. Despite charges by
the other two, Stripey Thing is still king under the blanket.

3. Toby - A snowshoe from the appearance of him. He is about two years old
and is a stitch. I've had him for about 6 months and he has learned to play
some in that amount of time. He is a great snuggler, but I am glad he is
getting a little more rambunctious. Mattie teaches him how to play with the
different toys in the apartment. The dawning look of comprehension is
hysterical. Before Tony died, he and he Stripey Thing were inseparable. Toby
has taken over that role for the Stripey Thing. The mutual grooming sessions
these two have are just a riot. He too is trying to become king under the
chair and not making it. If I had any idea a regular chair with a blanket on
it could provide so much entertainment, I would have done it a long time
ago!!

It is not uncommon for me to have all three of them in bed with me at
night - they all have their little spots.

On Nov 17, 7:45*pm, "Bridget" wrote:
It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all the
kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters in this
group. Let's hear about them.

I have three at the moment. I miss Tony dearly, and he was a wonderful owner
to me, but I have three characters to share.

1. Stripey Thing - he is 7 years old and is the sweetest guy I know. He is a
long haired orange kitty with stripes. He has an ability to tell who is at
the door just by how they ring the doorbell - I don't understand it. For his
friends, he greets them at the top of the stairs. Someone not having the
preferred status of friend and he hides out in the closet until they leave.
If I take an afternoon nap, he curls up under the covers with me. Sometimes
he is still there when I wake up. He won't do it during the night. He is a
cat, he doesn't have to explain odd behavior. At night, he snuggles up next
to my legs on the side next to the wall. I always know it is him because he
jumps up so silently and without touching me that when he suddenly appears
next to my legs, I have no doubt who it is. He is still very active and will
tear around the apartment with the least provocation. And dare I forget his
love affair with pom-pom balls. I have no idea where he gets them at this
point, but I know for a fact he has thousands. I can always tell how often
he has eaten in a certain time period because he drops a ball in for each
time he eats. And it is a regular bedtime ritual that he will bring me a
pom-pom to throw and he retrieves until I throw it (unintentionally)
someplace where he can't find it. He is also in love with Mr. Red Dot and
will make himself dizzy chasing it in a circle.

2. My Mattie Marie - She is 5 years old now. Round is the only word I can
use to describe her. She isn't over weight, and fact has quite the girlish
figure. But when you look at her, every body proportion she has screams
round. Her spot is on my left side with my left arm around her and her head
on my chest. *She is the announcer of the empty (almost) food bowl. At the
moment, she is trying to figure out how to get the best of the Stripey Thing
who is hiding under a blanket that has been draped over a chair. It seems
that being under the blanket is the position of power. Despite charges by
the other two, Stripey Thing is still king under the blanket.

3. Toby - A snowshoe from the appearance of him. He is about two years old
and is a stitch. I've had him for about 6 months and he has learned to play
some in that amount of time. He is a great snuggler, but I am glad he is
getting a little more rambunctious. Mattie teaches him how to play with the
different toys in the apartment. The dawning look of comprehension is
hysterical. Before Tony died, he and he Stripey Thing were inseparable. Toby
has taken over that role for the Stripey Thing. The mutual grooming sessions
these two have are just a riot. He too is trying to become king under the
chair and not making it. If I had any idea a regular chair with a blanket on
it could provide so much entertainment, I would have done it a long time
ago!!

It is not uncommon for me to have all three of them in bed with me at
night - they all have their little spots.

Hey Bridget,

Sounds like you have some fun owners! =o) It's amazing what cats will
find amusing. You appear to have provided a prime "fun house" for your
guys.

Nina, now 4.5 years old and Francesca an estimated 5 years old, are
great snugglers when I settle down in my comfy chair for TV watching.
Nina sleeps with me every night and every night, it's a great mystery
to me how one kitty can take up so much room on one bed. Francesca
will star sleeping in my bed again when the weather gets cold enough.
Both my owners like a little Kitty Sauna session under the covers on
really chilly nights, but they generally only spend a few minutes
there. We've been having a lot of sessions with the cat fishing pole
toy which is a favorite of both girls.

Melissa

"Bridget" wrote in message
...
It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all the
kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters in
this group. Let's hear about them.

I have three at the moment. I miss Tony dearly, and he was a wonderful
owner to me, but I have three characters to share.

1. Stripey Thing - he is 7 years old and is the sweetest guy I know. He is
a long haired orange kitty with stripes. He has an ability to tell who is
at the door just by how they ring the doorbell - I don't understand it.
For his friends, he greets them at the top of the stairs. Someone not
having the preferred status of friend and he hides out in the closet until
they leave. If I take an afternoon nap, he curls up under the covers with
me. Sometimes he is still there when I wake up. He won't do it during the
night. He is a cat, he doesn't have to explain odd behavior. At night, he
snuggles up next to my legs on the side next to the wall. I always know it
is him because he jumps up so silently and without touching me that when
he suddenly appears next to my legs, I have no doubt who it is. He is
still very active and will tear around the apartment with the least
provocation. And dare I forget his love affair with pom-pom balls. I have
no idea where he gets them at this point, but I know for a fact he has
thousands. I can always tell how often he has eaten in a certain time
period because he drops a ball in for each time he eats. And it is a
regular bedtime ritual that he will bring me a pom-pom to throw and he
retrieves until I throw it (unintentionally) someplace where he can't find
it. He is also in love with Mr. Red Dot and will make himself dizzy
chasing it in a circle.

2. My Mattie Marie - She is 5 years old now. Round is the only word I can
use to describe her. She isn't over weight, and fact has quite the girlish
figure. But when you look at her, every body proportion she has screams
round. Her spot is on my left side with my left arm around her and her
head on my chest. She is the announcer of the empty (almost) food bowl.
At the moment, she is trying to figure out how to get the best of the
Stripey Thing who is hiding under a blanket that has been draped over a
chair. It seems that being under the blanket is the position of power.
Despite charges by the other two, Stripey Thing is still king under the
blanket.

3. Toby - A snowshoe from the appearance of him. He is about two years old
and is a stitch. I've had him for about 6 months and he has learned to
play some in that amount of time. He is a great snuggler, but I am glad he
is getting a little more rambunctious. Mattie teaches him how to play with
the different toys in the apartment. The dawning look of comprehension is
hysterical. Before Tony died, he and he Stripey Thing were inseparable.
Toby has taken over that role for the Stripey Thing. The mutual grooming
sessions these two have are just a riot. He too is trying to become king
under the chair and not making it. If I had any idea a regular chair with
a blanket on it could provide so much entertainment, I would have done it
a long time ago!!

It is not uncommon for me to have all three of them in bed with me at
night - they all have their little spots.

Sammy, at four, is still a *VERY* large kitten (Maine Coons keep growing
until they are 5, and Sammy appears to have 99.99999% Maine Coon genes even
though she's a rescue like all my other cats). She was secretly delighted
when we got Da Boyz since she loves to play. Of course, she can't actually
let anybody *know* that she loves those stinky little brats, so she makes a
great show of swatting them about the head and shoulders - but with claws in
and not very hard. All three rampaging through the house rivals the noise
made by a herd of buffalo. At 20+ pounds, she looks very weird doing it,
but... she still sucks her toe! When I'm sitting on the couch she will come
stand next to it and stare at me until I "assume the position". I have to
be lying on my right side (for some reason, the left side won't due - I
think it's the logistics of her getting to the correct toe). When I lie
down she'll jump up, lick my face and hands while I pet her, then finally
settle down to a good session of sucking. She uses both front paws for
kneading at my belly, so she has to use the first toe on her right rear paw
for her "pacifier". Other than while sucking her toe, she doesn't like
being held or sitting in my lap (I've heard this about Maine Coons - that
they will be your friend, but never your baby). Maybe it's a good thing
that she doesn't like being held, because I'd probably have even more back
problems if she did!

Ozzy is one and a half years old. He is the most passive of all my clowder.
He never objects to anything anybody does to him - at most retreating under
my bed if Sammy's "abuse" (see above) gets too rambunctious for him. When I
dress him up for Christmas pictures he never struggles, he just lays there
looking up at me with sad eyes as if wondering why I'm doing that. He is
also a big boy - 13 pounds of solid muscle. I love watching him run and
play - since he's a short haired orinj-stripey boy you can see his muscles
rippling under his skin. He can jump to amazing heights, doing backwards
flips in attempts to catch his feather toy. He has the shiniest coat of any
cat I've ever seen - it reflects sunlight like polished gold. That plus his
dark orange eyes that almost match the color of his coat makes him
absolutely gorgeous!

Archer is also one and a half years old. He is the most hyper of all my
cats. When he chases his special toy all the other cats quickly clear the
area because he does not watch where he's going, and he will trample or jump
on anyone who gets between him and his toy. He is the cat who loves me the
most - maybe it was because I held and stroked him for hours on end when he
broke his leg (I could only let him out of his kennel to hold him next to
me, and I felt so bad for him that I held him almost the whole time I was at
home). It is a bit humbling to be loved so unconditionally. When the vet
was checking his toes when he still had his cast on, I was holding him, and
when the vet squeezed and really hurt him, Archer leaned over and started
licking my hand (of course I totally lost it). He sleeps next to my legs at
night. During Ike, Archer was sticking so close to my you'd swear he was
velcroed to my legs. But when a tornado went through our neighborhood only
a few yards away from our house, he did jump down for a second to dash
upstairs, grab his favorite toy, and then dash back down again to put his
toy on the bed next to us.

Just a quick word about my older cats since I feel guilty not including
them... Jessie, at 9, is still very kitten-like. She plays more than the
boys even. When she's chasing the red dot greeble, she'll run after it up
and down the stairs twenty times in the matter of just a few minutes, and
she doesn't even get out of breath. Demi, at 10, is still healthy, but she
never did play very much. She's very shy and can never just "let herself
go" in the moment.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Shiral wrote:
On Nov 17, 7:45 pm, "Bridget" wrote:
It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all the
kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters in this
group. Let's hear about them.

I have three at the moment. I miss Tony dearly, and he was a wonderful owner
to me, but I have three characters to share.

1. Stripey Thing - he is 7 years old and is the sweetest guy I know. He is a
long haired orange kitty with stripes. He has an ability to tell who is at
the door just by how they ring the doorbell - I don't understand it. For his
friends, he greets them at the top of the stairs. Someone not having the
preferred status of friend and he hides out in the closet until they leave.
If I take an afternoon nap, he curls up under the covers with me. Sometimes
he is still there when I wake up. He won't do it during the night. He is a
cat, he doesn't have to explain odd behavior. At night, he snuggles up next
to my legs on the side next to the wall. I always know it is him because he
jumps up so silently and without touching me that when he suddenly appears
next to my legs, I have no doubt who it is. He is still very active and will
tear around the apartment with the least provocation. And dare I forget his
love affair with pom-pom balls. I have no idea where he gets them at this
point, but I know for a fact he has thousands. I can always tell how often
he has eaten in a certain time period because he drops a ball in for each
time he eats. And it is a regular bedtime ritual that he will bring me a
pom-pom to throw and he retrieves until I throw it (unintentionally)
someplace where he can't find it. He is also in love with Mr. Red Dot and
will make himself dizzy chasing it in a circle.

2. My Mattie Marie - She is 5 years old now. Round is the only word I can
use to describe her. She isn't over weight, and fact has quite the girlish
figure. But when you look at her, every body proportion she has screams
round. Her spot is on my left side with my left arm around her and her head
on my chest. She is the announcer of the empty (almost) food bowl. At the
moment, she is trying to figure out how to get the best of the Stripey Thing
who is hiding under a blanket that has been draped over a chair. It seems
that being under the blanket is the position of power. Despite charges by
the other two, Stripey Thing is still king under the blanket.

3. Toby - A snowshoe from the appearance of him. He is about two years old
and is a stitch. I've had him for about 6 months and he has learned to play
some in that amount of time. He is a great snuggler, but I am glad he is
getting a little more rambunctious. Mattie teaches him how to play with the
different toys in the apartment. The dawning look of comprehension is
hysterical. Before Tony died, he and he Stripey Thing were inseparable. Toby
has taken over that role for the Stripey Thing. The mutual grooming sessions
these two have are just a riot. He too is trying to become king under the
chair and not making it. If I had any idea a regular chair with a blanket on
it could provide so much entertainment, I would have done it a long time
ago!!

It is not uncommon for me to have all three of them in bed with me at
night - they all have their little spots.

Hey Bridget,

Sounds like you have some fun owners! =o) It's amazing what cats will
find amusing. You appear to have provided a prime "fun house" for your
guys.

Nina, now 4.5 years old and Francesca an estimated 5 years old, are
great snugglers when I settle down in my comfy chair for TV watching.
Nina sleeps with me every night and every night, it's a great mystery
to me how one kitty can take up so much room on one bed. Francesca
will star sleeping in my bed again when the weather gets cold enough.
Both my owners like a little Kitty Sauna session under the covers on
really chilly nights, but they generally only spend a few minutes
there. We've been having a lot of sessions with the cat fishing pole
toy which is a favorite of both girls.

Melissa

What a treat to read about your fur kids.
Please tel us more when you have time. MLB

Bridget wrote:
It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have
a new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all
the kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters
in this group. Let's hear about them.

Miranda is like your Stripey Thing in that she always wants under the
blanket with me when I take an afternoon nap, but she sleeps curled up
against/on my legs during the night. When I get up from my nap, she
usually stays sleeping under the blanket for hours after I've left.

Miranda will be 4 years old on the 30th. She's still a kitten at heart,
or maybe more like a teenager, opinionated, obstinate, obsessed with
looking good - and the next moment she is charging after a stringie toy
or rushing up and down the cat trees and jumping from the top level of
one to the top level of the other a couple of metres away. She's my
monkey-cat. She's still as picky with her food as ever. As the price of
beef has gone up, I've tried to give her pork sometimes, but she doesn't
really like it, and since she is underweight, I can't stand not having
her eat, and always give in. Beef it is for Her Highness.

Caliban is 3.5 years old now. He's the exact opposite to Mir. Where she
is svelte and long-limbed, he is short and stubby. She has a long
aristo-catic face, his is round and kittenish. He is clumsy, though that
doesn't stop him from rushing up and down the cat trees. He can only
watch in awe, though, when Mir sails through the air from one cat tree
to the other. Balls and boxes are his favourite toys, and he especially
loves to have me throw a ball *into* a box. He will dive after it and
rummage around until the ball comes flying out of the box. Rinse and repeat.

They are also opposites in that Caliban loves food. No matter whether
it's his food, Miranda's food, or my food, it's all his food anyway.
I've lost count of how many newly baked rolls he has stolen when I'd
left them to cool on the rack. The other day I forgot to put away a bag
of very dark rye bread, and he managed to rip open the bag and eat a
good portion before I realised what he was doing. The only things he
hasn't eaten when offered were carrot and apple (but Mir actually tried
to eat the piece of carrot). If I peel an orange he is deeply offended
and sends me withering looks from the other side of the room.

Mir and Caliban have a complex relationship. Sometimes they're the best
of friends, and sleep curled up into one big ball of bluish and tabby
brown fur. Other times, Caliban picks on Miranda relentlessly, and she
hisses and wails. But when he leaves her alone, she sneaks after him and
gives him a poke, so it seems she likes him to maul her once in a while.

Caliban is my lap cat. Mostly he gets into my lap when he is expecting
his breakfast or supper, but since he starts expecting his meals a good
two hours before it's time for them, he spends a lot of time in my lap.
Or rather on my chest. Miranda is not so into laps, so the few times she
does grace me with her presence, I dare not disturb her. Like this
morning, when I visited the porcelain throne. She came to see me, and I
picked her up for a moment, expecting her to leave immediately. But she
settled down on my arm and leaned her head on my shoulder, so I had to
stay there for a good ten minutes before she'd had enough.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban.
In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.

"Bridget" wrote in message
...
It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all the
kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters in
this group. Let's hear about them.



(snip)

Thanks-- your masters sound delightful. Here, of course, I've got Dante,
and getting used to life with just him. I would like to get a friend for
him sometime soon, but I don't think my mom is ready yet. He seems to be
fine alone, except he really wants someone to play with. I feel a little
bad, because Dante, although he is big and fat, still likes to play like a
kitten, and he never really had a playmate. He played too rough for Stinky,
who was always chasing him away ("Kids today!"). Now he spends all his time
sneaking up on me and flinging himself at me, and grabbing whatever part of
me he can as I go by. I try to play with him, but he doesn't only like to
jump at stuff and bat it around-- he loves that, but he *really* wants to
wrestle.
Otherwise, he's a sweet, funny little guy. He's so cute, with his round,
shiny black body, and his funny face. He has the most ridiculous
expressions, and he cracks me up every day.

--
Theresa and Dante
drtmuirATearthlink.net

Stinky Forever: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh

"Bridget" wrote in message
...
It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all the
kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters in
this group. Let's hear about them.


I was thinking about doing something similar (great minds think alike) but I
was going to take it one cat at a time. With eight it would be hard to do
justice to each cat if I bundled them into one post. SO, one or two at a
time ok? In no particular order.

Merlin is my Scandinavian Army Pear Cat. His previous humans were a
military couple who got orders. She couldn't take the risk of Merlin
turning into Korean sushi, even if the army allowed pets to go to Korea. He
couldn't keep Merlin in the barracks. Merlin was heading to time in the
cages when we got talking to the young man who was surrendering Merlin to
the no kill shelter that we were volunteering for. Merlin never made it to
the paperwork, let alone the cages. Merlin is a delicate grey tabby (small
stripes) and white. His tabby covers his ears part of his eyes and in a
line down his nose. The kids call him "helmet head."

Merlin (aka Merlie, Merlieman, Fat boy, Pear butt, Helmet Head, Merman, and
Burlie Merlie) is truly a military oriented cat. He loves the smell of
nomex equipment, prefers to sleep in Rob's flight bag, won't leave Rob's old
BDUs alone. He purrs as he snuggles into a poncho liner and prefers the old
fashioned BDUs over the new ones.

He is my snugglebutt. He prefers to sleep on Rob's legs or under the
blankets with Rob making a tent for him with his knees. He will join me on
occasion, but Rob is Da MAN. Merlin tends to portliness, but we have him on
a diet and he's lost some pesky poundage. He is more active as a result.

Merlin did not know how to play, that there were such a thing as cat toys,
that cats were allowed on furniture and so forth when he first adopted us.
This has caused him to be mildly neurotic. When he feels like he is put
upon, he will beat up one of the other cats, usually Tanada. MCG sometimes
gets the edge of his paw, but Tanada is Merlin's victim of choice. I'm
sorry about that, but do not seem to be able to re-assure Merlin that he is
as good as everyone else and that he doesn't have to over compensate.

Once Merlin learned to play, he developed a personal philosophy that "he who
plays with the most toys wins." He is the reason that we have a toy box for
the owners. He is also a major nipaholic and can be guaranteed to be right
in line for any nipsocks that we create. Recently, he met via the internet,
a girlcat named Licorice who was interested in Pine Cone. He convinced her
that he was much cuter than Piney and that he could make her happier than
Pine Cone. The two are now wink winks and he is thinking about giving her a
rhinestone collar for Christmas. I have a feeling that he wants her to have
her own special bed/pillow as well. Silly boy.

I was going to continue with one of the other cats, but this is too long
already. Maybe more soon, but no guarantees as my posts lately have become
as disjointed as my personal life.

Pam S.

I don't know what is happening in your personal like (other than lots of
medical crap and a life too busy to even believe), but this was a nice read.

"tanadashoes" wrote in message
m...

"Bridget" wrote in message
...
It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all
the kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters
in this group. Let's hear about them.


I was thinking about doing something similar (great minds think alike) but
I was going to take it one cat at a time. With eight it would be hard to
do justice to each cat if I bundled them into one post. SO, one or two at
a time ok? In no particular order.

Merlin is my Scandinavian Army Pear Cat. His previous humans were a
military couple who got orders. She couldn't take the risk of Merlin
turning into Korean sushi, even if the army allowed pets to go to Korea.
He couldn't keep Merlin in the barracks. Merlin was heading to time in
the cages when we got talking to the young man who was surrendering Merlin
to the no kill shelter that we were volunteering for. Merlin never made
it to the paperwork, let alone the cages. Merlin is a delicate grey tabby
(small stripes) and white. His tabby covers his ears part of his eyes and
in a line down his nose. The kids call him "helmet head."

Merlin (aka Merlie, Merlieman, Fat boy, Pear butt, Helmet Head, Merman,
and Burlie Merlie) is truly a military oriented cat. He loves the smell
of nomex equipment, prefers to sleep in Rob's flight bag, won't leave
Rob's old BDUs alone. He purrs as he snuggles into a poncho liner and
prefers the old fashioned BDUs over the new ones.

He is my snugglebutt. He prefers to sleep on Rob's legs or under the
blankets with Rob making a tent for him with his knees. He will join me
on occasion, but Rob is Da MAN. Merlin tends to portliness, but we have
him on a diet and he's lost some pesky poundage. He is more active as a
result.

Merlin did not know how to play, that there were such a thing as cat toys,
that cats were allowed on furniture and so forth when he first adopted us.
This has caused him to be mildly neurotic. When he feels like he is put
upon, he will beat up one of the other cats, usually Tanada. MCG
sometimes gets the edge of his paw, but Tanada is Merlin's victim of
choice. I'm sorry about that, but do not seem to be able to re-assure
Merlin that he is as good as everyone else and that he doesn't have to
over compensate.

Once Merlin learned to play, he developed a personal philosophy that "he
who plays with the most toys wins." He is the reason that we have a toy
box for the owners. He is also a major nipaholic and can be guaranteed to
be right in line for any nipsocks that we create. Recently, he met via
the internet, a girlcat named Licorice who was interested in Pine Cone.
He convinced her that he was much cuter than Piney and that he could make
her happier than Pine Cone. The two are now wink winks and he is thinking
about giving her a rhinestone collar for Christmas. I have a feeling that
he wants her to have her own special bed/pillow as well. Silly boy.

I was going to continue with one of the other cats, but this is too long
already. Maybe more soon, but no guarantees as my posts lately have
become as disjointed as my personal life.

Pam S.

"tanadashoes" wrote in message
m...

"Bridget" wrote in message
...
It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all
the kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters
in this group. Let's hear about them.


I was thinking about doing something similar (great minds think alike) but
I was going to take it one cat at a time. With eight it would be hard to
do justice to each cat if I bundled them into one post. SO, one or two at
a time ok? In no particular order.

Merlin is my Scandinavian Army Pear Cat. His previous humans were a
military couple who got orders. She couldn't take the risk of Merlin
turning into Korean sushi, even if the army allowed pets to go to Korea.
He couldn't keep Merlin in the barracks. Merlin was heading to time in
the cages when we got talking to the young man who was surrendering Merlin
to the no kill shelter that we were volunteering for. Merlin never made
it to the paperwork, let alone the cages. Merlin is a delicate grey tabby
(small stripes) and white. His tabby covers his ears part of his eyes and
in a line down his nose. The kids call him "helmet head."

Merlin (aka Merlie, Merlieman, Fat boy, Pear butt, Helmet Head, Merman,
and Burlie Merlie) is truly a military oriented cat. He loves the smell
of nomex equipment, prefers to sleep in Rob's flight bag, won't leave
Rob's old BDUs alone. He purrs as he snuggles into a poncho liner and
prefers the old fashioned BDUs over the new ones.

He is my snugglebutt. He prefers to sleep on Rob's legs or under the
blankets with Rob making a tent for him with his knees. He will join me
on occasion, but Rob is Da MAN. Merlin tends to portliness, but we have
him on a diet and he's lost some pesky poundage. He is more active as a
result.

Merlin did not know how to play, that there were such a thing as cat toys,
that cats were allowed on furniture and so forth when he first adopted us.
This has caused him to be mildly neurotic. When he feels like he is put
upon, he will beat up one of the other cats, usually Tanada. MCG
sometimes gets the edge of his paw, but Tanada is Merlin's victim of
choice. I'm sorry about that, but do not seem to be able to re-assure
Merlin that he is as good as everyone else and that he doesn't have to
over compensate.

Once Merlin learned to play, he developed a personal philosophy that "he
who plays with the most toys wins." He is the reason that we have a toy
box for the owners. He is also a major nipaholic and can be guaranteed to
be right in line for any nipsocks that we create. Recently, he met via
the internet, a girlcat named Licorice who was interested in Pine Cone.
He convinced her that he was much cuter than Piney and that he could make
her happier than Pine Cone. The two are now wink winks and he is thinking
about giving her a rhinestone collar for Christmas. I have a feeling that
he wants her to have her own special bed/pillow as well. Silly boy.

I was going to continue with one of the other cats, but this is too long
already. Maybe more soon, but no guarantees as my posts lately have
become as disjointed as my personal life.

Pam S.


Aww. I love characters.


--
Theresa and Dante
drtmuirATearthlink.net

Stinky Forever: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh

It seems we have lost quite a few regulars in the past year, so we have a
new generation of owners to keep us in line. I thought I would start a
thread where the new regulars start to shine so we don't feel like all
the kitties are going away. There are still a lot of vibrant characters
in this group. Let's hear about them.

Well, Splodge is in his favourite spot, sitting on my lap as I'm writing
this and purring with his tongue hanging out. He had fleas a while back,
but with them treated he's fluffier than he's ever been before. As the
oldest male in the house (age 8) he ought to be Boss Cat but he clearly
regards that as a desk job. His main energy expenditure is wobbling
between our bed (where he stays all night) and the kitchen (when he
thinks it's dinnertime, or when he hears someone making coffee, which
is his cue to be picked up and cuddled).

Courtney is about 18 months now and has bounced back from her hip
surgery. She's all over the house and garden. So are her brother
Ollie and her mum Marblecake. Ollie's main ambition in life seems
to be to learn photosynthesis. Marblecake is the cattiest cat we've
had, always picking fights with her kids. Ollie is big enough to
puch her away and Courtney is fast enough to outrun her, so there's
never a prolonged scrap. All three of them have to say good morning
to us (and is there any chance of a tin of..?) Ollie just marches
round over us, which at his weight is hard enough to ignore. His
mum first crashes into us sideways - it's like being hit by a
beachball - then climbs on top of the downie and settles down to
loud slurpy suckling on on it inches from our faces (leaving the
top edge of the downie soggy with drool). Courtney goes in for much
more ingenious ways of getting attention, like poking a paw in my
eye or nibbling the end of my nose. She just *has* to spend a few
minutes a day chewing human fingers.

Chloe (aged 10) is still very slowly recovering from her lifelong
shyness and timidity (both towards cats and people). She spends a
lot of time cuddled up with either Ishtar or Courtney. Ishtar is
very old, thin and frail, often acts demented, but seems perfectly
happy if she's got either a human or another cat to snuggle up with.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === http://www.campin.me.uk ====
Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557
CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts