Foto Friday!

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Catch Me If You Can...live Tom & Jerry Story!

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Goalie having fun with a mouse or is it the mouse having fun with her?!

This is the story of our cat, Goalie and a tiny mouse!

As per my usual morning routine, I went out to pluck flowers at around 6.30 AM. Normally, Goalie accompanies me like a dog, running here and there around me when I make a round of our house to pluck flowers! I didn't see her today and so was calling her and then saw her playing with a little mouse...she just looked up at me and continued her play!

I just stood there and watched them for a few seconds and noticed that the little creature was not at all scared of her perpetrator but was standing up, literally, jumping to bite Goalie's face! I felt like watching a Tom & Jerry movie! I ran inside and got my phone (my camera was somewhere else and I was in a hurry!) and started taking a video of the 'cat & mouse' play!

By the time I started filming, the mouse had stopped standing up to fight, but was running here and there, Goalie following her! I am using my phone for taking the video for the first time and so, the video is not very clear...but their 'hide & seek' is visible! I would have felt happier if I was able to capture the face of the mouse in a close-up! She was cute!

The mouse was just like Jerry...too intelligent for our Tom...Goalie lost her and came back home with a gash in her front knee!

More kitten/cat stories here!

Feline Friday!

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Anna, please, please, don't take my picture!

(Her anna also blocks his face if anyone tries to take his picture!)

Don't irritate me, I want to sleep, grrrr...!

Golie is too sophisticated to curse her anna, so she escapes through the window!

The Great escape!

Edited to add today (12.02.11):

The last comment is by my friend, Manju! Isn't this a better title for the above picture?!

More kitten/cat stories

Wordless (sorry, with some words) Wednesday!

The growing up stages of our Golie!

Baby Golie in the middle!

(Born on Jan.16th, '10)

Very pregnant adult Golie!

(21st Oct.,'10)

Amma Golie with her tiny babies!

(The babies were born on 3rd Nov., '10)

Typical mother, our Golie! Notice how she is keeping her hand on her baby!

(11th Nov., '10)

The three beautiful babies!

(17th Nov.,'10)



Miniature Golie! Notice the claws and baby fur!

(17th Nov., '10)

This one is not very happy because I was keeping them out of their room on my saree and changing their bed sheet! Appa's lungies are very handy now, too, like they were, when Golie was a baby!

Notice the pinky pinky nose and baby claws!

The very bluuuue eyed kitten! Looks just like Jinju, her grandmother!

Her grandmother, Jinju's family is here!

The 11th Nov., '10 photo is added now, an hour later!

The first 45 days of 3 tiny loving kittens after they have entered this world!

My last post on kittens was, 'Zorro's story', where I wrote about our Hero Cat, Zorro and his first wife, Ammaakkaari and their black silk kittens. After she left (we sent her off with her kittens because she gave us kittens once in 4 months and it was too much even for us!), a couple of months later, Zorro invaded our house with his second wife, Jinju, who was pregnant already (so scandalous!). As usual, we felt pity on the pregnant girl and like others before her, she too was pampered well in our house! She even slept with us in our bed, the day before she delivered her babies - she must have been nervous or with pain. When I thought the D-day was nearing, I showed her two places, one shelf in my son's wardrobe and one in our bedroom. I kept some clothes also in them and maybe she understood it and delivered 3 kittens in the afternoon of Jan, 16th, in my son's wardrobe, upstairs! She might have thought it to be a secluded place without much interference from us, humans! When I noticed her absence and saw them, the kittens were clean and she had settled down!

In the photo album below, you can find a lot of information (!) about the kittens in the comment section! Most of the pictures are of them sleeping in different postures! I loved the innocence in their faces, when they were sleeping! Jinju looked so happy and contented when she was sleeping with them.

The photos which are displayed in the album are date wise and you can notice how they were growing up nearly everyday!

Jinju stayed upstairs with her babies for nearly two weeks. Zorro used to visit them mostly in the morning, peep in and come down! One day after having morning's milk, he just ran up. Jinju was not home and my husband went after him. He just waited near the door step and saw what Zorro was doing. Zorro looked inside for a second or so (I had never seen him entering the shelf or touching or licking the kittens on any day) and closed the door with his nose and came down! I had noticed earlier when I went upstairs, Jinju jumping down from the top shelf and the long door on the left, where the kittens stayed always to be closed. Then it dawned on me...the kittens had opened their eyes and started moving here and there and their parents must have been closing the door, so that they did not fall down/out from the shelf!

On 2nd Feb, since the kittens had grown up, I thought it would be safer for them to come downstairs, so that they can start moving here and there. I brought them down when Jinju was with me and kept them in the hall. Jinju was restless but was lying down and feeding them. I was doing something and when I turned to look at them, Jinju, holding her baby in her mouth, was climbing up and went to the previous place! The wardrobe door on the left was closed and she jumped up with her baby, to the top shelf, climbed down to the area, where she was, with her babies earlier! You can see this in the album!

After a few more days, when they started peeping out from the shelf, she allowed me to bring them down. I readied a drawer with some clothes and she settled down happily in our bedroom corner. You can see the rest of the days' activities from the photo album! They were happily playing, hide and seek, 'you catch me, I catch you' etc. throughout the day. The top act was WWF/King Kong Fights. We used to sit beside the box with our morning coffee and watch their fights - along with my husband's commentary! Normally, we are very particular to sleep by 10 p.m., but because of these activities, our sleeping time became 11 p.m.!

Normally, we decide on the names to call them after we knew which one was going to be with us/with his mother. Last time two black kittens were very close with each other and one was always with her mother, most of the time and was a bit weak-looking. So we kept the weaker one at home and handed over the other two to our known persons. One of them was quite healthy and beautiful and my husband was calling him 'Hippo'! He is still called by that name in his new house!

All the three kittens were sleeping together, on top of one another, most of the time. Their favourite places were the phone stands in the bedroom and in the hall! They loved to play with books! They admired the way the pages fluttered when the fan was on! The slow turning blades of the fan also fascinated them. All the three used to watch them with their necks turned up, together! Just for the sake of identification, we were calling the kitten with more white patch in the neck as 'Vellai kazhuththi, which means, White neckwaali and the other one as Brown kazhuththi, means Brown neckwaali (Veekay and Beekay!). Let me tell the story of how we selected the name Goalie later, this post already looks like a long epic story!

The photo here, shows, how close they were while sleeping...

Now, we have got Goalie at home and the other two have gone to a new house. They seem to have blended with the new family members very well. When we had sent off Ammaakkaari's kittens, she was making crying sounds for nearly 2-3 days. Thank god, Jinju is searching for the missing kittens only once in a while, otherwise she seems to be happy feeding Goalie and playing with her. Goalie must be missing her siblings (I think it is a 'she', so I might have written her as 'he' sometimes, in the photo comments!), but now, she is playing with me and her mother.

Long back, our house was called 'Naai veedu', thanks to our dog, Andrew, now, I think I will be called 'Cat Woman'!

By the way, all the three kittens are GIRLS!

Comments are welcome to the photos in the album too!

Purrfect bus ride of a cat and the story of our Andrew!

Today I came across this interesting video:

A cat has become such a well-known user of a Devon bus service that its drivers know where to let him off.

Casper has been queuing with other passengers to get the number three service from his home in Plymouth for months, bus company First said.

The company says the cat often curls up on a seat during the ride.

This reminded me of our dog, Andrew who was behaving like this, yes, nearly!

We lived in a Colony in Hosur (Tamilnadu border town near Karnataka) for some six years. The place is an Industrial town and most of the residents were people from outside the States. All of us had family friends, who were very close to each other.  We, three families were very very close - when the children had holidays, the children lived in each others' houses for two three days too!  And we had the habit of leaving our children with our friend's family, if we had to attend some function of our relatives in Chennai or Udupi or they used to send their children to our house if they had to go out of station.  All the three families had two children each, nearly of same age group. All of them went to the same school too.  I had one extra child, Andrew, our dog!  

One of my friend's house was some 3 Km. away from my place.  We had an auto stand in one corner of our colony and the autowallas were very familiar with our families.  We used to use these autos for going to their (my friend's) colony.  Sometimes, we sent our children and Andrew together in these autos to their house, if we, I or my husband, didn't have time to go there.  The auto drivers and all the colony people were familiar with Andrew, our house was in a corner on the main road and the house was called 'naai veedu' (dog house!) by some people, I was told!

Once my friend came home with her children in the morning and planned to leave in the evening.  When she started bidding us farewell, our Andrew went out.  Initially, we didn't give much  importance to his behaviour.  After 5 mts. we were still chatting on the door step and heard an auto coming and stopping near us! And the driver came out and laughingly said that Andrew went to him and sat inside the auto and he brought him home! Then, it struck to us...this fellow thinking that he was also going to my friends house or wanted to go with them (outing!), happily went and brought the auto! 

Actually, they had just come for a visit, but feeling 'paavam' at Andrew took him home along with them and my husband went and brought him back the next day!

The Story of our cat, Zorro, his wives and kids (kittens)!

This is our Saadhu Maharaj, Zorro!

Our family's first cat was Koyla (she was a black cat!), who came home on a rainy day! She was with us and entertained us for around 3 years and then fell into our neighbour's well and died. Her story will come later! Everyone knew how she was pampered at our home. After she died, a person who knew how much we missed her, presented us with another black kitten! He was named 'Zorro' by my son!

He was a tiny skinny kitten, very scared about any moving thing. My husband started feeding him so much that he was bored to - forget about running - even move himself. He loved to sit on my lap and if I lifted and cuddled him, talked to him, he used to touch my cheek with his hand, with a happy, small meeyaav sound! In the beginning, he used to open our bedroom door at night, by jumping on the handle, come inside and sleep with us! Slowly, we changed that habit by locking the door and he stopped waking us up at night!

He comes home often with wounds on his face (it looks a bit distorted now with all the war-wounds he had with other male/female cats!) and my husband promptly applies 'Nebasulf' powder on them!

Two years back, we had gone on a holiday tour for around 3 weeks. My son said that whenever he came home, he saw Zorro sleeping on the diwan and another black cat, which we had seen roaming in our backyard sometimes (we had misunderstood it to be his kitten because she was black and small made!), lying on the sofa set or sometimes on the diwan! Both of them must have come in through the netlon window. After we came back, she did not come inside but was visible in our back yard. Then we saw her bulging tummy and one day she came inside through our window with her kittens (carrying one by one with her mouth) and settled down at home with her husband!

This is Ammaakkaari, who invaded our house with her (and Zorro's?!) kittens!

We called her Zorrotti in the beginning (Zorro's kutti) and then changed it to Ammaakkaari after she came home with her kittens! She was a very smart cat. She delivered for the second time in the wardrobe in my son's room upstairs, where we kept old bedsheets. 3 black rat-like kittens. After maybe two or three days, one day she came down the stairs, making some weird sound as if she was trying to convey something to my husband. My husband was looking at her, not knowing what to do. She just started going back up on the stairs, looking back at him. My husband and I followed her. She went and stood in front of the wardrobe. I bent and checked the kittens. One was missing. When I searched for it, I found it under the 3 bedsheets' bundle! I took it out and showed it to her and she was so happy! I could sense it. She just sat with all the three kittens, licking them and feeding them. Who said that the animals don't talk...Ammaakkaari did talk!

This is Ammaakkaari with Zorro, at our backyard!

The above photograph was taken, after her first batch of 3 kittens were almost 2 months old! I had seen a tigress lying down like this in front of a tiger, in a programme in Animal Planet. Ammakkaari was rolling on her back on the ground. Zorro was just watching her!

She delivered twice - 3 black velvet bundles each time and we distributed them to our friends and relatives after the kittens were 2 months old. Kept Nero from the first batch and ET, from the second batch. But they went missing after sometime. They were beautiful black velvet kittens with fluffy tails. Somebody must have taken them home. We sent off Ammaakkaari also to one of our friend's house, because she kept on delivering once in 4 months...phoof!

This is Jinju - Zorro's (known) second wife!

We had seen Jinju, sitting on our compound wall often in the mornings. She was just sitting there, watching the surroundings or dozing till afternoon. Sometimes she used to make some familiar sound, when I went out for plucking flowers in the morning. She was also small-made like Ammaakkaari, when we saw her for the first time.

Once Zorro went missing for 3 days and on the 4th night, came back and asked my husband to open the backyard door (my husband always stands in attention in front of all our pets, whether it was our dog or cats and they used that attitude of his to the hilt! He runs to them to open the door or feed, even when he is watching a 'winning stage' cricket match!). Zorro was standing on the first step, trying to come inside and then my husband saw another cat behind him and it was the one which was sitting on our compound wall! My husband blocked Zorro and said 'nee varathunna vaa, un friend varakkoodathu! (you come inside if you want, your friend should not come in)!' You won't believe, he turned and went off, with the other cat behind him! He came back home after another 2 days, this time alone!

After this incident, the new cat was visible on our compound wall, for another week or so. Then, one day, my husband was standing on the front door steps and the new cat came down from the compound wall and started talking to him. My husband was just watching her. Then she slowly came up, brushed herself on my husband's pant, walked inside the door and my husband turned and saw Zorro standing inside the door, just looking at her! Hmmm...'paavam, irukkattum ithuvum' my husband said (poor thing, let her also be here)! That is how, Jinju settled down in our house! Now she is VERY pregnant and we might have more kittens roaming in our house any day and I can do another 'kitten' post!

This is Zorro and Jinju, relaxing!

I have noticed that the female cats are more ferocious (like female dogs) than their male counterparts. Ammaakkaari used to hit Zorro on his face with her left hand often, when she was bored! Jinju also does it! They do this when Zorro just sits and watch them or when he walks past them! Sometimes they hit him 'tup tup tup' continuously 2-3 times! Zorro just walks off! I have got photographs of Zorro, Ammaakkaari and the black kittens together, in the album of 'Zorro's family'! Have a look and enjoy!

Nero is learning to play guitar, seriously, from his Anna!

More interesting photographs of 'Zorro's family'!

You can also access this album directly and post your comments for each photograph, if you so wish.

Edited to add a new photo of Jinju with her new kittens (18.01.10):

 

Earlier posts of the kittens!

Bengal Tiger, Our Cats And Dogs, Are The Same!

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My son sent this article yesterday. The two year old Bengal tiger, spent 24 hours at the top of a 15 ft. tower. Read further:

A Bengal tiger has become stuck at the top of a new 15ft (5m) activity tower at a North Somerset zoo after climbing it for the first time.

Two-year-old Tanvir has spent 24 hours on the "enrichment" tower at Noah's Ark Zoo Farm in Wraxall.

He took a few seconds to scale the tower, which has branch-like platforms designed to test his ingenuity.

But the zoo said after shinning up the exercise structure on Monday, he has become too frightened to come down.

Our cats and dogs, too were behaving like this. 

The black cat is our house cat, Zorro, when he was young.  The other one's name is Gundanna! My cousin's daughter (2 year old!) changed his name from 'Gunda' to 'Gundanna'.  We were happy with one cat, our Zorro and did not want too many cats inside our house.  So this fellow used to sit on the service veranda, eat and go.  Sometimes he used to sit and tolerate Zorro, playing with his tail!  He was always scared about even a small sound.  Used to get gashes in his face from other cats.  If some other cat chased him, he used to run up the Teak tree and wail. We used to stand on the parapet wall of our terrace, hold a stick for him, touching the tree and cajole  him to come down.  He used to be so scared that he was peeing and shitting with fear!

This kitten, Nero is Zorro's son!  He was very very playful.   This one also playfully went up the teak tree one night and it was raining heavily.  The mother was calling him from our veranda for sometime and then came inside and was telling us something.  We went behind her and saw Nero on the teak tree.  My husband went up a ladder and took him out.  Next second, this fellow came down running into the veranda and sitting near his mother, was watching Appa (my husband), climbing down the ladder slowly in the pouring rain!

Two days later, he was calling us for help from the next door neighbour's house,  at 10 in the night. He had gone up the roof top of their shed and did not know to come down!  Appa, again took the ladder, woke up the neighbour and brought him down!

Andy was our first pet!  A long post is getting ready about him!  He too was getting scared for small small things.  In our previous house, we had an iron ladder to go to the terrace.  He used to come (run) with me to the terrace easily.  But he never came down on his own, even once...he was so scared that he was asking me in so many sounds to carry him down and I was obeying him, always!

So, now we know that cats, dogs and TIGERS are the same! 

The three new little kittens!

The three black kittens about whom I had written earlier, are one week older now - must be around 3 weeks old now. They have started running, playing, wrestling all over the house. My niece has named them - Nandu, Sindu and Vandu! They look so cute! I thought my house is going to be a mess. Not at all! We are actually enjoying them thoroughly! The mother takes care of them all the time. She controls them with some sounds. If one of them goes behind the fridge or to the service veranda, she brings them back, holding them by their neck!

As soon as my husband wakes up, he starts checking if all the kittens are there near the mother! He does the same when he comes back from the office. Zorrotti is now a typical house cat. She welcomes my son with so many sounds and rubbings! The kittens just play around, mostly in the kitchen or the living room. Funny, they have never entered our bedroom, yet!

Here are some of their photos. Enjoy!

New arrivals at home - kittens! And all are black silk bundles!

We have a male black cat at home, which is around 3 years. Some days back, a new cat, which too is black, started coming into our compound and we noticed both of them lazing around quietly under our neem tree. Sometimes it used to come inside and eat the leftover cat food. When her stomach started bulging out, we knew it is a she. She was coming here from a house opposite to our house. We guessed a couple of weeks back that she had delivered the kittens and they must have been in the house opposite. Two days back, she started bringing them home through our window, one by one, pushing the netlon.

Now we are entertained by the three cute little kittens and their mother - all are black. She is taking care of them so nicely and now we have started feeding the mother cat also with cat food. Let us enjoy them at present and think about looking for homes for them later - 4 cats at home in a few weeks! Mind boggling!!!!