Get to Know Nilla Bean

Introducing...

Nilla Bean right after we got her. Approx 9 mos old

This jewel is Nilla Bean. Her friends and family call her Bean. Bean is another rescue from Feline Friends of Destin. I really need to unfollow/unfriend these people before I truly become The Crazy Cat Lady. We got her around March 1st of this year. She's about a year old and is a lynx point Siamese cat.

A Little About Bean

Sweet Sisters

Bean is, by far, the most affectionate cat I have ever been around. She jumps in your arms for hugs, lays in your lap for naps, puts her paws around your neck and kneads your shoulders/neck while rubbing her face on yours, and happily drools her affection all over the place. She's also the most vocal and mischievous cat I've ever seen. She claws open cabinets and drawers to steal food. She pops open the lid to Bailey's food and goes dog food diving. When you give her a treat, you have to do so with speed and agility or she'll bite your fingers. I mean, she's drawn blood multiple times. At dinner time, she meows at the top of her lungs for her food. I totally understand where the term "CATerwaul" came from now. But, she's playful and likes to chase the other cats and be chased by them. She's truly a unique cat.

In a Nutshell

Showing her attitude

Bean's hobbies are frog hunting and catching, giving neck and shoulder massages, scavenging for unhealthy food, and hiding her evilness behind her utter sweetness. Her favorite toy is her pink striped mouse that came with her from the shelter. You can find her on Instagram at Kitten & Winnie & Bean. Yes, the cats have their own Instagram account and no, I don't manage it.

Cuddling with me

Get to Know Winnie

Introducing...

Say hello to Winnie. We're not entirely sure how old Winnie is. She was a rescue cat from a local cat rescue, Feline Friends of Destin. We adopted her in October 2013. They estimated she was about six months old so she's approximately 1 year 3 months old. She's a tuxedo cat.

A Little About Winnie

Winnie is super shy but one of the most affectionate cats I've ever known. She loves her family and her feline brother and sister, but is terrified of strangers and only tolerates Bailey's presence. When I was picking out a cat at the rescue, I had first said I was interested in a white and gray cat because he looked super playful. I went into the room with all the free-roaming cats to observe them playing. Winnie jumped on the bench next to me and proceeded to lick my hand. That was it. I was in love and she came home with us.

Out of all of our pets, Winnie is the most energetic and playful. She is always ready for a game of Chase the Feather Toy or Attack the Catnip Toy or Chase with her cat siblings. Winnie is also the most darling of all our cats. She has such sweet and gentle ways about her. She also loves curling up against your side when sleeping at night and cozying up in your lap while loafing on the sofa. She also has a powerful purr which is in evidence quite often.

TNR

Winnie was a TNR cat. This means Trap, Neuter, Return. This is a practice that's done to feral cat colonies. Volunteers trap feral cats, have them neutered, vaccinated, and sometimes microchipped, and then returned to their original location. This allows ferals to live out their lives while curbing their need to spray and their ability to add to the problem feral cat population. TNR is something that I support and I actually volunteer for a nonprofit that promotes and raises awareness of TNR. 

In a Nutshell

Chilling with her Brother

Winnie's hobbies are hiding, cat games, licking fingers, and killing her feather toy. Her best friend is the Oldest Child, and she hates having her belly rubbed. You can find her on Instagram at Kitten & Winnie & Bean. Yes, the cats have their own Instagram account and no, I don't manage it.

Stalking from the camouflage of the Oldest Child's pig sty room.

Get to Know Leo

Introducing...

This is Leo. He will be three years old in September and is a tabby. We've often wondered if he has some Maine coon in him somewhere because of how thick his fur is but who knows.

Leo came to us from a woman that the Mister used to work with. She got him from someone else who found him in a parking lot. Or something to that effect. We saved him from going to a shelter. As a kitten, he was quite energetic and rambunctious. He acted more like a puppy than a kitten. That's why we figured he went through so many temporary homes before finding his furrever home with us.

Leo at approx 3 mos old

A Little About Leo

We got Leo when he was approximately three months old. Kittens can sometimes be hard to determine their sex, so we were told he was a girl, which had been verified by a vet. Turns out, not so much. As a result, his name went from Sophie, to Kit-ten, to Leo. I settled on Leo because I always tell him that he's "my lion". He ruffles up his neck fur like a lion's mane sometimes.

I love how distinctive his stripes are. He's beautiful.

Out of all of our cats, Leo is the most cat-like. He loves attention and sitting on your lap for pets and scratches, but only on his terms. If you scratch him "wrong" or try to hug him too tight, he'll give you his backside and leave. He's pretty lazy too. Out of our three cats, he's the least playful. Considering what a terror he was as a kitten, this is a complete evolution in his behavior. He also talks back. The other day, he stole my chair while I was grabbing a drink from the fridge. While I was explaining how this is bad cat behavior, he looked me in the eye, meowed with attitude, then stretched out and made himself more comfortable. I love his cattitude.

In a Nutshell

His hobbies are cat napping, exploring boxes, frog hunting, and window sitting. His favorite color is green (Yes. He has a favorite color.). His best friend is Bailey the dog and he's a mommy's boy. You can find him on Instagram at Kitten & Winnie & Bean. Yes, the cats have their own Instagram account and no, I don't manage it.

Leo and Bailey Napping Together

Past Pets Hall of Fame Part Four

The next stop through our Hall of Fame takes us to Murray and Patch.

Murray was a Holland Lop and I’m not sure what Patch was. We got Murray at a pet store and we found Patch hopping around the parking lot of our base housing. After asking everyone I could find if they were missing a rabbit, we decided to adopt Patch and socialize him with Murray.

It was a rough go in the beginning with biting and fur flying, but they eventually grew to be good buddies. They were fun rabbits to have and I’m pretty sure we gave them a good home.

Here are a few pictures of them bonding on our back patio. These snapshots were taken in April of 2001.

Enjoying their greens. The black and white bunny on the left is Patch and Murray is on the right.

Patch grooming Murray.

Bunny nuzzling.

Past Pets Hall of Fame Part Three

Next stop in the hall of fame takes us to Faline. Faline was our very first rabbit. We got her at a pet store (I know! The shame!) and they claimed she was a Netherland Dwarf. Being unfamiliar with rabbits, I took them at their word. Clearly though, she was a Dutch. We also found out later that she was a he, lol. When we moved to California, I had to give her/him to my aunt who absolutely loves rabbits so I knew that she/he went to a good home. She/he actually lived with us both in Ohio and in Florida but since I flew to California, Faline wasn’t able to come with us.

So, here’s a picture of Faline, the oldest child when she was only two, and myself at our apartment in Pensacola. This was taken in 1998.

Past Pets Hall of Fame Part Two

Next I want to tell you about Cal. Cal was the cat that we got from the Humane Society in Vermont. We originally wanted a cat because we needed a mouser. Before Vermont, we had never had mice before and we tried things like traps and poison to get rid of them but living in the country next to open fields, that stuff did absolutely no good. Plus, the ding dong mice sat on top of the traps and ate the peanut butter out of them. So, we figured a good mouser could be the solution to our mice problems.

Cal was one of the neatest cats that I had ever seen. We visited him a couple times at the shelter before finally deciding he was the cat for us.  He was already a few years old when we got him, but still playful and personable. While still very cat-like, he also liked being around us and he was fun to have.

Unfortunately, he stopped using his litter box and started using our coats, the closets, and laundry baskets to do his business in. His timing was really bad because we were getting ready to move and I, in good conscience, couldn’t move an unpredictable cat into a rental house. Had we had more time, maybe I could have figured out a way to get him to use his litter box again but that wasn’t in the cards. So, Cal went back to the Humane Society. I still feel guilty about it almost three years later so no lectures please.

I would love to have another cat someday but the Mister is pretty against it. I love cats though. They’re gorgeous and graceful and I would really love to have one. Maybe I’ll wait until the Mister  is out of the country on a deployment or something, heheheh. Just kidding.

Anyway, here’s a couple pictures of Cal the cat.

Wasn’t he just gorgeous? Oh. And Cal was an excellent mouser. He completely got rid of our mice problem.

Past Pets Hall of Fame

The Mister e-mailed me this morning asking me if I had a picture of my pet rat, Snickers. He said that a guy he works with doesn’t believe that rats can be nice. The stigma attached to rats and the stereotypes that people attach to them really annoys me. It’s definitely one of my pet (no pun intended) peeves. Rats are highly intelligent, smarter than most dogs, they have a personality, and they are good companions. I got my first rat when the Mister was in Japan. He kept me great company at night when the girls were in bed. When I lost my eyesight in my right eye for a few weeks, it was like he knew. He would sit on my shoulder and lick my right temple all the time. It was so sweet. So, I wanted to share the picture of him that I found for the Mister.

That was Snickers. Wasn’t he pretty? I really miss him. I’ve had several rats since Snickers but none of them were as great as he was. Maybe it was beginners luck, lol.

Some Stuff to Share

Today’s my birthday. I’m firmly entrenched in my 30’s now. I really hate that. The Mister and I went shopping yesterday and I got a new purse and wallet to match and a new pair of sunglasses. I told him that I didn’t want anything, and I really meant it, but we were out so why not. We also got Fools Gold, Juno, and the first season of The Shield on DVD. It was a fun time and good enough for my birthday.

Friday night we went to Jacksonville for dinner. We got there early so we did a little shopping that day too, heheh. I got the cutest pair of sandals. Check them out:

I absolutely love them and they are very comfortable and they were on sale too. I also got a new pair of running shoes but the arches hit my feet wrong so I’m giving them to the oldest child. It’s too bad too because I really liked them and I have the hardest time picking out running shoes. Just ask Jennifer. She went with me back when we both lived in California and it was probably the most painful shoe shopping trip she ever suffered through. I still need new running shoes though because my current ones make my toes go numb on the elliptical. Not a good thing.

Oh. And I also got the newest “Stuff” pack for the Sims 2. It’s Ikea furniture and I love it!

When I’m depressed, I shop. I’m not a comfort eater, I’m a comfort shopper. I’m feeling much better these days, LMAO!!

I also have another picture that I want to share because I find it hilarious:

This is Bailey being silly with her rope. She cracks me up when she does this.

And this picture is the oldest child’s guinea pig, Bacon. We’ve been Bacon-sitting for her while she's in Ohio and he’s a cute little guy. He likes to sleep in this dish which used to be his food dish. Now he has another food dish that's too small for him to sleep in.

Lastly, the following picture is the view from our hotel room in Asheville. It was pretty nice, huh?

That's it for today. Sorry for all the previous funkiness.

Here's Some Stuff for Ya

I did end up getting another rat. I got him locally here at a smallish pet store rather than PetSmart (no offense to PetSmart, but the last four rats I've gotten from there have died). His name is Buddy and he is doing really well. I didn't want to post about it until I was sure he was going to be okay. I even waited a few days before naming him. He's very funny though and the whole family likes him.

Next on my list is that the Mister's anniversary present arrived in the mail yesterday. I'm so VERY excited about it because I know that I did really good this year. I wish I could tell you all what I got, but he reads my blog. It's killing me keeping it a secret though, heheh.

And lastly, I think I've mentioned being a Bzz Agent before. I have to say, if you don't Bzz, you're really missing out. For those of you who haven't heard of it, what it is, is a word of mouth campaign where you get to test out products and then tell people what you think about them. Bzz sends you the products for free (sometimes they are downloads which is how I discovered Brother Odd), you test them out, tell your friends about the stuff and hand out coupons, fill out a survey, and then, YOU GET TO KEEP WHAT THEY SEND YOU. And it's not crappy stuff either. I've been a member since around September of 2006 and I've gotten a Sonicare toothbrush and a Sonicare UV Sanitizer, various stuff from Ziplock, Pledge, Windex, and Scrubbing Bubbles, and some other odds and ends. What is my next product??? A Logitech Harmony One universal remote control. The cost of this remote at Best Buy??? $249.99 and I'm getting it for free. I'm totally excited. The Mister and I have been wanting one of these gadgets for a long time. In fact, we tried one out 4 or 5 years ago but it sucked and we returned it to the store. My remote should be here any day now and I will be sure to post pictures and opinions when it arrives. Check out Bzz Agent and see what you think. It's free to sign up and I'd appreciate a referral if you do. ;)