Happy Halloween 2014: Cats in the Hood

 We love to go on walks, as evidenced by the posts dedicated to neighborhood gardens. Our dark secret is that we really go on walks to visit neighborhood cats, not just gardens. In fact, we know the names of many of our furry friends. So, in the spirit of something different and fun for Halloween we would like to show you around the hood and introduce some of them.

 First up is Little Blackie, a resident of the famous Eyebrow House. I think she has a few siblings, such as this one:

Don't know her name either, but we'll call her Rollie.

 Not technically on our walk around the hood, these cats live in Oaxaca, Mexico, at the home of the fabulous Linda Hanna, owner of Casa Linda and Folk Art Fantasy. She had to feed them on the roof so the dogs wouldn't eat their food. Yes, these are the Roof Cats.

Meet the one and only Connie Carter. She's a sweet girl who lives several blocks away and is often a destination in and of herself. She's ALWAYS good for a thorough rubbin'.

David says "white color-based" cats remind him of his first kitty, Miss Pickles.

Connie, on the go!

 Here are the Creamy Kitties; they live very close to Mt. Tabor. What a couple of love bugs!

Who farted?

 Here's Wally. Waaleeee...say it with me now...he's our neighborhood Badger Cat. Honestly, he hops down the steps to get some lovin' - like a rabbit-badger-cat. He is not 100% kitty, and we love him for it. Wally will lay his head on my lap indefinitely for some purrs, pets and love - I would still be there now if David hadn't dragged me away.

 Jumping down the steps to follow us home.

 This cutie is around the corner from us, her nickname is Noisy Cat. She runs at us meowing in delight. And she likes to rub on a hot, dry sidewalk, talking to us the whole time.

 This is our honorary kitty, Miss Lila the Pug of Danger Garden fame. We'll visit her garden next week.

This little odd stuffed kitty lives in our dining room. Last year we brought her home from the Pretty Kitty Holiday Bazaar that benefits the House of Dreams No-Kill Cat Shelter. No name, but she is a keeper. If you're in Portland, the holiday bazaar is coming up Saturday November 8th.

No, this was not Photoshopped. Meet Orca, the biggest, best cat ever. R.I.P., Orca - we discovered he passed away and his real name was Tux. You can see why we called him Orca. Some say he is larger than I am, and they might be right!

After the required 2.8 minutes of petting Orca, as we would begin to continue on our walk, we would often feel paws wrapping around our calves in protest. They guy liked people and didn't ever want us to leave. And yes, he was as heavy as he looked.

 His head is a big as mine. I don't know if that's an insult to me or to him.

Meet Wally's neighbor girl, Hazel. Her nickname is Shoulder Kitty, her other nickname is Droolie, can you see why?  She's a very petite four pounds despite looking huge here, and she's a super love bug. While I rub Wally, David finds Hazel for a good wet-shoulder treatment.

 Hazel!

 Scary Halloween-ish stuff.

 This is Miss Fluffington. She lives either with Connie or next to Connie. Connie kind of has a whole posse, so Miss Fluffington could be a Connie Carter gang member.

 Again, not technically on our walk, this is our nephew cat who lives up in Mt. Vernon. What a love.

 And here's Bob. That's his real name. Check out the tail.

 I met Bob a few years ago around the corner from our home. He came running at me like a land seal on a mission to kill. It's the only time I have ever been afraid of a cat. He's actually very sweet, but he has a reputation in the hood for being a thug. He'll lure you in to rub his belly then CLAMP you in his paws in a death grip until you scream for mercy. I think he also bullies other kitties, but we think he may have had "the" operation recently resulting in a mellower thug.

We still love him.

 His tail wags like a dog's.

Scary.

 Of course, here's our resident muffin-head, Mr. Hobbes.

 Miss Lucy, too!

 It's a Bengal Bonanza at our house.

The third cat of Casa de los Tres Gatos is Lolita, who once rode in the engine compartment of David's car to Jantzen Beach and back! She earned a ripple in her side fur from that adventure. She keeps watch on the driveway when not napping. Doin', Lo!

The kitty door knocker on our front door.

The best for last, Quincy, a.k.a. Wide Mouth Kitty. He might look mean but he was a lover.

Quincy was a love story. We would deliberately go by his house to greet him, hear his gravelly voice scratch out an ancient meow as sincere as any cat can be. His owners had to move and leave him behind. Fortunately, we were around to find this out and scoop him up and bring him home. He spent his final two or so years living in cat paradise with my mother. He passed away at the ripe old age of 15. To this day we call his street Quincy Avenue.
We miss you, Wide Mouth!

Orange pumpkin shapes - kind of like Quincy!

Not pictured on this tour, but could be included in a future post: Inside-Out Kitty, Oreo, Halloween the Kitty, The Twins, Billie, Admiral, Pirate and many, many others. On a side note, we love the dogs too, we just don't see many hanging out like we do the kitties. What do you think, a dog post for the future?

Next week we'll get back to some real gardening, for now: Happy Halloween, everybody!
Boo!