Easter Bunny Ears for Che and Tesla? #catpics

I was in a pet store and saw these Easter bunny ears for cats. I thought of buying them for Che and Tesla.

Che and Tesla Checking Out the World from their Cat Tree - #catpics

Saturday morning and my cats are checking out the world from their cat tree.

Cats Sleeping on Laundry #catpics

"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, 
my cats sleep on a pile of laundry..."

(Quote courtesy of the movie, Casablanca"

Read also

• Homecoming with My Cats #pets
• UST's Picture Album of "Some Words with the Wild W...
• Pictures: Power of Pen Food Writing Workshop
• Update Manila, Philippine Visit: F. Sionil Jose, A...
• Philippines: University of Santo Tomas and Some Wo...
• Manila Philippines: UST Literary Forum Features Ce...
• Tags: #catpics, cats, pets, animals, family, home, #cats, pictures
• This is all for now,
• Cecilia

Homecoming with My Cats #pets

Homecoming with my cats.

You can see how excited they are to see me.


Read also

• UST's Picture Album of "Some Words with the Wild W...
• Pictures: Power of Pen Food Writing Workshop
• Update Manila, Philippine Visit: F. Sionil Jose, A...
• Philippines: University of Santo Tomas and Some Wo...
• Manila Philippines: UST Literary Forum Features Ce...
• Manila, Philippines: More Pictures of Cecilia Brai...
• Tags: pets, cats, home, family, #cats, #pets
• This is all for now,
• Cecilia
• 
  
• 
  

#Dog Birthday Cakes and Cookies at The Dog Bakery

I thought my cats are spoiled, but dogs apparently are more so.

Take a look at pictures I took at the Dog Bakery in Venice, California Their staff members were baking cookies and cakes for dogs. They had a  full display of cakes and cookies, which they assured me, will sell that day. 

Note the bone-shaped dog birthday cake.

Cat Pictures: View from the Top #catpics

Here's the view as I look down at my work desk.

Sometimes there are two cats. They have helped me through my third novel, Dead Priest in the Creek and are here for me for my fourth novel.

Thank you Che and Tesla!

Read also
Pet Therapy: The Healing and Creative Powers of Cat Purring
My "Boys" - Che and Tesla
My Non-Ninja Cats and this Southern California heat wave
My literary cat reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
Cats reading "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Tags: cats, kittens, pets, family, cat pictures, cat pics, pictures, photos

This is all for now,
Cecilia

Cat pictures: Che and Tesla This Chilly Morning #catpics #cats

It's a bit chilly this morning, but good day!

Read also
Cat Video: My Cats Chasing Laser Beam
My "Boys" Che and Tesla
Cats with a Plan (re the Christmas Tree) 

The Healing and Creative Powers of Cat Purring

My Non-Ninja Cats and this Southern California Heat Wave

Cat Pictures: Cats Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Cat Pictures: My Literary Cat Reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls"

Cat Pictures: My Literary Cat Reading "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

Tags: cats, @catpics, #cats, funny, pictures, pets, animals, photos

This is all for now,

Cecilia

Leave Me Alone, I'm Only Speaking to My Cat Today

On Grove Street, in San Francisco, I saw man wearing this sweatshirt and it's now on my "To Buy" List:

LEAVE ME ALONE.

I'M ONLY SPEAKING TO MY CAT TODAY.

I want it!

Read also

• Hitting the Road to Go South - (Writeup of the Fil...
• More Pictures: Filipino American International Boo...
• Pictures: Filipino American International Book Fes...
• On my Way to the Filipino American Book Festival i...
• Pet Pictures: Two Cats at My Desk!!!

     Tags: pets, cats, kittens, animals, t-shirts, sweatshirt. #leavemealone

      I'm still recuperating from the San Francisco trip so this is all for now,

        Cecilia

Pet Pictures: Two Cats at My Desk!!!

What's going on guys?

How am I supposed to write over both of you?

Read also
Cat at my Desk

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• Filipino American Event: Starblazers & Top Hats - ...
• Tags: cats, pets, animals, pictures, family

     This is all for now,

    Cecilia

Cat Video: My Cats Chasing Laser Beam

My cats love to play and at night start stalking me until I play with them.  Che (named after Che Guevara) likes to chase the beam of a laser point. He runs around the room and enjoys himself, regardless of the fact that he never catches the light. Tesla (after Nikolai Tesla) prefers playing with a long ribbon on a stick. He's gotten very good at leaping up to catch it.

I caught them on video playing with the laser point beam.  Che is the mackarel one (with stripes); Tesla is the gray with white 

Enjoy this short video of my cats playing. To view, click on the middle part of the top picture.

Read also

My "Boys" - Che and Tesla

The Healing and Creative Powers of Cat Purring

My Non-Ninja Cats and this Southern California Heat Wave

Cat Pictures: Cats Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Cat Pictures: My Literary Cat Reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls"

Cat Pictures: My Literary Cat Reading "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

Tags: cats, cat video, #catvideo, funny cats, pets, animals
This is all for now,
Cecilia

MAO THE ORANGE TABBY KITTEN IS ON YOUTUBE

It's official, Mao, my classic orange tabby kitten, now has video clips on YouTube. Search "Mao the orange tabby."

Here are some video clips:

Mao the Orange Tabby and the Feathered Toy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=059XCiqr6yo

Mao the Orange Tabby and the Paperbag - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isV6p5gEvjo

Mao the Orange Tabby and Toy Mouse - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=059XCiqr6yo

MAO COMPETING WITH MARU THE CAT

Here is my orange tabby cat, Mao, competing with Maru the cat's New Fashion,
Look at the short video of Mao and the Paperbag, and also the pictures below to see Mao's New Fashion. After you've seen these, take a look at Maru's New Fashion.






























































Click here to see Maru's video. http://www.youtube.com/user/mugumogu#p/u/0/J3wsDZV0KFI

MALE OSTRICH SEXUALLY DISPLAYS & CHASES ANOTHER MALE

You have to see this video clip of two Somali Ostriches. A male displays, dances, and chases the other male.

CLICK ON LINK BELOW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeIx8rOzRIk

CAT TO CAT: KIKI'S LETTER TO SUNDANCE

(My cat Kiki asked me to post the following letter to Sundance. Sundance is a young cat that befriended Kiki on Facebook. Here is a picture of Sundance, and you can look her up in Facebook under Sundance Knows - Cecilia)

Dear Sundance,
I've decided to mentor you. You are young and innocent and there is much to learn to be able to survive in this world.

Perhaps the most important advice I can give you is TO BE CUTE AT ALL TIMES. This is vital to your existence. By "cute" I am referring to both external and internal cuteness.

The external is obvious. When we cats are born, we are normally cute: small, furry, fluffy, with heart-rending cries that tug at the hearts Feeders. But that kittenish cuteness does not last. Do not think that for a moment, otherwise you will be doomed!

No, we cats have to learn to groom ourselves constantly. My mother taught me that. Lick your fur, wipe your face, especially around your eyes and mouth. I do not have to mention your privates - that is obvious. And chew some grass to clean your teeth and breath. Fleas can be a problem, especially in the summer, but hopefully your Feeder uses Vantage or Frontline once a month. It's a bummer getting treated; I myself get queasy for a couple of days, but in the long run,it's worth it. You don't want fleas on you. Fleas can cause worms, and that's a whole other problem altogether, very un-cute to say the least, to have wiggly worms in your poop. Your Feeder will NOT find that endearing.

Don't forget to clean your ears, otherwise you might get ear mites,and Feeders also find that disgusting.

The other kind of cuteness I want to address has to do with making a real effort to win the heart of your Feeder - totally and completely so that he or she belongs to you for the rest of your life. Even when you become old like me, he/she will still think you are a delightful kitten.

Look at me, I'm 17, very old for a cat, but the Woman-who-opens-cans thinks I'm incredibly cute. She takes pictures of me, checks on me constantly, makes sure I have my favorite food (including people tuna, salmon, and bits of steak - really, anything I want). She is at my beck and call. This is because I won her heart completely when I was young.

I saw the picture of you on the shoulder of your Feeder. That's good. That's a start. You have to learn to climb on her lap or get into bed with her and snuggle up close. You have to purr, even when you're not in the mood. For some reason Feeders think purring is very cute. You should also bat their faces with your paws. And don't forget to lick their faces; they also think that's cute. You have to be constantly visible to them. When they walk into the room, there you are laying on the bed, softly snoring; when they walk into the kitchen,there you are looking straight into their eyes, meowing; when they are working at the desk or in the garden, there you are sidling up against their legs; when they are watching TV, there you are on their laps. It is the constant contact that makes you become so much a part of their lives that they come to believe they could never exist without you.

Once this happens, you can have anything you want. You can just about do anything you want. I say "anything" not "everything" in this case because while Feeders can forgive occasional outbursts of temper from us cats (I myself have scratched the Woman-who-opens-cats when she pissed me off), they will NOT tolerate peeing or pooping around their house. That can get you in serious trouble; in fact, that could be a death sentence.

I will close for now Sundance because I have to run to the rose garden while the sun is up. It was cloudy where I live this morning but now the sun is up and I just love laying around our rose garden.

I am attaching a picture of me on a bed, to prove my point about getting what you want when you play it right.


Yours truly,
Kiki

Excerpt from my cat Kiki's Memoirs!

(I found this excerpt of my cat Kiki's Memoirs. I knew she was working on a novel, but didn't know about her memoirs. - Cecilia)


When I think of my mother,I recall her soft belly which I loved kneading. A memory comes to me of a sunny afternoon and Mother and the six of us in the wicker basket near the kitchen door. The door was partly open and sunlight angled in, warming our basket, warming us. I was kneading the belly of my mother and she was licking me all over so that by the time I was suckling on her teat, I was damp all over. The memory of it sends shivers up my spine. Mother was white, pure white and she always smelled of milk. I don't remember a lot of details about her because we were together for only seven weeks. I know that she had long lashes because they used to tickle when she licked me. Her pink tongue felt raspy as she licked me all over and the feel of that sand-papery tongue against my tender skin was heaven. She was meticulous about keeping the six of us clean. I believe this is where I got my own meticulousness; I can spend hours grooming myself.

Mother was just a year old when she had us. She had a flighty Feeder, a student who forgot to bring her to the vet to have her fixed, and since my mother was a gad-about who enjoyed staying up late in back alleys, she quickly became pregnant. I do not know my father, but I assume he was one of those late-night encounters behind some garbage cans under the moonlight. He was no doubt a tuxedo cat like me and two of my siblings. The other three had white fur, like Mother.

Thinking of that distant past fills me with conflicting feelings of happiness and sadness. While my mother seemed to be the perfect mom - feeding us, grooming us constantly, she had a marshmallow personality. She didn't know how to handle the intense sibling rivalry that went on: the white furred ones against the tuxedo ones. Unprovoked the white ones constantly nudged us away from Mom's teats. The other two males fought back, and got their share of Mother's milk. But not me. This saddens me even now, because Mother could have done something. Certainly a little nip to the ears of those wicked siblings would have done the trick. But no, she lay there, smiling, looking content, as if we were in paradise when in fact hellish fighting went on right under her nose.

I became the runt of the litter. I looked like someone from the third world with kwashiorker, and truly,I could have died, if the student hadn't given me away to another student. I was not yet weaned and this Boy-who-opened-the-cans had to bottle feed me. In fact, he didn't do it; his girlfriend did. Bless her. By the time she was out of the picture, I was fortunately big enough to eat regular cat food, which the Boy-who-opened-the-cans used to leave before he left for school. He would be gone all day and I used to get terribly bored in his apartment, so I took to chewing and ripping apart whatever clothes and papers I could find. And I didn't always use the cat box, just to get a rise from him when he got in at night. Once I peed into his leather boot, and shortly after that, he turned me over to the Woman-who-opens-cans. At that time she had another cat, a white one whose appearance reminded me of my mother, except that this cat absolutely hated me...

(And here the excerpt ends. I'll have to hunt around to find more pages. Kiki hides them in the most unlikely places: under the sink, under the bed in the guest room, etc.)

A Letter from my Cat Kiki

I found the following letter from my cat, Kiki:

Dear Woman-who-opens-cans,
I understand you have been writing about me and posting my pictures in cyperspace. I trust you realize you have done so without my permission. Is it true that you ridiculed a recent hunting expedition of mine? And I also understand you have been talking about my recent illness, bandying it about for the entire world to know. I do not mind so much when you say I've lost weight,but I take offense when you describe my fur as being "three-toned." I don't know if you've looked in the mirror carefully, at your own hair - "three-toned" suits you better. I have long-forgotten the original color of your hair. And talk of weight, I wish I could say that you've lost weight. Au contraire I detect some puffiness around the middle, probably from all the lokum sweets you stuffed yourself with in Turkey. Shame on you.

I will, for now, let this matter go, but I give you fair warning that I may not be so patient the next time it happens and will take proper legal action.

Truly Yours,
Kiki

MY CAT KIKI CAUGHT A BIRD!

I shouldn't be happy, I know it. The bird certainly isn't, if the poor thing survived at all. But I actually feel elated that my 16 or 17 year old cat, Kiki, caught a bird! It was a real bird, not a featherless one that fell out of its nest. This one had brown feathers and was almost adult-sized. A sparrow. I was working in my office when I heard a loud yowl from Ms. Kiki. I turned and saw her by the doorway. She had on her bratty expression, and I thought maybe she was asking for food again, or complaining about her food. It took me a split second to see the little sparrow scurrying away from her and hiding near a pile of books. I picked up Ms. Kiki and locked her up in the bathroom; she wasn't happy about that.

I opened the sliding doors wide so the bird could see the sunshine, the outdoors; usually, they fly out that way. Not this dummy. It remained huddled near the books. I poked it with a ruler and it flew the opposite way. And hid. This went on several times, until I had to move furniture away, and using a paper towel I gingerly picked it up and brought it to our thick bougainvillea bush that houses half the bird population in Santa Monica. The bird probably came from that bush in the first place. The bird didn't fight me when I picked it up. It looked dazed. I didn't see any blood. It's feathers were damp, probably from the gumming of my old cat. I placed the bird on a branch and told it to hide. It hopped away from me, vanishing into the bougainvillea, and I left it there. I waited a while before I released Ms. Kiki from the bathroom. Boy was she pissed! She yowled, louder this time, and sprinted out of my office, to show me her disgust.

I know she was showing off when she had brought the bird into my office. I know it took a lot of effort for the cat to have caught that bird. Kiki almost died in April! She had a serious allergy attack and she started ripping out her fur and lost so much weight. After treating her with antihistamine, Immugen, and using the Elizabethan collar on her, she got better. Not completely well, but better. Some days are better than others. Some days she looks like death warmed over; other days she looks almost normal.

But even during her good days, she looks ghastly. Her black fur has turned three-toned:a reddish-brown where she'd licked excessively, a lighter black, and a deeper black where the new growth has sprung up. To make matters worse in April I'd cut off some of her long fur when she had been yanking her fur out; every day is a bad hair day for her: she has long fur, short fur, and a black fuzz.

But she's alive!

And she's just proven she can still catch a bird!


~~~
The Answer to yesterday's Jack Pot question is: Back row, 6th from the left.
And here's tonight's Jack Pot Question: Where's the Revolutionary Poet in this picture? And what's her name? And what are these four women doing in bed with Eddie Quirino in that enormous four-poster bed in Vigan? (click on the picture to enlarge)

Second Update on my Cat Kiki' Allergies

Here's another pet update: My cat Kiki is better than she had been. She lost her Elizabethan collar a few days ago and I didn't bother getting another one since she seemed better. She was well enough to sit outside for the 2 nice super-hot days we've had - and how happy she was to hear the birds, feel the sun, and just sleep outside. Then the yesterday she had a setback - suddenly she developed a hot spot on her side. She started ripping out her fur in that area, and the skin actually had welts, like hives. I dapped this area with peroxide and applied some of the Tea Tree lotion. I also gave her 2 mg of antihistamine, which seemed to help her. On her own volition, she stayed indoors, hid behind the radio and rested. Today, she seemed better but was still itchy. I gave her a Selsun Blue bath, which helped her a lot. She was able to go out and carry on with her usual activities.

She is old, and is in a frail condition. She will need daily antihistamine, and will need a bath every 5-7 days. She gets her Advantage or Frontline for fleas, she's allergic not just to fleas but to other things. I suspect it's some pollen or something outside. But she loves the outdoors so much I can't bear turning her into a 100% indoor cat. She stays near the house, and I'm observing her to see if the daily antihistamine and weekly baths keep her allergy in check.

I continue to give her an egg yolk every day. She loves this very much, so I'm able to give it to her as is, or with a bit of olive oil, or mixed with her food and Immugen and even her anithistamine, although it's better to pry open mouth and pop the antihistamine into her throat.

It's touch and go. She's an old cat, but as long as she can still be happy listening to the birds, or getting her ears rubbed, I'll do my best to keep her comfortable. If she should be in pain, or her quality of life goes down, or if she's plain miserable all the time, then it'll be time to put her to sleep. It makes me sad thinking about this, but she is 16 years old and that's very old in cat years.

SAGA OF MY CAT KIKI AND HER ALLERGIES

First thing yesterday, I gave Kiki another Selsun Blue bath, which helped her a lot. She loves those baths, as long as her feet are planted firmly on the ground. The lukewarm water must feel good, and the medicated Selsun Blue must also soothe her skin. Poor thing! The part she really hates is after the shampoo, when she is wet and cold. She shivers for a long time, but I can tell that her itchiness has waned.

The antihistamine, Chlorpheniramine 4 mg, that I ordered from Petmeds.com didn't come in yesterday; it wasn't their fault, I ordered it Wednesday and I probably won't get it until Monday. I couldn't wait because Kiki was miserable with the itching and with the collar which leaves her so disoriented. I went to RiteAid and looked in the Benadryl, antihistamine section, and would you believe it, I found Chlorpheniramine 4 mg. I gave her half a pill and in just a short time, she relaxed. What happened was she became sleepy, a side effect. Another possible side effect is upset stomach, but Kiki was fine there. She was able to rest and was more comfortable. I gave her another half a pill at night and she slept well. I have to say that because of the antihistamine, she is better and much more comfortable. As of yesterday, she was still itchy because I removed her collar and she started scratching and yanking her fur out again. Back went the Elizabethan collar, and it'll stay on until she stops this pulling off of her fur.

So, the Selsun Blue bath and especially the antihistamine helped her a lot. I don't know if the cod liver oil and the egg yolks are helping her too, but they can't hurt. She loves the egg yolks and greedily laps her little bowl with the stuff in the morning.

I'm hoping she gets well enough so we can remove her collar and she can resume her cat life, albeit more sedate since she is around 16 years old.

Kaiser's Therapy Dog

I should be reading a student's novel that I'm critiquing but it's been a while since I've blogged so here goes.

I will not get into details, dear Readers, but I was in Kaiser's emergency room last week, not because of me but of someone else. The last time I had been in Kaiser's emergency room was years ago. I was surprised to find it less crowded and less frenentic and depressing. In the past there were these sick, groaning people, sometimes bleeding people, crammed in the waiting room. This visit, it didn't look like that. Maybe the sense of order was because of some changes made, such as the triage rooms. The nurses determine who needs immediate attention or who can wait, and dispatch patients in an orderly fashion to the doctors. Past reception, there were various pods or clusters of rooms ran by a certain number of doctors, nurses, and administrators. Over all, it was better this time.

Even though I've grumbled about Kaiser, I have to hand it to them. The emergency visit resulted in thorough tests, and the visit cost only $50. Surely it would have been thousands of dollars elsewhere.

The best part of this Kaiser experience was the Therapy Dog that came to visit. This beautiful golden labrador with sunglasses on and his owner/trainer stopped by to visit. The dog had a cape that said, "Riley, Therapy Dog," and his master had him do tricks. It was amusing and brightened this ER visit.

I'd read that seniors who own pets live longer, so maybe pets can indeed provide health benefits.

This sounds a bit fantastic for me to consider because our cat is selfish and self-centered, but despite her unrelenting selfishness she is amusing and lightens our lives.

A short entry this time, dear Readers, I have to get back to the novel that I'm critiquing.

For more information about therapy pets, click here, and here.