Shelter Cats and Redemption

I have no birthdays to commemorate. No anniversaries to wax nostalgic on. I have plenty of stories about Tyler and Tiger from back in the day, but none that stick out enough for me to want to blog about. So....what to do? Share some recent pictures of Sophie, Tucker, and Minnie, that's what! So, here you go.... The continuing adventures of the feline trio of Sophie, Tucker, and Minnie! Here are some pics, and updates, on Tucker, Sophie and Minnie from the past few weeks.  The best three cats ever! First of all, I was finally able to get Tucker to the vet last week, thanks to a little vet supplied tranquilizer and my son's assistance.  Tucker does NOT like to get into a carrier!  This time, with a little help, he got into the carrier and was the MODEL patient. The vet assistants GUSHED over him, and even had him pose for a picture!  Is this a handsome cat or what?? By the way, Tucker is in perfect health.  It's SO NICE havin...

Tyler would have been 19 this coming Saturday, June 9th. Nineteen. Tyler would have been pushing TWENTY.  That's really hard to fathom.  I often wonder what life would be like if he was still around and had retained his health.  I'm sure he would have been the same old Tyler, just an older, slower version.  Still in charge.  Still holding court. So is June 9th his ACTUAL birthday? I will never truly know. I adopted him, as readers of this blog know, on December 9th, of 2000.   I was told he was a 1.5 year old cat, so, I back-dated him to June 9th, 1999. Therefore, he got an official birthday.  I do that with all my cats. Hard to believe you're gone almost 4 years.  It's still not quite the same without you, but I know you're proud of the job Sophie is doing in your old slot as alpha cat.  Sophie is about to approach senior-hood herself now that she's 8 years old, but shows no signs of slowing down so far.  Then again, s...

I could have sworn I blogged about this, but it looks like I didn't. How could I miss this story about Tyler! This past Friday, I received some tremendous news, news that totally made my day. I'd found Chloe. Who, you may ask, is Chloe? Chloe was Tyler's brief love affair, and his first apprentice. Here's the story. 2007: At the time,  I had this close female friend, for the sake of decency I'll not mention her name here. Let's call her.....FRIEND.  Friend and I spent a lot of time together when we were both single and lived close to one another.  While primarily a dog person, Friend was always envious of the immense bond I had with Tyler, and was dying to, around late 2006-2007, attempt to recreate that bond by adopting a cat of her own. Enter...Chloe.  An adorable young semi-long-haired kitten from North Shore Animal League,  an organization I'm not going to subject you to a rant about.  Not a fan.  Moving on. Chloe was less than...

Do you celebrate your cat's birthdays? Of course you do, anyone who actually loves, honors and respects their pets does such a thing. Today is, for Sophie, just such an occasion. Sophie turns 8 today. How do I know this?  Sophie's previous owner was good enough to give me all of her vet records, and sure enough, the date April 22, 2010 was listed as Sophie's birthday. Simple enough, right? Happy birthday, old girl.  Hard to believe you're already 8, and hard to believe this summer marks 4 years since you succeeded Tyler.  As I've said countless times, Sophie is the perfect successor for Tyler. The perfect alpha cat. Despite all that has gone on in her 4 years as the boss: from losing Jackson, to finding Tucker, to Minnie's arrival, to the comings and goings of The Colony, Sophie has remained large, in charge, and above the fray. Sophie does things her way, and remains a pioneer in my lifetime with cats. The first female cat I ever adopted. ...

My blog has a lot of....commemorating. Commemorating Tyler's birthday, or Tiger's birthday.  Commemorating Jackson's crossing of the Rainbow Bridge. Why do I do all of this commemorating?  Well, it's kind of the point behind this blog.  In it's original form, I wanted to tell the life story of Tyler, my first and still best cat.  Over the nearly three years since I started blogging, the purpose of this blog evolved from just a progression of Tyler's life to the lives of all the cats I have owned and currently own.  From a collection of stories of what was in the past to an ongoing diatribe of the past, present, and future of the cats that have entered my life. Got me? This time of year involves a lot of commemorating, what with the anniversary of Jackson's passing and what would have been his birthday less than one month apart. Correction: Jackson did not pass,  Jackson crossed the Rainbow Bridge. A few days ago, in a quiet moment of reflection,...

This past Wednesday, March 7th, would have been Jackson's 11th birthday. Eleven.  My sweetums would have been an old man!  Then again, he was born an old man. My second birthday without you, Jackson. Happy birthday.  It's been over a year yet I still remain shocked that you're gone from me.  It does give me some comfort to know you're happy and healthy forever with Tyler and Tiger at the Rainbow Bridge. All dogs may go to heaven, but all cats go to the Rainbow Bridge.  Where every bowl is full of food, every tree is right next to his favorite window, and every cat bed big and fluffy, as I choose to remember you. I miss you every single day, my sweetums.  I know you would have loved Tucker, and probably would have hated Minnie, especially given how playful she is and how......playful you weren't. You can rest assured with the knowledge that Tucker is keeping my lap warm and happy. Until I see you again, my Jackson.  Happy Birthday at the R...

Thursday, January 11th, 2018. Not your average run of the mill Thursday.  Well, not for me, anyway. Today was, we hoped, Minnie's day to come home! I took the day off and nervously began our day.  Always being one to "overthink" most things, I spent most of breakfast planning out exactly how we were to get Minnie into the carrier in the first place. I was obsessed with the planning of Minnie's "capture" for the simple reason that I have NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE.  Capturing a stray cat was one part of cat ownership I was completely new at.  So, to my thinking, it was best to over-plan than to under-plan. Needless to say, my plan was carried out to the letter and perfectly!  Minnie was waiting at the door, I gently grabbed her and she went right into the carrier without freaking out or screaming her head off. Her mother, Smudge, and her siblings Wally and Speck were there, and gave us a "what the fuck are you doing to her?" look.  Or were th...