I thought there were 5 cats at Art Queen, but today I discovered what Inky's kept hidden from us for 8 weeks. First there is little Inky (Randy named her, he's so clever!) the little girl cat that first appeared here over a year ago as just a kitten. She was Curious George Marmalaid's side kick (George was the tall thin almost 2 dimensional orange tabby cat that got adopted last winter cuz he's so friendly and his new owners down the street didn't want him to be cold in the winter, we were all happy about this). Then this tiny black kitten showed up. George would eat the food me, Bob or Ralph's kids would feed him but he'd always leave some food for Inky. Inky was not as trusting or friendly as George so no one has adopted her yet, except for her fans at Art Queen, where we feed her every day. She's almost tame, she rolls on the ground in front of me and people she knows, and meows and comes in my studio. I can't easily touch her and if I do, she runs away. This past week she's been taking tuna fish and cheese out of my hand, yay, that's real progress!
This is Inky, above. Below is the one remaining kitty from her first litter. Sometimes I call him Tiger. A visitor to Art Queen thought that Tiger was so pretty ("They breed cats to have markings like that" she said) and that maybe she was part Bobcat. I don't think she is, maybe just in spirit. But she or he is so pretty. We can't get close enough to have a look to see if she's a boy or girl.
I have full intension to get Inky and Tiger fixed, but was away for most of July, and after Tiger had been weened (sometime in July), Inky unfortunately got pregnant again. She is now, today, at the point of turning the kitties away if they want to nurse, and the kitties are eating the cat food I sent out for Inky and Tiger. I thought there were 3 kittens, and a few weeks ago I thought none had survived, as they live under a storage shed in Lobby Lu's back lot next door to Art Queen. Today, I was surprised, delighted, and maybe overwhelmed to see one after another, 5 kittens show up to eat from the dinner bowl. They are the cutest things! There are 2 white siamese looking kittens, and 3 black and white.
I have been having fun with my new Palm Treo cellphone, updated and replaced for free about 3 times since I originally won it at the TED Conference in 2003. This new one makes videos and takes much better pictures than the old one. I took all of these pictures today with my phone.
This one (below) is the most rascally and brave. He comes into my studio, was the first I saw to eat food with his mom and Tiger and is the star of the movie below. He looks like he's wearing pants. Maybe he'll be Mr. Lucky Pants. I once wrote a song with that title.
Mr. Lucky Pants
Have you been to France?
Mr. Lucky Pants
Did you buy a hat?
Isn't he the cutest thing ever? Maybe he should be called Batman or Batcat?
What about this picture of Mr. Lucky Pants in the bean bag chair on the Art Queen stage? There's lots of room in that bean bag for some friends for Mr. Lucky Pants.
Here's a look at his pants and with his mom. She's small cat herself, these cats are pretty small but ready to go to happy homes.
These cats are so cute and sweet. I hope to find good homes for all of them. I would have them at home but Randy is allergic to cats. And I don't want them to suffer another cold winter like poor Inky had to by herself last winter. Come to think of it, she found some warm comfort in the big white and black very ferel cat that comes around at night sometimes to see if there's food left in the cat bowls. There always is, I suspect those kitties save some food for their dad. I once saw Inky being all friendly and trying to rub against her man, but he was all business and just wanted to eat.
Bobby Furst came by last week mentioning a great visit to the
American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. I mentioned that his partner Jane a month or so ago had said their cat needed a friend because they had just lost their other cat. I pointed out Inky nursing 2 of her babies and Tiger was standing by. Bobby said he'd love to take the gray one. I asked if there was any way he could take the gray one and Inky, they are such good friends and groom each other and cuddle together. I loved Bobby's affirmative response:
"As far as I'm concerned, I don't care how many cats I have, cat's are easy." I cracked up and he went on to say dogs are not his favorite to live with because they are more high maintenance.
The nice lady on the phone at Northridge Veterinary Clinic in Yucca Valley said to bring in the kittens when we catch them and they'd find homes for them. If you know anyone who wants one or more of these adorable kitties, please let me know.
Here is a video I took tonight. I'll try to take a better one in daylight tomorrow. The kitties are playful after dinner so I thought I'd do an experiment to see if feral kitties know what to do with balls of yarn. It took less than 2 minutes, and they all figured it out.
Look at Mr. Lucky Pants go with that ball of yarn! Well, that's my 2nd blog, thanks for stopping by! And remember, something good's gonna happen to you today!
love, your friend
Shari
We were amazed at the size of this ocatillo, Nancy and Marian remind me of birds looking at this great tree.
