When I first started to read your journal (oh so many years ago), I was struck by how similar my StanLee was to Mister Boogers. Now that both boys are gone, I look forward to each and every picture you post of Jake and Elwood. Those two don’t just look similar, they are wonderfully spookily identical to my StanLee down to the patterns in their fur. When StanLee was a kitten, the vet informed me he was a Russian Blue, even though he was a tubby boy and didn’t have the green eyes either, so I’d definitely agree that those two are Russian Blues.
and
I reference to today’s comment about the Blues Brothers…. Most people think all blue/grey cats are Russian Blues, but one of my two cats is that color (with the silver/shiny coat), and she looks & acts much more like a Korat, which also only come in that color.
My cat does have bright green eyes, which I noticed you said Jake and Elwood don’t have, but when I did a google image search one night for Korat cats when I was investigating what kind of breed I thought she was, (since I got her from the animal shelter, I don’t know for sure) I came to the conclusion that she was probably part or all Korat. I wonder if Jake and Elwood might be all or part Korat too? A lot of the pictures I found look like them too.
What’s kind of odd is that I think Elwood looks more like a Russian Blue, but Jake looks more like a Korat.
Do they do those DNA tests for cats? I know they do them for dogs. I sure would be curious to find out exactly what breed they are!
Has having kittens — and foster kittens — made Maggie less vocal? Her miaow on one of your first posts about her was such a delight.
Actually, I didn’t even realize it ’til I read the question, but the only time I hear Maggie’s voice these days is when she thinks I’ve got food she thinks she should have. She figured out VERY quickly that the kitchen is where the food comes from, and I cannot step foot in there without her appearing from out of nowhere to demand that I give her food. She always acts like she is on the very verge of starving to death, even though cat food is always available.
About a week and a half ago, after eating a jar of chicken and gravy baby food every day since the babies were born, she suddenly decided she didn’t want it anymore, and won’t even look at it beyond a disgusted sniff. We keep a bucket on the counter to put kitchen scraps in, which gets taken out to the pigs at the end of the day, and we had to move the bucket to the cabinet under the sink because she was rummaging through the bucket looking for food. We can’t put anything at all in the garbage can that has ever held food, because she’ll knock over the garbage can and drag garbage out into the kitchen and lick food off the wrapping. I know she’s always hungry because she’s got babies still nursing, but I really wish she’d give me some idea of what she wants. One day she’ll eat an egg yolk, the next she turns up her nose. It’s kind of frustrating, but it’s more annoying than anything – I know she’s not going to starve to death because there IS cat food available, but I wish she’d STAY OUT OF THE TRASH, MAGGIE, DO YOU HEAR ME?!
Brussel sprouts? Below the Mason-Dixon line? Wow, these miniature cabbages have really gotten trendy, haven’t they?
When I moved down here, most people didn’t know what they were.
I don’t know how trendy they are – Fred’s a born and raised Alabaman, and he grew up eating them. I was born and (mostly) raised in Maine, and I didn’t have a single brussels sprout ’til after I moved down here. (Of course, that’s due to the fact that my mother doesn’t like them, so doesn’t serve them, rather than them not being available.)
I have a question for you about hay bale gardening… mainly – how do you do it? 🙂 I’m intrigued!
Here’s a page that has step-by-step instructions, but basically you spend 10 days watering and fertilizing a straw or hay bale (we’re using straw), and then you put soil on the top, and plant your plant in the top of the bale. So far our tomato and watermelon plants look happy (though one of the tomatoes is listing to the side a bit), but I’ll try to report back at the end of the summer as to whether or not it was worth it.
Clove, you are PURFECT!! Would a kiss be too much to ask?
::smooch::
Clove is obviously a girl with plenty of cattitude. 🙂
Is she as vocal as she seems to be?
Like Maggie, unless there’s food involved, Clove isn’t terribly vocal. When food IS involved, all three girls will howl until the food is in front of them. Like such:
(my apologies for the accidental shots of the litter box)
What kind of camera do you use?
Most of my pictures are taken with my Sony A100, but occasionally (especially for the up-close pictures of kittens who like to sit in my lap) I use a Sony DSC-W300. Enough people have asked that I should probably just put the info in the sidebar. 🙂
Maggie = Your Butterbean?
I know, I know, everyone is always trying to get you to keep your fosters.
I kind of thought that very same thing, but I get the impression in the past few days that she’s tired of kittens, poor thing.
Okay, here’s something to look forward to, but it may take a long time. I had a serious scaredy cat — she was born in a woodpile and chased around by some well-meaning kids who were trying to rescue her. For the first fourteen years of her life, she loved me and only me, and only if I approached her in certain situations, and very slowly. Then, she began to show some signs of deafness and perhaps a little cognitive impairment that the vet thought were just age-related. Well, she has totally forgotten that she is afraid! It probably helps that she can’t hear noises that might spook her, but she’s positively brave, social and engaged. She’s 18 now, and while still a little skittish, loves my husband, comes out to check out visitors, etc. Cool!
Our Spot, who passed away a couple of years ago, was a scaredy cat his entire life until his last few years. And now Spanky, our old man at almost 15, has always been skittish of strangers. But the last couple of years, he seems to be relatively unbothered when new people enter the house. I wonder if cats hit a certain age and they think “Well, no one’s killed me yet. Maybe I have nothing to worry about!”
I’m sure this has been asked before, but I always wonder…
Why is the lovely Miz Poo called Miz Poo?
I guess I’m asking because I imagine some dramatic poop related incident! 🙂
For the life of me, I don’t know how exactly her name came to be Miz Poo. I do know that there was no poop involved, thank god. I always baby-talk the cats (I know, you’re completely shocked!), and I believe that somehow one nickname evolved into another, and I ended up with “Miz Poo.”
I have a friend who insists upon calling her “Mrs. Poo” and it makes me want to smack her because HELLO that is not her NAME! It’s MIZ Poo. MIZ.
Did you get a weight on Maggie before she birthed them babies? She looks half her previous size!
and
Maggie’s looking really tiny without the baby belly. How’s she been after the operation?
Maggie is doing just fine – she is definitely a small cat right now, but her belly has healed up well, and she’s getting around with no problems at all. I managed to not write down how much she weighed before she had the babies, but I believe it was in the 11 – 11 1/2 pound range. I’ll try to get a weight on her this week, and will report back.
Finnegan in the hammock on the cat tree in the front room. They love this cat tree EVER so much.
“What? What you want, lady? What?”
“YOWZA! I do enjoy a good nap!”
It’s exhausting being this cute.
Cillian (right) and Finnegan, napping on the guest bed.
Cillian and Mr. Bear, who you may (or may not!) remember from this picture of Terry from the True Blood 6:
Fergus Simon and Ciara, on the cat tree in the guest bedroom.
Cillian, on the condo in my room. He’s such a sweet boy.
Miss Coriander’s all “What?”
Kitten-roebics. (Note Maggie in the background waiting by the door, all “You can let me out annnnny time now, thx.”)
“What? Sisters fight sometimes.”
“I bite you face!”
“No, I bite YOU face!”
Elwood, who now has the nickname “Ellie Belly,” (and sometimes I call him “Ellie Bells”) hanging out by the blueberry bush. At 14.2 pounds, he’s one of our biggest cats, if not THE biggest. He outweighs Jake by almost five pounds!
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Previously
2010: “I GOTS YOU, pink feathers!”
2009: No entry.
2008: In fact, she was so super friendly and happy that I thought she was going into heat (false alarm, it turned out).
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: ::sob:: Mah babies are growin’ up!