Happy Halloween

We had lots of fun this Halloween night.

 Even Nigel got into the preparations. Does he look spooked? He  isn't used to being out of the kitty-room. The first knock on the door and he was happy to go back.

Then it was off to see Riley before her bed-time. Apparently she was a Good 

Witch,not the scary kind.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween.

hugs, Deb

Holy Cat Whiskers

"Debbie told me that tonight was a special night but me and my siblings and Mom have to stay in our room and can't be near the doors. I was sad."

"UNTIL SHE TOLD ME WHAT WOULD BE AT OUR DOOR TONIGHT. EEEEEEEEEK!"

WHERE'S MY MOMMY?

"Holy Cat Whiskers"


So please keep your pets inside tonight and have a fun time.


hugs, Deb

Happy Halloween

I clipped teenie-weenie kitten nails this morning. Audrey put all her energy into boxing me with her back feet purring the whole time. Start 'em young, I always think. I used human clippers instead of cat clippers. I just found them to be easier to use and I could see the teeny nail better.

Now I won't come out of the kitten room with scars all over my legs and arms. Razor-sharp nails are trimmed.

The weekend is over once again. We accomplished quite a bit this weekend with our purging of unwanted items and enjoyed a nice dinner at our son & daughter-in-law's tonight. Riley showed us her mommy's pumpkins that are carved and decorated.

  She will be the wicked witch tomorrow night and she promises to scare her Nana & Gramps.

Oooooooo!

Happy Halloween everyone. Stay safe and please keep your cats safe by keeping them inside your home and away from the doors.

hugs, Deb  

upping the advertising

The kittens' pictures and a write-up are now at the local vet clinics. I'm hoping this will get the word out and someone wonderful will come to see and adopt one or two. I will only put posters at the clinics because I think if people are at the vet clinic with their pet then better chance that they are good, responsible owners. I won't place ads at pet-stores.

I had a lot of interest in Nigel but for many different reasons the interest did not turn into an adoption. So, he is still available. Not one person has asked about Audrey. Surprising,  since she is the one that I thought was the prettiest of them all. Everyone sees something different. I am doing up a little write-up on the two remaining kittens and sending it up to the shelter for them to add to their website. I was hoping I would not have to do this but at least more people will see their adorable faces. Most people want kittens under 12 weeks so I only have a small window of time now.
          
The other lady in our town that fosters for our shelter said that adoptions have slowed right down. She still has many kittens of all different ages to adopt out. Around 20 to be exact. She, too, has posters up at the vet clinics.
Once again, a reminder that we MUST spay and neuter our cats. There are 150 at our shelter as I type this and with the cold weather here now, they are coming in fast. Many people feed outdoor stray cats all summer and do not try to coax the cat indoors. Then, winter hits and they feel sorry for it so up to the shelter it goes. They see a lot of that every year.

I think of the many that came in to the shelter the day Annie arrived with her 2 day old babies. If you remember, it was a seizure of 30 some cats and many had kittens, were pregnant or in heat. They were all from one house where they had been abandoned. No food, no water. 4 dogs were also running around in the house when the inspectors walked in. They, too,  were starved. I chose Annie as her kittens were the youngest and I knew I could commit to her.

So Annie is on the Holistic Select soft food now and she really likes it. Let's hope it does the job and she doesn't have to visit the vet. I'm sure you've noticed her pouty face. She has the look of a lost soul. I know she loves it here though. She is always purring and nudging me and prrrt'in around.

It's cool here but no snow yet. I can't believe all the people that posted about their first snow-fall. NO! Don't want it, thank you. We are emptying out the shed before winter of anything we don't need or want. That's a LOT of stuff. We need dry weather for this.
We are 'purging junk' Woo..hoo! after breakfast out, of course. :)

hugs, Deb

Scalliwags

They have found the curtains. Oh glory be......

The instigator

and her side-kick, Nigel. "No, I'm Audrey."   "No you're not." 

were hanging upside-down half way up the curtain on my closet and swinging.

Tonight I decided to sit quietly in a corner and watch to see all the shenanigans that go on whilst I am busy. Oh boy! They are the 3 Stooges reincarnated.

So after I tied up the curtains, I crawled around to see what else they might get into (are you picturing this...sad eh!) and discovered one more thing I had over-looked the first time I did this. If they bounce from the bed onto the wicker chest then fly up to the top level of  the cat-tree,  then one more leap will take them to the top of a book-case where I have a basket full of cat treats. Now, if they chew on the bags long enough, and remember they have all night, then they could eat all the bags of treats and then *explode*.  So I have put them away in a safe place.

This is one of the more exciting Saturday nights at the Steckly residence. "Good-night"


hugs, Deb

Oh honey!

Nothing goes better with tea than honey. In my opinion.

The  honey I buy is local and organic. It is called Sweet Bee. 

Sweet Bee honey has a new look to it's jars. They fancied up the lid...very nice.

This honey is so good. 

The best in my area, anyway.

I have Annie on holistic food only now. It is called Eagle Pack Holistic Select. She is off the kitten soft food now that the babes are hardly ever nursing. This is the food I had my Ginny on because she had a sensitive tummy and this was the only food that stayed down. Since being de-wormed on Tuesday, Annie has had loose stool again so I  hope this helps.

Tired of kitten pics yet?

Please humour me.

Nigel

Audrey & Nigel

have a lovely Saturday

hugs, Deb

calming down the kitty room.

You would think there were buffalo playing in that room this morning. Three maniac kittens chasing each other and flying off the bed. Annie got into it too. 
After awhile it was time to tame the beasts with a comfy cloud. First fluff it up in the dryer then present it all warm and toasty.


The kittens are now floating on a cloud.

They love their new bedding.

And it's washable....bonus!


hugs, Deb

Kittens in window

No one enjoys watching the rain more than these two little twins.

                                                      Audrey & Nigel

They are so delightful. I keep picking them up to smell their fur as it smells just like baby-powder. It always baffles me as to why it would???   Not complaining.....just hugging kittens a lot.
They love all the attention they deserve. Happy, happy kittens.

I enjoyed my visit with Bud & Chase today. They have a little trick they show me each day. They sit way up on the staircase of their beautiful log home and I toss up treats and they chase after them. It is something we do now just as I'm leaving. They don't let me forget. They expect it now. When they see me getting ready to leave they head up the stairs and sit very tall. So cute!

It was off to the book-store with Riley this morning. I had a big surprise when I arrived at her house. She says "Nana" now....perfect. And it is followed by a huge smile.
What a treasure this little one is. The apple of my eye.

Hugs, Nana Deb

Cat in window

The town is quiet mid-day when I walk Kane.

I like that.

A gorgeous cat sitting in a window.

I love that.

She brings my Maggie to mind.

I like the sound of the leaves under our feet and the cool breeze. Why can't this be our winter? I dread what's coming but I am tough....I'm Canadian after-all.
I got a post-card from my daughter and besides hiking and camping and mountain biking, they are doing some Christmas shopping in Peru. How fun would that be. I started to imagine the trinkets and the colours and the smiling faces in the markets. If you ever see a picture of the people there marketing their goods they always have huge smiles on their faces. They will like my daughter...she has a big smile, too.

I looked after Buddy and Chase today and it was so great to see them.

I miss them in between care-giving. It's time to fill the cat-bag and get busy again.

hugs, Deb

No words to describe Jeri's talent

This day so far has been 'the cat's meow'. 
Look what came to my door...

 Of course, Sierra had to get right in the action as she is normally the receiver of all packages.


This lovely gift was sent to me from Jeri at Hop-along Hollow Gazette. I was trying to think of a way to describe the talents of this great artist but I am baffled. I need you to just pop over to her blog and see for yourself.  This lady is a real treasure. She transports me to my childhood every time I look at her work.

The detail is amazing. Thank you so much Jeri for sending me these gorgeous prints. I know right where I will hang them once I finish a bit of painting. I feel honoured to receive such a fabulous gift.

Here is Jeri's blog. 

http://hopalonghollowgazette.blogspot.com/

Get over there and enjoy her talent. You will need a LARGE cup of tea for this one.

Nigel is baffled by her talent, too.

"Baffled, I tell ya" 

hugs, Deb

Stretching yourself too thin

Before leaving the shelter with the 3 babes and mom in their crate, I was told the kittens and Annie looked wonderful. So healthy. Then I was asked if I could take more home to foster. I quickly declined and said my hands were full for now (no exaggeration) and headed out the door. They are at their limit and I understand the need for foster homes.  I really hope that more people will try it. It's a good experience and I know that every cat is worth it.

It was only this morning that I started thinking about how little time I have spent with my own 4 cats since the kittens and Annie arrived. Lily has taken up sleeping with me at night just to get some time in and Sierra keeps my husband pinned to the couch while he tries to watch tv. Cali is in my face 'cause she's just like that and darling Ed has taken to stretching out near the wood-stove and sleeping most of the day. He is 22 years old, Cali will be 18 in November, Lily is 16 this year and Sierra is now a senior too. I won't have them much longer. Hugo is a loner and spends his day on the deck so he doesn't even notice a difference. He will soon be going to his own home as soon as my daughter's renovations are done.  They all need nail-clipping. (note to self)  Then there is Kane. He is my shadow and enjoys the ride. My cat-sitting business takes up a lot of my day during the busy months and starting this weekend I am busy again. So I am at my limit for animals in my life.
Annie still enjoys the kittens but really needs her space now.

Audrey & Annie

I have made 3 spots for her to get up on that the kittens can't reach but the sun can. 

She likes that. I understand. Sometimes I need my own space, too.


hugs, Deb

Off to the shelter we go.

Today was our (the retired guy came along) trip to the animal shelter for vaccinations and de-worming. (The cats...not us)

It was quite the experience since the kittens had never been out of the cat-room at home. It used to be a spare bedroom and will be again someday. Just don't show me any needy kittens and I'll actually turn the room into something presentable.

Mom & kittens were very quiet on their trip to Smiths Falls. Bree actually fell asleep.

Once we arrived, we went to the reception desk and the kittens and Annie were scooped up and taken to a small room to be inoculated and de-wormed. I waited outside the door just like any anxious momma. ;-)

Here they are back in the reception room and all is done. Had they been abducted? Yep, that was the only explanation.

There were many admirers there petting them and squeeeeealing over their baby faces.

Then home again, home again and their disgruntled meows were ear-deafening. Annie stayed silent.


Now they are resting after a good lunch and I expect that they will be feverish and sleepy for the rest of the day.

Glad to have this over-with. Now,  let's get them adopted.

hugs, Deb  

Playing with dishes

I found a teeny butter dish for .50 at a thrift store. To show how teeny it is I have placed it next to my Noritake Shenandoah tea-cup and saucer.

Cute isn't it.
Drop by http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/2011/10/107th-tuesday-tea-for-two.html for Tea-cup Tuesday and http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/ for Tea-time Tuesday.
hugs, Deb

Persevere

It rained most of today with just a moment of sun 

This is a neighbourhood cat that whiles away the day on the front porch and has for 20 years.

Tomorrow the kittens go to the shelter for inoculations and a check-up. I will take Annie too so she can be with them. I am always apprehensive about going there when they are bursting at the seams. Oh Lordy, I wish people would spay their cats.

I had 2 possible homes for Nigel fall through today. Either one would have been a great home for him.
I will bring them back after they have had their shots tomorrow and keep searching for that perfect, forever home. I know it's out there.

hugs, Deb

my girl

I miss my daughter today. I have been really busy with kittens and purging for our plans to sell next year and cat-sitting but today,  I really miss her. She is keeping in touch, bless her for that, but I am used to her flying in the door with her chatter and her laundry and often a new hair-style that always suits her pretty, young face.  

I want to be excited and happy for her like everyone else but instead I get to fret 'cause I'm the mom. Not fair!

"I'll just wait for her return"

 Here is the recent photo she sent us as she travels. She is the one in purple. They are travelling around South America and are now starting their trek to Machupicchu in Peru

This one I'm framing.

hugs, Deb

Sunday shenanigans

Sunday mornings. In our town you wake to the sound of the church bells ringing and playing a hymn. It's very nice but you do shake yourself to be sure you didn't perish throughout the night.  :-(

 It's quiet other than that and you can hear the last of the geese leaving. Did you know the word SILENT and LISTEN have the same letters?


I did take time for one cuppa before arming myself in preparation of putting the kitten room back in order. Oh boy, what they can do in 8 hours. Where's Molly Maid?

But they are happy, healthy and full of beans and that's the way I like to see them. Bree always wants to be picked up but I spend the first bit of time with Annie. She stays in the background but watches and I know how much she loves to be patted and talked to so she comes first.

My oldest daughter, Jess dropped in for breakfast.

and a kitten-fix.


These 3 love company. They are all so social and lovely with everyone. So is Annie.

(photo from Just Sayin' blog)

Look how big these 3 are now. I think Annie's countin' the days.

Off for our 2km walk. This is our town hall and a very handy clock.

Have a great Sunday.
Hugs, Deb