Conference misery::feline_v1

      What a sweet note!  So much love!  Yes, it's true, you can't live
    without kitties.  They are your best friends, without a doubt. They
    will always be there for you, through everything, with their
    unconditional love.  It was tough when my Ruby and Tabby died. They
    had been with me for 18 & 14 years, and seen me through it all; 4 moves
    into 2 states, many boyfriends, buying a house, getting married, etc.
    It seems strange now that my kitties are all new.  I can't say "hey
    guys, remember back in '82 when we lived......"  They sure are there
    for you through it all.  They are the best friends you could ever have.
    
    
                                Denise
    

    We have a black himalayan too.  He also is cuddley and purrs like
    mad.  He love water and after I take a shower he sits on the edge of 
    the tub and watches the water go down the drain and then he hops in
    and watches the drops slide down the walls of the tub.
    
    Nicholas sleeps in my arm pit and like a clock wakes up at 5:15 AM
    everyday.  He lays on the floor at the bottom of the bed and waits
    for me to walk around.  I usually get up at 5:30 just because I
    can't resist him and want to hug and play with him before I go to
    work. 
    
    I agree, I couldn't have a better pet.  I cater to my Nickie, he 
    has 4 water dishes around the house and gets regular water changes.
    Two times on week days and atleast three on weekends.  My husband
    traveled 2 hours with him on X-mas eve in a snow storm just so I
    could have my "fluffy" cat.  Little did I know how great of a 
    "child" he would be.  I WANT MORE!!!
    
    Too bad you're in England.  Nickie needs a buddy.  I take him for
    walks on his lease and he loves to peer out the back door.
    
    Who needs children I'd rather have my himie!!!
    
    Deb 

    Nope, I'm in Landover, MD.. The person who told me about this
    conference is in England!
    
    Bear does exactly what your Nickie does with the water in the tub!
     Sometimes he hides in between my shower curtains while I'm showering
    to be close to me if he doesn't want to get wet.
    
    He also wakes me up every morning at 5:00, I don't even need an
    alarm clock!  This morning I slept late because I went out with
    my girlfriend last night and he woke me by gently pawing my face.
     When that didn't work, he started kissing me and biting my lip!
     That was a first! (probably because I never wake up late!)
    
    Now we are moving in two days.  I hope that he will be able to adjust
    to the move.  Last night I brought him outside for some fresh air,
    and he didn't want to come back into the house.  But I don't dare
    let him outdoors.  Terri's siamese before Tia, Mittoo, was hit by
    a car and killed.  I thought she was going to *lose it* when Mimi
    died.  So I can imagine if Bear got hurt or killed, I would feel
    the same way.  Is this selfish or what?
    
    By the way, it's nice to get responses, thanks to everyone writing
    to my note!
    
    Tammi and Bear
    

	I can certainly understand (and agree) with keeping Bear in unless 
	he's on a leash, especially since he's probably not at all "street
	smart".  Is there any way you could attach his leash to a run or a 
	longer rope tied around a tree, so he could play outside without 
	risk of encountering a car?  If things inside are disrupted due to
	packing, the chance to "get away" might help reduce his stress level.

	Good luck with the move!
	Beverly

    Tammi,
    
    Your story is wonderful.  I can't wait to hear more Bear and Tammi
    stories!!
    
    Jill
    

    RE: .4
    
    I live in Woodbridge, VA.  While it is a relatively small, quiet
    town, the volume of traffic is unbelievable.
    
    My sister and her husband are the people I am moving in with (thank
    god for relatives when times get tough ...) and they have a nice
    yard, but the traffic on the street is high volume.  Therefore,
    your idea of a "run" makes really good sense.  I thank you.  I'm
    hoping Bear won't be too unhappy about the move because Tia will
    be there to keep him company now while I'm out running around being
    a single woman (sigh ... I hate going out and leaving him ... but
    how do you meet eligible men by staying home!?).  Plus Terri and
    George have a warlock Doberman named Zeus.  He's the friendliest
    Dobie I've seen, and he loves to play with Bear, although sometimes
    he gets a little rough.
    
    
    RE: .5
    
    Jill, thank you for the compliment.  I always aspired to write
    children's books, and maybe someday I will write a series on Bear!
     (That is, if I can find the time between school, work, and going
    out!)
    
    
    
        ********* THE REFRIGERATOR AND DRYER ESCAPADES *********

    
    One night I woke up really early, about 3 a.m..  Rick had just left
    me, and I was trying to get used to the idea of being alone, and
    I guess I couldn't sleep.  As Bear always wakes up with me, and
    trots beside me wherever I go, he joined me as I made my way through
    the pitch black into the kitchen for a drink of water.
    
    I opened the 'frig, (which contained about 6 eggs and a gallon of
    spring water!  How pathetic!) to get a drink, and Bear hopped in
    the 'frig onto the vegetable shelf.  This little guy refused to
    get out!  He sat there on the shelf, looking at me with his little
    fuzz-face and huge green eyes.  I cracked up.  I called him, but
    rather than scooping him out and putting him on the floor (or slinging
    him over my shoulder like a shawl, which is how I carry him!), I
    decided to see what he would do if I shut the 'frig for a second.
     (But only for a second .... that would be cat-abuse if left longer!).
     I shut the door, waited, then opened it and peered in.  Bear was
    curled up in a ball on the veggie shelf, purring the "broken purr".
     HE WAS HAPPY!  I guess he must have been hot or something!  The
    next day everyone cracked up when I told them this story.  
    
                        {The Dryer Fixation}
    
    Bear loves my washing machine and dryer.  If I leave the dryer door
    open, he always noses his way in and tries to settle in for the
    afternoon or evening in there.  God knows why, maybe because it
    is dark and he considers it to be a place where he can hide from
    me!  Now that I'm moving, I've been frantically trying to get all
    my laundry done so I can pack it away.  I almost fried Bear the
    other night because, unbeknownst to me, he had surreptitiously climbed
    in while I was folding clothes, and was amongst the new wet clothes
    I had thrown in there.  I looked up just before I started the dry
    cycle, and had this gut feeling that the little guy had climbed
    in with the wash.  Thank god I looked, because THERE HE WAS!  His
    gorgeous green eyes glowing in the dark.  Gosh, I wish I could transmit
    a picture of how adorable Bear is over the terminal.  Just looking
    at the expressions on his face makes me laugh so much.
    
    That's all for now ....
    
    Tammi and the troublemaker (Bear) who also loves boxes now (to eat
    the cardboard and hide under)
    
    
    
    

    
           Know how cute a black cat in the dryer looks!!! 
    
    Tammi and Bear, Welcome to notes from another recent addition!!!
    
    My black and white patrol cat Spot (see cat 54 society note) also
    loves to hang around in the dryer.  I'm not sure why but I have
    developed the habit of always checking the dryer before I tun it
    on or Spot will get a ride that she may not like!!!
    
    It is a riot, You see the light bulb is burnt out in the dryer and
    I have to literally stick my head in the dryer to be sure that spot
    is not in there.  It is very hard to see a black cat in a dark dryer
    when she has her eyes closed !!!
    
    She knows when I'm looking for he too, she usually willgive me a
    swat with one of her big feet when she sees me, because she soesn't
    want to be evicted from that nice hiding place, especially when
    it took her so ling to figure out how to get the door open!!!
    
    You know I've owened six cats in my life and each one will find
    it's own place in your heart.  No cat will ever replace a departed
    friend, but will build his or her own place and become just as precious
    in it's own right.  Thank god, cause I wouldn't trade any of my
    fur faces past or present for anything!!!
    
    Have a wonderful time watching Bear grow up!!!
    
    Feline Frisky,
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    

    Sue:
    
    I read your Cat 54 story.  Yours sound adorable.  Didn't you also
    have a friend whose cat got plastered into her wall?  I read that
    one too.
    
    I tried to respond to your story, but the server (or something)
    showed an error and I lost the response.
    
    It seems like everyone writing in here has the greatest stories
    to tell about their cats.  The best thing about Bear is that I know
    he will never hurt me (like humans can wreack such havoc on your
    heart and soul!) and will always love me 'cause I'm his MOM!
    
    Tam
    

    After you move, be particularly careful about letting
    Bear outside, as he may get lost in unfamiliar surroundings, or
    try to make his way back to the old house.
    

    
    
    	Our Sasha also like the dryer....she just sits in it and looks
    	out the "doorway" and watches Duke scurrying around on the cellar
    	floor....Cary and I nabbed a pic of it but we're not sure if
    	it will come out cuz we didn't have a flash!!  She looked so
    	cute!!  Now she tries to jump in there while I'm taking my
    	nice clean clothes out....something about my cats and the 
    	smell of clean clothes...(see the Novel Cat Containment note)
    
    	They are so adorable!!
    
    	JJ
    

    Spiro likes the refrigerator. Every time I go into the kitchen he
    gallops in and sits in front of it. When I open it, I have to be
    careful that he doesn't jump in. One time I got so irritated at his
    doing that that I closed the door and let him stay there for a count of
    30. It didn't phase him in the least. He didn't even notice the light
    going on when I opened the door; he was too busy chomping away on the
    leg of a roasted chicken he was dining on.

    Deb

     
                Fridge does NOT a kitty jail make !!!
    
    Deb I'm laughing so hard I can't work!!!!   Some punishment you
    devised, I think my Spot would love it.  She could reak some kind
    of havock locked in the fridge!  Just think all alone with all that
    food!
    
    Bye the way Spot's new nick name is Sheriff Piglet.  She doesn't
    think very much of it but it sure suits her to a "T".
    
    I'd better start a Panther story soon, little cat will get jelous
    (?) at all the Spot stories!
    
    Feline funny,
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    

    RE .8     - You're not really his Mom, you're his lover, the love
    of his little cat life!

    I love the stories of Bear!  Welcome to feline.  Our current 
    catcount is 5 tho one is a foster cat who I'm hoping to place 
    soon.  
      I once had a boyfriend who decided to teach our cat (Kathryn)
    not to jump in the fridge.   He closed her in there - originally
    only for a few minutes - and then got distracted. 1/2 HR LATER
    I was looking for her and he remembered that she was in the
    fridge!  She wasn't the least bit phased, but I almost killed 
    him!
      Nancy DC

    *****************WEEKEND/MOVING UPDATE***************************
    
    
    Bear and I moved in on Saturday.  I thought he was going to flip
    out, but he LOVES it!!!!   Tia, Zeus, and Bear are now in the process
    of turning Terri and George's house upside down.  I think we're
    in for trouble, here.  The house is like a zoo!  All the animals
    are now fighting over who's going to sleep next to me on my king-size
    bed (never mind that it's king-size, they all want the spot next
    to me and it's an on-going battle to the finish!)
    
    By the way, his favorite treat is Haagen Dazs ice cream (mine, too!)
    and he also loves Cape Cod potato chips!
    
    
    Tammi and Bear
    

    Just don't feed him too much of that Hagen Daze and Potatoe chips!
    You don't want a pudgy feline on your hands!! not to mention what
    it'll do to his teeth.
    
      Glad things are working out so well.  Since we got Tymothee, the
    girls spend all their time downstairs - trying to avoid TT.  So
    we don't have the usual menagerie in bed with us  :-(  I mis it.
      Nancy DC
    

    Hi Tammi & Bear!
    
    Welcome to the notes, and thanks for sharing your story.
    
    I know *just* how you feel about Roo vs. Bear.  I literally grew
    up with my first cat, Henny.  We got her when I was 6, and she lived
    a grand old life until I was a sophomore in college.  I still tear
    up when I think of the phone call from my mom to tell me that Henny
    was gone..
    
    I, too, felt that I could never love a cat like I'd loved Henny.
    But nearly 10 years later, my Billie found me.  She was a "street
    kitty", and much too nice to leave there.  I loved her instantly,
    and we have been pals ever since.  That was 11 years ago, and she
    is going strong, and is as active and healthy as ever.  She is now
    going through the regular feline spring crazies;  lots of fun to
    see.
    
    A note on toys--a peacock feather is an unbelieveable cat turn-on!
    They go nuts.  Billie played with hers until it was a sorry-looking
    mess of tatters.  Just don't leave it out when you aren't home--they
    like to chew the "quill" end, and pieces of it could choke the kitty.
    Empty paper bags are great "cat condos", and corks, fur "mousies",
    and Q-tips are other favorites.
    
    Best of luck with the move and with your wonderful Bear.  Keep those
    notes coming!
    
    Jane
    
     

    feather dusters are a GREAT toy!  even my dog would go after it...
    
    just be careful liie .17 said--leave the duster out unsupervised
    and POW--you no longer have a duster.  ;)
    
    also, I found that on the toy mouses and bird on a string, my cats
    like the string better than the mouse!  cheap entertainment I guess.
    
    have fun--cats is great. 
    
    kim

    Bear has this thing with Coca-Cola bottle caps, he loves them better
    than any toy.  Tia also.  It makes me feel so good that Bear is
    so happy with Tia around.  Now he's not lonely anymore.  Before
    we moved, if he was alone he would literally tear the house apart
    being bored and racing around.  Now he's not bored anymore.  The
    only thing that makes me sad is that he no longer depends on me
    for entertainment ... he doesn't cuddle as much.  Maybe it's just
    because it's new, having another cat companion.
    
    He likes to play king of the hill in the kitchen.  Terri and George
    have this wall in the kitchen that does not meet to the ceiling.
     Bear climbs up there, surveying everything below.
    
    Tammi
      

    RE:  bottle caps
    
    My 8 month old, Shelby, is a bottle cap fiend; he hoards them! 
    Whenever he hears the soda bottle open and the sound of the cap
    being placed on the counter or table, he appears out of nowhere,
    picks it up in his teeth, and runs away with it!  We have to be
    so discreet whenever we open a bottle of soda or else we'll never
    see the cap again!!
    
    
    
    /Roberta
    

    Re: .19
    
    Wait until things settle down a bit, and you'll sometimes have 
    multiple cats cuddling up to you.
    

    
    	Our cats seem to enjoy Leggo and Constructs pieces.  They'll
    go into my youngest's room, dig a piece out of wherever they find
    it, out into the kitchen and pat it around until it goes under where
    they can't reach it.  Then, it's back for another one.
    
    	When we moved last year, under the refrigerator and stove was
    just covered with pieces the cats had lost under there.
    
    	They make such a noise on the tile floor.  Of course they decide
    that 1 am or so is the PURRFECT time to do this game.
    
    	Oh well, such is life with cats.
    
    Faith
    

    M.B. has taken to sleeping the entire night at last,he used to wake
    up and demand food all the hours of the night but seeing as how
    he's big enough to jump down from the bed I guess he gets it himself,I
    thought I heard the can-opener working early this a.m.
    
    Phil
    

    I can always tell when there's no food in Bear's dish (I feed
    him Hill's Science Diet dry cat food) because he gets this certain
    desperate tone in his meows when he sees me -- so I know it's time
    to fill up that dish!
    
    Bear's bath last night was quite uneventful.  He likes the Waterpik
    Shower Massage, he was just sitting like a lump in the tub, 
    luxuriating in the warm water.  He didn't like baths before becasue
    the sound of the running water in the tub scared him (as did the
    blowdryer!) but the shower massage is quiet, so he loves it now!
    
    When I blow-dried him he was scared but he turned out smelling so
   sweet and he was all fuzzed out.  He looked so cute!  I'm sending
    you a picture so you can see for yourself (It's an "after bath"
    picture)
    
    Have a good day, Shakespeare!
    
    Tam
    
     
   

    Last night was only the beginning of a major battle!
    
    Bear and Tia have taken a good look at Hulk Hogan and all those
    other goofy wrestlers and decided to hold their own WWF match.
    
    Place:  The living room
    Time:   Any inconvenient moment, such as when someone is speaking
            on the phone, or during a good point in a movie or video!
    Winner: It was a draw!
    
    Tia had the attitude, alert, poised to move in for the kill!  But
    Bear, being the young stud that he is, clearly the winner.  The
    moves these guys use are wild.  Bear, jumping on top of the 52"
    TV (this thing is HUGE!  Like in a sports bar or something ..)
    and dive bombing Tia.  Of course, Zeus got in on the act in the
    end, by pinning Bear down in defense of Tia with one huge paw.
    Then Bear got REALLY MAD!  They totally destroyed the house racing
    around, and we were all laughing like crazy.
    
    I can't wait to see what happens tonight!
    
    Tammi who's_now_living_in_a_zoo!