My Sweet Teddi

It is with a very heavy heart that I tell you my sweet, beautiful Teddi has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. She was an adult feral mamacat ten years ago in May 2007 when she appeared in my back yard with her litter of kittens. It took five months for her to let me touch her, but when she finally did she became very tame and affectionate. She loved the freedom of being outdoors, but eventually adjusted to being a pampered indoor cat. I don’t know her age, but I do know she lived a long, happy life and was very loved. She was healthy and active until this afternoon when she had a very brief seizure and left us. I’m thankful I was here with her, so she wasn’t alone. She was our sweet, glamorous queen of the  house and will be greatly missed.

Ambrose 5/1/2007 - 10/22/2015

 

I am unbearably sad to tell you my sweet, precious Ambrose passed away on October 22. He was eight and a half years old, and I am truly honored he chose to spend his life with me. He was born in my back yard to a feral mama cat, and he adopted me when he was about five months old. From that day forward, he slept by my side every night, and walked by my side absolutely everywhere I went in the house. He was the life of the party and brought absolute joy to my life. I know he adored me, and he knew I adored him. I miss him more than words can express.

The Mom.

Clarence

Hi Kitties!


We know...It has been forever since our last post. When time allows, we will post about what we've been up to for the last year or two, but for now we'd like to share some interesting facts about Clarence:

1. He has developed very pretty eyes just like Ambrose's. They are yellow with a ring of green around the pupil.
1. He has a very high pitched meow that has earned him the nickname of "Squeeky Pants".
2. We suspect Mommy made a mistake when she told us he was a kitten. We are pretty sure he is a raccoon instead, as demonstrated by his nightly dumpster diving expeditions in our kitchen trash container.
3. One time he pushed a full roll of bathroom tissue into the toilet, but we can tell it was an accident because there was ample evidence that he tried his best to fish it back out of the toilet...lots of pieces of soggy toilet tissue resting all over the toilet seat when Mommy returned home from work:)
4.  He is under the impression that his hiney smells like roses because he presents it to absolutely everyone to sniff.
5. Hi fur is soft like a bunny's.
6. He tries to survive on Temptations, his favorite food.
6. He participate in the sport, parcour (running, climbing, jumping and vaulting between pieces of furniture).
7. Every kitty in our house loves him.
8. He likes to hide under blankies.
9. He likes to sleep on his back showing off his cute spotted tummy.
10. He has proven to Mommy that kitteh flatulence is not a myth.

Caught In The Act

Hi Kitties,

Mommy stepped away from the computer for a minute, and when she returned this is what she caught me looking up on Google.

Clarence

Flashback Friday - Three Minutes of Teddy Bear Terror

Back in February of 2009, (angel) Finn at Housecat Confidential hosted the Acatemy Awards which celebrated the achievements of cats in film. This was our submission. We think is absolutely hilarious and worth watching over and over. In our film, Ambrose vs. Bob the Teddy Bear, Ambrose whaps, flips, bites, and bunnykicks Bob the teddy bear for a non-stop, action packed three minutes of teddy bear terror. Enjoy!

Flashback Friday - I'm a Hypnotist!

Hi Kitties, guess what? I think I've learned how to do hypnosis! Watch closely while I demonstrate by hypnotizing you.

Look deep into my eyeballs...

You are feeling sleepy...very, very sleepy...and a little hungry too...for ham...but mostly sleepy...

Very, ...very...sleepy...
















...Rats! I can't believe this happens every time...

Flashback Friday - Hunting for Toy Mousie

Flashback Friday - There Goes The Neighborhood

Hey, Landlady! Could you please tell my upstairs neighbor to keep it down. It sounds like an elephant with a bunch of pet squirrels moved in up there. And it smells like they probably have a pet chimp too.

Flashback Friday - Anatomy of a Nap - Ambrose and Clarence

Super-Cow-Kitten In the House

Before...and after.















We're sorry it has taken so long for us to post an update on the feral cats on our block. Mommy was able to gain the trust of Super Cow Kitten and his mom, Vicious Dierdra, enough to lure them into the house about a month ago. Over the last month SCK has become much tamer and loves being petted, and Dierdra is less fearful, but is not yet ready to be touched. Unfortunately the other kitten, Emmy Caroline, disappeared  from our block, so Mommy wasn't able to rescue her. We are very sad about that, but are glad for the ones we were able to rescue. We are hopeful that SCK will soon be tame enough to try to find a forever home of his own.

Here is a picture of the lovely Vicious Dierdra enjoying being a pampered indoor kitty. Mommy will have her spayed, work more on gaining her trust, and try to find a forever home for her eventually.

Day 2136 of the Hostage Situation

Pssst! Kitties! As you know, we cats have been held hostage in this house for some time now... so we finally decided to do something about it. We're going to break out of this joint! Look what we did today! While Mommy was away at work, we pried the heavy steel vent cover out of the floor and exposed the long, dark, narrow tunnel where the cool air comes out. We left Mr. Toy Mousie beside our handiwork so Mommy would think he was the guilty culprit. When Mommy came home, after doing a frantic head count to account for all kitties, and breathing a huge sigh of relief that she wasn't going to have to tear down the house to rescue one of us from the duct work, Mommy put the kibosh on our escape plan and put the vent cover back where it belongs. Rats!

Note from Mommy: The basement level of our house is actually our garage which contains a few crickets whose songs emanate from the upstairs floor vents and drive the kitties nuts. I think the cats might have been trying to go cricket hunting today. For now, I've secured the vents with duct tape, but hopefully I'll find a more secure and attractive solution for keeping the kitties out of the vents. With four energetic mancats demonstrating handiwork like this, perhaps I need to invest in a nanny cam so I can see what sort of other crazy mischief they get into while I'm at work.

A Little Eye Candy for the Ladycats

 

Easy Like Sunday with the Feral Kittens

This precious little feral kitten is still living in the Feralvilla on our back deck with Super Cow Kitten, and is making great progress. She has approached within inches of Mommy's hand, is very curious about Mommy and what is inside our back door, and has actually stepped inside our back door a couple of times to test it out. Mommy is feeling very optimistic about the girl kitten's chances of being tame enough to have a forever home. Super Cow Kitten is much more timid, but will  hopefully let his guard down if the girl kitten does it first. We are calling this little beauty Emmy-Caroline. She has the most adorable white tummy with black spots.

Thursday in the Garden - Home for Wayward Kittens Edition

Guess what we found growing in our garden...again. We don't know from where she came. This little girl-kitten just followed one of the neighborhood feral mancats to our back yard one day...and stayed. Now Super Cow Kitten has a playmate. She showed up four weeks after him and seems to be about two weeks younger than he is, so we don't think they are litter mates, but we are so glad they have each other now. Mommy is trying her best to earn their trust so she can capture them and find them forever homes.

In Honor of Skeezix

Today we honor Skeezix, much beloved blogging legend. He was our inspiration to begin blogging, and made us smile with every kyoot outfit, spelling bee, exotic vacation to a rest stop, and victory over the vishus deer meniss. We will never forget the day he posted several times throughout the day, pictures of him and Mr. Tasty Face waiting for the school bus that never came. It was hilarious! He inspired, amused, entertained, enlightened, and made our world a little brighter with every post. 

Easy Like Sunday: Nap and Stink Eye

Vishus Deerdra and Super CowKitten

 Hi Kitties, allow us to introduce you to Baskin and Abner's feral mommacat. Her name is Dierdra,..."Vishus Deerdra". She's not really vicious, but Mommy thinks it's funny to call her that because it reminds her of Skeezix's nemeses, vishus deer. As we mentioned before, Mommy tried several times last winter to trap Dierdra in order to get her spayed, but didn't succeed because she doesn't live on our block and only stops by when she is pregnant or nursing. Fortunately Dierdra had only one litter of two kittens last year...

and this year, she has a litter of only one kitten.

Ta da!
Look at that little cutie! He or she has a cape, a mask, and an emblem emblazoned on his/her chest. That kitten is a tiny superhero!

Mommy is working diligently to gain the trust of both Dierdra and Super CowKitten so the kitten will be tame enough to be adopted into a forever home and Dierdra can be TNR'd after her kitten is weaned.


P.S.
Skeezix, one of the Cat Blogosphere's most beloved blogging cats, is seriously ill, so please purr, pray, and/or meow with all your might for him to feel better and be able to spend more time with him family. 

The Cat Toy Closet

I paw at it. I meow at it. I whine. I stare at it. I guard it. If Mommy walks by it, or near it, or looks at it, or even thinks about it...I am there. Whining and staring. Staring and whining. Whining. Staring. Staring some more. If she opens the door even a crack, I slip inside and climb my way up to the top shelf to be reunited with my beloved wand toy. I am obsessed. Every evening my beloved wand toy comes out to play, and I become a maniac. I jump and pounce and play until the wand toy (and Mommy's arm) grows tired. That's when Mommy puts it back in the closet...and my quest resumes to once again free my beloved.

Finally a New Camera!

Hi Kitties,

Two years ago, Mommy received a digital camera as a gift. It took photos. That is the full extent of its positive qualities. The pictures always looked cold, grainy, blurry, and just creepy. Mommy adjusted every one of the elebenty squillion fancy settings with no success. So finally after two years of posting those awful photos on our blog, she broke down and purchased a shiny new name brand digital camera today. We are relieved.

Clarence napping...

and taking a baff.

Ambrose looking handsome

Teddi looking lovely

and taking a little baff.

Tuxie Tueday

Happy Birthday, Baskin and Abner!

 Hi Kitties,


Clarence here. Please join us in celebrating Baskin and Abner's first birthday. One year ago they were born to a feral mamacat who lives in our neighborhood. Toward the end of her pregnancy the mamacat came to our yard twice a day to eat, and after Baskin and Abner were 7 weeks old she brought them with her. They always went back to where they lived on a neighboring block, but in the evenings they would linger in our yard so Mommy got to see how loving the mamacat was toward her babies. The kittens ate solid food at our house more and more as they grew older, but the nursing and bonding with their mamacat continued until they were weaned at nineteen weeks old. When the mamacat rejected the kittens as part of the weaning process, the kittens moved to our back yard to be near their food source. Our mommy had been earning their trust all along, so she wasted no time in luring them into our house. After a vet check-up, they were introduced to the rest of us kitties. Clarence was eager to have young playmates, and the kittens were drawn to him like catnip. The kittens have bonded closely with Clarence, and the three now play constantly. We've heard that cats meow to humans only and not to other cats, but those three boycats are incredibly vocal with each other. Clarence, Baskin, and Abner communicate with each other using chirps, trills, meeps, noises that sound like miniature elephants trumpeting, and multi-syllable multi-note sounds that resemble bird songs. When the boycats get active in the evenings, our house sounds like a rain forest full of exotic creatures...with a constantly thundering herds of elephants. It is the most joyful sound!


You probably already guessed it,...we failed at fostering again. Baskin and Abner are here to stay. They are still very timid and continue to work on overcoming their fearful feral tendancies, so re-homing them would be difficult. Plus, they have bonded so closely with Clarence that we could never bear to split them up. We love them, and they are officially part of our family.


Happy birthday, Baskin and Abner!
Love,

Ambrose, Clarence, Teddi, and Mommy

Baskin

Abner

Pee.Ess.
Unfortunately, their mamacat doesn't live on our block, visits only occasionally, and is very fearful of humans; so that makes getting her spayed more of a challenge. Mommy tried to trap her this winter with no success, but will definitely continue to try until she succeeds.

Pee.Pee.Ess.
Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful comments about Grrreta. It was a great comfort to us. We are incredibly thankful to have such caring and supportive blogging friends.

My Sweet Precious Grrreta

I am deeply saddened to tell you my sweet, precious Grrreta has passed away from complications of feline diabetes. She had lost weight, her body had been reacting badly to insulin injections, and yesterday she suffered a seizure that took her life.

I will always cherish the sweet, wonderful memories of the eight years she was part of our family. She filled every moment with joy and love, and was loved more than I ever imagined possible. I miss her more than words can express.

Mom Michelle

There Goes The Neighborhood

Hey, Landlady! Could you please tell my upstairs neighbor to keep it down. It sounds like an elephant with a bunch of pet squirrels moved in up there. And it smells like they probably have a pet chimp too.

Worst Valentines Day Gift EVER!

Nothing says "I love you" like a glucometer...

This is NOT my happy face.

I've been diagnosed with feline diabetes. Over a period of a few months, I lost quite a bit of weight, which led mom to have me tested and diagnosed. I started twice daily insulin injections and once per week blood glucose testing at the vet's office as the vet recommended. Unfortunately, I had two very scary acute hypoglycemic episodes in the first eight days,...so after reading that the doodalicious Armani of JB's Small World tests his blood glucose level daily at home, and after getting info from his mom, we decided to test at home also. The pharmacist recommended this glucometer, but Mommy is considering exchanging it for one that requires a smaller blood sample size. Rumor has it that Mommy thinks she is going to steal my blood from my ear. I can guarantee Mommy will end up with an ample sized blood sample...but it might be her blood instead of mine.

A message from the Mom: My sweet little Grrreta has been incredibly patient and cooperative. I'm very lucky that she loves jumping in her pet carrier, riding in the car, and visiting the vet. She loves the attention, and has been great about letting me give her insulin injections. I'm not looking forward to getting blood samples from her ear, but hopefully it will help the vet find the best insulin dosage for Grrreta to gain back some weight and live a long happy life.

What's New at Casa de Grrreta?

Hi Kitties! Clarence here. I know...I know, it's been forever since we posted. All is well here.

I've been enjoying my fancy red double-wide mobile home

We got a new pet drinking fountain to replace the water glass on the bedside table we used to share with Mommy. Mommy hasn't adjusted very well to drinking from the new fountain, so she is still drinking from a glass...for now.

Oh yeah,...Mommy rescued two feral kittens from our back yard this summer. They are "foster kitties". They have been attending our Charm School for Wayward Kittens. This cutie is named Baskin.

Here he is relaxing under the dining room table. Hmmh...what's that on the floor beside him?

It seems that Baskin may have a bright future in the CB. Apparently he aspires to be a member of the Society of Feline Gardeners and also a member of the Naughty Kitty Club.

This handsome gray mancat-in-training is his litter mate, Abner.

He has a black belt gray belt in napping.

We apologize for not commenting very often on our friends' blogs lately, but we do keep up with your blogs by lurking visiting nearly every day. Your kitty blogs always brighten our day. Hopefully now that the foster kitties trust us enough to be indoor only kitties, Mommy will be able to spend more time indoors helping us blog. We really miss it!