Category Archives: animals

Ginger (Orange) Cat Appreciation Day

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Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Ah the Ginger aka Orange Cat appreciation day. Ginger Cats are the redheads of the cat world. Actually their coats can range from pale yellow to reddish brown but all gingers have stripes or swirls in their coats and an M on on their forehead.  All ginger cats are Tabbies but not all tabbies are Gingers.  Some things that make orange cats unique are:

  1. Tabby describes a coat pattern and is not a breed.
  2. 80% of all orange tabby cats are male. The gene for orange color is riding on the X chromosome. Females need to have the gene on both of their X’s while male cats have only 1 X so the odds are better for them than their female counterparts. 
  3. There’s more than 1 type of stripe. There are four different types of tabby patterns that can occur: mackerel (tiger-like stripes), ticked (hair that alternates with light and dark bands), spotted, and classic (which gives a swirled look).
  4. The pigment that gives your Garfield his ginger color is the same one that gives humans red hair.
  5. M marks the spot. 

Photo credit Deb Neumann

6. Orange cats Have Freckles. They usually start to show up at about 2 years of age. Don’t panic if your cat starts getting these black spots on        their  lips or nose. It’s normal for these guys.

They’ve got Purrsonality

I was a late comer to the ginger cat fan club. I was always drawn to black and tuxedo cats. Boy was I missing out! My first orange tabby was Rocky. Rocky was my constant companion for 19 years. He was quirky and funny and always loyal.

Photo credit Deb Neumann

 

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

You can see Rocky’s freckles in this picture.

Banner

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Banner is my current tabby. He got his name by the way he carries his tail on high.

 

Always straight up and confident.  Banner is definitely all Garfield as far as his personality but not his eating habits. No lasagna for Banner. Banner is Mr. Fussy. The original finicky eater. But he has the prey drive in the family. When the toys come out get out of his way. He is 15 lbs of orange fur barreling across the floor to catch that feather toy! That’s not to say he doesn’t enjoy a snooze in the sun.

Photo credit Deb Neumann

Famous Ginger Tabbies

  • Morris the 9 Lives cat
  • Garfield
  • Crookshanks from Harry Potter
  • Marmalade from Cole and Marmalade
  • Heathcliff
  • Puss In Boots

 So hats off to our Ginger aka Orange tabby cats. Lovable , cuddly doofus kitties

photo credit Deb Neumann

Photo credit Deb Neumann

 

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day

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Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day

Yes It’s real. I saw it on Facebook.  Black Cat Appreciation Day aims to dispel all the myths and superstitions surrounding black cats. No more bad luck kitties! 

Its a fact that black cats are less likely to be adopted than cats of another color.  That’s usually attributed to the old superstitions. It is not true that owning a black cat makes you a witch. Maybe that’s just your personality. Its certainly not your cat’s fault! Black cats with their sleek, shiny coats often have an air of mystery.

Balboa- Photo Credit Deb Neumann

  Banner wants to know when ginger cats get an Appreciation Day. He says all this fuss over black cats is unseemly. I think he’s just jealous because Balboa is black and he just had a post all to himself. His Birthday post. (I forgot to post Banner’s birthday so BAD MAMA!)

photo credit Deb Neumann

A little Black Cat

Photo credit Deb Neumann

So here’s my little black cat waiting to be appreciated. He’s been helping me type this post as he quite likes the attention. 

Balboa

Balboa has many names- since he is a chatty cat (read demanding) he is sometimes called “Sir Talks A Lot”.  He’s also a wimp. He is easily frightened and slow to forgive. After the 4th of July fireworks it took him a month to calm down again. He still hasn’t completely forgiven me for the loud bangs. Same with the motorcycles that drive by on the street outside. They startle him and making it hard for him to get his daily nap.

photo credit Deb Neumann

Banner’s Day

By the way. There is an “Orange (Ginger cat) Appreciation Day.” Its September 1st so Banner will just have to wait a couple of weeks for his special post. 

Good Morning Friends

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Good  Morning

Its a beautiful morning. I’m just dropping in to say Hi and let all of you know I’m still alive. I’m finally getting into this retirement thing. The cats have started letting me sleep until 7:30. Big improvement over that 5:30 wake up call. Of course that doesn’t get my day going too quick.

Happy Sunshine Music - Sunny Morning Positive Music - YouTube

CATS

The cats are doing good. Last night after I went to bed I heard this thumping and crying. They were in a wrestling match in the door way of the bed room. When I interrupted them they immediately stopped and both sat side by side with the most innocent look.  Of course I didn’t have a camera. I don’t sleep with my phone you know. But they were picture perfect. Like what Mom? We weren’t doing nothin’. 

 

My Day

My day gets off to a fun start with Banner chasing his tail in the tub. No water mind you. I think he just likes to slide around. He talks to his tail the whole time too. Balboa is most likely to be high on his perch in the cat tree pretending he’s sleeping. Once I get breakfast going I have to call him over and over to get him to come eat. Then I have to put him right in front of his food otherwise he acts like he has no clue where it is. He is one weird kitty.

Photo credit- Deb Neumann

The rest of the day is pretty laid back.  Until I have my retirement finances settled I’m grounded so I spend most of my days on the deck with a good book or sometimes a not so good book but I read it anyway. If I get restless and think I should take a day trip all I have to do is listen to the traffic report. There are traffic jams everywhere. 2 hours to get on or off the cape, 3 hours to get to I 84. Back ups at the New Hampshire border…where  has all this traffic come from

And Shark Week on TV is making me homesick for Hawaii. I’ve watch “Sharkcano”  a dozen times just for the underwater Hawaii shots. 

At least I don’t wake up in a panic anymore. At first I kept thinking I should be at work. Thankfully that seems to be a thing of the past. 

Well I’ve rambled on with no rhyme or reason so I think I’ve said enough. Me, my cats and I are all well and good. We just don’t have much to say. We’re just chillin’ and loving this weather. Winter will be here soon enough. Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

Its a Rainforest Kind of Day

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Like a Rain Forest

Its going to be hot and humid today. Predicted to hit 100 and rain! So far just cloudy but it was already 77 degrees when I got up at 7:30 am. I usually only run the AC at night. I like the hot weather but when I opened my slider it was like being hit with a wall of hot air. The air is so thick with moisture it feels heavy. I think this will be one of those rare days when  I’ll keep the windows shut and AC on.

Looking out my back door- Photo Deb Neumann

 

Strange Kitties

Well now that the weather report is out of the way I just want to mention that I have very strange cats. I’ve had cats all my life. Each cat has their own quirky personality but there do seem to be some universal behaviors so common they make jokes and cat food advertisements about them You know the ones, you turn the can opened on 50 cats come running. 

Hungry Cats Who Have Just Heard The Sound Of a Can Opening (Memes) - I Can Has Cheezburger?

Internet photo/meme

 

Well not my two cats. 

Photo credit- Deb Neumann

Banner will only eat dry food. I’ve tried enticing him with all sorts of wet food, kitty broths and the stuff in the tubes that you squeeze out.  No interest at all. When I put his dry food out he ignores it too. After I go get busy and leave he’ll go eat a little bit- just to check it out. He eats the most after we go to bed at night. Nothing like those midnight snacks.

Banner- Photo Credit Deb Neumann

 

Balboa is also strange. When it’s breakfast time he’s like a lazy teenager. He’ll peek over the top of his cat tree at me but it takes me calling him multiple times before he’ll come running. Then he has to do this stretching walk thing–2 steps and stretch, 2 more and stretch again.  This goes on until I can grab him and put him in front of his bowl of food. If he had to get the food himself he’d starve to death. Once its presented to him he’ll agree to eat.  Its like he has to have an engraved invitation to come to breakfast!

Balboa- Photo credit Deb Neumann

 

 

Its clear to me that with behavior like that I’ll never get to live off proceeds from cat food advertising. 

Playtime

My cats have other strange behaviors too. Just last night I was trying to get them to play before bedtime. I was using a feather wand. Balboa got involved for about 2 minutes then when Banner came over Balboa went off to sit under the table. It was clearly a sulk because he was no longer the center of attention. He shouldn’t have worried.  Banner had no interest in the feather wand. He want to play with the fishing pole. He was so determined that he managed to drag the fishing pole out of the chest I keep it in for safety. We had a rousing game of chase the lure while Balboa watched from the sidelines.

I have more silly things they do but I’ll save some for another time.

 

Another 4th of July

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4th of July

Another 4th of July is in the books. Happy Birthday America. I’m proud and happy to be an American but I don’t like  our celebrations. It is my least favorite holiday for that.  I don’t ever remember being really thrilled with fireworks even as a kid. They are loud and hurt my ears but at least I grew up in the country where you could put some distance between you and ground zero.  They are pretty to watch after all.  But then I got pets and moved to the city. Such fun, if you are a sadist, watching your beloved fur babies shiver and cower behind and under your furniture.

photo credit Deb Neumann

 

Banner

Banner is my calm boy. He handled this years Fireworks like a champ. We started out with a tremendous thunder and lightening storm in the afternoon. Mother Nature’s fireworks setting the stage for the evening. The rain came down in buckets. Banner snoozed through most of it but Balboa was gone in a flash.  When the rain finally let up and the neighbors started with the fire crackers Banner sat peacefully at the sliders and kept watch. The noise didn’t seem to bother him at all. 

photo credit DebNeumann

 

Balboa

Balboa is the perfect example of a ‘fraidy cat.  He went into hiding during the storm and I couldn’t even find him to feed him dinner.  I shook the treat jar and Banner was there in a flash but no sign of Balboa.  

As it began to get dark and the booms louder I closed up the windows and doors and put the A/C on.  I turned up the volume on the TV. It wouldn’t drown out the Fireworks but if would muffle it a bit.  I hoped that would calm my skittish kitty but no luck.

photo credit Deb Neumann

 

There’s our ‘fraidy Cat

Finally around 10 pm Balboa popped out from behind the dishwasher . He wouldn’t leave the kitchen. He would come up to the edge of the linoleum  and then sit down. He wouldn’t come into the living room for anything – even treats. But Banner went nuts. If I had any doubt that these cats had bonded this put those doubts to rest. 

Banner immediately started talking to Balboa. Lots of little chirps and merps then he got the zoomies. He raced back and forth from the living room to the bedroom and back swinging right up to Balboa on each pass. It was clear that he was trying to get Balboa to play. He might have succeeded eventually if right about then another big fireworks  hadn’t gone off. Boom! And Balboa was gone- back behind the dishwasher. 

Photo Credit DebNeumann

Around midnight I felt a bump on the bed and Balboa curled up next to me. All was quiet and dark and once again all is right in my little scaredy cat‘s world.

photo credit Deb Neumann