How does your cat love thee? Let us count the ways...

Happy Day, Dear Readers!

Did you ever wonder how us cats tell you we love you? Well, my mamma knows all the signs. First off, she tells us she loves us all of the time. I mean ...


ALL

of

the

TIME.

She is consistently telling us. Sometimes, she looks right at us, meets our eyes and closes them slowly at us. Then, we tell her we love her back by imitating that gesture.

Little Pasqua Bunny even winks at her when she winks at him. It's adorable.

Stray Cat used to head-butt mamma, and that certainly was a cat gesture for "I love you!" - neither Pasqua nor I do that to her. That shall remain special between her and our dear Stray Cat.

Remember how I told you about me carrying little Verdi to mamma? That is my way of telling her I love her and I trust her with my favorite toy. Daily I carry it to her, up and down the steps. She adores when I do this.

If you have an outdoor kitty who brings you a catch (bird, mouse, squirrel), this is the same sign of love. Giving you a present. So don't get upset, just thank your kitty for the gift and reciprocate with gratitude and an "I love you, too!".

Does your kitty knead your lap when relaxing with you? This sweet sign sometimes called "making biscuits" is a natural thing baby kitties did on their cat-mom while nursing, the action promoted milk, and therefore this sweet affection shows that your cat is content, secure, and definitely loves you!

Both Stray Cat and Pasqua greet mamma at the door every time she arrives home. I am much too lazy for this display of love and affection. If your cat greets you and shows excitement to see you return home, then, be rest-assured it means they love you! (Me NOT doing it does not mean I do not love mamma, it just means some cats are more affectionate and excitable than others.)

I rub against my mamma any chance I get to put my scent on her and steal her scent. This is the most common way I tell her I love her. I also fall asleep next to her and purr as loudly as possible. So if your cats rub up against you a lot, wants to be near you a lot, and purrs way louder than normal when they are resting near you - they are telling you they love you!

Cats do not talk to other cats with meows. They reserve meows for their humans. 😼 If you and your cat have full-blown conversations word-to-meow, then, yes they love you! 😼 Extra brownie points to you if your cat trills or chirps. That is cat talk for you are super duper.

One thing that Stray Cat did that neither Pasqua nor I do is groom mamma. We groom each other on occasion as a sign of trusted friendship, but we don't do this to mamma. I am very sure that this action, that Stray Cat did daily, multiple times a day, was a pure sign of his love for mamma.

You may be completely disgusted and feel that this would NOT be your favorite affection preference, just know that if your cat does groom you, they consider you part of their inner circle. Be extremely pleased that your cat shows love for you in this way.

How does your cat love thee? Let us count the ways...

I'll start with these ten. Add the affection you receive in the comments section below to keep the count going.

1. Eye blinks.
2. Head-bunting.
3. Gives gifts.
4. Kneads you.
5. Greets you at door.
6. Rubs oils from their facial glands onto you.
7. Super purrs.
8. Stays near you no matter what room you walk into.
9. Talks to you.
10. Grooms you.

💘💗❤♡♥♡♥❤💗💘Happy Valentine's Week, Everyone. Be kind to one another and give extra pets to pets. Even Pasqua deserves them. 😹

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

If you have only one smile in you give it to the people [cats] you love. —Maya Angelou.

May days

Hello Readers, how was your weekend? 😼

We had a nice weekend here - mamma worked on Stray Cat's memorial garden.  Pasqua and I watched her work outside through the screen window.

I just adore sun puddles.

She has yet to capture Chip's Chirp very well, but she is trying. Be sure to check out all of her videos of us on her YouTube channel.

The voting for the New Jersey Monthly Cutest Cat contest has officially ended, and we are hopeful we will hear good news next month about it. If you decided to vote for our little boy, we thank you!

Voting is still open for the Catster Contest and every vote counts - we appreciate your support! ❤

I do think he is the cutest cat in NJ. Hope y'all agree.

Cannot believe May is coming quickly to a close. How quick the time passes.

We hope you all are enjoying beautiful weather and are able to get out in it. ☀

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive. - Fennel Hudson.

My story isn't over yet.

Thank you, Dear Readers, for your prayers, thoughts, and hopes for my health and overall peace.  They worked. My ma had called the doctor last Monday morning, as you read in the hope hope post. She asked if she could increase my diuretic dosage and the doctor agreed; with guarded monitoring to see after a week how I react to it.

Each day is different. Some days, I don’t breathe heavy, and I am cooing and purring like my ma is used to. Other days, I do breathe heavy, I am lethargic, and want to be left alone. No purring.  This is upsetting to mamma. She said, though, that each day is a gift, and so it is. She loves on me and loves on me each day we are together.

I am a blessed cat.

Are you familiar with the beautiful song, “Never Been a Moment” by Micah Tyler? If you do not know it, I encourage you to listen to it – it is such a beautiful song. My mamma changes the lyrics a little bit and sings it to me, as if the song was written about me. She is so funny!

I think, though, if I had a singing voice that wasn’t equipped with just chirps and trills I would sing it to her. Of course, changing her kitty lyrics to human ones. She is a good human. Here is her version of the song she sings to me:

♬"You were lost, but somehow you were found.
There's been some pain, been some regret, been some moments I'll never forget.
But when I look back from where I'm standing now, I know -

There's never been a moment I was not held inside your arms.
And there's never been a day when you were not who you say you are.
Yours forever, it don't matter what I'm walking through, ‘cause no matter where I'm going, there's never been a moment that I was not loved by you.

Loved by you.
Loved by you.

You've been my rock, you've been my peace, always showing your good heart to me.
My days are marked by grace I don't deserve, no, you've been the kitty who is always ready to play. You've been the light that has led my way. No matter where I am, there you are!

There's never been a moment I was not held inside your arms.
And there's never been a day when you were not who you say you are.
Yours forever, it don't matter what I'm walking through, ‘cause no matter where I'm going, there's never been a moment that I was not loved by you.

Loved by you.
Loved by you.

So where could you go that you could wander from my sight?  Where would I run and never leave behind your all consuming, heart pursuing, grace extending, never ending love. Stray Cat’s love! 

There's never been a moment I was not held inside your arms. And there's never been a day when you were not who you say you are. Yours forever, it don't matter what I'm walking through, ‘cause no matter where I'm going, there's never been a moment that I was not loved by you.

Loved by you.
Loved by you."🎶

It is true. She is mine forever. I am hers forever, and it doesn’t matter where I am or where she is – there was never a moment I was not loved by her – nor a moment where she was not loved by me.  This is true. 

Hug tight those you love, Dear Readers! 

Hope. Hope.

My mamma refers to herself as “forever hopeful”.  

Hope is the happy anticipation that something good is going to happen. Expecting something good to happen. Hope hope hope.  

The archaic definition of hope is a feeling of trust. Mamma trusts God. She says God is a God of Hope.  Hope hope hope. 

Photo taken yesterday which I think came out pretty neat.

I did not do so well yesterday. Sunday morning was the first morning I did not greet her with kisses and paw pats. A morning ritual that began many many years ago – where I wake her before her alarm goes off just so I can get some cuddles in.  My breathing was labored.  Very heavy.  It made my ma  nervous. When she went to pick me up for a hug, it hurt so I yelped – scaring ma even more-so. I usually like being held, I like licking her face, actually, when she holds me. Years ago, she used to get impatient with all my obsessive licking, but I think now she is getting upset that I don’t feel like giving her those once numerous cat kisses.

Not only did I not wake her yesterday or today with cat love, but I also failed to come up to the bedroom two nights in a row. She woke this morning in a feared frenzy.  When she found me, she noticed right away that my breathing did not improve overnight, despite my many medications.

Her fear only worsened when I refused breakfast today. My mamma called the doctor this morning, and they are allowing me to take an extra dosage of one of my two diuretics, but only for a couple of days to see if my breathing gets better – otherwise, I will have to go back to the doctor’s for at least an x-ray to grasp what is really going on inside me. I know the doctor said more than that, as she was crying pretty hard, but she won’t tell me, she wants me to be free of pain, peaceful and happy. She left for work late, crying. Hated leaving me, it was very obvious.

This afternoon, I made a concerted effort to prove my happiness upon her return home from work. I barreled down the steps to greet her – let her scoop me up into her arms – and even though I did not feel like kissing her I did let her hold me for a long time and I purred.

Today after work, we hugged.

She has been oddly taking photos of me, more than usual, if that is possible. She also is recording me a lot. She adores my meow – since I am a chirper and I trill as I don’t have the common cat-meow, but one reserved for my distinct and superior breed. J I know she is trying to get it on video, but I have not been my talkative self these days. 

I know my mamma is trusting God, she is expecting this rough situation to change, expecting it to get better. She is trusting God, hoping for the best, wanting joy and peace for me despite my chronic condition which cannot be cured. It is pretty obvious to anyone watching me breathe that the weakness of my heart has led to a buildup of fluid in my lungs and surrounding tissues more than I think I can handle. She knows this. I know this. She is too sad to admit this to be true. Because she is hopeful.

Hope hope.

I do love her very much, she has given me a warm home to live in. She took me in, off of the cold streets of Searsport, Maine. She feeds me well, and grooms me often; she has taken care of me. It is not as though I don’t love her just because I don’t feel like cuddling or giving affection any more.  I will forever be her Purr-ball, Sweet Puffball, Boohbahla, Boohbah, Buddy, Bubbie and all the other sweet names she affectionately calls me. I think I am more sick than we all realized. Growing old is hard.

Tonight, I am thanking God for the power of hope.

Chirp trill chirp trill

It is true, I am a Maine Coon. Maine Coon's tend to chirp rather than "meow", why is that? 

Did you ever consider or wonder why?

My sister and I rarely meow at one another, we clean each other but don't really speak to one another. Sometimes she will hiss at me, especially when I return from the doctor's office, she yells at me to tell me that I smell weird.

We both talk to our mamma, and she talks back.  It is quite fun.  My sister meow meow meows, and I chirp and trill.   If you have never met a Maine Coon, you may not know what we sound like - we chirp and trill - trill is like a meow with a purr and chirp is like a bird.  My sister makes the funniest noise when she sees a bird, sounds like "ca ca ca" - my chirp is more like a bird's tweet. So don't confuse the "ca ca ca" of a domestic cat to the chirp chirp chirp of a Maine Coon.  

Today, for Mother's Day, we will be sure to sing to our mamma - she likes hearing our adorable voices, and we like making her happy.

To all the mothers reading my post - Happy Mother's Day to you!  My sister and I hope you get all the singing you want - from cats or humans.  If you have a dog, be fair warned, they don't have as much vocal variety as us cats... so just another reason to add a cat to your family.