Six Cats And Holding Steady

07/27/201607/18/2016 | Casey Wyatt

During my “blog silence” my family managed to acquire cat #6.

How does this keep happening?

I don’t know. Maybe there’s a sign on my house that says, “Crazy Cat Family: Free Food and Love.” Sadly, it’s probably because people are shit heads and think because they have fur and claws they can fend for themselves in the wild.

This cat appeared on my doorstep in Autumn 2015. As you can see from the photo, she’s a fancy, fluff cat. Not usually the kind of stray hanging around. At first, we assumed/hoped, that she was lost and her family would take her back in.

Month after month went by and every day she appeared at my door. We checked the neighborhood signs for missing cats and she wasn’t there. I checked the usual on-line places and found nothing there either.

Younger son often found her running around our driveway at 3:30 am on his way to work, so that confirmed for us that she had no place to go.

Each day she got a bit more raggedy and knots were forming on her lovely coat. My husband, sensing (correctly) that we were about to take in cat #6, dug in his heels and declared, “No more cats.”

Ha, ha, ha! (Look at how pretty she is!)

Come on, we all know what happens next. Right?

Hubby didn’t stand a chance.

We’d made a few attempts to coax her into the house that winter but she wasn’t ready. Then, February arrived and along with it, bitter cold. Valentine’s Day morning the wind chill was negative 24 degrees. I was seriously worried that she wasn’t going to make.

By some strange twist of fate, Hubby was camping with the Boy Scouts (annual Klondike Derby) so he wasn’t around to stop what happened next.

Younger son saw kitty on the step that morning and calmly picked her up and placed her in the house.

Naturally, she freaked like she had during past attempts. This time, we didn’t care. We weren’t letting her go back into the bitter cold. Eventually she settled in my older son’s room, where she is now happily embedded as the queen of the room.

And, no, we don’t feel sorry for taking her in. She is happy, content and as spoiled as the other cats.

I have promised hubby that we wouldn’t add a number 7.

For now. . .

The Cat Gods Must be Crazy!

11/29/201312/15/2013 | Casey Wyatt

Somewhere in the universe, the cat gods must be laughing at me. Or I have a sign only cats can read pointing to my house that says “sucker for strays.”

In any case, a few weeks ago, I discovered this little guy in my recycle bin, licking a soup can. So, I fed him. Then, the next day he came back. And never left. He was friendly, wanted love, affection, and a warm house to stay in. We started calling him Pip (as in pip squeak or Pippin).

A magical force must have been at work because hubby, who initially balked when I wanted to adopt Ariel (and he totally loves her now) didn’t say a word when we carted another cat into the house.

As can be seen, he wasted no time making himself at home.

How could I say no to this guy? He is super sweet and loves to be handled. We’ll never know his real name or origin but it doesn’t matter. He decided we’re his. Maybe the cat gods know what they’re doing.

There’s a New Girl in Town

10/04/201309/20/2013 | Casey Wyatt

We’ve expanded our furry family again. This is our newest kitty, Ariel. Isn’t she a sweetie pie?

We adopted her from Mary’s Kitty Korner (a wonderful organization dedicated to saving cats). She is still getting used to living with us. She spends her days with older son, in his spacious room receiving chin rubs and playing catch the laser dot. She’s also been exploring the house and getting to know our other two kitties.

Next time you want a new pet, please consider adopting an adult cat or dog from a rescue group.

Kitties Do Love Boxes

05/17/2013 | Casey Wyatt

Today, I’m a the 7 Scribes sharing my view on preliminary character development – Getting to Know You in the Most Shallow Way Possible By Casey Wyatt.

And in other news, the final edits for Mystic Storm are done and handed in. If all goes as planned, the book will be out by the end of May. Yay!

I hope you have a wonderful Friday. I leave you with – my kitty in a box. Isn’t she cute?

Flying Monkeys and Cat Cuteness

01/04/201301/04/2013 | Casey Wyatt

Happy Friday! Want to hear more about Mystic Storm? Please join me today at the 7 Scribes and find out why I say – When in Doubt, Throw in a Flying Monkey . . . or Three!

Also, our new cat Nene has settled in nicely. Here she is on my lap.

A Tale of Two Kitties

11/16/201211/16/2012 | Casey Wyatt

I won’t lie. I’ve been avoiding writing this post for a while. If you’ve visited my site regularly than you know that my family has lost several of our beloved pets. See here and here.

And I’ve also written about my two cats.

I’m sad to say that we lost Madeline. When she was diagnosed with thyroid disease a few years ago, we knew that sooner or later her kidneys would fail. In this case, they did along with her heart. It was swift and sudden. One minute she was fine, the next not. And with cats, because they are predators, it’s in their nature to never show weakness until it’s too late to do anything about it.

The vet laid it out straight. She was suffering and she wasn’t going to get better no matter what we tried. We made the painful choice to say goodbye to her. Once again, we found ourselves in our vets “private” room saying goodbye to another member of our family.

After losing four pets in two years, we had decided no more new pets.

Until we were faced with the reality of that choice. Pepito (Maddy’s brother) was our only pet. Younger son missed his lap cat. His lovey girl. While we love Pepito, he’s not a cuddler. I think he missed having other cats around too.

As fate would have it, we happened to be in our local PetSmart when we decided to check out the cats. PetSmart has a partnership with with a local cat rescue group and supports adult pet adoption.

That’s when we met Nene.

She was abandoned by her owner to a New York pound and landed on the “death” list. Luckily, she was rescued by Mary’s Kitty Korner.

Because Pepito is fourteen, I didn’t want a kitten or another male. Nene was perfect. Calm, affectionate and four years old. The volunteers at Mary’s were fabulous, letting us spend time with her and assuring us that no matter what happened (if it didn’t work out) they would take her back. They are a no kill shelter and will keep cats forever if they need to. And they vetted us carefully to be sure we would provide her with a safe happy home.

I’m happy to say Nene and Pepito are getting along fine (it was tough at first because cats need time to meet each other, not like dogs where you can introduce them immediately). As you can see below, she and squirrels hit it off.

We have always adopted our dogs and this was our first adult cat adoption. Nene seems to be happy and I can tell that someone loved her because she is very cuddly and seeks out human company. She chatty, loves to play and purrs, purrs, purrs.

We still miss Madeline, Ollie, Sparky and Oreo, but we still have a lot of love to give and we’re happy to share it with Nene too.

Kitties for a Cause!

05/18/201210/09/2012 | Casey Wyatt

Happy Friday everyone! Today, I have a guest – J.D. Revezzo, here to share her latest project – Dark Things II: Cat Crimes. All proceeds for this book will go to various cat charities.

Don’t forget to visit me at the Scribes – where J.D. answers our interview questions.

____________________________________________________

Like any little girl, I was enamored of cats. I had several growing up, though all my furbabies are over the rainbow now. What I learned in those years, I could call into …

Top Four Traits of Cats….and some debunking:

1. Cats always land on their feet.

True. I’ve seen some jump from impossible heights, twist in the air and indeed, land on their feet.

2. Cats are graceful

Fact, I used to have cat that was so graceless, we called him a buffalo in a cat’s body. Case in point, cats are supposed to be lithe on their feet, right, able to leap tall counters in a single bound—and yawn at you while doing it? Not so our Baby Buffalo. He would leap up onto a counter, and knock every dish, container, and spoon to the floor as he slid along the surface. (He’d also jump up onto full dinner trays and knock them over. )

3. Cats are cautious of strangers.

Again, not so. See, I have allergies to cats. I kid you not, it seems whenever I am in a room with a cat—any cat—the animal will seek me out, and do its darndest to rub itself in my face. *searches for Claritin*

4. Cats are stealthy. I had one that not only snuck its way into my house on a winter’s night without anyone seeing her, but she ended up in my bed with me.

These are just the ones I observed. Some of these tied into my story, “What Sekhmet Keeps” which you’ll find in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes. It is an anthology of dark and mischievous cat tales,

Dark Things II: Cat Crimes

A collection of tales featuring feline mayhem, murder and dastardly deeds. Vampire cats. Scoundrel cats. Daring cats. Killer cats. Cats you don’t want in your worst nightmares and cats you might want on your side against evil. Authors include Mary V. Welk, Patty G. Henderson, Patricia Harrington, Jim Silvestri, Ken Goldman, Shanna Germain, Anna Sykora and dozens more. Intro by Robert W. Walker. All proceeds from sales go to several cat sanctuaries across the USA. Enjoy over twenty-one “cat tales” and support a cat charity!

And for my story:

“What Sekhmet Keeps”

by J.D. Revezzo

Betrayed by a false lover, cat shifter priestess Onfalia Mau lost her lioness soul and freedom to her lover’s treachery and Sekhmet’s wrath. Now, after three thousand years, Donquar has returned with one thing in mind: to steal the goddess’s scepter. Onfalia knows that to do so means to unleash Sekhmet’s unholy, bloody Slaughter on the world and she’ll stop at nothing to foil Donquar’s plans.

I hope you’ll check it out, and enjoy these fabulous stories!

All proceeds from the sale of our anthology will go to Cat House on The Kings, a no-kill cat sanctuary in California.

Their URL

http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/

Buy links for the anthology:

In Kindle and paperback at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/DARK-THINGS-II-Crimes-ebook/dp/B006O15YBE/ref=tmm_kin_title_0/185-0297248-1137456?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

And in Epub at Lulu.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/compiled-by-patty-g-henderson/dark-things-ii-cat-crimes/ebook/product-18787458.html

About J.D. Revezzo:

J.D. Revezzo has long been in love with writing, a love built by devouring everything from the Arthurian legends, to the works of Michael Moorcock, and the classics. Her short fiction has been published in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes, The Scribing Ibis, Eternal Haunted Summer, Twisted Dreams Magazine and Luna Station Quarterly.

You can learn more about her works at:

Her site:

http://harshadpassion.wordpress.com/

or if you wish, follow her on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/JD-Revezzo/233193150037011

Or on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/juliannewrites/

Thanks for being my guest today, J.D.

Got your own cat myth to debunk? Or if you’ve got questions or comments for J.D. – fire away!

Kitty, kitty, kitty

01/20/201201/18/2012 | Casey Wyatt

Happy Friday! Don’t forget to visit me over at the Scribes today – A Legend In Your Own Mind.

Today, I thought I’d try something different. All of my other pet blog posts have been after my beloved babies passed away. So rather than wait. . .

. . . I’d like you all to meet my two lovely cats, Madeline and Pepito. And yes, they are named after characters in the children’s book, MADELINE by Ludwig Bemelemans.

I’m happy to say these two are alive and well. The thirteen year old brother and sister pair keep me on my toes.

Anyone with cats will tell you that they never really get too old to play or get into things. I can’t count the number of times I’ve woken up to find my pens and pencils all over the place . And yarn, watch out! It must be hidden away lest I find it wrapped around every chair leg in the house.

Every Sunday, Pepito and I tussle over the newspaper. I try to read it and he tries to sit on it. See how that works?

And there isn’t a plastic bag that Pepito doesn’t like . The one below is from Pier One Imports. Both Maddy and Pepito loves to lick plastic bags. Does anyone else’s cats do this?

All pictures 1095 — Plastic bag, anyone?

Like all cats, they think they own the house and, by extension, me. Pepito tends to get in my face while I’m at my computer for my day job. Once the day job is over, they switch off and Madeline becomes my new velcro attachment.

She thinks that my writing chair at the dining room table is hers. I’ve written many things while sharing half of my chair with her. Honestly, she is so cute. Sometimes I can’t kick her off…

They are the only two pets that have made it into one of my books – Ascension. Two cats bear a striking resemblance to my kitties. Because I write paranormal, there is more to them than meets the eye. Sorry, but you will have to read the book to find out what the secret is.

One of the things I love about cats is that they tend to leave you alone, unless they want something. And they sleep for hours on end. Some days I wish I could do that too.

Tell me about your four legged friends. And, seriously, does anyone else’s cats lick plastic bags?

We Have Kristan Higgins!

11/09/201111/07/2011 | Casey Wyatt

Please join me today over at the Scribes as we welcome NY Times/USA Today bestselling author Kristan Higgins . She graciously answered our interview questions and brought an excerpt from her fabulous new book UNTIL THERE WAS YOU.