Formerly Feral Friday - Last of Dobby (LT)

As you all know Dobby (formerly known as LT) is now living happily with Merlin. This is the last picture I took of him in my apartment last Friday (a week ago). I just came into the apartment and saw him and Bubbles on the couch. I think they were actually sleeping together. Or I interrupted Dobby pouncing the sleeping Bubbles!

And here is a picture of Mrs. B and Dobby after they settled on which cat-cup Dobby will take with him and which one will stay.

Although it was very sad for me to say goodbye to Dobby, I am so grateful that he found such a great forever home. And I think the 2 Bs are also grateful!

Mrs. B is complaining that Dobby is still hogging the blog even though he's not even living with us anymore! So, I'll try my best not to post many more pictures of him (but he is just so cute)!

R.I.P Bontie

A couple of days ago (Tuesday) I mentioned my parents oldest cat, Bontie. Yesterday (Wednesday) I talked to my sister and she told me Bontie passed away Tuesday night. The same day I started a Catster page for her! Isn't it weird how things sometimes happen?

Our closest approximation is that she was at least 22 years old. She was my father's cat and a bit of a loner. She loved him and would cuddle with him, but did not care much for the rest of us, or the other cats. So here are some pictures of her. Just look at her fluffy tail. I posted one picture of Bontie on this blog before and you can see it here.

Some of you asked me about her diet when you heard about her age. All the cats on the farm get catfood (wet and dry) and people food, including vegetables! Remember that yellow stuff in Crinkle's plate? It was corn! But of course all the cats are indoor and outdoor cats, so mice, birds and other critters are also part of their diet. Once Bontie got too old to hunt herself, she ate the mice the other cats (particularly Babatjie) brought into the house.

Our household has had 7 cats (excluding Babatjie and Crinkle) that I personally knew. Only one died younger than 10 years, and that was from complications after his neutering. One, Tarzan was 18 years when he died. So life on the farm is pretty good for cats. One reason is probably because there is no traffic to speak of.

UPDATE: Mattingly's Mom asked where in Africa Bontie lived. Here is a map (click to biggify). I grew up there and came to the USA in 2001 to do my pHd (which I finished in 2006, YAY!). My family (and Crinkle and Babatjie) still live there. You can see some pictures of the farm here and here.

Wordless Wednesday

Tabby Tuesday - Crinkle

Seriously Mom - That food is not fit for a cat to eat!

Come on open the refrigirator already. We both know that's where all the good stuff is.

My sister sent me some pictures of Crinkle (above) , Babatjie and Bontie from back home in Africa, so from time-to-time I'll post some of them. That is my Mom's leg you can see in the picture above. Crinkle has enough catatude for about 10 cats and the pictures of him are priceless. Babatjie is a great hunter, while Bontie is a beautiful calico that is more than 20 years old! I hope you will enjoy these pictures of the 2 Bs extended family.

Bubbles's Secret Paws

I (Bubbles) received my Secret Paws from Oreo weeks and weeks ago. But Mom only now allowed me to open it!

Hmm, this is very exciting. Look, it has my name on it and it says "Secret Paws".

Wow it is a whole Christmas stocking full of gifts. And extra toys!

Oh this Cosmic Katnip looks interesting.

Oh yes. It smells heavenly. Purrrrrrrr.

So many toys. Which one should I playwith first?

I think I like this green mousie.

I knew this green mousie was special. Look it is flying!

Mrs. B: Maybe I can steal some toys or Cosmic Treats while Bubbles is playing with his mousie.

Thanks a lot Oreo. Bubbles loves his gifts. He is tossing that green mousie all over the living room. And Mrs. B had some Turkey Flavor treats. Yum.

Formerly Feral Friday - Saying Goodbye to LT.

Today (Friday) is my last day with LT. As most of you know he is going to his forever home with Merlin on Saturday. I'll miss the little guy.





We will leave here Saturday morning and he should be with Merlin sometime in the afternoon. I will take some pictures of the trip, but am not sure when I'll get time to post. So check Merlin's blog for the future adventures of LT!

Thursday Sixteen, because Thirteen things were just not enough

1. He LOVES to lick his Mom’s nose.

2. When he licks his Mom’s nose, he purrs so loudly you can hardly believe the sound comes from such a small body.

3. He also purrs when he eats.

4. He loves human food, especially ham and cheese.

5. He loves Temptations, Savory Salmon flavor.

6. I’ve never seen a cat that is so enthusiastic about using a litter box. He runs to the box, and then scratches crazily before using it. While covering the “event” it seems to me he is singing, la, lala, lalalala… Then he jumps out and runs in a wide circle in the living room.

7. He has a tiny meew. He often meews, and no sound comes out at all.

8. He loves to play in his cube and enjoys rolling it around the apartment, preferably over Mrs. B at some point.

9. He loves to sleep on his Mom, or in Mrs. B’s cat-cup. He sleeps on the bed with Mom every night.

10. He is fascinated by Bubbles and loves to pounce on him.

11. He would love to snuggle with Bubbles, but Bubbles wants none of that.

12. If he hears a loud noise or strange person he runs and hides under the bed.

13. He never seems to walk, but always seems to run, in a kind of skipping, bouncy way with his tail straight up in the air, wherever he goes.

14. He loves to lick the outside of soda cans.

15. When he is really having fun running around the apartment or playing, he makes little chirping sounds. I guess the human equivalent would be yelling “wheeee” while running.

16. If I had to describe LT with one word it would be “Enthusiastic”. Even when he is scared, he is scared with enthusiasm. If he hears a loud, scary noise outside, he runs as fast as he possibly can to hide under the bed. Once the noise is gone, he comes hopping and skipping back into the living room like he was never scared at all.

UPDATE: 17. He has two-toned whiskers. Close to his face they are black and then they become totally white towards the tips.

OK seriously, how am I supposed to blog?

LT and the cat-cup.

LT has decided that he loves Mrs. B's cat-cup. Mrs. B also loves it, but these days she does not get much time in it.





So, I decided that LT can take the cat-cup with him when he goes to live with Merlin. But don't worry, I bought Mrs. B a brand new cup, that is even nicer than the old one. And she actually seems to like the new one.


And then, just when I though everybody was happy, what did I see? Last night I came home and this is what I saw! LT in the new cup!

Well, they still have a few days to decide which cup willl go with LT and which one will stay with Mrs. B. *sigh*

Happy New Year

Happy New Year all kitties and beans. Here is LT showing everycat what to do with any soda cans they encounter.

Step 1: Find a can. Wait for condensatin to form on the outside.

Step 2: Start licking the outside of the can.

Step 3: Keep licking. Even when Mom or Dad yells "NO". They will try all kinds of things to get the can away from you, like moving it somewhere else. Just find it again and continue licking.

Step 4: Make sure to lick the top of the can. Yes, right there where the beans put their mouths to drink. This is especially important if you are licking the can of a guest that does not seem very comfortable with cats.

For some reasom LT loves to lick the outside of any glass, can or cup that has something cold in it. I have no idea why. It's not as if he does not have plenty of clean water to drink.