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