Our 14th Blogoversary!

TBT HERE:  This Blogoversary post will be different from previous ones.  The Mews agreed that since none of them were here (or even born yet) when the blog started, I should write today's post.  It makes it easier to refer to individual Mews, Cats-Who-Came-Before, the origins of the blog, and some events The Mews may not remember. 

Some of this will be stuff mentioned in past years.  But there are always some new readers since last blogoversary.  Also, I don't expect people to remember all details.  But I deliberately did not re-read the previous posts of this event, so I hope it will at least be organized a bit differently and maybe with some new recollections.

Technically (today being the 14th Blogoversary), the blog started Aug 25th 2006.  But in a way, it started a couple of years before that.  I do not recall exactly how I came across the 'Max, The Psychokitty' blog.  I certainly wasn't looking for a "cat blog", the concept had never crossed my mind!  I wasn't even looking for "cats", since I was perfectly happy with Skeeter and LC.  But it came up on an internet search of some sort. 

That was 2004.  I wasn't yet retired, so I would sneak a peek at Max's Blog on the office computer to rest my eyes from scrolling through massive databases looking for specific information.  I won't bore you about the details, but I was very good at picking out "interesting keywords" I had not thought of actually doing a search for.  It wasn't anything secret.  Just that I had recently figured out how to read our telephone vendors' proprietary data of my agency's long-distance calls and was trying to discover what useful information was there. 

Mostly, it was for dividing costs among our various offices.  But I also found some of the employees who were running businesses on Government time...  I kept our Inspector General's Office busy for a while...  Anyway, sometimes I just had to stop the high-speed scrolling.  It was like playing a high-speed pinball machine (which I was also good at).

So I used to internet-search odd topics.  I clicked on Max's (as so many other people must have done).  And I was hooked.  I'm snarky myself so Max always made my day.  When I retired in early 2006, I was looking for interesting things to do.  I had found a couple other blogs through Max's site and one day at one of the few, I saw a button that said "Free Blog".

I clicked to investigate what was required.  It seemed safe (no hidden costs, computer-invasions, outsider control, etc.  It took me several days to figure out what to do to set one up and to decide whether I actually had much to say.  I also quickly realized that a blog required some computer skills I did not then have. 

I had never processed pictures, changed the sizes, or copied them around the computer.  But my Mom and I had exchanged thoughtful, humorous, and clever letters since I left home (we both did poem parodies, jokes, and I could print out pics to include with the letters).  Sadly, by 2006, Mom was having "elder" difficulties with writing, memory, and creativity.  While I kept writing to her, she became unable to respond (Dad once mentioned to me that she read and re-read my letters and especially like seeing the pictures of me and the cats), so I kept it up until she died in 2010.

But it was no longer interactive in 2006, so I decided to give blogging a try.  It was confusing at first.  My first 2 posts didn't show up.  I figured out the problem Aug 29th and reposted the 2 that day.  I got my first comment Aug 30th 2006 (The Meezers).  I got my first pics posted on September 2nd.

There were problems in those first days.  I managed to block comments for a few days until someone found my email in the sidebar and told me.  I tried to post text next to small pics, which was quite maddening because everytime I edited text, the text moved around.  It took me a while to give up on that.  Partly, smaller pics saved space, and partly, text NEXT TO pics seemed easier to understand.  But I surrendered to the obvious and easier text under pics like newspaper captions

It was originally "Skeeter and LC".  Both the content, the blogger address and the Blog Title.  I suppose I thought they would both just live forever (or at least longer than the blog).    Hint to any new bloggers:  Don't address your blog after the current cats.  You can change the blog name, but the address remains and that can become painful.  And if you change the address, don't cancel it!  There is a scam-rat somewhere who took over the skeeterandlc address and uses it for scam-ads.

In the first months of the blog, I had Skeeter and LC discussing the house and yard from their point of view.  They didn't understand glass doors, fences, where food came from, cars, vaccuum cleaners, fish in the aquarium, and any number of human things that were "unnatural". 

Some of that confusion on their part WAS actually understandable.  I cleaned the deck door once so well that LC forgot it was there.  She crashed into it one night attacking a frog on it.  She actually broke the glass!  Skeeter never heard a plastic trash bag being opened that wouldn't terrify him into hiding for hours (he came from a small pet store and I suspect he learned that if any animal was put in a plastic bag it never returned).

And at this point, I think it is good to recall my cats here at the house I've lived in for 34 years (on Sept 2nd 1986).  It does lead to the blog...

THE TALE OF THE CATS:

I arrived here in 1986 with Tinkerbelle who was about 3.  She was a difficult cat due to a severe dog-bite that damaged her spine when she was a kitten.  She was extremely sensitive to touching that area.  My Sister and her young daughter were scratched often as a result and Sister offerred Tinkerbelle to me.  I accepted and learned to stroke Tinkerbelle carefully raising my hand over the sensitive spot.  She was never a truly happy cat, but she became more relaxed around me.  She came to trust me.

Skeeter arrived in 1992.  He was the first cat I actually chose myself (the others were all give-a-way grey tabby females) or Tinkerbelle).  I stopped at a small local pet store on Halloween.  It was being renovated.  I was looking for a female Siamese.  But there was this little terrified orange/white male kitten alone in a cage at the front of the store shaking from all the noise and dust. 

How could anyone leave such a kitten behind?  Well, sure, many must have, but I didn't.  Best $10 I ever spent!  Skeeter's posts are listed in the subject sidebar.  But I'll mention that it took him only a few days to realize everything was calm in his new place.  When he accepted that, he stayed around me like a mosquito.  When I was young, we called them "skeeters".  So that was his name.  And he was next to me most of the days of his life.

LC arrived the year after from the same place.  Tinkerbelle was not friendly to Skeeter.  And with the commute to the job, the hours of the job, and the commute home, I was gone 12 hours a day.  Skeeter was always desperate for my attention when I got home.  I could change my hours.  So I decided he needed a cat of his own.  Literally, a pet to take care of...

So there I was in the same small pet store (quiet and peaceful by then) on the same day a year later (1993).  There were 2 kittens in the front cage.  I was attracted to one.  It was friendly, loving, and sought attention.  But it was promised as a wedding present and being held while the newlyweds were on a cruiseship.

The other was standoffish, hissy, and unfriendly.  If I walked to one side of the cage, she went to the other.  Oh well.  I never met a cat who didn't come to love me.  I reached into the cage and held the kitten while the shop-owner loosened each claw from the other side.  That sounds like a BAD start, doesn't it?  Well, she hid for a couple days, but I sat and talked to her a lot (pushing tiny amounts of food each time).  She decided I was OK.  But, as planned, I oriented her to Skeeter.  Like I said, I was away most all day. 

It worked as planned.  Mean Old Tinkerbelle didn't like Skeeter, and she disliked LC more.  So Skeeter "Mancatted" up and protected LC.  It was the start of a 16 year friendship. 

The name LC came from her furs.  She was white with  black splotches and a co-worker finally said she looked like a cow.  LC stood for "Little Cow".

Skeeter and LC were devoted to each other all the days of their lives.  Skeeter died at 16.5 in December 2008.  LC died at almost the same age in January 2010.  She missed Skeeter so much that she only came up on my lap regularly her last few months.

But I need to mention Tinkerbelle again because her fate was not explained.  She used to go outside and stay out all night.  The neighbor once mentioned to me that she would always go sit on the front steps about 15 minutes before I arrived home.  She was a huntress and there was a swamp across the street with a field near the road. 

That was her personal place.  So it wasn't unusual that when I let her out in the morning that she would stay out most of the day.  Mostly she would return to the house when I called but smeties she wouldn't.  She never really liked Skeeter and LC, not that they bothered her, but I think she resented not being an Only Cat.

So one day in 1999, she was out and I was going fishing with a friend.  She didn't come in, but I knew she would be there when I returned.  I never saw her again.  Well, she was at least 16.  And I have read of cats that seemed to go off to die alone.  I don't know about that, but I never found a trace of her. 

Maybe she found a new home free of other cats (and dogs).  I put up posters.  I walked the streets in daytime and at night.  I asked neighbors if they had seen a roadkill cat.  I found a lost cat once and put up posters.  By the time I was attaching the 3rd one to a street sign, a girl on a bike said "that's my cat".  I returned it.  But I wasn't that lucky with Tinkerbelle.

Here's an odd thought.  Suppose you die and whatever your deity is says you can ask one question which that deity will answer fully.  Suppose you would love to know the history of humankind after you dis?  Or suppose you would love to understand how the universe began?  I'd love those answers.  But suppose I had the chance to know what happened to Tinkerbelle?  I think I would ask about Tinkerbelle...  The lack of closure hurts me to this day.

You all know about Ayla, Marley, Iza, and Laz.  But briefly, Ayla in 2008 was finally the female Siamese I was searching for back in 1992, Iza was too in 2009, but turned out to be a Tonkinese (to my joy of herself),  Marley "sort of" replaced Skeeter but is a special buddy all his own, and Laz is new and adjusting to life here and we will see what the future brings.

So this 14th Blogoversary is a trip down Memory Lane.  And because I chose to be all texty today, TOMMOROW is going to be the PARTY DAY!

Because today is the start of the blog, but it didn't show then.  And it took a few days, so I can choose any of the days for a PARTY.  And Its MY BLOG, so I make all the rules, LOL!

Mark

13th Blogiversary

TBT:  As the Hobbits say "13 is a lucky number because it can't be divided... 

Well between Skeeter and LC in their elder years, and Ayla/Iza/Marley to start young, we have collectively managed 13 years of blogging!  I am sometimes amazed.  It all started because I discovered Max The Psychokitty's blog in 2004 and then 1 or 2 others. 

One of them (I think Max's) had a button that said "Free Blog".  After I was retired a few months and had some time, I pressed the button.  Pressing buttons should not be done lightly.  Like the wardrobe in 'The Chronicles of Narnia', Bilbo's road out of the Shire, Alice's rabbithole, or the WWI soldier who went wandering around France and discovered 'The Man Who Planted Trees' you never know what will happen when you try something new to you.

In my case, it was a rescue.  I had engaged in discussion groups on several topics back when the internet was 9.6k dial up.  It was slow streaming chat.  Some of them closed, some were overtaken by trolls, some were so contentious that I left, and one triggered me to sufficient anger that I (to my everlasting shame) was kicked off of.

Then the BUTTON showed up and I pressed it.  It was all quite confusing at first.  I tried a first post on August 25, 2006.  I only got it to show up days later, but the title of the post was the date, so I count that the official start.

My original idea was (and to an extent still is) to describe the world from a cat's POV.  Skeeter and LC did not understand glass doors,  where food came from, what *I* was (which is why I'm "TBT" mostly), etc.  But you can't keep that up forever.  I've let the cats gain understanding over the years.  Their English has improved a bit (but they maintain some spelling and grammar of their own).  They can type somewhat, but I always do some minor editing while trying to allow their basic sense of the world to come through.

Well otherwise,  mousies and birds and frogs, crickets and Stinky Goodness from cans would all just be called "food".  Some allowances to readers is necessary.  And some slightly improved (but hopefully not overdone) spelling seems good but plausible.

We collectively have lost some good friends over the 13 years.  Some went over The Bridge , some just vanished (OTB or just stopped blogging), some announced they were stopping, and some we dropped from our reading list.  That last is awkward. 

At various times, at some blogs I have had to resort to a lot of work to comment and it became just to difficult to get a comment posted (word verification was bad but picture-matching became an exercise in futility for me).  So one day I just deleted a dozen blogs from my feedly list. 

And there is the number of blogs I can visit these days.  I used to manage a list of 100.  Today 60 seems like too many.  As I get older (and also as the yard and house requires more attention), it gets harder to visit all my favorite blogs.  I really do apologize for that. 

I keep telling myself I will do better about that.  I also keep failing.  You would think that a retired person has all the time in the world, but what happens is that you do more things to use up all that time.

I have some ideas though...

13 years can use up most of your creative efforts.  It used to be easy, but now I have to think of things to post about.  I worry that I get repetitive. 

I hope to get to 14.

Love to all...

12th Blogoversary!

TBT here:  It feels like just yesterday...  12 years...

I think I will just offer pictures of the cats here who made it possible.  Skeeter and LC were here at the start.  And had to leave too soon.
 
And it has been Ayla, Iza, and Marley since.


Thank you for liking our blog enough to keep visiting...

11th Blogiversary

Its our 11TH BLOGIVERSARY today.  Well, maybe.  TBT says the very first post on Aug 25, 2006 dint quite post right, but did get posted Aug 26th but with the 25th date on it.  So this year we are celebrating today.

HERE is the 1st post... 

We decided that we would show the earliest picture TBT had of each of us...

So we have an early picture of Skeeter.  That remote is only 6" long... 
And LC on one of her first days...  She was a skinny kitty then.

And of us...  Ayla as a kitten...

Iza was not so happy about being here at first. She hid unner the bed fer a few days.  This was her 3rd house in about 6 months (born in one, bought as a Queen by another, then here).  She was probably wondering if this one was her real home.  Well, yes, it is.

Marley was right out there though...

He came right out and went to work calming the house.  Some cats know their purpose in life, and Marley is one of them.  When there is a hiss between Ayla an Iza, Marley moves right in between them to keep the peace.  And if the doorbell rings, Marley moves right to the top of the stairs and growls.  Peacekeeper and guardian both.

It is hard to believe it has been 11 years...

10th Blogoversary

THE BIG THING HERE:  Well, we have finally reached it...  Today represents our 10th year of blogging.

It wasn't a specific goal.  When we started 10 years ago with Skeeter and LC they were already 14 and 13 respectively.  They knew all about doors, windows, fences,  and stuff, but had never had to try to put them in words before.  It was interesting to discover how they thought about those things.

They didn't really know much about me either.  I learned that they referred to me as "The Big Thing" and weren't sure what kind of animal I was since they never met many others except Vets, repairmen, and a few friends and family.  In fact, they were amazed I ever met any of my family, since they hadn't seen any of theirs since they were small kittens.

Bein words came hard to them at first, and in fact, I mostly had to interpret their general thoughts.  It was a while before they started writing more on their own, and even then, I had to do a lot of editing.  They thought I was mostly there to manage their household and do the things they couldn't, like opening food cans and cleaning litterboxes.  It seemed completely normal to them that some odd critter existed just to fulfill their needs.  If that's all one knows, why not think that? 

So I'll talk about our first blogging years with them...

Skeeter came to me in 1992 and LC in 1993.  Both from a small local pet store.  Both at Halloween.  I didn't know much about such places then.  Such places do not exist around here anymore.

I've told the stories of them before, but wish to do so again.  I went to the pet store to find a female Siamese.  No offense to gray tabby cats, but I had had them all my adult life (and loved each one greatly) but I wanted something different.  We had had 2 Siamese female cats when I was young and I wanted one myself.  The pet store was being renovated.  There was horrible dust and noise everywhere!

There was only one kitten in the place.  Terrified by the noise and dust, trembling alone in its (rather decently spacious) cage.  I took one look at him in his misery and said "Kitten, I'm getting you OUT of here NOW!

I don't know how long he had been in that cage.  I don't know how long he had been alone.  I do know that the moment I let him out of the cardboard box the sellers had put him into to send him off with me, he ran frantically out and found a cutout spot under the kitchen cabinets that let air escape from a floor vent they covered.  The space was only 6" high bit 2'x2' wide and deep.  A lot of room for a kitten hiding.

And I know he was forever terrified of trash can bags,  I made some guesses about how some kittens might have "gone away" in his experience.   But I was never sure.  I simply made certain not to "pop" any open when he was around.   He couldn't tell me why, and I couldn't ask.  To this day, I very carefully open trash bags and slowly push them into the kitchen trash bin when no cats are around. 

He stayed in there for 3 days.  He was so terrified that he pooped and peed in there and still stayed there.  I pushed bowls of food and water in there.  And then left the food bowls just a little outside the opening.  Then further out.  And I would sit there in the evening talking quietly to him.

He finally came out a bit and sniffed my fingers (which I had dipped in some food).  Eventually he came out and carefully sniffed me (the unfooded parts).  I set a hand within reach and he slowly crawled under it and I gave some gentle strokes and scritches.

His whole world turned around immediately.  He stayed out of the cabinet vent cutout, and stayed near me all day.  In fact, I couldn't get away from him!  He stayed as close to me as a starving mosquito.  And that's how he got his name.  When I was a kid, we called mosquitoes "skeeters".

So I called him "Skeeter". 

I still had Tinkerbelle at the time.  She was a bit mean.  I got her from my sister Susie after Tinkerbelle had been injured by a dog and had started to claw both her and the baby at any offense.  Tinker and I got along because I was a bit more forgiving of claws and because I learned how to give her strokes and sneak over the injured spots.

Skeeter had to adjust to Tinker...  I think he became friendly and diplomatic because of dealing with Tinker.  I was working a job that meant I left the house at 6 am every day and only returned at 6 pm.  So he had to deal with "Mean Old Tinker" all day when I was gone.

He came running to me every evening as I returned home.  He climbed up me (ouch) to get to my face.  Every critter who loves you wants to be at face level.  I indulged the climbing.  Skeeter sat on my shoulder as I prepared his food but also when I wasn't.   He wanted facetime and I gave it.  He slept under the covers with me all his years.

The following Halloween, I decided that Skeeter needed a friend since I was away half every day.  I went back to the same pet store.  It was nice and quiet then and there were 2 kittens in the front cage.  I still wanted a female Siamese but they didn't have any.  But one calico kitten was gorgeous and friendly and I said I wanted that one.  Turned out she was already sold and just being held as a wedding present for a couple who were on a honeymoon cruise.

I'm not one for delayed gratification in certain areas.  Like wanting a kitten.  The other kitten was a black and white.  And she was NOT friendly.  Any side of the cage I went to, she moved to the other.  I recognized a fiesty spirit!  I have never had any cat who didn't love me, so I wasn't worried about that.

I said "I'll take her" and between the shopowner and I, we slowly pried her claws off the cage mesh one by one until she came loose.  Into their cardboard box she went.

When released at home, she went for the same undercabinet spot Skeeter had hidden in.  I guess it is a obvious spot to a kitten.  But this time Skeeter sat there and talked to her.  Which was perfect, because she wasn't MY cat, she was Skeeter's.  I was still away most of the day after all.  I wanted Skeeter and the new one to orient to each other.

But she did need a name, and I give a lot of thought to names.  You should have seen me starting  computer quest games in the 90s where you had some group of skilled characters and they all needed names.  I spent a day deciding on names, and those games only lasted a month!

So I thought and thought.   And don't laugh that "Skeeter's Cat" came to mind.  But with the help of a special co-worker I considered that her black/white markings looked a bit like a cow's.  So I decided first on "Little Cow", but then made it just the initials, LC.

LC adored Skeeter, and Skeeter protected her from Mean Old Tinkerbelle.  Skeeter and LC became inseparable.  They napped together, they ate together, they went outside together, they played with toys together.


In 1999, Tinkerbelle was outside and didn't come back when I called her as I was leaving to go fishing with a friend.  That wasn't unusual.  She often stayed away all day off in some local places of her own.  But I never saw her again.  She was failing in health at 16 or 17.  She may have left to go find a spot to die.  All I know is that no neighbor said they saw a dead kitty on the street and I never heard a meow when I walked the streets for days and nights calling her name.  Such things happen, and I missed her.  WE got along.

Skeeter and LC didn't miss her and I can hardly blame them. They were happy together having the whole house in peace while I was away and having my attention each evening.  That went on until 2006 when I retired.  They were thrilled I was there every day and they got fed better food more often.  Well, I couldn't very well give them canned food for lunch when I wasn't there before.  My retirement in 2006 was the start of the best days of the lives.   It didn't last long enough, but those were good days..

And I am just NOW getting to the blog itself, LOL!

My last couple years at work, I had discovered a couple of cat-blogs.  I followed Max, The Psychokitty daily.  AHe was amazing to me. And another couple that sadly escape my recollection.  But one had a button that said "Start Free Blog".  After a few months of retirement, I clicked the button.  And it seemed workable.

So away we went In August 25, 2006; Me, Skeeter, and LC.  It was hard.  It was confusing.  It was tricky.  I couldn't figure out how things worked.  It was days before I learned how to allow comments and then to read them, and more before I could post a picture.    But I did eventually and it wasn't as easy back then.

Our first commentors were The Meezers (they are honored forever for that here) and Max himself announced us to the world.

Sadly, Skeeter was already 14 at that time and LC was 13.  Skeeter's last year on the blog just over a year later was hard, with accidents all around the house, eating problems, and confusion.  The Good Vet said he wasn't feeling pain, but when he started to lean against the walls to stay upright, it would be "his time".

That time came December 10, 2008, only 2 years into his blogging time.  He left for The Bridge after the sedative shot looking peacefully into my eyes as I wept while holding him.

LC went suddenly at home 13 months later from some sort of stroke.  I found her in the basement and rushed her to the vet.  She seems to have roused briefly there but was gone before I could arrive back.

They are both buried in the flowerbed, with markers.

Thus ended the story of Skeeter and LC, the reasons I started the blog...

But before Skeeter left, I had found the Siamese female I had originally looked for.  And she was perfect for me.  Unwanted by the breeder because she was too small to breed, I offered a good home because I wasn't interested in breeding.  She nearly GAVE her to me.  I named her "Ayla" after a character in a book and I had been saving that name for 20 years.

Skeeter loved Ayla when she first arrived as he had LC years before.  He was a wonderful caring cat.  But he lost track of her after he faded a few months later.  LC and Ayla were hissy.

LC missed Skeeter so very much.  She wanted her big orange brother back.  It was a week before she climbed up on my lap.  She had never done that before.  I gave her much attention, and she appreciated it.  She even came up onto the bed and slept next to me.  No one can say that cats don't miss companions or that they can't seek comfort where they haven't before a loss.  I was the 2nd choice after Skeeter and I didn't mind that a bit.


LC followed Skeeter over The Bridge in January 2010.  They were almost identical ages. of 16 and 1/2  At that time, I realized that naming the cat blog after specific cats ("Skeeter and LC") was a bad idea in the long term.  Well, it never really occurred to me that I would still be blogging by the time they left for The Bridge...  I thought for a week about a new name for the blog.  I finally came up with "Mark's Mews".

I called the breeder and got Iza just a few days later.  She was a very relaxed cat.

She came out from under the bed after just a day, and immediately attached herself to me.

Mews means variously "Meows", "a place where people live with animals", a "hideaway", and a "small street".  And the homonym "muse" because they gave me so much thought and inspiration...  So there is the cats, I live with them, we are kind of solitary, and we live on a short dead end street.  And my name is "Mark".  So "Mark's Mews"...  And it will never have to change.

So there was Ayla and Iza for a while.  But they were hissy with each other in spite of the Felliway and attention.  So, illogical as it seems, I decided I needed another orange male cat.  Skeeter had been so great at keeping peace in the house.   I looked at many animal shelter cats.

But they always came as brothers and those would have already become attached mostly to each other.  I needed a single.  With help, I found one.  The owner had been given an orange/white male cat for Christmas and discovered she was allergic to cats.  I saw the picture of the cat and fell in love.

And it wasn't easy to get him.  She said he had been promised to a family with children.  I pointed out that I was retired and could attend to him 24/7, that I bought only the best foods, that I played toys daily, that I had a yard surrounded by a fence that he couldn't get out of (which turned out to be false) and would have a wonderful time catching mice within.

She changed her mind and I went to visit her.  He had 1 toy.  He was fed cheap dry food.  She called him down from upstairs and he came right down the stairs and looked at me.  I sat down on the floor.  He crawled onto my lap and purred loudly and accepted my scritchies.

That settled things in her mind and mine.  I asked about his name and she said, "well, I named him 'Marley' but you can call him anything you want".  I turned that around in my mind for a moment (considering that I could have named him after someone in the COTCB books along with Ayla and Iza), but I decided it was a perfect name and fit him perfectly.  So Marley he was and Marley he remains!

Here he is coming out of the PTU for the first time here...

I stayed in touch with her by email for a few months telling her that he was happy and sending pictures, but she stopped replying after a while.  Well, she had to move on with her post-cat life.

So now it is Ayla, Iza, and Marley, in "Mark's Mews" and this is the 10th year completed.  And who knows what the future will bring?

Ayla, Iza, and Marley say they hope you will all come and visit today so they can swap blogging stories and stuff like that!

Announcement Wensday

We want to announce a milestone in our lives.  Tomorrow is our 10TH BLOGIVERSARY!

There will be a pawty.  Not the wild kind like Marley's birthday, more like a visiting, sit around comparing notes, bat a few toys, eat some good snacks pawty.  We are still a bit worn out from that one!

Since we ourselfs werent there at the start, TBT will discuss the beginning and we will chime in occasionally when it gets ta our parts.

So please do come and help us celebrate this special day!

Bag Frustrations, Maybe, and OUR 9TH BLOGOVERSARY!

TBT fooled us AGAIN!  He left the emty kibble bag on the kitchen floor.

The bag SMELLS like treats...

But there arent anny in there...   We checked.

We all checked VERY carefully.

Not a kibble to be had!

Cruel...

But then he immediately showed us the bowl of them and started tossing them around.  Bast, it is FUN chasin those tossed kibbles an eatin them!

We knew he wouldnt cheat us...

But we have a surprise too.  IT'S OUR 9TH BLOGOVERSARY!

Well, not OURS really, we were late-comers.  It was all TBT, Skeeter, and LC then.

But here's the first post.  HERE
Its fun to read the very first stuff...

We would have a party, but we just had one fer Marley's Birfday an we are STILL all kinna worn out from that.  So we will just enjoy the day celebratin it more quietly an hope ya will join us.  That doesnt mean ya all arent welcome to come visit.  We would like that.

Belated Blogoversary Pawty!

YES, WE'RE BACK!!!

We feel pretty stupid missing our own blogoversary on August 25th, but we can blame TBT fer THAT. He got all funky and wanted to stay away from the computer at just the wrong time.

However, we will let bygones be bygones and go along from THERE.

And "THERE" means a BIG party for the Blogoversary he made us miss!  So late or not, we're having a pawty.

And how many Blog years you ask?  8 years.  Now, we'll be honest, it didn't start with anny of us.  WE are all younger than the blog.  Even the oldest of us here (Ayla, at 6 whole years here) is a few years short of the start.  It was Skeeter and LC who started it.

So the pawty is partly ta celebrate both Skeeter and LC who started it and we who have continued it.    Well, that DOES get us all involved, and that's good.

So we have early pictures of Skeeter.  That remote is only 6" long...  We still have it.
And LC on one of her first days...  She was a skinny kitty then.

And of us...  Ayla as a kitten...

Iza was not so happy about being here at first. She hid unner the bed fer a few days.  This was her 3rd house in about 6 months (born in one, bought as a Queen by another, then here).  She was probably wondering if this one was her real home.  Well, yes, it is.

Marley was right out there though...

He came right out and went to work calming the house.  Some cats know their purpose in life, and Marley is one of them.  When there is a hiss between Ayla an Iza, Marley moves right in between them to keep the peace.  And if the doorbell rings, Marley moves right to the top of the stairs and growls.  Peacekeeper and guardian both.

Marley came here from the house of a Very Nice Lady who was gifted him by friends who got him for her as a Christmas gift from a shelter, and she discovered she was allergic to cats.  So she set out to find him a new home.  A blogging friend knew TBT was looking for a friendly orange/white male cat, saw Marley on Claigslist, and let us know about him.  So he's here.

Now that we are caught up to us now, let's have a pawty!

Yeah its belated by 2 weeks, but TBT owes us an we WANT it.  But we don't wanna just do the same party that Marley just had fer his Birfday a month ago ago, so lets make it differnt!

THIS time, we are gonna search out the good hiding/napping places all through the house, pop open the door ta the foods an see what we can steal, go down ta the basement and wreck stuff, fill up the litter boxes, make up our OWN games, an trash the house.

Cuz TBT promised ta just STAY BUSY fer all day an let us all do whatever we want.  He knows there will be a mess ta clean up, and he says that's OK.  But we better REALLY do it cuz he isnt likely ta allow it again fer a long time.

So bring frogs and grasshoppers, release moths, tear up the toilet paper, claw up the inside door mats, etc.

We've earned it.  And TBT is leaving a lot of good foods out.  The usual party fare - ham chicken, shrimps, Nip, drinks, etc...

Its our 8th Blogoversary Pawty, and 8 seems like a lot!  And it's BELATED!  So lets REALLY blast it out!

7th Blogiversary Mousie Hunt

AYLA:  Well, as the eldest cat here, I will be coordinatin our Blogiversary Mousie Hunt!  Marley an Iza will be outside helpin our guests find the best mousie holes.  They brought TBT around earlier today ta have him take some pictures of some of them.

Some of you esperienced mousers will note that there are other good places around the yard (a pile of stones, a compost bin, some overgrown area near the back fence, etc).  Feel free to hunt those places too.  There are also several Nip plants around too.  Those are available fer nibblin on, but try not ta roll on them too much.  There are froggies in the pond.  Yer welcome to catch them too...

TBT hopes we will catch and eat as many as possible.  But dont ferget ta drop a few live ones in the bucket near the deck door, cuz TBT is gonna dump some in the bath tub for the inside-only cats to grab an play with too.

We dont espect anny cat will go hungry with all the mousies we have around, but there will be bowls of Stinky Goodness and some kibble in the kitchen.  I will be inside to make sure our teleport tunnel stays werkin properly, to keep order around the bath tub, and to let TBT know when we need more from the bucket.

Dont ferget that there is a big tall fence completely around the back yard, so ya dont hafta worry about anny wanderin woofies (no offense to your friendly ones).

Also, I will post a few updates ta let those who cant visit during the Hunt read about it later.

Its 6 pm here, so LET THE HUNT BEGIN!

UPDATE:  The outside cats have caught a BUNCH of mousies, and after many were played with and ate, there were enough in the bucket to bring to the tub inside.  TBT dumped them in and I formed a line of the inside-only cats to take turns gettin a mousie.

But the line dint last long an everyone piled in.  It was FANTASTICAL!

UPDATE:  Well, its midnight here, all the mousies left outside are hiding deep.  There are no mousies left in the bath tub an evry inside-only cat that wanted one got one.  If anny outside-allowed cat didnt get one, they licked their lips an pretended they did, MOL!

The last guest ported out through the tunnel a few minnits ago, so we are all goin to bed now.  Thanks fer coming to our Mousie Hunt! 

7th Blogiversary

We have made it to 7 years of bloggin!  Well, not US ezactly.  We werent here at the start.  It was Skeeter and LC back then.  But we overlapped (its never been less than 2 of us), so we figure it counts.

TBT has routinely done a post about the blog beginnings, and that IS HERE.  But we wanna do somthin differnt this year.

Ayla arrived here almost a year before Skeeter hadda go over the Bridge.  Iza arrived about a year before LC decided she hadda join Skeeter cuz she missed him so much (an saw there were two to take care of TBT when she left).

An the blog title DID change from "Skeeter and LC" to "Mark's Mews" when he had to realize that things were gonna be a-changin about who of us kitties were around.  But its been the same blog all the time, with TBT takin pictures and us kitties writin as best we could (slightly edited by TBT when absolutely required).

We have made 2416 posts, gotten about 148,000 visitors (not much by some blog standards, but WE are AMAZED), and made SO MANY friends along the way.  Some of those friends have gone over the Bridge themselfs, some have just stopped bloggin, some have gone off into media TBT doesnt want to get involved with, and some have refocussed their blogs so that there is hardly anny cat presence.  Well, things change an we unnerstand that.  We (including Skeeter and LC) have loved evry kitty we have ever visited or who has visited us.

Since we just hadda big Birfday Pawty fer Marley, we dont really wanna have another big one.  But we (Ayla, Iza, an Marley) still wanna celebrate in some way.  So we had this idea we got from when Skeeter an LC were here.

WE ARE GONNA HAVE A MOUSIE HUNT IN THE BIG FENCED-IN BACK YARD!

It will start at 6pm EDT (cuz the mousies just WONT come out before then).  No kitty has to worry about bein outside, cuz the fence stops woofies an evil deer and such.  We will note where the active mousie holes are the day before.  We have TOO MANY mousies in the big back yard, so there will be plenty fer all.  You can dead and eat only half of all the mousies ya catch.  Thats cuz we need to bring in some mousies fer the kitties what are just not used ta the outside, and they need some fun too.

So every 2nd mousie we catch outside, we bring (alive) to the deck door where TBT has a plastic bucket.  We drop them in, an TBT will take them to the dry baftub wif the closed plug an dump them in a few atta time so those who cant go out can have the WUNNERFUL esperience at grabbin some ta see what it is like. 

EVRY kitty should discover the thrill of grabbin a real mousie.

Plus we will sing our "Mousie Come Out And Play Song" so you can use it too back home.  It works great.

"Mousie mousie, come out an play,
We have cheddar cheese today.
Old chees fer new,
New chees fer old,
An all we want ta do is play.

We're just little things like you.
The only thing we want to do
Is sing our song,
You sing your song
And we will dance around wif you.

Joyful meeting you our friend,
We wish this time could never end.
But we we have other mice to meet 
And we have other mice to EAT
BWA-HA-HA more mice to eat! "

After dark, we will sit around and discuss our esperiences catchin mousies an we can get as technical as we want about claws in furs, neck-bites, and flippin them up to grab them comin down. etc.  An we will respect the newby esperiences of those who just grabbed a mousie in the inside bathtub fer the first time.

We know that seems a bit structured, so after that we will just all run around all crazy-pants inside an burn off all those mousie-calories as we go up an down the cat trees and jump around in the boxes and then even nap.  We figure there are twenty-eleven good nappin placin NOT countin the big watery-bed what could could 30 kittehs without touchin each other (more of course if you like touching).!

And we have the newly crabilated calibrated tunnel to get you all home safely no matter how tired or stuffed you are.

Our 6th Blogoversary!

Wow, its our 6th blogoversary today.  It seems a little strange, since the blog is older than anny of US are.  TBT was around back then, of course, but it was all about Skeeter and LC then.  So we think we'll just turn it over to him...

THE BIG THING:  Hi, well, its been 6 years now and I'm amazed.  I never thought that, on the first week when I cautiously tried out a few posts, we would still be posting now.  I can barely recall the first few days posting.  I didn't know much about it, couldn't include pictures, etc.  Our first comment came from The Meezers (Sammy and Miles) after several days.

I've always thought it was a shame that this blogging thing didn't start back when Skeeter and LC were young, so that they would have had many many years of blogging.  But Skeeter was already 14 and LC was 13 when we began blogging.  Sadly, they had to leave before the blog got very old...

Fortunately, Ayla was a transition cat.  She is the only cat here who remembers both Skeeter and LC, and they both passed on some of the family history to her.  Iza knew LC, and Marley never met either.

So, the blog has changed its cast of characters over the years.  Friends have come and gone.  New friends have shown up.  Blogging features have changed (some good some bad).  Blogging ideas have been added over the years; I wonder who through the first birthday party complete with pictures of food and games, for example.

I hope (and expect) that the next year of blogging will be as much fun as the previous 6...

Sooo, see you all tomorrow to start year 7!

Our 5th Blogiversary!

THE BIG THING:  I guess I should write this, since it was originally Skeeter and LC and they are over the Bridge now.  And naturally Ayla, Iza, and Marley don't remember the beginning.

On August 25, 2006, I was reading a cat blog.  I THINK it was Max The Psychokitty, and I saw a little button at the top that said "Start your own free blog".  I asked Skeeter and LC about that, and they said "YES"!  So I did, and away we went.  The first few days were difficult because we didn't know how to make most features work.  And Skeeter and LC didn't know the right words for many common household objects.  The deck door was "the clear wall that opened", for example.  But from the start, it was their blog, so they had to learn how to describe things.

We didn't know how to post pictures at first.  That took a week, and all we had were a few older "glamor pictures" from when they were younger.  Scanning film photos, then downloading and uploading them was a real challenge at first.

I bought my first digital camera to make new pictures easier.  Skeeter and LC started the first weeks talking about their Gotcha Days and past years.  They were 14 and 13 when we started.  I named the blog after them, not thinking of the future.

It was a whole week before we got our first comments.   The Meezers were the first, followed by The Zoo, George/Tipper/Max/Misty, and Derby.  We were thrilled!

The next two years were great.  But Skeeter went over the Bridge in Dec 2008 and LC followed him in Jan 2010.  It was a hard 13 months.

But there were good things, too.  Ayla had joined us in Jan 2008 and Iza in Jan 2009.  So there was some overlap in "goings and comings".  It did not lessen the losses, but it did provide some sense of continuation.  The losses of Skeeter and then LC were hard, but I firmly believe that "when one door closes, another door opens".  And I have always felt that 3 cats was "just right" for me.

Ayla came to me because I had contacted a siamese cat breeder and mentioned that if she ever had a cat that didn't meet her "show standards", I would be interested in it.  Ayla was too small and shy to be a Queen (which is why I call her a Princess).

Her 1st day here...

A year later, the same breeder had a meezer who had smudged colors and not good for breeding.  I took her in.  In an odd way, I am a rescuer of failed show cats (you are supposed to smile, not frown).

I initially called her "Smudge" but went back to the 'Clan of the Cave Bear' books by Jean Auel (where I got the name for Ayla) .  Properly, she woukld have been named "Uba" (Ayla's half sister), but I just couldn't imagine called calling "Uba, Uba, Uba" at night.  "Iza" was Ayla's adoptive Clan mother, but the name seemed better.  It is pronounced "EEZA" here.

Iza's 1st day...

Iza was slow to come out of the guest room.  Not a surprize looking back because she is satisfied with things as they come.  She has "patience".

I have since realized that Iza is actually a Tonkinese and her colors are quite proper for her, but at the time she was another siamese without a future.  And I consider her an honorary meezer.

When LC left for the Bridge suddenly in Jan 2010, I realized I had to change the blog name and email address.  I decided on the more permanent and generic "Mark's Mews".  The "Mews" part was good.  It can mean the sound cats make, cats themselves, "mews" is an old term for a human residence above animals, and it means a "hideaway".  All fit...

The latest change was the welcoming of Marley in Jan 2011.  Ayla and Iza were good cats, but I sensed something was missing in the house dynamics.  They were getting hissy at each other and not dealing well one-on-one after LC went to the Bridge.  I recalled how Skeeter seemed to keep the peace between Mean Old Tinkerbelle (the cat who came before) and LC, and concluded (however illogically) that an orange/white male cat would provide the balance.

Some of you may remember how I searched local animal shelters for a young orange/white male cat, only to find after many inquiries that each one had to be adopted with a brother.  It was hard.  3 cats yes, four cats no.  That's just me and my habits and situation.  I had 4 cats once, and it was one too many.  Every one has a puurfect number.  Mine is 3.

So, in January 2011, I was advised of a single young orange/white male cat on Craig's List in need of a home.  His owner had discovered she was allergic to cats.  When I visited, I could tell she was a very nice person and loved Marley very much, but just couldn't keep him.  There was apparently some competition for him, but my description of the house, yard, and personal attention he would receive (it is good to be retired and home all day) won me his presence in my life.

And there is Marley!


1st Day...

And Marley's presence is both personally wonderful, but also so beneficial in a cat household sense.  Marley has related to both Ayla and Iza in a way that solved the hissyfits better than Felliway ever did.  He calmed both of them down, plays with both, snuggles with both, eats in the middle bowl (Ayla and Iza never liked eating next to each other), has gotten them both more interested in toys, and bet of all, they all sleep together.

With Ayla's FINALLY successful (3rd) spay operation, she has become more playful and affectionate.  But Marley had a lot to do with that as well.  Even before the last operation, Ayla was attuned to Marley more than Iza, but now they are ALL happy together.

The best part about this 5th Blogiversary is that I have 3 happy cats who all get along very closely, and with me.  All seem extremely healthy, and I can expect a good 12-14 years of catly bliss.

When I get the cat-proof fencing installed over the next month or so, I will be able to let them back out in the yard.  Iza is always safe to let out because she can't BEGIN to climb the fence.  But Ayla and Marley can, so they are all indoor cats for now.  I look forward to the day when they can all join me outside again while I work in the flowerbeds and garden like Skeeter and LC could in their days.

On this 5th Blogiversary, life is good, the cats are happy.  What else could I ask?


Well, here is our very 1st blog post...  A good way to close this great day, I think.

Mark, "The Big Thing" to the cats

UPDATE 8:30 a.m.:  Well, we werent expectin so many visitors, but since there are kitty-friends all around the place, we decided to make it a full blown party.  WHY NOT?  Anny reason is a GOOD reason!  

TBT thawed a ham an roasted a whole chickie hen, and Marley is tending the Nip Bar (being newly ascended to "Mancat", he is pawsitively and purrfectly fascinated of mixing drinks).  TBT has dumped all the toys into the several rooms and brought out the Never-Ending Kibble Gadget.

We are dividing the visitors into "indoor" and "outdoor-allowed kitties.  Outdoor-allowed kitties can come outside with Iza.  Rest assured that the ENTIRE Big Backyard in surrounded by a "safe" fence.  Go get after those voles and mousies!!!    And bring a few inside for the others to play with.

For the indoor-only kitties, we have the several cat trees ta climb, boxes ta jump in an out of, an bags all over.  And dont ignore the new 3-cat bed we got as a prezzie yesserday.  We want ta see how many can fit in there!  We say 3, but TBT says he bets 5 can fit.  Let's find out!

There are hummerbird watching spots in 2 basement windows an one upstairs.  They come around regular, so just sit quietly an be patient.  An iffen they dont come fast, ya will get scritches from TBT.  He's good at that.  An he usally has treats in his pockets, so demand some iffen ya get bored waitin fer the hummers.

There will be KotH an THoE later.

Rumor has it that a BRAND NEW ROLL of TP will be available fer unrolling, too.  About Noon, we think.  Come one come all!

This has turned into a surprise party!

Ayla has even agreed ta lay backside an show off her BIG exploratory surgery scar. Suitably talented kitties are welcome to help her get a good tattoo so other vets will know she been spayed a few times...

Ignore Iza when she says there is a charge fer viewing Ayla's scars...  It's free.

4th Blogiversary!

HI EVRYBODY!  Its our 4th Blogiversary today...  We wanna thank Skeeter and LC fer startin it, and The Big Thing for helpin us with it.  But mainly, we wanna thank all our great friends who make it all worth doing!!!

So please come and celebrate with us.  We have all our toys out, there are empty boxes and bags, and we got foods and drinks!

We are servin Niphoppers (nip juice and cream blendered together, with crushed dried nip sprinkled on top).

And PLENTY of fresh NIP, of course!

Also, fer fun, here is the VERY FIRST POST  on the blog...

AND...  We wanna thank Ann fer our fancier new header!

8 PM Update:

Hey, the place is jumpin!  Good friends all over the house. 

There have been THoE runs back and forth in the hallway, King of the Hill games on the Kitty Condo, and the toy mousies and balls have never been batted around so much.  At one point, TBT just stood at the bottom of the stairs and kept tossing them back up every whichway!

The newest game is to leap from box to box and get in all of them while never being in the same box twice.  For the kittens, there is the same thing with bags, but they are allowed to walk from one to another and aren't blamed fer gettin in the same bag twice.

The Niphoppers are going like crazy!  Its the new "IN" drink.  So TBT has been busy at the blender.  Fortunately, he stocked a good supply of cream and Nip juice.  

The ham, shrimpsies, tuna, and chick-hen are holding out well.  We got lots more stashed in the fridge to be warmed in the hotbox as needed.  

Party ON!

10 PM.  More friends comin by evry minnit!  We are tired out from King of the Hill and THoE,   But we are restin up fer stairway races next.  We just need ta nap fer a bit an haf a Niphopper.   We OK an readdy ta start again at the half hour!

Midnight!  The party is still goin!

Come by for the drinks and foods and play. 

Looks like there is about a dozen of us around now.  Box jumpin is the current game again. 

The ham is goin fast, but the Tuna and shrimps are still available.  And the NipHopper cocktails...Wow those are great!

Blogiversary Thanks (And Presents!)

AYLA: First, we wanna thank all our friends what came an visited yesserday ta help cellybrate our 3rd Blogiversary! Evrykitty seemed ta have a great time. Mousies were caught, ham, shrimp, an chickens were enjoyed by all, toys were played wif OUTSIDE (somethin we haf nefer been allowed ta do before), and there were plenty of Nip leafs an drinks for all.

So thanks all fer makin it such a great day!

Second, Oh wow, we got a TON of prezzies taday for our Blogiversary! The Big Thing did some serious huntin...

We got a mousie wif a rattly ball on his tail!

We got knobby rolly balls wif rattley balls inside.

We got eleventy-twelve balls of various kinds.

There are 4 squishy balls, 4 sparkly balls, and 4 plasticy balls that we can grab wif our claws. An GUESS WHAT? The sparkly balls an plasticy balls have RATTLES in them. Oh Bast, we love rattles!

I feel like I gone ta heben, but I am still here. Iza an I played wif them fer HOURS taday, sometimes wif the same one at once. We were so wore out after that I fell asleep onna floor and next thing I knew, I was on TBT lap while he was watching TV. Iza got the same treatment after I woke up, so I dint feel TOO stupid.

Mebbe I dint mention that there was more fresh Nip involved...