Fern and the Redbuds

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Fern is a 3-year-old rescue cat adopted from the Prince Edward Island Humane Society in Canada, whose owners are veterinarians. Fern in leash-trained and, I believe, is a Maine Coon.

We share an Instagram video post of her sister, Maple, a few weeks back. You can see it here. 

See more videos and photos featuring Maple and Fern at https://www.instagram.com/maplexfern/

Sweet Scents

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I was thrilled to see this video on Instagram of this gorgeous kitty named Maple as she explored her home garden and sniffed some white Rhododendron blossoms.

Maple is a 3-year-old rescue cat adopted from the Prince Edward Island Humane Society in Canada, whose owners are veterinarians.

They obviously take great care of their pets and have them leash-trained.

I'll share another video next week featuring her sister, Fern. I believe they are both Maine Coons. 

See more videos and photos featuring Maple at https://www.instagram.com/maplexfern/

Rare White "Lion"

I came across this photo in Wikimedia Commons. The captions says: "Very rare solid white female Maine Coon at age 2. Taken by Colleen Ryan on 3/28/07." I love the color match of the Daffodil flowers and the cat's yellow eyes. What a beauty!

Maine Coons come in all kinds of color patterns as you can see in this gallery: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon. My own Maine Coon, Santino, has a tuxedo coat. You'll also notice in the wikimedia gallery that many of the Maine Coon cats are garden lovers as they are big cats and really appreciate the outdoor exercise.

Pepper Mint

Marlene Mullet shared this gorgeous garden cat. She wrote, "Pepper came to our home when she was a kitten (to the dismay of our older cat, Socks, they still don't get along) and we believe she is at least half Maine Coon and was originally part of a litter of stray cats. She even won a photo contest as a kitten just for being so cute. :) She is very sweet and is always careful not to scratch us when we play with her. When I'm in my flower gardens, she loves to chew on or roll around in my Catmint plants. We have a cat door where she can choose to be inside or outside. She is just an all-around good-natured cat:) I think she's around 4 years old."

Beau-dacious

My gardening pal, Anne Hardman, is a fellow cat lover as well. Her kitties all stay indoors for their safety, but even inside cats have "cats in gardens" moments!

Anne writes: "This is my Maine Coon kitty Beau lounging in my greenhouse window. Leave it to this sweet giant to find the primo spot for sunbathing! It might be cold outside, but he is happy to settle in with my miniature orchids..."

She previously shared her kitty Max with us: http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2016/09/max-bunny.html

And there is pansies, that's for thoughts....

Joyce Grigonis a landscape designer in Southold, NY, shared this magnificent cat on her Facebook page recently. He is a Maine Coon beauty deep in reverie in her garden.

BTW, if you don't recognize the quote in the headline above -- it is from Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

The Cats of Disneyland Mews

I was alerted to these feral cats by friend of the blog, Adrienne B., who posted this link to TheAnimalRescueSite.com. The video above shows two different cats, who appear to be Maine Coons, roaming in the gardens of Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. What a terrific idea and a safe, happy environment for outdoor cats!

According to the LA Times, "Years ago — no one seems to know when — feral cats began to sneak into the park, living among the park's trees and shrubs during the day. At night, they venture out, and an estimated 200 cats now prowl through Disneyland and neighboring California Adventure Park."

And then I did some sleuthing and found this fabulous site, The Cats of Disneyland!

They also have a Facebook page, Instagram feed, and Twitter account. I could spend days just browsing their cat profiles...  Cannot wait for my next Disney vacation to see if I can spot some of these working garden cats!

Violets make the Best Pillows

Of all the plants I have on my windowsills, my big cat Santino prefers violets the best for napping on. I have to regularly de-hair the poor plants with a cat brush -- that is just from the leaves that are left after a long winter of window napping!

wake up, sleepyhead!

Baby Bear

This is the last of a series of five gorgeous Maine Coon cats submitted by Leonard Foltz of Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, OR.

"This is our youngest. He is Grizz, aka on his formal record as Kodiak. I wanted to name him Romeo because as a kitten he always wanted to jump on the bed and give me kisses during the night, but I lost out on that name. He is an Oregon native and is a silver tip black with auburn highlights depending on how much sunbathing he does. But of all the five cats we presently have, his favorite domain is in the house. He can be content in here for hours unlike the rest of the pride. He is one of the largest and longest, but still not huge, at about 16 pounds. His purr is like an old Mercedes diesel.  He is very shy with more than two people around. He is a sweet guy, with not an mean bone in him."

Swahili for "Lion"

This is another gorgeous Maine Coon submitted by Leonard Foltz of Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, OR.

"Simba is a native Oregonian who came to the farm the same day as Griz. Fred thought we were going to get one kitten, but I had a hunch we'd meet two that we couldn't separate. I think both of them are 7. Or 8?"

"Simba is very handsome, but doesn't know it one bit and is not the least conceited. We wish he would have more confidence as so many want to just give him a few strokes of admiration but he makes a run for it. He is very photogenic and always seems to be striking some pose. He loves finding hidden baskets in comfortable nooks to sleep the hours away during the winter rains.  Summer days find him sunning himself in the beds opposite the nursery shop. Thankfully, he appreciates a good session with the grooming brush. We donate Simba's locks of love to the birds for nest building in spring."

The Huntress

 

Here is another gorgeous Maine Coon submitted by Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, OR.

"Natascha it the lightweight of the group, but she doesn't know it. She is queen of her domain and a rapacious hunter. She has challenged over friendly dogs 10 times her weight. Very independent like Charlotte, but Natascha always likes to know what is going on and who is arriving. So she greets customers - 'oh don't pick me up, I just want to know who you are' - and then prances away. She loves getting a lift up into the loft of the potting shed to patrol for mice. She likes to check in with you often with a very sweet meow and bounce on her way. If its cools, she'll sit still on a chair next to the wood stove or on a stool near the propane heater. Natascha and her brother Vlad came from Idaho about 11 years ago."

Queen Charlotte

This is another gorgeous Maine Coon submitted by Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, OR.

"Charlotte is one of two kittens that we brought back on the plane with us after a tour of nurseries in North Carolina. She was born in South Carolina. Her brother Raleigh died at a young age of an enlarged heart."

"She has the longest ear tufts of any Maine Coon we have and her tufts would measure up well against many at the shows. With those spiky ear tufts comes as spiky, saucy personality that takes no guff from any of the other male cats. Only Natascha the other female tells Charlotte what side her bread is buttered on.

"She can be very affectionate one-on-one, but makes herself scare for most of the day. Nursery elves count it a lucky day when Charlotte consents to being touched or even held. In summer, she can be gone on camping trips for a couple of days, though I don't think she goes far into the woods. She is truly a free spirit and a bit of a wild thing."

UPDATE:

Dancing Oaks Nursery  has just let me know that they are now offering a shiny new cat calendar, where you can enjoy Charlotte and their other kitties:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/leonard-foltz/the-cats-of-dancing-oaks/calendar/product-21920211.html

And they also did a plants calendar:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/leonard-foltz/dancing-oaks-nursery-2015/calendar/product-21932457.html

A Tsar is Born

This gorgeous Maine Coon was submitted by Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, OR.

"Vladamir is the oldest male and he is also the most well-adjusted cat we have. He is very congenial walking up to customers and not too afraid of many things. His favorite pad is a little pocket of shade cloth in one of the greenhouses that creates a snug hammock over the top of the door. He can be lifeless there, so lots of people ask if he is alive! He is a great cuddler and likes to watch movies. He can be quite a gregarious clown and on garden tours and steal the show from the plants we are talking about."

We'll be sharing more Dancing Oaks Nursery cats in coming weeks, so be sure to check back here every Saturday/Caturday for our latest post.

Guardian of the Garden

Main Street Landscape of Haymarket, VA, posted this lovely photo to their Twitter feed recently. Main Street Landscape wrote, "Caught a picture of a pretty cat blending in with our fieldstone wall and planting installation in Leesburg, VA."  

Jennifer Lewis, Landscape Designer/Project Manager of Main Street Landscape, Inc. said, "The picture is of fieldstone walls and plantings that Main Street did, one of my designs and installations. I’ve been working with this client for years. The cat does not actually belong to my client but rather to her next door neighbor.  The cat’s name is Frankie and he is part Maine Coon. He’s beautiful as you can tell from the picture. My client calls him the ‘Guardian of the Garden’. He lives outside all year round. The neighbor just has a bed in the garage for him. So my client made a nice bed for him on her front porch, a blanket-lined basket and that’s where he sleeps. He basically spends most of his time at my client’s house where he gets lots of attention as well as some leftover fish and chicken."