Blaze, the cat who doesn't want her photo taken

During the 27 years that I was living/working overseas I never had a pet.   Once I moved back to the states, I decided that I would get a cat.   Little did I know that this event would happen sooner than I had expected.  

I was staying with my good college friend, in Durant, OK, while I was waiting for the closing on my house.   A stray cat lived in her yard and she had 2 wild grey kittens that had been born a few months prior to my arrival.   One was mostly grey and the other one was grey with more white along her face and she had a 'white blaze' along her back that actually looked like the letter J.

They were wild and there was no way of knowing the sex of these kittens.   So, we just referred to the kittens as 'grey, grey, and Blaze'  ... we are nothing if not original.  lol

The mostly grey one was SUPER WILD.   When you opened the back door, for any reason, she would RUN out of the yard and not return for over an hour.  Meanwhile, she was missing the food, that was being put outside for the 'yard feral cats'... because, it would be all gone when 'grey, grey' finally returned to the yard. 

Blaze, tended to run when the door was opened, but, she would return and hang around with her mama cat.   My friend and I were able to trap, 'grey, grey' in a live trap.   I tried, but she was not at all interested in becoming tamed.   We took her to a vet and got her spayed so that she would have a better life.

I kept working on taming Blaze, and while she would eat meat from my fingers- it was a month before she would let me touch her.

She is a sweet cat... a little shy.   And, most certainly does not like her photo taken.  Most of the time, she looks down, looks away or gets a weird look on her face.   I totally identify with the cat about the photo taking situation.  

"What, are you doing with that camera again?" 

This is the way that almost every photo of her looks.

They both had so much fun with the packing materials from my move.  I left a corner of the dining room full of packing paper for them for a few weeks.  Hours of fun was experienced by both cats there.  You can see 'Henry' hiding in the distance.

She is snuggling with her best buddy Henry.  Of course, Henry looks like he is 'begging' for mercy... or has just figured out the murder plot and fears for his life.   Actually, he heard the camera click and woke up.

They are not siblings but, we suspect that their mothers were siblings.

 

She's actually holding onto Henry's paw while she is sleeping.   Sweet.

She loves, LOVES to be outside.   She kills snakes too and has also killed 2 squirrels.

And, now for a couple of photos of 'the weird' looks that she often gets on her face when you try to take her photo.   Poor thing.   (lol)

"Why won't she stop taking my photo??"

Look at what I have now...

It's my first pet that I've had in over 27 years!   I never thought that it was fair to try to take care of a pet and moving/living all over the world.   So, I waited until I returned to the states... which I have recently done.

This little guy was from a litter of 4 kittens that were born in my friend's backyard.  I was staying with her while I was waiting for the closing on my house.  Unfortunately, their mom (a wild stray) died when they were only 3 weeks old.  I had to step in and take care of them with bottle feeding/etc.

I brought them to my new house (well, it is an old 1932 era house- but, new to me) when they were only 4 weeks old.  I kept them all until they were 3 months old and I found good homes for the other siblings.   There were 2 boys and 2 girls.   All sweet.

I actually have 2 cats.   The other one is a female that is about 5 months older?  She was wild (also born in my friend's backyard) and it took me a month to tame her enough so that she would allow me to touch her.

This is Henry.  He was only about 3 weeks old and just learning how to turn over.

His eyes were the baby blue color that most kittens have, then they turned grey and they then turned a nice green color when he got older.  See the blue paint on his nose?  He was helping me paint the outside bench. This is Henry's brother.   If I could have afforded to take care of 3 cats- I would have kept him too.   He was the sweetest cat that I have ever known and he was very attached to me.   He and his sister (they were bonded together) went to the same home together.

Sometimes, I think that it would be easier to just give in and start the cat collection... of course, I probably wouldn't be able to leave my knitting or yarn out???

I found this on the Internet.   I'm amazed that they are all 'still in the box' much less facing the same direction for a photo. 

I lost my voice on Sunday.  I kept teaching and it was very difficult to do with a voice that barely made a sound... most of the time.   I woke up on Wednesday with fever.   So, even though I am totally out of sick days-- I decided that I was finally "SICK ENOUGH" to stay home today with no pay for the day (Thursday) and rest my voice and try not to get more ill.   I don't want to get pneumonia like I used to get every winter.


Hope my voice works better tomorrow. 

What do 'stray' Italian cats eat?

Apparently:  Spaghetti  

Isn't she a pretty cat?  Looks pregnant too. 

My Pet Cat...

Well, not a real cat of course... no pet policy at my rental house.  This is the back door or the house entrance at the lower level by the garage.   This is also the door that I enter each day.   So, it's nice to have some flowers and a cat greet me.

My 'foster' cats...

I don't get to have any pets where I live...  so, my USA friends that have pets are well loved by me whenever I get to see them.  This is 'Dovie' (she's gray like a dove) actually belongs to my friend's next door neighbors- but, she likes to hang out at my friend's house instead.   She is sweet, doesn't roam far, but only likes to be petted just the right amount... (as in:  not much)  However, she will lay down on the grass and meow exposing her belly in a 'oh, please, please, please pet me now' message.  *She doesn't really mean it though.

I've got a scratch just right there...  If I bend just a certain way... I'm sure I can get to it??    Dovie (girl) and Tom (boy) are great 'cat friends'...

This is "TOM, the CAT"... he loves me and I love him.   He was the cat that I rescued a few years ago.   My friend adopted him, got him 'fixed' and he is happy to have a home of his own.  His sweet nature meant that he just wasn't meant to live on the streets.  He still remembers me each time he sees me- which will be a year between visits.

 "Maybe if I act all cool like... she'll notice me and give me kitty pets?"   *He loves to be petted and purrs his thanks loudly.


If you look under the blog entry for: http://iwouldratherbeknitting.blogspot.it/2013/04/my-summer-foster-cat.html you can read more about TOM.

Cute little French Kitties...

Last year, (I think?) I went to southern France on a bus trip (yesterday's post is from this trip) with the military base.  On this trip, we stopped and had a great meal at this restaurant.   While waiting for the meal to start, I was walking around taking some photos and I noticed that the owners had a few cats... and eventually I noticed that there were also a couple of really adorable kitties.   They were so cute.   Trying to hide in the tall grasses while playing and also wanting to get close enough to check me out.  Both adult cats stayed close and I honored that and only took photos w/ my zoom lens so none of the cats would feel 'threatened.'   This is when I first saw the kitties.   I love little orange tabbies... and the white kitty was adorable and had beautiful markings.  Check out the little mouth... looks like a grey smudge around her lips.  

*Click on the photos for a larger view.

I wish I could have taken them home.

You can't see me... I'm hiding behind this tree branch.

"Did you see that brother?"   The little white one is sitting on an old glass wine bottle.

Papa?

They love each other and were constantly right beside each other.

We're just 'resting our eyes'...

I think that this is the 'mama kitty'???

Fuzzy, because they were always moving! 

Finally this little guy gave me a perfect pose.

Aren't they so cute?  I think the little white one is part Siamese? However, she/he also had really light tabby markings.

The rest of the views from my previous home in Gaeta, Italy

 As I mentioned in the previous post... I lived on a hill/small mountaintop overlooking the ocean with a huge lemon tree grove, and the best part was the million dollar view of not one... but, TWO old castles in the old town of Gaeta.   Here are the view out my living room windows (castles) and the ocean, mountains, harbor and old church were from my bedroom and balcony views.

 The church and harbor view to the mountains as seen from my bedroom and balcony.  It would snow in the winter on the mountains... but, never on the ground.   This place is located 1/2 between Rome and Naples.

 This was my first time to live anywhere where citrus fruit would grow.  PS I was disappointed the the 'home grown from the yard' lemons tasted no different than the lemons in the store.  I thought it would be more like the difference between a home grown tomato and a purchased one.  However, I did make a lemon pie one day.

 There are 2 castles in this area.   At times, one castle was even used as a prison.  One is still being used as 'government' type of facilities.   They are all intact and you can go on a tour for parts of the castle and see some of the 'prison cells.'

 In the front you can just make out the walls of the older castle- the tower for it isn't showing- it is behind the trees to the right.   They are over 600 years; if I'm remembering correctly.

Can you see the 'bomb' holes in the church roof from the war?

And as a bonus... the house came with its own Italian Villa cat!   The previous owners called him:  Bruce.  However, I didn't since that name reminded me of a 'carousling' former boyfriend.   He was tame and you could pet him... however, he hadn't grown up being picked up so he wouldn't let you pick him up.   If he was 'home' he would follow me around anytime I was outside.   He's a little upset with the photo taking- but, I had to keep taking photos because every time I'd get him focused in the camera... he'd move forward and touch the camera lens with his nose. This is when I first moved in- he was a sweet kitty and not meant for the 'fighting' life that goes with being an outdoor villa cat living on a mountain.

This was the front of the house.  The cat would sometimes climb that spiral staircase and sleep on the roof.   You can just see an outdoor patio area (tile roof area to the far right) and near this are stairs that go down around the house and the balcony on the back side of the house with the ocean views.     Can you see why I loved living here even if it was only for 10 months?  I was only in the house for 6 months.   My job was 'ex-cessed' and I had to move to another location.

I had an unexpected visitor today...

I had decided to take a couple of days off, from doing needed projects/etc., after my friends returned to the states- since, I was worn out from all the unpacking. I was upstairs in my new 'entertainment' room knitting and watching old USA tv show re-runs on a VHS tape from a few years ago...

AND, I suddenly looked towards the door and saw a grey tabby cat slinking through the doorway. I do not own a cat. My house rental agreement states: No pets

I recognized the cat immediately- it belonged to someone in the neighborhood. I have had a black, tortise colored, and this grey and white tabby cat in my yard off and on since I moved in. None of these cats will get close to me. As a matter of fact, if they even see me .. they run away... It's almost like: "Oh, no! She saw us, we'd better get out of the yard!"

This particular cat had been in my yard off and on all week stalking the butterflies, jumping up after them, and just having a good time watching the butterflies flitter about.

About a week ago, I was on the balcony re-potting some flowers and he noticed me. This cat, stopped and stared at me then stared at the butterflies... and you could see that he was thinking.. "Ok, if I go now- I won't get to watch the butterflies, she's up there on the balcony.. I think I'll be safe." He stayed out there the entire hour that I was on the balcony doing various projects.

Now, I'm thinking.. it is bad enough to try to get a cat out of the house.. if you know you can pick it up.. am I going to be able to capture or otherwise 'herd' this cat out of the house? After all this house is 3 stories and all the doors to all the rooms are open and we're on the third floor. I sat my knitting down and walked quietly to the hallway and of course he/she scutted towards the stairs. He was frightened and on the verge of freaking out (never good for the human trying to capture a cat to take it outside). I was able to corner him/her and picked the cat up. He/she remained as calm as she/he could under the circumstances and let me carry him to the balcony. He had gotten in the house from the standing open living room door that leads to the balcony. There is no air-conditioning in Germany and I leave this door open for any breeze that wants to enter my house.

I placed the cat gently on the floor of the balcony. He/she decided that I was now his/her newest best friend and proceeded to give me the cat 'leg hug' using the figure eight pattern.

So, I sat down on the steps and petted him/her for awhile. Then, I decided to go inside to get my camera- because, I had been meaning to take photos of the butterflies and now was a good time to take photos of both the butterflies and my newest house guest.

Here are some photos. As always, click on the photos for a larger and clearer view.

(I guess that this means that I can no longer leave the door standing open- unless I want company.)










"I wonder if she'll give me some milk the next time? Or some tuna?"