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Monday, October 22, 2018

DAY 1: 2018 Cat Lovers Hop


No snooze button THIS morning....the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop has begun!!!!






Welcome to Day 1 of the
2018 CAT LOVERS HOP!!!

 If you have a project to linkup, please SIGN IN HERE (required to be eligible for prizes) and then go to the Main Hop Page
(Please use #CatLoversHop2018 on social media!!)
 Also, please check out my
2018 Cat Lovers Hop Guidelines and FAQs


Hi, Friends.....

I am so glad you are here to join in the daily festivities of the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop!! Each day I will be posting some fun things to see and do and win!  Several of our sponsors will be featured each day, along with the prizes they are offering and maybe some cards made with those products. My thanks to the sponsors who kindly provided photos and graphics for me to use, as well as fabulous prizes!  Also, many thanks to D.Ann Comer, Christi Conley,
Karen Ladd who have helped me behind the scenes to make this year's hop happen!! ❤❤❤

Just a reminder.....You must SIGN IN HERE to be eligible for prizes. Also, LINK UP ALL PROJECTS ON THE MAIN HOP PAGE by 11:55 pm Pacific, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018.  I have my 2018 Cat Lovers Hop Guidelines and FAQs in a handy tab just under my header at the top of each page.
Okay on to the Day 1 festivities........

My featured sponsors today are:
Newton's Nook Designs, Stampendous, Lost Coast Designs, Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps, and, as always, our friend and cat-loving artist, Ike of Ike's Art, who will be sponsoring our Daily Games.
Each of these sponsors have special Cat Lovers Hop things going on at their blogs, so you will want to visit each one and participate in the festivities.

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Newton's Nook Designs


Newton's Nook Designs is our first company to help kick off the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop!!  Jen at Newton's Nook Designs has been a sponsor each year of the Hop.  Her support and kindness when I first began thinking of doing a Cat Lovers Hop is what gave me the courage to give it a try!!  So we all owe her a big THANKS!!








Guest Designer Karen Ladd made an adorable Newton card to share with us:
Love this Rootin' Tootin' Newton.  I know it is really "Newton Rides West", but I like my name better!!  lol...  

BONUS:  Jen is participating in the Hop by making a card to share with us, too.  You can see it over on the Newton's Nook Designs blog, so be sure to hop over there and take a look.  Tell her thanks for sponsoring!!
 



Newton's Nook Designs is offering a $25 Gift Voucher to their online store.  





Please take time to visit Newton's Nook Designs at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"
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Stampendous!



We have a real treat in store for you.  Stampendous is back as a sponsor complete with festivities at their blog today, as their designers feature Stampendous cat products. 

BONUS:  There is always a ton happening at the Stampendous blog!!!  Right now, they also have their annual 31 Days of Halloween challenge and comment contest going on.  If you make a Halloween cat-themed project for this hop, you can add it to their link-up, too!!  Details are HERE and their Contest Rules are HERE.

Laura at Stampendous put together an amazing prize offering for us this year.  I adore the Laurel Burch cat products and she didn't disappoint.
 

TWO winners will each receive a set of the Laurel Burch Tribal Cats Stamps and Coordinating Dies!! WOW!!



Laura even sent me an array of stamps to play with including those awesome Tribal Cats.  Here's the card I made with the set:

I used my Dylusions Sprays on mixed media paper, to mimic the vibrant colors Laurel Burch is known for, and then die cut the cats and sentiment panel.  My son (ever the wit!!) noted how appropriate it was to have a "sprayed" card for the Cat Hop!!  lol....  (Growing up with lots of cats has warped the young man!!)
Well, that's not all the prizes Stampendous has for you......
There are also 3 different flash prizes, one each of which will be given to 3 random hoppers: one who is a first-time participant (be sure to tell me when you SIGN IN), one who has participated each year of the hop (tell me if you qualify when you SIGN IN), and one who comments on ALL the projects that get linked up. (Tell me on the last day of commenting if you qualify.)
 


Laurel Burch-Happy Bday Cat Stamp ----→




 



←--- Laurel Burch-Holly Cat Stamp




 



Laurel Burch-Cat Love Stamp ----→
 





Please take time to visit Stampendous at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"

See you over at the Stampendous festivities!!

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Lost Coast Designs

Let's give a warm Cat Lovers Hop welcome to new sponsors Lost Coast Designs and sister company Carmen's Veranda!!   They feature a wonderful and eclectic assortment of rubber stamps that you are going to love.

BONUS:  Right now they have a Dogs and Cats Challenge going on at their shared blog.  Your entry must have actual real stamping on it.  They also have their annual 31 Days of Halloween Challenge going on for your stamped Halloween projects.  Rules and Details for their challenges are HERE.

One of our Cat Hop friends, ionabunny (Gail Tasker), is the DT director at Lost Coast Designs.  Yay!  She reached out to me offering to sponsor our hop. I was so delighted!!  She also arranged for them to send me one of their stamps to play with and this is the card I made:

I used the new Carmen's Veranda - Peekaboo Kitty (large) stamp and teamed it with elements from the Kaisercraft - Pawfect paper set.


Lost Coast Designs is offering a $10 Gift Voucher to either one of their online stores to one lucky winner!!

Please take time to visit Lost Coast Designs at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Carmen's Veranda Facebook. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"

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Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps


Please say hello to returning sponsor Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps.  Leigh designs amazingly magical and quirky digital images.  

BONUS:  Leigh is celebrating the 31 Days of Halloween with a challenge and a bunch of prizes for her hoppers linking up Halloween projects and for those who just want to hop around and comment!  Details are HERE.

Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps is offering a $10 Gift Code to her online store to one lucky winner.

Please take time to visit Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps at these social media spots: Blog, Store, Facebook Page, Facebook Group, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"

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DAILY GAME TIME!!!!!
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The Daily Game is generously sponsored each day by Ike's Art!!!


Please take time to visit Ike at these social media spots: BlogInstagram, Store, and Facebook Group. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"

BONUS:  Ike's Show us Your Pussies - Cats Only Challenge theme this month is Furrything Goes + MEOW-loween.  So if you make a kitty creation for the Cat Hop (Halloween or not), you can also link it up over there!!  Yay!!



Ike has graciously designed a new seasonal set of digital images for prizes for our Daily Games.  I will randomly choose 4 winners from all the entries in the Daily Games to win one of these fab images.  (NOTE:  You must link up your name in the linky tool at the bottom of each post to be in the drawing for the digi prizes.)  I will be featuring each of the images individually on the next four days of the hop.
 

NOTE:  PLEASE PLAY THE DAILY GAME EVEN IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE IN THE DRAWINGS FOR THE DIGI PRIZES. 

Not all of you use digis and have indicated that to me when you SIGNED IN.  I hope you will still participate in the Daily Game.  You do NOT have to participate in the digi giveaway to answer the Daily Game question that lets us all get to know each other better.  If you want to be in the digi prize drawing, link up your name each day that you participate.



DAY 1 GAME:  Kitty Roll Call and In Memoriam  :(

As usual, our Day 1 Game is Kitty Roll Call where we share with each other the names of each of the cats that call your home (or your back porch) their own....even if it is just a home away from home, as is the case with my part-time toms!!  During Kitty Roll Call, you can tell us a little about your cats and you also may add to the roll call any that you have lost since last Cat Lovers Hop.  :( :( :(  Some of you might not have any kitties at home anymore, but please tell us about cats you have had in the past.

I will start.......

Here are the names of my kitties:
Chaienne - In Memoriam. Last year during the Hop, I didn't know if dear sweet Shy-Cat would last the week but she made it until after the New Year. You can read my blog post about her HERE. She's the orange kitty in my blog header and my Google avatar. She was 16 and is very much missed.
Jetta - Jetta has the honor of being the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop Badge Cat. She hopes you will notice and comment on her one white whisker!! (She has only had that since she became advanced in age and her black coat became flecked with white.) My daughter and I ascertained that Jetta is 15 and I think she has FINALLY retired and will stay home now, instead of traversing across the pastures (which are full of coyotes!!) to the old house where we used to live. She's been home since last year's Cat Lovers Hop when our neighbor called us to say she was in a live trap he had set for raccoons! She is my current lap kitty.
Charlotte - Littermate of Jetta, so also 15 years old. She never successfully made the move from our old house (abt 1/2 mile away) and has been living at the neighbor's house ever since. I haven't seen her for some time, but the neighbor said she is still there. She disappeared for a few weeks awhile back, but showed up again although weak and ill. With TLC she seemed to recover and is doing fine now.
Andromeda - Still here with her unimaginably soft, solid black coat. She is outside only, but sneaks in hoping we will think she is Othello, who is also black but twice her size! Sometimes it even works!! Ha. She is kittenish and we call her our Night Sky Kitten.
Big Bad Black - It's been over a year since we have seen Big Bad Black so I will sadly put him on the Roll Call for the last time. He was a part-time solid black tom that chummed around with our little Judith (she was spayed, but whatever....). He never let us touch him, but we all admired him. Even though wandering Judith has been home briefly several times since Big Bad Black disappeared, he hasn't been with her. We miss this big guy and hope that maybe he does have a family in our area that finally neutered him so he stays put and can live out his days in a warm house.
Marshmallow - A big soft clump of something sweet. He's a meek, very simple soul with a long coat and magnificent tail. At 12 years of age, he has outlived two companions and now has Alexander for a best friend. Astonishingly, with Alexander he has finally found someone who is even more simple-minded than he is!! lol.... They are totally adorable together!!
Scamper - Littermate of Marshy. The undisputed top cat of the back porch. Don't mess with Scamper-Girl.  She even chases raccoons off!!!
Ophelia - Never assume that people can correctly determine the gender of a cat! We got Ophelia and Whiskers from a cat-loving friend who had found them abandoned. She said the striped one is a girl and the B/W one is a boy. Being busy, we didn't bother to inspect closely for several weeks.....hence the girl name for our big boy Ophelia!!! (This is particularly embarrassing because my hubby is a veterinarian!! Ha.) Now Ophelia is a big lazy neutered male whom we affectionately call "Oaf-elia" or Oaf-Cat. In the winter, he gets fat and becomes our "Loaf-elia" or Loaf-Cat. :)
Whiskers - Whisk-Whisk is a clownish Black and White kitty, the sister of Ophelia. She's outside only, but one of our very favorites because of her perky personality. She's a great huntress and often won't leave the chicken house at night when I close the gate because she knows there are furry little 4-footed snacks that emerge in the darkness. She loves her little head rubbed.
Mistopheles - Started as a part-time tom, then we caught him and neutered him. Now he is ours. He's long-haired and solid black. Body build, facial structure, and expressions look startlingly like Big Bad Black with long hair. Would not be surprised if they are related.
Othello - Ginormous part-Siamese solid black cat that nearly suffocates you when drapes himself across your neck for a nap. Easily weighs over 20 lbs. He's our Oaf-Fellow!
Alexander - Started as a part-time tom but now is neutered and inseparable with his best buddy, Marshmallow. Alexander used to be quite afraid of our eyes, but is able to let me look at him while I pet him now....most of the time. He's still too nervous to enjoy being held.
Brian - Bad Boy Brian is the sweetest kitty, but he got in his head that he needed to spray in the house. So he stays outside now....except when he sneaks in.
Caspian - A gentleman kitty with a gentle personality. He is littermates with Brian and Judith.
Judith - Judith is our very, very naughty wanderer. She shows up every 3 or 4 months for a day or two or three...then she is off again. :( She's a simple and sweet kitty and it drives me crazy that she won't stay home. I suspect that she might lead a double life, enjoying the benefits of another family in our area that perhaps does not have so many other kitties! I miss her and worry about her.
Skippyjon - Siamese-X and still a character! Perdita has him totally intimidated and he unfortunately began spraying in the house...probably because of that. Poor Skippy can only be inside with careful supervision now, but he is well behaved in my son's room so he often gets to sleep there at night.
Perdita - She is the exotic, lovely Siamese from last year's Cat Lovers Hop Badge. We've had her a little over a year now (adopted from a pet store which couldn't even tell she was a female!!) and she has completely established herself as a diva who only wants affection on her terms. She wants a dollop of canned cat food anytime, though. I give it to her twice a day to help her not vomit.
Huckle - Was a part-time tom who now is pretty much full-time. He looks an awful lot like Alexander, but seems smarter. (Wouldn't have to be much of a contender to beat out Alexander in the brains department! lol...) Huckle won't let us touch him.....and did NOT appreciate it when I once slyly did touch him. ("Rrrrr"...he said.) But he follows us around outside and comes running when I holler Kitty-Kitty-Kitty!!!
Punch - Barely qualifies as a part-time tom, since he hasn't been around since last winter. He looks just like Judith, except being a tom he has filled out and grown bigger than she is. We called the lookalikes: Punch and Judith.
Siegfried - Also barely qualifies as a part-time tom. He and Huckle have engaged in epic battles with poor Huckle coming out with a terrible limp that lasted months and abscesses that I thought would never heal. The tide turned when Huckle gained the upper hand this summer. I hate it that they fight....but if they are going to fight, I'm glad that Huckle finally established dominance so Siegfried will stay away. Of course I can't catch either one of them to treat wounds. :(
 
So I guess that leaves us with 16 cats plus 2 barely part-timers.

This is how to play the game to be eligible for the prize drawing:

1.  Leave a comment giving us your Kitty Roll Call and anything you want to tell us about them.  I never get tired of reading about everyone's cats!!!
2.  After you finish your Kitty Roll Call comment:  if you want to be in the drawing for the prize, fill out your (own) name in the link up below.  This doesn't have any thumbnails so no photo needed!  You don't even need a blog!!!  This is for everyone!!!

NOTE: The Daily Game link ups will be open the entire duration of the Hop, including the extra day for comments. Entries need to be in by 11:59 pm Pacific, Sunday Oct. 28, 2018 to be eligible for the daily prize. So you have more than just today to comment and link up. I realize that not everyone has access to a printer or likes to use digis, so I am still keeping the link up gadget to make sure the digi prizes go to winners who can use them. But I am hoping EVERYONE will participate in answering the questions whether they are putting their name in for the prize or not.

Okay, now it is your turn!!  
REMEMBER: Link your cat-themed projects over on the Main Hop Page. (Please use #CatLoversHop2018 on social media!!) This link-up below is just to enter the drawing for the Daily Game after you have commented with your Kitty Roll Call. Thanks!!!

Thank you sooooooooooo much for being a part of the 2018 Cat Lovers Hop. Let the fun BEGIN!!!

🖤
Janis








34 comments:

  1. I had 2 Main Coon cats,I Lost "Socks" about 5 months ago.. I miss her every day. When I got her 14 Tears ago she fit in my hand.. Full grown she was 25 pounds plus..
    I have my other Main coon "BOOTS" she is my familiar , She is with me no matter where I go to in the house.. she is almost 15 years old now, she is a bit smaller than Socks was , she is about 23 pounds .

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    1. Oooh - I would dearly love a Main Coon :-) So sorry for your loss xxxxx

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  2. OMGoodness - I am SO in LUV with those Stampendous Kitties - how awesome :-D
    Crikey - well, Cats.... where do I start.
    As you may know I have been rescuing kitties since I moved here to Greece because the locals don't care for cats at all. I scoop up 'ferals' and get them spayed/neutered then release them again but I do have a fair few who live in my house/garden and there always seems to be more who come and find me. I am definitely a Crazy Cat Lady now LoL
    I'll just list names of past and present because otherwise I shall be writing a book about my cats :-)
    Squeeky (came from UK with me and lived until 22), Sam, Gemima, George, Minnie, Mickey, Scooby, Widget, Dude, Grizwald, Denis (All passed now).. Present 'Live-Ins': Ghandi, Kolin, Messi, Tuxie, Felix, CheezyPuff, Louis, Pussefone, Klint, Weazel, JellyBean, BiBi, Aris, Pale Rider, MummyPuss, Ghost, and the 'Newbies' I found a month ago discarded in a box up the mountains - Sqweeki and Meuli. All these are added to a further 8 or so that I feed in my garden when they come for Tea at 4 o'clock :-D

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    1. Oooh - I forgot Shrodinger :-D

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    2. Guess it depends on whether youre looking in the box, eh?! 😸

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  3. After the last three years of playing in the hop with my darling (re-educated feral) Blackie, he passed at the end of May. He was 18yrs old. I miss him everyday. This year, I'm still playing and honouring his memory.

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  4. Two to tell you about but from when the kids were small - Sooty (guess what - he was black!) then Sausage (the kids chose the name...)

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  5. My favorite cat saying is every life should have nine cats. Over the years I have had the pleasure of sharing days with Prince - he played fetch and was such a sweet love. 19.5 years we shared our time together. Its been 15 years and I still miss him. Onyx was a debonair little black cat, with white belly markings that look as if he was wearing a bikini. He was such a sweet tempered cat and stolen from us and I miss him still.
    Currently the cats in my life are my Dad's 3 - Digger, Jack, and Little One. Digger is the brains of the bunch he's figured out how to get out of the in-only setting on the cat door. Jack is the lover, he loves tummy rubs. Little one is still shy (a stray taken in) but loves to play. At our home two visiting feral kitties romp and hunt. We have named them tux and tabs. They turn their cute little noses up at dried cat food...apparently birds and squirrels are better tasting.

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    1. Love that saying... we need to get that in a stamp!!! Jen, are you seeing this??!!!

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  6. Happy Day 1😽. I only have one kitty now (want lots more, sigh) & his name is Neo. I have always wanted a male ruddy Abyssinian with green eyes & last year I finally got Neo, named so coz he’s the ONE😻

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  7. OWW (One White Whisker) Jetta! I did, indeed notice your one white whisker and had to blow the pic up to see if you'd lost the others, but nope, they're there. Oh, Janis, you and Karen had me laughing my head off... between Rootin' Tootin' Newton and having a SPRAYED project, both SO apropaw!

    Currently I'm in a pet free community. Wah! But my previous cat was Gatchy- short for gatinho (pronounced gah-chee-nyo) - kitten in Portuguese. He's the one used for my picture on my blog and on Instagram. Before that there was Widdle, Puffy and Tats, which made calling tgem easy: Here, Widdle Puffy Tats!! 😹

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  8. Happy Day1. I have three cats at home. All adopted as adults. The first two came with the names Goose and Maverick (from the movie Top Gun). Our third cat is a white long hair whose original name was Icicle, but now he's Iceman to keep with the Top Gun theme!

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  9. We are a one-kitty home, since our Siamese cat, Coco, hates cats! We adopted her 5 1/2 years ago from a local shelter, where she had to be kept in an isolation room because the other kitties upset her too much.
    Other kitties in my life who I have loved and lost: Yoda, Spooky, Kimmy, Kikko, and Cosan. All were female Siamese kitties except for our lone male DSH, Spooky.

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  10. Currently, there are two feline fur babies who allow me to live in THEIR house (provided I keep the food dish full and the litter box empty!) They are named Molly and Honey. Molly is 3 and Honey is 7. During the past year, I had a short term fur baby who came to live with us from my sister-in-law's home when they could no longer keep her. She was named Twiggy, but she was with us only 3 short months when she developed a liver disease that took her from us. How can one little fur ball make such a big hole in your heart after only 3 months?

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  11. Only one kitty in our home at the moment- a stray we named Casey (because our surname is Jones). Casey adopted us about 10 years ago having found our garden and an open back door where he could creep in and steal cat food. He is nearly all black and is really affectionate. He didn't have a voice for the first seven years, but when Indie (Indiana ... Jones) crossed the Rainbow Bridge he found his meow and has used it vociferously ever since! He's quite elderly now, about 14 we think, and has a fantastic purr which seems to rumble up from his tummy, but this caused him to dribble. His claws don't retract completely, but he is ever so gentle and never scratches us (he saves that for one particular wall at the top of the stairs!).
    Other kitties we have had the pleasure of loving are Indie, Patch, Poppy and Holly. x

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  12. I am blessed to share my home with the Fabulous Feline Five! I actually have a page on my blog dedicated to them :) I have a tiny, fat, black cat named Mew & everytime I see the Blog Badge this year I think it's her! LOL I've lost many kitties for various reasons - Samantha, Samuel T Cat, Honey, Tasha, Boots, Misty, Spike, Baby, Boo and Monster. I miss them every day and I feel the best way to remember the departed kitties is to give another kitty a home. <3 My favorite cat saying is "Cats are like Potato Chips, You can never have just one" - Happy Hopping everyone!

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  13. Kitty Roll Call!!!!!!
    Right now, we have 3 amazing kitties!
    MAX: Max will be 8 years old in about 3 weeks! He is all black, very sleek, very strong, and so affectionate in his own way! We adopted Max after a big tornado destroyed the homes of thousands of cat owners in our city, and there were thousands of kitties that needed a new family! We saw an ad in the paper with Max's picture, and welcomed him into our home and our hearts!

    OMAR KITTY: Omar Kitty is a big ball of lovable black fluffy fur! We adopted Omar Kitty a few weeks after adopting Max, because Max needed a young and energetic playmate to keep him busy. I don't think anybody thought Omar Kitty was going to make it. The people at the Humane Society kept telling us we had to wait "two more weeks" because Omar was on a few different antibiotics he needed to finish up before coming home with us, and then they waived his adoption fee. Today he is super strong and healthy and 7 years old!

    FUZZY: We had just moved to a brand new place when this teeny tiny black and white ball of fur just ran right in the front door! We decided to let him stay, and he is the most affectionate cat we have ever had! We think Fuzzy is about 4 years old.

    FELIX: I first adopted Felix almost 18 years ago when I lived in Philadelphia, and he was the love of my life until December 9, 2017. I still think about him every day, and how much he loved to sleep in the crook of my elbow every night. All of our cats have brought us so much joy!

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  14. Twinkle (my first kitty at age 4), Cashmere, Max, Kahlua and Kelly will live in my heart forever.Fortunately, my sweet possessive boy Goliath and skittish wild child Jezebel still bring us joy each day. So funny that their purr-sonalites are so different, though. Goliath is the snuggler and Jezzie runs when you reach out to touch her or even look like you might. LOL

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    1. Thanks so much to the amazing sponsors! You all ROCK!

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  15. oh wow!
    What amazing sponzors!
    thanks to all of them!
    It was so nice to read all kitty roll call.
    I have new kitty since last year but Im not sure if he will stay with us.
    I had Đuro,Spooky and Stinky. they are anggel cats now.
    I did have few foster cats and found them new forever home.
    And now I have 6 cats :D
    Coffee,oh she is bad cat! she always do thinks that she is not allowed. and she like to argue with us when we tell her that she don't do that.
    Speedy she is fast. very fast. and she love cudle.
    Squeaki is cat who meow like toy. that whay he got that name.
    Crni or blacky is black and he loves to be outside.
    Mini is mini verson of Stinky. but he dosent smell :D
    and new memeber of cat family is little orange kitty.
    he is baby.
    you can see them all on my blog.
    I love cats very much!
    hugs

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  16. Meant to add in Janis, wow on the sponsors, that takes a lot of organising! Love all the sponsors work - gorgeous! Lovely to see Ike back too, and Leigh and Jennifer! Love Stampendous! One of my fave companies! Your cards is stunning! Love all the stamp sets! The festive cat stamp is a favourite - though love them all! Great to see Karen again too! (gorgeous card Karen!) Welcome to the new sponsors too! Wow what a post! (And loved to read about everyones kitties, especially yours Janis!

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  17. Great sponsors. I love my two cats, whose names are Domino and Harley Quinn. They are seven months old littermates, who are white with black patches on their heads and/or tails. Harley Quinn is a female short hair and Domino is a longhair with a big fluffy tail. We think that they are part Turkish Van from their markings, but since they were rescues, we don't really know.

    We were cat-less for a bit over a year after our last pair passed away. We've had three pairs of rescue cats and are so happy with our latest family members.

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  18. Last year I inherited my Mom's home ... and immediately, the next door neighbor's cat, Anna Banana, adopted us! lol I kid you not. She comes over for breakfast every morning and sits with my hubby while he drinks his OJ and has his breakfast. Some days, she'll stay quite awhile and just hang out, take a nap, eat brunch. lol And then I have a small parrot named Rocky ... he truly thinks he's a kitty cat and tells us so. He is now 24 and has always refused to say anything about being a bird, even tho I tried teaching him both. And he doesn't tell me he wants just a cookie, noooo, he wants a kitty cookie! lol And I did NOT teach him that ... he came up with that all on his own. Anywho - he's the only reason we don't actually own any cats. But we love them and we're so happy to have been adopted by Anna Banana. :-)

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  19. We lost our last cat in 2017, Teddy, and are now cat-less. All of our cats were adopted from the shelter, or were strays..so I feel good about having given them a loving home. My favorite cat was Bailey, who was a tiny feral cat that hid in a hole under our backyard shed for a week before we were able to entice him out with food. My daughter and I perched over the hole for almost an hour before he sneaked out and we were able to grab him. We had to put him in a shoe box to keep him contained because he was so feisty and wild but he eventually became tame enough to accept us. He never did get used to my husband, and would run and hide anytime a new person came around, but he let me cuddle and groom him. He ended up with a lung disease at about age 13 and I was so sad to lose him. Bailey was charcoal gray and white, with huge owl-like eyes that really made him stand out from my other cats, and I wish that he would have allowed me to take more photos of him over the years. My other cats were Tina (orange long-haired tabby), Bubby (gray tabby), Zoe (long haired dilute calico), and Teddy (orange short-haired tabby). They were all special kitties with their own personalities.

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  20. Still have our cat Sabre. She came to us as a stray kitten over 15 years ago and is doing fine. Recently we have had another stray come to visit. He doesn't come everyday and when he first came he looked half starved. He looks much better now but doesn't let us pet him yet.

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  21. We don;t have any cats now, Our last one was a tabby called tiger. She lived to a ripe old age, but eventually succumbed to kidney failure

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  22. I had cats during my younger years and I named them in Chinese relating to grains like millet, oats, buckwheat & quinoa.

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  23. I have had pet cats all my life. Our first cat as a married couple was Abby Tabby, part Abyssinian female. We lost her at the early age of 2. Then came littermates Smokey (gray tabby male) and the Bandit (tuxedo female). Bandit passed at age 8. Then came Pandora, another female tuxedo. Smokey left us at age 14. Then came Apollo, a male patch tabby. He was the perfect kitty: friendly, obedient, never had an accident in the house and was my constant companion. We lost him to an infection at age 8. Then came littermates Toby (long haired mackerel tabby) and Spartacus (aka Sparky, a short haired spotted tabby). Pandora passed after a stroke at age 14, and we just lost Toby from cancer last summer at age 12. Sparky will probably be our last furbaby, as we are near retirement and would like to travel without worrying about a pet at home.

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  24. Living on a farm usually consists of a LOT of cats, some fair well and some (sadly) aren't as lucky. We had many kittens when our children were young. Our daughter (being the oldest) got to name them. We had 2 that she named Cuddles and 2 she called Snowball. LOL When she was 12 that was all she wanted for Christmas and our 10 y/o son wanted to give her one. (So after much debate my husband & I agreed we would try one more time as it was too heart breaking when you lost them.) He was a 3 month old grey barn cat and extremely wild but our daughter had him tamed in 3 days. His name was M.T. (short for Multi-Toes as he had double paws) and he lived for 21 years. We lost him four years ago and still miss him :(

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  25. We owned two cats as my kids were growing up. My husband got me Noel as a Christmas present the first year we married. She was an independent girl. Later Pumpkin hid under our deck and then became ours. My daughte4 married a guy with two cats-Stella and Marley. My granddaughter loves Stella trying to pet her any time she can.

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  26. We got our first cat, Tina, when I was about 6 years old and had cats all the time I was living at home. Now that I'm married with a family of my own, we can't have a cat because my husband is allergic (so sad). However, my two girls seem to adopt every cat in the neighborhood, and the cat who lives behind us comes over every day to visit. His name is Angelo, lol. In addition to the neighborhood cats, our house is filled with stuffed kitties, miniature kitties, books about kitties etc. Then there's my 4 year old, Blair, who draws kitties almost every day!

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  27. I don't have any cats now but in my heart there will be a very special place for Marco, my grandma's beloved kitty! He was her shadow. I loved to see them together and I like to thinking of my grandma playing with him! <3

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  28. Yay for Day 1 and all the wonderful sponsors! You and your guest designers made some adorable cards! Cuuuute! Janis, you are a true cat lover! So many cats and so many purrsonalities! I have 3 cats now (Honeydew, Kiwi, and Snowie) and one who has gone but will remain forever in my heart (Muffin).

    Honeydew is our big boy - he weighs over 17 lb (down from 20 lb!). He's 14 years old and loves Vitalax / Laxatone (I'm sure you know what that is!). To him it's a treat.

    Kiwi is my box boy - he loves to be in some kind of box, or on top of a box. He's 14 lb and is a littermate to Honeydew. Kiwi enjoys a good belly rub!

    Snowie is our little girl, all white with blue eyes and weighs about 6 lb. We think she's around 13 years old. She was a stray when Brian adopted her. She's definitely Brian's cat but has taken to snuggling with me while he's been in the hospital/rehab. I know she'll be super excited when he gets home (as will I)!

    Muffin was my first cat and will always be in my heart. I had him for 18 wonderful years. A very special boy, he was always by my side, on my lap; wherever I was, he was. Still miss him very much.

    Thank you for the fun daily game, Janis!

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  29. Unfortunately, my 3 little ones have all passed on now and I still miss them terribly every day. All of our cats were jet black. We first had Perky and Patience who were brothers in litter and were the only 2 black ones. We fell in love with them immediately. They were only 3 weeks old when we got them as they were both rescues from a warehouse and their mother was trying to kill them. We didn't even know what to feed them and they both fit it the palms of our hands. They were both super playful and brought so much joy to us. We could never leave them alone as they used to have water fights and splash each other when we put their 2 water bowls next to each other. Perky used to jump into the shower with me too and scared the crap out of me the first time he did it! LOL! Having something furry rubbing against you when the water is coming down and you have your eyes closed was something to get used too! On the way home when we had first been given Perky and Patience, Perky kept popping out of the box to see what was going on around him and that is how he got his name. Patience received his name because we said he was being super patient not complaining while Perky was walking all over him to keep popping out of the box. Perky died suddenly on December 22 years ago during the night. The vet believes he had had a heart attack. I think he knew it was going to happen as he climbed up on me in bed as if to say goodbye. He was 12.5 years old. Patience lived on to be 17.5 years old when he had to make that fateful decision to do what was best for him and let him go in peace. He had lived a good life and we never knew how much he loved to play until Perky had passed on. He played right up until his old age. We have both of our pets cremated and I have their little urns. Patience passed away on December 15. When we went to pick up the urn for Patience a huge black cat named "Boo" came flying around the corner in the vet's office and ran right up to me and starting purring. It was LOVE at first site. I just knew she would be coming home with me. It took a lot of convincing with my husband as we were still mourning the loss of Patience. This was in December. In January, the vet's assistant called me and asked if I still wanted "Boo". My husband again said no. Again, they called in February. Again, my husband said no. I went to the vet's again March to see her again. I wanted soooo much to have her. Then in April, I contacted the vet and asked if she was still there. They told me know that she had gone to a new family. I actually got off the phone and cried because I had lost my chance to have her in my arms. But God, was looking after both of us and 3 days later I received a phone call asking if I still wanted her. I said, "YES". I spoke to my husband again and he said it was fate. We picked her up the next day. It turned out that Boo didn't trust anyone except for me in the beginning as she was a severely abused cat. She had been tossed between vets offices for 3 years as well because no one wanted her because she would hiss at them. Turned out that it was just a defense mechanism. She figured if she hissed then no one would go near enough to hurt her again. Boo turned out to me super loveable and affectionate. Her and I were inseparable and she even grew to love my husband too! She passed away on my birthday so I will never forget her. I used to have a lot of fun making cards to vet from "Boo" and made a lot of them over the 6 or 7 years that we had her. When she passed I did a special blog for her on my post. rstevensoncreations.wordpress.com. Her picture is there too! I keep pictures of all 3 of them close by me all of the time. In the office and at home. I have all 3 of their little urns and all 3 have been blessed as well. After all, they were all my children.

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THANK YOU so much for taking the time to leave a comment. Your kind words encourage me so very much!!!

Have a lovely day!
<3
Janis