2-5-13

Posted on by Robyn

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I thought I had mentioned this in yesterday’s post, but apparently I hadn’t – Batman and Robin are 9 months old. They might look small in the pictures, but they’re not small cats (although they have really skinny tails!) They are very sweet boys – perhaps I mentioned? – and I like having them in the guest bedroom, because I can go in and lay down on the bed, and Robin climbs right up and lays down next to me. He is such a lap cat! I haven’t taken a nap with them yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. I bet they’re good nap partners.


Batman reminds me of Magoo when he lays like this.


“What?”


Pretty Batman.


Checking out the curvy scratcher.


Robin, checking out the string.


And hanging out in Fred’s lap.


Batman on the top and Robin in the bottom (though you can’t see him).

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Hey!


“What?”
Who are YOU?!


“I’m ME. Who are YOU?!”
This is my house, cat. Seriously. Who ARE YOU?


“Boy, that Sheriff Mama kitty wasn’t kidding about how dumb humans are. YOU brought me here in THIS carrier, remember?”
Oh, right.

Y’all, meet the new girl. She’s over a year old, and two weeks ago she showed up in someone’s back yard. Did I say “in” someone’s back yard? What I mean is that the poor girl was stuck in a chain link fence trying to get into their back yard. The woman who found her tried to add this girl to her family of rescue dogs and cats, but her elderly cat wasn’t having it, so this sweet girl came here for fostering.

Annnnd did I mention that she’s pregnant? When Susan called and asked if I wanted a pregnant cat, I almost jumped through the phone at her. I said “I WANT HER” and “DON’T YOU GIVE THAT CAT TO ANYONE ELSE SHE’S MIIIIIIINE!” I was ready to run up the highway to Tennessee to pick her up from the vet, but I had just brought Batman and Robin home earlier that day, so Fred suggested I wait until Monday to pick her up.

I swear to y’all, I dreamed about mama kitties ALL weekend long! And I talked about mama kitties all weekend long, too. Fred said I looked like the crazed Justin Bieber fan girl every time I talked about what the mama kitty might be like (all I knew was that she was a tortie).

All weekend long I fretted that she might have her kittens before Monday, but as it turns out, she’s not very pregnant. In fact, if the vet’s office hadn’t done an exam and figured it out, I still wouldn’t know. She’s got a little fullness around her belly, but certainly nothing that screams “here there be baby kittehs” to me. So I think either she’s not very far along, or possibly she only has a couple of babies in there.

Only time will tell!

When I was trying to decide on a naming theme for her and her kittens, I looked through the emails in my cat name suggestions folder. Last year, when I was looking for suggestions for Emmy and her impending babies, Diddleymaz said in a comment:

Also as it’s HM Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Year, only the second time a monarch in UK has had one (last time it was Queen Victoria) how about Lilybet and the Royals? Lilybet is the Queens own petname ever since she was a child and there are plenty of younger royals for the kittens!

I really liked this suggestion, and even though it’s no longer the Diamond Jubilee Year, I’m going to go ahead with the idea. I know that PROBABLY what I should do is name her Kate, given that the Duchess of Cambridge is in a family way right now, but she really seems more like a Lilybet to me, so Lilybet she is.

I do plan to have another pool like the one for Emmy last year and Maggie the year before (if you weren’t around for those, basically you send in $5 per guess, guess the date and time she’s going to have her kittens, and then you have naming rights for the kitten of your choice.) Give me a day or two to set it up – I’ll link to it in tomorrow (or Wednesday’s) entry.

I’m not going to restrict the names to only UK royals; if you can argue that a name has some kind of royal connection, I’m going to be pretty flexible about it. (Leona Helmsley = Queen of Mean! Ha.) I’m not going to allow titles as the name, though – ie, there will be no Princess or Prince or Duke or Duchess. I want name names, people. Got a suggestion? Leave it in the comments, I’ll add it to the list of possible names when I set up the betting pool page.

So now… we wait! I can tell you that Lilybet is very friendly (that was a relief!) and she’s a bit of a goofball.


She loves the feather teaser. Seriously, with a wild-eyed passion does she love it.


“I lubs you, feather teaser.”


“I keel you, feather teaser.”


“Serving wench, WHERE is my dinner?”


“Mylar crinkly ball, you will bend to my royal will.”

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As long as you’re comfy, Newt.

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Previously
2012: Mr. Chewy wishes you luck.
2011: No entry.
2010: Too bad the vet has a no-operating-on-humans policy. Or I assume she does, anyway.
2009: I am only so strong, you know!
2008: I don’t have to be loved by ALL my cats, but if he comes looking for love tonight, I don’t know that there will be any love to SHARE.
2007: “Did someone say ‘snackin’ time’?”
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.

Comments

77 thoughts on “2-5-13”

  1. BABY KITTEHS!!!!

    I don’t think Princess WinterFall SummerSpring should be allowed. (Showing my age.)

  2. Of course she’s a bit of a goofball, she’s a tortie. 🙂 Mine is currently in the bathroom meowing to herself. I can’t wait to see what kittens come from Lilybet.

  3. Name suggestions:

    Kings of Bavaria (1808-1918): Maximilian Joseph, Ludwig, Maximilian, Ludwig (this is the “mad” one), Otto (with regent Liutpold), Ludwig

    Sissi (alternate spelling: Sisi) was the nickname of Empress Elizabeth of Austria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Elisabeth_of_Austria) (also the daughter of Max Joseph up there) –her kids were named Sophie, Gisela, Rudolph, and Marie-Valerie

    Victoria, of course. Her kids’ names: Victoria, Albert, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, Beatrice.

    There’s always the last generation of Russian royals (aka Victoria’s great-grandkids): Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Alexei

    There’s also various kings of Spain: Juan Carlos, Ferdinand, Alfonso, Juana, Isabella…

    I could go on forever, I think. 😀

    3. I seriously love the russian names and have wanted a litter of them named those (Olga, Tatiana, Alexei, Anastasia & Maria!!) but if she’s only got a couple in there, we should hold off until there’s a litter of five for those names. (IMHO) and love the name Lilybet. that’s just a beautiful name for a beautiful kitty!!

  4. Love the new girl — and Batman and Robin — but your orange boys are doing their best to steal the show this week! Newt is cute, cute, cute!

  7. BABYKITTEHS! I know it’ll be a while yet but oh I’m looking forward to these next several months.

    And how pretty are Batman and Robin? I luvs me some house panthers.

    Newt: You need a cameo on Cats in Sinks.

  8. Aw, my black kitten is also 9 months old. When are people going to wake up and realize that black kittens are the best things ever? I just taught mine to fetch!

    And hooray for baby kittens! Let the baby watch begin!

    1. I agree. I’ve always had at least one all black. From my personal experience they’ve always been my most cuddly and well mannered cats. The others are just heathens, lovable heathens.

      1. The more relaxed Batman and Robin become, the more time they spend flopping over on their backs and demanding belly rubs. They are just so SWEET!

  9. Buttercup, Leia, Nelson (Prince the musician’s last name), MJ (for Michael Jackson, the King of Pop), Lear, Ellington.

    Clearly I need to think of more girl names.

      1. Latifah! I second Buttercup. BTW I have the same crocheted dish cloth hanging on the divider in the kitchen sink, at this very moment. I was looking back at some of the previous foster stories this weekend and read the story of the MacMaos and Maggie the forever pregnant cat. Lilybet does not even look remotely as pregnant as Maggie was. We might not need names until July!

        1. Well, the gestation period for cats is 58 – 67 days, so I’m imagining that the longest we’ll have to wait is about 6 weeks. I hope it isn’t that long, though – the wait will drive me crazy!

          1. Pregnancy can be confirmed by your vet from approximately 22 day and that is by ultrasound. So I doubt you have more than a few weeks to wait..

  10. A gorgeous and possibly pregnant Tortie in the Foster Room? Suddenly all is right in the world again.

  11. Royal Names: Letizia (Spain), Maxima (Netherlands), Willem-Alexander (Netherlands), Felipe (Spain), Ena (England/Spain), Maximilian (Mexico), Maud (England/Norway), Haakon (Norway), Sophia (Greece and Spain), Juan Carlos (Spain), Constantine (Greece), Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia, and Alexei (Russia), Olav (Norway), Mathilde (Belgium)

  12. Yay for baby kitties! The end of the winter would not be the same without brand new kitties from L&H! I actually wondered last week if/when you were going to have a mama in the next few weeks.

    Love the name Lilybet! And I love the russian names Mercy mentioned above. I’ve always liked the name Anastasia.

  13. I LOVE torti’s… and torti babies! Now I know why this site has become my new addiction. I always read L&H – even before I go to Facebook or my email. Thank you for feeding my addiction 😉

  14. Robin’s dominant white whisker on the left cracks me up. Expect him to twirl it like some silent motion picture heavie or something.

    Of course you jumped at that sweet pregnant girl. Of course. Love how you keep her active. Girlfriend’s gotta keep healthy. So glad someone rescued her from that fence.

  15. Lilybet’s father’s nickname (King George of “The King’s Speech”) was Bertie, so I’ll throw that out there for a boy!

    So ready for Kitten Watch 2013! But I’ll live vicariously through you this time, and hopefully not follow with my own litter…(knock on wood!) History shows that I end up keeping at least one kitten out of each litter that finds me, and I already have my hands full with the 4 feuding cats I have right now!! 😉

  16. Lilybet’s a beautiful girl, pregnant or not! Our dear departed tortie was always imperious but goofy, which is how I like to think of English monarchs, so I think that name is perfect.

    Boy, you’ve got some handsome fosters right now. And then there is Newt, who is adorable in his sink.

  19. Since you did the nickname Lilybet (instead of Elizabeth), I’d say go with royal nicknames — I like Bertie, as Amy said. Louis XIV was le roi soleil, so Soleil/Solly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monarchs_by_nickname — you can probably come up with a million from here. Nicknames are much easier for little kittens to carry around than the huge German monstrosities (I study royal burial practices, there are names that are a paragraph by themselves!!) or names like “Charles Philip Arthur George” XD

  20. So excited for baby kitties!! I first started reading your blog about two years ago with Maggie and the McMaos. I love all the royal name suggestions others have tossed out, but don’t have any additional ones to suggest… I’ll keep thinking though.

  21. We did the Kings and Queens of England for awhile with our Barn Cats, it started with a one-eyed kitty I was told was male and was going to call Harold. As soon as we saw HER, she became Maude (like the movie) – her daughter was Matilda (who reigned as queen in her own right for a short while and fought wars with her brother Stephan). We haven’t had a Kitty Stephan, but we have had Eric the Reds (a Jarl rather than a King but close), I had a Henry as a child, we’ve also had Prince Mordred, Lady Elane and currently we have Vald the Impaler (as a feral kitten he bit me) and his sister Catherine the Small (now growing into Katherine the rather large). We’ve also had Gengis Khat, Prince Hagan and as a child I also had a Nerfertiti, Akhanaton, Tiberius, and several cats thoughout my life have gone by the name of Princess. My husband tried to call the last Princess after Queen Whielthow (Beowulf) but I couldn’t pronounce it. So I suggest sticking with either English or well-known names like Louis the XIV for a Sungold kitty or Saladin for a boy kitten with several sisters. But there are lots of good English (and fun Saxon) names in the UK royal family – finally I suggest Richard, in honor of the finding of Richard the III this week. A gold kitty could be Richard the Lion Hearted or a brown Tabby Richard the III. There are also a lot of queen names that are easy like Anne, Mary, Margret, although Matilda was the only queen in her own right other than Victoria and the two Elizabeth I and II. I could go on and on, but any “horrible histories” will probably give you lots of ideas!

    Love the Mommy kitty, she looks so much like my rescue Momma Aurora did.

  22. Eleanor, for Eleanor of Aquitaine, married to Kings of France and England, mother of three more, died in 1204 at the age of 82. Portrayed by Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter. My very favorite 12th century woman.

    In fact, my daughter is named Eleanor in part after Eleanor of Aquitaine.

      1. I third Eleanor of Aquitaine. Queen of France and then Queen of England. Duchess in her own right. Mother of Rchard the Lionhearted and Black King John. Great grandmother of St Louis. Center of the “Art of Courtly Love”.

        1. Forgot to add Eleanor was the start of the Plantagenet line (from Geoffrey of Anjou’s (her father in law) habit of wearing a sprig of broom (planta genius tea) in his cap). Who knew you got force feed history at L&H?

  23. OMC–Kittens! I hope she has a half dozen 🙂 Yes, I can envision you running to the vet to get a pregnant tortie!!!

  26. Not much to add today, it’s been said very well–but I do love me a tortie, and she looks sooo much like our dear departed Mabel, even to the same orange paw on the same side!! aww, kittens too! Knew it wouldn’t be long before the kittens would be in the foster room!! It is a good thing I live so far away…the 2 girls who rule the roost here would NOT be pleased.
    And this blog is one I never, ever miss reading, it’s an entertaining, educational addiction.

  27. What a beauty she is! For a second I thought that Purslane was back for a visit, but I’m glad she’s still in her forever home. I love me a tortie.

    I offer what I think are the best of the names of Portuguese royalty:

    Boys:
    –Afonso was the first King of Portugal, but his successor had a better cat name:
    –Sancho!
    –Pedro: Of course there were about a thousand kings named Pedro, and it was also my father’s name so I’m partial to it 🙂
    –Philip is probably a good possibility because there have been king and prince Philips all over the world, so it’s definitely a royal name!
    –Ferdinand, especially if he’s a bullish sort of kitten 🙂

    Girls:
    –Maria: Same with Philip, Maria is common among queens and princesses all over the world, and Portugal has a gazzilion royals named Maria. Most of them will have second names, and my favorite is Maria II da Gloria, who was queen TWICE (1826-1828 and 1834-1853), and so I would suggest…
    –Gloria instead of Maria as one of the names.
    –Beatrice is also a royal name from other countries. Our Queen Beatrice was only Queen for 2 years as a baby. She was the daughter of King Ferdinand the Handsome and the last heir of the House of Burgandy (the first royals of Portugal). After her, a new house (House of Avis) took over. Hey…
    –Avis is kind of a cool name, too. And finally…
    –Isabella (or Isabel) because there were several queens and it’s also my middle name, so once again, I’m biased.

  29. Well… they did just dig up Richard III from underneath a parking lot in England, but you probably wouldn’t want to name a kitten after him. Most of my favorites have already been suggested, but then you have the additional problem of cross-checking against names that have already been used by Challenger’s House. I can’t wait to find out what you picked.

    I have also been giggling for days about Fred saying you have Justin Bieber fan girl crazy eyes. Pretty sure that’s the look that I would get if I ever had a break between kittens in the foster room… but I haven’t had one in so long that I can’t be certain. 😉

    3. I was going to say, considering recent events, I’d be rather disappointed if Richard III didn’t at least get considered as a name.

  30. I love the darling photo of Newt in the sink. Mocha hasn’t gone that far, yet, but he loves to get on the counter when there are suds in the sink and bat them around. We just follow the bubble paw prints to find the culprit.

  31. So here I was reading Love and Hisses really late today with my feet up and my bone china cup of tea and yes Batman and Robin aww cute…and then hello? New kitty? New pregnant kitty? And names? oh OH OHH your using MY suggestion.
    I am so happy!
    FYI dear fellow kitty lovers , George VI wa actually called Albert, hence Bertie not a nickname an abbreviation and King Stephen was Empress Matilda’s cousin it was because her brother William had drowned in the White Ship that she was made her fathers heiress, but the Barons wanted a man.
    As a long standing Ricardian I’m in favour of Richard but Henry or Harry and William( Dutch are about to have King Willem-Alexander ) are good too. Beatrice can be shortened to Trixie or Bea and Anne is short anyway.
    But basically I’m just so thrilled your taking my suggestion up, and we are still celebrating the Queen this year because it’s 60 years since the Coronation and there are a few events planned how so about Crown,Orb,Scepter and Throne?or Abbey as in Westminster Abbey.

  33. A tortie mama! My Mom’s name was Elizabeth and her grandmother called her Lilybet, so I like that name already! 🙂

    Royal names? Fergie, Caroline, Charlotte, Grace, Anne, Diana, William, Harry, Phillip, George, James. (I also like the suggestion someone gave of Buttercup.)

  34. Robin’s in the batcave! MOL Now where’s their batcar??

    Oh boy, Lilybet! What a cutie and what a great name! Just look at all the names already! You’re going to have to give each kitten at least 6 names, like a true royal! (Buttercup! love it!)

    Newt! I never knew you were a silly boy!

  35. What fun for you and for us Robyn. I can’t think of too many royal names that have not been suggested. My first thought was modern sounding things like Sarah, Beatrice, and Eugenie. They don’t sound too cat-like though as I personally am not a fan of naming animals “people” names. I do like the names Diamond and Jubilee if there are girls. Also Fiona and other Disney movie princess names come to mind. There are many “name generator” links online if you google. Also, when I look around for royal names and such I am reminded about Camelot and those names. Merlin would be a really cute name for a little mischievous boy kitten and Guinevere a princessy girl kitten.

  36. So very excited for you !! A tortie and babies !! I just about fell out of my chair when I read that. Life doesn’t get much better !! There are so many royal names to choose from. If she has an orange boy Harry would be a great name, as long as he doesn’t end up being a little trouble maker trying to live up to his name sake 🙂 I started following your blog from the videos of Maggie you had on youtube. I was hooked and have been a faithful follower. Your blog brightens my day. Batman and Robin are very sweet looking kitties. Chin scritches and cuddles to all the kitties (permanent and fosters)

  37. So with the very first picture of Lilybet, I began plotting how to get to Alabama and back….

    Then a closer look – could she be…?

    Second picture — maybe…just maybe…

    Then I read your narrative: SHE IS!!!! A Goofball Tortie Mama!

    I’m loking forward to some wonderful months ahead – can’t wait to see what her kittens look like.

    Bless you, Robyn for taking her in! And I love the naming theme!

  38. Robyn, I have a request. Could you write again about, or direct me to the posts about, Corbie and his thinned out back half? Eric at Eric and Flynn’s Adventures is having a similar problem and I told them about Corbie but they were unable to find the post(s) about it. I tried looking but there are so many Corbie posts that I couldn’t find it either! I know Corbie is healthy, just has a smaller half, and if Eric has the same type of thing, it would be reassuring for them I’m sure. Thank you!! Extra hug to Corbie!

    1. Andrea, I emailed you the link (and a bit of a follow-up). Let me know if you didn’t get it! Or heck, for that matter, I said:

      I actually had a hard time finding the post about Corbie myself – but I did! It’s here.

      After a few months, we stopped giving Corbie the supplements because they didn’t seem to be making a difference, and Corbie was so freaked out about having the supplements shot in his mouth that he wasn’t letting us anywhere near him. He hasn’t gotten any worse, and I encourage him to stand on his back legs in an effort to build up muscle. I don’t know that it makes a difference – but it certainly doesn’t hurt. 🙂

      Hope that helps!

  39. Robyn,new mommy to be is beautiful. Can’t wait to see her babes. We have a cat at our shelter his name is Mr. Darcy, from the movie/book Pride & Prejudice. Mr Darcy has a bad cattitude. But we love him. I just watched that movie this weekend and it just cracked me up because Mr. Darcy the cat is just like Mr Darcy the character. Good name for a bad boy kitten.

  40. Lilybet is so beautiful — almost as pretty as my tortie Harley! 😉 And I love her name, too. I would say go with British names….

    And Newt-in-a-sink is pretty goofy himself!

  41. It’s been many years since I’ve had the pleasure of a Tortie’s company. They are truly special kitties. I greatly envy you your time with Lilybet. I know it’s going to be a while, but can’t wait to see the new kittens. You’ve been kittenless waaaaayy too long IMHO.

  42. Tortie kitties are the best. The cat I grew up with, Funny Face, and one of my current cats, Boo, are Torties. They are awesome! I’m so excited about the babies!!!!!

  43. YAY, new tortie girl with baby kittehs. Can’t wait to see new babies. A Newtie in a sink…ie? Too cute!

  45. If there is a red tabby male, how about Frederick Barbarossa (Holy Roman Emperor) – Fred the Red Hair

    I’ve always been partial to Roger II of Sicily. Nice name, not common in royalty.

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