The Opinionated Pussycat

Stroll #12: Friday's 1st Adventure - and a Message From Elvira, Supporting Paris

 

Good evening felinity assembled, Sneakers the Texian Tuxedo here and I've got quite a tale to tell.

Last Monday morning Daddy Kiril took little Friday on her first stroll.

 

On this stroll they walked from the apartment to a nearby gas station.

 

 

Along the way they encountered a couple of the strays in our complex.

 

 

They then walked down busy Beechnut Street; an excursion that, due to all the cars, caused Friday to dive for cover under the mat in the carrier.

Brave, curious, girl that she is she crawled out before they reached the gas station.

 

That's not all that happened, though; the most interesting thing occurred minutes after they left the apartment and before they met the cats...

Stroll #11: Sneakers The Texian Tuxedo - Stroller Kitty Pt. 2

Good evening felinity assembled, Sneakers the Texian Tuxedo, here. If you have arrived here mid-story, the adventure begins with the arrival of our new pet stroller and moves on to the first half of my inaugural day as a stroller kitty.

Our afternoon adventure began with a bus ride.

A reluctant bus driver allowed us on when daddy told him I was in a pet carrier with wheels and he'd been taking his cats on the bus in Houston since 2012 and since 2010 in SoCal, and a woman passenger backed him up claiming to have done something similar herself.

When he realized daddy knew more about Metro policy than he expected he backed off and let us on.

We rode 2 buses to a shopping center at Wilcrest and Westheimer.

We went to the back of both buses, to spots that allowed daddy to sit and my stroller to be out-of-the-way.

The stroller is narrow enough to easily be rolled down the aisle and positioned so other passengers can walk past it.

The next driver and the 2 on the return offered no objection when we got on the bus and even laughed when daddy assured them that my loud, occasional, commentary was not related to their talent as drivers.

  Our first stop was Petco!

 Now, I've been in this Petco before, but in a carrier with limited view.

This time the experience was entirely different.

I could see more, smell more...and hear better, um, hee, hee!

As soon as we entered my presence caused uproar among the parakeets.

It seems their chief source of entertainment, between meals, is to tease those critters unable to get near them unmercifully.

It was interesting to see that one of the creatures actually knew who I was.

We left him to educate his cage-mates; they were completely silent when we returned to the front of the store a few minutes later.

 

Merrick Petcare was founded in 1988, in Hereford, TX, near Amarillo.

The Glycemic Research Institute in Washington, D.C., selected Merrick Pet Food as the Best Pet Food of the Year in 2004.

This year is young, but Merrick donated to 25 pet shelters nationwide after a successful ‘Homeruns for Shelters’ Facebook Program.

Elvira and I have liked the dry Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain Free cat food ever since daddy introduced us to it earlier this year.

Merrick is on Facebook and has  You Tube videos as well.

 

We next went to the nearby Target store to get some kitchen trash bags.

Stroll #11: Sneakers The Texian Tuxedo - Stroller Kitty Pt.1

  In early April Daddy Kiril surprised Elvira and I with a new pet stroller.

The Pussycat Purrambulator and Feline Utility Vehicle (FUV) was to be a part of the lives of The Opinionated Pussycats once more.

After opening the box and putting the thing together it sat next to the desk as Elvira and I took turns napping and snoozing inside it.

 

The Return of the Pussycat Purrambulator and Feline Utility Vehicle

 

Finally, on April 28th, the day arrived for me to go on my first adventure.

 

It was quite a day, one that began in disappointment but ended in triumph.

It was a day of interesting encounters...some quite amusing, one a bit testy.

The morning began with us stopping by the apartment complex office before heading out to HEB market.

 

When we arrived in the parking lot, at the market, we caused a bit of a stir; not among the humans, mind you, but some more, um, flighty, creatures, hee, hee!

Outside the store entrance there was a large enclosure that I was sorely disappointed to learn appeared to be an example of what the humans call "false advertising".

What's the point of having this thing if you don't use it every day? Daddy promised that, someday, we will get lucky and I'd get a chance to smell what's cooking...SMELL, not taste, HMPH!

Anyway, a security guard stopped us from entering the market, asking us to wait while he went to see if we were allowed to do so.

A manager, named Aaron, politely told us it was company policy that I was not allowed to enter the store...not even in the stroller.

He had no idea I was the Texian Tuxedo (daddy didn't enlighten him), it was just that only service animals could go with their humans inside this place and experience all the wonderful smells and sights peeking in the door provided me.

The Return of the Pussycat Purrambulator and Feline Utility Vehicle

  On March 2, 2010 Daddy Kiril introduced a pet stroller into the life of Mr. Nikita.

When Elvira Mistress of Felinity entered their lives and was ready she also became a stroller kitty.

When Nikita went to Rainbow Bridge daddy took him on one last stroll, one that led to the demise of the 2nd stroller they had owned.

When Elvira told me about the stroller and I read the archives I was intrigued.

I hoped that, someday, daddy would be able to get a new stroller.

That day came a lot sooner than even he thought.

Last month Daddy Kiril purchased his 3rd Pet Gear Happy Trails Pet Stroller online.

Yes, the Feline Utility Vehicle (FUV), the Pussycat Purrambulator, has returned and I took my first 2 strolls the other day...but first things first.

  When it arrived I was quite impressed by the size of the box it came in.

I would have just sat there staring at it if Elvira hadn't given me my marching orders.

She insisted I supervise the opening of the box by daddy.

Daddy, however, was in no hurry to open the box so it was a few days before the deed was done.

For anyone unfamiliar with the strolling adventures of Nikita and Elvira there is an archive of posts.

It is an interesting and entertaining collection. Most of the strolls took place in southern California...in LA and Orange counties.

There are lots of cool photos, too.

 

 

Finally the time came to open the box!

 

 

As I mentioned earlier...the box was HUGE!

Stroll #10: Nikita and Daddy Kiril - The Last Adventure!

On the day Nikita went to Rainbow Bridge Daddy Kiril wanted him to go out with a bang so surprised him with a trip to the new weekly Farmer's Market at St. Cyril (Kiril in Greek!) of Alexandria Catholic Church.

While the journey, with the Feline Utility Vehicle, didn't end as planned (Newspaper said Friday and Daddy didn't do a Google to be sure, plus a hole was torn in it when trying to stuff it in the back seat of a car for the trip the vet.), there was beauty to see and much laughter between best buds.

Ultimately, that's all that mattered; two guys out for one final stroll together with the Pussycat Purrambulator .

 

Stroll #9: Houston, We Have Lift Off! The Feline Utility Vehicle Returns!

The Pussycat Purrambulator is back!

Once Daddy Kiril returned from Blog Paws he decided something was needed to celebrate the success of the trip and the bright, creative future that was ahead of the three of us.

He found the same stroller we had in California, online, and on sale for far less than in 2010.

Boy were I and Nikita surprised when the package came by UPS!

Our first Houston strolls were just around our apartment complex, but that is for another post...I want to share the first official exploration of Houston, yesterday...taken by me!

Our last recorded stroll was in 2011, just before daddy broke his ankle, so not only strolling, but an attempt to build a list of kitties for a Stroller Derby League, and Kitties of the Leash Auxiliary had to be scuttled.

Yesterday, Daddy Kiril took me to the vet for a weight check, but before we could go Nikita and I had to do some research to see how pets on mass transit are treated here in Houston.

 

  The relevant Ride Metro pages for bus and rail in Houston give the same info, and it applies to small dogs as well as cats:

“Customers can carry a pet on the bus and the rail as long as it is caged properly. Service animals are allowed to accompany riders with
disabilities.”

Strollers are also allowed – I assume this includes pet strollers.
They suggest taking the kid out & folding the stroller, but no suggestions are offered for pet strollers.

Obviously, this is not as clear and definitive as it could be:

Bus rules and rail rules.

Mary-Alice, and Chloe, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, of the cool travel blog, Dog Jaunt, did one of the earliest investigations of this issue, as it relates to dogs, in the Houston and parts of the 10 county "Greater Houston" area, in July 2009. It tells us of other area transit agencies we can check with regards to cat travel.

A Lady Takes a Stroll: Sept. 2010

Look what we found!

This is a series of pictures of Daddy Kiril and me on a stroll not too far from where we lived in Santa Ana, Ca.

The shelter and the mall were around the corner from us so off we went for a walk.

I think it was absolutely cruel for the mall to restrict access to all those colorful little balls I wanted to play with, don't you?

I always loved it when we got home from a stroll, or the vet and I saw the stairs up to the apartment!

Tossing Out Feline Utility Vehicle Box, & Looking for Stroller Cats, & Leash Kitties

On March 2, 2010, a few days before my birthday, we met for the first time.

I wasn't sure I wanted to allow Daddy to bring this huge box into the apartment, but when he told me its contents were my birthday present I was pursuaded. ;-D

Daddy had bought the Pet Gear Happy Trails Pet Stroller online, and that first week the 2 of us began to get acquainted.

My Pussycat Purrambulator, & I, soon became fast friends.

I like to sleep in the Feline Utility Vehicle (FUV)  when not out Strolling, and despite playing hard to get,when Daddy wants to go somewhere, I really do enjoy our trips, as my blog posts have detailed.

So also, eventually, has Elvira, once she entered our lives later in the year. ;-D

However, it's time to finally toss the box it came in in to the trash.

Before doing so Daddy let us (Actually Elvira for the most part) give it a proper send off. ;-D

 

Elvira had a field day exploring the box.

Young Kitties are so easily amused, I swear. ;-D

 

I found it fun, for a few minutes, to play peek-a-boo. ;-D

However, when Elvira suddenly got emotional....

 

Tortie Tuesday! The Great Kitty Play Cube Hunt - Pt. 2

Last week may have ended on a sad note, and the search that began with such high hopes might have ended in failure, but Elvira Mistress of Felinity has faith in her Daddy! ;-D

 

When we enter the gates of our apartment complex I always get excited because I recognize that we are home when I see the familiar walkway, bushes, and steps that I always see from my perch in the front window.

 

Oh, and there's another reason I get all happy, and excited... ;-D

 

 

After an hour break for lunch Daddy headed off to the Walmart, in Orange, where he hit paydirt. ;-D

 Tortie Tuesday! How Many Play Cubes Before You Need a GPS?

Tortie Tuesday! The Great Kitty Play Cube Hunt - Pt. 1

Hello, everyone, Elvira Mistress of Felinity here!

As I reported, last week ended on a sad note...

 

Armed with the knowledge that CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, all sell the Sport Pet Kitty Play Cube, I got in the Stroller, and Daddy, & I set off.

After stopping at Starbucks, for the newspaper...

 

We got on the bus to CVS.

 

Curses! They had none at all!