Daily Photo: Bella and Her Mousie
Bella looks out for her mousie.
Bella has several mousies that she prefers, and they are basically the same mousies she’s preferred since she chose a mousie toy back in 2014. Playing with one of these mousies is one of her favorite activities, it’s also a stress-reliever and keeping them near her is comforting so I call them her comfort mousies. What she usually does is play like crazy tossing the mouse as high as she can and never really catching it when it comes back down but nonetheless leaping in a balletic way, then deftly batting it around the chair leg.
When done with her athletic play she’d decide wherever she wanted to nap, often on the table or cabinet, get her mousie in her mouth and get in there or jump up there and settle in with her mousie close by. I think we could also have comfort mousies.
I remember the day as a foster that she let me know that she could trust me. Though she had been basically socialized and she rubbed on me and liked to be near me, she was still a little uncertain and I had to talk to her and wait until she was ready for me to touch her in any way. I woke one morning with her violet mousie right in front of my nose on the mattress (I sleep on my stomach). I blinked and realized it was Bella’s mousie, then I just moved my eyes and looked around as far as I could and found Bella down by my knees, shaped in a loaf, slowly blinking her eyes at me and loudly purring. We blinked at each other for a while, then she went on with her busy nearly adult cat schedule of activities for the morning, leaving her mousie in my care. What an honor!
And below, from last year, another kitchen nap with her mousie, both enjoying the sunshine.
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From Instagram in April 2025
APRIL 7
It was a #purrfect sunny late morning for Bella to grab a mousie and have a nap in a sunbeam pouring in the back door.
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From the Back Yard and Beyond
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From Great Rescues Day Book
For Your Reference: Facts and Fun About Felines
From around this date in past years
A Sunny Scene, 2024
This sunny scene is from spring 2021. There’s only this one photo no other shots of these two, but there are many other photos from that date: just about every cat in the house at that time, flowers in the yard, birds, a sunset, so many other subjects that have kept me going to this folder over the three years since I took the photos.
But I remembered this one, even though it’s only a single, and for some reason I just love it—Sienna’s little catitude, a little sarcasm, a little boredom, probably dozing off in the sun despite her still timid nature at that time, and Hamlet, before he was out there like this, probably looking at one of his heroes on the cat tree in the corner, but holding his space. Two cats who’ve come so far, but if all you knew about them was this you’d think they were both just regular cats with no socialization issues or trauma.That’s the hope for them when you start with this socialization business. I love them for where they are.
Lots of photos, lots of recent and past memories below. Oh, those faces.
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From the Back Yard and Beyond
From around this date in past years
Step Right Up, 2023
Yes, it’s been all about the sun lately. The days are longer and warmer so kitties don’t report directly to their favorite furnace vent or bed for the day right after breakfast. They do a few rounds of the house and find the sunny spots as they go, stopping for quick naps or just a sunbath. These past several days it’s been non-stop sun and unusually warm temperatures—already in the 70s by 10 a.m., and in the 80s in the afternoon. The sun hangs around long enough for them to collect, so the next kitty to come along can step right up to the next step down.
Giuseppe always did like the landing. You can see by the downswing of his whiskers that he’s pretty pleased with his situation right now. He’ll stay there until the sun moves too far for him to enjoy it.
Mimi sleeps a little more now than last year, and often finds a nap spot in the kitchen as soon as we come in from the outdoors. She also loves the basement and slept down there all afternoon on her cloud bed until January when the water started filling the corner in my work area. The basement is heated but it was colder than now and damp, obviously. When she developed a sneeze I moved her bed and piled things on my work table until she couldn’t get onto it anymore. Only then did she find napping places upstairs. But now…the sun. She goes looking for it. She got the next step down.
Mariposa has been enjoying the top of the wardrobe, but that’s only good in the morning. It’s nice to be near the open window, but not the same as being in the sun. I get the feeling she was headed for my bed for the afternoon when she saw these two and stopped to consider if she should settle on the next step down.
The sun only lasted for about another 20 minutes, but all the strategizing was worth those 20 minutes. Kitties are so logical, and also existing in the moment.
From around this date in past years
Driving in the Basket, 2022
It looks like they are in a convertible and Mimi is driving the basket. And they don’t want me messing with their plans. Okay, let’s head for a nap!
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From Instagram
I know there are things that cats can see that humans cannot. For all this activity I thought there might be several angry squirrels out there, or maybe another cat, but whatever it was, they’ve kept their secret.
There’s another kitty on the cat tree that’s behind the refrigerator on the left, and another jumped down from the table before I had a chance to take the picture. So that was most of the household focused on this. Whatever it was.
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From the back yard and beyond
Spring returns with memories. The first forget-me-nots always remind me of every other kitty who’s lived with me, especially those who shared the back yard.
Forget-me-nots, native biennial, the flowers are about 1/8″ across, purple when they begin to open changing to blue when fully open. First ones this year. Looks like some hungry insect already had a meal of one of the petals.
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Such tiny perfections on a humble cabbage white butterfly.
So much to see out in the back yard this morning.
From around this date in past years
Four at the Door
Two inside and two outside, and it looks like the two young girls might not let the two older girls back in! They claim they are special because they are not like everyone else in the household, who are all pretty much solid black, aside from a few white spots. Their expressions, I see no compassion for Mewsette and Mimi there! But here’s the thing to remember: I’m the one who actually turns the doorknob and opens the door.
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From Instagram
We pretty much celebrated Earth Day on Instagram!
From around this date in past years
Giuseppe’s Representation of The Cat in the Hat, 2020
(From Monday) Giuseppe is beginning his week with his own interpretation of “The Cat in the Hat”. He has chosen my wildflower hat that coordinates well with his own natural camouflage.
I think his intent is to create a virtual feline hunting experience in a field of wildflowers. It was a collaboration with his talented brother Jelly Bean who knocked the hats off the top of the entertainment center.
Things around the yard.
Sienna can’t figure out why Mimi is outside.
Inside and out.
I first saw this group from outside looking in the dining room window, three black cats like puzzle pieces to fit in a sunpuddle but they were really hard to photograph. When Mimi and I came back in they were still sleeping there so I got a few more photos.
These two.
That little one.
I walked into the back yard from the driveway and didn’t see them until they got up to move away from the oncoming human.
Can’t wait to get my DSLR fixed so I can get better photos.
From around this date in past years
Jelly Bean’s Earth Day, 2019
Jelly Bean says he had a pretty good Earth Day.
He conserved a lot of energy by napping as much as possible, so much energy that he could probably cash in what he conserved to get himself some really good treats, or even some quality ‘nip.
And he knows he used sustainable litter in his box even though he doesn’t like the wood pellets as much as the clay because he can really move that clay when he’s in the mood, but on the other paw when his human cleans it up he can always find an unused wood pellet in the box and flip it out onto the floor to play with it. So that’s even more re-use—litter pellets become toys, and sustainable toys at that.
And then he’s got his raw diet from local sources, even though his human had to drive to go and get it. And he had the water in his bowls and his fountain filtered by his human.
He’s feeling pretty good about himself and his carbon pawprint today. He should even probably get some sort of an award for all his hard work and sacrifice.
Now it’s time for another nap while he waits for the phone call from the award center.
Here’s what we posted on Instagram this year.
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Mimi and Mewsette settled in the sun from the window on the landing, both of them enjoying the wash of the warm light on their faces as the shadows crept up over their backs. Read more and purchase.
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All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
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