Fashion Friday!

Teri's been wanting to post these 'Fashionable' photos all week! These pix were taken at the cat show last weekend and prove, without a doubt, what Fashionistas we are!






There was also a 'Costume Contest' at the show, and here's some photos that might make you smile (and be glad you didn't have to dress up, too!!)

And here's a few shots of stuff going on around the cat show, including our 'benching tent' and our stroller!

Coco's Birthday!

Coco then...born 9/29/05, and this photo at about 3 weeks old

and Coco now...hard to believe 6 years have passed, she is so kittenish and coquettish still!

And a fun birthday greeting that any cat would love, even if their name isn't Penrod!

Wordless Wednesday

This is Furrydance Esyld, or Silly as everyone calls her, another one of our extended family...

She lives nearby and shows up on her humans blog from time to time, and we think this photo is perfect for a Wordless Wednesday, as it speaks volumes without saying a word, hahameow!

Toesies Tuesday...

We have so many photos of adorable toes, that it was hard to pick one...but we decided on this one...titled "Smell my Feet", MOL

That's Bubba (he's the white one, and lives in New York) and Phoebe (she lives in Washington state). They are two of Furrydance's extended family.

Mancat Monday

TomTom, the feral kitty that hangs out in our garden, as you can see! Teri trapped and neutered him last spring and he comes around to eat twice a day and adds some orangey goodness to our garden!

Teri would love to comb out those clumps of fur along his spine, but the only way that would happen is if she trapped him and took him into work and sedated him and she says that she'd only do that if he had some other kind of medical issue that needed attending to.

He certainly is a Mancat, mats and all!

Fashion Friday?

For a change of pace, we thought we'd show some of Teri's cat themed fashions for a change! Hahameow! We think we are the stars of the 'catwalk' though...

Now, there are only certain places where she can wear these rings without people rolling their eyes...She wore them at BlogPaws and got lots of comments on their fun cuteness! She will wear them at the cat shows too, although may get a few of those 'Crazy Cat Lady' looks...


She got them on Etsy, after seeing them featured on Moderncat! And here's the link to the Etsy site for Finger Food Delight, hahameow!


In the photo above, she was at BlogPaws, featuring our very recognizable 'avatar', Nani.


The above photo was at a recent cat show, and you might have to biggify the photo to read the shirt, but it says Rexhibitionist. That gets lots of giggles from people!

And this is Teri at the cat show a couple of weeks ago, with Brighton in his blue plaid walking jacket. You can see that Teri is wearing some fake frootbats, hahameow!!

Though Sammy might not appreciate it, we thought you'd like to see him in his new stud pants (aka Underoos, hahameow). Teri special ordered them from Granny Bell's and they fit perfectly and seem very comfortable for Sammy. Even though he is neutered now, he will still spray ocassionally.

Wearing these pants, he can explore the basement/den and watch the birdies and squirrels with the rest of the cats. He has a room of his own, where he spends most of his time, gets company from the rest of the kitties, and sleep and he doesn't have to wear the pants in there because it's his room and he has stopped spraying in there since being neutered, so Teri is hopeful he will adjust eventually to being a house cat instead of a stud cat...time will tell, but til then he wears these shorts when he's out and about.

Here's a pix of him in a not-so-stylish pair, which he sometimes managed to wriggle out of! Which defeats the purpose of 'containing' the spray! So out would come the black light...



First, a truly embarrassing shot of him in...Doggie Diapers!! They worked well, but Sammy always walked around like he was 'carrying a full load' in his diapers and the tape wasn't too secure, either!

So, that's our post for a kinda out-of-the-ordinary Fashion Friday! If you'd like to see something more flashy, be sure to visit Daisy's blog today and prepare to be Dazzled!!

Thankful Thursday!

Al, thankful for having a boy of his own, that reads adventure stories to him!

(Ravi, don't give Al the keys to that rocketship, ok?!)

Wordless Wednesday

They miss the ol' days of warm monitors that fit three just fine, hahameow!

Now they have to sit on the mac mini box, and only one fits! (and this one's a kitten named Scilly Isles).

Tabby and Turtle Tuesday...

Cute as a button, this little brown mackerel tabby kitten, one of Coco's mommy's kids from way back in 2003! This was the litter he was from, 2 brown tabby boys and a black and white girl...Ricky, Simba and Sadie. Simba and Sadie live with the same family in Connecticut and Ricky lives in Pennsylvania with another Cornish Rex buddy!


Teri has plans to go and visit Simba and Sadie in Connecticut in late October, even though the fall leaves may be gone, she will have a wonderful visit no doubt!

What is a turtle doing on a cat blog? Well, our followers might remember TurToo, our backyard turtle that has a fondness for the kitty kibble we put out for TomTom and Mama Katz (who we saw again last weekend (sigh of relief).

Well, when Teri opened up a can of Tuna to hide deworming pills in for TomTom and Mama Katz, next thing she saw was TooToo with both 'paws' in the tuna bowl! Who'd a thunk?! And here's the photo to prove it!

Meow Like a Pirate Day! 9/19/11

Ahoy thar mateys!

We come lookin' fer buried treasure 'n tasty lovely booty, Catnip 'n Cream t' be exact! 'n treats galore 'n feather beds, too!

Out o' t' way, ye bilge rats 'n scurvy dogs...our claws (cutlass) be unsheathed!

We'll pass on t' spiced grog, but a nice massage would be nice! We be land lubbers 'n we don't like rum much, but would sail t' Seven seven seas t' find some lovely booty!

Pet Finder's Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable Pet Week, Sept 17-25th

As a former breeder, I thought about how I should talk about adopting 'less adoptable' cats, knowing that one of my greatest fears is that one of the kittens I bring into the world will somehow end up in a shelter, dumped there without me knowing; turned over with no history, no explanation of any behavior or health issues so that even if it does get adopted, the new owners may not take care of it either...

In fact, that happened to me once but luckily the story has a happy ending, but part of it was because I pursued finding this kitty...The original owner had two kitties from me, a mother and her daughter. The daughter kitty developed a urinary tract disease called FIC (Feline Interstitial Cystitis). The owner kept in touch with me and cared for her cats well, with help and advice from me.

Then she suffered a series of nervous breakdowns and was hospitalized on occasion and eventually moved in with her son and daughter-in-law. Through all of this, she had friends take care of her cats when she was unable to.

But on the last time she was hospitalized, her son took the kitty with FIC to the shelter and just dumped her. He didn't tell them of the FIC or give them any information as to how to get in touch with me (as I would have arranged for them to come home to me).

When she got out of the hospital, she was devastated and afraid to call me as she knew how much my cats meant to me. But after many months, she got up the nerve to contact me. She told me that they had adopted them out, but of course they couldn't tell her to whom.

I was sad though could not be angry, except with her family, but fortunately in the town she lives in there was just one shelter. But it had been over a year since she was relinquished to the shelter and I wasn't even sure if she had really been adopted or if that was some story her son made up to make her feel better.

I wrote to everyone on the shelters contact list...AND one of the veterinary assistants at the shelter hospital had adopted her and she called me! My heart rested easier! We talked and talked, and she is happy and healthy and her new owner now knows how to get in touch with me should they have problems! And the other kitty this woman had from me, passed away a few months later from congestive heart failure, and in a way I was relieved, as I didn't have to worry about her any longer. She didn't have a easy life either...

...And the next two kitties could have just as easily ended up in a shelter, too, as their owner was having their home foreclosed on and was having to find someplace to live. But she contacted me, saying she was needed to give up her cats to be able to afford to live and finding a place that accepted pets was difficult.

She flew Skiddy and Trevor back to me and they were both older with health issues and I thought I would have them for the rest of their lives, as I couldn't ask someone to take on caring for their heart and asthma issues.

But a woman contacted me a year or so after they came back home to me, and she was looking to adopt a Cornish Rex through rescue and I told her about them, not really thinking she'd want 2 old cats with major health problems...

But she came to meet them and me and decided to adopt Trevor, but I was reluctant to let Skiddy go as she was frail and I thought Trevor could still have some good years left...As it turned out, about 6 months after she adopted him, he was diagnosed with nasal carcinoma (he had lived most of his life in a home with heavy smokers!) and had to be euthanized before a year had passed.

Skiddy remained with me and lived out her days in comfort and ease (she was painfully shy, so she was my 'guest bedroom kitty' and she was happy and content there).

SKIDDY

TREVOR

Then everyone who has been following Curlz and Swirlz for a while knows of Nani...Nani of the Pink Kitty Wig fame and who will always be my 'Avatar'...


Nani has a rescue story of her own to tell, too. I did not bring her into this world but brought her into my home to be a future momcat. She was a very successful show cat but when she retired to become a mommy, we found out she had developed HCM, the inherited heart disease that took Pixie and Luxor and Kismet from us.

Her breeder did not accept responsibility for her, and so I spayed her and was fortunate to find a young man who was willing to adopt a second Cornish Rex and care for her health problems...but 12 years later I get a call from this man, now married to a woman with multiple dogs and cats and he said Nani was aggressive with the cats and he needed to give her up.

Again, I was glad he contacted me, instead of turning her into a shelter. I didn't bring her into this world, but I was there for her, this time paying for her flight home to me as he refused to accept that 'penance' for not giving her a furrever home.

When I got her back, she had multiple setbacks--she developed fatty liver disease and was difficult to treat due to her severe heart condition. But she pulled through that, and was happy taking 'Skiddy's' place as the guest bedroom cat, because yes, she would stalk and fight with my cats, too...but I wouldn't have given her up because of that!

As it turned out, a couple nearby that have a cat from me, had a friend who was looking to adopt a Cornish Rex, but because of her involvement with small dog rescue, she wanted one that no one else would adopt...

Oh my, could I let Nani go? Knowing her heart problem was so severe that she could succumb to it at any time. Could I feel ok about her living with kids and dogs and would she be happy?

But they lived close by, and they came to meet her and fell in love with her. I said ok, we'll give it a try, but that they would just be 'fostering' her and I would take care of her medical care. Nope, they wanted to take that on, too!!

They gave Nani a loving home for over a year, before her heart gave out, and they found her lifeless at the bottom of the stairs one morning. We all morn her loss, but we all feel glad that we 'made her acquaintance' and that she had a happy life in her 'golden years'...

Here's some links to posts about Nani, including her Memorial post:

http://furrydancecats.blogspot.com/2010/02/fenway-nanjizal-bay-of-furrydance-july.html

http://furrydancecats.blogspot.com/2010/02/help-nani-win-photo-contest-pleeze.html

http://furrydancecats.blogspot.com/2010/02/nanis-winner.html

So, there are my 'Rescue' stories on four kitties I accepted lifelong responsibility for. I kept my promise to be there for them their whole life. It is part of my contract that if for ANY reason, someone has to give up a Furrydance cat, that they contact me so I can bring her back to the home they were born in.

I think most people who have filled out my 4 page adoption application and waited many months for a kitten and I have gotten to know well BEFORE they get their cat, know how much my cats mean to me. But people change, lives change, divorce happens etc etc and oftentimes the pets come out on the losing end, too!

I have lost track of 2 cats due to divorce, and I still keep looking for them, googling names, searching facebook, calling the references they listed on their adoption applications...to no avail. But I will never stop thinking of them or checking on Petfinder and craigslist and stay active on all the Cornish Rex Yahoo groups just in case they show up there...but in 21 years of breeding cats, those have been the only 2...

I always get sad when I see Cornish Rex in rescue, because to me it often signifies that the breeder was not there for that cat, either because the person giving it up did not notify them, of they had no interest in taking the cat back, or did not keep in touch with the person they sold the cat. I have also been involved in rescuing 3 cats that I did not breed, because the breeders were not 'there' for their cat. And I was able to rehab and rehome all three and keep in touch with their families still!

Once I started looking around on Petfinder, looking for just one special needs kitty to talk about, one that kept being overlooked...it was pretty overwhelming how many kitties in need there are!

So, I narrowed my search to Cornish Rex, and while there were 8 Cornish Rex seeking homes, these two boys, Ringo Starr and Bravo Zulu , touched my heart with their story (10 years old and with dental issues and with a known history but with a breeder 'not there for them'...) and thought I would 'present' them here on my blog as so many of our followers are taken with this breed, and just because they are purebreds, doesn't make them any less needy of a furrever home.

If you think you might be interested in these Cornish Rex in need of a furrever home, here is the link to their Petfinder page:

CLICK HERE TO MEET Ringo and BZ!

Fashion Friday?

This is Brighton, at the International Cat Show in Atlanta a couple of years ago. He is a good sport about dressing up and the crowd loves him and he brings a smile to lots of faces...What's not to like about that?!

Thankful Thursday

What cat isn't Thankful for comfortable napping spots, and lots of them?!
Another one of Furrydance's extended family, Jake, along with his buddy Elliot,
show you what they are purrin' about!

...notice who is always on the bottom of this kitty pile!