In Loving Memory

This is a picture of Shamu (on the right) and his loving companion Wolfgang (on the left).

We received the very sad news this week that my sister Lisa's cat had to be put to rest. He had been very sick, with unknown origin, and probably would have suffered a slow, painful death of dehydration and malnutrition. It was a very difficult decision, having to be made on the spot.

We wanted to post a little memorial to this beautiful, big cat that was beloved by his family.

Before coming to live with Lisa, twelve years ago (I think), he had a very rough life. He came to her very very mistrustful of humans, timid and skeptical of the whole change. Slowly over time, with the help of Wolfgang her other cat, they were able to earn Shamu's trust and successfully help him to feel love and acceptance. He was a sweet, thoughtful, wise cat that will be very missed by everyone.

This was the last time I got to spend time with Shamu - it was last February after Savannah's birth. This is him spending time with the new little baby!

In loving memory of Shamu!

Cuddle Bums

This is Felix, the oldest cat, and Lulu, the youngest cat. As you know,they are the two most likely to snuggle up together. Simone is otherwise known as Lonewolf.

The usual scenario is that Felix is curled up in a nice spot and Lulu just weasles her way into the spot all the while licking Felix and being cute, trilling her little purr loudly.

Put Me on the Calendar

This is an instant of a cat really pushing their agenda - as Jimmy said, "He's really trying to get on my calendar."

Felix's Choppers

Felix went to the vet today to have his choppers cleaned. For cats, this mean they have to go under anasthesia. While under, the Doc found he had grooves in two of his teeth and deterioration. This is a known dental problem, but noone knows how they get it or why. The picture below is from the x-ray they took while working on his choppers. The way they fix it is by extracting the teeth. This avoids further decay and pain.

This top picture is of Felix post-op, at home with his shaved leg already trolling for snacks. He acted like he hadn't eaten in weeks! He is doing well although it is hard to know if he was in pain or not. He is sort of a howler anyway so its not always apparent when he is not feeling well. Thanks to his great doctor and his team Felix is back in action, albiet slightly off balance.

Compare the tooth on the left to the one on the right. The one on the left is the one they removed.

Fighting Like Cats and Dogs

Simone, aka Sickman, aka Lonewolf, is not always the most snuggly or the most likely to overtly ask for pets and affection. Lately she has been more assertive about her needs for pets and more social when everyone is hanging out together. It has been a delight!

Today we walked into the bedroom to find Simone not only on the bed but pretty much curled up with Maxine. She is the cat that pals around the most but seeing her there licking Maxine's head (and Max not minding) really showed me that they have a special relationship.

Now, if they could both scheme a way to take little Lulu out they would be truly blissful!

Boston Mice

We received a package yesterday from Boston. It was from the home of Jacket the amazing hamster and of course our family that resides with the hamster in Boston proper. There were some wonderful items in that box but the cats were most interested in a large, white, winding mouse that looks very true to life. I wound it up and put it on the floor where all three cats proceeded to just sit and stare. Almost with jaws open, a little bit cautious and darn curious.

Slowly, they one by one took turns smelling and batting the little guy around and then I would wind it up and watch them all look on with horror as though it was a freak show. Eventually, they built the courage to attack the mouse and started grabbing it by the tail and walking away with it.

I thought this was a great picture of Lulu staring down the Boston Mouse.

Cat Scratch Fever

I am always surprised and sometimes dismayed at the toys our cats choose to play with and the ones they choose to reject. You have seen all the creative cat scratching devices Jimmy has created -the cat tree, the sissel posted on the side of his desk and the subtle, but always a favorite, four by four beam covered with sissel going up the side of the bookcase.

Jimmy picked this out at the pet store for a few dollars and the cats go crazy for it! It is a simple material, looks like layers of cardboard almost, that just sits directly on the floor. But they absolutely adore it!

Bucket o' Cat

Can you tell which cat this is?

The best clue is the size - if Lulu were in there I don't think you could even see her off the brim of the bucket!

Who do you think it is?

Nimbus

This is a great picture of cousin Nimbus (Lara's cat) who was happily at home after a long, loud and frenetic few days at the Hoefs household over Christmas. Here he is beautifully perched at home on his rug.

Kaf

This picture needs little commentary. Suffice to say, Koof loves to burrow into piles of clean laundry!

Gato Bowls

One of the projects we worked on when Rosie was visiting was two large wooden bowls with two little padded pillows in them for the cats. One was for us and one was for my sisters cat Nimbus (pictures of him to follow in another blog!).

This first picture is of Sickman (aka Simone) in the bowl prior to us finishing the stenciling for Nimbus' bowl.

Of course the other two had to have their fun as well. Here are a series of pictures of BOTH Felix and Lulu in their bowl labeled GATO BOWL. To make this picture even more over the top, the bowl was sitting on a long tall piece of furniture so it was a bit difficult to get up and there and balance with two of them without tipping the bowl!