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Check out this mug!

Check out this mug!

  It's true, I really don't need another mug, but how could I resist such a thing? While it's a pity that it's not tiger-striped, it's still completely correct! A door can't be shut in our house before little kitty paws are showing up underneath hunting around...

Rory’s payback

Rory’s payback

We had a really busy weekend: Friday night date, snowshoe trip on Saturday, church on Sunday and then shopping after that. Rory had enough of being left alone and this is what I found when we came home Sunday afternoon. Starting on the windowseat Then moving on to the...

The 10-key machine

The 10-key machine

Rory, please calculate and enter how many lives you have. (such a smart and talented kitty)

Out of the Room

Out of the Room

We decided to let Rory out of her sequestered room and brave the front room. Easy does it....

Christmas groceries

Christmas groceries

I went to the grocery store for some last minute holiday shopping. You probably didn't know that WinCo carries Toyger kittens. (it's a seasonal product...)

Christmas for Rory

Christmas for Rory

My wonderful boss and friend, Kim sent Rory a welcome present which was a big hit! Of course, I had Rory send her a paw-written thank you note (not sure if she ever received it though...)

Christmas socks

Christmas socks

Had lunch with my dear friend Mary who gave me some super comfy Christmas socks (yes, I didn't wait until Christmas Day to open my present 😆) Not only do I love them, but Rory is pretty interested in them, too.

What happened here?

What happened here?

My sweet cuddly kneading Toyger baby has become a wild striped terror flinging herself all over the room! Oi! Fortunately, she tuckers out rather quickly and ends with a plaintive little mew!    

Love that sound!

Love that sound!

One of the things that was most disappointing about our Hawaii kitty, Giblets was that I could never hear her purr. I would have to feel at her throat for the vibration to know if she was indeed purring. I told my husband that if we ever got another cat, I hope that...

Day 3, Settling in

Day 3, Settling in

Rory is becoming a bit less shy now, eating like a horse and starting to play. Check out her wonderful stripes!  

Day 2, Where to hide??

Day 2, Where to hide??

Helen gave me good advice on bringing home a kitten. Keep them in one room for several weeks so as not to overwhelm them with too large of a new environment. And, leave them no place to hide from you. I walked in the room on the second day and she was sitting on my...

FINALLY!!

FINALLY!!

Aurora arrives! I met Lauren (the excellent pet courier) at the airport to pick up my kitten. We chatted for a bit and I peeked in the carrier to see my new family addition. What a cutiepie! We unzipped it just a little so I could get my hand in to pet her, she's SO...

Room ready

Room ready

Yep, been doing a lot of shopping and the kitten room is finally ready!    

Family Pics

Family Pics

While I'm counting down to KittenDay, I thought I'd show you Aurora's parents. First is DesignerStripes Troublemaker aka Trouble (mother) Second is CH DesignerStripes Red Garnet, aka Garney She can't help but be beautiful with such handsome parents!

Aurora at 9 weeks

Aurora at 9 weeks

She's nine weeks old now! Helen told me she wouldn't have to hold her beyond 12 weeks because her coat is developing early, tawny already. I hope her eyes stay this green.

Sandy strikes again

Sandy strikes again

See what I mean about Sandy? Look what came in the mail today: She's just such an amazing friend and encourager. Christmas is going to be so fun this year and this ornament is going to be front and center!

My dear friend Sandy

My dear friend Sandy

One of my besties from our time in Hawaii is Sandy who has been my biggest encourager since I discovered Gracie. I'm pretty sure she's about as excited as I am about Aurora. Added to this, she keeps sending me snips of tiger clothing...scarves, shoes, blouses. Mostly,...

SOLD!!

SOLD!!

I'm buying the kitten!! How ever will I be able to wait a month??

What do I name her?

I'm trying not to get all excited about the potential kitten, but I do need to start thinking about names. Even if this kitten doesn't work out, there will be one eventually. These are my top six: Aurora (means “the dawn”—and she was born in N. Aurora, Illinois) Layla...

Nice Girl

Nice Girl

I received an email from Helen today with the subject line "Nice girl" She said she had been thinking about me and believed she has a kitten that would be a good fit for me. Then told me not to get excited because the kitten was going in for her 8-week checkup in five...

A new Cattery

A new Cattery

There's something just on the edge of indecorous with that word Cattery... For dogs, it's a kennel, all good, but a cattery? Sounds like something you'd find in a western novel. Never the less, I have one now! Officially registered with TICA (The International Cat...

Tiny Roar

Tiny Roar

Super exciting news! No waiting list for kittens from Helen, I was thinking it would be 6 months from now before I saw my first Toyger, but the timeline has delightfully moved up. She sent me this pic of one of her kittens from a litter of seven that is 10 days old....

Teddy

Teddy

I had a lovely and enlightening phone conversation with Claudia of JubalKatz who raised this way handsome chap Teddy. She knows Helen well and both of these women raise champion Toygers and are dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the breed while at the same...

Look what I found!

Look what I found!

        TOYGERS ! I’m a goner!No looking back now—I gotta have one of these striped darlings! These exotic kitties are derived from the Bengal cat and were developed to raise awareness for the vanishing tigers. (Toyger is a portmanteau for Toy Tiger). Yep, this not...

Graycie

Graycie

Well, Graycie has an adoption pending. Good for Graycie, sad for me. Okay, soooo, are there any Russian Blue breeders in my area? It was then that I discovered the difference between the British breeding standards of a Russian Blue and the American CFA (Cat Fanciers...

I miss my kitty

I miss my kitty

This all started in June of 2020 after our kitty of 14 ½ years died. This is Giblets, born on Thanksgiving Day in 2005, from the first of many feral cat litters I raised and rehomed due to our neighbor’s oh so fertile cats they never bothered to spay. (but that’s...