Category Archives: Pets

Merry Christmas and Bye Bye 2020

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Merry Christmas to all

It doesn’t feel like Christmas this year. The parties and holiday spirit just doesn’t seem to be here. I think it’s because we’ve spend almost a full year locked down. I didn’t even send Christmas cards this year. Oh I made them up and put them together ready to send but then I never got around to addressing them and putting them in the mail. Do I send them late, an after Christmas wish or save them for next year? In case I decide to save them, here’s my Christmas wishes to all.

Busch Gardens – Santa

Bye Bye 2020

I’m happy to be saying good bye to 2020. It wasn’t bad enough that we’ve spent most of the year in quarantine but we lost my beloved sister -in -law, Robin.

 

And I lost another  piece of my heart when my furry feline companion  of 19 years crossed the rainbow bridge in March.

Rocky’s spirit lives on in his namesake, Balboa. Rocky was named after Rocky Balboa from the Rocky movies. When I adopted Balboa I decided to keep his name. It just seemed to be the right thing to do.

So now I have Banner and Balboa to brighten up my days.

 

Banner & Balboa 2020

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

So with two kittens (Banner 6 months & Balboa 4 months)  in the house I decided to skip the Christmas tree this year. Then I found a cat tree that looks like a plant, maybe not a pine tree but at least a tree. The tree is a hit. Both cats tear around and through it.

I wanted to have a picture of  before and after. A picture of the cat tree and then a picture of it decorated as a Christmas tree. I figured if I used plastic ornaments the cats could play and not hurt anything. Wrong! I never got the lights on before Banner got them in his mouth and snapped the wire right in half.

So we have the tree but no decorations… this year. Just wait you guys, 2021 will be a different year!

Here We Grow Again

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Here We Grow Again

I’ve added another family member to my little home. His name is Balboa and I didn’t adopt him for me as much as for Banner.

 

Banner is the best kitten! After 2 weeks he figured out my routine and knew that once Mama sat down to work that he needed to leave me alone. He looked so sad. If a cat can have “puppy dog eyes” Banner did it. Then he started freaking out when I’d leave the condo. I’d hear him meowing and bumping and scratching at the door. He had a pretty bad case of  separation anxiety.

What to do? What would happen when I was back in the office? What about vacations? Banner needed a little friend. As it turned out I do mean little!

 

Is That Really Banner?

When I first held Balboa I thought he was a real light weight but next to Banner he’s tiny! This is a picture from when he first came home. Banner looks like I should rename him Garfield! He looks huge! Maybe I have a Garfield and Nermal? Banner was about as happy to have a new friend as Garfield was to have Nermal join his family.

 

There’s been a lot of growling but no hissing. They have been chasing each other all around and no one seems the worse for wear except me.

Balboa Can Hold His Own

For a tiny kitten Balboa doesn’t let Banner intimidate him. In spite of  Banner’s growls Balboa seems to think Banner is playing with him. I’ll have to work on getting some more photos. Black cats are notoriously hard to photograph as the black color just sucks in all the light. In this case Balboa doesn’t slow down for a second. He’s just a black streak! So I can add motion as another challenge.  I’m not sure how he got the name Balboa but I like the way  Banner & Balboa sound together and since Rocky was named after the movie character Rocky Balboa,

it seems fitting that this next generation continue the name.

Rocky my cat

The Original Rocky

 

 

Is Maine an Option?

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A Spring Vacation in Maine?

I saw a chance to reserve a cabin in the Maine woods in May. I’ve been to Rangeley Maine before. There’s not much to do except enjoy the scenery and hike. You might see a moose or deer  or if you’re really lucky a fox kit.

 

Little fox on side of road

I spent a week in Mane in June one year so I jumped at the chance to make the reservation. Now I’m having 2nd thoughts. For one thing I’ve added Banner to my household and he can’t go. If he was a dog he would be welcomed but cats are not allowed. I’m not sure I’m ready to be separated  yet.

 

The second reason is that Maine has reinstated it’s COVID quarantine for people from MA. If I have to be quarantined for 2 weeks I might as well stay home.

My last reason for questioning this decision is snow. Rangeley Maine is in the middle of the state right in the mountains. It’s a beautiful place but will it still be snowbound in May? Perhaps some more research is needed.

Speaking of Banner

Banner is growing like a weed and is a really good kitten most of the time. He leaves me alone to work either sleeping or playing with his toys. That’s amazing! But he did discover the jigsaw puzzle so that project had to be boxed up before the pieces were lost. A few now have kitty teeth marks!

We discovered Cat TV on YouTube.  When he gets particularly feisty I put the video on. If I add sound it really makes him crazy . He goes after the speakers so we usually watch “silent” TV.

As you can see Banner can be distracted too but comes back strong. Can you hear him purr? He is quite proud of himself.

He can also be entertained by just watching the curser or the letters on the screen as I type.

 

Where Have We Been?

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Where have we been?

I don’t mean travel. COVID still has us locked down but where have we been the last couple of weeks? Well kitten duty is time consuming. Even with toys Banner is a demanding little bugger! I try to play with him for at least 30 minutes before work every day. If I don’t he is so wound up I can’t get any work done. It took him only about 2 seconds with my back turned to tear into my work laptop. Yup he pulled the F2 key off. I lucked out because I snagged it back from him before he he swallowed it and I don’t use the F2 key. I didn’t even know what it did so other than a white spot I guess there was no real harm done.

We Got Our First Snowfall

It snowed here yesterday and then the temps dropped so we still have snow on the ground today. I read that the Farmer’s Almanac has predicted a snowy , cold winter. Why not?  2020 has thrown everything else at us!  I tried to get Banner interested in watching the snow come down but he had no interest at all, A kitten after my own heart. He’s more interested in the feather trim on my witch hat for Halloween.

 

You need to arch your back a little more , Banner , to get that scary Halloween witch cat look! At least he’s got the tail thing mastered.

New York Wildlife

On a more photography/travel related note I got my New York Wildlife Viewing guide. Hopefully this will help me choose some trips in 2021. I couldn’t just buy the book. The only way to get it was to subscribe to Conservationist Magazine. I’ve gotten one digital issue so far and it was really good. I hope some of my issues will be print because the color photos are gorgeous and the articles weren’t boring at all!

The first thing I checked was Adirondacks and the first place on the list was “The Wild” in Tupper Lake. If you recall my brother and I visited “The Wild” in August. 

From the description in the book it sounds like there is a lot more to it than what we saw. Of course we were there while the pandemic was still in full force so half the exhibits were closed. Once this COVID is all over I’ll have to go back. We might have missed some other things there too because my knees were  really limiting my mobility.  I’m working on possible solutions to improve that too.

Puzzle Update

The Puzzle is still laid out on the table but I picked up the loose pieces and put them in the box.  So far Banner has not tried to eat them but I don’t want to tempt him either. So there’s been no progress to report but no damage from curious kitty either. It’s just waiting for me to get some time to work on it again.

 

 

Banner’s New Toy

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Banner’s New Toy

Kittens are so much fun but keeping them amused can be a full time job. To help avoid kitty boredom I got Banner a new Toy.

It’s not like he was lacking toys . His starter arsenal included 12 mini mice, a crooked cat tree, a kick toy, catnip and a scratching ramp.  He lost the mini mice within 1 day. I found myself trekking back to the store for another package of 6.

Boxes, Boxes and more Boxes

I’ve been ordering from Chewy almost daily so the living room is filled with Chewy Boxes. I have to start throwing some out but Banner uses them all. They are another form of toy for him. Which one will I steal away from him first? One of his favorite games is “Find the Kitty” sort of a cat hide and seek. 

The Feather Wand

Rocky my cat

“Uncle Rocky”

Just like his “Uncle Rocky”, Banner loves his feather wand toy. Of course that requires my attention. He bounces and jumps like Tigger trying to catch that feather. We play with the Feather Wand every morning before I try to go to work. It’s fun but it’s also my way of trying to tire him out so I can work. He likes to sit on the computer keyboard or chew on my headset when I’m in a zoom meeting so getting him tired is a necessity.

The Wellness Checkup

Dr Ross, a mobile vet in our community came over for Banner’s wellness check that was required by the shelter I adopted him from. He passed with flying colors. Dr. Ross played with Banner and gave him treats. What a difference from my previous vet visits. No stress on Banner. No stress on me either. Switching vets was such a good idea. Yes, I know, I am spoiling my kitten. But I have to say he is one happy kitten. He’s my purr machine. The only thing I can’t get him to do is to eat wet kitten food. He only wants the dry. This is the first cat I’ve ever had that didn’t want wet cat food.