Thursday, March 28, 2024
black catscat photographsdaily photomimi

Daily Photo: Autumn Mimi

Just irresistible.
Just irresistible.

What a beautiful afternoon, and possibly the last for a while! Mimi enjoys the sun and rubbing her face all over her chair now that I’ve gotten a big project done, I think my car may not need a jump every few days, and my refrigerator, well, it was a really beautiful afternoon! I also photographed Mimi through the burning bush leaves.

Mimi through the leaves.
Mimi through the leaves.

Really, it never rains but it pours, and it did that too. I’ve been trying to post at least a photo each day, but the rain came over the weekend, resulting in a wet basement again. My car has been not starting without warning four times in the past month resulting in a call for roadside service. My neighbor Denise has been running errands for me as well as using my car to drive me to appointments and shopping, and also borrowing my car when she needs it, and this has been frustrating and time-consuming but I do have roadside service. The battery needs a charge, but testing out the alternator and a few other things can’t determine why. Finally it seems that one of the battery cables is loose. Now that I’m driving I hope I don’t get stuck somewhere. And that refrigerator…well, it’s been trouble off and on since the spring, but lately the fridge just won’t stay cold unless I defrost the no-frost freezer and open the vents to the fridge manually. Refrigerator service is more than I have right now so I’ve been holding off to find the least expensive but most reliable repair person, or just buy a $50 refrigerator from craigslist or something similar. But managing the fridge and its needs as well as the food that I move to an ice chest or toss in the freezer is really getting on my nerves and taking more time than I want to spend on it. I did have a 20-page newsletter to design, which took me the last three days and is now completely done, I will have money for car service, inspection and a resolution to the refrigerator. Yay!

Mimi wants to know why I don’t just enjoy the afternoon. Actually, I did, I couldn’t wait to get out there with Mimi after my physical therapy appointment today, and decided I would take the good camera out for some photos I knew would be lovely. Mimi is such an inspiration.

Is this all you ever think about?
Is this all you ever think about?

 

~~~

Photos from previous years…

Apparently I was busy busy busy at the beginning of November last year too because I had no posts until November 12!

Family Portrait After the Vet Visit, and Halloween Night, 2017

Mimi's vet visit.
Mimi’s vet visit.

Mimi’s veterinary exam. It’s a family affair.

Mimi is well. She has no symptoms of her urinary condition now and for the past two days has been back to herself, though it took nine days of treating symptoms to get her comfortable and it’s been two weeks since I first saw the symptoms. A physical exam of her bladder shows no signs of lumps, bumps, thickening or stones, so I will watch for another recurrence and try to get an ultrasound right away. Otherwise Mimi is in perfect health at 15 years old and has actually gained 2/10 pound since her last exam—she weighs 6.4 pounds.

I am happy to have a house call veterinarian so kitties don’t have the stress of transport and the issues that can arise on return. Plus, she gives them an incredible hands-on physical and is the best diagnostician I’ve ever met, handling I-don’t-know-how-many-cats over 25 years of rescuing and fostering. And she and her tech (seen in the background packing up the bag) find it highly ironic that they have to remove cats from the exam area rather than having them all disappear when the vet comes in the door.

A bunch of regretful faces as my vet and her tech leave. No more extra pets! The boys miss it especially.

Family Portrait after the vet visit.
Family Portrait after the vet visit.

Halloween Night

All of the cats came to peek out the door at our visitors but black cats are difficult to photograph against a dark indoors at night. I don’t open and close the door, but stand outdoors on the porch and they watch me while the neighbors and the kids say hello to the kitties. The basket of candy is my spare basket for when the one I have runs out.

Mimi at the door.
Mimi at the door.

Mimi and Giuseppe greet guests for Halloween. Lots of kids and parents remember them!

Where are they going?
Where are they going?

Giuseppe would really like them to come inside and pet him.

Giuseppe at the door.
Giuseppe at the door.

Mimi says it looks like we’re about done and we can eat dinner now.

Looks like we're done!
Looks like we’re done!

And a bonus, my neighbor’s “kitty”! A big inflatable pouncing black cat whose head moves back and forth. If my neighbors start disappearing we’ll know where they went.

Neighbor's fierce inflatable kitty.
Neighbor’s fierce inflatable kitty.

~~~

Other Photos I’ve Shared around This Date

Wordless Wednesday: Don’t Diss Your Sis

There is no wrath like a sister you've insulted.
There is no wrath like a sister you’ve insulted.

Other Photos I’ve Shared around This Date

Daily Photo: The Screen Door

two black cats at door
Jelly Bean introduces Smokie to the great outdoors.

Just before I changed the screens for the windows in the storm doors the weather was mild enough to have the doors open as I swept up leaves and moved some of the furniture off the porch, and Smokie and Bella had the chance to see me right outside the door for the first time. They’ve sat at this door for the past month, but usually I am on the inside, and at first they couldn’t understand why I was out there, and why they couldn’t get to me, especially when I was making all those neat swishing noises with the broom!

Bean apparently told Smokie all about these things, then left him alone to get Bella.

black cat
Smokie all by himself.

Mimi has been mentoring little Bella in the art of being a proper little black cat.

three black cats at door
Mimi mentors Bella.

Sorry for the poor photos. Photographing black cats through a screen against a dark interior is kind of pointless!

. . . . . . .

Soupervisors, 2012
four black cats in kitchen
Soupervisors

They were certain the potion to which I was paying so much attention was a delectable treat for them, even though I was adding…carrots, peppers, little beans?

But they patiently lined up and waited, and were sadly disappointed when it was finally done, and we all enjoyed a nice warm noontime in the kitchen. From the front, Mimi, Mr. Sunshine, Giuseppe and Mewsette.

. . . . . . .

Kelly Has Plans, 2011
tortoiseshell cat sleeping on train case
Kelly falls asleep on her plans.

I know Kelly’s never been thrilled with having to accept four young and active black cats all at the same time, but this really surprised me—was she planning to hit the road? I guess she really wore herself out trying to move my mother’s old train case. I asked her what she had in mind but she just purred and rubbed her little face all over my hand. She didn’t seem to have any recollection of how she ended up on the train case on the steps. Hmmm, perhaps I’m reading too much into this and she just did her usual napping on anything new in the house.

Kelly has always been one who sleeps in a tight ball, but as she’s grown older she’s added a deeper level of sleep to her regimen and I often see her sleeping draped off of something, and she’ll even slide off if I don’t catch her in time. Here are a few other images of Kelly precariously balanced or her long legs and tail dangling off something:

Wordless Wednesday: Totally Relaxed

Kelly in the Cat Library

Kitten on the Keyboard

Curl Up With a Good Book

. . . . . . .

The Perfect Container, 2011
cat in basket
This fits me perfectly.

Actually, it took some effort to stuff his butt into the basket, sit down and look natural. I had been sorting greeting cards and envelopes for an order using the basket, but in the end it’s all about Giuseppe.

I think he’s been vigilant when I start packing things because, soon, he knows we’ll send a package to Mlle Daisy Marguerite with a special letter and a few trinkets which he has chosen, and he’s afraid he’ll miss the action. As if I’d pack it up and send it off without him!

In fact, as my operatically melodramatic Giuseppe tends to wring his little paws and wander around talking about things, he occasionally develops one white whisker, usually on the right side of his face. When he was young he developed two, one on each side, but most of the time through the years he has been a clean, youthful black. I think despite all of Mlle’s protestations, he’s been concerned about their long-distance relationship, the move to the city, and that little twit named Cream Cheese or Butter or—was it Yogurt? Who ever heard of a cat named Yogurt? Something must be done.

black cat with white whisker
Giuseppe with one white whisker.

. . . . . . .

Tuxedo Kitty, 2010
tuxedo cat under porch
Tuxedo guarding his lair.

“Don’t come any closer,” he warns.

Some time in early summer as I’d been driving around my neighborhood at night I encountered a tuxedo cat who was persistently chasing a mouse down the middle of the street. If I hadn’t gotten a glimpse of movement at an angle as I turned the corner, I might have run them both over, though the mouse was more concerned with the cat and the cat was apparently accustomed to dodging traffic.

I’ve been seeing this cat through the summer, and while he’s too clean to be a cat who lives exclusively outdoors, I’m convinced he spends a good bit of time under this porch. The porch is outfitted with a skirt made of outdoor carpeting, easy for him to push aside and disappear underneath. Perhaps we have another corollary to “basement cat”, which would be “under-porch-dwelling cat”. I remember a few cats growing up who dwelled under neighbor’s porches, and they were as fierce as lions though I wanted them to be nice sweet kitties I could pick up and hug.

I hope everyone else keeps an eye out for him!

PS: I think this kitty has finally moved inside. I’m pretty sure he was a stray who someone started feeding under the porch and finally won him over.


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The Huntress: Intent
The Huntress: Intent

For several years before moving in with me, Mimi “belonged” to a neighbor who would not spay her and she had six litters of kittens*. She hunted for food for her kittens, and my yard was her territory. Now that she’s a pampered princess she still likes to indulge now and then, just to keep in shape, though she is on a leash when she is outdoors with me. Read more and purchase.



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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

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