More Adventures in Catsitting

I have been asked to cat sit again. Three cats, 14, 5 and 2 years old. Sounds familiar. My cats are 12, 7 and 3. In fact, Sammy looks a lot like Percy don't you think?

Milo is the baby of the family. He has the softest coat and he is very sweet. Yesterday he didn't eat much but today he was fine.

Lexi is the eldest of the brood. She is all white and she has two different color eyes. She is a love bug and like my Molly, she growls at the boys if they get too close.

Birdwatching is a favorite pastime in this household and why not?  The house is located on a hill surrounded by trees and birds.

 

Lexi enjoys the window too, when she's not rubbing her face on the perch her Daddy made for her.

 

 

Lexi, the birds are outside the window not in the house! The chirping is so loud you might think the birds were inside.

The kitties' backyard is an oasis from the rat race. Repurposed items decorate the garden.

Look at this arbor. It has seating for two. A neighbor was throwing it out so my friend got it for free. It certainly fits that spot perfectly.

The neighborhood is filled with colorful Victorians and well manicured lawns. Talk about pride of ownership!

I snapped this quickly as the UPS truck was about to spoil my shot. Also it was starting to rain quite heavily.

And this is where Lexi, Sammy and Milo live. They are allowed outside but just in the yard. But not on my watch. I already told them they would have to stay in until Momma gets home. The weather has been cold and rainy anyway.

This was taken on Monday. The last day we had sun I think. The morning light was beautiful in the yard.

Hopefully, the weather will improve but regardless I look forward to seeing those cute kitty faces again tomorrow morning.

Cat Nanny, A New Profession

For the fourth time this year, I have a cat sitting job. So I think I have a new profession. I am the  cat nanny.

My latest charges are Bing and Bartley, 5 year old brothers who are rescue cats. Bing is pictured above. His name was Bingo originally. Now he answers to Bing.

The kitty on the right is Bartley. He is a big, lovable boy and the most talkative one. He kind of reminds me of Oscar. Oscar is a chatty boy too.

Barley can look very stately when he poses in one of the living room chairs.

He can also be very silly. He loves to do somersaults on the kitchen floor and he is often standing on just his hind legs.

Bing is funny too. He's much more shy. He did warm up to me pretty quickly and he is very sweet.

The nice thing about this assignment is they live right upstairs from me. Yes, Bing and Bartley are my neighbors.

I am enjoying my new profession. It would be nice to do this full time but highly unlikely. Their Mommy returns on Friday night, but until I have to say goodbye I am enjoying the company of Bing and Bartley.

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

I was going through some old photos on my computer and I realized yeah I really do love October. I have to agree with Lucy.  I am so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers because October is one of my favorite months.

I love to go on a short walk or a long daytrip with my camera in tow. I always find something interesting to photograph. It could be a new feline friend that I've made...

Or a leaf strewn walkway. Leaves are a favorite subject to photograph. After years of living in the same area, I know which trees are going to turn first and which ones will be the most brilliant.

Is there anything more quintessentially Fall than pumpkins?  Especially pumpkins and wagons. 

I admit to spying on other people's Fall decor. It's fun to see how the front doors are accessorized.

And in October we find the last of the Farmer's Markets. It's great to walk around the markets when the temps are nice and cool.

And I love, love, love to go into the courtyard of the Boston Public Library and look at the witches hats.

These are some downright fashionable witches hats. Much care has been taken to create them.

And then of course at the end of October, there's fright night or Halloween. I am always afraid of those things that go bump in the night at the condo!

Adventures in Catsitting

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of catsitting pretty Miss Tiger Lily.  Her parents were going on a trip to Florida and they asked me to be their catsitter. The assignment was for 5 days. Her fur was a little matted but we'll fix that.

There are two dogs in the household as well. The owner's brother took them to his house leaving Tiger Lily alone in the house.

Tiger Lily is an indoor/outdoor cat. I told the owner's I would not allow Tiger to go out on my watch. They were fine with that.

"What's this?", Tiger said. She did not agree with that at all. Of course, the weather was beautiful and Tiger really wanted to go out.

Here's her sour puss face after I told her for the eightieth time she could not go out. She was ok for the first two days but then she turned on me. She was obsessed with going out the front door.

She did, however, like to snuggle. So every day and night after she ate, she would crawl into my lap and cuddle. A few times she even fell asleep.  I got most of the mats around her neck out just by brushing her. She didn't even seem to mind.

Poor baby. She cried and cried she wanted out so badly. Her parents told me that she would cry to go out but just to ignore her. That is easier said than done. She even followed me down the stairs to my secret escape route in the basement.  She's a tricky one!

The owner called me on Thursday to say her brother was dropping off the dogs a day early. I did not have to walk them as she had arranged with another lady to do that. Meet Chloe Moey Zoey Grace Ryan or Chloe for short. She should not be on the couch but I didn't stop her.  Isn't she cute?

And here's Bella, a Puerto Rican street dog rescued many years ago. She is the sweetest, gentlest animal.
She is very attached to her Mama.

Bella has an overbite that is very distinctive. Her daddy puts on a voice and speaks for Bella. "Where's my mother?" he says.  Cracks me up every time.

I had a lot of  fun with the animals. They are the sweetest. All of them were really very good. And the parents insisted on paying me. Maybe I have a future in catsitting!

Meet Stuart and Tucker

Last week, I took Molly to the vet for her annual checkup and rabies shot. While we were waiting to see Dr. Ricketts at the Beverly Animal Natural Health Center, we met a beautiful black cat. I was introduced to Stuart. Isn't he sweet?



Stuart now resides at the vet's office because someone just left him on the bench in front of the building. Someone just dumped him there. Can you imagine that? It made me really angry. I am sure that Stuart will enjoy living at the vet's and probably it will be the best thing for him but really. Do people think vet's offices are safe havens for animals?

Anyway, I guess maybe the person who dropped him off thought they were doing him a favor. I shouldn't judge since I don't know their circumstances.



So Stuart joins Tucker, the other resident cat at the Beverly Animal Natural Health Center. Tucker was a great help to me recently. I thought I felt a lump on Molly around her chest area. I brought her in to see Dr Ricketts and she said it was nothing, it was normal. I thought how come I never noticed it before if it was normal. She explained that cats lose muscle mass as they age just like people do. She brought Tucker in and had me feel the same spot on him. It was much more pronounced on him. but he is a lot older than Molly. It put my fears to rest.

I really love the staff at the vet's office. I will continue to bring Molly and Oscar there as I know they will get good care. And I like seeing Tucker and Stuart.

Cat with Water

I don't usually post videos from You Tube on my blog, but, the cat lover in me
couldn't resist. This was sent to me by a coworker today and I am sure you will
enjoy it as much as I did.

The star of the video reminds me of my own Molly. She loves the water too!

My Cats went to Paris !!

My cats really didn't go to Paris which is a good thing because I would have been insanely jealous. I haven't been to Paris since 1983! It was so long ago that TWA was still in business. Hmm, time to go back, don't you think?

Anyway, back to the point of this post, I decided to purchase one of Carol Gillott's Send your Pet to Paris watercolors. Of course, I had her feature my two sweeties, Molly and Oscar. She asked that I send her photos of the two cats and she did the rest. The photos should be good photos of the pets and, well, go to her website, www.ParisBreakfast.com, and read about it.




Here's a closeup of the kits. Don't they look great? I couldn't be happier with the finished product. Now I need to find a frame to do it justice! I'm on the hunt.

Also, I have drawn the winner of my blog giveaway, Stefanie of Rose Petals and Rust won the gems of the sea giveaway. Stefanie, please email me your info so I can send
your goodies to you.

Today is warm and sunny here in New England, I put the air conditioning on for the first time since I moved into the condo. Thankfully it works.

I hope you all stay cool this weekend!