Fenway Gets a baby sister!

HERE IS NESSIE!  When she was at her "shelter"

Nessie and a friend playing at the shelter.

Grandma Bobby chooses Nessie at the shelter to be MY sister!

Nessie takes over MY side of the couch!

Hello Joise Mae... 

          I have a new baby sister!  Grandma Bobby tells me you have a baby sister too.  My "baby sister" is a Border Collie dog named Nessie.  I understand your baby sister is a real baby girl named Hadley.  Nessie is only 7 months old, a couple of months younger than Hadley.  But Nessie can walk and run and she is fast and she can be very loud when she barks.  Is Hadley very loud when she barks? -  OH! ...  I forgot real babies don't bark, they cry - right?  

       I had no idea I was about to get a baby sister.  One day Grandma Bobby got in the car very early in the morning.  She didn't come home that night.  I was worried - where was she?  The next day she was gone all day.  Luckily Grandpa Larry was home and he fed me dinner and breakfast the next day.  Grandma Bobby got home very late the night after she left.  She had a baby dog with her.  She told me the dog was named Nessie and that Nessie was going to live with us and would be my baby sister.

     WHAT?  Wait just a minute.  I am a cat!  I am a Maine Coon cat... How can a dog be my sister?  And how can a dog that is bigger than me be my BABY sister?  I was not sure at all that I liked this! Grandma Bobby told me that Nessie was just a baby and that she needed to learn a lot of things that I already had learned because I am older.  I am almost 3 years old.  I know you are already 3.  3 year olds like us know a lot of things don't we?  We understand where we are supposed to eat.  We know we should not chew up the couch pillows (Nessie didn't know that - she does now!)  We know we should not yell or MEOW or bark loudly or cry when we don't get what we want.  (- Really Nessie does NOT know this..... if she wants her dinner and she doesn't get it right away she barks and barks and she is LOUD! -  Does Hadley cry and cry when she is hungry?  Is she loud?)  

   Grandma Bobby says that since I live with her and Grandpa Larry, this is my home.  Now Nessie lives here too - it is her home.  That makes her a part of our family - that makes her my sister.  Grandma Bobby says that Nessie and I both came from shelters.  I remember when Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry got me from the shelter.  I was very happy that I got to live in their home.  I think that Nessie is very happy to live in our home with us.  Grandma Bobby said the shelter where Nessie was had lots of space, was a big farm and only had Border Collie dogs living there (and it was very far from here - 500 miles away!).  Grandma Bobby said before Nessie was brought to that Border Collie shelter she did not have enough food to eat or water to drink.  She had a lot of ticks on her and was very very thin.  But the people at the  shelter gave her lots of food and water and took all those nasty ticks off her.  She looks very good now.  I felt sorry that she had a hard life before she got to the shelter.  I remembered how hard it was living outside in the cold all by myself before I got to the shelter I used to live in.  That was hard, I did not like it living by myself.  The shelter had food, water and was warm.  But I was in a small cage and I was still scared.  I LOVE living in a big house with only 2 people and not a lot of loud smelly other cats.  

   So - I guess I will share my home with a baby dog who needs a home.  She is loud, and she is a baby so she doesn't know how to be very gentle with cats (ME!) ... she sometimes chases me - but I turn around and hiss at her and she stops.  ..... I am teaching her to be more gentle.  And I am teaching her how to play games.  We have a couple of good games that are fun for both of us and I bet I can think of more games.  

     Being a big brother is sometimes hard - and sometime it is lots of fun.  Is that the way it is when you are a big sister?  

      But really I don't quite understand how a handsome Maine Coon Cat has a Border Collie dog that is larger than me ... but is still a baby .... for a sister!   Especially one that takes her naps on MY side of the couch.  (Just another thing I have to teach Nessie -  which end of the couch is MINE and which end is hers!)  

      Being a big brother is a lot of hard work.  I need a cat nap.  I will have to take it on the bed I guess. 

Love from Fenway (your family's Maine Coon Cat)

Fenway Wants to Tell You about the Cat Queen

Good Day Josie Mae...

Today I would like to tell you about the Cat Queen.  -  All little kittens are told about the Cat Queen.  She is the Cat that is the most special of all cats.  The Cat Queen is loved by all cats.  We are told she is the nicest and most beautiful cat of all.  We cats always hope we can see her sometime. 

But what no cat agrees on - is what the Cat Queen looks like.  -  Some say she is a black and white cat, others say she is an orange and white cat.  My friend Alice, who is a gray short haired cat is sure the Cat Queen is gray and short haired.  My friend Lulu, a cat I met while I was in the shelter in Waterville, says the Cat Queen looks like me! - Gray and black and tan color with a huge bushy tail.  

Another cat friend of mine, George, thinks that very special cats are chosen to be the Cat Queen for just a little while - George said maybe a day - or maybe a month - or a year.  And because different cats are the Queen Cat for a little while the Queen Cat never looks the same -  I don't know, but I hope to find out more about this.  Another time I will tell you more about how a Cat Queen is chosen - if I am able to learn more. 

Cats sometimes watch out the window hoping to see her.  You may have seen Jackelyn watching out one of your windows to see if she can see the Cat Queen.  We cats are told that the Cat Queen may be walking through the woods and we might spot her as she walks out from behind a tree. So we cats often look out the window, or if we are outside we stare off into the woods hoping to catch a glimpse of the Cat Queen.  

 Some cats think she wears lots of jewelry and even clothes!  Here are some pictures of cats with jewelry the first one and the last one also have clothes!  All of the cats in the pictures below are wearing crowns - of a kind of crown sometimes called a tiara. 

And some cats believe the Cat Queen has wings and flies through the sky - so when cats stare up into the sky, maybe they are hoping to see the Cat Queen.  Here are 2 more pictures of what the Cat Queen may look like if she has wings.

So Josie -  Do you think I might ever see the Cat Queen?  If so - do think she will look like any of these pictures?  Or do you want her to be different?  What color fur do you think she should have?  Long hair or short?  Do you want her to have wings?  - You can tell Grandma Bobby what you think the Cat Queen looks like sometime and maybe she can find a picture that is like your Cat Queen.  Do you think maybe, just maybe,  a human - maybe even you, might ever see the Cat Queen?  

I am going off to take a little cat nap and dream of the Cat Queen

Love from Fenway (your family's Maine Coon Cat)  

Windows are for looking out and for ......

 

Fenway:   Looks out the window at the top of the attic stairs

Fenway:   Looking for something on the other attic window.

Hello Josie....

     It is getting colder outside here.  We have not had snow yet, but Grandma Bobby tells me you have snow where you live in Steamboat Springs.  I don't like to be outside when it is cold and raining so now I spend more time indoors.  

     But even while I am inside I really want to know what is going on outside so I spend a lot of time looking out the windows.  One day I followed Grandma Bobby upstairs to the attic.  First I looked out the window at the top of the stairs.  (Do you see me doing that in the first picture above?)  Then I looked out the window on the other side of the attic.  

    Grandma Bobby was quite surprised when I began climbing up the other attic window!  She thought I must see something pretty interesting out of it.  But when she came closer she realized I was trying to catch a very very big fly buzzing on the inside of the window trying to get out.  (And the second picture shows me climbing up after that very loud and big fly).

   I am happy Grandma Bobby did not get a picture of me falling off the attic window when I took off a paw to swat at the fly.  I didn't get hurt, but I felt pretty foolish.  I should have remembered that I needed to hold on with all of my toes and claws!  

After all the work of climbing the attic stairs, and then climbing up the window and trying to catch the  fly I was very tired so 

......... here I am taking a little cat nap to rest up after all that hard work and effort.   (I guess the fly really was not worth all the work and the fall I took while trying to catch it!)  

   Catching flies on windows is very exhausting!  

Love from Fenway (your family's Maine Coon Cat)  

    

The bear, the chickens and ME!

Checking out the door

Trying to get in the door

Guess I just have to watch them since I can't get in with them!

 Hi Josie,

Grandma Bobby told me that last spring a bear got into the chicken tractor.  Do you remember going down to see the chickens in the chicken tractor when you visited Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry?  You were not even 2 years old and I did not live here then.  -

Bears sleep all winter and when they wake up in the spring they are very very hungry.  I would be too if I had not eaten anything all winter!  Grandma Bobby said she visited you last spring just after your sister Hadley was born.  You saw a bear looking in your door.  I bet the bear was looking for some food.

One night last spring Grandma Bobby heard a giant commotion down in her field.  Chickens were cluckcluckcluking and bokbokboking and squawksquawksquawking so loudly they woke her up.  She got a flashlight and went to see what was the matter with those loud chickens.  Their door was open (the one you see me looking in in the pictures).  Grandma Bobby thought maybe a raccoon had figured out how to open the door and had gotten in to eat some of their food.  So she closed the door and put on the second lock and went back up the field, into the house and back to bed.  Next morning she saw that yes - something had gotten into the chickens food.  Something had gotten in and ripped the chicken's food dish right off their wall and taken it right out.  Food was everywhere.  It was easy to follow the trail of chicken food across the field and just into the woods where the empty chicken food dish lay.  Grandma Bobby knew it had to have been a hungry bear.  A raccoon would not be big or strong enough to rip off the dish which was nailed to the wall and to the floor of the chicken tractor.

When Grandma Bobby told me about the bear getting into the chicken tractor I thought I would like to try to get in there too.  I sometimes visit the chickens, but usually I just sit on the ground and watch them.  Just like you did when you visited the chickens with your Mom and Grandma Bobby.  I climbed up on top of the chicken tractor - well you have the picture, you can see me there.  And I tried to get the door open, but I guess I am not as strong as a bear because I could not open it.  So I climbed down and watched the chickens for a while.

The chickens don't really like when I come to watch them.  They bok bok, cluck cluck and squawk squawk.  

I can't understand why the chickens do that when I visit?  Can you?  I think I will go find a place to lay down and think about it.

Off for another cat nap

Love from Fenway (your family's Maine Coon Cat)  

Fenway explores his new home

FENWAY EXPLORES HIS NEW HOME

Fenway trying to explore the ceiling!

 Hello Josie Mae -  

Greetings from high up near the ceiling.  When I first came to Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry's I was very hungry and quite tired from the car ride.  I ate some delicious food and then found a place to sleep.  When I woke up it was time to explore my new home and see where I was fed, find places to sleep and places to play.

Here is a picture of me exploring.  I thought I might like to see what was on top of the big window above the dining table so I climbed up on the table (I am not supposed to do that - Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry don't like it when I get on the table.  Do your Mom and Dad let you climb on the table?)  -  

Anyway I climbed on the table then I jumped up onto this wooden support which is really high up and near the ceiling.  After I got up here I got a little scared.  My tail puffs up all big and bushy when I am scared.  Do you see how it is puffed up in the picture?  I really wasn't sure how I could get down.  Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry laughed at me, then Grandma Bobby took this picture of me.  And finally she reached up and got me down.  When she got me down and petted me I forgave her for laughing at me! 

WHEW!  I thought I might have to try to sleep up there - and where would I get food?  I was very happy to get down.  I purred and purred.  I never tried to get up on that support again.  After all that excitement, I needed a long cat nap.  

Until next time

Love from Fenway (your family's Maine Coon Cat) 

Fenway Comes Home

Fenway - definitely at home

 

 

   

Hello again Josie - and a big MEOW to you....

Last time I wrote I told you I would tell you about meeting Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry at the Waterville Animal shelter.  That happened last year, the day after Thanksgiving.  I knew that morning that some people were coming to meet me, but I did not know who.  I was very excited.  I love meeting people! (some cats do not like meeting new people - Does your cat Jac/Monk? ) 

I really did not understand much of what had happened to me or that meeting these people was about to really change my life.  I had been living outside on the streets and in the allies of the town of Waterville for a while.  I had been hungry and sick with a cold and very scared.  Then some people caught me and took me to the animal shelter.  I did not know why.  But I did like the shelter's food, the cage with a bed and I liked getting better from my cold.

Now I was nearly well, I just sneezed a little bit still and once in a while I still coughed.  But I felt much better.  The people at the shelter had said that someone was coming to meet me and they took me out of my cage and brushed my fur.  I thought I probably looked quite nice with my fur coat all brushed!  A person working at the shelter got me from my cage and took me into a big room with a long table and lots of chairs.  Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry were there.  The shelter person handed me to Grandpa Larry and right away I started purring.  I liked him!  And then Grandma Bobby took me and petted me - I liked her too!  They told the person working at the shelter they wanted to take me home - but I did not yet know what that meant.  I really hoped that "Home" would have food like the shelter and maybe a place for me to sleep, a bed.


Grandpa Larry and Grandma Bobby put me in a small cage, a "cat carrier" and took me from the shelter to their car.  The car was warm and the cat carrier had a soft towel that made a nice bed.  I went right to sleep and slept for 2 hours, that is how long it took for us to drive home.  When we got home Grandma Bobby carried the cat carrier in with me inside.  She opened the small door and let me out.  I loved home the second I got there.  It smelled so good.  It smelled like turkey and ham and all sorts of delicious food.  At the shelter I only got cat food, but here at home I get small pieces of other food.  And... I had hoped there would be a bed for me at my new home.  There was a bed - lots of beds.  Anywhere I am comfortable sleeping - that's my bed!  .... In the picture above you can see me in one of my favorite beds.  Grandpa Larry thinks this is his chair.  Silly Grandpa Larry .... as you can see, this is MY bed.   But I wouldn't mind if he got a bigger chair for my bed - this one is getting a bit small. 

Next time - more about my life in my new home soon and pictures of my other beds -   but for now

Love from Fenway (your family's Maine Coon Cat) 

How Fenway found his family

 

Fenway at the Waterville Animal Shelter

 Hi Josie -  

You haven't met me yet.  I am Fenway the Maine Coon cat and I now live with your Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry.  I am a very lucky cat.  This is a picture of me at the Waterville Animal Shelter where I was when your Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry found me and decided to bring me home.  An animal shelter is for animals that don't have a family yet.  I didn't like living at the shelter very much - but it was better than my life before I came there.  At the shelter I at least had enough food to eat, a warm safe place to sleep and people who petted me sometimes.  When I first came to the shelter I had been outside alone for many days.  I was very hungry and my beautiful fur was all matted and dirty.  I had a bad cold.

When I got to the shelter, I was very scared.  But the people there were nice.  They gave me food and medicine for my cold, cut the mats from my fur and gave me a flea bath!  I liked being warm and feeling full from the food - I hated the flea bath!  

After my cold was much better, people at the shelter decided to take my picture - the picture you see above.  They put the picture and some information about me on the internet so people who are looking for cats to live with them can see the cats and read a bit about them.  

Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry wanted a cat - they wanted a Maine Coon Cat that was not very old  - Lucky for me I wasn't even 2 years old yet!  And they wanted a Maine Coon Cat that liked people and was gentle.  WELL - Lucky for them,  I LOVE people and I am very very gentle.  

Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry read about me on the internet, they saw my picture and they thought I just might be the right cat for them.  It was the day before Thanksgiving when they decided to call the Waterville Animal Shelter to see if they could visit me and if we liked each other then they could bring me home.  The people at the shelter told them the shelter was closed on Thanksgiving day but they could come the day after Thanksgiving.  (Do you remember Thanksgiving - eating all that turkey with your family???)  

I was excited to learn that people were coming to visit me.  But I had a hard time waiting for 2 whole days until they came.  (do you have a hard time waiting for something you really want to happen?)   

Next time I write -  I will tell you about meeting Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry, my new family.  You are also part of my family -  and I am having a very hard time waiting until I can meet you!   And I will tell you what I did not like about the shelter while I lived there.  And what I loved the moment I got to my new house - Grandma Bobby and Grandpa Larry's house.  

Love,  Fenway - your family's Maine Coon cat