Saturday, November 3, 2012

unconditional love from furry creatures

I have three cats that are my fur babies.

At age 13, Zippo is my oldest cat. He was a stray that my youngest
son found in our yard when Zippo was only about three months old.
He was with his two brothers ~ whom a friend took ~ and they were all
in good health, so it was obvious that someone dumped them.
(Don't get me started on that...grrr!)

I've had many cats throughout my life, and I have to say that Zippo
has been my absolute favorite. He is the sweetest cat I've ever known.
He's a mama's boy.
If I'm sitting in bed working on my laptop, he has to be next to me,
stretched out alongside my thigh.
He sleeps with me every night and in the cold weather, even sleeps under
the covers, nestled against my chest.
He loves people and will gladly take petting from anyone.
(He also has the prettiest pink nose and paw pads.)


Snuggling with Brian...


Clementine showed up on my doorstep in the summer of 2010.
She was skittish, malnourished ~ and unbeknownst to us at the time ~
pregnant!
Two-and-a half years later, she loves to be petted, but still doesn't like to be held.
And now that she's healthy, she has the prettiest, shiny fur.


Clementine only had two babies, and one was stillborn.
Since there was only one kitten left, we kept him, too.
Meet Monkey...


Monkey is a sweet boy, but he's rather naughty.
He's the one that knocks over plants, tries to jump on the kitchen
counter to get food, licks plastic bags...yes, he's weird!
He has the cutest markings on his nose though, and a brown spot on his
chin that we call his goatee. ;-)


It took awhile for all the cats to get along and they still
fight once in awhile, but sometimes they'll surprise me like they did
this morning when I came home from running an errand...

The three of them were all nestled in my (unmade) bed!
Just for the record, I normally make my bed every morning.
But, if one of the kitties is sleeping on my bed when I'm ready to make it,
I don't disturb him/her. Yeah, I'm a sucker.


"I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little,
they become its visible soul." 
(Jean Cocteau)

Linking up to Claudia's A Favorite Thing #10


21 comments:

  1. Oh, this is so sweet. How nice to meet your three beautiful cats. It's wonderful to see them get along as in the last photo. We have 6 and they all live very well together. Never a fight, just some bad-mouthing once in awhile. They certainly are part of the family...a big part. We enjoy them so much. Deb

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  2. They are all precious, Melanie. I love the name Monkey!! It's sweet to see them all get along. I would love to have a kitty and I did when I was a young girl, her name was Cleo. But it turned out I was severely allergic to her so we had to give her away. My hubs and daughters are also allergic to cats so we have only had dogs and a few parrots. Cats are sort of unobtrusive it seems, not like a crazy household of dogs!! But I do love Milo and Layla and they sleep under the covers just like your precious little one! Ahhh...

    XO,
    Jane

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  3. Be still my heart! Your cats are so sweet, lovable and endearing to me. I am a lover of little furries with whiskers and happy purrings. We have three housecats and I can't imagine life without their loving companionship.
    Blessings and a purrrrfect day,
    Carolynn >^^<

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  4. Melanie ~ your kitties are all sweet. We have two cats ~ Sophie who we just got. She is sweet and we just inherited another from a friend of ours, Samantha. They are both around 7 months old. Sammy is already fixed, but it's Sophie's turn. She will be going in this week and coming out with "conehead". This is going to be an interesting time trying to keep that thing on her head. I love cats ;-)

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  5. Your kitties seem part of life since I have known you since they all came into your life except Zippo who you had at the time. I still remember the photo of Zippo and your son sleeping under the Christmas tree. It just warmed my heart. Life would not be the same without our sweet fur babies!

    Hugs from Holland ~
    Heidi

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  6. Awwww, they are so sweet. Love that last picture.

    Sue
    xo

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  7. Great photos-- great stories. Wish more folks have a heart like yours when it comes to animals!

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  8. They are so beautiful! The photo of them nestled together on your bed warms my heart. You sound like me - we rescued our dogs, too. I really believe in that.

    Thanks so much for joining in this week!

    xo
    Claudia

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  9. We love our fur babies around here too. I love how they are all color coordinated. Hope all is well. Have a wonderful Sunday.

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  10. You had me at 'cats'!!! I love my fur babies so much. I'll be doing a post on them soon in my gratitude series this month. I hope you'll come back for another visit. My oldest is 14 yrs and the sweetest guy. We just rescued a one year old stray and boy is he lively. thanks for taking in these adorable little cuties. Big Hugs, Linda

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  11. OMG, Melanie - we are SOUL sisters! I have posted that same unmade bed because of kitties (of course it was my bed, not yours), I have had countless things broken, even valances come crashing down due to our crazy/naughty Baby cat, and I've used that same cat quote on both my blog and in some of my art! Too funny! Your fur babies are GORGEOUS!!!

    I just posted a couple of 15 second (or less) videos of our crazy Baby. Do come and visit!

    P.S. I've ALSO ranted about cats being dropped off, etc. Sounds like we share a LOT of the same feelings! .... Donna

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  12. I'm more of a dog person but your fur babies are so adorable. I love their little pink paws - they look so sweet!

    Please, I could rant all day about people that don't look after their pets. It drives me crazy when people think pets are disposable!!

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  13. Your cats are adorable! I have a dog and now 2 cats, my beloved Porker died last Christmas. I love all our fur babies too, they are so special to us.

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  14. Hi Melanie!
    This is my first visit to your blog and I am smitten with your three kittens! I never met a cat or a cat lover that I didn't like. Your three are beautiful and I can tell they are the loves of your life. We have three housecats...Zoey, Schlomo and Abigail. I can't imagine life without them. We are currently babysitting my son's tabby, Sargeant, while he is overseas.
    I'm so glad you shared your precious little whiskered pals...Give them all kitty kisses for me!
    Blessings,
    Carolynn >^^<

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  15. So sweet! We have two cats....sugar and spice :) They always make my day brighter.

    Your furbabies are adorable!

    blessings,
    karianne

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  16. What cute kitty stories! Zippo does have lovely pink pads! I also never make the bed if the cats have made themselves particularly comfortable. :)

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  17. Oh, Melanie, what sweet kitties you have. I had two cats and I miss them so much. Yours are so beautiful. I do love cats that like to snuggle.

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  18. Awww, you know I love your kitties!! They are just PURR-fect!!

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  19. I smiled all the way through this post. Your kitties sure are cute. Best wishes, Tammy

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