Kitties! Kitties! Kitties!

I love kitties! Actually, I love all kinds of animals! So it is with great pleasure that I sometimes take care of my neighbor’s three kitties when she is out of town. J

Lucy from Here’s an Idea saw my July Currently post and asked to see these kitties. Once I received permission from their owner I started to create this post. This is Tukes. Isn’t he handsome? He’s a beautiful dark grey and black tabby.

When we first started occasionally caring for these three kitties (about a year ago), Tukes was kind of standoffish. He would eat the food, but didn’t seem to want any other attention. Now he “talks” to us, purrs, and loves to have his head and neck rubbed.

Here’s Ruby. She’s the beauty queen. 

Although she has been shaved for the summer, her gorgeous calico colors still come shining through. Ruby was the last cat adopted by her human, so she and Tukes sometimes have spats. Since Rachel installed a pheromone device called Comfort Zone, these two don’t fight so much.

Ruby Stalking "Mice"

Finally, here’s Mama. She's a lovely tortoiseshell color.

Mama is LOUD! She loves people, and FOOD! I have to be careful when I feed all three kitties, because Mama will gulp hers down, and then go after the food in the other kitties’ bowls. Mama would be one of those cats who weighs too much and waddles around on their bellies if you let her. She’s the reason that food can’t be left out for the kitties to eat as they get hungry. Mama is ALWAYS hungry! Instead, the kitties are fed at mealtimes only.

Mama is also the most affectionate of the three cats. Whenever my daughter and I come over to my friend’s home to receive a violin lesson, Mama is the one to jump into my lap and demand some love. There she stays until the end of the lesson, when she reluctantly vacates her impromptu nest.

Mama is always on my lap during my daughter's violin lessons. :)   

Of course, all three kitties get lonely without their human companion, so Rachel asked us to spend some time each day with her fur babies. Here they are on my lap as Tukes and Mama groom each other. Awww!

Mama Grooms Tukes

Tukes Grooms Mama

I hoped you enjoyed reading about these kitties. Please leave a comment below. I love feedback!

Have a wonderful week!

Amazing Animals!

I love animals. I grew up with dogs, cats, hamsters, and such.

I had a sister who was a bird whisperer. Simply by holding out her hand she could coax any wild bird to perch on her outstretched fingers, allowing her to stroke their soft feathers.

She could even charm the butterflies to laze on her sun-warmed skin, slowly opening and closing zephyr wings tickled by a large, silky make-up brush.

As a teenager I worked at Disneyland with the assorted draft horses, Hackney horses, Lippizan mares and foals, Shetland ponies, white doves, barn cats, and wild rabbits. It was every young girl's dream to climb up on warm backs to braid manes, or nestle against powerful equestrian giants on warm starlit summer evenings.

While I attended college I worked in the local pet store, noisy as an equatorial jungle from the various animal noises, plus the humidity caused by water in the tanks. When it was slow in the store we would pull out creatures to play. Max was a hand-fed blue-and-gold macaw who loved to have his belly rubbed until he fell asleep in your arms.

Ferrets with their otter-like bodies and fun-loving personalities used our jackets as tunnels, suddenly poking out a sleeve, then just as quickly disappearing, only to re-appear elsewhere. I swear they were laughing at us, just as we were laughing with them.

Today I spotted something unusual in my Facebook feed. It wasn't just another cute animal picture. It was a video of one trusting dolphin, who came to ask for help from humans. The dolphin patiently swims in place, allowing the diver to cut off fishing line from a different human's snare. Amazing creatures!

http://themetapicture.com/dolphin-asks-diver-for-help-diver-lends-a-hand/