Raffle Winner!

Rocky: It's time for Mr. Milky to choose a winner in the raffle that Deb & ML's Auction's held to help us pay his vet bills ... so I printed out all the tickets for him and mixed them up really well ...

Mr. Milky: Oh, this is the first time I've had any responsibility of my own - hmm, let me figure this out ...

Ah yes, it's much easier if you dump the tickets all over the couch ...
Okay, now, I'm supposed to do what? ...

Oh, I see - the first one I knock on the floor is the winner ...

There! How did I do? See it down there? ...

YAY! The winner is Victor the Vampire Kitty ... Oh wait! What's that? Vampy Victor sent us a message - He said "I iz using Momma's account to buy tickets to help Mr. Milky. If we wins, please re-raffle to help someone else." Oh wow, isn't that just wonderful of Victor!!!

So then I held a high-level conference with Deb & ML and they want to give these great raffle prizes away to someone who helped me, so I'm starting all over! This time I'm using my tail to pick a winner ...

There ya go ... my tail swished a winner onto the floor ...

AND THE WINNER IS ........

Kaz's Cats GYPSY & TASHA!!!

Oh oh oh, hold on, wait a minute! I just got an email from Gypsy and Tasha and they said, "We've won some pretty amazing prizes lately, and we don't really need anymore, so we were wondering if this prize could be sent onto the crew at Jan's Funny Farm. We love reading the stuff they post, but we think that green papers can be tight with so many mouths to feed, and we'd like to cheer them all up by sharing our good fortune."

So-o-o .... the final winner is Jan's Funny Farm!!!
(I think)

Congratulations to Jan's Funny Farm! But you know what? I think Vampy Vic and Gypsy & Tasha and ALL cat bloggers are the biggest winners in the world! And I'm sending big, big thankful purrs to all of my wonderful new friends who bought raffle tickets to help me pay for my surgeries and medicines and all the stuff I needed to save my life and get me healthy again! And special thanks to Deb & ML for doing this wonderful raffle for me!

Terribly Busy Toesday

Rocky: Our toes - and our beans - are SO busy we hardly have time to turn around! Well, except for Fracas ... he's giving his toes a rest ...

And Callie is taking a break to play with her fuzzy groundhog toy ...

But my toes are whapping my human artist's camera strap so she'll get back to work ...

There's SO much to do! First, now that ML and staff are back online after that bad guy Ike blew through their house, the Milky thing in my living room needs to choose the winner of Deb & ML's Raffle. I yelled a memo through the door to him that he needs to get busy!

Next, the human artists and I need to work non-stop to get ready for our first cat show! On Oct. 25-26, Artsy Catsy is exhibiting at the Cat Fanciers' Association/Indy Cat Club Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. And we invite all our blogging friends who might live nearby to come - my human artists would love to meet you!! (I'm told I won't be attending the show, but I'm still negotiating.)

And my human artists are very busy trying to find a good furever home for Mr. Milky. Jodi at the Rescue Farm says she'll have no trouble at all finding one for him, but my mom is so attached to Milky she's determined to first try to find a home for him where she can still visit him. She loves Mr. Milky, and he loves her, too. Her heart is breaking, but she's come to realize that it would break her heart even more to upset all of us - especially Callie and Lucy because they're senior citizens - and to have to keep us out of the living room forever.

She wants me to tell you that if any of our cat blogging friends would like to give Mr. Milky a home, if you're within a day's drive of our home in Terre Haute, Indiana, we would drive him to your home ... or even meet you halfway if you live farther away than that. That way, we would know he's getting a wonderful furever home, and my mom would still be able to be in touch with him.

Now I have to go lick her face, because her eyes get leaky just thinking about giving up Mr. Milky :-(

Mr. Shrillky

Mr. Milky: Thank you all so much for your "Welcome Home" wishes! Hendrix, you're right - like you, I do have an evil alter ego: Mr. Shrillky. But right now he's suppressed deep inside because I see a scritching hand approaching me ...
Ahhh, yes! Oh, and thank you all for your suggestions on improving Mr. Shrillky's bad cattitude. But I just can't help that couch shredding thing - just look at my big feets. The thing is, I can't control my claws very well because the pads of my feets are a bit defective from the infection that required surgery. I try not to shred hands, but it's hard to restrain myself when I get over-excited from attention because I've never ever had attention before. And Artsy Catsy doesn't want to de-claw me because me and my feets have been through so much ...
Oooh, yes, right there! And thank you for giving my Artsy Catsy beans some hope by saying it might take 2 weeks or more for my tomcat hormone levels to subside, especially since Dr. Shew says I'm probably at least 2-3 years old. Mmmm, I don't feel any hormones, I just feel scritches ...
See, I'm not all bad cattitude ... I give grateful kisses during scritches ...
Oops, but then Mr. Shrillky gets all excited and turns my kisses into biteys! It's him who wants to kill Rocky and his staff, not me ...
Oh, and since you asked, Mr. Shrillky doesn't just hiss and chase Rocky & staff, in fact, we've never all been in the same room unless I'm in my cage, because all I have to do is even see the other cats through the living room door and Mr. Shrillky goes crazy! He lets out blood-curdling screeches and yowls and bangs my head against the door until I hurt myself. The Artsy Catsy beans are very upset about it, because two of their kitties, Callie & Lucy, are 17 and 18 years old and they especially don't want Mr. Shrillky to upset them. And they already have 9 kitties and 1 woofie, all rescues, who have lived here with them furever.

I think they're probably right - as much as I love Artsy Catsy, I think I would love even better a furever home where there are no other kitties so I could have ALL the attention. But I do love my Artsy Catsy Mom Sharolyn SO much ...

Honey, I'm Home!

Mr. Milky: Yes, it's hoohah-less me, and I'm finally back at Artsy Catsy! Tell you what, getting rid of those hoo-hahs and getting all my vaccinations has made me feel feisty! First thing I did was try to attack Rocky then hiss at the Artsy Catsy beans when they told me to stop. So now I've got the living room all to myself again, and I'm just sitting here thinking about what I can get into ...

I know! I'll shred the back of the couch!

Okay, hmm ... now what? I know! I'll shred the bottom of the couch!

I guess I'd better rest now, because soon I have the important job of selecting the winner of Deb & ML's raffle for me. Thank you all so much for helping me, because due to my recent stroke and foot surgeries, Dr. Shew had to run extra tests before my hoohaectomy to make sure an anesthetic wouldn't hurt me. Okay, naptime!

Rocky: I'm thoroughly disgusted. We've all been banned from the living room again, thanks to that Milky thing, who is destroying MY couch, while I languish here on a recliner in the dining room covered with an old sheet ... But I'm not complaining ... first, because lots of people have it worse than me. For instance, my AlmostDad Jim, went through a heart catheterization Monday. But YAY, the good news is, he only has a couple of minor blockages and won't need surgery!!

And there's my friend KC's family and all my other friends in Texas who are having really serious problems after Hurricane Ike. We're all purring & purraying for them, and very grateful to the Taylor Catsssss for keeping us updated.

And there's another reason I'm not complaining. I've heard rumblings around Artsy Catsy that the human artists will probably have to try to find a good furever home for Mr. Milky because even after his hoohaectomy, he doesn't seem to be a good team player. My mom is very upset and sad about it, but she thinks he's just been outside surviving on his own too long for him to realize that other kitties can be his friends. I've tried to be his friend and interview him for a job on my staff, but if he even sees me through the living room door, he tries to kill me.

So I think I'll just languish here on my old sheet on the recliner.

Carnival of the Cats

Welcome to the 235th Edition of

Carnival of the Cats

Rocky: Since my humans are so busy with other things, I'm doing the Carnival all by myself ... so please forgive any typoCatical errors I might make!

I want to dedicate this week's Carnival to:

- Our good friend Daisy the Curly Cat and her family, whose beloved Pixie went to the Rainbow Bridge this morning after a long, brave struggle with advanced cardiomyopathy. Farewell, sweet Pixie.

- And to all our friends in Texas and Louisiana whose lives have been disrupted by Hurricane Ike. The entire Cat Blogosphere is purring that you're safe and that your lives will soon be back to normal.

..............................................................

First up, at Om Shanti Handcrafts, Loiosh meets some orange, occasionally polydactyl kittens … then, wearing wings, takes a very interesting nap ...
Next, I think I agree with Lenny and Carl's dad over at MoneyGrubbingLawyer, who says, "Forget pet insurance; buy catnip and kibble instead!"

Whoa, hop on board! The Scratching Post's Maximum Leader is going tuna shopping!

At Nanashi, Inc., Denali and Isis are herding grasshoppers in their freshly mowed lawn.

Eric and Flynn are are also hunting in the green, green grass of their home in the UK.

At The Poor Mouth, Bebe is peering over a Robyn barricade.

What's this? Blog D'Elisson reports that Hakuna has been assimilated into the Borg Collective!

Perfectly Parker takes some new Breeze litter box systems for a trial run ... but runs into some woofie problems!

Don't miss the three faces of the beautiful Miss Abba Dabba (aka Abby) at Manx Mnews!

At Elms in the Yard, Missy exhibits the perfect technique for attracting belly rubs ...
Now, let's all go wish a Happy 17th Purrthday to Henry over at Texas Oasis!

Then rush over to My Cats and Funny Stories and watch the video of Arthur and Rosie taking over the bathtub.

You'll think you're seeing double at Sleeping Mommy -- but those look-alikes are Mo and Tommy.

At Catymology, handsome Aloysius celebrates his Gotcha Day.

Maus at Composite Drawlings wisely explains why there's no need for Chee-Tos when you have plenty of Mom-Toes!

Another great video! Watch Kismet show you just how to deal with a bug on the ceiling at Russ. Just Russ.

Oh no! Moi has a problem over at Bloggg! "Dey tuk mi feets!"

Yum! Babe and Tiny are sampling the Spring Chicken Delight at sisu.

At iInfidel, Cece the cow kitty perfects the art of wall lounging ...

... while some serious yard skulking is going on at iMeowza ...

... then it's back up on the wall again at Mind of Mog.

Jiminy Cricket! Victor Tabbycat and Nina the Torbie have a new toy - a Jug O'Bug!!

China Cat checks out some bunnies on the lawn from her cozy ham-mick ... well, that is, when Willow isn't in it!

The CatSynth kitties are exhausted and catching up on some rest … and some pats, too.

Ahh, yes. Psychic Cottage celebrates the joy of caring for grandkitties - especially when they're Bengals.

Hot(M)BC's Boni Maroni discovers that cardboard boxes don't taste like chick-hen - but they're perfect for packing up purrs to send to all our friends in Texas and Louisiana that they've stayed safe from Ike.

Finally, check out what we cats do on a hot day at Idyllic Dreams.

Don't miss next week's Carnival of the Cats
hosted by those gorgeous kitties at
Friends Furever!

Rocky: Good news!! Mr. Milky came through his hoohaectomy with no problems whatsoever! Since he's been through so much - infections, foot surgery, a stroke - he'll be recovering all weekend under Dr. Shew's watchful eye and we can bring him home Monday morning. And Dr. Shew says Milky has almost doubled his weight since he moved into MY living room! I want to thank all of our friends for your purrs & purrayers for Milky and all of us - they're really working!!

But could I ask for some more purrs & purrayers? After my mom brings Milky home Monday morning, she has to go take my AlmostDad Jim to have a heart catheterization. He had a stress test and echocardiogram and they showed evidence of blockages. Here's my mom and Jim last Saturday when they went to see Barack Obama ...

I love Jim and he has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know, so can you please join me in purring that his big heart will be just fine?

To keep my mind off all these surgeries and things, I'm hosting Carnival of the Cats all by myself this Sunday, so don't forget to submit your posts to me! I even get to host it from MY own living room! (Sorry, Milky)

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Mr. Milky: Okay, I was just relaxing here on MY couch, thinking about how much better I look and feel now than I did when I first moved in to Artsy Catsy ... and thinking about all my wonderful new friends who have helped me - with donations, and raffle tickets and with all your purrs and purrayers ... Then Rocky yells through the door, "Hey Milky thing, guess what's here today and gone tomorrow ... your food ... and your HOO-HAHS!!! Hahahahaha!!!!!!!

What? No food?? No hoo-hahs???? I LOVE my hoo-hahs!!!

Rocky: That's right, Mr. Move-into-My-Living-Room-and-Take-Over-My-Life! You get no food or water after midnight tonight, and tomorrow your hoo-hahs will be gone forever!! And I hope your bad cattitude goes right along with them!

So even though today I'm still stuck here in the office ....

... and stuck in the dining room ....

You're here today, but gone tomorrow for the whole weekend, Mr. Milky, and I GET MY LIVING ROOM BACK ... for a few days anyway!

(Okay, okay, don't let anybody know or it might tarnish my tough mancat CEO image, but secretly I wish Milky an easy hoohah-ectomy and quick recovery and hope maybe we can be friends when his hoo-hahs are gone. Shhh ...)

Mr. Milky makes Cat Ceiling Fan Pulls

Mr. Milky: Wow, helping the human artists is a hard job! The scritch benefits are pretty good, though ... But I wanted to help pay my own way, so I showed them how to make something new - ceiling fan pulls/lamp chains! I even inspired them to make some of them with a Mr. Milky theme, like this one ... Rocky yowled through the living room door, though, and ordered them to make some that didn't look like me, such as this one ... I sat on the artists until they made 25 sets, which you can use on your ceiling fans or on your lamps, and you can see them all now at the ...

Artsy Catsy Gallery

IDEA: If you don't have a ceiling fan or lamps with pull chains, these can easily serve as pulls for your mini-blinds or any other kind of blind! Just tie a knot into the very end of your blind cord and insert it into the metal ball chain connector!

I hope you like them - they'll let you shine a light on your love for kitties!! (And it's never too soon to start your Christmas shopping.)

And don't forget, you can win a great prize at the raffle Deb & ML's Auctions is having for me:

Rocky & Milky ... Easy?

Rocky: Well, I might as well snooze, since Milky things and political things have taken over my home and my catporation ...First, the Milky thing confiscated my living room. Then for the last two weeks, my humans have been in there with him watching political things on TV. Then this weekend they abandoned us to go see an Obama thing appear here in our city ... And now the Milky thing is taking over my blog and my human artists ... oh, well, I guess it's for a good cause ... so I'll just go back to napping.

Mr. Milky: Everyone has been so kind to me, making donations to help pay my vet bills, sending me tons of purrs & purrayers ... and now some of my wonderful new friends are having a raffle to help me and my Artsy Catsy family ...I love you all sooo much! But now that I'm feeling a bit better, I want to help earn my own keep, you know? So even though Rocky says "No more staff," I've convinced the human artists to hire me on temporarily as an independent contractor, and I'm helping them create some brand new Artsy Catsy products ...

Here I am showing Suzanne how to make them. She's off work with a rib injury, so I get to sit on her lap a lot and purr on her ribs ...

I have to admit I used my influence just a bit so that some of the new products are black and white tuxie-themed. That's what I am, you know. Dr. Shew says I'm a domestic longhair tuxedo cat ... or I will be when all my furs grow back in. I think I look better already, don't you?

So come back and visit me tonight and see what I've been doing! And Rocky, just calm down, okay? You can have your living room back next weekend when I have to go on medical leave and stay at Dr. Shew's for my hoohaectomy. I'm told I might even come home with a new, improved cattitude.

Rocky: Whatever.

Weary Wednesday

Rocky: I'm getting very weary of Mr. Milky taking over my house and my catporation. Look at him, making happy feet all over my couch where my staff and I used to sit with my human artist, making Artsy Catsy products, watching political conventions on TV, having a beer with Jim, getting scritches and treats ...

No more! He gets it all ... while I've been relegated to a recliner in the dining room with an old sheet thrown over it ...

Fracas is on strike, refusing to come out of the bedroom ...

And Callie says she's never getting out of her bed on our mom's desk, so I can't get any work out of her, either ...

Oh, sure, the human artists are trying to introduce us to each other. They rub a towel on that stinky Milky thing, then rub it on us, then rub it on him again ... Yuck! And sometimes they put Milky into the big cage they put in the living room and then let the rest of us go into the room ...

... then they try to put us in that cage and let Milky roam around. Hey, NO WAY!!

But no matter what they do, Milky is a street tomcat who yowls and wants to tear out our furs when he sees us - especially me. I've tried to be friends with him, but he's having none of it. My mom says he might calm down once he's free of those hoo-hahs ... but I have my doubts. I'm trying to prepare her, because I'm thinking Milky may need a furever home that doesn't have other cats in it.

Honey, I'm Home!

Mr. Milky: Yay!! I got released from the vet hospital this morning and I'm back home at Artsy Catsy ... I'm so happy I can hardly sit still long enough for the flashy thing! I can walk just fine after my stroke and I can control my eye movements, and my Artsy Catsy mom says I act better than I did before the stroke! I'm running around and talking and just can't get enough affection ...I'll tell you more later, but right now I have to give squillions of headbutts and get squillions of scritches ... because there's no place like home!!! And also because today was supposed to be my hoohaectomy day, but now I get to wait at least 10 more days before they start messing with my hoohahs ... double yay! Ten more days to show Rocky & Fracas who's the REAL mancat around here!

Mr. Milky Monday

GOOD NEWS !!!

Your purrs and purrayers have worked another miracle!

I just talked to Dr. Shew ... Milky is 100% better and gets to come home tomorrow morning!! He said the nystagmus (abnormal eye movement) is completely gone, he's walking perfectly fine, eating like a little pig, meowing for affection and appears to have no impairment from the stroke! All indications are that Milky is going to fully recover!

Thank you all so much for your love and support and for helping us help this magnificent little guy regain his health so he can have the happy life he deserves!