All kittens SHOULD be KILLED!!

Killed with kindness that is.  Early this morning while I attempted to work at the computer our new kitten Purrnelope decided that I needed her unsolicited help.  It's amazing the damage a cat walking across your computer keyboard can do.

Have a purrable day...

Nick

Kittens & Model Ships Don't Match!

Purnelope helping me with my model.
Notice the open spot where she's removed
some of the cannons already.

It's funny to think that when we adopted our solid black little girl, Purrnelope, from the Western Arizona Humane Society, last week, we were concerned she wasn't being social enough.

Well that all changed in the past three days.  Purrnelope spent the first part of the week educating the dogs on just who was in charge.  The size and girth of Walter, our Great Dane, and Sammy, our German Shepherd, didn't faze Purrnalope at all.  Apparently in her cat kingdom, bigger isn't better.  It is actually kind of sad watching these two huge dogs giving her  a wide birth as they slink past her emitting a small, pathetic whimper, as if they know she is calmly waiting to sucker punch them again.

I sat in my recliner laughing last night while our other new kitten PUMA assisted Marcy while she sat trying to do her crafts.  Every small piece of paper that Marcy tried to work with became a new and exciting toy for PUMA.  After an hour of frustration Marcy finally tossed in the towel and gave up.

Well today the shoe is on the other foot as I sat trying to build a model sailing ship, something I enjoy doing.  If you visit our TV room you will find several intricate model ships displayed with sails billowed and rigging taut.  This isn't happening with the new ship.  Today I attempted to glue several very small cannons to the deck of my ship, the first phase of its construction.  Purrnelope immediately appeared and planted herself in the middle of my desk.  As I worked to adhere my minute pieces of cannon to the deck of my ship, Purrnalope performed wind sprints from my lap to my chest to my shoulder and back again.  Then things got worse.  Purrnelope discovered my pile of small cannons.  She liked them.  They were tiny and light and when she batted them they were easy to chase around the room, under the chairs, the dog and the throw rugs.  I spent 20 minutes recovering the dispersed pieces of my model ship.

PUMA, Marcy's craft buddy.

As I returned to my task, having hidden all of my model pieces in my desk drawer, so returned Purrnelope.  She is very smart and calmly waited for me to guilefully retrieve a small cannon and attempt to glue it to the ships deck before sticking her nose in the middle of my work.  "STOP LICKING THE GLUE" became my mantra.  HALT...cease...scat... fell upon little, deaf kitty ears.

Eventually I was able to glue my cannon to the deck of the model ship.  It's not pretty.  The cannons were placed in haste.  Sort of like the guys in the movies trying to quickly perform some mechanical feat before a bomb detonates. 

Purrnelope acting innocent.

As I write this blog the deck of my model ship with cannons glued askew sits on a shelf far above our fire place.  It's the only safe place that Purrnelope couldn't get to.  I'm suppose to attach the hull of the boat next and then start adding the thread rigging.  Don't laugh at me if you come and view my model ships...especially the one with the crooked cannons and missing rigging.  I'm going to tell people the ship lost her rigging in a hurricane named Purrnelope.

Hardware, Paint and Kittens.

PETA one of two store kitties.

I love going to my local hardware store.  My heart beat increases and I get excited like a little boy whose mother has promised him a trip to the toy store.  

Yes, I know I am dating myself.  There used to be a time when there actually were stores that offered nothing but toys.    Now, I don't dream about going to my hardware store because I have some unnatural attraction to the broom aisle, and I am not secretly sniffing the pain thinner. Nor do I use the pretense of buying another bird feeder as an excuse to visit my favorite place.  However, I can easily find a need to darken the doors of my local establishment.

Why? you ask.  Well, you could say the sign is  on the door, and it actually is.  As you proceed to enter,  prominently  displayed on the door is  a sheet of paper with an image of a black cat upon it with the warning that if you have a dog you must keep it in a shopping cart.  You see my local Ace Hardware,  as do all of its sister stores in this town, have cats who live within the store,  and they hold a position of priority over any visiting pooch.

So whether I'm there for paint or a handful of nails, once I step inside my focus shifts.  My eyes immediately scan around for my store kitties, Carl, a solid black fellow, who is about four years old,  PETA, a snowshoe tuxedo about eight months old.  Both cuties rescued as strays by the pet loving staff of the store.  Carl can be the most elusive of the pair.  Sometimes I won't see him at all, however, later as I'm shopping I'll suddenly give a little jump as I discover him laying sound asleep curled up among the pipe fittings or boxes of trash can liners.  

On occasion Carl will feel the desire to assist the girls at the check out stand.  He will lay nonchalantly on the counter giving a paltry sniff at the purchases being piled around him and on occasion offering a lazy slap at a trailing receipt as its passed from cashier to customer.

PETA getting some help with a lost toy.

PETA is normally the easiest to find because she has established her area of preference.  Entering the store, I will immediately make a left and head for the corner of the store where the lawn furniture is displayed.  I will quietly move among the patio chairs and hammocks my eyes scanning for my small furry friend.  I can normally find PETA curled up sound asleep and comfortable among some pillows or cushions.  She usually doesn't mind waking up for a moment to let me stroke under her chin or scratch her ears.  Then as easily as a breeze blows she is back asleep dreaming about chasing mice and stalking birds.

Still being a kitten, PETA displays more of a playful nature then Carl. On a recent evening PETA dominated the near empty store as she raced at break neck speed up and down the main aisle, smacking a small plastic cap around like a hockey puck.  At one point her antics came to a sudden halt when her toy became stuck under a cooler display and out of her reach.  Fortunately for her, a store employee who had been calmly watching the show retrieved it and the festivities began anew.  On another evening for reasons known only to PETA, she chose to stalk me around the store.  As I selected a new faucet she lay flattened on the floor, only her ears and eyes peeking around the corner of the aisle.  Moments later I found her peering at me as she lay hidden in the foliage of an artificial plant.  As I moved past her  PETA suddenly pounced.  Springing onto her rear legs she gave me a double paw "tag" and then bouncing sideways as cats are known to do, performed a victory lap around a display of sun screen before disappearing out of sight down the paint aisle.

There are a lot of hardware stores in this town that I could choose to visit but I'll stay shopping at this one.  The staff are friendly, the prices are good and you never know what you'll find curled up asleep and purring quietly on a shelf in the plumbing section.

Have a purrable day.

Nick

THE CAT DID IT!

This morning I was sitting here calmly writing an e-mail and drinking my coffee when "Mr. C" my old yellow barn tabby decided I had earned personal attention from him.  He began by performing a carrier landing.  A carrier landing is where he gets a running start towards my desk usually from three to four feet away.   When he's still about twelve inches off, he propels himself into the air, all four paws extended and lands on the edge of the desk.  Now here's where things get interesting.  Unlike an actual aircraft carrier there is no arresting hook to snag him and bring Mr. C to a smooth and soft landing.  What happens is more like those huge multi-car accidents you see at the INDY 500.  

As if the top of my desk were covered in grease, Mr. C soars  out of control grabbing at anything to slow his forward movement.  Since my desk is my work area it usually contains letters, file folders, picture frames, pens, mouse, computer, etc.  Like a runaway train, Mr. C plows across my desk top, papers flying, coffee spilling, Mr. C entangled in the wire running from my computer to my mouse.  

Like the passing of a tornado, it's over as quickly as it began.  One minute Mr. C is skidding out of control towards my computer screen and next he's sitting calmly among the carnage he just created, grooming his paws, oblivious to what has just occurred.

I will mop up the coffee, put the pictures back in their places, stack my paper work and glare at Mr. C who at this point has decided to take a nap on top of my keyboard. Mr. C would make any stuntman proud with his performance.  I, however, am thinking it's time to install an airbag on my desk top before someone gets really hurt.

Have a purrable day...

Nick

Kitty Swimming Lessons

Our new dog Walter

Our furry family of pets have gained a new member.  Yesterday Marcy, Jessica (our daughter visiting from KC) and  I, went to pick up Walter at the Western Mohave Animal Rescue.  Marcy and I had gone there last week looking for a new dog. Walter, who is a Chocolate Lab/Great Dane mix, was sitting in his cage just waiting for us.   The next step was to bring Sammy for a  "meet and greet".  Sammy wasn't quite sure about Walter at first and there was a lot of tension, however, after a short while the two seemed to be getting along  pretty good. So we did the adoption paperwork and Walter became ours.

Walter immediately jumped into the back seat of our Jeep the second I opened the door and he rode home as happy as a clam, tongue hanging out and smiling at the other drivers.  Once home he went to exploring the back yard with Sammy following right on his tail (get it tail...never mind).  After some rough housing between the two of them both seemed to accept the new dynamics alright and things settled down.

Walter also showed us he doesn't have a fear of water as he waded chest deep into our pool for a long, sloppy drink which he performs every time he's thirsty.  So we now have a happy, goofy, smiling and wet dog roaming around the backyard.

The only little incident we had involved our Seal Point Siamese, Bing.  Bing loves dogs and Walter who was cat friendly, had already met all of the kitties in our family with no fuss.  However,  I had gotten into the pool while the girls were on the patio.  Bing had come roaming around the pool and walked up to Walter.  Walter spotting Bing gave him a big sniff and then jumped down with the front part of his body on the ground and his tail way up in the air, wanting to play.  Bing became startled by this big dog making such an aggressive move and without taking his eyes off Walter, Bing jumped up into the air about three feet and then backwards right into the pool.

There was a big splash and we suddenly had a frightened, wet cat swimming like crazy for the edge of the pool.  I was never sure if cats could swim until yesterday and I discovered that they can and quite well.  But at the time the situation was quite stressful.  Bing was swimming for his life, Walter was running laps around the pool smiling, the girls were screaming for Bing's immediate rescue and I was trying to wade my fat body from the shallow end to the deep end where Bing was swimming frantically while sending out pitiful SOS meows.

I was finally able to waddle myself into a position where I could get my hands on Bing and lift him out of the water at which point he raced off at the speed of sound, soaking wet into the house.  Marcy grabbed a towel and quickly snatched him up for some drying off and words of assurance that he really hadn't suffered a near-death experience.

This morning all is well in the Sacco household.  Walter has settled in like he's lived here for years.  While writing this blog this morning Walter and Sammy have been playing almost non-stop with much of their rough housing taking place at our feet or around where we are sitting.  The cats seem fine with him and even Bing seems to have gone back to his old self after his plunge into the icy surf yesterday.

Welcome to the family Walter...or maybe Patton...or maybe Napoleon.  Not sure if a name change is in order yet.

Have a purrable day...

Nick

Get Your Kicks On Route 66

Marcy and I on Old Route 66 through Amarillo Texas
on a motorcycle trip last summer.

We are pretty fortunate here in Arizona because there are miles and miles of the Old Route 66 running through the state. For you younger folks, Route 66 was the original highway system established in 1926. It started in Chicago and ran 2,448 miles all the way to Los Angeles only to be replaced by the current interstate system by the 1980's.  I proudly remember traveling that old highway as a kid when my parents vacationed out west.

If you travel Route 66 in Arizona you will find yourself traveling down some pretty desolate stretches of an old two lane highway with nothing but cactus, scrub and rock on either side of you.

Marcy and our motorcycle minutes after we got stuck
in the sand along the highway after we pulled off to
take a picture.  Learned to stay on the pavement.

However, Route 66 runs through some pretty neat old mining towns turned ghost towns.  We visited one last week - Oatman, Arizona.   Oatman is known for its wild burros. The population of this old mining town is about 100 humans and 10 times that in burros.  You will see them the second you come into town because they are usually roaming around the center of town blocking traffic.  They pretty much run the town and they roam the streets trying to get the tourists to feed them.  They will stick their heads in your car, and follow you into the stores.  We actually watchedburro chew the weather stripping off some dude's BMW parked on the street.  

Many of the shops actually sell small bags of food and carrots for a dollar each.  The burros immediately know the bags on sight and they will converge on anyone holding a bag of food.  Carrots rank the highest in popularity and we actually saw a burro chase some guy down the street.  The burro was knocking this poor guy with it's head like a "roller derby" skater trying to get him to drop his bag of carrots.  

One of the numerous burros that roam Oatman
Arizona blocking traffic.  They are stubborn and they
move when they decide to move and not one
second before.

If you make it to Arizona be sure and enjoy a ride down old Route 66 and make a stop in Oatman.  Don't miss the gun fights which are staged several times per day.  Oh yes, and be sure to hide your carrots.

Have a purrable day...

Nick

www.nicksacco.com

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There Are Monsters Out There!

Today marks two weeks and two days that we have been living in our new home in Arizona. One of our biggest questions was how our pets would like it here. For those of you who don't know us well, Marcy and I have a total of six pets. Sammie our Shepherd mix, Buddy our Cocker, our three Seal Point Siamese, Charlie Brown, Cleo & Bing, and then bringing up the rear is our old yellow "barn tabby", Mr. C.

It's been a change for all of them, but mostly for the good. It's sunny every day and the cats especially like that. All cat lovers know how much kitties enjoy warmth and there is a ton of that here in Arizona. Since we leave the doors open to the back yard, the pets can come and go as they want and the five foot wall around the back keeps them from getting out. So at any given time you can find them out basking in the sun or asleep in the shade on our patio furniture.

The back yard is also a center point for bird activity. Our three bird feeders have become the most popular gathering point for every bird in the Mohave Desert. Morning Doves, Quail, Finches, you name it. They greet us every morning with a chorus of beautiful bird calls. Bing, our great hunter cat doesn't really care about how pretty they are or how entertaining their singing is. He simply wants to catch, kill and drag one home. So numerous times a day you will see him stalking a bird or laying frozen staring at the feeders. The problem for Bing is that we don't have grass here like our old home. Instead we have sand, gravel and rocks and the kitties don't travel well on this. His days of exploding like a bullet to pounce upon his unsuspecting victim has been to reduced to him gingerly tip-toeing across the harsh stones. Definitely not the best mode of travel for a predator.

The dogs are happy as dogs can be. They have decided that our pool is a big toilet and therefore suitable for drinking water. The cats think the same so throughout the day you will see a tail in the air and a head in the pool while they take a sip or two. So far, Charlie Brown, our largest cat, at approximately 16 pounds, is the only one to have successfully fallen into the pond. It was quite the show and very entertaining. We heard a splash, and then saw him scurrying to drag himself out. It was pretty funny until a minute later we realized we now had a large, pissed-off and very wet cat running around the house. Charlie Brown was so shaken by his near death experience that it took him about a week to even approach the pool again.

Safety of our pets also became a big concern here in Arizona. Back in Kansas City you could pretty much let your pets out in the yard with no concerns. I remember some of our cats, Bing especially, spending the night out. However, things here are quite different. We have Coyotes, Bob Cats and Mountain Lions who live and hunt in the wash just behind our home. While they are pretty happy filling their recipe books with the abundance of Jack Rabbits, Quail, snakes, rodents, etc., they will happily make a meal out of a house cat.

We have heard numerous stories about Coyotes easily leaping privacy fences, snagging a pet and vanishing back into the night. In fact, we just spoke to a couple the other day who lost a cat who wouldn't come in one night. So we have a system. When the sun begins to go down,

the unofficial hunting start time for our local predators, the cats come inside. They aren't always happy about it and like a young child, we can't convey to them the danger they face if we left them out.

So everyone is settling in well. As I write this Marcy is sitting by the pool drinking coffee. The dogs are laying near her in the sun and the cats are circling the pool passing one another as if they were sentries walking a beat around an important location.

Sending all my friends and family loads of sunshine from Arizona.

Have a purrable day...

Nick

www.nicksacco.com