Mancat Monday: The human water fountain

The other day I discovered that mum has her very own water fountain. So I hopped up, and she let me take a drink. Unfortunately it isn't as easy as my cat fountain, as my cheeks got in the way and I got a bit wet.

Sister Sunday

It's Sunday! That means it's Sister Sunday here on my blog. :)


This morning, Zowie let me groom her a bit. I licked her ears and the top of her head, and she didn't seem to mind. She was curled up on mum's lap. I don't think that Pandora would ever let me groom her though.

Pandora has had a bit of an upset tummy again this weekend. Mum is thinking about taking her into the v-e-t again if it doesn't get better in the next day.


This morning we're going to try and spend some time visiting all our friends on the cat blogosphere! We've not had very much time this week to check out how everyone's been doing. Hope you have a good Sunday!

Early Caturday!

Mum gave us our stinky goodness before 7am! Wow. She said she couldn't sleep.

Yesterday mum's friend Nina came over, and she brought a FURminator with her! She wanted mum to try it out and see if us kitties liked it. I must say that I LOVED it! I hope mum buys one. Mum says she could feel me purring (I have a really quiet purr and it can't really be heard.) I even flopped over and made sure she brushed both sides. I didn't let her brush my tummy though.

Wordless Wednesday

All About Honeysuckle

There have been lots of questions about honeysuckle on the blog as I love it so very much, and it seems to be more of a local fascination.

As mum and I mentioned in a previous post, the local store 'The Cat House' (click for their site) seems to have been the start of all this honeysuckle stuff. They have a great video interview from a local TV station (RealMedia format - .rm - click here to watch) and it explains a LOT.

The honeysuckle that they use at The Cat House is called "Lonicera Tatarica". I don't know what that means, but mum says it is the Latin name. Mum thinks that mummies and daddies with honeysuckle in their yards already could probably just try cutting a branch and cutting it into slices for their kitties. She does say that kitty mums and dads need to make sure that us kitties don't chew on it too much because it can sometimes break off little bits. (I like to chew on mine, but because I have such big teef, I break it if I'm not careful.)

I like honeysuckle best when I've been able to lick it and the smell comes out from the wood better when it is wet. Sometimes mum wets the wood a bit for me first.

Now, for those kitties who don't have real honeysuckle bushes nearby, The Cat House does do mail order, as far as mum knows. And according to an article on their website, it is just fine and legal for people to import it to the USA from Canada.

I hope that helps all you kitties and kitty parents! Mum says you can email us if you need to know more info and she'll help out as best she can.

Mancat Monday

Today is a lazy sort of Monday. Mum gave me a new slice of honeysuckle, and I'm really enjoying licking it. That is, when I'm not sleeping.

Sister Sunday

It's very wet and rainy here today, but Pandora is at her post, checking for kitty intruders. Zowie's also hanging out on the scratching post. We were hoping for sun so we could go have an Outside adventure.

It's Caturday!

We did our best to let mum sleep in, though it was hard to because we all wanted our stinky goodness.

Wordless Wednesday Portrait

Sleepy Tuesday

It was rainy again this afternoon, but with thunder and lightning. Mum was still at work, so us kitties had to just tough it out. I would much rather have preferred it be sunny. There are some good spots in the house to sleep when the sun's out.

Mum likes this photo of me because this is how I often am lying on her bed first thing every morning. I like it because you can see my mancatly muscly arm.

Mancat Monday

I went outside again yesterday! It was great! Me and Pandora explored one of the bushes, and I got to eat grass again. I did get scared by some loud noises and had to run back inside though.

Oh, and mum says that I am starting to get gray hairs. She says I have five or six on my chest. I can't really tell because it's just under my chin and I can't see them. (She does say that I look very distinguished with my gray hairs.)

Sister Sunday

My sisters and I have been getting along even better this week. Pandora hardly even growled at me when I was looking out the window at the same time as her, and Zowie and I were sleeping only a couple inches apart on mum's bed this morning.


This photo below is one mum took the other day when it was nice and sunny. She says it is one of her favourite photos of Pandora.


It is very nice to sleep on top of the scratching post. I've done it sometimes too, when I'm not sleeping on the cushion.

Also, mum found another article about adopting black cats. She says that the top 10 reasons to adopt a black cat (at the bottom of the article) are pretty funny. She says she likes #8 best: "Black animals look more distinguished as they age because their grey hair is more visible."

Adopting black cats

The local newspaper had an article the other day written by the folks at the MEOW Foundation. Mum said that we should post part of it as it has to do with black cats. (The full article can be read online here.)

Dear MEOW Foundation,
I'm thinking of getting a cat and wondering which cats MEOW has the most difficulty finding homes for.

--Graeme

Aside from shy cats and injured or sick animals, the cats who stay at the shelter longest are long-haired, male and black. These "three strikes" generally make it tough for some perfectly lovely cats to get adopted. For many people, the additional work required in grooming a long-haired cat is not appealing. Some also feel that long cat hair can aggravate allergies more than short hair, which may not in fact be the case. When it comes to black cats, MEOW rescues literally dozens of these every year. Believe it or not, superstitions about black cats abound and many people exercise an "anything but black cat" rule. These cats account for the largest percentage of the felines we work with and so are most in need of consideration by potential adopters.

If you know someone who is looking to adopt a cat, why not suggest a black cat? We're really very nice, if I do say so myself, and superstitions are silly things.

Cat Jobs

There were questions yesterday about whether or not Pandora helps mum with her blogging. (She does sometimes, as we all do, but she especially likes to lay on the laptop for the warmth if she can sneak onto it.) All us cats have special jobs around the house to help mum out.


Pandora is the big Boss Cat, even though she is the smallest in size of us. (She's only 3.8kg/8lbs.) She takes her duties seriously and is especially good at keeping watch out the front window for other kitty intruders. She also makes sure that mum gets us our food on time in the morning and the evening. For this work she usually gets first dibs on cuddles with mum.


Zowie is the official Clean Litter Box Tester. After mum cleans our boxes she goes into each one to make sure that it is nice and clean for us. She also is very good at chasing flies (though I don't think she eats them), and keeping the plants trimmed. She gets her special cuddle time every night just before mum goes to bed. Mum says that she gets so happy that her nose drips!


As I'm the new kid on the block, my job is a pretty easy one. I mostly just get to help out where I want to. So I look after my sisters and keep watch for mum. I also like to warm her feet at night by sleeping on her toes. I get to help Pandora with food notification duties and she has been teaching me how. Mum thinks that my meows are getting louder, so Pandora must be a pretty good teacher. And of course I am the official kitchen snooperviser with my post on top of the pagoda house. For my duties I get treats, cuddles, and especially cheek rubs and ear scritches! And I get belly rubs if I ask too.

And as you can tell, our mum has work to do too. She does a good job of taking care of us and loving us so we are very lucky kitties indeed!

Wordless Wednesday

I don't know why this thing is following me around...

...but it's stuck to my back.

It's my blankie from the shelter. Mum brought it out from the spare room (formerly my safe room) the other day, and I am liking it a lot. She wrapped me in it and it took awhile for me to get out of it. Now the blankie is on the cushion and it is a very nice place to lay in the sun in the afternoon.


Pandora is doing better today. Mum says the paste is really helping. She got all tricksy and put it on Pandora's paws for her to lick off, because Pandora didn't much like it being mixed into her food. Mum says that Pandora will get to have it for one more day.

Mancat Monday

This picture is of me being a very protective and watchful Mancat yesterday, as I was keeping an eye on Pandora while mum was out. She took this photo when she got back and she was glad that I was there making sure Pandora was getting lots of rest.

Mum says that the v-e-t did some tests today, and that they should know soon. In the meantime she has been given a special paste to give to Pandora to help get rid of the diarrhea. The v-e-t was concerned that if it went on much longer, Pandora would be getting dehydrated and stuff. I don't know what the paste tastes like, but I hope it is tasty so that Pandora won't mind it.

Sister Sunday

Pandora is still not feeling well, but mum has a v-e-t appointment for her tomorrow, and she says there will be some more tests. In the meantime, we are all on a new diet of hypoallergenic food (from MediCal), which the v-e-t recommended.


The snow is gone, but there isn't too much sun yet today, and it isn't very warm outside. Zowie and I are burning off some energy by running around and playing chasing games. It's pretty fun!

Snowy Saturday!

I can hardly believe it when I got up on the scratching post and looked out the window this morning, but there was snow! Snow! In June! All us kitties are curled up keeping warm again, and mum is drinking tea. Pandora is curled up with mum because she's having tummy upsets again. Mum is going to call the vet and see what she can do. We all sure do wish that we could figure out why she's not feeling well.

Wordless Wednesday

Zowie Tuesday & the MEOW Foundation's online silent auction

Zowie is enjoying her bed from the MEOW Foundation, and she wanted to tell all the kitties and mums and dads that there is some great fundraising stuff happening with MEOW right now.

There is an online silent auction for some great items, including special stuff for kitties, and lots for mums and dads. Our mum's favourite is all the great art that is up for bids!

If you can't bid, then perhaps consider making a donation, as this time of year is especially busy with all the wee kitten babies that are taken care of by the wonderful MEOW volunteers. The foundation has over 200 cats that they're taking care of right now, and they can use all the help they can get! :)

A little bit about the MEOW Foundation:
The MEOW Foundation is a no-kill humane society in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They have a shelter that takes care of approximately 75 cats, and foster homes take care of many of the shy or sick cats that come into their care. Lots of volunteers help take care of the kitties at the shelter, and they do fundraising too. Their adoption coordinators work with potential adoptees (like my mum) and help them to find a kitty that fits their situation. (My mum's adoption coordinator knew that I would be a very good fit for my mum's home because I'm really laid back and I let the girl kitties be the boss. :)) The foundation's staff and volunteers do a lot of work to help stray and abandoned kitties and to get them safe homes. They make sure kitties are spayed or neutered, and they help teach people about responsible pet ownership. Plus I think that they are really super nice.