Happy Birthday Shaggy and Angel Scooby

Today I am 12.
It is my first birthday without my litter mate brother Scooby, who is an angel at the Rainbow Bridge now. .
We were born in 2000
"Millennium Cats" is what mom likes to call us.

Until we meet again.

V-E-T Visit

Guess who went to the v-e-t for his annual check-up today?
That's right!
Me!  Shaggy!
My angel brother Scooby and I turn 12 on  Friday so it's that nasty time of year when I get forced into the PTU and taken to be poked, prodded & stabbed.   But also admired and told how handsome I am.

Lemme outta here!

 I complained all the way there in the car.
Yep.
The entire two minutes.

Whadda ya mean I can't get back in?

Dr. Rich said I weigh 19.5 pounds and could stand to lose 3 of them but he always marvels at how large I am....from nose to tail and says that even though I'm overweight I move just fine and to prove it I marched around the room jumped easily onto the chair.   He said I carry it well and it doesn't seem to be stressing my joints.   I've been at this weight for over a long time.

Oops!  Don't show Mom this poster!

I'll try to teleport home from under here!

He said don't gain more but maintaining with slow loss would be best.   He didn't advise any special diet, because Mom said I have been eating less since Scooby went to the Bridge.

Here's a big word: Lenticular Sclerosis in my eyes.
The eye lens becomes gray and the pupil looks cloudy.  A normal part of aging he said. It is not a cataract.  It doesn't cause blindness but depth perception can be affected in advanced cases.

I had a good check up.  Everything is working order for a 12 year old cat.  The results from the bloods they stole will be back tomorrow from the lab and they will give Mom a call, but no worries expected. 

Feather Madness

Nothing like an active game of attack the feather wand!



That sneaky thing was going crazy fluttering all around me, taunting me.




I showed it who's boss!



Me!

It even tried to infiltrate my Ess!

No way was that going to happen.

I will defend my Ess to then end.

I vanquished the feather wand and the house is safe again!

-Scout

Rain, Endless Rain

Rain, rain
Go away
Come again some other day.

Mom remembers her mother saying this when she was a little girl.

It appears to be monsoon season in Minnesota.
Rain, all day, for days on end.  

Napping is mandatory. 

We have so much rain there is a lake forming at the bottom of the yard.

This is from last year, but it looks just the same today.

-Shaggy

Happy 7th Birthday Scout!

Today is my birthday!

I am 7.

My momma cats' name was Chicken.
She had lots of litters before she had me.
Her people kept letting her outside even though she wasn't spayed.
Chicken always had a hot date going.

You can just see her back and tail in this second picture.
 I was a litter of one.  I grew fast because I got all her milk and all her attention.
She had one more litter of 4 after me then she died.


This was the day I came to live here in this house with my forever mom and dad.   July 1, 2005.
I was 6 weeks old.

I was curious and interested in everything.


I loved having my picture taken!







Squeeeee!

 

Little did I know that there were 2 big cats already living at the new house.  Shaggy & Scooby were 6 at the time.  One year younger than I am now.

Mom put me in the spare bedroom and put a baby gate across the doorway so we could sniff and get to know each other first, but I kept climbing the gate to explore so she & dad gave up, took the gate down and away I went!  Shaggy and Scooby just had to get used to it.  Nothing was going to stop me!  Nothing stops me now either!


Come on over everyone and help me celebrate my birthday!

Lots of foods:  Ham, turkey, chick-hen, tuna, real live fresh dead shrimps, salmon, cod, halibut.....you get the idea!

Niptinis, meowgaritas, mousetini's for the older kitties.   Water for the youngsters. Sorry.

Treats, nip, and......valerian root for the heavy hitters.
 And tons of toys!

Zolie will take you one a tour of the yard and give you tips for mouse & chipmunk stalking & hunting.

When you get tired there are lots of places to nap: the peoples waterbed, kitty beds in secret hidden places, and the newly re-upholstered sunroom furniture!
Our house is your house!

Special Day

There is a special day coming this week.


It is Wednesday the 23rd.


It has to do with Scout, the number 7 and a party!

Toby says:

Hi Kitty friends!

Is there any way you could convince my mom to be more generous with the carrots, parsley and fruit? 

I get a mini carrot in the morning when the kitties get their food and parsley or fruit in the evening when she cleans out my cage.  Otherwise all I have are pellets and hay!  All I want of those.
The cats get to eat like pigs!  I'm a piggie and I don't!
-Toby, the White Guinea Pig

Relaxing

Relaxing on the Ess!

I love this thing!

-Scout

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all Moms.
Both Kitty & Feline.
Hope your day is filled with Love, Laughter, Purrs and Noms.

Scoobys Favorite Outside Place

Here is a picture of Scooby at his favorite place outside.  The downspout!
Scooby always loved dripping water and after a rain or in the case of this picture, with melting snow, he would crouch right there and lap the dripping water to his hearts content.
Last week mom bought some colorful pansies to place right there as a memorial for him.  She hadn't yet potted them in these pictures.
 

As the weather heats up she will transfer the pansies into a shady side garden by the house and pot up some bright colorful summer flowers for this spot.
Scooby also loved to sit on the front porch with mom on warm days and nap while she read her books.

After Scooby died 6 weeks ago it only made mom sad to see his favorite places around the house without him.  It still does.  Sometimes she thinks she catches a glimpse of him in her peripheral vision.  She is starting to be comforted by the memories of his beautiful life and finding ways to honor his gentle memory by doing these kinds of little things which bring peace.

The Universe is so Humungous Big

Dad got caught in the rain the other day when he was out on the golf course.

He brought his clubs and stuff in the house to dry out and look what else he brought in....

This giant kitty dome thing that is really fun to sit beneath!

 Seriously, I may be able to teleport to all corners of the globe, no...the UNIVERSE under here!
The force field is so potent I can almost feel it vibrating.

I could maybe fit a dozen kitties under here with me, and I could take everyone on guided tours of exotic places like  Rio, Philadelphia or the Outer Moons of Neptune! Imagine the possibilities!
-Shaggy

Cinco de Mouse-O Partay

Happy May 5!

 It's Cinco de Mouse-O at our house.


The people are going out for Mexican food and Margaritas tonight and Scout & I hope to cellebrate with a little Mouse-O with red sauce and catnip rice!  Well, actually we eat around the rice, so it's just catnip!
Nom!

Stop over anytime today!  Zolie has been catching live mousies in the yard and in the woods, and I've been putting them inside a pinata.
Everybody gets blindfolded & we'll take turns pouncing on it until it breaks!  When it does,  the mousies will scatter everywhere & the chase will be on! 

Niptini's for all after our bellies are stuffed.
-Shaggy

Zolie and the Mousies

 Here's Zolie out on our deck.
She is back there twice a day for her canned food and often can be seen resting in one of the chairs in the sun on nice days.

Mom has been tossing out mousies for her to play with.  We're happy to share with her.  We have more toys than the two of us use or even care about.

At first she was puzzled about what they were.  All she knew about was being a feral mom cat. We didn't know if she would care to play with toys because she catches the real thing all the time.    But last summer after mom caught her & had her spayed she has been enjoying the finer things of life, like catnip mousies.  She bats them around and tosses them in the air and bunny kicks them just like any house cat would do. 

She is in her bed in the garage every morning to greet dad when he goes out to get the paper, but waits for mom to get up before she goes around back because she knows mom is the one who brings her food dish.   Instead of jumping over the side of the deck to hide when the door opens like she used to do, she just retreats a safe distance away and listens to mom when she talks to her and tells her what a beauty she is.
We love you Zolie!