We haz snow!

It's the first snowfall this season, and we're all excitedly watching out the back windows as it starts sticking!!!!!!

Cat-A-Lympics "Snow Day" Event!

Panther reporting from the Cat-A-Lympic stadium!  The cathletes have all gathered for the first events, and are ready to go!  The spectators are gathering on their blankies and strollers along the edges of the snowfield for the "Snow Day" event, hosted by us here at the PDX pride.  Our judge, Grandma, is taking her place at the judges' stand.

Watch your paws, kitties and doggies!  This snowfield is extra-thick, over 5 inches plus a sheet of ice.  We don't want anyfurry to get hurt on the course!

Our first competitor is Tigress.  She gracefully dances around the snowfield, skimming the top, then ends her performance by pawing together a snowball.  Wow!

If you would like to pawticipate in the "Snow Day" event, here's what you do:

1.  Grab the Cat-A-Lympics event badge at the bottom of this page.
2.  Post it on your blog somewhere with a link back to this blog post.
3.  Create a blog post with your "Snow Day" entry and link back to this blog post.  Your entry must have a pawticipant of some non-human species, snow, and be a real photo or video.  Editing for photo quality is ok, but no extreme photoshopping, please.  That would be unsportsmanlike!
4.  Leave a comment on this post letting us know you're entering the event!

We'll post the list of pawticipants here through Caturday, Feb. 22nd.  We'll post the gold, silver, and bronze winners on Sunday, Feb. 23rd.

Good luck to all pawticipants, and stay safe during the Cat-A-Lympics!

"Snow Day" event pawticipants, in order of entry:

Tigress of the PDX pride (see above)

News Repurrt: Feral Friday, Weather Watch, and New Visitors!

Rori writes:

See how much snow we've gotten?  It all has fallen within the last 16 hours, at the time of purring this repurrt.  We were supposed to get about 5 inches yesterday, but I think we got more than that!  I'm happy that my clowder stays inside and Tigress joins us on days like this.

Tigress writes:

I'm glad, too, Auntie Rori!  Although, I had a lot of fun squishing the snow between my paws to make little snowballs on the deck earlier, and pounced around a lot, but that's before it got as deep as it is.  And as cold as it is!  I slept under the rose bushes for a while, but then I got too much snow on me, so I moved to sleep behind the spare tire that's leaning up against the wall.  That way, I didn't get too much snow on my fur.  I much prefer sleeping inside, though!

I've wanted to stay outside a lot of the time for two reasons, and both have to do with visitors!  There's an orange kitty that's been hanging around in my territory, and I've got to show him that he's trespassing!  Daddy saw him two nights ago, but the kitty didn't stay to be seen long.  Good!  This is my house and my yard.  Daddy says I need to share for a while until they can see if the kitty needs taking care of or if it has a home.  It can't have this home, though.

The other visitor is inside, and she's actually not a true visitor.  She's moved in.  Her name's Grandma.  I've made a meowing acquaintance with her through the back door, and seen her sometimes when I've been inside, but new humans really scare me.  I always ask my purrents for out when I see her.  She tries to not scare me, but it will be a while until I get used to her.

Heimdall writes:

Oh, Tigress!  You don't need to worry about Grandma!  She's very nice and loves all of us.  She calls us her grandcats, which we are, and she makes stuff for us.  She gives us blankies she's made, and pets us with her feet (which I know you like).  She can't pet us with her hands right now because she's not feeling well, but she finds other ways to let us know she loves us.  She's moved into the room with the big bed, but Daddy sleeps on the couch and Mommy sleeps on the little bed, so you can still snuggle with them!  That's what the rest of us do.  We wish we were allowed in Grandma's room, but we can't be up on the bed or chairs or snuggle with her.  Even Carbon waits outside the room until he knows she's asleep before continuing with his evening!  Rori has let Grandma see her, and that's saying a lot!

Snow Day and a Fundraiser Announcement

Tigress writes:

Yesterday, we all woke up to snow!  The first snowfall of the winter!  I was very glad to be inside the warm (and dry) house, but was as hyper as everyone else.  We ran up and down the hallway playing THOE (thundering herd of elephants), woke Mommy up by jumping on the bed, and chittered at the leaves the wind was blowing around in the yard.

After Mommy was fully awake, I let her know I wanted to go out to play in the snow.  I was out for a good two hours before I wanted back in!  I pounced on half-buried leaves, played in the crisp, frozen grass, and made pawprints on the deck.  I hunted for a while, but everything was staying in dens and not out to be hunted.  After it started warming up so the snow was starting to melt, I asked to be let back inside again.

Panther was so jealous!  He wanted out to play in the snow, too, but Mommy wouldn't let him.  He sniffed me all over when I came back in and told me how jealous he was!

Some of you kitties who are world travelers might know that there are two cities called Vancouver on the west coast of North America.  We live in the south Vancouver, which is Vancouver, Washington, USA.  The other Vancouver is Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and it's only about 8 hours away, almost directly north of us.  They are having the same cold weather and starting to have snow.  The kitties up there could really use some help right now, so we'd like to tell you about a fundraiser to help them.

Amy Lowry, a Vancouver, BC, graphics designer, is donating $1 for each item purchased in her Etsy store to the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association.  VOKRA is a unique no-kill, cats-only rescue that is based around foster homes rather than a brick-and-mortar shelter building.  It was started 13 years ago and, according to the website, helped find homes for almost 2,000 cats last year!  VOKRA also has a T-N-R program.  If you would like more information about VOKRA, their website is here.  If you would like more information about the fundraiser, including some stores that carry Amy Lowry's products, her infographic is here.  Thank you!

Torbie Thursday: Miss Marble's Weather Report

Miss Marble writes:

This picture that Mommy took is what my world looked like the past three days!  It's now back to normal:  wet, cold, and windy.  This white stuff is called "snow", and it sticks to my fur!  It's very cold and wet, and turns to water when I lick it.  I can't walk anywhere when it snows, but I can pounce in it.  It's hard to catch mice in snow, I found out yesterday.  I pounced from the deck onto a mouse, but then it slipped from under my paws.  I'd bitten it, so it couldn't get far, but after I got it again I looked at my sister and at Mommy (who was watching from the door), asking for explanations on why my mouse almost got away!  My sister was as confused as I was, and Mommy was laughing!  My sister and I ignored Mommy and went under the deck to eat my mouse.

I've been coming inside more and more, now that it's been snowing.  There is a lot of new stuff inside!  There are things called toys!  I like rolling toys, I've discovered, because my auntie Freya keeps rolling them to me to play with after she demonstrates how they work.  I like a ball that used to flash, so the humans keep that by the door for me.  Auntie Freya gave me one of her special toys, which she calls a roller!  Actually gave me it!  It's the core of a roll of doggie poop bags, but she loves to play with the roller (the core), and now so do I!  Auntie Freya brought it out to show me, then pawed it around in the dining room so I could see how it works.  Then she pawed it to me!  I wasn't quite sure if it was ok for me to play with it, so I looked at her, then at the roller, then at Mommy.  Mommy hit the roller with her shoe, and then I batted it with my paw.  Fun!  I batted it even more, then picked it up in my mouth and carried it a little closer to the door.  I batted it some more, then picked it up in my mouth again, inching it even closer.  Mommy opened the door and I took my special toy out into my world!  My first favorite toy, besides natural things!  I've played with grasses, rope, and other outside things, but this is my special, inside toy that my auntie gave me!

There is something called a heat vent inside, just on the other side of the door, that keeps the house warm.  I like to stand by it and play with the blinds as they move in the wind.  Striped Girl and I have learned that the spot outside across the door from the vent is the warmest spot to stand, but now I know why!  I still get a bit nervous when the heat starts up, because it makes a whooshing noise, but then I like to play with the blinds as they move.

Daddy has been shutting the door when I come inside, to keep the warm air in.  Mommy has, too, but Daddy makes a game out of it.  I come inside, the door shuts, then I paw at it and wiggle.  The door opens and I bat at the track and at the door.  I go outside, come back in, and the game starts all over again!  I get so into the game that I sometimes forget that I'm not supposed to bite the humans.  They understand, though.  When that happens, they tell me it's time for me to be outside for a while to calm down.  I get to come inside again later, though!  I'm even beginning to purr out loud when I'm petted inside.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! (also wrap-up from last weekend)

Tabby, Rori, & Spooky/Nyx (the one we adopted out, not the latest Spooky) made these pictures in 2007.  :)

Rori:  I'm thankful for a warm home with my family.
Carbon:  I'm thankful for Mommy, Daddy, and the other kitties to play with, for a full food bowl and full water bowls, and for this house to run around in.
Tabby:  I'm thankful for my window to watch the world go by, for my family, for my friends that I go visit, and for friends who come visit us.
Freya:  I'm thankful for my home and forever family, for my new friend Jarek (Erin's son), and for fuzzy socks.
Heimdall:  I'm thankful for my home and forever family, for toys, and for snuggles with Mommy.
Starla:  I'm thankful for the kittens to play with, for Daddy and Mommy, and for time to explore the house.
Little Bit:  I'm thankful for my foster family, for Mommy Erin and Jarek who came to visit, and for space to run inside.

Weekend Wrap-Up from last weekend!

We got snow!!!  Not a lot, but we got to see it coming down and it stuck on the sidewalk and the grass was coated!  :)  Erin and Jarek came to stay for the weekend, too.  Freya and Jarek became good friends; she even snuggled with him for naptime and at night!  Heimdall, Rori, and Starla were a bit scared by an almost-three-year-old boy laughing and clomping around, but that's because the house is usually fairly quiet.  Tabby, of course, loved the whole thing, and Little Bit did, too.  Little Bit lived with Erin and Jarek for a few months, so she remembered them right off.

 

Jarek's naptime with Mommy's bear pillow tucked in with him

 The next day, Freya decided to bring her fuzzy sock up to participate in storytime/naptime, too!

 Uh, oh!  Naptime got postponed for sock-playing with Erin!

 Freya's waiting for Erin to play some more!

 Tabby and Erin

 This is what happens when you've got a bright child and kitty toys!  :)

 Jarek, almost three years old

 Little Bit with Mommy Erin

 Jarek took this picture of Tabby!!!  :)

 Heimdall loves Erin, and Freya does too but didn't really want to be held.

 Mrs. Raccoon put in an appearance

 Jarek and Erin in the snow

 Our backyard in the snow

 Tabby says:  Yes, Mommy!  I see the snow behind me!  *nods up and down fast and makes a blur*

 See that happy tail?

 Jarek's first raccoon experience, as Erin put it.  Mr. Raccoon liked him, too.

 Jarek:  Hi, Mr. Raccoon!

 Closeup of Mr. Raccoon

 Mommy and Jarek in the snow

 Erin got this pic of Tabby looking out as the snow was starting to fall.

Tabby:  What is that?  It's covering the sidewalk?  What are they doing out in it?

Erin and Mommy in the snow, with a snowflake in the middle of the pic!

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