There can only be one explanation for this...

One of them (or both) must have a brain tumor. I looked over and my jaw literally dropped. Ivan and Ditzy cuddling? Cuddling? Ivan and Ditz despise one another. These are cats that I normally must plunk my butt between to prevent spit spats, or prop a pillow between the two to prevent eye contact.



Or maybe they are taking those "WWJD" cat mats literally.

What is your favorite party food?

Next Sunday is "Whiskers in Winter" and I've already received quite a few RSVPs. And I need your help!

Both the house and the cat facility are open. Things get rockin' at 1:00 pm. During the daylight hours, people tend to hang out in the two floors of the cat facility. After dark, people tend to park their butts in front of the fire in house (although both options are available throughout the day and night).

So I have food both in the cat facility and in the house. I need some ideas. After years of giving this party, I'm looking for new and different foods!

Qualifications: I have ways of keeping food cold or warm, however the food must stay tasty for a few hours. So food or snacks that are only good for 20 minutes once it comes out of the oven or off the stove need not apply.

It also needs to be REALLY GOOD!

So send your ideas or recipes! You can put them in comments or email them to: info at americancat dot net.

I could a couple of totally decadent cookie recipes, too. Or, if you are coming early, you could BRING totally decadent cookies. :)

"Walkies" in snow country

Valarie sent this along this morning. I guess there is no need to shovel a path for this dog!

Presents for all

Christmas was good to us. The house cats started out with a heavy dose of catnip before I vacuumed for the day. Merry Christmas kitties, here are your drugs!



Mom fired up the sewing machine and turned polar fleece into cat mats, which I use in the cages in the cat facility, or give away with adoptions. Mom did not notice that the polar fleece on top was stamped with "WWJD" until after she bought it. If I notice any of the cats in the facility looking especially contemplative, I'll know why. :)



I am not in need of a whole lot of stuff, but there were a few kitchen gadgets that I needed to replace. Mom and Linda were happy to oblige, although finding a sifter with a turn handle versus the squeeze handle was apparently a worthy challenge (and I am picky about things like that)!



And as a special surprise, Mom gave me this extra plush couch throw, and the cats and I may have quite a few fights over this on chilly evenings:



This evening I'll post Christmas for the facility cats! Right now I need to run into town and feed the ferals.

Fast Food Ferals, Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to the Famous Fast Food Ferals, who are now only a scant less-than-handful number of felines on a property slated for a bulldozer. The only question is, when, and by whom. The grapevine tells me there is still some amount of time, but I am looking to shift them to either an adjacent property, or to my farm. It would be best for them to remain, so when new cats show up, they are neutered or adopted out. If the cats come to my farm, and feeding stops downtown, the problem will start all over again at the local fast food restaurants because no one is keeping an eye on the area.



It is a lonely walk now, with the lumber yard closed. I have to park across the street at the hotel because the parking lot for the lumber yard is no longer plowed. But so far no one bothers us, and my phone number is on the cat shelters, should someone have a concern. Only three cats appear to still live here, and only one, Vannie, is an original from six years ago.

Stay warm, guys. Stay safe. We'll figure out what to do for you.



Post note: Speaking of cats on the farm, I noticed cat tracks and a scratch pile in the front yard last night, so tonight I put out a bowl of cat food. It hadn't been out there ten minutes than this little guy showed up:



I was sitting watching him crunch daintily away, when a very large orange cat stalked up the front steps. The possum stared at him a moment and then wisely backed away. The possum watched awhile from ten feet away, then took refuge in the cat shelter I have on the porch. Mr. Orange ate for about twenty minutes, got spooked, ran off, then returned. He's out there now. I won't try for a photo, because I don't want to scare him away.

He's a very big boy.

Christmas morning, 2007

Last year was quite the kitty Christmas, and this year we hear back on Schubert and Tuck. This is why Christmas 2008 is a very Merry Christmas for me:



Anne and Steve write:

One year ago, on Christmas morning, you brought us Schubert and Tuck. The six-month old brothers spent the week between Christmas and New Years in their safe room, getting used to the idea of living with a big dog, in a house they could call their very own. One year later, they are doing SO well and having such fun racing from one end of the house to the other and getting those deep ear cleanings that only a dog can deliver. Tuck weighs in at 10.5 pounds, with Schubert a bit bigger at 11.5. Tuck is very laid back and easy going; always first at the door to welcome us home, and never shy about throwing himself into the middle of a dad-and-dog game on the living room floor. Schubert is a bit shyer (smarter perhaps!), but definitely not a wall flower. He is the lap cat I always wanted. Between power naps, the two of them pound around the house, ricocheting off furniture and wrestling. Having the two of them is such a good thing! All best wishes to you in the New Year. Thanks for doing what you do! Anne and Steve

Thank you! These are the best Christmas cards ever. :)

Pet Note of the day

Kittens!

Adopter contribution

Alice sends this photo from her sister's hometown paper, The Chadron Record, in Nebraska:

Mothering instincts This chicken has apparently adopted a kitten and its two siblings, but owner Toni McDonough of Whitney says she'd like to find them a better home. McDonough was surprised when she checked in the hen's nesting box for an egg and instead found the three young kittens, particularly since she has never seen a cat around her house. Anyone interested in adopting the kittens can contact her at..."

And, BTW, any one who knows kittens know that A) that's probably a boy kitten and B) he going to grow up to be a total hellion. Look at that face!

Adopter update: Cosmo

Cosmo's mom sends an update:

Cosmo went to the vet for his annual shots. He now weighs 11 pounds and is very healthy. The vet also fell in love with him. They think that he is just so beautiful and his fur is very, very soft. He did very well, considering that he has not been out of the house since you delivered him here in Feb. of 08. He now has 3 playmates and a dog that he likes to rub up against. He also now lets me pick him up for short periods of time. He is my shadow, and very spoiled.

Cosmo was very, very shy when he left here, and I'm lucky his owner hung in there with me, because I hesitated to let him go until he had tamed up a bit more. Many other people would have just picked a kitten out of the paper instead of putting up with my hesitation. But I was wrong and she was right, and Cosmo is one lucky cat!

The inevitable happens....

You knew it was bound to happen. Foster home Cary and John have decided that Hope can't possibly be separated from Simon (or them), and they are going to adopt her.



She has to return here for her spay, but it looks like Hope is a Pennsylvania cat for good!

And Simon gets to keep his little buddy. Let's hope he likes her just as much when she's full grown!

Post-note: It looks like Cary may bring Hope up for Whiskers In Winter, so if you come to visit then, you may get to meet the little princess!

Guess who may have a home?

Emmi may have a home for Christmas! Won't she be happy not to be an "upstairs" cat any longer. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

You know, there are always rescue folk who say "No one could ever take better care of a cat than me." But "care" sometimes means "exclusive attention" and Emmi is one of those really sweet interactive and funny cats who deserves a home where she is someone's one-and-only. Sure, she'll get a secure roof and all the food she wants while here, but there is a better place for her somewhere. My home is not the best home for every homeless cat that comes my way. They all deserve to be someone's special cat.

Hopefully that "somewhere" has arrived for her.

Feline Forum, save the date!

In my mailbox today:



September 24-26, 2009 * Marriott Chicago O’hare * Chicago, Illinois

Join PetSmart Charities® for this comprehensive, national conference focusing solely on cats and how to care and advocate for them. PetSmart Charities’ 2009 Feline Forum will cover key topics such as:

Facilitating more, and better, cat adoptions
Managing effective free-roaming cat programs
Reducing disease transmission in shelter settings
Operating a feline-focused spay/neuter program
Understanding cat behavior … in the shelter and in the home
Increasing the lost-cat RTO rate
Examining new perspectives on how to elevate the value of cats in our society

AND MORE!

Details and registration information will be available April 1, 2009, at http://petsmartcharities.org/felineforum.

Gettin a good wash

The advantage of foster homes is they have cats who are not tired of kittens. Nonetheless, I can't believe Simon hasn't tired of Hope, yet!

Pet Note of the Day

Gus!

More boars on cat blogs

Cats and Stuff also blogs on wild boars this week. How odd is that?

Fur everywhere!

And for once it's not in my cat facility!

Feral pigs in the Finger Lakes

What rock have I been living under?

Wild boars in New York State.

Hunter conversation here..

I'm assuming the new "wild" population is due to escapes from game farms, as the population seems localized and I'm not aware migration from the south has reached this far. I'm sorry, but the practice of non-resident species hunted in fenced game farms really needs to end. If you want to hunt, put on your insulated undies and do it the hard way--outside of fences. Inevitably, the "fenced" animals get out, and now this is what we have...another once-noble animal that becomes a "nuisance species" causing real damage in a habitat where it never normally would have been found.

In a short internet search I found all sorts of fenced game preserves near me, one just over the border in PA that advertises buffalo of all things. Do you know how hard it is to shoot a buffalo? It's like shooting a cow, people. If you see one hanging on someone's wall, you have my permission to point and snigger.

Stray Haven Open house December 13

Debra, point person for the Waverly Erie Street TNR project, sent me a photo of Tilly today, a rescued kitten from her colony, and gave me a heads-up on the Stray Haven Open House.

Tomorrow!

Stray Haven plans open house Saturday

Stray Haven Humane Society and SPCA is holding its annual holiday open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The day will include a full lineup of activities, including an ongoing bake sale, raffles, gift items for sale, refreshments and music.

The schedule:

* 10 a.m.: Vestal Middle School Saxophone Ensemble directed by Denise Corcoran.

* 10:30 a.m.: Waverly Central School Flute Ensemble directed by Jeremy Corcoran.

* 10 to 11 a.m.: Blessing of the Animals by Pastor Ann Canfield from the Waverly United Methodist Church.

* 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Pet pictures with Santa.

* 12:30 p.m.: Free pizza and soda or coffee.

Pictures with Santa will be uploaded to a digital site where participants can download or order the photos. A donation is requested for this service.

The event is being held at the shelter grounds, 194 Shepard Road in Waverly.
-- Staff report, Star-Gazette

Thanks, Debra! I'm hoping I can make it!

At least it's pretty

And I managed to get it shoveled out before the mailperson arrived!

Post note: I now see I was lucky not to get slammed by the ice that nailed the rest of New England. I'll enjoy the snow, thanks.

Yes, the hat is back.

Are there even any original Cat Out Loud readers left? It's been a long, long while.

By the by, Amazon discontinued it's Amazon Honor donation program. Thank you to everyone who has donated to spay/neuter via the blog and Amazon. I'll be replacing the Amazon link with a PayPal button once I create a PayPal account that is linked to the Wildrun spay/neuter bank account. My currently PayPal account is linked to my personal bank account and that just ain't acceptable for donations.