Tortie Tuesday

LETTING SLEEPING CATS LIE

Tortie/Tuxie Tuesday Doozy of a Snoozy

It’s not often that Mauricio lets one of his sisters get the upper paw, but that is exactly what happened on this particular night.

Before it’s time to go to sleep, Calista Jo likes to tuck herself under my left arm and snuggle in as close as she can without actually crawling into my skin with me. (She definitely would if she could!) Mauricio, however, was asleep very close to her spot. Lucky for C.J., he was more comatose than merely indulging in a cat nap. One would have thought he’d just completed a marathon or saved the neighborhood from marauding marmots single-pawed.

Anyhoo…this is what ensued, all while an oblivious Mauricio snoozed.

As long as I am not caught in the middle of a smacky-paws war or one of Mau’s and C.J’s pre-dinner, hissing and spitting, wrestling matches, I mind my own business and let sleeping cats lie!

January 3, 2017 by Janet Blue Doozy of a Snoozy Tortie Tuesday Tuxie Tuesday 23

COVERING ALL MY BASES

Tortie Tuesday Doozy of a Snoozy with Tummy, Toesies and Tail

As the title indicates, I managed to cover all my bases with this one photo! This is my favorite place and preferred position for snoozing, which means I often show off all my essential parts, tummy, toesies and tail. Oops! I just realized my toofies and tongue are missing. MOUSES! Dang, I may have failed, but I’m still cute. Right?

Anyhoo, if you didn’t know, this nice, fleecy blankie belongs to Mauricio. It was a gift from Allie. I am very lucky to be the baby of the family ’cause Mau never gets mad when I sleep on it. He rather sleep on top of one of the humans or between the two of them. And he likes to sleep horizontally to take up the most space possible.

Mau’s blankie is at the foot of the bed on Mom’s side, so I am her official feeties warmer. It’s nice to know that even when I am snoozing away, I can be useful and appreciated. Of course, one of my duties is to curl up against Mom’s back and purr her to sleep, so I only snooze on the blanket prior to bedtime and after she falls asleep.

Now, as to my tummy. If you’d like to kiss or snorgle it, I won’t protest….just as long as you do not awaken me with your mushiness.

Before signing off, Mom asked me to let y’all know that Fiona has her monthly check-up with Dr. Neel this afternoon. Fiona promises to give everyone an update on how she’s doing on either Thursday or Friday. Right now she is curled up in Dad’s lap having her own doozy of a snoozy.

Purrs and paw-pats, Calista Jo

November 15, 2016 by Janet Blue Kitty Written Blog Toesy Tuesday Tortie Tuesday Tummy Tuesday 18

I DON’T REMEMBER THIS!

Tuxie/Tortie Tuesday Doozy of a Snoozy

See that incredulous look on my face. Do you want to know how I got it?

Mom showed me the following photos, that’s how.

I absolutely don’t remember these photos being taken or the incident itself. Neither does Mom. She almost fell off her chair when she discovered the photos.

Calista Jo and I are not pals. We don’t chase each other or engage in wacky paws, but we do not cuddle, snuggle or spoon. What we do is hiss at each other whenever we come face to face. Then Calista Jo will slink past me as is only right. After all, she is the baby of the group.

In addition to posting here, Mom entered these photos in the Blogville Pawlympics Snuggling Competition hosted by Marg’s Animals. Mom also entered a snuggly photo of Mauricio and Astrid.

The snuggling competition takes place on August 17.

We entered some of the other events as well, and Mom will share those events and photos in future posts.

Upcoming Posts

We have lots of exciting things coming up on the blog in the next few days, including our Fourth Blogoversary, a giveaway of BlogPaws Conference swag and Mau and Allie’s Wedding. Don’t forget to drop by each day so you do not miss out on any of these exciting events.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lisbeth

July 19, 2016 by Janet Blue Doozy of a Snoozy Kitty Written Blog Tortie Tuesday Tuxie Tuesday 25

TOPSY TURVY TORTIE TUESDAY WITH A TUXIE

Topsy Turvy on Tuesday

When not cat-napping or cuddling with me, Calista Jo enjoys curling up in the cubby on the catio cat tree. She also enjoys causing Mau consternation. They wrestle with each other before almost every meal.

Today she combined her cubby time with pestering Mauricio. As you can see, he mostly just ignored her. The few moments of smacky paws took place so quickly, there are no photos.

Shortly after this photo session, Lisbeth approached the tree and began to work out on one of the scratching posts. She didn’t know C.J. was in the cubby. C.J. stuck her head out and just about scared the fur off Lisbeth. The two hissed at each other, and Lisbeth turned and took off as if her tail was on fire. So Calista Jo may not have riled up the calm, cool and collected Cat Scout Mau, but she did give Lisbeth a fur-raising moment.

Always fun times at the house of Blue Cats.

Thank You Friends

I sincerely appreciate all the kind words and well wishes after my face-plant accident on Saturday. In the future, I plan to stay in bed on April 23. Five years ago to the day I fell and broke my leg. At least this Saturday’s injuries should not take the 22-weeks to heal my leg did. The kitties think I should post a photo of my face, but I don’t want to frighten anyone.

April 26, 2016 by Janet Blue Tortie Tuesday Tuxie Tuesday 21

TORTIE TUESDAY DOOZY OF A SNOOZY

It’s been ages since I did a Doozy of a Snoozy post. It’s not that photos of such snoozes haven’t been taken. With eight cats several are always napping at on time or another. Anyhoo…

Tom took this photo of Calista Jo yesterday. She was sleeping in her usual spot on our bed while I was resting after acupuncture.

She didn’t even twitch a whisker when the photo was snapped and continued her cat nap undisturbed.

Our doozy snoozies usually include at least two cats, and in a way, this one does too. And it’s not only life imitating ~~art~~ pillow but joining in as well. If I didn’t know better, I would think that C.J. had staged this just to make her dad and me smile. Hope it makes all of you smile as well.

If you missed yesterday’s post, click here to read my review of the book, Love in Lowercase, by Francesc Miralles. Leave a comment on that post for the opportunity to win a copy of this recently translated to English, bestselling novel. You have until next Sunday, the 14th, at 5 p.m. ET. I have three copies to give away so let your friends know as well.

February 9, 2016 by Janet Blue Doozy of a Snoozy Giveaway Tortie Tuesday 24

TORTIE/TUXIE/TOESY TUESDAY TWO-FUR IN THE BOWL

Surprise, surprise! The dynamic duo of tuxie Mauricio and tortie Astrid are together again. They are in THE BOWL. This has become the preferred napping spot for several of the pusses. But this is a first…a bowl for two! Mauricio doesn’t really fit in the bowl by himself. But that didn’t stop his shadow from shoving in with him. And it didn’t stop him from giving her a bath.

The bowl competition is liable to get heated as the colder weather sets in and none of the gang want to spend time on the catio. Their dad suggested we may need to start checking antique shows and shops for more wooden dough bowls. He doesn’t have to twist my arm. One of my favorite places to shop is Black Dog Salvage. If you get the DIY network (we don’t), you may have seen this place on the program Salvage Dawgs. They are located close enough for us to walk, and I don’t need truck to get bowls home!

I know even if we get extra bowls, Astrid will always seek out Mauricio. So, at most, we’ll only need six more bowls and someplace to put them all!

Giveaway Reminder

We are giving away two copies of the book, Women Who Still Love Cats Too Much, by Allia Sobel Nolan. It is 80-pages of fun and oh-so-true one-liners with colorful illustrations by Nicole Hollander. I guarantee if you’ve ever had a relationship with a cat, you will recognize yourself in this book and LOL as you do so. For an opportunity to win, click here to read my review and leave a comment. The giveaway is open to readers worldwide. Comments must be left by Friday, November 13, at 5 p.m. EDT.

November 10, 2015 by Janet Blue Giveaway Toesy Tuesday Tortie Tuesday Tuxie Tuesday Two-Fur 25

I’LL NEVER SEE THIS AGAIN

Today’s Tuxie/Tortie Doozy of a Snoozy is one I’ll never see again. This makes me very sad. Once upon a time in a universe far, far away Astrid and Lisbeth were inseparable. Now they each prefer to snuggle with Mauricio, their dad or me.

About the only time these two are even in the same room together is at mealtimes. If they accidentally encounter each other, Lisbeth becomes a hissy face.

Cat relationships are complicated, and I don’t know what turned this one from loving to adversarial. I guess it could turnaround some day, but I’m not going to bet the kitties’ kibble on it. For now I’ll just have to look at photos and fondly remember the togetherness times.

Does anyone else have kitties who used to be friends but aren’t anymore? Do you know why the relationship changed? Whatever insight anyone can offer would be appreciated.

November 3, 2015 by Janet Blue Backstory Barn Cat Buddies Doozy of a Snoozy Tortie Tuesday Tuxie Tuesday 21

HEY YOU, GET OFF THAT TREE…

It’s My Turn!

That’s Better…Thank you.

Since Lisbeth and Astrid got the new cat tree/condo last week, we all have been enjoying it. Of course, a gift for one cat is really a gift for all of us. I can only think of two things we haven’t shared. The first is the harness Mom bought for Giulietta. None of us are going anywhere near that thing! The second is a fleecy, cat sleeping bag Mom bought for Astrid. Astrid sleeps on it all the time, and I do not recall any other cat trying it out when she’s not on it. I don’t know what that’s about. Cooties, maybe!

Anyhoo…we rarely share the tree; though, there is space for five of us. Giulietta and Fiona are the exceptions. They share everything and are rarely far from each other. Mom says we can share photos of my sisters enjoying the tree in future posts. So far, Mauricio has decided that he likes the box the tree came in best of all.

Until we meet again, have a terrific Tortie Tuesday. I plan to do so…right here on the new cat tree.

Purrs and paw-pats, Calista Jo

September 8, 2015 by Janet Blue Kitty Written Blog Tortie Tuesday 25

A COMBINED TORTIE/TUXIE TUESDAY DOOZY OF A SNOOZY

Disclaimer: This was supposed to be a final post about Mom and Dad’s trip to BlogPaws. Because of a super busy schedule yesterday, they haven’t even unpacked all the kitty swag or assembled the prize Mom won from the hauspanther Cat Style Lounge. So…the final BlogPaws post will occur on Thursday. Please accept our apologies.

Tuesday Doozy of a Snoozy

Some of us were less than enthusiastic to see the humans when they arrived home Sunday evening. Even though it was time to eat and we were anxious for dinner, we had to give them a bit of the back-of-disrespect treatment (especially Astrid) for abandoning us to spend time with other anipals. But they won us over immediately when they got out this Kitty Kush catnip grinder and started making little piles of finely ground nip for each of us. Nirvana!

By yesterday morning all was back to normal…well almost. Our catio time was mostly nonexistent due to men with chainsaws occupying our backyard and noise polluting our neighborhood. They started the removal of a 50-foot elm tree shading Dad’s solar panels. That was halted when the torrential rain with thunder and lighting began. Not sure which caused the most noise, but we didn’t care for either, and those tree stealers will be back tomorrow.

At least for Mauricio and Astrid, the day was not a washout. They enjoyed a Tortie/Tuxie Tuesday Doozy of a Snoozy in Mom’s lap. Astrid even added some precious, pink toe beans for all the Toesy Tuesday fans.

Mau is never happy when he has to share a lap as you can see from the expression on his face. But 90 purrcent of the time, Astrid will try to join him if he has claimed one of the human’s laps. He’s tolerating her as most of her body is on the counter. Mom is also purrleased by that as together they weigh more than 22 pounds. bet you can guess who the heavy-weight is!

Thank You

Thanks to everyone who joined Frank for our Sunday Selfies Blog Hop. We are still working on visiting each blog and promise to get to all of you by the end of the week.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

June 2, 2015 by Janet Blue Doozy of a Snoozy Kitty Written Blog Toesy Tuesday Tortie Tuesday Tuxie Tuesday 22

TORTIE TUESDAY: SQUATTERS RIGHTS!

Previously Mom has written about and shown photos of me in her lap. Lily Olivia and I actually compete for that prized position. Whoever arrives first has dibs and squatters rights. We never share—calico cooties, you know! Only Mauricio and I try to pile on together!

As Lily goes outside and I usually shun the catio (for fear of running into one of my fursibs), I get more than my fair share of lap time. Just as it should be! Don’t you think? I normally begin with a four-pawed, power knead accompanied by my power purr before settling for a nap.

If I am not feeling napish, I will perform the nose-nudge under Mom’s hand until she pets and loves on me. She always says that my head smells like stinky goodness. It’s true. I like to stick my head in the can to retrieve remaining morsels. MOL!

Since today is Tortie Tuesday, I wanted to share some recent photos of me. I have no idea why I was awake and just sitting quietly. One thing I do know: I am damn cute! Enjoy and squeeeee if you like.

Purrs and paw-pats (with a googolplexian of kisses for Sampy), Astrid

March 31, 2015 by Janet Blue Tortie Tuesday 29

YOU
For Fiona

It seems like only yesterday…
You were just a kitten.
When I saw your pleading look,
I was completely smitten.

Now at only six years old,
You are getting ready to leave,
Soon you will have your wings.
I’ve already started to grieve.

You’ve fought hard for the past year,
And I’m not ready to say good-bye.
I can’t imagine you not in my life
I am so sad…today I had to cry.

I am grateful and blessed
For my six years with you.
You’ll live in my heart forever.
You’re one of the best ever Kitties Blue.

YESTERDAY

Many yesterdays have passed since
You gained your angel wings. Today
Is six months since you left us behind
To remember and mourn. Our hearts
Continue to hurt, and we miss
You as much as the day you left.
Giulietta whined from the catio
Yesterday as I worked in the yard.
I know you put her up to it. That
Was your way of getting me to,
Allow you to join me as I
Gardened. You were there with me
In spirit. With every meow
I thought of you and how much I miss
Your sweet face and disposition.
In these past few months, many friends
Have traveled your same path in your
paw-steps. I am certain you were
Waiting to greet them with purrs and hugs.
I pray you and your friends are laughing,
Frolicking and having fun together.
Picturing that makes me smile, but
Does not lessen my sadness at your
No longer being here to snuggle
And receive our love, care and kisses.
Fiona, please do not ever forget
You are still and always will be loved.

ONE YEAR MISSING YOU

One year has passed since you flew away,
And I still think of you everyday.
I see your sweet face in my mind’s eye
And wish we’d never had to say good-bye.
It’s nice you’ve sent us kitties needing a family,
But my dearest love, we are now at capacity.
You thought it would take more than one cat
To take your place in our habitat.
We love Cooper Murphy and baby Sawyer dearly
But thinking either could replace you makes me teary.
You were one-of-a-kind and will stay in my heart
Until the day I join you and we’re no longer apart.
When once again I can hold you in my arms
And revel in all your love and feline charms.
Together with you and all who have passed.
I will spend eternity contemplating how blessed
I was to share my life with my furry children,
Each and every one of you one-in-a billion.

UNTIL

I miss you each day.
Until we meet in heaven,
The pain will remain.

ONE OF A KIND

I don’t know how to say good-bye.
I thought you were invincible; though,
You used up many of your nine lives.
You ruled us all with an iron paw;
Never took “no” for an answer
And always got your way.
If not, you’d bark to signal your
Displeasure and sometimes raise a paw.
I always joked that you were bi-polar.
When I told people you were a calico
They immediately understood what I meant.
Today was unnaturally quiet in the house.
Can a home seem empty with eight cats?
I will miss waking up at night to find you
Sitting next to me and staring at me.
I will miss you yelling at us as you did
When you wanted breakfast and dinner.
I will miss watching you lounging and snoozing
On the porch settee on a warm afternoon.
But most of all I will miss your kisses!
When kitten Sawyer befriended you,
We suspect you were imparting your
Wisdom and secrets for controlling us.
Time will tell if he was a good listener.
But whatever he may have learned,
Neither Sawyer nor any other cat
Can or will replace you in our hearts.
Lily Olivia, you were one-of-a-kind.