Sleepy Kitties

It is hot outside but cool inside. All we want to do is nap.

We are so happy to nap. 

I am sure you would agree, that we are pretty cute sleepy. 

Pasqua likes to nap on his back, mamma often wakes him up when her camera takes a snap. 

Grigio prefers to sleep on the deck, doesn't trust us enough to come inside just yet.

We hope your week was filled with joy and peace.

And that your week ahead will offer you plenty of sleep.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

If you want happiness for an hour take a nap. If you want happiness for a day go fishing. If you want happiness for a year inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime help someone else. - Author Unknown.

Delighted with a gift, and the simple pleasures of life.

Exciting news here! I have a new toy, a big happy fish, and it is by far the very best Christmas gift I received. 

Mamma tried to catch me playing with it on video, but I am hip to her game, and as soon as I noticed she was recording me, I stopped playing. I am a wee-bit camera shy. Check meowt: Life With Cats

This fish is awfully fun, and pretty, too - thanks to Aunt Jules for sending it to me.

We had some snow here this week, and I liked watching it from the window. Grateful to not have to be out in it. Between the fun new toy, and being able to be inside in the winter, I know I am a blessed cat.

Does it snow where you live? Do you have winter? Winter here offers beautiful sunrises, and when it snows it looks magical outside. 

I enjoy being inside, lots of blankets to warm up in. If you like to warm up with a blanket, hot cup of tea or cocoa, whatever you like, be sure to treat yourself this week, and relish in the beauty of life. 

Purr & Paw, 

-Stivali. 🐾

A sunrise, a walk in the woods, take time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. - Sunta. 

I am ten!

Today is a very important day! We celebrate my introduction to mamma and Stray Cat. 

Today marks ten years since they adopted me. We celebrate today as my birthday, too, since I was only a couple of weeks old when I met my mamma - so perhaps, I was born on Thanksgiving, I do not remember, I was too scared to realize what day it was.

🎈Mamma calls today, "You're Ours Day" but I like to call it, "I'm Yours Day!". Today is a good day. 🎂Hug the ones you love. 🐱

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

Don't just count your years, make your years count.- George Meredith. 

Arrivederci Novembre!

This wonderful week was filled with blessings. Our little Grigio visited daily, and even used the shelter mamma built for him. 

Grigio still won't come inside the house, but we remain hopeful that soon he will trust us enough to. 

Also this week, mamma had a couple days off from work, which made us so happy. We got to nap in peace and play more than usual. 

November is ending and we are about to greet December. I like December because I get to follow mamma into the basement to retrieve all our Christmas decorations. One item in particular is my absolute favourite - an actual tree for the house. 🌲

Coolest thing ever for housecats. 

Each December we celebrate a Christian holiday - but we also celebrate me! More about that next week. I know you will look forward to reading all about it. 

The title of this week's blog bids "farewell" to the month. As our names suggest, you might have guessed we are bilingual kitties. One thing that is awesome to us, no matter which languages you speak, everyone smiles in the same language. 

Hope this week brings lots of smiles.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

A simple smile. That’s the start of opening your heart and being compassionate to others. -Dalai Lama.

Cover Girl

Happy March, Dear Readers!

We are very excited that we were selected to be part of a Girls' Scout Calendar. Behold March:

A Girl Scout was creating a calendar and sought photos of cats. The proceeds from the sale of the calendar would benefit a TNR program. Mamma submitted multiple photos of Pasqua and I, and to our pure delight, we were both selected to be part of the calendar.

How cool is that? And for a wonderful cause! 

I make a beautiful cover girl, don't you agree? 

We had a wonderful week here - very cold outside, which makes us overly concerned about our sweet Grigio. He refuses to allow us to approach him, and he won't come inside our warm home. Happily, he uses a heated pad on our deck - and just stares at us: 

He is a very silly cat, and we hope one day he will realize the happy home inside. There are lots of things to play with, and lots of places to hide, too. Maybe one day. We remain hopeful. 

May your March be filled with sunshine and happiness.

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

In March the soft rains continued, and each storm waited courteously until its predecessor sunk beneath the ground. - John Steinbeck.

February went by in a flash!

Was this the fastest month ever for you, Dear Readers?

We can't believe it is the last week of February already!

I am happy to report that we are doing well. We play together, we wrestle, and we nap a lot, too. 

Things are going well. Although, little Grigio is insisting on staying outside despite our efforts to get him inside.

We are mesmerized by the outdoors, but we kitties prefer staying in where it is warm. Mamma being inside is a good excuse for us not to leave. 

May the rest of your February be fabulous - and the upcoming March magical.

C'mon, Spring, we are waiting for you! 😺

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior. – Hippolyte Adolphe Taine.

Festival of Lights

Hello Readers!

Mamma is preparing for Christmas, but that is not the only holiday of the season. Hanukkah 2019 will begin this evening and ends the evening of  Monday, December 30.

Learn about the History of Hanukkah here. Thank you, History Channel. 🐱

Do you celebrate Hanukkah? Or, if you know someone who does, did you know that to wish someone a Happy Hanukkah, you would say “Hanukkah Sameach!” or “Chag Sameach!” (meaning: Happy Holiday)? In Hebrew we would say “Chag Urim Sameach!”.

Mamma likes to bake and cook. To her utter disbelief, we cannot help her, we have too much fur. If you are looking for new recipes for Hanukkah, check these out: Hanukkah Recipes & Tips

Whatever you celebrate, we wish you full bellies, joyful laughter, and much happiness as you celebrate.

We are at the screen door looking outside in this photo. 

How cute is this cat nip filled stocking from our Aunt Julie? 

From our home to yours, Happy Holidays! 

Purr & Paw, 🐾

-Stivali.

Merry everything, and a happy, always! 

Mamma's Day!

We are so excited to announce that our mamma's birthday was this week and she is healthy, happy, and one year older! 😺 We celebrate all month long - but now that August is done, we have to welcome September and say "Ciao" to the August birthday-month. 

She received the most amazing birthday card. The envelope was addressed to "Mamma". She instinctively knew that someone special made her a card from us!

A Happy Birthday wish from the cats!

And all the kiddies were represented. Me, and Kismet, and Stray Cat, and Pasqua Bunny:

And on the back, even our little feral Grigio was represented:  

Isn't this the most amazing and thoughtful card you have ever seen? 🐱 We give huge kudos, purrs, and pets to our beautiful Aunt Josie who is a talented artist and as you can plainly see - extremely creative. We love her! 😻 Thank you, Aunt Josie, for going to Hallmark for us and for making sure our mamma knew we did not forget her special day.

We hope all of you enjoy the start of your September with a celebration day of your own: a day off from your work, chores, and responsibilities. Tomorrow is Labor Day, a celebration created by the labor movement, dedicated to the achievements of American workers. May it remind all of us to have strength, to be prosperous, and respect the well-being of our country.

Thank you for all you do to make America great!

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is to celebrate. - Oprah Winfrey. 

New Jersey's Cutest Cat - to us! :)

Well, the votes are in... and we still say we win.

According to New Jersey Monthly's cutest cat contest, the winner is "Berry" - seen below:

We appreciate them sending us this adorable mock-cover of Pasqua winning the contest, because to us, he is the winner:  

We had a wonderful week despite the disappointment of finding out we did not win the contest. We napped, we played, we watched birds and deer outside. We had multiple visits from Grigio, and enjoyed watching him, too.

We thank all of you who voted for Pasqua and supported us in our endeavor. Here's to another great week ahead for all of us and all of you. 🐱

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali.

You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing. -Arthur Ashe.

Happy August

Happy August, Readers,

August is one of our favorite months around here. We celebrate mamma all month long since she was born on the very last day of the month!

Also in August, we celebrate our friends: Jeff, Corinne, Ryan, Lisa Marie, Dan, Elaine, Bob, Peter, and our cousin, Michaella. :) If you were born in August - we also celebrate YOU! 🎂
Happy Birthday, Everyone!

We also honor mamma's orange tabby, Kismet, and her German Shepherd, Zoe, who both passed away in August of 2009. Pasqua and I never met either of them but mamma often speaks about them and shares stories of all the funny things they did when they were with her on earth. ❤

This week, I began waking mamma up before her alarm and would ask for cuddles. This makes her very happy, and I hope it reminds her of Kismet and Stray Cat - her two sweet boys who used to offer morning cuddles often.

Did you know that originally, August was called Sextilis? Before January and February were added to the Roman Calendar, August was the sixth month of the year, hence its original name. But when it became the eighth month of the year, it was later renamed in honor of the first emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus, to Augustus. Isn't that interesting to know?

Most nights this week our Grigio (grey kitty) has come to the door for food but still won't let mamma approach. We are hopeful he will learn to trust us soon.

Yes, Pasqua named the feral kitten the same name as his favorite toy - the grey mouse. He insisted on naming the kitten "Grey" too.😍

No blog post is complete without pictures of us from this week:

We are very happy kitties indeed, not to mention utterly adorable, too.

Enjoy your week, Everyone!

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali.

August - it's like the Sunday of summer. 

Is Stray Cat bringing us a friend?

About one month ago, Mamma saw what she thought was a stray cat in our yard.

So, she built the kitty an outdoor shelter since we were getting so much rain, and began putting food out for him.

Weeks went by, and we never did see this white and grey kitty again.

One night, when my sister and I were hanging out in our sunroom, a different kitty appeared at our door. We were surprised and alerted Mamma.

A beautiful grey kitty with big green eyes. He was quite thin and looked like he was living outdoors in our woods. Mamma fetched him some fresh water and some of our crunchy cereal. When she went outside to bring it to him, the grey kitty ran away. She called for him but he did not return. We were sad.

When Stray Cat first passed away, we knew we would never truly recover from the tragic loss. Mamma found comfort in her belief that when Stray Cat was ready, he would bring her a different stray to her... That was her immediate thought when she saw the white and grey cat hanging out in our yard. That Stray Cat finally brought us a friend.

So, then, who is this?

Nearly nightly, this little grey kitty has come to our sunroom door asking for food. He does not let Mamma approach him, and runs away when she goes out side with his food, but he returns to eat it.

Isn't he beautiful?

We are elated to be helping this little grey kitty, and we are determining what to do next. Will he let us take him in? Will we have the opportunity to bring him to our doctor to be checked? Will he want to join our family?

Stay tuned! There are exciting things happening here.

😻🙋😻
Purr & Paw,
-Stivali.

"Cats choose us, we don't choose them." - Kristin F Cast.

Happier than gelato!

How was everyone's weekend? We had a blast. We are truly enjoying becoming friends. Even if I get irritated with the little guy, things are pretty good.

Mamma's friend said that we make her happier than gelato... and you know what? I think we do. 😼😼

The latest news about the bathroom sink is... Pasqua is stepping over the boundary here. Ummm, Kitten, I like to drink from the tap, not sit in the sink... He is not a very good student to my teachings.

On Easter Sunday, mamma attempted to do an Easter photo session to commemorate our first Easter with our Easter kitty... they were a total fail. The best of the worst:  

Mamma is gonna have to order this Pasqua solo-photo as next year's Easter card -and right quick, otherwise, she may forget to do it next year. How adorable is this? Buona Pasqua from Pasqua! 

And alas, sleeping is still one of our favorite things to do. Take note of me here. Adorable, as per usual:

Of course, we cannot forget what this month also represents to us. The day mamma first took in little Stray Cat all the way back in 2007. He was a little wee one as you may have noticed in the previous blog post.  After hanging around outside for awhile, she finally let him in on April 24th. About a week later, he had his first vet appointment and the doctor assessed he was about eight months to one year old. So we just celebrate all month long as Stray Cat's gotcha-day and pseudo "birth" day. 

I think of him every day, and I know mamma does, too. I don't know if Pasqua and I will ever be how Stray Cat and I were, but I am willing to try to be nicer in honor of Stray. He was a terrific big brother. We were very close and got along beautifully.

If you have two or more cats and feel like you are dealing with some sibling rivalry, check out this great article from our friends at Catser which shares tips on how to handle it: Cat behavior - do cats get jealous?

Enjoy your last week of April, Dear Readers.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali.