Mr. Chin

I have begun helping another rescue operation and a new group that is running low cost spay neuter clinics and planning on building a sanctuary. The sanctuary plan is very exciting and I will tell you more about it as it progresses. You may go to the site on the top left of the blog for more about The Rozzie May Animal Alliance. And if you are interested in supporting a new sanctuary, you may contact them through the site. I can vouch for the fact that the folks running it are quite capable of doing what they say they will do, so I am looking forward to being part of the project.

I will add the rescue group's site to my links as soon as I have done the work on it.

About this fellow whose charming photo is featured here. This is the wonderful Mr. Chin. He is a rescue dog in search of the human who will love him. As you can see, he is a major personality. I have so far found that taking photos of cats is a cinch and dogs were difficult. But now I am going to have more dog photos to do. Mr. Chin has given me my first really good dog portrait. He sat for it, as you can see.

If you are interested in meeting Mr. Chin, drop me a line and I will put you in contact with the rescue group. It's zuleme AT zuleme Dot com

Working Class Cats

The New York Times has a neat story today on working cats abd how valuable they are for keeping rodents down. Since it is now free on line, hop over there and check it out.

Here in the Frozen North we have our own famous working cat. His name is Nin and he works on top of Mount Washington, at the Observatory. Nin is pretty famous around here and you can get a coffee mug with his photo on it. See the Oberservatory's web site at www.mountwashington.org for more on Nin. Olof and I have done a lot of work for them including exhibits at their Discovery Center and videos. Olof has been up there shooting in the winter when the wind was so strong he needed help holding the camera down.

And there is a cool website called workingclasscats.com If you have any working cat stories to tell.

Adopted!

Yup, she has been adopted! I thought she would go quickly, especially since she had become comfortable with being at the shelter and she was connecting with people who were paying attention to her.

The shelter will do a follow up call in two weeks. But she is such a sweet girl I don't think there will be any problems.

I am glad she has gone to a good home and is not out wandering in the snow. Next time I go in for photos I will ask who adopted her.

I will add her to my list of the ones I wish I could have had. But it is better for her to be with someone else. We are doing well as a brother sister team right now.

Little White Kitty Girl Update

I stopped by the shelter and took a few cat photos yesterday. Little White Kitty Girl is doing quite well. She looked calm and cozy in her two room condo. She had adjusted to the sounds and smells of the shelter and came up to greet me. She is very sweet and they say there is a nice woman interested in adopting her. I am sure she will be adopted soon, she is such a pretty girl with a sweet nature. I was glad to see how calm and content she looked. She does have a slight cold at the moment so I hope she will be adopted soon. I didn't hug her because of the cold but I felt like she was quite comfortable while she waits for that special person who will love her.

Ramona in Motion

Yes, somebody caught the mouse. There wasn't much left of it when Olof found it. Did you know that the food highest in taurine (which cats need) is mouse?
It is good to know we have a ready supply of cat food if the world runs out of Fancy Feast. Just set up a little mouse farm. Each night now as soon as we turn off the lights, herself goes to work to rid the den of rodents. I appreciate her efforts.

I think she is the better hunter, but I guess it could be Harper.

Most of the time Queen Ramona is elegant and poised. But sometimes she gets a little flirty when she wants a belly rub or a cuddle.











The wind is whipping around here tonight. It will be a cuddly cat under the blanket night here in the Frozen North.

Ruckus

I awoke around 5 AM to the sound of angry voices. Feline voices. Ramona was growling. I knew what she was saying.

"I have the mouse, it's my mouse. I am Tiger GUUURRRRRLLL and it is MY MOUSE."

Harper was pissed. But Ramona was determined to hold on to that mouse.

I fell asleep again and woke at 6 AM to floofy tails and Harper doing the Long John thing. You know, he is really pissed off now.

"Oh Long John, oh oh oh wrorw wrow wrow"

Ramona was under the bed.

When I got up I pieced the story together from what they told me.

There was a mouse. Ramona caught it and Harper said it was his since he heard it first. Ramona was not going to let him have it. Then she lost it and Harper was really upset because he didn't get it at all.

Down in the kitchen I saw Harper on mouse duty.



"It''s here and I am GOING TO GET IT""



Then I heard the mouse's side of things. Imagine this two octaves up.

"You HUGE MONSTER OUT THERE! GO AWAY! I am a FIERCE WARRIOR MOUSE and I will GET YOU!"





At this time, a little past 8 AM, they appear to have made up and are teaming up.

That mouse doesn't have a chance if he sticks his nose out.

Harper Behaving Badly

This happened Monday night and Harper has not been happy about it.



"I am very concerned about this white stuff all over my Outside."



"So why the heck don't you fix it! Fix it for me! I wanna go OUT! Now!!"



"Please? Fix it so I can go out?"



"OK, then if you won't fix it, let me play with the clicky thing."



"Sigh."

You may think that my cats are always perfectly behaved and I know everything this is to know about feline behavior.

Haha.

Monday morning while we were watching (but he was quick about it) Mr. H walked into the kitchen and took a big stinky POOP on the kitchen rug. The litter box being an uncomfortable foot and a half away.

I quickly went and put some baking soda kitty litter on it and whaddya know, the dainty Miss R came along and said "oh, new bathroom? How conveinent!" and she peed a dainty little pee on top of the mess.

This happened once when we were away overnight and my neighbor who was looking in on them informed me she was leaving it for me as cleaning up kitty poop was beyond the call of neighborly duty. At that time I figured they were stressed out by our absence.

But this one has really got me puzzled.

Harper will also invade the Queen's boudoir for a wrassle every evening around 9 PM. I guess he gets lonely. She puts up with it and we know she can lick his butt if she wants to. He also will hop on the bed when she is peacefully sleeping and start doing competitive licking which escalates to wrassling. So I woke around 4 AM to a commotion on my belly.

So as they grow and their personalities develop we can see that Harper is going to be the Big Lug and Ramona is going to be the Peacemaker. Harper always wants to play more and Ramona likes to cuddle up and contemplate the world.

A couple of kittens would keep him on his toes, dontcha think?

Cats Sleep Anywhere

They run around like the wild things they are, up and down the cat trees, through the alley behind the stairs, tearing up the rugs and hopping up and down on the bed. Then a switch goes off and perfect repose happens. It is about 16 degrees out and the wind is howling as winter circles around to slap us hard and make us think we only imagined the too hot days of summer picking an endless harvest of tomatoes. We'll all be dreaming by our winter fires soon as the apartment next door will be finished today complete with a gas fireplace for the elders, done up in stone. Uncle Sid should appreciate it too, as he is getting on seven.



The Harpster does this unbearably cute move where he reaches his paws out and then crosses them over his head as he stretches luxuriously.



Ramona curls up into a perfect zen circle on one of her favorite spots. The first photo I took didn't happen when the camera battery died, so this time, when I came back, she is well aware that I am pointing the clicky thing at her.



But she doesn't mind. It is to be expected that I need to take many photos of her royal beauty.



And this of course, as long time Caturday readers will remember, is Fergus the Beloved at about eight weeks old, sleeping in the tiny basket I carried him around in because he couldn't bear to be left alone. I adored the way his lower jaw would jut out as he slept, giving hin a charming profile, like a wise oriental sage.