I need to get back to this diary business....

I have been very lax about making regular diary entries lately, I have to admit. And it isn't as though there's nothing to write about. There's almost always something going on around here. Where does a kitty begin?

Well, for starters, I turn, or have turned, one year old some time this month. Mama isn't exactly sure of the day I was born, but she is sure it was sometime in July. She been saying "Happy Birthmonth, Sam" a lot lately, since she has no clue what day to actually celebrate on. When the nice man named Nathan found me, my mom and my littermates last year, he didn't know how old we were, he just knew we were itty bitty. At any rate, I am now an adult cat, though Mama still thinks of me as a kitten. I'm still no less cute, cuddly and thoroughly adorable than I was last year, I can tell you that much :)

I may have mentioned to you kitties that Mama is a shelter volunteer, and that she also does TNR (that's: Trap, Neuter and Release) work with the neighborhood ferals on our street. We live right across the street from a park, and a lot of kitties get unkindly dumped there, so she has plenty to keep her busy.

Mama has a weakness for black cats (and of course gorgeous brown tabbies, like Moi), and so when she started trying to trap, there were three pretty black cats who were coming up each night for food. That's how she met Merlin, the cat who broke her heart, but that's another story, and it's best left to read in Merlin's diary, not mine. But anyway, the Merlin incident was, in my opinion, what caused her to think it was a good idea to bring this new cat into our lives. He is a little black kitten named Phoenix.

Now, being the possessive, jealous cat that I am when it comes to Mama's affections, I was not too terribly sure about Mama's reasoning and judgement when she brought this guy home. I have to tell you though, and please keep this under your hats......I actually kind of like the guy. Shhhhhh! I know, I didn't expect to, and I don't really think Mama expected me to either, but he's....well, he's a lot of fun to play with, and he's (dare I say it) CUTE! And I actually feel kind of protective of him. I mean, I know what it's like to be an abandoned little kitten, and be scared and lonely and not sure about anything, so I know how lucky he is that nice people found him and that he has made his way here to our home now.

So there you have it. We have a new family member and we all actually get along pretty well with him. I can remember when I was that playful, and there was no one but big cats (like Boris) around to play with who didn't really feel like playing all the time, so I try to cut the little guy some slack. I think I am being amazingly tolerant and nice about it all, and I do play and tumble with him. Abby kind of enjoys him too, but she gets a little irritated at times and starts hissing at him MOL! Sometimes I honestly think he targets her just to hear the funny sounds she makes :)

But anyway, yeah that's about it for news. Life goes on each day pretty much the same as always. Mama leaves and does her shelter work, she comes in with wild kitties in traps who need to spend the night in the bathroom to recover from spay/neuter surgery. We don't get too upset about it because we've figured out they aren't staying long....it's kind of all become routine.

Purrs and headbonks to everycat. I am going to go graze a bit more at the dry food bowl and then curl up for another nap.

Sam out.

Mama gets sad....

Mama volunteers at the city shelter. She was there today, and she came home sad again. Daddy tries to remind her of all the cats who were saved, and I try to help by giving her extra love. I think it's helping her. I think I will even pretend not to mind if she goes and loves on Abby for a while, since Abby is a good example of a kitty who was saved from a sad fate. I may not have come from a shelter myself, but if a very nice man named Nathan hadn't saved me, my littermates and my mama from that empty apartment we got abandoned in.....well I don't like to think what would have happened to us, but I think it helps mama to look at me and know me and my whole family were rescued out of the kindness of one man's heart. She sees a lot of unkind things happen to animals, so I think the success stories help her a lot.

I have been tagged!

This is a new game!

I have been tagged! That's right, I have been tagged by my friend, Tick!!

The rules:
Each player starts with seven random facts about themselves. Cats who are tagged need to write on their own diary about the seven things and the rules. You need to choose seven cats to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment that they have been tagged and to read your diary.

My seven random facts:

1. I have packed on a few extra pounds lately....but I am NOT fat!!
2. I love my mama, and I get extremely jealous of any cat who tries to steal her affections. She is MINE!
3. I hate Zelda, the new cat in MY house
4. I have to admit I do really kinda like Abby.
5. I love to jump up on the toilet and watch the water whoosh down when the toilet flushes.
6. I run to the kitchen every time I hear my mama tear off a sheet of waxed paper. I'm always hoping she is going to wad it into a ball and play with me!
7. I love it when my mama cuddles me and kisses me on top of the head.

I have tagged my buds:

Fritz
Toby
Radley
Rocky Ann
Fiesta Cat
Alex Finnegan
Falldown Kitty

Jealous again

Ok.....when Mama first brought this Zelda character into the house, I really thought it was with the clear and firm understanding that this was to be temporary. That's what Mama said...she said temporary. It wasn't bad at first. Mama kept Zelda upstairs in the gameroom while she was recovering from whatever it is nasty, intruder, outdoorsy type cats have to recover from. I even sometimes played with her paws underneath the door and pretended not to mind when Mama would come out of the room smelling like maybe she had been petting that little unwelcome feline "visitor". But now Zelda has free run of the whole house, and I have to share everything with her. I have to share my litterbox, my food, and I really haven't complained that much, but when it comes to sharing Mama....no WAY. That stupid cat wants to be with Mama all the time. She follows Mama all over the house, she wants to plaster herself up against Mama's side......it is ridiculous. Mama can't actually be ENJOYING this other cat, can she? Why would she, when she has ME?

This has to stop....immediately. Mama belongs to ME. Zelda can go bond with someone else. I was here first.

Irving Adopt-a-Thon

Mama's been talking about upcoming events at the City of Irving Animal Shelter where she volunteers (that's where my sister Abby came from).

She's all excited about something called the Adopt-a-Thon this Friday and Saturday (May 4th and 5th). She's been talking about how they are extending the shelter's hours those two days from 9am to 9pm, and how she's hoping they are really, really busy with lots of adoptions for the cats and dogs there. What does all this mean to me? It means I won't be seeing much of Mama this weekend, that's basically what it means to me.

Oh well, I know this stuff is important to her, and I'm glad it makes her happy to try and help the animals there.

She says they are also holding a low cost micro-chipping event on May 19th. What in the world is a micro-chip? I have no idea, but Mama says we are all getting one. That goofy dog, Barney, already has one, but he won't tell me what it is. He claims he can't remember.

Oh well, Mama wanted me to tell everyone in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area about the Adopt-a-Thon on the 4th and 5th, and the Micro-chip event on the 19th. I guess I've done my part now.

Sam

PetFighter.com

Well, what do you know? My kitten picture made the number one slot for April on PetFighter. http://www.petfighter.com/kitten/1701/ And I made number 6 rank in March.

Mom says it's cause I was just such an uber-cute little kitten, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. I may not still be a little bitty guy like I was in the picture, but I think I'm still plenty cute!

Besides, I've looked at the kitty pics on that site, and to tell you the truth, they are ALL uber-cute!

My mom is so goofy. She can't look at all those cute kitty face pictures without going "awwwww". Every time.

Diary Pick....me?

Wow, I can't believe I was one of the diary picks for the day!

I'm feeling so flattered and honored, but at the same time....it's almost kind of weird knowing that so many cats I don't even know are reading about my personal thoughts and all.

Nah, I'm over it, it's all good :)

Thank you's going out to my Catster buds who wrote to say congrats ! You guys are great!

Happy day for Mama

My mama is soooo happy right now. Molly, one of the shelter kitties she was worried about, has been rescued and is with a wonderful foster mommy.

Zep, the shelter's "bad girl" (I know, we kitties aren't really BAD, but this girl really doesn't like people and doesn't mind letting them know it), is probably going to be rescued as a "barn cat", whatever that is. Mom says all that matters is that she is going to be spayed, immunized and will have a safe home.

Cats at the City of Irving Shelter

Mama wanted me to make mention of the cats and kittens in need of adoption at the Irving Shelter.

She made Catster pages for the kitties who are on the "urgent" list, and she is worried about all of them. They are really pretty kitties. Here's one page http://www.catster.com/cats/495067 and the rest are listed as family there.

If you know anyone who lives in the DFW Texas area and might be looking for a new furry friend, please ask them to come visit the shelter on Briery Rd. in Irving? That's where my sister, Abby came from.

Jealousy is an unpleasant emotion :(

Ok, so I have to admit it. When Mama and Daddy first adopted Abby, I was THRILLED. I mean, I'm a normal kitten, and I love to romp and play. Boris is getting too old to want to play with me, and I know Mama and Daddy were worried that I was being too hard on him, always wanting to pounce on him when all he wanted to do was sleep. So when they brought Abby home, I assumed it was with the very clear understanding that she was here for...well...ME!

They say things like "adopting Abby was like buying Sam the world's most expensive cat toy", and when they were about to bring her home, they kept telling me "Just wait Sam. We're about to bring you someone to play with". So doesn't that sound to you like she's MINE? I adore playing with her, but I never EVER agreed to allowing Mama and Daddy to BOND with this little outsider!

Now I find myself having to share my mom and dad with her, and sometimes when I'm ready for some love, I jump up on their lap and find HER there already. And sometimes (oh, the indignation) when they come home after doing whatever it is they do outside the house, they forget to greet me first, before all the others, and they give her a scratch first! This has got to stop!

I'm a sweet kitty, but I never agreed to share my "kitty toy" with the humans, and I never agreed to share my humans with Abby. I've made it as clear to them as possible that I am unhappy with this. If they pet her first, then when it's my turn, I flounce away from them, and make my back go all swayed so they don't have a good firm surface to pet. And I make it clear to Abby by biting her after she receives affection from them.

What more can a cat do? I just want my due as King of the household. Don't they understand that?

I think I need some tips on proper human training.