Just what the Internet needs, more cat photos! lol. Anyway, the other day I was discussing camera equipment with Marilyn Armstrong. We have similar set ups, so it is nice to nerd out on photography on a occasion. She had talked about her Olympus 45mm f1.8 “portrait” lens. I have one, but almost never use it. It is tiny and looks like a toy (mine is blue!), particularly when compared to my enormous new 100-400.
So I pulled the lens out and took a few photos with it over the last few days.
After we lost Josie last December we started thinking “kitten”. As it became more and more obvious that Albert most likely would not last the year (of course we had thought that other years), our search got more serious and we started to apply to shelters. Yes, you need to be approved to adopt. We had a reservation to see a couple of cats last Saturday.
So we went to the shelter, Darbster in Manchester, NH, on Saturday. We were supposed to look at a bonded pair of females. the were scared to death of us! After 10 minutes of sitting quietly near them, they were stills cared to death.
Hmm, I do not want to force these cats into a house with two largish dogs and another cat if they are already so traumatized by us just sitting near them.
So we started looking at other cats and kittens.
Two really wanted attention. I opened the door of the first. She allowed me to pat her, then ran off to explore. The other said “Not good with other cats” on his door, but I decided to look anyway.
This cat seemed starved for attention. When the other forced its way into his “kitty condo”, he just sniffed it. he did better with Patches than any of the other cats did!
So he, renamed Alexander, came home with us.
Alexander is about 8 months old. he is a sandy gold, very light colored. He is long and very thin. He has very soft, short hair. He is a bit slinky, but also athletic.
Alexander explored every corner of our largish house within a few hours. he has been getting to know the other animals, though there is still a little hissing and growling.
Hi! I am going to start this smile with a sad story. We lost our cat Albert last week. You can read here. Albert has not been healthy for literally years, and the last few months… anyway, we already had an appointment to see kittens at a shelter on Saturday, so up we went.
Anyway, here is Alexander.
1
He is about 8 months old, very sweet and gentle. He quickly got past the barriers we put up (lol) and explored the entire house. Our remain cat, Grace Kelly, has not warmed up yet, but he’s super interested in her. The dogs are super interested in him! But he isn’t ready quite yet…
We lost Albert last night. It wasn’t a surprise at all. I was almost surprised he made it through the day. He was sick a few years ago and never fully recovered. Since then, it has been off and on for him and thought he was on his last legs, only for him to bounce back.
I didn’t mean the little pun in the last paragraph, but Albert had only three legs, so “last legs” might not have been a great choice of words. He was also FIV positive, that is like HIV, but “F” for “Feline” instead of “H” for “Human”. I won’t say he had kitty AIDS, but he did have an immunity issue and we were told we would most likely have him for less than five years. It was over ten. I am not sure how old he was when we got him – they said “Two”, but my guess is older. So he would have been at least 12.
Josephine, or Josie for short (no Josie and the Pussy Cats Jokes! she was named after Joséphine Bonaparte, since all cats are royalty (real or created)) was a tiny bit of a thing. They told us that she had had her first litter of kittens while she was still a kitten herself and that it stunted her growth, since all of the nutrients and energy that should have gone into her went towards her kittens. They said she had at least one other litter before being rescued. She was in a house with dozens of other cats and was more feral than domestic.
For weeks after coming to live with us Josie would not come out into the open, but constantly hid. She was easy to find, though, since poor Albert (yes, royalty) followed her around, crying. Although they were both “fixed”, he was madly in love. He only had three legs, so she could easily escape, but he still serenaded her constantly.
It didn’t take her too long to warm up to me. She was always a bit wild and was either in my lap or hiding, so I didn’t get too many pictures of her.
Some of you who read my blog may know that I spend a lot of time on Cape Cod. I just bought a fixer upper house and am in the process of selling a cottage. So I have been down here quite a bit. The dogs usually come but not the cats. Until now.
Albert has always had issues. He is getting older, though not ancient for a cat. He has three legs. He is FIV positive. Other things (read about Albert here) It seems that every time we have come to the Cape we return to a sick Albert. The last time it was a very, very sick Albert, one I thought was going to die within hours.
But he didn’t.
Albert bounced back (after vet visit and a lot of care…). But a decision has been made – when we go away for more than a few days, Albert comes. Continue reading →
Albert, Grace and Josephine, come here and let me tell you a story! Well, I won’t spend too much time with this story, but I do want to make sure that you get a bit of time in the spot light. Yes, I know, the two canines who shall not be named in this post monopolize the four-leg time on my blog… OK, Albert, I know, you are a three-leg, but you have had a few posts about just you! (There were more than just those two…)
Hello and Welcome! Come on in and I’ll get you a nice mug of super strong French Roast, a cuppa tea or other morning appropriate beverage. It is a relatively nice morning in that it didn’t get below freezing last night (!!), though it will never get very warm and it is supposed to rain today. Anyway, we can take our beverages and sit in front of the Christmas tree as we chat. This is the third year with an artificial tree, but I think I’m beginning to figure out how to decorate it so it looks nice. Notice the kitty angels up top? Continue reading →
A week and a half ago or so a friend passed away. I, know, not a way to start a smile. Don’t worry,the smile is coming. One thing she left was a cat. The cat had no place to go, so, we have a new cat. She came to stay last Saturday.
Grace Kelly, who I call Princes Grace or Gracie depending on mood and time of day (“Say goodnight, Gracie.” – yes, I’m too young to remember that line so I’m sure the millennials are scratching their heads over it). Gracie is a beautiful, long hair petite cat. i think she is calico, but I’m not great with those things. She is very sweet and attention starved. Currently she is semi-sequestered from the other furry family members, but they can all see each other. She has everything she needs and can escape (she did once) but for now is happy staying away from the dogs. As soon as she seems OK with the other cats, and vice-versa, we’ll let her have free reign of the house. And I’m sure Princess Grace will reign, unless Prince Albert has a say in it ;) Of course Joséphine tells us that an Empress is higher up the scale than Prince (or King even) or Princess and that she will rule. She is tiny and so has a Napoleon Complex (pun very much intended). So far the cat royalty integration is going smoothly if somewhat slowly (a bit of hissing still). Continue reading →
Trent's World (the Blog) 