Happy Halloween: correspondence Monday, October 31st, 2005

Dakota Sioux,
 
    Sorry, I am a little slow to answer this but everyone
around here has been getting ready for trick-or-treat and
I've been kind of busy helping my own female human cub
(she is grown up now so she isn't exactly a cub - she's 33)
carve pumpkins and seperate the seeds so they could be
roasted. Monday I will be at her house to help in the evening
when all the trick-or-treat cubs come around. My house is
way off the road and kind of in behind a hill and is very dark
plus it is away from other places a bit. I have only had 4 cubs
come to my house for trick-or-treat in 15 years so I don't
think many will show up this year either. It is too dark here at
night and the cubs get scared to try to come this far off the
road in the dark I think and the houses are sometimes a little
bit far from each other so they would have to walk a long ways
to get a big bunch of treats.
 
    Yes, one of Momma Kitty's kittens did survive. At least as far
as I know. He was living in a barn down the road with another
group of cats last time I heard. But then, we have and awful lot
of coyotes out here and they aren't very friendly to cats. I didn't
get into trouble with the mean human who threatened Momma
Kitty because that human stayed away from her and me until I
took her home to my house. He was setting live traps which I
kept tripping and was going to use her for target practice with
his new .22 rifle. I just told him that if he did that I had my rifle
in my car always (it is a pretty big rifle too, it is a .44 magnum)
and I would go get it and somebody wasn't going to get out of
the ground. I think he got the idea. It is just my car gun. I have
even bigger ones at home and I have a permit so I carry a .45
ACP semi-auto usually. Most of the time if I tell someone to
quit bothering an animal they usually listen prett good and quit.
 
    Missy was real real sweet and loveable. Hook is much younger
(she is only 5) and she is big and really likes to play hard but she
is getting more mellow and likes to lay with her head in your lap
and purr until she goes to sleep. She has a real big purr. So she
is getting more and more like Missy as she gets older. When
Hook stands on her back legs she is about 5 foot 10 inches tall,
from her head to the ground, and weighs about 170 pounds.
Missy wasn't quite as big. I think Hook is as big as she is because
I heard that her dad was a Canadian Cougar that weighed a little
over 200 pounds and her Mom was pretty big too. They said she
was about 125 pounds so she grew up to be a pretty big girl. And,
boy, is she strong.
 
    Yeah, my Mom was kind of funny and she did get nervous when
she saw Sylvester and Boo just appear in the hallway or in the
living room. She is kind of old, about 87, and spirits, she calls them
ghosts, make her real nervous because she always said she didn't
believe in them until she saw those two come visiting. No, she
doesn't come here any more. She moved up to Michigan (about 2100
miles from me. All the rest of my family lives there, her sisters too.)
and when I talk to her on the phone I ask her if Boo or Sylvester ever
comevisit her and she says "No! and they better not either". I don't
know what she could if they did decide to visit her there. She is funny.
She makes me laugh sometimes because she acts so serious about
everything especially "ghosts".
 
    The story about your Dad's parents thinking your Mom is wierd
and him being a confirmed bachelor with no pets is funny. My
family thinks I am not only wierd but that maybe I am a little crazy
too because I playwith the Big Cats. My brother says that maybe I
am latent suicidal and have a strong death wish on top of that. Boy
did I laugh at him when he said that. He is a lawyer and spends most
of his time in court rooms and I don't think he has any pets so he
probably don't understand. He should know about animals though
because we were raised on a small farm. Anyway when he was a cub
he thought the cows and pigs were killers and the rooster was an
assassin - LOL. Your Dad sounds like he has changed his mind
about animals and likes them now. Probably your Mom taught him
how to love them.
 
    I don't think my job is that hard because I really love working for 
and with the Big Cats. I have been doing it for about 14 years now. 
You should see how crazy it gets in my house when I have little Lion
or Tiger or Cougar cubs here to raise. I take the matress off the bed
and put it on the floor and make the bed there while they are here
so that they don't get rowdy and accidentally fall off the bed and hurt
themselves. Also so they don't roll around at night when they are
sleeping and fall off and get hurt. The Liger here is still around. He is
about 11 or 12 years old now and he has a girl friend, a Tiger. She is
only about 7 years old and keeps him exercised pretty good. She likes
to sneak up on him and swat his butt, jump over him, and then run
and he chases her but she is faster than him and stays just a little ways
in front of him so he can't quite catch her and when he gets tired out
they both lay down and take a nap.
 
    I don't get away very often but I don't live too terribly far from Utah,
actually I live in Nevada over near the Reno area. Well my cub just called
on the phone and wants me to come over and help them put up -spider
webs? so I guess I will close this out for now. Oh, I agree with the
"surprise posts" they are sometimes more fun because they don't happen
all the time and sometimes that makes them even better because people
had to wait for the next one and they start to wonder "when is Dakota
Sioux's.next post going to happen".
 
(Catmanwho)
 

Hi Catmanwho,

No worries. I only get my e-mail when Mom is at work and has
computer access. My Mom's oldest male cub and his mate carved
pumpkins for their 2 male cubs last night. Mom didn't know that
they were going to do it, or she might have gone over. Mom's
oldest cub, 25 years old, married a female with 2 male cubs, ages
4 and 6, making Mom a Nana. The cubs call her Nana Raven and
Dad, Grandpa Scott. They might be expecting a new cub, but don't
know for sure yet. Mom's youngest cub is 19 years old. She only
has two male cubs, though like your girl, they aren't really cubs any
more.

Your girl sounds nice. It's great that she comes to visit and you get
to help her with her trick-o-treaters. Everyone is coming over tonight
to see Mom and Dad. I'm going to be hiding, but they can look at my
pictures :) The grandcubs are dressed up like Batman, Ethan aged 6,
and Spiderman, Jordan aged 4. They came to Mom and Dad's work to
show off this afternoon.

Thomas's wife's, Joyful's, family didn't celebrate the holidays much
when she was growing up. Last night was the first time she and her
cubs got to carve pumpkins. Our family likes to celebrate the holidays,
so she and the cubs will be getting new experiences. The grandcubs
are really cute and nice. Lots of energy, though!

Mom and Dad have jack-o-lanterns made out of terra cotta. You put
candles in them. Mom and Dad got some cool lights that go different
colours and put into 3 of them. I guess we ususally get some
trick-or-treaters. Last year I heard we had a good turn out and Mom
wore her leopard spotty ears to hand out candy. It is sad that you
don't get too many but nice you can help your daughter. Do you have
grandcubs?


My Mom and Dad's family, not counting the cubs and grandcubs,
would faint if Mom got a job with Big Cats. Mom laughed when I told
her about your brother, the lawyer and the small farm you both grew
up on. Dad and the cubs could really relate to the "assassin rooster".
Mom used to have a different home, when she was with the ex-meanie,
that had a quarter acre. She had Rhode Island Reds and Bees. She
had a huge Rooster that would get out of the chicken yard and she'd
make the cubs chase it down out of her garden. When Mom was
getting divorced from ex-meanie (Mom was seperated for a few years
first), Dad met the Chickens and had to help with the Rooster a couple
of times. Mom misses her Chickens and Bees. She has a teeny yard
now. She wants a farm kind of place and a feral colony (with neutered
ferals of course). She likes to do old farm timey things. She loves to
ride horses, too.

Mom and Dad came through Reno earlier this year when they went to
their nature recording workshop up in Yuba pass. They don't know if
they'll get to go next year. Depends on money. Maybe they can come
meet Hook and see the Big Cats you take care of if they come through
Reno, again. Reno's about 9 hours or so from Salt Lake. You could
see some cute pictures of me :)

Well, I have more to say but it is almost time to go. Mom can't be
home late because of family and trick-or-treaters.

Have a happy and safe Halloween !!! Boo!

hugs from your friend,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Thursday, October 27th, 2005

Last night was another rowdy night. This time I think Dad
got mad because we didn't let him sleep much. Nimbus and I
jumped on him a whole bunch. Maybe it's the rain. It's been
raining here and maybe we are all getting excited. Mom didn't
even wake up when we jumped on her. I was making sweet
rolls right on her and she didn't wake up. I think that she has
been tired after work and then coming home and cooking. Dad
works hard, too, and he helps around the house. He even helps
Mom around the kitchen. Poor Dad's body was sore from the
incoming storm. This means Dad doesn't sleep as well.

I heard Mom grumbling last night that she needs to get back
to work on her music. Dad's all for it. Mom says it can be kind
of hard with work and other obligations. Dad understands.

The leaves are turning a bunch of cool colours, here :) I look
out the window and see that it looks very pretty. The Scrub
Jay bird-snacks are coming around a lot. I think that they are hiding
seeds. Mom used to feed them dog-food, but had too many
problems with Vermin. She feeds some really tasty looking
Goldfinch bird-snacks. We have Robin, Starling, Magpie, House
Finch, Sparrow, Scrub-Jay, Mourning Dove, Black-headed
Grosbeak, Junco, Chickadee, Quail, and Cedar Waxwing, bird-snacks.
We've had a Rufous Sided Towhee before. We also have Raptors,
Ravens, Crows, Geese, Ducks, and Seagulls, too, but they
don't look too much like snacks.

One time Mom saw a Bald Eagle fly right down the street.
We have a colony of Bald Eagles that winter out by the Great
Salt Lake. We have Golden Eagles, too, and lots of other birds
that pass through. We even have a Flamingo that lives out at
the Great Salt Lake named Pink Floyd. I guess he has a following
and some people want him to have some friends. Wouldn't
that be pretty funny?

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

correspondence 10/28/05

Hi Dakota Sioux,
 
    I didn't do a "reply" because it is getting real long so I just
printed up a copy and will answer your reply from my printed
copy. That way it won' take up so much mail box room.
    I'm sure that if your Mom really loved Sage she can feel his
spirit. Yes, Missy was a female Cougar about 15 years old and
she had to take the walk across the Bridge because her kidneys
and liver started to fail and the hard thing for me with her was
I had to help the Vet help her take the walk. I really loved her too.
Even though she was pretty big she would lay in my lap, as best
she could, she hung over on both sides though, and purr real loud.
    Missy like to come vist at night and when she jumps up on the
be you can hear the be creak and see her and when she leaves you
can see her foot prints in the bed covers.
    I was never able to tame Momma Kitty's kittens enough to be
able to find them homes. I could handle them but if anybody but
me was around they would run away and even I couldn't touch
them then. The human that was going to hurt Momma Kitty I think
killed one of her kittens and the other one moved to a farm that
had some ferrals living in it's barn I heard. I almsot got in trouble
because I told him if he harmed Momma or her other kitten (he
Kittens by that time were almost twice as big as her - they were
full grown) I would harm him as much as he harmed them.
    No, I don't have many other companions because Momma Kitty
is a lot like Velvet or maybe like Sage was. If any other domestics
come in the house she gets real territorial real quick. The only other
companion I have is a 5 year old Cougar named Hook and she is a
big girl (170 pounds) but she doesn't live in the house. Momma
doesn't go around her either because Momma grew up under the
buildings at a zoo that had lots of Big Cats, Lions, Tigers, Cougars
and all so she knows not to go around them. If I had bird snacks in
the house she would probably eat them all. Myself I take care of
mainly Big Cats at a sanctuary.
    You do have a right to brag with being a TICA Quadruple Grand
Champion and all. The vet says Momma Kitty is a Russian Blue with
a little Tabby thrown in maybe. Shhhhhhhh.....I call her the landlord
but don't tell her I said that, and tell people she owns the house and
makes me pay rent like food and treats lol. Since I brought her home
to live with me she has become a real spoiled lap Cat but I love it.
But then all my Cats are spoiled even the Big ones. I can even go in
and feed the big male Lion meat right out of my hand and he is very
gentle. He isn't very big though he is only between 500 and 600
pounds. I can hand feed the Liger too and he is 1100 pounds easy.
The Tigers get a bit pushy about their food so I don't hand feed them.
    Goin back to the Cat spirits that visit my house there are only three
that actually become visible and show themselves to people sometimes.
They are Boo and Missy and then there is Sylvester. Sylvester was a
black and white Maine Coon with a Charlie Chaplin mustache and she
belonged to a very close friend of mine. I know, her name is a guys
name. But when she came to live with my friend she was a stray and
they didn't know what she was and just gave her a name. She started
living on their porch and they felt sorry for her so they gave her a
home but because she was spayed and her hair was so long and she
(being spayed) never came into heat they just thought she was a guy.
The vet finally told them that she was a girl but she had had that name
for so long my friend just left her name like that because she came
right away when she was called by that name. She got cancer and
crossed the Bridge at about age 14.
    When I first met her she jumped right up in my lap and put a paw
on each of my shoulders and got her nose real close to mine and just
talked and talked and talked for a long time. I guess you could say
that we bonded almost immediately. She comes to my house to visit
more than Boo or Missy does. I know she sure scared my Mother
when she showed herself to my Mom when my Mom was here. I was
in a different room in the house and my Mom was yelling at me about
why did I bring another Cat in the house and when I explained to her
that that was Sylvester and she had crossed the Bridge a few years
before my Mom got real nervous and I laughed a lot.
    Your idea about an e-mail news letter sounds kind of interesting
but that would be almost like being a newspaper correspondent. You
would need reporters and an editor and a publisher. It would be quite
a bit of work to keep it going on a regular basis. I think the diaries are
good for now and even if you save up a few days adventures that you
guys have and do a nice long entry every now and then. That way
people won't get too used to them but will kind of be looking forward
to the next posting - then - surprise - here is the next one.
(Catmanwho)
 

Hi Catmanwho,

I am glad to hear that one of Mama Kitty's kittens survived. I know
that it is not always possible to tame ferals. I'm happy that you did
not let that mean human do more harm. This individual does not
sound like a very nice person. I'm also happy to hear that you escaped
getting in trouble because of this. I wish all humans liked animals.

Missy sure sounds nice. Is Hook as nice as Missy? I can see why Mama
Kitty would not want to be friends with Hook. She sounds like one
humongus girl. I bet she's really pretty, though.

You're Mom sounds funny. I've noticed that humans sometimes
laugh when they are nervous. Does she still come visit you even after
seeing Sylvester? Does she like Big Cats? My Mom's Mom and Dad
have both crossed the Rainbow Bridge. They passed away while
still young, both in their early 50s. Mom was with her Mom when
she crossed. Mom was also holding Sage when he crossed. Mom
has been with most of the fur family when they crossed. It's sad but
Mom wants to be there.

Dad's parents are still both alive and think Mom is weird with all the
fur family. They don't like to come to the house because Lightening
likes to stick his long nose in visitor's ears. He jumps on people, too.
Dad was brought up with NO pets. When he and Mom got together
he was a confirmed bachelor, never going to get married, have kids
or pets. Ooops, famous last words. Mom came along with 2 young
Cubs, 2 Dogs, 2 tanks of Fish, an Iguana, some Anoles and Geckos,
and a bunch of houseplants. Yikes! The Cubs are on their own but
now there is a bigger fur family :)

It was sooo funny when Dad got Mom Phoebe and Nimbus, because
his family didn't believe it was Dad's own idea. Somehow they
thought that it was all Mom. Dad's Sister told their folks that it was
Dad. When Thomas (the oldest Cub) got married in September, Dad's
parents came to the house to meet me, Nimbus, Velvet and Phoebe.
I don't like people I don't know. Mom made me meet them and I ran
downstairs and hid for the rest of the day.

I like your job. It sounds like a lot of hard but fun work. Have you
worked with Big Cats for a long time? There used to be a Liger living
in Salt Lake named Shasta. She crossed over the Bridge and her body
is stuffed and in Hogle Zoo. Tim, off of our list, told Mom that female
Ligers are rare. We have a friend who used to live by Shasta when she
was owned by a private owner. The state took her away. Our friend,
Ralph, said that he loved visiting with Shasta when she was his
neighbor. Mom visited Shasta at Hogle Zoo when she was still
alive, a long time ago.

I think that you're right about a newletter being too big of a job.
I keep Mom pretty busy typing as it is. Maybe sometimes I'll just find
something interesting to put in my diary. I also like your idea about
"surprise" posts. I think that they could be more of a treat that way.
I can also have extra ones on my blog if folks want to check every now
and again.

I have been having lots of fun corresponding with you and hearing
about your friends:) I look forward to future chats. Maybe if you come
to Utah sometime, you can come visit. Mom's going to try and make it
to the Phoenix meeting. Dad says it's okay if there is the extra money,
so she's crossing her fingers.

from your friend,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Last night we were so rowdy that we tore up the house. It
was kind of like World Wide Wrestling. I'd grapple with Nimbus,
then I'd grapple with Velvet. We would tear through the house
and jump on the counters and knock stuff off. We broke some
stuff, too, though we didn't mean to. We got up on the computer
and Mr. Squirtbottle made an appearance. Phoebe never grapples.
I don't know why. Velvet is still being mean to her. Though
Phoebe has been coming out more as we get back into the old
routine.

I like grappling. It's real fun. I lay on my back and take pokes at
Nimbus or Velvet. They jump up on top of me and we roll around
biting and poking and kicking. Then we take off and I chase
someone or they chase me.

One thing I don't like is Guiseppe following me around and trying
to bother my bum. I don't have a very long tail so I don't have much
protection. Nimbus has a bushy, long tail, plus he'll give Guiseppe
a swipe if he gets annoyed. If Guiseppe insists on keeping up this
disgusting behavior, I might have to whack him. Mom yells at him
to leave me alone, but he tries it when she's not looking. He does
the same thing with trying to get into food and the trash. Mom has
to put up baby gates so he can't get trash, our food, our litterbox,
and other stuff.

Mom was back doing her "art" again. She didn't get out the good
toys so we made our own fun. I find all kinds of treasures on top
of stuff. Nimbus does, too. We both are pretty good at dragging
stuff off counters and other areas. Nimbus gets really fascinated
with anything in a plastic baggy. Mom had some felt thingies for
a drum kit in a baggy and Nimbus found them. She also had some
sidewalk chalk in a baggy and he dragged that out, too.

Since Mom was not giving us attention, we brought our attention
to her. We ran all over her "art" and we grappled on it and tried to
take some of her pens. She kept tossing us off the bed, but that did
not stop us for long. There were three of us to give her attention.
We had a fun time while we did it, too. I wonder what will happen
tonight?

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

correspondence 10/27/05

Dakota Sioux,

    Your Mom probably has good reason to be paranoid
about evil people on Halloween wanting to harm Cats,
especially black ones like Phoebe and Velvet. I used to keep
Boo in for a couple days before and after Halloween because
out here where we live a lot of Cats get real bad things done
to them at that time.

     Some humans are sometimes very evil and mean.
Especially teenagers.

    Boo was 19 years old when he walked across the Rainbow
Bridge and the really hard thing for me was that I was holding
him in my arms when he took the walk. But you know
something, his spirit still comes around once in a while to
check on me because every now and then he will appear in the
house for a few minutes, and that scares some people who see
it happen, and then he goes on to play with his friends I guess
because he just disappears. So I know he is doing fine. There
are a couple humans who won't even come in my house because
they are scared a Cat might just appear out of thin air. It makes
me laugh at them. They are the ones that saw Boo drop in and
now they are afraid it might happen again so they don't visit here 
anymore. I also have a Cougar spirit that visits and that scares
Momma Kitty and she will hide for hours and hours and you can't
even find her or get her to come out when Missy drops in for a
vist even though Missy only stays a couple minutes like Boo.

    I have another kitty companion now her name is Momma Kitty.
It is a wierd name but when I met her she was a ferral and had a
litter of kittens. I didn't know what to name her and I didn't know
at that time that she would be coming home with me a couple
years from then. I spent a couple years getting to know her and
when a human tried to hurt her she came home with me and she
is really spoiled. She is about 14 now and hs been with me almost
9 years. I knew her for four years before she came to live with me.

    I like your Blog page - it's real cool I saved it in a file so I can go
there any time.

(Catmanwho)


 Hi Catmanwho,

Mom thinks that Sage visits from time to time, but she has never
seen his Spirit. Was Missy a Cougar companion that used to live
with you? Mom has a black Jaguar Spirit that started visiting when
she was a young adolecent cub. Mom doesn't know where the Spirit
came from or how it found her. Another person has sensed this
Spirit around Mom and Mom had never even told her about it.
Mom's friend knew it was a Jaguar and black. Mom has felt
protection from the black Jaguar during scary times in her life.
We all think it would be fun to see Boo and Missy :) Though maybe
we, felines, might get scaired like Mama
Kitty. Cougar's are big!

Mama Kitty sounds nice, too. She's so lucky that she met you and
you could share your home with her. Were you able to find homes
for her kittens? Most ferals don't have a very long life and Mom and
me are happy that she gets to live with you.

Do you have other companions? If so, what are there names? At our
house we have Tucker, 7 year old neutered male Shiba Inu rescued
from extreme abuse, Guiseppe, 9 year old neutered male Italian
Greyhound breeder reject from a nice breeder, Lightening, 6 year old
neutered male, mostly bald, Italian Greyhound from poor genetic stock,
Velvet, you know about her she's 4 and spayed, Phoebe, 2 year old
spayed female Maine Coon from a nice breeder, Nimbus, 2 year old
neutered male Maine Coon from a nice breeder, and I will be 2 years
old next April and I come from a nice breeder. Just to brag, I am a
TICA Quadruple Grand Champion neuter. We also have Mr. Snapper,
140+year old desert tortoise Mom fosters for Division of Wildlife, 1
male canary, 2 male diamond doves, 5 Society finches, and a bunch
of plants. Mom also wants a snake. She used to have a Green
Snake many years ago that her ex-meanie did in (she divorced
ex-meanie many years ago and now has a nice mate). Her Green
Snake was extremely friendly and liked to have Mom pet and hold
him/her (she never knew its gender). Mom also, a long time ago,
has had a Ferret and an Iguana.

Dad bought Mom Nimbus and Phoebe when Sage got diabetes and
had to cross over the Rainbow bridge at 16 years old. Sage
originally came from animal control as a stray. Later on somebody
told her that he was a Maine Coon. Mom was so sad when he was
going to pass away that Dad found a local breeder and insisted that
Mom find a new friend. Mom didn't want to at first, but Dad said
that Mom is not the kind of person not to have a feline companion.
He thinks that if she doesn't have a feline friend she
will become too sad.

2 years ago at Christmas time Dad spent all of his and Mom's
Christmas bonus checks to buy her Nimbus and Phoebe.

I'm so happy that you like my blog. I hope that I will be able to keep
writing good entries. I had an idea about maybe a kind of e-mail
newsletter. I could write about stuff I find out and maybe other people
could help me, too, and we could put it on the blog and on the phoenix
list.

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Yesterday when Mom went outside to go to work I heard
the biggest, tastiest looking, bird snack taunting her. It
sat right on the fence and squawked next to her head.
Mom said it was a scrub jay and it was as bold as can be.
If I were Mom I would have eaten it. Yum! Mom feeds the
bird-snacks. She thinks that this helps to keep us entertained.
I tell you what, it makes all of our mouths water. We want to
taste these yummy looking bird-snacks and we don't care
about the seeds. The only things that seeds are good for is
that they grow moths that we get to chase (that is the seeds
kept to feed the indoor bird-snacks).

Nimbus got a yellowjacket the other day and he lost a little bit
of enthusiasm for moth hunting. Like I said before, Phoebe
sings to them and hopes that she can get one in her mouth.
Velvet likes them, too. Nimbus says that Mom always has a
pet spider that comes in with the plants. A great big jumping
spider that Mom names and calls her pet. She usually thinks of
dumb names. Mom doesn't let anyone kill her pet spider. She
likes it when her "pet" goes on the ceiling and scares any guests.
Mom's guests thinks she's kind of weird. Mom and Dad's
neighbors call her "the eccentric artist or musician".

When Mom and Dad first moved to the neighborhood 16 years
ago, some of their "interesting" friends helped out with the move.
All of the neighbors got scared by the tie-dye and weird clothes.
The first neighbor-given nickname for Chez Lapin was "Hippie House".
This was not given as a compliment. After they all figured out that
Mom was an "artist" and "musician" and basically harmless, they
changed "Hippie House" to "the house where the eccentric artist lives".
Sheesh, people! Animals don't think and judge this way. I'm glad I'm
a feline.

Last night Mom was doing "art". She's trying to figure out what gifts
to make for who for Christmas/Yule. Velvet kept trying to lay all on
her paper and books and did not especially appreciate being moved off
of the paper and books. Mom told Velvet that if she did not co-operate
that Santa would not be bringing her stuff for her stocking. Mom then
told us that we are going to get locked up in our spaces for Halloween
and we would not get to see the trick-or-treaters. She said that she
didn't want us to run out the door (Velvet actually tries and has succeeded
in doing just this and Dad had to grab her by her tail). I say, "Bummer!".
I want to see all the kids and weird costumes. Oh, well.

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

correspondence 10/26/05

Dakota,
 
    I had a kitty companion, named Boo (pure black and only
8 1/2 pounds). He was a lot like your St. Sage. The only
difference is he didn't tear out the screens but he thought
he was as big as a tiger because he would fight anything
that came anywhere near where he
could see them.
    Our neighbor has a real big guy (the neighbor claimed he
was only 23 pounds but I think he might have been a couple
pounds more) named Squeaker. Boo would take him on every
time Squealer came through our place (he always lost but he
always tried).
    He used to wake me up at about 2:00am to go out and then
raise the dickens to come back in about 4:30am. I finally got
tired of that and put in a kitty door for him. He was a good
hunter though and sometimes I would wake up about 6:00am
and find him in my bedroom by the file cabinet eating a quail
he caught. Then I would have to clean up feathers and little
bits of bone and clean blood off the carpet.
    He used to have to go to the vet often because of infections
he'd get from fighting so I know what your Mom went through.
    It sounds like Velvet has a little streak of "mean" in her too.
Keep up the good reporting in your diaries they are very
interesting.
 
Larry
(Catmanwho)


Dear Catmanwho,

Mom told me that Sage was a mighty hunter, too :) I bet I
could be a good hunter if Mom would just let me go outside.
I think my other feline friends would be hunting enthusiasts,
also. Velvet and Phoebe are black and Mom is paranoid and
thinks crazy devil worshippers might torture us (she's even
afraid of mean kids, too).

Boo sounds like a great friend. I bet you miss him like Mom
misses Sage. Mom used to try and head Sage off when he
would try and bring her presents. He let soooo many mice
loose in the house that Dad had to set traps. He killed a
caboodle of mice and felt like he was some kind of Dr.
Death of mice.

Sage had a nemesis, like Boo's nemesis, Squeaker, that Mom
and Dad called the "lunchbox kitty". The lunchbox kitty's real
name was Ziggy and he lived 2 houses down. He was a huge,
fat tabby who's belly almost dragged on the ground. Sage only
weighed about 16 pounds and he and the lunchbox kitty would
get into horrible fights on the nextdoor neighbor's lawn.
Neither one could win and they'd lock down on each others'
heads. Doc told Mom that Sage was a dominant cat because all
of his abcesses would be on his head or shoulders. If Sage was
losing fights, the doc said that he'd have absesses on his bum.
The lunchbox kitty finally moved away to Park City.
Sage didn't get so many abcesses after that.

Thanks so much for sharing stories with me about your feline
friend. I enjoy very much hearing about Boo! I am so happy
that you like my diaries. Mom has put up a blog for me and you
can find it at:
http://www.dakotapixie-bob.blogspot.com.
She puts my fan mail up and will start including my
correspondence, too.

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Monday, October 24th, 2005

Nimbus is my very best friend. We had so much fun last night.
He got under this great big towel on Velvet's chair with only his
tail sticking out. He was going wild under that towel and I
jumped on it. We played like this for a while then Nimbus came
out and we had a love grapple. We played together all night.
Sometimes I chased him and sometimes he chased me.

Mom and Dad were being lazy and looking at books. Boring!
Mom did stir herself and play with us for a little while. She got
out the mice on shoestrings. These are always good for some
fun. Nimbus, Velvet and I all went after them. You have to
watch out for Velvet, though. If you get in her way you're liable
to get a poke, a swat or a scratch. If you're really unlucky she'll
bite! She tried to bite Mom a couple of times last night but
Mom's wise to her.

I think that Velvet got extra mad at Mom because Mom caught
her sneaking up on Phoebe while Phoebe was in one of our play
boxes (the ones Mom and Dad make and cut circles in). When
Mom saw Velvet going over there, she picked Velvet up and
turned her around. Velvet HATES to be picked up! Velvet was
kind of hissy after that.

Mom tried to sweeten Velvet by letting Velvet nibble and lick
on her fingers. This seems to soothe some of Velvet's meaness.
Velvet wasn't sweetening that much, though. She was still being
mean. She gets a squinty eyed look when she's on one. She also
has her ears a certain way. You want to walk far around her when
she's looking like this. If you have some really bad luck she jumps
on you from her chair.

We all have our own chairs. Nimbus has to share his with
Lightening and Guiseppe. Sometimes he lurks when they're sitting
in his chair. He likes to intimidate Lightening. I've told him that he
shouldn't do that because I've seen Guiseppe protect Lightening.
Guiseppe, as I've previously mentioned, will bite. Once Nimbus had
Lightening trapped in part of the livingroom. Guiseppe had to leave
his chair and escort Lightening past Nimbus. Dad thought that was
pretty funny.

The same thing used to happen when St. Sage was alive. St. Sage, so
I've been told, was even meaner than Velvet. He was never mean to
Mom. He just hated other cats and some dogs. Mom was his best
friend, though. He knew the sound of her car and would greet her
when she got home from work or errands. She'd yell at him to get
out of the street, but that never stopped him. One of his nicknames
was "Frankenkitty" because he used to rip off the screens to get
outside, fight with the neighborhood cats, then have to go have tubes
put in his head to drain out the puss. Yuck!

Thomas, Mom's oldest cub, came home to live for a while (this was
before he got married) and brought his big ragdoll cat named Sapphire.
Frankenkitty, I mean Sage, used to torment that cat. He'd try to get in
and kill Sapphire. He'd bite the windows, slobbering all over them, and
pound on the door while howling horribly. He'd stick his paw under the
door and try and rattle it open. I think that Sapphire was relieved to
finally move out.

One of Sage's other nick names was "shitty kitty bang bang". He got this
nickname by always going out at night then demanding to be let back in
the house at 4:00 A.M. by banging on the windows and howling and
screeching like a wild banshee. He was so loud that even the neighbors
would complain.

What a trouble maker. I don't see why Mom still cries over him. He's
been dead for almost 2 years now. She even gets to have four fine felines,
instead of just one big mean one. I hope that she will eventually get over it.
We're all trying to help her out. Even Velvet gets disturbed when she cries
and comes and licks her face. If mean old Velvet cares and tries to help out,
Mom should just get over it. We're the best cats, IMHO, that can be got.

Mr. Snapper's the same as yesterday. I'll let you all know when Mom brings
him in the house. Maybe I can talk her into taking his sleeping photo for his
Phoenix story;)

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Fan Mail part 2

Dear Dakota,

I love ya! Tell your Mom and Dad that you are writing
a book. I think Phoenix will have to publish Dakota's
adventures and wisdoms all on it's own. Maybe we will
start a fan club!

Meows to you,

Donna

Weekend, Friday, October 21-Sunday, October 23, 2005

We had a fine, sunny weekend around our place. Dad
really got ambitious and handy :) The sun was fun for
us because Mom had the windows open and we could
look out and see all the interesting neighborhood activities
and lots of tasty bird snacks. We watched Dad up on a
ladder scraping stuff. Mom hung out with us and did stuff
around the house. Our favorite part was when she was in
the kitchen. Yum! Mom always drops stuff when she is in
the kitchen ;)

Velvet was a tiny bit calmer. Mom says it takes time to get
back into the routine. Mom only had to get Mr. Squirtbottle
out a few times. One time she really hosed Velvet down,
though. Boy, oh boy, Velvet high-tailed it out of her
confrontation and violence with Nimbus in fast retreat.
She went and sat by the door and licked her bits pretending
like nothing happened. Ha! Ha! I saw the whole thing and
Velvet got real wet.

Phoebe came out a little bit. I'll be happy when Phoebe feels
better. She's really cute when she sings to the moths. She
has a trilly song and when she sees a moth she throws her
head back like a coyote and sings. I know she is feeling happy
and secure when she is moth singing. I've never seen a moth
come to her song, though.

Nimbus and I had lots of fun over the weekend. We only go
caught on the kitchen counters once. Mom didn't catch us the
other times, though I know she was suspicious when she heard
Nimbus's big body hitting the floor before she walked in the
kitchen. Nimbus thinks we are fooling her and I can tell we aren't.
I don't want to see Mr. Squirtbottle again, so I told Nimbus to try
and be quieter.

Other news is Guiseppe got in to big trouble this weekend because
he got into a bag of cheetohs and chocolate covered macadamia
nuts. He eats anything he can sink his teeth into, including icky
toilet paper that Mom used on her nose. Nasty! I can't even tell
you the other disgusting things he's dragged out ot the trash. If
I told you it would bring on a horkin attack and some hairballs
would have to come up.

Mom says that Guiseppe developed depression and an
eating disorder when she went to work full time. He and Lightening
were used to having her home to themselves (of course they shared
her with St. Sage). They were/are such spoiled babies that they even
have winter clothes.

When Mom started her job at Performance Audio, Guiseppe
blimped up and Mom's had to deal with the fat pet lectures from
the doc ever since. She even put him on a diet, but he manages
somehow to stay fat. The other thing that he started doing was
grudge poops. He became unhousebroken and taught Lighening
some bad things, too. Mom puts up with it, though. She just keeps
them on linoleum in an X-pen, while at work, and mops the floor
everyday. Somehow magically they become housebroken again at
night, weekends and holidays, or if Mom is home sick from work.

Speaking of eating, Mom's been bad. At least that's what Dad is
saying. Mom started letting Velvet eat ice cream off of her fingers.
Dad says she has created a monster. Mom says she's just trying to
sweeten Velvet a bit, given Velvet's recent extra bad temper. Dad
just shakes his head and wonders out loud what she is going to do
to spoil us all next.

Mr. Snapper's Diary.....ZZZZZZZZZZZ.....boring. He'll be boring until
Spring.

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Mom threw in the towel last night. She's going to have us
go back to our old daytime arrangements. Phoebe and I will
be upstairs in our smaller space. Dag, I so wanted to get to
play with Nimbus during the daytime. Velvet and Nimbus,
lucky ducks, get the bigger downstairs area.

Velvet has just gotten too agressive and Phoebe is getting
more and more upset and shy. Velvet attacked Phoebe soooo
many times last night. Mom had to get Mr. Squirtbottle and it
did no good. Velvet attacked us, too. Nimbus and I are better
at defending ourselves, though. Guiseppe doesn't put up with
her stuff and Lightening stayed away from her.

Mom thinks it's because of Velvet's past. Velvet became more
and more insecure all week (translate agressive). Phoebe wasn't
doing that great, either (translate scaired). Mom thinks it will be
better for all to go back to the old routine. What makes Velvet
so mean?

Velvet is a rescue. Last April Mom and Dad were at Petsmart
buying supplies while Petsmart was hosting a super-adoption day.
Mom and Dad already had Nimbus and Phoebe. Mom saw Velvet
and went over to her cage. Velvet meowed and rubbed and
wanted Mom to pet her. When Mom read Velvet's story she felt
soooooo sad.

Velvet was four years old and had been rescued by the
fire-department during an apartment fire. The apartment was
located in a house that had been converted to apartments. There
were 38 cats in one 2 bedroom apartment. Velvet was one of these
cats and had suffered from smoke inhalation. Mom did know that
poor Velvet had been through Hell. Velvet's veterinary history also
said that when she was picked up by the apartment lady, she had
been pregnant and the kittens aborted.

Mom knew that Velvet wanted to go home with her and Dad. The
adoption lady said that Velvet really didn't like other cats in her
foster home and that she bites people. Velvet really liked Mom and
Dad and Mom knows how to deal with biters. Mom was concerned
about Nimbus and Phoebe. The adoption lady said that she felt
confident that Velvet could adjust, especially since she had come
from a home of 38 cats. She said if Velvet did not work out that
she could go back to her foster home. Mom talked Dad into taking
Velvet home.

Velvet is an all black, small sized, medium length coat, domestic
with green eyes. When she came to Chez Lapin she was put in her
own bedroom with all amenities, so that she could be slowly
introduced to everyone. After a several week rough introduction,
Mom found out that the 2 queens did not get along. Velvet was
very agressive with both cats, especially Phoebe, but got along great
with the Italian Greyhounds. Mom refused to take her back. Dad
loved her, too.

Nimbus fell in love with Velvet and started following her around
like a love-struck calf. He became a peeping Tom, peeping at her
when she was sleeping and engaged in other activities. They
eventually made friends. Nimbus also started to ignore Phoebe.
The longer Velvet stayed the less agressive she became. She also
started looking sleek and shiny with the good food she was getting.
When she first came her coat was rough and dull.

Velvet loves both Mom and Dad, but she loves to get up on Dad's
chest, wrap her paws around his neck and nibble his chin.
Sometimes she drools. She likes Mom to sing her own personal
"Love Scoob" song. She likes to nibble and kind of nurse on Mom's
fingers. Mom calls her "Love Scoob". Velvet comes to "Love Scoob"
and has never come to the name she came with, Velvet.

Nimbus, Phoebe and I all came from small in-home catteries where
we had an original feline and human Mom. Mom is our second
human Mom and the one we have bonded with. Velvet has also
bonded with Mom and Dad. Only Velvet knows her full history and
everything she has gone through? For the rest of us at Chez Lapin,
Velvet's full past is a mystery.

I wanted to let you all in on Mr. Snapper's diary 10/20/05
Mr. Snapper says, "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"

Mr. Snapper is almost in full hibernation and will soon be coming
inside to sleep off the winter.

I wanted to meow a big "thank you" and "purrs" to everyone who has
expressed their enjoyment of my adventures :) I was unsure if you
all would want to hear about them because I look like an exotic, but
am only an exotic at heart. I'm pretty small for a Pixie-Bob, but I'm
told I have a real "bobcatty" look.

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

First Fan mail

Dear Dakota Pixie-Bob,
 
Congratulations and Welcome aboard. I am looking
forward to your adventures with all your other feline
friends and family as I am sure many others are going
to enjoy reading of your adventures as well.

I'm sure you will be ready to post as soon as your Mom
gets you set up with Phoenix-Exotics group. We are all
ready and waiting for that first posting and all the others
that will follow.
 
Your first Fan Club member,
Catmanwho


Dakota,

Congragulations. Now you are all set. Now you can really 
spill the beans on your room mates - LOL
 
Catmanwho

Wednesday, Ocober 19, 2005

Boy, last night was really a trip when I went home and told my feline housemates all about Mom's surprise and my new e-mail address. Nimbus's feelings were a little bit hurt because Dad kept telling him that once he and Mom's website was reworked, his pictures would be up and he would be voted the most beautiful cat on the internet. Velvet copped an attitude because she wants to be on meankitty.com. and Mom has never gotten it together to send in any pictures of her. Phoebe didn't have much to say. I think Phoebe's a bit unhappy with the recent move downstairs and Velvet's temper tantrums. I'm glad that I didn't tell them EVERYTHING, like that I have gotten some fan mail of my very own!

Mom did try and settle things down with a new toy. This toy is really, really cool! It's a stuffed spider that vibrates and moves around when she pulls a string. Nimbus, Velvet
and I has a great time trying to figure it out and playing
with it, that is until Velvet had a hissy fit and whacked
Nimbus on the nose and tried to take a poke at me. Sheesh,
girls!!! Phoebe checked it out from afar. She wasn't going
to go around Velvet.

Velvet was on one all night. She's such a meanie. I think
that after I told her about my new e-mail address she wanted
to prove to Mom that she, Velvet, is one of the meanest kitties
and if Mom does not get her behind in gear and submit her
picture and story to meankitty.com everyone is going to pay.
She even made Mom pay last night. Mom was grooming Nimbus
and Velvet jumped up, attacked Nimbus with claws out, and they
both scratched the heck out of Mom's legs and made them
bleed, like big time. Poor Mom.

The night went on pretty much just like that, with Velvet going
after one or another of us. She even went after Lightening and
Guiseppe, our two Italian Greyhound canine brothers. She has
Lightening scared witless. She'd better watch her act with
Guiseppe, though. Guiseppe can hold his own with mean kitties.
He's known to rear up and pummel a fiesty cat with his stick-like
legs. He bites, too. Guiseppe used to protect Lightening from
Sage (or St. Sage as we felines sarcastically call him), the now
deceased previous-only-cat that used to rule the house.
Confidentially, the feline crew that lives at Chez Lapin now are
all sick of hearing about St. Sage and his wonderful qualities.
Gack!

On that note, I horked up some fine hairballs when everyone went
to bed. In the wee hours, when Mom got up to use the bathroom,
Mom's horkin' seeking feet found one of my finest offerings in the
dark. Go Mom!

newsflash: Thursday afternoon, October 19th 2005

I found out my surprise. Mom got me my own e-mail
address and I get to post my own diary entries from there.
Yayyyyyy!!! I want to give big "meows" and thanks to
Catmanwho and Jeanne. Mom says Catmanwho helped out
a bunch and that he wanted ME to have this special
surprise :) Mom says Jeanne helped me get a list
membership for Phoenix_Exotics. Purrrrrrrssss
to you both!

My new e-mail address is: dakotapixiebob@yahoo.com

I hope that I'll have lots of adventures and fun things to
write to you all about.

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Do you want to know something amazing? Velvet hates
raw food! I was totally shocked to find this out a while back.
I eat raw rabbit and raw turkey (bleck, because the turkey
has some veggies in it). Nimbus and Phoebe will eat raw.
Velvet totally turns her nose up at it like it stinks or
something (I know it doesn't actually stink because Mom
tells us it's human grade from Oma's Pride). Velvet gets a
special canned food (one that does not contain wheat or corn
products). I actually like the canned food, too. I hurry up
and eat mine, then I check out what the slow-pokes are still
working on. I can eat lots and lots. I show Mom that I hate
the veggies by trying to bury them on my plate. If I had some
dirt, nobody would have to smell or look at those nasty things.
I wonder if Mom gets it?

Dad's still calling me "Barnacle Bob"! Won't he be surprised on
the day I say, "Meeeeearrrrggghhh!" Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm working on
it, but don't quite have it down yet. Maybe I'll be able to do it by
next year's Talk Like A Pirate Day.

10/19/05
Hey, quicky afternoon note, Mom says she's working on a surprise
for me. I can't wait to find out what it is :)

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Monday, October 17th, 2005

My night was interesting. Mom is moving our day
area, where we hang out when she is at work, to the
downstairs. She's been bringing home boxes from work
that her and Dad tape up and cut holes into. These
make fun hiding places. Everyone was running around
trying to figure out why some of the cat beds were moving.
They were also concerned about the cat towers. Phoebe
was especially concerned. Her tower is called "Phoebe's
tower of feline power". She sits up on the top and watches
all. Sometimes I sneak into the little hole/cubby. When
Phoebe is in the hole, Mom says she looks like an owl.

Velvet isn't too cool with all of this. She and Nimbus used
to have the entire downstairs to themselves. Mom says its
time for everyone to get along. She doesn't think it is fair
that Phoebe and I have to have a small area upstairs when
the whole finished basement can be everyone's playground.
It even has carpet. I miss Nimbus when I can't play with him
during the day. Mom is taking care to introduce us slowly so
that Velvet and Phoebe don't fight. Velvet and Nimbus will
hang out in the big bedroom downstairs while we get used to
the space. Did I ever tell you that Velvet is quite the mean
queen? She kind of gets along with us boys (she still chases
and whaps us sometimes) but she does not like Phoebe and
Phoebe does not like her. I think that it was because of the
life she had before she came to live with us. Someday when I
have more time I'll tell you about it.

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Weekend Friday, October 14th - Sunday, October 16, 2005

Well, I kept it up and kept it up and kept it up and
kept it up, and do you think I got any of those tasty
bird snacks? No :( Nimbus admires my perseverance.
Phoebe is curious about if I can actually get one. Velvet
thinks I'm a show-off. Mom.......well Mom is not a happy
camper and after getting Mr. Squirtbottle out a few times.....
time-out for me!

Can you believe, she scruffed me? So undignified, dangling
by my scruff and going by myself to the place of food, water,
cat-box, but no one else. I cried and cried at the door, but
she wasn't listening. She didn't let Dad listen either. I heard
her tell him, "Don't you dare let him out, he's been a naughty
kitty!" She finally let me out, though.

I know that she loves me. Saturday night I was sleeping on
her shoulder, purring in her ear, and Dad asked her, "Is that
Dakota?" Mom said "ya" in a sleepy voice. Dad said, "He sticks
to you like a barnacle, huh?" The next day Dad was calling me
"Barnacle Bob" :)

love,
Dakota, Pixie-Bob

Booooooo! Scary Halloween futuristic sci-fi

AP
Posted Oct. 31, 2025
Anywhere, USA

Crazy Cat Collectors Caught in Condominium Raid
by Joan Doe

Nathan and Wilma Fritz were apprehended by
authorities yesterday with two cats. Authorities told
the press that Nathan, aged 35 and his wife, Wilma,
aged 28, were keeping the illegal animals in their
condominium along with black market canned food.
According to Federal Legislation passed in 2023 private
citizens, are not allowed to own any animals. Canned
foods intended for carnivore consumption is also
forbidden according to legislation passed in 2024 making
possession and consumption of all animal products illegal.

The only legal facilities allowed to possess animals, usually
dogs and cats, are state and federally recognized zoos.
When the 2023 bill was passed by the House and Senate,
all citizens were ordered to release their animals to proper
authorities for immediate euthanasia. Long time
spokespersons for PETA and HSUS felt that the bill was a
true victory for animal rights. Joe Blow, spokesperson for
PETA, said, "These animals are better off dead than having
to suffer the companionship of humans".

When asked how the authorities found out about the illicit
felines, police said that the two individuals had been under
surveillance for some time. Mandatory psychological
examinations conducted by the couples' respective employers
revealed potential mental illness. Compassion, an interest in
life-forms other than human, a tendency to dangerous
individualism, belief in personal rights, along with a past
history of animal ownership, all contributed to the suspicion
that lead authorities to begin the surveillance operations.

The Fritz's are currently being held by authorities. The
penalties will be decided based on a comprehensive
psychological evaluation to determine the recidivism potential.
The minimum penalty for owning an animal is seizure of all
property relating to the possession of such animal with the
maximum penalty being confiscation of all personal assets and
life-imprisonment. The two cats, an 11 year old, neutered
male, and a 16 year old spayed female, were immediately
euthanized.

Previous diary entries-10/11/05-10/13/05

Tues, October 11th, 2005

Yayyyyy!!! I get to have my very own diary. I'm Dakota and I'm a
Pixie-Bob. If you don't know what a Pixie-Bob is, I'll tell you. I
am a domestic cat that looks like a miniture Bob-Cat. Yep, a
Bob-Cat. Do I have any wild blood? Well, there is a legend and
there are legend cats, cats that came from mysterious beginnings.
DNA tests do not show any wild blood, though. Carol Brewer,
from the Pacific Northwest, developed my race.

What do I look like? I'm small for my breed. I am a long-haired
Pixie-Bob and my colour is brown-spotted tabby. I have tufted
ears, big feet, a tiny tail, long back legs, a mahogany coat with
dark brown/black spots, and a mischievious and playful personality.
Did I mention that I have gone to cat shows? I am a Quadruple
Grand Champion Neuter.

What am I listening to, currently? My favorite band is Litterbox.
You can check them out at http://www.eyeenvision.com. Take
a listen to "Four on the Floor", "Marked Territory", "Here Kitty,
Kitty", "On the Prowl", "Hiss of Death", and "Scratch". These are
some serious head-banging, heavy-metal cats! And now for my
first entry.

October 11th, 2005

I got in trouble AGAIN!!! Mom does not like me up on the counters,
stealing stuff, taunting Tucker (the aggressive shiba-inu who lives in
an x-pen under and guarding those tasty looking bird snacks), breaking
stuff while I rough-house with anywho-will-have-me, and plot with
Nimbus (my Maine-coon brother in crime) to take over the world.
He's Pinky, I'm the Brain!

Wed., October 12, 2005

Mom can be such a pain in the patootie. She really doesn't
have much of a sense of humor. She totally did not like it
when I dragged her undies out of the dirty cloths pile. It was
only a joke! Next she fed Velvet (that "Miss Thing" that mom
calls Love Scoobs) some nice fish before I got any. I tried to
fish (get it) the morsels from under Velvet's nose and boy, did
"MissThing" throw a queen sized hissy fit. I almost lost some
skin off of my nose!

Next, mom was cooking and all I wanted to do was help. Next
thing I know, out comes that nasty squirt bottle. Why can't she
see that I only jump up on the counter to help? I don't think that
a few hairs in the food will kill anyone. They can just hork-up the
hair-balls like we do. I told Nimbus that we need to get moving on
some of our finer plans. I think that he should distract Tucker
while I go for the bird snacks.

Thurs., October 13, 2005

What a rumble we have been having this evening! And all
because Velvet didn't get all of the human food she wanted.
Mom and Dad shared with her, but cheese and meat were not
enough.

She got really steamed when she was not allowed to eat
the ice cream directly form the bowl. Mom said she could lick
the bowl when they were finished, but nooooo! She got madder
and madder every time Dad diverted her away from his spoon or
the bowl.

Finally, full of feline fury she attacked Phoebe. Phoebe
ran, but Velvet was still mad so she tried to get Nimbus. Nimbus
ran, too. Oops, next thing I know, she's after me. She whaps me
upside the head a few times and I whap her back. She's too mad
though, so I run under the bed. I am not coming out until she
forgets about the ice-cream.