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Blogging A to Z: “K”-ittens
There is something special about kittens. Don’t get me wrong. I like grown up cats and dogs, too. After all, eventually all kittens and puppies grow up. We have four cats and all but one were adopted as kittens. No matter how tall or round the cats get, I still see them as those fluffy, adorable, sweet kittens that like to jump on fuzz or feathers as they waft across the floor. Everything is new and interesting to them. And they are fearless. Raja, our most recent rescue kitten, was less than 2 pounds when she first made friends with our dog, Hershey, who was then 50 pounds. Here’s my…
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Blogging A to Z: C-ats and Dogs
Update to knee replacement surgery – I cannot sleep with any pets in our bed the night before surgery, through six weeks after surgery, according to the “class.” Of course I will follow the instructions prior to surgery because I want a successful outcome. And, if at all possible, I’ll try to adhere to the rule afterwards. Ollie is the “vocal” kitty in our household. He is 11 years old this May so as a senior citizen, he’s allowed! As it stands now, Hershey, our 70-lb. dog, sleeps in the living room because he has eaten four or more comforters. Apparently he wakes up and gets bored while we sleep.…
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“M”ail
This mailbox belongs to a good friend of mine, and her cat Galley, of course. I think he’s waiting for the Petsmart circular. © 2013 by Diane Weidenbenner My dad was a mailman. He actually delivered mail come rain, snow, sleet or sun. It was during the days when you knew your mailman by first name and he received Christmas presents during the holidays, like baked goods, fruit baskets and of course money. As kids we preferred the baked goods! During the summer my mom would take us to visit him on his route. We’d deliver a cold Pepsi to him or eat lunch with him. He was one of…
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Happy Mother’s Day!
My husband, Joe’s, mother and father came up to visit us today, on Mother’s Day. They just entered their 80s but you wouldn’t know it – Bernie still mows the yards at their rental properties and they both are avid golfers. Dorothy attends church regularly and helps distribute the Eucharist to nursing homes. Dorothy is pictured above with Oliver, our 9-year-old Manx kitty. © Photo by Diane Weidenbenner Joe and I don’t have children but Dorothy has “adopted” our kitties and dog, Hershey, as her grandpets. She’s Grandma Dots. Dorothy was a district sales manager for Avon for 31 years and retired some time ago. She was a model…
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Maine or Rac-coon? – Blogging from A to Z
Shortly after moving to Terre Haute in 2005, we lost one of our two cats to bladder cancer. Two months later, a Maine Coon kitten showed up at my friends’ backdoor with a terrible respiratory infection and she took it to the vet for treatment. My husband Joe and I adopted it as a playmate for our remaining orange Manx cat, Oliver. Lil’ Tyke, as he became known, came to live with us in October. Tyke darted out of the house one Saturday evening in May 2006 while I was out of town and Joe didn’t notice his absence until the following morning. When I returned home, we looked in…
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Blogging from A to Z: Grace
Grace comes to us in many forms. Several years ago, a small gray and white cat showed up at our door with three kittens. She was barely larger than her kittens and I was surprised she was a momma cat. She was obviously putting everything she had into raising her kittens. I put food and water out and this enabled her to wean her babies. She showed up like clockwork for breakfast and dinner. Although she didn’t let me pet her, she started communicating with me through “meows” and body language. She’d become playful after dinner, chasing grasshoppers and rolling over on her back. One day she arrived with just…
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Animal house
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All creatures, great and small
I’m a big fan of God’s creatures. The only things that make me uncomfortable are large, jumping spiders or roach gangs (you know they never travel alone). That said, when I woke up in the middle of the night to let my dog outside, and happened to wander into the living room to find our three cats strategically hunkered down around the swivel chair, I became apprehensive. Tails were swishing in wide strokes (except for Ollie, the Manx cat sans tail) indicating the hunt was on. With only my outdated eyeglasses and lack of courage to guide me, I returned to bed. One of three things would happen: 1) Whatever…
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Lessons I have learned from Raja, the Kroger kitten
Enjoy life to the fullest. Race around joyfully at unexpected times and play with imaginary (or real) airborne objects. People will wonder what you’ve been up to. Eat, play, nap and repeat. Include others whenever possible (except when visiting the litterbox). Sunny spots on the floor are warm as are the places recently vacated by others. Pay attention to the small things in life. This includes spots on the wall, people’s toes, hair, eyeglasses and strings hanging down from just about anything. Pens, pencils, drinking straws, mascara tubes, jewelry, etc., make wonderful hockey pucks and increase one’s dexterity. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. After each meal, it’s best to wash…
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I got my cat at Kroger’s grocery store
When we can’t get to our locally owned grocery store, my husband and I shop at Kroger’s in north Terre Haute. Kroger’s offers you a discount on gasoline, based on your monthly in-store grocery purchases. We’ve been known to save 30 or 40 cents per gallon, easy. This summer a Sister of Providence that I work with told me she saw a black and white kitten at Kroger’s gas pumps the previous night. She talked to it as she filled her tank but it became frightened and ran under a wooden pallet piled high with wood for sale. She told us this story at a meeting because she knows that…
