Introducing the New Member of the Family.

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We had no intention of ever having a new kitten join our family. After all, two old people and one very old (16year old) cat were enough in a household. Everyone was set in their ways and things were running smoothly. Everyone knew each others rules. It was nice.

One day in late October, our next door neighbor, Angie, was gifted with a new kitten. Angie's old cat had been killed by dogs late one night about six months ago. She longed of another cat, but her mother has allergies and didn't really want to have a cat in the house again. Angie called her new kitten, Nola for New Orleans LA because it had black and gold eyes. She believed it to be a female. It was Gorgeous. Gordon called it a show cat. Its markings are precise.


That's Nola looking inside our house.

Angie's next door neighbor, Earline loves cats. Angie came to our house looking for Nola one Saturday morning. She told us about the kitten and how Earline really liked it. We said, "No, we haven't seen a gray and white kitten. She said she was going to wash her car, that Nola liked water and hopefully would come around when she heard it.

About two days later, Nola showed up at our house. She looked hungry. We did not feed her. She was very nervous, but let us pet her. She chased leaves and feathers. She was very entertaining and very unassumingly funny. Our granddaughter, Annie came over to make Jack-O-Lanterns and played with Nola.


Nola loves to jump up at feathers.
So, Nola began spending a lot of time at our house. We started to feed her. We talked to Earline. Earline didn't really want Nola, and said Angie said she couldn't keep Nola because her mother's allergies acted up every time Nola came inside.

Earline, Angie's neighbor, had taken Nola to her vet's to have her checked out. Vet said she was a he and less than six months old. Earline and her husband had a conference with me and Gordon. Both couples are retired. They have two inside cats. We have one. Earline agreed to pay for half of the neutering fee/rabies shot for Nola. She called for an appointment at her vet's. I have had cats die of feline leukemia and it was awful. I wanted the newly named, Nolan, to have those shots and the aids shot. He also had ear mites. When it was all over, Earline paid $68 of the fee for neutering and rabies. We paid $325 for the ear mites, the other shots, half the neutering, etc. Earline uses a very expensive vet. Nolan will not see this vet again. Our vet would have charged maybe half that.

So, it all boils down to we have a new kitten. He weighs 8.2 pounds. He is tall, long and has big feet. He is very handsome and a show stopper. He has changed his name from Nolan to Trouble. He changed it by his actions. We keep forgetting that he doesn't know the rules.

He's pulling Annie's hair, above. He's sleeping in my computer cabinet, below. He jumps on the table. He earns his name.

He is very inquisitive, he loves water. He puts his paws in it to drink. He is the most "pliable" cat I've ever held. He is not at all ridged. He has a big stomach. He makes noises when he eats, kinda like a pig at a trough.
I am typing about him in this blog and he just jumped up and got behind the monitor. He is so big, I couldn't get him out without displacing the monitor, so I took his picture.

Wee is really unhappy about the new addition. Trouble attacks Wee because he moves. When Wee tries to run away, it just makes Trouble chase after him. Trouble grabs him, engulfs him in his arms and sucks on poor, outraged, scared, Wee. Yes, Vet said he was weaned too early from his mother and he will always suck like that. He sucks on pillows, on my robe, on my arm. His sucking hurts. Wee screams and we run because we know he's being killed. You must know, Wee weighs 5 lbs. and has short fur. Trouble has long fur and is a big 'presence'. We find screaming Wee under Trouble and held tightly by the intruder who is biting and sucking on him. I have not taken a picture of this, but I've had many opportunities daily. I think it is more important to rescue Wee than snap a picture of his misery. Trouble gets put in "time out" about 20 times a day. "Time out" is either outside or behind a closed door in a room away from Wee.

Wee appears larger here, but that is an optical illusion due to the camera angle. Our solace now is that Trouble has a big fur coat and can take the cold. We don't feel badly about putting him out. Our promise to him is that he would always sleep in. We don't want the same fate for him as our neighbors cat.

He still visits the houses in the neighborhood. He's after the food dishes that are out for him.

He has been given flea meds and the ear mites are almost gone, so he is not as hyper as he was. He just got his big teeth in his mouth. They were those tiny ones up until about a month ago. Today, after he jumped on the back of my leg and I felt the claws Wee has been exposed to, I cut his toe nails. Argh! That hurt. I guess Wee feels like a pin cushion.

When he's being good, he is awesome!

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New Kid on the Block!

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I don't think Wee (our cat) likes the new kid who showed up about a month ago. She comes from another street, but gets here through a hole in the fence. She is young, but will probably have kittens in maybe three - four months. She is one of those "leg cats". She likes to be petted and cannot get enough attention. We call her June.

I saw her jump up and catch a bird. I hollered and ran after her. She let the bird go and if flew away. She is very agile and jumped about 5 feet to get the bird off the feeder. Since then, I have raised the feeders, but still I have seen her try to get her bird. You can tell she just MUST have this excitement in her life.

One day, Wee was inside. June came on the outside ledge of the window and I thought Wee would break through the window. It was really interesting. See here.

THE Birthday Event!

Things were beginning to be suspenseful. . .Would the guest of honor show up? Or would he be too "scared y cat" to attend?
The "cake" was ready, the party hat was there, and the guest were soon to arrive.
The guest of honor was somewhere..... Would he venture to come forward? Did he know the party was in his honor? Did he know he was sixteen (16) years old???



That one was not to disappoint. Wee did indeed show up. He showed up right on time and remained with the "party" until he had had his fill of his special "cake".

Only, he would have no part of the party hat!




What is this, he sniffed?
"Oh boy! ... Oh boy! ... IT'S my FAVORITE!..... Tuna!" He eats dry cat food and rarely gets the opportunity for Fancy Feast, but today... was HIS day, let everyone else eat cake, he was onto something exceptional! And, you wonder... did he eat it all? ......... Every last lick!


.......................................But, he left the candle.
..............................................................HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Wee!

:-)

In honor of Wee or Oui, the cat!

April is about the time our dear friend and pet, Wee was born. So, this year, we're celebrating his life, his sixteen (16) years of life!

We will have a birthday party later on in the month. He actually was probably born on April Fool's Day since Nature has played so many "Jokes" (not funny ones) on him.

We got him from the Humane Society in October of 1994. We went to get a female, Billy likes black cats. Billy picked him out. They showed us this small, black cat and said it was a female. It looked scrawny. It was in a cage with a lot of shredded newspaper. They said it was between four and six weeks old.

The adoption papers were signed, the fee for the shots, neutering and adoption were paid. We took the small, black, guaranteed healthy, female kitten home. It came home to two other neutered cats. Kate, a real mean, dominating cat who chased yelping dogs out of the yard. Moose on the other hand was a real laid back male tabby cat. It must have been a traumatic experience for the tiny kitten.

Billy named her Kelly and she ate, then had the "runs" and couldn't stop scratching her head. Two days later, still having "runs", I realized it may not be that she was scared of the two other cats, so we brought her to our vet. Vet said, "Hun hunnn, not a female, a male, older than six weeks and full of worms and ear mites!" So began the almost weekly visits to the Veterinarian. We renamed Kelly, Wee, after Wee Willie Winkle in the children's poem.

Wee had had one testicle that had not dropped and had to be surgically removed which meant an incision in his underside. The ear mites required treatment for more than a month. I was the "treater", now that was fun! Wee had to be wrapped in a towel, then put on each side and had yulky stuff pulled out of his ears. I am sure you know he liked the procedure.

Once the worms were eliminated, the "runs" did not get much better, so the Vet prescribed Prescription (note: EXPENSIVE) Science Diet for cats with sensitive stomachs. Ahh, that worked! Along with the monthly flea medicine, Wee, who always kept himself very clean, seemed to be relaxing.

I wanted Wee to be a "house cat" since the other two were "in and out" cats. Our cats have always slept in so that we did not have to deal with abscesses due to nightly cat fights. So, Wee never went outside. He wanted to, but we didn't let him go out, no matter how hard he tried to get through the door. About in January, Wee's fur came off. He was bald, except where he could not reach with his tongue. He licked all of his fur off. (Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of this. )

Back to the Vet. She gave him Valium. Yes, Valium, the drug to calm humans. It made him climb the walls. The fur did not grow back! Another Vet Visit. "Cut the Valium in half and try that for a few days." Another Vet Visit, cut the pill in fourths and try that. This was about the third week of a bald cat in our house. It was cold, I cut a sock up and he wore a sock for another week. This also prevented him from licking the fur, but it did not grow back. Another Vet Visit. She said, "It must be psychological. Is there anything he wants to do that you are not letting him do?" Yes, he wants to go outside. We don't let him. Vet: "Try letting him out."

When we got home, he stayed outside until nighttime. The fur grew back and by the middle of February, we had a furry Wee cat again. Wee was not a year old and Nature had already played big jokes on him. He is a survivor.

Billy is now on his own and no longer lives with us, so Wee is totally, MY CAT! Kate and Moose have passed on. Wee's personality has blossomed since he became an "ONLY". He still chases leaves and his tail. He runs and jumps, pounces on lizards, tries to keep other cats out of his yard, and is in very good health.

He and I are on the same wave length and understand what the other wants us to do. (Mostly, what Wee wants me to do.) When I am patient, he is very obedient, is very well trained and willing to please. He follows me around the house. He comes to get me when he wants to eat and sometimes we know he wants company as he eats, so we oblige. He tells me his litter box needs attention, which it gets twice a day. He waits nearby where I take an afternoon nap, then he snuggles on my lap and we nap together. He sits by my side or on my shoulder while I do computering. He will not jump on the furniture unless there is a mat for him to lay on. He reminds us to lift the shades so he can sit on the window sill and look out. He loves massages and fur brushing. He has a sense of humor and I crack up with his silly looks. Oh, he still goes out, for maybe a total of 15 minutes a day. He is a HOUSE CAT! His name should be "Oui" which is French for "Yes". He said "Yes" to life and has for sixteen years, enriched mine.

Winter has been BRUTAL!

We have had a brutal winter. We believe our tropicals will not return. We are leaving them alone until Spring as they say, "Maybe they will come up from the ground"> If so, we do not want to further damage them by cutting on them now. The yard is bleak except for the BIRDS! We've got about 100 or so American Goldfinches. They are so much fun to watch!

On the left feeder is a house finch, notice it's red head. The other ones are the American Gold Finches. They are yellow when they are up North, but they are this color here. The white feeder is called a feed sock. It is amazing how many flock to it. Below notice a beautiful Cardinal. He likes the black oil sunflower seed.

Only excitement in the yard and boy are they fun to watch.

Our trip to Kansas

In November, we traveled to Kansas and enjoyed the hospitality of friends, Glenn and Jean Vaughn.
Gordon and Glenn were in the Navy together. Glenn is a rancher and they have a wonderful place.




We saw a lot of interesting things. The Vaughns live near Ft. Smith which is south of Kansas City, near the Missouri border.

We did not realize that there was an Amish community nearby.



There is also a National Cemetery in Ft. Scott. Very impressive especially since the trees were changing colors and I caught the light right.















We had a wonderful time. We even went to watch marbles being made at a Marble Factory. Yes, the little round ones. The kind you "shoot" between your fingers and your thumb. It is a wonderful country we live in. It is so diverse. The geography is so interesting. The cultures are so varied. Awesome!

Climate change?

Today, the temperature reached 57°F. Last week, the high was in the mid 30s. We had ice in the bird bath every day for a week. It got down to 19° on several mornings. Now, it is raining. Tomorrow, we were told to expect 2 inches or more of rain. For two weeks our "tropicals" were covered in hopes to ward off certain death. We put all of the potted plants in the store room. Yesterday, took the plants out of the storeroom and we uncovered the tropicals. Well, the storeroom worked, but the coverings didn't. We have a devastating looking yard. Almost everything is brown, as in dead. This morning, Gordon and I went outside, we had "tea at ten", put a fire in the chimnea, and gazed at the desolate landscape. I placed some plants from the storeroom nearby and we enjoyed that. Just goes to show that you can find "cheerfulness" when everything seems sad.

This was also a good time to watch the birds. We saw 8 American Goldfinches, amongs the usual yard birds.

Did you notice the brown banana trees in the picture. They add to the "texture" of the setting, huh? When it really warms up, like maybe next week, we will have to go out and trim the brown. Until Spring, we've got the "set up" of living plants and the birds to brighten our day.