cats and chanda and dinner

morning antics with cricket and zuzu . . 

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and then afternoon at the center:

meet meatball . . he wouldn't move from his perch so i put his food near him and sat and talked to him. he then dared to come down a level and would have continued but nina hissed at him and he retreated. he finally settled right here and took turns staring at me and staring at the visitors who entered.

the center had a steady stream of people for the two hours i was there and several kittens were adopted again.

staff at the center have written up the sweetest bios for the older cats in their care . .

greta, slim, link and shane . .

pepper, petey, fluff fluff and ridley. they are all sweet animals and respond well to thoughtful attention and loving kindness. i interact most with fluff fluff and ridley, and so have a soft spot for them. (ridley was funny today as he sat directly on the floor in front of nina - she was on the shelf a little above him - and stared intently at her . . i wasn't sure if he was trying to intimidate her or if he was enamoured with her. i've seen him be mean and try to bully other cats that are new, but nina isn't new and can put him in his place.)

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i went on a knitting zoom call when i returned home, and then chanda came by for lunch before going to dance class. i don't know what zuzu is doing behind her . . probably waiting for a treat. zuzu is always hungry.

we talked about the summer internships she would like to apply for. no one has updated the 2023 information yet on their websites.

greg was here today too . . he works from home twice a week.

i made one of my favorite meals for dinner: pasta with homemade tomato sauce and a spinach salad with walnuts and clementines.

victoria is pleased with all the work that has been accomplished these past few weeks and she had a good experience today finishing up important paper work with her lawyer and accountant.

at the center

there were a lot of new cats at the center today. abigail came in to say hi while i was in the second cat room, and shared about how sweet four year old male cat fluffy is, and how he seems to be more of a fred than a fluffy. i certainly agreed with that. when i entered his space this afternoon, he immediately greeted me with several meows and stretched out his paws as if wanting to shake hands. he wanted to play along with garbo, but garbo didn't like sharing the wand toy and hissed so he went away (we later were able to get some wand toy fun in together). two adorable black kittens were in wire cubbies (fancy names for the cages which are large and roomy) and they enjoyed bopping the butterfly toy. sweetie was truly a sweetie and kept purring at me through the bars. in this second room they rotate which cats are out, as they all don't get along together. the next two hour shift would probably find other taking a turn. while i was there today, a young couple came in and adopted garbo! it was exciting to see them walk out with her with big smiles on their faces. fluffy's reaction was interesting to me, as after garbo left he kept meowing and went over and sniffed at her little house that she had been sleeping in. he was definitely aware that she was no longer in the room. he's such a friendly fellow.

 

 

sweetie . . 

magik . . 

 

carver . . 

fluffy . . 

garbo . .

garbo and fluffy . .

jack . . the new kid on ridley's block . .

ridley giving me the evil eye, saying "get this jack cat out of my space."

it was nice to see ridley again today . . though he played with me only for a very little while. he was more irritable than usual, and i think it was because of this new fellow jack. ridley likes to be left alone and jack was bumbling around in a friendly manner which ridley didn't appreicate . . come to think of it, sakura was irritable too and hissed at ridley through her wire cubby. oh, the drama! nina stayed hidden in the back in a drawer.

cat care

 

at the center today . .wednesday (eight weeks), max and moana (both six months) . .

clearing house and a center update

tuesday saw us trying to clear old items from our closets and drawers and morgan rearranging the room that used to be chanda's. it was a lot of work and there are still many items that need to find new corners. we have a guest coming tuesday the 18th (a friend of a friend from paris) and things need to be set up for all to co-exist comfortably. many times i've wished for an attic or a basement in which to store things that i'm sure we could use in the future, but don't need now.

 

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i did a shift at the center today and heard that beautiful nala and sweet darla were adopted! 

 

but not this handsome curmudgeon (ridley). he swats at anyone who tries to pet him, but i know he's really a big mush inside.

 

 i was glad i could get him to play. he has a new friend in his cubby area who is very sweet and didn't hesitate to come out and say hello to me.

(see what a big roly poly fun kitty he can be sometimes?)

the second cubby area had two new young cats: eden who is only four months old, and sweet eve who is two years. (susie is in the background, covertly watching).

sweet eve who happily rolled around next to me.

wild eden who loved attacking the rainbow wand but didn't want any cuddles.

cats and friends and mini golf

 

 after visiting the green market in the morning and having a chocolate croissant with tea, i went to the center for a cat care shift. it was the first time on a weekend and the cat rooms were already very clean, so i just played with the cats for over an hour and then posted photos of them on my instagram stories during the rest of the time. they all came out to play, including darla and ridley.

several families came in to meet cats in the other cat room and many people stopped by to watch darla and nala play with the balls and wands.

nala was ready for a nap afterwards . . 

 

back in her window position . . 

greg met me outside the center and we walked to pier 25 to play miniature golf with ron and andy. it was greg's first time playing. he never went with the girls and i when we would meet with clyde, alex and louie during past summers as he was at work.

greg and i each got a hole in one which is always exciting.

it was nice being out on the pier . . 

afterwards, we had dinner at bubbies (andy had a cobb salad, i had veggie chili, greg a pulled pork sandwich and ron a burger).

the best part, of course, was dessert . . i love their pies and their homemade vanilla ice cream. today i had peach (as there wasn't any blueberry, sadly) and then we walked home along hudson street. the weather has been so beautiful - in the low 80's with a cool breeze. the cicadas have been humming all august, and the crickets are now chirping at night in the cooler air.

rainy monday, cat care, tea and florida

it was a humid and rainy day . . fortunately it wasn't too hot. i think it only went up to 78 or so.

but i got caught in a downpour on my way to cat care . . fortunately, i had my umbrella!

remember nala?

she's queen of the cats.

("i have my toys. go away now. i want to rest.")

janet and i investigated a new tea place . . and found it very nice. the cookies are chocolate chip tahini and ginger .

i had jasmine ascension (forgot to take a pic of all the different teas that make up the brew) and janet had a chai.

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and in the everglades . . 

chanda standing next to a beautiful, giant mahogany tree.