Monthly Archives: October 2014

Introducing Grayson!

After receiving 83 name submissions and test-driving every.single.name we are very pleased to say that we have selected the name Grayson, submitted by our friend Suzanne Elliot. while we thought the name was a clever take on his color and family role, we chose Grayson because he physically responded to it the very first time that we used it in trying to catch his attention: as he was walking from us i said, “Grayson” and his ears went back as he stopped and sat down.  We both said it again and he turned his head around to look at us — yep, Grayson it is!

And thx to Bette Lerol for submitting the name, “Bixby” … another catchy name that will more than likely be used when he gets a bit too mischievous … “Grayson Bixby you better stop that right this instant“.

I’ll post our “fun awards” certificates tomorrow … each of those have TBC goodies attached to them, too.

Thx to everyone who played along and helped us find the right name(s) … we had lots of fun and hope you did, too!

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TBC Name That Kitty Contest FINALIST names

After gnashing our teeth, lips and gums through the 83 names (far more than we ever expected!)  that were submitted for our let’s-have-some-fun contest, we’ve finally gotten down to a list of finalist names for our new male kitten, CodeName: Dood. The finalists are (in submission sequence order):

* Bentley

* Jaspurr

* Grayson

* Bixby

* Winston

* Odie

* Moochie

* Paxton Quigley

* Chewy

* Tucker

If one of your submitted names doesn’t appear in this list, fear not: we’ve created a handful of let’s-have-some-more-fun kitten-naming awards and we’ll ship goodies to those folks, too.  We will post one award winner each day of the coming week and if your submissions don’t make that group, then it’s you-know-who’s fault and you know what to do & say: THANKS, OBAMA!

We will test drive the finalist names this week to see how they roll off our tongues / fit him and will announce his new name next weekend.

Our thanks to everyone who played along with us and submitted names — this was a LOT of fun for us at a time when, as it turns out, we needed a bit of extra friendship, goodwill and fun in our lives 🙂

All the best,

hal & joanne

TBC Name That Kitty Contest Candidate Names

Following are the names that were submitted for our Name That Kitty Contest for our new male kitten, Code/Working Name: Dood.  We’ve had a lot of fun reading the names as they’ve come across our wires and then “test-driving” them in conversation / interactions with Dood … in some cases when we’ve used a suggested name he’s indicated that he knew we were speaking with him, specifically … those were pretty good moments 🙂

We’ll take the next few days to rinse through the names and select the one we think fits him best and that he (appears) to acknowledge / respond to.  We’ll post an announcement note to FB when we’ve selected his name and make arrangements to ship goodie packages … oh, didn’t we tell you?  Because of the better-than-anticipated participation, we’ve decided to award an extra goodie pack or two … or more 😉

Stay Tuned and thanks again for helping us find Dood’s correct name — we’ve had a GREAT time!  😉

hal

btw, we reviewed submissions multiple times but please let me know if i’ve omitted one of your submissions and i’ll check my records and correct accordingly.

Zero Mostel
Rhett
Kitty
Ezekiel
Elvis
Anchovie
Dan
Silverstein
Dinner
Kit-Kat
Bartdoe
Bentley
Kat R. Pillar
Bob
Bardo
Bardot
WhoMe, Hueme, HooMe
Agustus
General Lee
Jasper, Jazpurr
Riley
Nolan
Binky
Grayson
Turbo
Silverstein
Jones
Apples
The Giver, or tree
Tobias Augustus
Rascal
Bob
Buddy
Scooby Doo, Troll
Clark Kent
Barry
Merlin
Mort Lemur(rr), or Mort LePurr
Harold Lloyd
Pierre
Bixby
WInston
Manny
Bernard
Syd or SId
Leroy or Peet
Murphy
Luigi
Dude
Tom
Tense
Odie
Moochie
Ripley
Gimblefarb
Zeppo
Paxton Quigley
Sparky
Dood
Hawkeye
Tank
Chewy
Reggie
Baxter
Dexter
Timothy
Smokey
Freddie Mercury
Snip
Tumbler
Lover Boy
Boots
FuzzBucket
Bullitt
Ozzy

Spanish Mack

Sean Connery

Dessert

Champ

Tucker

Scooter

Mork

Alex

Brad “Bottomless” Pitt

We are very, very sad

We are very sad to report that earlier today our very own TwoBigCats force-of-nature, Pepper (Do-You-Want-Her?)  passed due to complications of diabetes.

While we are sad at losing Pepper’s company and devotion, we are comforted that she is no longer in pain and that she passed peacefully in our arms, hearing our words of love for her.

Following are a few photos of Pepper we’ve taken over the 12+ years of her life … looking at them brings back Pep’s Living in the moment, Loving each day approach to life that we will miss so much.

Luv you, Pep!

pep_puppy_deck

 

This photo of Pepper was taken the week she came to live with us during the summer of 2002. She’d been found wandering in a neighborhood by a friend of ours; our friend’s owner-location efforts were fruitless so she called us to see if Penny needed a sister to play with … turns out that’s **just** what the doctor (Dr. Joanne, that is) ordered!

 

 

pep_j_hand

 

Joanne was trying to get something of a straightforward pic but, as we’d come to find out soon enough, Pep thought otherwise … hence Joanne’s hand trying to position her to …”stay. no, STAY …” that didn’t quite work out 😉

 

pepp_penny_futon

Here are Penny and her new best friend, Pepper, wrestling on the back porch futon soon after Pepper arrived.  I can’t begin to tell you how these two wrestled and played the hours away every.single.day … talk about hair on fire!

pep_pen_tug

What’d I tell ya? They were CONSTANTLY playing tug of war, chase (any and every thing, including one another) until they tuckered out and took a break.

pennytired_pep

 

See that look on Pepper’s face right there? That exact same “Let’s Get ‘Em”, enthusiastic look was present until just recently when her illnesses began sapping her energy … she was UHmazing. (Notice Penny’s got her head resting on the couch arm and her tongue sticking out? Pepper would run so fast and for so long that Penny – being a border collie was required by nature to try and herd Pep into submission – was often exhausted to the point of collapse.)

pep_penny'13

As the years went by, Pepper and Penny remained closer-than-close — one another’s shadows — until Penny’s passing in August of 2013. When Penny passed, it was for Pepper that we worried most … it was clear she was grieving deeply for Penny and was depressed … much as she was when her cat, Delilah, passed away in 2008.

pep_

 

Speaking of Dee, (Delilah) was our 2nd Maine Coon cat and for reasons unclear to us, Pepper and Dee were best friends, often found snuggling with one another around the house.  In the summer of 2008, Dee was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in one of her legs, which eventually led to the loss of her leg.

Pep_Dee_post-surgery

After Dee’s surgery and loss of leg, Pepper rarely left her side … nuzzling her inside whatever basket she happened to be laying in or just laying by Dee’s side, Pep’s devotion to Dee was very touching … nothing short of amazing.

For a short time after Pan passed in 2010, the TwoBigCats pack consisted of only Penny and Pepper … we were missing the feline element that had kept the house in balance. That’s where Cherry and Calvin came in.  I’d be lying if i told you otherwise, but Cherry & Cal didn’t bond closely with Penny & Pepper, though after Penny passed Cherry would occasionally rub muzzles with Pepper as they passed one another.

pep_cherry

 

In time, Cherry and Pepper would share afternoon treats in the kitchen or sunroom and would rest on adjoining couch cushions.  Cal, true to form, didn’t feel the urge to be close with Pep until after Cherry passed.  And as with each of her previous losses, Pepper gladly re-formed her pack around the remaining member … in this case, Cal.

pep_cal

In the time immediately following Cherry’s passing, it wasn’t unusual to find Cal and Pepper resting, just a few feet away from one another … seemingly content to share their space with another furry creature.

But it was for Joanne that Pepper saved her greatest devotion and love.  The two photos below only scratch the surface of how close they were … wherever Joanne was, Pepper had to be, too. Bed, kitchen, bathroom, couch, office … outside going for walks or working in the gardens, inside doing woodcarving … wherever Joanne was, Pepper just had to be … Pepper was without a doubt Joanne’s most devoted and protective canine companion. I loved seeing them together … just knowing how happy they were in one another’s company.

peppup_joanne

pep_joanne_13

 

We are extremely grateful to have had 12 years of Pepper’s larger-than-life presence in our lives, but, truth is, her absence will be significant and our house and lives will take quite some time to feel “normal” again.

Name That Kitty contest has closed

The TwoBigCats Name That Kitty contest has closed and it looks like there were 70+ names submitted for consideration.  We’re putting the names in a spreadsheet and will post them NLT tomorrow (Monday) morning, select and announce a name by mid-week and ship a goodie pack out NLT friday.

THANKS SOOOOO MUCH to everyone who played along with us and submitted names … there are LOTS of excellent candidate names to choose from (which makes it all the more difficult to pick the **best** name) but we’ll get on it asap.

Thanks again to all who participated!