If I go too long without updating you on the backyard cats, you start emailing and asking about them. So it’s about time for another update. Remember Mocha? I’ve shown you his Before (long-haired) photo, and his after (shaved) photo, but I don’t know that I’ve ever shown you what he looks like in-between. He goes from white to dark chocolate to tan!
Shaved (white):
In-between (dark chocolate):
Ā 
Long (tan):
Mocha lives in the house behind us, but he’s usually sleeping on our deck in the mornings, waiting for us to come pet him and give him some food. (Ok – really, he’s just waiting for the food. But he always wants a nice petting when he has finished eating.)
He comes by several times a day, and we really enjoy having him around. Can you see the path he takes to get from his house to our house?
His owners have no idea how much time he spends over here. They think he goes to the back corner of their yard “to hunt”. Really, it’s just to duck under the bushes and come see us. Don’t you love his blue eyes? (Click on the picture to make it bigger. What a handsome boy.)
We have a new cat who comes by about every other evening to get some food. He has beautiful markings and I call him Shadow. So far, he skitters away if we open the door. (Thus, his name.) He doesn’t want anything to do with us. But Mocha was like that when we first moved in, and we won him over. I have high hopes for Shadow, too. (And Mocha and Shadow seem to be friends. I keep telling Mocha to put in a good word for me.)
And do you remember pretty little Jackie, who was put outside by her owners last year and ended up living on our deck? She now lives inside full time with Knitting Daughter in her apartment, but she does get to come over and visit us once in awhile. She usually hides under the dining room table until Zoe and Gracie (our two indoor cats) entice her out to play.
So tell me about your pet household. Cats? Dogs? Outdoor visitors? One? Two? Many? None?
Sheri gladtohaveindoorpetsandoutdoorvisitors
P.S. I’m not talking about the two beautiful orange cats that you saw on my last outdoor cat blog post because there are coyotes in the neighborhood. That’s all I’m saying. And that’s why we keep our cats indoors. I wish Mocha’s and Shadow’s owners felt the same way.
Beautiful animals. You need an outdoor animal house Sheri!
I still have Zoe, my very plump black and white cat. Then there’s Dora, the Golden Retriever who just went through a terrible upset stomach bout yesterday. Both inside and outside! She seems to be feeling a bit better today- no more accidents ! So that’s a good thing. I feel so badly when the animals go through their sick stuff- just like with kids!!!
I also feed an albino squirrel outside- he now comes right up to the deck for his peanuts! We also have a few gray squirrels and of course deer, birds and whatever else I don’t see at night! I am finding that the animals will eat just about anything!
Lovely, lovely Mocha and Shadow. When I stay with my parents in America, I have what I call my away kitty, Smokey. She and I have an elicit relationship (mustn’t tell her owners or my dog, Lyta). When I arrive from the airport, Smokey always seems to know and runs across her yard to jump into my arms. Just LOVE this kitty. She keeps me company when I work out in the garage or the garden. I feel very lucky to have her for a friend. Totally agree about owners in areas where there are coyotes. It’s just awful that they leave their cats outside! *sigh*
We adopted a kitten right after Thanksgiving and I named her Nubia, but we call her Nunu. She’s like a tuxedo except that she’s grey and white and you can see subtle striping in the grey. She follows me everywhere and has been known to put my yarn in her cardboard box. Cat-proofing has moved to a new level since she joined our family.
We have coyotes and huge bird around here. Our cat, Jiji, is an indoor cat too. Our dog, Mamma Dog, is pretty much an indoor dog too. We hope to get the rest of our concrete block fence done then she can roam around outdoors when I go out. She has 2 dog beds but LOVES to sleep on the sofa at night.
I have one white boxer, Lokie, he had a electric blanket with a push button that he can turn on himself. Anyone that knows me knows I turn the blanket on for him.
Sheri you pictures make me smile the cats are truly beautiful. I think every pet should be an inside pet for safety.
I have a feline visitor who comes by whenever I sit on my screen porch (keeps mosquitoes away) or if I work in the yard, her name is Polly Esther named for the owner’s grandmother and Esther from the bible (but… put together, funny!) She rubs my feet shoed or barefooted but does not like to be held, unless there is that mean boy cat trying to fight with her. Then she likes to be held and held high! She comes in my house as if it is her own and not mine. I have caught her watching the birds bathe in the garden. She is an indoor cat at night because we have coyotes in our neighborhood too! I have only seen coyotes out on the fields at night but they could be in the woods nearby.
I am the cat servant to Lola (a black and white tuxedo) and Emma (a fluffy orange Manx). They are indoor/outdoor cats who let me know when they want to go out the door and back in the door (sometimes several times an hour – just keeping me in line, obviously). They are in at night (in our bedroom and bed most of the time). I adore them. I grew up with dogs and cats and we’ve always had at least one of something since we got married 45 years ago. I can’t imagine being without a pet. I can’t believe the callous behavior of some pet owners and yet I’ve seen it all my life. You’re good to love and care for Mocha and Jackie. I’ll bet they told Shadow all about you. Cats do gossip about their owners you know.
I’m down a few animals since I was sick last winter–2 of my dogs were fostered out and ended up being adopted š I still miss Kyrie and Tonks, but they’re in good homes.
I still have Loki, the red husky mix, Seuss the African Grey parrot, Holmes the Meyer’s parrot, Merlin the tortie and white cat, Dori the longhaired black cat that was a feral kitty when I got her, Fezzik the long hair grey tabby, and the Great Cat Ra the Abysinnian. Ra is my 4th rescue Aby in about 30 years, I will always have an Aby, and I want another female soooooo much! If you’ve read the Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody series, The Great Cat Ra was named for her character cat The Great Cat Bastet. His name from rescue was Cougar, so he adapted to it well.
I love my critters, they’re my family!
Just love your cat pics, Sheri. Beautiful. My two cats are indoor only cats, but they love to watch the outdoor kitties–they get rather excited when they “invite” them out to (and noisy too). My boy cat is 100% macho boy cat– king of the house — hasa the final say on everything, especially what my girl cat does. The are so funny. Love my pets, and love to hear about others too.
We have Dutch, a three-year-old chocolate Lab. He is super fast, smart, very loving and on the small side for a male lab – 70 lbs. Would’ve been a great agility dog if I hadn’t had ankle surgery right after we got him. Our plans for training sort of went out the window, but he will sit. He’s the calmest Lab of the four we’ve had. And he’s beautiful – we get compliments all the time.
We’ve got two black beauties. Star has a white star on her bib and another on her tummy; she’s claimed ownership of me and is a little claw happy when setting on my lap; she’s also a bit greedy.
Her sister Ray (Ray of Sunshine) is all black, but looks like good chocolate in the sun; she’s less demonstrative, but lovely to stroke as her fur is like silk. Both are short haired and were given a home with us from the local cat rescue group as kittens. We got them after our previous loved kitty got bowled on the road when she panicked after an earthquake. These two have grown up with quakes so don’t even move when one happens.
I love that there’s a trail in your yard!
And I’ve never seen fur grow in in different colours like on Mocha. So gorgeous.
I live in a very cat-friendly neighbourhood. My cat is an indoor cat, but lots of people let their cats outside. At best estimate, there are 38 cats I’ve met in my neighbourhood so far!
I have 4 adopted outdoor kitties who love to sit on my porch and ask for food/pats/be watched rolling around. It’s awesome. Although it took me quite some time to stop the inevitable fights that broke out. But through a bit of training, they all get along fine now.
I have a great big ole cat named Shadow……. She is a rescue kitty who got her name as a kitten because she followed me around from the minute I brought her home because she was afraid of her own Shadow. Living in the Great North Woods like I do we occasionally have trouble with mice coming in the house —- usually when the weather turns colder. The first mouse she saw she ran and hid under the bed.
However she recently redeemed herself— the current total is Shadow 4 – traps 2.
She was not happy when I took her catch away from her but being the good cat owner that I am I rewarded her with kitty treats for doing such a good job. I promised her I wouldn’t bring up the fact that she brought the 3rd mouse to me right away to get her reward and it got away from her. She was a bit put out about that but she did catch another one (or perhaps the same one) the next night. Haven’t had a mouse in the traps since but she continues to go on patrol every night and if all else fails brings me her catnip mouse just in case I will be so inclined to give her another reward.
My pet household. Ahahaa. More like my zoo. Or ark. I have a 4 year old boston terrier, a 3 month old Yorkie/Maltise cross puppy, an indoor cat who sleeps all day and prowls the house at night, another indoor cat who wants to be an outdoor cat (BADLY), an indoor kitten who also kind of wants to go outside, and five chickens. Oh, and mice in the garage. Those aren’t pets but they think they should be, apparently. And no, none of my cats are the least bit interested in them, even when locked in the garage. LOL.
I’ve seen a couple neighborhood cats, but very few – mostly because I live on a busy street, I think. I wish I had friendly neighborhood cats! I love cats.
Cats are Murray and Milla and are both indoors (we’re in Conifer, CO, they’d be M&M’s for predators here). Outdoors at the barn are 18 alpacas, 2 amazing Anatolian Shepherds (Ruby Begonia and Baby Moses) and a resident fox that walks around the property shadowing my hubby like a puppy.
Sheri, your kitties are lovely & lucky to have such caring humans to watch out for them. I have a14 year old German wirehaired pointer, Sadie. She was a birthday present from my husband when she was 5 weeks old. We have grown older together, & she is my best buddy. My husband has a 10 month old Italian Spin one, named Liz. She is in love with any of my yarn that she finds. She stole three of balls of yarn for my camp Loopy project 2. Each time they ended up unraveled in our backyard! I’m thinking maybe she just wants to learn to knit?! She is a wonderful mixture of clownish behavior & naughty as all get out all wrapped in one of the cutest packages around. Here’s you our pets, especially the ones that love yarn like we do!
We have three indoor kitties. One is black (his name is Blizzard))…he is light gray when shaved and pure black when his hair has grow out. The other two are Tabbies…one is gray (Ramses is very tall and has big ears) and the other is a Classic Tabby (Patsy has swirls of various colors on her side and is really small at 2.5 yo). I had no idea there are different types of Tabbies! We also have a 10 month old Rottie, weighing in at 105 lbs!!!
I am, in a few hours, going to be the proud mama to a poodle terrier mix named Suzy. She is utterly adorable. I cannot wait to have her in the house.
We have a Maine Coon who adopted us, and four other darlings that we adopted….two part -siamese, blue eyed with pale peach points, and lynx points, a classic tabby, and a coal-black munchkin. They all love yarn!
I seem to have a small farm lol. Two dobermans, King Arthur and Mrs. Beasley. Three cats, all short hair one tiger one tortoise shell and one pure black, Alex, Freckles and Sasha. The cats are all indoor and the dogs are too. We live in a rural area and there are definitely coyotes. Last but not least we have 7 hens. They are outdoor of course. i had 6 until a young lady showed up and said she found one walking down the street near her home and asked if I could take her in. I am such a sap. I love your animal pics and all of the sweet faces š
I am having fun reading about all of your wonderful pets! (And some of their antics just made me laugh – like Joyce’s Liz, who unraveled yarn in the back yard, and Cheryl’s Shadow who ran under the bed when she saw her first mouse.) I wish there was a way to share photos in your blog comments, so I could see them all!
It’s been a couple years since we lost our last doggie, a sweet and troubled Brittany Spaniel. This is the first time in 45 years that I haven’t had a dog! We do kitty-sit our son’s cat a few times a year. She is an indoor kitty and very anti-social. Spends most of her time under the bed, but she is beautiful and affectionate when she wants to be.
I love seeing pics and hearing about your animals, both indoor and outdoor fosters. Thanks for sharing.
4 adult cats, 5 kittens, 8 dogs, 2 horses and a sheep. Anyone wanna trade????
Two awesome puppies at our house – Murphy and Rooney. We get cat visitors but the dogs usually bark at them until they leave!
I have 3 inside cats: Kit, a bobtailed calico; Spook, a Maine Coon; and Maggie, a tortoiseshell bobtail. For some reason I recently thought it would be a good idea to get a puppy, so I have a minature Australian Shepherd named Taz. My house is like a zoo. I have 4 young skunks that have moved in under my deck and they follow me around when I go outside. In addition to these, I have visits from raccoons,opossums, deer and turkeys. Taz has done pretty well with his potty training, but when he has an accident he tries to frame Droopy Dog, a stuffed dog that my mother gave him. Droopy Dog also sometimes shreds puppy pads and chews up yarn and other objects. Maybe I should take Droopy Dog to the shelter.
We have a Jack Russell who loves our fenced in yard, but he’s really only out when we are since we have coyotes and bobcats here. No other kinds of cats come in the yard, though. I hope that’s because most people here know not to let them outside!
My name is Jane and I am a cat collector. My husband and I have two wonderful indoor cats, Brownie and Penny. Outdoors we have, Darlene, Three, Harvey, Mstt, Harriet, Hetty, Henry, Monk and Monk look-a-like. We started with Darlene 7 years ago and what can I say? Darlene loved being a mother! I am happy to report that thanks to a local 501-3C called “Trap, Neuter &Release” that all cats with the exception of two males have all been caught and fixed, vaccinated and returned to the colony. They are very happy and have an enclosed porch to sleep and get out of the weather. They eat tons of cat food and are all very spoiled.
I forgot Violet!
We are owned by the Six-Pack , a furry bunch of rescued felines that graciously allow us to live in their house!! I LOVE kitties and feel like you never can have just one.
With love, purrs and headbonks:
Salem (tuxedo – large and in charge)
Carmen (Maine Coon and our DIVA)
April (grey tabby – the talker)
Sootz (black terror on 4 paws)
Zeus (they call me MISTER Purr)
Ozzie (our baby – tuxedo)
We are fostering 2 cats through a rescue group. They are up for adoption. They are a brother and sister and we have had them since they were 10 weeks old and they are now 2 1/2. Anyone looking to adopt two well-behaved cats, let me know. They are orange and white. One is a big fur ball and the other is not, but he has one blue and one green eye.
What beautiful kitties!
I’m owned by 2. First there’s Stormy, a lovely mostly black medium hair female with white patches on her chest and tummy and partial “socks”. She’s actually my older daughter’s kitty, but is quite friendly to just about anyone who walks by and wants to pet her. Her motto seems to be “if I fits I sits” ’cause she will find a way to sit on someone no matter how small a spot is available, and if you sit on the floor she will immediately come over and plop herself down in the most obstructive place she can find.
Then there’s my Lilith, a beautiful tortie with the personality quirk that goes along with the coloring. I’m her person pretty much exclusively, and she will hiss at anyone else in the house without provocation. She will, however, allow others to pet her, but it must be on her terms; one has to hold one’s hand out to her and let her come over on her own to give it a sniff, and then and only then will she allow the petting to commence. Lilith also will ask for attention in the form of tapping on your leg until you start paying attention.
In our house there is the trio-Rex, our 8 year old Chocolate Lab; Robie-our 7 year old Chesapeake Bay Retreiver, and the newest is Hoppy-a 5 month old Black Lab. They are all rough and tumble hunting dogs, but they prefer the comforts of the house to their dog runs. No kitties anymore, Robie likes to chase them too much. Our old kitty spent the last year of her life up high on her house whenever the dogs were in so they’d leave her alone.
I just love these animal stories. It I hate that people don’t keep their kitties inside! Too dangerous!
I am owned by a little blond cocker spaniel named Hubbell. He was rescued from a puppy mill in Kansas and then trucked to Colorado. I fell in love with his picture on Petfinders online. Hubbell is so-named because he is short, blond, and VERY good-looking – just like wonderful Robert Redford, who plays Hubbell Gardner in “The Way We Were. ”
Hubbell has many issues because of the abuse he suffered. He fears all loud noises and men. In the 3 years we have been together, he has made huge progress from the terrified little thing who would not eat, drink, pee, or poop for the first 48 hours at our house. He tries very hard a d is very loving. When I see him chasing a bunny or squirrel, just like any normal dog, my heart melts.
We have, in the end, rescued each other and he is my love.
I have a 14 yr old cat who goes out during the day through the dog door, but stays on our back porch. Luckily our yard is fenced, because a week ago a juvenile male mountain lion was in the alley behind the neighbors’ shed. The lion was safely captured and relocated by the Colorado Dept. of Parks and Wildlife, No injuries to animals or humans occurred.
We have 2 doggies, Liam the wonder dog and Brad Paisley, the toy poodle. Liam was a pound puppy and is slightly neurotic. Brad is 6 pounds and thinks he is a 100 pound doberman. He terrorizes the vet.
Right now I just have my cute black kitty Dmitri. He’s on my lap as I type this, and when I go back to my knitting in a few minutes, he’ll be on that too. He never plays with my yarn, which is nice, but he loves to play with my needles and especially my stitch counters. But only when I am actually using them. When they’re just sitting on the table he leaves them alone.
Dmitri is a big chicken when it comes to people he doesn’t know, and I think some of our friends doubt we really have a cat and that we just leave out food and water in the kitchen for fun. He’s a big cuddle bug, though, and once he’s used to you he won’t leave you alone.
Love the updates on your fluffies!
Currently my only pets are my daughters two cats who are summering with me here at the lake while their house is remodeled. Tough life they have!
There are 3 kitties that live at our house. Tuffy is 12, I’ve had her since she was 6 weeks old. She was 1 of 18 kittens and 3 adults that were abandoned. A lady here in town took all the cats in and found them homes. Kitty lived with my son in his apartment. When
he had to work away from his home for 3 months he drove here with Kitty so we could kitty sit. It was a 1000 mile trip. That was 6 years ago and Kitty is still here. She’s a very chubby tuxedo with amazing green eyes. The newest member is Scruffy. She showed up last year as a stray. She came around every few days for food. Last August she simply never left. She won’t come into the house so we built her a shelter by the back door and got her a heating pad. She likes her little house very much. We love each and every one.
Mocha is gorgeous! š Our house is home to 2 indoor kitties, Merlin (all black) & Tinkerbell (calico). I’ve enjoyed being a kitty mama for over 12 years now!
Sadly, I’ve had 4 friends lose kitties this past few weeks- and one of those just lost a 2nd kitty!
Sending good vibes to all those missing their beloved pets.
Nice update on the kitties. I have Charlie now he is a mutt. Our mini schnauzers all aged and left us so Charlie joined our family. We had someone leave a calico cat on our property 5 or 6 yrs ago, we have seen evidence of the cat still being here but have never seen her/him. That the cat is alive is actually a miracle between coyotes on the property, snakes including the great western rattlesnake and a bobcat. I am extremely rural with no neighbors and 102 acres.
Coyotes here in Chicagoland. They’ve been as brazen to walk right down the middle of very high trafficked Chicago streets! I live in south suburban Flossmoor and last year we had 2 coyotes across the street. There is a park there. And those two tormented our entire neighborhood. Police, state and animal control won’t touch them as they are wild animals! And I have two tastes beagles
Four pets here: Salty Dog and the three cats: Paddy, Maggie, and Oonagh. Mine are all inside cats, too. Paddy is perfectly happy with that, he panics any time the suggestion of outside happens, though he LOVES looking out windows and doors and watching birds and little critters. I didn’t get the back deck door closed all the way one morning, and came back around the corner to see a cautious Oonagh on the deck with an expression that said, “Wow! Dis is COOL out here!!” She skittered back inside the minute I said something. Maggie has tried once or twice to scoot out the door, but mostly is happy in the house. Lots of very interesting critters out in the yard, too. Salty is happy with the squirrels and the outside cat that wanders the neighborhood, especially when he has the opportunity to defend HIS hummingbirds from her. š But there are also snakes, and armadillos, and hawks, and other dogs (unclear if they’re strays or neighborhood runners), and probably coyotes and stuff, too. Yes. Indoor cats.
I love the update on your furry outdoor friends and reading about everyone’s beloved pets. We are proud pet parents to Buddy, our 14 year old grey tabby cat. (shh – he thinks he’s a dog, so don’t tell him he’s really a cat). I inherited him at 6 months old from my vet after he chewed open his 10th bag of dog food and was costing him more than the mice he was meant to catch. When I met my husband a couple of years later, Buddy instantly adopted him too. He is a lovable soul who follows us around everywhere. Although he enjoys sitting on the deck with me occasionally, he is happy to be indoors exclusively. He loves sitting on my lap when I’m knitting, but has rarely touched the yarn. He prefers to play with the handles on my yarn project bag or have a fake mouse thrown down the hall to catch and retrieve back to you too!
He recently lost his sister Millie (Born in the year of the Millennium) to a stroke a few months ago – sigh. š He is still adjusting to being the sole kitty in the house, so lately he is more affectionate than normal.
Both my husband and I have had pets our entire lives, and we just can’t imagine a house without them.
Awesome stories! We currently have two kitty brothers, Jack and Rondo. They were born to one of my sister’s porch cats (see, Sheri, you aren’t the only one). The mom was either killed or they were abandoned, and the third sibling went missing before their eyes were open. My sister rescued my kitties and bottle fed them, and socialized them. I adopted them almost two years ago. My sister died of cancer last year and having Jack and Rondo in our lives is just another way of having my sister always in my heart.
Mocha reminds me of a Birman cat. Lovely and fluffy. We are down to three cats who are indoor cats with access to the screened in porch. We too have coyotes and other predators in the area. I would hate to lose my cats to them. We have convinced several of the others in our area to finally keep their cats in for that reason.
We have a pet geriatric home. The youngest is a 12 year old Pug and the oldest a 16 year old cat. The “middle child” is a 14 year old pitbull. I lost my 13 year old corgi in April and I still miss him. My cat is indoor only and I could not stand not knowing where he is. I get nervous when I can’t find him in the house!
We have two indoor-only cats – Harry Potter, the medium hair white cat, and Hobbes, the butterscotch shorthair cat. They are, of course, loved and spoiled, and return the love in full measure (unless, of course, they have important Cat Things to do).
We have several cats who haunt our yard, but they are there to try and catch the birds who come to our feeders, so I’m afraid we just chase them away whenever we see them.
I’m thrilled to see so many animal lovers here! š Mocha is a very handsome boy! I hope you’re able to win Shadow over as a friend.
We have a Siamese rescue named Takoda that is 11 yrs. old (she’s been with us since she was about 10 weeks old). She has the markings of a Siamese, but her hair is a little longer. She’s a friendly and affectionate kitty, but she and our dog do NOT get along, so they each have their own area in the house.
Our dog is an almost-six-yr. old Australian Shepherd named Durango. Very smart and handsome boy, but we always have to stay on top of his training or he will take advantage of that!
I think I’m the only one owned by a rabbit. She was found on the streets of San Francisco as a baby. She was suppose to be a foster but somehow is still here. She’ll be 7 next month or so.
We have a house bunny, Kiwi. He is a Lionhead and has a really fluffy mane of long hari around his head (like a lion). Kiwi is a thief and will steal snacks we are eating faster than anything you have seen. He once hopped up onto the couch grabbed a piece of blueberry shredded wheat out of the bowl I was eating from and took off without missing a step.