One of my main goals for 2016 was to take some photos of my cats that I am proud of.  I wrote about it on this post.  I will be honest with you, it's it's not been as easy as I thought it would be.  Cats move very quickly and some of mine our seemingly camera shy.  The above photo of my oldest named Chanel (a Himalayan Persian rescue cat) is especially camera shy so I was happy to get this shot of her.

The title of this post " Draw Me Like One of Your French Girls" was taken from the movie "The Titanic" .  This movie came out in 1997.  It's hard for me to believe it is almost a twenty-year-old movie as people still watch it a lot nowadays.

As you can see Fleur LOVES the camera.  She seems to like posing in front of flowers.  She was found in a flower bed when she was only a few weeks old almost 9 years ago.  We took her in as a foster cat around that time.  I think after nine years she will be with us for good ;)

 Here is another of my "foster" cats named Peanut.  He will be 10 years old this fall.  I'm grateful that he is not very camera shy either!

And here is peanut again while I am practicing with a new Focus type lens that I've been having a tough time learning to use:

Here are some of my very camera shy kitties.  The black one is named Princess and is about nine years old.  The Siamese looking one is named Sasha who just turned six.  The Tortoiseshell cat is named Piney.  Piney is FIV positive and about  four years old.  She is kept healthy with a fairly new drug the few people know about called T-cyte.  Many people ask me if it is expensive.  It costs us about $60 dollars each time she gets a shot which is about twice a year.  

 Here is peaches sporting her lion cut.  She is normally very fluffy so we get her groomed during the summer because it's so hot here in Florida.  Peaches is also FIV positive. We took her in more than two years ago when she was found nursing seven two week old kittens next to a dumpster.  We took her to the vet the next day and learned she was F I V positive.  Only two of the kittens tested FIV positive, but after six doses of T-cyte when they were very young they became negative.  T-cyte truly is a miracle drug in my opinion.

We don't know peaches exact age.  All of our cats are rescues so we don't know most of their exact birthdays.  The only one we know for sure is our oldest who is pictured at the top she was born in her foster home on May 29, 2004.

Lastly I will leave you photos of Elizabeth and Jasmine.  They are sisters who are approximately 10 years old.  Elizabeth, pictured first, looks like she got into my eyeliner.  They were the first foster cats that we took in.  They were very lucky to survive as they were found in a barn in the middle of the winter in Ohio.  Their mother had been stepped on by a horse.  Luckily they are happy and healthy cats now. 

I think Jasmine tries to make me feel guilty when I'm packing to go out of town :)

Thank you so much for stopping by to see my first kids.  I will continue to work on their portraits throughout 2016 and beyond.  I would love to hear your comments and advice on taking pictures of pets.  As always you can use my photo for free using my Pixabay account here.  I hope you all have a wonderful week!

~Michelle

In spite of March 19, 2010 being one of the worse days of my life, I want to honor Coco who was diagnosed with GI lymphoma at age 4. We did everything we could and she defied the odds and was in remission until she was almost 6. She was a rescue that we got when she was 8 weeks old with her sister Chanel who we thankfully still have.

Please remember you can get a full breed  cat or dog at a rescue shelter. Coco was a Himalayan Persian. She was so sweet and smart. She played fetch - even by herself. She would throw her toys downstairs herself and go get them. She also had a butterfly that she carried everywhere and always slept next to. Losing a pet is always hard. I just wish she could have stayed with us longer.

 When she passed away I wanted to know how long the PAIN would last.  I've learned that, for me, it never really goes away.  I've learned how to deal with it though.  As far as getting another pet...I felt wrong doing that, but I think it's a personal decision when and if a person chooses to get a new pet.  I waited five weeks (as long as I could) and got Sasha from our local shelter.  She had been left there the day before.  The doctor said she was five weeks old when we brought her to the doctor - coincidence?

For me, one of the hardest things about traveling is missing my family and pets and one of the best things is coming home to them. This is Sasha who we rescued when she was 5 weeks old from a shelter. I say she is Siamese (but is probably a mix) and think she is beautiful! A few people have said that her face is funny as it's asymmetrical. She is glued to my side and can be fast asleep but follows me and sits on the counter while I brush my teeth at night.

I did feel a little better after I got Sasha.  Here are she and I about a week after she joined our rather large family:

Here is Chanel taking time to smell the flowers: 

I know that it talking about the loss of a pet is not the most uplifting topic.  I do appreciate you stopping by and reading about my Coco.  I've learned that losing a pet can be like losing a small child.  Don't be afraid to reach out for help of any kind if it happens to you.  Take care my friends!

~Michelle

 
The above photo is of a Chihuahua who was adopted from my local shelter

If you are looking for a particular breed of cat or dog go to Petfinder.com, put in your zip code and how far you are willing to travel.   There are kill shelters in your area - trust me...they're everywhere.  It's kitten season right now and most are bursting at the seams.   Adopting from a non-kill shelter pet saves lives too.   It frees up space for other cats and dogs that would otherwise be turned away :(

There are SO many adult animals that are wonderful and need a home.   You can find lots of beautiful full breed adults in this economy with people losing their homes and jobs and YES kittens and puppies get adopted 100 times faster!

Many people wonder if they can see how their current pet(s) will get along with the one they want to adopt.  You can usually bring them together first to see how they get along.  Our local shelter let's people bring their current pets in to see how they socialize with the pet they want to adopt before making a final decision.

If you have questions about how to use Petfinder, please let me know.  Also PLEASE know that it is a myth that all shelter pets are sick!  Most of them have had their vaccines and have been spayed or neutered which saves a lot of $$$.  If you adopt them when they are too young for these things, the shelter generally provides you with a voucher to have those things done.  Petfinder also lists animals other than cats and dogs as well :)

The above cat is Kris.  She is a Scottish Fold Maine Coon cat currently up for adoption at my local shelter.  She has a great disposition and gets along really well with other animals and people.  This type of cat is rare and usually quite expensive.  Unfortunately, my photo doesn't do her justice.

Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!

Coco
May 29th, 2005 - March 19 2010

"Do not stand on my grave and weep; I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in the circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die."
- Unknown

Here is Coco's sister Chanel sitting next to Coco's urn:

 Here is Peanut sleeping on Coco's treasure box of favorite toys and other special items:

One of my favorie photos of Coco.  She was in a remission at the time that lasted about a year.  No matter what was happening then, everything seemed great during this time:

Here is Sasha.  We adopted her five weeks to the day after Coco passed away.  She had just barely gotten to the shelter so we had to take her straight to the vet.  The vet said she was five weeks old.
Coco's photo albums and memory book:

 


I was able to record a lot of great memories and characteristics of Coco's personality in these books.  Making it and having it are very helpful.  Our other pets and Sasha have been good too. Sasha is A LOT like Coco <3

I hope this didn't make anyone sad.  It wasn't meant to.  Thanks for stopping by :)