See Beautiful

We are pleased to be joining the See Beautiful blog hop today, along with Sugar the Golden Retriever who is generously donating $1.00 to See Beautiful's non-profit of the month, St. Anne's Center - Lantern House PET AREA for everyone who joins the blog hop today.  Isn't she awesome?

I've learned a lot of lessons from my animal companions over the years ... 

Lessons in loving passionately and wholeheartedly even when you know the heartbreak of loss is waiting, unseen but keenly felt, down the road ...

Lessons in patience, when trying to communicate in a loving way with creatures who don't speak your language ...

Lessons in the joy that is yours when, through that patience, you forge a close and loving relationship, and a shared language, with another creature ...

Lessons in tolerance, when blending together animals of different species, personalities, and life histories into a harmonious family unit ...

And perhaps most of all, lessons in being aware that the many precious moments we share with them are, when strung together, the individual pearls in a luminous necklace of memories that help to in some small part sustain us when they have gone on ahead ... 

As one of my personal heroes, Ferris Bueller, was wont to say, "Life moves pretty fast ... if you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." 

Our animal friends are masters in the art of never forgetting to stop and look around.  They can spend 30 minutes intensely sniffing a single blade of grass.  When they feel the sun warm on their heads, they never fail to raise their heads skyward, schedules and deadlines be damned ... the better to soak in the blessed, healing warmth.  They love passionately and unreservedly, with no thought for any day of reckoning or loss that may be waiting somewhere beyond the horizon.  That may well be because they aren't capable of the foreknowledge of death, but I choose to believe that it's also because they would rather focus on sucking every possible drop of joy and beauty out of the present than on pointlessly worrying about the future.  

For these reasons and so many others, the two dogs and three cats I am so privileged to share my life with are beautiful beyond all words to me, and it never fails to amaze me that one of the reasons I'm so lucky to have them is because the beauty I see in them, that is all too obvious to me each and every day, was somehow not recognized by others.  Which is those people's loss, whoever and wherever they might be, and my inestimable gain.  

So this post is for Tucker, for Olivia, for Tanner, and Phoebe, and Finn ... 

My sweet and beautiful friends, thank you from the bottom of my heart for enriching my life each and every day with the beauty of your love, companionship, and abiding affection.  I can't imagine what I could have done to deserve it, but I am forever grateful, and although I know you will never read these words, I hope you somehow feel my love for you all, as I feel yours for me.  I believe that you do.  

Finn on Friday

I took this photo of Finn the other night and as you can see he was giving me his best house panther stare.  In fact, he was staring at me so intently that I couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to tell me something.  (Though usually he is more the type to just open his mouth and TELL me ... he's a big talker ... rather than try to get me to understand what he wants by using mental telepathy.)  

Then I realized ... he must have been telling me that it has been WAY too long since I have posted a picture of his handsome self on the blog.  Point taken, Finney.  So this one's for you!

Mom!  It has been WAY too long since I've been the subject of a blog post!  People love me!  What is wrong with you?  Take my picture NOW!

It's amazing to me to think that sometime in the middle of January, my little "kitten" will be turning three years old! Time sure flies - it's honestly hard for me to remember when he wasn't here, and as much as I was sure that the last thing I needed was another cat (or anything else with fur for that matter), the simple truth was that he needed a place to belong, and as hard as I fought it, he sure has stolen my heart.  Maybe it was how hard we had to work, along with our wonderful vet Dr. G., to get him well.  Or maybe it was because, after I took him to what I thought would be his forever home on a Friday evening and then got a call on Saturday morning that I needed to come get him because he wouldn't come out from under the bed, he came running when I softly called the name that I hadn't meant to christen him with, proving that a once-VERY-feral kitten could learn to trust.  Or maybe it's because he's just so darn sweet that there was no way I could resist him.  Whatever it was, I sure love you, monkey, and I'm so glad you're my "kitten." 

In Training

Looks like someone is in training to be a backup watch-cat. 

You might also like:  It Was A Dark And Stormy Night ...

Back in Black 2 Comment-A-Thon is counting down!!!

So ... the Back in Black 2 Adoption Event sponsored by Best Friends Animal Society is coming to a close ... 

and so is Finn's COMMENT-A-THON!

As both the event and the comment-a-thon wind down, I'd just like to thank all of you who participated by commenting, and an even more special thank you to those who passed the word along on your own blogs, or on Facebook or Twitter.  Thanks to your help, we have already reached our goal of 100 comments (117 to date with three days to go).  So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to ALL who participated in any fashion, but an especial thank you to SNOOPY, Jeanne, Chloe, and Ladybug , Cathy Keisha , Barb & The Daily Gs , Oui Oui and the Gang at Twinkletoe Tails , Dash , Carl, KC & The Giggleman Kitties , Everyone at The Cat Blogosphere , Marg's Pets , and Random Felines!  Finn can't thank you enough for putting the word out and helping him reach his goal! As a reward, he thought you might like to see some of my favorite pictures of him some of his favorite pictures of himself!  

Lounging on the cat tree! 

Chilling on the cat porch!

Practicing his house panther stare! 

Safely enjoying the sun in the back yard!

 

The (baby) House Panther sleeps ...

Also - if you haven't commented yet, there's still time - all comments entered by or before midnight (EST) on May 31st will be counted, and the randomly chosen winner will be announced on Friday, June 1st! 

Friday Maintenance Post

TaDa!  It's me, Olivia! 

I heard that my presence had been requested, so here I am! And I have OODLES of news!  Plus, I have a full day of sunbathing, napping, and grooming my furs planned, so let's get to it!  I've got things to do! 

1) Finn's Comment-A-Thon for Back in Black 2 - we have 13 days left and 78 comments to go!  So please leave your comment today, if you haven't already.  If you are the randomly chosen winner, we'll make a donation in your name to the rescue group or shelter of your choice! 

It will make Finn really happy to reach his goal this year, and even though he's a bratty little thing completely lacking in the proper respect for a calico princess such as myself, his comment-a-thon is for a good cause, so I feel I have to support him, even though I TOLD Mom that we did NOT need another cat around this house.  Of course, I told her that when she brought Tanner home, too, but she didn't listen then, either.  Sometimes I think she needs a refresher course in Catonese.  Cause the woman doesn't do half of what I tell her, so maybe she just doesn't understand?  Ah, well.  That's a post for another time.

2)  Did you know that our friends over at William of Mass Destruction have opened up their own store?  I mean, it looks to me like the human is trying to take credit for it, but it's definitely William, Caroline, Russell, Olivia, and Gracie's store.  After all, whose pictures do you think these are?

William

Gracie

Russell

Caroline

Olivia

PHOTO CREDIT TO THE HUMAN AT William of Mass Destruction

You may not know this, but reading William's (and Caroline's, and Russell's, and Olivia's and Gracie's) blog was one of the things that convinced Mom that we should have OUR own blog.  So we are forever in their debt in this regard, and it's one of our favorite blogs to read every day.  I'll tell you one thing, though ... I think that Caroline is a little bit of a hussy.  She's always flirting with Spitty, as if I NEEDED any competition in that department!!!  That boy's already romancing half the lady cats in the Blogosphere.  In fact, if it gets any worse, I might have to consider whether there's a handsome mancat out there who might be more steadfast in his affections.  Do you think William would want to go out on a date with me?  

Anyway, their store is called Feline O' Mine and their stuff looks really cool.  Plus, it's been tested and approved by all the gang at William of Mass Destruction, so it's gotta be great!  We're going to have Mom help us pick out some stuff this weekend and then we'll be reporting back about it!

3) Mom has been SUPER stressed out lately with all these food recalls.  And you might not know this, but some of the food that was recalled was for cats, even though it wasn't as widely publicized.  So she was pretty happy yesterday when she got an email from K9Cuisine.com (they have cat food, too).  I was reading over her shoulder and the email said that because of the recent recalls, they are offering a 15% discount on certain foods that have NOT been affected by all the recalls.  Those brands are Pulsar Grain Free, Horizon Legacy, Darford Zero/G, Fromm, and Orijen.  All you have to do is enter the coupon code SWITCHFOOD to receive the discount, and any orders $50 or over receive free shipping!

Phew!  I'm exhausted!  I feel a nap coming on! And I know just the sun puddle I want to take it in!  

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

And don't forget to leave your comment HERE!

Finn on Friday

Hi, everyone - it's me, Finn!  

It's a beautiful spring morning here in Central Florida, and if my mom didn't have to go to that JOB place, Olivia, Tanner, and I could go outside on the cat porch to stalk lizards and take long, luxuriant sun baths. 

Like this ...  

But since she DOES have to go to the evil JOB place, I guess I will wrestle with Tanner for awhile, and then go tease Olivia for another while.  I might spy on the goings-on in the backyard from the big window in the mudroom.  Then, I'll probably just hang out on top of the cat tree in the living room and take a nap or something.  

Like this ... 

When I want some sunshine, I'll open the blinds a little. And then if I get too hot, I'll close them again. Because I'm smart like that.  And you'd be amazed at how dexterous my little black paws are. I'm telling you ... if I had thumbs, I could rule the world.  In fact, thumbs or no thumbs, I just might do it anyway.  You watch! 

Happy Friday, everyone! 

Oh, and P.S.

If you haven't already commented to win a free bag of Orijen, in the giveaway we're having sponsored by MrChewy.com - you can do so HERE!  A winner will be randomly drawn on March 31st! 

Finn - Cat of Mystery

Finn has always seemed, to me, to be a bit mysterious, right from the start in fact, from the morning I arrived at our old office building early one morning to find him lying at the edge of the parking lot so emaciated and still that I thought he was dead.  He was so weak and depleted that I was able to get within inches of him before he startled awake and ran, in a disturbingly unsteady fashion, away.  After he had been devouring the food I set out for him for a day or two, however, he seemed much stronger, and gave me quite a run for my money trying to trap him.  Not to brag or anything, but I've trapped more than a few feral cats in my day, and in Miss Olivia's case since she would NOT go in the trap for love, money, or canned tuna, I had to corner her under a building and trap her with my all-but-bare hands, nothing but a flimsy hand towel between my flesh and her angry kitten teeth and flailing kitten claws.  In that case, though, I was far more afraid of the spiders, rats, or whatever else might have been under that building besides myself and a very dirty kitten than I was of Olivia biting or scratching me. 

But I digress ... 

The thing about Olivia, and Tanner two years later, is that they were somewhat known quantities.  Their mothers were feral cats who had made our office building and environs their home territory, and between the squirrels, mice, and birds they were quite adept at catching, and the food that I and another cat-lover in an adjoining office building set out for them, they made out ok.  I worried about their health, about them getting hit by cars or contracting a disease due to being unvaccinated, but at that time our county did not have a viable feral cat TNR (trap-neuter-release) plan in place, and I didn't want them to end up at a shelter where they would almost certainly be put down. I would have trapped them eventually and gotten them spayed, and vaccinated, but before I could do that I realized that one of them, Olivia's mother, was pregnant, and I didn't want to cause her any undue stress that might cause her to miscarry.  Tanner's mother was a similar story. 

Finn, though, was a puzzle.  As far as I knew, there were no more feral cats in the immediate vicinity, and definitely no pregnant females that I had seen.  So to have this four month old, completely feral, kitten show up totally alone - no mother, no siblings - was bizarre to me.  I half wondered if he hadn't escaped or wandered away from someone's home somewhere and just gotten lost and disoriented, but his behavior was clearly that of a feral cat, so I quickly ruled that out.  

Even more of a puzzle is how he ended up staying here ... when I was so crystal clear on the fact that I didn't want or need another cat and did everything short of rent billboard space trying to find him a new home.

Then again ... it is very difficult not to fall in love with a kitten, particularly one so small, vulnerable, alone in the world, and so obviously in need of someone to love and care for him.  And boy do I love my crazy kitten, who is no longer a kitten now that he's turned two!  But being that he's not only the youngest cat but the smallest by a considerable margin, he still seems like a kitten to me. He's also a very different cat than they are, in almost every way.  

He fetches, for one.  And begs for mushrooms from my pizza.  And likes french fries.  And refuses to let me clip his hind toenails.  And purrs his whole-body-vibrating purr as soon as he sees me.  And runs to meet me at the front door, just like the dogs do.  And watches TV.  Every animal is an individual of course.  Even those of the same age and breed and gender.  Even siblings.  But Finn is different in a different way, if that makes sense, which, I realize, probably doesn't.  

And as much as I love Olivia & Tanner ... and I do ... Finn will always claim a very special part of my heart as his own.  And I will always wonder just exactly where he came from ... and how he found his way to me.  I like to think that maybe he knew he would be safe here, and loved, and cared for.  And maybe, just maybe, he knew that even though I thought I didn't want another cat, if that cat was HIM he would be exactly what I needed.  

Finn says: "I know all ... but my little cat lips are sealed!  (Unless there is food involved!)"

On this Wednesday Finn is WONDERING ...

Manic Man-Cat Monday with Finn

Hi, everybody - it's me, Finn.  Mom said to post this picture for her today because the way I look in this picture is the way she FEELS!

I don't really get it, but sometimes Mom gets really mad when I don't do what she says. (Also, I have seen her look like this once or twice, and it's never a good idea to argue with her at times like that. Now when I look like this it's a different story ... it just means I'm trying really hard to catch that feather at the end of the long pole!)

Happy Monday, everyone! 

Who was it who said ....

... that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?  

I'm not sure, but it seems that a certain black kitten has taken the old adage to heart.  Observe ... 

What does Finn want, you ask?  Two things:

1) For me to move that feather wand just a little bit closer!

2) To be as cool as his idol Spitty.

Olivia's Opinions

Mom note:  K-9 Cuisine.com is my go-to site for online ordering of necessities for the crew, and they don't just have food.  They carry supplements, treats, chews, and toys as well.  But as usual, the best part was the box.  Too bad tomorrow's garbage day and Olivia's cat-stle will be gone!

LAST DAY!

Hi, everyone!  It's me, Finn!  And in case you forgot to remember ... today is the LAST day of the

Back In Black Adoption Event!  And it's also the last day of my Comment-A-Thon   and YOUR LAST CHANCE to leave a comment and get yourself entered in the random drawing to receive a donation of up to $100 in your name to the shelter or rescue group of your choice.  Now, remember, even if you've already left us a comment, you can leave us another one today, and each comment you've left will be another entry into the drawing. 

That's it ... it's really simple.  So leave your comment HERE

Now, today, I'm not going to show you pictures of beautiful house panthers like me who need homes.  I know they're out there.  You know they're out there.  If you want one of your own (and who wouldn't, really?) just head out to your local shelter and adopt one today.  But it's not just beautimous house panthers like me who have a  hard time getting adopted.  It's also black dogs ... especially large black dogs.  But I'm not going to show you any pictures of them today, either.  Again, we all know they're out there, and if you find yourself in need of one, you know where you can go to look.  No, today is Saturday and that means it's time for the ...  

Brought to us by our friends at Confessions of the Plume , Life With Dogs , and Two Little Cavaliers

In this spirit, allow me to introduce you to some lovely black dogs and cats you may not yet be acquainted with (and some you probably are, but maybe haven't visited in awhile).  In no particular order ...

Little Isis, Editor in Tweet at Purrchance to Dream

Remington, at The Life and Times of Remington

William, from William of Mass Destruction

Kolchak Puggle and The Felix from Kol's Notes

Spitty, of Spitty Speaks



Havi, resident Pittie from Two Grad Students and a Pittie

Sam and his friends from Black Cat Rescue

The gang from the Portugese Water Blog

Clancy from The Pet Parent Diaries

Lucky, from A Scratch Behind the Ear and Other Nice Things

Rosie and BunnyBell from Love Always, Bear

So in the spirit of Saturday Blog Hoppin', hop on by some of these great blogs today ... and tell 'em we sent you!  But NOT before you leave your comment HERE!

Hello out there ...

It's me, Olivia!  And I've really missed all my Blogland 

friends lately ...

Have you missed me?

Finn on Friday

Hi, everyone ... it's me, Finn!  I think we all know that Mom is somewhat ... photographically challenged.  Therefore, I apologize in advance for the picture I'm about to post.  Despite having two perfectly good thumbs, Mom doesn't give me much to work with in the photography department, but she caught this one a couple of weeks ago when I was stalking a lizard out on the cat porch, and even though it's not very good, I still kinda like it.

In case anyone was wondering ... I did catch the lizard ... I am not a house panther for nothin'!  (But Mom took it away from me and set it loose out on the deck where I couldn't get him again. She's such a buzzkill sometimes.)


And now ... here's your daily reminder to leave your comment HERE to help your rescue or shelter earn up to a $100 donation in your name (or a pet's name) ... or whoever's name you want, really.   

And because the only thing better than one black cat is more than one ... here are some of my fellow house panthers looking for homes on Petfinder.com

Elvira

Ricki

Tanner

Misty