"Meow, Meow, I'm a Big Cat Nowoo!

Well, there are things you can do with dogs that you cannot do with cats. The party hat was a failure, and he refused to wear his bowtie.

Worse, my wife had hidden the Blue Wedgewood China.

But we proceeded bravely with his First Birthday Party.

Music was "Patrick the Fabulous Magician", which he ignored.

The other cats run when they see the fiddle come out..

Here is his cake.
It is a can of Fancy Feast Seafood With Shrimp, his favorite, adorned with Firsky Chicken Kitty Treats.
The candle is a sardine. (It has to be King Oscar's).

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Blowing out the candle...kind Of...

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Here begins the devastation..

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This fellow is a wonderful little friend. Like all our animal friends, he is a unique character with his own little rules, games, and preferences.

Yesterday he had a scare. he sneaked into the Forbidden Garage, and was locked in there. After an hour or so he panicked and began pounding on the door. I thought something terrible had happened to the boiler..he DOES weigh fourteen pounds! When I opened the door, he ran into the house, with his tail all fluffed out like a bottle brush.
I wrote his stepmother, and she told me his brother had done exactly the same thing with their garage!

Happy belated birthday, Iggy! Sorry I'm late! Wow, Jon, he has grown up and become quite a beautiful cat!

Your Highness
Ignatius The Great
may You allow me to send You
all my very best wishes to Your First Birthday
with my bended knees
in everlasting gratitude
for the very best cat at the east-coast of the US
(You think of....WHAT? anyway, i do love You dearly)
Eva

Jingles wishes Iggy a very Happy Belated Birthday................

He has been "assigned" a birthday since we have no idea what day he was actually born & it was Flossie's birthday. So he is OFFICIALLY 1 day older than Iggy.................

I suspect all dogs are a day older than a cat, because the cat remains a kitten inside, and this keeps them from fully growing up.

So, this peculiar little guy has decided, for no apparant reason, to befriend one of his toy Mousies- A fluffy orange one.

He brings it to bed at night, and likes to sleep with it. He does NOT play with it like he does the others. This has been going on for a couple of weeks, but I said nothing because I thought my wife was putting it there for him. But now I have seen him seek it out, and carry it in.

This is why I can never accept that animals do not have souls. They are ALL so different and unique in the little games they make up and the little routines they develop that they truly are distinct personalities and individuals. And it is not because we imprint our personalities on them, because while this cements the deepening relationship with them, I had seen otters playing in the Wild, who have had little or no human contact.

Our animal friends are truly a miracle.
I have not seen one grow up for decades, but to watch the unique personality grow more and more complex and individual fills me with awe. I love this "little" 14 pound cat more and more. He makes me laugh, and he is so affectionate! It is wonderful to come home from shopping and see him running up to me and let out a squeak, and station himself at the top of the stairs so he is at the right level to give me a kiss.

Dear Friends...

Can you help me, please?

Jon entered me in a Most Valuable Pet contest, and I am seriously campaigning.

To be honest, I do not have much of a chance, because it's really seems the dogs are sweeping all the awards.

But it is my first step in ruling the World. If elected:

* I will bring Transparancy to Politics! This is easy, because I AM a Cat, remember! (I know it's hard, given my personality)
I'll clean myself and preen at Press Conferences, get distracted and play with the microphone cable, and climb the legs of hostile reporters!

* To everyone who finds a way of gaming the system and voting multiple times, I will mail a sardine.
Better hurry and vote before warm weather!

I have a link on my page..Vote Early, Vote Often! VOTE FOR YOUR FRIEND IGGY!

Thanks...And remember, when I rule the World someday, I'll never forget my friends!

DONE!!!!! And looking forward to passing on that sardine to my lovely, little, feline friend, 'Little Gem', because she could stand to borrow some of your 'heft', Iggy!

See?

Yes, she's very bee-ooo-teeeful, isn't she?

If you'd been around here about 3 wks. ago, she might have been yowling piteously at your footsies for a kindly 'favour', but (thankfully), now she's finally geared more towards 'neutral', if you know what I mean, Iggy.

So unless you happen to be dragging a feather-with-'snake' around behind you, I'm afraid she wouldn't even give you a nod OR a wink!

She's just about your age, too, btw, but unlike you, O Exalted & Pampered One, I'm sure she wouldn't have gotten more than a 'boot' out the door for her birthday. Hmmmm.......maybe that's why she graced me with her first visit in weeks awhile ago? DUH!! If I'd-a known she was comin', I'd-a baked a CAKE!

P.S. Best of luck on your superior feline charm outdistancing the canine contenders! (what do those other voters know, anyway?...)

Loved the voting setup, Jon. Couldn't find where to vote but the visit was very entertaining...but that's to be expected...when Iggy is the HOST!

Hugs to that sweet little furbaby!

Judy

Well, I just learned last night he would rather have asparagus.
He is CRAZED for it. He will beg, steal or rob, including charges at the dish.

I have seen online that some cats are crazy for broccoli, but this is a new one.
I am NOT going to give it to him, other than that taste. (He needs to taste whatever I happen to be eating, as a valuable service to me.).
I share a room with the catbox!

Asparagus provides REALLY good support for the kidneys and urinary tract -- Nissa used to get small amounts steamed and purreed, mixed in with her food......so Iggy may be telling you he needs those greens, and there's nothing wrong with giving some to him. It's a healthy food! (as long as you've washed all the chemicals off to begin with) Iggy's probably thinking "Geeeeez.....why won't this guy LISTEN to my obviously superior inner feline smarts????"......


....waiting now for an evidential pic of Iggy's Innate Dietary Wisdom taking over......

My MIL had a beautiful big yellow tabby boy, who behaved that way over olives.

Update. We had a death in the family, and it was Tax season for us and the business. Business has been good, strangley enough.

Iggy seems to be over his Election Loss, and has now learned to walk on a leash, like a dog. I hope to have pictures of this feat soon. Yesterday it went well, until he looked over at the house next door and saw their big friendly dog. He took off like a rocket and prac tically dragged me into the house.

Iggy's personality continues to unfold and our freindship deepens. Yes, I know all our animal freinds are special people and all different, but he is certainly a sweet boy. He and Sam the Siamese are still Best Friends, and she and he chase each other and play all the time, despite her being eight years older than he. Iggy has given her youth. (And I suspect, me too..)

I understand from Iggy's stepmother that there are FOUR more little tuxedos there now. I shall try to get pictures.
She was supposed to get the poor tired mother fixed, but it appears King Tut beats her to the puch every time. In any case she NEVER has trouble finding loving homes for these kittens, and is a good stepmother.

Nevertheless, I am going to give her a talking to. Our corrupt state has stolen the money for the local SPCA shelter and it is closing just as more people are abandoning their friends, and each kitten she places is one more person who will not be adopting a shelter kitten.

Iggy's Morning Walk.

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OK, Enough!

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IGGY
my mom was buying a leash for me, Felix, too
but we did not try it yet, to go for a walk
did you like it ?! i am not sure
how about your weight ?
14 pounds ?
1 pound is 453g (wikipedia)
10 pounds are then 4.53 kilogramm
my mom is no good in counting
are you too heavy, am i too light ?
i am very long, like you, i have been borne about 8 months ago,
(my grandma wanted to get rid of me, ok, forget that...)
my mom thinks, i am very strong and full of energy
jumping very high and very far
i am not neutered jet,
but at the next visit at our vet i will not be very amused
well, that is live
your buddy Felix
i am looking a lot like my "papa" Jim
grey, tiger and white

Your Majesty,

How clever of you to teach the staff to walk on a leash. That's why you are The Great!

It has not been easy.
Notice how the old fool strains at the leash?

But I should not be too hard on him...Notice the color-coordinated harness he got me?

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Yesterday, my wife told me she had a nightmare in which I had to give Iggy away.

It was very disturbing to both of us, even though we know that anyone who required such a thing of me would be summarily killed.

But the thought lingered through the day. Iggy has assigned himself to the guest chair in my office, or the chair in the shop, so he can be with me all day.

I thought of the dream while he was sleeping and was holding his hand...

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When he awoke, there was indignation....

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His expressions are SO funny!

Iggy has a new friend. He waits for him to show up every day.

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hi, Jon

You know
sweet IGGY
has a lot of friends

thank You again for sharing

Yours Eva
Jimmy Klinger
Felix von Hollabrunn

PS.:
Hollabrunn is a small town in Austria, near Vienna
must be known by now all over the world...

Iggy loves people with Class and Culture. He can be found in the best circles!

Aww..Great shot! Does this really happen everyday?...I wish I had someone taking a picture of me today. Picture this: I'll use a clock to set up the positions...at 11:00 there's a woodchuck looking at me, I'm placed at 9:00 looking at Piper, Piper is at 6:00 looking at a chipmonk at around 1:00 and at 12:00 is a bird poking it's head out of the bird house watching all of us, just waiting to see who is going to make the first move. Ever see the movie the Good the Bad and the Ugly towards the end when they were all in a circle and you didn't know who was going to shoot first. That's what it felt like. The theme song would have been perfect!...A back yard moment...Ann By the way no one got hurt, but the chipmonk came close to the pearly gates.

It was time for Iggy's shots and checkup. Had his fingernails clipped, also.

They wanted a fecal sample.
How does one bring such a vulgar thing for a cat named "Ignatius The Great"

I know.

So, his carrying cage is all decorated with pictures from his website, and has bumper stickers with his URL on the sides.

They were laughing in the Vet's Office at it.

They asked, "Did you remember the fecal sample?"

I reached into my belly bag, and ceremonially withdrew the following, placing it reverently on both open palms, raised it, and presented it to them.

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There followed great hilarity.

Upon leaving, a vet technician ran out from the back, "WAIT!!! You will be needing this next year!!" and returned the presentation case.
His eyes were wet from laughing.

"Thank you. You may KEEP the Relic. I have some gold leaf at home I can bring you, if you wish to make it a public attraction for the waiting room!"

I have been going there for thirty years and never heard so much laughing...And I see from my webstats that various people there were sneaking online visiting his web page...heehee.
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Apologies for being so remiss. Strangely business has been good. I have not had a day off for two months. I have not even updated Igward's pages!

Hello Friends. I have been blessed with an 88% growth in business in 2009, and have been working 7 days a week, 12-14 hours a day, and NOT complaining.
We have two anniversaries coming up.
Miles will have been gone two years on March 10, and while it still hurts to see the chewed and clawed woodwork she left as a monument, and still hurts when I find stray bits of her fur in my computers, I find I can smile at the memories of her more and more.

Iggy will be TWO on March 16. Can we believe it? He is a grownup juvenile nowoo. He has become even more sure of himself.



And though it is not very nice to the memory of Pepper the Yorkie, the truth is, Ignatius is much better on a leash than poor Pepper was.



I hope people can profit from reading the New Beginnings threads and see how helpful it is when a new friend arrives and helps fill the void. You can go back and study the mood changes between the loss of Miles, my catwife, "Mrs. goodcat", and what happened when Iggy came and applied for the Court jester position.

You never love the deceased less. But the pain is made bearable when you have a clown around who loves you.

Jon,

What a handsome guy you have there!

Just a couple of days ago I was wondering about Iggy since he & Jingles are the same age. I assigned him Flossies birthday as we are not sure of his exact birth date. We guessed at approx date from when his Mom brought him up to the house to begin eating & the fact that he was able to be neutered on June 15th.

I know Iggy brings you as much joy and entertainment as Jingles does me.

Good to hear how you two are doing.

Ginger