Tortoiseshell cats are named for their distinctive coloring – a combination of patches of black, brown, amber, red, cinnamon and chocolate. The size of the patches varies from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of color. The term “tortoiseshell” is used for cats with brindled coats that have few or no white markings. Cats of this coloring with larger areas of white fur are called calicos. Sometimes, these colors present in lighter versions such as lilac or cream. Torties with this lighter coloring are called dilute torties. Occasionally, the typical tortoiseshell colors are also seen in a tabby (striped) pattern, and these cats are sometimes referred to as “torbies.”
Tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Tortoiseshell and calico coats are the result of the interaction between genetic and developmental factors. The occasional and very rare male tortoiseshell cat is the result of a genetic mutation.
In addition to their distinctive coloring, torties also have a reputation for unique personalities, sometimes referred to as “tortitude.” They tend to be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and they can be very possessive of their human. Other words used to describe torties are fiercely independent, feisty and unpredictable. They’re usually very talkative and make their presence and needs known with anything from a hiss to a meow to a strong purr. These traits are stronger in tortoiseshell cats than in calicos – it seems as though these traits are somewhat diluted with the addition of more white to the color scheme.
As of the writing of this post, I share my life with Amber*, and those of you who’ve followed this blog for a while have gotten to know her in her Amber’s Mewsings posts. You will soon be able to read all about Buckley in Buckley’s Story – Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher. The photo above shows Buckley in the front, Amber behind her.
Prior to Amber and Buckley, there was another tortie in my life. Virginia was the first office cat at the animal hospital I managed. She was my introduction to torties, and my love affair with this particular type of cat began with her. She, too, had the “tortitude” I so love about these particular cats.
Do you have a tortie or calico in your life? Does she have “tortitude?”
*Sadly, Amber passed away on May 13, 2010, after a sudden, brief illness. I now share my life with Allegra and Ruby, two tortoiseshell cats who have their own columns here on The Conscious Cat, titled Allegra’s World and Ruby’s Reflections.
Photo ©Ingrid King, all rights reserved
This incident hurt me more than anything that has happened so far with her. The total fear and the hiding for hours. I could not get over it. I was truly so angry with whoever kicked her, I do think if I had known this person I could actually hurt him/her. She is such a tender trusting little girl. But this has shown the depth of the memory she has of being hurt.
I decided to write what we have mentioned about taking in abused pets, but this was the first where I could actually see what some of her abuse was and it hurt terribly.
But we are back and all is well. I had to give up my pillows above my head last night because she wanted to be wrapped around my head. I of course gave in and after an hour or so she gave me a kitty nose to nose kiss and went back to her side. Boy was I glad, having a kitty wrapped around your head is not very comfortable. But she awakened me at 5AM today. I finally figured out she wanted the upstairs window where she goes to sit on the window seat opened again. So I opened it up a few inches and she is not up there looking and smelling the great outdoors.
Their eyes are windows to their souls and I have said from the very beginning when she first came her, she has the most beautiful eyes. What hids behind them I will never know, but what lies ahead for her is going to be the best I can do for her and there is no room for cruelty in our lives.
Your nose kisses showed all is forgiven.
And your training continues. Opening the windows on command is one more trick you have been taught.
Steeler does have beautiful eyes and I love her expressions.
Pumpkin has gold eyes that show how trusting and loving he is.
But Stirfry has those emerald green eyes that send chills down my spine.
We all know Steeler is in the purrfect house for her (and for you). Of that we are happy.
Stir is second to none. The look of Stir is his and only his. Those emerald eyes are a true “get back warning”. I still think she is a beauty. She looks as mean as a rattlesnake, but that doesn’t change that she is georgous.
Yes, I loved looking at Stirfry’s photos. She is such a beautiful cat – but when I see that impressive snarl I must confess to being just a bit relieved that I no longer live quite so close to her!
But Sharon, I wish you were up here. For 1 thing the PA contingent would have been 4 on the book signing trip. And the other thing is I would love to meet Doodlebug and Callie.
Someday
What Jay said.
Hi Tortie family. I have been a little quiet, but I have been reading all the posts. All are very interesting.
I learned something today, about Steeler. I always knew after I rescued her that she had been abused. I never really knew what happened. Most of you on here already know that about Steeler.
Well today, there was an incident that told a great deal about the pain that is hidden behind her beautiful golden eyes. She is no different than any of your kitties and each is a story in and of itself. So each of you know how sometimes our little ones and our feet get tangled up because they are so attached to us. This happened once before and Steeler ran and hid, and I didn’t pay to much attention to it at that time. Well this afternoon, we got tangled up again, and she ran so fast and hid. It took several hours for her to come out of hiding, then she was very hesitant.
Now I know of some of the pain she has endured at the hands of some monster. Her behavior was such that there is no doubt in my mind she has been kicked. And the tanglement of my feet with her brought back those terrible memories.
I have been so gentle with her tonight, trying to let her understand I would never hurt her. So today I was so angry to know, this precious little soul has been kicked around. This could be the cause of her pelvic injury that prevents her from jumping onto furniture like other cats.
I only can wish that whoever hurt her like this get the same treatment in another lifetime. I would like to be the one to really hurt this person.
It has been very telling about what hides behind those beautiful eyes. She will get all the love I have to give to her. I know I will do my best to make sure my feet and her don’t get tangled again. I don’t want to see the terrible fear in her eyes. I want her golden eyes to shine with delight for as long as she live.
This may be long, but each of you know many rescued cats have been abused, but to understand what kind of abuse is like ripping your heart apart. This little girl shares a big part of my heart and always will.
Well so much for that. On a lighter note, the invisible Tortie appeared on the window seat and I caught her with the cameras. I have posted the pics on FB.
Yeah, that’s bad, and unfortunately, too common.
I can relate with Kasey. Being picked up was new for her, often she was picked up for less than ideal reasons.
She only wants to be held upright, facing me, with her front paws on my shoulder, she has grown to like this.
At the place where she lived, she would spend time in the one building with stairs, it has an upper storage loft.
When I first got her used to being picked up, one day I went to carry her down the basement stairs because I was going there anyway and she likes to accompany me.
She became quite unusually concerned and fearful as I started down the stairs. I am sure someone fired her down the stairs, it likely happened more than once, I suspect. I don’t know why some people have to do stuff like that, they have my complete contempt.
I am happy to report that she is over that now, seems like now, it is just a ride down the stairs to be able to see what I am doing and to eat Taz and Morgan’s (more high calorie) food which is kept there.
Glen I knew you could relate what I experienced today. The things Kasey and Steeler must have endured are ingrained in their minds. It really hurt me to realize that she has been kicked. Just like you with Kasey and the stairs. However I still can’t pick Steeler up. We have made great strides, to where I am now getting those little kitty kisses with her nose and that is a rewarding time for me. But I just had to get it off my chest tonight about the memory our little ones still have.
One day we will just have to get together and give those folks that hurt the little furry friends and give them some of their own medicine. Of course this will be in another lifetime. But thanks for knowing and understanding the timing and what had happened today and I knew you would know right away, that she had been kicked. Belly rubs to Kasey.
I just don’t understand how people can do this to animals. I am so sorry little Steeler had to endure that, but how wonderful she kept her personality.
My Stanley showed up when he was three or four, and until he was a teenager I couldn’t walk toward him, or swing anything around him. Through his life he would suddenly seem to slip into a psychotic episode, and that is not a joke–he would corner himself, growl and viciously attack the other cats, looking totally wild and out of control, very frightening to me. Once I had to pull him off Sally where he had her pinned before he got around to her throat, and he bit my wrist instead, resulting in the night in the emergency room for me, though I was afraid to go for fear they’d take him from me. Each time I would somehow trap him or lure him into the spare kitty room where he’s spend a few days, but also sometimes end up at the vet with a urinary blockage.
After years of this my vet and I realized it was around his incidences of urinary blockages, and that even just the slightest pain from the condition would put him on the defensive from the memory of being kicked and beaten for urinating where he shouldn’t, which he couldn’t help himself from doing. My sweet, silly boy, though he peed on everything I owned the entire 21 years he was with me, I am forever grateful he came to me when he left his home so he could finally relax and leave it all behind him, and I could learn a big lesson on unconditional love and in understanding what kitty is saying. He is the face of my life as an artist, literally, his portrait is on my business card and brochure. I will never forget him.
Bernadette, I am sorry to hear about Stanley. I never knew that. So you to recognized his kind of abuse and I know it tore your heart apart, like mine and like Glen’s. I was hesitant about posting this because it is so painful, but I felt like I had to let it out. I am glad I did. Maybe if we start learning from each other who have had or has an abused kitty, we could all learn what to look for or maybe understand what lies behind their beautiful eyes. The pain they carry with them, I can only guess something will trigger those painful memories. It’s is no wonder we love them so much. Their pain is ours. When I look at those eyes, whether they are Steeler’s or Kasey’s or Cookie, or Stir I can only think what beautiful eyes they have. Then I know you never would have caused Cookie or even a mouse pain. I have no problem with hurting the mouse, but the cats eyes have stories behind them we will never know. I hope most of the cats have only good memories, but I dread the thought knowing Steeler and Kasey suffered at the hands of fiends.
I can’t really add anything even remotely as eloquent as what’s been said here tonight. Doing rescue, you see a lot of awful stuff. It’s not uncommon to find BBs under a cat’s skin. The first time, I thought it was going to be a horrible tumor. Reading tonight makes me want to give Kasey and Steeler a hug – but I want to keep my arms. It’s knowing that there are caring souls like Glen, Bernie and the rest of you that enable me to keep doing this.
Harry you have taught me so much about cats.
I decided to write this about the abuse, because it is really the first time I was able to know just a very small bit of what Steeler must have suffered. It will never happen to her again. Not as long as I am alive.
Harry you and those who do the everyday rescue will have a special table in Heaven. Just make it a long, very long time from now.
Oh Bernie, that is the worst feeling, when our cats run from us because of some past trauma, and they can’t quite separate that the accidental bumping into each other has nothing to do with the past pain. It’s hard for us to imagine what they might have gone through, and it’s also hard to give them the space to regroup and remember that the person they’re with now loves them more than anything.
I’m going to add another element to the responses that have already been given. One thing that always amazes me about cats, and all animals, is the way they live in the moment. And I think it’s especially humbling in animals who have suffered abuse in the past. Once they’re loved by a human they can trust, they tend to not look back. Except for the occasional physical trigger, such as you bumping into Steeler, or Stanley’s urinary issues, unlike what most humans would do, they don’t sit around and think about the abuse, analyze it for years in a therapist’s office, or plot revenge. They simply enjoy each present moment – whether it’s Steeler being loved by you, Bernie, or Kasey being held in the way she likes by Glen, or Stanley finally being allowed to relax and be himself with Bernadette. One of the most dramatic examples of this in recent years are, of course, the Vick dogs. The fact that some of these dogs are now wonderful pets and even therapy dogs is simply amazing to me. It’s just one more area where I think humans can learn so much from animals.
Ingrid, I can see you thought this post out very carefully. I can almost feel the anguish in your writing about abuse and triggers that bring it back. It is beautifully written. I agree with you on the Vick episode. I don’t know how many folks know about his recent actions. He has petitioned the court to be permitted to own another dog or cat. I personally think the court should ban him forever from owning any living creature.
I am glad I brought the abuse to the forefront. It is something we have all touched on, but I believe this is the first time something triggered the reality of how deeply wounded an abused pet is. Their memory is very sharp and they don’t forget. I know I will always remember Steeler’s reaction. On the cheerful side, she now has taken my pillows and is making new ways of getting what she wants. In return, I am getting unrequested kitty nose to nose kisses. This is all due to the recent happenings. What a great feeling.
Bernie, Thank you for sharing the experience with Steeler. It was such an upsetting event for both of you, and I’m so glad she was able to work through her fear and get back to trusting and loving you. Thanks for giving that gorgeous girl a safe and caring home, and I hope you never see anything but absolute love and trust in those beautiful eyes of hers.
Sharon, what a beautifully written inspiration for Steeler and I. Thank you.
I don’t think Monkey was ever physically abused, just neglected. When I got her she was so skinny, full of fleas, and half bald with scabs all over from a severe flea allergy. But she was always very friendly and fearless toward humans….She was always ready to cuddle and had the loudest and most frequent purr I’ve ever heard.
Now if I could just get her to get over the food obsession. You’d think she’d have forgotten being half starved by now, she hasn’t missed a meal in….wow, I’m guessing she’s been here about a year and a half. I hope there’s not something I’m subconciously doing to encourage the behavior.
Lianimal, forget about Monkey getting over her food obsession. I can telll you along with Bernie and Glen that even years later the thought of not having enough food is still with a Feral. Do what we do and you should get by.
“Lianimal, forget about Monkey getting over her food obsession.”
Yeah
At the gas processing/compression facility where Kasey lived, at first she was well cared for.
Then things went downhill, she went through a time when they didn’t feed her much and she actually got thin.
Later she was fed more but some times junk.
For the last half of her stay there, clean water was hit and miss.
After 3 years in a stable, home environment on good quality food and all the clean water she wants, she still has quite a fascination with both food and water.
I have to watch the feeding, she has a tendency to be a “full-figured girl”
We even have to stop her from eating the dog’s food, she has no qualms about running a 10 pound Silky Terrier off his food, not a desired behaviour but to be expected by a tortie that came from a tough background.
Glen, the food thing is still a work in progress with Steeler. Like Kasey she is a full figured girl. No dogfood here, thank heaven, or she might try that to. We have spoiled our little girls like crazy.
I liked the picture of Stirfry’s Mom on the FB page 🙂
In reference to Kasey’s origin, I have said before here, that I think she was conjured up from an eerie swamp, in a thunderstorm, at midnight, when there was a full moon, by mediaeval wizard.
There may be another theory on this but I am sticking with it, so far.
And that Wizard was in a really bad mood.
“And that Wizard was in a really bad mood”
It would explain the lack of fear of much of anything.
I have said if she was placed on one of those frightening dark landscapes depicted in some sci-fi movies, she would not be frightened of the strange and scary, un-natural noises from mythical creatures hidden in the dark.
To her, it would be a welcome sound; her next victim giving away its position 😉
Happy Easter Sunday to all on here and scratches and rubs to all the kitties.
Sunny and warm here right now.
Happy Easter, everyone. A gorgeous day in the Northeast. My girls have been enjoying the breeze coming in through the screens. I bet Harry’s gang is out on the porch.
” I bet Harry’s gang is out on the porch.”
All Seven. All day. A real red-letter day.
Even Sabrina? Wow! That’s wonderful!
It’s amazing. We’ve retreated inside now – it got too hot, it’s well into the 80’s. Piper’s on a kitchen chair, Henry on the table, Sabrina wandering around, on forays out from under the couch, Pearl on the kitchen floor, Vickie and May on the couch. Brooke has left us for parts unknown, but she was here most of the day. I think she knew that she’d exhausted her being good potential. Being a tortie, and all, there’s only so much decent behavior allotted in a single day.
“Being a tortie, and all, there’s only so much decent behavior allotted in a single day.”
I think she used up a weeks worth. Next week should be interesting.
Glad ya had good weather and you enjoyed the porch.
It was nice here till 6.
Then the rain started. Thunder right now.
Tomorrow will be interesting. If you don’t hear from me it is because my family had me committed. I will be talking to my sister Nan (the Lawyer) and saying great things about another Lawyer and family. Nan will think I went off the deep end.
Hope cats get visiting privileges.
And you told me you didn’t know any nice lawyers.
I didn’t until 2 weeks ago. I talked to some cats. They told me otherwise.
Torties don’t lie. They dn’t play well with others but they don’t lie.
Touche!!!!!!
🙂
There are nice lawyers?
Read Cat Fancy Magazine June 2011 edition. It describes a very caring one. He has a Tortie and 6 other adorable cats. Can’t argue with that. Cats know.
Lianimal, there are nice lawyers, and there are successful lawyers. The former have a lot of cats and drive beater Subarus.
They’re doing SO much better now though
See, the simple things work great.
Glad they have lots of toys to play with. If you have too many just share them with friends or local shelter. That make other kitties happy and you will find it make you happy too.
This place is so tiny, I need all the activities for them I can get. If we were rats and this was a cage, no self respecting pet seller would EVER let the three of us live here! lol…..so I try to give them all the stimulation I can, via toys and play
OMG, that’s so simple, I c an’t believe I haven’t tried that!
Monkey’s been getting on my last nerve since last night….there was food in her bowl, but there wasn’t as much as she wanted there to be! Every time I stood up, her little chubby butt was right under me…..meow meow meow…she harrassed me until I went and got her more food lol
I would suggest you do what Glen, Jay and I do when our Torties want more food and they have a bowl full. Just pick up the bowl, put it in a different bowl then just use it to refill the same bowl they use. This works pretty good.
Bernie….lol, they’re thinking they’re in hog heaven right now! They have stuff that tyhere’s NO way I could have bought them lol…they’re loving every minute!
You know what’s interesting is how pets learn to adapt to their humans. I’m a heavy metal chick, and I’ve learned that any pet can learn to like any kind of music as long as you make it into a positive experience……I grab my monkey gently by the long hair on either side of her face and sing heavy metal to her….she loves it! I think it’s just about paying attention to them
I love heavy metal, too, but I’ve never had a cat who tolerated me playing it in the house. I’m reduced to blasting it in the car. But in all fairness, none of my cats ever liked me playing any kind of music in the house, no matter what genre. Maybe I should start trying with these two. They’re probably young enough to get used to it.
lol…they’re TOTALLY young enough…you just have to start them with a band that has a really good singer…who actually sings somethimes, like Slipknot, 5FDP, The Agonist, or Ekotren….Mine don’t like it if I’m screaming Goatwhore or something, but they’re fine if I’m singing AND screaming Slipknot or The Agonist lol
My metal tastes are a little less heavy than yours, running more to the likes of Nightwish, Edguy, Camelot, and other European power metal bands. I’ll let you know when my two start headbanging…lol…
Aw shoot, your kitties should be fine with those guys! lol…When I put on Some of my older stuff like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden or Guns and Roses, my girls think it’s nap time!
If mine can learn to like The Agonist and Soilwork, Yours can learn to LOVE Nightwish! They’ll be wishing you’d get them little tattoos and septum piercings in no time! lol
Ok Lianimal, you just started a new topic
“little tattoos and septum piercings on our Torties”
What tattoo woulf a Tortie get ?
“Mother” and “Born to raise heck” seem to tame.
I can only imagine what Stir would get.
Lianimal if anyone tattoos a Tortie, I can almost without a doubt, say the tattoo was never done, and the tattoo artist may be missing some digits or an arm.
I never said it woud be possible to tattoo a tortie. The Artist that did that would have a deathwish. But I wondered what design or saying a Tortie would get.
A cat or dog outline in a circle with the line thru it perhaps.
And someday when I find the right artist I will get Stirfry tattooed on me.
lol…hmmm, Have to think about that, what tat WOULD monkey get? FEED ME in bold letters for sure…..
And if I ever make it out to California, I’m Making a special point to get a tat from both Kat Von D and Cory Miller. I’m thinking Kat for Monkey, her portrait work is out of this world. And I’ll get Cory to do Peaches…I think he can nail her freaky eyes
I looked up Kat Von D.
Her cat tattoo is excellent.
Now kids, I am no expert on tattoos, having said that, you youngun’s need to remember gravity will take a toll on each of you and those tattoos will move also. Just a little trivia. So watch where you place those tattoos. 🙂 My wise advice for the day. 🙂
Now you tell me 🙂
I have learned (from others) never get a loved ones name in a heart unless a child or pet.
Never get a Tat when both you and him have been drinking (another friend).
Jay, if you and a friend are in a tattoo parlor together it’s to late, chances are common sense was lost somewhere else. That is what happened to many of our WWII and Korean War military people. Some soldiers woke up with tattoos they never remembered getting.
I am smarter than that. Every one was thought out and last one (Barb wire on left arm to match the riight is just under my Lion)
Even 20 years ago I was thinking of a Tortie.
Jay thinking 20 years ago. I can’t touch that. 🙂
Hey guys, I tried to post the other night, but it wouldn’t load…the only thing I remember I was going to say was congrats to Ingrid on the lucky meshing of two tortie personalities, that doesn’t happen much! BTW, the “playing tag and sounding like a heard of elephants” thing? I can totally relate, Peaches and Monkey have been doing that every weekend morning (so I’m assuming it’s every morning) since I moved here. Peaches has also put on a little weight, which is good, she was way too thin. I think maybe monkey has lost a couple ounces (or maybe it’s wishful thinking, she was getting really plump, and she seems a tiny bit leaner now)….I’m sure climbing the coatrack, jumping onto and jogging around on top of the bathroom wall is contributing to that, lol….
To the rest of you, I typed SO much, but it was lost, and now I only have a few minutes, no time to read back and list all the Congrats and other comments. I’m sorry.
My neigbor has a male Ragdoll who’s apparently spoiled rotten and totaly incorigible, because she keeps bringing me expensive toys, scratching posts, food, and different cat activity apparatus that she’s bought him and he refuses to use…..even though I live in a little ghetto cheap efficiency apartment, my cats have all the finest…..I’m afraid they’re going to start thinking they’re high class or something! lol
Lianimal it’s good to hear how well Peaches and Monkey adjusted to their new living quarters. Your neighbor is a giving person. Let the kitties decide what they like or dislike. If they become to much, put some away, and bring them out later on, and that way they will not be overwhelmed with to many choices. Good luck.
Thanks, Lianimal! I’m still totally amazed at how well Allegra and Ruby are getting along after less than a week!
I’m sure that the “herd of elephants” game burns major calories, so you’re probably not imagining that Monkey has been losing some weight.
Love your neighbor’s Ragdoll and the spoiled once removed effect!
Sweet story from tonight – actually two sweet stories. First, Thor, who was abandoned at a grocery store last August (guy drove up, put his carrier on the sidewalk, drove away) found his forever home tonight. Thor was the cat pictured in the June Cat Fancy “Foster Focus” article that featured you-know-who. Then, after the event, I took back to his foster Jeffrey, a 10 month old orange tabby boy. The foster’s daughter was coming for a visit, and so she couldn’t pick up Jeffrey at the end of the event. The daughter brought her 10 month old grey female cat with her. When I brought Jeffrey’s carrier in, the foster said to him, “here’s Bella, she’s staying with us for a week” and before I could say that it was a bad idea to just let loose two cats who had never met, Jeffrey bounded out, right up to Bella. She arched, fluffed, hissed, and ran away. He chased. She reversed direction, ran under a table with a floor length cloth, and he stopped just out side. She reached out and bopped him, he ran she chased and we suddenly realized they were playing. We stood there for 10 minutes and watched them race around, taking turns chasing and bopping. Earlier in the evening, I had spent a good 15 minutes drilling Thor’s adopters on proper introduction techniques. So, after all that, I returned home where Sabrina has to live in the bedroom because she and Brooke are hostile… Ingrid, I know you feel you have to issue disclaimers on the way you didn’t follow the protocol on introducing Ruby, but it just goes to show ya what we all know… you have to follow your instinct.
Great news Harry. Thor has his forever home and you are taught a lesson from Jeffrey and Bella on cat introductions. Shows the experts don’t know everything.
Also I read the article in Cat Fancy on our fsvorite foster family in VA.
Loved it.
Were the 2 pics of the Black cat Thor or was that Henry?
I know Thor was in the cage.
Jay – right, that was Thor in the cage. The other photos were some stock cat – I’d sent Cat Fancy photos of Henry but they didn’t use them.
What a great story! I love that the “CatFancy” cat found a home. Make sure you e-mail Dusty to let her know, she’ll love hearing that. I can’t believe my June issue hasn’t shown up – I want to see the story!
Just goes to show, you never know when it comes to cat introductions.
Harry the cats just keep doing it their way. I don’t think anyone read the SOP to them before they got together. Great that homes are being found. You folks do good work.
Read a write up about the Shubin Family about the fostering of cats. You guys did a wonderful story and kept the light on the need for the cats and fostering families. You took no credit for all your family has done. That would be a story in itself. Kudos to all of you.
Their is a SOP for Torties?
Got to see where Stir put it. Probably the litterbox.
The write up was great. Was hoping for a Tortie mention. Brooke wants her article next. Maybe a whole issue.
I think between Harry and Julie they could write a book on their work with cat/dogs and make it also a reference guide on how not to.
How not to Book 1 and book 2
Take in cat. Call it a foster.
It calls you Mom and Dad.
Denial !!!!!!!!
Take in another cat etc….
I’m no expert on introductions (obviously) but I play one on event night, sometimes… it’s sort of the expectation. Most of the time, folks then just do what they darn well please, anyway.
PS – right now, I’m in the kitchen with all three of Brooke, Piper and Sabrina. Some hissing and growling, but ok.
Sounds like a Holiday Truce.
No doubt all are looking for a chocolate egg.
Sitting here at home. Dinner was Turtle Pie and Utz chips.
Now eating Pepper Jack cheese and sharing with Stirfry. She gets her fill 1st.
Folks I think Jay is on a high sugar/salt diet. Poor Stirfry joins in just to keep him happy.
You right. Not a balanced meal.
Now have a Snickers Fudge bar and Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale.
Offered some to Stir but she turned up her nose. The Ale is by Seadog and has a dog on the bottle. She Snarled and looked away. No dogs for this cat.
Jay when you get heavy, don’t ask any of us why. We will remind you of your diet (or lack thereof).
Barn critters keep me busy.
No problem here.
Weird dream from dinner.
Woke up this morning after dreaming I was opening up Meow Mix Mouse Flavored Cat Food for Pumpkin and Stirfry.
Hope that was a dream.
At least you got some fruit from the blueberry ale….
🙂 can’t top that Ingrid.
Kasey’s whiskers are a mix of black and white, too.
She is what I think of as a “dark faced” tortie, very dark mottled markings, almost looks darker than a black cat, she has a bit of white on her chin, not from age but just markings she has always had.
Good afternoon all
I posted some pics of Luna and Nikita on the FB page, I have tons more but I didn’t want to overwhelm everyone. lol
Has anyone had their tortie cats whiskers change color?
Nikita had beautiful black whiskers but now she seems to have white ones growing in too. I have never seen a cat of any kind with 2 colors of whiskers. Luna has white and they seem to be staying white so far.
I thought Stirfry did not have a spec of white on her (someone said white dilutes the Tortitude so I figured she would reject any white hairs) but I looked and her whiskers are white. I had thought they were black years ago but never really paid any attention. But I can tell you white whiskers have no calming effect on her at all.
Steeler’s whiskers are all white. But I guess they can gray, just like the cats fur not to mention human hair. So maybe she is going thru the aging process.
Allegra has a tiny white spot on her chest, and a small, perfectly symmetrical v-shaped white spot on her belly. Both Allegra and Ruby have a single white whisker on the left side – uncanny, considering how much they look alike, down to that whisker!
That shows how they were meant to be together.
I bet Ingrid just now checked that out. I would never have thought about whiskers. I already said Allegra and Ruby were mirror images.
Actually, Bernie, I always knew about (and admired!) Allegra’s single white whisker. It’s why I was so stunned when I first met Ruby and realized she had the same thing, on the same side.
I should have known you would have checked her out very closely. Either way, Ruby is a beauty as is her big Sister.
I’m sure that was not the reason she became family.
Their big heart and soft eyes get you first.
They are soul sisters! They seemed to know each other, and get along well, I’ve no doubt they have some connection in addition to their appearance. When they grow to be the same size, you’ll have to do the tempera paint marking I did when the Big Four were babies, or get them different colored collars–otherwise they’ll be playing tricks on you.
Bernadette a single Tortie already plays tricks on me. Can’t imagine another in with me.
Cookie has always had mixed black and white whiskers, more black than white though most of the white ones had a certain amount of black, sometimes just the base or a quarter to a half inch more. Kelly’s were always solid black but in the past two years she has developed three white ones; recently when one of them fell out I saw it had a black base.
Cookie has an irregular white spot on her belly, Kelly on her chest.
Cats tend to grow whiskers that match in white or black the value of the fur on their whisker pads and other areas where they sprout whiskers. With torties that can be anything since they’re all speckled.
Ok I knew our Tortie expert would catch this one. Thanks Bernadette. You never cease to amaze me with your vast knowledge.
I really love their noses. Cookie’s is mostly pink with some black freckles on one side just like the fur on that side is freckled. Kelly, though has a completely black nose with two tiny white dots on the bottom of each nostril–it’s so cute!
I have the advantage of having photographed, sketched, painted and even cut a linoleum block print depicting each of their faces, so they are quite well-studied.
I received this from Sharon
Pictures of Callie were put on the FB page
“Anyway photographing Callie is always a challenge because she’s scared to death of the flash which she has generalized to a fear of cameras in general. It was such a bright day that I turned the flash off and got 2 photos of her doing her morning office inspection before she realized what I was up to. Then she got a glimpse of the camera (photo c) and that was that! Now she’s hiding behind one of the file cabinets having a fairly loud conversation with herself. I don’t speak fluent tortie, but I doubt that it’s very complimentary to me.”
Those of us that speak Tortie know what she was saying.
Oh dear. The “get that camera out of my face” tortie monologues….
Well Tortie family, the hour is late, but I thought I would take time to let you all know what Steeler and I have been up to this day. First I had a workout trying to clean some of the broken trees and branches up in the upper back part of the yard. After stepping out of my rain/mud boots into the mud in my socks, I decided enough. I’ll go out there another day. Hopefully it wouldn’t be so wet. Well inside I come, and Steeler was waiting patiently. Well after a rest, and conversation with Steeler, I decided to tackle a repair that I had been putting off for a while. That meant up and down to the basement. Now that means Steeler is right in step with me. Talking all time and I am talking back to her. I must have been saying the right things because she kept talking all evening while we worked. I was concentrating on what I was doing and she was right there by my feet, I kept talking to her and she kept talking back, but I didn’t look down at her. Pretty soon I felt this paw smack me on my ankle. I looked down and those beautiful gold eyes were looking up at me as if to say, Hey look I am down here so look at me when you talk to me. Well we finished up that job. Jobs take longer now that I have a supervisor talking and following me around. Then it was time to get the sweeper to clean up any mess we made. Well that is Steeler’s favorite. I think she thinks that is her go cart. She keeps insisting on trying to hitch a ride on the head of the sweeper, which makes for a long time running the sweeper for fear of her tail getting caught. That took about 1/2 hour, and it should have been a 5 minute job. Well we then put the tools away, with this little head looking into my tool bag and I had to be careful and put each tool in by hand (I used to be able to just toss them in, no more) this little Tortie is inspecting each tool I put in. So then it time for a snack. Not me, Steeler. She snacked and then decided she was tired and retired to her condo. I am tired also, but have not condo to retire to. So this has been our day. My boss/helper worked really hard and talked like a motor. She is really enjoying this power trip.
I
Bernie, I as believing it all till you said “Steeler was waiting patiently”
Steeler and patient in the same sentence?
Did you find another Tortie ? 🙂
Good thing you had supervision. Torties are good at spotting mistakes and keeping the worker inline. Look at Harry and Julie’s back porch. Luckily Brooke kept those worker going and it turned out great.
And she made sure every tool was put back. No more missing tools (unless she sees something she likes. Then it goes to the kitty condo.
What he said. You had me until “patiently.”
Speaking of the porch, tonight was a great night for it – breezy and 70. Sat outside until almost 11. Piper and Brooke shared the space without argument, except once when they both wanted to share the same portion of rail. Had trouble getting May and Vickie back in, they liked it so much that they wouldn’t even come for treats. I had to carry May in. Piper then got into Sabrina’s room and they were fine for a while. Seems a lot of improvement this week, and we still haven’t gotten any one onto Prozac. Maybe we won’t need to.
Congrats Harry. Piper is fitting right in and all seems peaceful
Not sure what they are up too. Things seem too good.
It was a nice day and that porch is going to get a work out. The smells of a nice day is like catnip to our kitties.
I had the bedroom window open for Stirfry and she loves it.
The best part of your post is that Sabrina might not need the Prozac. Maybe the PA contingent really did rub off on the family of felines. They were all so beautiful and well behaved while we were there.
I hope the PA contingent can enjoy our back porches soon. It is still to cold at night to sit out. Actually during the day, you have to keep moving or the wind will get you cold.
I use the word patiently, because she can’t see me. So I am assuming she is in her condo or maybe upstairs. But she was in a good mood when I came in. Can’t say the same for me. Muddy feet, I mean really muddy feet. Used the hose outside to rinse them off before I could come into the house.
Muddy wet feet really bring the mood of being outside down.
Been there – done that.
Not bad on a hot summer day.
I just make sure it is mud. Never sure with Harley and Buell around.
Mine was definitely mud. Nothing else. When your mud boots get stuck down in the mud and you step and they don’t go with you, it is time to quit.
Wasn’t last night a great night? I had a kitty Reiki client, and we did her session on her screened in porch. It was so nice!
I’m so happy to hear that Sabrina is doing so well – it sounds so encouraging!
If I see an addition on the kitty condo, we have a problem. Dining room can’t handle any more kitty growth. 🙂 She was patient. She slept.
I can see tools missing and 2 days later an addition to the kitty condo. Basement, sunroom, extra kitchen etc.
Please she is hard enough to work with now, don’t encourage her to become a building engineer.
With her abilities, she just might do something she really should not.
What a busy day you two had! It always cracks me up to hear that she actually wants to ride along on the sweeper. Most of my cats have always been terrrified of “the monster.” Allegra is probably the bravest of them all, she watches it from a fairly close distance. It will be interesting to see how Ruby reacts. My guess is she will be fearless. She just might be the kind of cat who wants to hitch a ride, too.
We worked very hard. Steeler is the sweeper bug. She is funny but a big help. Just takes a bit, bit , bit and a bit longer. But we finished most of what we started. I swear sometimes she has an invisible leash tied to my ankle. The is right there, I have to watch where I step and then watch where she steps. All in all she is a character.
I have pictures of Adoboe an musibi my tortie girls on my smart phone droid x now can I post the pictures from here or do I need to use my computer I love this site but it is so over my head?
Bill, that’s over my head. I have a simple trac phone and never figured how to set up voice mail. Hopefully one of the others knows how. What I do is ask a 5 year old. Piece of cake for them.
Bill you need Harry or Ingrid to help you with that. I am like Jay. I only use my digital camera. I think Ingrid and Harry know how to post from the droid. So they will be jumping in her later. Someone on here will help you. We all want to see Adoboe. Lots of luck.
Bill, unfortunately, you can’t post photos directly to the site. You can post them on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/consciouscat . I don’t know anything about the Droid, but I would assume that as long as you have a Facebook App on it, you should be able to post to Facebook from it. If not, you’ll have to do it from your computer.
This site is great I will try to post pics tonight and show off my girls
We’re looking forward to seeing your photos, Bill!
Please do post your girls on the FB conscious cat. We all like to see the different cats. Most of us have out Torties there for all to see. As you can read here, we enjoy bragging about our little ones.
I have two cats – Mama cat (Kicks), and her baby tortie, Flower. Kicks is a grey & white tabby with patches of very light brown everywhere. She will be 3 around July. I believe she carries a tortie gene, which resulted in Flower. She has quite a bit of tortietude for being a tabby. She’s extremely vocal like a siamese. She’s also extremely protective of Flower and her humans. My mom was recently here with her black cat (Kick’s son) who’s mean & aggressive. She’d pop out of hiding spots to growl & claw him every time he’d swat us lol. She loves to get outside and hunt. She’s always bringing us birds, mice, & insects. Sometimes the birds are still alive and we end up having to rescue them from her lol. She’s content to stay indoors since we got her fixed so there’s less of that these days. However, she also manages to find cat toys outdoors and brings them home! This is quite a mystery to us. I don’t know where she finds them. That brings me to Flower. She’s just over a year old. She’s black with 2 different shades of brown mixed in everywhere. She likes to climb trees. She’s very quiet and has a “baby meow” as my son says. She’s very non confrontational and prefers to hide from humans and animals. Kicks babies her by following her everywhere to clean & protect her. She’s always purring. She’s my goofy girl because she doesn’t have a care in the world. She’s such a sweet & loving cat that I make everyone in the house spoil her rotten so her feelings don’t get hurt lol! She’s so quiet & calm most of the time that we don’t even know she’s here (unless her & Kicks are tearing through every room like an elephant stampede chasing each other lol).
Flower sounds like a sweet girl – and it sounds like she has the whole household wrapped around her little paw, as it should be!
One time Flower got under my husband’s feet and he accidentally stepped on her. She responded by yowling & biting his foot before running away to hide. He was annoyed at her for biting him (because it resulted in a lot of bloodshed lol) but all I cared about was her being upset! So I made him and our sons search every nook & cranny for a half hour before they found her, just so I could baby her. I’m sure by the time they found her that she’d already forgotten about being stepped on.
Sounds like you have a couple of happy cats. Ingrid has a FB Concious cat. We would like to see pics of them. do you thing you could post a pic there.
I recently reformatted my hard drive so I have to hunt for pics. I did take video last weekend when my mom’s cat was here! If you look at the stairs you can see Kicks standing there, she eyes my mom’s cat when he attacks, then chases him away. The whole time she’s voicing her disapproval over his aggressiveness lol. Flower was wisely hiding & avoiding the drama. 😉 Unfortunately, the video is dark & grainy because it’s a regular camera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgAXacOgtIw
OK – a question. How should we refer to you ?
A ?
Kicks and Flowers Mom/Dad ?
Just curious
Going to work now
Everyone have fun tonite.
You can call me Ang if you like. Kicks is Flower & mean cat’s mom. Flower & mean cat are from the same litter. Mean cat was just visiting for a couple days lol.
I would love to see pics of Kicks and Flower.
Like Ingrid said, please post some.
On the subject of tortitude, has anyone noticed that the Groupon cat is a tortie? And true to the tortie fighting form, she’s discussing dustups!
http://www.groupon.com/new-orleans/deals/arabi-self-storage
and scroll down to ‘Groupon says’ section
A friend of mine wrote a post about the mysterious Groupon tortie, here’s the link: http://www.catsparella.com/2011/01/who-is-grouponcoms-mysterious-spokescat.html
I read that. They refer to the Tortie as “He” Doesn’t look like Doodlebug and that’s the only “He” Tortie I know.
W cannot tell them now that “All” Torties are female can we.
Thanks Sharon, I do now.
Hey harry thanks for I been thinking the spay but a small part of me remembers how much the moms enjoyed being a moms and what great and wonderful cats she made should I not let her experience it once?
it’s a lot healthier for the females not to go through heat – the chances of cancer and other hormone-related diseases after even one heat are higher than if they don’t go through that first cycle. And the males are friendlier, less prone to fights, and don’t smell as bad! And if you have four females, and they each have six kitens… Then you’ll have 24 more to neuter or spay by the fall! It gets out of hand very, very quickly.
Harry already addressed the health issues. I think we sometimes tend to project our own emotions onto our animals when it comes to this topic. We see them being good mothers, and we assume that must mean they enjoy it. However, unlike (most) humans, becoming pregnant is not a choice for unspayed cats, it’s simple biology. Female cats will be much happier once they’re spayed and not forced to have litter after litter of kittens.
Like dad said, I haven’t been near the computer all day and am finally catching up on all the unread concious cat posts. Wow, can’t believe a male tortie. That is so neat. I didn’t know that if you bred a male and female tortie you couldn’t get any torties, does anyone know what you could get?
Curious to know if Doodlebug was sterile. What a great name Sharon! My dad told me about him before I read about it online, so I knew Jay would be jumpin’ up and down! I’m surprised he hasn’t already made arragements to come meet him! A book signing down south is clearly in order.
What Rachel, didn’t you hear me yell from down there ?
I think Bernie and Bernadette did out in Pittsburgh 🙂
And Sharon did want to send proof he was a male 😉
Please Rachel, don’t encourage these guys. 🙂
Too late.
Road trip down South.
I love the spicy food.
The south has great food!!!!
Sure, the food is great, especially if you’re a fan of seafood. But Jay reminded me of all the great things I miss – Tastykakes, Entenmann’s, Turkey Hill iced tea and ice cream, Sturgis pretzels, Baum’s Lebanon and sweet bologna, Wilbur chocolate, Herr’s Chips, sauerkraut in glass (not cans!), Shenks cup cheese…. I don’t know why none of those have made it down here, but for some reason I CAN find Bickel’s products, which I really like much less. Well, something to look forward to when I make my next visit at Christmas!
Not quite anything. Hot sauce is great with most things but Pumpkin has brought me a few things that I just release outside. Some moving/some not. Pasta anyone 🙂
Sharon, just for the record, I think Jay will eat anything that does not move on his plate, then he just might push it aside and keep eating. Nice sorta fella. The rest of us just stick a fork in it and pitch it away.
Sharon, Jay has a cat called Pumpkin, who likes to serve him breakfast in bed, live mice. Jay just loves them. It is breakfast in bed for two.
I’ve been off line all evening, and I can’t even begin to catch up to you all!
Sharon, that’s definitely a male tortie – WoW! How interesting! Did your vet think he should be neutered, or was likely to be sterile? I read that even the males should be neutered, because not 100% are sterile.
Bill – sounds like cat paradise! But yes, do get them spayed and neutered. I have to get on my soapbox for a moment… in my home state, in 2008 (the last year for which I saw figures) 100,000 cats entered municipal shelters. Less than half were returned to owners or adopted out, meaning over 50,000 were euthanized. The rescue for which my family volunteers takes most of our cats from shelters in rural areas of the state where they have a low adoption rate, short hold time, and high euthanasia rate. In fact, two of our personal cats were taken from shelters pregnant – pregnant cats are routinely put down as soon as the stray hold period is over, because the shelters don’t have the space or resources to deal with newborn kittens. In the past two weeks, the rescue has taken in 50 kittens. It’s a horrible problem, and the only way to stop it is spaying an neutering. Your cats will be happier, healthier, and you won’t be overrun in a few more years. (Stepping off soapbox, now.)
Can we root for the Saints? I don’t have a Saints ballpoint pen on my desk.
HARRY!!!!!!!!
But Bernie, someone gave me a Steelers pen. I think I can’t shift allegience that easily.
Harry allow me to diplomatic in this answer: HELL NO YOU DON’T SHIFT YOUR ALLEGIANCE AT ALL!!!!!!! NOT EVER!!!!
Uh, I think I get that. I don’t want to send my Steelers pen back.
Now that is much better. I knew my diplomacy would get thru. 🙂
Yeah. Tortoiseshell diplomacy. Where’s I put the iodine?
Geez , Harry, I am sorry, that was my gentler side. 🙂 My other side is ER and fast. 🙂
Bernie, maybe others know but I am not into football. What is the chance of The Saints and The Steelers in a Superbowl ?
A Tortie Bowl ?
Are the different leagues or divisions?
Forgive the ignorance.
VERY HIGH CHANCES!!!!!! SAINTS ARE A GREAT TEAM!!!!!!
Well, hope it does not happen soon.
Sorry Sharon, but Stirfry and Steeler are Tortie friends. I have to listen to my buddies.
Well your ok there Jay. Sharon may be in the south, but once a steeler fan, always a Steeler fan. Anyway she said she is a Steeler fan. 🙂
Yes, I’m a Steeler fan. But I really don’t know about Doodlebug and Callie. Being native Louisianians, they might feel obligated to support the home team. This could get interesting….
Sharon, now you sit down and have a talk with those Torties. Explain that their Mommie bleeds black and gold, and when football season comes, and the Steelers are playing, it is called Steeler Nation, because Steeler fans are all over the world. Now if you explain it just right, you won’t need any bandaids when you are done. Steeler’s my cat and I am her servant.
The vet recognized him for the curiousity he is and suggested not fixing him for awhile, so at the moment he’s unneutered. That will change the first time he sprays something. He’s limited to the house and the enclosed yard, and my 3 girls are fixed, so no chance of anything unexpected. But at just over a year old he really isn’t acting like an unneutered male. No interest in roaming, never sprayed anything or tried to mount another cat, no aggression towards any of the other cats that I occasionally babysit. He’s just totally laid back and spends his time cuddled next to me when I’m on the computer or watching TV, with occasional forays to the food dish or litter box. He’ll play with toys if I insist, but he’d just as soon sleep on them as chase them. The vet gives him a clean bill of health, so I guess he’s just a really mellow little guy.
I can hardly keep up with you guys today! I think I have a good excuse, though – I’m busy playing with my two torties :-). Yes, Allegra and Ruby actually played together this evening. They played their version of tag – Ruby would chase Allegra, and then Allegra chased Ruby. They were racing all over the house, sounded like a herd of elephants.
As for the road trip to New Orleans – well, I’ve always wanted to go there, so you just never know 🙂
Sounds like Allegra and Ruby are getting along quite well, that’s great, considering they are newly introduced to each other.
Must be really entertaining to watch.
Glen , did you see the news.
A Male Tortie
And with Ingrids two Torties playing like kittens in 3 days.
It’s been a great start of the week.
I don’t know which I find more unique, a male tortie, or, two newly introduced torties playing like kittens.
Both a miracles.
Both unheard of.
How is Kasey and did you get the bike out yet?
I have to agree with you there, Glen! I can’t believe how easy this introduction was. They’re already at it again this morning, playing together and tearing through the house.
Well that sounds like kitty tag. I am certain mommy was so busy with the camera following them around she was having the time of her life.:) Sounds like the best of days for you.
Jay
I am up unusually late for me, we have storms rolling through and I can’t sleep.
Kasey is fine, I did get the bike out a bit on April 10th, its great but the weather mostly has been too wet or too cold or both at once, someday I hope the weather gets better.
I didn’t even try to capture this on camera, Bernie. All you would have seen was two tortie blurs!
I knew that could happen, but I am sure you were right with them with the camera. No doubt in the world. I do that all the time with Steeler, and she doesn’t write, but I think she can read 🙂
That’s awesome Ingrid! Sounds like you managed to find the exact right personality match. Peaches and Monkey have been playing tag since I moved, so I know what you mean about the herd of elephants!
I can’t BELIEVE that little heiffer wasn’t 5 feet from my door, and let me run around frantically looking and calling for her for over 2 hours!
Well, I’m sure she enjoyed the show! After all, what are our lives for, if we can’t provide amusement for our cats? And glad that you did find her ok in the end.
No Monkey updates for a while, so I thought I’d check in. I moved to a new (smaller and cheaper) apartment in my same building, and almost immediately relations between Peaches and Monkey improved….my best guess is a combination of neutral territory, and having gone through a stressful experience together.
They’re still not buddies, don’t get me wrong, they don’t sleep together, groom each other, eat from the same wet food bowl, none of that. Peaches still gets hissy every now and then (she’s old, she’s allowed to be grumpy sometimes). But they actually play and chase each other up and down the hallway sometimes, which is a HUGE improvement. And they can eat in the same room.
So all is….better….. I’d love for them to love each other, but maybe tolerance is the best I can ever expect. It’s a start, anyway
My ceiling is vaulted, and whoever built the bathroom only put walls of normal height, so there’s just a wall around my bathroom that misses reaching the cieling by about a foot…perfect cat height and width, apparently, Monkey found a way up there and will frequently startle me by running across the wall above me in the mirror while I’m doing my face…or in the morning when I’m sitting on the throne trying to wake up, I’ll have that creepy “being watched” feeling, look up, and there she is lol
Peaches with her poor old self made it up there once, but must have hurt one of her back legs getting back down (getting down involves hopping down onto the top of the cupboard, then to the bar, then to the floor) because she limped for a few seconds after the “THUD!” and she’s never been up there again.
Monkey’s been good about not sneaking out lately, so I haven’t been putting up the baby gate (She still hasn’t figured out she can easily hop it. She can get to the top of a 9 foot wall, but not a 2 foot baby gate, go figure)….then the other night while the chinese delivery guy was here she slipped out. I didn’t even notice until I went to give them their wet food the next morning and Monkey wasn’t harrassing me. That’s unheard of, so I went outside and walked around and around calling her. I was so scared, I even went out and walked the roads hoping to God I didn’t find her out there flat, I was literally sick to my stomach…I was out looking for her around the building and the block for about 2 hours…one of my neigbors came out to lend support and encouragement, while I was standing on my steps talking to her (for about 20 minutes) I suddenly saw Monkey’s little face peeking out at me from between two walls in the opposite building not 5 feet away!
I was all; “Monkey! Get your little butt over here! Dear God you had me worried sick…if you ever do that again I will KILL you! Welcome home baby….get your little bad self inside, your breakfast is waiting!” My neigbor was laughing
Oh my goodness, Lianimal, I can’t even imagine what you went through! Thank God Monkey hadn’t roamed far! It sounds like other than giving you a big scare and, I’m sure, taking several years off your life, she’s up to her usual tortie antics. I’m glad she and Peaches are getting along better.
Lianimal, so glad Monkey was ok. I know that dreaded feeling. Not knowing makes you sick.
And finding her and being mad and happy at the same time we all have been thru with kids and critters. Hopefully Monkey has learned her lesson and will stay inside now.
As to the 2′ gate vs the 9′ wall. The gate isn’t a challenge so why bother.
Nice to hear about the kits. Hope Peaches is doing better now.
Lianimal, I would have been frantic if Steeler got out and I could not find her. I can just imagine all the terrible things that went thru your mind. I am glad to hear you both are ok. The idea of her peaking at you from between the buildings, is a visual that makes one laugh. Like kitty hide and seek.
Wow, new friends! How many torties are we up to now?
I can’t even begin to respond to that. This has been a most unusual day with new friends.
Even Ingrid apologized for our enthusiasm. 🙂
Wonder if she has been able to count our new Tortie friends.?
Amber, Sharon and Bill in the last 2 days. Am I ever glad this is my day off.
Can’t imagine coming home and hearing someone found a Male Tortie and did not call me.
Sharon, you have to forgive these guys for getting a little excited – the male tortie thing has been something we’ve talked about a lot here :-)! As you can tell from Jay’s dream of a whole colony of torties….. well, you be the judge 😉
Bill, Adobe sure sounds like she’s all tortie.
I haven’t seen this much action, since the Steeler’s Super Bowl, and even that doesn’t compare to this.
Sharon, we are serious, but maybe, aw no, we are really excited. 🙂 To finally know someone has a male Tortie. We just can’t help ourselves. Welcome to our world. 🙂
The Superbowl was bigger. You got a whole town plus a lot of non sports people to back a Tortie Team.
But a Male Tortie is like hitting the Lottery.
You hear of it but it never happens to anyone you know.
Sharon has hit the Lottery
Yes, the Superbowl was definitely bigger – especially last year when the New Orleans Saints won! I’m in the New Orleans suburbs, and things were CRAZY here!
Funny thing – my boss calls my torties ‘We Dat’ cats because they’re mainly black and gold, which are the Saints colors. Of course to an ex-Pennsylvanian like me those are Steelers colors – Saints , who dat??
Sharon, you missed this years Party on CC.
We had people who were not football fans (me included) rooting for the Steelers because of Bernie’s Steeler. The team might have lost but we here won because of that Black and Gold cat. It was a great time.
Forgot the Saints have that color. Seems like we can root for 2 different teams.
Works for me.
Sharon, fear not, I am a huge Steelers fan, and my Tortie is named Steeler. Love that Black and Gold.
Ok, I’m going to try posting some photos of Dood over on Ingrid’s facebook, including 2 not-so-modest under-the-tail shots. Wish me luck!
Sharon, that will be great. You have been a good sport through all this. But this is how we are on here. Just a group of friendly and talkative folks who just happen to love our Torties.
Thanks for the great day you have given up.
Good luck with the pics. Go to Jay if you need more help posting. He is good at it.
Well, actually I think they went to the Wall for my account (community center of st bernard). Anyway the link is
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.157412594321878.37244.100001594153726&l=bc7e4d75fe
Sharon, do you want me or Ingrid to put them up for you?
Sure, I’m at info(at)ccstb(dot)org. Just send me an email and I’ll attach them and send them back with the reply. Thanks!
Oh my goodness, Sharon – Doodlebug really is male? That is so incredibly rare! May I post his photo on The Conscious Cat Facebook page?
Did I hear MALE TORTIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to see that pic.
I knew we’d hear from Jay… 😉
That’s really amazing, Sharon – you found the less than 1%!
Harry I was sitting back waiting to hear Jay yell all across the State of PA when he saw that. We all want to see her pic of the male Torties. Then we can all be (well most all) be envious.
Sharon, male Torties are so very hard to find. A number of us keep wondering if such a thing exist. Please allow Ingrid to post a pic. If you don’t Jay and Harry will go into cardiac arrest. 🙂
I won’t have a coronary… Sharon already gave us the link to the photo and I’ve seen him.
Oh, you want the link?
Well, ok.
http://www.ccstb.org/images/dood041811.jpg
Bernie, I forwarded you the pic.
Sharon, you lived so close ans now are so far away. Did you have your torties when you were up here of did they find you down there ?
I am so happy for you AND SO JEALOUS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have seen the MALE TORTIE.
Sharon, I am not shy, would you like to find a wonderful, loving and Tortie home for Doodlebug.
I would make a good Mom to a Male Tortie, I already have a Tortie.
Now I am asking, because Jay or maybe Harry might ask. So put me on the list first.
Ok guys, now what?? 🙂
Y’all can fight among yourselves… I have a tortie, and a stealth tortie, and a calico – and I’m NOT taking in any more!
Harry don’t you file any guardianship papers!!!!!! 🙂 I think Jay is a little laid back in his excitement. 🙂 What do you all say. 🙂 Do you think Jay is a little laid back on hearing this?
Sharon, Bernie is kidding because I know as she would make a wonderful Mom to Doodlebug Steeler would have the final say so – NO !!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t LISTEN TO Harry either. He says No more cats and really means it. That was 6 cats ago.
Now I would love to pet sit a male Tortie. Pumpkin and Tabatha like other cats and Stirfry – well, Pumpkin and Tabatha like other cats.
Is he neutered? I have young female.
Bill ,from what we understand male torties are sterile. And we were told that Torties cannot be bred to get another Tortie.
We are also told that it is physically not possible for a bumblebee to fly so I don’t listen to the experts.
Go for it…
I live on a acre and half lot with alot of big tree and great landscape I have never seen happier cats but im almost ready to spay the young one too. I love them and hate to end the cycle but don’t you stop after. 10 cats
Bill I have the acreage also, but my Steeler is strictly an indoor girl. To many wild critters and others hazards to even think of letting her out. The other part is, she was a throw away, and I rescued her. She runs away when the door opens. She is not interested in going outside, which is fine with me. But she is adorable. 🙂
Bill, which island are you on? And you have 10 cats?
Sounds like a challenge to Harry.
Does Rachel have any more space in her room for more cats ?
Or will the screened in porch become a giant cat room.
I live in kailua kona on big island hawaii
Awesome. Right about now on Stateside (PA) we could sure use some of your sunshine and warm weather. It seems like winter, tornadoes, thunderstorms, hail and heavy rain will not let up. So if you can , get some of that weather over here to the Northeast. It would be greatly appreciated.
Bill, Jay has his own agenda here. Be cautious. He already said I can’t have a male Tortie because my Steeler won’t allow it and Harry has to many now. He is the one to baby sit the Male tortie.
He is right, however, a male tortie is almost always sterile. If it is not, and you breed it with a female Tortie, they will not produce a torte at all. It’s a genetic thing.
But Bernie, those experts could be wrong. Can you imagine a whole colony of Torties.
I say lets try.
Tortie town? I may have to get special insurance!
Remember, Mutant Ninja Torties!
No way can you get insurance for Torties.
The law frowns on keeping killer animals. (Hope they don’t find out about Stir)
I thoguth Jay was being so quiet because he’d hopped in the car to go and find Sharon and Doodlebug.
Hey girlfriend, you have been missed. Jay may yet be going south just to see this Male Torie in real.
Don’t worry Sharon that is just a joke.
I’ve been very busy, and lurking, but I’ve been reading. Can’t pass up the chance to welcome several new friends, or herald the news of a MALE TORTIE!!
And I fully agree, Steeler is adorable, and even though she totally manipulates Bernie and has completely changed her lifestyle and decor, Steeler loves Bernie and feels intensely protective. I could feel her anxiety when we came back, and it took some pets and some time until she was convinced Bernie was okay. Then she could eat.
Hi Bernadette, I sent Bernie the message. Road trip down South.
Hope my car holds up. A Book Signing for Ingrid with a Male Tortie as the draw and the anouncing of Ruby as Allegra’s new sister.
Bernadette, I knew you could sense that about her immediately. She is my girl. If we had stayed any longer and she would not have eaten for worry, I dread to think what might have happened to her. My decor is now perfect. She can and does rearrange that as she pleases. Thanks for the kind words.
I think Jay is up to something. He is going to try to convince Ingrid to have a book signing down south, then we all take a roadtrip so we can all meet the Male Tortie.
Sharon you have made our day.
Now we have to find a way to calm Jay down.
The kitty condo has really brought out the red in Steelers bed and her string.
And she has rearranged all her toys in a nice arc
Steeler keeps rearranging her condo and redecorating it when she gets all wound up. But that ducky has been with her since day one of my little girl coming in to live with us. She keeps it near her always. Part of the red string, is a kitty leash, I will never try to put that on her again. So she uses it her way. OK with me. The condo will stay. She has been making little claw markings on the walls, I think it is called kitty wall decorations.
I have two a mother and daughter and they are so great I have to watch the mother sometimes she chases dogs not to bad but one day it was a rottwieler
Bill, some people would say that a tortie is the Rottiweiler of the cat world 🙂
She is amazing I found her in parking lot in maui 3 years ago now she has her own cat condo on the big island she and her kids love to help me garden
Just what Ingrid said. 🙂
Bill, welcome to the group.
Hope she did not hurt the Rottiweiler too bad.
Tortie don’t play nice.
Thank you jay she didn’t hurt the rottwieler I got scared and chased him home with her he lives next door and has never came back. Adoboe the mother torte had gave birth to 6 kittens in one year .I had to take a 2 month trip to the mainland an when I got back I took Adoboe to the vet and got her spayed. The next nite in half hour intervals she brang in 4 more kitties one identical to her an two orange females and the big male orange male they are all great wonderful cats. The small torte will run sometimes 25 feet up in the trees jus like she walking on the ground
Bill, welcome to our family. We are always happy to have new folks join in. We are a fun bunch and almost all of us have a Tortie some have more than one. Others collect a variety of feline buddies. A Rottwieler is no competition for an angry Tortie. Bill can you post pics of your Torties on the ConciousCat FB page?
We would love to see them.
You mentioned the mainland. Would you like to let us know which mainland you are referring to. If you would rather not that to is fine. We are just glad to have you on board.
lol my tabby does the same thing. Someone’s rottweiler got loose one morning when my son was walking to school. It wouldn’t let him walk past. Kicks popped up out of nowhere, shredded the rott’s face, and sent it running away yelping. ROFL.
Hi Sharon, it’s easy, just ask Jay to guide you thru. He is the picture poster go to guy. Would love to see your pics.
Amber and Sharon, you can put pics of your kitties on Ingrids Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/consciouscat
You can see pics of my 3 along with other famous cats on here – Allegra, Steeler, Brooke, Kasey, Cookie and Kelly,Emma (our reverse Tortie), Monkey and so many more.
We love looking at them . All different but so much alike.
All cats are shown but The Tortie of which all normal cats are decended are especially welcome.
Sigh – hate to show my age, but I don’t know how to add pics on facebook, though I really loved looking at everyone else’s kitties! I am an administrator on the facebook account of the nonprofit where I volunteer, so I can log into facebook, but I honestly don’t know much about it. Mainly I just answer any Q people have about the Community Center, or help them find emergency aid resources, or post info about upcoming events. In any case, I finally got a shot of the elusive Callie – http://www.ccstb.org/images/callie041811.jpg Funny how she’s all over me until I get the camera, then suddenly – gone. It’s amazing how quickly she can disappear when she wants to!
Callie is beautiful!
Sharon
Go to the FB page of The Conscious Cat and click on Share Photo
Click Upload a photo from your drive
Take the pic you want if it’s on your computer drive or camera drive by using browse and then click share. It will put the pic in a file for all to see.
I just put a pic of Tabatha in her cat cube. I won this during a raffle at The Stray Cat a week ago.
I bet any of your friends at the nonprofit where you volunteer can help you there.
Get a young kid. FB is in their DNA
Sharon, don’t sweat the age thing. I hold that record. I learned with help and these folks can help you also.
Today was an interesting day for Tasbatha and Pumpkin. I went out at 2 pm meaning to clean the barn and get it ready for tonight. But as I went out I saw the Black and White cat by my feeder.
I went inside to get cat food and put some in the dish. This cat was not interested in that. She just wanted scratches and belly rubs. I looked up and Tabatha was watching me thru the door. About 2 minutes later their was Pumpkin. Both were probably thinking “Dad – don’t bring in another one”. But I think this cat lives at the farm across the street but she is really friendly. This cat looked at mine then just rolled over for more rubs. I should listen to Bernadette and always have a camera on me. . Seeing those 2 faces looking out with interest while this strange cat got all this attention would have made a great pic.
i would love to keep her and inside kitty only but she has a wild streak to her and she insists on going outside everyday cept when it snows lol she hates snow last year she thought it would be great to jump off top of back porch she landed in a 4 foot drift once again she was not a happy kitty and i did find out why she was mowing at me so insistantly this morning she found tuna and proceded to knock the can out of the cabnit then love up on me then sit at the can then love on me then sit at can back and forth till i opened it then she ate like 4 bites and left it i swear she gonna drive me insane one of these days
See there Amber, how very smart she is, and how she has you so well trained.
Oh yes, she has you wrapped around her little paw!
yes she does have me wrapped around her paw my hubbys says when he dies he wants to come back as my cat apperently i spoil her O.0
Amber, if at all possible kep her in. Today I pass a very pretty Tuxado cat dead along a super highway ad just 10 minutes ago a dwad one along a back road. Saw 2 more along the back roads (eyes light up 1st) and I blew my horn as a warning. I know that the farmers arond me have cats and maybe they all were barn mousers. But I hate to think it was a little childs cat that will never come home. If you love your cats leave them inside. I take Stirfry outside under supervision but I would hate to lose her.
like i said id love to keep her inside all the time but she would claw my leg to shreds but i will say this i have watched her alot while she is out we own a large property has a creek that runs threw it she stays on our side of the road and stays on out property my cats most favorite thing to do is tease my dogs they r in an encloser a large one and she goes to tease them she never goes far ever
Amber, I take Stirfry outside and she too wants to roam. She is totally afraid of the road but want to go up back to the pasture and corn field. But I love her too much to risk losing her. She is happy in the house and will stay with me for a long time.
Hi everybody i just found the post thought i would share a few antics my i guess u would call her a torbi she has a white chest and tummy her name is Chigger cause she was so small when we found her. She is i guess a rescue . we found her among all her dead sisters all alone and scared . some dumped all of them at the dump and i took her home. didnt know what i was getting into she was so sweet when we found her but we got her home and she took over. well soon after she established that this was her house and we were just tenants. she thought it would be great to see what my at the time 6 year olds daughters bath was all about. so she desided to jump in the bathtub full of water immediatly didnt like water. went to jump out and landed in the toilet didnt like that much. so she got out of toilet and tried to get on the counter of the sink where the sink was full of water for my contacts. she finally got out of the bathroom didnt go back for a few days, witch is bad because she refuses to drink water from anything else but the tap in the bathtub or a cup. she refuses to drink out of a bowl it has to be a cup full of fresh water every few hours. old water to her is yucky. she doesnt care for TP so thats good. but we have renamed her since she moved in and took over we call her b$^&$ kitty or when she isnt being mean we call her cow mow cause she is very fat or kiki mow
we had to take her to the vet beacause she was out prowling got into a fight with another cat and came home with a large gash in her tummy when the vet went to get her out he kept calling her chigger her real name she wouldnt respond he called me to see why i told him call her kiki mow she finally responded but sshe wasnt a happy kitty she has never been the sweet loveable kitty that most people want in their life and home but she fits in here perfecly and i wouldnt know what i would do with out her she is extra special.
ok i can write forever about her so ill leave it at that for now have a great day everyone
Hi Amber. Glad your found this post. It is a great place to speak of our little felines. All are different and yet the same. Most of us have rescued our Torties so, thanks to you for saving a little life. Sounds like she has did what most of ours have done. Get you to really love them and the next thing you know, you could never part with the, then all at once you find out they now run the house. Please keep coming back and posting. We all are a friendly lot. Sometimes we are humorous, but always respectful. Ingrid King, writer of Buckley’s Story started this blog and she helps us keep it going. She is also an extremely wonderful person. You will like it here and you are safe.
thank you for the welcome i will come back cause as i said i could talk about her forever right now she is clawing me for something so as usuale i have to fallow her around the house to see what it is she has to have right now and wow the meow is very insistant lol
I will be pleased to keep hearing of her escapades. I am certain as the others on this blog see you are new they will be posting back to you.
Your Chigger/Kiki Mow sounds adorable, Amber, and it sounds like she has you well-trained! I’m still laughing at the bathroom antics.
Hii Amber, love hearing the story of Chigger in the bathroom. Poor kitty. And like Bernie said, so glad you rescued her. Torties are fighters so she was not about to give up. And now she rules the house. Hope you keep her in the house. Like she found out – too dangerous out there in the wild.
Welcome to Ingrids group.
Kiki Mow sounds like such a real handfull! And I’m still laughing over her bathroom antics – too cute (though I’m sure she didn’t think so!)
Just found your post and was intrigued at the ‘toritude’ description! My 2 torties score only 1 out of 3 – they are both amazingly possessive! Neither is strong willed or has a temper, though. And I couldn’t truthfully call either of them independent or feisty. Callie is sweet but a bit nervous, while her son Dood (Doodlebug) is just so laid back and relaxed that people have mistaken him for a stuffed toy. Both are very affectionate, and happy to just wedge themselves next to me in the chair and keep me company for hours at a time when I’m working.
So far neither of them have ever shown any interest in TP, and I hope it stays that way. Actually they don’t show much interest in toys at all, unlike my 2 tabbies Minnie and Allegra, who will play with anything. Even Min & Al’s favorite laser pointer doesn’t get a favorable response: Callie hides from the dangerous red dot monster; Dood usually just moves his head to follow it but doesn’t bother to get up. Meanwhile Minnie and Allie are running around going crazy trying to catch it. They’re all about the same age – Callie and Allegra are from the same litter (3 years old), and Dood and Minnie are also siblings, and are Callie’s kittens (2 years old) so it isn’t that we’re dealing with kitten vs adult cat behavior. Well, trust torties to be unique!
Sharon, torties are definitely unique. Some have all the traits that make up tortitude, others only have one or two. Your two sound wonderful.
I never had a cat who was into TP “artwork” until I got my Allegra – she really likes to go to town on the roll. Thankfully, so far, she hasn’t dragged it all over the house. I don’t have the heart to prevent her from playing with it, she has so much fun, and it’s only happened a handful of times.
Welcome Sharon. Please tell us more about your torties. Love to hear stories of what theyare up to.
Where are you located ?
Hope in PA – we are trying to corner the market on tortitude (and our cats too).
You have to read Ingrids story about our get together last week. We had a blast.
And another famous family – The Shubins are making it into a national magazine “Cat Fancy”
Anyhow – Welcome from me and Stirfry.
Sharon you have found the best blog ever for Torties and all cats for that matter. We are a friendly group. I hope you are in PA also. Everyone on her will give advice and tell of our trials and errors and happy times and crazy times with out Torties. It is the best place to just brag so don’t be hesitant. Just know everyone on here is a friendly, but not, pushy person. Welcome to you and your 4 kittens if I follow your story. Cuddy and Tortie does not go with me and Steeler. No way.
Hi Everyone,
and thanks for the warm welcome! Yes, I’m originally from PA – born in Lancaster, grew up in Manheim, got my BA from Penn which as we all know is NOT Penn State! Not that I don’t love the Nittany Lions, but explaining the difference between UP and PSU gets a bit old after awhile! I’m currently retired in Louisiana where I’m a fulltime volunteer at the Community Center of St Bernard.
My 4 cats are born and bred Lousianians, though. They have real appetite for fried catfish, chicken & sausage gumbo, and boiled crawfish. Minnie (tabby) & Callie (tortie) also love red beans and rice, and Callie will even eat cooked collard greens (just as occasional treats – their main diet is a good quality dry catfood). Anyway I look forward to reading through the comments and learning more about everyone!
Also managed to get Doodlebug to wake up long enough to take a picture – http://www.ccstb.org/images/dood041811.jpg Nervous girl Callie took off running as soon as the camera flash went off, so I’ll have to catch up with her later unless I want to settle for some interesting photos of her tail peaking out from under the couch. Have a great Monday!
Sharon
Hi Sharon, Doodlebug is adorable.
You grew up near me. I lived in Lancaster and presently live between Ephrata and Brickerville.
Too bad ya moved. You cats sure are Southers, Catfish, Crawfish and Gumbo – Wow.
I love Doodlebug’s markings on her nose! Too cute!
Yes, he’s a cutie all right! And he really is a he. Quite a surprise to me when I realized – I’d been calling him Chloe for the first 2 months of his life because I’d thought that torties and calicos were always female. I took it so much for granted that I’d never even bothered to look at him properly, so I was rather caught off guard when the vet corrected my mistake.
I tried switching his name to Joey, but it just didn’t seem to suit him. Then my grandson suggested Doodlebug and it kind of stuck. As names go it isn’t as elegant as his mother Calliope (tortie Callie, named for her very pretty meow) or his aunt Allegra (tabby Allie, named because she’s the happiest, most playful kitty I’ve ever seen) or his sister Mignon (tabby Minnie, whose name is French for ‘cute’ because she just is). But Doodlebug it is!
I saw this on Harry’s FB page
The June edition of Fancy Cat Magazine has an article on one of LDCRF’s awesome cat foster families (and notorious foster failures), the Shubins. Check it out! Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation Harry Shubin Julie Shubin Rachel Shubin
My brother gets this and I called right away. He sais for me to stop by tomorrow and I can have the magazine. I cannot wait to see this.
Had to share this with everyone.
Thanks, Jay!
Hi all, I just got home and it’s a steady rain. The winds were bad earlier round 6 pm and I know it was raining hard as I could hear it in Walmart at 0 pm.
So a shout out to all my friends Are you all safe.
Bernie and Bernadette in Pittsburgh area? I know you got hammered.
Harry and Julie how did you do down there? I know Bernie warned you of bad weather and I thought of you the whole time at work. And Ingrid – I read how Allegra was not taking the storm very well. How are you two now. Hopefully safe and in bed.
Hope Glen and Shannah were missed by this storm. I think of you guys too.
I am safe at home. Had Tabby on my lap and she jumped down to be with Pumpkin. Stir just jumped up to get her kisses and scratches.
Thankfully, the really bad stuff went to our north, just lots of heavy rain and some really wild lightning. Allegra finally started to settle down around 10, and by the time I went to bed, she was ready to wedge herself up against my legs and go to sleep. She never did eat her dinner last night, she was just too scared, but just inhaled her breakfast, so all is well!
Thanks for all your good thoughts!
“Hope Glen and Shannah were missed by this storm. I think of you guys too.”
Thanks, yes, it was quiet here, just a rain event.
I was getting a bit annoyed about the low 40 degree temps. and the 1″ of rain but then I saw the damage down south on CNN.
Fortunately for us, tornadoes are not common in this end of SW Ontario; our things are blizzards, occasional heavy rain and just wind.
Kasey used to be concerned about storms, although she was when she first came home.
I think it may have been that the maintenance building where she lived was close to a large boiler in the next building, the constant drone of the air intake on the boiler likely provided “white noise” that muted the sound of storms. The storms in this area are generally more intense than those here, so she would have seen worse storms than we generally have, here.
She has got better about storms, in the past year or so.
Wow you have a real tornado going on right in the house. I can’t imagine those two gentle babies going at it. They were on such good behavior with company in the house.
You should look at the weather channel. It looks ominous down in your area. I have been on my generator since 3:20Am from high winds and rains. Trees and power lines are down, and we have some flooding going one. So watch those skies. Just keep in mind the PA Contingent brought you some really nice weather last Sunday. Just happy this weather didn’t come thru then.
Be safe.
PS: Quit picking on the Torties!!!!!
DC’s been in the hole, so far:
http://wtop.com/?nid=742&radar=doppler
Brooke and Sabrina were in the room for about an hour! Circled each other, took turns hiding in different places. Eventually, Brooke walked to the door and left. A very good visit. We’ll start doing it again, I think. Piper was also in with Sabrina today, also by accident. About a half hour of avoiding each other – also ended well.
Hey do you thing the PA contingent showed them how well different folks could get along, so they are following our example. 🙂 Just watch your skies. They turn quickly. My power just came on and the generator has just shut down. So my neighbors should all have power by now.
Tell the girls, to play nice.
Tortie families in VA. Watch your weather. It does not look good down there. Be safe. Tornado warnings are out and have touched down in NC and are heading at you. So all of you please watch your weather and take caution.
Have the radio on. Warning is slightly to the south, but not much. Brooke got into Sabrina’s room, so a mini-tornado is already going on.
Good thing they only name Hurricanes and not Tornado’s. Otherwise they would have Tortie names. And our kits get a bad rap as it is.
Stay safe down there.
You gave us great weather last weekend. Perfect weather for a purrfect get-together
We’re having a very rough day here. Between the wind and heavy rain on and off, Allegra has been scared all day and hasn’t come out of her “safe” places (the downstairs shower stall and the kitchen cabinets) for more than a few minutes. And the really bad storm that just moved through wasn’t helping. She has Rescue Remedy on board, but it doesn’t seem to do much. I feel so helpless, nothing I do seems to help. I hate to see her like this. We’ll just have to wait it out – I guess we have a few more hours of this coming through.
Ingrid I know how helpless you feel with Allegra. I went thru that with Steeler a while back. I feel so bad for both of you. But please watch your weather. It looks ominous. It was wicked here last night and early today, but no tornado warnings. Your area has tornado warnings. So be safe and know I am thinking about all of you.
I followed the storms on the computer’s weather. You may want to go there and see how much more may be coming. It will give you a good idea when it is going to ease up.
Thanks, Bernie. It looks like the worst is over, they cancelled some of the watches and warnings. I don’t think Allegra trusts that even though there are some glimpses of sun, this might be it. I sure hope it is – looks pretty clear to the west now.
I hope it is past, but still be cautious. I would not think the PA contingent is quite ready to bring nice weather down there just yet. 🙂 Be safe.
Hey I definitely think we should be able to claim out Torties as dependents. I know when I go shopping it costs more for Steeler than me. And she demands just a young people do. Same with Jay’s Stir and Harry’s Brooke. The IRS and PA revenue dept. has absolutely no sense of purpose. Don’t forward this to them, I don’t want to be on a first name basis with them.
Finally I can rest tonight. Taxes are done. I paid in(was really hoping for a refund but taking money out of a 401K hurts).
Why does GE make Billions and I pay more than them ?
And they would not accept Stirfry as a relative and dependent. Guess her reputation is out there now.
Hey Tortie friends, I am taking a break from doing taxes. My tax assistant is driving me up a wall. I keep losing necessary papers. Here’s the deal, as all know the tax deadline is near, very near and I am one of those folks that will not give my $’s to the gov’t until the last minute. Well my tax assistant is STEELER, you got it, STEELER, has decided to do my taxes. She keeps stealing papers, because I am sitting on the floor with the different categories piles in neat piles to enter on the forms. Well STEELER seems to think there are some papers that she should hold onto. So now I have kitty claw punctures on papers along with tooth punctures. I agree with her tortitude toward taxes, but STEELER does not understand, that her human could go to jail if I don’t do this. Hopefully with the help of my assistant, STEELER, I will finish these taxes by midnight. STEELER doesn’t care if they get done or not. I wonder if the Gov’t would issue Torties SS#’s for all their input they give? Then we would have a major deduction!!!! 🙂
Yay for STEELER! Imagine what a pain it would be if she weren’t there to help you!
The pain is in my back from getting up and down and getting the papers back in one piece. Although the scotch tape is here. My little helper evidently finds filing taxes to be against all her principals. Wish the govt had her sense of humor. She is leaving her mark on this years tax returns. It would be more of a pain without her to laugh at. I don’t understand why we can’t deduct our Torties on our taxes. Goodness knows they are dependents.
Look at my portfolio of art and photos–where would I be without them as a professional artist? I can claim everything else, but I’ve never won the argument about claiming my cats.
Darn, I don’t stand a chance then. Well maybe I will let Steeler just pee on them before I mail them.
Cats and taxes… I guess I can finally toss out my 1995 records. This is how the audit would have gone: Mr. Shubin, can we see the supporting documentation for these deductions? –Sure, here. — Mr. Shubin, these papers don’t seem to be seperable.
— Yes, my cat peed all over them. —
If STEELER would pee on them, I would smile and mail them. No e-file. Imagine the smell by the time they got to the revenue dept. WOW Maybe if I can get her to drink enough when I am done she can pee on them.
Well taxes are done. STEELER did a good job. However she makes things move slowing when she gets to help. I am mailing my taxes, other then e-file. Well just so you all know I did not have her pee on them. We in the Tortie family could find the humor in that, I don’t think the IRS and State of PA employees have a sense of humor, so no Tortie perfume on the taxes. Darn, I was tempted. 🙂
I don’t know about claiming torties as a deduction, but I just read somewhere that you can claim expenses for foster cats. If so, it would probably be best to not have the cat pee on those receipts…
No no don’t let the Torties pee on the receipts. If I were ornery enough it would be on the filing forms, where I would let Steeler put her perfume. The receipts and copies of the filing forms would be nice and clean. Harry, should get a gold brick back if fostering cats is deductible.
I can see Harry now. “Well. if fostering is deductable then we have enough room in the house for another 20 cats” Eating will be in shifts. No litter box but a convetor belt going to a dumpster.
JULIE !!!!!
We need more cat stickers for the window !!!!!!!!!!
Poor Julie, if that is deductible, your life could just keep changing, of course that would depend on the amount of the deduction. Harry will be checking into that one.
Ha, ha. Well, I’m not a tax lawyer, and one thing I learned in law school was to do the things you do well, and pay someone to do the rest. I have a great accountant. And, I THINK, we deduct expenses for fosters, yes. I just ship off the receipts, and she figures out what to do with them. But “Deductable” isn’t “Free.” There’s no more ROOM on the window for more cat stickers…
Cute cats count more for deductions. Looks like your 7 can count as 14 at least.
Um um Harry, I hear you. But I seen that window. There is plenty of room. The outside deck is large enough for family expansion. Well I decided to do my own taxes this year. We will see what happens now. Can’t be penalized for making mistakes, and I filed on time. Will let you know in about 6 years if they catch anything.
Let the IRS talk to Steeler.
I can see the marking things “Paperwork in order. No need to go back.
Now where are those bandages?
Well it may come to that. I have never did my taxes before. But I decided I was going to do them this year. I have a 50/50 chance of being right. Steeler would help if they pay me a visit. I would encourage them to reach down and say “nice kitty”. Audit over.
I think Eric would like to be in the room for that one.
“Go ahead – pet the cat”
Hadn’t thought of that. He may even want to bring some of his friends back. 🙂
Kasey story;
Some might recall that I wrote that Kasey can have a dry food dish that is close to being full but she has to have me make a show of topping it up to be happy. All it takes is the sound of about a spoon full of kibble hitting the already well stocked dish and all is well.
This morning before I left for work, we heard a soft “eek-squeak” from the kitchen.
This is unusual and I went to see what was going on.
She put her tail straight up, circled, alternating looking up very expressively at me, then at the almost full food dish and up at the pantry where the food is kept.
The token few bits of food were added, all was right with the world and she settled down and ate.
And Glen, there was no way you could ignore that plea.
I know you would have thrown that full dish out and replaced it i that would have made her happy. Kasey is such a special tortie.
Stir does the same thing. I just dump it back into the bin and let her see me dig out a fresh bowl. She will settle down and eat. If that givers her comfort it makes me happy.
Glen, I remember it well. Steeler does it to. I call it their stalling tactic. It keeps us with them for at least one more minute. They don’t want us to leave them. So we take that extra minute for them. Otherwise it would break our hearts to just walk away. Wish you could have made it to VA for the book signing. I know you would have enjoyed it as much as the rest of us did. You may not have made it, but we did talk of you. All good.
I wish I lived on the East Coast so I could have met up with all of you. California is just too far away.
I have a love for torties now and whenever I see one on Craigslist that is fostered and up for adoption I want to rescue it but I have to refrain because I can only have 2 cats in my apartment. Torties are special indeed!
Here is a little tidbit about mine:
Nikita is my full tortie and has the attitude and everything mentioned. I have to be careful keep the bathroom door shut at all times or she will make a GIANT mess of the toilet paper roll ! She can take a whole roll apart and rip it to shreds and have it deposited around the whole apartment in a matter of seconds!
Ah, the toilet paper game – I know it well, Sue. So far, Allegra has confined her toilet paper art to the bathroom, but it’s only a question of time before she discovers that she could decorate the whole house…
My torties love to go to town on the TP as well. Sasha and Georgia will also have a party with the TP. Not like they just unroll it and then get bored. They have to spend some time tearing it apart into so many small pieces.
Wow, your torties are dedicated when it comes to the TP game, seashell! They clearly understand that tearing it into lots of small pieces makes it way more fun for the humans to clean up…
I wish you could have been here also. The TP is funny. You and Seashell’s Torties must have ready the HOW TO BOOK on shredding TP. That is to funny for words. I once had a poodle that would pull the tissue until it broke and then go back for more. I would get home from the office and my whole house would be TP. Now Steeler, my Tortie, does not go into the baths, she finds other ways to get into mischief. Like stealing, and today stealing my tax papers with her paw, and then teeth marks. Oh well they went to the IRS anyway.
Life can be wonderful at times. The folks that came to post here are good people. That should give you a really good feeling, in knowing there are still many good folks around and you started this on August 17, 2009. I hope this post goes on and on and on and well you get the idea.
Thank you for your wonderful insight in starting this whole remarkable post.
Torties are “Special Cats” so you would only expect their human parents to special too.
As we accept them for their attitudes we see others in a different light.
And for those with a whole house full we are amazed (sometimes troubled as to their thinking ability though)
🙂
Ok gang, time to face reality, well almost anyway. After an unforgettable book signing, we have made real friends and not just friends on a post. Imagine, I don’t know a lot about other blogs, but I would be surprised if they have the true class of people that this one has, and we proved that this past Sunday.
Now let’s get back down to earth. I guess since I am the, how should I say this, oh I know, the oldest 29 year old here it must be up to me to say something about a Tortie. So here we go.
When I arrived home, it was abundantly clear, “‘STEELER”‘, my little girl was truly frightened that I had left her. She did not touch a bite of food or water while I was away. I immediately threw out her wet food and gave her fresh. She tore right into it. She has been laying a guilt trip on me since. I have a shadow attached to me all the time. She has been giving me verbal lashings, some of which are not nice, I can tell by the tone. Others are loving and gentle, so happy her mom is home. Then there is the “don’t pull that again” warning. No compromise in Steeler.
So being the person I am, I thought ok great, now is the ideal time to try to hold her close. Well, you guessed it, she was having nothing to do with that warm and cuddly stuff.
So this is my start on our new postings. My boss is after me again, so I will close and say, get on with your tales and lets all talk again.
I had a feeling Steeler was going to make you pay for leaving her. I would have done the exact same thing and tried the cuddle tactic. I think maybe you better wait until she has completely forgiven you again and then try again…
Our orange tabby Ashley used to sit in the room with his back to us and refuse to acknowledge our existance, after we returned from vacation. He’d also pee in our suitcases, given the opportunity. Vindictive little whiskerfaces !
Brooke was too good for too long, trying to show you all she wasn’t hard to live with. She’s making up for lost time now, smacking everyone.
Harry your “little kitty family” is as far as I had seen, so very well behaved when company comes.
I can understand the “ok game on with her”. They are a special lot.
I know if there was another cat in my home, I would be having memorial services for it, after the way Steeler behaved. So I will remain a one Tortie servant. She has made that abundantly clear.
Harry, Bernie is right. Watching all those furry family members greeting your guests and putting on the best behavior I was amazed. I would have expected a catfight every 5 minutes. And Brooke really amazed me of all of them.. A “well behaved Tortie” As rare as a Male Tortie I thought.
But listening to Bernadette talk of Cookie and Kelly and then Seeing Brooke I see they do have a sweet personality.
I told Stirfry about this and she just gave me that look and hiss. No changing her.
right Ingrid, and again and again and again and etc. 🙂
Steeler really missed her Mom. And I would have thought too that holding her then would have worked. Apparently Torties can hold a grudge.
Don’t give up though. I know she will when she is ready.
Well I knew she would miss me. But if she ever decides to be a cuddler, she better hurry up. Being 29 over and well you get the idea. I may not be able to hold her then. But hey when she is ready she will let me know.
Hey Tortie family, if ever any of you who hasn’t been to a book signing with Ingrid, and want to enjoy a great time, find out where she is and if she is within 200 miles, go. Trust me, it will be an experience to remember. So don’t wish you could be there, find a singing and go. That is how we did it and not one moment of regret.
So true Bernie.
I have made life long friends thanks To Stirfry.
She brought me to Ingrid and thus to all the wonderful people on her blog.
Memories of this weekend will always be cherished.
Getting Ingrids book and having it signed was so special.
It will be placed in a bookcase after it is read of Famous Authors I have.
Jules Verne,Robert Heinlein,Daniel Defoe, Ray Bradbury will be with good company.
Wow, Jay – I’m honored!
I, too, will always cherish the memories of these last two days.
A writer friend of mine coined the phrase “power of the paw” – I think in our case, it should be “power of the tortie!” Because while I wrote the initial post that brought all of you here, it’s really the torties that brought us together.
I’m so glad you came. This is a book signing I’ll never forget – all of you made it so special.