Merry Christmas from Miss Mousie!

Not another picture!

Miss Mousie sends her Christmas wishes to all of you! Last night, she sat next to the tree and stared at the lights and presents. When we woke up this morning, Santa left Miss Mousie a stocking of treats and presents under the tree! 

The photo on the left was taken just a few minutes ago! Miss Mousie didn't want her picture taken, but we told her it was for the blog and she let us take one. But just one!

She is still on anti-virals for her cold/URI issues and they're really helping her. Though she keeps trying to trick us that she's swallowed the pill then a few minutes later will spit it out! We have to watch her very carefully.

Thank you again for helping us get Miss Mousie her TECA surgery.  She feels so much better!

In the series of books I write set on Mount Hood, Christmas Magic is a running thread. Even though we're an hour and a half away from the mountain, I have no doubt a bit of Christmas Magic in September and a lot of love from cat people near and far are what saved Miss Mousie! It's amazing what we accomplished in such a short time! She and all of us are so grateful for your help.

Merry Christmas from all of us!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I like turkey!

Miss Mousie wants to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! She continues to heal and do well, in spite of another cold she caught. Her fur is growing back, too! The picture on the left was taken this morning.

She, along with all of us here, are so grateful that we were able to raise the money for her surgery and that's because of your support and help. 

We hope you have a wonderful day with your family whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving here in the States or elsewhere in the world!

Thank you!

Stitches Out!

Yesterday, the kids and I took Miss Mousie to the Cascade Veterinary Referral Center for what we hoped would be our last trip down there. She was checked by a very nice tech, then taken away to have Dr. Flynn remove her stitches. He then returned with her to talk to us.

Miss Mousie is doing great!

The pathology reports were back. They run tests after the surgery to make sure there was nothing more they needed to worry about. No cancer! Yeah! But she did have an infection deep in the ear canal. The medicine she's still on as well as the TECA procedure will have taken care of that.

But this was an infection separate from the one she had in August. I had no idea. None of us did.

All I could think as I heard this was thank goodness she had the surgery. Poor Miss Mousie must have been hurting so much. So again, a big thank you for all your help, support and donations!

Miss Mousie does seem much happier. She isn't shaking her head or itching at her ears constantly (though she's still in the collar for a couple more days and the stitches/tubes did seem to bug her a bit at first.) She's back to her old routine and running around the house like she always did.

She still prefers to have either her daddy or me in sight. I'm not sure if it's because she can't hear now, but I'm not sure how much she could actually hear before. But we don't mind at all.

She's started sleeping outside her cat bed that we've been using for her since the surger. It made carrying her around and keeping her with us at night easier. She would cry if we left her alone so we just put the cat bed between our heads and she was content to stay there all through the night.

When I was volunteering at the kids school on Monday, she was in the bonus room on the couch with her daddy. Right now she's next to me on the bed.

Her fur is starting to grow back. She was shaved in three different places. But the fur on her head is coming in the color of the Betadine, not white but this sort of rust/orange color. The tech said there wasn't much you could do about it. But Miss Mousie is looking more like herself. As soon as a little more hair grows back, we'll get a picture up! 

The only not good news is Miss Mousie has caught another cold. Nothing serious. It's like the one that postponed her surgery for a couple of weeks. This one is most likely a virus due to stress since she's on antibiotics right now. The surgeon wasn't concerned. Once we finish the antibiotics, I'll contact her local vet if it doesn't clear up.

So that's the news for now! Thanks!

Recovering!

Miss Mousie's surgery went well! We picked her up on Saturday morning. She's going back this morning to have the drain tubes removed from her ears.

Although she is tired, she is happy to be home. She is eating, using her litter box and wanting as much attention as she can get. Yes, she's her same self which is such a relief.

The kids are a little scared of the way Miss Mousie looks. She looks very different with her head shaved, sutures in her ears and tubes sticking out dripping blood. Oh, and she has the dreaded collar on aka the cone of shame. She'll need to wear this until her stitches are removed. But no matter what she looks like, she's still our sweet girl!

If you've been keeping up with the updates on her Facebook page, we've decided not to post pictures of her right now. Cat lovers understand the effects of an invasive surgery like TECA, but we would hate for any pictures to be turned into memes. Miss Mousie deserves better. We are taking pictures to chronicle her journey, just not posting them at this time. We hope you understand.

Also, author Sue-Ellen Welfonder, who has been a key person in helping Miss Mousie, is running a contest in honor of Miss Mousie's surgery. Check it out on the Tartan Ink blog. Click here!

Thanks again for all your support and prayers! They mean so much to Miss Mousie and all of us!

Today is the big day!

Miss Mousie

 Miss Mousie is having her TECA surgery today!

We'll be driving down to Tigard, Oregon in the morning.  It's a long drive. She didn't like the trip when we went for our consultation. She won't like it tomorrow especially since she can't eat breakfast. But we hope she'll be so happy to get out of the car she won't mind what happens next.

 After so much work, it seems a little unreal that the day is upon us. So many people helped us get here: the authors who graciously wrote about their beloved cats, the authors and cat lovers who spread the word about Miss Mousie and the generous people who donated to her fund so the surgery could happen!

If you would like to light a virtual candle for Miss Mousie, one of her cat loving friends set up a page for her click here.

Thank you!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Love,
Miss Mouse, her foster family and the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society

P.S. We will be posting updates on Miss Mousie's Facebook page. But as soon as we're home we'll update the blog, too!

UPDATE:  The surgeon just phoned. Miss Mousie is recovering! Everything went well during the surgery and it's looking good. He went over a bunch of stuff with us, the meds she'll be on, the drains that have to come out next week, etc. He told me to call back later if we want another update. So relieved. Thank you so much for all your prayers and good thoughts!

Miss Mousie at The True Book Addict

Miss Mousie says hi!

Michelle at The True Book Addict gave us the opportunity to tell her blog readers about Miss Mousie on her Cat Thursday feature. Check out the post here.

As for Miss Mousie...

She has finished her medicine for her cold. We're just waiting to hear back from the the WCGHS about getting the surgery scheduled! Once we have that date, we'll let you know!

She's been enjoying the nice, sunny weather in the Pacific Northwest, sunning herself on the cat tree, the back of her favorite chair and in the window.

Thanks again for all your support!

Update

We wanted to update you on what's going on. Miss Mousie still has the sniffles and is on medication so we don't have a firm date on her surgery. We'll post the date once it's definite!

Other than her cold, she's doing great!  Playing and eating and napping. The sun's still shining in the Pacific Northwest so lots of resting on the wide window sill or on the cat tree.

Miss Mousie sends her love!

Woo-hoo!

We have a new total for Miss Mousie's surgery fund: $3639.44!!!!

With the surgeon's 10% discount, we can afford her surgery! We'll let you know when we get the surgery scheduled.

Miss Mousie and all of us thank everyone for their support and donations!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Waiting

We are still waiting to hear how much is in Miss Mousie's account and where we are in regards to the surgery. WCGHS had a big fundraiser on Saturday night so they've been busy. Now that's over with, we're hoping someone will be in touch with us. We've sent several emails over so now must wait.

Miss Mousie says hello to everyone! She still has the sniffles, but is feeling fine. Strong appetite and had a blast playing with her servant, Yoda and Beauty.  Feathers on a string are wonderful things! She is still on medication for her cold as well as the drops for her ears.

Hope you are enjoying your day!

A Birthday Wish

Miss Mousie turned 14 yesterday! Her family thought that called for a cake. Given the choice between a salmon or chocolate cake, the kids chose chocolate. Miss Mousie didn't seem to mind one bit. She seemed to know this was all about her. She actually tried to grab her mommy's piece of cake off the plate. Yes, chocolate was everywhere, including on Miss Mousie's face!

We're not sure what she wished for when she blew out her birthday candle, but our wish is that all animals in need of medical care could have the same support you've shown Miss Mousie. Thank you so much!

Happy Birthday Miss Mousie!

According to vet records, today is Miss Mousie's 14th Birthday.

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!

A Shout-out

Miss Mousie says hi!

We're still waiting to hear where we are with the fundraising. Tonight is the WCGHS Dinner & Auction which is their big fundraiser for the year so they're busy over there.

In the meanwhile, we wanted to thank Lynn Kerstan for giving Miss Mousie another shout-out on Storybroads. You can read it here.

 Miss Mousie is doing well! She's on medication for her cold and loving that her servant is on deadline. Miss Mousie has even been using the MacBook Pro for her pillow! That is when she's not using her mommy.

Have a nice weekend!

The Latest News!

Miss Mousie saw a new surgeon today, who gave us a lower estimate on the TECA procedure. We're waiting to hear back from the WCGHS on how much is in Miss Mousie's surgery fund. That will tell us how much more we'll need to raise, but we're so much closer to getting her surgery than we imagined we'd be after only three weeks of fundraising! Woo-hoo!

Also, Miss Mousie is coming down with a cold. On the way back from the surgeon, we stopped at her vet to drop off her x-rays and get medicine for her. She gets these URIs every once in a while so this is nothing new or worrisome, but we all want to make sure this doesn't turn into something more. Plus, it's better if she's well when it's time for the surgery!

As soon as we have actual numbers, we'll post another update.

Miss Mousie, her foster family, her friends and the WCGHS thank you for all your help, donations and support!

A Diabetic Cat

Elizabeth Ashworth and Clwyd...

The first time I saw Clwyd he was at the bottom of a cardboard box, under a furry pile of his brothers and sisters. I’d wanted a tabby tom for a while and when a friend who runs Blackburn Cat Rescue here in Lancashire in the UK told me that a stray she’d taken in had given birth to kittens, I said I would give him a forever home.

Clwyd & Elizabeth

He grew into a handsome boy and never had any health problems until he was around 13 years old when he began to lose weight and drink his bowl dry. I took him to the vet for tests, convinced that he was going to die. Later that day I received a phone call: “He’s diabetic. He will need insulin injections twice a day.”

“He will get better,” the veterinary nurse assured me as she handed me a needle and a plastic ‘cat’ for me to practise on. She showed me how to pull back the plunger, put it into the vial of insulin and draw out the units. Then I had to push the needle into the fake cat and ease the insulin in. It seemed easy, but plastic cats don’t wriggle and squirm.

Once she thought I’d mastered the technique she brought out Clwyd and I gave him an injection of distilled water into the scruff of his neck. My hands were shaking but I managed it. Then I was handed a bag of needles, insulin, and glucose in case his blood sugar became too low – I was to rub it onto his gums if he seemed ‘drunk’ and disorientated.

The first time I injected him on my own, I cried it was so traumatic. But gradually I became more adept; he became more co-operative; and he began to put on weight again and thrive.

I’ve been treating Clwyd’s diabetes for over four years now. At 17 years old he’s becoming a bit deaf and a bit daft, but he’s still full of life. The injections are part of our daily routine and although he’s had a couple of ‘hypo’ attacks I know the signs now so I can take fast action and hand feed him until he comes around. It does mean I have to watch him carefully, but he is allowed outside. He likes the garden and the sunshine - although he still can’t understand why I refuse to ‘turn off’ the rain.

I sometimes wonder if Clwyd realises that the injections keep him well, because he never struggles now and he loves the cuddles we have when it’s injection time. I would say to anyone who discovers that their cat is diabetic that it isn’t difficult to treat, and that the close and loving bond you have with your cat will intensify. Any pet deserves the best of health care and I hope that funds can be raised for Miss Mousie’s treatment.

Elizabeth Ashworth

Magical Cats

Sofie Kelly and her fictional feline friends, Owen and Hercules...

The first time it happened, I thought I was having hallucinations or even a stroke. I didn’t have a clue how Hercules did it. How could a little black and white tuxedo cat walk nonchalantly through an inch-and-a-half-thick wooden door? Cats can’t walk through doors or walls, can they?

Owen & Hercules

Except Hercules can. On the other hand, Owen, his gray tabby brother, can’t. What he can do is make himself invisible when it suits him. Which is usually when it doesn’t suit me.

As incredible as it sounds, both cats have some kind of magical abilities. Superpowers, if you will. I have no idea why or how. I have no idea if there are any other cats in Mayville Heights that can do the same thing. It’s not exactly something you can bring up in conversation. I can’t invite my friend Roma over for coffee and then say, “Oh, by the way, any of those cats at your veterinary clinic able to walk through walls? Any of them go invisible on a whim?”

I can’t tell anyone. At best I would look like a mentally unbalanced person, and at worst someone would want to know how Owen and Hercules do what they do. I don’t like thinking about what that might mean. Since I discovered what the boys could do, I’ve tried to make sure no one else finds out. Part of me keeps hoping I’ll discover some logical explanation, maybe some kind of genetic mutation, some leap up the evolutionary ladder that explains it all, because there’s really no such thing as magic. Is there?

Sofie Kelly

A Shout Out Update

Miss Mousie helping with schoolwork

Miss Mousie wants to thank Sue-Ellen Welfonder for another shout out on the Tartan Ink blog. You can read Miss Mousie Update (Super News!) here.

Sue-Ellen has been an incredible help contacting authors and telling them about Miss Mousie. The result has been lots of social media shout-outs for our sweet girl!

We so appreciate everyone who has been using their blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter, G+ and all the other sites to get the word out about this blog, the Author & their Cats posts and, of course, Miss Mousie!

And if any authors are reading this, we'd love to publish more Authors & Their Cats posts. Click here for more details.

Thank you!

Squeak!

Barbara Wallace and Squeak...

Two years ago our cat Squeak contracted a cuterebra investation. (Warning: this may gross you out!) The cuterebra is a large fly that lays eggs in the nests of rodents and rabbits. The larva, which look like small worms, hatch from the eggs when exposed to the heat of the nearby animal. Curious cats and dogs can come into contact with the eggs or larva when they explore the nest.

Squeak when aka DK (Demented Kitty)

In Squeak's case she sniffed up either an egg or a larva who then took up residence in her nose. The larva then migrated to her brain where it bore a hole and waited to hatch.

You read that right. Our cat had flies gestating in her brain.

Many exorbitant (as in my husband may never recover) vet bills later, Squeak was cured. But the worms left their damage. The cat that came home from the vet was nothing more than a furry shell. She spent her days staring vacantly at the wall or walking aimlessly in circles. If you picked her up, she went limply wherever you put her. She forgot how to groom. We took to dropping her in the swimming pool to clean the medicine and dried food off her. Worst of all, she forgot how to use the litter box. Instead, she defecated where she slept or walked. We weren't even sure she realized she was defecating. So most of her time was spent in a small contained space. (She didn't notice.) Her nickname became DK - short for Demented Kitty.

The vet told us she'd make slow and steady improvement, but when Christmas came and she still wasn't using the litter box, he told us she probably never would. We resigned ourselves to having a DK for life.

Then one Sunday in January, the strangest thing happened. Our family was busy watching the playoffs when we heard scratching sounds coming from our laundry room. Since the other cat was sleeping nearby, my husband got up to investigate, returning a moment later with a wide eyed expression. "Squeak," he announced, "is using the litter box."

She's been housebroken ever since.

Today, with the exception of a few minor personality quirks, Squeak is a fully functioning normal kitty cat. She's housebroken, social, curious and clean. (She also hates the swimming pool.) If you met her, you'd never know she'd been sick. When I called the feline neurologist (yes, my cat had a neurologist) he remarked her recover was medically significant.

Squeak today!

Why am I telling you this story? And what does a brain damaged cat possible have to do with writing? Well, the answer my friends lies in the second half of the neurologist's remark. He said Squeak's recovery was medically significant because "we don't have a lot of data on brain recovery because most pet owners give up."

The reason Squeak is sprawled on my sofa today isn't because we're some family of extraordinary pet owners (a family of pet suckers perhaps, but that's another story).
No, Squeak is around simply because she was given the time to reach her benchmarks. The exact same rule applies to your career. Since I began writing, I've seen far too many writers - many of them far more talented than me - fall by the wayside because they quit too soon. They didn't allow themselves time for success. They grew impatient or frustrated and cut their career path short.

Waiting for success is like waiting for Squeak to use the litter. None of us know when success is going to happen. It could be one submission away or ten. Best we can do is muddle through day after day, cleaning up messes and celebrating small victories until that one day when, like Squeak's potty training, success just "happens."

By the way – by helping Miss Mousie, you’ll be helping another special cat. Just like writing, great results are achieved when we dedicate our time and our resources. Here’s hoping that next year we’ll be celebrating Miss Mousie’s anniversary.

PS: The top photo is Squeak last July; the bottom one was taken this morning.

Barbara Wallace

A Shoutout with 3 Cats

Writer Melia Alexander has given Miss Mousie a shout out on her blog in a post titled For the Love of Kitties.  You can read it here. I suggest you check it out because you'll also get to hear from her three cats: Alexander James, Bennett Charles, Princess Chloe Marie! So cute!

Miss Mousie thinks they are very nice cats, especially Chloe. Princess kitties are wonderful!

Miss Mousie also says thank you!

The Cat That Won My Heart

Christina Hollis and Magic...

I grew up not liking cats. How could anyone not like cats, you ask yourself? Easy. My fear stems from when I tried to dress a feral farm cat in baby clothes. That was one kitty who was determined not to be pushed around in a dolls’ pram, but I was too young to know any better. I still have the scars.

Magic, a Norwegian Forest Cat

Spool forward a few decades. I’d refused every request from my own children for a four-legged pets. Their record with goldfish and chickens was not good, so their pleas for a kitten fell on deaf ears. Then we had a warm summer followed by a mild autumn, leading to a population explosion in everything small and furry out in the woods and countryside. When the weather turned cold, they all made a bee-line for our stores and greenhouses to nibble away at the seeds and vegetables. We set live catch traps, then drove several miles away to release our haul in the hope the little critturs wouldn’t find their way back. This performance had to be repeated several times a day as mice, shrews and voles can’t stand the stress of being held captive for long. The system worked well until one morning after a bitterly cold night. A bank vole fell out of its trap frozen stiff, poor little thing. That did it. I decided to delegate the task of pest-control officer.

‘We’re getting a cat.’ I announced to the children.

For a few seconds there was absolute silence as they stared at me, open mouthed. Then they saw I was serious, and from that moment on there was no going back. We researched on the Internet and got books out of the library. Pretty soon any member of the family could have taken “Cats And Their Care” as our specialist subject in “Mastermind”. Our first stop was the local cat rescue. They took all our details, inspected us and after a short wait rang with details of a cat in need of rehoming who they said would be perfect for us. We went to visit Tiddles in his foster home, and were greeted by a lovely lady covered in sticking plasters. Tiddles held court in her kitchen. A large bottle of TCP on the draining board should have told us what to expect, but the sight of an enormous one-eyed tom swelling to twice his size with every hair standing on end told us a whole lot more. After saying a swift goodbye to Tiddles we decided on a kitten, so we could teach it good manners before it could learn any bad habits.

Magic aka Pest Control Officer

We wanted something tough but beautiful, and unspoiled by overbreeding. Maine Coons caught everyone’s eye, but the nearest breeder was a long way away and all his kittens were booked up for more than a year in advance. I didn’t want to disappoint the children, so we went for their second choice of breed, a Norwegian Forest Cat. Harry Potter was their hero at the time, so our tiny kitten was immediately named “Magic”. He didn’t stay tiny for long! His parents were both house cats who had never been outdoors, so all our farming neighbours told us Magic would never be any good as a mouser. Cats, they said, had to be taught to hunt from birth by their mothers. Magic soon proved them wrong. From the moment he was first let outside, he has made it his life’s work to keep our grassland free of moles, and spends hours ratting in the neighbour’s stable block. Not only is he a dedicated Pest Control Officer, he’s the perfect house cat too - never sick or sorry, and as keen to be affectionate as we are to make a fuss of him.

Magic is eight years old now, and he’s in his prime. The children never were very keen on cleaning up after him, but he’s such a pleasure to have around that’s never been the problem for me I thought it would be.

In fact I’ll let you into a secret - I’d be lost without him!

Christina Hollis

Some Very Good News!

We received an update from the WCGHS on our fundraising efforts. As of last night we've raised....

 $3109

...for Miss Mousie's surgery.

Considering the donation button went live less than two weeks ago, we're beyond thrilled. It's been a morning of tears—happy ones for our sweet girl and sad ones as we remember those who died on 9/11. But like that day, it shows what we can do when we all come together!

Donations have come in from out of state as well as other countries!

THANK YOU!

A big thanks from Miss Mousie, her foster family, her Street Team and the WCGHS for helping her! We're so close to having Miss Mousie live the rest of her life pain-free!

About the surgery...

Yesterday, a person involved with another local rescue group heard about Miss Mousie's situation and gave us the name of a vet clinic they've used for TECA surgeries. We spoke with Miss Mousie's vet, and he agrees it's worth getting an estimate from them for the surgery. We're working on making that happen!

City Cats

Lynn Patrick and Sheena and Magic...

Sheena was a country kitten before I adopted her during Christmas week 2003. My sister had seen a notice for “free kittens” in a local Iowa newspaper and told me about it when I visited my family for the holidays (I live in Chicago). We drove far out into the country and down a private lane where there was a small house and a kind woman who had quite a few cats and several dogs, all rescues she was taking care of. It was love at first sight when I saw my little orange girl and we brought her home.

Sheena as Pharoah

The next day I took Sheena to the vet for de-worming, ear mites, and shots. I was staying with my mother and I worried that the cat might bother her, so I locked the kitty in the laundry room that night, Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, half-asleep, I woke to hear soft beating on my closed bedroom door. I wondered if my mother was playing a trick on me. However, the soft pounding continued, accompanied by what sounded like “ooh’s” and the door opened after a few minutes. But no one came in! No one human anyway. Surprised, I turned over in bed to come face-to-face with an orange, purring, fuzzy ball of affection. Sheena had come to tell me she was my Christmas present. Though my mother had let her out of the laundry room in the middle of the night and my mother’s bedroom door was open, Sheena knew who her person was and was willing to beat the door down to get to me.

Sheena made the journey back to Chicago in my rental car and has been leaping on my bed every morning since. She made friends with my old kitties before they passed on and trained the new addition to our family, Magic.

Since moving to the city, Sheena has become a bit punk or edgy (note photo of her as Pharaoh) and won a prize from Nicole Hollander (Sylvia Comics). See http://edgycat.com/contest.html

Magic aka Magical Mystery Paws

Magic, short for Magical Mystery Paws, is a large 15 pound torti whom I got from a rescue organization in Chicago in 2006. I found her in a PetSmart with her sister, both several months old. The two kittens had been “donated” to a cat rescue society by owners who brought them in imprisoned in a large bird cage. I adopted Magic that very day and her sister went to another woman with several cats. Once home, Magic liked her new surroundings but was very needy . . . and still is. She will wake up, discover I’m out of sight, and run through the apartment mewing desperately until she finds me. Like all cats, she likes to “hide,” but, unlike many cats, she thinks she’s out of sight if her head is stuck in a blouse sleeve (with the rest of her body outside) or under the bed. Magic helps me write and lies on the desk while I’m at the computer. In fact, I put a box on the desk for her but she’d rather be right in front of me, in place of the keyboard, so we go around and around from time to time as to who gets what space.

I think Magic also likes Country Music, since I woke in the middle of the night one time to find her on my computer desk with a Dixie Chicks CD playing loudly. She had her ears back but wasn’t going anywhere. I have no idea how the CD got turned on – busy paws?

Lynn Patrick

A Rescue Poem

Rachel Kall and Sammie...

Sammie the King Diva

 I have three special cats: Leo (tabby), Willow (calico), and Sammie (black tripod). They’re all rescues, and have touched my heart in so many ways. Each one of them has unique personalities. Today I’ll tell you Sammie’s story. Sammie was a stray cat that I fed for over a year until one day I saw he was badly injured. I trapped him and took him to the vet where they had to amputate one of his back legs. But that didn’t slow him down! Now he thinks he’s a cat king diva who rules the other two cats and the two dogs. Helping animals is very close to my heart. Here is a poem I wrote about animal rescuers.

A Rescue Poem:

 When you think you can go on no more

when you feel you’re at your wits end

of death, desperation, and despair

the eyes of the longing helpless dog

the whimpers of the abandoned kitten

But who speaks for them?

who fights for them?

we are all tired, overworked, distraught and forlorn

but it’s for those who have no voice

those that only have their longing eyes

their special ways

a whimpering prayer

a desire for love

they bring so much to us

and ask for so very little in return

food, warmth, and just a bit of love

we continue to open our hearts

even though we have so little to give

our pockets are empty, our hands are tired, are hearts are broken

and yet

in the end

we still give

we still try

we cannot give up

because in the end

they

the silent ones

are counting on us

—Rachel Kall

More Mentions

There will be a new Authors & Their Cats from new Romantic Suspense Author Rachel Kall tomorrow! In the meantime, more mentions for Miss Mousie...

Miss Mousie loves the sun!

Romance reader "Bookmom" gave Miss Mousie a shout out in her post Another Day Another Cute Picture. You can read it here. You'll also get to see the cutest kitten named Taki.

She got a second shout out from cat lover Bailey on her Long and Writing Road blog in her post My Old Man about one of her cats, Aidan. You can read it here.

Miss Mousie appreciates each and every mention because it brings more people to this blog!

A few folks have been spreading the word to friends and fellow cat lovers by email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We appreciate those efforts so much! Who would have imagined Miss Mousie would have her own Street Team!

Have a great Sunday!

Thanks for the shout-outs!

Miss Mousie has been getting some more mentions out in the blogosphere! She'd like to take the time to thank the following....

Author Roxanne Rustand graciously offered the opportunity for Miss Mousie's servant (aka mommy) to blog about her and the fundraising efforts at All Creatures Great & Small. You can find the post Miss Mousie Needs Help here.

Author Sue-Ellen Welfonder wrote a wonderful post called A Heart For Kitties about Miss Mousie at her blog Tartan Ink. You can read it here.

Have a great Saturday!

Fundraising so far...

Yesterday, I received the total in Miss Mousie's fund...

$790

That's how much we raised in the first week! Thanks so much. This is a great start! And...

Miss Mousie is very happy!

Now to keep it up! Please share Miss Mousie's blog with any cat lovers you know!

Remember every donation will help us get to our goal of $5000. Even $1 or $2. 2000 people donating $2 each would put us oh-so-close to our goal. Each little bit helps!

Thank you!

Two Happy Endings

Patricia Rosemoor and Blossom and Blitzen...

Blossom aka MsB

Blossom, or MsB as I call her, is now eleven. I got her from PAWSChicago when she was five and I was volunteering in Kitty City. I mostly write on my laptop now, and she doesn’t try to get between it and me, but when I use my desktop computer to work on my website or build a new cover, she definitely jumps on the desk to see what I’m doing.

For a couple of years, it was just MsB and me. Then I fostered Blitzen (also known as Bgrrl) from PAWSChicago. MsB retreated to my bedroom, and worse, my closet. But I didn’t have the heart to NOT adopt Blitzen, who thought I was okay but really, really loved the apartment. She was so happy here, I knew it would break her little heart if I sent her back. So, with faith that they would someday become friends, I adopted her, as well, a few days before Christmas.

Blitzen aka Bgrrl

Blossom continued to be moody and reclusive, striking out at Blitzen if she tried to play with her. It was many months later before I found out why MsB had changed so drastically. She was sick. She went into the vet for dentistry and came out with a double mastectomy after they found a lump in her breast - and yes, it was cancer. I didn’t know if she would survive. Now, a year later, MsB is healthy and the girl she was when I brought her home. Even better, she and Bgrrl (who is four) amuse me by chasing each other around the apartment.

I’m so glad I could give them both happy endings.

Patricia Rosemoor

How Dumpster Kitty Helped Me Fall In Love (Again)

Wendy Warren and Phoebe...

In a world of cat and dog people, I am most definitely both. Marrying a man who loves animals was a no-brainer (and the inability to become absurdly besotted by four-legged children was a deal-breaker). When I was twenty-three and met a man who was willing to carry a wounded bird two miles back to our house so we could call a vet and who took it upon himself to drive an especially huge black widow spider twenty miles outside of town so it could live out its life in a field, well… Yes, Reader, I married him.

And then life happened.

When we were in our thirties, my husband helped me care for my terminally-ill parents, three rescue dogs and my father’s twenty-two-year-old cat that regularly awakened us at six a.m. with ear-piercing howls to demand moist food and decided that the stroll to the litter box was too much bother, but that the bathroom cabinets would do nicely when he needed to relieve himself. During a drive to the vet, Snowflake was on my lap, unfortunately facing my husband when he projectile vomited like I have never witnessed before or since. Poor kitty. And, oh yes, poor husband.

It’s understandable, I suppose, that Tim decided to take a hiatus from all dependent creatures: “You can have dogs and cats if you want to, but please do not involve me. I’m done. I’m not kidding.”

I was disturbed. I was disappointed. I was totally disbelieving that he meant what he said. On the other hand, I, too, wanted a break from litter boxes and incontinent animals and things that could die and break your heart.

We still had a beloved dog, but decided No More Cats. Seriously. And, since I had adopted the dog, we’d consider her my responsibility. Tim would be as free as that bird he’d rescued all those years ago.

Phoebe formerly known as Dumpster Kitty

And then came Dumpster Kitty.

DK lived in the basement apartment of the house next door. Our neighbors there found her in a trash can and brought her home, but she was frightened of their cat (and of everything else either moving or stationery), so she spent most of her time alone under the stairs. She was especially afraid of men, so when the couple who found her split up and the woman moved out, DK relocated herself outside to an area beneath the porch--in November, during a series of thunderstorms. She emerged only to eat, darting out from her hiding place, her belly so low to the ground that her “run” looked more like a slither.

“I feel terrible for that cat,” my husband said.

“Well,” I offered, “the neighbor doesn’t really want her. Do you—“

“NO.”

‘Nuff said.

When our neighbor went away for a few days and asked me to put our food for DK, I tried to befriend her, but she was simply too frightened. I gave up.

But one day, when I pulled up to the house after work, I saw my husband crouched on our front porch in a torrential downpour. He was wearing a coat and appeared to be something inside it.

“What are you doing out here?” I shouted, running through the rain.

“Shh! You’ll scare her.”

Dumpster Kitty was huddled on his lap, her huge green eyes staring up at his face, one paw extending lovingly toward his chin.

“How long did it take you to get her to come to you?” I asked in amazement.

“Two hours.”

“In this downpour?”

He nodded, gazing as sweetly at the cat as she was gazing at him. “She’s very gentle,” he murmured. “We’ll need to take her to the vet.”

Dumpster Kitty was a year old then. She’s twelve now, renamed “Phoebe.” Our friends call her “Invisa-cat,” as she still has a tendency to hide and few of them have ever made her acquaintance. She is, however, quite the cuddler when she’s with the family. And her favorite place is still Tim’s lap.

I really love that guy.

Wendy Warren

Two more shout-outs

Miss Mousie wants to thank two authors who mentioned her on their blogs recently.

Ashley McConnell wrote about Miss Mousie in a post called Every little bit helps on her Live Journal blog. Click here.

Maria Zannini, who also wrote this Authors and Their Cats post, mentioned Miss Mousie on her blog in a post title Money For the Kitty here!

The more shout outs we can get the better! If you've mentioned Miss Mousie somewhere, please let us know so we can post a link here. We have google alerts set-up, but sometimes we miss mentions. Thanks!

The Chronicles of Kitty, the World’s Ugliest Dog

Maria Zannini and Kitty...

A tiny kitten showed up on our doorstep one blustery January morning. We were a dog family, and hubby, who’d had a bad childhood experience when a neighborhood cat killed his guinea pig wasn’t going to leave it open for discussion. The kitten had to go.

But it was the weekend, and a winter storm was coming. We had five dogs at the time, two mutts and three Samoyeds who at times seemed more wolf than domesticated dog. Even if I wanted to bring the kitten in, I knew it would be too dangerous with dogs who didn’t even tolerate the neighbors’ cats. So I made the kitten a kennel with big fluffy bedding, and plenty of food and water.

The storm lasted longer than we expected, and every day I became more and more attached to the kitten, now renamed Kitty.

Kitty and one of his pack of pups

By the time the icy weather subsided I decided to take a gamble with a kitten barely three months old.

My dogs have a strong pack instinct. They lived and traveled like a pack and pack law was upheld by our oldest Samoyed, the matriarch, Czarina.

Czar, a stickler for protocol, had one secret that only I knew. She loved mothering little animals. I was counting on that instinct to work for me now.

I ordered everyone but Czarina into the next room. The giant dog lay there, watching me with interest as I brought the kitten in.

I’d know immediately if Kitty would be welcomed and that would decide his fate. The kitten had just finished a full meal and was dozing when I brought him in. Czar who liked to lay with her front paws crossed at the ankles, sniffed the little bundle as I placed him at her feet.

Kitty stretched up and looked into Czarina’s dark almond eyes. He must’ve sized her up as a big wooly blanket because he tiptoed over her paws and nestled in the hollow, purring contentedly. Czar, with all the gentleness she could muster, cradled the tiny kitten as if he were her own.

One by one, I let the other dogs in. Each one sniffed the tiny purring machine. Their matriarch had deemed Kitty one of the pack. And so it was.

Kitty and his bodyguards

Kitty outlived the original five dogs and then befriended a new family of canines—this time—Rottweilers. Now they were part of HIS pack and he taught them the way of the household, the way he himself had been taught years before.

His new sisters turned out to be a bonus too. Kitty was tiny, often bullied by other cats and dogs when he roamed. But that rascal had a wicked sense of humor. He would taunt his bullies until they chased him into our yard—where they were promptly greeted by Kitty’s bodyguards, two 100-pound Rottweilers, looming menacingly on either side of him. That had to be the most well-protected cat on the planet. The girls didn’t like anyone picking on their little brother.

To this day, I’d swear Kitty snickered every time he pulled this stunt.

We lived in a neighborhood full of cats, but that little shivering kitten chose us, the only dog family in the area. I have a feeling, Kitty knew all along where he belonged. All he wanted was a chance.

*****

Miss Mousie needs a chance too. Will you leave a little something for her much-needed surgery? See her story here. Even a few dollars will help. All donations are tax deductible and go directly into West Columbia Gorge Humane Society. Pass the word, friends. We need to help Miss Mousie.

Maria Zannini

Happy Labor Day!

Miss Mousie wishes everyone a Happy Labor Day!

Cats...A Part of Life!

Lucy Gordon and Susie, Nina, and two Berties...

Hi, I’m Lucy Gordon. I write Harlequin Romance, and I’m really glad to be involved in this. I’ve lived in both England and Italy, but wherever I am cats have always been part of my life, although they’ve often had to compete for attention with dogs, whom I also love.

Susie with Lucy

The first picture is more than twenty years old. That’s clear from the fact that I’m using an old-fashioned electric typewriter. As you can see I had a companion who sat on my lap even while I was trying to type. I’d like to think it was devotion, but I suspect she was making sure I kept on working to earn the money for pussy food.

That was my lovely Susie. She came to us because my husband found a kitten hiding under his car at work. She was obviously abandoned so he brought her home and she took possession of us.

Olympic Purr Champion Nina

The black and white cat was Nina, also a stray who decided that we were the ones she wanted to live with. She was notable for the extraordinary volume of her purring. If we were watching TV we had to turn the volume up. It’s a pity that purring never became an Olympic contest. She could have purred for England.

Both Susie and Nina lived to a ripe old age, and left us to cross the Rainbow Bridge only when it was really unavoidable.

Bertie 1

The black cat on the bench was the first Bertie. He was the most adorable animal in the world, endlessly affectionate, always wanting cuddles.

We only had him a couple of years. We were living in Italy (my husband’s country) at the time, but had decided to return to England. We went over to England to buy a house, leaving our animals in the care of a friend, and when we returned to Italy Bertie had vanished. There’s a little more about this on my website.

Bertie 2

In many ways he was my favourite, and when we were finally living in England again I tried to replace him with another black cat, whom I also called Bertie. The second Bertie looked identical but his personality was different. Far from being affectionate he would resist being picked up, and wriggle out of my hands. It seemed that he just didn’t have the loving nature of the first Bertie.

But a couple of years ago we discovered that he has a secret deformity. His kidneys are fused. It doesn’t affect his normal life, but I guess it makes it uncomfortable, even perhaps painful, for him to be picked up.

Bertie 2 at work

After that discovery everything changed. I’ve told him how sorry I am for misjudging him, and promised that things will be different. These days I never try to lift him, but show him affection by stroking and cuddling very gently. And now he returns that affection a thousandfold. He prefers to eat his meals sitting on the desk in front of me, so that I have to stop work to cater for him.

At other times he walks around the desk or curls up on the computer. I can’t help thinking that he’s like Susie, in that he too has made the connection between me working and him eating.

I can’t imagine life without cats. And I hope I never have to.

Lucy Gordon

Miss Mousie Goes Global

Nikki Logan's Isabelle

Information about Miss Mousie and this blog has crossed into the Southern Hemisphere thanks to Nikki Logan! You can read her Authors & Their Cats post about Isabelle here!

A big thank you from Miss Mousie for Nikki's mention on LoveCats DownUnder.

Who are the LoveCats DownUnder?

This comes directly from their blog:

We are 14 Australian and New Zealand category romance authors (some of us for Harlequin, some for Entangled) who love romance and animals equally.

To read the post on LoveCats DownUnder, go here. Thanks!

The Alpha Male

Kay Hooper and Felix...

Felix the Alpha Cat

My name is Felix, and I am the Alpha Male in the multi-cat household of my person, Kay Hooper. I was what she refers to as “one of the original seven,” meaning that when she finished this dream house of hers, there were seven of us felines who moved here with her (plus two canines). I was the Alpha even then, of course, by virtue of my size (18-19 pounds, none of it fat), and my calm but assertive attitude.

Nobody messes with Felix.

Renny the Beta Cat

I am nine years old this summer, a birthday I celebrate with my littermates Renny and Isabel. Renny is Beta to my Alpha, content to be the “sweet and affectionate” one who also takes it upon himself to welcome the (really bordering on too many!) rescued cats and kittens Kay has added to the household over the years. Isabel, far more standoffish, has a tortie’s spitfire personality, is all of half my size – and possesses my meow. Yes, she does have my meow. Something got mixed up in our mama before we were born, and Isabel ended up with my deep-throated, husky meow.

Me? I sound like a squeaky hinge. A small and rusty squeaky hinge. It’s embarrassing! I try not to use my voice very often, but Kay and others have discovered I have a...soft spot...just at the base of my tail, and when they gently pinch, I for some unknown reason have to meow. If I were a mean cat, I’d smack them for that. But I’m not mean. And I’m the Alpha, after all, with an image to maintain. So I merely stroll away without a backward look.

Isabel

Anyway, my duties as Alpha Cat are many, but I make the job look easy. I keep watch from several good vantage points around this large house, from the back of the couch in the living room to Kay’s desk in the study. I’ve never broken anything on her desk, but I do admit to having the knack of napping on just the piece of paper she needs for the WIP. How should I know what’s important? Alpha Cats can do many things, but we can’t read. Is it irony then, that my person is a writer?

I do move when she asks me. Okay, I move when she nudges and pushes and mutters under her breath. Or when she finally resorts to putting on hand lotion. I know, I know, it sounds like I’m a wuss to be driven away by the scent of hand lotion. But it’s patchouli. And green tea. I just don’t like that smell, and she knows it. It’s getting to the point where she only has to hold up the bottle and wiggle it, and I move off her paperwork.

Bandit

One of these days, I’m going to roll that bottle off her desk and encourage the dogs to play with it.

Ahem. I was talking about my job as Alpha Cat, wasn’t I? Right. Right. So I keep watch over this clowder of cats, and I generally keep order. Generally. Some of the youngsters get too full of themselves from time to time, but I usually only have to head in their direction for the fracas to die down quickly. Sometimes the dog Bandit plays referee, bounding into the middle of a melee, which I don’t mind at all. (Don’t tell anyone, but I adore Bandit, who is only a year older than me.) It’s usually a peaceful house, though, especially when you consider how many cats make their home here. And I don’t mind the crowd, really.

Just as long as they remember that I’m the Alpha Cat.

Felix

Shout Outs to Miss Mousie

A couple of Miss Mousie's friends wrote about her on blogs today. Miss Mousie wants to say thank you and tell people about their posts.

Lynn Kerstan, Lymond's can-opener if you've read her Author & Their Cats "Aristocat" post, wrote about Miss Mousie and the West Columbia Gorge Human Society in a post titled Lives In Our Hands on Storybroads. Click http://storybroads.com/2012/08/lives-in-our-hands-lynn-kerstan/ to read it.

Romance writer and cat lover, Bailey Stewart also mentioned Miss Mousie and our fundraising endeavor on her blog, Long and Writing Road. Bailey tells a touching, bittersweet tale about how she knows what it's like to have a cat, in her case the beloved Devlin, who needs expensive medical treatment. You can read her post titled For the Love of a Cat by clicking here.

Thanks again for everyone's support of Miss Mousie. It's much appreciated!

Interview with a Multi-Genre Author

Meet Jane Toombs and Kinko...

Cat's name: Kinko


Sex: Female


Age : 17


How long have you had the cat?: Since she was a kitten.


Where did you get the cat?: Private home. The lady put seven kittens down in front of us and this white calico with the black tail walked straight toward Elmer and me, then sat down to check us over She’d picked us out, so of course we had to take her home.

Favorite pastime: Kinko used to be hang on the back of a wooden chair batting at her tail, She still does this occasionally even as an old lady.

Interesting quirks? Kinko’s not really fond of anyone except us--Elmer and me. She’s learned to be a great traveler in her cat carrier because we always took her when we went places. She’s been everywhere. But she always wanted to be safely in the carrier, never outside it when in the car.

How does he or she like being a writer's cat? She curls up in an adjacent chair so she can keep an eye on me, making a remark now and then so I know she’s still there. She isn’t interested in in what I’m doing, just wants to be close by.

Has he/she ever been in one of your books?: Not her, but I do put cats in my books.


Anything you else you might want to say about your cat or your cat about you? 
Both Elmer and I have been cat people from the get-go. I got my first cat, a black and white tom, when I was four. My father, a Conservation Officer at the time, picked him up in the woods as a half-starved kitten who’d tried to climb up his pants leg, named him Merriweather, because that was the name of the town he was near and brought him home to me. Merriweather grew up, spent nights out tom-catting around and come home tired out. I’d put a doll bonnet on him and wheel him around the house in my doll buggy. He’d sleep soundly all the while. I loved him dearly and I’ve never been without a cat since. And the first story I ever wrote at seven was about Merriweather.

Elmer grew up on a farm where there were cats in the barn to keep down the mice. His mother would let the kids in the family bring kittens in the house to play with, but they always were banished back to the barn at night.

Note: Kinko survived surgery for a cancer on her eyelid three years ago. The vet told us white-faced cats tend to get this from lying in the sun. He removed it without her losing the eye and, yes, it was malignant, but not the kind that metastasizes, thank heaven. He calls her his miracle cat.

Other cats: The only really vocal cats I’ve had in my eighty-six years were Siamese. I loved how they’d talk to me. They were smart as well. I had a big tom named Zorro who once, when we went from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to California for Christmas, we had shut in the basement where his sandbox and food were. We had a neighbor check on him and give him more food while we were gone.

Well, every time the neighbor came in, Zorro would happily greet him at the door as he entered the house. He couldn’t figure this out because he shut him back into the basement every time he left. Once day he pretended he was leaving and snuck back in to stay and watch, Pretty soon he noticed the doorknob of the basement door jiggling. Then it started turning, the door opened and out Zorro came. Checking inside the basement door, he noticed a small shelf with nothing on it right beside the doorknob on the stair landing. Ah, problem solved. Zorro had gotten onto the shelf and learned to paw at the doorknob until it finally opened and out he came. With the door ajar he was free to use the sandbox or eat whenever he felt like it.

Then there was my female Siamese we finally named Kitty because the kids couldn’t agree on a name. After I was divorced and living alone with the kids, who were in school, Kitty decided it was time to have her kittens. They would be Siamese, I knew, because when she went into heat a male Siamese appeared out of nowhere and mated with her before leaving. I was headed out the door, but she followed me, obviously in the throes of birth. So I walked back to her birth box and sat on the floor. She got back in. I thought maybe after she had one kitten she’d be content to stay there while the rest were born. No such luck.

The first kitten was born and she cleaned him up. By then another was being born, a much smaller one than the first, so I figured it had to be the runt. Well, she wouldn’t clean this kitten up no matter how many times I put it under her nose. Three more were born and cleaned up. When I finally again put the poor little runt under her nose after she was through with the others, she finally cleaned him up. Then I gently put him where he could reach a free nipple. He found it and began to suck. After than Kitty accepted him as part of her brood.

He turned out to be a feisty little thing despite having the sniffles, a crook in his tail and crossed-eyes--all common afflictions in Siamese. I wondered later if somehow Kitty knew he was defective. Still, as they grew older, though smaller, he held his own against the tumble mock fights with all his brothers. Yes, they were all males--not uncommon with Siamese litters.

When the time came to give them away, I decided to sell them for a dollar each, which would pay for the ad in the paper. All but the runt were snapped up quickly. I had decided I’d have to keep him, when a woman called me and said she’d been away and she’d just seen the ad in an old paper. Her daughter had been begging for a Siamese kitten, but all they’d seen had been too expensive. I told her about his defects, saying that’s why he was left over. She said it didn’t matter. When they arrived, the little runt, tail up, walked right up to the little girl and charmed her. They left with her cuddling him to her and the kitten purring loudly. I didn’t want to take the dollar, but the mother insisted.

“It’s like he was saved for us,” she said.

Which brought tears to my eyes.

Jane Toombs

Isabelle aka IzzyB aka MissB aka Puss

Nikki Logan and Isabelle...

I'm a blue British Shorthair!

 Hi from Down Under. I’m Isabelle and I’m a blue British Shorthair. Back in the day I was a prize-winning champion for my beautiful features but turned out I had dud kittens and so my breeder took me to the vets to be euthanized (the life of a breeding cat is kinda miserable). Lucky for me the vet was the sister of romance author Nikki Logan and she offered to use the fee to re-home me rather than put me to sleep. Within twenty-four hours I was sterilised and recovering at my new home with Nikki.

That was nearly sixteen years ago now and I’m getting on, but I’m still the same gentle, placid and beautiful natured cat I always was.

I love tummy rubs!

You can probably tell from these pictures what my favourite things are – tummy rubs (the only time my fur is ever shamelessly out of place) and sleeping. If it’s cold enough I even sleep right on my face. I also love food and snuggles. A lot. Dogs, not so much. We have two of them here and they’re like unruly teenagers. Fortunately one swipe of my paw is all it takes to keep them in line. When no-one’s looking I even snuggle up with them but if you repeat that I’ll deny it.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell Miss Mouse to hang in there. It’s a big operation but she’ll feel so much better afterwards.

I sleep on my face when it's cold!

Please donate if you can. I’ve been lucky enough to be healthy most of my life but not all cats are so lucky.

$5000 sounds like a lot but it’s not really when you think about how many people have years and years of enjoyment from their feline friends.

Anyhoo, that’s it.

Look me up if you’re ever down under. Or you can look Nikki up from wherever you are – www.nikkilogan.com.au She’ll pass any kitty fan mail onto me.

Isabelle (Logan)