Feline Friday

 We are having our dining room, adjacent hallway, and half bath painted to match our kitchen. This week, they are doing prep to get ready for painting. Lily, being a creature of habit, insisted on taking her morning nap in the same spot, even though everything was out of place!

After Day 1, she still found the one remaining island of carpet. Poor thing looked so disoriented!

She walks ever so cautiously on the kraft paper and will barely step on the plastic. It feels so WEEEERD, Meowmy!

So Lily is spending her days shut in the upstairs guest room, away from the noise and disruption. Things are so out of kilter on the main floor that I positioned her in her Safe Space during the evening and overnight so she'd have easier access to her litter and water.

When I went in to check on her, she seemed to need a little reassurance. Is everything going to be OK, Meowmy? She repeatedly reached out to my hand with her little paw. It was the most precious gesture!

Yes, Lily, it's only paint! Soon -- well, maybe in a week -- everything will be back to normal...just another color!

Change is hard for everyone, kitties included!

Feline Friday: Butters!

 Nobody (except maybe me LOL) likes butter better than Lily.

 She believes that butter is surely the most delicious thing in the entire world, other than Ranch, sour cream, vanilla ice cream, and apparently corkscrew pasta with Italian dressing.

But butter is always a favorite. Lily will go to great lengths to lick butter from my fingers.

She likes bread, but only if it's well-buttered.

 

So now, we skip the bread and go straight to the good part: Butters.

 Because who needs all those extra calories? :)

Feline Friday: Stripes!

 It's easy to think of Lily as a gray and white kitty. I know I do!

 But she's actually considered a "blue tabby/tuxie". "Blue" coloring refers to her grayish blue fur. The word "tuxie" refers to a tuxedo with the white chest, tummy, and paws. Read more fascinating facts about tuxedo cats HERE!

And "tabby" coloration refers to her stripes. It's easy to overlook them but they are definitely there!

Lily's stripes have a caramel color, making her look like she's been dipped in a caramel latte!

If you look closely, you can see stripes on her tail, sides, and back, too.

There's more to Miss Lily than first meets the eye! Love her to pieces!

Feline Friday: Sitter Love!

While we were in Texas for our daughter and son-in-law's wedding, Lily had not one but THREE cat sitters! Because of the 4th of July holiday, the service had to patch together sitters to cover our trip. 

 

When a new sitter is assigned to Lily, our service has them come to the house for a meet and greet to make sure the sitter is a good fit. I've learned to pay attention to Lily's reaction during this visit. Cats and dogs are a good judge of character! Lily loves her trio of sitters and took to them immediately. That hasn't always been the case in the past!

The sitters send lots of pictures while we are gone. I can tell from Lily's body language that she absolutely adores each of them. Notice how she leans into the ear scritches! She only does that with a sitter who meets her approval!

Ready for breakfast!

 

She's gazing lovingly at her sitter!

And eating on her sitter's leg? Lily loves her (maybe more than me)! It's such a relief to know Lily is well cared for while we are gone!

Feline Friday

We have just returned from a week in Texas for the wedding of our daughter and son-in-law! It was a great celebration and we are so thankful that all went well. Pictures to come!

Lily had a squad of three cat sitters who rotated caring for her while we were gone. By all accounts, she was a very sweet girl! Pictures to come!

But boy was she happy to have her Meowmy home. She has barely left my side since we walked in the door. She has even been on my lap, which is kind of unusual!

 Of course, I'm happy to see her, too!

 

Here's to a restful weekend!

Feline Friday

 

 

We are in the middle of a dining room update! We had the chair rail removed and wainscotting added to the bottom part of the room. It will be painted a cream color and the walls above will be taupe to match our kitchen.

 

While the contractor works, Lily has to be sequestered in the upstairs guest room. She doesn't seem to mind one bit.

 

 If I didn't confine her, she'd be supervising the entire operation!

 

Feline Friday

 

Lily's back legs look loosely attached! 

And look at those front paws!

What would I do without her?

Feline Friday: Sanitized For Your Protection

I recently had to take Lily to the vet have her recurring chin cyst drained. She was not pleased about this outing, even though I knew she'd feel better when it was done!

 

 

 While we hung out in the waiting room, she positioned herself as far back in the carrier as possible, hoping she'd somehow make herself invisible. No such luck.They found her anyway!

 

Lily has to be lightly sedated for this procedure and while she was out, I asked the vet to do two things: 

1. Take a look at her teeth to be sure there was nothing going on in her mouth that would prevent her from chewing her food. Lily is a notorious food gobbler and that almost never ends well.

2. Clip off the mats that had oddly formed on her haunches. I brush her almost daily and was quite suprised to find mats on both sides of her hips. Clearly, she's not grooming those areas.

As it turns out, Lily got the spa treatment! While she was sedated, they fixed her chin, looked at her teeth (A-OK!), and combed out the mats with a flea comb (YIPPEE!), something she wouldn't allow me to do. 

 

Then they gave her a complementary nail AND "SANITARY TRIM"! The tops of her back legs, her entire rear end, AND the lower part of her tummy are shaved! I'll spare you the picture because -- sorry, sweetheart -- it's not especially attractive, but here's a picture of one of her legs. LOL

I later learned that sanitary trims help kitties keep themselves clean, so hopefully Lily will enjoy her new look especially for the summer. She doesn't seem to mind and I'm finding it somewhat amusing. Sweet girl, I'm not laughing AT you...I'm laughing with you!

Here's to no more mats -- or messy bums!

Feline Friday

 

My dear grandma passed away in 2004. She was a master seamstress, having honed her skills in upholstery and fur coat factories. It was hard work but as a single mother she had no other way to support her family.

In addition to making her own dresses, Grandma enjoyed making stuffed animals (with their own wardrobes!) and cat toys. Even though Grandma left us long before Lily was born, Lily loves to play with the stuffed turtle she made for my kitties. Tinsel was partial to Grandma's catnip-filled green satin snake -- which is strangely STILL lost somewhere in this house!

When I cleaned out my parents' house back in 2013, I found this cat bed up in the top of the garage, clearly made by my grandma. I am almost positive I have a picture of her wearing a dress made from the same fabric! It was dusty and dirty from years at the bottom of a basket of odds and ends. But I tossed it in the washer and sure enough, it cleaned up beautifully.

I'm certain the cat bed was made to fit within the confines of a basket, although I'm not positive which one and of course, the basket is long gone.

The cat bed has been at our house for quite some time but Lily has only recently decided that she absolutely loves it. It does my heart good to see my grandma's handiwork making her so happy.

And I know Grandma would be thrilled that her handmade treasures are being loved by a new generation of kitties!

Feline Friday

It's Feline Friday and what better way to celebrate than with SEVEN kitties? 

 

This is the current breakfast scene at my sister-in-law's house. Her two adult kitties are dining in the company of five babies! This is my idea of PURR-fection!

 

These sweeties are the final babies of Mama Cat, a sweet ginger kitty who lives in the garage. Mama will be going for her spay day in a couple of weeks. The kittens will all be adopted into loving homes. 

I'm still trying to figure out how to smuggle one into our house, but I'm not sure Lily would welcome it!

Feline Friday

 

 Lily is truly living her best life! Earlier this week, I found her sprawled out on the bed, the overhead fan cooling her tummy.

 

 She slept all through lunch, occasionally pausing to squeeze those sweet little paws over her eyes.

 

What a life! What a joy she is!

 

Happy Feline Friday!

Feline Friday -- Now Cat-urday!

 Friday blew right by with no Feline Friday post! It was a busy day and I just didn't get to it. But every day is a good day for a kitty post...especially Cat-urday!

It was a PURR-fect Saturday morning to sit outside on the patio! Finally, we are welcoming lower temperatures and humidity!

Of course, Lily wanted outside, too! But lawn mowers were buzzing in the neighborhood and I thought she'd be scared.

Pleeeze, Meowmy?

I want outside!

PLEEZES?

Next thing you know, we're suited up and outside on the patio!

 

Of course...it's CAT-urday!