Thankful Thursday

AYLA:  Today I am thankful for Birdie TV.  I watch from the windersill a lot! 

The Goldfinches are  nearly fuly-color.

I love watching them fly around.  TBT was surprised to catch 2 of them flying at the same time.  I like looking at the picture to unnerstand better how they fly.  I would love to do that.

There are 2 thistleseed feeders and they flit between then back and forth, up and down.  The movement is SO exciting!  That they keep changing perches baffles me.  Its all the same seeds.  

I dont see all the same colors as TBT.  Well, he SAYS there are more, but sometimes he makes weerd jokes.  But I see these as bright spots.  Unike our black foodbowls he calls "red".  

Like this black birdie. Well, if he loves them, fine..

They are really crowding around the feeders lately.  Why do black seeds make them turn bright?  

But as long as they move around, I LOVE it.

Rest assured, they are all for watching.  We are mousie-hunters here .  Not that if one deds itself on the deck door we dont want to get out and examine it.  The "thump" on the glass gets us all to come look (even TBT).  And we do catch a couple of sparrows each year, but just if they are REALLY REALLY stoopid and stare at us from a low shrub branch.

I mean, we get birdy-food every day.  Not worth chasing.  But MOUSIES, we don't get those as often as we would like...  And TBT says we have too many in the yard and they eat flowers and his garden.  So we get rewarded for catching THEM!

Almost Wordless Wensday

Which bowl?

Twofer Tuesday

AYLA:  Well, I know I said previously that "food in the bowl is worth 2 mousies in the weeds", but sometimes you catch one too!  And TBT even SAW ME catch it, so that was really good.  I ran right up on the deck to give it to him.  I usually play with them until they get all tired, but I just dropped this one at his feet so HE could play.  It was still very energetic.

He did "OK".  He uses his back feet.  He kept shoving it back toward me.  Well, Ive seen Beins play a game on TV where they only use their feet, so maybe thats more normal for them. 

It even jumped off the deck, but he went down and found it and chased it around on the ground (I had fun watching).  But he DID catch it and bring it back up.  Those long arms seem pretty useful (and oddly quick).  And sometimes I think Beins are better at seeing things that dont move.

Well, I got it for HIM, so I just watched. 

Actually, I got ahead of my story there.  When I brought it up originally, I wanted to bring it in the house, but he closed the door suddenly.  I actually banged my head on it!  Later, when it was dedded, he let Marley bat it around a few times. 

THEN he let me bring it in.  I batted it...

We both watched it.

Ah, no fun anymore!

And THATS when TBT took it away for himself.  He often does that with our food contributions.  Actually, he doesn't seem to like us watching him eat his regular meals.  He shares food from the kitchen counter, but once it is on a plate on the table or he takes food we bring him into the front yard, he prefers we leave him be.

Well, I did MY part for the day...

Sunday Remembrance

Zoey Remembered...

Iza and Zoey shared a birthdate.  They left us near the same time.  

Answers To Questions

AYLA:

We havent done this in a while, but TBT reminded us that we should.  When other kitties ask questions or suggest something in comments, he says we should answer them.  Yeah, that makes sense.

So we are going back a few posts and trying from there.

1.  Catio Tales mentioned "We keep asking Äiti where your Catio-wire is. We have been told such things are essential for us, but you do not have them. Pffft."...

We do not have wire fences around the deck or below on the sunken patio.  TBT has considered it several times, but (meowing gratefully) he has not done so.   But we only do go out when he is too, so he watches over us carefully.  The big fence around the backyard is impawtant, too.  He built it just FOR our safety when out.  It is to keep the Big Doggies out, but it werks for the Vishus Deer too. 

2. The Meezer Mews mentioned my 'purrsonal launch-pad, observation deck" for hunting mousies.  It was a discovery to me.  TBT set a Big Board on the ground and stuck it in place with metal rods so his ladder was level when he filled the birdie-feeder.  The flowerbed slopes, though it is not obvious from pictures.  And with his weak biped legs, he worried about falling backwards.

And apparently, Beings have a poor sense of balance.  They land badly.  It's almost funny.  LC once rolled over in her sleep off the deck (8' high), and she of course landed all 4s and just walked back up the steps.  Like TBT could do THAT...  MOL!

3. Many cats were uncertain what we meant by "merfing" when Marley said he was merfing around the house late at night.  I merf often at night.  It the small sound you make talking to yourself quietly. (merf, merf, merf)  I do it when I'm carrying a toy.  And I was the only one who did until recently.

I think Marley is looking for Iza.  She used to groom him regularly.  And she WAS more his size, so they wrassled in fun sometimes.  He doesn't seem to unnerstand she went OTB yet.  Well, I sniffed both Skeeter and LC and Iza, and they never came back, so I unnerstand better than he does.  Iza was the first cat to go OTB while Marley was here.

I have been talking to him about it recently, and I think he is beginning to unnerstand that we all go OTB eventually.  He resists the idea.  Well, he feels so healthy.  He is shocked by the idea that TBT will do the same someday.  Yeah, it bothers me too.  The Beins seem ageless.  Still, I've been here long enough to realize he is older than he was when I first arrived.

4.  Several kitties and Beins mentioned the vultures we saw in the tree over Iza her last day outside.  I know about vultures.  They collected in the trees in the forbidden yard-next-door.  I was sitting on the fence.  There was an injured rabbit flopping around there.  When it stopped flopping around, they all landed near it at the same time.  I ran inside.

5.  Several kitties and Beins also noted on a Friday Flashback where Marley and I were grooming each other years ago that we should start doing that again.  We have.  TBT didn't have the camera nearby, but he has seen us doing that a few times.  He will get a pic of that some day.

I would do more, but this is getting long...

And...  From Frum (if we are allowed to make a small jokie at a sad moment)...

 Wishing him well with crossed paws...

Flashback Friday

Today's flashback is from this day in 2009.  When I installed additional cabinets in the kitchen, there was a floor vent and I had to cut out an opening.  Every new cat has spent time in there, using it as a "hidey-hole".  So did Iza, though she could barely squeeze in and out.

How a Sweet Gum tree seed ball got in there, I will never know.  But it was her first toy of her own.  

Later, she found The Cube.  She obviously didn't understand the purpose of it at first.   She went under...

Looked inside...

Ran through it...

Looked for stuff inside it...

Sniffed around...

 Turned it upside down and around...

Tried to nap UNDER it...

Tried a few under times again...

And FINALLY caught on that it was a place to nap INSIDE and basically, a box with side-holes!

Thankful Thursday

TBT Here:  We received a special gift today.  No, not a new member of The Mews.  That has to wait.   But it was very special nonetheless.  It was a beautiful Memorial Plaque for Iza.

We are unsure of the sender, but we want to say "Thank You".  It arrived from Chewy.com (and I don't think they know Iza went OTB or would send such a lovely thing on their own) and without a note or any indication of who sent it.  If that was intentional, then please accept our thanks.  If there was supposed to be a note or if you want to whisper in our ear "glad you liked it", our email is on the sidebar.  If you want to stay anonymous, we understand (having sent a couple of anonymous gifts ourselves over the years).

I have constructed the memorial box for Iza (will post soon on my own blog about that) and have a 10" resin cat figurine to put on the top that matches the ones on Skeeter and LC's marker boxes.  I think I will continue that tradition for uniformity over the years.

But, since the Memorial Plaque does not name Iza specifically, it gave me an idea.  I was already intending to have a collection of the graphics we were sent for Iza professionally printed.  I think I will go back and collect a few pictures of Skeeter and LC and have them printed also.  I will frame each separately.  Then hang them in The Mews Room together with the Memorial Plaque as it certainly applies to them all (and The Mews that follow them).

The plaque will be the loveliest of accompaniments to all of the framed pictures.

So, to whomever sent it, thank you so very much.  It was a kind and generous gift and very much appreciated.

In Gratitude and Catitude,
Mark

EARTH DAY

Hunting

AYLA:  My hunting instincts are expressing themselfs more recently.  I recently found a REALLY GOOD PLACE to sit and watch for mousies.  Its a piece of wood and I can sit there not rustling the slightest of plant.  And talk about a Silent Launchpad for a pounce!  It is great.

It a board TBT put in under the birdie-feeder to make his stepladder level to fill the feeder safely.  Well, thats what it is to HIM.  To ME, its a pounce pad!

Its in the big daffodil bed.  And trust me, I know where every single mousie hole is in the bed.  This is the best spot.   Well, it is right under the birdie feeder and the mousies LOVE the spilled sunflower seeds.

On the other paw, when TBT calls me in for a meal, I don't sit around waiting for a mousie.   Food in the bowl is worth 2 mousies in the weeds...

Mancat Monday

MARLEY: There is a hammick under the little rug.  It is really comfy and I enjoy laying there in the evening while TBT is eating his dinner.

Ive developed some odd habits about the hammick lately (TBT says).  First I sniff the Nanner and the mat before curling up on the hammick.  We all develop routines...

Last 2 nights, I wandered around the house merfing quietly for almost an hour.  Not sure why.  TBT says he doesn't recall me doing that before.  Ayla often does that, though.

I just felt a bit restless and wanted to search around the house...  Patrol duty.  As the mancat, I have to make sure all is OK while TBT sleeps sometimes.  I'm a responsible mancat.  I usually dont merf when Im doing that though.

A Week And A Day

Well, what do you do when all the unused pictures you have have an OTB cat in them?  You show them in loving memory, and you write a bad poem.

These are the last pictures of Iza.

But there is a story to tell about the last.  On her final day out on the deck, she oddly chose to sit partially under the smoker cover.  And partially in the rainwater that collected in the deck-protecting tray underneath.

Here's the thing I needed to think about for a few days.

When she sat on the deck the last day, there were a couple of vultures that sat in the tree above her.  They never did that before.  I saw them above a rabbit that was dying in the yard next door once, though.  From what I've read, vultures are entirely visually-oriented and have a poor sense of smell.

I think that is untrue.  They KNEW she was dying.  I generally understood that she was having serious medical issues.  But I went out and waved my hands at them and they went away for a while.  But they returned. 

I brought her inside, and indeed, she basically fell apart physically overnight.  It was slow for a few months, but quick at the end, and I am grateful for that in a way.

But those vultures KNEW!

I don't mean to be spooky, I don't mean to be scary, I don't mean to assign vultures extrasensory abilities.  But they couldn't see her and they KNEW.  They say vultures can't smell.  I think they can. I think they smelled death coming.

When I brought Iza inside, they left.

And now a bad poem.  More a prose, I suppose.  Based loosely on 'One More Bell To Answer'...

One less can to open,
One less bowl to clean,
One less litter box to empty.

I should be happy
But all I do is cry...

Since she left, my life’s so empty.
Though the others remain, I just can’t forget.
Each time I wake in the night, she’s not there.
I don’t know how in the world
To stop thinking of her,
And her spot on the bed is bare.

No more lap-napping,
No more purrs.
No more stroking of fur,
No more heaty-mat lounging,
No more she’s just “there”.


And I think that is the last I should say except for future Flashback Fridays  (of which she will of course be included). 

Thank you all for caring.  It is now time to move on.  Take pictures of Ayla and Marley, take pictures of the garden, but also as I build Iza's marker and equally consider a new addition to The Mews. 

Iza's door here has closed.  But it also opens to a new kitty.  The Tonkie breeder I contacted is suddenly not being responsive.  I suspect that means their waiting list is filled.  I choose to not wait for long.  There are many other cats that need a good home.

Mark

Flashback Friday

AYLA:  Today in 2011, Marley and I were grooming and napping together. 

It was very nice...

 We need ta do that more often again.

Maybe we need our fancy collars back on!

Thankful Thursday

AYLA:  First, we want to to thank Ann of Zoolatry for our wonderful new header.  It is so beautiful!

After that, I am sad Iza had to leave.  We had our differences.  But I am thankful she had a long life.  I am thankful that Marley is still here.  I am thankful that TBT is here.

I am thankful for my food.  I am thankful for clean litterboxes.  I am thankful for the little bed that rests on TBTs bed.  I like to sleep near him.

I am thankful for the shelter of the house on windy and rainy and chilly days. 

I am thankful for The Lap.  Even if I don't stay long when TBT moves.

I am thankful for the cat trees in the house.  Both the platforms and huts...

I am thankful for the moles and voles and mousies in the yard.  And I am thankful for the yard.  And the big tall fence that keeps the big doggies out.  And that gives me a place to sit up on.

 I am thankful for love and friends.

Day 4

The household is settling down to new routines.  It's sad but there is nothing to do about it. I'm discovering some changes:

1.  Iza at 10 lbs ate almost as much as Marley (15 lbs) and Ayla (6.4 lbs always) combined.
2.  Iza was responsible for 80% of the litter box "product".
3.  The waterbowl stays relatively filled.
4.  Ayla is moving around the house more often.  I did not realize the stress Ayla felt.
5.  Ayla ate in the kitchen for the first time in years.
6.  Marley is on my lap more often.  I did not realize how heavy he is!
7.  Ayla purrs more often.
8.  Neither Marley nor Ayla will nap where Iza did.  I need to launder all those towels.
9.  Marley and Ayla sniff around the house at spots that seem unmeaningful to me.
10. I need to completely mop all the floors and vacuum the carpets.  Iza had a couple years of tummy troubles and it seemed purposeless to other than "spot-clean".
11. A very detailed Spring-Cleaning would be good for both me, the Mews, and the house.
12. Iza is in the freezer.  While clearing the spot where she will join Skeeter and LC, I pulled a calf muscle and can hardly walk, never mind dig.  I will have to wait a few days.
13.  I miss her purrs, her weight on my lap, her food demands, her presence on the corner of my bed at night, stroking her minklike fur, seeing her napping on her heaty-mat, her constant close nearness to me anywhere I went in the house or outside, her calls to me outside when she lost track of where I was and how she came running over when she learned where I was, and how she just wanted to be near me all the time.

I am not a blubberring mess like I was in Dec 2008 when Skeeter died.  The Cats who came before were strays or unwanted who I got as adults.  I surely loved them and they at least liked me in return.  Skeeter was the first I chose (though it WAS a case of just him to choose).  And he was the first who lived with me when I retired and was home all day.  So he was also the first cat I experienced daily going outside with me so that I learned so much about his full personality.  Those kinds of details matter.

LC was Skeeter's cat.  It was deliberate.  I got her specifically to be his companion, since most of their lives LC was his only connection to another living creature.  Not that I didn't love her too, but she would nap with Skeeter, eat only with Skeeter, and so far as I know, they used the litterboxes together.  After Skeeter died, LC connected to me more, but she died suddenly one night (assumed stroke).

Ayla came when both Skeeter and LC were still here.  It wasn't a great time for her.  Skeeter and LC were bonded and Skeeter was messily dying, so LC was also distressed.  And as soon as LC died, I got Iza.

They got along great at first, but Iza grew bigger and stronger and was a bit of a meanie in small ways.  So Ayla was happy when Marley came along.  But he rapidly grew bigger and began to orient more to Iza.  Ayla took over my bedroom as her territory.  There were never fights or anything.  A 6.4 lb cat can't contend with 11 lb and 15 lb cats.

When Iza had to be brought to the vet for release to the Bridge, I was so very sad and stood there and cried.  But I was able to drive home more easily this time.  There have been plenty of cries, but not so much of the shock of loss.  This time was different.  Skeeter failed slowly, but Iza had more medical issues, so it was more of a release.  I can't explain it as well as I wish I could, but I think Iza was in more pain than Skeeter was so I couldn't delay.  I guess I felt more "kindness" this time.

Every cat's last times are different.  Skeeter went very gradually and (I think) it was more mental than physical problems toward the end (my vet at the time assured me he wasn't feeling physical problems).  LC literally died overnight.  With Iza, it was definitely physical, so it was easier to accept that I had to let her go sooner than later.  Her last problems came on her faster than Skeeter's, so the decision was more forced.

Again, I thank everyone who left comments about Iza.  They will be cherished for so many years as I still cherish the comments about Skeeter after 12 years and LC after that.

Iza watching a vole hole for a careless mousie to play with...

Afterwards

First, my deepest thanks to all who have left comments and emails of condolences (and some graphics I will use soon) about Iza.  They are all treasured.  Each one soothed my heart and eased my pain at her loss.  You are all very special people and I am grateful for every word of kindness you sent.  The Cat Blogosphere is filled with the best people on Earth.

Going to bed Friday night was hard.  Iza wasn't there.  I stared at the bottom corner of the bed where she slept and just touched it briefly knowing I would never see her there again.  I will have to get used to that.   Every cat has personal habits.  And when they leave us, those habits leave with them.  But we who remain remember those habits.  Not seeing those habits again is hard. That corner of the bed is likely to remain vacant forever, as it was HER habit to be there.

But I remain, so I have to go on.

Sometimes, the details of a sad event can wear you down.  I decided on a spot for Iza today.  It is right between Skeeter and LC.  I have 3 Sedum 'Autumn Joy' plants in a row right behind the small pond and Skeeter and LC are between them. 

The plants are 20 years old and long overdue for lifting and dividing.  So Iza will be laid to rest where the center one currently is and I will find new places for the divisions to go.

Forgive me if I sound a bit overly practical.  It's my nature to compartmentalize.  When I am feeling most emotional, my rational side shouts for attention, and vice versa.  I was going to divide the 3 Sedums anyway, and if there is a hole in the right spot, well...

I went out and realized the spot has gotten overgrown with briars and weeds, so I spent an hour pruning and hoeing around it.  I would have dug up the Sedum, but my left hand decided to do that fun "involuntary finger clenching" trick.  So I had to stop for the day.  That Aspercreme stuff really helps.

Tomorrow, I will dig the plants up, dig the hole deeper and set Iza into it (she is in a bag in the basement refrigerator for now).  I think I will add a couple of her rattley-mousies, a branch of dried Nip, and a small bag of treats.  I think I will bring out the portable CD player with "Clair De Lune" on at the final moments.  Symbolism matters.

Then it will be time to build another wooden box marker and get some brass letters.  Building a box marker eases the pain somewhat and makes me feel vaguely productive. 

And then there are administrative things to do.  The blog header needs to be changed and the sidebar has to be updated.  I don't like to let things like that linger; it just bothers me to have unsettled details sitting around.

There is a certain irony that she died on Good Friday and will be buried on Easter Sunday.  

As I was sitting around the house, it occurred to me that I had 3 unusual cats.  Not to ignore The Cats Who Came Before, but Ayla underwent 3 spay operations before "they" finally got things right, Marley is a male Calico (only .1% of Calicos are male, for genetic reasons - he is an XXY cat), and Iza underwent a miraculous transition from Siamese to Tonkinese (I have the papers that declare her a purebred Siamese) and she died on Good Friday.  None of that was deliberate, of course.   Maybe it is a gift...

I won't go too long without a 3rd cat.  3 feels right for me.  As they say, when one door closes, another opens.  I want to consider carefully, though.  I was expecting that, when the time came, I would be older (I turn 70 next month).  I was thinking that, around 75, I would be too old to assume I would be able to care for a kitten its whole life, and I'm not intending to leave any behind.

So I was expecting to either adopt an adult cat or foster one (I have since realized that I could never foster a cat - I couldn't give it up to someone new) when one of The Mews went OTB.  Now I'm not sure.  I've never had a "real" kitten.  Even The Mews were about 8 months old when I got them.

I'm a bit torn.  The idea of adopting some adult cat and giving it a safe home and love when it may never have experienced it before is deeply appealing.  And I would be a good person for that.  Living alone (happily I will add) and being home all day woud be the perfect situation for an older stressed abandoned cat.  Ppeople who adopt senior cats for that reason have my never-ending admiration and respect. 

But a kitten...  OMG, the pleasure of seeing one experience life anew and discover fun and human attachment, and seeing the pure innocence.  I want to experience that.  And Ayla is 13 this year and Marley 10.  There will be (sadly) a few years from now when I will be certain to adopt an older cat because of my age at the time.

I guess you can see where this is going.  Sometimes, I find that just typing things out see I can read the words settles internal debates.  It will be a kitten.  And THEN an older cat.  And who knows, maybe by then I will have resolved my fear of having to give up a foster care cat, thinking of it more as an opportunity to be a mini-shelter to a cat at a time moving to a new loving family. 

I have a memory to fall back on for that.  I don't remember how many years ago it was, but one cold rainy November morning I was driving to work and needed gas.  I stopped at a place nearby and there was a cat near the pumps, wet, cold, and miserable.  It stayed next to me.  When I went inside to pay for the gas, I told the people there that they should let their cat inside.

They said it wasn't theirs and that someone had tossed it out the car window as they were leaving an hour before.  I went out and held the cat a few moments and then turned around and took it home.  I set it in the garage with a litterbox and some food and went to the office.  When I returned, the cat was dry, had pooped and peed, and it came right over to me and purred its little heart out in my arms.

Of course I adopted it.  But people have preferences.  Some people love short-haired cats, some people love long-haired cats.  Some people love solid-color cats, some people love mixed-color cats.  I tend to love mostly solid colored short-haired cats.  This one wasn't.  She (I discovered after a quick check) was long-haired and I bet there wasn't a square inch of fur color that matched the next.

I brushed her carefully for almost an hour.  It was a new experience for he and she didn't like it at all.  She had badly matted fur (amazingly, no fleas, but maybe that was because she had been out in the cold rain).  I named her "Cher" because she was a bit weird (and I LIKE Cher).  She never fully integrated into the household but was very loving when she had me alone.  She may have never lived with other cats.

My supervisor at work knew about her (I did have to explain why I was late the day I found her). Well, it turned out his family had a cat who was "My Cat From Hell" quality (hissy, clawy and mean) and had recently died.  Being a rather perceptive person, he asked if I might consider letting them adopt her.  Yes...

He and his wife came over to my house one evening to meet Cher.  Cher did her best "love me" routines, chasing a tossed kibble, batting a toy and rubbing legs.  When Mrs Supervisor (a school Principal, so no diminishment intended - I just never learned her name) sat down, Cher immediately jumped up on her lap and purred.  Well THAT settled it!

They took her home.  I felt a bit relieved (and rather noble about my good deed saving her and finding her a new home).  He told me a few days later how happy they were with her.  They had renamed her Boo because of her wide eyes and somewhat startled appearance.  And looking at pictures afterwards, I saw that they were right.

So, I CAN give up a cat.  That's good to know for the future.

But now, the question of what kitten.  I spent my first couple of adult decades with gray tabby female give-aways.  Nothing wrong with them and I loved each of them dearly.  But I did develop a desire for change.  Orange Skeeter was the 1st non-gray tabby females.  Black&White LC was 2nd.  Then came Siamese Ayla and Siamese/Tonkinese Iza.  Then Calico Marley. 

Please don't get me wrong when I say that I want to enjoy the beauty of other color cats.  And the personalities of other breeds.  It's pretty much my last chance.  While I have loved many Domestic short-hairs, I also think that any cat purebred or not is going to be happy here and me with it.

And let me say that the purchase or adoption fee of a cat is pretty irrelevant.  It's the food and vet and litter that matters and that is the same for all cats.  So, I'll assume from past experience that any cat will love me and I it....

I have a strong tendency toward a female Tonkinese.  Iza was amazingly affectionate and devoted.  But I see pictures of others.  It will be a short-hair (maintenance is not my greatest pleasure), female, smallish-to medium size (my lap can't manage a 20 lb cat), and (unless Tonkinese) "different".  I want a cat that talks a lot.  I want a cat that looks like a cat.  Forgive me please, but no short legs, weird ears, and a full tail.  A cat with a high degree of intelligence (for a cat of course).

Brown for Abyssinian or Burmese or Havana Brown.  Or Siamese colors.  I'm really limiting myself here, I suddenly realize.  You start to think about what you want and the list narrows fast.  I think what I am realizing is that I want Tonkinese female with Burmese colors. 

But there will be another cat of some kind here soon.  I'm not one who leaves doors closed for long.  BTW, you can have a smile at the first version of that sentence:  I originally typed "I don't leave closed doors open for long..."  You have to laugh at yourself sometimes. 

We will be back soon to visit all you dear friends.  But we need a few days.  I'm sure you understand. 

Iza Tribute

My Tribute to Iza...

From Ann... 

Now, pictures of Iza's life. The best lapcat ever.  Sweetest-looking meanie ever.  Everytime I looked around, she was there staring at me with adoring eyes.  Well, except when she was napping in a sunpuddle or in a box.

At night, she would sleep in a corner of the bed.  It's a waterbed and I toss and turn a lot, but she figured out that the corner never moved much, so she slept there.  I could never sit in a chair without her immediately coming up onto my lap.  It was the place she felt happiest and most comfortable.  She was always at peace on my lap.  I loved stroking her mink-like fur while she napped on The Lap and she soothed me as I soothed her.

She was originally passed around between several Siamese breeders as a "smudged-furred Siamese" and appreciated by none.  I had an arrangement with a breeder to let me know when there was an "unloved one" not suitable for their needs.  I got Ayla that way because she was "too small to breed" and I got Iza as "poor colors".

None of that mattered to me, so (while it was breeders), it was a rescue in a way.  I want to thank my friends at https://www.atonkstail.com/ for immediately recognizing that she wasn't a 'bad furred" Siamese, but a very well-colored Tonkinese.  I had never heard of Tonkinese, but when I did a net search, there was the virtual image of Iza.  She was the very definition of the breed.

Did I mention that she had fur that would make a mink envious?

I was thrilled to have her in my life, but her being a Tonkinese made her special(er).  All cats are special, but you know what I mean.  I will be making a wooden marker for her tomorrow and get brass letters of her name and a resin statue of a cat to attach to it.  Then I will decide on a place for her in the flowerbed next to those of Skeeter and LC.


In her too-short 12 years, I took so many pics, but I have 17,000+ pictures in the files and may have missed some good ones.  Well, here are many.  She deserves "many"...

She arrived one day, brought by the lady who breeds Siamese.  Iza spent her first 2 days here in The Mews Room, but was very calm about it all.  Apparently, she HAD been moved around a lot.  She just didn't know that she had arrived in her Forever Home yet.

She loved her toys and kept close watch on them.  

When she had her ladygarden operation, I made this sort of "onesie" with heartfelt messages...  I am a bad artist.

It didn't work well, but I found this "small dog" inflatable collar.  IT worked great.

She always loved fancy places to sit..

And found favorite toys.  Mostly rattley mousies , but Pink Softy Mouse and Blue Softy Mouse became her special toys.

Ayla and Iza wrassled when Iza was young.  But as Iza grew larger, they stopped. It wasn't fair to Ayla and Iza understood that.

Iza loved being outside (for short times) and doing the Thursday Garden Tour.  The Garden Tours WILL continue, but I am discussing that with Ayla and Marley about who feels best about hosting. 

 

She loved sitting on her back with her feet against a wall.  And showing off her silken tummy.

She adored tearing up cardboard egg cartons, but the pic won't display...

Iza wasn't quite sure about Marley when he arrived.  He may have been the first mancat she had met.  But they became great friends.

 They all got along very well.  Here, they are all sniffing the outside waiting for me to open the door.

Iza and Marley became seriously great friends.   Iza groomed Marley often.  But he has always had that "new kitten" and talcum powder smell to him, so I wasn't surprised.  Iza groomed Marley, he groomed me, and Ayla likes to lick hands. 

The inside view of the deck door.  They could always wait patiently together for the door to be opened.

And they could all get interested in "stuff" together.  I probably didn't show their togetherness as often as I should have.  But sometimes you don't have a camera in your pocket.

Iza was always a good exerciser.  Being a REALLY PLUMP KITTY, she did her best.  So she was also VERY STRONG.  On the rare occasions when she DIDN'T want to be picked up, it was like wrestling a python.

Iza loved the deck and yard.  Always watchful for Evil Skwerrels or Introoder cats. 

And she LOVED boxes!

But most of all, she loved laying on The Lap.  I could seldom sit down without her demanding laptime.  Sometimes, she would just pass out in security and pleasure.  She would settle down so completely that I could pick her up like a baby and re-arrange her when my legs went numb and she wouldn't even wake up.  She trusted me that much.

The sweet, loving face, now only in pictures and memory...

Oh my dear sweet girl, I miss you so much.  But at least, now, she is off the pain of all those ailments, and will finally meet Skeeter, who I told her about so many times as she purred on my lap.

Talk to me in my sleep, dear friend, I will hear you best in my dreams..