Birthday Boy:

[danemodsandy]

Forgive me for not putting this in the pet thread, but it's a special occasion - my best cat friend, Tony, is ten years old!

He has received a very special present, too - an antique wicker cat basket. As you can see, he knows it's his. It replaces one of those awful foam-and-velours things they sell nowadays; Tony didn't like sleeping in it, and I didn't like looking at it. This is better.

Anyway, Tony has been my best friend since he was about a year and a half old; he was adopted by my late partner, and it didn't "take"; their personalities weren't really compatible. After that became clear, Wilson suggested that Tony become mine, because Tony and I got along like gangbusters whenever we were around each other. It proved to be a good suggestion - Tony has been there for me through thick and thin, and in the last year there was a lot of thin.

Let's hear it for the boy!

 

[panthera]

Happy Birthday, Tony!

And many returns of the day.

May I assume there will be no spaghetti with tomato sauce for the birthday dinner?

 

[danemodsandy]

You May!

"May I assume there will be no spaghetti with tomato sauce for the birthday dinner?"

A very safe assumption, not only for Tony's health, but also because after spending over an hour huffing spaghetti-sauce fumes blended with eau de Pine-Sol while I cleaned up after the Corning Ware incident, it'll be a while before I'll want any spaghetti myself.

He's getting some tuna over his supper - he does not get that often, because tuna isn't actually all that good for cats, but as an occasional treat in a small quantity, it's okay enough. And he loves the stuff.

 

[112561]

Happy Birthday Tony!

And many more!!

 

[lordkenmore]

My best wishes for a Happy Birthday to Tony! And I don't see why he doesn't deserve his own thread. If we got too picky, we could end up with just one thread covering this entire forum.

I'm surprised that Tony likes his cat bed. It's nicer than modern cat beds, but every cat I've ever lived with has much preferred sleeping on my bed. Their attitude is: "What's good enough for a human might be OK for The Real Master of the House."

 

[danemodsandy]

Just For Naps:

Tony likes the bed for his afternoon (all afternoon) naps, but prefers to sleep with me at night. Which is fine, because after years of his company at night, I miss him terribly on those rare occasions we're apart.

 

[lordkenmore]

"Which is fine, because after years of his company at night, I miss him terribly on those rare occasions we're apart."
I know the feeling. A year or so ago, I had a roommate with dogs. One thing I miss from that era is having a "Teddy Dog." (Although, I don't miss those thrilling middle-of-night discussions: "This is YOUR half, this is MY half. You DON'T get the whole bed." Puzzling how a really smart dog could have trouble remembering something so simple.)

 

[panthera]

Her 7/8ths...my 1/8

And I'm lucky to get that.

Lived for years with a hybrid-wolf, she took one half of the foot of the bed.
The cat needs 7/8ths...of the entire bed...at least.

Of course, it's only a California Queen, so that explains the shortage of space...

 

[retroguy]

Awww....

Happy Birthday, Tony!

 

[mrb627]

Give that boy...

... a can of sardines!

Happy Birthday Tony!

Malcolm

 

[circlew]

Glad to see Tony's having a happy birthday.

 

[frigilux]

Happy Birthday, Tony!

....and meow.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Hairy and dark hair and dark eyes. TONY!

Happy birday to your amazing companion!

 

[norgeway]

Happy Birthday Tony.

My little dog Chi-Chi lived almost 16 years,I guess I should get another one but to me that would be like getting a new mother...I hope your baby lives a long time, he looks thoroughly spoiled as all pets should be. no one knows just how much they mean unless they are animal lovers too.

 

[danemodsandy]

Hans:

"he looks thoroughly spoiled"

The sweetest thing about Tony is that he's not spoiled; he understands that I love him, and he shows me he loves me, not common in cats. He went through a lot this past year; his home was turned upside down by strange people (caregivers for my partner), then his Paw-Paw (my partner) went away (into hospice) and never came back, and then all the furniture left his house (because I had to move out of it). Suddenly, he was taken away from it too.

After that came a period where he was in a strange house (my aunt's) with two strange cats (Sport and Jet) who made good and certain Tony knew it was their territory. Tony didn't like that, but he responded by staking out some territory in my aunt's basement and not bothering the other cats. Then, I disappeared, leaving Tony in the strange house with the other cats (I had to come up to Waterloo ahead of him). Then he was handed over to people he'd never seen in his life and subjected to four days in a van (a pet transport service).

Most cats would never forgive you for so much upheaval in such a short time, but Tony was sweet, loving and trusting throughout the whole ordeal. My aunt loves him, saying how sweet he was to her after I left. The pet transport people raved about how good he was. And when he got to Waterloo and saw me for the first time in three weeks, he was extremely vocal about how happy he was to be back with me, never once giving me attitude - he was just happy things were getting back to normal.

He likes his new house; he evidently figures home is wherever I am. He's neat, and I hope we're going to be together a long time yet.

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes. I know Tony will appreciate them.

 

[earthling177]

Happy Birthday, Tony!

 

[alr2903]

LOL Happy Birthday Tony!!!! we have mini BD parties for our pets too. I gotta admit they are fun. alr2903

 

[cleanteamofny]

Another's cats Brithday?
Well......, off with his tail unless he brought us cake!

 

[autowasherfreak]

He looks very cozy and comfortable. I hope he enjoyed his birthday dinner.