Christmas Photo Shoot Outtakes-Stilwell

Okay, I feel like I've saved the best for last.

Stilwell was my first model and I started out with the cutest little hunter's cap on him.

I can practically hear Evelyn back there thinking "What a tool."

 So I switched to the scarf. First, he thought it was a toy, then he got distracted by the other outfits laying around.

I think he's trying a bit hard to pull off the "angelic look."

And then, this happened.

Rawrrr!

Maybe he's trying to impersonate Bumble from the Rudolph TV special.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Photo Shoot Outtakes-Evelyn

Since Evelyn is our only girl kitty, I wanted her in a pretty Christmas dress for her holiday photo. She disagreed.

She doesn't exactly do "lady-like." She then decided she was so embarrassed that she was just going to hide in the cottage.

I don't think her stalker knows what he's about to get himself into.

Finally I thought I was getting some cooperation when she sat under the tree. Unfortunately, she sat there and gave me the stink-eye.

She wouldn't be Evelyn if she didn't have the attitude!

Christmas Photo Shoot Outtakes-Lowenstein

Lowenstein is such a doll and looked super cute in his Christmas sweater last year. I was tempted to use it again, but I had this scarf theme going...

Still super cute, right? Then he realized how much fun the little ball on the end of the scarf was. I just had to wait until he was ready to come down from the cottage!

Christmas Photo Shoot Outtakes-Harvey

I waited until the last minute to get our Christmas cards together, which included waiting until the last minute to take the cats' Christmas pictures. I got some good shots, but there were a lot more crazy ones. Here's what happened when I put the scarf on Harvey.

I'm pretty sure he's plotting my death.

 Harvey can look rather smug at times and I was really going for more of a "cute" look. That turned out to be a challenge.

Then he couldn't decide if he was going to bolt from the room or try for the ultra-closeup.

But he's oh, so handsome, even in the bad shots!

Cat Quotables-Cats and Christmas

Christmas and cats match; both are made of pure magic.

~Unknown

Christmas in the Cattery

This being my first holiday season as a volunteer at Great Plains SPCA, I was thrilled when I heard the volunteers would be decorating Christmas trees for the shelter. They put out a request for donations of dog and cat toys to be used as ornaments and volunteers to help with the festivities.

Volunteers wrapped boxes for the kitties to lounge in:

Heather in her Christmas box.

And they hung cat toys on the tree in the cat adoption area:

A cat in a nearby colony room admires the tree.

There is also a tree in the lobby decorated with dog toys.

I love that the pets get to enjoy some holiday cheer while they're at the shelter. It would be even better if they could all find homes for the holidays!

Meowy Crispmouse!

I know how much Mama loves this time of year so I thought I'd share some of her favorite pet related Christmas memories.

I've told you about Rosie, Mama's kitty that lived in Wichita. He was there to greet me when I went to the Rainbow Bridge. Even though he's a tough guy, he's also a big fan of Crispmouse. He and Mama had 17 years together, so they had a lot of holiday memories.

That's a happy kitty.

Rosie's last Crispmouse.

Of course, there was her doggie, Oscar. She could barely keep him in the house after he opened his gifts!

Mama always makes sure to get something special for Gpa's dog Yaz. That dog is crazy, but lovable.

Now, Mama is kept busy by Harvey. He's broken a few decorations, but she still loves him.

Harvey and Dad hamming it up by the tiny tree.

Little Dottie never gets left out of the festivities!

I only had two Christmases with Mama, but I'll always be there in memory for her.

I hope you all have a great holiday with both two- and four-legged family members. Every moment becomes a memory! Merry Crispmouse!