Happy birthday, Holly (9 years old - with photos)

Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. She had previously
been named Jinx because she was seen as a "bad luck cat" (which enrages me
to this very day). A breeder had deliberately mixed Persian with Oriental
Shorthair. She was working toward some type of "new" breed. Moreover, her
"new" breed had to be a specific color - dusty gray, while Holly is gorgeous
black. Since Holly was "imperfect" in this breeder's vocabulary, Holly was
going to be destroyed. Luckily, a woman who worked in a pet supply store
asked if she could have her instead and would try to find a home for her.
Then I came along. Amber had recently died at the age of 16, and I had
decided that it was time to adopt another cat. So, Holly came into my life -
and one of the first things I did was to change her name from Jinx (which I
considered to be a negative) to Holly (a "positive," short for "holiday cat"
because she was adopted the day after Thanksgiving and during the interval
between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Holly soon became my new love, but she was always jealous of other cats. She
is an indoor-only cat, so she only came into direct contact with other cats
when we would visit my sister for 6 weeks every summer. She was extremely
aggressive toward my sister's cats, so much so that we called her the "black
tornado" and had to keep the cats in separate areas of the house when we
visited. Of course, that also meant that we never had a proper amount of
time to acclimate the cats. At the same time, I always assumed from those
visits that Holly simply would not tolerate any other cat in her vicinity.
Once again, I was wrong! I adopted Duffy a little more than a year ago. He
is blind, and his is a story that is already familiar to many of you. This
time, I "did it right" and went through a very slow, gradual process of
introduction. They are now great friends! I am so proud of Holly because she
is the one who had to make the adjustment, and she was used to being a
spoiled, pampered "only child."

Holly is sheer delight. She loves to play, and she follows me wherever I go.
She has a nightly routine that she has followed for several months now - I
will hear a low-pitched "moaning" sound, look up, and there is Holly on her
way to me with her gift. It is always the same little red mouse, and she
will find it and bring it to me no matter where it is in the house. In fact,
it can hardly be called "red" anymore - she has used it for so long that
most of the red color has worn away and it is now more white than red. She
also considers it to be one of her "duties" to walk back and forth in front
of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down to work, and she doesn't stop
until I pet her and talk to her awhile. Then she meatloafs on the side of
the keyboard tray, usually with her rear end perched on top of my hand,
which is trying to maneuver the mouse. She is incredibly agile. Yesterday,
she suddenly jumped from the keyboard tray over the top of the computer CPU,
and into a shelf on the computer hutch - landing beside a photograph and
right on top of a stack of typing paper, all without moving a single item on
the shelf!

She seems to know when it is time for the alarm to go off in the mornings
because she starts to lick the tip of my nose a few minutes before the alarm
rings. If I hit the snooze button and try to ignore Holly, she will use the
furry tip of her paw to gently start touching my cheek - it's always very
soft, and I never feel her claws. Finally, I will roll over and she will
give up for awhile and take another catnap (often on top of me). A couple of
days ago, I woke up with Duffy asleep on my side and hip and Holly pressed
tightly into my bent knees. It was actually an uncomfortable position, but I
stayed that way as long as possible. Does everyone else here also take the
attitude that "we musn't disturb our babies"?

As you can see, I consider both of my cats to be just about perfect. Of
course, I must admit that that has been true of every cat I have ever had
the privilege of bringing into my life. They really are my furbabies.

Here are a few photos of the birthday girl -
Holly on the mantel:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/34609798.jpg
Holly relaxes on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118645.jpg
Close-up of Holly's eyes:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748793.jpg
Holly playing with yarn:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748850.jpg
Duffy and Holly on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118497.jpg

....And, of course, I always need to include a couple of photos of Holly's
"little brother," Duffy -
Duffy on the bridge chair:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...2/21557355.jpg
Duffy at the desk:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/41680392.jpg

--
MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

What a great story! I love happy endings. Lots of best wishes for Holly's
very special day!
--
Polonca & Soncek

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. snip

What a great story! I love happy endings. Lots of best wishes for Holly's
very special day!
--
Polonca & Soncek

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. snip

What a great story! I love happy endings. Lots of best wishes for Holly's
very special day!
--
Polonca & Soncek

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. snip

Awww, more black cat pictures! This is a good day, indeed.
Holly has a wonderful fur!
Lots of good purrday wishes for Holly
from Elisabet and black Hugo Katt (who will be 15 on September 1)


MaryL skrev i meddelandet ...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. She had previously
been named Jinx because she was seen as a "bad luck cat" (which enrages me
to this very day). A breeder had deliberately mixed Persian with Oriental
Shorthair. She was working toward some type of "new" breed. Moreover, her
"new" breed had to be a specific color - dusty gray, while Holly is
gorgeous
black. Since Holly was "imperfect" in this breeder's vocabulary, Holly was
going to be destroyed. Luckily, a woman who worked in a pet supply store
asked if she could have her instead and would try to find a home for her.
Then I came along. Amber had recently died at the age of 16, and I had
decided that it was time to adopt another cat. So, Holly came into my
life -
and one of the first things I did was to change her name from Jinx (which I
considered to be a negative) to Holly (a "positive," short for "holiday
cat"
because she was adopted the day after Thanksgiving and during the interval
between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Holly soon became my new love, but she was always jealous of other cats.
She
is an indoor-only cat, so she only came into direct contact with other cats
when we would visit my sister for 6 weeks every summer. She was extremely
aggressive toward my sister's cats, so much so that we called her the
"black
tornado" and had to keep the cats in separate areas of the house when we
visited. Of course, that also meant that we never had a proper amount of
time to acclimate the cats. At the same time, I always assumed from those
visits that Holly simply would not tolerate any other cat in her vicinity.
Once again, I was wrong! I adopted Duffy a little more than a year ago. He
is blind, and his is a story that is already familiar to many of you. This
time, I "did it right" and went through a very slow, gradual process of
introduction. They are now great friends! I am so proud of Holly because
she
is the one who had to make the adjustment, and she was used to being a
spoiled, pampered "only child."

Holly is sheer delight. She loves to play, and she follows me wherever I
go.
She has a nightly routine that she has followed for several months now - I
will hear a low-pitched "moaning" sound, look up, and there is Holly on her
way to me with her gift. It is always the same little red mouse, and she
will find it and bring it to me no matter where it is in the house. In
fact,
it can hardly be called "red" anymore - she has used it for so long that
most of the red color has worn away and it is now more white than red. She
also considers it to be one of her "duties" to walk back and forth in front
of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down to work, and she doesn't stop
until I pet her and talk to her awhile. Then she meatloafs on the side of
the keyboard tray, usually with her rear end perched on top of my hand,
which is trying to maneuver the mouse. She is incredibly agile. Yesterday,
she suddenly jumped from the keyboard tray over the top of the computer
CPU,
and into a shelf on the computer hutch - landing beside a photograph and
right on top of a stack of typing paper, all without moving a single item
on
the shelf!

She seems to know when it is time for the alarm to go off in the mornings
because she starts to lick the tip of my nose a few minutes before the
alarm
rings. If I hit the snooze button and try to ignore Holly, she will use the
furry tip of her paw to gently start touching my cheek - it's always very
soft, and I never feel her claws. Finally, I will roll over and she will
give up for awhile and take another catnap (often on top of me). A couple
of
days ago, I woke up with Duffy asleep on my side and hip and Holly pressed
tightly into my bent knees. It was actually an uncomfortable position, but
I
stayed that way as long as possible. Does everyone else here also take the
attitude that "we musn't disturb our babies"?

As you can see, I consider both of my cats to be just about perfect. Of
course, I must admit that that has been true of every cat I have ever had
the privilege of bringing into my life. They really are my furbabies.

Here are a few photos of the birthday girl -
Holly on the mantel:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/34609798.jpg
Holly relaxes on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118645.jpg
Close-up of Holly's eyes:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748793.jpg
Holly playing with yarn:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748850.jpg
Duffy and Holly on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118497.jpg

...And, of course, I always need to include a couple of photos of Holly's
"little brother," Duffy -
Duffy on the bridge chair:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...2/21557355.jpg
Duffy at the desk:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/41680392.jpg

--
MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

Awww, more black cat pictures! This is a good day, indeed.
Holly has a wonderful fur!
Lots of good purrday wishes for Holly
from Elisabet and black Hugo Katt (who will be 15 on September 1)


MaryL skrev i meddelandet ...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. She had previously
been named Jinx because she was seen as a "bad luck cat" (which enrages me
to this very day). A breeder had deliberately mixed Persian with Oriental
Shorthair. She was working toward some type of "new" breed. Moreover, her
"new" breed had to be a specific color - dusty gray, while Holly is
gorgeous
black. Since Holly was "imperfect" in this breeder's vocabulary, Holly was
going to be destroyed. Luckily, a woman who worked in a pet supply store
asked if she could have her instead and would try to find a home for her.
Then I came along. Amber had recently died at the age of 16, and I had
decided that it was time to adopt another cat. So, Holly came into my
life -
and one of the first things I did was to change her name from Jinx (which I
considered to be a negative) to Holly (a "positive," short for "holiday
cat"
because she was adopted the day after Thanksgiving and during the interval
between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Holly soon became my new love, but she was always jealous of other cats.
She
is an indoor-only cat, so she only came into direct contact with other cats
when we would visit my sister for 6 weeks every summer. She was extremely
aggressive toward my sister's cats, so much so that we called her the
"black
tornado" and had to keep the cats in separate areas of the house when we
visited. Of course, that also meant that we never had a proper amount of
time to acclimate the cats. At the same time, I always assumed from those
visits that Holly simply would not tolerate any other cat in her vicinity.
Once again, I was wrong! I adopted Duffy a little more than a year ago. He
is blind, and his is a story that is already familiar to many of you. This
time, I "did it right" and went through a very slow, gradual process of
introduction. They are now great friends! I am so proud of Holly because
she
is the one who had to make the adjustment, and she was used to being a
spoiled, pampered "only child."

Holly is sheer delight. She loves to play, and she follows me wherever I
go.
She has a nightly routine that she has followed for several months now - I
will hear a low-pitched "moaning" sound, look up, and there is Holly on her
way to me with her gift. It is always the same little red mouse, and she
will find it and bring it to me no matter where it is in the house. In
fact,
it can hardly be called "red" anymore - she has used it for so long that
most of the red color has worn away and it is now more white than red. She
also considers it to be one of her "duties" to walk back and forth in front
of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down to work, and she doesn't stop
until I pet her and talk to her awhile. Then she meatloafs on the side of
the keyboard tray, usually with her rear end perched on top of my hand,
which is trying to maneuver the mouse. She is incredibly agile. Yesterday,
she suddenly jumped from the keyboard tray over the top of the computer
CPU,
and into a shelf on the computer hutch - landing beside a photograph and
right on top of a stack of typing paper, all without moving a single item
on
the shelf!

She seems to know when it is time for the alarm to go off in the mornings
because she starts to lick the tip of my nose a few minutes before the
alarm
rings. If I hit the snooze button and try to ignore Holly, she will use the
furry tip of her paw to gently start touching my cheek - it's always very
soft, and I never feel her claws. Finally, I will roll over and she will
give up for awhile and take another catnap (often on top of me). A couple
of
days ago, I woke up with Duffy asleep on my side and hip and Holly pressed
tightly into my bent knees. It was actually an uncomfortable position, but
I
stayed that way as long as possible. Does everyone else here also take the
attitude that "we musn't disturb our babies"?

As you can see, I consider both of my cats to be just about perfect. Of
course, I must admit that that has been true of every cat I have ever had
the privilege of bringing into my life. They really are my furbabies.

Here are a few photos of the birthday girl -
Holly on the mantel:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/34609798.jpg
Holly relaxes on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118645.jpg
Close-up of Holly's eyes:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748793.jpg
Holly playing with yarn:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748850.jpg
Duffy and Holly on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118497.jpg

...And, of course, I always need to include a couple of photos of Holly's
"little brother," Duffy -
Duffy on the bridge chair:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...2/21557355.jpg
Duffy at the desk:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/41680392.jpg

--
MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

Awww, more black cat pictures! This is a good day, indeed.
Holly has a wonderful fur!
Lots of good purrday wishes for Holly
from Elisabet and black Hugo Katt (who will be 15 on September 1)


MaryL skrev i meddelandet ...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. She had previously
been named Jinx because she was seen as a "bad luck cat" (which enrages me
to this very day). A breeder had deliberately mixed Persian with Oriental
Shorthair. She was working toward some type of "new" breed. Moreover, her
"new" breed had to be a specific color - dusty gray, while Holly is
gorgeous
black. Since Holly was "imperfect" in this breeder's vocabulary, Holly was
going to be destroyed. Luckily, a woman who worked in a pet supply store
asked if she could have her instead and would try to find a home for her.
Then I came along. Amber had recently died at the age of 16, and I had
decided that it was time to adopt another cat. So, Holly came into my
life -
and one of the first things I did was to change her name from Jinx (which I
considered to be a negative) to Holly (a "positive," short for "holiday
cat"
because she was adopted the day after Thanksgiving and during the interval
between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Holly soon became my new love, but she was always jealous of other cats.
She
is an indoor-only cat, so she only came into direct contact with other cats
when we would visit my sister for 6 weeks every summer. She was extremely
aggressive toward my sister's cats, so much so that we called her the
"black
tornado" and had to keep the cats in separate areas of the house when we
visited. Of course, that also meant that we never had a proper amount of
time to acclimate the cats. At the same time, I always assumed from those
visits that Holly simply would not tolerate any other cat in her vicinity.
Once again, I was wrong! I adopted Duffy a little more than a year ago. He
is blind, and his is a story that is already familiar to many of you. This
time, I "did it right" and went through a very slow, gradual process of
introduction. They are now great friends! I am so proud of Holly because
she
is the one who had to make the adjustment, and she was used to being a
spoiled, pampered "only child."

Holly is sheer delight. She loves to play, and she follows me wherever I
go.
She has a nightly routine that she has followed for several months now - I
will hear a low-pitched "moaning" sound, look up, and there is Holly on her
way to me with her gift. It is always the same little red mouse, and she
will find it and bring it to me no matter where it is in the house. In
fact,
it can hardly be called "red" anymore - she has used it for so long that
most of the red color has worn away and it is now more white than red. She
also considers it to be one of her "duties" to walk back and forth in front
of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down to work, and she doesn't stop
until I pet her and talk to her awhile. Then she meatloafs on the side of
the keyboard tray, usually with her rear end perched on top of my hand,
which is trying to maneuver the mouse. She is incredibly agile. Yesterday,
she suddenly jumped from the keyboard tray over the top of the computer
CPU,
and into a shelf on the computer hutch - landing beside a photograph and
right on top of a stack of typing paper, all without moving a single item
on
the shelf!

She seems to know when it is time for the alarm to go off in the mornings
because she starts to lick the tip of my nose a few minutes before the
alarm
rings. If I hit the snooze button and try to ignore Holly, she will use the
furry tip of her paw to gently start touching my cheek - it's always very
soft, and I never feel her claws. Finally, I will roll over and she will
give up for awhile and take another catnap (often on top of me). A couple
of
days ago, I woke up with Duffy asleep on my side and hip and Holly pressed
tightly into my bent knees. It was actually an uncomfortable position, but
I
stayed that way as long as possible. Does everyone else here also take the
attitude that "we musn't disturb our babies"?

As you can see, I consider both of my cats to be just about perfect. Of
course, I must admit that that has been true of every cat I have ever had
the privilege of bringing into my life. They really are my furbabies.

Here are a few photos of the birthday girl -
Holly on the mantel:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/34609798.jpg
Holly relaxes on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118645.jpg
Close-up of Holly's eyes:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748793.jpg
Holly playing with yarn:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748850.jpg
Duffy and Holly on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118497.jpg

...And, of course, I always need to include a couple of photos of Holly's
"little brother," Duffy -
Duffy on the bridge chair:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...2/21557355.jpg
Duffy at the desk:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/41680392.jpg

--
MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

well, and a very happy birthday to Holly! May you have many, many more.
Jazz & his mama

--

Irulan
from the stars we came, to the stars we return
from now until the end of time


"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. She had previously
been named Jinx because she was seen as a "bad luck cat" (which enrages me
to this very day). A breeder had deliberately mixed Persian with Oriental
Shorthair. She was working toward some type of "new" breed. Moreover, her
"new" breed had to be a specific color - dusty gray, while Holly is
gorgeous
black. Since Holly was "imperfect" in this breeder's vocabulary, Holly was
going to be destroyed. Luckily, a woman who worked in a pet supply store
asked if she could have her instead and would try to find a home for her.
Then I came along. Amber had recently died at the age of 16, and I had
decided that it was time to adopt another cat. So, Holly came into my
life -
and one of the first things I did was to change her name from Jinx (which
I
considered to be a negative) to Holly (a "positive," short for "holiday
cat"
because she was adopted the day after Thanksgiving and during the interval
between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Holly soon became my new love, but she was always jealous of other cats.
She
is an indoor-only cat, so she only came into direct contact with other
cats
when we would visit my sister for 6 weeks every summer. She was extremely
aggressive toward my sister's cats, so much so that we called her the
"black
tornado" and had to keep the cats in separate areas of the house when we
visited. Of course, that also meant that we never had a proper amount of
time to acclimate the cats. At the same time, I always assumed from those
visits that Holly simply would not tolerate any other cat in her vicinity.
Once again, I was wrong! I adopted Duffy a little more than a year ago. He
is blind, and his is a story that is already familiar to many of you. This
time, I "did it right" and went through a very slow, gradual process of
introduction. They are now great friends! I am so proud of Holly because
she
is the one who had to make the adjustment, and she was used to being a
spoiled, pampered "only child."

Holly is sheer delight. She loves to play, and she follows me wherever I
go.
She has a nightly routine that she has followed for several months now - I
will hear a low-pitched "moaning" sound, look up, and there is Holly on
her
way to me with her gift. It is always the same little red mouse, and she
will find it and bring it to me no matter where it is in the house. In
fact,
it can hardly be called "red" anymore - she has used it for so long that
most of the red color has worn away and it is now more white than red. She
also considers it to be one of her "duties" to walk back and forth in
front
of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down to work, and she doesn't
stop
until I pet her and talk to her awhile. Then she meatloafs on the side of
the keyboard tray, usually with her rear end perched on top of my hand,
which is trying to maneuver the mouse. She is incredibly agile. Yesterday,
she suddenly jumped from the keyboard tray over the top of the computer
CPU,
and into a shelf on the computer hutch - landing beside a photograph and
right on top of a stack of typing paper, all without moving a single item
on
the shelf!

She seems to know when it is time for the alarm to go off in the mornings
because she starts to lick the tip of my nose a few minutes before the
alarm
rings. If I hit the snooze button and try to ignore Holly, she will use
the
furry tip of her paw to gently start touching my cheek - it's always very
soft, and I never feel her claws. Finally, I will roll over and she will
give up for awhile and take another catnap (often on top of me). A couple
of
days ago, I woke up with Duffy asleep on my side and hip and Holly pressed
tightly into my bent knees. It was actually an uncomfortable position, but
I
stayed that way as long as possible. Does everyone else here also take the
attitude that "we musn't disturb our babies"?

As you can see, I consider both of my cats to be just about perfect. Of
course, I must admit that that has been true of every cat I have ever had
the privilege of bringing into my life. They really are my furbabies.

Here are a few photos of the birthday girl -
Holly on the mantel:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/34609798.jpg
Holly relaxes on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118645.jpg
Close-up of Holly's eyes:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748793.jpg
Holly playing with yarn:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748850.jpg
Duffy and Holly on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118497.jpg

...And, of course, I always need to include a couple of photos of Holly's
"little brother," Duffy -
Duffy on the bridge chair:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...2/21557355.jpg
Duffy at the desk:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/41680392.jpg

--
MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

well, and a very happy birthday to Holly! May you have many, many more.
Jazz & his mama

--

Irulan
from the stars we came, to the stars we return
from now until the end of time


"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. She had previously
been named Jinx because she was seen as a "bad luck cat" (which enrages me
to this very day). A breeder had deliberately mixed Persian with Oriental
Shorthair. She was working toward some type of "new" breed. Moreover, her
"new" breed had to be a specific color - dusty gray, while Holly is
gorgeous
black. Since Holly was "imperfect" in this breeder's vocabulary, Holly was
going to be destroyed. Luckily, a woman who worked in a pet supply store
asked if she could have her instead and would try to find a home for her.
Then I came along. Amber had recently died at the age of 16, and I had
decided that it was time to adopt another cat. So, Holly came into my
life -
and one of the first things I did was to change her name from Jinx (which
I
considered to be a negative) to Holly (a "positive," short for "holiday
cat"
because she was adopted the day after Thanksgiving and during the interval
between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Holly soon became my new love, but she was always jealous of other cats.
She
is an indoor-only cat, so she only came into direct contact with other
cats
when we would visit my sister for 6 weeks every summer. She was extremely
aggressive toward my sister's cats, so much so that we called her the
"black
tornado" and had to keep the cats in separate areas of the house when we
visited. Of course, that also meant that we never had a proper amount of
time to acclimate the cats. At the same time, I always assumed from those
visits that Holly simply would not tolerate any other cat in her vicinity.
Once again, I was wrong! I adopted Duffy a little more than a year ago. He
is blind, and his is a story that is already familiar to many of you. This
time, I "did it right" and went through a very slow, gradual process of
introduction. They are now great friends! I am so proud of Holly because
she
is the one who had to make the adjustment, and she was used to being a
spoiled, pampered "only child."

Holly is sheer delight. She loves to play, and she follows me wherever I
go.
She has a nightly routine that she has followed for several months now - I
will hear a low-pitched "moaning" sound, look up, and there is Holly on
her
way to me with her gift. It is always the same little red mouse, and she
will find it and bring it to me no matter where it is in the house. In
fact,
it can hardly be called "red" anymore - she has used it for so long that
most of the red color has worn away and it is now more white than red. She
also considers it to be one of her "duties" to walk back and forth in
front
of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down to work, and she doesn't
stop
until I pet her and talk to her awhile. Then she meatloafs on the side of
the keyboard tray, usually with her rear end perched on top of my hand,
which is trying to maneuver the mouse. She is incredibly agile. Yesterday,
she suddenly jumped from the keyboard tray over the top of the computer
CPU,
and into a shelf on the computer hutch - landing beside a photograph and
right on top of a stack of typing paper, all without moving a single item
on
the shelf!

She seems to know when it is time for the alarm to go off in the mornings
because she starts to lick the tip of my nose a few minutes before the
alarm
rings. If I hit the snooze button and try to ignore Holly, she will use
the
furry tip of her paw to gently start touching my cheek - it's always very
soft, and I never feel her claws. Finally, I will roll over and she will
give up for awhile and take another catnap (often on top of me). A couple
of
days ago, I woke up with Duffy asleep on my side and hip and Holly pressed
tightly into my bent knees. It was actually an uncomfortable position, but
I
stayed that way as long as possible. Does everyone else here also take the
attitude that "we musn't disturb our babies"?

As you can see, I consider both of my cats to be just about perfect. Of
course, I must admit that that has been true of every cat I have ever had
the privilege of bringing into my life. They really are my furbabies.

Here are a few photos of the birthday girl -
Holly on the mantel:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/34609798.jpg
Holly relaxes on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118645.jpg
Close-up of Holly's eyes:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748793.jpg
Holly playing with yarn:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748850.jpg
Duffy and Holly on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118497.jpg

...And, of course, I always need to include a couple of photos of Holly's
"little brother," Duffy -
Duffy on the bridge chair:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...2/21557355.jpg
Duffy at the desk:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/41680392.jpg

--
MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)

well, and a very happy birthday to Holly! May you have many, many more.
Jazz & his mama

--

Irulan
from the stars we came, to the stars we return
from now until the end of time


"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...
Holly will be 9 years old on June 1. Actually, that's her "official"
birthday. I was told when I adopted her (Nov. 25, 1995) that she was born
in
"early June," and June 1 seems as "early" as possible. She had previously
been named Jinx because she was seen as a "bad luck cat" (which enrages me
to this very day). A breeder had deliberately mixed Persian with Oriental
Shorthair. She was working toward some type of "new" breed. Moreover, her
"new" breed had to be a specific color - dusty gray, while Holly is
gorgeous
black. Since Holly was "imperfect" in this breeder's vocabulary, Holly was
going to be destroyed. Luckily, a woman who worked in a pet supply store
asked if she could have her instead and would try to find a home for her.
Then I came along. Amber had recently died at the age of 16, and I had
decided that it was time to adopt another cat. So, Holly came into my
life -
and one of the first things I did was to change her name from Jinx (which
I
considered to be a negative) to Holly (a "positive," short for "holiday
cat"
because she was adopted the day after Thanksgiving and during the interval
between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Holly soon became my new love, but she was always jealous of other cats.
She
is an indoor-only cat, so she only came into direct contact with other
cats
when we would visit my sister for 6 weeks every summer. She was extremely
aggressive toward my sister's cats, so much so that we called her the
"black
tornado" and had to keep the cats in separate areas of the house when we
visited. Of course, that also meant that we never had a proper amount of
time to acclimate the cats. At the same time, I always assumed from those
visits that Holly simply would not tolerate any other cat in her vicinity.
Once again, I was wrong! I adopted Duffy a little more than a year ago. He
is blind, and his is a story that is already familiar to many of you. This
time, I "did it right" and went through a very slow, gradual process of
introduction. They are now great friends! I am so proud of Holly because
she
is the one who had to make the adjustment, and she was used to being a
spoiled, pampered "only child."

Holly is sheer delight. She loves to play, and she follows me wherever I
go.
She has a nightly routine that she has followed for several months now - I
will hear a low-pitched "moaning" sound, look up, and there is Holly on
her
way to me with her gift. It is always the same little red mouse, and she
will find it and bring it to me no matter where it is in the house. In
fact,
it can hardly be called "red" anymore - she has used it for so long that
most of the red color has worn away and it is now more white than red. She
also considers it to be one of her "duties" to walk back and forth in
front
of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down to work, and she doesn't
stop
until I pet her and talk to her awhile. Then she meatloafs on the side of
the keyboard tray, usually with her rear end perched on top of my hand,
which is trying to maneuver the mouse. She is incredibly agile. Yesterday,
she suddenly jumped from the keyboard tray over the top of the computer
CPU,
and into a shelf on the computer hutch - landing beside a photograph and
right on top of a stack of typing paper, all without moving a single item
on
the shelf!

She seems to know when it is time for the alarm to go off in the mornings
because she starts to lick the tip of my nose a few minutes before the
alarm
rings. If I hit the snooze button and try to ignore Holly, she will use
the
furry tip of her paw to gently start touching my cheek - it's always very
soft, and I never feel her claws. Finally, I will roll over and she will
give up for awhile and take another catnap (often on top of me). A couple
of
days ago, I woke up with Duffy asleep on my side and hip and Holly pressed
tightly into my bent knees. It was actually an uncomfortable position, but
I
stayed that way as long as possible. Does everyone else here also take the
attitude that "we musn't disturb our babies"?

As you can see, I consider both of my cats to be just about perfect. Of
course, I must admit that that has been true of every cat I have ever had
the privilege of bringing into my life. They really are my furbabies.

Here are a few photos of the birthday girl -
Holly on the mantel:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/34609798.jpg
Holly relaxes on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118645.jpg
Close-up of Holly's eyes:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748793.jpg
Holly playing with yarn:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/53748850.jpg
Duffy and Holly on the cat tree:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/24118497.jpg

...And, of course, I always need to include a couple of photos of Holly's
"little brother," Duffy -
Duffy on the bridge chair:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...2/21557355.jpg
Duffy at the desk:
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320...8/41680392.jpg

--
MaryL
(take out the litter to reply)