The Life and Times of Stanlee

I was born on a farm near Shelbourne, Ontario.  I don't remember much about my early life, only that I was born and lived in a barn (I still can't close a door).  There were a whole bunch of other cats and kittens, a goat and a lot of dogs. Murray's cousin Deb owns the farm and Murray and Shirley had decided to get a new kitten.

 

They named me Stanlee (I really think it was gender confusion).  It seems they had another cat named Stella and for some reason humans relate those two names to a couple of sweaty people in New Orleans.

 

 

 

I was quite ill when I moved to London with them, but they took me to a really nice vet at the Masonville Animal hospital and he cured my eye and respiratory infections. Here are pictures of me when I was not feeling too well. (See, I even look a little blurry.)

 

 

 

 

When I got better, things got to be fun.  I found that I could chase both Stella and Bandit around (the other cats that live here) and they would both growl at me in a really menacing way, but never bite me.  One of my favourite activities was climbing up on things like the table and counters to see if my humans would pay attention to me by shouting my name, saying NO! in a real loud voice or yelling GET DOWN!! It was even more fun when I discovered I could push things off shelves and after they hit the floor, they would break into little pieces that I could chase around.

 

 

For a long time my favourite activity was chasing little crumpled up pieces of paper.  Murray would rip some paper out of a magazine, make it into a little ball and throw it for me.  I would then chase them until they ended up under the fridge or stove and I couldn't get them back. About once a week, they would move the stove out and retrieve all the paper.  There was a lot of muttering about fire hazards and a pain they had in their butt, but it was all great fun.

 
Then they went AWAY!  They left for 10 days for some place called Arizona.  The neighbours Bob and Pat would come over and feed us.  They also played with me a lot and I really got to like them.  Bob went to the Pet Store near here and got me some little foam rubber balls.  They are GREAT to chase.  They bounce, they are too big to go under the stove or fridge so I don't lose them as much.  I've also trained my humans to play fetch with me.  I discovered that when I want them to throw the ball for me I can make this loud noise with the ball in my mouth. (They call it annoying.)  This is especially fun at 3 or 4 in the morning. Maybe they will go AWAY again soon and I can get a new toy.

 

Once the spring came, they started to let me go outside.  I have to wear a collar with a bell so that I can't catch any birds. I do however get to play cat and mouse with some of the local rodents. One of the neighbours, Lorraine, has a couple of dogs. Sam, the male dog will not leave me alone.  He is always after me to play with him.  If he doesn't get his way he barks a lot.  I know exactly how long Sam's leash is, so I just stay an inch or so out of his reach.

 

 

 

 Now that I'm a year old, they have decided that I have to WORK!  I have been given what they call a PAPER ROUTE! and I am expected to deliver the paper every day.  Bandit used to do this and he showed me how it works, but when they ask him to do it now he just lays down on the job.  He says he is retired.  Every morning, Shirley sits at the kitchen table to read the paper.  Murray goes in the family room and sits in the recliner to read his part of the paper.  They have decided that to get parts of the paper from one to the other they will have a cat (me!) deliver it.  The best part is they do pay off with Riplees Ranch cat treats.

My other JOB! is testing cat food. Shirley started selling Riplees Ranch Pet Food.  This is fun, we now have food that not only tastes great but is good for us.

 
They SHOT! me.  They put me in a CAGE! and Shirley took me to the vet. I was really scared, I didn't know what was happening.  They put me on a metal table and a vet (not the one I saw before) stuck a big needle in me. Apparently this SHOT! will prevent me from catching something called Rabies and something else called Feline Leukemia. The only thing I really want to catch is that squirrel who lives in the back and keeps teasing me.

 

My foam rubber balls FLOAT! They keep these big white bowls of water in some of the rooms, I can put my ball in it, then play with it in the water. When I take it out, it is all wet and squishy.I like it when its like that, but they say it is disgusting and won't give the ball back. The other day, I got distracted and left one in the water. They FLUSHED! it. Then they had to take the big white bowl all apart to get my ball out. There was more muttering about pains in the butt and a new home for that cat, but it was fun to watch. Then they punished me by throwing my ball in the garbage. Oh well, I have more hidden all over the house and sooner or later Murray will forget to put the seat and lid down again.

 

Well, I'm over two years old now and some things have changed. Stella has left us, I'm not sure where she went, but Murray and Shirley were upset about it. A new cat, MARNIE, has come to live with us. She is only 10 months old, but she does like to play with me. She came from an Animal Shelter where Murray was doing a website. She says that when he came in the room, she liked him and decided to adopt him right away. She had to go to the vet and get the dreaded SHOT! before they would bring her home.

 

Marnie was abandoned by her previous owners, but the good people at the Animal Care Centre in Lobo took her in until she adopted Murray and Shirley (and me TOO!!). If you want to be adopted by a new cat (or even a dog) visit their website at www.acclobo.com

 

 

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