Aah, Sweet Mystery of Life!

It has not been quite a week since I announced myself as the winner of the contest for the StreetCats cat with the pinkest ears.  And, in a moment, I will announce the winner of my last contest, the cat with the loudest purr.  Now if I were being completely honest, I would win this contest, too.  But apparently honesty is not as valued by StreetCat cats as perhaps it should be.  This has not been an easy week for me, Vanna.  My only explanation for this is that no good deed goes unpunished.  We no longer have crown wearers in our shop for Best Whiskers, Softest Fur, Best Markings, etc.  And why is that????  Well, because my contests have led to the adoption of all these cats!  Can there be any question, really, about this fact?!  You would think I would receive a big thank you!!!  Right?!!

So imagine my surprise when I announced the newest contest, for best purr, and the response was less than enthusiastic.  Now I know what humans mean when they talk about a cold shoulder.  Millie averted her eyes and wouldn't even look at me!  Dot turned around and ran off without purring even one purr!  Sandy and Alfred just ignored me.  That was better, I guess than what Mandy did.  Mandy, current title holder of Cat With Shiniest Black Fur, told me to "go suck an egg," and I quote!  Then she turned and walked away.  But do I care?  No, I don't!  If I were going to be here I would continue these contests even longer than I expected to and I would let myself win them as often as I truly deserved to win, and that would be pretty darn often.  But these cats won't have Vanna to kick around much longer, that's for sure.  This is the week I will be adopted!

Okay, now I would like to tell you about the winner of the StreetCats cat with the best purr.  (Really, it's me, but, well, you know.)  There might actually be another cat out there who purrs well, but since no one else would purr for me, well, Tiki, you're the winner!  And guess what, Tiki, I also hereby pronounce you the new wearer of the crowns for best markings, softest fur and best whiskers!  Take that, you StreetCat ingrates!  Because of me, the previous winners of those three contests have been adopted!  Tiki will be going home soon!

Okay, you've seen pictures of Tiki before because she was featured in Feline Friday once, but here are more pictures.  This kitty is beautiful, sweet, perfect in every way and will purr for you when you ask her to!  Unlike some other cats I could name!

Did you know that those humans, who think they are so darn smart, don't even know really why or how we purr???  It is one of life's great mysteries!  And it is an unwritten rule of all cats that we will not tell them, either.  Of course they know that we purr when we are contented.  They're smart enough to have figured that out!  But sometimes we purr when we're hurt and in pain and they don't get that at all.  They keep getting closer and closer to our secret, but they haven't figured it out yet.  They know that purring happens both when we inhale and exhale, unlike our meow.  That only happens when we exhale.  And they THINK that our larynx and laryngeal muscles are involved in our purr, but they still don't know the mechanics and we're not telling either!  I hereby promise to give a StreetCats crown to whatever human can explain this.  I'm not going to be in a big hurry to make it!  Ha!

Well, I'm not sure what the next contest will be.  Perhaps I'll let the next blog writer decide.  Stay turned for a surprise!!

Once Upon A Time

Today we are going lickity split to the winner of the pinkest ear contest because, well, I have a story to tell you.  Sooooo . . . the winner of the contest for the cat at StreetCats with the pinkest ears is . . . ME, VANNA!  I know, I know, you don't think that's fair, but darn it, I recused myself from softest fur, even though I was really the winner, and best eye makeup and fluffiest tail.  I mean, let's face it, if I didn't recuse myself I would win them all!  But this time I looked and looked all around StreetCats and I found one cat with sort of pink ears, but they were nothing like mine.  I'm telling you I had no choice.  See, here I am, pink ears and all!

Now most cats ears are pink on the inside, but mine are pink on the outside, too!  Surely you can see why it just couldn't be anyone but me!  Okay, now, moving right along . . . .

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago (so long ago that the volunteers can't even remember exactly how long ago it was, maybe five or six years!) there was a certain StreetCats volunteer named Samantha Polen.  She loved kitties so much that she was always looking on the internet for neat things for her kitties.  One day she saw some hand made pillows stuffed with catnip and she thought, "How cool is that?!  I bet StreetCats could make and sell those!"  So she contacted the woman who made the pillows and this woman said there was no way she could make them for StreetCats because she just didn't have time.  But she offered to teach Samantha how to make them.  And she did.

Well, then Samantha passed her knowledge on to others and the first person to actually sew the pillows was Nancy Adams.  Things have evolved over these many years, as they tend to do, and the pillows have gotten smaller than they originally were and the fabric being used has evolved in really cool, colorful, seasonal ways.  The current maker of the pillows is BJ Hynes and she is a genius at finding really neat fabric!  We appreciate her soooo much!!!!

Now I''m going to tell you what is inside the pillows and this is just even cooler than anything.  They are stuffed with organic catnip that comes all the way from Cape Cod!  That's somewhere over on the east coast.  I've never been there.  StreetCats buys it in bulk and uses it for the pillows and it is much more potent than the toys you buy at the regular stores.  It is combined with some cellulose to give it some texture just so the pillows won't get too yucky when we cats drool all over them.  Smart, huh?!

And StreetCats and the volunteers lived happily ever after and were so grateful that Samantha found and nurtured this great idea.  And Samantha still volunteers for StreetCats!  And it looks like, thanks to BJ Hynes, the catnip pillows will live on and on into the future!  The end.

Hey, that was sort of fun!  Maybe I'll tell you another story someday!

And why is it, you ask, that cats like catnip???  Well, I have no idea!  Not all cats like it as much as some, but when they do, well, they do!  The active ingredient in catnip is nepetalactone and when it gets in a susceptible feline's nose . . . well, he just act like a lunatic!  I don't know how else to explain it!  And guess what, nepetalactone is said to also be an effective mosquito and fly repellent!  That is a good reason for everyone to have a cat and for everyone to have catnip!  Right?  Right!!!  Okay, a picture is worth a thousand words so here is a picture of Samantha's cat Ryo playing with one of the pillows that can be purchased only at StreetCats of Tulsa!

See how much he loves it!  So all you feline fanciers, come on in to StreetCats and purchase the best catnip toy in Tulsa for your favorite cats!  We have a lot to choose from.  Hey, I can show you!

So okay, our next winner at StreetCats will be the cat with the best purr.  If I were still here I would for sure have to win that one, especially since my favorite place to purr is on a human lap!  But, probably because of that, I won't be here next week!  We know that, right?!  So stay tuned to hear which kitty at StreetCats has the best purr!

Feline Friday - Dottie!

Dottie has personality plus...!  She is an orange tabby just over 1year old. She is very sweet and playful and has won the hearts of everyone at StreetCats!  She has the stripes of a tabby, a white chest and white on her paws.  One of her most identifying marks is the orange “dot” on her left paw. 

As a kitten she was found with her mother in the rescuer’s backyard around a shed.
She has been in foster care for several month’s waiting her turn to come into StreetCats shop and has become the perfect little girl for a pet.

Like all of our Streetcats kitties she has been spayed. She has had all of her tests and all of her shots and is ready to go to her forever home!  When she is adopted she’ll be microchipped with her new owner’s name and contact information and a year’s registration fee paid by StreetCats.  If you are interested in meeting Dottie, feel free to come by StreetCats at 6520 E. 60th St, in Tulsa, 10:30 - 5:00 Tuesday though Saturday, or call our message line, 918-298-0104 with any questions that you may have.  We would love to show you around and introduce you to Dottie and I’m sure that she would love to meet you, too!

 

 

Oh My Goodness!

I don't think the cats at StreetCats can get any more beautiful than they are, and then they do!!  You really need to come see!  It's amazing!  And today I'm going to show you the beautiful winner of our fluffiest tail contest.  I'm going to do that in just a minute.

But first, I need to check in and see how all you humans out there are doing.  Yesterday was tax day and I do wonder how many of you will take several cat naps today just to recover from the trauma.  Okay, I know that some of you got "refunds" and lucky you!  But for those of you who had to pay, you have my deepest sympathy!  Just rest now and don't think about next tax day.  No, wait, maybe you SHOULD think about next tax day and do something to make it better!

Hey, did you know that someone in 2009 did try to make it better?  Really.  His name was Thaddeus "Thad" McCotter and he was a representative from Michigan.  And he sponsored a bill called the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years, or HAPPY for short.  Now that bill "died" in committee (things die in Congress on a regular basis!), but my own opinion is that it was a good idea.  That bill would have given pet owners with qualifying expenses a $3500 tax credit.  Now you can't tell me that wouldn't have helped a lot!  In 2011 pet spending the the US surpassed $50 billion, so let's hear it for a pet expense tax credit!!  Never mind that Thad had to leave Congress after a scandal (that also seems to happen a lot in Congress!), I think he was a good guy who clearly loved his cats and dogs or whatever pet it was he had.  Let's have more pet champions in Congress!!

Okay, now for the fluffy tail contest!  Oh my goodness!!!  The winner clearly is Victoria!  And this girl has more than just a fluffy tail!  She has a sweet personality and is beautiful both inside and out!  Okay, see for yourself!  Here she is!

Now is that a fluffy tail or what??!!  Oh wait, is that another fluffy tail sticking out the other side of the cat house??  Hmm, that looks like Millie's tail!  You can see her, too, by referring back to the winner of the best eye makeup contest!  Okay, Veronica is a very young cat, not yet a year old and she is so pretty and so soft and so sweet!  She could have won just about any contest we had.  One more picture now!

Wow!  That's just about all I can say about this gorgeous, sweet cat and her fluffy tail!

Well, our next contest winner will have the pinkest ears at StreetCats.  There would be no contest at all if I were still here because I have very pink ears.  But I am going to be adopted this week, so before I leave I'll look around to see who else has very pink ears!  Then someone will announce the winner of that contest, just not me!  :-)

Feline Friday - Little Girl!

 Little Girl is a friendly, playful, and affectionate lap cat looking for a new lap to call her own!

 

She is about 15 months old, and as you can see, all black except for a small patch on her chest.  She also has a couple of tiny white spots under her chin and on her neck.  Her tummy has a little white on it, too!

 Someone rescued her in a parking lot.  The vet looked her over, spayed her and gave her all of her shots before allowing her to go into a very loving foster home.  All of StreetCats kitties are given the same V.I.P. treatment!  She was in foster care for about a year waiting her turn to come into the StreetCats Shop.  She seems very happy being with us as well as all of the other cats....more playmates for her!

If you are interested in meeting Little Girl, feel free to come by StreetCats at 6520 E. 60th St, in Tulsa, 10:30 - 5:00 Tuesday though Saturday, or call our message line, 918-298-0104 with any questions that you may have.  We would love to show you around and introduce you to Little Girl and I’m sure that she would love to meet you, too!

I Declare a Draw!!!

Well, I am just EXHAUSTED!  It is my own fault and I know that.  But that doesn't make me any less tired!  What a huge mistake I made!  If it weren't for the responsibility I have to write this blog and my very admirable self-discipline, I would be taking an extra nap or two today.  Writing this blog means trying to keep up with everything around here.  Following the humans around to see if there is anything I need to know about is work enough.  But then I assign myself the task of picking the StreetCats cat with the softest fur!  What was I thinking?!  I could have done longest fur and that wouldn't have been so bad.  But no, I had to pick softest fur!

So here's how it went.  First I had to determine how I would measure softness in fur.  Would I use my paw or my nose?  Or both?  Next I had to follow all the StreetCats cats around trying to feel their fur. Well, some of these cats are just not too sure how they feel about having another cat feel their fur.  I will now admit that a time or two I had to get a surreptitious feel.  Okay, that means I had to sneak up on them, get a quick feel and then run away.  And our two winners would be such cats, I kid you not!

Okay, so now I've felt the fur of all the cats at StreeetCats, right?  And then guess what happens???  We get new cats!!!  StreetCats is apparently a favorite place for cat adoptions and the kitties just keep coming and going.  So here I go again . . . and I decided to feel all cats with both my paws and my nose before making a final decision.  With some of these cats that meant sneaking up on them twice!  No wonder I'm so tired!

Well, I narrowed my choice down to two cats.  I could not choose between them!  And why is that, you ask.  Well, I promise you I made several feels before coming to this decision.  I would go to one room, feel a cat.  Then I would go to another room, feel a cat.  Well, I'm not totally stupid so I decided that if I could get these two cats side by side and feel them at the same time, I could then decide.  So now my challenge of getting these two cats to stand together so that I could feel them at the same time began.  About that task I will only say this.  There is a good reason why humans make jokes about herding cats!!!!

And so finally, my energy much depleted, I decided it was a tie.  So . . . here are our winners and you've met them both before, I think.  The cats who together won the softest fur contest are Parker and Sophie, and soft cats they both are!  I know pictures won't demonstrate how soft their fur is, but here you go anyway.  Adopt one of these young, healthy cats and you will be treated to soft fur every time you decide to pet them.

                                                                    PARKER

                                                       

                                                              SOPHIE

Whew!  Now that this process is over I would like to explain to you why cats have fur.  I would like to, but I can't!  Even though some cats seems pretty much all hair, the evolutionary origin of hair remains a mystery.  Did we develop hair as a way to keep us warm?  That sounds pretty reasonable to me.  But wherever fur came from, we all know where it ends up, don't we????  Hee hee!

Well, next week's contest winner will be the StreetCats cat with the fluffiest tail.  Hopefully that contest will be a little easier to judge for the next blogger, which won't be me because I'm going to get adopted this week!  You see, I actually have the softest fur and just couldn't choose myself because . . . well, it wouldn't be right.  But next week . . . fluffiest tail it is!
   

                                                         

Feline Friday - Sadie!

Sadie, beautiful, Sadie is one of a kind!  Her unique markings are like no other cat that I’ve ever seen!  She is a mix breed of part Tortie, short for Tortoise Shell, and part flame point long hair Siamese.

Check out her ears to see why she’s called a flame point.

Sadie, her brother Scout, and their mother were rescued strays.   The rescuer was unable to keep all 3 and the sibling kittens were brought to us.  They have been in foster care for a while and have been socialized.  Because she has only been at StreetCats for a few days she is still shy, but is very sweet and likes to be petted.  

The kittens, Sadie and Scout, are best buddies and we would like to adopt them out together because of their strong bonding.

If you are interested in meeting Sadie, come by StreetCats at 6520 E. 60th St, in Tulsa, 10:30 - 5:00 Tuesday though Saturday, or call our message line, 918-298-0104.  We would love to show you around and introduce you to her