Progress!

Styx:  As you can see, I have been making great progress! I actually managed to sleep right next to Stygia the other day. I don't think she was exactly excited about it, but she was very tired, didn't hiss, and didn't move away. I, myself, was very happy about this occasion. I hope for more.

As you can see, I also rest near Abby (I'm on the blanket on top of the couch). She also did not move away, which is new. We play together pretty often. Sometimes we get rowdy very late at night, which inspires Ms. C to get up and write about us. Tee hee!

I am also helping Ms. C with her new artwork. The paints Mr. R ordered for her for Christmas finally all arrived, and so she has begun to work.  Wouldn't you feel a lot better about work or anything you do in life if you had this view all of the time? 

Stygia: Bastet, grant me the serenity to accept the cats I cannot change, courage to chase the ones I can, and wisdom to know when to stop so Ms. C does not get out the squirt bottle again. 

TY + TC

Stygia: Thanks to all of you generous kitties, woofies, and people who have sent your pictures to Ms. C so she can practice and build her art portfolio. We promise to keep everyone up to date on her progress. If you missed out on the original request for pictures, we are still accepting them! See the latter half of this post for details.

Abby: I have been inducted into Cliff and Olivia's Tail Chasers Club! Isn't that a cool logo? You can also click on their header to read the rest of their blog -- Olivia looks remarkably like Stygia. I would have to chase her as well as my tail AND Stygia! Whew!


Just in case you need some proof that I love to chase my own tail, here it is:


Hope you are all having a good week. Poor Ms. C is under the weather with the 'flu but she has some good books and US to keep her company, so don't feel too bad for her.

An award/meme & call for pictures!

Abby: We received this award/meme from Tama-Chan and Tom of The Poupounette! Thank you, friends.

The "rules" for this award and meme are as follows:

"When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to said person so everyone knows he or she is real. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have 7 friends. Show the 7 random victims’ names and links and leave a harassing comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Weblog.” Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. List at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on! "

So, keeping in the tradition of Tama-Chan and Tom, I shall first post an "honest" picture of myself before telling you some more about myself:

1. I really like tissue paper. I like the way it sounds, the way it crackles. I love it when Mr. R brings out the cat toys and dangles them around, because I will make sure I dive under the paper as loudly as possible before staging my attack on the toy.
2. I do NOT like having my tail touched. I do NOT like being scratched above the tail. Don't do it. Just don't go there.
3. I don't like treats of any flavor anymore. Not even Temptations. I used to gobble them up when I saw Styggie getting some, but I'm older and more selective now about what I eat.
4. I will not sit in anyone's lap.
5. I'm really a coward. Even though I may end up initiating play and wrestling with Stygia, I am usually the one who is on the run by the end of the game.
6. I get really concerned for Ms. C when she is doing that thing she calls "singing." I show this by getting close to her face and trying to touch it. The louder she sings, the faster this happens.
7. I do not like being brushed.
8. My purr is frequent but so quiet, you'd have to touch my throat to know that I am doing it.
9. I am allowed to sniff anyone, anywhere, anytime. However, you are not welcome to sniff me.
10. Ms. C is my favorite.

Stygia: Now it's my turn! Here's a picture of me:

1. I am not completely a black cat. I have a very few white furs on my chest, like a tuxie, and a little white spot on my lower belly. Shhh!
2. I want to eat whatever food Abby eats except for that gross moist tuna stuff she gets at 4pm every day. After she gets that, I follow either Ms. C or Mr. R and get 5 chicken Temptations instead! Yum!
3. I weigh 11.1 pounds according to the vet, who weighed me yesterday.
4. I only weighed 7 pounds when I first came to live at my new forever home.
5. It's a good thing I have gained this weight, because I need to hold my own against Abby, who weighs about a pound less than I do. You see, I don't have front claws. Ms. C and Mr. R would never declaw a kitty, my previous owners did, but I need the weight to intimidate Abby.
6. When my tail fluffs up, it looks like a pipe-cleaner.
7. Sometimes I like to sit right behind the tower of Ms. C's computer because the fans blow out that nice warm air, and it feels so good.
8. I get more hairballs than Abby even thogh her hair is longer than mine, because I refuse to consume that malt hairball solution they offer to me. Yuck.
9. I roll repeatedly to show my love for Ms. C and Mr. R.
10. I love butt-scratchings and brushings!

Now we must nominate 7 blogs. This is always the tough part! Today we are going to nominate:

Tristan of Tabbylicious
Siena and Chilli of Cat with a Garden
Poppy Q
Angus Mhor
Mr. Black and Elvis of The Kittini Boys
Rosie of Louche Tabby
Gandalf and Grayson's Mom

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Ms. C: I am attempting to build my portfolio of pet portraits. And I could use your help. Here are two I've done:

This is a watercolor portrait I did of IKKYU, who has since passed over the bridge.


This is a pen and ink drawing I did of Abby:
I am trying to build my portfolio of pet-portraits so that in the future, I can someday create them professionally. What I am hoping is that some of you will be generous enough to allow me to draw or paint your pets. I work in a variety of media, including those you see above, acrylic, and digital work.

What I need from you is a clear picture or pictures of your pet that you took yourself. I cannot work with professionally taken or otherwise copyrighted works unless you own that copyright yourself. You must give me permission to use your photo as part of a portfolio that I can share with prospective clients. I agree not to use your photo and resulting artwork for anything other than advertising my services.

I will be accepting photos for this project until March 1st, 2009. I cannot guarantee I'll use every photo I receive; I will be selecting the ones I feel the most comfortable with for the artwork.

Please email your photos to tabbynormal at gmail.com ... If you do not have a digital copy, please contact me at that email address to make other arrangements.

In return, if I select your picture, I will provide you free of charge with a fine digital copy of the artwork that you may use however you wish as long as I get credit for the creation of the original artwork. You can use it on your blog, print out cards or posters with it, alter it, and so forth. No one else is allowed to use the artwork without the permission of both of us. I will also send you the original drawing/painting if it's done in physical (non-digital) media such as watercolor or acrylic, provided that you pay the postage.

I don't know how long it will take me to complete this project, and I don't know how many pictures I will be able to select. I estimate that it is a project that I will continue work on throughout the rest of 2009. Part of the idea of this project is for me to get some practice, so if you submit a picture to me, please have some patience with me! =)

Thanks so much in advance for your support, and I look forward to working with you.

PS. ANY kind of pet is welcome: cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, ferrets, snakes, and so forth (no pet rocks!) If you are not sure about it, just send me an email and ask. Unlike Abby, I don't bite.

Friends on Friday: Honoring IKKYU

Ms. C: Last summer, I had the very great honor of meeting IKKYU, the beautiful Abyssinian of noble attitude and dignity; he owned my friend Ms. V who writes for Sen-Chan and Tom of The Poupounette. Today my thoughts are of him and with my friend, for a year ago today he passed over the rainbow bridge.

IKKYU had not been feeling well for some time, but being the lovely caring person that she is, his #1 Ms. V provided him with all he needed to be able to enjoy his last months. The day I first got to meet him, he was having a really good day. I'd been hearing all about IKKYU for years, and to finally have a chance to see him in person was really exciting! When I went home, I began a sketch which evolved into my first watercolor painting in several years, I think it really captures his spirit:

I warn you other kitties out there, some of the following pictures are probably going to make you drool!

One thing about IKKYU was that he was pretty much a one-person cat. There was no short-cut to winning his affection, he simply had to decide for himself how he felt about a person, and no amount of savory treats could really change his mind (although they would certainly be accepted). He let me scratch between his ears while he was enjoying the cheese I'd offered to him, and did not hiss. When I suggested to Ms. V that perhaps he did not hiss because his mouth was full of cheese, she laughed and said, "Oh, believe me, he'd hiss if he wanted to!" So it seems I was more acceptable than most! Here he is acquiring a piece of cheese:

He was WILD about ham! Ham, glorious ham! As you can see, he was very happy to accept a piece from me:

What a beautiful cat! He was an excellent model for me on the days that I saw him.

He allowed me to get very, very close to him, which was unusual for him.


You can learn more about IKKYU and what a super kitty he always was (and see more fun pictures!) over at The Poupounette today. I am so glad I was able to meet him before he took his final journey. I am sure somewhere he is waiting for the rest of us with a world of ham and cheese! We miss you, IKKYU.