Speaking of the outside cats, how frequently do you have to deal with them bringing “gifts” like that live bunny from a little while back? I’ve heard outside cats can be very proficient hunters.
Usually we go through a period about a week in the spring where there seems to be a different animal (usually a rodent) brought inside every day. The rest of the year we can go weeks without seeing a headless squirrel or really angry bird in the house. On the average, I’d say once a week during the summer and a couple of times a month during the rest of the year.
Sometimes I’m really lucky, and I’ll see a cat running across the yard with a dead bird or whatever in its mouth. If I move really fast, I can beat them to the back door and shut it before they get there, which stops them from bringing it in the house. Sometimes I’m not lucky at all, and I’ll wander from the computer room and into the front room (they really prefer to take their kill to the front room for some reason) to find a spray of feathers across the room, a partial bird laying in the middle of the floor, and a very proud Stefan/Jake/Corbie/whoever laying nearby.
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Late-breaking public service announcement: $70 bargain for a large, 80-inch tall cat condo/tower on eBay (with free shipping!), here.
Same seller has a 52-inch one listed for $63 too.
Thanks, Charlene!
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Just came across this adorable vid on The Joys Of Fostering Rescued Cats & Kittens. Bet you could put together one that is even more adorable.
That little tuxie at the beginning, staring at the camera, kills me DEAD. Also, one minute, nine seconds in, the grooming. And the ninja fighting! And… the whole thing!
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Could you tell me where you got the green and black cat basket?
I got it from Wexford Treasures on Etsy. It wasn’t actually sold as a kitten bed – I think she called it a plant basket. It measures 3″ high, 8.5″ across the top and 6.5″ diameter, so I thought I’d give it a try, and as you can see, it’s the perfect size for 2 month old kittens!
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So sweet!
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I spent part of yesterday reading about Kara and her babies. How long did it take for Kara to play nice with Mr Boogers, Tommy and all the rest?
The obvious joke would be to say that we’re still waiting for that to happen. 🙂 But actually, when Kara’s kittens left, she calmed down a lot. She’s pretty high-strung, but except for her occasional run-in with Stinkerbelle and when Jake decides to chase her around and bother her, she gets along fairly well with everyone.
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Wow, I did not realize that either Tommy is quite the large gentleman or Kara is much smaller than I thought.
It’s a combination – Tommy’s pretty big (it’s all muscle! I swear it!) and Kara is tiny. She’s our tiniest permanent resident, just over 8 pounds the last time I checked, and Tommy’s at 12 1/2 pounds.
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By the way, someone posted that picture of your kittens lined up to eat on facebook and I mentioned that it was yours and they basically said it’s public domain and they’ve never heard of Love and Hisses. I tagged you there. Is that something you usually deal with or does it matter? I hate being a pain in the ass to people, but I thought the least they could do it give you credit…
That picture is absolutely everywhere and I’ve given up on trying to do anything about it. It was on Cute Overload in 2009, was in their 2011 calendar, and it has since shown up in a zillion places. Cute Overload doesn’t watermark, and nothing stops people from saving the picture, sending it to other people and posting it on FB and wherever else they want with no attribution at all. I figure, as long as no one’s trying to make money off it or putting their own watermark on it, I won’t worry about it because otherwise I’d go nuts.
But of course, I watermark everything now and I think EVERYONE should!
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I’m curious how the catfish would get the ducklings if they don’t go in the water till mom’s ready. Are the catfish that big?
We’ve got some really big catfish now, but basically all the catfish need to do is grab a ducklings’ foot and pull it under until it drowns, then it’s feeding time. I didn’t watch it, but if you Google “Duckling gets eaten by catfish”, there’s apparently a video.
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It seems like you don’t get many long haired cats coming through Challenger’s House. I wonder if there are just fewer long hairs in the south in general?
That’s possible – I know that I haven’t had many long-haired cats at all! I wonder if there are just fewer long-haired cats in general.
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I never knew that Mr. Fancypants simply disappeared. I feel like that would almost be worse than having to deal with a loss like with Mr. Boogers, because there was at least some closure there. Still, cats are very good hunters, so I’m sure Mr. Fancypants lived to a ripe old age hunting varmints and birds in the great outdoors. Maybe he even got picked up and became a “permanent resident” in a cushy house in some far-flung region of the world!
It was absolutely worse never knowing what happened to Fancypants – we like to believe that he wandered into someone else’s backyard, became their pampered little prince, and never had to share attention with anyone else!
Even now, all these years later, I occasionally have a dreams wherein he saunters in and seamlessly rejoins the family.
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The only Gilbert there will ever be for me is Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables… sigh. So now you need a little red headed orphan girl kitten to add to this litter and name her Anne 🙂
and
When Robyn was introducing the kittens on the blog their first day, and the first was Gilbert, I TOTALLY thought that was where it was going. (“Gilbert? Oh goodie, surely there must be an Anne kitten, too”)
I should point out that the kittens came to me pre-named. Gilbert is named after Gilbert Grape because he’s so buff-colored that he’s practically lavender. Marshall and Grant were named for the area where they were found.
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Stinkerbelle has such beautiful eyes! Does she get “mad” by meowing insistently, or does she prefer to knock things off shelves or something similar?
When she’s mad at her humans, Stinkerbelle unleashes her meow, which is very high-pitched and kind of sounds like a siren. When she’s mad at another cat (and 90% of the time, that cat is Jake), she has a hellcat scream, which you can hear in this video, 23 seconds in.
As you can imagine, hearing that scream in the middle of the night is lovely and not at all the sort of thing to make you wake up with your heart pounding.
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In the picture “And then Fred twitched his foot.”, who is the kitten in the kitty bed?
That’s Beulah, the tiny little runt from The Seven. (She’s the center kitten in that picture I posted up there, of the 7 kittens eating their snack, all in a row.)
Also, my favorite Beulah picture:
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We’re in Indianapolis for a wedding this weekend, and just saw a commercial on the CBS nightly for neutering pets. I laughed so hard. “Hip spectacles. No testicles. Meet Scooter, the suave neutered cat every Tom wants to be.”
That is fantastic!!!
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Oh, this one. I just want to kiss him and kiss him, and he has no time for me.
Gilbert (I think; I have a hard time telling Gilbert and Grant apart in pictures if I can’t see their bodies) sneaking up on the camera.
Marshall’s #1 favorite thing to do: kick and bite that fish cat bed.
“No, bro, I got it. Stand back!” (Grant on the left, Gilbert on the right.)
The Open Mouth of Outrage always makes me laugh.
Grant, reaching for the camera.
Looks like it’s just about lights-out for Marshall.
The long-legged Cheetah (which I bought on sale at Petsmart back in late 2012) is getting it from both ends. (Gilbert on the left, Marshall on the right.)
Did I mention that Marshall really likes kicking that cat bed?
Pouty Gilbert.
More pouty Gilbert.
“Hey, where ya goin’? We was havin’ fun!”
More long-legged Cheetah biting.
::pbllllt::
I posted this on the Love & Hisses Facebook page last week, but for those of you not on Facebook, here’s Gilbert’s Oliver Donovan impression.
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Oh, da Corbs. He is just the MOST gorgeous boy on earth (and he knows it!)
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Previously
2013: “This litter isn’t fresh like I like it. I bet this is left over. I prefer it fresh from the bag.”
2012: “SOMETHING TOUCHED MY TAIL. IS IT A MONSTER? IT’S A MONSTER, ISN’T IT? OH, I AM TOO SCARED TO LOOK! SAVE ME!”
2011: I don’t know what kitten tails taste like, but they must be really tasty given all the chewing that goes on.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: Such a little lunatic.
2007: (I didn’t see it myself, but apparently it was quite the sight to behold.)
2006: No entry.
2005: They’re little playing machines.