Meet Kate!

Kate Moss

Kate was an older cat that came into my life about a year and a half ago. She looks a lot like Jimmy Boo, if he were a girl and really, really old. That's why I think that Jimmy is the reincarnation of Kate. 

Kate wandered into my life a starving, flea-ridden, dirty little cat. She was starving for both care and food. I took her in, introducing her to Markos, Beckham and Smarty. Yes, it was a full house, but she actually took it quite well. The thing about Kate, though, is that even after the vet visit, quarantine, and a plumping up, she still looked a bit raggedy. It was because she was pretty much close to the end. She'd left home for two weeks once, and came back looking like the cat, Churchill, from the Stephen King movie "Pet Semetary." I fed her, cared for her, and she was alright and with us for quite a while... a few months, I guess, when she left for good. I know that she left to die, but it was still heart-breaking. 

And then about six months later, a three-month old Jimmy comes into my life! Same kind of markings, same approximate dainty size. But now we have a whole lifetime to be together! It's a silly thing to think, maybe. But I don't know. It really seems to fit!

Kate enjoying the sun on the deck

 If you really look at them, and take into consideration the age difference, then you can see how much they look alike!

Jimmy Boo

 Kate loved to be pet and she loved to lay in my lap, or on the desk in front of me, if I was on the computer. Jimmy Boo also loves to be pet and loves to lay next to me. When he was a kitten, he loved to lay on the desk in front of me, also, though if he tried that now, Beckham would try to jump up, too, and kick him off. So maybe Kate wanted to stay with me, and she knew that she couldn't in her decrepit condition.... so she came back in the form of a youngster, ready for a lifetime of love. And that's how I got Jimmy Boo. He's a loving, precious companion. He's the same dainty size as Kate was, which I'd always admired and loved about her, but he doesn't have to leave me anytime soon. Sounds like a perfect situation to me.

Jimmy Lost His Manhood

I recently decided it was time for my little Jimmy Boo to get neutered. He had started "marking his territory" in the house whenever he felt threatened by Beckham, or saw a stray cat outside. It's gross having to clean it up, and to smell it! Yuck! If he didn't do this, I wouldn't have felt the need to have him fixed, since he's an indoor cat and only lives with another boy cat, and two humans. So, we went to the vet. 

 He was a little scared of being driven anywhere, and he sprayed in the carrier. The vet assistants tried to clean him up, so here he is after being cleaned, and a towel is wrapped around his back end. He doesn't look too happy, does he?

TJ visits with J Boo

 The vet's cat was curious about him while I was in the waiting room with J Boo. We had to wait for my file to be brought up to the front desk, so TJ had a chance to say hi. J Boo didn't think too much of him, as he probably reminded him a little of Beckham. TJ hissed at Jimmy and then proceeded to check out all sides of his carrier. Jimmy just sat inside, a little annoyed, but mostly just glad to know that we were almost out of there.

I

 I ended up taking him to a different place to get neutered, as I had received good recommendations for the place, and it was half as much as the vet I'd gone to. So Jimmy was neutered just this past Friday, and when I picked him up, his head was all bobbly, and he kept falling down. The picture to the left is Jimmy after he lost his balance and fell down. He kept turtling himself... falling onto his back and not being able to flip back over right away. I felt really sad for him! So I put him back into the carrier for a bit, until he seemed to be closer to normal. That took a few hours. For some reason, after I let him out, he kept going into his litter box, but not actually using it... he'd just lay down in it! Then he'd walk around in it, get out, get back in, etc.

In and out of the litter box!

 That evening, he was at least not falling over all the time, or running (trying to) away from any type of movement. He seemed to not know who I was, or who my boyfriend was. Everyone seemed to be a stranger for a minute, and then he'd remember. The funny thing is that Beckham decided that he wanted to hang out in the carrier, and J Boo enjoyed watching him from the outside... he even closed him in there!

Beckham in the carrier

Jimmy the day after the operation

Jimmy was fine, acting normally, the day after the surgery. As you can see, he was relaxing out on the sofa yesterday! It was quite the experience for him, but he weathered it well! He's a real trouper! He didn't even need his collar, because he wasn't messing around with the site of his surgery. I'd hate to have to cone him! He's back to his old self again, and seems to be none the wiser. Good old Jimmy Boo!

Mexican Animals

When my sweetheart and I took a vacation in Mexico, I expected to see butterflies and maybe some spiders, if we went hiking. In the summer (rainy season) in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, it's very wet and extremely humid. You see a lot more insects at this time of year. However, we were so lucky to see hummingbirds and iguanas this year!

Buff bellied hummingbird

 I'm pretty sure this was the buff-bellied hummingbird. I researched a few types, and this came closest in description, and it's in the right geographical location. They were zipping around from one hibiscus flower to another! We'd hear their calls and look around, and sure enough, see a tiny form darting amongst the flowers. The last time I saw a hummingbird in Mexico, it was the broad-billed hummingbird. I didn't get a good picture of it, though. I had a different camera, and it was too slow to take photos of hummers!

Young iguana in the coconut palm tree.

 We saw three or four iguanas, also. Very exciting, as they were all on the resort grounds! They were a beautiful bright green, and quite shy. As soon as they were spotted, they took off for the bushes, or up into the trees.

Not only did we see land and air creatures, but we saw creatures of the sea, as well. The spinner dolphins were in a pod, far ahead of the boat we were on, so I didn't get a photo of them. However, there were these crazy blue jellyfish that we got photos of. They had washed up onto the beach, which made it easy to photograph them. I don't think they were still alive, but they were still so pretty!

Blue button jellyfish

The blue button jellyfish is not a true jelly, but it can still cause irritation if you come into contact with it. It just won't sting you like a jellyfish, as it's a Chondrophore, which is a colony of cooperative polyps, which have various "jobs" in the colony. What you see here are many different types of animals working together to form what looks like a jellyfish!

The last time I was there, I saw these little flashes of blue luminescence in the surf... I never really figured out what that was. In fact, you could isolate the flash of blue in a handful of sand once you'd see one, but you STILL couldn't see where it was coming from. If anyone knows what this was, I'd LOVE to know. For now, it's still a lovely mystery.