Welcome to my illustrated blog where you'll find stories and art about cat ladies, pet lovers, nature enthusiasts, my cat Buttonwillow and her friend Inka, and my creative life in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Enjoy!
It's back-to-school time already?! Although Paddy is looking forward to resuming his very important job at the Pacelli High School Library, there are still 15 official days of summer left on the calendar!
Hi everybody! Summer is all about new adventures and making new friends from faraway places. Here are some photos that my Cat Lady took of me and my housemates and two new friends that we met this summer.
The first new friend is a funny little feline named Breezy who came all the way from Oregon to visit. She smells very pretty, like a summer garden, but she tickles my nose...
Me and Breezy
Chessie and Breezy
Tillamook and Breezy
Scotty and Breezy
The last picture is of a very special and mysterious kitten who came to visit at the beginning of summer and still has not left yet:
Look at those fancy stripes! Or are they spots? His name is AleXander. Can you guess what kind of kitten he is? I'll tell you more about him soon...
See you back at school!
Editor's note: Do you have any photos of you or your pets enjoying something you have received from my Etsy or Cafepress online shops? I'd love to see them, and with your permission, post them here on my blog! Send them to my email: art [at]undertheoaks.net
Last week Paddy the Library cat told us a little more about hisrescued friend Scotty .Today Paddy tells us a little more about Scotty's special heritage:
Scotty Burns (That’s his fancy name!) is a Scottish Fold cat.
These are special cats with big, round, “owl” eyes. Some of them have ears folded forward and some have straight ears but they all have the traits of the Scottish Fold: mellow and loving with a sweet, wide-eyed expression.
All Scottish Fold cats trace their ancestry back to Susie, a white, folded-ear cat found in 1961 on Mr. Ross’s farm in Scotland. These cats with folded ears must be bred to a straight ear Scottish Fold.Because the folded ear is desirable to more people, a non-reputable breeder will breed two “Folds” together.This can create hardened cartilage and result in a stiff tail and arthritis-like symptoms throughout the body that shorten life and cause constant pain.We have, at our house, another Scottish Fold rescue that suffers from this condition.I will tell you about our Robert Burns [Robbie] sometime!
Scotty and Robbie sense a kinship, and we can often find Scotty sitting or sleeping near Robbie who is getting old and doesn’t feel well [pictured here].
So, that is some of what I’ve been thinking about this summer. Hope you are having some summer fun too!
Paddy The Library Catis a featured columnist here at 365 Cat Ladies and Friends. He is the Library Cat at Pacelli High School in Wisconsin. You may leave messages for him in the Comments section below this post. Thanks for visiting!
Last week Paddy the Library cat told us about the teamwork it took for his rescued friend Scotty to arrive at his new forever home. Today Paddy tells us a little more about his new friend:
There are so many good people taking care of us cats--and dogs too! I hope they know how grateful we are. I was rescued too. I know.
Anyway, Scotty has turned out to be quite the boy. He is very big and, at first, he was a little too wild for us.
He even scared the dogs into a corner whenever he had the chance.
But our youngest cat, Skookumchuck [Skookie] didn't know enough to be afraid of him. Skookie insisted on jumping at Scotty and running circles around him. This helped Scotty to learn more quickly how to adjust. Now Scotty is getting used to being a house cat, thanks to Skookie!
Scottie and Skookie
Scotty goes outside once in awhile, under close watch, but he is learning that inside is better and safer and that food comes magically twice a day in a little blue dish with paws on it.
Next week I will tell you a little bit about Scotty's ancestry!
Thanks for visiting!
Paddy The Library Catis a featured columnist here at 365 Cat Ladies and Friends. He is the Library Cat at Pacelli High School in Wisconsin. You may leave messages for him in the Comments section below this post. Thanks for visiting!
When not overseeing the Pacelli High School Library, Paddy is at home with quite an assortment of furry friends and two very nice Cat Ladies. Today he introduces one of his special friends.
Hi everybody. I am having a lazy summer sitting in the window watching the flowers grow. I have a friend named Scotty who sits with me sometimes, and he has a great rescue story. I really believe in rescue. So many people find a lot of love and peace when they find one of us in need.
We found Scotty on the Internet on the Scottish Fold Rescue site last fall. He had been a stray in North Carolina that a lady named Nichole tried to befriend. It took her many months to even get close to this cat. He was skinny and matted and very wild. When he finally let Nichole feed him, he would only come to her porch for food until, eventually, he let her hold him. Then he would purr and purr. He turned out to be a real love, but he remained wild.
Because Nichole couldn’t keep him, she contacted a cat rescue person named Melody. We found Melody’s name when we discovered Scotty on the Internet, and then a great adventure began: How to get Scotty from North Carolina to central Wisconsin where we live? Melody eventually contacted Animal Rescue Flightsor ARF , a “non-profit, charitable organization of pilots, volunteers, and friends who believe in the benefit of volunteering [their] skills and resources to help save animals in need. Animal Rescue Flights promotes, plans, and performs the transportation of animals from overcrowded shelters where they face certain death to other parts of the country where qualified families are waiting to adopt them. There is never a fee of any kind, either to the sender or the receiver of an animal flying with ARF.”
ARF arranged for five pilots to fly Scotty in a relay from Goldsboro, North Carolina [Tom] to Lewisburg, West Virginia [Rick] to Columbus, Ohio [Tom] to Indianapolis, Indiana[Mike] to Aurora, Illinois where Todd took off with Scotty for central Wisconsin where we picked him up at the local airport just 5 minutes from our house. All of this happened on November 28, 2009. We watched Scotty’s progress all day on radar. It was an unbelievable day made possible by so many generous people.
Todd made a video of Scotty’s adventure which is on YouTube:
You can also view it here on Todd's blog post. Isn't it exciting?! I'll tell you more about Scotty in my next blog post. Thanks for visiting!
Paddy The Library Catis a featured columnist here at 365 Cat Ladies and Friends. He is the Library Cat at Pacelli High School in Wisconsin. You may leave messages for him in the Comments section below this post. Thanks for visiting!
As the school year comes to a close, Paddy the Library Cat has a very important message about keeping the Library Lady happy:
Hi everybody, I thought it would be nice to tell you about one of my jobs at the library.
I only have to do it once a year, but it's very important. We put up my posters (like the ones below) all around school to remind teachers and students to RETURN YOUR LIBRARY BOOKS!
I've heard from reliable sources that George Washington has had two books overdue for more than 200 years! I hope nobody follows his example, because life goes on just a bit easier if little things like due library books are taken care of in a timely manner. There is a time for everything. Just do it if it needs to be done, and life will remain a little less complicated.
Paddy says: Keep it simple. Keep it easy.
Paddy The Library Catis a featured columnist here at 365 Cat Ladies and Friends. He is the Library Cat at Pacelli High School in Wisconsin. You may leave messages for him in the Comments section below this post. Thanks for visiting!
Hi, It’s me again, Paddy the Library Cat, and I would like to tell you about a most amazing and magical little book.
It’s by T.S. Eliot who lived from 1888-1965. He’s a very famous American and English poet, but don’t let that scare you away from this poetry/story book: Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. The musical CATS comes from this book. Some of the cats in the “story” are the old, take-it-easy Deuteronomy; Macavity, the criminal; crabby Rum Tum Tugger; and Mr. Mistoffelees, the trickster. I love their names, and my favorite part of the book is about “The Naming of Cats,” which is a very serious endeavor and “not just one of your holiday games.” This is because, according to Mr. Eliot (and ME!), all cats have three names:
a usual one [like Paddy],
a more descriptive name [mine is Pouf], and…
“the name that you never will guess; The name that no human research can discover--But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.”
I think that everybody has a secret name; you do and your friends do, just like your cats. It’s a deep down name that can make you laugh and make you strong and make you confident in YOU! And the best part is that only YOU know it--if you choose to know it. I know mine. Do you know yours?
Paddy says:
Deep downit’s allOK.
Paddy The Library Catis a new columnist here at 365 Cat Ladies and Friends. He is the Library Cat at Pacelli High School in Wisconsin.
Introducing Paddy The Library Cat, a new columnist here at 365 Cat Ladies and Friends. Paddy was one of the special Library Cats featured in the February 2010 issue of Cat Fancy Magazine.. Hi, I'm Paddy! I was found on a very cold day in winter, abandoned on a rural highway. I was about 4 weeks old and pretty much dead. I had a horrid infection in my eye, and later, when I was 8 years old, I had to have that eye removed (That's OK, though). I am 11 years old now.
I am the Library Cat at Pacelli High School. I live with my Cat Lady Katy (who is the librarian at Pacelli High), her friend Cat Lady Deb, nine other cats and a couple of dogs, birds, fishies, and one rabbit!
I came to the lady's house on Valentine's day, 1999 and have been with her since then. I love people and dogs and cats and just about everything on Earth. I visit the library at least once a month and here are my duties:
To bring a quiet and peaceful presence to the library
To teach a little library history: for example, cats and libraries go way back to the ancient library in Alexandria where they were used to keep rodents away from the scarce and valuable texts.
To be a "library magnet"; ie, attract reluctant learners who previously didn’t come to the library at all.
In the coming weeks, I'll tell you about my favorite books, and lots more. Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!
Paddy says: Here is my philosophy for having a great library (and a great life too!) focus stay peaceful don't panic
It's back-to-school time already?! Although Paddy is looking forward to resuming his very important job at the Pacelli High School Library, there are still 15 official days of summer left on the calendar!
Me and Breezy
Tillamook and Breezy
Scotty and Breezy
