Memories of Halloween...

The leaves have turned yellow, and the street sweeper comes by everyday to vacuum up the leaves.  My winter coat is beginning to grow in, and I spend my days sleeping in front of the space heater.

Halloween is a only a few days away now.  The annoying human dressed me up as an angel so that she could post pictures of me on her Make Your Cat a Halloween Costume “lens”.  (Click on "Make Your Cat a Halloween Costume" if you want to see me looking ridiculous.)  I found it quite embarrassing, as cats are not meant to be dressed up!

She never liked me to get too close...

As I was saying, I remember two years ago on Halloween, when I was a free cat roaming the outdoors.  I didn’t have to pose in silly costumes back then.  Anyway, on Halloween night I was visited by my two friends at the time.  The reason they wanted to stay with me was because they were both black cats.  We’ve all heard stories about black cats being sacrificed in satanic rituals on Halloween, so my friends were scared.  Even though we didn’t expect anything like that to happen around here, us cats still needed to be careful.

The air was cool and crisp, with the faint scent of burning leaves riding on the wind.  I could hear the sound of laughing trick or treaters, but as the night grew colder, they went home to bed.  Usually I didn’t completely get along with my friends, but that night we didn’t get into any “cat fights”. We were afraid someone would hear cats yowling and come to torture us.  Even one of my enemies- a mostly black cat who liked to picks fights, came into my yard and joined us.

My enemy and me at a distance. Look at those eyes!

We huddled together in silence until we realized that nothing was coming to get us.  I was finally brave enough to speak.  After the silence was broken, we told one another scary stories until dawn, when our inspiration ran out.  We all parted ways, as our owners expected us to return home.  I ran home and was welcomed into the warm house.  I wish I could still hear the rustling of leaves under my paws… those were the days.  I bet this Halloween all I’m going to do is sleep all day.  At least it’s warm inside!

I've got Kitty Pimples

I'm sure you've been wondering where I've been this past month.  In fact I've been too busy looking out the window to even think about touching the computer.  You know, computers take time away from the family... these days all people are thinking about is what to put on their Facebook statuses.

See my larger pimple? 

I decided to have some quality time and actually take a nap on my adopted "mother's" lap while she read.  Usually I can't stand sitting on people's laps, but luckily she had a fuzzy robe on and I wanted to be nice.  The only other news I have is that my acne has gotten worse.  I know, I know, in human years I'm in my early twenties.  I really shouldn't be having the trademark pimples of teenhood.  Unfortunately that just isn't the case with me.

For a while now I've been having small black specks where my follicles are getting clogged with black sebaceous material.  Luckily they are mostly disguised by my chin fur.  One of my pimples got larger a couple days ago, got pink and bled a bit.  While cleaning it off with a bit of peroxide (a common treatment for feline acne) my adopted mother noticed that there was pus on it.  If only I could steal some of that ZapZyt from the human's cabinet, then I would be totally pimple free!

I'll leave you with some of the possible causes and treatments for feline acne.

Reasons we cats get acne

• Stress.  Just moved to a new house? You might get some acne.
• Plastic or ceramic food bowls.  Those are houses for bacteria! (I have a ceramic dish...)
• Poor grooming habits- Definitely not me!
• Over active sebaceous glands.
• Food allergies.  

How to treat feline acne

• If the acne isn't severe, use a topical treatment such as peroxide, iodine, Epsom salts, or antibacterial soap.
• Topical Vitamin A
• Topical retinoids
• If it's more severe you may have to use an ointment containing benzoyl peroxide.  
• If you find that the acne is getting so bad that the cat's chin is raw, you might want to consult a veterinarian.
• Cats can NOT use anti-acne treatments for humans! 

If you want to prevent acne all you need to do is switch to a metal food bowl, and you should stay acne free.  Ceramic is definitely better than plastic but can still house bacteria.  Make sure you wash food and water bowls at least once daily!  

Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of these things!

I'm Went Outside, Once Again

I'm not going to let you see it once she added the butt flap.
That would be too embarrassing...

The strange things began when my adopted “mother”, Eileen, wrapped a robe sash around my body and began walking me on a leash around the house. I obliged, but only because she rewarded my efforts with my favorite kitty treats. I knew something was truly amiss when she pinned pieces of old blue jean fabric in to a vest type thing on me.  I wasn’t human, nor would I wear a jacket.  I didn’t know what she was thinking.  Luckily it didn’t last too long, and Eileen removed the vest and went to bed.  I decided that she was just being a little crazy, and her sanity had returned.

The next day I found out I was wrong.  Once again she pinned the fabric on me, took it off, and went to the sewing machine with it.  After putting her foot on the lever and making that loud noise, she put it back on me.  The process continued.  At last, she appeared satisfied with the harness, as she called it, and put it on me once again. Only this time was different.  This time she attached a rope to a loop on the back of the confounded harness.

She carried me down the stairs to the back door, and put me outside. I couldn’t believe it… was she really just going to let me out after all this time?   It appeared that she was, so I decided to make the most of it, and began munching on the grass.  It wasn‘t until a few minutes later that I realized the rope was attached to her, so she had control over where I went.  There was nothing I could do about it, so I continued grazing and exploring the small area near the door.

I wasn’t used to all the sights, smells, and sounds of the outdoors.  Our separation had been long, and our reuniting sudden.  It wasn’t long before the screams of the neighboring kids jumping on their trampoline took their toll on me and I wanted to go inside.  Anyway, what if one of my old friends or even worse, one of my enemies saw me in this thing?  They would all laugh.  Luckily, Eileen obeyed my commands and let me in.

But it still wasn’t over.  She decided to take me out front instead.  That was even worse. The cars were louder than I remembered, but the worst was the people passing my house. I must say I’m not very much of a people lover.  After trying to run into the backyard, I was finally let back in.  For the day.

Posing again...

That evening, my leash was handed to the other male in the house.  I must say I don’t like men very much, they’re just too much competition.  I quickly escaped out of the back of my harness.  Little did I know that it would lead to the addition of a butt flap, along with a tail hole. At first it was awful to get into, but Eileen figured out a way to get me into the harness pain free.  Of course there are bad things to the butt flap as well… Whenever I want to do my business someone needs to rush to my rescue.  Guess what, today I was left in the harness, and the urge to urinate came over me.  So I went to the litter box like a good little cat, but no one was there to help me get out of it.  It’s not my fault that they need to wash the harness.  Not my fault at all.

Who knows what will follow in my adventures with the harness… all I know is that I definitely won’t walk on the leash.  That would be so, for lack of a better word, dogly.

I've Been With These People for 3 Years...

Today is my Adoptaversary, or Gotcha Day, whatever you'd like to call it. I cannot believe that I have been putting up with these bothersome humans for a whole three years now. I suppose the twice a day feedings make up for it, though I wouldn't mind being fed a bit more often.  The humans have taken good care of me,  and helped me through all of the bad times, like when I was shot.  I really enjoyed that Yanni they played to relax me when I was injured.  I'm pretty sure that they would still let me outside, too, if they knew I wouldn't go into that awful yard that I was shot in.

They aren't all that bad when I think about it.  Since we're on the topic of living with these people for three years, instead of telling you every single thing I've done for the past 1,095 days, I'll leave you with the story of how I came to live with them.

Me as a kitten, a couple days after being taken home!

I was 2 1/2 months old when I was taken away from my furry and warm cat mother and sent to the Animal Shelter.  The other cats in the neighborhood spread around the story that Animal Shelters were a place you never want to end up in, because if you don't escape quickly enough, they'll kill you.  Luckily I was sent to what they called a no-kill shelter, but I wasn't completely convinced.  They probably just called it "no-kill" so that people would like them, and they'd get more customers.  It was an overall traumatic experience, especially since I had no idea what to expect.  I was thrown into a cage with around 10 other kittens.  They were all older than me and I felt alone in the world.  Some of them were nice enough, but others were just plain mean.

I was fed well and slowly became more adjusted to shelter life.  I began to trust the shelter workers.  They played with me daily, and cared for me, so I decided that they probably wouldn't suddenly turn on me.  I was also beginning to make friends with some of the other kittens in the cage.

It was an average Friday at the shelter, though I was a little sad, seeing as my two best friends had been taken away the day before.  It was sudden, and all the shelter workers kept talking about their "forever homes".  I personally was a little afraid that it turned out they really did kill cats who had been here too long.  Little did I know that I was to be taken to my forever home in a matter of days.

Three humans entered the cat room where I lived, but I didn't pay them much notice as I moped in the corner.      The people discussed which cats they liked best, and started sticking their fingers through the holes in my cage.  My cat friends all seemed interested in the fingers, and were enjoying grabbing and biting them, but I wasn't interested in the least.  One of the humans seemed much more interested in me than any other kitten in the cage.  She stuck her fingers through the cage trying to get my attention, and in an attempt to get her to stop bothering me, I put my paw out to her hand once.  Instead of satisfying her need to have a kitten scratch her, and getting rid of her, she seemed to be more interested in me than before.

One of the shelter workers came in.  I expected him to send these humans away, but instead he took me and a little black and white kitten out of the cage.  I was beginning to fear that perhaps I shouldn't have been so trusting after all... He handed me to the human whose hand I had patted with my paw.  I decided to listen in to what the humans were saying.  While doing so, I discovered that either the black and white kitten or I would be going home with them.  What if I was chosen?  At first I thought it sounded terrible, but then I thought of all the possibilities moving in with the humans would pose.  What if they fed me more?  What if... I dared not think of it... what if they let me out of this awful cage?  I decided to become a pile of cuteness so that I would be the one chosen.  Obviously the black and white kitten did the same.  Well then, my fantastic personality must win them over in a moment.  Instead of thinking about looks or personality, they peered into our eyes.  It turned out that the black and white kitten had more eye gook than me.  What a way to be chosen as a pet. Hmph.

Licking my belly on a comfy throw...

I was put back into the cage, and the humans left.  I couldn't figure out what had just happened.  It seemed as though the people had decided to take me home with them, but instead they just left.  My first reaction was, "THEY LEFT ME HERE WITHOUT TAKING ME!!!!"  Then my mind cleared up, and I decided that it didn't really matter.  They were probably people who would like to eat a cat for their lunch.  I'd get my chance again.  Hopefully.  But... what if I was one of those cats who lived and died in the shelter?  I couldn't imagine never having a chance to roam free, or play outside in the grass hunting birds, having the taste of fresh squirrel on my lips... I was on the point of tears, but as you know, manly cats do not cry.  If I was going to live my life in the shelter, I would do with pride and strength.

Something was going on however.  The shelter workers transferred me into another cage, where a lone kitten sat.  Turned out that he had the same story as me.  Some people came in, said they wanted him, but then they left.  Perhaps we were so unwanted that they condemned us to death, or perhaps torture?  I waited until the next Monday in constant horror.  I feared that I was going to be taken away to a torture chamber, where they would immerse me in water, and keep a juicy mouse just inches away where I couldn't reach it.

Instead, the humans that had said they wanted me walked in the door.  I bid my kitten friend farewell as they took me out of the cage and brought me to the front desk.  My new family put me into a pet taxi while they signed some papers.  While I was being carried out to their car, I realized how truly dangerous this could be.  I began meowing pitifully the whole car ride back to the house, where they released me inside of their bathroom.  I was so frightened that I pooed on the the floor, however that is not something I'd like to remember.  Let me tell you, it was only because they had not shown me the litter box yet.  Don't worry, being a curious kitten, I quickly explored the house and made myself completely at home.

Look how well cared for I am, they give me chairs right in the sunshine..

How time flies... I've been living with them for 3 years now. Wow.  I wonder if any of my friends from the shelter are still there, and if they miss me.  Or even remember me.  I sure hope they've all got homes themselves now.

Those humans better remember what day it is or I'm going to bite them when they are sleeping...

Click here for more kitten pics!



P.S. Don't worry, they remembered what day it was, and gave me some of my favorite treats! Yum yum!

A Cat Came to Visit

A few days ago, a cat came to visit, which once again reminded me of my predicament as an “indoor cat”.

I don't think she's that cute.

I first knew something was going on when my human friend, Eileen, picked me up and held me to the screen window.  I wondered why it suddenly came into her mind that she should show me the outdoors.  I decided that she was just being loving, and knew that I liked to look out of the window sometimes.  My joy disappeared when I looked down.  On the ground, in my yard, was a little gray and brown tabby cat.  To make it worse, my other human friend, Mallory, was playing with her!  She never wants to play with me…   Eileen, however is a different story.  But to make it worst, my biggest fan, Eileen, puts me down!
“Don’t worry Wessie, you’re my favorite cat in the whole world, and I love you.  But I just want to play with the other cat a little.”  She gave me a hug and went outside.

Now I just need to wonder when they get rid of me...

Even she doesn’t care enough about me to stay inside with me!  So, whenever a new cat comes to visit I’ll be left all alone?  I pretended not to be affected by this little girl cat visiting at all, and stayed calm.  I wouldn‘t want anyone to actually think that I cared if those pesky humans didn‘t want to play with me.  On top of that, this cat was allowed outside in the same place that I wasn’t!  Isn’t she in just as much danger as I would be if I went out?  The world just isn’t a fair place.  For a few minutes that seemed like an eternity, I waited to see when the humans would get tired of playing with this other cat.
Finally, the humans came inside, happy after playing with the cat called Kisha (they found out her name from the tag on her collar).  Before this incident, I never had a doubt if I was the number 1 cat in their lives, but now I’m not so sure.  I must watch their every move and make sure that they don’t seem to be hanging out with other cats too much…

How I Came to Be An Inside Cat

Hello there, my name is Wessah, but my friends call me Wessie or Wess.

I used to roam around my yard and bask in the warm sun.

I live the boring life of a cat stuck inside at home all day.   I used to live outside, roaming the neighborhood and hunting squirrels.  Life was good then… all day long I could play in the grass, and relax in the warm sun.  I even had a couple of cat friends and enemies, who came to visit me.  My easy life outside ended the day after my second birthday, when the evil next door neighbor shot me with a bb gun.  Seriously, how was I supposed to know that I wasn’t supposed to poo in that nice soft dirt?  Obviously it was his garden, but it seemed like a giant litter box to me.  I was lucky to have survived, but the bb was in my leg, and it didn’t take too long to recover.
After my recovery, life indoors was hard and very boring.  All I really wanted to do is escape this prison, and get back to what I loved best, playing outside and guarding my territory.  Obviously the humans who imprisoned me weren’t going to give up and let me outside like they always used to, so I learned to accept that I was going to have to stay inside.  At least I can still look out the windows, and sniff the fresh summer air when they leave the screens on.  It’s not the same as being out there myself, but it’s the best I can get.

Now my life is so boring, I read books to occupy myself.

Sometimes I manage to escape the house for a bit, and nibble the delicious grass, but the humans always end up getting me to come back inside.  I know they’re only doing it because they don’t want that neighbor shooting me again, but seriously, don’t they realize I can stay out of his yard by myself?  My superior intelligence is just too hard for them to notice, as they are very stupid creatures themselves.

Sometimes my old cat buddies come around to the house and have fights amongst themselves, when all I can do is listen and growl.  I really hate not being able to go out there and tell them to get off my property.  Little do they know that once I was the baddest cat on the block… or at least I was when other cats dared to challenge my right to ownership of my home.  One day I’ll escape again and tell those visitor cats who’s boss.
Anyhow, welcome to my blog, where you’ll get to read about all the most exciting things in my life… if I can make this prison exciting at all.