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.

Don’t Skate Through Life!

06/14/201306/14/2013 | Casey Wyatt

So it’s Friday again. Yay! Too bad it’s raining like crazy here. Again. It may be good for the flowers but it’s starting to drive me batty!

Today at the 7 Scribes – another lesson on plotting and wisdom from Wayne Gretzky A Hockey Lesson by Casey Wyatt.

I’m happy to report, I’m working on two books right now. Mystic Hero – Devlin Ward’s book and another paranormal romance – Lachlan’s Curse. I’ve been alternating between the two (like every other day). I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to do that. At some point, I’ll have to choose one for my full attention. Not sure which one it will be.

I leave you now, with my super adorable girl. How can I be expected to get any work done in the presence of so much cuteness? Have a wonderful day!

Do the Unexpected!

01/11/201301/11/2013 | Casey Wyatt

Today I’m talking about some awesome writerly advice from Orson Scott Card – Never Do What They Want.

I’m happy to say that Mystic Storm is really done. Whew! I’m going to take a mental break for a day or two, then I’m off to plot another story or two.

Have wonderful weekend! And enjoy the adorable photo of my cat.

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.

Crazy Squirrel Lady!

10/12/201210/12/2012 | Casey Wyatt

This week’s post has absolutely nothing to do with writing. But, over at the Scribes, the fabulous Lisa Kessler is my guest. She’s talking about prequels.

As long as I can remember, I’ve had a soft spot for squirrels. Since my dog died last year they’ve gone virtually unopposed in the backyard. This summer I got the idea to start feeding them separately so maybe they’d leave the bird feeders alone. And I think they are really cute.

My plan sort of worked. Every day, they visit my back door looking for peanuts. I know there are people out there who can’t stand the furry little guys, but I’m not in that camp.

Younger son immediately got on board. He loves all the creatures great and small, including this cute chipmunk (we have three regular visitors).

Older son scoffed until the first squirrel came up to him looking for peanuts. He too became smitten by their cuteness. I think the cats are secretly hoping that one of them will come a little bit closer.

Now I have a few who like to hang around on my screen door. For those wondering, none of us try to hand feed the little beasts. We all understand that, while squirrels are cute, they are still wild animals and should be treated as such.

Yep. Just call me the crazy squirrel lady!

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.

: Read this book!

Much to my delight, she also provides a suprisingly different insight on my nemesis, The Doubt Monster.

Stop by leave a comment, ask a question. Don’t miss out! Hope to see you there!

Welcome to the Broken Hearted Club

09/30/201109/29/2011 | Casey Wyatt

Hey everyone. Please be sure to visit me over at the Scribes for my post on Chocolate Cupcakes of Doom (and our new recipe page) . And Saturday, be sure to read part two of Lynn Kurland’s interview.

So you may have noticed, I’m not my usual cheerful self.

Another beloved pet has left our family. It’s been hard to lose three pets in less than a year. Granted, they were all in their elder years. My cat Ollie was almost 19 (see here)! And there was Sparky (almost 14 years) back in October 2010 (more on him later).

This time we lost Oreo. Our beautiful dalmatian. Our girlie! The love muffin.

We adopted her the day before Thanksgiving in 2003. My husband and I decided many years earlier to adopt all our Dalmatians. They are a mischievous breed and not for everyone, so many of them are given up for adoption. She came from New Jersey and was a little freaked out to be left behind by her former owners (who wanted the best for her). I’m glad they decided we would be her new family.

She was six years old at the time. Super lovie and naughty, naughty. Like all Dals, she loved to steal food. She once ate an entire bowl of apples. Later, a brand new loaf of rye bread from Panera was consumed in one sitting.

Ah, good times. I could tell you more stories, but we don’t have all day.

Eventually, she chilled out. But we were always vigilant. Dalmatians never forget food and will forever swipe anything you’re dumb enough to leave at nose length.

She loved all of us, but her most favorite person was my husband. And he loved her right back. Sometimes, I teased him that he loved her more than me.

In 2005, we adopted Sparky from a shelter. He had been abandoned and was a little loony. He really wanted me to be the only person in his family (I was his number one girl). We made the painful decision to put him to sleep last October, when his body just crapped out on him.

We faced the same dilemma with Oreo. No matter how sick or decrepit, it never makes the decision any easier.

I still have two cats left – a brother/sister pair and I know when their time comes, it will hurt just as much. Here’s hoping, I won’t be writing that post anytime soon.

Come visit me next week when I hope to have much better news to share.

Feel free to leave me a comment your furry loved ones, past and present.