Cougar and Zeb (aka Vlad, the Impaler)

We have inherited several neighborhood cats by simply putting food and water out for them. These two are brothers (a few months apart!!) Cougar, in the bottom photo, has from the beginning been a standout as far as beauty goes. His fur is shiny and evenly striped and he is just nice to look at. He loves people and has a kind of "all is well with the world" personality. Oh yes, and he LOVES to eat! He can be an acre away and as soon as he hears the door open and the food bag rustle, he is like a shot across the yard and in the bowl! He also loves to be stroked and will sit in your lap for hours if you let him. The cat in the rear behind Cougar in the top picture is Zeb, or as we affectionately call him, "Vlad, the Impaler." He gets this name from his habit of somehow puncturing you with one or more of his claws every time he comes near you! It is unintentional, but he just can't help it. He has not yet learned to use his "inside" feet! Both Cougar and Zeb/Vlad are outdoor cats until we open a door and then they are temporarily "indoor" cats. They know we are going to catch them and reintroduce them to the great outdoors, so they hide from us (usually between the sofa back and the slipcover). You can see the telltale paws just standing still and waiting...hoping you won't find their safe haven! Zeb is also highly motivated by food. We usually coax him out of his hiding spot with some kind of treat. They are good company when we are outside (and often while we are inside) and a lot of fun! I have added a slide show to the blog, which I hope you enjoy. We live in an area where we can only get dial-up internet connection (unless we go the satellite route), so uploading pictures takes hours and hours. Hopefully, someday we will be able to get high-speed internet. I've started adding items to my new selling blog, and plan to add things as I have time. Our town has town-wide garage sales this month, so I need to buckle down and get things ready for a much needed sale. I'm trying to simplify and organize and work toward not having so much "stuff" around. Clutter and crowded rooms have really become irritating, so I'm thinning out my "collections!" It must be epidemic, because I have heard several people lately complaining about having too many "things" in their rooms. Have a great week!