Farewell, Kokopelli

Mister Cuddlybugs had been missing for more than a month. Yesterday, the kids who live next door to Mom found him... unhappily.



He had managed to crawl under another neighbor's porch to spend his last hours in shelter there. We don't know what caused his death, but we will all miss him.

Kokopelli was given the nickname of "Mister Cuddlybugs" because he needed to be held any time there was a pair of arms nearby -- empty or not. He was even open to sharing his porch with strangers, so long as they didn't eat all of the kibble before he got his fair share. He tried, on frequent occasions, to cuddle up next to the nervous 98-pound Labrador retriever Clyde.

Some mornings, he would stroll over from Mom's to my house and wait for me to come out the door, so he could pounce upon my shoes from the wildflowers. That invariably got him a minimum of a half hour of my full attention as I sat on the front stoop. He would then walk with me over to Mom's for the day, where he got cuddles and brushes from Mom, and then later, from the neighbor kids.



If there is a heaven for cats, this little guy is there, playing once again in the tall weeds.


As for the rest of us, it will be a while before we recover.

Friday Catblog: Have you seen me?

Just a few days after we brought Kokopelli



home from his surgery last month, he vanished from Momsporchistan. We suspect foul play, and not on the part of a coyote (they have yet to pester the other critters in our neighborhood, and there has always been good, close shelter for the wee beasties at the folks' place, so, no we don't think it was Wile E. or any other member of his family).

Somebody in our neighborhood seems to be deliberately removing from the block any cat to which the neighbor's kids grow attached. We have our suspicions, but that's all we can call them.

Mom really misses him, and I can't blame her. He's very, very affectionate. As long as you're not a dog. And even then, he puts up with a lot of canine nonsense.

If anybody knows anything about our missing roly-poly Mister Cuddlybugs Kokopelli, please send me an e-mail. We'd appreciate being able to put away our worries.



For other cats, dogs, etc. both at home and abroad, be sure to visit Modulator's Friday Ark #192, and, on Sunday, don't miss a chance to stop in at the CotC, this week to be hosted by the M-Cats Club.

Early week cat stuff

First, there's news from my bestest friend Mari, who is likely going to have to take her old meezer Stretch

Stretch and Rizzo

in for his final visit to the vet's office, this week. Stretch is of undetermined age and rapidly failing health, but an extraordinarily sweet disposition, so it will be hard to say farewell to him.


On the other hand, we took Kokopelli in to be "tutored", today.

He is now officially an "it". Plus, he got all those necessary shots -- rabies, West Nile, and so on, so he's ready to become a civilized beast.

He's none too happy that somebody messed with his hindquarters, but seems to be taking it well, as Mom has brought him into her house for the night -- until he is less groggy from the anesthesia and discomfort, he shouldn't be out amid the other toms, the coyotes, the traffic, the rowdy young'uns.... We set up the litter box my own beasties use when we come to house-sit, and he has a feather bed upon which to rest -- heck, he has nicer accommodations than I have at my own house! And yet, he seems to find greater comfort in simple proximity to grammaw and/or great-grammaw than in a soft fluffy bed.

I wonder how he'll react to being put back outside, tomorrow?


Don't forget to visit Modulator each Friday, for Friday Ark, and stop by the CotC, this weekend hosted at Catymology, and next Sunday, House Panthers.

Oh, noes! Kats r takn ovr!

At least, this article would tend to indicate the worst...

"If we don't change something, we're going to continue to lose this battle," [researcher Linda K. Lord, assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State University] said. "We're going to have more and more cats reproducing, and we need to think about collective community approaches to prevent that."

Has this scientist never heard of something called a natural predator?
I'm thinkin' we ought to worry a little more about how to keep the coyotes from chowing down on them all, around here.

First we take over the art galleries...

Personally, I will welcome our new overlords. They's purrty.


(HT: Bob via Ace)

Friday Catblog: Cage Match

My yard no longer has big leafy trees. Therefore, I have no real need for a leaf rake. Except, it makes great playground equipment.

This is better than a broom, better than a shoelace...

better than nothing, anyway.

(Pictures are from early August, when the kittens still looked like fluffy kittens.) For more pictures of lovely beasties, be sure to check in at Modulator's Friday Ark #162, and, on Sunday evening, swing by the CoTC, this weekend to be hosted by Missy, KC et al.

Friday Catblog: strawberry licorice whip

When Pop gets back from walking Clyde, most days, he hangs the long leash on the post. And, most days, it goes unnoticed.


Except this once.




I haven't seen anybody get this excited about a skinny red whippy thing since the local grocer got in a big jar of strawberry twizzlers to add to the penny candies.

If you were thinking of anything else when we mentioned "red whippy thing," you're a bad kitty cat.

See what other beasties there are -- go take a stroll at Modulator's Friday Ark #161, and, don't forget Sunday's CotC, to be hosted this week by (coincidentally) Bad Kitty Cats.

Tuesday Tummy #10

Kokopellibelli.2

You know you want to let me cuddle with you.

For more cuddly beasts (and some not-so-cuddly), don't forget to visit Modulator's Friday Ark, and the weekly COTC. And, check out the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos.

Tuesday Tummy #9

Kokopellibelli.



'Nuff said.


Look for more beasties at Modulator's Friday Ark, and at CotC (this week, Hot(M)BC hosts).

Dogblog: Clyde has a strange feeling

Clyde can't seem to shake that feeling...


the feeling he's being laughed at, snickered at, mocked...


The evidence is probably right under his nose.


Am I missin sumpin?

I don't see nuffin.

I still don't see nuffin. Guess I'll rest a while.

Yikes!
Clyde asked to be let inside, away from the scary things out there....


What did I do?

Don't forget to visit Modulator's Friday Ark for more critters.

Tuesday Tummy #7

This pic of Kokopelli is about a week old, now. He's not staying on my porch any more -- he's over here at "Grandma's House" -- the far reaches of Momsporchistan. Still, his favorite toy is either my bare hand or the hideous orange corduroy hippie hat (with the navy blue polka-dot lining).

He's so spoiled! And so undeserving of it, no? How could anybody be taken in by this creature?


Don't forget to visit Modulator's Friday Ark, and CotC, each week, for more wonderful critters!

Friday Catblog: le Papillon a volé loin

When it comes to kibble, I don't usually get complaints about my cooking. At least, not until recently.



But, after I waited a few minutes to see if Kokopelli would explain what it was about the meal which bothered him, I was treated with sighs and long stares into the distance.


He misses his litter-mate, Papillon.


Nothing bad has happened to her -- quite the opposite. Papillon has "flown" to her new home, with exSailorette and her motley band or merry-makers, and has become a pampered lap-kitteh.

Now, if we could only find a comparable lap arrangement for Kokopelli, all would be right with the world. Hey, Pop, howzabout it? I know you like cats more than you dote on Clyde... ;-)

heh.


If you seek critters, rather than homes for them, be sure to visit Modulator's Friday Ark #153, and stop by the Scratching Post, for CotC, on Sunday evening.

Tuesday Tummy #7

Somebody needs to be smacked.

But it's not either of these two.


It's the person who thought there was something going on here other than simple kitty rasslin'.

Somebody has a dirty mind.

Go study more clean living animals, at Modulator's Friday Ark, or over at the CotC. And, shame on you. ;-)

Friday Catblog: Strange intruders

Papillon and Kokopelli have discovered the strangers.


Kokopelli moves around, first, to investigate. Then, in moves Papillon to check out the other one

Papillon takes a great strong whiff, and it has a powerful effect upon her


Eventually, though, they establish that, while intoxicating, those newcomers are not unfriendly. We're making peace.




Want to make peace with more beautiful beasties? Please visit Modulator's Friday Ark #152, and, on Sunday evening, be sure to go to the Carnival of the Cats, this week to be hosted by StrangeRanger.

Tuesday Tummy #6

Papillon refuses to show hers in its entirety.
It's not that she's bashful, or any such. She's just ornery.

Kokopelli doesn't care. He's just having fun killing that mean old broom.



Be sure to look for more kitties each Sunday at CotC -- and a few other critters at Modulator, each week on Friday Ark.

Friday Catblog: Kokopelli plays a tune

This is

Kokopelli.

He's one of the two survivors from the litter Maus brought into the world this past spring. He's also the one with swing (and not just from the camera strap!).

It's hard to walk away when the little guy is playing...





To find more lovely beasties at play, be sure to stop by Modulator's Friday Ark #151, and on Sunday evening, visit the Carnival of the Cats, this week to be hosted by Momma Grace & Company.

Tuesday tummy #5

Some years ago, I started having lower back pains just like those my father has always had. The doctor gave me a piece of paper with some exercises for stretching the little mousies back there, to keep them in line. The ones I had the most trouble with were the cross-body stretches. Kokopelli knows these exercises, too, and practices them with vigor and ease -- the little booger!



Nobody likes a smarty-pants, Kokopelli!

Well, maybe some of us do... a little. Okay, maybe more than a little. Maybe a whole lot. Showoff!.


Don't forget to visit Modulator's Friday Ark, for more critters showing off. And check out the CotC, over at Life from a Cat's Perspective

Friday Catblog: Arbiters of fashion

These are my fashion consultants, Papillon and Kokopelli.


Kokopelli, in particular, decides how I will dress, each morning.
It's not really so much the expression on his face,
or his body language, which makes me dress the way I do.


And it's not exactly as if his wardrobe is all that, either.

It has more to do with the activities Kokopelli enjoys.


And the claws.

This is why I don't wear shorts or skirts in the middle of a hot summer.

These jeans, though, meet with his approval.

Other beasts with claws and teeths and degrees of approval can be found via Modulator's Friday Ark #150, and every Sunday evening at Carnival of the Cats. Update: The Carnival is posted, at Life From a Cat's Perspective. Go and see. We'll still be here when you get back.