• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The revolution will be supervised.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Russia bombs Ukraine’s maternity hospitals; Republicans in the House can’t sort out supporting Ukraine.

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Early Morning Open Thread: Queen Bess

Early Morning Open Thread: Queen Bess

by Anne Laurie|  February 15, 20115:03 am| 16 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Open Threads, Pet Rescue

FacebookTweetEmail

From commentor MEM:

Good Queen Bess (usually just Bess, unless she’s being regal) was found wandering the streets of Dorchester in 2008, matted and scared, by the Animal Rescue League. I had seen one more article in The Boston Globe about how full the animal shelters were getting, as more and more people had to move due to foreclosures or job losses. I decided it was time to adopt. Going to the shelter is tough. There are so many sweet animals there, and you want all of them. Of course, the kittens make you melt. But I decided I didn’t want the kitten crazies at this point. I wanted a more sedate older kitty, to match my more sedate lifestyle.
__
I saw Bess. Her cage tag said “lap cat”. They estimated that she was about 3 years old. She’d been at the shelter almost 3 months. She was very slinky and soft, and loved to be petted. She liked to be brushed (whew). I always wanted a calico (or money cat, as we called them growing up)—because I love genetics and the story of X-inactivation. And those super-furry powder-puff paws are irresistible. We signed the papers, got chipped, and went home that day.
__
She cried a bit at first. She was missing someone. But after the first month she seemed to warm up to me fully. She gets on the bed in the morning and puts the powder puff on your cheek, accompanied by a laser beam stare. You have to laugh because it’s so gentle, yet so clear. And starting your day giggling is not a bad way to begin. The same furry paws are a riot on the wood floors too. She has no traction, which makes running look like Wile E. Coyote. Once she does get purchase, she can’t stop—so it also means that sliding into area rugs functions as her braking system. Every rug in the house is has become a trip hazard for the humans–none of them have been flat all day for 2 years now.
__
Adopting an adult kitty was exactly the right thing for me. And we’ll still have years together, giggling and tripping around the house. And fighting over the appropriate use of the Wii Fit.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Can We Impeach Clarence Thomas Yet?
Next Post: I Take the Cue from Certain People I Know »

Reader Interactions

16Comments

  1. 1.

    stuckinred

    February 15, 2011 at 5:49 am

    Sweet kitty!

  2. 2.

    Mary G

    February 15, 2011 at 6:13 am

    Queen Bess is beautiful, thanks.

  3. 3.

    Phyllis

    February 15, 2011 at 7:17 am

    Calicos are so beautiful. Great story.

  4. 4.

    Southern Beale

    February 15, 2011 at 7:21 am

    Ah yes, the Wii Fit cat bed … we bought one of those …

  5. 5.

    JPL

    February 15, 2011 at 7:47 am

    Cats rule. My sons cat who has been visiting has taken over the household.

  6. 6.

    Josie

    February 15, 2011 at 8:15 am

    What a pretty girl. I love calicos. Also love the furry feet on wood floors. I had a little persian who amused herself sliding down a long hallway and around corners. She got really good at doing turns.

  7. 7.

    Ash Can

    February 15, 2011 at 8:28 am

    What a lovely kitty!

    And I must say once again that pet stories first thing in the morning are one of the best things about this great blog. Hats off to Anne Laurie and all the contributors for doing this.

  8. 8.

    Carnacki

    February 15, 2011 at 8:32 am

    What a dear, lovely lady she is.

  9. 9.

    Annie

    February 15, 2011 at 8:33 am

    A beauty, and I love the part about the rugs.

  10. 10.

    Kristine

    February 15, 2011 at 8:51 am

    “All your flat surfaces am belong to me.”

    What a pretty girl. Thanks for the story.

  11. 11.

    mem from somerville

    February 15, 2011 at 9:09 am

    Awww…my furry kitteh is the highlight today! What a day brightener.

    She is a darling. She has the absolutely sweetest disposition. Even the vet laughed when she was getting a vax and Bess gave her a swipe that was such a harmless warning nibble.

    And it remains hard to get time on the Wii.

    But thank god for Roomba, I will add. Wow.

  12. 12.

    CayPDX

    February 15, 2011 at 9:50 am

    we call that “rearranging the rugs”

  13. 13.

    Beth

    February 15, 2011 at 10:21 am

    What a beautiful girl — thank you for sharing. We had a calico like her when I was growing up. Dumber than a box of rocks (too much inbreeding) but just gorgeous. I now have a dilute long-haired calico who is in my lap right now. She is a powder puff too and very attached to me. She was a rescue from animal control when she was about two years old. I love her the most of all our five kitties (shhh – don’t tell the others.) :)

  14. 14.

    tesslibrarian

    February 15, 2011 at 10:49 am

    Awww…this is why I want another long-haired cat. They are so gentle, and they learn to spin-out on the hardwood in an impressive fashion.

    Mine used to want me to roll over a bit so she could lie in a warm spot. She would gently tap at my face with her powerderpuff paw until I pulled back enough for her to lie down in a preheated spot. She was 15 before it woke me up enough to realize she’d probably been doing it since she was 7 weeks old.

    You and Bess sound like a happy pair. I’m so glad the right person rescued her!

  15. 15.

    AliceBlue

    February 15, 2011 at 11:16 am

    She’s gorgeous. I hope you and sweet Bess have many more years together.

  16. 16.

    asiangrrlMN

    February 15, 2011 at 1:41 pm

    Queen Bess is so lovely and regal. Great story.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Bruce K in ATH-GR on COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: April 17, 2024 (Apr 17, 2024 @ 9:12am)
  • schrodingers_cat on Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Fading Neom Dreams (Apr 17, 2024 @ 9:12am)
  • The Pale Scot on Tuesday Night Open Thread (Apr 17, 2024 @ 9:05am)
  • lowtechcyclist on Distribution of Medical Spending in the US Population (Apr 17, 2024 @ 9:04am)
  • Melancholy Jaques on Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Fading Neom Dreams (Apr 17, 2024 @ 9:04am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions – Montana
Worker Power AZ
Four Directions – Arizona
Four Directions – Nevada

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
Positive Climate News
War in Ukraine
Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
Classified Documents Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Political Action 2024

Postcard Writing Information

Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

Donate

Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!