Samoa came into our life in April of 2015.  She was rescued by a dear friend from Slavic Village, along with her four kittens, whom we named Ginger Snap, Peanut Butter, S’mores, and Thin Mint.  S’mores is the only girl and her tortie markings look just like her Mom Samoa!  Ginger Snap is an orange tabby, Peanut Butter is white with orange tabby markings, and Thin Mint is solid black. This first photo is from our first meeting with Samoa and her 2-day old kittens. The second photo is just a week later, and her kittens have grown so much that they look like they are smothering her tiny 7-pound body.

In addition to her own litter of four kittens, Samoa cared for four “Cowboy Kittens” (Cassidy, Clementine, Harlee, and Sadie) for a few days until their Mama Mae West was rescued, and could resume her motherly duties. Mae West was particularly elusive, and now resides with a dear friend.

No sooner than Mae West began nursing her four Cowgirls, than a 2-day-old kitten abandoned by his mother was found in the Waterloo neighborhood. We named this kitten, Snickerdoodle, and he was readily welcomed by Samoa into her little family. Snickerdoodle is mostly white with orange tabby markings, and closely resembles Peanut Butter, so he really looked like part of the family!

Finally came the “Charlie Angels” kittens.  Although Jaclyn Fluff, Farrah Fluff Major, and Kate Fluffson did not resemble Samoa or her own babies, they were also lovingly accepted by Samoa and treated as her own. The three black and white tuxedo kittens were rescued from the home of dear friends who have their own little feral family in their garden. By rescuing the tuxie girls, the hope was to give them safe and loving indoor homes, so they were rescued as young kittens close to weaning so they would be easier to socialize.

Samoa was a good Mom (and surrogate Mom) to a total of 12 kittens … patient with her kittens’ antics, and training her babies how to be Good Cats.

While confined to the “back kitten room” (back bedroom), Samoa gradually became comfortable with Sue and would allow Sue to pet her on rare occasions. Samoa would rub against Sue’s legs and was pleased to accept treats. However, Samoa was still easily startled and would hiss loudly when Sue or David moved too quickly or without advance notice.

The orange marking over her left eye made Samoa appear as if she was always raising her left eyebrow at us, as if to ask “What now?”

Over time, after Samoa raised her babies and they started to get adopted, we let her into Gen Pop (gave her full run of the house) with The Furry Bambinos.  Samoa was still a foster with us, and would hide when we needed to take her to adoption events.  Finally, David stated the obvious as we rode to the third consecutive adoption event without Samoa because we could not catch her.  “We may have just adopted our eighth Bambino.”  Shortly thereafter, we discussed it over dinner and concluded that she was happy here with us.  “Let’s just adopt her.”  And that’s how Samoa officially became a Furry Bambino, in early 2016.

Samoa (aka “Shmo”) fit in with The Furry Bambinos very easily.  She seemed content to be the low girl on the totem pole of the cat hierarchy.  She stood in the background and didn’t seem to care if she was the last one to be fed treats.  She never started fights, and always used the litter boxes.   She regularly helped the other Bambinos on “Bird Patrol” and “Squirrel Patrol” from her favorite position in one of the “tubes” of the cat furniture.

She also liked to explore.  A few times a week we could guarantee hearing a loud “thump” coming from the basement.  It was usually Samoa landing on the washing machine after jumping down from exploring the crawl space under the family room. She would emerge with her whiskers covered in cobwebs, then dash off upstairs.

For a long time, she would only eat breakfast by poking her head out from the chair covers in the dining room.

But over time, Samoa became more comfortable and would eat out in the open.  During our morning feeding routines, she began to occasionally brush up against David’s legs, and he got so he could stroke Samoa across her head and back after giving her a food dish.

The rest of the time, Samoa usually kept her distance from us.  If we came within more than 24 inches of her, she would abruptly dash off to another part of the house.  She would sniff a hand extended to her, but we had to move slowly, or else risk a loud snake-like hiss of fear before she dashed off. There were a few rare occasions that Samoa would snuggle with Sue on the sofa.

Samoa made friends with Panda Bear, our friendly tuxedo cat.  All the cats in the house, and especially our fosters and former fosters, love Panda Bear.  Samoa would walk beside him, brush up against him repeatedly, sleep beside him in the front window or on Sue’s legs on the sofa, and eat next to him.

In Samoa’s last nights with us, we had her sequestered to a large cage in our family room so we could closely monitor her and care for her.  Panda Bear walked into her cage, and even in her weakened state Samoa reached her head over to brush against him.

Samoa also had become a play friend for little Farrah Fluff (another new Furry Bambino, c. 2016).  Samoa and Fluff would chase each other the length of the house, back and forth, chomp on each other and bunny kick each other’s heads, and then dash off with wild abandon.  They both seemed to enjoy the play time.

On Sunday evening, the night before Samoa passed, Farrah Fluff reached a paw into Samoa’s cage to tap (maybe pet?) Samoa on the head, and then came around from another angle to tap her friend on the side.  Fluff was obviously checking in with her friend to see how she was doing.

We are so happy we chose to adopt Samoa.  We were honored to have been Samoa’s guardians for the relatively short time she was with us. We did our best to keep her well fed, safe, and happy despite her efforts to avoid us.

We wish we had known earlier that she was ill.  Cats have a way of hiding their illnesses until it’s too late to save them.  It’s so frustrating to know we might have done more for her.  We had her at the veterinarian on Saturday, and by late Monday afternoon she was gone. Sue has the lyrics of the Hall and Oates song “She’s Gone” running on a loop in her head.

It’s amazing that such a little cat could leave such a big hole in our hearts.  We hope that Samoa will be waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge. When we get too close, she will probably dash off to hide.  So long as we see her there, that’s all that matters.

Until we meet again, Sweet Samoa.  We love you!

He is One Who Came Before.

You might even call him The Original Furry Bambino.

Today is the Anniversary (#21) of his Gotcha Day, back in 1991. This photo was taken sometime in 1991, which would have been soon after he came to live with me.

Today is also the Anniversary (#10) of the Day Mohawk left us for The Rainbow Bridge.

One date, that is both a happy and a sad reminder of Mohawk’s Magical 11 Years with us.

When we adopted Mohawk from my friend Lynn, she mentioned that “Mohawk likes bread”. She said it almost as an afterthought. What she really meant was:

No bread or pastry will be safe in your home from Mohawk.

When I first understood this translation, I was bringing groceries inside, soon after adopting Mohawk. Before we finished unloading the car, Mohawk had already sniffed out the grocery bag with the bread in it, chewed a hole through the plastic bread bag, and was busy nomming on the bread.

Another time, I learned that Mohawk also had a taste for fancy Greek pastries. There is an annual Greek Festival held at a local Greek Orthodox church, and we make a point of visiting their bakery for baklava, spanakopita, and other delicious pastries. We brought the pastries home to our apartment in the white cardboard bakery box, and left it closed up on the kitchen counter overnight. Big mistake! The next morning, the box was on the kitchen floor, and the pastries were strewn about and nommed upon.

For dinner tonight, we had Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, one of Mohawk’s all-time favorite people foods.

Well, not the noodles so much, but the yummy cheese sauce! It was tradition to give Mohawk our bowls for clean-up. The hard part was convincing Mohawk to wait until we were done eating before starting to clean up. In this photo, you can even see Mohawk’s stripe! It grew out by the time he was one year old. (Please ignore the hideous 80’s style glasses. Admit it, you wore them that big too.)

Sunny, Sky, and Padre share Mohawk’s love of cheddar cheese.

Mohawk enjoyed Cheetos, too. (Great, now I’m craving Cheetos.)

We miss you, Mo. Love you always.

Clyde was a Big ManCat.

BIG.

He was sweet with a gentle soul.

Forever Loved.

Forever Missed.

Until we meet again …

As regular readers know, all of us Furry Bambinos are former foster kittehs. Padre, my biological sister Meerkat, and I were adopted in October 2007.  Cookie and Caramel were Mom and Dad’s first attempt at fostering in 2009. They joined the fambly, but since then we have had lots of fosters come and go.

I, Panda Bear, am the President of the Furry Bambino Welcoming Committeh. I am the first Bambino to befriend the fosters. Caramel and Cookie are next to accept the newbies. Meerkat is always LAST to accept the fosters. Usually, she bops them on the head and gives them a hiss. Padre, big ManCat that he is, is usually AFRAID of these pipsqueak fosters, so he avoids them.

The fosters LOVE me. Srsly, they do. Why wouldn’t they? The second I walk into the foster room, I get swarmed by itteh bitteh kittehs. Here, I am teaching the tots how to get your nip on. That’s Sunny, Sky, and Hunter observing closely.

They watch my every move. That’s Silver, Sunny, Hunter, and Sky.

Here I am trying to enjoy a good look out the front window, while standing on the bar stool. That’s Hunter paying homage to me.

Dad even made a short film, depicting my groupies in action.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIINXGZ3m5s

Honestly, ya’d think I was Justin Bieber or something.

We Furry Bambinos got together and decided to give Mom a wicked cool present for her birthday this year. This is when we got it home from the store and are inspecting it for defects. Cookie is on the top shelf, Caramel is checking out the enclosed part, and I am snoopervising:

Next, Padre and Caramel gave it a good sniff:

Then, Padre gave what was left of the dangly toy a thorough workout from the front:

And then from the back, sneak attack style:

After his thorough inspection, Padre declared the birthday present acceptable.

I really don’t think that there is room for the both of us. I think Padre needs to get down.

Since it’s Mom’s birthday, I decided to be nice and got down instead. (Note that Mom reattached the dangly toy.)

After passing inspection, we put it where it is going to live. This is Caramel showing Mommy how to use it properly. I am snoopervising.

In this photo, I am demonstrating to Mommy another way to use her gift:

Happy Birthday Mom!  We hope you like your present!

Mom Here: I would like to thank the Bambinos for their thoughtful birthday gift. It will allow me to have my computer chair back!

On my birthday, I like to phone my parents at the time of day I was born, and wish them a Happy Mother’s Day and a Happy Father’s Day. Luckily I was born at a reasonable hour to call! Happy Mother’s Day! Happy Father’s Day!

All three of us spent some time living out of doors, so there are many things for which we are very grateful: safe shelter from the elements, fresh food and clean water whever we want, cozy napping spots, love, and most of all, our friends in the Blogosphere!  As elder statescat, and resident padre, I will be leading the group in purrs and purrayers as we give thanks for all the blessings in our lives.

So please join us for a day of celebration.  There will be food, and nip, and toys, and games, naps, and fellowship.  Plus, if you want, you can  visit The Apostles (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Joann), through the baby gate.  They haven’t been to the V-E-T yet, so sniffing only please!  Mom says that it’s OK to SQUEEE, though!

Today is the anniversary of the day that Clyde came into our lives, back in 1992.  We adopted Clyde as a tiny kitten, and compared to our other cat Mohawk, Clyde was “little one”.  Clyde soon outgrew Mohawk, weighing nearly twice as much!

We adopted Clyde on a sunny spring Saturday.  David drove while Clyde frantically tried to get out of the cardboard carrier box.  When I let Clyde out “just for a minute”, Clyde immediately scrambled over to David and climbed into his lap.  Clyde loved David completely from Day One.  He loved me, too, but he had an especially strong bond with “Daddy”.  He always had such a sweet expression on his face.

Clyde taught us how to play fetch with him.  We got a yellow plastic spinny toy that looked like a wheel out of a cereal box.  When we rolled it across the floor, Clyde would go running after it, retrieve it in his mouth, carry it back to us while yodeling (“mrrooww, mrrooww-ooo”). Then Clyde would drop his toy into an empty Kleenex box.  That was our cue to congratulate him and then send it spinning again across the room.

Clyde reallly liked to help me with my classwork. Although I worked full time, I occasionally took some classes at the university where I worked.  Clyde would assist me while I studied.  This photo is Clyde posing with a college dictionary.  Note the serious expression on his face.

We originally adopted Clyde as a companion to our cat Mohawk, but Clyde soon asserted himself as Top Cat.  Despite this pecking order between Mohawk and Clyde, it was Clyde who was the timid one when guests arrived.  Clyde would make himself scarce as soon as the apartment buzzer rang.

Clyde really liked to spend time with us, and would follow us from room to room.  Luckily, Clyde usually would sit nearby, rather than ON our lap.  He was just too big for my lap!

Clyde also liked to assist with laundry.  We have lots of photos of Clyde in laundry baskets, among clean laundy.  This photo is one of our favorites.

In the picture above, you can clearly see Clyde’s white “foofles”.  Foofles are the area on a cat’s face just below the nose and above the upper lip.  Clyde’s foofles are white.  Clyde’s other really cool facial marking are his extra set of “eyes” above his real eyes.  When Clyde’s real eyes were closed, it looked like his “extra eyes” were open.  Clyde’s “extra eyes” are the white and black markings just above his real eyes.  See what I mean?  Do any of you tabbies out there have “extra eyes”?

Clyde was an unusually talkative cat.  He especially enjoyed conversing with us while we prepared his meals. In fact, his whole mealtime routine made Snoopy’s suppertime dance seem pathetic. Clyde would begin by rubbing up against us, sashaying back and forth, and rubbing the can of stinky goodness with his chin.  He would sing to us, and when we responded with a comment or question, Clyde would continue the conversation.  We had to feed Mohawk and Clyde separately because Clyde would just about inhale whatever we fed him, then go after Mohawk’s food.  Dr. Keith, one of the V-E-T’s the kitties have seen, refers to this as being a “food bully”.  But he was just a really big boy with a huge appetite.

The Furry Bambinos have Clyde to thank for their own adoptions.  After Clyde went to the Rainbow Bridge in February 2007, it took us awhile before we were ready to consider adopting again.  We made a visit to our local PetSmart to flirt with the kitties in the adoption area.  That’s when we saw Padre.  Because of his resemblance to Clyde, we were all mushy about him.  Diana, one of the PAWS rescue group’s volunteers, and Padre’s foster mom, asked those famous last words: “Would you like to pet him?”

We fell in love with Padre, but remembered our desire to adopt two siblings.  Enter Panda Bear and Meerkat.  Panda Bear, always the outgoing one, pawed at us through his cage.  When we opened the cage door, Meerkat hung back, but Panda Bear literally leapt into my arms.  We were not sure we wanted to go from having zero cats to having three cats.  The main concern I had was would the three cats get along with each other.  The main concern David had was would my allergies and asthma handle such an abrupt furry transition.  We debated and discussed, went for a drive, came back later, and filled out the application to adopt all three kitties.

So it’s because of Padre’s resemblance to Clyde that The Furry Bambinos are now part of our fambly.  Thanks for indulging me while I honor Clyde’s memory today.

daddy helped us shop for cards and gifts for mommy. today i will show you what we gived her.  in this picture, padre is sniffing our birthday cards and gifts.

panda bear is protecting mommy’s gifts and cards.  (well, i think he’s actually squishing them.)

i checked to make sure that daddy wrapped everything all good.

here i am with all the cards we gave to mommy.  starting on the left is my card to mommy, next to that is panda bear’s card, then padre’s card, then a special card sent from the rainbow bridge from mohawk and clyde, and the card on the right is from the outdoor critters that mommy feeds (mr. chipmunk, mr. mousie, the squirrel septuplets, mr. skunkie, lil’ opossum, and da birdies).

panda bear’s card looks just like him!  with one eye and a goatee!

i gave mommy sticky notes with my picture on them. well, not really my picture, but another kitty that looks just like me.

this is the magnet we gived mommy.  she put it on the cold box!

mommy liked this gift best of all – a great big hug!  (you can tell from my expression that i am just humoring her cause it’s her birfday.)

check out the great scarf that we gived to mommy!  it’s a cat blogosphere scarf!

mommy loves her scarf!

panda bear looks very stylish in mommy’s scarf, too.

now, some entertainment for mommy: a quick game of bitey!

daddy calls mommy ladybug (ewww) so he gave her this ladybug toy that moves all by itself.

panda bear decided to give the ladybug the bitey.

that’s all for now! off to nap to conserve energy for tonight’s activities: more bitey, and maybe a round of mouse patrol.  oh, and maybe we will sing to mommy.

This is a picture of Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris’s wedding cake:

The oversized cupcake as the top layer is because Aunt Patty LOVES cupcakes!

The “M” and the tiger on the next layer from the top are for the University of Missouri. Uncle Chris will start work there soon, and Aunt Patty will go back to school there. The tiger is the university’s mascot.

The Sticky Little People (and they really are Sticky and Little People) represent the children where Aunt Patty used to work. Aunt Patty was the director of the children’s art studio at the Carnegie Museum of Art. She recently quit her job because she and Uncle Chris are moving to Missouri.

The cats represent our feline cousins: Muse (tuxedo girl), Rainbow (calico girl), Cinnamon (orange tabby male), and Toast (orange and white girl). The woofie on the bottom layer is our new woofie cousin, Bruiser. He is a beagle / basset hound mix, from a Pittsburgh rescue organization where Uncle Chris and Aunt Patty volunteer. Rainbow, Muse, and Bruiser live with Aunt Patty, and Cinnamon and Toast live with Uncle Chris.

The bicycle is because Uncle Chris likes to bicycle.

This is a picture of Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris cutting the wedding cake:

Grampa (Mom’s Dad) gave the blessing at the start of the wild party wedding reception:

Aunt Patty is holding her “gong” which makes sounds like a drum. She used it to get everyone’s attention. Aunt Patty was thanking everyone who came to their wedding and wild party reception. She was also telling all the Sticky Little People that there was an arts activity table where they could have fun, instead of being bored listening to grown-ups talking about boring stupid stuff:

Uncle Chris has two younger brothers, Steve (left) and Peter (right). Peter was called the “Best Man”. The lady is Andrea, Steve’s wife. They are having fun blowing bubbles.

Dad’s parents were also invited to Aunt Patty’s wedding. This is a picture of Mommy and Daddy posing with our other Gramma and Grampa:

Check out all the loot Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris got! I wonder if they got any catnip? Mom says I have to mention that the “card box” was made by Mom, Dad, and Gramma (Mom’s Mom). It’s the thing that looks like a cake. Whatever.

Mom said that she had fun dancing to music that she and Aunt Patty used to go out dancing to: Yaz, Erasure, Nitzer Ebb, Prince. And Mom said that a few people at the wild party reception had too many niptinis and acted silly.

Next time we will tell you all about the fun we had with Aunt Deb, who visited us and took care of us Furry Bambinos while Mom and Dad were at Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris’s wedding!

Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris got married last friday in a very large, very special church called a cathedral: St. Paul Cathedral. it is in pittsburgh, pennsylvanicat, which is where mom’s fambly lives, and where mom, Aunt Patty, and Uncle Jim grew up. This is a photo of the outside of St. Paul Cathedral:

this is a photo taken inside the church. note the beeyootiful stained glass windows:

mommy had a funny title: matron of honor. she wore a scooped neck, sleeveless, knee-length, sable (brown or taupe depending on the light) dress. the dress has a petal pink bow around the waist.

Aunt Patty was escorted down the aisle from the back of the church by Uncle Jim. midway down the aisle, Grampa joined Aunt Patty and Uncle Jim, and the three of them continued up the aisle to the altar. Jim removed Patty’s blusher veil, Jim and Grampa gave Patty kisses, and then Patty joined Uncle Chris.

this is the part where the priest says, you may now smootch you may now kiss the bride. you can see Patty’s bouquet of calla lilies very well in this photo.

this is right after the priest introduced Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris as a married couple for the first time. Patty is looking toward the camera, and you can see how very happy she looks. you can get a good view of Patty’s gown and headpiece in this photo. Patty’s gown is a deep ivory strapless a-line gown with rouching around the waist. Patty wore a matching Juliet cap with a veil that Gramma sewed on just hours before the wedding! Doesn’t Aunt Patty look just beeyootiful?

this is a photo of Gramma and Grampa with Aunt Patty in the church after the wedding ceremony was over. Gramma and Grampa look very sweet posing with their younger daughter. Aunt Patty is wearing Gramma’s borrowed pearls from her own wedding, 42 years ago!

some of the photos were taken outside the church. this is the wedding party, including mom, Patty, Chris, and Peter, the Best Man. Peter is Uncle Chris’s youngest brother.

Aunt Patty and Uncle Chris planned to walk from the church to the reception, about five city blocks away. so they got started walking. mommy said that Uncle Chris’s outfit was called “a three piece tuxedo with tails”. funny, he doesn’t look anything like panda bear or any of the other tuxedo kitties i know! where are his tails? and why would he have more than one tail?

however, it was sunny and about 90 degrees F (about 32 degrees C) on their wedding day. after they walked about a block, Uncle Chris said he was too hot, and Aunt Patty said that her feeties hurted. so they were escorted from the church to the reception in mommy and daddy’s white room that moves. mommy and daddy call it a “honda civic” (whatever that means).

ok, that’s all for now! next time, panda bear will tell you about their wedding reception! be sure to come back to see photos of the best wedding cake ever!