Thursday, March 28, 2024
catsdaily photoneighborhood cats

Daily Photo: One of Our Visitors

cat at door
Can I come in?

One of the things I have completely neglected to share here is our feline visitors! Some of them come down from Denise’s colony at the top of the hill, especially once they discovered Mimi’s catnip plant. Some are neighbor’s cats, and I always work on finding out who they belong to, just to know. Several of them are black, as if they know where to show up.

cat at door
Meet J.

This substantial housepanther visited our porches three times during November (that I know of, the kitties may have seen more often). He (I presume from size and shape) is clean and looks quite well fed, and is fairly friendly, and has a collar and tag. I call this guy “J”.

cat at door
Making himself comfortable.

The first time I saw him I went outside and greeted him, petted him a bit, and tried to get a feeling for him. He’s obviously socialized, not skittish, pretty chill and curious. He has a collar with a tag, but his fur is dense and half the tag is usually buried in his fur. His name looks like two initials, the first of which is “J”, so that’s what I call him.

cat at door
Walking toward the door.

The first time he showed up was November 2, and then again about a week later. I only see him at night, so he may be one who is let out when someone comes home from work or school, yes, even during the pandemic.

cat at door
Does he want in?

On November 23, Sienna saw him out on the deck! Everyone’s reactions to his arrival were pretty funny. Sienna saw him first and went to the door growling.

cat at door
Sienna sees the cat!

Then Mariposa came to see what was the matter.

cat at door
Mariposa is shocked!

I decided to lie down on the floor to be at eye level with the kitty, at which point several cats decided that perching on my back was a good idea.

cat at door
They are using me as a prop.

Mimi came along and said nothing, but apparently her expression caused the cat to move to the top of the steps.

Mariposa I was shocked, I tell you, shocked!

cat at door
Mariposa is so dramatic.

But then everyone settled down for a nap on my back and legs and the kitty left.

cat at door
Now they nap on my back.

I’d like to find out where he belongs so that I know who he belongs to, or if he’s lost, or otherwise in need, I’ll do something about it. We have no current openings in the housepanther clowder right now.

Mimi’s catnip plant is within the sensor circle of my motion sensor light out front, and since then we’ve found him snacking on the catnip at night, but he hasn’t come to the door again when we’ve been around.

Speaking of housepanther friends…

When I fed Denise’s cats for a few days in November and December I also got to see Maxi! He was being mysterious in the bay window.

 

 

 

From around this date in past years

Who’s That Kitty? 2019

mariposa in the mirror
Who’s that kitty?

Who is that new kitty? Where is she? Can I get to know her? Does she like to play? She has big white mittens too!

From Instagram

A little squirrely.
A billion sparrows too.
Ultimate window hunters Mimi and Mariposa.

window hunting
Window hunting

. . . . . . .

Photos from around this date in previous years

Supervisor Cat, 2019

Supervisor Cat
Supervisor Cat

What Mariposa does when my lap is already full, and those adult cats get mad when she walks on them. She also supervises what I do. How this girl learned these things growing up in a feral colony I’ll never know, but they seem to come naturally to her.

~~~

From Facebook

People on Facebook are doing a 10-year challenge to see how much you’ve aged since you’ve been on Facebook. I chose to pass on my, but who wouldn’t want to see my cats?

Okay, for this 10-year challenge, I’m sure everyone would rather see the housepanthers, so here they are–on the left about one year old in a heap on the floor at about the time I realized what their little silhouettes were doing to my art visualizations, and last summer in a sort of a heap in just about the same spot on just about the same date. Things haven’t changed much! They have aged well. This year they turn 12 years old. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long and I’m so fortunate they share my life for all the inspiration and love they’ve given me.

Four on the Floor, 10 Years
Four on the Floor, 10 Years

Photos from years past.

.

Cuddles on a Cold Day, 2018
Cuddling
Cuddling

Hamlet is a real cuddle, but he’s not typically the one who cuddles. In this case he was in the basket and barely fills it half full so Mr. Sunshine decided to help him with that. Sunshine settled himself in the basket where he was comfortable, and Hamlet wrapped himself around. Such a nice boy.

Below, he settles into one of four containers for a nap.

Hamlet chooses his basket.
Hamlet chooses his basket.

I’m not sure if anyone joined him because today he ended up in my studio, cuddling with Basil. I shared this on Facebook, “Someone tossed a couple of long-haired black cats on my work table. Basil is curled in a ball but Hamlet is stretched out behind Basil with his legs and tail draped over him. He would probably be horrified to know I was sharing this.”

Basil and Hamlet cuddling on the table.
Basil and Hamlet cuddling on the table.

~~~

From Yesterday

I don’t know what Basil did but Bella is not letting him get away with it. He thinks she can’t see him. She chased him up out of the basement and all around the kitchen and he kept trying to hide. At one point he was hiding behind me and they were swatting around my legs.

Bella chasing Basil.

 

. . . . . . .

What other photos have I shared on or around this date?

.

What’s Better Than a Basket?”, 2016
A basket in a basket!
A basket in a basket!

A basket inside a basket! Two baskets in one, and they both belong to Bella today!

There’s not much better than a nice crackly basket to sharpen one’s claws a little in the bottom, gnaw a bit on the handle, have a quick bath, check the bird feeder and then curl up inside and have a really good nap all afternoon.

But Bella couldn’t believe her luck today! She found the secret to true happiness today when she found her favorite basket inside her other favorite basket. It was almost too good to nap, be she managed to relax and rest despite the excitement of her discovery.

. . . . . . .

What other photos have I shared on or around this date?

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From the Archives: Mewsette and Jelly Bean Are “In”, 2008
two black cats in sorting bin
Mewsette and Jelly Bean are “in”.

They learned very early on that my desk was the place to be. Here are five-month-old Mewsette and Jelly Bean hanging together in my inbox, which is holding just about its maximum capacity in kittens.

Mewsette looks cool and confident, but Bean looks as he often does, a little confused. Good thing he has siblings to take care of him.

Mewsette: “It’s okay, he’s harmless.”

Jelly Bean: “She tried to kill me!”

Below is what they looked like just before this photo. Note that Mewsette is pretty much sitting on Bean’s head. Perhaps he has the dazed and confused expression because he was oxygen deprived thanks to his sister. Some things never change.

From January 11, 2008, 5 months old.

two black kittens in sorting bin
Attempted fratricide? You decide.


Photos “From the Archives” are those taken with my digital camera prior to the time I began blogging, or one which I did not share from years I was blogging.

“Vintage Photos” are ones taken on film, back to 1983 when I bought my Pentax K1000.

. . . . . . .

Wordless Wednesday: Bella Composition
black cat in shadows
Graceful.

. . . . . . .

After Dinner Baths, 2015
four black cats bathing
This is how it gets done.

Giuseppe washes Smokie and Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine wash each other. How else to you the get those hard-to-reach spots clean?

. . . . . . .

Amber Buttercup Customizes Her Window, 2013
orange cat in window
Amber Buttercup give me an audience.

I can never pass up an opportunity to photograph Amber Buttercup whenever I walk past her house. After three years she seems to be resigning herself to this intrusion on her sunbathing privacy.

You can see she has customized her mini-blind to allow several access points into her sunny space, and liberally left her mark on the window. Love the pink toes pressed against the glass.

I had wanted to actually do a sketch here of the view seen below, but decided I really didn’t have time to run a block home and get my sketchbag, sketch, and be on with my errands, but I will be certain to take my sketch bag with me from now on, along with my camera…I think I need a friendly little pack horse too.

orange cat in window
Might have sketched this…

See more photos of Amber Buttercup and cats in windows.

. . . . . . .

Big and Little Sisters, 2011
Big and little sisters.
Big and little sisters.

Taken when Cookie was 18 and Mewsette 3, it was a big sister who was little, and a little sister who was big. At times Mewsette had to sneak up on Cookie when she was sleeping and protectively curl around her as Cookie was accustomed to being the caretaker, but sometimes Cookie willingly accepted Mewsette’s warm vigilance and an afternoon cuddle on the bed was hard to resist. Just as the younger cats took care of Peaches, so they keep after Cookie, though Mewsette was the most persistent.

Cookie got her due, as she was the one who was a patient guide for the Fantastic Four when they were kittens as she was happily vigilant with her senior brothers and sisters long before any kittens were here. Good karma really should pay back right away instead of waiting for another lifetime to enjoy it. It certainly did for Cookie.


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AfterDinnerNap-Etsy

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pastel sketch of black cat in sunshine
“Mewsette in Sun”, pastel on Fabriano Tiziani paper, 7″ x 9″ © B.E. Kazmarski

Mewsette lets the warm sun wash her back while she sits and simply looks lovely. 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.

2 thoughts on “Daily Photo: One of Our Visitors

  • nice two meet ewe J and maxi !!!! wavez frum de land oh trout ~~~~

    J ; we thinked tuna waza big boy…whoa dood !!! we due hope ewe
    haza for everz N just stopped my mom B’s ta say HI !! 🙂 ♥♥

    Reply
  • He is a real cutie, I sure hope he has a home somewhere!

    Reply

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