A Happy Ending and 2 More Abys in Need in OH & FL

I love happy endings! Remember last week’s post about three Abys who needed homes, including Old Man in TN? Well, he’s been taken in by a member of the Aby Club on Facebook!

Mimi Cat writes: “Turns out Old Man is only 4 and quite healthy despite being an outdoor, declawed cat. Now that I’ve gotten the chance to really get a look at him, he is covered with small grey scars all over his skin. A sure sign of many fights. He is now named Colorado – I’m calling him Colorado since that is as far as his Avid chip traces him. He’s walking around, following me, asking to walk thru the door, etc. Eating well, purring, and kissing…enjoying good quality food and kitty TV, as his window looks down on my mountain spring…you can just imagine all the action going on down there in the deep woods! He will be rehomed.”

Here’s how Old Man, aka Colorado, looks today. Quite the improvement! But, he’s only 4!? Same age as Jacoby! I can’t imagine losing an Aby and not moving heaven and earth to find him…

But with the happy comes some sadness. Elsa may have been born free, but now she needs a home. This striking red girl is currently in a shelter in Columbus, OH: “Hello, I am Elsa, a senior Abyssinian looking for my last, loving home. My last family had to move and they couldn’t take me with them. What is good about me, is that being a senior, I will mostly just sleep and be a calm, loving companion. If you are interested in adopting me, please email ccrescue614@yahoo.com for an adoption application.”

Poor girl! Hopefully she’ll find herself in a home soon, too.

And then there’s poor Moufassa, in a shelter in West Palm Beach, Florida. Not a lot of information on this guy at all…but look at his face. He looks completely bewildered at being in a shelter. I wonder if his human died? Moufassa’s ID number at the shelter is A1431094 and if you can help him, contact Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control at 561-233-1200.

Aby-a-Day – July 31: Wordless Wednesday (The last word in cleaning)

Funny photos from Facebook

I just wanted to share a couple of funny pictures that have been posted on the Abyssinian Cat Club on Facebook recently. They were just too good to keep to myself!

Sheyrl Harmer Landstrom posted photos of her two Aby kittens dressed up in American Girl clothes by her daughter (yeah, I never did that as a kid. Ever). This one of them cuddled in their pajamas under the covers of a little kitten-sized bed was so irresistible, I just had to add a LOLcat-style caption.

This is my friend Barb’s blue torbie Aby Sky, stealing cherries…I love the Aby grabby hands in action!

Derick van Vuren posted this one a few weeks ago of what happens when you leave a motion-activated camera on while you’re at work:

I have a security camera that takes a picture if it detects something and emails the photo to me. This is the photo I received: Nala slapping the camera!

Finally, this one…I can’t stop giggling at this one. I think we’ve all felt like this around our Abys. This is Debbie Walton’s Maine Coon kitten surrounded by Abys; her caption was this:

AGGGGHHHH…. I am surrounded by these short coated NUTTERS….
Human says they are called Abyssinians…. I think they are all Tasmanian Devils!

The Abyssinian Cat Club on Facebook has almost 2500 members…there are some absolutely amazing photos and stories posted there.

Aby-a-Day – July 30: Food, glorious food! (Cartoon Tuesday)

When we went away for a weekend, we filled all three double feeding stations full of dry food. And Jacoby sat in front of one set of bowls, eating first from one, and then from the other…and then he went to the next set, doing the same thing…lather, rinse, repeat. He was in heaven – everywhere he went, there was food that needed to be eaten!

I said it was “his dream come true.”

(Click cartoon to embiggen, or you can view all cartoons in Slideshow mode on Flickr.)

GC,GP Saynday’s Crazy for Feelin’ So Blue, aka “Patsy”

Sad news, but a legend has joined StarClan…This email came though one of the Aby lists, sent by Teri Kennedy.

I just received a lovely tribute to a cat of one of my breedings
who has passed on over the Rainbow Bridge, from her careperson, Mike
Ruemmier of St. Louis. GC,GP Saynday’s Crazy for Feelin’ So Blue, aka “Patsy” was sent to that place of peace at the age of 14. Patsy, a blue Aby, was born on February 26, 1999 to her dam, GC Saynday’s Tiny Dancer, DM and her sire GC,GP Purssynian Jambe Finite, DM. In that same litter was GC, EC Saynday’s Charly Python of Purssynian, one of the first blues with the most incredible brown undercoat seen back in those days. I was very, very proud of both cats who did well in their respective regions. Charly went on to be a European Champion and was third best cat in Germany in 2002, under the showmanship of Ingrid Stredl — I do not know if Charly is still living.

After Patsy produced some lovely kittens for me, she was retired from breeding and had a wonderful life with her first caregiver, Barbara Mena, who showed Patsy to a one show grand in premiership. Barbara took great delight in Patsy’s companionship for many years until Barbara began to suffer from dementia. That is when Mike stepped in and took Patsy, and he too enjoyed her for many years. Patsy was a wonderful cat to show as Mike mentioned, and she was a good momma to her babies before she was retired.

I had the great pleasure of breeding Patsy to GC,NW Tinbat’s Morgan’s Passing in 2000 and out of that litter Patsy presented me with two gorgeous ruddy kittens who went on to become quite well known in their day — GC,RW Saynday’s Angel Fire and GC,RW Saynday’s Stop the World of Purssynian (Topper). Both of these cats, in turn, produced many beautiful Abys who were one show grands, and regional winners.

Many of the beautiful Saynday cats I bred are either deceased or retired and at this point in my breeding career, I actually have no Abys under the cattery “Saynday” left. Fortunately, many of the wonderful pedigrees I have in the background of present day cats under “3Janes” (with Julie Onstott and Elizabeth Koller) are still active, and beautiful cats are still being produced.

Patsy’s demise has reminded me of my beginnings with my first litter being born in 1995 and of today, 18 years later, of where I had come from, the wonderful people I have been privileged to work with over the years, the stunning cats that were produced and who lived among us, thanks to those collaborations with Ruddibuddy, Tinbat, Crimsoncat, Suncharmer, Dimend, Pandora’s Box, Uffizi, Abyzaby, Purssynian, Azurestar, Chereve, Weslyn, Tigerflower, Glenlea, Abyzona, Varajuan, Zehnder, Indiabi, Heru, Sasauka Boy and Diva, and there may be a few I missed — but look at this list and see how many are no longer breeding.

Patsy will join many of her Aby comrades over the Rainbow Bridge and will be there for all of us at some point in time. Thank you Mike for your loving care of Patsy, and now please see below Mikes’s goodbye to his friend. If you want to see Patsy’s picture, Mike has posted it on Facebook.

Teri Kennedy

Mike’s eulogy, along with the photo above, was also posted on the Facebook Abyssinian Cat Club:

It’s been just 3 months ago almost to the day that renal failure took my beloved Teevors from me. This morning, Patsy joined him. Patsy had lost weight and I was campaigning to get a little back on her. Patsy always had a good appetite, but renal failure takes it toll. This morning I sent her on ahead of me. Patsy’s real name was Crazy for Feeling so Blue. She was a one show Grand Champion as a queen and as a Premier. She was prone to give the judges kisses at cat shows and charmed the socks off about everyone she met. She was retired from shows when she came to me. This picture was taken in one of her favorite places, the insulated jacket for my crock pot. She loved to get up high on top of the cabinets and snooze in it. I will miss her greatly and my home feels all the more empty without her.

Patsy is a legend in the lineage of blue Abys. She is not related to Jacoby (who is, however, descended from one of her mates, Tinbats Morgan’s Passing), but she may actually be a distant relation to Angel though Patsy’s mother Saynday’s Tiny Dancer’s side of the family. Aby pedigrees are so fascinating, and it’s always sad when you see one of those names you always see in them passing away.

Farewell, Patsy.

Found Sorrel/Red Boy in Surrey, UK

Someone in Britain is surely missing this handsome man! And just look at that tail! That’s not Photoshopped!

“He is around 12 – 18 months old, a neutered sorrel male, not microchipped and had no other means of identification. He turned up in a back garden around the middle of June, in Camberley, Surrey.

We brought him into foster care at the beginning of July and have named him Lisso. We have had him vet checked, he is in excellent health and has been well cared for. He is very affectionate, definitely a “people” cat…He plays well with the cats in the foster home, except for another young male who he terrorises!

As you can see from the photo he has a extremely long tail, which he seems unaware of, in that if he walks along a shelf, everything will be knocked to the floor by his tail!

If anyone does recognise him, we would be extremely grateful for any information regarding his background and original home. We will be rehoming him, but will be listing him with the Abyssinian Cat Club rather than using our normal methods. We are always careful with rehoming pedigrees, as they can fall into the wrong hands so easily,.

If anyone needs to contact me, it would be better to use my personal mobile no 07785 724194.

If you need any further info, please let me know.

Kind regards
   
Clare Burch
Operations Director”

I know I have some readers in the UK, and every little bit helps. I think this boy just decided to have an adventure and went on walkabout, but his humans are probably besides themselves with worry.

I’m not certain of the rescue he’s with, but I suspect he may be with Camberley & District Cats Protection; I don’t have an email, so if you think you know where he belongs, it’s probably best to phone the number above. I hope he finds his way home soon!

Aby-a-Day – July 29: Kneedy Kitty (Hipstamatic Monday)

Sometimes, the air conditioning in our apartment gets a little too chilly.

You don’t want to turn it off, because then the apartment gets stuffy, and it’s already turned down pretty low…

…which is why I have a soft, fluffy, white tiger-striped Snuggie by the sofa.

Yeah, don’t hate: I have a Snuggie. It’s soft, it has pockets, it’s washable, it matches the black leather sofa…and it doesn’t collect cat hairs (and if it does, they blend in really well), so it’s perfect for keeping on the sofa.

And, most importantly, the kitties like it.

When I get under it while watching TV, Jacoby comes running. He loves to cuddle with me when I’ve got the Snuggie.

He settles in behind my knees, purring and kneading, and he’ll stay there until I get up.

Since we get grey, rainy days during the summer, too, it’s nice to have a purring kitty to cuddle with.

Aby-a-Day – July 28: Dizzy

Let me just preface this by saying I think this is a Somali.

I’m fairly certain he’s a cat. That seems to be the general consensus, anyway. I do know for a fact that Dizzy is definitely not a squirrel, and if he were a dog or a fox, he’d have more of a snout. JLed includes a lot of felines in his art, so…cat it is.

Whatever he is, he’s pretty cute.

When I was in New York, I made my usual pilgrimage to Toy Tokyo in the village. And I saw a lot of figures by Joe Ledbetter. I already have his Chinese Zodiac Snake, which I got last year in Baltimore, but when I saw Dizzy…

Well, you can see why I had to have him.

Shades of rust…black tipped ears and tail…

Yeah, I’d say Dizzy’s a Somali.

Jacoby really likes him, too.

Abys in Need: Romeo-Pharaoh in NY, Voila in FL and Old Man in TN

A couple of Abys have come up on the rescue networks needing homes…two in the southeastern part of the country and one in the northeast.

Romeo-Pharaoh is a fawn Aby in Putnam County, NY. He is described as good with most cats and good with both children and adults, He has average temperament and energy (although they don’t say if it’s average for an Aby or for a regular cat) and he is neutered but needs vaccinations. And if that tag is any indication, he’s fond of catnip. The listing doesn’t say how old he is; it just says he’s “young.”

“(Romeo-Pharaoh is) an extremely loving, friendly and super affectionate Aby. Loves to cuddle/snuggle. Definite lap cat! A beautiful unique Fawn Color. Great with people and other animals alike! Please contact Christa Marks with any questions or for additional information and photos at 914-826-4525.”

Next we have Voila, a handsome ruddy boy being fostered in south Florida.

“This nine-year-old ruddy male needs a new home where he is the only cat. I have been working with him for 3 months to help him to get along with other cats, but it just isn’t happening. He is gentle and loving toward humans and would be much happier being the center of attention in your loving arms. He comes with papers and pedigree. He is neutered, in good health and up to date on his shots. He is smart, affectionate and the rare Abyssinian lap kitty. I am asking $400, a portion of which goes toward benefiting Abys in need of help. Call C.L. Forrest at 561-756-1701.”

Finally, we have Old Man, a ruddy in a shelter in Johnson City, TN. There isn’t a lot of information on the Petfinder page, but he looks to be an older Aby. He is neutered, and according to the shelter, his adoption fee is only $35! If you’re interested in Old Man, contact the Washington County/Johnson City Animal Control Center at 423-926-8769.

At least none of them seem to have been declawed!

Aby-a-Day – July 27: “Planter” (Saturday Photo Hunt)

This week’s Photo Hunt subject is “Planter.”

I know it’s kind of cheating to repost old photos, but for this word, I can’t resist.

If only I could get Jacoby to wear a little monocle…

Aby-a-Day – July 26: Cat ears (Fashion Friday)

Last weekend at ArtBeat, I wore one of my sets of cat ears. I always get a lot of comments on my cat ears.

And that is because, quite frankly, they’re awesome. They were made by Nox Hyde, who I found on DeviantArt but who also happens to have an Etsy shop.

These are my first pair, the Red-Brown-Black Cat Ears. They’re suede with feathers inside to make the hair inside the ears.

Here’s a photo that John Rutherford of Ataraxia Abyssinians took of me in Stamford with them on. They are comfortable enough to wear all day long, even at a cat show – and I’m a person who doesn’t like wearing hats or hair accessories!

This is my second pair, the Brown Cat Ears, made of leather with goat hide for the hair. They look so much like Jacoby’s ears. I got these recently, so ArtBeat was their maiden voyage.

It’s funny but, sometimes cats kind of freak out when they see a human wearing kitty ears.

This Scottish Fold, for example, could not stop staring!

I’d say it was just ear-envy with the Folds, but this Foldie’s straight-eared sister couldn’t take her eyes off me, either.

This Maine Coon was also mesermerised by my cat ears, which were almost as big as his!

Even Stan’s Buddy wasn’t sure what to make of my ears.

Jake doesn’t seem to mind them, though.

Nope.

They really don’t seem to bother him at all.

Aby-a-Day – July 25: Riding the Red Line

Riding the red line to Somerville is always more fun with Jacoby.

Whether it’s waiting on the platform for the Alewife train to arrive…

…riding the train itself…

…crossing the Charles from Boston to Cambridge and Somerville…

…or waiting for the inbound train back home, it’s always a better commute when there’s a Jake involved!

Aby-a-Day – July 24: Wordless Wednesday (Behind the scenes)

Aby-a-Day – July 23: The Story of King Maj, Part 3 (Cartoon Tuesday)

This cartoon is based on a true story, told by Higgs Plexus on the Facebook Abyssinian Cat Club group. There weren’t any photos of what happened, so I thought I’d illustrate it. If you didn’t see the earlier installments, be sure to read part 1 and part 2 of this series.

Another member of the group commented on this post, saying that if her Abys find a puddle of water on the floor before she does, they will pull paper towels off the roll and place them on top of the spill. Abyssinians are just amazing cats.

(Click cartoon to embiggen, or you can view all cartoons in Slideshow mode on Flickr.)

Other People’s Tabbies: A west-coast Strollercat?

Abyfriend Talia pointed this out to me today: MuniDiaries, a blog about San Francisco’s public transpo system (Muni), posted today about a suave mackerel tabby riding Muni in a red and leopard-print stroller!

I love this a lot because I used to live in San Francisco, and I know the love-hate relationship that the denizens of the City have with Muni. And I’ve taken cats on Muni…albeit, not in a stroller, but it was…wow, 15 years, now, since I moved?

There seem to be a lot of cats riding Muni, like this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and especially this one. And this kitty isn’t even the first cat in a stroller on Muni!

Who knew my old hometown was such a hotbed of public catness? Of course, maybe I did and that’s where I got it from. The cats in SF don’t even make Page 6, let alone Page 1!

Aby-a-Day – July 22: Just a couple of hipsters (Hipstamatic Monday)

Just a few Incredibooth shots of Jacoby and I on the way to ArtBeat on Saturday.

(Incredibooth is an app by the makers of Hipstamatic.)

Aby-a-Day – July 21: It’s ArtBeat time again!

Yesterday was Somerville’s greatest summer festival: ArtBeat!

It was my 14th year and Jacoby’s 4th. We have the tags to prove it!

Every year has a theme, and this year’s was “Micro.” One of the events was a “Micro Mini-Me Parade” wherein people were encouraged to “Bring your adorable double (pet, child, puppet…), wear matching outfits and join us in the ringing in this year’s ArtBeat!” So of course Jake and I were all over that action.

I wore leopard print and green to match his harness and added my cat ears. But instead of him being my Mini-Me, I was his Macro-Me!

I also brought along the latest Strollercat action figure.

It’s still not perfect, but it’s the best little toy stroller I’ve found yet.

Our first stop was to our friend Kim and her Stella Marie Soap booth.

Jake attracts fans no matter where he goes.

You think these two boys were here for the soap?

Sadly, our friend Mike Ritter of Ritterbin Photography did not have his booth set up this year. We missed him – he always takes such awesome photos of us! But my friend Dora got a nice portrait of Jake and me with my friend Barb.

Then there was Strollerdog.

Of course, you know Jake and Strollerdog just had to meet!

It was super hot…90! Luckily, Jake has his fan, and also a fancy mister to help keep him cool.

He’s a little less fond of the mister than he is of his fan.

There are a couple of things Jake and I always do at ArtBeat. We checked out the puppet booth.

This time we found a little kitty hand puppet that Jake took a liking to.

We had our traditional Redbones BBQ for lunch.

And we listened to some music.

The first band we stopped to watch was called Porch-i-oke and they did sing-a-long songs.

There are a couple of different stages for bands at ArtBeat. We saw a few bands play on the big stage behind the T station because it was on the grass and was a nice, cool place to sit.

Well, cooler than being on the pavement, anyway.

The last band we saw was called Muck and the Mires.

They were described as “a cross between 1964 Beatles and The Ramones,” and they were awesome.

On our way back to the Red Line, I got Jake this little button for his stroller. He needed it.

I look forward to ArtBeat all year long.

I think Jake does, too.

Aby-a-Day – July 20: “Really” (Saturday Photo Hunt)

This week’s Photo Hunt subject is “Really.”

This is something Jacoby hears a lot!

The other day I was scanning drawings for a cartoon, and Jake had to “help” by sitting on the glass…so I performed a little cat scan.

“Really, Jake? REALLY!?”

Aby-a-Day – July 19: Jacoby and Kylie (Friday Flashback)

We’ve seen how Jacoby interacted with both Angel and Tessie when he was a kitten; now it’s Kylie’s turn.

This is about a week after Jake joined us. They were already friends.

Kylie was actually the first cat to fully embrace Jake.

But they’ve never had the “cuddly” relationship that Jake and Tessie have had.

They’ve always been more like “work friends” than actual friends, if that makes any sense.

They both love to go out to the park on their leashes.

Because of Kylie’s Maine Coon heritage, they’re close to the same size, but Jake outweighs Kylie by a good kilogram.

They like to run in the hallway together, too.

They do sleep together, but they don’t cuddle when they do it.

Jake and Kylie tend to sleep beside each other instead.

(As opposed to how Jake cuddles with Tessie.)

Jake and Kylie also have always shared an avid interest in treats.

And, since they are the two kitties who have their birthdays in April (Jake’s is April 14 and Kylie’s is April 24), they do tend to photobomb each other’s birthday pictures.

This is one thing that hasn’t changed over the past four years, either!

Aby-a-Day – July 18: Pouncing Playground Bungalow

We went to Petco the other day and saw this cute Planet Petco Pouncing Playground Bungalow.

It’s basically a fancy cardboard box with a scratcher.

Except it has catnip and cute stickers to decorate it!

Tessie was the first to come check it out.

Jacoby read the instructions for me and made sure the catnip was fresh.

Then, it was time to start building!

Yes, Jake…of course you can help!

First, we built the base and put in the scratch pads…

…which Jake immediately tested to make sure they were up to code.

Okay, Jake. I think we’re good.

No, seriously, Jake. I think we’ve got this.

Next, we added the catnip to the scratch pads.

Jake and Tessie were responsible for making sure it was evenly distributed.

They were very thorough.

Jake even made sure the scratching still worked once the catnip was applied.

Then the walls went up!

There’s still a little porch to scratch on outside the house.

Jake checked out the front door.

Yep, the scratchers still work. Good job, Jake!

The bungalow was carefully inspected both inside and out.

Then the roof was raised!

Everyone helped with decorating the little house with the stickers.

Jake tested out the scratcher on the porch again, just to make sure.

It’s also good for just sitting on, as it turns out.

The bungalow isn’t perfect. The roof comes off a little too easily for my liking.

Angel didn’t seem to mind, though.

Fire lazors! Yes, overall, I’d say this little house was a big hit. And I have to admit, it was a lot of fun to build!

Petco makes a castle and a skyscraper, too, and they even have a YouTube video about the set.