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PennyMiss Penny Tells the Story of Simon Teakettle Ink

My name is Q.T. Penny, but I'm also called Miss Penny Teakettle. I'm the fourth Teakettle to serve as Spokescat for Simon Teakettle Ink (hence Q.T. for Quattro Teakettle), and the first female to hold this position.

I was born February 3, 2014, and adopted from a no-kill shelter in Aylmer, Quebec (Canada) a year later. I don't remember much about my early life, but do remember living outdoors as a stray, and then looking for a warm place when the snow began to fall in December. A nice family took me in, but they had other cats and decided I should be taken to the shelter before the holidays.

When Bobbi found me, I had spent my first Christmas in a cage in the “cat room” and had just been spayed. So, I was very happy to meet her and did my best to persuade her to adopt me.

She had lost Simon Teakettle III (Terzo) the previous April, and mourned for several months before she began to look for another feline friend. She decided she wanted a female, for a change, and was actually hoping to find a calico or tortie, or even a pretty tabby.

So, she almost passed me by. But I actually fit into the Teakettle succession because the first Simon was all black with no white at all, Simon II (Tiki) was black with a white locket, and Terzo was a tuxedo.

It turns out I'm a Blue Smoke Tuxedo. Who knew?

I was very quiet in the carrier in the car on the way home, knowing that if I behaved really well I wouldn't end up in a cage again.

When she brought me inside, I was delighted to see a lovely home with lots of windows to look out of, warm places to sleep, and even stuffed toys to cuddle up to.

I learned right away to come when she called me, and thought Q.T. Penny meant “Cutie Penny,” so tried to live up to that description!

Bobbi wrote an award-winning article on training cats, which is on our website, so I soon learned all the basic commands, including what it NOT allowed, like jumping on tables or counters, scratching furniture, or touching houseplants.

Penny giving paw to BobbiSoon I was coming whenever she called me, giving one paw and then the other for a treat, sitting up beside my tray when she brings my food dish, and rolling over to have my tummy rubbed.

My first Christmas was wonderful, and I still play with the special toy that was my major present, along with all the little things in my stocking and in packages from friends.

I received a second one of these round things with a ball inside for my second birthday, as balls and straws are my favourite things to play with.

Penny with her hamsterI have a few toys I love more than any others. One is a hamster I carry around and often wash. I treat it like I would a kitten, and Bobbi tells me Tiki had a baby bear he treated the same way.

Very soon after my arrival, I was introduced to the computer, where I soon learned how to take over the Simon Teakettle blog.

I also had to take over promotion of the website, the Facebook page, and promotion for the Mewsings/Musings, the book written by Simon Teakettle II (Tiki) and featuring a centrefold of the first Simon Teakettle.

I learned how the Simon Teakettle phenomenon began.

Penny and her ipad gameIn 1982, the first Simon entered a contest on a new programme from the CBC in Edmonton. Alberta, called R.S.V.P. Host David Lennick and Simon exchanged letters, and soon Simon was a regular on the program. When R.S.V.P. changed networks, Lennick moved to Toronto and included Simon in his new show, Night Camp.

Simon was a contestant on other network programmes, including The Radio Show. He contributed to Basic Black and Morningside and was asked to exchange on-air letters with Bill Richardson's cat on the summer programme, Cross Words.

At the same time, he continued writing his column for the West Quebec Post, became a columnist for the Canadian children's magazineJAM, and for the US national newsletter, PURRRRR!

His letters appeared inThe Globe & Mail and The Toronto Star, and he was quoted in The Bedside Book of Celebrity Gossip, published by Crown, as well as in the Canadian book, Purring is My Business.

Simon's celebrity status was confirmed in profiles in newsletters ofThe Canadian Authors Association and the Periodical Writers Association of Canada, so when he came to the end of his nine lives, it was necessary to find a replacement - one who could fit the already famous mug shot!  

The Gatineau SPCA came to the rescue. Simon Teakettle the Younger was brought to the shelter with his feral tabby mother and four tiny siblings in August of 1987. The only black male in the litter who fit the Elder's description was a curious and self-possessed kitten who clearly had the PURRsonality to carry on the tradition.

Simon Teakettle (the Elder and the Younger) appeared in nine books.  In addition to The Bedside Book of Celebrity Gossip and Purring is My Business, Simon was included in Leon Cole's book, R.S.V.P., and in Marg Miekle's Dear Answer Lady. He was also featured in Great Cat Tales, published by Altitude Press in the fall of 2004, had a contribution in The Magic of Animals: Living Happier & Healthier with Pets, Dr. Wendy Di Rodio, psychotherapist, and in For the Love of Cats (Publications International, Ltd). 

In 2001, Tiki co-authored the award-winning book, Mewsings/Musings. He was described in an article in U.S. Business Week as the cat who owns the company, and that tag line was also used in a profile in the magazine 55 Plus. He was also quoted in the MSNBC Creature Comforts column, picked up by NBC websites in 10 major U.S. cities.

Simon Teakettle was profiled on Animal Planet TV in 2002, which was shown on the CTV network several times in 2003 and 2004. 

A patron of Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa, all three books under the Simon Teakettle Ink imprint were sold at the theatre from December through April 2006.

Simon Teakettle Ink is also a patron of the Orpheus Musical Theatre Society and has his own seat in the Irving Greenberg theatre in Ottawa, home of the Great Canadian Theatre company.

Each Teakettle left an important legacy. The first Simon became known across Canada and the U.S. from his appearances on radio and in print. Tiki was the co-author of Mewsings/Musings, and starred in the Animal Planet video.

Terzo formed a MEWSical Society with a feline pal and a parrot, which quickly grew to 33 cats, a parrot, and a chorus of alpacas! Other cats wanted to join, so he created a Fan Club. But then other parrots wanted to be included, along with dogs and other pets.

Penny on Bobbi's lapThe Fan Club has grown to more than 250 cats, more than 100 dogs, and more than 120 species from 52 countries! New members are welcome any time. There is no cost, and a link is provided to any URL you provide. The Fan Club supports a wide range of charitable organizations, most of which are associated with animal welfare.

Links you may want to check:

The blog: http://www.simonteakettle.com/blogsimont.htm

My page, where we add new photos regularly: http://www.simonteakettle.com/penny.htm

The Fan Club: http://www.simonteakettle.com/fan.htm

The home page at Simon Teakettle Ink, with links to Bobbi's bio and all sorts of neat stuff:

            http://www.simonteakettle.com

Our Facts pages: http://www.simonteakettle.com/facts.htm

Q.T. Penny

 

 

A Cats Purr

"Cats make one of the most satisfying sounds in the world: they purr ...

A purring cat is a form of high praise, like a gold star on a test paper. It is reinforcement of something we would all like to believe about ourselves - that we are nice."

Roger A Caras