Manx Breed

TOCK-TOBER ART

Caturday Art

 

Sawyer Tock-tober - Art

 

My Tock-tober photo was used to create today’s art. I was promised a Tock-tober companion, but our artist mom seems to have forgotten in which file she saved the other photos. So I am all alone here today.

Our art is abstract as Mom thinks my Tock-tober photo is a tad graphic; though, I think it is darn adorable.

We usually like to tell you how we created our art, but we can’t imagine you would want to reproduce something like it. I’ll just let you know that a combo of Painnt/piZap/Picasa was used.

I am entering the Caturday Art blog hop over at Athena Gat Goddess Wise Kitty’s site. If you’d like to join in the fun, click on her badge.

Here’s the original Tock-tober photo. I was perusing the sink in the hope of finding some noms. No luck!

 


Sawyer Tock-tober original

 

I think you’ll agree that I have some super cute, little tocks. Being tailless helps to show them off.

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Sunday Selfies Reminder

Tomorrow is our weekly blog hop. So as not to interrupt your easy or any other plans you may have for tomorrow, why not get your selfie taken care of right now. If you know any other bloggers you think might enjoy showing off how adorable they are, invite them to join us. I have no idea who will be hosting tomorrow, so you’ll need to stop in to see.

Until then…

Purrs and paw-pats, Sawyer

 

PROS AND CONS OF BEING TAILLESS

A Tale of No Tail on Tabby Tuesday

When I  joined the Kitties Blue family, my new mom knew very little about Manx cats. She knew we originated on the Isle of Mann and that we didn’t have tails. She started doing a bit of research and discovered that Manx cats are not necessarily tailless. We can actually be born with a full tail or a stub of a tail as well.

It is a naturally occurring genetic mutation that gives Manx cats the potential for being born without a tail. This gene is an incomplete dominant gene, and kitties born with it can have any of these tail types. In fact, all of these can occur in the same litter. Manx kitties with no tails, like me, are rumpies. Cats born with stumps, which can be curved, knotted or kinked, are stumpies. Kitties with normal length tails are known as longies.

So that’s a bit of information about Manx cats and tails. Now I want to tell you my pros and cons of not having a tail. For me, the pros far outweigh the cons.

But first, here’s a close up of my butt in this photo where I am playing with Cooper Murphy. As you can see, no tail. I do have a tuft of fur growing where my tail would me.

 

Manx Sawyer has no tail.

 

PROS:

  • My fursibs cannot play with or bite my tail, which Cooper Murphy might have tried when we were playing.
  • If I ever encounter a little kid, they can’t pull my tail or try to pick me up by it.
  • My humans cannot step on my tail.
  • My tail cannot be shut in a door or caught under a rocking chair.
  • I can spend less time grooming with no tail to wash.

That’s a pretty good list. Can you think of any other pros? Let me know in the comments.

CONS:

  • I cannot use my tail to cover my eyes and block out light when I want to nap.
  • I cannot wrap my tail around my body to keep warm.
  • My humans cannot tell my mood by watching my tail movements. I can wiggle my butt, which makes the tuft of furs move around but that’s not helpful.

As you can see, this is a pretty short list. As with the pros, if you can think of any cons I missed, let me know in the comments.

In the future I will post other facts about the Manx breed and how those things pertain to me.

Purrs and paw-pats, Sawyer

 

A BIRD IN THE HAND

Aftermath

We went away for a couple of days and just returned home to seven cats eager to get outside.

The house was not wrecked…probably because Chris was here to clean before we got home. She and the kitties always have nip and treat parties!

Two kitties—Fiona and Astrid, our escape artists—were collarless, however, and Lily Olivia was missing her bell. A quick search has not turned up either collar. Chris must not have seen them as neither collar is on a tabletop or counter. Of course, we know what could have happened if they were found…thrown back to the floor and used as toys. It’s now time to look under all the rugs. Dad Tom found Lily’s bell. Getting it back on her collar will probably result in a wound or two for me.

We took our tandem with us and rode yesterday and again today around Luray, Virginia, where we stayed for two nights. (If you like to learn more about Luray and the caverns we visited, check out the post, ” The Adventures of Periwinkle & Stinky: Part CXLVI.” Yesterday I saw two felines while we were riding. Today I saw seven (five at one house) while riding and three more as we were driving home. I am always on the lookout for kitties when we are out of town, state or country as I miss ours when away. We do, however, enjoy having a bed all to ourselves for a couple of nights, as I am sure the kitties enjoy having ours all to themselves.

Though all the kids sped outside immediately, Fiona came back in quickly so she could get some love and petting. She and I usually have at least three one-on-one sessions per day, so she is short about eight sessions. I am sure she will force me to make up each one. She is such a sweetheart, I’ll gladly give her plenty of lap time.

Carolina Chickadee

Grey cat in a human's lap getting a kiss and a hug.

Fiona demanding her “me” time crawls in my lap as I am working on this post.

While Fiona and I were having our first love fest, Tom was unpacking the car. On one of his trips into the house he found a baby Carolina Chickadee sitting on the front porch. The birdy was breathing hard when Dad Tom picked it up. It didn’t have any missing feathers, kitty spit or other evidence of meeting up with any of our furballs. The bird just sat in Dad Tom’s hand while he carried it through the house to a section of the back deck inaccessible by our kitties. He set the bird on the railing and it flew away. Danger averted!

Even though they had a short outside, everyone was ready for dinner when I called. They began swarming around me in the foyer like a school of sharks. The only kitty missing was Misty May. She always waits outside the front door until she sees the bowl of food in hand. They all acted as if pet sitter, Maggie, had failed to feed them in our absence! If they didn’t get their stinky goodness, it was because they refused to come out of hiding while she was here.

Lily’s collar removed, bell attached…no wounds! She’s back in her dough bowl having a wash.

Time to look for those collars, then off to bed for kitties and humans.

Astrid’s collar was located, but she almost severed one of my fingers when I tried to put it on her. So…both she and Fiona are still naked!