"Beautiful Joe"

Joseph Oliver Moneen, or "Joe", was my first feline friend.  After he passed away from cancer two years ago, I wrote a song for him called "Beautiful Joe". 

Imagine my emotion when I found a young adult novel recently titled "Beautiful Joe".  Written by Canadian author Margaret Marshall Saunders in 1982, and based on a true story, the book follows a cruelly abused and mutilated dog named Joe as he learns to love and trust again.  Despite his horrible disfiguration, the other characters in the book understand that Joe is truly beautiful -- inside and outside -- regardless.  And the best part:  It is narrated by the Joe the dog himself.

I am going to be reading -- and bawling about -- this book, and shall therefore do you the honour of blogging (and bawling) about it over the weeks to come.  It's going to be dreadfully emotional.  I can already tell...

It's the Kittens' 2nd Birthday!

It's the Kittens' 2nd Birthday!  Ronan and Pandora turned 2-years-old on Sept. 4/2013.  I was so busy that week and forgot until the next day :(  Baaaaaaddd.... I felt terrible.  Thus, the really, really super tasty treat to top last year's Wild Sockeye Salmon:

Medi-Cal SO diet canned food cut into triangles ("cake slices") and topped with fresh, organic catnip grown in my very own backyard.  Suck on that, Martha Stewart. 

Dear Dr. Kent, if you are watching this, please do not be mad.  I never, never give them treats, and this has been the only time since last year they have "cheated" on their diet (and by "they" I really mean Ronan, because Pandora is not allowed any treats since Ronan can't have them.  I believe in fairness).

Happy Birthday, Ronan!
Happy Birthday, Pandora!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Kittens!

Din-din.

The kittens are messy and creative eaters.  Ronan in particular has gone through a ridiculous transition in terms of his eating habits (see previous posts), but one thing has always remained:  A passion for food!

This is what dinnertime is like at our household every night... Note how Ronan holds the bowl (and himself) in place with one firmly planted paw...

A new toy!

My mother likes to describe Ronan and Pandora as her "Grand-kitties", and every time she sends a parcel to me there is usually a small gift or two for the kittens, too.  Easter saw two toys: The Neverending Chirping Bird, and the Sassy Squirrel.  I saved the Squirrel until her Mother's Day visit this month.

Enjoy!

Happy Spring Equinox, Everyone!

As an Easter/Spring gift from my Mom and Dad, I was sent a huge box of Cadbury's Mini Eggs (my favourite easter treat) and two special toys for the kittens.  Here are Pandora and Ronan enjoying the first: The Eternally Chirping Canary!

With only the slightest touch this stuffed canary will chirp and tweet to its heart's content.  Witness two predatory styles:

1) Ronan:  Throw a wide net.  Chase, scratch, thrash and otherwise scramble until you strike or capture something.

2) Pandora:  Patient Spear-wielder.  She is a huntress, this one.  She will wait until the opportune moment, then seize her prey with hardly a muscle moved. 

Also, I can tell already this Canary is going to drive me nuts.  I am going to keep it in the toybox for special occasions only.

Adventures in Laundry Land

Pandora is sneaky.  She is far more stealthy than her brother.   This week she was a Laundry Ninja.

Enjoy.

DJ Kitty Scratch Mat...!

Have I mentioned I have the greatest Landlord and Landlady in the world??

They bought THIS for the kittens this past Christmas.  best. gift. EVER.

NOTE:  This video is 3-and-a-half minutes long.  I realize this.  But it's so full of cuteness I couldn't help myself.  If you get bored, skip to 3:08 and watch the kittens come up with a new way of playing with the Scratchmat together.  Hooray!