A Mew Zing

Goodbye Gandalf

2010-10-02T16:57:00.011+01:00

. . . . . . . . . . Gandalf we named him
. . . . . . . . . . Shy and half wild
. . . . . . . . . . He of the Golden Eyes
. . . . . . . . . . He with of the rich grey fur

. . . . . . . . . . Gandalf the Grey
. . . . . . . . . . A cat of wary ways
. . . . . . . . . . without a home
. . . . . . . . . .content to roam

. . . . . . . . . . He learned from us
. . . . . . . . . . and we from him
. . . . . . . . . . He came to trust us
. . . . . . . . . . and we to need him.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (poem by Michael Becker)
.......................

Gandalf passed away September 2010

summer in the garden

2010-07-06T09:55:00.003+01:00

Tinkerbelle on the garden table

Pippin sleeping in the daisies

Gandalf (our stray) posing by the wallflowers

Springtime

2009-04-27T16:19:00.004+01:00

I haven't posted for ages. Should get back to putting up my kitty pics. I'll get to it in mid May, I'll be away till then.

Here's Pippin by the weeping willow, near Molly's grave.

Tinkerbelle in my art room on the windowsill, warming herself in the sun.

Tas

2009-04-27T16:02:00.002+01:00

Tas passed away in January. He had a stroke and couldn't walk or stand anymore. So I had to carry him around, feed him with my fingers and on plates under his face. He only wanted to eat sardines. I was afraid to take him to the vet, because I knew what would happen. My son (Tas's human) came to see him on the third day. He was deteriorating so we decided it was best to take him to the vet, where he was put to sleep.
Those photos are his last few days. He spent his last evening on my lap, I sat with him a long time and watched a garden show, and 2 films. He seemed very content. He lived for about 18 years.

Dib

2008-09-02T11:11:00.004+01:00

My daughter and son, who live in Dublin, just got their first cat. Well, he's a kitten still, and he's a sweet tiny thing. His name is Dib. Here, he was resting on my daughter's bed.
Why is there a carrot on her bed? I asked myself this question.. but my daughter was not home, so I never found out.

Who's hiding in the willow?

2008-08-05T08:12:00.005+01:00

"I look like a tree now, my human will never see me here."

"There she is, I think I'll attack her with my claws!"

"Gotcha!"

And indeed, Pippin did get me, gave me a nice scratchy swat on my hand. Ah well, it's all in fun and play, isn't it?
Be sure to visit Gatina's blog for Cats on Tuesday, and careful of those claws!

Springtime and nightly adventures

2008-04-14T22:04:00.008+01:00

Happy springtime, kitties! I have some lovely close-ups and a comic today.

Here's Tinkerbelle hoping to get some food

Tas napping

Pippin out for a stroll

Nightly adventures of myself and Pippin (click on the picture for a larger view)
...............................................
Hope all you kitties have a lovely day! Be sure to visit Gatina's blog for Cats on Tuesday.

Some cats like goth music

2008-04-01T10:15:00.008+01:00

Tinkerbelle is technically the neighbor's cat. But she lives at our house. So I suppose we are Tinky's humans, yes?

Here's Tinkerbelle sitting at my computer. She is watching a goth video on YouTube, and seems to be enjoying it.

Tas sleeps in Molly's old slumbering spot in my art room. He has also taken to sitting on my lap now that Molly is gone, as does Tinkerbelle. But I still miss having my Molly sitting with me.

Pippin likes to be outside living the independent life. Here he is under the pussy willow.
Join us every Tuesday at Gattina's blog for Cats on Tuesday.

Let me in!

2008-03-25T16:03:00.005Z

It's another Cats on Tuesday.

Pippin outside "Let me in. let me in. let me in. let me in... let me in!"
We have a cat door... That's why our neighbor's cat Tinkerbelle is always in our house. She helps herself to food and comfort.
But Pippin thinks he's special, and demands we open the door for him.

Me, opening door "Ok, Pipps, come on. ... Pippin? yoo hoo.. ... Pippin, did you want in?"
Pippin outside "Hmm.. what's that over there..."

Sunny Day Kitties

2008-03-18T18:08:00.008Z

It was a lovely sunshiney Cats on Tuesday morning. Cats were outside basking in the warmth.

Can you find the kitty?

The view from the back door.. Tas on the grass, watches the visiting cats loitering in my back garden.

Farewell Molly

2008-03-12T07:10:00.003Z

Molly passed away last week, while I was visiting my Mom. I'm sad that I wasn't with her during her last few days. But she was with my husband. She spent her last evening with him and the other two cats on the couch, watching a show on TV. She died that night. It was not unexpected as she was very old and was getting quite frail. But it still came as a shock to me, I hadn't thought I'd never see her again.
Here are a few of her last photos..

sleeping in my art room

on the couch with Tas and Pippin

on my tiger pillow

Rest well, sweet kitty..

Cats and the potato bag

2008-01-01T18:19:00.000Z

I had just taken the last potato out of the bag, and Pippin strait away went in to have a look. He thought it was a perfect place for an ambush, and kept attacking my legs as I passed the bag.

Soon, an unsuspecting Tas came along, and of course I missed the shot, as it took my camera a moment to recover from the flash! Pippin scared the willies out of poor Tas.

Cat and cat?

2007-12-04T13:31:00.000Z

Just noticed this in my photos, my daughter imitating Tinkerbelle perfectly. I saw the pic of her before I saw Tinky, and the first thing I thought was "She's doing Tinkerbelle!"

Cats Outside

2007-08-21T09:50:00.001+01:00

Most of the weather here has been cold and rainy, but during the few days of dryness, the cats like to be outside.

Tinkerbelle loves being up high. For such a tiny cat, she can be queen of the neighborhood and view things from above.

Pippin likes laying low, waiting for his favorite sky food.

Tas and Pippin like having a bit of a tumble now and then.

Molly wanders aimlessly, being blind, she must smell and feel her way around. She likes the softness of the grass.

But now and then she makes a wrong turn and ends up in the street. It's not too bad, there's never any traffic. But she can't find her way back, so I have to get her and bring her back home.

And then she likes to have a long nap after her adventures, curling up in my art nook on my shawls.

See more cats, visit Gattina's blog for Cats on Tuesday.

Green cats???

2007-08-15T08:01:00.000+01:00

I came across this site while browsing the web.
The genetics of green
I'm a bit sceptical.. it says these cats were not photoshopped. But green fur just doesn't exist as far as I know.
Well, I would sure love to own a green cat, wouldn't it be cool? Freaky!

Smudge in the grass

2007-07-24T20:41:00.000+01:00

Welcome to Cats on Tuesday!

Smudge, the neighbor's cat, loves to keep me company as I do the gardening.

She's a sweetie, so soft. She likes to lay on my freshly planted seedlings, it's one of her favorite pastimes. But here she decides to lay in the grass.
I always think she is shaped like a typical cartoon cat, including the black and white coloration.

Molly dissapears, Pippin is a hero!

2007-07-18T08:04:00.001+01:00

I was gone for 2 weeks, visiting my Mom. While I was gone, Molly took to wandering around the neighborhood. My hubby thought she may have been searching for me, because I am her human. Molly is very old, she can't see, nor hear very well, so it's a bit dangerous for her to be out.

She loves comfort and warmth. Here she is in my son's bed, sleeping happily.
So during my absence, she wandered away one day, going out through the cat door. My hubby got home from work, and discovered she was gone. He searched all over. You can't call her, because she won't hear you, so it's a bit difficult to find her. No luck, so he went to sleep that night, leaving Molly wherever she had gone. It was a cold and rainy night, he was worried about her, and thought it might be the end for her. The next morning, she was still not home.

But Pippin was home that morning from his nightly travels. He seemed agitated, and meowed a lot at my Hubby, going to the front door and looking out. So hubby let him out the front door. Pippin still meowed, looking up at hubby. He seemed to want to take hubby for a walk. very odd.
Pip ran over to a neighbor's back garden, still making sure hubby was following. And there, hubby found Molly: cold, wet and miserable.

Pippin, our hero! What a cat! I'd never dreamed he would have done such a thing, looking out for his friend Molly. I wonder if he was with her during the night, maybe keeping her safe and a bit warmer. The little rascal, I thought he was a bit of a bully sometimes, he likes to play-attack Molly, and she hates that! But he's just being kittenish.

Here's a few pics of Pippin playing under a blanket:

Pippin waits for sky food

2007-06-26T20:23:00.001+01:00

Hi, it's Cats on Tuesday. Mew!

Pippin here today, to show you my human's favorite rosebush. I like to lay underneath it, lie in wait for an interesting bit of sky food to land in the garden.

Here, I'll pose in front of it, so you can all see how pretty I am.

Hmm. is there a sky food flying up above?

Ah! There's one, just landed in the apple tree... this sky food likes to play games with me. It flies from one tree to the other, swooping down near me. I jumped high up into the air to try and catch it, but it's too quick.

Hey there, upside-down human! I'm waiting for some of those street-loving sky foods now, you know, the white-faced ones that wag thier tails?
Want to see more of us lovely creatures? Visit Gattina's Blog for more Cats on Tuesday.

Tas's day out

2007-06-05T15:47:00.001+01:00

Hiya, it's Cats on Tuesday again. The host this week is the beautiful Dragonheart. Mew!

Hi kitties! I'm Tas, I'm an 18 year old cat, And today I have decided to be awake for a while, and go for a stroll.

I wander into the wilder area of the garden.

Looking around at the peppermint patch. I did spend a bit of time here, just sitting for a while. You know, I need to conserve energy so I can make it back home. ;-)

After a rest, I pass the bramble bush, and back into the lawn area.

Down the garden path, and home again. What an adventure that was! I'm all tired out, so now for a nice long sleep!

Pippin on the garden chair

2007-05-29T06:40:00.000+01:00

Mew! Pippin here to say hi! Welcome to Cats on Tuesday.

I likes to sit in my human's "garden" chair. It's the chair I like to have a little sit in to look out at the garden.

Here me be trying to catch funny camera strap, it wiggles and moves, so needs be catched!

Hmm, not taste like mouse or bug.

I'll just hang here a minute.

Want see more cat pictures and stories? Go to Gattina's Blog, for Cats on Tuesday.

One year ago

2007-05-18T13:01:00.000+01:00

I was looking at d. chedwick bryant's blog , and on 9th May, he asked what were we doing on that day last year. I was wandering through my garden, followed by Molly. Molly was not totally blind yet last year, and would accompany me now and then.

Tinkerbelle eyes

2007-04-26T08:13:00.000+01:00

I'm off to visit my Mom for two weeks in Holland, to pretty up her garden. *waves bye*
This is an old picture of Tinkerbelle in her tree.

Dreams of Cats

2007-04-25T16:25:00.000+01:00

Er.. Cats on Wednesday? Sorry, been quite busy!

While the two old cats, Molly and Tas, slumber in my art nook...

Tinkerbelle climbs a tree, and balances on the little twigs.

She walks along walls with shadows of tree branches.

Tinkerbelle and Smudge play in the garden.

Pippin guards the tulips and daffodils.

Tinkerbelle poses in front of a stained glass lion.

And Molly and Tas are still sleeping and dreaming...

See more cat pictures and stories, go to Gattina's Blog, for Cats on Wednesday.. er... Tuesday!

Killer Tinkerbelle

2007-04-13T22:00:00.000+01:00

Tinkerbelle, a sweet cute adorable little pixie-cat, yes?
But also a killer! She's even got herself a little salad to go with the meat.
I remember though, the faerie-tale Tinkerbelle wasn't all sweetness either, was she?

The meeting of cats

2007-04-10T09:42:00.000+01:00

Meow all!

One fine sunny day, Molly was asleep just inside our back door.

A few minutes later, as all cats can do, she had teleported to outside the back door.

Soon, along came a curious Smudge, the cat next door. I don't think she had met my cats yet.

Smudge comes in for a closer look.

Molly wakes up.. she can't see, being blind, but somehow knows there is a visitor nearby.

Tas notices a new cat in the garden, and comes outside for a better look. Molly feels Tas nearby and gives him a quick wash.

Tas pretends to ignore the visiting Smudge.

But curiosity gets the better of him, and he begins to approach Smudge.
Smudge is terrified and quickly rushes to hide behind my lavender.

Want to see more cat stories and pictures? Visit Gattina's Blog for Cats on Tuesday. Mew!

Pippin sees for miles

2007-04-03T09:37:00.000+01:00

"Look how tall I am! Me bigger than you, human! Me can see for miles all around me."
"Read about others like me, us smarter, taller and stronger than all you humans! Meow!"

Smudge

2007-03-20T07:07:00.000Z

It's Cats on Tuesday again. You can see other cat's pics and stories by going to Gattina's blog.

There's a new kitten in town! The neighbors have taken in a little stray girl-kitten, named her Smudge. She's a little shy, but friendly. I think she has to get used to me a little more. She comes over to see what I'm doing in the garden, and follows at a safe distance. She approches me when I'm sitting down, and I can approach her when she's on "her" wall. A cute and sweet little cat!

Sunrise Cat

2007-03-15T14:14:00.000Z

Molly likes a warm lap

2007-03-13T07:30:00.000Z

Meow! It's Kittycat Tuesday! See other cat stories on Gattina's blog.
And if you have a few minutes (7 1/2 mins), go watch "The Cat Came Back", an animated short, just in the post below this!

Molly loves warmth, much more than the other two cats. If there is a warm spot of sun, she will be the first to find it and claim it to bask in. Mostly she prefers my lap. and will sit with me any chance she gets. Here I am at my computer, with Molly resting her chin on my hand. Makes it difficult to type sometimes! I try to do it lefthanded-onehanded. But that can't last long, so she would need to move.

The Cat Came Back

2007-03-11T21:34:00.001Z

An old favorite animated short.

Pippin hide and seek

2007-02-13T18:38:00.000Z

Happy Cat Tuesday, and Happy Valentines Day to all kitties!

Our Pippin playing hide and seek.
I'll be gone for a couple weeks, so till I get back.. *purrrr*

Tinkerbelle

2007-01-30T10:11:00.000Z

Tinkerbelle, our neighbor's cat, loves having a nap in my art room.

She takes over my chair, and makes big sad eyes at me if I need to sit there.

She's a sweet little thing, very friendly. At her house, she lives in a shed, and is not allowed indoors. I think I'm a big softy letting her sleep in my room..

See more cats and cat stories at Cats on Tuesday. Join in! Meow!

Pippin and Tas at "play"

2007-01-23T07:10:00.000Z

Pippin and Tas love to play-fight. Most of the time, young Pippin starts it off.

It's ok, they stay friends, it's only a play-fight.

It always ends up with Tas walking off, and Pippin wondering why he won't play longer than a minute or two.

Feline Faces

2007-01-16T14:03:00.000Z

I thought I would try some portraits of cat's faces.

This is the neighbor's cat, Tinkerbelle. It is really difficult to take a portrait of her, she's constantly moving. This pic was the best out of a dozen. She's a real pretty little thing, very friendly, very tiny.

Our Tas is easier, he sits quietly to have his portrait done. Well, he's getting on in years now, must be about 17 years old or so. Not like Tinkerbelle who is only 3.

Cats on Christmas Day

2007-01-09T09:39:00.000Z

Happy New Year, cat lovers! I thought I would post pics of our 3 lovelies on Christmas day.

My daughter showing off her pressie, with Tas looking on.

Pippin enjoying the warmth of the fire.

Molly claiming her spot on the couch, and refusing to move.

Warm Cats

2006-12-24T16:35:00.000Z

The colder it gets, the closer together they sleep. Happy and Comfy Christmas!

Cat and Tiger

2006-12-06T14:25:00.000Z

Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk! ......

2006-12-05T08:19:00.000Z

"Milk! .... Milk! .... Milk! .... Milk! .... Milk! .... Milk!"

The cat's comfy couch

2006-11-28T13:36:00.000Z

The sitting room couch, and all the comfy blankets, really belong to the three cats. Molly (on the right) goes so far as to give us a swat if we try to sit there. So we have to sit on the rickety chair!
;-}
See more kitty posts on Cats On Tuesday.

Tinkerbelle steals my chair

2006-11-25T12:22:00.000Z

Tinkerbelle, the neighbor's cat has taken over my studio chair. When I need to sit there to do some work, she gets all upset, and looks at me with big sad eyes.

Cats in the sunshine

2006-11-05T07:18:00.000Z

Looks like Molly has found the only sunny spot by the back door. Doesn't Pippin look slightly annoyed? He leaves her be, she loves the warmth.

Beware of the Cat!

2006-11-05T07:15:00.000Z

One of Pippin's favorite sleeping spots is inside my desk.

Glowing eyes and unseeing eyes.

2006-11-05T07:09:00.000Z

Tas with his glowing eyes, spots Molly walking by. Molly sees nothing, she has gone completely blind, we think. Her whiskers have grown so they point forward, and she gets around fairly well.

Shed in heaven

2006-11-05T06:59:00.000Z

I found out on Halloween night, that Shed passed away several days ago. She was the neighbor's cat, and a real sweetie. I was missing her visits, she would come say hello when I was outside gardening, and sometimes even come inside through the cat door to greet me. Poor little darling, she got sick, and just got worse.
I'm still missing her.., her lovely little purr.., the way she would want you to pet her belly, but she would roll around just out of reach..., and the way she came trotting up to greet you, miowing the whole way.

Metal Mews

2006-10-10T17:21:00.000+01:00

Pippin falls asleep listening to Pantera.

Tas has Volcanicity

2006-10-09T15:14:00.000+01:00

Tas was playing in an empty Volvic bag, and came out the other side... but the bag stayed stuck on him. He didn't seem to mind one bit, took a nap with the bag on for a while. When he woke up, he simply walked out of it.

Comfy Molly

2006-09-05T21:02:00.000+01:00

Molly asleep on her favorite blanket.

Steve Irwin

2006-09-05T09:06:00.000+01:00

He was dedicated to the conservation of animals, loved life, and was a great comic.
I loved to watch him in action, he had so much energy and enthusiasm!
"You're alright mate! You're alright!"
Farewell...

Shed

2006-09-01T18:41:00.000+01:00

Our neighbor's cat, Shed, likes to visit us once in a while. She is the sweetest little thing, with a lovely soft purr purrr purrrrr....
Loves to have her belly rubbed. When she sees one of us humans, she trots over, meowing the whole way."Maooooww oooww owww oooww owwww ooowwwwww".
Utterly cute.

Growing Pippin

2006-08-11T08:44:00.000+01:00

My 3 cats, showing Pippin growing up from small to big.

Tas in a summer hat

2006-08-11T08:39:00.000+01:00

Mew?

Pippin and Tinkerbelle

2006-07-23T17:28:00.000+01:00

Pippin and Tinkie love to romp and play. But Pipp's a little bit too big for play, and Tinkie starts hissing and runs off full tilt. Of course Pippin has to run after her. I think they're good friends.

Molly

2006-07-15T23:03:00.000+01:00

Molly was a stray kitten we adopted in early 1988. Here she is, at age 19 this year. I am Molly's human. She loves comfort, my lap, the warm sun, a soft blanket. She loves cat food with jelly, she licks all the jelly off, and leaves the rest for the other 2 cats. She's getting on in years, going a bit deaf and slightly blind, but she still accompanies me into the garden, following me as I weed and putter about.

wild turkeys

2006-07-14T10:28:00.000+01:00

My son Chris, who lives in the forest in Oregon, sent me this pic of wild turkeys on his driveway.

Pippin the kitten

2006-07-11T12:57:00.000+01:00

Here's Pippin as a kitten, in his first bed, when he moved in with us.

Pippin

2006-07-11T12:34:00.000+01:00

Our young cat, Pippin. He moved in with us one week before we moved from the suburbs to the country. I was picking rosemary from my bush when this little kitten walked up to me, and mewed "Hi!!" He followed me around to the back door, and came in through the open door. Had a bit of our cat food (we have two other cats) and found a soft spot to have a little nap. We put up signs everywhere, but nobody rang. So he came with us to the country. Here he is playing in a paper bag.
My daughter is Pippin's human. She named him after the bold hobbit from Lord of the Rings, and he lives up to his name!