This photo was from ten years ago yesterday. It is Abbey, Tigger, and the ever-present third wheel, young Chris.

This photo was from ten years ago yesterday. It is Abbey, Tigger, and the ever-present third wheel, young Chris.

I took Frankie for a walk Thursday but this time he took me on a different route. He doesn’t always go the same way but he usually heads out away from the front of the house. This time we walked around the corner and went behind the house.
By the time we reached the second street I noticed a cat just past the house on the corner. He was looking at Frankie and Frankie, I thought, was looking at him. I was expecting trouble but nothing happened. Frankie just continued on. Perhaps Frankie’s eyesight isn’t so good. I don’t know.
So we continued another block or so and when it became clear that Frankie was just going to continue to walk in a straight line away from home I decided to turn him around. I have tested him in the past to see how far he will go and it never ends well. I always end up carrying him home way farther than I want to.
I picked Frankie up and started walking back toward home. I knew he would struggle but that was okay because I just wanted to turn him around, not end his time outside. By the time we got back to the street that the cat was on Frankie started struggling so I put him down. That is when he really noticed the cat and started walking toward him. There was no growling or hissing so I thought maybe It would be a friendly encounter but that was like thinking I might win the lottery without buying a ticket.
When Frankie got closer both cats started making a loud yowling sound. This cat had a collar so he wasn’t a stray. I quickly snapped a photo and then picked Frankie up and carried him home.

He fought me all the way but I thought he was too agitated to continue a walk so I held on until we got home. I will have to see on our next walk if he remembers and heads that way again.
Some of you may remember Tigger. He was around when I started this blog in 2012. Here he is on this day in 2007.

He really knew how to relax. Wouldn’t you agree?
Here is Tigger, Chris and Alex ten years ago on this day in 2010.

I’m sure Tigger and Alex were napping peacefully when Chris dropped himself in the middle.
I might as well show the other two photos I took that day.


Judging by the photos, Tigger was very happy that Chris showed up.
Chris and Frankie want everyone to know that today is Ginger Cat Appreciation Day.

But who doesn’t appreciate ginger cats?
Here is Chris from exactly ten years ago when we lived in Myrtle Beach. I don’t know how his mouse ended up in the barrel. He probably threw it in there. He then went in there to retrieve it.

He was quite the player in his youth.
I found this rather cute photo of Chris, Tigger and Abbey napping together eight years ago today in 2012.

Of course, it didn’t start out like that.

Chris gradually worked his way into a comfortable third wheel.

Here is Frankie on a recent walk. During our walks, he often takes a time out for some rest and relaxation.

The SPCA announced recently that they were allowing the volunteers to come back. I took that opportunity to trade my 4-7 shift on Thursdays for a 1-4 shift on Fridays. This means that I will be volunteering at the same time I am on call at the Red Cross but I have gone on two calls in six months so I thoght it would be no problem.
When I walked into the cat room I noticed that all of the pods were empty, at least all that I could see.

I thought maybe they moved the cats and didn’t tell me but as I continued I saw a pod with four cats in it. I was pleasantly surprised to find seven of the eight cat pods empty. The next room has the smaller cages where cats are kept in isolation, either because they are recovering from surgery, they have a special diet, or the don’t play well with others.
There were four cats in that room, including a very friendly black cat named Sassy who had a skin condition from a flea allergy. I took her photo but it is too blurry to post.
There were also six kittens in the room in three separate cages, probably separated by litter. There were two black kittens that I failed to get pictures of. There was also a single gold and white kitten who was curious but shy.

Then there was three kittens together in one cage, a ginger boy and two females including one tabby and one tortie.



The ginger kitten was the most outgoing of the three and would come down from the shelf for attention.
The four cats inside the pod were pretty shy except for a white and gold cat named Max.

When Max wasn’t busy catching some rays he was busy looking for attention

While I was there, a man and his two boys came in shortly before a woman. All of them decided they wanted to adopt the ginger kitten but the woman recognized that the man was first and let him take the kitten. Perhaps if he didn’t have two young boys who wanted the kitten, he might have let her have him. Unfortunately, the woman left without a cat.
Another woman, who had been in earlier, decided to adopt an eight year old male Siamese cat named Sage. He was hiding under their homemade cat tree so I had to pull him out and put him in a carrier. I’m sure he wasn’t happy about it then but today he is living the good life.

While I was there I spoke with someone about doing animal transports. It is an on call position that I know almost nothing about yet but she did ask if I would be comfortable handling wildlife and mentioned birds of prey and a few others that I don’t remember. My guess is these are animals that are injured and need medical attention but I don’t know. I have an appointment to meet with her at 7:00 am this morning where I will learn more about the job. I think it will be interesting.
I made a new Fort Box for the cats. This time I did not put a hole on the top because it just invites conflict. Instead, I put an entrance hole in the front and a smaller escape hatch on the side near the back. I also put several small peepholes around the perimeter so that the occupant could see if an enemy was approaching.

Naturally, Chris took over the fort which left Frankie on the outside planning his attack strategy.

After a successful defense of the fort, peace was restored in the kingdom . . . for now.