Brendan surveys his kingdom.

A few mornings ago all three cats were lying on the bed and I was surprised to see Brendan give Harper a butt-licking. As far as I know, in the cat world that is an affectionate, dare we say parental gesture. Then Harper went over to Brendan and gave him a few licks on the forehead between the eyes, the way Ramona likes to. Then it struck me.

All along I have been under the misconception that I found Harper and Ramona on Petfinder and I was mysteriously called to beg Olof to drive one thousand miles to pick up these kittens I just had to have. And then it was just my luck that Ramona turned out to adore Brendan and Harper turned out to be a sweet fellow that got along with everyone and was a wonderful, easy going cuddle bug. But after watching the three of them together I finally understand who really picked out these two and sent the gotta have them vibes.

It was Brendan.

Summer Flies By

It's been a week since I posted. It's amazing how summer just flies by. I guess it's because there is so much more outdoor stuff to do, including the best garden we ever had. Olof has made us a terraced garden on the hill behind the house which is the sunniest place on our land. That means plenty of planting, weeding, picking, eating and figuring out what to do with it all when it starts coming in all at once.

I took the kittens out for a long walk this morning and they are happy, bouncing around the house. We still plan on making a safe fenced in place for them. Have to get through their surgeries too, coming up August 3rd. At the moment, Harper has two little lumps under his chin which we think are swollen glands. I will call the vet tomorrow, I don't think it is an emergency thing, though I will google it. Our vet is very good at having someone on call for emergency runs and they don't charge much extra at all, but the place is a half hour away and Harper yells all the way there. So I don't want to give him unnecessary stress.

I just did a new Pawprints and I will see about doing the web thing. It is all set up, it's just another step to do after making the dvd's for the other stations and sending them out.

I feel low on energy myself, it is probably the weather, either too hot or too wet.

Sunday Nap

Sunday morning turns peaceful after a wild romp around the house and up and down the cat tree. Ramona is happy to be allowed to actually touch Brendan.



By 8 AM it is already hot outside and the house feels cool. Brendan did Dawn Patrol early.



All three are content together.



Harper is a bit sleepy, he was happily cuddled up in my arms but then I had to ruin it and get up.



And Ramona? Well, Everyvody Loves Ramona and as far as she is concerned, that is how the world is.

Caturday Nap

A hot Caturday morning finds the Tribe of Tigers taking an after breakfast nap in the air conditioned bedroom. Harper woke me up around 2 AM for a mad trilling and purring session. His trill is the funniest one I ever heard, it sounds like a Rube Goldberg water fountain going nuts. Then he settled down in his favorite position, next to me with his head on my shoulder. I woke up to find him there.

I was thinking how fortunate I am to have found him because he is so gentle and loving and he just loves to be hugged and held close. There are two situations though in which his inner tiger comes out. One I got to experience yesterday when I had to take them to the Vet for rabies and distemper shots. Harper in a car, in a crate is a demon. And he's got some lungs on him too. He howled and howled all the way to the clinic and he got Ramona going to so she chimed in with her sweet, higher girl voice.

We got the shots and made an appointment for their spay/neuter August 3rd. I am not looking forward to that but I am looking forward to having it over with. Ramona has inflamed gums, the vet said it could mean she has a weakened immune system from her kittenhood problems with URI and her eyes. I have been giving her the vitamins again and lysine and I am going to try brushing her teeth. Hey, it works for me. I love these two and I hope they will be my companions into my senior years.

The other time Harper goes nuts is when I bring home a new toy that has feathers. We got a new water fountain for them yesterday and a Da Bird toy. Oh boy, Harper saw that and suddenly he was doing aerials I didn't think he was capable of. We will try to get some action shots but it will have to be on a soft rug because he gets airborne and crashes. Then he growls when he has the thing. Ramona was patiently waiting her turn but it wasn't to be.

Introducing Bucky

This is Bucky and he has just started a very unusual cat blog so I hope you will all hop over and say hello. Bucky is unusual because he lives in a shelter, and he lives in the dog house. So he has a different view of the world from most cats and he has been asked by the shelter staff to help out with getting the daily shelter happenings out in the blog world. I'm sure you will all enjoy getting to know Bucky.

I think his friends Gato, in the Cat House and Tripod Tom, also in the dog house are also going to get into the act so their blog could be very interesting.

Bucky'’s Blog is called The Secondhand Dog

You may notice that it looks a lot like Caturday. That is because Bucky admired Caturday's design so much he asked Zuleme if he could have his blog exactly like it.

Why not? answered Zuleme.

Bucky is a good friend of hers, as is Gato and Tripod Tom.

Bucky also has a new PayPal account and a donation button. Any donations go directly to the Conway Area Humane Society where Bucky lives quite comfortable, roaming the halls and keeping an eye on things. So if you can make a donation, the gang will be thrilled since this is a new thing for them.

Summer Games

Miss Ramona just loves to play Cat Dancer. Her favorite trick is to remove the entire toy part with the wire from the paw that holds it. She is a very clever girl. Then she holds onto one end while Harper goes after the other. Last night I saw her on the windowsill trying to open the window latch. Good thing it is heavy.

Summer always seems to fly by. There are a million things to do, the garden is already producing more than we can eat and we have to spend some time keeping up with pulling out things that have gone by and replanting, and weeding and feeding. We have small tomatoes starting to come in and they have such wonderful flavor, like tomato candy. But soon I will have to think how I am going to preserve some of this bounty.

17 dogs came into the shelter Sunday and three were adopted by the end of Monday. It was a hectic there day with the staff vet doing nine spay/neuters. These are all from kill shelters in the south and people are so eager to get them up here. I will be starting up a shelter blog soon that we will add to the web site.

Ramona and Harper know as soon as I rattle their harnesses that it is time for a walk and they come running. Ramona knows when she is wearing the harness and the door opens she can run out. She is a little live wire. She flys up the apple tree and then both kittens are worn out for the rest of the day. So I try to get them out when I can. One friend of ours has built a safe enclosure for her formally outdoor cat with a tunnel covered with wire leading to a small dog door in the wall (big cat). She told me she had had a coyote on her back porch and it just wasn't safe to let their cat out anymore. I would like to build something around the apple tree so I can let the kittens run while I am out there.

Brendan still does dawn patrol but he is getting up a little later, usually around six. So we don't need an alarm clock.

Shelter Day

Chewy, a chinchilla, hangs out at the shelter.

I just looked at the last posting and was surprised I hadn't posted in almost a week. Where did the time go? Well, it's what we call the Fourth of Julabor Day Weekend. That's how fast summer seems to go. There is just so much to do outside, video shooting, gardening, getting video projects done for clients, work on our buildings, and fun stuff you can't do when things are slower in the winter, like bicycling. I did almost twenty miles yesterday morning including hills and it felt good for the first time. I try to work up to about 35 miles at a time.



We have a litter of eight kittens at the shelter, five are black and three are grey. Also a lovely litter of three that are two days old and a pregnant white and orange cat. It is still kitten season and a great time of year to donate to your local shelter. Food, kitty litter ( ask what kind they want), cash, time. Bloggers can always help by posting links on their sites or writing about available animals or taking photos. Probably the most important thing I do for our shelter is take the photos and upload them to Petfinder. I took plenty yesterday, posted them last night and saw more cats listed I didn't get to photograph. They might be in foster care, very young ( like the two day olds) or in the new isolation room.



Isn't he lovely? And his brother is too. They won't be at the shelter long as soon as they finish their hold time and go out front to be seen.



And this sweetie shouldn't be there long either. She has a sister who is long haired and beautiful too.



And Cassidy. Cassidy is a nicer fellow than he seems from his scowl. He had been spending his life underneath a trailer, having a wild time of it, girls and all and has ended up at the shelter. He had just been shaved to get the mats out of his fur, he probably needed medical attention and hmmm, his carousing days are over. So he figures he has something to scowl about except that...why is everyone so nice to him? What's that sound he's making? Could it be that Cassidy has a purr and will go on to live a comfortable life as a .....lap cat?

Everyone is fine here. Ramona got to fly up the apple trees yesterday and then both kittens were exhausted for the rest of the day. They will be going for their surgeries in three weeks. I will borrow a crate from the shelter and bring them home that day so I can watch over Ramona as she recuperates. I am nervous about it but it must be done. They are growing up but are still running through the house like little tigers. There are kitty toys everywhere and Ramona has a new one that is just too cute. Our local shop has the pink hippos in, it is a company called Dr. Noys, Toys for Cats with Attitude.

Brendan is still doing dawn patrol, eating very well and enjoying the adoration of Miss Ramona.

I'll try to get some good new photos of the gang to post.

Brendan Says

A proper cat is always perfectly groomed, has clean habits and is always, always, calm and poised.



Like this Brendan?



Is this ok, Brendan?

Sun-dappled Sleep

The whole Tribe of Tigers takes a nap together in the sun room. I still find it amazing how well they get along. Ramona loves Brendan and gives him long head nudges and kisses which I have yet to catch on camera. Harper admires Brendan and they have conversations. Harper and Ramona raise heck together. This morning the kittens were on the bed with their arms around each other, after Harper had spent an hour being cuddled in my arms with Ramona on my knees.

They are such good natured, lovely kittens.

It is a stunning summer day here in the mountains. I am packing the cameras, video and still, to go do some shooting at the shelter. There seem to be a lot of new cats and I think some dogs so Petfinder needs to be updated. I will also shoot the new thrift shop in progress and take outside shots of the buildings for grant writing. We are gearing up promo for the year's big fund raiser, The Walk for the Animals in conjunction with Bark in the Park, September 16. I am going to send out a PSA on it to TV stations. See if we can get some PR going.

I see Malcolm has raised just about enough to take care of Lucky little kitten.

There is a sense of peace in a house in which three cats are sleeping together, well fed and secure.