GRACIE SAYS, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

SEE GRACIE ROAR IN THE YEAR OF THE CAT.

Dining Hall Troop in Summer

Now that it is the dead of winter, I thought it would nice to look back at some photos taken of the Dining Hall Troop in midsummer. From left top going clockwise, they are: Orange Blossom and Caramel taking a break in the shade of some trees, Ragi and Caramel near the old broken-down fountain (where they drink a lot of water), Ragi near the same fountain but with a different backdrop, and Orange Blossom posing in front of the Number 1 building of the College of Education (just west of the fountain). Click here or on graphic below to load and view the large, full image:

New Breed of Urban Guerilla Chic Cats

Sheba and her brother Gus now rule the Swimming Pool Gang. They are joined by Buddy, an all black cat who has a brother, also all black, named Richie (50s rockers being one source of naming inspiration here).

I can see the tiger-stripes and three-color calico combinations making great natural camouflage. When the orange tabby Orange Blossom hunkers down in leaves, I sometimes nearly step on him. It's about the same for the orange-and-white Caramel, his brother.

But we keep getting more and more black-and-white cats, who seem to be perfectly colored for night activity in an urban setting. They are the hardest to see at night, truly! Even harder than all-black.

 

 

Sheba is on the left and Gus the right.

Sheba is long-haired, Gus is shorter-haired

and looks like he is wearing black trousers. 

PONGO AND ELVIS

Pongo was a sickly kitten of under 3 months when I found him--dumped near the campus swimming pool, sick with a cold, and in mortal flight from crows. He rebounded and is now a strapping, healthy male (neutered) of around 9 months age. He seems to have got along well with any cat he has been put with. One of his favorite older friends was Elvis. He loved to cuddle up to Elvis, and, now that Elvis has moved to a new home (with Gracie), Pongo cuddles with me a lot. Pongo misses Elvis, Gracie and Nana, but he still spends a lot of time with Babe. They have become like brothers actually.

Another look at Pushkin

As far as I can tell, Pushkin was a stray or abandoned cat because she wasn't wary of people. I suspect she must have spent the first few years of her life somewhere else and then found herself left on campus. She quickly found a relatively safe place to stay, but winters were hard on Pushkin. So I brought her in from the cold last winter, January 2009, and let her stay in my temporary office. Since she and Elvis had been neighbors and got along fine, they just continued in my office getting along well. Winters are hard on the campus cats. Perhaps the biggest factor is securing territory for safe, dry and warm places to sleep, preferably ones close to where they get fed. So competition for space gets intense. Also, there is a lot less space for them to roam around once the snows fall. And the cats like to stay close to where they know they can get food so as not to get cut off from the supply. The abandoned cats, even if they are good fighters, seem to have a harder time establishing and keeping territory. So it is just as well Elvis and Pushkin left the outdoor cats and became indoor cats again. Pushkin moved on to a new family last March. I hope she is doing well. Her new family lives close to where Nana is, north of Fukui City, near the Kuzuryu River, as it flows north to Mikuni.

Pushkin is an extremely good-natured cat, and I think it shows when you look at her photos. 

 

 

THE ELVIS COLLECTION

When Elvis dreams, what does he dream of?

No more wars? Health care for all Americans?

ELVIS FOR PRESIDENT!

Another snap of Elvis and Gracie in their new home in Erie, PA

ELVIS AND GRACIE IN USA

They were born in Japan and made their lives as feral to semi-feral cats. Then they spent months in my office, with Pushkin, June, Nana, and Pongo. Now they share a home with Angie, Joe, and Biddy (a rescued cat). And everyone there misses Duncan very much (Duncan was a rescued cat who lived 14 years but who recently passed away). Please note just how much Gracie's right eye has improved (btw, Gracie is the cat roaring/yawning at the top of this blog on the masthead).

Shaun enjoys the fall colors

It's snowing now and all the leaves are down. Shaun lives in a space under a lot of larch trees, which shed brown needles in the autumn. But there are lots of chestnut and gingko trees around his building too. These give a nice red-yellow combination. This photo was taken on a beautiful late autumn day, before the blizzard hit. Shaun is spending the time in some of the 'cat shelter's I've made for the campus cats, staying warm and dry. Shaun is a smart cat and has learned how to survive the difficult winters in Fukui (which are cold and wet, a bad combination for cats).

Nana and Pongo enjoy the sunset.

At one time, Elvis, Gracie, Nana and Pongo would all gather to watch the sunset together. It was like late afternoon TV for them. Now it's Pongo and Babe. This is a photo of Pongo and Nana just before Nana moved to her new home. 

Shaun again

Shaun has the most nicknames of all the campus cats--Shaun-shaun, Ton-ton, Shaunster, Shaunmonster. When I ask him if he wants to go for a walk with me I always raise my voice an octave or two and say, "C'mon Ton-ton". He loves taking walks with me when the weather is nice. 

More photos of Shaun while in office

Shaun is such a cute cat for such a big guy.

Shaun visited the office recently

After Shaun got his vaccination, I let him rest up a bit in my office. If I can find homes for the three I am keeping in my office now, perhaps I could give Shaun and Maya Girl some time in my office to escape winter for a bit.

Ebi, Babe and Pongo still need homes 里親募集中

Nana and Pongo photo album - Click on the image to see photo album.

NANA-CHAN

Nana-chan has found a new home

Nana has moved to a large farmhouse outside Fukui City. In fact, not far from where Pushkin lives. I'm sure she misses Pongo (and Gracie and Elvis); Pongo sure misses her. As you can see from the photos, Pongo and Nana liked to cuddle up together.

ELVIS BABY

Elvis Baby is the latest rescue. Let's locate her at the East Gate of campus and put her down as an honorary member of both the Dining Hall Troop and the Swimming Pool Gang (since her location is about half way between both locations).

She is a cute little girl and looks like a miniature version of one of our campus cat favorites, Elvis. So I've called her Elvis Baby (but her nickname is 'Ebi', which means shrimp).

WE NEED HOMES!

Contact: werchikineko@gmail.com

WE ARE CHIIKI NEKO!

Dining Hall Troop All Together

The Dining Hall Troop is down to four adult cats (which is good because it means the kitten, Babe, has been rescued and Elvis and Gracie have found homes). They are Ragi, a calico, Caramel, Orange Blossom, and Shaun. Caramel and Shaun are both brown and white, while O.B. is a classic orange tabby (but without his tail). Here are some photos taken this year of them all. Ragi is the mother of Caramel and Orange Blossom and aunt to Shaun.

Here Orange Blossom stretches out and waits for dinner (with his brother Caramel behind him):

This is Shaun posing on the stoop of the College of Education #2 Building, where he spends much of his time:

Caramel is the hunter of the bunch. Here is doing that stalking thing amidst azaleas in mid-May:

I always think Ragi is such a beautiful cat:

Orange Blossom

Orange Blossom in front of the College of
Education No. 1 Building on a late summer afternoon.

I never met a fixed male cat with more muscle than Orange Blossom (O.B.). If he stuck around, he might be boss of the Dining Hall Troop. But since he likes to go away where it is quiet to sleep during the day, he isn't around enough to be boss. When push comes to shove in the Dining Hall area, no one is stronger than O.B. Caramel, his brother, is a more adept hunter and faster in his movements. Shaun, their cousin, is bigger than both O.B. and Caramel. Elvis, when he was here (he is now in the US with his new family), was the fiercest. But no one has more muscle and power than O.B. He climbs and descends very tall trees, but without the use of a tail (he lost this in an accident before he was one year old). Perhaps this need to compensate, especially when he comes down a tall tree, has given him more strength training. O.B. will climb trees and pursue young crows. He has at least two confirmed kills. Apparently O.B. hates crows because he remembers them getting some of his brothers and sisters when they were kittens. Only Caramel and O.B. survived. A bit later, another survivor, their cousin Shaun joined the Dining Hall Troop.

Nana and Pongo, Pongo and Nana

PORTRAIT OF PONGO



HERE ARE TWO PHOTOS OF NANA AND PONGO TOGETHER

They are as close as brother and sister. Or perhaps Nana, being a few months older, has become like a surrogate mother to Pongo. I'm so glad they get along well since they have to share the rather cramped space of my office until someone lets them join their family. I really hope they get to join the same family so they can continue to be together. They seem to keep each other from getting bored.

Babe

Babe is the latest cat to be rescued. He lived with the Dining Hall Troop for about 3 weeks in late summer, early fall. Until I caught him and made him an indoors cat, awaiting adoption.

He is a bit shy, but once I do get hold of him, he lets me hold him and pet him. So far he has got along very well with his officemates, Nana and Pongo. I have made him a triple-decker shelter out of styrofoam, and he loves to climb up to the hidden top level and sleep. I got him vaccinated as soon as I got him, but recently he has come down with a bad cold. Here is hoping he recovers from this soon. At 3 to 3 1/2 months old when I found him, Babe had very little chance of surviving the colder weather of fall. So I'm glad I managed to catch him before it got cold. At any rate, the last thing we need is another cat on campus having to live outdoors.

Here are a couple more photos of Babe, before he caught the cold:

Elvis album and slideshow

Elvis made the trip with Gracie to Erie, PA.

He retired from being the 'boss' of the Swimming Pool Gang. Elvis was an excellent 'officemate' with me, Pushkin, June, Gracie, Nana and Pongo.

I'm so happy we could find him a new home, and he now no longer eats his dinner under a car!

He is all around one of the coolest and nicest cats I have ever encountered. Very macho but also very sweet. He acted like a surrogate father to Pongo the kitten, cradling him and licking him. And he put up with Nana wanting to love him all the time.

Photo album (mixes some early photos of him with some later ones taken this year):

http://picasaweb.google.com/jannuzi/ELVIS#

Or run it as a slideshow:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jannuzi/ELVIS#slideshow/5390539291853391378

In a future post, I will have photos of Elvis' and Gracie's long trip from Fukui, Japan to Erie, PA, USA.

Enjoy a Gracie Slideshow

http://picasaweb.google.com/jannuzi/GRACIE#slideshow/5390539483418246674

By the way, some have asked--yes, Gracie's eye is getting better after the operation that the Daimon Animal clinic so kindly performed. The eye is now actually round and you can see iris and pupil. It appears that Gracie is seeing through it now as well.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jannuzi/GRACIE#slideshow/5390539483418246674

Here is the link to the photoalbum that generates the slideshow, in case the link doesn't work. Just click on 'slideshow' above the album.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jannuzi/GRACIE?feat=directlink

Gracie Photo Album

http://picasaweb.google.com/jannuzi/GRACIE?feat=directlink

Here is a small collection of some of my photos of Gracie taken over the past year. Gracie recently moved to a family in Erie, PA. Although it's a long way from Fukui, the climate is very similar. Gracie went with Elvis and both are enjoying for the first time, things like plush carpets, chipmunks running outside the window, and high-quality catfood without corn grits (like Newman's Own).

http://picasaweb.google.com/jannuzi/GRACIE?feat=directlink

June stayed with us for about a month

June stayed with us for about a month. She became good friends with Elvis and Gracie. June and Gracie were--immediately--like sisters. Being about the same age and both calico cats, they seemed to love each other. My how they loved to play too! Gracie really missed June when she joined her new family, but June went to be a companion to little O'Malley, the orange tabby we rescued earlier this year. Lil' O'Malley is now BIG O'Malley, and he and June really enjoy life together now. It seems that for a while O'Malley was a bored young male who was causing mayhem at his new family's house, but once he got June to spend time with, he settled down.

Here is a selection of my favorite photos of June when she was staying in the office. I really miss her because she was the MOST affectionate cat I've ever encountered. She must have stayed with the Swimming Pool group of cats on campus for about an hour before she came to me. That group consists of Maya Girl, Sheba, Gus--and now Buddy, a little all-black male who came from off campus this spring. Former boss of the gang is Elvis. And Gracie also spent time with the group (she started life with the Dining Hall group and then later joined the Swimming Pool one).










More photos of June, including ones with Gracie, can be found at my Picasa Web Album:


http://picasaweb.google.com/jannuzi/JUNE?authkey=Gv1sRgCPe8xdfpjKu3iwE&feat=directlink

PONGO STILL NEEDS A HOME

PONGO NEEDS A HOME/里親募集中

PONGO NEEDS A HOME/里親募集中

Gracie Needs a Home/里親募集中

Because of bullying from other cats, Gracie is staying in the office until I can find her a new home. She is really a sweet-natured little calico. She is very much like a little kitten still.

Contact: e-mail: werchikineko@gmail.com