Another Birthday!!

Thanks for the birthday greetings and good wishes everyone!!! They really are appreciated, and it's good to hear from friends you haven't checked in with for a while. Where does the time go??? When I lived outside, reaching 8 years old seemed like a remote possibility. Now that I'm a pampered indoor cat, 8 years young seems like prime time! We marked my 8th birthday quietly, but pleasantly. I did some bird-watching, napped on the top of the kitchen cabinets for a while, had a few treats (unusual, since some of my pals here are on diets), and spent some quality time with my human companions. I get along with everyone and lead pretty good life most of the time. But it's always fun to have one's own personal day to celebrate.

Giving Thanks 2009

My good friend Pigeon tagged me for Thanksgiving. Friends are so incredibly important, and I'm grateful for them every day of the year. Our Catster friends are a wonderful bunch, and they've helped us when Moka was lost, when Locket was misbehaving, and they've made us smile a lot. We hope we've been able to help them too in their times of need, and even produced a few grins in the process.
Now, I am please to share the 5 things I'm most thankful for this year:
1) The return of Moka. Last year, he got lost during our November 1st move, which cast a huge shadow over last Thanksgiving. Fortunately, he came back to us on December 1st, 2008. We are so grateful to have him back home!
2) Our new pal Pumpkin. While Moka was lost outside, our human companions borrowed a couple of have-a-heart traps to try to catch him. After a couple of weeks, they had no luck trapping him, so they put the closed (they thought) traps on the porch of our old house so the person they borrowed them from could pick them up. But lo and behold, Pumpkin was sitting in one of the supposedly closed traps on the morning of December 1st, 2008. Because it seemed like good karma, one of our human companions took him to the vet to be neutered and get his shots before returning him to the alley. Turned out Pumpkin is a tame and very friendly cat, and seemed like a potentially good addition to the family. That night, our human companions returned to the old house to make sure there were no other cats in the traps, and they started calling Moka's name, just because they were there. Amazingly, this time Moka answered, came out from his hiding place in the yard across the street, and returned home! So we have Pumpkin to thank for Moka's return, and we're glad he's part of our family.
3) We're living inside now. I've been off the streets of Washington, DC for a year and a half now, and I like the indoor life! We still have friends outside in our neighborhood and we are glad our human companions still help feed them every day.
4) We're all pretty healthy. Oh, we have a few minor complaints from time to time, but nothing serious right now. We are purring for all our Catster friends facing medical challenges.
5) Our human companions are weathering this economic downturn. Our household has had furloughs and hasn't been immune to the problems so many families are facing around the world, but we're all still okay. We have a roof over our heads and enough food to eat, and we can afford to get vet care when we've needed it. We send our good thoughts to so many people and animals who can't say as much. We hope next year will be much better for them!
I'll post the cats I'm tagging very soon. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Halloween Tag

Lily, she of the beautiful coat, tagged me, so here are my 6 favorite things about this scary/fun holiday:
1. Remembering that it used to be a little bit scary outside this time of year for cats, but I'm inside now, where it's safe.
2. Watching the street as the kids go out trick or treating. I love standing in the window, surveying the whole scene.
3. The talented Pigeon sent our whole family amazing Halloween art for our Catster pages.
4. Having my human companions put an Alley Cat Allies leaflet about the value and care of outdoor cats into trick or treat bags. You have to start getting the message across early!
5. This is the one time of year when we black and mostly black cats get our due. But I'm still waiting for my ride on a broom . . .
6. This year we are in our new home and will not be getting ready for moving day, which was last November 1st!

So I'm tagging:
Slyvester
Ella
Snickers
Lexie
Jinx
Pokey