Feel-Good, Funny, and Forgotten

I have to say, the past couple of weeks haven't been the best. When I'm feeling like I need my spirits lifted a bit, I often turn to the IBKC archives and do a little digging. Cute kittens make everything better, don't they?

I've been writing this blog for almost nine years and have posted over 3,000 posts (3,222 to be exact!).  There are kittens and moments that stand out, but when I start poking around in the past, I always begin to realize how much I've forgotten.

I churned up a few IBKC moments that I wanted to share with you today because maybe you need a little uplifting yourself. Or, maybe you know someone who does, and you can share it with them.

Well, here you go! Here are a few funny and feel-good moments I rediscovered.

1. Adorable stretching, napping, purring Dearborns.



2. Oh, Eddie. What a tiny heartbreaker you were!



3. Baby Audrey giving baby Wylla a bath!!  This one just KILLS me.



4. That itty-bitty tongue on Daphne!!



5. Young Bean "signaling the mothership". She used to do this all the time and we never knew why. Still don't.  Still funny.



6.  Wiggly little Wiggins!



7. Teeny-tiny Hazel making baby biscuits!!!! Melts me like butter.



8. Pardon the hyaena laughing in the background -- that would be me.  And those are the Gibsons. Normally I can keep myself in check while taking a video, but this was just toooo funny.



9.  Remember that one time when the tables were turned and Bean got a bath from a kitten? Not me, it totally slipped my mind! What a treat to rediscover this one!




10.  Well, I know I'll never forget this one, but it always makes me laugh, no matter how many times I play it.   It's never not funny, and that's why I put it on the list.




Tell me please, do you have a favorite IBKC feel-good video or post you like to visit when you're feeling down?  I was thinking it might be nice to have a page devoted to some of our best spirit-lifters for such times.  Let me know what you would like to see on your list.

The Cataloon Quest

My quest to get photo documentation of Wylla's fabulous cataloons continued yesterday,  and I spent more time than I would care to admit trying to capture them.

Finally, in the late afternoon I found success when we all stepped out on the deck to enjoy the gorgeous sun. Wylla hopped up on the railing and did her little stroll on the catwalk, which put her little kitten pants at the perfect height for photographing.

Here you go.

Here are Wylla's cataloons and fabulous plume-of-a-tail in full glory!



Aren't they fabulous??

Here's another shot with her tail down. It looks like she's wearing a little pair of fuzzy cowgirl chaps with mismatched boots.




 The girls were so happy out there on the deck, and what I thought would be a 30 minute break, turned to almost two full hours of soaking in the sun.  I just didn't have the heart to make them come inside -- they were just enjoying it too much. So was I. I love watching my happy cats.

A Vancie Plunkett Update!

 Remember little Vancie Plunkett? She was in residence at the IBKC just last November and if you want a feel-good moment today, you should take a second to go back and read her adoption tale.

Well, I woke up this morning to find a very nice update from her mom, Deb.

I hardly recognized Vancie in the photos, who now goes by "Olivia".  Her smokiness has turned black and her coat appears much shorter and sleeker - all of her kitten floof ended up in her tail!

But gosh, she's shiny and gorgeous! Those amber eyes are amazing!




Here's a snippet from Deb's email:

What a tonic she’s been for us all! She is the ideal cat for us though we have been intrigued to find out she’s part monkey, bear cub, and wannabe fish! She has scaled heights in our home that Kaliah never even sniffed at! She’s delightfully curious. She’s amazingly talented at playtime. She’s deliciously cuddly and loving! She will carry her Purr Kitty around with her ever so lovingly. She’ll gently bring me one of her favorite mice and lay it next to me in bed (and yes, sometimes place one mouse in her food and one in her water dish, both water dishes that is!)

Her purr motor is a wee bit quieter now that she’s growing into it but it is the sound of angels! Whitney has remarked over and over and over again, “She is the perfect cat for us.” Truer words were never spoken. She wakes me up every single morning with love and hugs. She welcomes Whitney home every day with love and hugs. Oh, she was indeed meant for us!

 As for personality, Miss Olivia has oodles and oodles. She will pop up on a chair to peek her head over the table while we’re eating dinner and then just as quickly pop back out of sight. She loves hiding her toys for “us to find”—in fact, our granddaughters now have a thriving business thanks to Olivia! Anytime they visit, they earn a quarter for every Olivia toy they find!!! And oh, how they love Olivia. Olivia has been known to FaceTime with the girls upon request...and will even “paw” at the phone during their “conversation.” (I should add that Olivia prefers making a paparazzi appearance, being followed through the house with the phone held close as she takes the girls on a walking tour of Grandma’s house!)

Yes, we are totally smitten with our Itty Bitty Kitten! And what a beauty she is...oh my goodness! Her tail is a sight to be seen...and those eyes against her black fur and black whiskers! She has charmed everyone she’s met.

Thanks so much for sharing these photos and update with us, Deb!  Yes indeed, you picked the right kitten! We're so happy to know she's bringing you all so much joy!

Please say "hi" to Whitney, and give some love to Olivia from all of us!

Wylla's Cataloons

The other day, when I posted a video of Wylla on a walk, someone requested to see a little more of Wylla's adorable kitten pants, AKA, pantaloons, AKA Cataloons.

I tried this weekend to capture the pants, but it's not easy shot to get. It requires getting down on the floor with the camera just as the subject is exiting the room, or catching them while they're standing, and cats rarely just stand there, they prefer sitting.

After a weekend of failures, I decided to comb the photo archive and found only one shot of Wylla's
cataloons.

Here it is.



I'll keep trying to get more, and hopefully will a little cooperation on her "end" we will get one.

: )

Easter Beanie

When Charlene was a wee Bean, Kim and Sarah, her foster moms, had many critters in their care.  This bunny was one of Bean's housemates.

Every now and again I like to pull this one out of the archives just for Easter.  I'm not suggesting this is the actual Easter Bunny, but who really knows for sure!

This photo makes me laugh every time. Though she is just a tiny thing here, I can easily imagine a full-sized Butterbean hanging out in a cage with her rabbit friend. I think those early days where she met so many critters (like other kittens, big cats,dogs, chinchillas, and bunnies) helped shape her and made her the tolerant Bean she is today.

Have a great weekend, everyone. And if you celebrate Easter, I hope it's a lovely one.

No big plans for us, but I may fill some plastic eggs with catnip and see what happens!

Some chocolate would be nice, but I would be even happier to receive an Easter basket filled with kittens!

A Wee Walk

As I mentioned earlier this week, I've been thinking about getting Wylla out a little more, so I dug out her leash and harness and took her out for a stroll. It was a little windy, and the sky was spitting a tiny bit of rain, so it wasn't the best day be out, but we did get a little walk in.  Here's a small clip from our outing.

Once we were back inside, I thought for a moment that I might try putting the harness on Charlene, and then remembered this post below and thought otherwise....


You Can't Teach a Middle-Aged Cat New Tricks
(originally posted Oct 13, 2013)

I guess I knew it wasn't going to work, but we've had so much fun taking Wylla out for walks,  I thought I would try to harness up Charlene, and see what happened.  I had fantasies of Wylla and Charlene walking side by side down the sidewalks of Tacoma wearing matching harness and leash sets.

Years ago, when she was just a teen, I bought a harness for Charlene. We tried putting it on her a few times years ago, but never with success. The harness is adjustable, so after a little tweaking, I was able to make it fit our full-grown Bean.  I slipped her into it, and snapped the buckles.

Once it was on,  she flopped a very dramatic flop on the living room rug.


 

After a few minutes, and with some encouragement, I managed to get her on the front porch.



And I attempted to snap on the leash.

Paws were raised.

Once the leash was on, it all became a game.





And our walk went no further than the welcome mat.

A Puzzle from the Past

A couple years ago, when we were hosting Hazel Swift and Effie Brisker, an old client of mine from my days as a florist asked to borrow a couple of kittens for a project. She was working for a local company that manufactured jigsaw puzzles, and they were in need of a kitten or two for a photo that could possibly be used on one of their puzzles.

We had the brief photo shoot with Effie and Hazel one afternoon, and that was that. I never followed up to see if an image was used for a puzzle, and the whole thing just slipped my mind.

Well, earlier this week, I was hunting online for a new jigsaw puzzle project for Craig and myself, and I ran across a familiar face!!!

LOOK! It's Effie Brisker right there in the middle of that picture puzzle!!!

How cute is that??!!

If you want to pick up a copy, the puzzle comes in 750 or 1000 pieces and is available at Puzzle Warehouse, Barnes and Noble , Simple Pastimes, and Amazon.


I think I'll order one for us. We normally prefer to tackle puzzles with more pieces, but for this cutie I will make an exception!

It was fun to be reminded of this sweet little pair of kittens. They were the first set Wylla got to help foster, so they will always be special to us!   Here are a few photos of the dear things from their time in our care.

















If you want to see the lovely cats these two became, here's an update their parents shared with us last year.

Best Outing Ever!

I was thinking about Wylla yesterday, and how now that she's better, we hardly ever travel with her. There's an occasional vet visit, but it really has been months since she's been out on her harness for an adventure.

We need to step out more. It's something we all enjoyed, and we need to do more of it again.  

I was thinking about some of the trips we took and the places we went, and I think the time we visited the Pink Door might be my very favorite "stepping out" moment.

I think it's worth a re-visit. It was such a fabulous day!



Wylla has done some restaurant dining on her travels, but we've never tried anything local, so when I heard my friend Shira was coming to Seattle for work and was hoping to meet Wylla while she was visiting, I had to do a little looking online to find us a pet-friendly spot to meet for a meal.   I was delighted to discover that The Pink Door, one of my favorite spots from my early Seattle days, allowed dogs on their patio. I emailed the office to see if a cat might be welcome, they said it would be fine, so I gave the front desk a call to make a reservation for our human/feline party of three.

It was a funny conversation.  

"A cat?" said the host.

"Yes, I would like to make a lunch reservation for two humans and a cat, on the patio," I explained.

"A cat? Could I put you on hold for one moment?" and while he did, I could hear a muffled conversation between the host and management.

He returned with a few questions, which I happily answered, and  I went on to share that this cat was no ordinary cat, and assured him it would be fine.

"She's had plenty of experience in restaurants,  is very relaxed, and is kind of internet famous,"  I explained.

The "internet famous" comment triggered an "OOOHHH" from the host, he disappeared briefly to have another muffled conversation, and when he returned, our reservation was booked.

I closed our conversation with "I know this is completely ridiculous," and he quickly responded, "That's fine, Ma'am, we'll see you on Monday".

I hung up the phone feeling  my crazy cat lady craziest.   But, hey!  We were going to lunch at The Pink Door!  The thought of this made giddy for days.

I had booked our reservation for 2:00 pm, hoping a later lunch would be a little more quiet, but the day was gorgeous, so the patio was hopping.  We tried to tuck ourselves out of the way while they figured out where to seat us, but with guests coming and going and waiters and waitresses rushing by,  it was a little chaotic.  I held Wylla close, because if she was going to get nervous at any point on the journey, this would be it, but she did great and waited patiently.



They gave us a nice table in a shadier part of the patio, helped us tuck our bags away (Wylla doesn't travel light) and Shira arrived.  Wylla settled quickly, curled up quietly on my lap, and stayed there through most the meal.  At one point she did get a little curious and climbed over my shoulder and onto a stack of menus on the table behind me,  but besides that, she was a very, very good kitten.  Most guests on the patio weren't even aware that there was a cat dining with them, unless they happened to catch a glimpse of her as they exited.

Lunch was delicious, and once plates were cleared, Wylla spent a little time on Shira's lap, and got a little love. They took some selfies together, and I took a few photos too, until the check arrived.


Wylla was The Pink Door's first ever feline diner, and hopefully she set a great example, and won't be their last!  A big thanks to everyone at The Pink Door for accommodating us.  It was a wonderful meal.

After our lunch,  I went and picked up Craig from work.  As we sat in afternoon traffic,  I shared the details of the day and rambled on for minutes on end about our experience.

"Did Wylla order the lobster?" was Craig's only question.




Here are a few photos from our delightful afternoon:



Could the pink door match Wylla any more perfectly?  



Shira was so happy to meet our wee girl. 



Such a good little Wylla, sitting on my lap while we lunched.  



Wylla doesn't travel light. That's the bag we carry for day trips. 



She was a calm kitty on Shira's lap, 



and was happy to receive a little love. 




Shira shoots a selfie with Wylla. 



Our tiny diner. 

Back and Better!

When I went to pick up  Butterbean on Friday afternoon, she was huddled under a  pile of blankets and safely tucked into one of the kennels at the vet.  Though she was calm, her eyes were wild and dilated. The anesthesia was wearing off and the pain medicine was kicking in, and though she was quite loopy, I could see a sense of relief in her face when I opened up the door to her cage and said hello.  

Everything had gone just fine, but one tooth needed to be extracted.

I got the post-procedure low-down, some pain meds and antibiotics to take home,  then I packed up our girl and left.

When we we got home, I put the carrier down on the living room rug, opened the door, and she slowly stumbled out. Wylla was right there and was very curious and a little confused about the kind of familiar/ kind of strange cat in our house. There was lots of cautious sniffing and some low growling. Clearly Bean smelled different than normal, and minty-fresh,  so Wylla wasn't quite sure who that was walking all wobbly in our living room.

We all went to the kitchen and I prepared a small, soupy snack for Charlene. She had a few licks, then I brought up upstairs so she could get settled down and recover.

The first 24 hours were the hardest. She would go to her normal napping spots, but just sit or lay there with her eyes open. Her body was somewhat relaxed, but she couldn't seem to fall asleep. She would get up for light snacks or to use the litter box, then settle back in and not nap. Wylla shadowed her constantly.

By late Saturday afternoon, she was able to thoroughly rest and had some good naps. We had adjusted her pain meds, and I think that helped.  Though she was better, she still wasn't quite our Bean.

 We stayed close to help keep her as comfortable as possible, but there really wasn't much to do other than wait with her as she rode this out.

We saw more improvements Sunday: she was eating better and grooming herself. She wasn't too active, but she did move around a little bit more than the previous day. Her eyes looked normal again, and she was super purr-y and affectionate.

We gave her last does of pain meds Sunday eve, and this morning I woke up to my normal "where is my breakfast" Bean walking across my head and yelling at me.  Any other day this behavior is annoying, but today I was happy to see it because it meant our Bean was back!

I don't have any pictures to share today -- I really didn't think Bean would appreciate me taking photos of her while she was down, so I didn't document any of this weekend's events.  No one needs to see images of a sad, drooling Bean, anyway.

I'm grateful that's all behind us now and hope we won't have to do this anytime again soon!  

Thanks to all of you for thinking good thoughts for our girl. We appreciate your love and support so much!

Good Thoughts, Please.

I just got back from dropping Bean off at the vet. She's went in for a teeth cleaning, so she'll be spending the day there.   Because anesthesia is involved in the procedure, this meant no midnight snacks or breakfast, so she was not a happy Bean today.  She kept yelling and yelling and I just kept apologizing, hoping she would understand and relax.

She's in very good hands and with people she's very comfortable around, so there's no need to worry, but that doesn't stop me from worrying, of course. I'm a worrier.

It's really weird not having her in the house right now. You can tell Wylla is a bit confused by the absence of her sister and the disrupted morning routine.   She's sitting in the window like she normal does after breakfast, but she's on Bean's side of the window, and she's not looking outside, she's looking around the living room and at me with a face that needs answers. It's kind of breaking my heart that I can't offer an explanation she can comprehend.  It's going to be a long day.

If you wouldn't mind, please think good thoughts for our dear girl.

Thank you!

It's March, Where are They?

This morning I woke up thinking that we should be seeing kittens any day now.  January and February are always the quietest months, but in March it seems that things start picking up. I went into the blog archives to see if we were holding kittens on March 17th of the previous years,  and discovered that more years than not, we did.


March 17th 2015:
No kittens, just the big cats! But we were still sidelined after the ringworm incident that fall, so even if there were kittens at the shelter, we couldn't have them.

But we had this silly thing to keep us entertained that DAY.



No kittens on March 17th of 2014, but we had an update on Opal the Kitten (not Opal the Human). We were still taking a break because of Filbert's virus at this time, so no kittens for us.



On March 17th of 2013, we had Wylla and Audrey, and they were tiny.  We were in the thick of it with Wylla, and trying to get to the bottom of her health issues. She had just returned from spending a few days in Vet Treatment where she got poked, prodded, and tested for everything. It was a hard time for her. And it was hard for us too -- so much worry.



On March 17 of 2012, the Knapps had JUST arrived the day before and we got to meet little Wylie.

Gosh, that nose. Just look at that nose.

 

 On March 17th of 2011, we had the seriously cute Medley family in our care. Egads!

 

No kittens on March 17th in 2010, and Bean was BORED.  The Spooners had just left the week before, and the Lytteltons would move in one week later.

 

On March 17th of 2009, we had the Ashbys.  Milton, who was the biggest, was getting close to making weight! 



 On March 17th of 2008, we were midway through the Mayfield litter. Here's pensive little Porter.

 

This give me hope, folks. Historically, we usually have kittens in March, so hopefully we'll be seeing them SOON!

FINGERS ARE CROSSED!