Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas!

My First Annual Christmas Letter

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated my site, but at Christmas time, it is important to reach out to those you care about and who filled your life with love, affection and Salmon!

This past year has been filled with it’s ups and downs- I was glad to find out my heart murmur hasn’t changed- I don’t need any meds- so that is one very positive “up”.
A change over the past year has been my food- I now get a nutritional powder mixed in my food with a little water and Salmon if we have it- but the best part is that it is warmed up! I love it and gobble it up.

We finally got our Christmas tree! It is a beautiful Douglas Fir- I love to sit under it and sit among the presents. I have gotten into the holiday spirit and got a bag full of toys to donate to other cats in need. I was once a stray with nothing and no one, so I have a soft spot for homeless cats.

I am wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!
God Bless Us, Every One- and Every Paw!!!

Happy Birthday, Harley!

To my Best Friend, and Brother: Happy Birthday, Harley! I love you! Geez, I remember when you were just a little puppy chasing me around and now you are a dog- who is bigger than me! I hope your birthday is filled with Blueberry Muffins!
P.S. I still have another post for you... I just need to type it up

It's Thursday...

So that means Hercules is coming over... I hope he doesn't try to bark at me to play with him... again.

It's such a nice day. I think I'll relax. I'm working on a new post, so expect some longer ones soon! In the meantime, here are some new pictures... my Mom is seriously thinking about investing in a new camera because her cell phone pictures are not turning out good...

Here I am sitting "outside" (in-closed patio)

Looking outside. We use to have a tree in front of this window, but it died =(

My Mom kept trying to get me to pose, so I went for the serious look

I was making sure Hercules wasn't trying to come out

Relaxing...

Smelling the air!

Stretching

Looking at the birds on the grass...

Me

Cat Info

Did You Know? From: http://www.catsinfo.com/catfacts.html

• It has been scientifically proven that owning cats is good for our health and can decrease the occurrence of high blood pressure and other illnesses.
  

• Stroking a cat can help to relieve stress, and the feel of a purring cat on your lap conveys a strong sense of security and comfort.
  

• The ancient Egyptians were the first civilisation to realise the cat's potential as a vermin hunter and tamed cats to protect the corn supplies on which their lives depended.
  

• Sir Isaac Newton is not only credited with the laws of gravity but is also credited with inventing the cat flap.
  

• A cat has more bones than a human being; humans have 206 and the cat has 230 bones.
  

• A cat's hearing is much more sensitive than humans and dogs.
  

• The cat's tail is used to maintain balance.
  

• Cats see six times better in the dark and at night than humans.
  

• Cats eat grass to aid their digestion and to help them get rid of any fur in their stomachs.
  

• A healthy cat has a temperature between 38 and 39 degrees Celcius.
  

• Cats have the largest eyes of any mammal.
  

• The female cat reaches sexual maturity at around 6 to 10 months and the male cat between 9 and 12 months.
  

• A female cat will be pregnant for approximately 9 weeks or between 62 and 65 days from conception to delivery.
  

• The average litter of kittens is between 2 - 6 kittens.
  

• Ailurophile is the word cat lovers are officially called.
  

• Purring does not always indicate that a cat is happy. Cats will also purr loudly when they are distressed or in pain.
  

• All cats need taurine in their diet to avoid blindness. Cats must also have fat in their diet as they are unable to produce it on their own.
  

• In households in the UK and USA, there are more cats kept as pets than dogs. At least 35% of households with cats have 2 or more cats.
  

• When a cats rubs up against you, the cat is marking you with it's scent claiming ownership.
  

• About 37% of American homes today have at least 1 cat.
  

• Milk can give some cats diarrhea.
  

• The average lifespan of an outdoor-only cat is about 3 to 5 years while an indoor-only cat can live 16 years or much longer.
  

• On average, a cat will sleep for 16 hours a day.
  

• A domestic cat can run at speeds of 30 mph.
  

• The life expectancy of cats has nearly doubled over the last fifty years.
  

• Blue-eyed, white cats are often prone to deafness.
  

• The cat's front paw has 5 toes and the back paws have 4. Cats born with 6 or 7 front toes and extra back toes are called polydactl.
  

• An adult cat has 30 teeth, 16 on the top and 14 on the bottom.
  

• There are approximately 60,000 hairs per square inch on the back of a cat and about 120,000 per square inch on its underside.
  

• Cats and kittens should be acquired in pairs whenever possible as cat families interact best in pairs.
  

• In multi-cat households, cats of the opposite sex usually get along better.
  

• The first official cat show in the UK was organised at Crystal Palace in 1871.

Pictures!

Sleeping in my cat bed while my Mom puts makeup on...

My Mom was petting me...

Relaxing...

Hello!

What a nice rainy day! I am working on a facebook, and also on a game on "Pet Society". Here is my character:

It's suppose to be me.

Here is my facebook badge:

Charcole Lukas

Create Your Badge

It's Fall!

I woke up feeling very content on a wonderful Fall morning

Fall is my favorite season! I love it! My Mom opens my window for me every morning and I love to smell the fresh, cool air. What's even better is when it's fall and winter, my Mom plugs in my special heating pad on my window seat! So, I get to sleep on a nice toasty window seat while the Fall air swirls through the window! I love it.

There is nothing better than being cuddled in blankets on a nice cozy Fall day. I love fluffy, soft blankets, and love it even more when Fall and Winter comes because my Mom adds lots of blankets to the bed. One of my favorite things to do is to dig a hole in the blankets and then crawl in it to sleep!

I crawled under the blankets and slept cozily as the cool air filled the room

The photo quality isn't that good- but can you tell how comfy I am?

Cuddled in the blankets

A little survey...

Name: Charcole Andrew Lukas-Presley
Best qualities: I'm sweet and loving
Worst qualities: I can be very jealous and possessive
If human, what career would you choose: A writer
Best Friend: Harley
Favorite food: Salmon and grass
Least Favorite Food: Well, I don't like chicken- just like my Mom! I also won't eat fruit.
Pet Peeve: When my Mom cries or sings. It's so annoying!
Strangest thing humans do: I think it is strange when they just stare at "books" or the "T.V". Also, I don't understand why humans exercise- I just don't get why they would do that when they could be, oh I don't know, sleeping!
First thing you'd do as a human: Eat Salmon everyday!
Best part about being a cat: Getting to sleep all the time
Worst part about being a cat: I don't get to control when, what, how often or how much I eat
Favorite season: Fall
Favorite color: Teal
Favorite animal: I don't really care for animals
Favorite place: My bed
Least favorite place: Being in the car


Ok, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed it!
Meow meow!

Mom...

"Feels Like Forever" by, Joe Cocker

I saw you
That was all I had to see
Wanted you
Had to have you next to me
From that moment, I knew that you'd be all I'd ever need
And there's a place inside my heart
Nobody's touched before
And when I found you, I found all that I'd been searching for
You turned my world around...



Thank you, Mom, for everything. I love you!


Sitting on my Mom's lap- proud!

My Mom looking at me!

Mom and Me

I am happiest when I am with my Mom!

Knowing I'm right where I belong!


Mom and Me relaxing!

I miss you, Grandma!

Here I am playing with my dog bone- yes, I have a dog bone!

Grandma, where did you go?

Relaxing on the nice Fall morning...

Wondering when I'll see Grandma again...

My Grandma went to Hawaii for 10 days! I miss her! So, here are some pictures of me (from this morning) so she can see me! Meow meow!

The one thing I loathe...

I am a very grateful cat- I love my life and the people in it, but there is one thing I do not like; brushing my teeth. My Mom usually waits until I am nice and comfy- most likely when I am taking a nap, and the next thing I know she comes in with that torture device. My toothbrush. She makes me sit up and holds me hostage and shoves the prickly vanilla-mint flavored thing into my mouth. For the record, cats don't typically like vanilla or mint. I mean, Salmon flavored toothpaste would be... bearable, but vanilla mint?!

Whatever flavor toothpaste, it really doesn't matter, I didn't sign up to have someone scrape my teeth til they sparkled. I am writing this in hopes that my Mom will get the message. Bad breath doesn't bother me, and having clean teeth is not really a priority of mine. Just feed me, brush me, trim my nails, clean my kitty litter, and give me lots of attention- and by attention, I don't mean by bulldozing my teeth with that horrible vanilla flavored device.

Does it look like I need my teeth cleaned?!

Good Morning!

One of my favorite parts of the day is the morning time. When I wake up, the first thing I do is check if my Mom is awake. If I meow, she'll open her eyes and say hi and go back to bed. Sometimes I get impatient and meow some more to try to wake her up. But, most of the time she tells me, "No" and I have to be quiet and wait for her to wake up. I'll either go back to bed or jump to the cat tree and sit there- or sit in the window and look outside.

As soon as my Mom's eyes open, I jump up and meow excitedly and let her quickly pet her before jumping off the bed and head toward the closet where she keeps my food. I watch as my Mom follows me, while meowing at her to hurry up. I excitedly rubs against her and then stretch along the bookcase, allowing her to pet me before she gets my food.

Then, my Mom will get me my food and she goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth and stuff. When she is done, she'll come back in to check on me. Usually, I have finished my breakfast by then, and I watch as my Mom opens up the window for me, and puts up my window seat. Then, she grabs her coffee cup and I chase after her as she heads out to the kitchen to make some coffee. I sit and watch her and as she waits for her coffee. I'll usually meow at her to let me play out in the enclosed patio. My Mom makes me jump up on the amp (for Grand-paw's guitar that sits by the sliding glass door) and wait while she locks up the patio so I can't get out.

Then, I jump out and smell around and sit in the window where I like to smell the air or watch the birds fly around outside. My Mom checks up on me before she goes back to our room. Sometimes I'll stay out there, but mostly I run after her where I sit and watch her as she uses the computer or I'll sit in my window seat or go back to sleep.

Needless to say, I love the mornings! I always wake up in a great mood and enjoy breakfast and birdwatching before my mid-morning nap!

Here I am sitting in the window before my Mom woke up, and before she opened the window for me.

Mom and Me

I love her so much!

It's been a lazy morning for me...

This morning I woke up and went back to sleep after I ate breakfast...

A New Toy!

My Auntie Lindsey bought me a new toy the other day! It's so cute and fun to play with. It is a little penguin toy...

Here it is up close! My Grandma also bought me a toy like this too, but it was a monkey eating a banana!

It is filled with Catnip, but since I am immune to it, it doesn't affect me.

A Photo Update!

Whenever my Mom makes the bed, I like to dive under the blankets!

I didn't want to move!

I was holding hands with my Mom!

A cozy day...

I must say, Sunday (September 13, 2009) was a very good day! I woke up in a great mood- and happily watched as my Auntie took Hercules with her as she left for work. My Mom ran back in our room to get me and carried me out to the living room and let me run out to the enclosed patio (without having to jump on the amp-it's my Grand-paw's for his Guitar- nearby and wait for her to open the door!). All the windows were opened for me and I ran around and finally sat on the side table pushed under a window so I could sit and look outside. I was very happy because the weather was nice and cool and finally it started to rain! I love cool and rainy weather! My Mom does too and she came out and picked me up and together we looked outside and I smelled the air.

Then, my Mom let me run around all day while she did stuff. Then, at night I noticed she was sitting out on the couch with a blanket while she watched some Natural Wonders of the World thing and Mad Men. I ran up to her and laid on her lap and cuddled with her. Grandma was sitting on the couch too and I watched her while squinting my eyes at her. Grandma calls them "pretty eyes", but really, it's just how I tell her I love her. I was so happy- It is such a nice feeling to know I can actually enjoy rainy cold weather from the comfort of a loving home! I am a lucky cat and had a lot of fun running around and getting lots of attention and love- and even better when Auntie came home with a Salmon treat for me!

Here I am laying on my Mom while we watch TV together and relax...

Cuddling with my Mom at night under our favorite blanket...

The Best Blessing in Life is Love...

(Part 3 0f 3- scroll down for parts 1&2)

On the night of the 17th (August of 2000) I quietly meowed myself to sleep- curled up in a ball in the daisy bush. The next morning some of the other stray cats came up to me. I didn't want to see them. I didn't want to admit I was just like them- a stray cat with no one to love or to love me. It was hard enough to meet my Mom, and love her and feel loved by her, but now she was gone and I had to admit that I was all alone. I was a stray, but I didn't need the other strays to remind me of it, so I ignored them and walked around by myself, wandering to nowhere in particular, thinking about my Mom and how I felt like we belonged together. I dreamed of a life with her- I didn’t care if it was a hard life or if she couldn’t provide for me- I just wanted my Mom. I had no doubts she was my Mom, but tried to tell myself it was all just a silly dream. Suddenly I thought I heard her calling for me. I stopped walking and listened.

"Here Kitty, here Kitty!" I heard. Wait, was it my Mom? Was I just imagining it? Was I hearing things? But, I knew I recognized my Mom's voice. I listened again. I heard her again-it was her! I knew it was her! I ran out to the street and looked around and then- I saw her! She came back for me! I heard her call out that she found me and I ran to her arms and she swept me up.

I cuddled in her arms and then my other Auntie- Auntie Lindsey came up to us and said hi to me. I was overflowing with love and happiness and together my Mom and I with my Auntie Lindsey walked home. Home! As soon as my Mom got inside she carried me over to meet my Grandma and I meowed as she gently pet my head. She said hello and happily smiled as I rubbed my cheek against her hand.

Then my Mom carried me to meet my Grandpa and he said hello. Everything happened so fast, yet it all felt so natural. I couldn't believe I had a family, I had my Mom and a home! Then my Mom carried me into our room and showed me a bed she made for me and I laid down in it while looking around. I couldn’t believe it- she set everything up for me during the days I thought she forgot about me- I had a bed, a kitty litter box and on the bookcase I saw she bought a book on how to raise a stray cat. I looked up at her- she looked so happy- all the doubts I once had about her forgetting about me, about not feeling the same way instantly disappeared.

I listened as my Mom and Auntie Lindsey talked and I purred as they pet me. They were talking about what to name me, and finally my Auntie Lindsey said “Charcoal”. My Mom looked at me and agreed. But, instead of spelling it “Charcoal” my Mom spelled it “Charcole”. Soon I feel asleep and when I woke up again my Mom and Auntie were there to greet me. My Mom had to go do some chores or something and my Auntie watched me, and together we played a game! It was the first time I really ever played and had real fun! Later my Grandma pet me for a long time and everyone quickly accepted me into the family. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. I was surrounded by my Mom, my family, my new home and best of all- love. I can never describe the happiness I felt, the blessings I was given and the eternal gratefulness I felt.

This is my Grandma's favorite picture of me!

Just a Photo...

I thought I'd put a new photo up to divide the story of my Mom and Me up a little bit! I hope you are enjoying my blog! Meow meow meow!