Suzy

The third Manx cat to come into my life was Bobbie Lee Maxine, acquired from my Mom's place in the country. She was a runt the only kitten to be born of a small mother. I got her just before she was about to become a feral feline, as all of Mom's cat's in the country are. She has typical cat attitude. Everything has to be on her terms. She is stand-offish and quick to hide from strangers in the home. If you sit on the couch and it suits her she will hop up and grace you with her presence and let you pet & love on her.

Bobbie Lee Maxine

There was another Manx in my life. This one was called Chip and belonged to my friend, Ron. Here he is as a kitten checking on me taking a cat nap. He grew up to be a very sociable character always in the room with a group of people at parties. He was a longhair.

Chip and I

Another cat came into my life a couple of years ago. This one was a novelty as he had a tail. Pardon me while I effuse about this one. He began with the name Buster Black. He is a tuxedo cat which are always stunning in appearance. They look all dressed up with someplace to go and that is usually into your heart. Anyway he ultimately ended up with the common name of Lucky as he came from Mom's stock of felines. She used to keep about a dozen or more of resident cats that were largely feral. Within the last few years a new kind of buzzard arrived. These were not turkey vultures that have the red neck and only eat dead animals. The new arrivals were all black and we called them Mexican buzzards. They stalk & eat live animals. An uncle who is a rancher in the area is having a problem with these eating newborn calves. I know it sound bizzare but it is true. They work in groups of 2 or more. They first thing they may do is peck the eyes of the victim. When stalking a mother cow & calf there are typically 1 or 2 of these buzzards goes after the mother cow while another goes after the calf. This is for real although some people who have not witnessed the behaviour will deny it exist. Well Mom's group of cats began to become buzzard food and the group at her house began to decline. Lucky was born March 2009 and I was down for one of my once a month visits. There were 2 mother cats that had about 7 kitten between them in the back seat floorboards of Mom's old Mercury. One was a black & white with an unusual spot on his face and a black chin. He had his eyes open and was nursing. I was immediately attracted to this kitten. I wanted him but was unsure if it was too early to take him from his mother. I called a friend who called a vet and they said if I would look and there were 2 teeth then he could be taken. Lo & behold there was a tooth on top & one on bottom. My fear was 1) the next month when I was at Mom's he would have already become wild or feral and 2) he might be eatten by the buzzards. I asked Mom if I could have a kitten to which she said yes and he was spirted away to live a different life. As the story goes his mother and her kittens all eventually became buzzard food. Now Mom is down to just 3 cats and only 1 is female. Sadly, the end of her line of cats is in sight.

Lucky in My Lap

Lucky, however has survived and thrived. His mother was a short hair cat largely white with gray spots. His dad who passed through was a larger yellow & white long hair. When Lucky was taken he weighed less than a pound and would fit in the palm of one hand. Initially he was fed milk with an eyedropper until a few days later he learned to drink from a saucer. Soon he began to eat dry cat food . Because he was a long hair and I had had long hairs before and said never again, I began giving him a shower when still just a kitten. He learned to love water. Brush your teeth and he is at the faucet drinking with you. If you don't shut the shower door he will come inside and walk on the wet floor of the shower. Wet feet do not bother him. In fact, he has been known to play in water. Enough exposition and here are a few pictures of Lucky as a kitten. Oh yes, he traveled to Florida while quite young with Ron & I. That has served his well, now as a grown cat he travels well. I put him in a cat carrier and he goes mellow and into sleep mode almost immediately.

O Hai; Needz Slipperz?

Are We There Yet?

Well Lucky is grown now. He is a furball. He is social in that he likes to be around people. He will rub on anyone new to enter the house and sniff their feet and legs. As I mentioned earlier he likes water and the custom has become for me, the human counterpoint to give Lucky a bath or as it may be a shower ever 3 months as the saying goes whether he needs it or not. LOL Anyways, here is a movie of me giving Luck a washdown and you will notice he is a particularly good sport about it. The key with all children is to start young. There is another version of this movie where I like Lucky am clothless. Alas, I do not have the movie software to fuzz out certain of my areas and did not want to offend those of more puritanical sensibilites. As a side note Lucky has been laser declawed on the front paws (he is an indoor puss and we must protect the furniture) but he DOES retain his rear claws. While in the shower and I am holding him he never has tried to use those rear claws on me do dig in and get away. He is such a good natured feline, bless him. Play the movie below to see me give Lucky a shower!

Just recently made the mistake of going to the Dallas SPCA last Saturday to check on (as in just to look) available kittens. The reasoning was that I was looking for a playmate for Lucky. He is 2 years old. Bobbie Lee is 8 or better and I affectionately call her the "the old lady" as she has absolutely no interest in playing with Lucky. I digress. There were only 2 kittens. One was a 3 month, gray tabby with exceptionally distinct spots and stripes. He was very personable, climbing up in your lap and purring like a motor boat. Needless to say this gregariousness goes a long way to winning you over which is a way of saying "please take me home." After some discussion with my friend we decided this one would work. The name he had been given, was Sierra. The story was that a box of kittens had been left on the SPCA doorstep overnight and one of the kittens had ventured off and crawled up into the wheelwell of a GMC Sierra truck and then into the engine area. He was a greasy mess and had to be cleaned up. Long story short, this 2 and half pound feline was adopted. Deliberations were made on the name and decided to retain the name Sierra as it was part of his history. I sometimes give cats multiple names. Because Sierra ends in an "a" which in some cultures denotes femininity, I stuck Senor in front as in Senor Sierra. Then because this purr baby looks like a wild cat because of his exceptional markings, his last moniker became Tyger. So please meet....

Senor Sierra Tyger

Here is a shot from above of Senor Sierra all spread out, all 22 inches of him:

Lucky & Sierra are already in play mode and becoming fast friends:

Recently, friend Ron and I took a road trip to Florida and took the new kitten, Sierra Tyger with us. He did great. We were gone 2 weeks and he went from 2.5 pounds to 4 pounds. Kittens sleep & eat & play, pretty much same as older cats. Older cats just play less... This was the favorite travel positon for Sierra on the 1300 mile one way trip from Texas to Florida. That is on the central console between the front seats. Perhaps it had something to do with best center of gravity:

Senor Sierra was all over the car at times helping Ron drive:

Here is the Tyger in my lap:

Oh, the life to be a kitten and on a road trip!

Most of the time this was the scene on the long drive:

As a bag kitty in Fort Lauderdale:

You know how kittens want to help like with the dishes:

Sierra is waiting his turn to get on the exercise bike; kitties need to stay in shape:

Senor Tyger want to help with the mouse and the game on the laptop:

Here are Tyger & I resting and watching TV:

And you know what happens when you watch too much TV & have a busy day you eventually need a cat nap:

Zack as a kitten on his first trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida finds a spot on my shoulder:

Here, Zach is in the driver's seat with Ron:

And cats spend most of their time sleeping, here in Ron's lap although he is an equal opportunity lap sitter cat:

Zack with his leash on exploring the great outdoors:

It is all about the smells with cats which are 14 times stronger than humans:

Here Zack is amidst the tropical landscape of the courtyard of the condo in Ft Lauderdale:

Zack will often run on the walkways on the way back to the condo:

And after a long leisurely walk about a kitty has to have a drink:

Here are some assorted photos of the cat family we now have presently: Lucky the long hair Maine Coon oldest, Tyger the tabby, and Zack the Siamese the younger of the 3.