Elizabeth Ruffing, Author at Ruffing’s | The Little House of Cats

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Stuffed animal Hug Me Slugs, and some carrot lips

I have a new group of Hug Me Slugs over in my toy shop. These are 7, 8 and 9 inches tall, in more pretty fleece colors.

I’ve had a couple of very touching emails along with orders from repeat customers/slug adopters recently. I’ll share one now and one next time. The mom of these three little boys is expecting another little boy. Her three sons all insisted that he needed a Hug Me Slug too, and so she ordered one before his arrival. Theirs is one of my favorite photos. She says they love their slugs. One slug looks good enough to eat.

Oliver Bunny prefers to eat carrots. He might lick a Hug Me Slug, given the chance. He loves banana slices most of all.

Carrots give him orange lips, like Popsicles, not that he eats Popsicles. He might, if I were to make one from a frozen banana.

When I am done sewing for the day, I take Jude for his evening walk. He whines incessantly, if I don’t. He also cries when our cat neighbor friends don’t come to visit. Right now, their owner is be away, and they are locked up. No one come has to look after them, either Friday or Saturday, which makes me worry. I offered to do it myself, as I used to look after them, but last time a kid from the neighborhood came eventually, for two minutes. Unfortunately, he was someone who, along with his family, were responsible for some very upsetting animal-related incidents, some that were personal to me. They don’t care about animals. I care about the cats, and took good care of them, and I did it for free. I’m trying not to think about it, but I don’t understand it.

Mr Santana, this big orange boy, another neighbor kitty, was all matted up. I was surprised he let me take a bunch of them out. He looked happy to be rid of them. I was glad I didn’t get bitten this time around. He got himself into more trouble last Monday night. This time, he got a nasty bite, from another fight I guess, which looked terrible. Thankfully, it healed up on its own.

In more neighborhood kitty stress news, another kitten showed up across the cul-de-sac, which makes me feel extra bad about being unable to trap either of those boy cats last month, in case there is an unspayed female they showed up to visit. Kitty drop-offs seem to be an annual occurrence here, and a year-round occurrence in the area. Oliver Bunny was set loose by someone and found in our back yard last year.

These are Jojo and mama Bindi, who were abandoned here three years ago this August. As you can see, they are doing fine. They are much rounder than they used to be. They are indoor kitties, as all of ours are now, aside from Jude during his evening walks.

I wish people would be more responsible about animals and more helpful about getting them fixed. The cumulative effect is so distressing for the animals and the people who try to look after them. I’ve had at least two dreams, since the latest kitten showed up, where I’ve been searching for and finding a kitten. Once one gets dropped off, you hear them everywhere.

If you can, help out the rescues, and the rescuers. Please adopt, and spay and neuter. This year has been crazy for all the cat-helping people I know.

Update: After seeing no one come to take care of my neighbor’s cats, I asked other neighbors, who also had seen no one, and then went to take care of them myself. They had no food, and the envelope with the payment for the kid who was supposed to be cat sitting was still under the clip holding the the food bag closed. So, he obviously hadn’t stopped by. The water hadn’t been changed and the litter box hadn’t been cleaned. The cats were so happy to see me. I gave them food and pets, cleaned up a little, and went back the next morning with my mom and a neighbor who lives on the other side, while I cleaned up the rest of the way, which took a while since nothing had been done. The envelope was still there, and nothing had been cleaned any more than I had left it. I left a note saying what had happened, but never heard a word back, didn’t even receive thank you, except from the cats, who were obviously grateful. The kid finally made an appearance, not long before my neighbor came back from a long weekend. I checked and he at least had the decency to leave the payment behind. All quite disturbing.

Posted on July 30, 2015October 13, 2016 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Abigail, miniature Birman cat art doll, handmade original, one-of-a-kind kitten by artist Max Bailey

Abigail is a handmade miniature original, one-of-a-kind cat art doll, hand painted and hand sculpted in paperclay by artist Max Bailey.

Abigail’s eyes are beautifully blue. She is a Birman kitten whose sweet face endears her to everyone who meets her.

Abigail looks directly at you, wide-eyed and trusting, with an air of innocence.

You would never think she would be anything other than well-behaved, which of course she is.

Abigail’s pretty blue-green dress has lots of ruffles down the front and around the neck.

The ruffles are trimmed in mauve.

She sits in her white wooden chair, which is carved with spirals and decorative cut-outs.

It is her favorite chair and comes with her.

Abigail is a one-of-a-kind work of art, and is meant for display only. She was sculpted from paperclay in multiple stages, to allow for drying and detailing.

Abigail was painted under a magnifying light, with tiny brushes, one hair at a time. She is signed and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Abigail is 1:12 scale. (One inch equals one foot.) She is 1 and 1/2 inches tall, not including her ears.

Update: Abigail has been adopted. Thank you!

Posted on July 16, 2015December 29, 2015 by Elizabeth Ruffing

Sweetie, miniature bi-color Ragdoll mix, cat art doll, handmade original, one-of-a-kind kitten by artist Max Bailey

Sweetie is a handmade miniature original, one-of-a-kind cat art doll, hand painted and hand sculpted in paperclay by artist Max Bailey, and this is what she has to say:

When I was very little, they named me Sweetie. That’s not my fault.

They bought me this pink dress, with a ruffle around the neck. I don’t like pink. Barbie wears pink.

This chair with all the flowers on it is not my style, but at least it’s soft.

I’d like my food served in a cut glass goblet, with jewels. I saw it on TV. The jewels are my idea.

By the way, I don’t mind a few pets, but I don’t like to be patted on the head. I find it condescending.

I suppose they mean well, even though they’re misguided. I have to go now. They’re calling me for dinner.

Drop by again sometime when I’m not so busy.

Sweetie is a one-of-a-kind work of art, and is meant for display only. She was sculpted from paperclay in multiple stages, to allow for drying and detailing.

Sweetie was painted under a magnifying light, with tiny brushes, one hair at a time. She is signed and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Sweetie is 1:12 scale. (One inch equals one foot.) She is 1 and 1/2 inches tall, not including her ears.

Update: Sweetie has been adopted. Thank you!

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Elizabeth Ruffing

A little stuffed slug toy shop update, and some gardens

I have four new Hug Me Slugs over in my toy shop at the moment. They are red, watermelon pink, bright yellow, and banana yellow fleece, in my 9-inch size. I will continue to add more. Even though it is July, I know the Christmas season will be upon me before I know it, and I hope to have more toys ready this time around.

I have also been trying to make a dent in the yard work I have to do here, more tree planting and cleaning up of gardens that have become overrun with blackberries and weeds and, in some cases, flowers that multiplied profusely.

I met a horticulture student, who showed me around Raleigh City Farm, pictured above and in the two photos below. I didn’t have a camera and so I took these from the Internet.

He has been out planting tomatoes in all the heat we have been having, and the people at Raleigh City Farm have been keeping it doing well in spite of this weather too.

The plants all looked healthy. I felt I should be able to do something more myself. So, I worked on cleaning out one of my garden beds, and cutting out some saplings that had sprouted up.

I don’t have vegetables like they do, which is too bad, because Oliver Bunny would enjoy some of the ones they had there, I am sure. They sell their produce to local restaurants.

I was also introduced to BBC’s show, Gardeners’ World, which is on YouTube. They have my favorite kinds of gardens, the old English cottage style gardens. The photo above, and the two below are screenshots from the show.

I think they look like watercolor paintings. Very beautiful and inspiring. I used to have our yard, where I grew up, planted with such pretty flowers, in big beds and borders, under trees and flowering bushes. I miss it.

I brought some of my plants with me when we moved. I want to clear out those beds before everything gets choked out. My irises have been getting smaller each year, because the blackberries have joined them and are doing much too well.

These are paintings of mine, of flowers I had growing in my yard, irises, blue flax, and foxgloves, some of my favorites. This is “Jubilee” above, and “Iris and Foxgloves” below. I have seen this orange and mauve one bloom by our back door in recent years, but this year I don’t think it did. I see it hiding in there with some other plants. I intend to dig it up and plant it in a new bed. I am sorry I wilt in the heat. Summers are my winters now, the time when I stay inside more. But, I am going to try to go out when I can take the temperature and get more done.