Archive through September 18, 2012

[kmcconaughey]

Tots on occasion will race around the house, up the stairs then race up the railing then up the support posts all the way to the ceiling. Then jump down race into the master bedroom, slide around on the laminate floors, race out and down the hall back up the support post, jump down and repeat several times then lay down and rest. We have vaulted ceilings in our house so the support posts are way up there. In these two photos taken from the great room looking up you can see the support posts and railing. Also both cats will walk along the top of the wood railing. I keep expecting one of them to fall.

Tots in a typical pose after a race around the house.

 

[mfrade]

Great Pics Kraig! Cool cats too!

 

[mhomrighausen]

Kaig M. Really cool kittie pictures. Angel says, "HI." only she just hasn't been feeling the best still. Plus adjusting to her new glasses isn't helping things.

 

[cmcleod]

Yesterday Fancy and I ventured out again on our " exercise" walk for the day. We ended up walking miles. haha, not really, but in measuring what Fancy has been doing, it did seem lilke miles to him I'm sure. With each day he has become accustomed to our scheduled time to exercise and he goes and stands by the door a little before 2pm..like clockwork. He gets really excited. So yesterday this little voice said to take the camera with. He is slowwwwllly losing weight. I wish it were coming off faster, but his quicker pace is a sure sign that he's feeling better and losing weight. This past week he was making the walks with going down and back without stopping. A great Feat..trust me. When his steps were like a turtles crawl, now he keeps pace with me. No more sitting down and refusing to go any further which results in me having to pick up the big lug and carry him back to the house. Well, that is if I want to get back to the house before sunset.

Yesterday we set out. I told him he could go where he wanted, although I kind of led, he was anxious to go east of the house, over to the cement pile that the city had dumped and the big brush pile.

setting out.. and stopping at his favorite tree to sharper his claws

a little of the dust settled on him after a roll in the dirt..no longer a sleek, glistening black boy

sitting on a lower junk of cement after his exploration

after rolling in catnip

it was quite the walk. Its good to see him walking faster and seeking out things to do along the way,instead of begrudging the time outside and ' walking'.!!

EDIT: after posting this, I thought, umm, Fancy looks pretty much the same in every photo..just in different places..sorry kind of boring, but HE had a blast.

 

[cmcleod]

Kraig..that little Tots has quite the routine , dones't she? wow..what a race cadet..hehehe. Our Annie is one to race around to, and best be out of her way when she is in motion or you are likely to get hurt by that hard head. There has been times she has accidently not be able to put the brakes on, and I worry she has hurt herself, but she stops for s sec..then races off so I guess she's ok.

 

[kmcconaughey]

While I was out taking photos of the autumn leaves Tateleh was following me around so I had to snap a few of her.

 

[cmcleod]

Kraig, your little calico girl is just the cutest. looks like she had fun playing in the leaves when she was hanging out with ya. ((smiles))..leaves are SOOOO enticing.

cathleen

umm, did anyone notice how stoned Fancy looks after he rolled in the catnip? I wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to get him up and going after his romp in the nip..He was very mellow, but he did get up again and got moving...hahaha

 

[kmcconaughey]

Cathleen, now that you mention it, yes Fancy does look a little bit stoned in that photo... I like the photo of him on the concrete slab. Looks like he's on a throne and is surveying his domain.

 

[cmcleod]

Kraig, yeah, Fancy thought he was king of the concrete pile~ thats for sure..

Ryan MC was out last night to load up one of his cubbies to take back to eastern Iowa with him this week-end and he and Fancy played a game of catch me if you can. Fancy would run and just as Ryan got to him, Fancy would take off running again. this went on for abit, and then OH NO...Fancy Collapsed. His signiture move when he wants a tummy tickle and then to be scooped up..Ryan told him that they had work to do, so Fancy decided to get serious and get to work after that little romp. He's always a good helper when it comes to doing cubby stuff. Its time for him to go in the house once he gets bored and starts' wandering'.

and Fancy thought he really rated when Ryan put him on the hood of his pick up truck for a pic. all nice and shiney, andFancy was careful how he stood on the hood, so not to scratch it with his claws..honest.. and you can see that Fancy had a very happy tail, infact, he didnt want to get down. hahaha.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Cathleen, I think Fancy wants to drive Ryan's truck, or at least go for a ride in it.

 

[cmcleod]

Kraig..lol. YEAH, I bet he would love to go for a ride in Ryans Truck, since he loves truck rides so much, and they've broken the ice with a cubby ride.. lol. Hadn't thought of that. I am sure Fancy liked the bright shiny color too...!!

 

[mfrade]

Great pictures everybody! Looks like the "kids" were haing some fun...

 

[cmcleod]

Kraig, I was feeling so sorry for Tots and Selah, that they get left home when the family goes to the cabin, but then Hannah whispered in my ear a secret. so this is what truly goes on when you all go away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc0ZzoQqCEs,

I don't feel so bad anymore.

 

[cmcleod]

when Tootsie was down for breakfast this morning, I thought I would snap a few pics of the sweet little adorable girl. I had to change the saturation on the pic, which makes it not quite as clear, since she is so dark, without the edit she looks like a black blob..lol. She loves her PINK towel..her favorite.

She does not like the flash..
hence, the closed eyes..

the squinty two eyes

and the mysterious eye..lol

last year she suddenly got sick and within a few days looked like this. I made a appt, for the vet and by the time I got her there, this is what she looked like. She didnt have mange, any kind of bugs, nor was it due to fleas..the vet could not figure out what it was, even after taking cultures..she looks terrifying and it scared the heck out of us.!!she lost alot of her hair. After one bath all the dried white stuff was gone and she was already beginning to heal, and within a week or so, she was looking so much better. Not like this pic. Infact, her hair started to grow back in within a few days.Antibiotics and baths every 3 days did the trick. ( I think she was allergic to one kind of cat treat). She did an awesome job of letting me bathe her, which really surprised me since she had never been bathed in her life and she was 8. This is what she looked like when she got sick/lost her fur. I called the vet when this suddenly manifested and this is what she looked like within a few day period..of losing a little fur to going straight to a nightmare in appearence..We thought we were going to lose her and the vet could not figure out what happened either. Her fur came back in with highlights of brown in it..its quite pretty.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Cathleen, good to see that Tootsie made a recovery.

This morning when I went down to the basement to put on my boots before heading to work, I noticed one of my old shoes was out of place. As I went to nudge it back I noticed that there was a dead and bloody mouse in it! I'd be willing to bet that it was Tot's doing. There were blood stains on the concrete floor around the shoe as well. I'm not sure if the mouse went into the shoe in an attempt to escape or if Tots (or Selah) put it in the shoe after they were done playing. I took a couple of photos but I'm not sure anyone wants to see a bloody dead mouse. The shoe is fine, only a little blood on the leather insole and they are just some old shoes I keep around because they are easy to slip on for a quick walk outside to get the mail or to the shed.

 

[wshytle]

Kraig-

I bet it was just the result of tossing. They probably tossed it into the shoe and got bored trying to get it out. My cat plays with her kills and will toss them 4 or 5 feet into the air then pounce.

What we see as a bloody rat or mouse is simply a toy/reward to our feline friends. They stalked, waited out, and made the kill so now it's time to celebrate.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Wayne, you're probably correct. I've seen our cats toss mice as you describe while playing with them outside.

Hmmm, or Tots and Selah were playing basketball with it. I wonder who won.

 

[cmcleod]

Haha Kraig, I betcha, it was a "SURPRISE gift"..and what a nice place to put it? hehehe. At least here they dont kill the mice. If Fancy catches it, which he usually does after Annie lets it go while playing with it, I just take him out and ask him to let it go, which he usually does without much ado, but that isn't so nice of me, after the catching it for me! When I had live traps, a mouse would get in and then Annie would grab the live trap/w mouse and drag it around the house.!!

I love the pic of the kids loving up each other.

I have dried potota flakes under the stove due to mice. It seems when it gets empty, it mysteriously appears out from under the stove. How are they doing that? Marlin and I were talking about it the other night, after I again found an empty tray, no flakes. Annie was watching and I said, what do they do? push it out when they need more? lol...obviously its to kill them, but since I can't use poison, its the safe alternative. In any case, Annie just gave us a look like I'm not telling, then was peeking under the stove, like she was telling the mice to be quiet or something. to funny


Yeah, I was so thankful that after one bath that Tootsie was on the mend. I couldnt believe how quickly she got bad, but that seems to be the way with kitties. they are fine..then sick..no inbetween with them. doesn't she look like she's smiling in that first pic? I see a sweet little smile on her face.

 

[kide]

Got a story to tell about good people (kind of sad, but.....)

My friend Nancy has two sons.. The older one John had a cat that was Nancy's late husband's and then John had the cat for about 14 years. About a month ago the cat disappeared - an all out search party didn't turn him up.
Yesterday, middle son Jeff's wife, who works at an animal shelter, has a man walk in carrying a cat that he is asking to have put to sleep... The guy is crying - he said that he'd found the cat outside a bar a month ago, it wasn't hurt but was sick. He had doctored the cat for a month, but it was too old and weak and wasn't going to recover... You know - it was John's cat and Ellen recognized it. She took care of the the cat (had to be really hard for her) and then called John to let him know. At least John can now be at ease over knowing the kitty is not suffering and was being taken care of during that last month.

I told Nancy that he probably was sick when he left home, knew it was time and just went looking for a place to be alone away from his family (not all that unusual with animals, and I guess some people).

Bless all the people that care for animals ....

 

[cmcleod]

Awww, thanks for sharing the story Gerry I...sad, but also heartwarming. To know that someone found the kitty and took care of it until it was " time"...warms ones heart..and at least the family can have closure and know that someone was out there tending to their little guy

hugs Angel