Oblivious

We weren't very good listeners on Friday and may have wandered next door without permission and when no one was outside. When Lady caught us, and put us on leash on the neighbour's deck, she laughed and laughed and laughed. We don't know why. She told us we were oblivious and then took us home.

Can you see what we missed?

Milo is on the chair

 

A Solution To Our Mouse Problem?

Last weekend, our 10 year old neighbour M found 2, tiny kittens in the woods by her house. M has been trying to catch kittens for years.  These kittens were so little they only opened their eyes the second day they had them.

 

Meet Cinder and Ash

The problem is Milo has decided he hates the kittens.

Milo and Callie checking out the kittens

They are also a lot of work, as they are not litter trained and need to be feed a lot. It is hard for a family with 3 kids, who both work and have a dog and a kitten to do. 

This made Lady laugh a lot

As it was so nice out on the weekend, some of us took ourselves over to the neighbours. While there, we discussed the kittens and the neighbours (who are looking for an excellent home) asked if we wanted them. In a very safe manner, we introduced the smallest of the 2, Ash to Hailey.

Her instinct was to try and eat it.  She tried several times. So that is a no for us. The kittens are so little, they wouldn't even fight back. 

An aunt, who loves cats may take them.  We wish Cinder and Ash the best. Lady is a bit sad she can't have them, but couldn't live with herself if Lee ate one. 

Editor's Note: If you are wondering what Phod thought of the kittens, we have no idea. He had taken himself for a walk and was inspecting the sandpit the neighbours have and completely missed the kittens. 

Traitor Tuesday - Milo

Dear pals,

Callie got a little brother, a cat named Milo.

The picture Callie's mom sent our Lady

Lady and Man went over to meet Milo the other day. While they were there, for no good reason, the power went out. So yes, we were alone in the house in the dark while they were loving a kitten.

The Man holding little Milo

Milo will eventually become and indoor/outdoor cat. We had a brief meeting of him through the screen door. Phod was scared of the hissing and Lee sadly couldn't see him in the dusk light as he was not moving. Lady and Man say, when he is bigger and we may run into him more, we will be more properly introduced.

your pals, 2 angry dogs

Mischief Monday - It Wasn't Us, It Was a Cat

Lady was pretty sure the first mischief Monday after her time away, would be about our behaviour in jail. Just because we have a history of fence fighting and acting like jerks, doesn't mean that is how we always are. The jail warden said we were the best behaved we had ever been. We didn't fence fight at all (proving it wasn't us who ever started it), and we actually got to play with some other dogs. We may have ripped up one of our kennel blankets, but Lady said that is ok, because she buys old comforters at the thrift shop for our kennel blankets so we can do this. 

The story of mischief goes back a few weeks before the Lady and Man left us for 87 million years. It was a Thursday morning. Lady noted as we left on our walk there were a lot of crows the tree at the end of the driveway. By a lot, she means over 20. It was Phod who alerted her that a  cat (who will be referred to as Cedar going forward) was in the tree. When the people left for work about an hour later, Cedar was still in the tree. When the Man got home from work 87 million hours later, Cedar was still in the tree.  

The Man assumed Cedar was stuck (she had been there for at least 11 hours) and did his best firefighter impression and took his new ladder and went into the field (which is actually owned by a neighbour who just cottages here) and rescued Cedar. 

While Cedar seemed nervous at first, she was very cuddly and full of purrs. The Man brought Cedar to our garage and gave her food and water. Lady happened to be working late that night (she works late a lot) and the Man realized if she came home to a cat, we would have a cat. Lady confirms that unless the true owner was found, we would have had a cat. The timing was not good with the people about to abandon us for 87 million years. So the Man put us in the bedroom, Cedar in the bathroom, and armed with her picture, started a door to door search for her people. 

His search lead him to the cat house down the road. People call it that because there can be up to 10 cats and several dogs outside this house at any time. They all look well cared for, and we aren't sure if they are all their cats, or if they have just become the house that cares for them. The nice cat Lady thought Cedar looked like one of theirs, so gave the Man a crate for him to bring Cedar home. When the Man arrived with Cedar, the cat Lady said 'this isn't ours' but agreed to take her and look for her owner or make sure she was cared for.

By the time the Lady got home, the cat was gone. We searched the house for a couple of days, sure the Man had a cat hidden somewhere. Our Lady was a little sad, but she understood the Man's choices.

The cat she called Cedar, because she was found in a pine tree and she didn't like the name Pine.

When the people arrived from leaving us for 87 million years, there was mouse poop under the sink. There have been no signs since they returned. Perhaps that is a sign that a cat should make her home here!

Mischief Monday - Traitor!

Lady and Man left us for 87 million hours on Saturday and came home smelling like cat! We went through Lady's phone and found not only had she come home smelling bad, she had photos of her snuggling a cat!

Here she is with our cat cousin Panda. You can see Lady is stretched out and Panda is on her lap. 

Then, even worse was a selfie with Panda. There are no recent selfies with us! 

Lady says Panda's nickname is Girl Nin after our angel cat Nin. Panda and Nine are a lot a like. They both love to sit on you and purr and if you don't want them to and keep pushing them off, somehow they will eventually end up on your lap and you won't even know how that happened. When pushed, Lady confessed while she had a little nap on the couch (she was babysitting our human cousin and it was his quiet time), Panda napped on her the whole time. 

She sure has some sucking up to do!

Poor Cousin Lupul

My sister, aka Aunt C, has 2 cats, Panda and Lupul (named after a Toronto Maple Leafs player). Last week, in the chaos of the Man, Lupul also got to visit the emergency room. [It wasn't the best week for our family!]

Aunt C and Uncle D noticed blood on the floor. They followed it backward to the bathroom, which they describe as a "crime scene." It appears Lupul, aka, Loopy, jumped off the counter and landed on the metal furnace vent and cut his paw badly. He had to go to emerg. There his paw was "glued" back together, he was given antibiotics and pain meds and sent on his way. At the follow up, it appeared the cut was open a bit again (but healing), likely because he had been over licking it, so poor Loopy must spend the next 2 weeks wearing the cone of shame. Aunt C and Uncle D plan on replacing the metal vents with plastic ones so no one cuts themselves on one again.

He looks like he is planning his revenge

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My trauma

I had an animal trauma. This happened the night before Cinder died but I haven't been ready to share it until now. 

I was driving home from work. It is a 60 km/37 mile drive as we live in the middle of no where. We live in the hills off a road that is curvy and hilly. The speed limit on a lot of it is 90 km/ 55 miles. After driving this road for the past few years, I know all the hills and curves.

The night in question, I was driving behind someone who was making me crazy with the going fast and then slow. There aren't a lot of good places to pass so I was practicing patience (something I need a lot of help with). There were at least 2 cars behind me, not tailgating but following close enough that I had actually thought I hope I don't have to slam on the breaks.

Suddenly, out of no where, a cat came darting onto the road. It happened so fast I had about one second to decide if I try and swerve to avoid it, slam on my breaks, or hope and pray.

What to do in this kind of event has been on my mind lately for 2 reasons. One - we have a lot of wildlife in the area and I am a planner. Two - in a recent case in our province  a woman was found guilty of manslaughter for stopping her car for baby ducks on the road. A motorcycle came around the corner, couldn't stop, hit her car and the passenger died. Mainly because of this story, the Man and I talked about, if it is small, you can't risk your life of the lives of others in cars behind you. If it is big (like a deer let's say), you actually have a choice to make. I do feel horrible putting myself ahead of animals in this way, but I think knowing I killed a human would be much, much harder emotionally (not to mention I would be fine with never going to jail and that a criminal record may take my livelihood away).

So I picked hope and pray. Unfortunately the cat didn't turn away and I hit it. I can say the cat died quickly and will spare you all the horrible details. I cried and wanted to throw up, but know I did what I had to do in that situation. I know if in the exact situation again, I would have to make the same terrible choice. I do feel terrible and take responsibility for my actions, but I also feel angry at the owner for having an outdoor cat and putting me in the situation where I had to decide which lives to risk. I am working on letting this anger go because judging others is not productive.

Almost exactly 12 hours later, we said goodbye to Cinder. I can tell you, the cat accident was harder for me. Also, even though I tend to have atheists tendencies, I felt like maybe this was the universe evening out.

2 hours after Nin died, I was reminded of the circle of life and the irony of life. A co-worker sent an email saying she had rescued a mother cat and 3 kittens and was looking for homes for them. We declined to take one, the reasons why to be explored in another post. But for a second I laughed. I didn't laugh because 2 cats had dies, no I laughed because for some weird reason in a 14 hour period the universe surrounded me with cats. What are the odds?!?!?!?!

RIP unknown cat. Please know I grieved your death like you were my own.

Angel Bagheera because I needed a reminder of a peaceful cat and the joy of cats

Hug A Cat Day

Somewhere on our trek through Blogville we saw that June 4 was hug a cat day.

Fortunately we still have a cat to hug! He was less happy about all the hugs:)

Halloween -Spider Nin 2012

Nin selecting a costume

Spider Nin - again a former dog costume

Halloween - Baggy Bug - 2012

We have decided we will unveil the Halloween costumes in order of seniority.This means Baggy goes first. ["The way it should be," Baggy.]

Happy Halloween!

A purring Baggy rocks a costume that was bought for a former dog

A day in my Life - by Baggy

Breakfast is served

I think the Lady in the house spends too much time dealing with those stupid dogs. I think she forgets I was her first baby and am the best baby. So I have hijacked this blog today to tell people about a day in my life. I am sure you will all find it much more interesting than a day with those stupid dogs.

I start my day by greeting the Lady at the bedroom door. I like to lay so she basically trips over me. I use this as a time to remind those stupid dogs that I could kill them if I wanted to. I like to keep them in their place.

Napping in the basket that is just for me.

I then wait patiently for the Lady to give me my special food. She feeds me on the counter so the dogs can't get my food. Sometimes Nin will try and steal some food, I let him have some when I am done.

After all the morning excitement it is time for a nap. The lights on the counter are very warm, so I take a nap on the counter.

Nin at the front, me at the back having a nap.

My paw sticking out of my fav sleeping spot

Eventually I get tired of the counter and I grab a drink, tell the dogs off and settle on the couch for a nap. I have the dogs trained to leave me alone and I basically get the couch to myself. I generally don't mind sharing the couch with Nin, as long as he doesn't try to hump me or wrestle. My old body doesn't like wrestling.

After some time, I will feel nature calling so I will saunter to the litter box. On the way I will likely tell the dogs off again.  All this effort will require another nap in my favourite sleep place, under the table between the washer and dryer. The Lady has left bedding for me here. I like to sleep here as no one disturbs me and I don't have to worry about a dog sniffing me or looking at me as they are not allowed in.

My evenings really depend on my mood. I usually come out and demand some more soft food. If I am in the mood I may join the pack on the couch. It is a good chance to show my dominance over the dogs.

Those are the highlights of my life. As you can see, it is really hard to be me.

The Lady says to remind everyone starting tomorrow is pet humiliation, I mean Halloween on the blog. Whatever she says about me and my costume is a lie, I didn't purr. I hated it!

Happy Belated Birthday Nin!

I realized yesterday after I had posted, that it was Nin's 17th birthday. He had a good day with love and treats! He is still "spree"(inside joke) for an old guy. He still does everything he did as a kitten (jumping, climbing, meowing, peeing on the floor), he just does less of it!

Happy Adoption Day Baggy!

Don't forget to pack me!

Don't worry Baggy after 17 years, we won't forget you!

Happy Birthday Baggy!

Bagheera turns 17 today! We are so thrilled to have a senior pet.

Happy Birthday Baggy!

3 fun Baggy facts:

1) In his youth he would open the freezer and take out and eat bread.

2) He once ate the magnet from the bottom of the shower curtain. It got stuck in his intestines and we had to have it surgically removed. Yes, we still have the magnet!

3) Baggy once successful caught a mouse that was in the house. He truly is our panther!

New Feature - Feline Fridays

The cats in my life say that they have not been getting enough press. They appreciate that Hailey is far more demanding and perhaps interesting to some, but they want their time. So now on Friday's we will feature something about a cat!

This is Lemew - Aunt C's cat. Several weeks ago I had a picture of him asking for Chinese food.

Here he is trying to get my sandwich.

The bad begger strikes again.

As taught by the cats

When I was going through my pictures, I found this one from a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago Hailey went through the get into the garbage phase of her life. She got into several days in a row. What is interesting to me is that she got into it after the cats did. It is sort of like she didn't know she could do that until they told her. My dog has great observational learning skills!

I am guessing, since we compost, there wasn't really good stuff in the garbage because she has stopped doing this (thankfully!)

A worse beggar!

I am excited to say I found a worse beggar than Miss Bug. Meet my sister's almost 16 year old cat, Lemew. He spent the whole dinner trying to convince me that he loved Chinese food!

From Bagheera

Bagheera getting love from his lady like he use to in the old days

Dear faithful dog blog readers,

I would like to tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, I had a great life. I lived with my people and another cat. It was great. It was all about me. My people were good to me. When I ate a magnet they had it removed from my stomach even though they were poor students and didn't really have the money to spend.

Almost 10 years ago my people did something terrible. They brought in these little ugly white things. They called them dogs. I hated them. While I have always been more solitary in nature, I do enjoy love on my terms. But for nearly 10 years I avoided my people. I hated them for bringing in these white things. I spent as much time as possible in the basement away from the rest of the pack.

During this time I hoped and  prayed that those white things would go away and I could be king. Recently I got my wish and while other people mourned I did the dance of joy! No more white dogs. I get to be king again!

There is still a big dumb black one, but I don't find her nearly as offensive. She leaves me alone for the most part and appears scared of me.  She has never tried to hump me or chase me. She sometimes stands in front of me shaking and barking (she looks so silly to be so scared).  I now spend the time I want upstairs. I get all the love I want.

The world is right once again.

FYI: I personally think dogs are overrated. We cats are better but that is for another post.

By: A very happy Bagheera


Editors Note: While the past 5 weeks has been hard on the people and dog part of the pack, the cat part has not been so happy for years. This is a positive from our tragedy.

Bagheera and Lee

Desperate for a play mate

Lee and Nin