Since we’re coming up on the anniversary of Jacoby’s escalator accident, I thought I’d tell the story in cartoon form. I have very few photos of the incident (since I was a little busy while it was happening), and it seemed like a good story to illustrate. It’s going to be a five-part series, so here is page 1:
Stay tuned for page 2!
(Click cartoon to embiggen, or you can view all cartoons in Slideshow mode on Flickr.)
Jacoby is such an urban cat.
I love watching him when we go places in Boston.
He’s just so at home in the city.
Pavement, asphalt, metal, cars and trucks, trains, highways…none of it fazes him.
He is the king of the concrete jungle!
While he does seem to enjoy going to parks and other “natural” areas…
…somehow, he’s almost more comfortable where there are sidewalks.
I can’t really picture him living on farm, can you? It’d be like a Manhattanite moving to Alabama!
Angel has decided she wants to eat on the top of her favourite cat tree, and not on the floor like everyone else.
Oh, I try to feed her on the floor, with Tessie, at the fancy new Hepper feeder in the kitchen…
…but she’ll have none of it.
She takes a few bites, and then runs for her tree.
Sometimes, she runs back and forth from her bowl in the kitchen to the tree. Of course, during all this, if Tessie finishes her own and is still hungry, she’ll just move over and start in on Angel’s food.
If you don’t put her food up there, she’ll just sit up there and yell at you until you figure it out.
So I have to give in, and give Angel her dinner on the cat tree. I really would prefer her to eat in the kitchen (for one thing, she likes to eat her food outside the dish, which is one of the main reasons I bought the Hepper NomNom feeder in the first place!
Look at her face: “Well, it’s about time you got the hint and brought me my food here!”
This just started recently, too. For months, she was happy eating on the floor with Tessie. I’m not sure what changed.
She’s loved the tree since we got it back in the old apartment, and it’s even better now that it’s in the window.
My husband got her started on this; for some reason, he started giving her breakfast up there and now she wants all her meals to be served on the patio.
Nom…
Nom…
Nom!
Delicious!
After supper, it’s time for washing up, of course.
It’s so funny how adamant she is about eating her food up there. Thank goodness no one else is so stubborn!
This week’s Photo Hunt subject is “Morning.”
Our apartment get fabulous sun puddles in the mornings.
They are so fabulous, in fact, that Angel will allow Jacoby to get close to her without hissing at him.
Never underestimate solar power!
Of course, as soon as I’d put the camera away, Angel hissed at Jake…I guess the sun’s magic can only go so far…
Okay, everyone in New England who’s been wanting an Aby…I have a sweetheart for you!
“Falstaff is a purebred, neutered male red Abyssinian. He’s nearly 10 years old, but doesn’t know it. He’s athletic and figured out how to jump up onto the refrigerator where we kept his food. It’s no longer there, but we may need to keep it under lock & key!”
Hmmm…perhaps they should have named him something other than Falstaff; Abys have a way of living up to their names, so maybe Hostess Quickly nailed it when she said, “He hath eaten me out of house and home, he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his…” Except this boy doesn’t look all that fat!
“Falstaff is located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which is in the western part of the state. My daughter is out of the country for an extended time. My husband has a debilitating condition, and when he retires in June, 2015, we will sell the house & move to Florida.
Unfortunately, Falstaff has scratched up our furniture & window sills. When Falstaff was a kitten (he was born in our house), he scratched on a tower, which fell over on him. Since then, we’ve tried to interest him in scratching pads, boards, etc. He’ll have nothing to do with them. He enjoys chasing laser beams and paper balls.
We really don’t want to put him in a shelter if we can help it!”
If you are looking for an older (but by no means “old”) Aby with a lot of personality, contact Helen Came at hcameandall5@gmail.com.
My friend Lee does some wonderful embroidery. She has patterns for several breeds of cats and dogs, including, of course, Abyssinians.
You can order embroidered items from her online shop or on eBay. This shirt was recently for auction on eBay, but I think it’s still available.
She will also do your own shirts if you send them to her. I had our therapy shirts done with our names and her “Aby and Heart” design, and I love them. We have the Pet Partners logo on the other side, and it makes us look like a very polished team. If you’re interested, you can contact Lee by email.
The other day, I heard some hissing and growling and looked over to see this drama unfolding in the window…
Angel was in the leopard bed with Handsome Panther…
…and Jacoby wanted to be in the leopard bed with Handsome Panther.
Angel was prepared to defend her napping place with all four feet if necessary.
Possession is nine-tenths of the law, as they say; she had the definite advantage in this battle. Jake needed a considerable amount of leverage to shift her 8.7lbs out of that bed.
Jake really wanted to sleep there.
This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, at least in our house: the unstoppable force screeched to a halt. Immovable Angel for the win! Of course, the fact that my husband and I went over to watch the drama unfold probably affected the outcome.
Jake actually looked a bit upset that we only took photos and didn’t help him turf Angel out of the bed!
Indulge me a little fan art, here…This week’s cartoon was inspired by the most recent book in the Warriors series about ThunderClan’s new leader: Bramblestar’s Storm. If you haven’t yet discovered the Warriors series, and you’re a cat person (which you must be, if you’re reading my blog), then you really should! They’re epic novels, full of thrilling adventures, mystical prophecies, noble quests, riveting battles, wartime intrigue and forbidden romances…all involving feral cats. Kittypets, cats who are taken care of by humans, are generally shunned, but in this book, the feral cats join up with three kittypets who were abandoned when their homes flooded. One of these cats, Jessy, is described as a “brave, bold, sparkling kittypet” with dark brown fur and amber/golden eyes. She’s sarcastic, quick-witted, great at jumping and climbing, and easily adapts to life with the feral cats’ clan. She can only be an Abyssinian…what other type of cat could she be? This cartoon is just a little scene between Jessy and ThunderClan’s new leader, Bramblestar, who have instant chemistry.
I’ve actually asked the author (via her Facebook page) if Jessy really is an Aby, but I’ve not heard back yet.
The background is based on a photo by Aaron Knox under a Creative Commons license.
(Click cartoon to embiggen, or you can view all cartoons in Slideshow mode on Flickr.)
At the SoWa Open Market, there isn’t just finished art to see…you can also see art being made.
Jacoby and I watched these spray paint artists working on new pieces.
It was really intriguing to watch them as they created these paintings. I do art, too, of course, but I don’t know the first thing about spray paint art.
Jake seemed to find it interesting, too.
Looking good!
We watched them for several minutes. It was fascinating to watch them work.
I don’t know why Jake turned his head when the artist looked at him, though!
Here we have raw, front iPhone camera footage of what happens when I try to eat chirashi sushi.
No sooner do I sit down with my dinner, but…
…there she is, purring and rubbing against my head.
And reaching out with her paw to try to pull my fish closer to her mouth.
She tries first one hand…
…and then the other.
She seems to be equally comfortable with either paw when it comes to trying to steal my food.
Angel is absolutely fearless when it comes to food.
Fearless…and fiercely tenacious.
As long as there is food left to steal, Angel will keep on trying to steal it.
Eating while Angel is around is a lot like living in an episode of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom!
I found a bomber jacket to match Jacoby’s trapper hat, and of course I had to get it for him!
He really likes it.
It matches his hat so well!
It’s really a nicely made jacket, too. It zips up the back, and it has leash loops at the top of the zipper.
There’s a stretchy panel at the chest, and the jacket is insulated with a fleece lining.
Jake knows he looks good in it! And it’s so warm.
When I first tried the jacket on him, Jake was napping in the leopard bed.
He was a little sleepy…
He was having a lot of trouble keeping his eyes open…
He actually fell asleep wearing his new jacket…I couldn’t take it off him while he was sleeping, so I just left it on.
It must be very comfortable to wear!
He slept wearing his jacket for three hours.
He didn’t wake up and let me take it off him until it was time to eat.
He was purring pretty hard when I was taking these photos, too…I recorded it to save the sound for posterity!
After our trip to Grafton on Sunday, Jake wanted to walk home, and since we don’t have all that many more nice warm days left, I indulged him.
When he feels like walking, he just hops out and trots along next to the stroller.
He didn’t walk for very long, though. We were both pretty tired.
It was a long day. When we got home, we both took a nap together.
Hard to believe that soon it’ll be too cold to take walks like this.
There are so many funny memories of Gun-Hee…including the time he stole butter.
Today would have been his 8th birthday.
(Click cartoon to embiggen, or you can view all cartoons in Slideshow mode on Flickr.)
The best thing about taking Jacoby to the SoWa Open Market on Sundays is watching him with children.
Like this little girl.
She absolutely loved Jake.
She was thrilled that there was a kitty at the market.
When her mother finally told her they had to go, she gave Jake a sweet goodbye hug. I think it made everyone’s day.
Jacoby and I took the Commuter Rail out to Grafton today for our recertification assessment.
It was a nice, uneventful trip, unlike last time.
He had a pretty good time exploring the lobby of the Tufts Veterinary administration building.
Despite all the dogs.
I was very happy to be able to get a few more copies of the Catnip newsletter with the article about therapy cats and Jake.
I was only able to get one copy mailed to me because I’m not a subscriber. I tried using the “but that’s my photo of my cat” argument, but it didn’t work. So it was an unexpected boon to get a few more copies.
On our train ride home, Jake made a new friend.
This little girl was thrilled to see a kitty on the train.
And Jake was pretty happy to have a little girl pet him. He’s so great with kids.
This week’s Photo Hunt subject is “Rose.”
Angel’s full name is Angelrose. I thought she needed something pretty after her rough beginnings, and “Angel” didn’t seem quite enough.
Her full name is Abytopia’s One-Eyed Angelrose of Purebreds Plus…but of course, that’s not really official. Neither is her Warrior name, Sharpeye. But what’s in a name? That which we call Angelrose by any other name would be as sweet…
The Daily Abyssinian...and Singapura 