Last day of February and the holiday continues..

I would just like to wish my Mother a very Happy 75th Birthday Today.. from myself and all of our furry friends...
(Left) Marcel always wanted to have his very own treehouse.... 'This will do quite nicely... Yes, indeed!' I think he likes Erin's handiwork...

(Left) Abraham (dark tabby right), we were warned, is a very aggressive kitty.... as you can atest to from this picture...the day after he arrived for the first time.... Here, he's being very 'aggressive' with Ti-Min... another big marshmallow boy! Both very gentle...

(Left) It says Kitty Hawk.. but I don't see a Hawk... Well, ok. I see a Juliette (tortoise shell) inside of the airplane.... I love her markings... I always call her 'mon petit hibou'.... (my little owl)... owl... hawk... kinda the same...

(Left) On top of our tractor sits the crazy little Apollo (orange tabby)... Over the engine sits our new little friend Caramel (dark tabby/white), and even though you can't see his perky little face... Ti-Min sits below.... He must stay very warm down there... so close to the motor...!

Everyone relaxes in anticipation of the weekends new arrivals...

(Left) Kuzia is another one of our international arrivals.... He's recently moved to Canada from Greece... Handsome big boy...

(Left) Squeak (front bed) and his sister Mouse (closer to the wall), share a bunk bed... You don't normally see them close together like this... Mouse is usually found up high somewhere... where she can watch the world go by down below... Meanwhile Spartacat (on floor), the white and orange kitty quenches his thirst....







(Left) Iris (grey tabby) just went home this week... She got quite cozy with Kima (dark tabby)... Our girl Kima doesn't usually like other female cats... but the two got on well... It was Iris' first visit..

(Left) Gorgeous Girl Gingko winds her way through the overhead tunnel system in the carpeted tree forest.... I've had many a chat with this little one.... she teaches me something new each and every time...

Celeb animals - Adam Sandler's Matzoball

I just returned from San Francisco late Monday night. On my flight back, I had the chance to talk to my first 'celeb' animal... and decided that funny man Adam Sandler probably has a very interesting dog, named Matzoball...

I talked to Matzoball the day after the Oscar's... He said he was feeling 'tired, not bad' because of a late night. Seems they 'entertained lots of guys, friends, family, entertainers, performers'. He described himself as 'funny, playful, soulfoul, hard to catch, fast little legs, run fast, like to go fast. Where? anywhere, car, walks, runs... He listed his favorite things as 'go fast, go anywhere, and meatballs, beefy ones. He also liked pickles, dill kosher as well as cake, cream, coffee flavour..'

He didn't like flying in planes that much saying 'they're floaty, not safe, scary really, high up, no where to land sometimes.' The city that he liked best was 'Sacramento. It's fine. It's the place for me. I feel myself there.'

When asked if he liked meeting famous people he said 'not really, not my kind. Why? 'not grounded, too silly, full of self. I asked what he meant by silly? He said 'no substance, airy, could float away... I asked him to explain the last one, 'nothing to keep them down on the ground'.
I asked if he felt that way about all famous people and he said no. He explained that he liked 'the Sandman'.. I asked who that was....' patriarch of family'. He also liked Mischa Barton saying that she was very kind and caring.

I asked him what it's like living with such a funny dad like Adam... 'fine really'. I asked if he wanted to expland on that.... 'not at all'.

I asked if he liked his name Matzoball? He said 'not at all'. Why not? 'Would you like it? It's insulting, making fun of my size, don't like that!' He said the names he'd prefer are : Elijah because it's 'strong, warrier like, tough' and the name Roman because 'strong, true, dignified name, it has a past.'

I asked him about his health. He told me he gets 'migranes'. Why? 'sun, when there is none, pressure builds up, makes it hard to see'. Other health issues? He said 'my heart, skips beats all the time, murmurs, fluctuates rhythm'. I asked him what he though about that? 'scares me sometimes'. Was there anything we could do to help him? He said 'not much can do for it, live with it.'

He gets sad when 'he's left alone, excluded in the house... Excluded from where? 'not my place, bathroom mostly, hardwood.' Taking baths makes him laugh because he can splash about, make a mess, a big mess.'

He's scared of people 'jumping out of cakes'. Why? 'shocking, didn't expect it to happen.'

I asked him if he wanted to ask me anything? He said, 'where are you?' Told him I was in a plane. Why? He said 'hard to see you'. Can you hear me ok? Yes. I asked, Can you see me? 'kinda, I can make you out'. What do I look like? 'pretty, kind, in dark, smile all the time.' (I didn't have the overhead light on as I was talking to him. I was writing but didn't realize how dark it had gotten outside. It was late & we had been flying back in timezones too. It's true. I had been talking with him for a good 1 1/2 hours and had been smiling the whole time because he was very charming).

I asked if there was anything that he wanted to tell his dad? 'You are fine the way you are. There's no need to change a thing. You'll love what's coming next!'

Visions of warm spring sunshine dance in their heads...

(Left) Spike (fawn tabby) plays 'cool cat' on the top bunk beds... This is one of his favorite spots to hang out, often with his cousin Angus or with his brother Apollo (orange tabby below).

(Left) Celeste (grey tabby) has found a few new favorite spots to relax... she jumps back and forth between this treehouse and the 'Catmastree', only a few feet away.... She's another kitty that loves height.








(Left) Apollo (orange tabby) likes to get a good stretch in... 'I'm sure I can reach those plastic baubels....breathe in and stretch out.... repeat if necessary....

(Left) Little girl Dixie (grey tabby) has sure grown a lot since we first saw her at Christmas.... It's her first time meeting Mynx (black) above... We have lots of orange and black cats in right now...

What's new!

Well, we're already nearing the end of February, if you can believe that!
We are completing our third month of our Monthly Art Contest... There is still time to submit art work for it.. details are available on the blog homepage or on the website homepage, as a printable pdf... February's contest is Animal Graffiti.... Lots of fun entries already in!

Erin and I are always surprised to hear about some of the unique work that our customers do.... This made us think.... wouldn't celebrity animals have interesting lives to!?!

So, we'll be starting a new blog feature. I'll try to get one or 2 celebrity animal chit-chats posted on this blog each week.... If you have a particular celebrity animal that you'd love to know more about, send us the name, the questions & a pic of the animal, if you can scare one up....

I'm not interested in knowing about the celebrity... that would just be invasive and none of my or our business... but, wouldn't it be fun to hear the animals views about such things as the parties, the travel, the jetlag, the celebs that they met & liked the best/least, and why.... You get where I'm going with this...

Some of the animals that I'd like to start with are Adam Sandler's dog, one of the Queen's dogs, Jennifer Aniston's dog, Paris Hilton's dog, Cesar Milan's dog .... etc... oddly enough, it's much easier to get pics of celeb dogs than it is their cats.... I guess that makes sense... it's harder to take a cat for a walk....

Anyway, let us know your thoughts on this or even, on the blog, the Art Contest, our kennel or our services... We're always striving to improve on what we do... so, suggestions are key... good & the bad...

Thank you for your continued support and interest in the Pet B&B,
Melanie, Erin and all the furries...

Sunday. The day of rest and play...

(Left) Kitty looks all 'Zen'ed out on her snow covered tree top... I'm half expecting her to extend her front right arm forward and her back left leg backwards towards the wall... into a yoga pose... She was probably just waiting for me to leave before she did it... concentration is crucial to being able to hold that pose.... It's tricky enough to do on the floor... !

(Left) Oh, Besha.... Are you sure that you're not related to Percy...?!? Little miss adventurous... here she comes...

(Above) Sophie the schmooze... Yep! That's what I'll call her from now on! Sophie the Schmooze!

(Left) Clint, maybe it's time that you took up yoga or meditation... You just need to learn how to relax a little more!!! Just kidding... this young lad could teach us all a thing or two about having fun & being in the moment...

What's a 'catbird' you ask!

Friskie's mom wrote me to tell me that she planned to write a blog entry, on her family's blog (listed under our follower's as 'The Benny's, (little white puppy pic) . She mentioned that Friskie had seemed to learn a new language after his last visit ... I didn't understand what she had meant by that until I had read her own blog entry.

We hear back from our customers sometimes about their cat, usually a single cat in the household, and usually only after a first time visit, will, on occasion, wander about the house for a night or two making the weirdest calling noises. In most instances I can relate this to the lone cat looking for and calling his new buddies... It stops after a night or two...

While I was writing to Friskie's mom in response to her query, another funny story popped into my head that I had forgotten about and relayed it to her....

We had an African Grey parrot that would visit us regularly with her sister, a little grey cat. The parrot would be housed in her own room, physically separated from the group cat play areas but she was, at all times, within view and earshot of them.

After one early on visit, the parents of the two animals called us to book another holiday. Dad explained that after they had brought their 2 home from the Pet B&B the last time, his parrot had started doing new things... He told me that she had learned a handful of cat meows and even had mastered the art of a 'cat hiss'.... He said it was the darndest thing during their first couple of days home after that visit. They kept hearing a cat meow and would, each time, go to see if their cat was ok! .....That is, until they realized the meowing was coming from their parrot...

I heard her 'meows' myself, when they returned on their next visit. It was a busy day for pick-ups and drop-offs. They had just arrived with their parrot and kitty. We had their bird, in cage, on the floor, just inside of the front door. The door bell rang again and we opened the front door to allow more people to enter... Sure enough, we heard cat meows, but they weren't coming from up the stairs... It was very funny. This is when 'Dad', the funny guy that he is, started calling the parrot a 'catbird'.... So, there you have it! Kinda makes you wonder how 'catfish' came to be!

This is being polite!

Don't get the wrong impression here... these cats are not sticking their tongues out at you.... au contraire!!! They are merely explaining to you about the wide selection of foods that you are likely to encounter while you stay at the Pet B&B...

(Above) Kiwi is more into her dry foods...

(Left) Our girl Sophie... well.. lets just say... If it once moved... it's her favorite!!

(Above right) Ella likes her fancy feast the best...

Normally, we supply most foods for your stay... unless you're on a veterinarian food or a more obscure brand of organic, holistic or raw food diet... then, we would ask you to supply it at check in.

What is on Zeus' mind ?

Q. A lady wrote me with a picture of her handsome big dog named Zeus. She had a few things that she wanted me to ask him: Would he like them to adopt the foster pup that they are currently caring for? Does he mind all of the fostering that they do at the house? How is his health and his quality of life? Is he in much pain?

A. He was expecting me to talk to him. I asked him what his strengths were telepathically.. He told me 'heart, seeing, sensing...' In that order.. I asked him if he could see me while we spoke.. He said that he could.. I've heard that from many animals... right down to my red painted toes... I know, it is kinda hard to wrap your head around... Anyway... on to his mom's questions:

She said he was having health issues but didn't wish to elaborate... He told me re his quality of life ' fine really, I'm not too bad, not too hard to get around, bit hard to get up sometimes, my hip gives out on me sometimes, but not for too long. I manage. I adjust. I asked him about other health issues... ' I'm calm all the time'. I asked about his hips... ' up and down'.

Re: the foster pup: 'not bad all the time, he's fine, he's a bit of a brat but he's fine. He just wants to play. I asked if he'd mind his family adopting the pup full time? 'not fine. too much... what? time spent with him, not enough left for me.'

I asked if he was in any pain? ' arm, right side/ hip joints/ back feet joints. He didn't know what was causing the right arm pain... He thought his hips were 'old age I guess', His back feet joints? 'being outside, stiff/sore, not pleasant, stay off the hard ice & snow, It cuts my feet, makes them worse still'.

Do you mind that your family fosters so many animals all the time? 'Yes. Never alone. How do you mean? I just want to rest sometimes. Be all alone, no headache, no fussing around. He explained, ' the fosters, they take time to settle down'.

I did a Reiki scan of his energy (distance) and found a build up of blocked energy/heat, on his mouth, both ears, his left shoulder/elbow and ankle, both hips down to the feet, more on the left side than right.

I did a Gestalt scan on his body and energy (with Gestalt I actually jump my consciousness into the energy of the animal... always with consent first. Very important). With a gestalt scan, I can feel what's going on in the animals body, on me... ie. If he has a headache, I feel it on me...

I felt that Zeus had physical heat inside of both ears, running between them and , to a lesser extent, to the throat.. the 3 areas seemed to be connected...
I felt weakness in both of his front paws/wrists, not pain.
There was some pressure in the top half of the front of his head. There was a sporadic pain that started from the outside of his left eyebrow and moved up and across to roughly the line of the inside of his left eye... a definite line.
He had a discomfort along his back that started at the front shoulders and got worse at the back hip joints. He had tightness in his shoulders.

Sunlight, Camera, Action... That's all it takes ...

(Left) There she is... Lexus, on the right... hangs out with Kiwi... Lexus is the sister of yesterdays big Himalayan boy, Oliver....

(Above right) Being goofy in the driver's seat is Squeak... He just returned on the weekend with his sister Mouse.. Who you can just barely make out in the far background ... in between the two, we have Spartacat... He's been coming in for about 7 years already....almost since I opened..

(Left) Percy, Percy, Percy.... You do provide much entertainment for the other kitties... Missy D.(dark tabby with white) ,on the top stairs, and Kiwi (solid grey), to the back of him, each 'keep 5' on him, to see what he'll do next...

(Left) Looks like Percy has met his match here.... Besha tore across the room and jumped at the scratching post that leads to one of the tree houses... He wasn't expecting that... you can tell by the surprised look on his face.. These two are great buddies... along with Kiwi & Clinton... they can chase each other around for hours in the morning...

Weekend Orientation pics

(Left) Kuzia (dark tabby on floor) gets adjusted to his new temporary digs... It's his first time in.. He's keeping a watchful eye on our little friend Percy (on top of the orange train).... 'Was I really that small once?!'

(Left) He's only a year old but our big Himalayan boy Oliver, seems full grown already... Looks are deceiving..As his family say, he's mostly fur... This is his first time in too... He's accompanied by his older sister Lexus..








(Left) Then, we have orange Oliver, in the spaceship.. He has been in before... he knows Pegu (in the background) from previous visits and he met our firecracker Percy at Christmas time...

(Left) Cozmo (grey/white) loves height... you'll almost always undoubtedly find him over your head somewhere, unless he's sitting in the window suntanning... in the phone booth, we have Bella (dark tabby) . It's also her first visit at the B&B... she's verrry friendly and chatty...

We've got a whole lot of hair going on this weekend!

So many long haired cats in this weekend.... We have Maine Coon types, Himalayans, Persian, Ragdolls and many long haired domestics....

(Left) The race is on! In the yellow 'Herbie car' we have Maddie at the wheel.... Neck in neck with her, is Kitty (on the right).... She's come up from behind and appeared out of no where.... a few short days ago! They have both put it in park... while they catch some rays!

(Left) Little cutie Luna (window) hangs out with one of her new buddies Clint (grey tabby) while Kinou (black) curls up in the back bunk beds with her big Happy Face!

(Right) There's our boy Harry again... That's a bit of a balancing act .... If he moved up one spindle on the ferris wheel he wouldn't have to work so hard to not slide off.... but... he wouldn't get such a great view of BigBird2! It's all about compromise with these guys.... weighing the advantages vs. disadvantages... they are true masters of all things strategic....

(Left) Besha/Bella, she goes by both names.... gives us her curious look.... 'What makes you visit me down here in the kitchen cupboards while I get ready to nap?' It's hard to get a shot of her not moving about... her personality is part puppy... If you're looking at her and you stop... she heads for you... or, If she's sitting relaxing and you go near her... she rolls around with her feet in the air... This may look like a simple picture of her... but, it was no easy task to accomplish!

Can you find the grey cat?

(Left) Our handsome boy Cozmo came back in for the weekend... Here, he's checking out what's new since his last visit.... 'Did you always have flowers up there?!' I don't remember them...

(Left) Playful Marcel runs around and rolls around on our entrance rug.... being a complete ham for Erin & I while we hung out and played with him...

(Left) If you said that Pegu (chocolate Burmese) wasn't a grey cat... then, you've pretty much solved the mystery... Here, he climbs down one of the spaceship's carpeted ramps, that ends at the window ledge... another one of his favorite spots to relax.. (and eat)..

(Left) Kiwi (solid grey) cat and Clint (grey/white tabby) discuss BigBird 2... and, seeing as how it is Clint's first time in, he gets Kiwi's recommendations on her favorite things to do when she visits us...

We have even more grey cats than this in right now.... and dark tabbies... lots of dark tabby cats....

Happy Valentines Day from all the kitties to you!

(Left) Muted calico Luna got herself a little suntan this morning while her pal Harry (white/orange) at the farther window had a few snacks...

(Left) Iris sits very contently watching all of the new cats arrive this morning... She was a new cat yesterday.... Doesn't she look cute beside more of Erin's handy work? I'm telling you... Art Contest!! Come on girl!





(Left) Our young friend Percy is back.... and there's gonna be action!! This picture was taken about 20 minutes after he arrived this morning... He's already re-acquainting himself with BigBird2... ( Who seems to recognize him from Christmas time).

(Left) Clint (grey tabby front) and Besha (Ragdoll) behind him, are already getting a neck workout as they watch Percy virtually fly through the air from the suspended space ship into the airplane above them....

I'm sure we'll see more of Percy as the weekend progresses...

It's chill time at the Pet B&B..

(Left) Rags took a high up perch to watch the other cats playing with mice toys on the floor below....

(Left) Maddie (dark tabby) rides on the tractor engine while her short haired counterpart Lily steers from the back.... Just a note to mom & dad.. No, Maddie didn't jump up there herself... or get down by herself...Not to worry! I think Erin had a helping hand in this picture....

(Left) These two definitely got onto the tractor by themselves.... Eins (dark tabby) in front and our little ham, Ella... all passed out on the driver's seat pillow..... First shy... now, she's in charge!!

(Left) Abby loves to 'keep 5' on BigBird when she's got a bit of free time... Every so often, she'll crank her head right over the edge and check to see that BigBird is still alright... Thanks for your help, Abby!

Look at all the cute kitties!

(Left) Kinou(black) poses intently for the camera... She's just a tiny little one... but big on personality...She loves the corner bunk beds each time she's in...

(Right) There's our friend Ella again... First, she hides from the camera... and now she's a complete ham..! Very cute miss Chat Chat Ella!

(Left) Morning always calls for some light stretching and robust cardio....On the chair is Punkin (orange/white kitten)... Far right is his brother, Rags (Ragdoll)... Front left we have Casper, while Harry peeks through the cracks around BigBird 2's birdhouse door... Our feathered comedian has climbed down to tease him... He likes exercising his funny bones...often!

(Left) Abby is our poster girl for the 'No Dogs Allowed' poster behind her.. She's about 2 1/2 years old now... Wow, that went fast! and she's still a goofy little kitten.. too much fun, this one...

Oh Bull! I mean Monkey...No, wait.. I mean Bull!!

Q. Another of my customers had adopted a 2nd cat, a stray. Much work was put into finding his original owners but nothing turned up... That is, until many more weeks later, after her new cat, whom she named Monkey, had installed himself very easily into her life, alongside her much older female cat named Zena.

In the end, the original owners, once they saw how happy he was in his new family, agreed to let the woman keep him for good. She was curious to find out from Monkey : If he understood that his old family hadn't forgotten about him and how did he feel about his older, somewhat cranky new sister. She also learned that his original name was 'Bull'. (Left) A picture of Bull hanging out in his favorite spot at mom's place, at home.

A. Monkey was a chatty little guy. He told me that he prefers his old name 'Bull' because 'my name, it's me, I like it better.'

He understood that his old family hadn't forgotten about him but felt he was happier with his new situation. He described his old family as ' not for me, not my kinda people, not friendly with me, not caring for me. He was quite clear that he didn't wish to go back.

I asked him to describe his new living situation. He said his mom was 'better, more kind to me, pampers me a lot, all the time, spoils me, dottes on me, all the time. He described his somewhat disagreeable older sister as 'she's fine, she's ok, she's tough sometimes.' His mom thought that he may be a bit afraid of the older female cat. He said 'not really, she's a toughie, but she's fine, not harmful.' He described his new life as 'fine, peaceful, comfortable, more stable, less rocky, less indecision.'

He described himself as 'brave, witty, smart, intelligent, cosmopolitan. I asked what he meant by that. He said 'a man that knows... what? about life, about people, knows who you are... Explain? a thinker, a hard learner, wise, wisdom.'

What makes you happy? Being outside, being along side the road, being inside, safe and warm and loved by mom every night.'

What makes you laugh? Being outside, squirrels, they run and hide from me. I chase after them, I get them, they're good, I let them go. I asked, so why do you catch them if you're gonna let them go? It's fun. I asked if he ever ate a squirrel? He answered. Not. Why not? 'smelly, not ripe, I let them go. It's better for them.'