Caturday Open House for Yoko's 20th Gotcha Day/Birthday!

Love our graphics by Ann of Zoolatry!

(So y'all are not confused about the days.  Mom posts the night before  when she goes to bed. So this is for Sat. May 11)

I hope you are all rested and rearing to go after the delish spa day yesterday.  So glad you could come join me.  Saturday and Sunday will be just as mellow - I can't take too much excitement at my age.  We will have  lots of apps to nibble on, niptinis and  games to play for the younger crowd.

I will share some other tidbits from my long life - Mom calls me her Zen cat cuz I do everything so very slowly, focusing all my attention on the moment in front of me.

This includes when I eat.  Here is a video of me eating - I guess it does prove Mom's point. Slow but sure!



I also have a habit of making biscuits every time I find a good spot to nap in.  I do this and then settle in for a comfy nap. Again I do this very methodically and with great concentration.

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Making biscuits in my kitty bed.

We have another prize for knowing about tabby cat markings - I am a very special kind of tabby - I have tabby markings on my face and tail and some on my legs but my body has no stripes or spots.  Each hair is individually banded or what they call agouti hairs. This is the rarest sort of tabby coat.  Do you know what kind of tabby I am?  No cheating and the first person to leave the correct comment wins a great book - The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie.

Guess what kind of tabby I am!

Be the first to guess right and you win this!

Please make yourself at home and grab a niptini and bite to eat from the array of tuna and ham apps or perhaps a cupcake or ice cream from the dessert selection!

For the youngsters here some live mice to chase and catch..Or snack on if they so choose.

So very glad you could come by to help me celebrate my 20th Gotcha Day and Birthday!  Not very many cats live this long and it is quite an accomplishment.  Tomorrow we will continue the open house with another prize to win and lots more goodies plus some baby photos of me. Please stop by!!

Friday Spa Day of Yoko's Three Day 20th Gotcha Day/Birthday Party Extravaganza!

All graphics from our dear Ann of Zoolatry

Before we start, I have some news.  Mom had to take me to the VET on Wed. this week.  I have a kidney infection and have to take antibiotics for a few weeks.  I have been throwing up a bit too even tho I take slippery elm for my tummy.  Many of you know I have CRF and hyperthyroid.  I feel better today and will be up for my party, don't you worry.  As the saying goes - "Growing old is not for sissies".

Sunday is my 20th Gotcha Day and Birthday since we don't really know the exact date.  Reaching 20 is a huge milestone so Mom is letting me have a three day bash.  Today will be for ladycats only - a spa day!

Mom has hired a beautiful place nearby for us to spend the day and we will get the full luxurious pampered treatment - massage, manicure, pedicure, nails painted if you want, bubble baths, all with lots of soothing music, candles and restful fragrances.  Of course there will be nibbles and beverages for all, salmon and cream cheese apps and mouse blood wine.

Me, getting ready for the big party.

While we relax and enjoy the day, I will reveal some little known traits about myself along with some never seen before photos of me as a young lady cat.

Me enjoying the tree as a young cat.

I have always loved Christmas and love to help with the tree, unwrap gifts and even sit and stare into the lit tree for long periods of time.  That makes Mom is bit worried!

Helping to unwrap the presents

I am a licker.  I love to lick Mom and Pop's skin.  I sit next to them and lick, lick, lick.  It drives them nuts (***wink*** maybe that's why I do it!)

I like to hide under the bedding, in the laundry pile, behind pillows on the couch.  I have done this since I was very young. I get picked on by the other cats so I guess I like it better when I am not seen so I can nap in peace.

I am a high jumper and even at my age can get up on the counter and wail like a banshee when I want to eat!  When we lived in Florida when I was young, Mom used to find me on the top shelf in the walk in closet snuggled in the sweaters sound asleep. She always wondered how I got up so high.

Win this mouse!

I hope you are enjoying yourself today.  We have a cute prize for the first person to guess who said the quote in the first paragraph in this post. A German friend on Facebook makes these knit mice and sent us a nest of them.  Us cats love to play with them so the lucky winner will get one for their very own.

Do come back on Saturday or Sunday for my 20th  Gotcha Day/Birthday Open House.  The party goes all day both days with different things going on so you have no excuse not to come.  Cake, nip and more prizes - a great cat book and kitty ornament - and lots of fun and music.

Best Buds Norm and Snowball on White Wordless Wednesday

Pssst - we are throwing a surprise Gotcha Day/Birthday for Yoko's 20th this weekend - Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Come on by for the party - lots of food, games and prizes each day!  Mark your calendar!!!!

Formerly Feral Friday

It's me, Ivy, back again.  Thanks for all the great comments on my tell all post this week.  This pic above is one of my favorites - when computers had big box like shapes I would sit on the back and peek at Mom over the top!  I was living in her office when she first took me inside.  Since she thought I was soo wild and would not like being indoors, I was the last one of our first feral colony to be brought in.  Boy did I prove her wrong!

So many of you asked to see my sock catching video that Mom went ahead and downloaded it.  She is not the greatest at doing videos but at least you get the drift!  Mercifully, it is short and sweet. I guess I don't have the attention span I used to have  either that or I ran our of energy. Maybe we can try again with the socks! Have a great weekend!!!

Tattle Tale Tuesday with Ivy

This took a loooong time to post.  We have been having problems posting photos on to blogger lately!  Anyone else having this issue?

Since we are getting older and taking up more of Mom's time, she is not posting as much as she was before.  She doesn't have the time to wait on Blogger to get things up.  She thought a regular post about some interesting tidbits about each of us would be fun and fairly easy to do!

This week it is me Ivy!

 I am 15 years old this year and am FIV positive altho no one would know this from how I act.

I lived outside as part of a feral cat colony in Mom's backyard for 8 of my 15 years.  I was one tough cookie.  I even have a BB pellet embedded in my right front leg to show for my time in the wild!

I am the black cat on the left.  The others are Nicky and Big Guy is the cow cat.

I also have had issues with FHS - feline hyperesthesia syndrome.  I tend to pull my fur out along my back from this.  I was even having seizures too but I am doing OK now. In flea season Mom has to be very vigilant in applying the Advantage and using DE to keep the fleas down, plus vacuuming.  This seems to help.

When I scratch myself  on my chest with my paw, it makes my tongue go in and out, in and out.  Mom laughs at me then.  She can make me do it too.

I am very vocal and have a strange repertoire of sounds - chirps, gurgles and quacks.  I don't meow like other cats.



I had very dark fur at one time but now it is reddish, especially on my tail.  The whiskers on my right side are curled and short like they were broken off or singed.  Mom has no idea how that happened.

 

I don't have any teeth left but do like to bite.  I put the bitey on anything you put in front of me including Mom's finger!





At night when Mom goes to bed, I run up on the bed and wait for her to play with me.  I like chasing the ribbon but I will also catch her socks when she throws them up in the air.

I am Mom's girl and want to sit on her lap allll the time!  She can't move and I am right there.  She finds this very hard to believe cuz when I lived with the feral cats, I would not let her touch me and would swat her if she tried.

I am a pretty unusual cat if I may say so myself!  Hope you enjoyed learning more about me.

On a sad note...our dear friend Sammy from Animal Shelter Volunteer Life has gone to the Rainbow Bridge.  He will be terribly missed by his fmaily so please so go by if you haven't already!  Sweet dreams Sammy.