We're new to Pet Talk!

[rkidsrcats]

Hi Pet Fans!
We're newbies via having Percy selected as a former COTD. Here's a photo of the furry tribe. We specialize in cats that have 1 or no eyes. Pippin is blind and Tiger and William have vision in 1 eye. Percy and Norman say they are perfect. Fiona is wondering where all the cats came from! This is a fun site - we love all the good lookin' pets and reading about the silly stuff they do!
http://home.comcast.net/~jphoenix12/The_Tribe_33.jpg

[dukedogsmom]

What adorable animals! I just love Pippin. Welcome to PT. I've got an almost 11 yr old German Shepherd/Chow dog and an almost 20 yr old Arabian horse. Hope you like it here. Sounds like you do already.

[amoore]

Welcome to Pet Talk! A warm and friendly board. So happy to meet you and your wonderful pets.:)

[K & L]

Welcome! All your animals are precious. I really like Norman cause he reminds me of a cat, Mr. January, that hangs around our place.

[trayi52]

Oh, I think that Pippin is a poser, and loves the camera! What a tail!

Welcome to Pet Talk, I hope you like it here.

Willie

[catnapper]

A big, hearty welcome to Pet Talk!

I am owned by Nicki the wussy dog, Allen the King, and Pouncer the naw-tee kitten.

I'm glad to see that you've gotten the hang of posting pictures already. We here at PT love pictures. We demand them! Welcome and I hope you come to be as addicted as the rest of us!

[Felicia's Mom]

A big welcome to Pet Talk!!

[Edwina's Secretary]

Welcome! Your Pippin reminds me of my Edwina. I would love to hear how your guys manage in spite of the disabilities!

What a terrific thing you do!

[Barbara]

Pets doing silly stuff here?

Tigris and Filou shake their heads and send a warm welcome.

A friend's cat, Penelope, was blind in her older years. It was amazing how well she got along.

Headscritchies to the tribe:)

[Randi]

A warm welcome to PT! :) You have a wonderful gang there, I love them all - especially Tiger Tiger! :D

I'm so glad they've found a loving home with you, because some may not want a blind cat. :( They seem to enjoy life and not notice their handicap - isn't that great! :) :) If only humans could do the same!

Looking forward to hear more about each and every one, and see pics. ;)

[catlover4ever]

Welcome to Pet Talk, I loved seeing all the pictures of your fur-family and I look forward to hearing and seeing more pictures and stories of them. Welcome again. :)

[kimlovescats]

A big WELCOME to Pet Talk! Your crew is so adorable, and I just love that you have a great big heart for the needy! Please tell us the stories behind your "kids"!!! :D

[jazzcat]

Welcome to PT! Your furbabies are adorable. I look forward to hearing and seeing more of them.

I have three cats and dog as you can see in my sig below.

[RedHedd]

Welcome to PT and glad to see you've mastered picture posting right away! That's a good thing, as we LOVE pictures! Now as for pets doing silly stuff :eek: Never, nuh-uh, not here, no .... :D

We've been having very stormy weather here in the San Francisco Bay Area and my two have been acting pretty strange - guess they react to the air pressure differences. Mitzi has started sleeping on top of her covered litter box :rolleyes: and finding other new and different strange places to sit, stand, pose, drape herself .... the top of the computer, the magazine rack, the first step of a ladder in the hallway, etc. It's funny and cute and she keeps surprising me with new places where she will sit and wait until meowmie notices that she's being exceptionally cute and wants a pet. When I do spot her and coo at her, she lets out a little kitty-chirp. She's also taken to being at my side every evening while watching TV, becoming a real meowmie's girl.

Mishi is just Mishi, although he did pick a fight with Mitzi this morning -- what a noise! I hope this isn't something that will continue - him beating up on her! Ah kids! :rolleyes:

[rkidsrcats]

Thanks for all the "welcomes"! Yeah, we love this place.
Many of you asked about Pippin, the blind kitten. He's a very special boy. We adopted him a year ago from Little Shelter Animal Rescue (Long Island, NY) when we lived in Connecticut. I had worked for them, writing grants, taking & posting web photos, advertising and fundraising, etc. Anyway, the VP, Ruth, and I became good friends and she was always on the look out for potential additions to our family. TigerTiger was also one of her suggestions - he was at the shelter for a few months and as he grew older, he would sit on the shelves in the adoption room and when people came through he would reach out with a paw and want to hug, but they wouldn't give him a second look because of his eye problem ( the "not perfect" syndrome). When she told me that story, I told my hubby and he was like "Go get that cat! Any cat that wants a hug belongs here with us!" So we got TigerTiger, who is now definately Dad's cat, and that set things up for adopting Pippin.
Ruth called when Pips was brought in - he was apparently found near a church and the priest decided that he needed to go to a shelter. Luckily he took him to Little Shelter (no-kill) cuz I don't think he would have had a chance otherwise. Pips was about 4 months old by now and she described him as the most laid back, unafraid, trusting and inquisitive little guy she had ever seen. But she said, he is completely blind. 2 seconds later, we said yes and took a chance that the other guys would help him adjust.
Little did we know that TigerTiger was going to take on the role of big brother to the max. I no sooner got Pippin home than TigerTiger was in his cage, chirping and nuzzling him, trying to get him to come out and play. After that, we didn't need to do much - TigerTiger was in charge. I don't think they were separated much for a month and just by virtue of Pippin following Tiger around, he learned all about the house, the big footed Fiona, when to eat, where to sleep and how to antagonize the older guys just for fun. He goes everywhere now and visitors to our home don't know he's blind unless we tell them.
One thing we did do was build an adaptive ramp on the cat tree - Pippin loves to climb, but can't get down very well. At 3AM, he would get stuck at the top of the tree and just meow until he woke us up to get him down. Enough of that! Jim built this ramp in the picture - its pretty cool and works like a dream.
http://home.comcast.net/~jphoenix12/Pippinramp.jpg

Thanks again for all your replies.

[Miss Meow]

Welcome!

It's been great reading about your pets, and seeing beautiful picture! Hope you can hang around a long time and tell us more about them and yourself! :)

[Uabassoon]

Weclome to Pet Talk! All of your fur kids are beautiful! I'm owned by two cats an orange tabby named Corkscrew and a siamese mix named Tibby.

[jenluckenbach]

WELCOME!!! I simply am in love with William! Hope to see more of him and his fellow kitties soon!

[Twink]

Welcome! This is a great place, and your tribe are bound to become quick favorites! :)

I'm partial to Pippin myself. :D

How does Fiona get along with the kitties? I'd love a Golden myself, once we get a house.

[Steffi N]

Welcome to Pet Talk. Your story is so touching, especially how TigerTiger became a big brother to Pippin.
Of course, we want to hear more from you and see more of your very special and adorable fur family.

[dappledoxie]

Hello and welcome!!! :D

[rg_girlca]

A warm welcome to Pet Talk.
I truly enjoyed reading about your special needs babies and seeing their pictures. Bless you for taking in these precious babies as most people shun away from them. As I've said before, it takes a special person to care for these special kitties and you are one special lady.
All your furbabies are adorable and i'm glad we finally got to meet them all.
I just love the picture of Pippin with his curled up tail and bless your hubby for being the cat lover that he is and for building those ramps for Pippin.
Definitely looking forward to hearing more from you and seeing more pictures of your furbabies.

[Lixx]

Welcome! Your Furrbabies are beautiful! Look forward to hearing more from you!!

[auggie]

Bless you for taking care of the vision impaired cats and the blind Kitty.
I’m so impressed with your Tiger. What a sweetheart!
My cats could definitely learn from him.

[slick]

Welcome to Pet Talk!! You will love it here but be forewarned it's very addictive!!:) :D

I just loved your stories and bless you for taking in "special needs" kitties. I remember when I worked at our local shelter there was a kitty named Cee-Cee and she had 1 eye removed because of glaucoma. She was the sweetest cat you could ever meet and 1 week after the sir jury she running around with no problem. She finally got adopted out and is living the life of luxury she deserves.

Would love to see more pictures :)

[prettykitty1]

Hi Welcome I am a newbie myself i just joined 2/24/04 :) :p ;) :rolleyes: :cool: :D

[trayi52]

rkidsrcats, I love to hear your stories about how you got these little special babies. I guess that makes you a special mommy and your hubby a special daddy.

It is really good to have you here, I hope you post a lot of pictures, so we can get to know these guys on a personal basis. They all sound like a happy crew. I am glad to see somebody give these little guys a chance at life.

Now for a question, I had a blind dog once upon a time, and the vet told me to just not move the furniture around. So how about cats, how do they do being blind? Do you have to kind of keep things in the same place to keep them from bumping into the furniture? Just curious.

Willie

[rkidsrcats]

Ahhhh... you wanted more eh? Well, Pippin did a diary for the shelter volunteers of his first week with us. Here it is...( "the dragon" he refers to is Fiona. She's not really a ferocious dragon, but he had never been around a dog, so he was SURE it was a dragon! Now they get along great - Fiona is loved tremendously by all the boys. I was out of it with the flu for the first few days, so Dad was in charge of everyone - boys being boys, it was one big party!!!
Someone asked about moving the furniture when you have a blind pet. As far as Pippin goes, he adjusts pretty quickly and just uses those whiskers and his incredible hearing to avoid the obstacles. We moved the whole circus from Connecticut to Seattle, Wa in Oct. 03 and Pippin did the best on the 5 day trip - he had the hotel rooms figured out in about 30 minutes, hopped up on a bed and went right to sleep.

Ok here ya go....THE PIPPIN DIARIES.....

Day 1 - Dear Diary –

After a really long ride in a bumpy cat carrier with MOM, listening to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" CD, I arrived in a very strange, but wonderful place. I have my own little space equipped with kitchen, bathroom and comfy bed and I met my new brothers, my dad and "the dragon". My new brother TC and I hit it off immediately - he thought it was hilarious that I bumped into the walls and things and he started chirping and talking to me to make me feel at home and told me when to take a left to avoid the chair legs. Percy & William were a little more reserved about my arrival - I hope I make friends with them soon. Tiger has decided he is the boss of me and in charge of orientation for the new kid, so he barely leaves me alone, showed me where the important litter box was and even gave me a demonstration! As if I needed it. The food is great and plenty of it. I have yet to figure out what the deal is with "the dragon". Its huge, makes big sniffling noises and sometimes I can hear it crunching the bones of some unfortunate creature called a "rawhide". Glad I'm not a rawhide! Dad is very cool and lets me do adventurous things, like explore the closet. But he also likes cuddling and tickling my tummy. For now I'm confined to quarters until I get used to this room - then I'm told there is a whole lot more to explore. PS...I bit Tiger on the tail and we had quite a wrestling match before he gave up.

Day 2 - Dear Diary:
Early morning-- Mom's been up since 2AM with the really bad flu. Not keeping anything down! I did my best to snuggle and make her feel better, but she's got it bad! She didn't go to work today, so that's good because she can spend more time with me! Tiger has been helping out with how things are in the family. I talked to Percy a little and we exchanged paws through the baby gate. Then he jumped over and checked out my digs, had some crunchies and played with me in the closet. William is still waiting to see what I'm all about, so I play with my mouse and jingle ball to show him I'm harmless and friendly. He likes to sit up high and just watch what I'm doing - I can hear him up there on his box, so I go over to see if he's willing to shake a paw and say hi. I think he's pretty worried about MOM - she's so wiped out all she does is sleep. Dad has taken over the her half of the family care duties and boy is he fun! He took me out to the living room today and let me sniff all around. I told you he's cool. I almost ran into "the dragon" today by accident, but she just sniffed me and went back to sleep. Still don't trust her though!

Day 3 -Dear Diary:
Very early morning-- Mom got so dehydrated from the flu bug that Dad took her to the hospital to get fluids! She's a mess! Tiger and the boys kept me safe from "the dragon" while they were gone. Mom feels better now - just needs to sleep and get over the flu bug. I wish I could find that bug for her- I'd catch it and kill it right away! Mom's off work for 3 days, so that's some consolation!

Day 3 --Later on-- Mom's still sleeping so that means Dad's in charge! I've been given upstairs privileges and have been upgraded to private first class in this man's army! I can now jump up onto the futon and love to snuggle in the covers - I roll around and snuggle down in them while playing with my mice and Tiger and I play with each other in the new cat condo Ruth gave us. I love the crackly sounds the tunnel tube makes. I'm getting very good at finding my way around with only the occasional nose bump, but I get a little confused when there's lots of activity with "the dragon", mom & dad and the boys walking around all at once. William is starting to fall under my charm - he rolled around and played with me a little today - Tiger tends to interrupt too much and William takes off - but I'm making friends fast!

Day 4 - Dear Diary:
Mom's feeling better! I just want to know who's idea it was to show her how to clean my eyes and face! YUK! She washes my eyes and puts this sticky stuff in them. OK, it feels good, but the other guys call me Mr. Magoop!

Much progress with family relations today. I've been so accepted that Percy let me play with his tail with only a slight protest, and William has started playing with me and wants me to chase him down the hallway. As soon as I figure out where everything is, I'll be hallway racing with the best of them. Tiger and I wrestle and he is very gentle, except when I'm not! I can't get away with much and I'm learning very good "tiger tribe" manners. Like its not cool to bite too hard and hissing and spitting isn't necessary or polite. I love the futon and sleep there most of the night- I just stretch out and sleep like I own the world!

Day 5- Dear Diary:
3 AM --I got my first "mousing lesson"- here's how it works! Percy finds it downstairs, brings it up and William & Tiger chase it around toward me. But, I've never chased a real mouse, so I didn't know what to do. They would go catch it, bring it to me and I just couldn't get the hang of it. . Then dad got up, rescued the mouse--lesson was over. Oh, well, its only the first lesson and I guess everyone messes up the first one!

I've learned so much in 5 days! I can find my way around upstairs, jump up and down from my boxes, my bed and the futon - the bed is a long elevator ride down!. But everyone says I'm pretty tough, strong and have a steel nose! Hallway racing is a blast, but stay out from under "the dragon's" feet. Meals are morning and evening, except I get special mid-day snacks, cuz I just burn too much energy. I'm doing my best to endear myself to mom & dad - being just darn cute & snuggly by nature… its working. Even "the dragon" is nice....I guess.


Gotta go now, but I’ll write soon…here’s some photos of me in my new home and my brothers Percy & Tiger!
Love ya,
Pippin (AKA The Pip Squeak)


http://home.comcast.net/~jphoenix12/tussle2.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~jphoenix12/tails2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jphoenix12/percy-tc2.jpg

[rg_girlca]

Oh Pippin, your diary should be published. You are quite the writer my dear.
What a truly uplifting and heartwarming story. It was so enjoyable to read how you came into your new forever home and how you just won over the hearts of everyone. You are a hero in my books dear sweet Pippin. Despite your blindness you are determined to not let it hinder you at all and are ready to face whatever obstacles that you may endure with courage, even the "dragon" Fiona.
I really enjoyed seeing your pictures, wrestling with your brother Tiger and Tiger giving Percy kissies.
It was also so brave of you to want to kill the nasty bug that took hold of your meowmie. I'm glad to hear she is feeling better now.

rkidsrcats, thank you so much for sharing this with us, it was truly wonderful and who can help but love Pippin, he sounds like a real treasure.

[trayi52]

rkidsrcats, I love it! You have indeed made my day, my week and my month! That was just the best. But I am a greedy person, I want more too.

I would love to see you start a story thread about these special guys, and tell us all about them and your lives with them. You made it so vivid. I love the part, where Pippin is not sure what the dragon is, and the rawhide bone.

Please consider putting this in story form and posting in general about this wonderful story! A wonderful true story. I am so glad these little special guys found you as their forever home.

I am sorry, but I do want more, more and still more. This is the best!

And please call me Willie. You and your wonderful family has really brightened my day.

I just want to hear about all of them, TigerTiger, Percy and William,Fiona the dragon, of course Pippin. Did I miss anybody? LOL! All of them!

Willie

[BastetsMum]

Welcome to Pettalk!

I am a butler to a very spoilt abysinnian called Bastet.

Her royal nawteeness has decided at this very moment to meow at the top of her lungs. I think she climbed the library shelves again ....

[catcrazylady]

OH BOY!! I'm already in love with your crew!!! What a wonderful kitty, human, and dog bunch you are!! I'm so glad you joined PT! Keep the pictures and stories coming. You sound like a wonderful animal loving family so you will be very welcome here.
My crew is below in my sig. Seven of mine were ferals and the other two were strays. I won't get into all their stories but they are my very much loved babies!!!
Welcome aboard!!:D :D :D :D http://petoftheday.com/talk/images/our_smilies/biggrin.gif

[ramanth]

Welcome to Pet Talk! You have some gorgeous pets. :)

[catmandu]

Those certainly are Beautiful , Well Cared for Companions and the Found Cats and Feeder also , welcome you to Pet Talk. Found Cats salute your friends! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!

[rkidsrcats]

Yes, Pippin thinks he's a big time author now. Can't get him off the computer.

Willie, thanks for the messages. Our William especially likes you!

Thanks for listening to our stories. We too love hearing about, and seeing photos of everyone else's furry families. We are constantly amazed at the strong web of animal lovers, rescuers and caretakers all over the world that do their best to make the homeless ones just a little warmer, safer and loved. Having a place to connect with all of you is very comforting and encouraging.

PS: Slick was right... this is addicting!

Have a great day everyone!

[Killearn Kitties]

Pictures of all your furries in one thread and a signature now too! :) They are all gorgeous, but Pippin looks an absolute hoot. I loved his diary.

[CatDad]

Welcome to PT!!!!

You have a great looking group there.:) Hope to see more of them in the future.

This really is a great place and I am sure that you will like it here. It looks like the addiction has already taken hold.:D

I only have two and they are in my sig picture.