Red Silhouettes

ONE...

TWO...

THREE...

BAAMMMM!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

What We Do During a Blizzard

Cats can not go out into the cat enclosure during a blizzard!

MamaLindy shovels a path around the yard for little dogs.

Howard loves the snow!

Rex says being outside in the blizzard takes a lot of energy and snuggling in Howard's pants is nice and cozy. 

MamaLindy provides indoor recess fetch!

If you can't play the embedded video, go right to Youtube HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

It's Time for Lunch!

No, not prisoners...

Every morning all the kitties go into the bedroom so that Snafu can come out of his room, have a peaceful breakfast and spend some one on one time with me.

Then, when it's lunch time, everycat is ready to come out and eat!

We're hungry!!!

By this time of day, Snafu has found a napping spot that is out of the path of other kitties, and the delicate balance is maintained.

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Prizes in the Mail

The kitties of Marshwood Cottage won the Giveaway sponsored by 15AndMeowing.com and were very intrigued by the smell of this neat little package!

Penny and Angus were the first on the scene.

When I opened the package Penny took first rights of inspection as befits her queendom.

Owen, of course couldn't resist wanting to know.

But Penny made it known it was her nip mat until she was finished.

After Penny gave it up, Wizard had a look-see.

Then finally Owen got his chance.

I didn't realized Angus was waiting patiently in the wings for his chance...

to abscond with the whole mat!

Angus wasn't taking any chances...

He wanted to inspect the mat in private!

No teeny tiny sniffy sniffy for Angus!

He wanted the full nip mat experience! Look at those glowing eyes in his reflection!

Penny eventually found him out and took back her rights.

So Angus did the next best thing and played with the packaging!

A big thank you to 15AndMeowing.com for the fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Whiskers of a Tuxie on Wednesday

Look at Joseph's beautiful whiskers!

Well, today is October 1st and we had an appointment to bring Joseph to Pal's No-Kill Cat Shelter.

We couldn't do it.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited the shelter and was amazed at how many cats they had living peacefully in one huge cat room. They have an outdoor enclosure and a special room for peers and cats with special issues. A young woman was there just to snuggle and be with the cats and another woman helped me by answering a ton of questions. While I am grateful this shelter is doing everything they can to make these kitties happy and get them adopted, I felt it had to be a last resort for Joseph.

Joseph's spirit would not thrive within the accommodations for cats who do not like other cats. Two cats fell into this category, and they were in 24 x 20 metal crates. One was a tuxedo male. They did have clean litter, food, water and a nice bed.

Joseph currently lives in our workshop and is visited 4 times a day.

Above is a picture of the workshop with Joseph in the window. It was taken as I was coming back from taking the dogs for a woods walk.

Say hello!

Here is his view out the window (with his own bird feeder).

Inside, he is so happy to have visitors.

We play for a couple of minutes and he shows off his climbing skills by going up to the loft.

He has his own special room where we secure him in at night.

It has his food and water up on a shelf with a special drawer bed stuffed with old down jackets.

But Joseph's taken to sleeping in his chair with an old down sleeping bag draped over it.

About an hour or so of each day, he gets transported to the cat enclosure for time outside (he's always talking).

He loves to use our shoes as a scratching post (in a friendly way).

Many people have assured us that cats will do well outside in the winter as long as they have good bedding (ie. down jackets and sleeping bag).

Joseph is doing well with our accommodations, but he still would like to be with people, so we continue our search for his forever home.

Here is a fun video of Joseph walking the rafters while we play.

Click here if you can't play the embedded video.

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Vulture Cat

Vulture Cat waits patiently for Slowest Cat Ever to finish eating.

And he waits...

Finally, Slowest Cat Ever finishes! 

and Vulture Cat can make his move!

D'oh! 

Foiled by Opportunist Cat! 

And the moral of the story is...

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

Dogs of Marshwood Cottage: Cooper

Since we have four dogs in addition to seven cats, dogs are a very important part of life at Marshwood Cottage. It is long overdue for us to formally include them in our daily Cat of Nine Tales posts. 

We begin in order of their seniority (age).

This is Cooper, our 15 year old Jack Russell Terrier.

He’s been DP’s heart and soul, and inspired her to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer.

In his long and eventful life Cooper has been an Assistant Carriage Driver with DP when she drove a carriage in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

He was a professional model for Pet Edge pet supply wholesaler where many of his shots from 10 or more years ago can still be seen.

Cooper was a muscular and agile star athlete... 

kept buff by running in Flyball Tournaments for several years.

You can see him run in this video from 2009 (turn your volume down!).

He even earned his “Iron Dog” status for running Flyball for 10 years!

Cooper’s won many titles in Obedience Trials and was a Therapy Dog.

Today, Cooper is retired from active life. He has mellowed a lot!  Since he is 15 years old, he is going senile and has become a bit "lovably" goofy. He is now earning many new titles like "Old Man," Gramps," and "Cooper Magoo." 

Although the former athlete is arthritic, mostly deaf and mostly blind, he still enjoys a couple of walks a day in our woods and lives for treats.

Thanks for reading about Cooper!

We'll feature our other three dogs in the days ahead.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lisa