Smooth Like Jiffy

Connie Bowers of the Garden Makeover Company in Silver Spring, MD, shared this photo of her cat, Jiffy. She said:

"This catmint packs a punch! Nepeta x faassenii 'Junior Walker' may be a dwarf variety, but it is quite pungent.....just ask Jiffy, who is guarding it with his life, after 'partaking'. And I’d heard that while cats go crazy for catnip not so much for the catmint plant."

"My cat is a total cut-up in the garden, and is great fun to watch. I have a dog and cat, but to be honest, the cat is more interesting. Jiffy is a 14 year old DSH orange tabby, very large with an insatiable appetite. He’s now on a bit of a diet after gaining 3 more pounds per last week’s vet visit, now weighing in at 21#.  I just got in and caught him polishing off the remains of the dog’s breakfast. He’s also taken over a few of the dog’s (golden retriever mix — they’re the same color) large beds."

"I adopted Jiffy (previously named ‘Jeff’ in his former life) at age 9 months. We think he may have had feline herpes as a baby because he has a distinctive cross-eyed look with a clouded eye. Several months under a veterinary ophthalmologist's care many years ago care fixed his issues. His favorite pastime (alas) seems to be scouting around our yard for chipmunks and occasionally bringing one into the house to play (he never hurts them, but terrorizes me, as they are not easy to capture). He’ll spend hours staring at a spot where he has apparently seen one of them. We have a tall fence around the ¾ acre property, which is completely filled with trees and plants, so he has plenty to amuse himself. He just never figured out how to climb the fence to get out of the yard (though other cats have climbed in and caused some problems). Never a dull moment!"

And the Oscar goes to...

Patrick Dolan of One Yard Revolution, has a video channel all about growing a lot of food on a little land using sustainable organic methods. Often in his videos, you will see his feline garden companion, Oscar, pop in for an unscripted cameo.

"Oscar is 8," Patrick told me. "We adopted him from my sister-in-law. He still acts like a kitten and loves to play, run, and climb in his garden. He also likes to play rough, but only with me (because I get a kick out of it). He's very gentle with everyone else."

As you can see by the photos below, Oscar has a wide range of expressions and quite a lot of gardening opinions.

If you'd like to see more of Oscar, he has his own Facebook album here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/oneyardrevolution/photos/?tab=album&album_id=881696275202773

Summer Days in the Country

Carley relaxes in the shade.

During the recent Garden Conservancy Open Days in Frederick County, MD, I visited Surreybrooke Garden Center in Middletown, MD. Owner Nancy Walz lives on site and has a wonderful collection of both pet animals and animal statues sprinkled around the landscape.

Nancy said, "Carley is a 13-year-old girl and we got her along with her twin brother, Charles, from one of our customers who gave us the kittens when she was moving away. You can tell difference between the two as Carley is always a little unkempt and doesn't keep herself as neat as Charles."

Cali naps on a log cabin porch.

Wandering through the many garden rooms and buildings, I came across this sweet kitty napping on a porch. "Cali is a Calico girl cat who is about 15 now," Nancy said. "The grandkids named her. We got her from a farm down the road. We took 3 kittens at the time, but she is the only one left from that litter."

One of the many charming animal statues placed throughout the gardens.

Bandit competes for photo ops with the many gorgeous garden containers.

During my visit to Surreybrooke, I was petting Carley when Bandit came up behind me and pushed under my arm to get his fair share of attention. Nancy said, "He is a Dalmation-Beagle mix and is 12 years old this summer, but you wouldn't know it. He runs in the morning while I do my chores and has great energy for his age."

Trouble Waiting To Happen

Sue, a gardener in north-central Connecticut, shared these kitty pics on her Instagram feed: https://www.instagram.com/musabasjoosue/. We met recently at the Garden Bloggers Fling 2017. She is a big Warren Zevon fan, hence the name of this post from a song of his.

She writes of the kitty above that he was a stray and "since he didn't appear to be going anywhere soon, I figured he needed a name.  Introducing The Twerpster (aka The Twerpinator)." You can read more about her garden and her cats at her blog: http://idyllhaven.blogspot.com.

Green-Eyed Monster

Thea Vincent wrote, "My black cat's name is Little One. This silly little cat who was 'gifted' to me. I really wasn't in the market for a new pet, after having my elderly rabbit put to sleep, I felt it was good to take a break. I'm a believer in animals choosing us, and not the other way around. So when this little stinker got dropped off at my house at 8 weeks old, he became my responsibility." 
     "Funny enough, I even tried to give him away to a family and he was having a 'sleep over' to see if it was a good fit. While having repairs done on my car I was riding my bicycle through the nearby village when the mom called to tell me the kitty was really sick. Knowing my car was up on the racks, and me on my bike, I told her to bring him to the neighborhood veterinarian and I would get to him as soon as I could. So, we didn't know for sure what had actually caused him to become ill. He was dehydrated and spent the next two days at the vets office. When I brought him home he was quite happy, and I guess it was his way of telling me not to give him away again."
    "Although Little One turned 4 years old this past March, he's still as spunky and playful as a young cat should be. He simply has the best of both worlds -- indoor comforts and outdoor fun. What could possibly be better than having room to roam and tall grasses to hide out in? Daily life for this little black cat is always a mini adventure. He's a little more robust these days, but he can still climb the trees, which is one of his favorite things to do, next to enjoying the cat mint."

licking raindrops