Friday, November 11, 2011

Please pet me, I'm writing

Note to self: the next time daylight savings time rolls around, consider the fact that your brain will begin waking at 2 a.m. with the urgent need to tap-dance around the bedroom. Given the resultant state of sleep deprivation, it is perhaps not the best time to plan things like the sale of your home, the final read-through for two contracted novels, or a blog post for the day job that requires you to sample mac-n-cheese at every local restaurant until you find yourself in a perpetual food coma.

I'll admit it, I'm fried. I've got no words left, so this seems like a good time for pictures. Pet pictures, to be precise. It's no secret I adore my pets, and that they're a constant presence in my life and my workspace. One look at my Facebook page or my Twitter stream confirms that.

So for today, I give you a handful of my favorite pet photos from recent months...

Bindi is a three-year-old Australian Kelpie, which is a fancy way of saying "small herding dog on crack." One of the best things about my two 27-year-old housemates is that they assist me in wearing her out with regular hikes and games of fetch. This is a shot one of the houemates took using an underwater camera.
The other housemate relies on a motorcycle for most of his transportation. This doesn't stop him from taking Bindi with him when he goes out for hikes. She seems to love it.
Bindi is surprisingly tolerant of the fact that she shares her home with three (yes, THREE) cats. One of the cats doesn't exactly count. Ivy is a crazy feral cat I trapped 13 years ago. She's spent most of her life hiding in closets and under beds. I recently bought Bindi a fluffy new dog bed, and Ivy decided she loves this bed with every fiber of her being. Suffice it to say, Bindi hasn't gotten to use it.

Ivy abhors being held. She also terrifies the hell out of my housemates, both of whom refer to her as "ninja kitty" and have spotted her only a handful of times.

You know how parents aren't allowed to have favorite children? The great thing about pets is that you can have favorites, and Matt the Cat is mine. He's a polydactyl cat, which means he has extra toes on his front paws. I like to think this has something to do with his kleptomaniac tendencies. Matt steals constantly from around the neighborhood. Gloves, stuffed animals, puppets, mouse pads, rolls of toilet paper, leaves, homework assignments, goggles, flip-flops, darts, socks...these are all things Matt has dragged through the cat door.
Oversized paws make an excellent sleep mask when you don't want to wake up in the morning.
Matt likes to assist while I'm writing. Here he is anchoring the printer so it doesn't fly away,

And here's Matt helping me write a blog post.

Then, there's Blue Cat.

When the cleaning crew showed up the other day to prep my house for sale, I eavesdropped as they made the rounds. I had to laugh when I heard one of them shriek (in Spanish), "That is the biggest cat I've ever seen in my life." I didn't have to look to know which cat they'd spotted.

Blue Cat has a shoe fetish. Anyone who leaves shoes lying around pretty much guarantees those shoes will be used as a feline pillow.

Though I'm not allowed to tell you much about the new secret project I've been hinting at in recent weeks, I can tell you that Blue Cat is a character in the story. He plays himself. Very crafty of him.

So there you have it....my brain dead post of the week. What do you think of my furry babies? Lie if you must and tell me you love them.

Otherwise, I'll sic ninja kitty on you.


19 comments :

German Chocolate Betty said...

Love the pet-pics, made my day. I have an Australian Cattle Dog, also a "small(ish) herding dog on crack", or at least used to be. She is now almost 17 years old, so not so much crack. Does, however, continue to go up and down stairs, defend her territory, bug the cat, roll on treats, drink out the of river (like Bindi and the pond). She just does it slower than she used to...

Fun post, mucho thanks!

Sarah W said...

I love them, no lie.

Blue Cat reminds me of my old Maine Coon, Finn, who weighed in at twenty-one pounds and , perhaps not surprisingly,developed kitty-patterned baldness on his tummy. We called him Hopalong Hangbelly in his later years.

Do I have Finn stories . . .

Anonymous said...

You're finally a real blogger with a pet posting.

LynnRush said...

LOVE these pictures. Pets are so amazing. I have two shelties who keep me comfy on the long writing hours. Beautiful pictures.
Have a super weekend and get some rest!

Jenna said...

The picture of ninjakitty being held just has to be the perfect "I don't want to be held" pose.
My dad has a polydactyl cat as well, which I enjoy confusing with pterodactyl. I think it might be fun to have a pterodactyl cat, now that I think about it.

German Chocolate Betty said...

BTW, I come from Michigan and quite a number of polydactyl cats are named after the state because we are reminded of the shape of the Lower Peninsula...the extra toe is like a super fat thumb. Look at the right paw from the pad side (high 5), or left paw from the "oooooh, nice manicure" side and compare to the US atlas which y'all certainly have within easy reach, you'll see what I mean.

Just wanted to share this very important piece of trivia with the non-cognescenti amongst you...

(grin)

German Chocolate Betty said...

I should have said "oooh nice manicure" while peering over the cat's shoulder...

Ah, precision. Not an easy Friday goal.

Julie Glover said...

Beautiful pets. I had a friend recently ask if all authors have cats. I have two inside - although one of them really belongs to my son. And there are two outdoor kitties who starting coming around, and over time we have fed them, named them, and even taken them to the vet...so I guess they are ours.

I often write with my favorite cat, Shadow, at my feeet under the desk. He's nothing special - half mutt, half Siamese - but he truly is my shadow, following me around the house everywhere.

Taymalin said...

Aw kittehs! And Puppy! I love animals. Life seems incomplete without a pet to share it with. I have an orange tabby named Spot (I was letting my geek flag fly when I named him). He just turned 2, and is a gigantic kitten. I think he weighs a good 12 or 13 pounds, and he still plays like a kitten. With my hands. Or my feet. Or my guests' hands and feet.

Like Blue Cat, Spot has a shoe fetish. Especially for men's shoes. He is also obsessed with hair. Especially hair with a lot of product in it.

Sarah Allen said...

This is hilarious! These guys look awesome. It makes me miss my puppy...

Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)

erin said...

LOL! loved the "kid" pics :) You could do this every day and I'd be happy. Hope your day gets better! and good luck on the sale! Sad you have to sell, but a new environment can be so fun! At least you have smallish kids. I have stepping stone dogs... 20 pds, 40 pds, 75 pds. so space gets to be an issue sometimes.

Adriana said...

So cute! All of them! I love how Blue Cat is hugging that post :) Best of luck with the house sale!

Sierra said...

I love the pets! They're gorgeous, and it sounds like they've have great/strong personalities. :D

Your Blue Cat and my Elwing seem to share a love of shoes. Does he ever get his head stuck in your shoes, or is our cat just special?

Sierra said...

"they've have," Sierra? Really? I meant "they've got." Please disregard that horrible typo. *facepalm*

Elise Andrews said...

Tawna, love your pets, love your book more! I posted a review on my blog: http://eliseandrewsmindcandy.blogspot.com/2011/11/stalker-book-review-bundle-making-waves.html

However, I am having Twitter Fail... if you enjoy the review, would you please Tweet the link for me? I will do it myself as soon as I find out what the problem is, but I'd like to get it out there. Thank You, and you got gyped, your 3 book deal should have been a 30 book deal! ;)

Jason said...

Cute! I have nothing else to add, other than I also love my pets. Hell, my dog has her own tumblr and a Twitter account, and the three cats also have a tumblr page. Half of my own blog is dedicated to pictures and stories of the furry craziness.

The stoke my creative fires. :)

Prudence MacLeod said...

Hi there, I don't often comment, but I truly do enjoy your blog, as do so many others. Do us all a favor and take care of yourself. You are precious to us and we want you to last.
Love the pet pics.

jill said...

I love all your posts, but the ones with your pet pictures are always adorable. It does seem like there's some kind of connection between writers and pets - cats especially but dogs, too.

Now that the weather's getting colder, I have four cats and one dog taking turns on my lap when I'm at the computer. If only they fit between chair, desk, and keyboard!

Once you move, will you warn the new neighbors about Matt the Cat's kleptomania, or will you let it be a surprise?

Lisa Ahn said...

Great pics of great pets :) I love the story of Matt's thefts.