Wordless Wednesday

Trio on Tuesday

Today's trio features Smokey, Tanner and cousin Sophie. Everyone loves to lay in the guest room.
Smokey enjoyed laying on this bed when it was at the townhouse too, so we call this Smokey's room. He is in here every morning when I leave to go to work.

I love it when I can catch groups of cats laying together...makes me feel good to know that they have a friend or two in the house.

Mancats like Bags

This picture was taken by a friend. She brought some food over to the house and put this bag on the island. It took about 30 seconds for Devon to find it and crawl inside! He has claimed the bag!!
Mancats are silly :)

Fostering Flashback

Dante was a super sweet boy. He came to us as a single kitten, but was soon joined by Velcro and Xavier, who were just a few days younger than him. It's always better to have multiple kittens when hand-raising them, so they get the proper kitten socialization and playtime.
Dante was super curious and loved helping as he got older. He was adopted at about 4 months of age into a wonderful home.

Thursday's Garden

Today our post will focus on the flowers in the back yard...enjoy!

This first flower will need some imagination...it is the remains of a sunflower...I believe a rabbit or some other introoder ate the flower clean off!

Here is the new Hybiscus plant...we are still trying to find a way to keep these alive during the winter, so if anyone has any suggestions :)

These marigolds smell fantastic and are hard at work protecting the tomoto plants in the garden.

This turtle is also protecting the garden with sheer cuteness!

Here is one of the hydrandeas we have...this one has smaller blooms and is a soft white/light blue.

Here are our hosta. They love this side of the house where they are in the shade most of the time. I am always amazed when they come back each year, because in the winter, this part of the yard is always soggy from poor drainage. Still they come out year after year! Gotta love a hardy plant!

Here is the other hydrangea...it's a deeper purple, and has the traditional large blooms. These plants are still small because we just planted them last summer.

Well, there you have it...our backyard flowers.

Maybe one of these days the boys will be able to come out and help prune the flowers a bit more for us.

Be sure to check out the other gardening kitties at The Society of Feline Gardeners.

Wordless Wednesday

Trio on Tuesday

This picture was taken many months ago, when the air was cold and down blankets were needed.
Everyone has a good spot...Devon loves that pillow, and lays on it every night when we watch tv. Side story here - This pillow was a favorite of a bunch of our foster kittens. They would lay on it and snuggle up to it. The material is almost like a faux fur or something and is very soft. We ended up buying several of these pillows from Target to send home with foster kittens. I'm sure those families thought we were nuts! Oh, here's your kitten and his pillow :)

Smokey loves a nest and the down throw is just perfect for him...nice and toasty warm!

Tanner likes his look-out spot from the back of the couch. We need to do something about the cushions....they are all getting squashed from the boys laying on them...anyone else have this problem? :)

Mancats have Chores

The Mancats in our house have chores to do...Tanner will demonstrate one of his favorites..
Tanner has to check the trash drawer and make sure nothing fell down inside the cabinet!
He takes his job seriously and inspects the whole thing...

Mancats have big responsibilities!

Flashback to Fostering

This flashback to fostering is about Millicent...the devil girl :) Millicent was one of those kittens you were so thankful when they were adopted and you worried about getting returned to the group.
Let's go back to her beginnings with us...she came to us, with a brother, Martin. They were both so terribly sick. We stayed up one night just holding them, thinking they wouldn't make it. They proved us wrong and started improving.

We spent a lot of her early life medicating and poking and prodding. We snuggled too, but because they were both so sick, they didn't get all that good kitten playtime in like normal. They were a bit older when they started acting more like kittens and Millicent was more aggressive in her play, than I would have liked to have seen.

She was a cute girl, but would run up to you, if you were sitting on the couch, run up on your lap and bite you on the nose! We spent a lot of time trying to work on this type of behavior. She never seemed to learn, and I always felt that we were constantly saying, "no Millicent".

We were able to place her in a home that already had a rough and tumble kind of cat, and was looking for a rough and tumble playmate. Millicent was a match made in heaven! We gave the adopter our number in case she had questions, and off they went. Auntie and I breathed a sigh of relief that the devil girl had been placed :)

There's the right home out there for every cat...they just deserve the chance to find it!

Martin was adopted a few weeks before Millicent and is doing well in his new home too. These kittens will now be 3 years old.

Thankful Thursday

Tanner here today and I am thankful for many things...

1) I'm thankful that my cardio visit is over
2) I'm thankful for good results
3) I'm thankful for good happy drugs :)
4) I'm thankful to be back home
5) I'm thankful to have yummy food available again...fasting is no fun, even if I have enough reserves to last a few days :)
6) I'm thankful my brothers didn't hiss at me when I got home

but most importantly....

7) I'm thankful for friends like you, who purred and purred for me yesterday!!

Thank you all...you made a difference!

Mom here - Tanner did really well...he growled a bit at the doctors, but he didn't hiss at anyone, and seemed overall more relaxed. The purrs worked!

Cardiology Visit

Updated: Tanner is home and did very well...I think it was all the purring from you guys! No remarkable changes to the heart, just some mild progression. No med changes. Weight stayed the same, so they were pleased. He is very happy to be home, and is just walking around purring up a storm...of course he is pretty drugged looking still, so that may have something to do with his mood :)

Today, Tanner is hanging out at the Vet School getting his annual Cardiology exam done. Tanner has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) with a grade 3 murmur. These pictures are all from a few years ago, but he'll spend some time in the exam room, and then head back for his procedures.
Model of a heart...I think this is actually a dog heart.

Looking around wondering what they are going to do next...he hates having his blood pressure checked, because they put the cuff on the tail, near to top and give it a good squeeze.

Not real happy to be here, but he does pretty well for them. The visit is a long one, about 6 hours. He's always ready to leave when the day is over, and is so happy to be home :)

Thanks for your purrs today for a quick visit and a calm Tanner...we appreciate all your support.

Trio on Tuesday

It's rare to get a group shot, and especially hard to just get my boys, and none of the cousins. This isn't a great shot, but it shows the boys...
Devon is laying down in front, Smokey is standing, and then Tanner is in the back. The lower right corner is part of their stroller. It's been too hot lately to go for a ride...I need to hook an AC to it :)

PS - Tomorrow is Tanner's annual visit to the cardiologist at the Vet School. He gets real nervous, so if you could all send purrs to him that would be appreciated!

Mancats Play Hard

Tanner and Devon play in this video. Tanner enjoys a nice feather toy and loves to roll around on the ground when he plays. I guess you get the enjoyment of playing without having to work too hard :)

Anti-Frootbat Friday

Leah is doing her anti-frootbat today as we flashback to fostering. She almost has a resemblence to Yoda.
Leah started her life out as Liam, until we discovered (or didn't discover) some crucial parts :)

She was adopted with her sister Lexie and delivered to their new home on Christmas Eve. Leah is going to be 7 years old this year.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Thursday in the Garden

This week we will showcase our vegetable garden...

Here are the zucchini...they are doing quite well. The squash are not growing like we would like...not sure what is going on there. The zucchini are full of blooms!

Here is a dill. We read in the Farmer's Almanac that dill is a friend of squash and will help keep away the squash bugs. It seems to like where we placed it and is growing fine. I wonder if maybe the squash don't like it?

The tomatoes are growing and producing...won't be long before these babies will turn red. Then it will be time for a yummy tomato sandwich!

Can you see the baby bell pepper growing? There are many more blooms waiting to become a pepper too! Wouldn't you like to be a pepper to? Who remembers that commercial?

Here's a view of the whole space. It isn't very large, but it grows plenty for Auntie and me. The large bush at the back is a butterfly bush. The birds enjoy hanging out in it too.

Next week - flowers!

Be sure to check out other gardening kitties at The Society of Feline Gardeners.

Wordless Wednesday

Stuff on Tails

Cousin Pirate is featured today...Auntie put this plastic spring on Pirate's Tail to see what he would do. He really didn't seem to notice, which was quite disappointing.
Can you see the green spring on his tail?

He sat around with it, and played with it...he finally flung it off with some wild tail whipping, but that was the extent of it.

Another view and tock shot :)

Tanner on the other hand, would squeal if you messed with his tail. Devon did not care for it either. Pirate was a good sport!

Mancats Love Catnip

Here's is our catnip growing in the back yard, in the same bed with the vegetables. It was blocking the sun from the tomato, so I gave it a bit of a trim.
Here's my pile of sprigs...I took some into the house for the boys enjoyment, and hung the rest in the garage to dry.

Tanner and Cousin Pirate find it first!

Pretty soon Smokey, Devon and Cousin Sophie get in on the pleasure!

Catnip is great fun...the boys came back to the nip over and over throughout the weekend.

Foster Flashback

Here are Necie (tortie) and Sorscha (black). Two sisters we got one day to hand raise. It was always amazing to get a new litter of kittens...there small size amazed me everytime, especially the first litter of the year. You seem to forget just how small they are when you aren't around them for a while.
These girls were both super sweet as they grew. We encountered a new struggle with these girls...constipation! A little pumpkin did the trick though, and they were pottying like champions after that. It seemed like with each group, a new challenge was faced, but we came out with more knowledge and understanding for the next group.

Sorscha was adopted at the first adoption event she attended. Necie stayed with us a few more months, but eventually found her forever home.

Hope everyone has a great weekend...see you Monday!

In the Garden

We made it into the club and are so excited...of course, we may need to get a new mom, since she left her camera at home, and is having to use old pictures today. She did go out over the weekend though and photograph our garden, but those pictures will have to wait until next week...she is such a slacker!

We have a finch that always builds a nest in our ferns hanging on the front porch. This nest is last years, but this year, she laid 4 eggs. Only three hatched though...

The hybiscus, before it died over the winter. Mom has a new one now and it is the same color...The birds love to sit in it, as it is right under their feeders.

Gerber daisy's are always so pretty...they are Auntie's favorites. We love how they come back every year, which means less money spent on flowers and more left over for toys!

We aren't being allowed out at the moment. The spring/summer allergens are here and so Smokey can't be around them. Also Auntie read about an increase in a disease carried by ticks, and how this year is supposed to be a bad tick year in our area, so we don't want to risk getting sick. We are ok with that...being in the cool air is just fine :)

For more gardening kitties check out The Society of Feline Gardeners.

Wordless Wednesday

June is Here

June has arrived...where has the year gone?

Today is my mom's birthday...the cats Grandmom.

Here on the Atlantic side of the US, it's the start of hurricane season today.

Father's Day is in a few weeks along with the First Day of Summer. This is a nice slow month at our house!!

Fitting for today, is Devon's picture on the calendar...showing off his tummy :)