Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Happy Ginger Cat Appreciation Day! Did you know that all orange cats are tabbies and 80% of them are male? I was fortunate enough to have raised and loved a bicolor orange tabby girl, Nala, who has since passed over the Rainbow Bridge in 2017.

As you can see here, Nala was mostly white but had orange tabby splotches on her head, back, hind legs, and tail. Her orange fur seemed to grow browner with age.

Nala believed that sinks were her personal beds. She loved water!

Other cool facts about orange cats:

Famous orange cats include the animated Garfield, Tango (Winston Churchill’s cat), and Marmalade (of Cole and Marmalade fame)!
Tabbies are not a breed but rather a type of coat marking. Orange tabbies can be Maine Coons, American Bobtails, British Shorthairs, Persians, Abyssinians, Munchkin cats, and Persians.
There are four tabby patterns: mackerel (the most common), classic (aka blotched or marbled), spotted, and ticked.

Photo courtesy of Pexels. This cute little fuzzball is an orange mackerel tabby.

Photo courtesy of Silver Short Hairs. This gorgeous cat is a long-haired classic tabby. Garrus, though not orange, is a classic tabby, though the black markings on his back smudge the distinctive swirl on his sides.

Photo courtesy of Feral Front. These two are lovely spotted tabbies! Charlie, though not a ginger cat, is another example of a spotted tabby.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest. This is an orange ticked tabby (and a Maine Coon to boot–check out that magnificent tail!)

Do love orange cats too? Give them an extra helping of love today. Please share stories and photos of your ginger cats in the comments!

Toothless King of the House

It’s hard to believe that Mau has been with us for two months now. When we brought him home in late June, he was timid and certainly not feeling his best given the advanced state of her periodontal disease. In the Pflugerville Animal Shelter, prior to his transfer to Austin Pets Alive! and foster care, he was withdrawn, gaunt, not eating much, and spending most of his time in a plastic bin in his cat condo.

He just looked so sad, stressed out, and in need of serious TLC. Although volunteers regularly loved on him and brushed him, his coat was in a sorry state because he did not groom himself very well.

We breathed a huge sigh of relief when Mau started eating wet food and ate with relish! Because he was underweight, we gave him additional small meals. What does it say about our house that two out of three cats need to eat like Hobbits in order to get to a healthy weight?

When Aaron and I spent time with him, we were nevertheless struck by how sweet he was. With photos like this, it was quite apparent that we had a most handsome boy on our hands too.

One month later, he showed us how much he loved human company and that he was thoroughly down with snuggles. Lap time is an imperative!

After he had his long-awaited and much-needed dental surgery, he started to blossom. While sick, he demonstrated little interest in playing (understandable) but once he started feeling better, we caught him batting crinkle balls and springs around the house. He hopped into boxes and raced up the cat tree, unceremoniously unseating Charlie from his favorite platform.

Our evenings are MC’d by this lovey boy. Isn’t he cute? He greets us with an enthusiastic and demanding “MEH!” and purrs when he receives the attention he wants. And he’s charmingly fluffy too!

National Dog Day

Today is National Dog Day! While I may have cats currently, I am in fact an equal opportunity pet enthusiast. For many years my family had Miniature Schnauzers and I still harbor an enormous soft spot for that breed. Dogs do so much for their humans, so it is only natural that we take some time today (and every day!) to celebrate and love our canine companions.

My parents now have two rescue dogs: Chiquita (aka Chica and Pretty Girl), a Kooikerhondje, and Chiya, a Tibetan Spaniel.

Look how cute they are! Chica is an extraordinarily good girl with great manners and an earnest, loving personality. Chiya is a sassy little diva. Both are highly snuggleable, as I can attest.

In addition to their two cats, my Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Jan have an unlikely trio of rescues: a Border Collie (Legend), a Great Pyrenees/Lab mix (Storm), and a Great Pyrenees (Kuma).

Legend is…enthusiastic to say the least. Who could resist that face?

Storm is a big, lovable galoot. His tail can clear a coffee table in one swipe. He thinks he’s Chiya’s size, which leads to hilarity.

Kuma (Japanese for “bear”) looks like a canine polar bear! Check out that fluff!

Do you have dogs? What do you love about them? Please share in the comments!

For the Sake of Cute

I love catching a snuggle in progress. More often than not, Charlie uses Garrus as a pillow. Garrus never seems to mind.

They have no problem sharing the extra-comfy blue elephant pillow.

Do you have pets that love each other? How do they show their affection for one another? Please share in the comments!

Lazy Boys

Garrus and Charlie have lazing about down pat.

Mau prefers loafing in a box.

On a daily basis, my house becomes a vortex of inaction. Sleeping cats are SO CUTE!

Do you agree? Are your cats extra cute when sleeping? Where do they like to sleep or lounge? Share in the comments!

So This Happened Last Night

I don’t think Garrus wasn’t consulted.

“Instead of taking pictures, you could, you know, help.” ~Garrus

“Boundaries? What are those?” ~Mau

The snuggle ended when Garrus slid from under Mau and stood up, letting Mau to unceremoniously flop on the ottoman. Then Mau declared that lap time would commence forthwith with Aaron.

Sweet Mau

Mau is a pretty cute cat, though I might be biased. It’s now been about 10 days since his dental surgery and being toothless hasn’t negatively affected his quality of life.

“This bed is so cozy!”

Aaron and I have noticed that he has become more playful and bats both crinkle balls and plastic springs around the house. Mau’s favorite toy might be the laser pointer, however, as he chases after the red dot with more gusto and stamina than either Garrus or Charlie. It’s highly amusing and delightful to watch all three cats skitter about the house trying to pounce on the elusive red dot. If I can, I’ll record a video of a play session and share it here on Purry Home Companion!

“Mama, I found a box! It’s such a nice box.”

Look at these handsome boys! I couldn’t resist snapping a photo when I saw them lined up like this.

Garrus and Mau demonstrate their nightly ottoman sprawl. Mau recently adopted this habit of flaunting his fluffy belly like this. It’s not a trap. I repeat: it’s not a trap!

Mau the Beautiful

Mau is doing well on his regimen of antibiotics and painkillers. His coat is getting healthier and he eats up to two cans of wet food a day despite his dental issues. We brush him frequently and there are far fewer mats as a result.

Much to our delight, he has started to show a more playful side by chasing after the red dot and batting the crinkle ball and spring around. Oddly though, he only plays with the latter toys when no one else is around! When he wants to explore, though, there’s no stopping him. He really wants to be friends with Charlie and especially Garrus. In a few ways, he does not act like a senior cat! Above all, Mau is a lovey-dovey lap cat who complains when he is left alone or denied access to said lap.

Aaron took two fantastic photos of Mau. Of course I immediately wanted to share them because they show how beautiful Mau really is.

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“Hello. I am Mau and I am incredibly gorgeous. You should pet me.”

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“Oooh! What’s over there? I wanna go on an adventure!” I love the expression on his face in this photo. Mau really is a darling cat and not just in terms of looks.

Greetings from Mau

Aaron and I visited Mau this morning as we brought him food and cleaned his litterbox. He was firmly camped out behind the desk in the corner but looked at us curiously as we sat on the floor. If he wanted to hide, that was OK with us. A bit later I came back into the red room and chilled on the chair, reading a book. I babbled at him and beckoned him to come over to my hand for rubs if he wanted any. He did not, apparently, but he made eye contact with me on several occasions.

I checked on him throughout the day and found him sleeping. I did not want to disturb him so I didn’t linger.

When Aaron came home, we visited our foster kitty. We were so happy when Mau came out of hiding! Very casually, he waltzed right into Aaron’s lap and started purring.

He came over to me too, showed me his floofy tail, and asked for pets. He’s a sweetheart.

We were quite happy when he ate up all the wet food we offered. At the shelter, he had refused to eat the wet food they presented. Maybe that was due to stress or a matter of preference. In any case, we’ll be going through a lot more cat food at this rate! It’s all good though. We’re just happy to help this sweet boy.

Kitten Palooza Part Two

As promised, here are more photos of the kittens Aaron and I visited yesterday afternoon. It’s hard to get photos of 9 scampering kittens, especially when occasionally one’s hands are full of said kittens.