Turtle Tales

Meet Sasha...she's a Sulcata Tortoise. She belongs to a friend of ours, who got her when one of her students was just going to put her out in the wild. Sasha spends most of her time at school as a classroom pet, but a few years ago, she came to out house for a couple of weeks during Christmas break. We did not let the boys around her because of the risk of salmonella.
Our friend brought her over to the house in a plastic tub, along with her heat lamps and food. Sasha seemed unhappy in the plastic bin, because it was smaller than what she was used to, so Auntie and I started looking for something better. We found an inflatable kids pool and put her in there. She loved it!

After a while though, she punctured parts of it, so we reinforced it with boxes and other stuff around the edges to keep her in. She hung out in the cats room, with the door closed so her room would stay nice and warm.

She loved to eat fruits and veggies, and could be quite the messy eater.

Here she is at my parents house because we didn't feel comfortable leaving her lamps burning while we went home for Christmas. Sasha hung out in the bathroom and enjoyed laying on the floor heat vents! Here she is eating her Christmas breakfast...lettuce, bananas, and grapes.

Sasha is getting very large right now, and our friends are looking to possibly move her to a zoo or something like that, which had been their plan since they took her from the student. She has at least doubled in size from when these pictures were taken!

I use this time to say to people looking for a pet of anykind, exotic or not, to make sure you research and know what you are getting into....their life is in your hands!

Thanks and I hope you all enjoyed meeting Sasha...she's a wild woman for sure.

Beautiful Blogger Award

We want to thank our new friends, Tiny and Lautrec, for passing this award on to us. We are honored to receive it and feel blessed to have been chosen.

The rules for this award are simple: we are to list 7 things about us then offer the award to 7 beautiful bloggers. Here's our list:

1. Devon was named by his foster mom, but the name totally fits him.
2. Tanner was the first kitten I ever bottle fed.
3. Smokey came to live with me when he was 7 weeks old. I called an advertisement in a newspaper about him.
4. Smokey loves to share my pillow at night (take over is more like it)
5. Tanner likes to sit on my lap when I am in the bathroom (TMI I'm sure)
6. Devon loves to play with water from a faucet, but not from their fountain.
7. All the boys like to ride around the neighborhood in their stroller, just not at the same time :)

Well now to pass this along to 7 bloggers...choosing 7 is hard because you are all beautiful, but here goes...

1. The Adventures of Maxdog in South Africa
2. Rusty's World
3. Fat Cat Bean
4. Marley, Reggie and Me
5. The Creek Cats
6. Curlz and Swirlz
7. The Kittie Krew

We are so blessed to be a part of the blogging world and feel very lucky to have met so many wonderful and caring people. Keep up the good work everyone!! We love hearing your stories and seeing your beautiful pictures.

Tummy Tuesday

Devon wanted to show off today...he loves to lay on his back!!

Also, I wanted to point out a new banner on the right...it's about helping inner city kids visit the country for a time during the summer to get some fresh air and exposure to various rural activites. Growing up in the country, I remember all the fun we had just playing in the pasture, walking through the woods and exploring the world around us.

Mancats like Spring

The weather was so beautiful this weekend, we opened the windows and let the boys enjoy the fresh air. They all loved it...of course, fresh air just wipes a kitty out and they slept hard for the rest of the day!
Smokey and Tanner enjoying the fresh air.

Devon and Smokey sitting on the ottoman enjoy hearing the birds in the yard.

These pictures are all older, as the bad mom forgot to have the batteries charged in the camera! Maybe next weekend, I'll be ready :)

Tagged - Fosters Flashback Friday

Sammy and Andy were tagged yesterday by The Kool Kittie Krew...they invited anyone to play along, so we thought we'd give it a try. The instructions are:

1. Open the first photo folder
2. Scroll down to the 10th photo
3. Post the 10th photo and tell the story about it
4. Pass this along to 5 other blogs...

Since this is also my normal Flashback to Fostering post day, I went to the foster kitten folder...this was the 10th photo. These kittens were Sadie (the brown tabby) and Eagan (the silver tabby). We only had them about a week before we moved them to another foster home. In this picture, these kittens are hanging out at Aunties office during the day. Auntie and I were both very blessed and fortunate to be able to bring kittens to work when they needed special attention or bottles or something. Sadie and Eagan were adopted into loving homes. Here's the reason we needed to move these kittens to another home...
We recieved a call from a local shelter that a mom cat had given birth overnight. She was feral and had already (probably by accident) dropped one kitten in the water bowl and she drowned. They wanted to pull the remaining kittens off so they would be safer. There are three kittens. Lunar, the white one (affectionately known as the Fat Whitey because she was at least twice the size of her sisters), Lexie, the one with her head on the white one, and Leah (who started off as Liam until we realized he was a girl). Lexie and Leah were adopted together. Lunar was adopted by our good friend, and turned out to not be white, her points came in later.

Well, that's our flash back to fostering post... We are passing the 'Tagged' portion of the post to anyone who wants to play along...Happy Friday everyone!

Thankful Thursday

Tanner here today telling you what I am thankful for in life.

I'm thankful for a mom who remembers that I like to be covered with warm towels and clothes fresh from the dryer. I'm thankful for a sunny window and a high perch.

I'm thankful this post is done. Pleasant dreams everyone.

Tanner

St Patricks Day Contest - Award

Thanks to Brian and Lynx217 for hosting a fun St. Patrick's Day contest. We are thrilled to have won second place! Here's our entry to the contest...Tanner sharing his Green bed with a bunch of kittens.

Go Green everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Tummy Tuesday

Tanner is a little rotund to really be able to roll over on his back. He's getting better though, but sometimes he needs some encouragement. Nothing beats a fun ribbon to motivate a cat.
Watching intently...

Going for the grab...

Rolled all the way over...didn't stay on his back...Auntie trying to help him back over :)

Success at last...laying on his back playing with the toy!

Mancats Wear Scarves

Devon has always been a 'special' boy. He loves to wear clothes, although we don't normally put them on him. Loves may be too strong of a word, but I will say he tolerates it better than the other boys.
Devon walking in the yard when we lived at the townhouse with his scarf. He would walk all over the neighborhood, and loved the attention he would get.

He tried and tried to climb this tree, but could not figure it out...

Just a little boost mom.

He loved to wander around. This was one thing that the other boys wouldn't do, so it gave us some alone time. I think he liked that as much as I did.

We had some friends over for a Christmas party one year, and Devon enjoyed showing off his new scarf. Blue is his favorite color :)

Foster Favorites

Some kittens we fostered were favorites...some, I hate to say, could not get adopted fast enough! Today we'll showcase a couple of favorites :)

Velcro was one of the favorites...and good thing too because he was with us for over a year! We got him and his brother, Xavier (we just called him brother) as tiny kittens. We bottle raised them and they were nice easy boys. They were extremely bonded with one another, so we insisted they be adopted together. I believe that is why it took so long...two black male cats that needed to go together. Not everyone likes a black cat, and not everyone wants two of them! Their perfect family came around though and just loved the boys...

The photo above is Velcro, nursing on some fingers. He loved to nurse and suckle, especially on hands. He was a sweet boy.

This little fluff ball is Gage. Gage was a tiny boy when he came to us, and we thought he'd take a bottle, but he wouldn't have any of that. He preferred his milk in a bowl. This made for a messy kitten because he was wobbly and would fall in his (extremely shallow) bowl. He was affectionately known as the crusty kitten. He needed a bath daily for a while. He was a love bug and adopted very quickly.

Well, those are some favorite fosters. If you ever get the opportunity to foster it is well worth it, and so rewarding to know you helped place an animal in a loving home. Keep up the good work all of you who still foster today.

Thursday Together

Smokey was an only cat until he was 5 years old and Devon showed up. Smokey was not thrilled with this new invasion, but he tolerated it pretty well. I wouldn't say that Smokey and Devon are best buds or anything, but they have a brotherly respect for one another.

Here's Devon as a kitten and Smokey laying in a super comfy black bean bag. Smokey has always gravitated towards dark beds...has anyone else noticed their black cats doing that?

A couple of months later...you can see now that Devon has lost his grey stripes...he's the one on the grey blanket. I knew at this point I was going to be in trouble with telling them apart!

When we had to move into the 'dungeon' for a few months while our house finished, all the boys clung to one another for security and familiarity. Smokey is on the right in this picture.

A previously seen photo from the Cat Olympics, but Devon (front) and Smokey snuggle in a bed. More times than not, it is Devon that will get in the bed with someone else. Smokey doesn't seek out a companion, unless it's me (not that I'm complaining).

Do you have cats that choose to be alone, but will tolerate sharing? Or do all of your cats seek out a buddy to snuggle with?

Wordless Wednesday

Two cats on Tuesday

Pictures of two cats...wonder why they are always lounging around? Lazy boys!
Tanner and Devon

Devon and Mojo

Devon and Smokey

Mojo and Sophie

Mancat Monday

Tanner, Sophie and Devon enjoy watching the birds. This feeder had broken and the birds were brave enough to eat out of it right near the door. The cats were amazed and wanted desperately to get outside and catch one.

Frootbat Friday

Tanner wanted to try his hand at the Frootbat Fotos...
Here he is at about 8- 10 weeks old...

Here's a more recent shot...still sporting those Frootbat ears!

Tasty Thursday

This picture was taken a couple of years ago, but it shows all of the Four Crazy Cats enjoying some dinner. We used to free feed dry food, until Tanner chunked up to an unacceptable weight. Now Tanner gets rationed, and Smokey and Devon can eat upstairs in the skinny cat cage. Tanner's diet lifestyle change is going well. The last weight check showed him at 17.4 lbs. We would like to get down to at least 16 lbs, but 15 would be preferrable.
The boys also get canned food every evening with Lysine mixed in with it. Everyone enjoys canned food time and they usually start swarming when it's time for it to be served. This picture shows counterclockwise from Tanner, - Smokey, Mojo and Devon enjoying their nightly canned food treat.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tail Outtakes

A few repeat photos, but here are some unintentional tail shots from uncooperative subjects...

Smokey turns his back just as the photo snaps...great tock shot though!

Tanner jumps just a second before I was ready...nice landing shot.

Devon out for a walk wearing his scarf and just walks right on out of the shot!

Pirate decides he's had enough...you can't get good models these days!

This is Necie...she was a foster kitten. She is about to jump on the table here...she was a beautiful girl and so soft! She's one we got at about a week old and bottle raised. Her sister Sorcha was solid black and had already been adopted.

Well, there you have it...Tail Outtakes!

March is here...

Best Friends is the theme for March...of course in reality, being cooped up together all winter without any fresh air, our house is more like tolerant dudes instead.

This month we have Daylight savings time starting, so we'll have more daylight in the evening...looking forward to walking after work. And the First day of spring...bring on some warmer weather.

A couple of our friends have birthday's this month, so celebrations are in order!

Dasha, was Aunties first cat. She would be 14 this year, but died when she was 7 very unexpectedly one weekend. She was a beautiful girl, who looked like a Christmas tree when she sat due to all the floofy furs!

Her markings were very unique...I've never see another cat like her.

Happy March to you all!!