Benvenuto, Axel!

This is Axel. He's a rescue cat. He lives with Kate and Nick's friend Manny. I've never met Axel, but Nick used to live with him before he and Kate were married, and Kate was actually with Manny when he adopted Axel from the RSPCA as a tiny kitten. Well, Axel sure landed on his paws there, cause he now lives on an awesome farm outside of Melbourne, where he has acres of land to explore... and he is very spoiled by his Nonno, Manny's dad.

Anyway, Axel now has his own blog, where we can keep up with his adventures on the farm. I'm also hoping that he'll tell us about his adventures in Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne, when he busted out of his kitty carrier after flying from Hobart to Melbourne to go and live on the farm. That story has become legendary among the cats of Hobart.

Benvenuto, Axel!
Cheers,
--Pabs

P.S. Just wanted everycat to know that I do intend to update my blog links to include as many of you as I can. I need Kate's help with that, and she's 'busy' at the moment. Whatever. Maybe I'll just get her to do a few at a time. So don't be offended if you're a Pablog regular and you're not there... you will get there, I promise!

On balance

Man, I've sat on this meme for a coupla weeks now. Sorry, everycat! Anyway, it came from Faz and it's about achieving balance in one's life. Hope you enjoy my thoughts... with pink text in honour of Lilly Lu, who's been pretty sick lately.

How do you achieve balance in your life?
We cats have an innate sense of balance (like on fences and walls and things), and I reckon we're pretty good at inner balance, too. We don't have to work particularly hard to achieve it, it just happens...

What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life?
Having to depend on Nick and Kate for food and outdoor privileges cramps my style a bit sometimes. But I've been living with them for almost 5 years now, they're learning to see things my way more and more.

What are your priorities?
All my priorities revolve around the most important thing in my life: me! My comfort, my standing in the West Hobart feline commuity, my health. As such, my priorities are threefold:


Work: This is me on partol for the West Hobart Tigers. As captain/coach, it's vital that I lead by example. This takes up a fair bit of my waking time.


Rest: Here's me doing what I do best, relaxing on my sheepskin rug in my basket. If you're a regular visitor to this blog, you'll know that the sheepskin is but one of my many sleeping places. I like to rotate them from time to time; right now, I'm going through a basket phase.


Play: Aah, the old stringplay. Keeps me fit and young, as well as helping me develop skills and drills to share with the Tigers.

How have your priorities changed over time and why?
Well, they've always revolved around my comfort and my public profile. I'd like to think that I've become a bit more outward-looking since I've been with the Tigers. But not too much!

What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives?
To appropriate a well-worn phrase from the world of chocolate advertising, 'A chicken a day helps you work, rest and play!'

Cheers,
--Pabs

... and hooray for Monica!

After much deliberation, Monica has joined her sister Phoebe in venturing Outside! I know that Monica thought long and hard about whether or not to do this, so I understand what a big deal it is. Doesn't she look great out there?
Check out Phoebe and Monica's blog for more great pictures of both ladies going Outside. Congratulations, Monica!

Cheers,
--Pabs

My cousin Gypsy

Here are some pictures of my cousin Gypsy. She's not my real cousin, but our human mums are cousins... in a roundabout sort of way. Check out her very unusual (but pretty) markings (that's all natural, no dye jobs or photoshopping involved. I promise):
As you can see, Gypsy is a sink-o-phile. I told her mum that she should send her picture into Cats in Sinks. Like you, Daisy, she also likes to drink out of the tap (that's what you Americats call a faucet). It looks pretty tricky:
Think I'll stick to bathdrinking.

Cheers,
--Pabs

Hooray for Phoebe!!

This is my friend Phoebe. She's co-chairfeline (with her sister Monica) of the US chapter of the Pablo Fan Club. And she's outside! Her mum Tracey bought her a harness so she could go exploring... and she's out there! Look how cool she looks!

Can all you outsidecats remember how scary it was going outside for the first time as a kitten? Well, imagine having to do it as a grownupcat, when you're all set in your ways and stuff? I really dunno if I could do it. You can see more pics of Phoebe's expeditions on Phoebe and Monica's blog, but I just had to offer my congratulations here, too.

Three cheers for Phoebe!
Cheers,
--Pabs

Skinny Ginger (West Hobart Tigers player profile #2)

Player name: Skinny Ginger
Rookie year: 2002
Skills: Alertness, great social skills (especially good at liaising with people), extremely car-savvy, awesome sense of smell, fearless roof climber/walker
Favourite pasttime: Car maintenance

Skinny Ginger is one of the West Hobart Tigers veterans. He even pre-dates me! Now I've spoken about SG on this blog before... and some very smartcat asked me if the fact that there was a Skinny Ginger implied that there was also a Fat Ginger. Well, it's true. Fat Ginger, Skinny Ginger and Blackie were the original West Hobart Tigers, forming back in 2002. But we haven't seen poor Fat Ginger for a few years... don't know if he's gone to the bridge or if he's moved elsewhere or if he's just keeping a low profile. Anyway, Skinny Ginger is a great player, especially with the ruckwork (that's jumping up and tapping the ball to other players) and the contested marks (that's jumping up and catching the ball).


Off the field, we've noticed that SG has a real penchant for cars. If I ever need to find him for a team meeting or a training session, I just look under the nearest car. He's actually gained quite a bit of automotive knowledge over the years. We're planning on making him our team mechanic (if we ever get a team bus, that is). You can tell that he's an automotive expert. Look at how expert he looks:
SG is the Tiger who's most at ease around people (he's been known to wander into neighbours' homes and curl up on their beds!). This makes him the natural choice for the Tigers' Human Relations Officer, a job he carries out with distinction. SG is also lucky enough to have the most extensive outside privileges of any of us. So he takes the lion's share of the outdoor patrols. Thanks, SG!

So that's Skinny Ginger, another champion player with the West Hobart Tigers. Next month, look out for West Hobart Tigers player profile #3: Graham White.

Happy Easter to everycat, too!
Cheers,
--Pabs