There are so many joys associated
with raising Maine Coon Cats . . . High on the list is the
enjoyment that comes back to me through the stories of the
new owners’.
With the hope that others would find them equally as
enjoyable, I have decided to have a “Cat Tales” page . . . I
thank Michael’s mother for the page title :)
Dear Ginger,
We have not talked for some time, but we must tell you how
much we still love our beautiful Sabastian we got from you
several years ago! He will be 4 years old on April 26 and he
is a really special part of our family! Before we got him
you told us you thought he would be great with our son… he
reminded you of a previous kitty who loved his boy and would
follow him around. Well, we have shared with you before how
right you were! Sabastian absolutely loves “his boy”… our 8
year old son, Gabriel. He follows him in his room when he is
playing and he loves to wake him up every morning! He will
go and sit outside Gabriel’s door and cry until we let him
in to wake him up! He purrs so loud and is incredibly
loving! We finally recorded ...you can watch it for
yourself. We just had to share it with you!
Sabastian still has his own unique ways with each of us. For
Erik, he is the playmate… and when he is wild, they play
hide and seek. He also still follows Erik into the bathroom
every time!... no one else… then he sits on the sink and put
his paw on his shoulder until he gives him a rub or some
water from the sink. With Susan, he is the cuddler! He does
his sweet cat talk, we call it his “chirpple” and jumps up
and kneeds the blanket she is under and curls up and sits on
her lap.
He is still the most beautiful and loving cat and we love
him so much! We thank you and we are still so grateful to
you for him! We keep saying when we are ready for another
cat… (we still have our older rescue cat who is now 14 years
old!)…we want a Maine Coon… and we will be calling you!
Hope you enjoy the video.. should make you smile!
Love,
Erik & Susan
Sabastian waking Gabriel in the morning!
Another “Cat Tale” from Michael who has a
“Laurel” and “Jack” female kitten”
6/11/2009 5:53 pm
ALL -- a quick update for the worrying
people... (Names not included)
Just wanted to let you know the status of the new member of
the house hold... - Carmella Roxie of Will.
She is doing great! She cried some very soft meows when we
first left the house this morning, but after a few minutes,
she curled up and went to sleep. She was fine the entire
time in her carry on bag... At security, she came out fine,
nice and calm, and went right back in with no problems -- no
claws or war scars to be shown here. On the plane and ride
back to my house, she was fine, again slept almost the
entire time. I reached in every now and then and petted her,
and she started purring right away.
When I got home, I left her in her carry-on while I quickly
turned on the AC/Fans and prepared the Library. I put some
fresh water and food down and filled up the LitterMaid box.
I then opened up the carry-on on the side and let her come
out on her own. Within seconds, she came out and started
purring and rubbing all over me... I showed her the water,
food and kitty litter, so hopefully she knows where it its.
After that, I had to mow the lawn so I gated her in the
Library and she did fine... Left a few toys there and she
played with them a little and each time I came in to check
on her she ran to the gate to greet me...
As I type this, she is playing with a
feather toy (been doing so for about 10 minutes +) and then
breaking every now and then to walk around the living room.
I did manage to loose the cat within 5 minutes though :-) I
went to the fridge to get some water and came back and she
was gone... Found her curled up on the bottom of the table
by the couch. She has already found the hiding place behind
the couch, which is good for later when she meets the dogs.
The dog toys are all over the room and she has actually been
playing with one of them (Lacey's squirrel).
I do have to say though I will be much happier once I see
her drink, eat and then potty in the right place... :-) So
hopefully, this will happen soon. More to come later,
pictures and movies. Michael
6/12/2009 7:12 am
Sshh... I have to be quick, Dad is not around and he stated
he does not like me using/sitting on his computer.
I have to say, I like my new surroundings. It is a BIG
house, three floors and my dad has wall-to-wall carpeting in
the basement. The stone floor is also great to take some
quick naps on, after playing with my feather toy. Dad says
the house is all mine, but I think he is misleading me.
There are all these new smells around the house and BIG
toys. I think something else is coming, but not sure. I love
Dad's pillow on the couch... He uses it a lot, but I think
it really should be for me... Great place to lie on and take
naps.
I found the big water bowl last night and drank some water
-- hmmm good. Also, found my food late last night and ate
some. Dad keeps showing me the cat litter, but I told him I
don't have to go yet. He seems worried I will pee/poop
somewhere.
Last night my dad left me alone in the Library to read... he
stated, but I think he needed some rest from me. I kept him
busy, ha! Loved to crawl up behind his neck on the couch and
lick his hair. For some reason, he kept turning up the TV
when I purred louder, not sure why. :) I did okay last night
in the Library, I cried a little, and Dad came down to pet
me... Then he left again... He greeted me this morning
around 6:00am and I was sure glad to see him. I like
sleeping underneath the larger green chair.
Oops, Dad is coming... got to run, before he sees me on his
computer.... Carmella
6/12/2009 12:04 pm
Need to be brief and quick...
All I have to say, is what was
that!!!!! I think I saw a dog... Nope, I saw TWO DOGS! Oh my
goodness. Send help! Send evacuation...! Send
re-enforcements!
Wait... Hmmm... That was interesting... If I arch my back,
hiss and growl and throw my hands up in the air, they run
away... Wahoo!!! I found a defense mechanism. Hold that
order for evacuation, I may be able to handle this myself...
Carmella out...
6/12/2009 7:23 pm
Ginger,
Just wanted to say again, thanks for
allowing me to spend the time I did with the cats at your
house and get to see ALL of them and even experience the
bathing of the cats. It was a wonderful experience, and I
learned so much from you about cats. Carmella is doing fine!
She has eaten her food twice and used the potty! Yeah! I
actually got my cat tree/house today, after I ran out and
bought another scratching pad (S-curved). So she helped me
put it together, and now she's been sleeping up on the third
tier for some time -- I think she's a tired cat.
She and the dogs have been doing great. She's actually
chasing Lacey around. :) Lacey seems to love the attention
too. When I got the S-shaped scratching patch, I found out
there was a toy underneath that hangs down. Carmella enjoyed
playing with the toy, flipping over on her back, pulling
herself through the hoop; meanwhile Lacey was 1-2 feet away,
lying down and watching her. Every now and then, Carmella
stopped, hissed and Lacey jumped backwards only to lay back
down and watch the cat play.
The best part was when I was moving food around in the
pantry later today (dog food and kitty litter); both dogs
and the cat were side-by-side looking for handouts. They
didn't care one was a dog and the other a cat. Later, they
walked out together and Lacey and Carmella on their own
touched noses. -- Wonderful experience to see them get along
so quickly! However, I am still keeping a solid eye on them.
Earlier this morning I sat down with Carmella in my lap and
had the dogs come over and smell her, making sure they
approach quietly and slowly. She and the dogs acted fine...
Carmella has the sense of trust with me, with no
hissing/growling.
I credit this to your dedication and training the kittens.
Your time and effort have truly made my experience more
joyful and rewarding seeing my pets getting along so
quickly. Not only that, but just the joy of being with
Carmella. She's a little talker and LOVES to purr and sleep
on my lap. Before she falls asleep I have to endure a cat
bath with a few nips.. :) Hope that is good.
Any way, I can't say thanks enough, I think she's a great
additional to the family. I updated the website to include
some more pictures and another section of Carmella. Enjoy
them! More to come later.
6/13/2009
Oops, got to watch that hair trigger paw, hit the "send"
button to soon.....
It's 0630 and all is well. Dad put me in the Library again
last night, but I escaped. The new gate has a kitty door,
which was closed, but I am still small enough to slip
through the gate. This works well, since my supposed sister
(Lacey), who by the way has no resemblance to me, can still
fit through the smaller gate. Yesterday she decided to help
herself to my left over cat food.
Dad got up this morning around 4:45 am to take the dogs out
and feed them. I came out to greet him from behind the big
chair in the family room. I did have a small accident last
night. While I used the kitty litter, I still had some loose
stool. Dad cleaned me up pretty good, combing the dry stuff
out and then used a wet cloth to clean up my nice britches.
Dad and dogs went back to bed around 5:00 and left me
downstairs alone, so I started to cry. As planned, Dad came
down the stairs and took me back to the bed. Wow! Do I love
the bed - nice and soft and so many places to lie on and
under. Before I decided to sleep, I had to lick Dad, purr in
his ear, and paw at his under arms. Wow -- talk about
catnip. (Mental cat note: Got to be careful there, because
to much pressure makes Dad jump). After about 15 minutes, I
decided to get down and explore only to come back and sleep
on the bed. Around 7:20, I thought it was time to get Dad
up, so I jumped started my purring motor and curled up right
next to his ear/pillow. It worked... Ha! I even got a treat
for it.
Dad went downstairs and left me on the bed, but I followed
him down later after hearing him in the kitchen. Dogs were
outside, so I had a blast running around the house chasing
things. I am exhausted now and need to have a catnap.
More to come later, Carmella...
6/17/2009 7:07 pm
sssh.. I'm undercover this week...
Acting like a dog to infiltrate this clan of supposed pure
bred Shelties.
I've had to go undercover acting like a dog to attempt to
befriend these furry beings. Note for other cats, it works
great, but need to slow down on the bolting across the
rooms, it seems to excite the young one. Once that occurs,
it's none stop fun, racing around the house attempting to
loose my tail. Okay, not my tail, but the other dog tail. I
have great fun racing through the main floor and sliding on
the wood and stone floors. The young dog, can't keep her
balance as I hit those corners sharply and head up the
stairs. Dad has nicked name me “Zoom Zoom”, since I dart
back and forth between furniture and around the kitchen
counter.
Contrary to what I was told by my cat mother, dogs do have
some benefit. I LOVE their soft tongue as they lick me and
give me baths. I can easily control where, by simply rolling
over and exposing points I wish to be licked. The belly and
head are nice. The butt licking has some benefits too, no
need for toilet paper. I do have to return the favor to the
small one to, to not blow my cover, which is okay. I simply
hold her down with my paws and lick away. She seems to enjoy
it as well.
The old dog is a push over. Today I attempted to spy on her
and quietly crawled behind the couch, and snuck ever so
gently underneath the side table of the couch; her doggy
towel was covering my approach while she lay there ever so
quietly. I counted slowly. One.... Two... THREE! I cried,
“Got ya” as I extended my paw through the towel. Wow! You
should have seen that old dog jump! She must have jumped 3
feet sideways, and ran to Dad whining, telling on me... My
cover was blown. Darn!
With regards to my control of these creatures I've got the
water bowl covered with ease. When I'm at the water bowl,
the dogs must wait! I simply keep drinking at my lea-sure
with no pressure, as the dogs, circle me and whine, asking
me to please move, so they can get water. I do let them
drink, but only after my thirst has been satisfied. ha ha
ha... Cat's rule. eeh hmm. I'm mean dogs rule... (Forgot I
was a dog).
Dad took Lacey and me to the vet today. Dad said I was
pretty good, but I meowed a lot. The nice vet examined me
and said I seemed to be in good health. They loved me too,
and said I was very pretty. Once we got home, I did reward
Dad with a nice smelly bowel movement... Hopefully that will
teach him from letting someone take my temperature in such
an undignified method. Geez. No respect here...
Got to run... Tired and the dogs are sleeping too. Need to
keep with my doggy cover and sleep as well when they do.
Over and out. -- Carmella.
Note: Our contract reads:
“The cat will be reared indoors and will not be allowed
outdoors
unless under controlled conditions, such as a halter and
leash
and only then with the closet of supervision, or in a
secured run.”
I was thinking an occasional cup of coffee etc.
on a deck or patio :)
The following picture expanded that vision . . .
This is “Dr. Sanford”
(eight months old) on a camping trip to Jekyll Island!
I applaud CA and Charlene for the safety measured
employed!
Awning over head, carpet below his feet and a strong
vinyl covered cable securing him,
and I am assuming an ever-watchful eye . . .
What is not visible is the flea, tic and heartworm
prevention protecting him even further. It seems like he enjoys camping!
