Caturday Saturday

Remember Al, from Frootbat Friday...well, here he is with "his" little blurby, Ravi. This is what his servantlady has to say about him:


Awww AL!!! He is going well - all things considered. He LOVES the Ravi and licks his head.

We've also found that he's pretty protective of Ravi. He likes to sleep on the rocking chair in the nursery while Ravi sleeps. AL also sits on my lap while I feed him.

Of course, he gets a little less lap time; but he has radiators now and let's be honest: Radiators are the BOMB for Cornish Rex!!

Frootbat Friday!

This is Furrydance Altarnun, fondly called Al, by his humans. He lives in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and has a new blurpy to adjust to, after being an "only child" for many years! Best of Luck, Al!

Wordless Wednesday

A couple of pix from BlogPaws, Brighton and Disco in their "Ride" and the 2nd one, an 'inked" Disco NoFurNo! (optical illusion by Ms Meir Cats!)

Toesies Tuesday!

Exhibit 1: Cornish Rex



Exhibit 2: Kangaroo Rat



Are they related??

Ps: After Stacy's comment, of course I had to search for Jack Rabbit pix and yes, much more like a Cornish Rex!

Simply Sunday (afternoon)

Birds and Bugs to watch!



You have seen these two boys before, Percy and Brinkley, enjoying their Catio! They live in North Carolina and I get to visit them and their servants at least once a year, and we enjoy the Catio, too!

Caturday Saturday--Introducing Bebes

Bebes is a Furrydance kitty, who lived in Baltimore Maryland with Kiki's mother, Kely Bray and two young lawyers. She was recently returned to me so I could determine why she had begun urinating outside the litterbox. I am very hopeful that she is "rehab-able" and that she could return to her adoptive family, as it is obvious they care about her, but I also want her to be happy, too.

I asked them to write me a "time-line" of when Bebes problems began, as it would be a great help to me in helping resolve her problems and if I had to re-home her, in finding the right environment for her. Here is what they wrote to me (and I truly appreciated the time and thought that they put into their letter):

I've had Bebes since approximately November 2003. She's always been a very needy girl. For the first two years of her life, it was just me and her in my apartment. I was a full time student but I was only in class about 10-15 hours a week. The rest of the time I was in my apartment with Bebes, studying.

She slept in bed with me and when I was awake she was on top of me as much as I'd let her (it was actually difficult to study for the bar exam with her on my lap all the time but I'm such a push over I let her). She cried when I left or went in another room and cried for attention if I was cooking or doing something else, was pretty bad at the vet, but nothing I couldn't handle.

Then my now husband moved in. He has "no cats in the bed" rule so Bebes started sleeping in the other room. I was still home with her most of the time but she couldn't sleep with us. He had to sleep with ear plugs because she would cry outside the bedroom door for hours. This never let up for the three years we lived at that apartment.

Because Bebes seemed so stressed and upset when I left, I came to you about getting another cat to keep her company. That's when I got Kely/Kebbles. The girls became friends pretty quickly. Aside from the occasional "fight" over who gets to the best spot on my lap (never any blood, just a little hissing or batting each other with a paw), they are very close.

They always snuggle and sleep together. With the addition of Kebbles I don't feel as guilty leaving Bebes alone, but I would not say that Kebbles as calmed Bebes. As I told you- I think Bebes taught Kebbles to be needy! Despite the slight change in Kebbles's neediness, she is such an amazing cat (my husband says she's "his" cat!).

About a year and a half ago, we bought a brand new house that's about three times the size of our apartment. Bebes was very upset when we moved. She would run around the house crying. She does come to me when I call her (I use the more passive "Where's Bebes?" to get her to come) so I was constantly calling her to let her know where I was in the house (she almost always responds to this).

Bebes proved herself to be destructive with the new furniture, so when I was at work (I'm generally gone 7:30-4:15) and when I'm sleeping (I go to bed around 11:00) I put the girls "to bed" in the basement. The basement is completely finished and is actually bigger than our old apartment.

The girls have everything they could want in the basement- including a big window which I open a little in the nice weather. Bebes learned to open the basement door so we had to change the doornob. She has also scratched up the door from trying to open it. About six months ago I realized she was peeing in the basement near the door. I started cleaning the carpet and that's when I realized how long the problem must have been going on, because months later the water still comes up yellow.

I first took her to the vet shortly after realizing she was peeing on the carpet. I forgot to tell you this on the phone (Paolo reminded me) but the vet did actually give me some medicine to give Bebes for a possible UTI. When that didn't work I took her to another vet. The cat-only vet did a urinalysis by cystocentesis and when that didn't show anything she concluded that Bebes needs more stimulation.

She has plenty of toys but I did try moving the cat towers and beds and tunnels around in the basement (that's when I realized she was peeing in one of the cat tunnels). After watching Bebes pee on one of the blankets in the basement, I took her back to my regular vet. This time he said it's behavioral and I should consider medicating her. Because medicating her is extremely difficult, I instead tried the calming plug in and collar about two months ago.

I don't believe she's urinating on the carpet every day, and we'll have a few days, maybe a week, where she doesn't do it. She occasionally pees in the sink and while at my parents's house she actually urinated in the toilet! (I keep the toilet seats down at my house but since my surgery I have to keep them up; so far, she's only peed in the toilet that one time but regularly drinks from the toilet).

Another thing, she never covers in the litterbox. We have 3 boxes--a littermaid with their brand litter in it; an open box with Dr Elsey's Cat Attract litter, and another box with unscented clumping litter.

One possible factor that may upset her is the feral cats in the neighborhood. There's two that I feed outside my house, and they often hang out on my deck. There's a glass door separating the cats but Bebes never seems interested in the feral cats (she never watches them or pees on the floor near the door). One time, a couple months ago, while I was feeding a feral cat Bebes snuck out the door. She made it about 5 feet from the feral cat because I was able to grab her up, but neither cat hissed at the other or seemed to be in attack mode.

I don't know if this could be a cause but I have been feeding the feral cats for a while. (I'm not their main source of food, and a lady who owns the warehouse nearby has had them fixed and feeds them regularly. I just give them treats and water. My bird feeder also serves as a "feral cat feeder").

Bebes always has to be on top of me. She doesn't like to be held but always has to be on or near me. This behavior doesn't really bother me, although I do feel bad about leaving her because I know its upsetting.

Finally, Bebes and Paolo don't really get along. He doesn't play or pet her, and she knows not to try to snuggle with him. He is also the only person she listens to (she ignores me when I tell her to get off the kitchen table or the countertop).


I got Bebes back on Saturday, and set her up in the large cage next to my desk (where I am a lot, on the computer) and she was anxious and hissing, but that is the norm when a cat comes into a new environment. She settled in quickly and within a couple of days was bunting and affectionate to me.

I took her into work, and yes, she was difficult to examine, so we sedated her so we could do a thorough exam on her, collect blood and urine and it would be much less stressful for her. Stress can affect some lab results, and we probably gave her the best exam she's had in quite some time, due to her reluctance to be examined elsewhere.

Her blood and fecal tests were all normal, but she does have a UTI! She has a Staph infection and is now on antibiotics (she is a bit of a pill to pill) and today I started her anxiety medication, too (Buspirone) and so far, she has been a good cage patient--keeping her bedding neat and clean, and using the litterbox AND covering, too! She may be telling me she likes a box all to herself, or she may like the style of boxes I use or the litter I use.

So, in another week, if all is going well, she will make the transition to Step 2--to the guest bathroom with more room and where she can hear and smell the other cats in the house. That step will last 2 weeks, and then she can move into the library room, then to the guest room.

I will then add a "companion cat" to her bedroom and see if she is ok sharing her space and litterbox. If she is, then she can start having free run of the house when I am home. It will be interesting to see if she has separation anxiety here, and if she meows when she can't get to human companionship. I do not want her in an environment where she is unhappy and am saddened to know that she cried outside the bedroom door at night for 3 years, and am glad the addition of Kely helped that.
I am hopeful that the anxiety medication will help, too.

Then if all is 100% good then, we can try her back at her home, if I think that is right for her personality and temperament--confined at first, just like here. Her previous owner said she was stressed by the move into a bigger house, and she may be a cat that is happier confined to a bedroom...it's just too early to say, but it's obvious she wasn't happy with being confined to the basement, as nice as it was but she may be more at ease confined to another room without the emotional issues she associates with the basement.

If her behavior reverts to not using the box again, I will, of course, take her back and then seek a home for her where she will be happy once again. As you who follow me know, I am very committed and passionate about my cats and consider this a labor of love and my way of "giving back" to the cats I bring into the world...it's only right!

Just so you can hear how "vocal" she is when she wants something, here's a short video (when she cries for attention, I bring her out and sit with her at the computer. When I put her back, she settles down right away).

FrootBat Friday--Kitten Edition!

Kittens are getting names now...Pierro's brudder is Miles


Bosco, who is going to NYC to live with Bette Blu, another Furrydance cat (who's people are already furrends with Raypod, Skeezix's friend!)


Carlos (the red one) and Zeus (the brown tabby and white one), who are going to live real close to Pierro and Miles!


and still to be named is this kitten, but I think Denzel would be purrfect, as it's both a Cornish name and who doesn't think Denzel Washington is a handsome black dude?!

Monday Mankittens Purrin'

AAAAK...Has it been 3 weeks since the CB has had a Furrydance kitten update? Yep, looks like March 26th was the last update, though mewmie threw in a few pre-BlogPaws kitten pix just to whet your appetites for cuteness!

You probably thought they had all headed off to their new homes already! No, guess you knew Pierro was still waiting for his new brudder to arrive, who mewmie has now nicknamed Furrari, hahameow! Coco's kids are just shy of 12 weeks old now and they go into the V.E.T.'s tomorrow for their 2nd exam and vaccination...my, how time flies when you're having kitten fun!


They all weigh in at right around 3 pounds now and while mewmie is home, they have free run of the house (ahem, except for that basement we are all still waiting for the servant to clean up) but when she is away day hunting, she keeps Coco and her kids in the master bedroom for safe keeping.

Well, only so safe! Teri had to go out and buy 2 new lamps for her nightstands cuz some silly kitten knocked one over and then it wouldn't turn on when you tapped the base. And then today when she got home...one of the new ones got tipped over and the pretty glass globe got busted! And of course, they were kinda inexpensive so you can't just buy the glass shade part! She even looked on eBay!

She couldn't get too mad, since she was just glad no kitten got hurt...that made her shiver just to think about! One time, she had a young teenager kitten, about 5 months old, that went to jump from a chair to the top of the fridge and he didn't quite make it but pulled down a glass bowl when he fell and he cut his leg terribly, through the tendons even, and was in surgery for 3 hours to fix it and still it took months for him to use the leg normally.


But these babies have been very good kids for the most part, have stayed out of trouble and from under feet and have been very healthy--no worms, no snuffles, no problems...and in another month...they will be packing up in their new carriers and trundling off to their new homes!

Mewmie is excited about that and we think Coco is about ready too! Disco spends a lot of time fending off their tail nibbles and Kiki just grumbles at them and says "Not my kids!" and Brighton, he is hot and cold about the whole kitten thing--fun one minute, interrupting a nap the next!

So, here's the latest video, turn up the volume for the full purrin' effect!

"Be The Change" Day

Just like I said on my blog…”I’m still Reelin’ from the Feelin” I got being at BlogPaws!

I am a breeder of Cornish Rex cats (I think most of you at BlogPaws met Brighton and my Sphynx, Disco). Breeders are not typically held in good graces with those involved in rescue as many are not responsible for the lifetime care of their cats.


I am proud to say that in 21 years of raising these cats, I have only lost track of 2 cats, and that was due to the families divorcing and not letting me know where they went–once their phones were disconnected, their mail returned and their email addresses bounced back…I am sad that I don’t know where the cats are now.

I will take a kitty back for any reason, and it comforts me to know that 99% of people who have cats from me know how important that commitment is for me.

Last year I took back 3 cats for behavior issues and was able to rehab them and find the right new homes for them and I am thankful every day that I got them back and was able to give them a second chance at a furrever home.


And, being a vet tech, it is my calling to end each day knowing I helped someone take care of their cat better, and I get a lot of pleasure out of that and have helped quite a few CB kitties with their health issues. As we know, the best pet owner is an educated one. (that is one thing I really felt at BlogPaws, how committed everyone was to their animals and animal welfare).


So my “Be the Change” for April is to donate all my PawPoints from Scoop Away litter (which I don’t use anymore but don’t really need anything in the rewards available) to TABBY'S PLACE a wonderful cat rescue in Pennsylvania. I also made a small donation today to Pets Without Parents, a Columbus Ohio organization that I learned about at BlogPaws.


So, today. I'm joining in, spreading the word, meeting the challenge, and smiling, a lot!

BE THE CHANGE..CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!

More BlogPaws Stuff!

...don't say "Enough already!"

Cuz if you were there, you'd understand. And if you weren't, we want you to be, next year!


So, now the classes are over, the vendors are packing up and it's time to kick back and chillax! Us cats certainly had a busy day, and really, if Disco got that much exercise every day...he wouldn't have mancat breasts and a carb belly either! None of Carol's cats were portly, much to Disco's consternation!


photo by Brad Smith Photography

Teri and Carol were heading out to the party at the A & R Music Hall Saturday night, so we got to lounge on that Heavenly bed and watch TV, which might sound like a boring alternative, but we were very tired, being show (off) cats all day is very strenuous both physically and mentally...time for some nip! (which was thoughtfully included in our Blogpaws swag bag!)


photo by Brad Smith Photography

The only cat at BlogPaws that didn't look tired was Flat Skeezix, and we saw him mingling and networking big time, sniffin' a beer, getting up on stage with the band, and not a hair out of place (maybe a few ear nibbles courtesy of Brighton!) and our mewmie tried her best to keep up with Skeezix, drinking and mingling and eating!

Bernadette Kazmarski and Teri
photo by Brad Smith Photography

Teri, Kenn Bell of DogFiles, Carol Lindsay (of ?--help me with remembering!)
photo by Brad Smith Photography

We didn't see our mewmie til after midnight Saturday, so she must have been having a good time...we are happy about that since our Daddy died, we have been hoping she'd find new things to make her smile again!


And being around truly caring, animal friendly people who want to "Be The Change You Want To See" just reinforced her commitment to do the same. She does for the Cornish Rex she raises, and she does at her job as a Vet Tech...but to meet so many who want to do so much, was one of the most inspiring things of BlogPaws!


photo by Brad Smith Photography

She has been visiting new blogs, and thinking and getting inspired and has high hopes for what the next year will bring! Thank you to everyone who was instrumental in pulling this convention together! We all enjoyed ourselves and came away with some very special memories!

Sue (The Furry Bambinos), Teri, and Karen (Skeezix's Scratching Post)

It was fun socializing with everyone (that's Disco, Brighton and Teri talking) and we are glad to see that the furrends we gave our mini-swag bags to, enjoyed them so much, when their humans returned home to them!

More BlogPaws Mews!

It's been fun, visiting the bloggies of furrends we met at BlogPaws and sharing photos, too! Somehow it's hard to remember to snap photos when you are learning and socializing, but there are some good shots out there and we're sure more will be showing up daily!

This next photo is of Carol and Moshe, of MeirCats, Chats and Fiber , who were our traveling companions to BlogPaws, along with their housemates, Jake and Maus. Teri and Carol had met once before and had been talking weekly since they decided to go to BlogPaws together, and they turned out to be good traveling companions, as they had us cats in common, hahameow!


Saturday was filled with "classes" to take, nine of them in fact. It was hard to pick the ones to go to, but there was a good variety and something for everyone! Our mewmie said she might want to write a book one day, so she went to the one on digital book publishing. Brighton listened in with pricked ears (or maybe he was just looking for one of Sparkle's tinsel balls?)


And she wanted to learn about advertising and sponsors for blogs for when she retires and gets into blogging full time, so she took us to that class, too.


She got to meet Sparkle, the Designer Cat's mewmie and we saw, when we visited her blog, that she made it home with our purresent for Sparkle, a snack and a tinsel ball. We met Skeezix's Food Lady, too and Brighton actually got to "air kiss" Flat Skeezix! Well, maybe it was a head bunt, not a kiss, but he did nibble on an ear!

This photo is of Teri, Carol of Meir Cats, Chats and Fiber ; Sue of The Furry Bambinos ; Helen of Perfectly Parker ; Karen of Skeezix's Scratching Post and Robyn of House of the Hotties


We missed the afternoon session (we were actually napping in our room) cuz Teri and Carol wandered around looking for a good place to each lunch and ended up back at the hotel, where their lunch order got messed up and took a long time to arrive.
Photo: Teri, Jen, Helen, Karen, Salina (Baby Patches mewmie) and Robyn


And she talked and talked with Mr Tuck's mewmie after the big party Saturday night when they ran into each other in the hotel bar for a nightcap...that turned into three caps, hahameow!

This photo is of Carolyn, Romeo's mom, Jen, Mr. Tuck's mom , Donna (from Lipsticking blog ) and our mewmie, Teri.

It was really nice, that at the Closing Ceremonies, they played the "soon to be viral" movie put together by the BlogPaws team...it was inspiring and left everyone feeling like they could "Be the Change You Want to See".

BlogPaws RePurrt, Late Edition!

We thought you might want to see how us kitties kept busy at BlogPaws and also how much fun we had!


This is Disco, investigating the contents of the BlogPaws Swag Bag, full of real nice purresents! There also was a lot of Doggie swag in the bag, but we gave it to some doggies we met in the elevator--yep, us and our Pink Catillac wheeled all over the Westin hotel...except in the restaurants.




Our hotel room was great--down comforters, a window to lay in the sun in and Mewmie even gave us the extra tinsel balls left over from the mini-swag bags she made, as well as bringing along some fevver fishing poles to entertain us with. And when we got back to our room after a bit of meet and greet, we found these cute little signs on our door, courtesy of the Cats Against Clay campaign...




We got to sit in on the Opening Ceremonies, as well as the seminars our mewmie attended, but we think we distracted more than a few people with our witty conversation and dancing skills! We checked out the silent auction, which raised thousands of green papers for three animal rescue places, how great is that!





Well, we are two tired repurrters, so the story of our time at BlogPaws is "to-be-continued" with more in-depth commentary on the sessions, the attendees (our furrends) and the partee, too! Hope you have enjoyed our little "Mewscast" though!



Ps: For more "late breaking BlogPaws news, visit our friends at DogTipper.com Click Here