The Kitty Condo

Amy's brother Richard is quite handy, and as a present to the kittens, he built them a small house. It's not a three bedroom house so they have to share, and occasionally, it has caused some domestic disputes.

Our favorite is when one is inside, another tries to climb in with it, and then one sleeps on top of the roof like Snoopy from the "Peanuts" cartoons used too.

The following is one of the aforementioned domestic squabbles caught on video.

Hope you enjoy!

Snow Cat

We had a late winter snow storm here in Charlotte and I wanted to share a picture and a short video of Gordo out in the snow.

He pranced around very gingerly at first, but once he got used to it, he was bounding around, sliding, and pretending to hunt imaginary prey. Amy and I were saying that Gordo must have thought he was some massive snow leopard in the wild because his stature and demeanor became so serious while he was out there.

It was absolutely priceless to see this otherwise big wimpy baby strutting his stuff.

Kitty Christmas

I wanted to take a moment and share the story behind these photos from last Christmas (2008). Amy and I purchased these hilarious "pet hats" from a local store and wanted the kittens to be in the Christmas spirit while we decorated the tree.

Needless to say, they were not as amused as we were. Fortunately they forgave us for torturing them and, after they had shed their holiday garb, they thoroughly enjoyed attacking the tree and every ornament we put on it! It was probably the most fun either of us had ever had trimming the tree!

In the beginning...

About two years ago a little scruffy feral black cat started showing up on our doorstep. Amy and I, being lifelong cat lovers, started to put out a little kibble in the mornings and evenings and the kitty "adopted" us. We named her "Licky" because she was black like licorice and also because whenever she saw us coming with more food, she would lick her lips in approval.

After about 3 or so months of this we realized she was pregnant and hated the thought of defenseless kittens running around our neighborhood at the mercy of owls and dogs. We decided to make her litter our new family members.

We monitored Licky's progress (and hiding places around the exterior of the house) and sure enough, when she started skipping a meal here and there, we realized she had had the kittens.

After about 6 weeks (as advised by the ASPCA), we took the kittens from her nest under our backyard shed while she was enjoying her evening snack on our front porch. At first we worried that she would be cross with us or "hurt" by our actions, but she seemed grateful; perhaps because we were"freeing" her of the burden of raising three rough and tumble kittens.

Shortly thereafter we used a "safe" trap and captured Licky so that we could get her spayed. To our delight, she came through the process just fine and we are still in her good graces. She still comes every morning and every evening for her meals, and has even taken a mild interest in the kitties. She occasionally rests on the patio table on the front porch while looking through the window into the house. She seems to enjoy watching them scamper around and play. I imagine it's a bit like when grandparents know that, at the end of the day, the parents have to clean up all the messes!