We Heart Cats

Mornin’ cat lovers!

Do your cats throw tantrums? Mine do! Well, at least a few of them do. Especially Ginger Snap Ann. She’s the Queen of Tantrums around here. There’s a reason we call her “Ms. Hissy Fitz.” She’s quite taken with the Husband, and actually got a place in our household by reaching outside her cage at the shelter, latching onto his shirt with her claws, and pulling him towards her. We walked by several times, and she did that each time, so we figured, oh well, this cat’s comin’ home with us whether we like it or not!

She always has been quite persnickety, but even more so now that she’s being subjected to two new girl kitties. And of course, there’s always Louie…..Louie who is ALWAYS in her face. Actually, he always has his butt in her face! He’ll run up beside her, turn around, and back up til that furry butt’s IN her face. Is it any wonder that she hisses? I don’t blame her.

She and Demi were best buds, and she actually went into a depression when Demi died. We all did, actually. But she’s come through it OK, I guess, and is working towards the title of Top Cat.

Until next week,

Hisses and purrs!

bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved to text and photos.

tabby cat, hissy cats, cat tantrums

Last night when we went to dinner at the lovely O’Leander Cafe in downtown Leander, Loretta was amused because I was stressed to the max. I told her it was the cats that did it. She’s a Cat Person, too, so she understands. Yesterday was a tough day for all sorts of reasons, I was already on the edge, but then Missy Jane decided to play “let’s see how many times I can get in the closet before the No-Tailed One screams at me.” She and her sister, Izzie June, have learned how to double-team me. One sits behind the door, the other sits beside the door. Izzie distracts me while Missy slips in. So much for sister cats! (BTW, she got in at least SIX times!)

Little Miz “Prozac Princess” had the day off, I guess. She had this look on her face like “YOU handle it today, OK? I’m tired!” Sheesh. Cats are supposed to lower your blood pressure, right? Sometimes I wonder about the scientists who did THAT study…how many cats do they live with, anyway? Do they have SIX cats? I think not.

I hope today’s a little better. Izzy June’s happy with her Dead Rat she got for Christmas, Louie’s hiding underneath the blanket because Ginger won’t stop hissing at him, and Blanca’s curled up on the corner of the desk, and I’m calm again. I’m not sure how much the cats have to do with that, though. I think it’s more because of the excellent canolli we brought home for dessert last night.

And oh, BTW, if you’re ever in lovely downtown Leander, TX, stop in and tell Loretta and her husband Dave “howdy.” They run a great family restaurant filled with a lot of wonderful people. AND they love cats!

Go a-mews somebody today!

bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to text and photos reserved.

calico cats, tortie cat photos, cat pictures, O’Leander Cafe, Leander, Texas

Here’s Roja, little sister to Blanca, the white cat you met the other day. They are both Maine Coon mixes, former shelter cats, have gorgeous HUGE bushy tails, tufted ears and paws, the works. Roja has moved into place as my “Prozac Princess” cat…the one who comes to me when I’m upset, the one who will sit quietly (usually) on my lap and gaze into my eyes. She’s taken over the job from my beloved Demi, who passed away last year from feline diabetes.

When we first got Roja and Blanca (”red” and “white” in Spanish), we called them the “Flying Enchilada Sisters” because they never walked, sauntered, crept or crawled….they flew! Since then, they’ve calmed down a bit, and now we just call them the “Bush-tailed” sisters. We have two clans here, the Bush-tails and the Rat-tails. LOL.

I never knew about the possible interactions that cats could have with each other until we got more than one. Now we have six, and I learn something new everyday. R&B don’t seem to like each other much anymore, unlike Izzy June and Missy Jane, who are the new babies. Interesting.

Gotta go, somebody’s scratching at the door!

catnip luv,

bobbi c. and the six-pack
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.

cats, comfort, cat picture, Maine coons, shelter cats

Mornin’ cat lovers!

Louie, AKA “Mr. Big” was a bad boy last night. For the first time ever, he jumped up on a table we have in the bedroom, and sprayed a sack of magazines and books we had there. SSSSS! (That’s me, hissing.) This is the first time he’s done this, that we know of, so I’m wondering if he has some sort of infection that needs to be looked after. I tell ya, it’s a full-time job as herder to six cats! Supposedly, neutered cats won’t do this, but in my experience, that’s just not true. Hard to say what’s going on with him. Perhaps I should go back to college and get my PhD in Cat Behavioral Psychology! ACK.

Since everyone’s clamoring to see the rest of my herd, I thought I’d share a photo here and there. I don’t have good pics of the two new girls yet; they’re just too fast! This one’s Ginger Snap Ann–she’s the oldest of the bunch now. She’s earned the nickname “Hissy Fitz.”

Purrs and hisses,

bobbi c.
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.

cats, male cats spraying, adopted stray cat

Mornin’ cat lovers!

I feel like I need to comment on the whole pet food recall thing. From what I can gather, the problem stemmed from a batch of wheat gluten that was tainted with rat poison. This in turn got into lots and lots of different brands of cat and dog food.

Last year, one of my Beloved Cats, Demi, died of feline diabetes. When she got sick, I learned how harmful wheat gluten and ANY grains are to cats. Cats are “obligate carnivores” as in they gotta have lots and lot of protein, and really don’t need any carbohydrates in their diets. As a result, since then, we’ve fed our herd only with grain-free foods. We personally feed Wellness brand canned food, Evo Innova dried kibble, and an occasional can of Merrick meat food.

I’m so glad we switched back then! I wasn’t too worried about those brands, since I knew they didn’t contain grains. A local small pet shop wasn’t affected much, either, because they predominantly carry the healthier foods. Larger chain box stores, however, like PetsMart and Petco, weren’t so lucky. Even our local grocery store had quite a few empty shelves.

Whole Foods in Austin had no problems, either, because none of their foods contain this tainted ingredient.

I realize that a lot of people can’t afford the higher priced foods, but after paying Demi’s huge vet bills and seeing what she went through, it’s worth it to us. The better brands are slowly creeping into the big stores, and that’s a good thing. There are lots of online places that you can order from, and I’ll talk about these in a future post.

In the meantime, get your daily dose of catnip love!

Here’s Mr. Big!

bobbi c.
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.

cats, pet food recall, cat picture, Menu Foods, black cat photo

No, that’s not a new rock band. It refers to Yours Truly and my merry herd of six cats. I’m the new blogger here on WeHeartCats.com, and I’m looking forward to meeting some new friends here. As way of introduction, I also write the garden blog over on the Earthly Garden site, am a writer, book author, avid gardener, and of course, extreme cat herder.

My Husband (just one) and I are owned by six cats….Blanca Margarita Ann (my editor), her sister Roja Consuela Ann, Ginger Snap Ann, Izzie June and her sister Missy Jane, and Louie Edward, AKA “Mr. Big.” He’s the token male in the bunch who fancies himself as the Cat Casanova.

I’ll be telling stupid cat stories, pointing you to interesting and useful stuff online, maybe reviewing some books, posting links and lots of photos. Cause if there’s something I have, it’s LOTS of cat photos!

And speaking of which, here’s Ms. Blanca now, with her own pet sock monkey, Tater Chip.

Blanca and Roja (AKA “The Flying Enchilada Sisters”) are Maine Coon mixes. The others are tabby, Calicoes and whatnot. They are all shelter cats, or former strays that had the nerve to show up on my porch. Sigh.

So, there you have it. I think that’s enough to absorb for one day. I’ll be back on Monday!

Spread some catnip love!

bc
All text and photos are copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights reserved.

cats, cat picture, Maine coons, white cat picture, sock monkey, shelter cats