Happy 8th Birthday to Little Bit!

Little Bit writes:

Today's my 8th purrthday, and my sister Smokey's as well!  Smokey lives with Mommy Erin and is celebrating with her today.  We were born in SE Portland to a sweet black kitty named Boo-Boo.  She and our cousin Starla (Boo-Boo's sister's kitten) belonged to neighbors two doors down from the house that my purrents lived in then.  Boo-Boo and Starla used to go over to eat with the ferals in their yard, so they brought us over as soon as we were able.  We had another littermate sister, Baby Chiba, but she got eaten by our people's puppy when she was a kitten.

My dad-cat is Spongebob, who lived with a neighbor across the street.  He's a huge Maine Coon!  No one knows for sure who Smokey's dad-cat is, and Baby Chiba's dad-cat was Outdoor Fluffy Buddy.  She looked like his "mini-me"!

From left to right on the porch:  Starla, Little Bit, Smokey     From left to right on the steps:  Outdoor Fluffy Buddy, Boo-Boo Kitty     Summer 2008

Baby Chiba and Starla     Summer 2008

Little Bit     Summer 2008

Smokey     Summer 2008

What Starla Did on her Gotcha Day!

Starla writes:

Today was my Gotcha Day Annifursary!  I can't believe it's been seven years already since I was adopted by Uncle Skylar!  The piccy above was me on the first full day (the 4th) I was a member of this household, when Smokey and I both got spayed.  I came inside the afternoon before, so on the 3rd, which is why we celebrate the 3rd.

I was just shy of my 2nd birthday when I was adopted, at least that's why my purrents think.  I'm not telling for sure!  They didn't know me as a baby kitten, only after I moved in two houses from them in Portland.  My mom-cat and Little Bit's (and Smokey's) mom-cat were sisters from the same litter, making me cousins with Little Bit.  The same people had Little Bit's mom-cat who had me, because they took me from my feral mom-cat when they moved with Boo-Boo Kitty (who they had adopted).

I became a semi-feral, semi-socialized young cat, then I found the green house.  It had a nice, warm, dry basement that I could get into from the outside, a porch with a food bowl, and sometimes the humans would bring me inside.  They made plans to foster me when they were told by "my" humans that they could.  My spay was scheduled.

They brought me inside the day before, and told me I would be staying.  I didn't know what that meant, but it sounded nice.  The next day, Smokey and I went to the vet and got spayed, then came back.  We got chilled, even though we had a fleece blankie around us and one over the stroller, so Uncle Skylar hopped up on the couch to snuggle me warm.  He looked at the humans, curled around me, and that was that!  We were besties from then on.  I miss him a lot.

Slowly, I got used to the other cats in the household, and now I'm friends with everyone.  I still worry some about Carbon, because he likes to be threatening, but I don't hide.  I mainly spend time on the dishwasher in the kitchen, but I also like the sun puddles in the dining room, if Carbon's not easily seen.  I still have anxiety issues, and have to be "flown" in or herded in to the bathroom for potty time.  I use the tub still if I make it in there; otherwise, I use the kitchen floor and then Mommy cleans it up.

Mixx doggy and I are still besties!  I'm "his" kitty and he's "my" woofie.  We both get big smiles when we see each other, and happy ears!

Have a great day, friends!

Love

Rori and her brother Knut as kittens

Tabby with baby Rori

Baby Rori and Lydia

Skylar and Starla

Skylar and Lydia

Tabby and Spooky 1

Skylar and Cloud (one of Little Bit's kittens)

Rori and Little Guy (one of Little Bit's kittens)

Carbon, Rori, and Smokey (Little Bit's sister)

Spooky 2

Freya and Heimdall

Heimdall and Hemming (Tigress' brother)

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary, Starla! Also PhotoHunt: Brush

Starla writes:

It's my Gotcha Day Anniversary today!  I remember when I was gotcha'd.  It was such a nice feeling to be wanted, instead of being abandoned!  My original people took me from my mama cat when they left their apartment complex and moved to a rental house.  They took my auntie cat, Boo-Boo, as well.  I thought life was going to be better, since I'd learned to snuggle with them and sleep on a human bed inside.  Things didn't turn out that way, though.  Soon, they were letting us fend for ourselves out in the new yard.  My auntie got pregnant and had three kittens.  I, thankfully, never got pregnant, although I had the boy cats chasing me as soon as I got my first heat cycle.  Spongebob showed me where to go for food and shelter, so I started staying in my new purrents' basement/laundry room.  Washer and Dryer were my friends, and so was Water Heater, because they kept me warm.  During the ice storm, there were a bunch of us holed up in there, even one of the ferals and an opossum!  My purrents brought Smokey, Little Bit, Boo-Boo, and me up in turns to their house and let us warm up inside.  It was sooo cozy!  I made friends with the inside kitties, although I was still scared of them if they ganged up on me or if they sniffed me too closely.

After the ice storm, my purrents talked with the other people about all of us.  The other people agreed to adopt Smokey and me to my purrents!  My purrents originally thought they'd foster both of us, but they only ended up fostering Smokey (then adopted her to Mommy Erin).  That's because, the day that we came home from being spayed, Uncle Skylar decided he wanted to adopt me!  That's right:  I was adopted by another kitty!  I was snuggled up on the futon, and Skylar jumped up beside me.  He'd lost his sister, Lydia, a few months earlier (October) and was severely depressed.  He absolutely fell in love with me, though, and I immediately played tails with him.  He curled around me, helping me regulate my body heat as the anesthetic wore off totally.  When our purrents asked him if he liked me, he looked at them with such hopeful eyes and started purring his motorboat purr!  They asked him if he'd like to keep me, and his purr got louder!

That was six years ago.  Skylar passed away a few years back, and now my best friends are Dare, Autumn, and Tigress.  My favorite person started out as being Daddy, but now it's Mommy.  I love everyone, though!  I still am leery of getting boxed in, don't like or trust unfixed male cats, and all the important things (food, box, water) are in the bathroom.  However, since my illness a little while ago, I have become even more social with the other kitties and with humans!  My favorite toy is the string/ribbon on mylar balloons, and my favorite snuggle spot is on the couch in the living room.  I love being petted and scritched, especially on my back.

I'm soooo grateful for my forever home and family!

Did I mention I love being brushed?  We all do!

Are you a photohunter?

Happy Birthday to our Little Bit and Mommy Erin's Smokey!

Little Bit writes:

It's my birthday!  My sisters' birthdays, too!  Yay!  *runs around in excitement, playing THOE with Dare*  I'm now 6 years old!  I don't feel like I'm 6 years old.  I've still got all the energy of a kitten!  My sister, Smokey, acts like a grumpy old lady a lot of the time, but she still has the energy of a kitten when she wants to play.  She lives with Mommy Erin, so I don't get to see her since they moved out last year.  Here's a picture of her, though!

Our other littermate, Baby Chiba, is at the Bridge.  She was a kitten when she died.  We're thinking fondly of her today as well!  We don't know where our mama, Boo-Boo Kitty, is, but we remember her well!  She was a good mama to us.

It's World Spay Day!

Do you have an unfixed cat?  At what age can you get your cat spayed or neutered?  What are the benefits to fixing your cat?  The purrfessionals here at the PDX pride will answer your questions!

Happy World Spay Day from all of us!

Rori here!  As the Big Kitty of the household, it is my solemn duty to inform you unspayed or unneutered cats of the blogosphere to get your acts together and schedule your fixing surgeries!  It's an important step in your independence as a cat-of-the-world to get this done!

1.  Spaying and neutering prevents unwanted and/or "surprise" litters.
2.  Spaying before the cat goes into heat for the first time greatly decreases a female cat's risk of breast cancer.  To learn more about breast cancer in cats, please visit our friend Sugar at her website:  Sugar Rub!
3.  Neutering greatly reduces a male cat's "nuisance" behavior, including spraying, yowling, and territorial marking, as well as makes the urine smell less strong.
4.  Spaying and neutering reduces the number of adult cats that are dumped, killed, and given to shelters.

I was spayed while I was in heat for the first time, which is more expensive than spaying while a cat is not in heat.  My yowling was intolerable, so that's why I was spayed while in heat.  However, this can create other health problems, such as weight gain.  I am now a very chunky girl!

Friends do not let friends go unspayed!  No, I am not having s*x with Smokey!  She went into heat for the first time, and I decided to discipline her by scruffing her.  I let her know that going unspayed is not tolerated in MY household!  She was much calmer after being spayed, and got adopted to Mama Erin soon after.

A happy, healthy, spayed Smokey!

Starla here to say how glad I am that I got spared the rigors of teen pregnancy!  My aunt had three kittens very young, and the boys were chasing me as well.  Somehow, I never got pregnant at that time, but most female kitties get pregnant their first time.  The next time I went into heat, my people had already scheduled my spay appointment through the Spay and Save program in Portland, Oregon, one of many low-cost spay and neuter programs around the country.

I was very lucky to get my spay when I did, because there were three male cats that were trying to get me pregnant.  If I hadn't had my spay, I'm sure I would have ended up a teen mama with a litter to find homes for, like my cousin Little Bit and my aunt Boo-Boo Kitty.

Hi, Little Bit here, and this is what happens when you don't get spayed!  I'm Smokey's sister, Rori's half-sister, and Starla's cousin.  My dad Spongebob (also Rori's dad) is an unfixed male who roams the neighborhood and has befriended all the ferals within a three-block radius.  His friends also included my mom, Boo-Boo Kitty, who had a litter of three.  My other sister, Baby Chiba, had a different dad and died as a kitten.  Yes, cats can get pregnant by more than one male in the same heat cycle, so the kittens in a litter can have different dads!

When I grew up, my original people didn't want my forever family to get me spayed, and so I remained intact.  My original people were not responsible pet owners!  They only decided to give me to my forever family after a tragic thing happened:

1.  My mama cat, Boo-Boo Kitty, got pregnant again and had a litter of four.
2.  I went into my first heat cycle just after my mama cat got pregnant and had a litter of four.  My kittens were born when I was five months old, just a kitten myself!  Two of my litter had the same dad as I, which is not unusual for cats.
3.  The dog my original family owned got pregnant by another of the same litter (the dog's brother, who was a neighbor) and had a litter of 10 puppies.
4.  My original people got an eviction notice because of the amount of animals in their house.
5.  They decided to take all of us kitties except two of Boo-Boo's kittens (who already had homes) to the humane society.  But after driving around to two humane societies, they were told that it was the middle of "kitten season" and the kittens would be put-to-sleep if they were surrendered.  The people didn't want that to happen.
6.  After hearing this from the second shelter they went to, they stopped by the side of the road and threw Boo-Boo Kitty out of the car, then drove away!  I still don't know what ever happened to her after that.
7.  They drove to a fast-food restaurant, rolled down the window halfway, and went inside to eat.  Mind you, this was with my two 8-week-old baby sisters, myself, and my litter of four three-week-old boys in the vehicle.  When they got back out to the vehicle, they didn't see me and drove off anyway.
8.  They went back home and brought my baby sisters over to my forever family, two houses down, and told them the story I've just told you.  My forever daddy human was so mad that he took my baby sisters inside and left my forever mommy human to talk to the lady.
9.  My mommy went to get the box with my kittens in it from the lady's vehicle and found me in there as well!  She brought all of us back home with her.
10.  My new family found homes for all of us, but only I stayed with them as part of their forever family.  Everyone else who came with me on that horrid trip found wonderful new homes!  One of my babies had a birth defect, but even he found a forever home for the few months he lived.

I went into heat again a few days after we got to our new family's home.  Yes, I was nursing my three-week-old boys at the time, and continued to nurse.  I could've gotten spayed while I was still nursing, but my people chose to wait until I'd weaned the kittens to spay me.

I'm Tigress, and I was a teen mom as well.  However, my family chose to have my kittens spay-aborted because I was a feral kitten at the time of my pregnancy.  I was spayed through a trap-neuter-return program run by the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, which provides low-cost or free spays and neuters, first vaccinations, and humane trap rentals.  If I hadn't had my spay, there would have been at least two and possibly as many as five more feral cats that would have needed socializing, feeding, trapping, spaying or neutering, and adoption.  I got pregnant at the age of 4 months.

Please don't wait to get spayed or neutered!  Tell your humans to schedule your surgery today!  If your humans need financial assistance, it is available in most areas of the U.S. and Canada, and in some other countries as well.  If you are a feral cat, please tell your human to visit the Alley Cat Allies website for more information.

For World Spay Day events in your area, check out the official website.

PhotoHunt: Model

If you are a regular reader, you know that most of our cats love to model clothing!  We dress them in outfits made for dogs & cats, but also in outfits for teddy bears and dolls.  Here are some of our favorites.  Tabby is pictured above in a "Love Bug" outfit from Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Tabby, wearing her pirate girl outfit from Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Former foster kitten Smokey poses with a pot of gold.

Rori joins Tabby for Thanksgiving dinner.  Tabby is dressed in a pilgrim girl dress from Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Tabby modeling a t-shirt from Bentley B.  They make awesome pet clothing out of vintage human t-shirts!

Tabby when she was a model in Dove Lewis Animal Hospital's Boutiques Unleashed fashion show, wearing another Bentley B t-shirt.

Tabby in a mixture of Build-A-Bear outfits and a hippie Halloween hat, bandana, and necklace from Petco.

Freya when she was a kitten, posing in a sundress from PetSmart.

Former foster kitten Hemming posing in a tie collar from PetSmart.

Tabby and I in our matching candy corn witch outfits, bought at Party City.

Carbon hates dressing up, but he will wear a collar and tie when the occasion calls for one.

If you would like any of these pictures, please do not take them.  I sell a lot of them on cards, as prints, and on other products on Zazzle.  If you don't see something and would like to request it, please ask and I will make it.

Are you a photohunter?

(P.S.  Happy 5th Anniversary yesterday to my husband!  Love you, and thanks for being such a great cat man as well as a great person.)

Exciting Announcements and Therapy Cat Tales from 5/22/13

Tabby writes:

First, the exciting announcements!!!  *runs around chasing her tail*  The Pet Blogger Mall (PBM) is having a Sneak Peek Sale Day today!!!  It's a new online shopping venue featuring those of us who are pet bloggers and sell our creative products online.  We have a store there; look for Trace Elements Art to purchase my children's book, t-shirts featuring us, playing cards, and other great products.  Also check out the other stores for everything from blankies to greeting cards to paw-paintings from your other pet-blogging friends!  If you sell products, you can sign up for a store on the PBM as well.  All the details of the sale day and the PBM in general are on their most recent blog post.

We have had a very exciting week, which is why my blog post has been so delayed.  Sorry about that!  Mommy Erin and JJ moved into their new apartment a week and a half ago, so we had a fun time zooming around in the half-empty house, in and out of their rooms, and generally enjoying the increased space.  We moped that first night, missing them, though.  Heimdall thought they were in Mommy and Daddy's bedroom, but they weren't there.  Smokey thought they might be out in the garage, but they weren't there, either.  Mommy and Daddy said they were in their new home.  Where is that?  Can we visit them there sometime?

Then, last Sunday, Scamper and Smokey got put in carriers and taken to be with Mommy Erin and JJ.  I was very sad to see them go, but reluctantly let Scamper use my favorite carrier to travel in.  His new daddy, Mommy Erin's boyfriend, promised that he'd bring it back in good condition.  I touched noses with both Scamper and Smokey through the mesh of their carriers to say goodbye, then pouted on the bed.  It's very odd not having them here.  Dare is still here, being fostered until we find her a new forever home, because they could only take two kitties.  Mommy Erin is sad they couldn't take Dare along, too, but we promised we'd take good care of her and find her a wonderful home.

Ok, on to the Therapy Cat Tale!

Last Wednesday was very rainy!  Mommy made sure to bring my umbrella to cover my stroller where the mesh is, but I growled at the rain anyway when it came in under the umbrella a few times.  On the way to H., we listened to stories of cats who lived at a nursing home and a dog who visited there, courtesy of a former employee at said nursing home.  It was all very interesting!  However, I had to ride on the floor in my carrier because the bus driver wouldn't allow Mommy to set the carrier on the bus seat like she normally does.  I had to look at everyone's shoes rather than their faces.

After we got on the MAX, I got to ride on the seat out of my carrier.  I wanted to snuggle with Mommy because I don't like the sound of the MAX, so I stuck by her side the whole time.  She talked with three people who were quite impressed with me and my work while I rested.

We got to H. early, so we greeted a few people in the hallway then went into the ladies' restroom.  I love the brown couch there and sit on it while Mommy fixes her hair each time we come to H.  That's where a lot of my photo shoots are done, as well.  As we were going in there, we heard someone in the hallway say, "When she comes early, she takes Tabby in there and takes updated pictures of her on that brown leather sofa."  Yep, we do!  I shared some of them with you on my last edition of Therapy Cat Tales, the ones with the blue bandana.

S. went around with us for the first part of visiting, then she had to go home and R. went around with us.  Some of my regulars were sleeping, but I got to visit with quite a few of the ones who were awake plus some new friends.  M. wanted me to come up in her lap, so I did.  She had a cookie for me!  I used to get cookies from another lady, but she died.  I didn't know M. had the same cookies!  Fig Newtons are so yummy, and Mommy checked with the vet about me eating them.  I can have up to a quarter of one per visit.  I didn't get even that much, just a corner of one this time, but I ate it all up then looked around for more, licking my lips.  That got a laugh out of M.!  She promised me that next time she would give me another cookie.  Yum!

F. is a new friend.  He was excited to meet me, because he had cats when he was younger.  I got up on his lap, then wanted to get onto his bed.  He wouldn't let me!  I liked that he was petting me, but I really would've preferred being on his bed.  That's how I am with new people sometimes.  It usually takes me two or three visits to be comfortable on someone's lap.  But then, watch out, because I won't want to move!

Our last visit was with another M., who was trying to put a puzzle together.  She petted me while she worked on it, but R. and Mommy quickly realized that not all the pieces were there.  They put that one away, then sorted through the remaining puzzles to find one of the right level that seemed to have all the pieces.  All three of them worked on the new one, which had ducks and fish on it, while M. petted me with her free hand.  I was very content to lie in my stroller and listen to them talk while getting petted.

Celebrating more birthdays!

Happy 5th birthday to Erin's Smokey and our Little Bit!  Wow, can't believe these two girls are that old already.  Smokey acts older than she is, but Little Bit acts like a kitten still.  Little Bit is zooming up and down the hallway, almost running over Dare on her way around the house!  Smokey sometimes snuggles with the other cats, and sometimes plays, but most of the time she acts like a grumpy old lady, proving that you can never tell personalities only by heredity.

Remembering their sister, Baby Chiba, who went to the Bridge as a kitten.  These girls had a tough first year, being neglected by their original family.  Smokey was abandoned along with her cousin-cat Starla, whom we adopted.  Little Bit got pregnant when she had just turned 1, and had four little boy-kits.  We fostered them all and found homes for three of them.  One ended up dying of genetic complications.

Even though we love these girls, please remember it's important to spay and neuter your pets!  It's also important to spay and neuter feral cats.  Little Bit's dad was a pet cat, Smokey's dad was probably a feral, and their mom was feral-born.

From left to right on the porch:  Starla, Little Bit, Smokey.  From left to right in the back:  Outdoor Fluffy Buddy, Boo-Boo Kitty.

Smokey as a kitten

Little Bit as a kitten

Baby Chiba and Starla as kittens

PhotoHunt: Upper

Smokey prefers the upper level on her chair, while Scamper and Starla both prefer the lower level.

If you would like to join the photo hunt, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving and new housemates!

We are very thankful for food, family, a home, friends, and our purrents.  We have extended family living with us now, because Erin and JJ have moved in with us for a while, bringing their cats Smokey (who has already been here for a few weeks), Scamper (JJ's cat), Dare, and Watson.

Scamper writes:

Hi!  I'm Scamper!  You may remember seeing me on this blog before, because Karen and Scott took Mommy and my boy to get me.  I was also the kitty who had the photo shoot in Salem.  I'm all grown up now!

Watson writes:

Hello, I'm Watson.  I'm an inside-outside kitty.  Mommy saw me at a pet store and saw that I was slated to be put to sleep.  She couldn't stand the idea of that, so she adopted me.  Since she probably will not be able to have more than two cats at a new apartment when she gets a new apartment, I will be Scott's parents' kitty in a couple weeks.  I'll get to live on a farm!

Dare writes:

Hello?  I'm a shy, scaredy kitty just over a year old.  Mommy found me under a bush in the parking lot of her apartment building and got me out, bringing me inside to live with her.  I bonded with her ex-boyfriend, but then he abandoned me.  I've been at this new house for about three weeks, and am just now letting Mommy Karen and Daddy Scott pet me.  I'm even letting Mommy Karen pick me up!  I still love Mommy (Erin) more, though!  I may need to go to a new home, because I think only Scamper and Smokey are going with Mommy and JJ when they find a new home.  But that won't be for a while yet, because we all need to get settled here first.  Mommy needed to move for her job, which is why we all moved here.  I'm very thankful for everyone here and for this place to live.