This Page is Dedicated to Dusty!
(the song playing is the theme from Lion King. Appropriate for a little guy who is king of the jungle - my gardens) Roar! Ah, rather - Meow! (grin)
The sweetie that runs my life!
This is Dusty at about 3 months old! This was his favorite rug to lay on. Sometimes, he would just fall asleep wherever he happened to be when he got sleepy from playing.
Like in my shoes (below)! Or on his favorite pillow on the couch! He was playing with his shadow until it disappeared and then he napped right where he was in the middle of the floor.
When I saw him peeking at me over the arm of the recliner, I had a feeling some idea was brewing in his head so I grabbed my camera and got ready.
This is Dusty at about 6 months old with a "friend". He hadn't quite grown into his ears yet! (grin)
(at 10 years old)
Here are pictures of my adorably sweet cat. Funny thing about the cushion he is lounging on above .... I bought one of those wicker basket beds and I found he liked laying in it. So, I made the above cushion so the basket would be softer to sleep in. Well, he wouldn't touch the basket after I added the cushion so I took it out and just laid it on the floor. So, where does he like to curl up? You got it! The cushion ... all by itself without the wicker basket. And he doesn't care about the basket anymore.
One of his favorite pastimes is "watching" ...whether it is birds, bugs, people, whatever...just as long as it moves. He spent a lot of time one summer watching our neighbor build an addition to their home. Even with the loud pounding of the hammer, the noise of the saw, and a lot of big noise from the neighbor dropping large panels of wood, Dusty was absolutely fascinated. I wonder if he took "notes". Maybe he could build an extra room on our house! Hmm!
In the winter time the only thing he will play with is a string and I have to be on the other end of it. It probably looks like I am stepping on him, but I'm not. He likes to lay on my foot (I told you there was a picture of me - well, my foot at least. ;) while playing with the string. You probably can't see the "string" in the second picture but it is there at the bottom right. His left paw is reaching for it.
Below he is celebrating New Years. He loves this confetti string and if I don't watch him closely, he'd eat every bit of it. I'm not sure it's good for him but he sure is attracted to it for some reason.
I can't remember a time when I didn't have a cat but Dusty is the most special cat I've ever had the pleasure of being owned by. Dusty has trained "me" very well. It is amazing how much he understands when I talk to him. Dusty is not an aggressive cat and will run away from another cat if it wants to fight. Now that he is older, he doesn't tolerate "visiting cats" very well and now decides to hold his ground and hiss at them instead. It's kind of sad considering how he used to love visitors. He used to love to chase a wild bunny that was in our yard for a few years. One day I found Dusty napping about 2 feet from the fence in our yard and I saw the bunny napping about 2 feet on the other side of the fence. It looked to me like the bunny was not afraid of Dusty and perhaps he had even made a friend.
Dusty loves to be petted, snuggled, talked to, and played with. He is not a "lap cat" but I found the best way to pet him was to lay down on the floor beside him. He would then put his head on my arm and snuggle in while I would pet his tummy. If I let him, he would stay in this position for an hour or more. That's why I had to learn to lay down beside him. Just sitting on the floor petting him for an hour wore me out. So laying down was easier on me. Another unique thing about Dusty is purring all the time. The only time he doesn't purr is when he is sound asleep or when he is eating. Otherwise, it is constant. He is a very happy cat especially when he gets his own way which is most of the time - MEOW!
He loves to be outdoors better than anything else and he is happiest when I am digging in my gardens. He is usually right there to help me dig...until he gets bored and then prefers to watch or semi-nap like here in this picture under my tomato plants while I weed. Guess he isn't much for weeding just like me. I hate that part of gardening. Maybe instead of just watching, he is supervising to be sure I get every weed pulled.
I grew Pampas grass for a few years and the only way I could get him to come indoors was to take one of the tall grass spikes and shake it along the ground. He would follow that all the way home. I just had to be careful that he wouldn't eat it.
Cat Years...
According to Dr. James Isaacs, a veterinary consultant in Encino, California, cats live an average of about 4 years longer than dogs. In cats, the first 2 years count for more "human years", but each year thereafter counts for fewer "human years" than for dogs. The first 6 months equal 13 years, the second 6 months equal 8 years--therefore, the first cat year equals 21 "human years". The second cat year equals 10 "human years", and each subsequent year equals 3 "human years". Thus, a 10 year old cat has achieved 55 "human years". My Dusty lived to be 17 years old and was 75 in "human years". His Vet had a different chart which showed a 17 year old cat was 78 in "human years". Either way, he lived a long and very happy life.
For veterinary information go to Vetinfo.com by clicking here or to this University site for more information. I have referred to these sites many times because it seems that Dusty is always getting into some kind of trouble.
Cat Angel
A cat is a gift sent from God above.
From a cute little kitten to a beautiful adult, he is always a real friend.
A little ball of fur that shows his unconditional love without end.
"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." --Unknown
"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this."
--Anonymous
"Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through the snow." --Jeff Valdez
"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." -- English proverb
"As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat." -- Ellen Perry Berkeley
"One cat just leads to another." --Ernest Hemmingway
"Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later." --Mary Bly
"Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never
heard of one who suffered from insomnia." --Joseph Wood Krutch
"People that hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life." --Faith Resnick
"There are many intelligent species in the universe. They are all owned by cats." --Anonymous
"I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior."
--Hippolyte Taine
"No heaven will not ever Heaven be; Unless my cats are there to welcome me." --Unknown
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." --Albert Schweitzer
"The cat has too much spirit to have no heart." -- Ernest Menaul
"Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God."
"Time spent with cats is never wasted." --Colette
"You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats." --Colonial American
proverb
"Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want." --Joseph Wood
Krutch
"I got rid of my husband. The cat was allergic"
"My husband said it was either him or the cat ... I miss him, sometimes."
Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to
Complain About Our Pets:
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
(That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he is an adopted son who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.
Dogs and cats are better than kids. They eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called, never drive your car, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about having to buy
the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, and don't need a gazillion dollars for college and if they get pregnant, you can sell the children.
01/14/2010
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