Cat Love

I haven't posted anything about my cats in a while, and I really want to! They are such different cats. Jimmy Boo is so gentle and loving, and Beckham is refined and yet a little bit brutish. He chases Jimmy around, bites him, and even bites me every now and then. But then, there are times, like this morning, when all he wants is to lay next to me while I'm sleeping, and he cuddles up and plays nice.

Beckham

Jimmy Boo

They look alike when they're sleeping, don't they? The only difference is that if you pet Jimmy while he was sleeping, he'd just start purring or look at you. If you pet Beckham while he's sleeping, you might get bitten. I love them both a LOT. They make me happy!


Did you know that when a cat looks at you, and blinks slowly, almost sleepily, it means they love and trust you. When they look at you intensely, they are challenging you. So when you want to show your cat that you love them, remember to blink slowly, like a cat, and don't stare into their eyes. It will put your cat at ease.


I hope you have a lovely, love-filled day with your pet. xo

Working With Cats...

As most cat owners will tell you, it's challenging! They are naturally curious, and mine like to hang out wherever I'm at... and sounds of paint brushes on paper, or dangling threads, will bring about a whole new aspect to distraction!

In the end, it's less a frustration than an exercise in cleverness. I can easily get the out of the room if I play "toss the treats" down the hallway for a bit. They become interested in other things. For a while... and then it's back to thinking of ways to get them off the work in progress! Truthfully, I love it!

Does Your Cat Do This?

Jimmy Boo falls asleep often with his tongue sticking out! If I touch it, he stays asleep and his tongue stays out. Sometimes he wakes up while I'm playing with his tongue, but he just opens his eyes and doesn't pull his tongue in for quite a while!


It's very endearing, and makes me love him all the more!

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!

A Day in the Life of J Boo & Beckham

J Boo on his kitty condo, thinking of things I can't even imagine. 

 Beckham (a.k.a. Mownie) finds comfort in sinks and bathtubs, for some reason. However, I didn't have a bathtub at this apartment, only a large shower, so he opted for one of the sinks.

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And as you can clearly see, they also sometimes play together! Mostly it's just Beckham beating up J Boo, but every now and then, J Boo gets to pop Beckham and get away with it! (Though not this time.)

This was one of the times that J Boo had to hide out for a while. It wasn't always easy for him to be a 5 lb. cat with a 20 lb. tormenter.

 And every now and then, it was peaceful. After all, they're brothers, and they love each other. Plus, they needed to rest up for the next round!