It's Caturday!

Welcome back for another edition of Caturday, where we catch up on the week's latest cat news, and get to meet some of your amazing kitties!

This week, we spiced things up with cat paw salt and pepper shakers, created even more feline inspired fashion sets, discovered a mysterious vintage cat corn nomming device, catified our walls with a cool kitty stencil, admired chocolate cat bon bons from Japan, virtually breaded our kitties with the help of new iPhone app, got nostalgic with Lisa Frank inspired cat art, and had a good laugh thanks to the feline comedians of The Shelter Pet Project.

Elsewhere, Hank the cat announced his run for United States Senate, Taylor Swift shared a personal kitty moment with Ellen, and Stephen Colbert defended his love of kittens to Nancy Pelosi.

Perci

This week's featured felines come to us from Susan, who tells us the tale of Grommet, Monkey, and Perci - a sassy 19-year-old Jersey Girl who still likes to keep up with the latest trends!

Susan writes:

This is the story of Perci and Grommet. They were brother and sister, and littermates (I say were because I lost Grommet last March at age 18). They were feral kittens living in a huge cat colony where I worked, and one day I captured them from the wild when they were barely a month old. Normally, I wouldn't take a kitten so young from its momma, but it was January and freezing, and I didn't think they would make it. Grommet was an easy snare - all I had to do was wave a stick, and even though he was practically a newborn - he pounced! He was super friendly and took to me instantly.

Grommet and Perci

Grommet was the best cat ever! He used to love to suck on strings, or fringe on a blanket or a pillow. He would make this funny sucking sound and his paws would start kneading like mad. Grommet loved Perci, and she adored him too. He would cuddle next to her so she could lick his ears or he would start kneading her tummy.

Perci was a little harder to catch because she hissed and spit, but today she is a gentle little girl - but spunky! At 19, she still chases a laser light and plays with her toys. I don't know exactly when, but Perci went deaf and you can bang pots and pans right next to her while she sleeps or when she isn't looking and she doesn't even flinch. This deafness has resulted in a super loud meow! After Grommet died, Perci started howling at random. You can hear her anywhere in the house and sometimes from the outside of the house! It's hard to describe the sound - it's almost like a baby cry. Usually you will hear one of my sons yell from the other room, "Shut up, Perci!"

When I caught Perci and Grommet, I also caught three other kittens. I knew I wanted Grommet, and the others I found homes for. I even tried to find a home for Perci, but she wasn't the cutest of the bunch and no one wanted her. In retrospect, I'm happy about that because she's fantastic. Over the 19 years I've had Perci and Grommet they have moved with me six times! Sometimes they were indoor cats and sometimes outdoor cats, it depended on where we lived. Grommet got along with all the cats in the neighborhood, and we used to call him the "welcoming committee" because he was so friendly. Perci not so much - she's kicked some serious butt in her time.

Monkey

A few months after Grommet died, we got Monkey. He is only two and still has a lot of kitten in him, but Perci isn't having it. Right from the start she laid down the law and Monkey knows she is the queen. At 19, she's given him some serious beatings, so he knows who's boss!

It will be a year in March that Grommet is gone and I know Perci misses him as I do. Unfortunately, Perci is dying and I probably won't have her much longer. Last month I took her to the vet and we got the bad news that she is in the beginning stages of kidney failure. Despite her diagnosis, she is a trooper. She still gets around, still looks for attention and still has spunk left in her. We just hope for the best for her.

We've been having a lot of fun with pictures of Perci 'In-Bread', too. Since I put her picture online, she has been on the front page of the Herald Sun website (that's a big newspaper in Australia) and on a main page of Fox 4 news in Kansas City. I have also googled her and she shows up on many blogs and websites, and was even featured in a cat breading segment on "Jimmy Kimmel Live"! I love the attention she's getting, and think it is the perfect tribute to her life and a nice little legacy to leave behind.

Special thanks to Susan for taking the time to share the story of Perci, Grommet, and Monkey with us this week! While I'm saddened to hear of Perci's recent health issues, I'm glad to know she's still soldiering on, and enjoying her favorite activities. We're sending lots of love and healing purrs her way, and thank her for being such a shining example to senior kitties everywhere!

p.s. Looking for even more Catsparella? Check out my weekly columns over on Catster!

This week:

Does Your Cat Fight Crime in His Spare Time?

Cat Chic: Be the Belle of the Furball with These Handmade Kitty Trinkets from I’m Your Present

Cat Chic: Look Purrfectly Kittenish Without Plastic Surgery

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Want to see your cat(s) on Catsparella? I'm always taking submissions for my weekly Caturday post! Just email your best kitty pics to catsparella@gmail.com, and include your cat's name and anything else you'd like to share! I can't wait to hear from you!