Trying My Hand at Memes: Not Worthy

Remember "Wayne's World" on SNL (and later, movies)? Well, every time my cat takes a nap, she's not only adorable, but also "not worthy":

Reflections and Kitties for the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge

I love animals! This is only my second time doing the challenge with this blog (I also have my main blog), but it exists partly because of the challenge. My main blog exists because of the challenge, and I had also wanted to start a pet blog because I love animals so much. So, the challenge was the main thing that pushed me to actually get it started, because I thought it would be so much fun to put up all my cute kitty photos with a purpose behind it.

The rest of this entry is basically a copy of what I put on the reflections post on my main blog, plus a cute kitty photo at the end:

This time, however, I did have some trouble. just a couple of days after the challenge began, I had to take my mom to the ER. I was visiting her in the hospital every day for a while, then brought her home, where I had to take care of her and handle much more than I ever had before. It was very nerve-wracking, and scary.

During all of this, everyone has been telling me that I had to take care of myself as well, so doing the challenge was part of that, even though I missed a few days. I really enjoy doing these posts, so it's more fun than work for me. My day job is in computer engineering and software engineering, so this blog is just pure fun for me. So, even though I missed some days, I thoroughly enjoyed the days in which I participated, even if it was sometimes difficult "doing something for myself."

Miss Kitty has a black chin, which gives her what I like to call her "oops face"

Z is for Zippy

Cats can zip around like lightning when they want to. This usually happens all of a sudden, without warning, and sometimes at odd hours. Does that make them a little Zany as well? Possibly!

Y is for Yogi

Cats love yoga. They just don't know that it's anything special, or that some humans strive to do it well, or that it's even a thing at all. They're just trying to be themselves, which means stretching and grooming. What they know doesn't matter though, because they are just so darned cute when they do it, especially that famous downward dog position. I even have a paper towel holder that my mother gave me for Christmas of a cat doing my favorite kitty yoga pose.

X is for X-Factor

Kitties have that "thing" that makes us love them more than most humans. Who can resist such an adorable face?! And those sweet purrs! And those talented grooming positions! And that climbing ability! Yep, cats have it all.

W is for Warm

Kitties love to be warm and cozy. Once in awhile, they will go out in the cold to play, or even in the rain if they are the adventurous type. But they're favorite spot is on a warm lap or a soft blanket. They love to luxuriate and snuggle together or with their favorite human.

V is for Vocal

Some cats are very quiet nearly all the time, but some can be extremely vocal. My most vocal baby is G.T. When it's time to eat, he yells out to me, and I'm not the only one who thinks it sounds like he's yelling, "MOM!!! MOMMMM!!!" And then when he's just talking to me, he makes a sound similar to "mama, maaaamaaaaa!" That's when it's time to go give him snuggles.

U is for Unknown

So many kitties out there have yet to be discovered. Some are born in the wilderness and will never be known by anyone. I'm just happy that my babies are no longer unknown to me. My family and I are so happy to know them!

R is for Remarkable

All kitties are remarkable. Just think about al the little things that make a cat what it is. Every cat has a very distinct personality. Every cat has tremendous hunting capabilities. Each one can climb high into a tree, and jump from fairly high places. Each kitty has its own individual markings with slight "imperfections" (which of course make them even cuter and more perfect to us).

Q is for Queen

If you have a mama kitty, you will soon learn that she is queen of everything. She gets exactly what she wants at all times, and will complain bitterly when you mess up. And somehow, this is endearing, and you love your mama baby (not to be confused with baby mama) even more for it. For me, this mama baby is Miss Kitty.

P is for Playful

Anyone who knows anything about cats knows how playful they can be... even with living rodents! It's the one thing that turns my stomach. Thankfully, two of my cats don't like to play around with their food, so they make it pretty quick and just chow down. Yuck!

O is for Odd

Cats can be a bit odd at times (or all the time), but that's exactly what makes them so wonderful. I know my life would be much more boring without my cats. They give me daily entertainment with their constant oddball antics and originality.

M is for Mama

Miss Kitty is a most impressive mama! When she was starving to death, she would catch rabbits bigger than she was and jump a six foot fence with them in order to feed the kittens she had stashed in my side yard. When I found the six kittens, I saw that they were all fat and happy. Now that's a brave mama!

L is for Lazy

Most cats have one or more complete freak-out phases per day (or middle of the night), but most of a cat's day is spent lazing away. Ah, how nice it would be to be a well cared for cat!

I is for Iridescent

If you've owned or seen a lot of cats, you may have noticed that some of them seem to shimmer in the light. I'm lucky enough to have two of these iridescent babies.

Gracie has silver-tipped fur and appears to have a halo around every part of her body. She's my little angel girl! As she walks through the light, her halo shimmers. It's especially noticible when the room is dark and there's just a bit of dim light shining.

Tippy doesn't have the silver tips, but he has a very shiny coat of pitch black fur. Just look at these gorgeous babies!

F is for Fat

When a cat or dog is spayed, there is a chance of the poor baby becoming fat. That is much less likely to happen if the animal is young enough to have never gone into heat or have babies.

Unfortunately, that can be impossible with a rescue. Still, it's better in the long run than the complications and certain illnesses that are more common when a cat or dog is never spayed.

Miss Kitty was a rescue who was starving to death. Well, you can see that starvation is no longer a problem. Now comes the hard part of controlling her diet even though I have multiple cats. I have separate bowls for each of them, but I unfortunately have to sequester some of them while eating, or take the bowls to them and watch them eat, picking up the bowl when another cat walks over.

B is for Boisterous

Cats can be boisterous, but dogs even more so. Especially puppies. These images of Reggie (in the Wookiee halter) and Angel (in the red halter), my mom's new puppies, speak for themselves, so I'll keep the text short and sweet for this one.

A is for Angry

Sometimes cats can be angry, especially when they get sick and have to be temporarily kept in a small enclosure.

GT (Giant Teensy, because he looks like a giant version of Teensy) was a stray who was constantly trying to pick fights with all the other strays in the neighborhood. I finally trapped him and took him to the vet. I had him neutered, but he also had lots of injuries, and also tested positive for FIV. I couldn't believe it when they asked me if I wanted to just have him put to sleep!

Of course, I couldn't do that. Some FIV+ cats can live full long lives, into their 20s, as long as the disease does not progress. It's also not extremely contagious, as it usually takes a deep bite to pass it on between neutered cats. However, since he's a bully, I have to keep him in an enclosure.

I'm very happy I saved this baby. That initial test isn't even conclusive. You have to have a more comprehensive test to see if the cat is truly FIV+ (he is, but not all are). I tried to find him a home or sanctuary, but couldn't find anything that would work out. So my solution was to build a nice huge enclosure where he can stay permanently in the fresh air, and put him on an expensive FIV medication. He now has a nice weather-proof heated tent, fun scratch posts and places to climb, and a nice roomy litter box. He has also turned out to be quite sweet and cuddly. His highlight of the day is cuddles and rubs and ear scratchies. Whenever he needs a hug, he just yells out to me... it literally sounds like he's yelling, "Mom! Mom!!"