We Haved Moved to Pittsburgh, PA!

If we haven't been on Catster much lately, it is because our whole family moved to Pgh, PA! Mom went there to her Dad's funeral, and decided to stay. Dad drove us all out there from Tucson to be with mom. Now dad is back in Tucson and loading up a moving truck. What a whirlwind! But now we live in a two story home, with a basement, which means I have TWO FLIGHTS OF STEPS to race up and down all day! WHEEE! We also have a big, scary basement with lots of dark corners and cobwebs and fun things like that to experience and explore. The other day I saw 6 HUGE FURRY THINGS OUTSIDE THE DEN WINDOW, I didn't know what I was looking at! Mom told me they were "deer". WOW! And we smell grass, and see chipmunks, squirrels, groundhogs, raccoons, and possums! We now have hardwood floors in our new house, so when mom is on the first floor and I come tumbling down the steps from the upstairs bedroom, she says I sound like a bowling ball on the loose! MOL!

On another note, please send a hug to mom and our 5 foster kittens today...it is two years ago today that the five of them were killed by the shelter mom was fostering them for.

Also, mom is using a computer with DIAL-UP internet connection, so she may not get back to you soon or easily. It takes forever to just load a page, but she will be reading every kitties entry.

PLEASE PURR FOR OUR WHOLE FAMILY TODAY...LOVE YOU ALL!

GO STEELERS!

Whoo-hoo! The Steelers are in the Superbowl again! Mom and Dad were born and grew up in Pittsburgh, PA...so all we can say in this family is...GO STEELERS!!! Mom and Dad are going to have a superbowl party, and dad has a steeler apron and chef hat for grilling...maybe I can sneak a picture of him in THAT outfit (even though I don't have thumbs!) and put it on Catster!

Our Foster Kittens were Killed one year ago today

Mom has lit the memorial candle today for our 5 foster kittens who were killed one year ago today, October 22nd. The kittens used to sit on this windowsill (in the picture) in the sunshine and listen to the fountain outside. Mom and Dad would come home and see them sitting in the front window soaking up the sunshine.

Although they were treated as worthless rags to be tossed aside here on earth by the shelter, they are now 5 priceless treasures in heaven!

Mom misses them terribly. She was going to adopt all 5 of them the day after she took them back and find homes for them herself, but when she got there, she found out the shelter killed them right after she dropped them off the day before.

Mom wants to thank all our Catster friends who helped her through this horrible tragedy last year...she doesn't think she could have made it though without the love, support and help she received here at Catster...THANK YOU, FRIENDS!

I came from that shelter too...so glad mom kept me!

TWINS SEPARATED AT BIRTH!

OMC! I think me and the zebra from Dr. Suess's book, "On Beyond Zebra" are TWINS! Check out the picture! Wow, what a tabloid headliner!

I GOT A LION CUT! OMC!

Mom has been having trouble grooming me. I don't like being brushed, and I had terrible felted mats in my fur, especially on my stomach. She was concerned that they might be painful, and that bugs or litter dust or dirt could get under there and cause infections.

Mom was in the Catster Forums and asked kitties what in the world to do with me, and a good majority of the kitties suggested to take me to the vet and get me shaved. This is a new vet we went to, and we both really liked them! Mom couldn't believe her eyes when they brought me out after shaving me. She thought I looked really COOL! Mom says that I feel like soft, soft suede when she pets me. They left a short amount of fur on my back, but shaved my belly to the skin. I now have a striped pattern on my back of black and white tiger stripes! COOL, DUDE!

I am not sure how I like it, because I am still groggy from the sedation. They didn't have to put me out completely, they just called it "chemical restraint". When mom and dad were trying to groom me at home, even using the "towel" method, I was hissing and growling and trying to bite them. Plus I weigh 19 pounds of pure muscle and was a little too hard to handle.

The vet said they shaved 3 ounces of fur off of me, and considered that ALOT of fur! I have terrible dandruff now, I guess because I was never able to really groom myself too good. Mom really likes this cut and thinks this will be a yearly thing to do me! YIKES!

Mom will post more pics of me when I am up and walking around a bit!

I Found a Hobby! (Not a Hobbit)

Since none of my sisfurs want to play with me, those old furts!...Ceylon is almost 13 and Natalie and Sasha are 11... and Jasper is tired of wrestling with me since I run into him like a Mac Truck, I found a NEW hobby! I LOVE licking the curtains! Yum, Yum...YUM!!!! There is curtain between our bedroom and bathroom (no door, don't ask me?!) and I found out that I LOVE to sit there and lick the curtain! It is a LOT of fun, especially when mom eggs me on with, "Look at little Sterling licking the curtains...go little Sterling, go!" That's all the encouragement I need! Now I can spend hours and hours of FUN and ENTERTAINMENT licking those yummy curtains. I have a hobby! YAY!

Saying Goodbye to Catster

Poor mom! She has had such a bad year, first with gallbladder surgery in February, then she got Valley Fever and had to have emergency lung surgery for a collapsed lung. She has not been on Catster much during all this. To her surprise, when she did log on, EVERYTHING HAD CHANGED! She is not up to relearning all the links and buttons and doesn't know where anything is anymore...she is very frustrated and unhappy. She told us kitties that we should say goodbye to all our friends at Catster cause she can't deal with this on top of everything else going on. Why can't Catster leave well enough alone!
So I am saying goodbye to all my Catster friends and hope you all enjoy this new Catster. Mom just can't keep up anymore with constant website changes, and she is even a graphic designer!

"Get To Know Your Pals" Diary Tag

My furriend Elise tagged me to play the 2009 "Get to Know Your Pals" diary tag! How fun! There are 10 questions to answer...

Here are the ten questions and my answers.

1) What color is your collar?
I usually don't wear one, but our house is up for sale so Mom put collars on all us kitties in case we accidentally get outside (but I have a microchip, too). Anyway...my collar is red with little paw prints on it.

2) What kind of food do you eat?
I eat both dry cat food like Purina One and canned Friskies food.

3) What are your favorite treats?
I don't usually eat any kind of cat treats, (Jasper likes them) but I do like cooked chicken and I like cheese

4) Do you have a Valentine or significant other?
Yes...my kitty girlfriend is Filly the Swift of Rohan, we are dating but Mom says I am still too young for anything more serious.

5) Do you get table scraps?
Uh-huh! I sometimes get cooked chicken, but that's about all I like.

6) What is your favorite toy?
Jasper, my big brother! I don't play with any other toys, even though mom keeps trying. I would rather wrestle with Jasper!

7) When is your birthday?
It is May 20th, 2007 or close to it!

8) How many times a day do you eat?
Mom feeds us 3 times a day, dry food for breakfast, canned food for lunch and dry for dinner. But there is always some dry food out. I go to all the kitties bowls after they are done and eat their leftovers.

9) Do you have a favorite color?
I guess it is silver, because I am silver

10) Do you hope all your pals put this in their diary?
You bet! I hope the pals I tag play so I can get to know them better!

Now it's your turn to play! Copy these questions and type your answers, then post them in your diary!

Tag 6 of your friends and send them a note to read your diary.

I am tagging:
1) Maytag
2) Filly the Swift of Rohan
3) Lily
4) Gordy
5) Horatio
6) Hobbit

Hope you kitties can play!

5 Precious Gifts to Mom

Mom wants to tell all you wonderful Catster friends that she can not even begin to thank you enough all for your support and help after such a terrible thing happened to her foster kittens.
She honestly could not have made it through these last 3 days without the Catster community and each and every one of you who responded to this horrific deed.

Mom appreciates every single letter, call or email you have sent to PACC. She hopes that somehow, some way, that shelter can change for the better. The animals there deserve so much better.

Mom is extremely heartbroken over the whole incident, and needs to let it go and move on. It is too emotionally difficult for her.

Mom talked with a lawyer friend yesterday. The cold hard fact is that the kittens were never legally mom's, that they were the shelters "property" all the while mom was fostering them. The shelter had the right to do whatever they wanted with the kittens, and they did. Mom had no legal rights over them.

That does not take away the OTHER fact that what the shelter DID do was a hideous and completely avoidable act. All they had to do was call Mom if they were having trouble with the kittens and she would have fostered them longer or adopted them herself and then found homes for them.

Nothing can bring these kittens back.

They were sweet, and used their litter box without ever being trained! It was so amazing to see! They just jumped right in it and starting using it all on their own! They were so smart, and it was so incredible to see each of their little personalities begining to shine through. They were such a gift to Mom and a priviledge to take care of.

Mom went into their "nursery" (our spare bedroom that they had all for their own) this afternoon, and it still has their sweet scent in it. Mom is still trying to come to grips with the fact that their 5 little lives were wiped off the face of the earth last Thursday. Mom can't stop crying...

Foster Kittens doing Great!

Wow! The last foster kitten is finally off that stupid bottle! YAY!!! All 5 of them are doing really well, and growing by leaps and bounds! They are all using their litter box (YES!) and now eating both wet and dry kitten chow. Their little personalities are already shining through, and now Mom is asking all you Catster friends to send the very best wishes and purrayers that they all will find a forever home. When they are old enough, Mom is going to post them on Catster in the Adoptable Cats section - maybe they can find a home that way! There are pics of them on all our family's pages if you want to see how they have grown!