Holly is a teenager now (Long)

Today is Holly's 13th birthday. She was still another in my string of
"happy accidents" adoptions. That is, I started out to adopt one type of
cat on each occasion, got one entirely different, and have been happy ever
since that it worked out this way. In fact, I finally learned *never* to
start out with a preconceived notion of what to look for or expect in a cat.
Go with your heart and use some thoughtfulness in the process. In Holly's
case, I went to our local animal shelter the day after Thanksgiving. I had
lost my beloved Amber shortly before and knew it was "time" to adopt another
owner. I had a few days off from work and thought that would be an
opportune time because I could spend a lot of time with my new adoptee.
However, the animal shelter was closed that day. So, I went to our local
pet supply store. They often had kittens that people had dropped off for
adoption. No such luck! There were no kittens. I got into a conversation
with one of the women who worked there and told her what I was looking for.
I was actually looking for a longhaired cat (that was my "preconceived
notion" in this case, arrived at solely because my other cats had been
longhaired and had been such wonderful companions) and also told her that I
"wouldn't mind" adopting an older cat. She said, "Would you consider..." and
proceeded to describe Holly. Holly was not longhaired. She was about six
months old, and her origins were truly sad. She was the product of
deliberate breeding where a local "breeder" (I use the term advisedly) mixed
an Oriental shorthair with a Persian. The breeder was trying to develop a
specific type of cat, and she only wanted dusty grey kittens. Holly is
definitely not dusty grey! She is glorious, gorgeous solid black - not a
single white hair on her body except for a few that grew right at the
incision site from her spay. The breeder was going to euthanize Holly
simply because she was the wrong color. Fortunately, the woman I talked to
convinced the breeder to let her take Holly and try to find a home for her.
By the time I entered the store, she had been taking care of Holly for
several months but really could not afford to do that, on top of her own
cats. So, I made arrangements to see Holly the next day, and "the rest is
history," as they say. Ironically, she seemed to be shorthair when I
adopted her, but her coat changed to an unusually thick, plush, velvety
medium length as she matured. Her name was also Jinx at the time I adopted
her, named because she was black and a "bad luck cat." That was
unacceptable to me! I believe every cat should have a loving name. So, she
became Holly - short for "holiday cat," so named because she was adopted in
between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I drove back to the store
about a week after I adopted Holly and gave the woman who had taken care of
Holly and gave her a check. She was hesitant at first, but I told her I
would have paid a similar amount to adopt through an animal shelter, and she
had literally saved Holly's life. She was so grateful it almost made me
cry.

I wrote the following for Holly's12th birthday, and I would like to repeat
it for her again this year: Holly is a special, loving girl - my little
shadow, she follows me everywhere. I wake up every morning to find her
close beside me. Sometimes she will awaken me by gently licking the tip of
my nose (she seems to have a built-in alarm clock because she somehow does
that about 5 minutes before my own alarm goes off). Other times, she will
be stretched out on top of me, and I will not even have been aware of when
she did that. She believes it is one of her duties to march back in forth
in front of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down in front of the
computer. After all, she doesn't want her slave to work too hard (unless it
involves something especially for her).

She is still playful and active and can gracefully leap to the mantel
without any problem at all. There are times when I will suddenly realize
that she is sitting on the arm of the chair or even on the back of the chair
above my head, and I was not even aware of her climbing or jumping onto the
chair. She is incredibly agile and graceful.

Holly has never been a lap cat, although she is always within a few feet of
wherever I am when I am home. In the past, she would occasionally deign to
get into my lap, but it was always on her terms and at a time she chose.
However, I have noticed that there have been some recent, subtle changes.
She is getting into my lap more often and will stay longer.

Princess Holly was adopted on Nov. 24, 1995, and she has ruled the household
ever since (duties that she has shared with Prince Duffy for the last five
years). The two of them have brought an immeasurable amount of joy into my
life.

Here are four photos I took this week to celebrate her 13th birthday:
http://tinyurl.com/5w5n3w. (Click on the thumbnails in the left column to
enlarge the picture.)

MaryL

On Sun, 1 Jun 2008 01:03:22 -0500, "MaryL"
-OUT-THE-LITTER wrote:

What a lovely story! (Except the part about the 'breeder'. People like
that should be imprisoned in a wire cage with the same relative size
that they keep the cats they are torturing).

I have always loved black cats. Among the many things I love is they way
their eyes stand out so well.

A cat's eyes are always beautiful, but a black cat really shows them
off.

I have met a few cats with a coat like Holly's. It is wonderful fur for
petting, and running your fingers through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^
"Life without cats would be only marginally worth living."
-TC, and the unmercifully, relentlessly, sweet calico kitty, Kenzie.

Every day is a treasure with Kenzie; I try to treat them that way. There
will only be so many, and then there will never, ever, be any more.

How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven.
- Robert Heinlein



Today is Holly's 13th birthday. She was still another in my string of
"happy accidents" adoptions. That is, I started out to adopt one type of
cat on each occasion, got one entirely different, and have been happy ever
since that it worked out this way. In fact, I finally learned *never* to
start out with a preconceived notion of what to look for or expect in a cat.
Go with your heart and use some thoughtfulness in the process. In Holly's
case, I went to our local animal shelter the day after Thanksgiving. I had
lost my beloved Amber shortly before and knew it was "time" to adopt another
owner. I had a few days off from work and thought that would be an
opportune time because I could spend a lot of time with my new adoptee.
However, the animal shelter was closed that day. So, I went to our local
pet supply store. They often had kittens that people had dropped off for
adoption. No such luck! There were no kittens. I got into a conversation
with one of the women who worked there and told her what I was looking for.
I was actually looking for a longhaired cat (that was my "preconceived
notion" in this case, arrived at solely because my other cats had been
longhaired and had been such wonderful companions) and also told her that I
"wouldn't mind" adopting an older cat. She said, "Would you consider..." and
proceeded to describe Holly. Holly was not longhaired. She was about six
months old, and her origins were truly sad. She was the product of
deliberate breeding where a local "breeder" (I use the term advisedly) mixed
an Oriental shorthair with a Persian. The breeder was trying to develop a
specific type of cat, and she only wanted dusty grey kittens. Holly is
definitely not dusty grey! She is glorious, gorgeous solid black - not a
single white hair on her body except for a few that grew right at the
incision site from her spay. The breeder was going to euthanize Holly
simply because she was the wrong color. Fortunately, the woman I talked to
convinced the breeder to let her take Holly and try to find a home for her.
By the time I entered the store, she had been taking care of Holly for
several months but really could not afford to do that, on top of her own
cats. So, I made arrangements to see Holly the next day, and "the rest is
history," as they say. Ironically, she seemed to be shorthair when I
adopted her, but her coat changed to an unusually thick, plush, velvety
medium length as she matured. Her name was also Jinx at the time I adopted
her, named because she was black and a "bad luck cat." That was
unacceptable to me! I believe every cat should have a loving name. So, she
became Holly - short for "holiday cat," so named because she was adopted in
between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I drove back to the store
about a week after I adopted Holly and gave the woman who had taken care of
Holly and gave her a check. She was hesitant at first, but I told her I
would have paid a similar amount to adopt through an animal shelter, and she
had literally saved Holly's life. She was so grateful it almost made me
cry.

I wrote the following for Holly's12th birthday, and I would like to repeat
it for her again this year: Holly is a special, loving girl - my little
shadow, she follows me everywhere. I wake up every morning to find her
close beside me. Sometimes she will awaken me by gently licking the tip of
my nose (she seems to have a built-in alarm clock because she somehow does
that about 5 minutes before my own alarm goes off). Other times, she will
be stretched out on top of me, and I will not even have been aware of when
she did that. She believes it is one of her duties to march back in forth
in front of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down in front of the
computer. After all, she doesn't want her slave to work too hard (unless it
involves something especially for her).

She is still playful and active and can gracefully leap to the mantel
without any problem at all. There are times when I will suddenly realize
that she is sitting on the arm of the chair or even on the back of the chair
above my head, and I was not even aware of her climbing or jumping onto the
chair. She is incredibly agile and graceful.

Holly has never been a lap cat, although she is always within a few feet of
wherever I am when I am home. In the past, she would occasionally deign to
get into my lap, but it was always on her terms and at a time she chose.
However, I have noticed that there have been some recent, subtle changes.
She is getting into my lap more often and will stay longer.

Princess Holly was adopted on Nov. 24, 1995, and she has ruled the household
ever since (duties that she has shared with Prince Duffy for the last five
years). The two of them have brought an immeasurable amount of joy into my
life.

Here are four photos I took this week to celebrate her 13th birthday:
http://tinyurl.com/5w5n3w. (Click on the thumbnails in the left column to
enlarge the picture.)

MaryL

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
. ..
Today is Holly's 13th birthday. She was still another in my string of
"happy accidents" adoptions. That is, I started out to adopt one type of
cat on each occasion, got one entirely different, and have been happy ever
since that it worked out this way. In fact, I finally learned *never* to
start out with a preconceived notion of what to look for or expect in a
cat. Go with your heart and use some thoughtfulness in the process. In
Holly's case, I went to our local animal shelter the day after
Thanksgiving. I had lost my beloved Amber shortly before and knew it was
"time" to adopt another owner. I had a few days off from work and thought
that would be an opportune time because I could spend a lot of time with
my new adoptee. However, the animal shelter was closed that day. So, I
went to our local pet supply store. They often had kittens that people
had dropped off for adoption. No such luck! There were no kittens. I
got into a conversation with one of the women who worked there and told
her what I was looking for. I was actually looking for a longhaired cat
(that was my "preconceived notion" in this case, arrived at solely because
my other cats had been longhaired and had been such wonderful companions)
and also told her that I "wouldn't mind" adopting an older cat. She said,
"Would you consider..." and proceeded to describe Holly. Holly was not
longhaired. She was about six months old, and her origins were truly sad.
She was the product of deliberate breeding where a local "breeder" (I use
the term advisedly) mixed an Oriental shorthair with a Persian. The
breeder was trying to develop a specific type of cat, and she only wanted
dusty grey kittens. Holly is definitely not dusty grey! She is glorious,
gorgeous solid black - not a single white hair on her body except for a
few that grew right at the incision site from her spay. The breeder was
going to euthanize Holly simply because she was the wrong color.
Fortunately, the woman I talked to convinced the breeder to let her take
Holly and try to find a home for her. By the time I entered the store, she
had been taking care of Holly for several months but really could not
afford to do that, on top of her own cats. So, I made arrangements to see
Holly the next day, and "the rest is history," as they say. Ironically,
she seemed to be shorthair when I adopted her, but her coat changed to an
unusually thick, plush, velvety medium length as she matured. Her name
was also Jinx at the time I adopted her, named because she was black and a
"bad luck cat." That was unacceptable to me! I believe every cat should
have a loving name. So, she became Holly - short for "holiday cat," so
named because she was adopted in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas
holidays. I drove back to the store about a week after I adopted Holly
and gave the woman who had taken care of Holly and gave her a check. She
was hesitant at first, but I told her I would have paid a similar amount
to adopt through an animal shelter, and she had literally saved Holly's
life. She was so grateful it almost made me cry.

I wrote the following for Holly's12th birthday, and I would like to repeat
it for her again this year: Holly is a special, loving girl - my little
shadow, she follows me everywhere. I wake up every morning to find her
close beside me. Sometimes she will awaken me by gently licking the tip
of my nose (she seems to have a built-in alarm clock because she somehow
does that about 5 minutes before my own alarm goes off). Other times, she
will be stretched out on top of me, and I will not even have been aware of
when she did that. She believes it is one of her duties to march back in
forth in front of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down in front of
the computer. After all, she doesn't want her slave to work too hard
(unless it involves something especially for her).

She is still playful and active and can gracefully leap to the mantel
without any problem at all. There are times when I will suddenly realize
that she is sitting on the arm of the chair or even on the back of the
chair above my head, and I was not even aware of her climbing or jumping
onto the chair. She is incredibly agile and graceful.

Holly has never been a lap cat, although she is always within a few feet
of wherever I am when I am home. In the past, she would occasionally
deign to get into my lap, but it was always on her terms and at a time she
chose. However, I have noticed that there have been some recent, subtle
changes. She is getting into my lap more often and will stay longer.

Princess Holly was adopted on Nov. 24, 1995, and she has ruled the
household ever since (duties that she has shared with Prince Duffy for the
last five years). The two of them have brought an immeasurable amount of
joy into my life.

Here are four photos I took this week to celebrate her 13th birthday:
http://tinyurl.com/5w5n3w. (Click on the thumbnails in the left column to
enlarge the picture.)

MaryL



Dear little Holly! Happy PurrDay and many, many more!

Theresa, Stinky and Dante

MaryL wrote:
Today is Holly's 13th birthday. She was still another in my string of
"happy accidents" adoptions. That is, I started out to adopt one type
of cat on each occasion, got one entirely different, and have been happy
ever since that it worked out this way. In fact, I finally learned
*never* to start out with a preconceived notion of what to look for or
expect in a cat. Go with your heart and use some thoughtfulness in the
process. In Holly's case, I went to our local animal shelter the day
after Thanksgiving. I had lost my beloved Amber shortly before and knew
it was "time" to adopt another owner. I had a few days off from work
and thought that would be an opportune time because I could spend a lot
of time with my new adoptee. However, the animal shelter was closed that
day. So, I went to our local pet supply store. They often had kittens
that people had dropped off for adoption. No such luck! There were no
kittens. I got into a conversation with one of the women who worked
there and told her what I was looking for. I was actually looking for a
longhaired cat (that was my "preconceived notion" in this case, arrived
at solely because my other cats had been longhaired and had been such
wonderful companions) and also told her that I "wouldn't mind" adopting
an older cat. She said, "Would you consider..." and proceeded to
describe Holly. Holly was not longhaired. She was about six months
old, and her origins were truly sad. She was the product of deliberate
breeding where a local "breeder" (I use the term advisedly) mixed an
Oriental shorthair with a Persian. The breeder was trying to develop a
specific type of cat, and she only wanted dusty grey kittens. Holly is
definitely not dusty grey! She is glorious, gorgeous solid black - not
a single white hair on her body except for a few that grew right at the
incision site from her spay. The breeder was going to euthanize Holly
simply because she was the wrong color. Fortunately, the woman I talked
to convinced the breeder to let her take Holly and try to find a home
for her. By the time I entered the store, she had been taking care of
Holly for several months but really could not afford to do that, on top
of her own cats. So, I made arrangements to see Holly the next day, and
"the rest is history," as they say. Ironically, she seemed to be
shorthair when I adopted her, but her coat changed to an unusually
thick, plush, velvety medium length as she matured. Her name was also
Jinx at the time I adopted her, named because she was black and a "bad
luck cat." That was unacceptable to me! I believe every cat should
have a loving name. So, she became Holly - short for "holiday cat," so
named because she was adopted in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas
holidays. I drove back to the store about a week after I adopted Holly
and gave the woman who had taken care of Holly and gave her a check.
She was hesitant at first, but I told her I would have paid a similar
amount to adopt through an animal shelter, and she had literally saved
Holly's life. She was so grateful it almost made me cry.

I wrote the following for Holly's12th birthday, and I would like to
repeat it for her again this year: Holly is a special, loving girl - my
little shadow, she follows me everywhere. I wake up every morning to
find her close beside me. Sometimes she will awaken me by gently
licking the tip of my nose (she seems to have a built-in alarm clock
because she somehow does that about 5 minutes before my own alarm goes
off). Other times, she will be stretched out on top of me, and I will
not even have been aware of when she did that. She believes it is one
of her duties to march back in forth in front of the computer monitor as
soon as I sit down in front of the computer. After all, she doesn't
want her slave to work too hard (unless it involves something especially
for her).

She is still playful and active and can gracefully leap to the mantel
without any problem at all. There are times when I will suddenly
realize that she is sitting on the arm of the chair or even on the back
of the chair above my head, and I was not even aware of her climbing or
jumping onto the chair. She is incredibly agile and graceful.

Holly has never been a lap cat, although she is always within a few feet
of wherever I am when I am home. In the past, she would occasionally
deign to get into my lap, but it was always on her terms and at a time
she chose. However, I have noticed that there have been some recent,
subtle changes. She is getting into my lap more often and will stay longer.

Princess Holly was adopted on Nov. 24, 1995, and she has ruled the
household ever since (duties that she has shared with Prince Duffy for
the last five years). The two of them have brought an immeasurable
amount of joy into my life.

Here are four photos I took this week to celebrate her 13th birthday:
http://tinyurl.com/5w5n3w. (Click on the thumbnails in the left column
to enlarge the picture.)

MaryL

Happy Birthday, Holly!

MaryL wrote:
snip
Here are four photos I took this week to celebrate her 13th birthday:
http://tinyurl.com/5w5n3w. (Click on the thumbnails in the left
column to enlarge the picture.)

MaryL

Happy purrday, Holly.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy, Bagheera & Shadow)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

She is precious!!! Looks alot like my Ornery--except he's a shorthaired cat.
Bless you for taking Holly in!
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
. ..
Today is Holly's 13th birthday. She was still another in my string of
"happy accidents" adoptions. That is, I started out to adopt one type of
cat on each occasion, got one entirely different, and have been happy ever
since that it worked out this way. In fact, I finally learned *never* to
start out with a preconceived notion of what to look for or expect in a
cat. Go with your heart and use some thoughtfulness in the process. In
Holly's case, I went to our local animal shelter the day after
Thanksgiving. I had lost my beloved Amber shortly before and knew it was
"time" to adopt another owner. I had a few days off from work and thought
that would be an opportune time because I could spend a lot of time with
my new adoptee. However, the animal shelter was closed that day. So, I
went to our local pet supply store. They often had kittens that people
had dropped off for adoption. No such luck! There were no kittens. I
got into a conversation with one of the women who worked there and told
her what I was looking for. I was actually looking for a longhaired cat
(that was my "preconceived notion" in this case, arrived at solely because
my other cats had been longhaired and had been such wonderful companions)
and also told her that I "wouldn't mind" adopting an older cat. She said,
"Would you consider..." and proceeded to describe Holly. Holly was not
longhaired. She was about six months old, and her origins were truly sad.
She was the product of deliberate breeding where a local "breeder" (I use
the term advisedly) mixed an Oriental shorthair with a Persian. The
breeder was trying to develop a specific type of cat, and she only wanted
dusty grey kittens. Holly is definitely not dusty grey! She is glorious,
gorgeous solid black - not a single white hair on her body except for a
few that grew right at the incision site from her spay. The breeder was
going to euthanize Holly simply because she was the wrong color.
Fortunately, the woman I talked to convinced the breeder to let her take
Holly and try to find a home for her. By the time I entered the store, she
had been taking care of Holly for several months but really could not
afford to do that, on top of her own cats. So, I made arrangements to see
Holly the next day, and "the rest is history," as they say. Ironically,
she seemed to be shorthair when I adopted her, but her coat changed to an
unusually thick, plush, velvety medium length as she matured. Her name
was also Jinx at the time I adopted her, named because she was black and a
"bad luck cat." That was unacceptable to me! I believe every cat should
have a loving name. So, she became Holly - short for "holiday cat," so
named because she was adopted in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas
holidays. I drove back to the store about a week after I adopted Holly
and gave the woman who had taken care of Holly and gave her a check. She
was hesitant at first, but I told her I would have paid a similar amount
to adopt through an animal shelter, and she had literally saved Holly's
life. She was so grateful it almost made me cry.

I wrote the following for Holly's12th birthday, and I would like to repeat
it for her again this year: Holly is a special, loving girl - my little
shadow, she follows me everywhere. I wake up every morning to find her
close beside me. Sometimes she will awaken me by gently licking the tip
of my nose (she seems to have a built-in alarm clock because she somehow
does that about 5 minutes before my own alarm goes off). Other times, she
will be stretched out on top of me, and I will not even have been aware of
when she did that. She believes it is one of her duties to march back in
forth in front of the computer monitor as soon as I sit down in front of
the computer. After all, she doesn't want her slave to work too hard
(unless it involves something especially for her).

She is still playful and active and can gracefully leap to the mantel
without any problem at all. There are times when I will suddenly realize
that she is sitting on the arm of the chair or even on the back of the
chair above my head, and I was not even aware of her climbing or jumping
onto the chair. She is incredibly agile and graceful.

Holly has never been a lap cat, although she is always within a few feet
of wherever I am when I am home. In the past, she would occasionally
deign to get into my lap, but it was always on her terms and at a time she
chose. However, I have noticed that there have been some recent, subtle
changes. She is getting into my lap more often and will stay longer.

Princess Holly was adopted on Nov. 24, 1995, and she has ruled the
household ever since (duties that she has shared with Prince Duffy for the
last five years). The two of them have brought an immeasurable amount of
joy into my life.

Here are four photos I took this week to celebrate her 13th birthday:
http://tinyurl.com/5w5n3w. (Click on the thumbnails in the left column to
enlarge the picture.)

MaryL

On Jun 1, 2:03 am, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
Holly is a teenager now.
Today is Holly's 13th birthday.

Holly looks like a good girl.

She may be a teenager in human terms...but I would say she's a
new senior citizen in cat terms.
And should be treated as such...discounts and social security too!

In ,
MaryL -OUT-THE-LITTER typed, for some strange,
unexplained reason:
: Today is Holly's 13th birthday.

[snip]

: Here are four photos I took this week to celebrate her 13th birthday:
: http://tinyurl.com/5w5n3w. (Click on the thumbnails in the left
: column to enlarge the picture.)
:
: MaryL

Aw, she's gorgeous :-)

My Missy was 13 last year, teenagers can be difficult, can't they g

Ivor

On Jun 1, 2:03 am, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
Today is Holly's 13th birthday. She was still another in my string of
snipped Holly's story. Read it in the original

MaryL

Happy purrday, Holly.

--
Will in New Haven

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
. ..
Today is Holly's 13th birthday. She was still another in my string of
"happy accidents" adoptions. That is, I started out to adopt one type of
cat on each occasion, got one entirely different, and have been happy ever
since that it worked out this way. In fact, I finally learned *never* to
start out with a preconceived notion of what to look for or expect in a
cat.
She looks just like my, "B-K". He is a little larger, but he has the same
beautiful, shiny black coat. I picked him up in a Burger King parking lot
the day before Thanksgiving, 2004. He is the friendliest cat I have, and
gets along wonderfully with all other cats. He too, likes to wake me up in
the morning. (except B-K has a tendency to drool....) I bet he would get
along well with Holly.......