This and That...About Cats!

Today, I am beginning a series of posts on cats. Specifically, my cats! I have been "Fur Mama" to several felines over the years and cats remain near and dear to my heart. So, I hope you like cats as much as I do since this may take a few posts! (Or at least two or three!)

We presently are the humans owned by two cats, Gracie and Annie. Gracie came to us as part of a "sister act" with her cat sister, Groucho. Unfortunately, we lost Groucho a year ago in February and I will talk more about our "late" pets on another post. Today, I am focusing on happy things and these two felines definitely bring us happiness...along with some frustration. (Furstration???) If you're a cat owner, you know what I'm talking about!

Gracie is what I guess you would call a "Tuxedo" cat since she has the black and white tuxedo coloring. The vet lists her as a domestic longhair. She is fifteen years old and keeps us hopping with what Mr.thisandthat calls "furiatrics." Since she is an older cat and has gone through some health changes in the last year, we watch her diet carefully and give her the meds for blood pressure she needs each day. Her favorite spots are lounging by our back door and napping on her bed on our kitchen bar counter. (Yes, she does get on the counter!)

                                                                     

Why are you pointing that camera at me?

To say that our cats are spoiled is a bit of an understatement, but we do love them and pamper them quite a bit. Gracie went through a big weight loss a year ago and we had to find ways to coax her to eat. We discovered that she had a connoisseur's appetite for rotisserie chicken prepared at a local upscale grocery store and for tuna with clam juice. Naturally, even though she has gained weight and is also eating an expensive science diet the vet recommends, she still wants her gourmet food!  She demands attention and has this uncanny way of chewing our hair when we are trying to sleep late on a Saturday! She also does a great imitation of a pillow as you can see in the photo below. 

And then we have Annie.  Annie, Annie, Annie, what can I say?  She actually did come to us (or rather my mother-in-law) as an orphan, hence the name she was given. My mother-in-law picked her from a shelter in another state to keep her company in her home after being widowed. The first time I saw Annie I fell in love with her! She was a little orange furball (Tabby) that literally fit in the palm of my hand. She had this mournful look that would just melt my heart! She moved into retirement in our neck of the woods when my mother-in-law moved our way, but unfortunately retirement did not suit her. She developed the habit of roaming the hillsides and the hallways of the retirement village where my mother-in-law now lives and also developed the unlovely habit of nipping my mother-in-law and keeping her awake at night. Since she had stayed with us a few times while my mother-in-law traveled and got along reasonably(?) well with Gracie and Groucho, we decided to take Little Orphan Annie in with us. She is a feisty Tabby and can melt your heart and drive you nuts at the same time. We stopped the nipping by using tough cat love discipline of stern admonishments and time out in our study. She has learned that the "time out" room means she's in trouble and when she has been naughty on occasion she has been known to go racing into the room on her own! Doesn't she look innocent in this photo?!

She is a very loving cat and the second Tabby that has owned us, so we are a little partial to this breed. She gets as close to me as possible in bed or on the couch and squeezes as much of herself as she can against my side. Her purr is hypnotic and so relaxing when I am going to sleep at night. She does have a penchant for plastic of any kind, though, and will lick it until it makes her sick. We try desperately to keep anything plastic far away from her, but she is one determined Tabby and manages to find it anyway. Naturally, we pay the penalty with clean up duty! I have read online that some cats do like plastic. I had never experienced this before Annie! She would like me to tell you that she does not like paparazzi and prefers not to have her picture taken. You can see this from her expression in the next photo!

So, those are our two "girls."  We love them dearly and consider them our fur family!  In my next post, I'll talk more about Gracie's late sister, Groucho, and also introduce you to the Cat of All Cats, Morris! (She even had a magazine article written about her!) Until then, here's hoping the furballs in your life are all soft and cuddly.....and let you sleep!