Picture Of The Day May 2021:
For Past Month's Picture of the Day Pages, Go To the Contents Page Here.
Click Here For The April 2021 Pic-of-the-day page
Monday May 31, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Andi through a screened window.
Taken: May 2018.
Sunday May 30, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Over the past few days I've featured the kitten Chessie and a couple of pictures with her sister Elly-May. Here is a picture of all five kittens nursing from their mom who I named Mumma-Puma. I was so amazed when I took in Mumma-Puma and her kittens how the kittens were all so different looking. I used to tell people who asked what the kittens looked like, that I got the kitten sampler pack. By the way, I named the mom cat Mumma-Puma because she was the mom cat and when she meowed, she sounded like a puma. The name also has a nice sounding quality to it. Mumma-Puma, Chessie (brown tabby) and Leon (orange tabby) are gone now, but I still have Andi (tuxedo), Elly-May (white with orange patches) and Daisy (upper left - white, orange & black). Although I was in a bit of a state of shock ending up with 6 more cats all at once when I took them in, I really enjoyed that time with them in the log cabin, and feel so lucky to have had them and watch them grow up together. They all knew they were family, and stayed close. It was hard to watch when Leon and Chessie predeceased their mom, and Mumma-Puma would wander around the house meowing like a mom cat calling for her kittens - which is exactly what it was. Mumma-Puma passed away shortly after that. When Mumma-Puma passed away, the three remaining kittens -especially Andi - seemed so lost without their mom. They were 10 when their mom died, and had never been without her in their lives before.
Taken: January 2009.
Saturday May 29, 2021 Pic of the Day.
I couldn't resist another picture of the kitten Chessie (brown tabby) with her sister Elly-May.
Taken: January 2009.
Friday May 28, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Another picture of Chessie (brown tabby) when she was a kitten. This time with her sister Elly-May from the same litter. Hard to believe these two are sisters from the same litter as they look nothing alike. Taken in a four wheeled cart I used for bringing in the firewood. At the time my only source of heat was a wood stove. I had brought in the firewood and left it in the back room so any snow or ice would melt away before I brought it into the main room and stacked it by the woodstove. When I went to get the wood, I found this.
Taken: January 2009.
Thursday May 27, 2021 Pic of the Day.
I mentioned in yesterday's picture that Chessie was enthralled with Cornelius. I looked and found a picture of the two of them. Terrible quality photo (taken without flash in low light on a 2003 digital camera). Chessie is using Cornelius' tail as a pillow. Cornelius was a very large cat - Chessie was a normal sized 4 month old kitten here. Cornelius was amazing with the kittens, and seemed to adore all of them.
Taken: January 2009.
Wednesday May 26, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Chessie in a basket on the bookshelf counter. Chessie had the ability to fit into places that seemed too small for her, yet she seemed comfortable. Chessie was so sweet and innocent. I never once saw her mad or agressive. In fact, other cats would not even try to bully her, it's as if she was a ghost to them. I don't think she ever bit, hissed or even took a swing at another cat or person. I guess she was too sweet for this world, as she developed health issues at 3 years old immediately after Cornelius died, and she passed away at 8 1/2 despite extensive vet care. She was enthralled with Cornelius, and after he was gone she seemed lost.
Taken: May 2016.
Tuesday May 25, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Margarita in the window behind the blinds. Margarita has her trademark look in her eyes, but this time with a glint of contentment.
Taken: May 2016.
Monday May 24, 2021 Pic of the Day.
This picture was taken 12 years ago. Andi (tuxedo) and her brother Leon (orange tabby) in the cat pen I made for them when I lived in a log cabin in the woods. The area I lived in was deep woods surrounded the thousands of acres of wild forest, lakes, marshland and very small mountains and even a long extinct volcano worn down over time to just a round, tiny mountain that someone had built a luge run down one side. You can read more about the cat pen here.
Taken: May 2009.
Sunday May 23, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Dexter having a snooze, or maybe meditating, in the cat tree on the middle shelf. His black and white colouring looks so sharp here. This was taken with a discount smartphone camera, but it turned out quite well.
Taken: May 2018.
Saturday May 22, 2021 Pic of the Day.
The big handsome Dexter in a basket.
Taken: May 2021.
Friday May 21, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Norton enjoying the morning sun on the sleigh on the side of the cat tree. One of Norton's features is his very long mane. I've never had a cat with a long mane like a lion before. It is interesting to watch him clean it.
Taken: April 2020.
Thursday May 20, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Margarita in her basket beside where I sleep. This picture was taken on May 06 of this year, and you should compare it to the picture taken of her on March 16 of this year that I used for the April 01 picture of the day. I go on about the look in Margarita's eyes, but comparing these pictures is quite revealing. The April 01 picture of the day is at the bottom of this page: Click Here. Another interesting (well, for me anyway) comparison is Margarita in this picture to Avensby in the Tuesday, May 18 picture below. You could not imagine two more different personalities, and yet people confuse the two because they are both small tuxedo cats. To me, they look so different, but I see character, not fur colour. Though, for the most part, I don't try and explain that anymore. I just say that Avensby has a button nose (black spot), whereas Margarita has a pink nose.
Taken: May 2021.
Wednesday May 19, 2021 Pic of the Day.
The cat licking her side with her leg over the edge of the coffee table is Mumma-Puma - the mom cat who is about 9 1/2 here. On the right of Mumma-Puma is her 5/12 year old orange tabby son Leon. Behind her is her 5 1/2 year old brown tabby daughter Chessie. On the left with her arms outstretched (white with big orange & black patches) is her 5 1/2 year old daughter Elly-May. On the couch behind is Dexter - an unrelated Tuxedo who is about 6 here. And on the far left is a cat that may or may not be related to Mumma-Puma - Fiona . I say may or may not be related because Fiona was found in the same area that Mumma-Puma was found, but 3 years apart. Her colouring and Elly-May's colouring is so similar, it makes me think there must be some relation.
Taken: May 2014.
Tuesday May 18, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Avensby on her 5th birthday in one of the baskets on the top of the cat tree.
Taken: May 2021.
Monday May 17, 2021 Pic of the Day.
When I saw this picture I remembered why I used to call Cornelius "Old Rabbit Ears". Over time as his fur got longer, his ears were not as prominent. When first found, he had really short hair.
Taken: June 2003.
Sunday May 16, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Mouse perspective of what a tuxedo cat looks like. I've been looking around at pictures from 2003. This picture is an accident. I was trying to get a close up of Cornelius' face from below when he heard a sound from the kitchen and moved just as I took the picture. I had Cornelius for 10 months when this picture was taken. He was 5 years old here. He was a feral 4 year old tomcat from corn & soy country when I found him, and at this point, he was still fairly wild.
Taken: June 2003.
Saturday May 15, 2021 Pic of the Day.
I was thinking about 2003, and decided to look back. On the left is Ruffy, and beside him with her tail up is Betty. Both were found cats that lived with friends of mine. I would cat-sit them quite often and came to think of them as family. Betty only had one eye, but she was so full of spirit. Ruffy was sweet and gentle. Of course, both are gone now. This is taken on the kitchen table at my friends house in May of 2003 - 18 years ago now.
Taken: May 2003.
Friday May 14, 2021 Pic of the Day.
These two are great friends. I pulled this old office chair up beside the chair I was in, and called them over. They came running over, hopped up and sat beside me while I read.
Taken: May 2021.
Thursday May 13, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Like yesterday, another picture from the fall of 2017 I had forgotten about. Looks like a Tuxedo girl meeting in the sunroom. Andi on the left, Avensby in the centre, Margarita to the right.
Taken: September 2017.
Wednesday May 12, 2021 Pic of the Day.
When I was looking for a picture of Leon (orange tabby), I discovered a large number of pictures from the fall of 2017 that I don't remember seeing before. For some reason, I've skipped over 2017 for a long time. Really not sure why that is. On the far left is Andi, but you can only see a bit of the black of her back. Then Leon, next is Patty (silver), then Avensby (tuxedo) and on the shelf on the right of the picture is Dexter, but you can only see his back and tail.
Taken: September 2017.
Tuesday May 11, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Toy mouse washing day! These knitted toy mice are a real hit with the cats. Made by a friend for me. They get dirty after a while. Cats knock them into the food dish, or drop them in the water dish, or they just get dusty over time. I wash them by soaking in warm water with a bit of dish soap, then rinse a few times, then hang out to dry like you see here. After fully dry, I rub them around in some dried catnip. After that, they are ready to go.
Taken: May 2018.
Monday May 10, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Fiona is 11 1/2 years old now. A feral cat that was always very aloof and independent until March of 2020 when she got quite sick. Vet visits, medicines, and lots of care was needed. I would hold her to comfort her, and she would fall asleep in my arms. After she got better, she treated me like I was her hero. I'm convinced she is aware I took careful care of her when she was quite helpless. What you see here is what she does regularly when I sit or lie down. She never did this before she got sick.
Taken: April 2021.
Sunday May 09, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Elly-May sleeps like this quite often. I've tried to take her picture before, but as soon as I got the camera out, she heard me and uncovered her eyes and looked around to see what was going on. I happened to have the camera out before this, then she fell asleep, so all I had to do was take the picture.
Taken: April 2021.
Saturday May 08, 2021 Pic of the Day.
I was looking for another picture when I saw this one. I have no recollection of taking this picture. I'm not sure what the white area is on the lower edge of the picture that Margarita is fading into. I normally take at least 4 pictures at a time to get one that turns out. I only took one of her in this spot. Oh well, I actually like this picture of her, so that's all that matters I guess.
Taken: April 2021.
Friday May 07, 2021 Pic of the Day.
I keep the cat's toys in a basket. Before I vacuum, I put all the toys in the basket. The cats know where they are, and take them out as needed. One day I found Avenby (at about 11 weeks old) sleeping in the toy basket. I'm not sure what happened, but my guess is she went in to play and then fell asleep.
Taken: July 2016.
Thursday May 06, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Avenby (kitten - 12 weeks old) and Dexter. Dexter was found as a 4 year old feral tomcat. In this picture he would have been 8 years old. Yet, when Avenby was brought into the house as a kitten, like my other two male cats, he treated her with genuine kindness - see the Monday, May 03 picture of Avensby with Norton. He even seemed amused when Avenby would pounce onto his back. A couple of the female cats tollerated her, but the male cats were outright parental in their behaviour. I like this picture because of the look in Dexter's eyes. I don't think even he can believe what is going on here. It was at this time I started calling Dexter "uncle Dexter", and that name has stuck over time. Dexter has another name - Tron - because when I first brought him home in February 2012, he latched onto my sweatshirt I was wearing, and would not let go for a day other than eating and using the litter box, and so the morning after I brought him home, we watched the movie Tron from 1982 with him clamped onto my chest. He actually watched the whole movie with me. I think that was the first time he had seen moving pictures. The first night I had him, he stayed clamped onto me when I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. I have zero knowledge of what his life was like before he was found, but I know he had never seen the inside of a house by the way he reacted to normal house events. He was so happy to have a home, it was both very nice and a little sad.
Taken: July 2016.
Wednesday May 05, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Dexter and Norton are real friends. They clean each other where they can't reach on themselves - their faces.
Taken: April 2021.
Tuesday May 04, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Last month I showed pictures of Norton (left) and Patty (right) and told the story that Patty is not a particularly social cat, but Norton won her over and they became friends after Norton made the big effort for a year or more. In this picture, Patty had been lying on the blanket and Norton came over and settled beside her. To my surprise, Patty reached over with her hand and did this. I've mentioned before, I call their front legs & paws "arms & hands" when they use them like arms/hands, and call them "front legs & paws" when they use them like legs/feet. As I've said many times, cats have the abiltiy to use them as both. In this case, they are using them like hands. Not standard, but it works for me.
Taken: April 2021.
Monday May 03, 2021 Pic of the Day.
For the May 1 picture I showed Avensby (tuxedo kitten) when she was about 8 weeks old and I mentioned that she and Norton were destined to become close. Here is Avensby with Norton when Avenby was 11 weeks old. He took such good care of her until she was fully grown.
Taken: July 2016.
Sunday May 02, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Both Avensby and Norton came from the house next door to me. Both were kittens of feral cats fed by my neighbour. They lived in my neighbour's garden sheds and gazebo, and would come out to the front porch for food. Yesterday, I showed a picture of Avensby when she was about 8 weeks old. I don't have pictures of Norton before this one of when he was 3 1/2 months old with his mom and siblings. Norton is the one on the step with his back to the camera. The person in the picture was my 80 year old neighbour who fed the cats. I finally relented and took in Norton in December of 2015 when it started to get colder. I actually tried to take in 2 more, but they were not to be made into house cats like Norton was destined to be. BTW, in this picture, the cat with her head right above Norton's head is his mom. The rest are siblings from the same litter.
Taken: August 2015.
Saturday May 01, 2021 Pic of the Day.
Approximately today, five years ago, Avensby would have been born. I got her at the end of June 2016, and the vet said she was right about 8 weeks old. So, I consider her birthday to be May 1, 2016. This is her on July 1, 2016 settled in her new temporary home in the dog pen (with chicken wire all around as she would have been able to squeeze through the dog pen sides). It is suspended from the ceiling to be at my face height. This way she could watch the other cats, they could watch her and each get used to the new smells, but be totally safe with no ability for physical contact until I did supervised outings. This slow, methodical introduction method has always worked for me. She and I both really enjoyed the time she lived in here, which was about 2 weeks if I remember correctly. She had her sleeping basket, scratching log (left of basket) a litterbox (foreground), food, water, a two storey cardboard box with holes and passages (left of clear plastic litter box, but out of sight), a second story plastic shelf (yellow) with her toys in it, and a toy mouse hanging from the top that she used to like to bat around before she fell asleep. Norton is on the chair in the background. They had not met yet when this picture was taken, but they were destined to be the closest of friends. He ended up being like a parent to her. Also, my best guess is that Norton would have been born around May 1, 2015, so today is like a double birthday. Happy May everyone.
Taken: July 2016.
For Past Month's Picture of the Day Pages, Go To the Contents Page Here.
Click Here For The April 2021 Pic-of-the-day page
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