Got cats?

[BookStop]

Cats are fun.

Georgia – she’s a domestic shorthair, black and white tuxedo cat who happens to in all seriousness have a weight issue. Her tiny frame should weigh about 8 lbs, but she weighs double that. The veterinarians she’s seen are stymied as to the cause. Personally, I think it’s tied into her brain function. She’s just not quite with us, and if she weren’t so amazingly snuggly and soft, she wouldn’t stand a chance in this world.

Henry – Georgia’s slightly neurotic younger brother. He’s a classic tomcat, pumpkin orange with pumpkin orange eyes. Kind of a bully, but George rarely minds (or maybe she doesn’t exactly notice). Henry is skinny. Not because he doesn’t eat enough, but because he is extremely active. Extremely. He’s smart too. He’s very good at breaking the rules and then looking completely innocent, but after nearly 4 years, I’m beginning to think it’s an act. He enjoys roughhousing, hiding toy mice, which he has “juiced up” in his water bowl, and loving on his dog. He especially likes it when the dog sniffs his rear (animal bonding I guess).

Here is a typical Saturday 3 minutes in my house:

Human, having just opened a pouch of tuna, divided it among 3 animal serving platters, “TUNA!”

Dog has eaten it before the plate actually made all the way to the ground.

Henry, sensing some evil is afoot, has ducked ‘round a corner to quietly transform into his alter ego, The Orange Blur.

Georgia thinks she heard …a noise.

Henry, flattening his body to increase his aerodynamics, dashes at speeds upwards of 450 miles per hour from the dining room into the kitchen. Upon spying the offending being on a plate in the window, launches himself 6 feet in the air causing gale force winds to blow his human’s form right into an open cabinet door. He lands with a whisper.

George smells something appetizing on a strange wind coming from the area of the food place. She sets out to investigate, strolling, oh so casually, into the room. She takes in the scene laid out before her. A person who she does not recognize is rubbing her head and speaking in a loud tone of voice. Maybe a quick massage around the ankles will ease the tension in the room. George ponders this awhile and decides it is a good course of action.

Henry sniffs the strange creature in his kitchen. Obviously, it has come from the depths of the universe to engulf his world in despair. He extends his mighty paw daggers and prepares to strike. Oh, no. His well meaning human trimmed his claws yesterday while he was asleep. They will be of no use against this enemy in their blunt form. With lightening speed, he comes to a decision. He must sacrifice himself for the good of the family. He eats the tuna.

Georgia is so pleased with the way her day is turning out. The human she rubbed against became so happy to have ankles tended to, she did a lopsided dance over Georgia’s body and shimmied in a circle around the kitchen yelling Georgia’s name. The human, who looks vaguely familiar, don’t I know her, picked George up and placed her by another cat, an orange one she does not recognize, in front of the good smelling thing. Georgia eats the tuna. She looks over toward the other cat, a spark of a distant memory beginning to………it’s gone.

Henry, not dead, and actually feeling quite invigorated, leaps from his window perch and speeds undetected from the room. Now where is the dog.

[The Ace]

Tigger, a mackrel-striped brown tabby of british shorthair extraction and an inverterate cat-hater.

[Nesacat]

Meera, who is about six months old. This is about a month ago after she was spayed. Please do not tell her that I showed you all her bald patch.

[BookStop]

Ace - Tigger looks like such an angel in this pic I find it hard to believe he's a cat hater.

Nesa - Don't you just love cats with a sassy look about them. Black and white kitties are especially talented, with thier yellow eyes, at appearing as opinionated as I'm sure they are.

[Nesacat]

She is sassy and opinionated and that's Sally Crawfish with her. The poor thing gets dragged all over the place all time. I'll go home and see if I have a decent picture that shows off her tuxedo.

[The Ace]

She's tiny, about half the size of the local tomcats, that doesn't stop her from charging them down and howling her head off.

[Allegra]

Gorgeous cats! Ace, is Tigger trying to catch a flea?

[chrispenycate]

I haven't been owned by a cat for many years now, and doubt whether I will be again, but the ones that brought me up were blue point siamese - I still have the accent.

But I can generally get on with most cats I meet; properly trained.

[Overread]

Lovely cats all! Especially the laser eyed cats Bookstop!

DARN! I knew there was something I forgot to do this holiday!
Well I can show thee 2 of the 4 today and the other 2 another day (they are tricky to get as since the husky appeared those last 2 tend to hide out in the garden all day every day.

but on with the show:
EVIL CAT (commonly known as OR's cat or Blacky!)

ps that is good mood - bad mood is when she looks about the same, but has her claws in you!

cat 2 = daughter of evil cat - though the two do not get along at all!
Popsy be her name - and a climbing on your shoulders is her aim - once she only did this once in a while, now almost evey time you pick her up you need to hold her still or you have claws in your neck and a dribbling purring nose in your ear!



cat 3 - Misty - looks like a larger version of Ace's - this is the big cat (and very friendly to people) in the house and also a killer - once killed a stoat in 10seconds -- well we only know of one as we saw it, there might have been more...

cat 2 - Minty - looks like evil cat, but with short fur!

[The Ace]

No, Allegra, she's just having a wash, it's the one time she'll keep still for a photo.

[BookStop]

Henry, known as Mr. Hankleson when we don't want him to know who it is we are talking about, has come down with what I'm hoping is only a mild cold.

He's never been outside before, but snuck out onto the front porch a little over a week ago. We live in the country, next to a barn - a huge barn, that has a colony of cats living and demousing in it. Occasionally I catch a black male cat spraying my front door. It's not terribly pleasant, but what ya gonna do. I clean it when I notice it, but I can't have gotten every speck of strange cat germ. I fear Mr. Hankleson got a germ from this cat. He's never been ill before. Luckily he's uptodate on all his vaccinations, which is why I think maybe just a cold.

His normally teary and boogery eyes( it's his norm), aren't as teary or boogery, but his third eyelid is showing in both eyes. I've caught him sneezing a couple times, and I think he's napping more than usual.

Do cats get allergies? When is a minor cold not so minor in a cat? Vet time? Maybe wait a week or so?

[The Ace]

If you can see the third eyelid, it wont hurt to have him checked out. It may be nothing, but you're better to be sure.

[Culhwch]

I've never seen a cat with a cold. Must be the tropical climate here...

Our cat, Toby. He's a manx. Used to be my wife's sister's cat, and was then inherited by her parents, who live in the country. About two years ago he got a tick and almost died, at which point we took him in to keep him safe, and were amazed to how quickly he adapted to inside life. He's very much a snuggler, loves cuddles when we get home from work. He's actually sitting on the window sill above my computer now, catching some rays and deaming about the outside...

[BookStop]

Henry seems to be feeling better today judging by the number of 'juiced up' mice I've had to avoid stepping on, and the one I didn't, this morning.

Funny thing about Hen. He's super-col, brave, loyal, all that, but if you take him out of the h ouse to, say, the car, he wets himself in fear. He also has the darling high pitched cry of a much younger kitty, that can nearly bring a person to tears. He has only been 'out' 3 times in his life, he's had 2 of the 3 year rabies shots and he made the big move with us. It's horrible.

I just checked his records and he is due some vaccinations next month, so if this eyelid thing keeps up I guess I can knock out two things at once. Unless, of course he throws off the illness and Germany allows regular folks to vaccinate their own cats like in USA. I doubt it though.

[Allegra]

Mr. Hankleson has my best wishes, BookStop. I'd take him to the Vet earlier for a check up though just to be on the safe side. It wouldn't matter to have vaccine a month earlier than scheduled I guess?