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