MEOW

"Flame", one of the adoptable kitties. My daughter thought Flame looked like Jim Gaffigan....

What kind of people go to Cat Cafes??  People like US!  Back in March, my kids had spring break but we were very busy and didn't have a lot of time for a vacation.  Soooo, we did some local trips, including a visit to Seattle's first cat cafe, Meowtropolitan.  

What is a cat cafe?  Well, it combines coffee and cats.  Quite a simple formula really!  While they are very popular in Japan and other Asian countries, this is the first one to open in Seattle.  Appointments are made online and you have one hour, ten minutes or so to get your coffee and then 50 minutes to enjoy interacting with the cats.  The coffee house is separated from the cat room by double doors to prevent escapes, (and also because of health codes).  There were about 20 cats on the premises, half of which were available for adoption.  Overall, it was a wonderful experience!  The coffees and pastries are cat themed of course.  I had a "Meowcha" and an adorable chocolate macaron with a kitty face on it.  There were about 15 guests including us and you know what??  EVERYONE had a big smile on their face!  It was a very happy and relaxing experience!

Is there a cat in this basket??  Yes!

Lots of structures for cats to climb on, or just sleep!

If you ever get the opportunity to go to a cat cafe, do it!!  The cats are lovely and it's a terrific way to spend an hour of your day.  I will certainly go back and visit again!

Cats and Lilies

Hello!  Happy Spring!  (well almost)  I noticed Easter Lilies in the market recently and have been wanting to post a reminder that CATS and LILIES do not mix!  Lilies are quite toxic to cats and very quickly, if ingested, lead to fatal kidney failure.  My brother-in-law lost a cat this way a few years ago and last week, a cat came into the clinic where my daughter works .  He had eaten a little bit of a lily petal and sadly he didn't make it.  So please, if you have cats, leave that lily in the store!  

Luna would like a catnip bouquet

So Long Summer, Some Last Photos

Monday Things ~ Luna & Blueberry

Since Mae arrived the cats have been fairly annoyed.  They feel under appreciated and are irritated every time they see her!  So, here's their moment in the spotlight.....

Blueberry

Luna

Blueberry is a 4 yr old sweetie that my daughter got as a kitten from the local "crazy cat lady".  The "crazy cat lady" (does every neighborhood have one?) was actually a really wonderful elderly woman who fed the neighborhood strays, took care of their kittens and rounded up as many as she could to be spayed and neutered.  She moved a couple of years ago and oddly, there are very few stray cats now!  Maybe they followed her out of town, like the Pied Piper?

Luna is a 3 year old Maine Coon.  My daughter adopted her from the local shelter. She was underweight, dirty and had been in the shelter more than once!  With a little food and love and lots of brushing and bathing (which she HATES), she has blossomed into this beautiful cat! 

Mae really really wants to be friends with Blue and Luna.  But in true cat fashion, they steadfastly ignore her and keep her in her place ( as far away as possible) with hissing and a few well placed right jabs. I'm sure though that someday they will welcome her into the household!

We have another cat , Rosebud or "Kitty Roca" .  KR is a huge, old, strange looking black cat with a wonky golden eye. She looks like she should be in an animated movie. (have you seen The Cat Returns ?)  She was adopted by my son after a friend's grandmother moved to elderly housing and couldn't bring her.  My son was asked to take her to the shelter, but of course he couldn't! 

Do you have a cat?  Or cats?  I would love to hear about them!

Awhile Ago We Went Surfing

My husband surfs.  He's been surfing for decades.  Me, well, I'm trying to learn but several things put me off....the other surfers, the cold water, the thought of sharks, the cold water.  Possibly, I won't learn because you can't learn if you don't get in the water.  But learning in say, Washington state, is quite a bit different than learning in California or Hawaii.  Possibly it's just an "old dog, new tricks" thing for me.  I'm going to keep working on it but in the mean time, I really enjoy our trips out to the coast.  On this particular day there were at least 75 surfers out in the water off Westport, but a quick drive around the corner yielded solitary surfing and some decent waves if you were patient.  

When I showed my husband this photo, he was struck by how small he looked out there.  Um....yeah.. The next day there was a story in the news about an 18' Great White shark being spotted off of Ocean Shores, right across the way. They estimated it's size by examining the bite mark on a seal that had been bitten in half. I'm sure the shark wouldn't look very big either if I took it's photo.

While we were there, I hung out with my best dog friend Scout and we spotted these boxes built along the jetty.

We had seen several cats that darted quickly into the rocks when we approached.  There was a fish processing plant of some sort across the street. It seems like there's a great animated cat movie here?  This guy could be the star I think.

The beach, ocean waves, sunshine , being with my beloved man and pup, and cats....a very complete day. Right?