The M's Madcap Mishap

A couple of weeks ago on one of our 'snowyest' nights I kept hearing slight sounds outside that I attributed to either snow falling off branches or pinecones & other debris hitting the house. Almost an hour later while getting a snack I realized I hadnt seen any fur faces in awhile. After scouring all the rooms I figured they were probably hiding in the cedar closet (they love to sneak in there when opportunity presents), I walked in & turned on the light saying "Ok guys , OUTTA here"....but no M's! Panic set in, they WERNT in the house and then it hit me I had gone out front earlier to take pics of the snow and the screen door wont latch in the winter and they must've scurried out before I went back in. I shoe'd up and raced for the door, the minute I opened the screen Maizee scurried right in like a relieved 'housecat' should, but Murf of course was no where to be found. Because of the snow I tried following paw prints which looked like they had stayed only on one side of the house, which led me to the back door-thank god!

I had no sooner called his name when Murf came meowing....on my neighbors side of the fence but I couldn't get to him & vice versa because our properties are divided by a small creek that is of course running steadily now. I went back out front & tried getting him from their side yard but realized it was gated. Shoot, now I had to go knock on their door @disturb them @9pm...luckily we are friendly. They happily let me thru to their backyard where Murf was cornered by the shed now as the snow was still coming down pretty heavy. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and angrily carried him home, also relieved. As I approach the house Maizee had managed to skirt back outside & I see her running along the perimeter (NOW it's become a game to her). @this point I've HAD it, a couple of curse filled chases and she finally bolts back inside. They both realize they are in BIG trouble @this point & one shout "get to the bedroom" sends them both bolting into the bedroom where they get an hours 'Time Out'>>>also much needed time to groom as they are both cold, wet & dirty. Mind you this whole time I TOO have been out in it so am now too cold, wet & ANGRY.... I have to add that I live in the pines so there is an abundance of predators the M's are @risk from. Coyotes, Javelina, Owls, Bobcats, Dogs, etc. Which is why I freak if the get out, ESPECIALLY @night.

I would like to think they learned their lesson, but no....they still try to find opportunities to get out the screendoor. Murf has even taken up scratching madly @the bottom of it as if he could dig a hole thru it>>>this of course brings out the AIR HORN which always puts the fear of god in them. Oh and the AIR HORN, that's another post I will have to share as it's a godsend for my (occasionally) misbehaving M's. If you look closely you can see Murf standing & peaking out in the lower left, they actually LOVE that screendoor. Installing that was a real treat for all of us, mainly when it's not snowing LOL! It swells when its cold and/or damp so hard to open then...

(of course the pics w/this post are just for 'example', I was too harried @the time to take pics)

My Iddle Man-Max....

I wrote this post last year & just kept it on stand by, cuz it was so long but it would come in handy now that I was computerless....


Long before the M's were even born I had a cat that was the 'cat of all cats', literally. He was an odd eyed white Persian (was the ONLY cat of that sort in the litter-looked JUST LIKE his dad), born 05/01/1996 May Day), went for car rides (no carrier), was trained to do things on command, LOVED company-would run to the door @the sound of the doorbell, didn't need to use a carrier-EVER!, etc etc etc...









Here he is 'waving' which he would do when requested and usually got a treat after cuz he was just so darned cute! He would also 'go to bed', 'give kisses', 'lay down', 'go to your room', etc on command>>>he was just too smart for his own good ;) He was born with a hernia so wasnt 'breedable' even though he was papered. He came from a lineage of show cats and his dad (sire) was Champion Kendan Lookn' Fur Trubl of Karoun and his mom (dam) was Miss Hunter's Tiffany girl, his first family named him Trubl but never papered him as we got him from them @only 3 1/2 months>>>and OMG what a cute kitten he was, wish I had photog'd him back then...
I originally wanted to call him Fester but my roomie named him Max-short for Maxemillion, I then sent in his papers as "Mr Maxemillion Fu Man Chu" as he had a scrunchy face sometimes LOL! He was always Max though and became MY Iddle Man! He was just sooooo mellow that most folks couldn't believe their eyes when they saw him either in the car or out in public w/me. He was NEVER a wanderer so could be trusted in almost ANY situation and made friends where ever he went>>>even to see & get a pic w/Santa @Petsmart in '05. See below to see where else he went....


He even came to WORK w/me sometimes and was ALWAYS the perfect gentleman, even letting Becky hold him before he takes a cruise down the hallway (he had a lion cut here). He would even ride w/me to see my parents and even stay the week w/me if I was house sitting....even actually locking me out once, thats a story for another time but boy is it HILARIOUS! Whenever we arrived @our destination he would just hop out and walk w/me into the dwelling. And I must share w/you his 'weakness' AND fetish was ribbons, he LOVED ribbons and even ingested one once w/no harm.

He even moved w/me here to Prescott AZ and experienced his first snow, LITERALLY lol! I tossed him in it a couple times to get pics and see his reaction and as usual he was casual about it before he would run back to the front door. He was such an accommodating cat that any unusual setting we encountered he would allow himself to be 'experimented' with LOL! He has been in a Jacuzzi, the rain, the snow (falling), rides in wagons, went to a haunted house @Halloween, etc etc etc.... He was just overall game for anything


Doesn't he look like he is totally contemplating the 'situation'? That is almost how he dealt w/everything, folks used to mistake his 'serious' face for him being sad or mad but actually he was just a real 'tuned in' cat. If ever a 'non cat' human was in his vicinity he would ALWAYS approach them and in time they were won over. We even had neighbor kids once who would always knock on our door just to "pet the white fluffy cat", of course he ALWAYS obliged! He was NOT afraid of dogs and even chased a big lab (my folk's) AND a Dachshund that tried to barge into our house (HIS domain) but he would NEVER hurt a fly. I worked at a feed mill in my work pics above and rescued many kittens that the guys would bring to ME cuz they knew 'I' would find a way to save and/or domesticate them. Most came home w/me before they went to a rescue group or I adopted them out and amazingly Max would almost always 'nurture' the ones who had been taken from mom too young. The older ones that were getting FEISTY he would just ignore until they CRIED, then he was 'on top of it'.

Max left my life way too soon, unexpectedly and suddenly>>>had an undiagnosed enlarged heart and threw a clot which caused paralysis to his hind quarters. I had to put him to eternal sleep less than 24 hours after finding him helpless on my bedroom floor, I NEVER saw it coming and had always assumed my 'indoor' cat would live until @least his mid teens...he was only 10 1/2 when he slipped away. I have NEVER known such hurt and seriously thought I would never heal, that special guy had been my 'other half' for so long! As my friend Jim says, he was literally a "little person in a cat suit". He was w/me through heartbreaks, many moves, loss & gain of jobs... through the good & bad ALWAYS!

I know this was a HUGE post but thanks for letting me share My Iddle Man, I could probably write a book/screenplay w/all my memories and amazing stories of Max>>>it could be like Marley and Me..Max and Me :) I brought him home so he could be with me always & ironically he rests huddled w/the white angel cat that I happened upon in a gift store. I have soooo many pics of him but most were taken before my computer era so they will need to be scanned in order to share them, so maybe I will slip in some posts of him>>>believe he has a lot to tell ;)

Missing In Action...

Sorry we have been absent but my computer pretty much crashed with a huge infestation of virus's, GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRR!!! So except for work I was pretty much 'computerless' for 2 full weeks, I DID though find some productive time on my hands so took up a hobby of WATCHING MOVIES lol! The M's liked that as it meant 'naptime w/mommy' for them. I also was able to take some MUCH NEEDED time off & visit my best bud Mo in Calif. I might share more pics later but of all I took, these 2 are my favorite and bittersweet to me....as the one thing I miss most about Cali is the COAST! I grew up a California Beach Bunny, even though we lived 35 miles (almost an hour) from the beaches...my sister, myself & our friends would always find the gas $ to take MANY trips to the shore. Years later when we were 'legal' we would party (clubing) down there @nite>>>it WAS our escape from the 'Inland Empire' which was always hot, drab & dull'. Now @middle age I realize how much I (we) took for granted having a "whole fricken coast" always just a drive away.


Overlooking Santa Monica Beach and PCH, almost sunset....isn't it just breathtaking?! Maybe I am so much more fond of it now that I live in the mountains of a desert state, I DO so miss REAL sunsets on the coastal horizon>>>breathtaking!

Nature @it's best, we need to take time to smell the sunsets :) In a perfect world EVERYONE would get to see this EVERYNIGHT, arent those who can lucky and should share w/those who cant.