Kathleen McGivney

Festive cat says: Happy Holidays!

Festive cat is festive, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

I'm working on my year-end wrap-up post, which will include some images I haven't edited yet (so I'd better get right on that, since the new year is staring me right in the eyeballs). I leave you with the very best wishes for a happy holiday season. My dad's cat, Melvin, shares those wishes in between trying to eat the Norfolk Island pine tree behind him.

A happy cat

Tinkerbell, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

Meet Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell is one of my dad's two cats. Since he's been sick, I have been spending a lot of time at his house, and of course the cats are always around to make things interesting.

Of the two cats, Tinkerbell is the more independent one. Her buddy, Melvin, is a rotund black cat with a cauliflower ear who merits his own follow-up post. Melvin is much more social than Tinkerbell and will greet anyone who has hands (because hands are for petting him). Tinkerbell, on the other hand, prefers to do her own thing and will hang out in the basement most of the day, or find a pile of soft-looking blankets and burrow into them. When she decides to be social, strictly on her own time schedule and terms, she will climb right up into your lap, provided that you are worthy. She has very high standards.

This photo was taken by my awesome husband while Tinkerbell was lounging on my dad's bed, awaiting his return from the hospital. We had just been lavishing her with attention. She was very pleased.

More Tinkerbell, and other cute animals, in my animals set at Flickr.

Mia, the mighty Boston terrier

Mia strikes a pose, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

This is Mia. Atom's friend and groomsman Steve and his wife Joline are Mia's owners. During a recent trip to Boston, we took a nice walk from our hotel in the Back Bay through the Fenway and over to their apartment, and spent a little bit of time lounging and chatting, but of course, Mia was incredibly photogenic and charming, so we spent a lot of time taking photos of her.

Boston terriers are usually small, but Mia is smaller than most. She's very active and wiggly. Those who are lick-averse would do well to avoid her, as she is very prone to licking humans. This shot was taken after she had worn herself out a little bit. Being a hostess can be quite exhausting.

On a personal note, though things are not entirely back to normal, I will be resuming a fairly regular blogging schedule. I have a lot of photos and information to overshare with the internet!

Lucky

Lucky, originally uploaded by kmcgivney.

This is our housemate's cat, Lucky. She is tiny, only 5 1/2 pounds or so, and is 18 years old. She still scampers around like a kitten, though, and kills catnip-filled mice with reckless abandon.

She was the lady of the house until we brought my one-eyed cat, Jack, to NYC from L.A. (She may look like she has one eye in this image, but her left eye is just in shadow.) They get along in that uneasy cat way, where they swat at each other occasionally when we are around but will sniff each other's noses and sit close to each other when they think we're not looking.

This shot was taken with our Canon 5D and the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens. I just got this lens, and I really love it. It was quite difficult to maintain focus in this shot because she's a cat and therefore refuses to hold still when I want her to. I did manage to catch another shot with her face in focus, shown after the jump along with a couple of images from the Nokia N82 - a kitty standoff and Lucky lounging on her most prized possession, our cat-hair-filled cable box.