Recent Comments

1. about 15 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

   We’ve had a red-bellied woodpecker visiting our sunflower feeders quite a lot this Autumn; over the weekend, I spotted some blue jays flitting around the scarlet firethorn bushes (probably enjoying the copious supply of berries), and then some rufous-sided towhees feeding on the ground near the feeders. I was really glad to see the towhees; they used to be plentiful in this area, but it has been years since I’ve seen any! It’s nice to see old friends again.

2. about 18 hours ago on FurBabies

   I like the FurBabies’ universe – it provides a welcome escape and solace.

3. about 18 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

   Alas, we have none in the house … but I was thinking about the peppermint schnapps that I keep in the refrigerator – it’s brilliant for clearing a stuffy head and inducing sleep.

4. about 21 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

   Thank you, too.

   Note to self – avoid real people wherever possible.

5. about 21 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

   Thanks!

6. about 23 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

   Nothing at all … Ora Zella has the batteries!

7. about 23 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

   I’m glad they’re back on the job, at least for now, but I do hope they get the improvements they’ve requested. Postal Workers everywhere are always under such stress and seldom get the praise they deserve.

8. about 23 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

   Looking at that tiny little pup’s BIG feet, I knew that she would end up back in the shelter by the time she was 6 months old simply because of her size, so we took her instead. Time and age marched on Amanda became an only dog, and Boomer, an only cat … and they liked it that way; they were happy to play together, but didn’t want to share us. And again, the years danced on, and Boomer became our only pet – a dignified gentle cat of a certain age, but he missed Amanda and so did we, so we began searching. We found Conan (who came with that name) in an emergency shelter in Birmingham; he was about a year old, but had been in that shelter since he was a little pup! He fit into the household wonderfully, and loved Boomer at first sight – even gently nibbling his fur to groom him … which rocked the old cat’s entire body until he put up a velvet paw to Conan’s muzzle as if to say “easy there, fella, I’m an old man!” And he was – he was with us until he was almost 19 (and Conan was about 7), but kidney failure took him from us. We, and Conan, mourned his passing as he had been a true friend and gentle cat. The next kitten season, a friend told us she had a litter that needed homes and did we want to have a meet and greet with Conan? We did; cats are essential in our home and Boomer would want us to pass on his love to another. So Conan met and fell in love with a little tiny house panther. Since we already had “Conan, the barbarian” (he really wasn’t), we decided to carry on with the theme and added Akiro, the wizard, to the family story. And yet again, the years have danced on their long slow way and Conan, too, has passed over the Rainbow Bridge – I hope Boomer met him as soon as he arrived. Akiro has been joined by Bella (her shelter name was “Smudge” but that had to be changed); he is now the Elder Cat (only cat, thank you very much!), and Bella is beginning to be achy in the joints and not so eager to jump any longer. I wonder who will come next?

9. about 23 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

   On the naming of pets – a good topic. Several cats and dogs have passed through our lives since my Spousal Unit and I got married.

   The first two were dogs – a GSD named Tina (nicknamed Tina Tiny because I could cover her with my hat) and a golden retriever named Lil’ Jenny (she was his dog, so he got to name her. Shortly after we were married, we had to move; the house we moved into came with a dog … the #^#! “owner” had left the poor thing behind with NO FOOD and NO WATER, and didn’t show up for 3 days … whereupon, we told him that was no longer his dog and if he persisted, we would report him to his First Sergeant for animal cruelty. He became Beau Cephus because the Spousal Unit liked the name. Eventually, we were stationed in CA, where we met our first cat – we called her Rusty because her meow sounded like a squeaky hinge (she was also a rusty orange tabby). We lost Rusty and Jenny while we were in Germany. Here in Alabama, we acquired a tuxedo cat who came with the name Gardenia, because she always joined my friends when they were out pottering in the garden at Myrtle Beach AFB, SC. Clyde showed up as a stray who had been abandoned on our dirt road … we named him that because it seemed an appropriate name for someone who was lovable, but not that bright; we adopted him because Beau and Tina loved him. Late one Autumn night, we heard a commotion in the front yard where the dogs were … as soon as I opened the front door, a tiny little white streak shot into the house; the moment the door was closed, I heard the biggest PURRR! in the world emanating up from the vicinity of my ankles. There he was – a tiny white kitten, announcing his name to the world: Boomer! Time and age took Tina, and Amanda came to join the family – named because she was worthy of love and as a shelter pup, she wasn’t likely to find it: she was about to be adopted when we showed up, but the mom kept saying that she didn’t want a dog that would get too big.

10. about 24 hours ago on Breaking Cat News

    Watt is happening?