juvela

-----

So sad to read of your loss.

I hope you will always remember how very fortunate she was to have found such a loving home with you.

-----

Korina

My 15-year-old Harry. Also, the Great Harry Beast, and most often, Butthead. I've had him since he was a wee six-week-old kitten I could hold in one hand. His eyes used to be so pale; white-green in the sun.



Blep

FBOATSB

Thank you very much. I have one left, pictured back in Post 1581.
She is a younger adult that hates being picked up at all without very loud protest and much squirming, but begs to be picked up by the scruff of her neck and remains perfectly still and silent the whole time. Must think I'm her mother.

juvela

-----

I never fail to find it fascinating how they are just like us - no shortage of eccentricities and quirks!

If a kitty doesn't like the way you are doing things it WILL TRAIN YOU.

-----

rustystrings61 

My youngest cat, the 16-month-old, semi-feral Harry, surprised me by climbing up and being a lap kitty last evening. This is what a cat looks like when smiling -

billnuke1 

Me and Max chillin’...first day of my off season!


I need a cat’s back bone!

ldmataya

This is Aria. I didn't ask her to guard the Bottecchia, she volunteered.

RichSPK

I'm so sorry about Holly. I lost Indy and Wendy over the last month or two. Why must their lives be so short?

coopman

I'm sorry to hear about everyone's recent losses. We get so attached to our furry little critters and then it hurts so bad when they pass on.

FBOATSB

Thanks.
For good or bad, there is no shortage of Felis catus that are in need of good homes. They seem to find us. My next door neighbor is undergoing evaluation for dementia and for the ability to continue living alone. We will adopt her cat when the need arises. Ironically, some humans have to go to shelters as well as animals.

juvela

-----

Upon reading this me first thought was that having a pet might well slow the onset/development of dementia. But then am only a layperson when it comes to health matters...


-----

rootboy 

There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life. Music and cats. Albert Schweitzer
Farewell dear Mei Mei

TugaDude

This photo was not staged. In fact, I had to be very careful to grab my phone and take a pic without waking him. This is Ozzie, short for Oswald. We also had his brother, named Alfredo whome we called Alfie. Unfortunately Alfie contracted a disease and passed way too soon. We're not sure but believe it might have been feline leukemia. he is sorely missed.

Ozzie didn't always like to cuddle. In fact, Alfie was the lap cat whereas Ozzie like to be petted and brushed but didn't like to curl up on you. That changed after Alfie passed. Whenever I'm home, Ozzie is generally within a couple of feet of me. Sometimes curled up between my feet!

This picture was taken when I was doing some work on my computer. The keyboard you see to the right of my forearm is a second, personal computer. I figured cats like to chase mice so ......

It never ceases to amaze me when people say cats aren't loving or friendly. Clearly they've never lived with one. Mine greets me at the door every time I come home. He also hangs outside my bedroom door waiting for me to awake. As cat lovers know, they have an unbelievable sense of time. He gathers himself every morning at the same time and waits. If I hit a snooze or two, he scratches at the door because he knows I'm late.

And yes, he is intrigued whenever I work on bikes. He has to check everything out to make sure I'm doing it right.

TugaDude

Alfie's rock, which is in my backyard under the oak tree. His memorial sits next to another, my daughter's cat Finley. Finley was awesome and also died way too young. I miss them both.


My boy Alfie, or Alfredo. We gave the job of naming the two brothers to my youngest kids. They chose Oswald and Alfredo. Don't have a clue as to why, but it was fine with me.

Since that picture was taken, I painted in the blue lettering on the rock. You can't see it too well, but all of the letters are recessed, I used a Dremel with a grinding stone. Worked OK. I then painted in the depressions with gloss black enamel. It is holding up great.

deux jambes

A daily recurrence... Whether scratching her head on the quills, or nibbling on toe straps, Sophie spends her fair share of time near the bike.

TugaDude

Sophie looks identical to Ozzie. Same brownness on the nose and everything. Cool cat!

the sci guy 

I finally started an Instagram for the cats: https://www.instagram.com/seismic_cats/
I should have done it about 8 years ago, but, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - give it a follow for adorbs.

Here's Rayleigh telling my wife she's doing it wrong


and here's Love telling my wife its time to put the game down

Slightspeed

Tigger and Princess.

Tigger is 10 years old now, loves relaxing on the patio on a cool fall day

Tigger is a good relaxer.

Princess is 14, the last survivor of a litter of 4 that we rescued. She still moves pretty fast. Still semi feral after all these years.

A rare shot of Princess standing still.

countalmaviva 

I'm a newcomer to BikeForums, and after finding this thread, I'm kicking myself for waiting so long! I've got two cat stories to share.

Earl Grey, or Earlybird as he's most commonly called, came to our Michigan doorstep on a day in December with a predicted low of 10 degrees Fahrenheit. We weren't quite ready for a cat, but he was persuasive. Had a great personality from the beginning!

We were out for the holidays, so I had a student of mine take care of him. When we opened the door on our return, a wave of musk hit us in the faces. We got one of those UV lights, and the whole place lit up like a crime scene. He was an intact male, and he was marking his territory from the loud chihuahua next door.

We knew we had to get him fixed, but I was concerned it would change his personality. We took him to the local cats-only clinic, and were greeted by a no-nonsense, business-like doc. She unceremoniously greeted us, and said to drop by before closing to pick him up.

When we returned, I was feeling like a nervous papa. The doc handed him over, reassuring us that everything went well. She said to keep him from licking the "area" and that he'd be woozy for a few more hours. Then, she hesitated, seeming to have some internal debate. She looked at me, and then at my wife.

Finally she said, "I'm sorry, I just have to tell you...your cat had the largest testicles I've ever seen in my career."

We're proud of our little...big...guy. He's traveled with us on many adventures, and now takes residence with us in NYC, where we occasionally walk him. Maybe someday I'll manage to get him comfortable on a bicycle with me...



Glamor shot


Queens, NY

countalmaviva 

The second cat story I have is from my coast-to-coast ride in 2006. I shared this already in another sub-forum, I believe, but the gist is that I found a kitten on a highway in Missouri. It was farmland, and I knocked on a few doors, but didn't have any luck finding him a home. So, I took him in one of my rear panniers 20 miles to the nearest town. I eventually found him a home with the local cat-lover. I called a few times the following year, and Lucky was doing just fine.


I just couldn't bear the thought of this tiny kitten alone in the middle of a highway! The full story is here (day 53).

non-fixie 

Nice!

Tried this a few times, with several different cats, but never really successfully.

non-fixie 

Felix, saving an otherwise uninteresting picture of a saddle:

non-fixie 

Different angle better? Nope.

CliffordK

I've been working on Latte.

She will move her head around a bit, but accepts the harness fine. We've tried walking a bit, but so far it is only if she wants to go somewhere.

Mostly I still stuff her inside of my coat, and use the leash as a control just in case she gets away for some reason.

She will walk on the leash, but only if I can motivate her to want to go in the direction I'm going.

I don't like dragging her, but perhaps that will be part of the training. More treats?

She likes the bike trailer, but really likes her litter box. I'm still working on trying to break her of her litter training.

PilotFishBob 

The Keeper of the Flame is on duty for another winter season.