Cats...Intuitive Healers

Recently we moved my mother into our home. She had two furry cat babies, Maggie and Blacky. Both were elderly and Mom felt they wouldn't survive the long trip to Ohio, so she chose to leave them behind. It's hard to adopt out elderly cats, but we found a no-kill shelter and have hope that someone will open their hearts and adopt them. I know how sad she was to leave her beloved family home and her babies, but there there was no choice. She couldn't afford to keep up her home any longer. When she called with her decision, we immediately made plans to remodel and rearrange our home to accomodate her.
I'm so blessed to have her with me, and she's so much happier now with having people around her to talk to. But, I could tell how much she missed her babies. We have three cats, Charlotte, Wilbur, and Templeton (yeah, can you tell I'm a writer!). Charlotte, like most Divas, chooses the time she wants to spend with us mere humans. However, the boys are a different story. Inquisitive, and very loving, they are people cats. They sensed Mom's need for feline companionship. Wilbur sleeps with her, and when she's in her recliner watching television, he's either on the arm of the chair, in her lap, or laying on the back of the chair, swinging his big furry tail in front of her face. Templeton has been in her lap, too, but he's so much more inquisitive.
Yesterday something really cute happened. If I'd been home I would have taken a picture. He's been investigating her walker. It has a little area where you can sit things, or yourself, and a basket which she uses to keep things handy. Mom has taken over making our bed and hers. It's one thing she can do which makes her feel helpful. Anyway, yesterday Templeton jumped on the walker and was sitting on the little "chair" part. Mom got out of her chair and said, "Do you want to go for a ride? Come on, I have to make the beds." She proceeded to walk down the hall to our bedroom and Templeton just stayed on for the ride. He waited while she made that bed, then she took him into her room and, again, he just sat there watching. Finished, they both came back down the hall! Templeton now believes her walker is his domain, and quite fun, and Mom is so happy to have these furry buddies to help relieve the pain of moving.
We made a lot of changes to try and make her comfortable, but it took our cats to really lift her depression.
I love animals. Guess that's why I always include them in my books!

Outsmarting a Cat

Not an easy thing to do. When we moved my Mom here from Illinois, we were unable to catch Blacky, her seventeen year old cat. Blacky is very skittish and nervous. After Mom got her cat, Maggie, Blacky decided to make her domain the basement. She'd come out at night when Maggie would be asleep. Maggie ruled.

Consequently, poor Blacky became very antisocial...except with Mom. In order to capture Blacky, she set a trap in the kitchen. But Blacky outsmarted the trap and escaped before the door snapped shut. After that, she wouldn't go near the trap at all. We had to leave Blacky behind because we couldn't capture her. The plan had been to take her to a no-kill shelter because Mom decided neither of her cats would be able to withstand the trip due to their ages.

My cousin, who lives next door to Mom in Illinois, began a campaign to capture Blacky. Her final trick was to put a trail of food along the floor leading to the trap. Each day the food would be one step closer to the trap, then a little inside, and so on until the food was in the area where Blacky would have to step on the mechanism to set it off.

Last night...success! Blacky is now safely in a carrier with water and food in preparation for her trip to the no-kill shelter. Thank you, Lord! Mom is so relieved and so are we. The poor thing had to be so frightened. Left alone in a house suddenly with no one to care for her. I hope she fares well at the shelter, although I'm sure she won't trust anyone for a long, long time.

Thanks for stopping by!

How to Confuse A Cat

For years, I've sat in a high-backed chair in my office. My cats love to jump to the back and lay at the top of my head. Charlotte's favorite thing is to nuzzle my hair and the fall asleep with her head touching mine. Wilbur likes to run and jump to the back and take us both for a little ride before settling down and wrapping his tail around my neck. Several times he's tried this when I'm not in the chair and both go flying to the floor.

I've been wanting to get a smaller chair to use while writing. My soon to be daugher-in-law brought one to me the other night. I love it. It's not big or elaborate, but it's sooooo comfy. I still have the bigger chair at the other desk, but I only use it when I'm going to settle down and watch TV in my office.

The problem is...I've confused my cats.

They meow and look up at me with these forlorn looks. They just don't understand why they can't rest at the top of my head while I'm writing. They've tried. In fact, Charlotte sat on the skinny arm of this new chair last night and put her paws on my shoulder to reach my hair. Wilbur climbs on my lap and stares in my eyes and asks "why?" Both are very distracting to my concentration. Ocassionally they give up and move to the back of the old chair where they stare holes in the back of my head and make me very nervous.

Actually, they probably aren't confused. Cats are very smart...and vindictive. I probably should watch my back.

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My Cat, The Spider Killer, NOT!!!

My cat, Wilbur, is on my "bad cat" list. While I was getting ready for work, he was sprawled almost flat on the floor his nose to the crack under the door to the closet under the steps. I figured he'd seen a spider crawl in there and I wasn't about to check it out. I don't do spiders. **shudder** So, I ignored him and went into the bathroom to get read for work. I remembered that I hadn't put the white clothes in the dryer, so I headed across the hall to take care of that. No Wilbur, although it didn't register at that point. After putting the clothes in to dry, I left the room and shut off the light.

Here comes Wilbur following on my heels. But then he slows down. I keep my eye on him and walk toward the bathroom. Wilbur now has his nose to the floor staring at the place where the floor and wall meet.

"Wilbur, are you chasing a bug?"

Wilbur looks at me and back to the floor. Uh-oh.

"Wilbur, you are supposed to catch them, not watch them. Go ahead and get the bug."

Promptly Wilbur looks at me as if, "Who are you to tell me what to do." Then he flips his tail, his incredibly long and fluffy tail, in the air and prances away and up the stairs. I look at the spot he'd been watching and saw...A SPIDER!!!! A black wolf spider not yet fully grown.

"Wilbur! You're supposed to KILL these things!"

Not Wilbur. He practically laughed at me. You know how cats get those smirky grins? Yeah. That's the one.

So, there I am. Standing in my terry wrap with pink terry slippers on my feet. How do I kill the spider, which by the way, is now staring at me with those beady green eyes daring me to try.

I look at my foot, look at the spider, and consider my options. If I press real hard, and move real fast, I might have a chance.

I raise my foot. The spider glares at me.

I stomp on the floor and pull my foot away real quick.

The spider moves closer to the wall. I swear it laughed at me, too.

Okay. My foot is a LOT bigger than that spider. The cat is snickering, now.

So, I go after that spider with all the strength in me. I stomp and rake my foot back and forth several times while the spider tries to elude me. I win!

Wilbur shakes his head and goes upstairs.

I look down in triumph and see one of those spider eyes shining in the light. **shudder**

That dreaded DEAD spider is still curled up in a ball on the floor.

I've got to get my husband, dubbed "spider killer" to take it away.

Wilbur, however, is not going to get his canned food for a week. That darned cat!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ghost? Squirrel? Mouse?...gasp...Cat!!!!

Those who know me know I live with three very entertaining cats named Wilbur, Templeton, and Charlotte. Templeton is usually the one who is doing weird things...like when he stuck his head into a plastic bag to see what DH had purchased. In doing so he had stepped through the holes that make handles. Yep. The bag got stuck, the cat ran faster than a greyhound with hubby in pursuit. That was amusing.

Last night I carried my book to bed and while I was reading I heard a noise that sounded like one of the cats trying to open the closet door. Finally, annoyed, I got up and searched the closets. No cat. Strange. I crept back to bed and lay there, ears tuned to hear the noise again. Kind of creepy. Then I thought it might have come from the desk under the window. Got out of bed and flipped on the overhead light. Made a search. Nothing. Hmmmm. Checked the window to make sure no ghost was tapping on the window. That's a good sign. Then I looked up at the ceiling. Could a squirrel have gotten into the attic? No, the noise wasn't that far up. But...a mouse? Could a mouse be hiding in one of the closets? Would a mouse dare to come into a house where three cats reside? Well, maybe since my cats would probably just play with it. They don't have front claws so I doubt they would do much damage. Great! Now I had to go to bed and worry about a mouse being loose in the house. I walked out into the living room and saw Wilbur and Templeton snoozing around the stair railing. No big deal that Charlotte was nowhere in sight. She likes to hide.

Crawled back into bed with my book. No more sounds. Turned out the light and finally fell asleep. When the alarm went off at five, I turned it off and decided to snooze in for a few more minutes. But then...I heard that noise again.

I sat straight up in bed. Then I heard a soft pitiful "meow." I recognized Charlotte's voice so I called her. She replied from the same area where I'd heard that scratching noise last night. I walked to the far end of the bedroom and stared at the four drawer chest. I remembered having the second drawer from the top open last night when I pulled out a pair of jeans to wear today. The drawer had been open and I tried to shut it. Had to wiggle it to get it in right. Had Charlotte been in that drawer? Quickly I opened the drawer...no cat. Whew!

So I called her again and she answered. From the dresser. I opened the drawer again. No cat. So I pulled it all the way out and there she was in the drawer below near the back. Poor baby!

She didn't seem any worse for having spent the night locked in a drawer. In fact, she came out purring and acted like it was an every night occurrence.

Wish I'd thought to take a picture!

The Cat and the Bags

Yay, sunshine here in Ohio today! Tomorrow I'll share my latest life choice and I'll be sharing the experience here in my blog beginning May 7th.

On a funny note, my cat Templeton is always a source for a good laugh. The other day hubby came home from the hardware store with two plastic bags filled with various screws and things. He sat them on the workbench and Templeton just had to get nosy. While trying to get his head inside the bag, he managed to get the handles stuck around his head and legs. When he tried to get out, and couldn't, that cat went sailing through the air and ran fast enough to rival any olympic medalist. So, here's the cat, head stuck, bags rattling, hubby chasing and yelling...a perfect Funniest Video Moment. I'm at work, unfortunately. One of the bags fell off and hubby was able to retrieve the purchases. The other was found under the bed, where Templeton decided to spend the rest of the morning with an expression that said, "I meant to do that!"

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You're Never Too Old to Fall Out of Bed

I learned that this morning.

Pleasantly dreaming of the next scene in my chapter, I was rudely awakened by the blaring alarm clock. When it reached through the fogginess of my sleep-deprived mind, I rolled over to hit the shut off button.

(Side Note) I have been wearing wrist braces on both arms at night because of some pain I've been experiencing. These have metal splints on both sides and look a bit like the ones that bowlers wear.

Back to story. Anyway my brace didn't stablize when it hit my night stand and instead slid across the wood and knocked off the phone. Both of my legs cramped at the same time and I wound up on the floor. There I sat, legs stretched out, unhurt, with the alarm blaring through my head. Hubby jumped out of bed. Cats yowled. I couldn't believe I had just fallen out of bed!

I'm writing this blog now and still laughing at the silliness of the situation. Geesh! Maybe we do revert back to childhood as we grow older.

I know our children sometimes become just like us. My daughter is seriously in contention to take of my "crazy cat lady" title. Check out her blog entry for an "awww" moment. http://delanaknits.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a laugh at my expense today!

A Fun Photo Shoot....

I've been trying to get some photos of myself for my website, but I'm the one who takes all the pictures in my family. Yep, I'm the Mom who runs around with a camera taking candid shots of everyone.

I've asked hubby to take pictures of me, but they turn out looking...um, well, kind of weird. I've tried setting up the tripod and taking pictures of the two of us...not too bad, but not what I want to relfect on my website. I'm a jeans and sweatshirt kind of gal. I love camping, hanging around outside and enjoying the weather and floral displays, and cute cats running around. That's the real me.

So, last night I decided to take pictures of myself. I had on my favorite soft and well work Sports Illustrated sweatshirt, jeans, and my sock-clad feet. I tipped over a small trash can, set up my camera, and timer and snapped away. Not too bad. The biggest problem was fighting off the cats, enticed by the beeping sound, and the flashing red light. Just before the camera flashed, one would inevitably stick his or her nose on the lens. Voila! A great nose shot of a cat. LOL!

Now, I just have to figure out how to put those together in a cool slideshow and upload to my website.

Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppping by!

The Last Three - Foxy, Sammy, & Oreo

Meet Foxy. She's the cat who didn't show up until her kittens were nearly weaned. She's Molly's mom. Foxy never strays from the yard, but she's elusive. She likes to sleep on this bale of hay (housed in a large green plastic bag). Every night she sleeps in the shelter house we built for the cats. She has the prettiest amber eyes. I don't think she'll ever let us touch her, but she does trust us.
This is Sammy and Oreo. Sammy is a short-haired orange and white tabby and Oreo is a black and white long hair. Sammy was in between the mother cats and their litters, so as an adolescent he loved to play with the kittens. He never strays far. He likes to climb on the arbor over our backyard swing. From there he is able to look into our bedroom where our indoor cats sit in the window to converse with him. Oreo was the last cat to be captured. He gave us a run for our money. We finally had to snag him with an oversized fish net and dump him into the trap, and then cut off the netting. He's another one who keeps his distance. He won't even come to the feeding area unless I leave the yard.

These were the last two of our feral cats. I hope you enjoyed meeting them!

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Please spay and neuter your cats and dogs!
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Meet Skeeter & Lucky--Semi Feral Long Hair Cats

Lucky is the cat on the left, Skeeter on the right. Both from different litters, they really look alike, though. Lucky is a bit bigger and has a cute little spot on the right side of his nose. Skeeter is very skittish. In fact when we released him after the vet care, he ran away. I had to put food at the far end of the yard for him because he wouldn't come any closer. Now, he'll come up at take food from my hand, but if I don't have food he maintains his distance. The little skeeter will do anything for food! Lucky got his name from being the only one of a litter of three to survive. He's very friendly, likes to be petted, and also to wander. He always shows up sometime during the day to eat, though.

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Please spay and neuter your pets.
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Meet Boots, Short-Haired Orange Tabby

Boots is probably the tamest, sweetest cat in our semi-feral colony. He is one of the oldest of the bunch. Both he and Fuzzy were from what we believe might have been one of the first litters born in our neighbors back yard. I remember our neighbor lying on the ground to get Boots to come to him and occasionally I'd see him holding the little cat. Boots has four white feet and is so chubby. When we first built their shelter we put straw in the bottom to keep them warm and we began to notice Boots was losing his hair. He had lots of red skin showing. Finally, we decided he might be allergic to the straw so we removed it and went out to buy a huge king size bed quilt. A few weeks after that, Boots skin condition went away. He loves to have his white tummy rubbed. He's a very special boy.

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Spay and Neuter your cats, please.
And don't abandon them if you move.
They have way to protect or fend
for themselves, regardless of what
you might think. They are innocent
creatures.
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Meet Boo - Short-Haired Semi-Feral Cat

Boo is a beautiful, sleek-coated male. As a tiny kitten, he was the most inquisitive of all the babies. Though he was one of the first to be trapped and sent to the vet, he didn't run away after being released. He'd jump on the traps and try his best to get back inside to get food when we tried to catch the remaining more timid cats. We'd pick him up and move him and he didn't mind our touch at all. He has gorgeous green eyes. As you can see from the pic, whenever one of his humans comes outside, he has to see what's going on. Not even the biggest snow storm of the year can hold him back.

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Please spay and neuter your pets. One "lost"
orphan can create many offspring. If you
have a feral population in your area, there
are organizations who will help.
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Meet Molly - Short-Haired Calico Feral Cat

Molly likes to sleep in the woodpile under our deck. She feels protected there since it is completely closed in with lattice and a closed door. Molly will let us pet her while she's waiting for the food trays to be put down. I first met Molly as a very tiny kitten with a loud cry. She was sitting all alone under the bushes. A few days later, a fuzzy tiger mama cat came to our yard to join the other three with their litters. She had twolittle kittens, Molly and a little male we called Tigger. Tigger was sick. We found him lying by the water dish, weak and unable to walk one morning after they'd been weaned. I put him in a small box lined with towels under the deck where he would be safe. Molly stayed with him after I left. The next morning, Tigger was dead. I had to move him, but Molly was so protective of her brother and she hissed at me and tried to stop me from taking him. And she was no bigger than my hand. For days she remained in the spot where her brother died. Finally she ventured into the crowd of kittens. She was much tinier than the other cats and had to jump inside the wallpaper trough to eat. Today she's a a fat and sassy little gal. She will grab the food dish and pull it if we don't set it down fast enough.

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Please spay and neuter your animals. Be kind and prevent
other unwanted animals from being born into a cruel
world.
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Meet Spooky...Semi-Feral Long-Hair Cat

This is Spooky. He's a big black ball of fur with pretty green eyes. When he was just a tiny kitty and frightened of human contact, I managed to catch him up and hug him to my chest. He had a really bad eye infection and his little eyes were all matted shut. I carried the shivering bundle of nerves into the house and cleared his eyes. Now he is the only one of the cats who will allow us to pick him up. He'll snuggle his face in the crook of our arm.

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Spay and neuter your animals, please. I care for fourteen feral and semi feral cats resulting from someone abandoning a female cat. We've had them all neutered/spayed and given shots. Animals aren't to blame for the negligence of humans. Be kind.
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My friend, Emma Sanders, has given me the "Blogging with Purpose Award." Thank you, Emma! Emma and I had our first books released at the same time from The Wild Rose Press, and our second books came out within days of each other. She's an amazing writer and an even better person. Now, I have to give the award to five other bloggers who have never received the award. Looking forward to passing it forward!

Memoirs of An Obsessive Compulsive Knitter
My first choice is my daughter's blog. She definitely has a purpose. Her blog is all about knitting and she makes the most beautiful items! And her stories are always amusing!

Lee Morrison
Lee is a fellow Wild Rose Press author. She is a such a warm and caring person, and I admire her for having the courage to go back to college in order to make a major career change. She still manages to care for her family and squeeze in some writing time.

Terry's Place
Terry has an interesting blog. Along with her writing endeavors, she includes pictures and journals of her travels.

Reading, Writing, and Stuff That Drives Me Crazy
I love this blog. Every day there is something interesting. Interesting and amusing stories from real life, pictures, and lots more!

Women of Mystery
One of my writing buddies belongs to this group of mystery writers. You can always find something here to intrigue you.


Thanks for stopping by!

Meet Mama Kitty...Semi Feral Tabby

For those just tuning in, I began posting pictures of the semi-feral cats we saved by having them spayed and neutered through a special TNR program. We now provide food, water and shelter for them. Mama Kitty received her name because she didn't stray from the yard when the kittens were small. She cared for and nursed all the kittens, regardless of whose litter they were from. A sweet, gentle soul, she doesn't allow us to touch her. She does come close and you can see the longing in her eyes when we pet the less timid ones. She's probably the one who tugs at my heart the most.

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Spay and Neuter your pets to prevent other
innocent animals from suffering life in
the wild
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Thanks for stopping by!

Meet Fuzzy...Part Persian Semi-Feral

Fuzzy adopted my hubby. She tags along behind him in the yard when he's working in the flower beds. She stands on her hind feet and places her paws as high on his body as she can reach to get his attention. She has this cute little face with a wrinkled nose that makes it look like she's always smiling. She is the mother of one. Two of her babies didn't make it. One got under the hood of hubby's truck without our knowing and died. The other crawled under my car and must have curled on the plastic skirt in front. She rode all the way to work with me one day. I didn't know until a co-worker came in and said a tiny orange and white kitten was under my car, but ran when he pulled up. I never found her. She was too little to survive on her own.

Fuzzy is the "Queen" of our feral brood. She rules the roost and has an attitude. She might smack the other cats or love on them. One never knows. But she's very loving to hubby and I.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Please spay and neuter your pets to prevent other innocent animals from being born and abandoned.
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Meet Little Britches...

Better known as Britches. He got his name from having the white legs and striped back. When he was a baby it looked as if he were wearing white britches...thus the name. Okay, stop laughing. When you have seventeen cats running around the yard, you have to use creative naming.

Britches is so tame he would love to come into the house. When we go out the back door from the deck to the patio, he tries to run inside. He loves to nibble on my toes, my ankles, and fingers. Never hard. He loves to be petted and loved.

Occasionally, he becomes skittish and avoids being touched. I'm sure when that happens that he wandered out of the yard and found other humans aren't as friendly as we are. He has such an intense stare. When we eat on the screened in deck, he's the first one to the top of the stairs. He'll sit and stare while we eat and lick his lips. Makes me feel guilty!

Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by!

Meet Mittens...Mixed Breed Ragdoll Semi-Feral

Meet Mittens. When mittens was born, her mother placed the litter in our woodpile, but moved them when we discovered their location. Somehow she missed Mittens. We heard this mournful cry and spied a tiny white ball of fur on the concrete between two piles of wood in our enclosed woodpile under our deck. We were afraid to try and rescue the little thing for fear the mother wouldn't come back. Eventually the little white ball disappeared, later emerging as this beautiful mixed breed ragdoll. Isn't she sweet? Today Mittens is a beautiful two-year-old with powder blue eyes. She's my sweetie-pie. She purrs loud, rolls over for tummy rubs, and allows me to cut out the mats that form over the winter months in her very thick long fur. She likes to give me finger licks, and will hold my hand in her paws and give me gentle love bites.

Mittens is afraid of loud noises, sudden movements, and anyone other than my hubby, Ron, and myself. She depends on us for food, shelter and water but retains her right to roam the great outdoors, although she spend most of her time in our backyard. She likes to sleep under the camper or under one of the large bushes outlining our fenceline.

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Please spay and neuter your animals to prevent another innocent creature from being born into a world where few people care.
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Thanks for stopping by!

TNR for Feral Cats

The feral communities are huge all around the world. We need more caring people to start TNR programs. It's the only solution to this growing problem. Hook up with local veterinarians or humane societies to find the best solution. We rented our three traps. It took a month to capture all the felines. The biggest problem we encountered was keeping the smaller and friendlier animals from going back into the traps for food. We did our trapping a bit differently. We started feeding the cats inside the traps during the week, then withheld food one day of the week. The following evening we went outside and put food in the traps and stood aside until we "caught" one or two in a single trap. We had to stay close by because one particular little black cat wasn't afraid. He'd already been neutered, but he waasn't afraid of the trap and kept trying to get inside to the food. We had to scare the already neutered ones away, while trying to not frighten the ones still needing neutering. It was tedious work, but well worth the month long effort.

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of our feral family now. They are healthy, and many are friendly enough to allow tummy rubs!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Note From the Crazy Cat Lady

Hearing from an old friend last night made me think and look inside myself. Yep, those who know me realize that can be dangerous. **grin**

If you are a regular to my blog, you know that I care for fourteen feral cats in a large subdivision. Oh, I wish we lived out in the country where these animals wouldn't "bother" the neighbors, but it isn't meant to be. We took pity on the neighbors and the animals when we had them neutered/spayed. We stopped the overpopulation of feral cats in the vicinity, but it is our humane duty to feed them and provide shelter. They mostly hang in our yard, unless we have company when they hide in outlying bushes and trees for protection.

How many times have you looked at an animal wandering around looking bedraggled and lost, hungry and sick, and chased it away? Were you afraid?

We need to have caution and protect ourselves from the danger that is always around us, but maybe if we did just one thing to make the lives of an orphaned animal, we would receive so much more than we give.

I'm glad I helped my feral cat family, even if some neighbors might think I'm a crazy cat lady.

Thanks for stopping by!