*long, hard, busy, rewarding days

This week, no this month, has been super busy. It is a good busy.  From the time the sunrises until the time it sets, my days are brimming over with things that need to be done.   This is the way Zeke wants all of his days to begin and end.  Zeke is one of our Russian Blue barn cats who also doubles as a Russian Blue garden cat. 

*a cloister of sorts

Of the six cats we have brought into our family, only three of them are with Henry and I here in Florida.  The other three are our outside cats and are still with Eric in North Carolina a smoother transition will be made with them at a later date. I am so glad that my dear husband recommended us bringing three now and three later.  The three that are with us here in Florida are our "mostly inside" cats. A couple of them do go in and out, but most prefer to be inside and thus far they  have not worn out their welcome to the indoors with any poor habits.

Living indoors they have to contend with the "beast", our precious docile tiny dane. They are nimble, quick and able to hold their own should she decide to test them in that. Each of them however have found some resting spots, an alcove or two for a peaceful retreat when needed.   I am sure many other hiding spots exist that I do not  know about.

Timon has found a favorite spot to lay during the daytime.  While we do not allow our cats to get on the counters, he obviously has to touch a counter to get on top of the cabinets in the kitchen.

Julie is basking in the sun on the window ledge in Henry's room.

The cats are not interested in the chicks at all.  Julie showed some interest.. but not fascinating enough for her!

*call us crazy.. today another "blue" of sorts joined our family

Life as we have known it will never be the same.  We had an addition to our family this weekend, something in the color of "blue".  Most of the cats were quite put out and beyond disbelief with our decision.   The picture below shows just how most of them felt about it. Stay tuned  so you can comment on our craziness!

*a day in the life of Bentley

The end.

*all but one

Tonight when Eric and I got back in from dinner the cats were ALL in the living room lounging. It was as if one of them sent out a notice of a mandatory meeting that was being held while we were out.   All but one was present and accounted for.  Precious (check), Timon (check), Zeke (check), Bently (check), Munchkin (check), Julia...... Julia.....?    Poor Julia either wasn't invited or she declined to show. It is more likely the latter.  We found her in her favorite spot, behind the towel in the bathroom!  She prefers to be just as she was found.... alone. 

  

*shave with care

Be careful shaving or this could happen to you!

Yes, I am aware that this picture is pretty gross. Sorry.  Timon is notorious for fighting. I am just glad he is a bit older and a little more wiser.  I think now, perhaps he only fights to defend himself.  Years ago I am sure  he was fighting to boost his ego.   We do love our cats and we do take good care of them.  However, because we have so many by our own choosing, we take care of as much as we can here at home.  In other words, we don't believe in pouring tons of money into our pets. Just our stand.  I was not going to take Timon to the vet, at first, that is.  I figured it would heal nicely - no problem. Been there done this one with him before.   What you see here is the remains of the abscess having had burst.  We did end up at the vets office this week to get antibiotics, a shot, some salve and various other things that Timon would rather I didn't talk about (the Elizabethan Collar for pets). She shaved the area so it would be easier to clean.  Hopefully he will heal quickly without the help of stitches.

*dinner time!!!

Over the years we have trained out cats to come the tune of these melodic words, "Dinnerrrrr Tiiiime!" Our cats mostly get kibbles for their daily meals, and perhaps a slice of turkey or a crumble of bacon on an occasion.  We do not feed them wet food on a regular basis, mostly because I can hardly remember to take my synthroid each morning much less feed six cats wet food each day.  We (that being Eric) do however, on holidays give them wet food. In fact, during a long holiday period like Christmas through New Years Eve or a spring break they may get wet food several days in a row.   This is what that looks like.

All six of them waste no time at all getting to the kitchen.

 

 It almost sounds  like a choral group during these occasions.

 

Munchkin, the black one that is trying to get a closer look, has a hard time controlling himself during these moments. 

Four of the six pictured here, are busy taking care of business. Oh, Precious is already done.  She is simply waiting around to see if any of these might need help cleaning their plates...

Good thing she waited. 

All of our cats are Russian Blues, except for the one black one which we are convinced that he is part dog.  He is one of the best fetchers we have ever seen.  He follows you around like a dog and will even chase after you if you prompt him to do so.  You should see Eric running from room to room with Munchkin running close behind.    Due to the lighting this evening, the pics were best viewed in the sepia finish.

*its hard...

It's hard to keep the Christmas tree hydrated when the silly cats use it as an alternate drinking bowl (especially when their bowl is fresh and full!).

*animals get jealous too

Munchkin (whom I have not formally introduced to you all yet) was sitting by me this evening while I clipped coupons and Big Momma, aka Precious came over and practically sat on top of him. He tried to move a few times, but she literally had him pinned down. So he waited for her to shift or get up, which she did in her own good time. I had to keep checking to see if he was breathing.  You know when you weigh 10 lbs and a big momma of a cat weighing 21 lbs sits, no - flops on you, there could be some breathing problems.

I will introduce the other three members of our feline family real soon!

*julia the runt

Meet Julia.  Julia, named by Henry, was folded into our family 4 years or so ago.  She and her brother, who you will meet in a future post, both came to us at the same time.  We visited a no kill shelter, The Haven, where we  found both of them in a cat carrier on top of a DOG carrier with DOGS in it - barking, making a ruckus.  We felt this was cruel and harsh so we just had to rescue them.   In fact, we did go to the Haven to find at least one more Russian Blue.. and wow.. we found double trouble.

Julia is a skulker.  She is a runt.  She is simply prissy.  A queen of sorts.  She sleeps on my hip most every night.  She meow's like a monkey when she is longing for affection that is being with held. She is a performer.   She and Precious (Big Mama) do not get along as one can imagine - it is like watching two roosters try and rule the roost.  Funny as it is, the tiniest over rules the biggest in this roost.  Now that I think of it.. Julia doesn't have any friends.

*beware of cat

Meet Precious, aka Big Momma, our first Russian Blue.

We always say she is the one that started it all (the collection of blues.) The RB breed is one that we just adore.  Cats are fantastic aren't they? Of all the people who I know who share their homes with felines, I have yet to meet one who doesn't think their cats are top hat!  I mean, we all do.  I love to talk with people owned by their felines, who glow with pride and love for their cats.  I am like that, well both Eric and I are.  He more so than I.  (I think)

Precious likes to eat.  Precious likes to sleep.  She snores when she sleeps. She demands to be in the bathroom when someone is bathing or showering. Demands, so she can drink the tub water?! She loves carbs - popcorn, pasta, bread of any kind.  Precious is obese, and you ask why do we feed her carbs? We don't always feed it to her.. she feeds it to herself.

Yeh.. this is proof that Precious has a good nose and strong legs.  A nose to sniff it out and legs to spring her up to the counter in order to get into the bread.  When we forget to put the bread in the pantry we usually have to throw it out due to this "problem".

There's a good reason cats say

ME-OW

rather than

WE-OW or YOU-OW.

-David Fisher 1946

*regal feline timon

Have you ever seen a cat more majestic?

Neither have I!  Timon (Timothy, Timbo, Timberly, Ti-monster and various other similar names) is one of our 5 beloved  Russian Blues.  Yes, we are a little nutty and we realize that five of anything is a lot.