Life of Joseph

Joseph has been spending time in our cat enclosure when no other kitties want to use it. We close off the door to the bathroom window (where the entrance is from the house).

He scented the place up real good; he did a pee, but NOT a spray.

But Joseph mostly wanted to come inside the house.

If you haven't stopped by recently, check out how Joseph came to us HERE, and his updates ONE and TWO.

Today Joseph's coat has been coming in a nice shiny black, replacing all the dry, brittle, brown fur he had from being malnourished for so long.

Last week the vet we took him to said he could be anywhere between 1 1/2 to 3 years old. 

He is so playful and vocal, he'll be a joy to anyone who wants an engaging kitty. 

Here is a video of him talking to me from the shop window. We love his big thumbs!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Cottage Dogs at Play!

Every evening MamaLindy provides the terriers a rousing game of fetch!

Cooper, bless his little senile heart, used to be quite athletic and loved fetch more than anything else. Now-a-days Cooper get's his exercise by walking back and forth around the yard.  We didn't realize Cooper was photobombing (or videobombing) this recording of Rex and Buzz at play.

The star of this video was supposed to be Rex, but he was upstaged by Cooper!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Butt, Butt, Butt

What's the best way to keep your butt dry when it's raining outside?

Sit in the window!

We always wanted a house with windowsills for cats.

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Tabby Tuesday: A New Breed of Cat

Felis Tabbyus Frogis

A gregarious feline, who loves to play, loves to snuggle. A tendency to eat any exposed fruit, vegetables or shoelaces, however. 

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Mancat Monday: Joseph, Of Course!

Joseph was a true gentle mancat during his visit to At Home Vet on Saturday!

He was nervous, of course, but remained calm.

Even when nice Dr Crispbell was "mandling" him, he didn't fuss much. She said he was very well behaved!

His Feline Lukemia/Aids/Heartworm test came back negative! Whew!

His ears were clean, and he'd gained almost a pound since his neutering, 

but he did need worming and was glad to get back into the crate. 

Many, many thank yous to those who donated funds for his care and made the visit possible!

On another note...

Thankfully, Joseph was accepted onto Pal's No-Kill Cat Shelter's waiting list and is scheduled for in-take on October 1st. If we do not find him a forever home first, we have a warm place for him before winter.

Thanks for stopping by!
~MamaLisa

Dogs of Marshwood Cottage: T-Rex

Meet Rex! 

Or T-Rex (that’s the name he came with). 

He’s got a “T” on his back. Can you see it?

Rex came to us forever two days before Christmas in 2010. He was five years old.

We first met Rex a year before we adopted him when we fostered him for a local shelter. He’d been given up for aggression issues, but MamaLindy (being a Certified Pet Dog Trainer), assessed him and said he was in a stressful environment and was afraid of his owner’s boyfriend. Against her advice, the shelter returned Rex to his previous owners who had promised to work with him. We told the shelter that if Rex ever came back to them, we’d adopt him no questions asked. About a year later, he was the best Christmas present we got that year!

Rex is a Miniature Rat Terrier born in an Arkansas puppy mill and purchased from a Massachusetts pet store. 

Argh!

  

That was his past....today he’s such a happy energetic little guy with a charming chortle who has become a wonderful companion for Buzz.

He loves group naps and gets along with the cats, too!

MamaLindy taught him to play fetch with a little rubber toy we call a “binky” to keep him fit. He loves to tease Buzz and will steal her binky just to drive her crazy.

At first Rex was reluctant to go in the dog pool, but then MamaLindy showed him how great it is, and now loves to take a quick dip on hot days.

Rex (also known as “Mr. Wiggle-Butt”) loves people and will wiggle his little stub tail and twist his body into a submissive curve when you give him attention.

Here is a link to our favorite video of Rex when he was trying on his new booties!

http://youtu.be/6cYxLt7LME8

Rex sure increased the terrier energy in our household, but he came just as the old timers were slowing down.

We think he's a pretty handsome fellow!

Thanks for stopping by to meet Rex!

~MamaLisa

Joseph Update

Thank you all for your well wishes for Joseph. We have learned a lot about this pleasant fellow over the weekend.

First, let me say that we were totally spellbound by Joseph, and did a crazy thing by taking him in without a future plan for him. Quite honestly I feel he was asking us for help and we had no choice. I've heard stories about this kind of thing from other people, but now I understand it completely. It has amazed us at how grateful he seems. Again, I've heard other people say their rescued dog or cat is grateful, but I'd never experienced it until now.

Joseph is a love bug for sure, but not clingy and can be left alone. He’s not shy around new people and tolerated a front paw nail clipping. Every day that he feels secure and is getting nutritious food, his coat gets cleaner and shinier. It seems like he is taking a respite from being outdoors since he really hasn't tried to get back out there at all.

However…

Unfortunately, we can't keep him. The number one reason is he's an adult male (former tomcat) at least a year and a half to two years old, and Snafu will not tolerate another cat. We don't have the space inside the house, vertical or otherwise! He won't be able to live in our shop over the winter because there's no heat. Number two, we have learned that Joseph doesn't like (or trust) dogs and he will challenge them. I'm sure when he was on his own he ran into many dogs that did not treat him well, so we can't blame him.

The least, but none the less important, reason is that we just can't afford another pet. Buzz has recently been diagnosed with cancer and we will need to focus our resources on her for as long as she is with us.

We have reached out to our cat loving friends, but no one is able to take him.

So, Joseph remains in our care. Ultimately he will need additional medical care before he can go to his forever home. I called our vet and priced it out with them:

 General Medical Exam - $43
Feline AIDS/Leukemia/Heartworm Test - $53
Distemper - $25
Distemper Booster - $25
Feline Leuk - $29
Leuk Booster - $29

 That's over $200!

We are definitely going to need financial help with this! Some of you may know (via Facebook) that we just went through this with a little rescued Maltese Shih Tzu mix named Maddie who we just placed in her forever home. And here we are again! Please let us know if you're familiar with any feline rescue resources we can tap into. I've also set up a "Donate" button for anyone who has the means and can contribute to his care (or call At Home Veterinary Care at (207) 582-8800 to donate directly to his account under Lisa Kolosey). 

We would be very grateful and Joseph already is.

Thank you for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Mancat Monday: Playful Wizard

Playful Wizard!

Here is our mancat ripping it up with his version of the zoomies.

We're still looking for a home for Joseph. I'll post an update on him tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Joseph

 We've been listening to loud screechy cat fights all summer long. There’s a new stray tomcat in our neighborhood and he’s challenging all the outdoor cats that live around here (none of our kitties, since ours are indoors only). MamaLindy caught glimpses of him enough to know he was a black and white tuxie. 

 Our next door neighbor has a very pretty torbie named Momo who's been getting bullied by this guy,

and our neighbor said she’d like to catch him and take him to the local humane society.

I hadn't seen him until yesterday. He was right outside our front door meowing and meowing in a sing-songy speech.

I thought he was threatening Snafu and Owen who were plastered to the screens looking out at him. Both of them were very quiet and the black and white, fat-faced tom was looking directly at me. So I called out to him. That triggered a long low meow session from him and my heart sank. I felt he was telling me there was something wrong. 

I totally forgot he was the neighborhood terrorist and brought him a bowl of food. He was shy but didn't go very far when I came out to deposit the goods at a safe distance. Once I was back inside, he dug right into the bowl of kibble. In less than a minute he was rubbing on everything outside and I wondered if he’d spray us as his own, too. Thank God he didn't spray; he only laid down on the stoop and began washing up. 

 So I went out to take a closer look at him and see if he was injured. His face was beaten up, but mostly old wounds and he’d only one new scratch that looked swollen but not infected. He let me pet him a little bit then continued to eat. 

 When MamaLindy got home and went over to see him, he came right out to see her with only a little coaxing. He's bony, but not emaciated, had no collar, and his coat was unkempt with motor oil underneath a patch of matted burrs. He didn't fuss at all when she cut the patch off him with scissors. 

We agreed he needed to be neutered, and MamaLindy called a local dog shelter that offers inexpensive neuters on certain days. When she found out they were having a clinic that day and could do him right away, we felt it was fate. This black and white tuxie seemed to be asking us for help, so we had to do it even though it cost $75 (not as cheap as some clinics around here, but it was to include rabies vacc.). 

 So…we nabbed him! 

 Okay, so he pretty much walked right into the crate.

He didn't mind the car ride at all and lay down in the crate during our drive to the clinic. We had no plan for what to do with him afterwards, but at five o’clock last night, we picked him up. 

Meet Joseph!

We made a place for him in our workshop behind the house (only recently vacated by another pet project Foster Dog Maddie – now in her forever home).

Overnight he did not try to escape, he did not meow incessantly, he did not pee all over the place, but went in his litter box. 

 He’s incredibly friendly, playful, rubby, lovey, rolly and dirty!

Has this ever happened to any of you?  ;) 

He needs a home now. 

Help!

~MamaLisa

Thankful and Throwback Thursday

We are truly thankful that Nick (and Wizard) were such nurturing brothers for Penny when she was a kitten. This picture is from November 2006 when she was 2 months old and Nick was 3 years old.

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

This is a part of a blog hop! Join the fun and keep hopping!

Wednesday Walk in the Weeds #2

Welcome to Marshwood Cottage's Weekly Weed Walk!

This interesting plant sprouted up directly behind our water fountain. When it flowered, it looked somewhat like Queen-Anne's Lace. But we posted this picture on Facebook and learned from a friend that it was Valerian (as in Valerian root, an herb to help you sleep).

This is our patch of Queen Anne's Lace. Much flatter flower on the top where Valerian is rounded.

These bright flowers are Pinks and were found growing between the garden fence and the ledge last year. They were acting like weeds, but the blossoms were so vibrant!

This year we dug them up transplanted them into one of our perennial beds right next to the water fountain. They flourished!

These crazy loopy things also act like weeds in that they tried to take over the entire front garden last year. The leaves are very stinky and when a friend identified them as Black Cohosh, she took a couple of buckets of them home. We cleared out all but this one section and as can be seen in these photos (and this video meditation from Monday) the bees absolutely love them! The stalks grow as high as the roof and the flowers smell somewhat like rotted roses. Blechk!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Two Tailless Tabbies on Tuesday

Look...

There's a space for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

A Meditation with Cohosh and Bumbles

Close your eyes or watch...simply listen intently to peace for the next two moments...

Thanks for stopping by

~MamaLisa

Yukon's Big Adventure

Yukon is looking forlorn...

That's because the other day HE ESCAPED to the outdoors, and he wants to return!

Unfortunately, he discovered the dog door...

We usually keep it shuttered and closed off, and are very careful to close the screen door to the den when the dog door is open.

Usually.

I was putting away towels in our linen closet one morning, when I spotted Rex (our mini-rat terrier) outside through the bathroom window. He was sniffing around, interested in something I could hear crunching around in the bushes. I figured he was after a chipmunk as usual and thought nothing more about it. 

until...

About a half hour later, I began my noonday ritual of feeding the cats. When the cabinet doors squeak open and my spoon clangs on their bowls, everycat comes running.

Oddly, on this day there's no Yukon at my feet for Penny to tease as they wait for their food. I called out his name, because I could hear him from far away, makowing. When he didn't come running up the gangplank into the house from our outdoor cat enclosure, I looked up and realized he was OUTSIDE IN THE YARD!

 I didn't know how he got there at the time, but I swooped up the bowls and put them in the safe (the microwave), threw on my rubber shoes and went out the den door to get him. 

Okay, so I knew he was outside but I also knew he wanted to eat lunch. I felt sure he was safe enough and I'd get him, because nothing can stop Yukon from a meal (plus we have three layers of fencing).

Since then, he's wanted to return to "Narnia," and managed to get out one other time before MamaLindy changed the dog door's hook and eye to a carabiner lock. The video below was recorded right after she did that (he was a bit bratty about the whole thing).

Now, Yukon wears his collar with tags full-time, just in case.

But he still goes out to the den and just eeks and squeaks and makows for us to come let him out!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

The Mama Bed

Owen's in his favorite bed. 

We call it the mama bed since it looks like him.

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Wednesday Walk in the Weeds

Welcome to Marshwood Cottage where we honor our weeds!

Come on in, we have something to show you...

When we moved to Marshwood Cottage only 16 months ago, it was early spring and the ground was still frozen. Novice gardeners that we are, we barely knew a perennial from a weed.  We felt so blessed at each sprouting plantling and didn't have the heart to pull out or remove anything for a long time.

The most spectacular weed we have is our wild white roses. There are pink ones too, but they are tucked in the back. Tamed and trimmed by MamaLindy, they make quite a show in late June.

The most bothersome weed we have is mugwort. The root system is woody and persistent, but we left a patch next to the garden phlox to hold up the delphinium. 

MamaLisa's most favorite weed is jewel weed. So magical...

Come back next Wednesday for more beautiful weeds!

Disclaimer Alert: Just because I am spouting off names of plants does not mean they are correct (most are sourced through the Weed ID Guide). I claim no accuracy and welcome any correction or advice!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa