Carolyn Holm

Dear Elsa,
Look at you! Such a lovely girl. You are the Audrey Hepburn of the cat world.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
The WHAT???????
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I’m showing my age. She was a movie star. And back in the day she was the epitome of beauty and grace.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Well, thank you. 
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I’m glad to see you are getting more relaxed. Still spending a lot of time under the bed, but at least you come out sometimes!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I have to watch out for Winston. He gets too excited when he sees me. He gets that scary predator glint in his eyes.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I’m sorry Winston has been such a devil. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
He gets a lot of treats.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
That’s my plan. I’m rewarding him for good behavior. When he springs onto the bed looking for you with that locked and loaded look in his eyes, I distract him with a treat. Works every time. And I’m giving him a calming probiotic powder. And I got him a new catnip toy. It’s all part of my Winston wrangling program.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
What is catnip??? 
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
It’s a plant that cats like. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
That’s the green toy that Winston licks and licks! He loves it! Charlie and I want some of that!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
You two are still kids. Maybe when you are older.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I’m old enough to play with a bean, so I think I’m old enough to play with catnip. 
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Ah yes, the bean. I’ve never known cats who were so interested in produce. You sure love playing with a string bean.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
And cherries. We like to play with cherries.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Charlie really wreaked havoc when he got into the bowl of cherries. You two had way too much fun with that. I’m still finding the occasional mauled cherry under the furniture.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Maybe give us some catnip and we’ll go easy on the kitchen produce.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
You may look dainty but you are a tough negotiator.
Love, Carolyn

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, Elsa and Charlie will raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Mom,
You said you are fluent in feline.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I did say that, didn’t I! 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Is it true?
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I think so. Cats are my People.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Are you fluent in canine?
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Maybe not quite as much. But I manage!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
You would probably be able to communicate better if you had a tail.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That’s so true. A tail, and expressive big ears too.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
I don’t know how humans communicate without either of those!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
We have to work harder to compensate.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
So do dogs without tails.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
It’s SO WRONG to dock tails. I’m glad you have a glorious flag of a tail!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
But you complain when it gets full of stickers.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That’s a problem, especially this time of year when the wild grasses are dry and covered with burrs.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
And the burrs get stuck between my toes!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Going for our daily walk is full of peril.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
We have to keep stopping to pull the burrs out.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I’m glad you make it so clear when you need to stop. And I’m impressed at how well you clear your feet of the burrs, all by yourself!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
I’m glad you are fluent enough in canine to understand the problem.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
But it would be helpful if you didn’t sit down to clean your feet when we are in the middle of a crosswalk. The street isn’t a good place for that.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Humans have so many rules.
XOXO Poppy

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!

Charlie!!!
I caught you! Red-handed! Or I guess I should say, red-tongued.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
You did?
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
You’re the cake muncher!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Possibly.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
You are the guy who munched the top of the cake I made for my book group. And now I caught you ready to attack this muffin!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
I was just experimenting.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
You made a mess of that cake.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
It wasn’t very good.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
Not to a cat. 
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Some tuna on top would improve it!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
No doubt. Blackberries are not appealing to cats.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Those black things were TERRIBLE. The cake underneath was good, though.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I suspect it’s all that butter that goes into a cake. Cats go for that.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
You really should try tuna and butter on top next time.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I’m not going to take recipe ideas from a cat. Though I once lived with a cat who ate the tops off a row of zucchini loaf cakes that I had left out to cool. She loved them. So I had to make a note on my recipe card to remind me in the future to let the cakes cool in a spot out of the cat’s reach.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
There isn’t a spot out of a cat’s reach.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
That’s probably the case. 
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Maybe make a cake just for the cat. As a diversion. With tuna on top.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I’ll take that under advisement.
Love, Carolyn

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Winston,
So, how does it feel to be the Senior Cat?
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
I have Puffin’s title now???????
Winston

Dear Winston,
Of course you do, sweetie. When he died, that left an opening for Senior Cat. And you are the cat who fills the requirements!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
What requirements?
Winston

Dear Winston,
One, you’re a cat. Two, you live in this house. And Three, you are the oldest cat in our family! Puffin was all those things. He took being Senior Cat very seriously.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Does that mean I have to be serious like Puffin? 
Winston

Dear Winston,
I don’t think that’s really a requirement. It’s true, Puffin was a serious guy. He didn’t do zoomies. He rolled his eyes when you knocked the pillows off the sofa. And he definitely looked askance as you scooched toward him under the blanket. But I think you can continue to do all those things and still be a Senior Cat.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
That’s a relief! So, does being Senior Cat mean I’ll get fat like Puffin?
Winston

Dear Winston,
No sweetie, that isn’t your style.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I have a style?
Winston

Dear Winston,
You do! You’re a buff wild puma type of guy.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Now that I’m Senior, the kittens should be listening to me. With respect.
Winston

Dear Winston,
I’m sure they do. Charlie is full of respect when he pokes you and runs like hell.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
He does that a lot! WooHoo!!!!!!! Zoomie time!!!!
Winston

Dear Winston,
It looks like a lot of fun. But now, about Elsa. I wish you would tone it down with her.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
She STARTS it!!!!!!!
Winston

Dear Winston,
I really don’t think so, sweetie.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Yes she does!!!!!!! She runs when she sees me!!!!!
Winston

Dear Winston,
Ok, I get it. But that’s because she’s worried about you.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I’m not hurting anybody. It’s just fun and games. 
Winston

Dear Winston,
Except, you are a huge muscular adult cat, and when you start chasing her, you go into overdrive and turn it into a full-on rout. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Then she shouldn’t run.
Winston

Dear Winston,
It’s up to you to show restraint. You are the Senior Cat.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I don’t think I like being Senior.
Winston

Dear Winston,
It’s a lot of responsibility. 
Love, Carolyn

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Mum,
I LOVE the laptop!!!!! 
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I know you do. You’ve been studying it very intently. I think you are on your way to becoming a tech cat.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Oooooooo!!!!!!!! I’m watching the bug move!!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
That’s the cursor.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I want to catch that cursor bug!!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I thought you were studying it so you could take over my job.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
What’s your job?????
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Taking care of all of you freeloaders.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
We are free?
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Just an expression.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I’m going to take your job?
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I was kidding, sweetie.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
You kid a lot.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I know. It’s how I entertain myself.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
There’s the bug again!!!!! It’s MOVING again!!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Please just watch where you step. You’re messing things up.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
No I’m not! See? It says lk87p[p76aw#@
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Sweetie, I was in the middle of a Chewy order. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Chewy is for ordering our food!!!!!!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Yes, and you just entered gibberish into the ship-to address. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Our street is gibberish?
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Never mind. Now we’ve lost the page.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I didn’t lose it! See? It’s right there.
Love,Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Sweetie, that’s something else entirely. It’s not the page I was ordering on.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
But it’s still got the bug moving on it!!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Okay, you keep your eye on the cursor bug for us, but stop stepping on the keyboard. You’ve told it to enable dictation.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
LOOK!!! There are pictures here of our spring toys!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Yes, this is where I got them.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
We love the springs!!!!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Who knew how wildly popular a handful of colorful plastic springs could be. I clocked Charlie yesterday – he played with a blue spring for over twenty minutes. And cats supposedly have short attention spans.
Love Carolyn

Dear Mum,
The springs keep disappearing. Where do they go??????
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
They do tend to disappear don’t they! They all seem to end up under the refrigerator, under the stove, and under dressers and cabinets. Maybe we need to order a bunch more of them. Oops, you just did.
Love, Carolyn

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Mom,
I know where the kittens came from!!! They are feral!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You’re right! They are refugees from a feral cat colony.  The whole litter and their mom were all trapped together. 
Love, Carolyn 

Dear Mom,
Maybe that’s why Elsa is so spooky. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That wariness might just be her personality. They don’t act like ferals. I think that’s because they had such an awesome foster mom.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
I had a foster mom! 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You all did. You were all rescues.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
And we all had special rescue names!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Yes! Your rescue group called you Foxy. And Winston was Squeak, Charlie was NumNum and Elsa was Cupcake. I renamed all of you.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
You have lots of names for us!!! You call all of us Honey Pie. Do you think about eating us?
XOXO Poppy

Good lord Poppy,
Of course not!!!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Honey Pie is a food! And Cupcake and NumNum, those are food names. People must think we’re food!!!!!!!!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Don’t worry, no one wants to eat any of you. And you all have other names that are NOT food.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
It’s funny that Winston was called Squeak. That sure doesn’t fit him now.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That was when he was a tiny fluff ball of a kitten. Then we started calling him The Kid. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Charlie is The Kid now!!!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
He sure is. Winston isn’t The Kid anymore.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
He has other names now. Sometimes you call him The Thug.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Well, yes, he’s kinda earned that. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
You also call Winston your Handsome Dude.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
He is that! 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
So. He’s The Handsome Dude. He’s The Thug. And you also call him your Puma.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That’s right! He’s our household-sized Puma, slinking around the place.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
In fact you used to call him Slinky sometimes. Slinky and Chonky. Puffin was Chonky.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I guess we’ve gotten carried away with names.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
What about me? 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You are so sweet with the cats, I think we could call you The Nanny. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
I like to lick them! And follow them around! 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You even have a special voice for cats. I call it your Cat Voice. Though when the kittens first got here the Cat Voice was a bit overwhelming. They didn’t know what it meant. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Now they know it’s me! 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
They do. They don’t worry about you at all. Charlie even wrestles with you. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Charlie is very cool. If Winston is the Dude, then Charlie is the Dudelet. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Because he’s a little dude – how clever of you!!!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
What about Elsa? She needs a name!!!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
How about Princess?
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
That fits her! Though she can be a scary screamer when she wrestles with Charlie. And she hisses bad language.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
She does have some colorful language.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
We can call her The Mouth.
XOXO Poppy

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Charlie,
You really need to stop attacking that poor plant.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom!
It’s so much fun!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
You are breaking it apart. I had to tie the branches up out of reach.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
But I can jump up and pull them down!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
You’re breaking them off.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Not all of them. Just some.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
At least you aren’t eating the leaves.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Are they good to eat?
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
No, no no, not at all! But Puffin used to chew on them.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
I tried it. They don’t taste very good.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I’ve heard they are bitter, and not very good for you, so I’m glad you don’t like to eat them. Let’s keep you on a carnivore diet!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
But they are SO MUCH FUN to play with!!!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
They’re leaves. How much fun can a leaf be?
Love, Carolyn

Mom!
They BOUNCE!!!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
Ok, I can appreciate how much fun that must be. But you have other toys.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
But the plant is there waving at me!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
Not really, sweetie, it’s trying to wave you away. If it could talk it would be screaming. It just wants to be left alone.
Love, Carolyn

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Winston,
I’m glad to see you have calmed down a bit.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I’m always calm.
Winston

Dear Winston,
No, you’re not. You’ve been all worked up about these kittens.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
They’re in all my spots!!!!!
Winston

Dear Winston,
Those are everyone’s spots. The bed. The kitchen. The litter boxes. The window in the dining room. They are not just yours.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
They are mine!!!!! Though, first those spots were Puffin’s.
Winston

Dear Winston,
He constantly bullied you out of his spots, didn’t he.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
He would give me The Demonic Stare of Death.
Winston

Dear Winston,
Well, not exactly death. Or demonic. More like The Stern Look of Disapproval.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
I knew it meant Get Out of My Spot.
Winston

Dear Winston,
And that’s where you learned how to bully. You learned from the best. So now, you bully the kittens.
Love, Carolyn 

Mom,
I don’t bully anyone. I just chase them from my spots.
Winston

Dear Winston,
You think you’re the Hall Monitor. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
That’s me!!!!!! 
Winston

Dear Winston,
You were being way too aggressive at first, but you have mellowed out a bit since I installed the pheromone diffusers. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Are those the things in the wall plugs?
Winston

Dear Winston,
They are. The pheromones are supposed to be calming for cats. And they seem to be working! 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
So now I’m calm?
Winston

Dear Winston,
Surprisingly so! Your chases started to change. From aggressive chases to play chases. But Elsa still worries about you. I wish you would ease up on her.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
She RUNS when she sees me!!!!! It’s so exciting!
Winston

Dear Winston,
So just let her run! You don’t have to run after her.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Yes I do! That’s how it works. The running just spills out of me.
Winston

Dear Winston,
I wish she would stand her ground. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Like Charlie.
Winston

Dear Winston,
Yes, like Charlie. He’s got you figured out. I’m glad to see you two playing and doing zoomies together. I love how he sneaks up to you, gives you a whack, and takes off like crazy. He can’t resist poking the bear.
Love, Carolyn

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Elsa,
I was surprised to find a string bean in my bed this morning.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
??? surprised?
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I don’t usually find vegetables in my bed.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Why are you surprised? It’s from your garden!
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I know. I picked the beans yesterday. How did you get one?
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I found it on the kitchen floor!!!
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I must have dropped it. Well, honey, it’s yours now.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Yay! My bean! 
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I don’t want to find it in my bed again, though.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
How about under the bed? 
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I have to say the bean is a quieter toy than those balls with bells in them. So sure, go ahead and play with it under the bed.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Charlie took a stalk of parsley from the kitchen counter.
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
What am I going to do with you two! You are not allowed on the counter!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
We don’t understand why.
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Because I know where your feet have been. And the counter is where I prepare food.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Our feet have been all kinds of places!!!!!
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
No kidding! Including your litter boxes. So just humor me.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Humans have a lot of rules for cats. 
Elsa

Dear Elsa,
They apply to me too, honey. You don’t see my feet on the counter. 
Love, Carolyn

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Poppy,
You must be so excited to go up to the mountains soon!!!!!!!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
Maybe.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
What? You love it there!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
First I have a question.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Ok, shoot.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Shoot??? Why would you say such a thing??????
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I always forget dogs are so literal. So let’s not shoot. What’s your question?
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Will the bear be at the cabin?
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Ahhhh. The bear. That was pretty exciting last summer, wasn’t it!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
It was TERRIFYING. She was coming in right through the kitchen window.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
But she was surprised to find us home. And we made a lot of noise. So she decided to leave. Smart girl!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
She’s a BEAR!!!!!!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I know sweetie. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Not a smart girl.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
And she’s gone now.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Gone to live at another lake?
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Gone gone. Fish and Wildlife said she had already been relocated twice, and she kept coming back because she loved campground dumpsters and cabins too much. So, sadly, they took her out.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
What does that mean?
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
It means she can’t come back. We’re safe! You don’t have to worry now about going up to the mountains. No more scary bear.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
You were pretty scary too. You were banging on a pot and roaring. Loudly.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
And it worked! Terrified that bear so she went right back out the window again.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
I saw a whole other side to your personality.
XOXO Poppy

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. (You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page at  blog.carolynholm.com.) When you do, Poppy, Winston, and the kids will raise their paws to salute you!