12/30/11 – Friday

R.I.P Mattewis.

From Juani:

My cat, Mattewis, was hit by a car in the early hours of this morning, and I am completely devastated. I know that you, of all people, would understand what it feels like to lose that little cat companion that means so much to you. Mattewis was the most unique cat I’ve ever known. She was beautiful and physically all cat. But personality wise she could’ve been easily mistaken for a dog or a chimp. She had the cutest mannerisms, like playing ‘fetch’ with her treats, loving being tossed around like football, lying down and being twirled around and around, etc.

She was an indoor/outdoor cat, and I would’ve never been able to keep her inside, as she was at her happiest when walking around meeting new people. She didn’t have ANY use for other cats, but never met a human she didn’t absolutely adore (probably because all people wanted to do when they saw her, was cuddle her and give her treats 😉

What I wanted to ask, was if you could possibly place my darling girl’s picture on your blog for all the people to see. Because even if they never met her, I think they deserve to see her pretty face as a memorial to her.

If not, I completely understand, and just want to say thank you for all that you do for the cats you encounter.

Juani, I’m so sorry for your loss. Mattewis was a beautiful girl, and I know you’ll miss her terribly.

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Today’s pictures were AWESOME, especially the lumpy bed pics. Tommy looks really upset about the situation, doesn’t he?

Poor Tommy, he just puts up with SO much from the other cats. It’s a good thing for them that he’s such a laid-back sweetheart. The most he ever does when he’s had enough is to make a grumpy noise of annoyance, and then get up and walk away. He never fights or growls or hisses, just gets up and leaves whoever’s harassing him.

When Elwood was laying on top of Tommy, I don’t think Tommy even so much as opened his eyes to see who was there, just kept on sleepin’. (I bet it was really nice and warm under Elwood!)

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Is The Spud on Crooked Acres this week? I was wondering if you’d see her sometime over the holiday season.

No, I won’t see the Spud this holiday season – hopefully I’ll see her in March, though. Her friend is getting married, and she’s planning a week-long trip (as long as she can get the time off) to attend the wedding and stay here with us.

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Speaking of things to luv (or not luv), I see you’re reading/have read “Cleaving.” My thoughts about the book were not positive, not by a long shot. Yours?

Oh, I didn’t care for it at all. I ended up mostly skimming the butchering parts and rolling my eyes through the personal stuff. The only reason I rated it two stars instead of one is because I try to reserve the single star rating for the books I actively loathe on par with the god-awful We Were the Mulvaneys. I mostly find Julie Powell annoying and whiny and I kind of think she might need a good hard smack. I didn’t really care for Julie & Julia, I don’t know why I bothered with Cleaving.

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The other day (long unnecessary backstory deleted) I saw four dead – and sort of mangled-looking – ducks underneath a stop sign. They were not clustered together as if someone had set them down deliberately, but looked rather as if someone had flung them in the general direction of the stop sign while driving past. They were still more or less intact – dogs, cats, and coyotes had not been at them yet, by the looks of things – so they couldn’t have been there long.

Anyway, they were two males, two females, and I swear the first thought through my head was, “Oh no! I hope those aren’t Robyn’s ducks!” (Which technically should have been “Fred’s ducks,” but… nah.) I was saddened and perplexed as to how they came to be in such an odd, out of the way spot, but also frustrated because every time I thought about them that day, there was a nagging undercurrent that I had to keep shutting up with logic. “Robyn lives a zillion and four miles away. They were NOT HER DUCKS.”

I can see the ducks in the back forty right this minute. My ducks did not up and wander away to Texas whereupon they got into trouble and were subsequently murdered by a mass murderer and cruelly tossed from a truck, I promise.

(But that might make a hell of a movie!)

(Also, if we had as many ducks as chickens, I would have to start referring to it as the quack forty.)(SO AMUSED BY MYSELF.)

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Aren’t those ducks you got all siblings? I keep worrying about incest amongst your animals, apparently (I was the one who fretted over the same issue with your chickens). 🙂

P.S. I should clarify–it’s not so much the incest per se amongst the animals that seems wrong (they don’t seem to mind), but rather the genetic repercussions.

They’re from the same farm, but not necessarily siblings – they may share parents, and they may not. It’s hard to know! I’m not sure what the plans are to head off possible deformed ducks down the line. We usually bring new chickens in in the Spring to add to the flock to expand the genetic base, but we aren’t (I‘m not – I can’t really speak for Fred here, I suspect he’d like to have 3,000 ducks out there because they amuse him so) planning to have more than six or eight.

So to answer the question – I don’t know what the plans are and Fred hasn’t considered it yet, I don’t think. We’ll figure it out, hopefully.

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I haven’t even finished reading this post yet, but I wanted to chime in with a GREAT bird supply store. It’s called Bird Watcher’s General Store. I’ve been there several times (on vacation – they’re located in Mass.), and there store is awesome, the staff is awesome (and knowledgable), and their stuff is good quality. Shipping is $7.95, which seems like a lot, but that’s no matter how much stuff you buy. I don’t work for them – I just love the store. We refuse to buy birding stuff anywhere else. They probably have the soda bottle attachments. (They do seem to dislike cats, but that’s more because they hunt birds not for any other reason – and they’re not RUDE about it. :)) They send personal email confirmations when orders are placed online, and the shipping is fast.

Thanks for the suggestion!

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Speaking of cardboard scratchers, a friend posted this link on facebook recently. I think I, um, I mean, my cats, might need one of these.

That is TOO cute. I can just imagine the kittens hanging off the top like King Kong!

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I especially love the shots of Alice since it wasn’t that long ago that she was a scared kitten. Look at her now – she’s as happy as can be!

and

That is not a flattering angle for Miss Alice. She looks a bit…wide, shall we say?

I suspect that unless I’m getting a shot of her from above, where she’s looking up at me (the MySpace angle, I believe it’s called; that’s a throwback to pre-Facebook days for you whippersnappers out there), there just aren’t many good angles for Alice Mo.

As comparison, here is The Mo, one year ago, and her reaction after the vet told us that she was going to be a “small” cat and probably wouldn’t get over 7 pounds.

I don’t know how much she weighs these days, but she weighed almost 8 pounds back in July, and she hasn’t gotten any smaller, so.

We prefer to call her “portly”, by the way. Which is what I’ve called Miz Poo for years and years (A Portly Poo), but in her old age Miz Poo has thinned out a little and appears to be passing the Torch o’ Portliness on to Alice, who has taken it and is running with it.

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You have ariat boots me thinks. I can’t tell if those are fatbabies or not. (They are good for working outside!)

My boots are Justin Gypsy Cowgirl boots, and I love love LOVE them. I’ve had them for almost three years, and I wear them all the time in the winter – I have some clogs, but almost always wear my boots, whether I’m working outside or running into town to do errands or whatever. They are perfectly comfortable, and warm but don’t get too hot (I hate sweaty feet). I even wear them in the summer when I’m working in the garden (with shorts and a tank top. I am a fashion statement unto myself.).

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Charlie’s eyes are the most beautiful color. Do they really look like that in person and do you think that color is permenant?

Yes, his eyes are really that color in real life (though like most cats and people, they change shades depending on what colors he’s near), and I’m not sure if they’ll remain that color. He’s five months old now, so I think maybe they’re the color they’re going to be. I hope so – he and Patty have the most beautiful eyes!

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Just in case people haven’t shared this link with you a bazillion times already…

I had not seen that – it’s awesome and hilarious!

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MUST HAVE CROC SLIPPER!!!!! It is hideously awesome, where did you get it?

The Croc slipper bed came from here.

It was a gift to the cats from someone else (I didn’t buy it!). I’m torn between wanting to kill her for spending that much on the cats, and wanting to hug her because isn’t it AWESOME??? The kittens love it, too. There’s always someone in it when I walk into the foster room.

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Patty, hanging out on the platform in the front room with Elwood. I love how she’s all “‘Sup?”

Tense and stressed out, as usual.

Charlie, are we going to have to put you on medication to get you to relax?

I love how they both have the exact same expression on their face. It made me want to snatch them up and squeeze them – so I did!

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See? I told you they love that slipper bed.

Smoldering Tig.

(Pardon the blur, but this cracks me up.)

(This, too. Check out those sharp little fangs!)

Jax at the tail end of a yawn. Or a complaint, I’m not sure which.

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On Christmas Eve morning, we moved all the cat beds off the dining room table and put them on the couch so that the cats could still use them if they wanted to.

Corbie said “No thank you.”

“No, really. I’m fine crammed over here in the corner. Don’t mind me!”

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Previously
2010: No entry.
2009: Kitten movies.
2008: No entry.
2007: (Just kidding! I know perfectly well that the Patriots play baseball!)
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: At what point do you cease wailing and moaning the absence of a part of your life that didn’t go the way you wanted, and just move the fuck on?
2002: “No,” I said. “She feels nauseous, and then she either belches or farts, and feels better.”
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
1999: I’m turning 32 on January 9th.