Carnival of the Cats #349

We begin with the sad news of a loss within our ranks. Pepper suddenly passed on October 29th.

Daddy adopted Pepper a few years before he met Momma. Pepper had been rescued from a home due to neglect, but Daddy helped nurse her back to health. Her and Daddy stuck together through some hard times until they met Momma. She officially became an attack cat in April of 2006.

Pepper was a quiet sweet cat that (usually) didn't get along with the other cats. She was very skittish and would usually come up for pettings and snuggles late at night when it was quiet. She loved to put her paw on Momma's face when snuggling, and was happiest when she was kneading on Momma or Daddy. She'd had a number of health problems develop, including the heart murmur, hypothyroidism, back pain, and a potassium deficiency. She was probably about 8 or 9 years old when she passed due to her heart murmur.

While we miss her greatly, we are thankful she went quickly and peacefully and is finally pain-free. Momma is happy she got to see her and pet her one last time that day before she went to the Bridge. We know we will see her again.

We'd like to dedicate this carnival to her memory:

One of the cat owner rules is that everything must be covered in cat hair. Hakuna from Lost in the Cheese Aisle makes sure her family doesn't break the rules by relaxing (and shedding) onto a sunroom chair.

Over at My Cats and Funny Stories, Arthur grumbles about the rainy weather and the indignity of being dried off by his human.

Cokie the Cat is hosting a purrfect giveaway featuring a gorgeous ornament and refrigerator magnet starring Cokie himself!

Dirty-boy Meowza sneaks in some dirt rolling and dreams of turkey at both Mind of Mog and his own site, iMeowza, just in time for Caturday.

Uh oh! Over at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat, Elvira seems to be so concerned about her figure that she's comparing herself to a Thanksgiving turkey!

Also at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat, Nikita and Elvira are busy helping their Daddy learn how to make fliers...featuring themselves, of course!

Nikita also shows off his bravery by fending off a foot intruder and protecting his family. In our opinion, you definitely deserve a medal!

At Strangeranger, Maddie enjoys some puddles of sunshine and her human gets an opportunity to capture a photo of her lovely green eyes. How beautiful!

Thanks everyone for giving us the opportunity to host and to share. The next carnival will be at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

Carnival of the Cats #335

Update: I know there are so many unwanted wonderful kitties out there, but this one in particular really speaks to me. I know it would break my heart if I were in this situation.
If you know of anyone in the Western Pennsylvania area (or beyond) that could give this poor little guy a home, please help!

A Home For Boo

Scamper: We has a sad. Momma's not feeling well, and she's been laying on the couch all weekend, too sick to play with us.

Pepper: I thought I'd help her fold clothes, but then realized the clothes were better beds than folded up in a drawer!

That's just what I need, cat-fur covered clothes, but what's new around here? Let's get the carnival started!

This should come as no surprise, but Cuthbert the cat reports that scientists have learned that animals are more intelligent than humans give them credit for. We felines have been telling you this all along!

Humans don't know how to make a bed, so Miles assists his human with making the bed, then pauses for a power nap and to admire his hard work.

The Kitten gives us further proof that humans are incapable of making beds without a cat's assistance. How could you possibly sleep without our lovely furs all over the bed?

Luna proves that black cats are an elegant complement to any shade, or they can stand alone as the ultimate masterpiece.

Felix: What a great idea, Pepper! I'll help Momma clean off her dirty desk. Well, I'll at least rid it of these fun little hair ties!

Kal-el: And I'll help break down the boxes with my big fuzzy butt. See? I've already started!

While the cats are busy, um "helping", let's continue with the carnival!

Oh my! Before Elvira could make it in for her, ahem, "procedure", she was stricken with urges that confused her and we're sure annoyed Nikita. But everything was "fixed" (ba dum dum) and Elvira is feeling a lot better now!

Nikita and Elvira also want to say thank you for their care package and tell everyone about BlogPaws 2010 West!

Nicky shows off his amazing blue eyes for the camera, and we learn he is not a fan of the bathing. As fellow felines, we completely understand, and good luck to your human with your future bathing endeavors!

Still recovering from surgery, but Maddie is doing well & is active enough to sneak off for unauthorized walks around the house. Get well soon Maddie!

Bagheera & Maggie: Whew, we're pooped! Momma does a lot around here, and now it's our turn for a nap!

Izumi: But first...Momma, hop to it & get us our dinner! We know you're sick, but opening cans is the one thing we can't do!

Oh, all right!

Before I gather up the gang for dinner, I want to say thanks for letting us host the carnival!

Next week's carnival is hosted by none other than the regal Nikita and lovely Elvira.

Kitteh Updates - Is 12 a herd?

Wow, two weeks in a row posting. I'm on a roll!

I thought I'd give you an update on the kittehs. We are still holding at 12 total. Here's a few of them milling around the kitchen, waiting for their dinners.



Felix is doing well. He still prefers his favorite hobbies of sleeping and eating. He has a rare allergy to some type of mite that you typically find on animals (that they usually don't react to) which is causing him to overgroom above his eyes and the backs of his front legs. We're treating it with Advantage Multi once a month to keep down the mite levels & 1/2 tablet of Chlorpheniramine twice a day to keep down the itchies.


Here's Felix, not joining the other kitties (Bagheera, Maggie, and oddly enough, Pepper) in their pile of snuggle.

Tiger is having territory issues. I think he is one of the culprits of random markings through the house. He constantly gets into squabbles with Quixote & Kal-el. No health issues these last few months, but he did get a UTI back in November. I've now got them all on Purina One Urinary Tract Health in the hopes that food does the trick & I won't have to go back to the Hill's C/D.

After Miya's passing, Pepper has become our new elderly cat with 20,000 health issues. As of her last checkup, her heart murmur hasn't changed (I think it's a Level 3?) hopefully with the help of atenolol, her thyroid levels look good thanks to her methimazole, and her pinched nerve/back issue only bothers her occasionally & we treat her with Metacam probably once a week for that. But now she also has a potassium deficiency, and we're adding that supplement to her medicine regiment twice a day. She's hanging in there though, and definitely is still a lovebug.


Pepper is not happy about the state of the unmade bed, or the lack of a person in it to snuggle with.

Winry is still bouncy & tiny & cute & compact. She loves to curl up on my chest or in my lap.


Compact kitty. More efficiency for less cat!

Scamper is still floofy. She greatly disapproves of Oreo, the latest addition, and gets into squabbles with him constantly. She's become more affectionate toward me.


Scamper does not approve of cookie cats. Especially cookie cats who steal her sleep spots.

Bagheera is still huge. He isn't as much of a bully, but when he gets bored he goes out of his way to find someone to terrorize.

Sidonia is still quiet & sweet. I try to protect her from some of the other bullies, and she's becoming more lovable.

Quixote is also becoming more affectionate and is beginning to hang out in Spidey's room all the time, which is unusual for the antisocial one. He loves to terrorize Tiger.


Quixote: "I'm innocent! See this innocent face? Pet me and lets forget this whole silly 'terrorize' thing, shall we?"

Izumi is the cat equivalent of Velcro. She will sit in your lap all day and wants to be carried around all day and wants to lay on you every moment you are asleep. You must avoid eye contact when focusing on something else, because if she sees you looking at her or if you touch her, you will not be able to get rid of her for hours.

Maggie is a jealous little baby. He's definitely full grown, but he acts like a big kitten that must be snuggled with and carried at all times. There's nothing like waking up in the middle of the night to him snuffling your nose and trying to snuggle with your FACE.


Maggie: "But Momma, I's so cute. I am just a big kitten...see?"

If Kal-el gets any bigger, he could double as Chewbacca in any new Star Wars films. He is gorgeous and fluffy and very loving, but you have to be careful of the sharp claws, because he knows how to use them. As big of a tomcat as he is, he is TERRIFIED of little clawless Tiger.


Kal: "I hate that little tiger-striped whiny beast."

And finally Oreo, the newest to join the group. He is becoming very affectionate & is very sweet. He does get into quite a few squabbles & bullies around some of the others like Scamper (I think she has a price on his head for stealing her sleep spots) & Sidonia, but for the most part, he's pretty quiet.


Here's Oreo, posing nicely for the camera.

The biggest issues we have these days is random territory marking (even though they are all spayed & neutered) and the occasional squabble needing to be broken up with the help of my new best friend, a spray water bottle.

While they seem like an army at times when they group up, and the constant vet visits & costs stress me out, they are a never ending source of entertainment & love & I wouldn't trade them for the world.