Sadie's chosen spot

Sadie has decided that the coffee table in the living room is just the right place for a quick nap in between eating and looking out the window. You can see some scratches on the table - courtesy of a cat running across the table at any given time. Sadie has her own style of leaving scratches as she jumps up onto the table.

After seeing several days of a curled up cat sleeping on the wooden surface of the coffee table I finally took pity on her and folded up a blanket for her. It didn't take long for her to realize this was hers and now most evenings when I come home I see her curled up in various positions, oblivious to the world around her. If you look closely in the first photo you can see two of the woofies behind her, curled up peacefully on their own cushions.

The first two photos catch her in two of her typical poses. I particularly like the second which has her paw tucked over her nose. (No...it is not that cold in the house!)

The last photo shows what happens to any spot that is left unprotected for long. I took a break from my list of "to do's" and put some cat treats out for the four kitties. When I came back into the living room about 15 minutes later I had to take a second look when I saw the change in occupant. Now this is where you can see my lack of skills in taking photos...I took my phone out of my purse to get a quick shot but obviously did not check the view finder carefully - or I would have seen the edge of my finger in the shot. And that is why hubby is usually responsible for any serious photography around here!

My Faithful Companions

Usually one or both of these two are my companions late at night when I am working on my laptop in the living room. Today, they must have been a little confused. It was noon, I was home, and ...yes...busy working on my laptop. Within 10 minutes of me starting up the laptop and spreading some paperwork around, they both slipped into their respective resting spots, silently keeping me company as I worked. I think they must have been surprised to see me working during the day..but they didn't miss a beat getting settled in beside me.

Turn the clock forward nine hours....youngest daughter has come and gone, hubby is off to bed and I am settling back in to work on some analysis for the day job. As I look around me, the three woofies are spread out on their beds, Angel has moved over to the far side of the room and all I can hear are soft little grunts from Spike as he stretches out in the bed recently vacated by Angel (with a little help from Spike). Just the company I need as I dig in for another 3 hours of work!

Handsome New Faces

Aren't these boys just so handsome? Bandit on the left and Schroedinger on the right. They live in B.C. so don't have to worry about seeing the amount of snow we have here...but on the other hand, they see more than their fair share of rain!

I was laughing when I read the email since I know that Siamese meow well. Here's what had me laughing: "Schro has such a very good pair of lungs on him that our neighbours are convinced that we have a small child on the premises. I occasionally wonder if we shouldn't have called him Pavarotti instead of Schroedinger." I can almost hear the operatic aria now!

Years ago our family had two seal point cats. They lived with us out in the country for several years and then moved into the city with us. I came across an old film my father took when we still lived in the country ...you can see my face for a split second and then the camera quickly panned down to the little meezer kitties running around in the fresh cut grass. Typical of our family though...if you are cute, furry and have four legs you get more camera time!

Dog bed..cat bed

As if we don't already have enough pet beds in the house! This is actually a dog bed from Costco that looked just right for Spike's big bulk. He has a few places where he can stretch out but most times he stuffs himself into cat beds that barely contain him. I had walked by this dog bed several times while checking in regularly to see if they were stocking orthopedic dog beds (for the old woofers).

Finally last week, I put it in the cart and told hubby it was for Spike. Once we had it in a good location in the living room Spike was quick to get in and get comfortable. Once I figure out how to download the photo I took on my cell, I'll be able to show that look of contentment as he is lying on his back all stretched out to the ends of the bed.

When the bed is empty, Angel does try to sneak in and curl up. This photo was one of the times he wasn't disturbed. Yesterday he was asleep when Spike jumped in beside him. Spike took a little lick of Angel's back....and then he took a bite out of Angel's neck! I guess that is what happens to any cat who dares to invade Spike's territory.

When the dogs are away...

Hubby takes the woofers out three times a day, leaving the house in the care of the cats. It is not unusual to have one cat at the window, and sometimes two but it is very rare to see all four at the same time. In fact, most passersby reckon we only have one cat that looks a little different (more fluff/less fluff) at times. Speaking of The Fluff, he is easy to pick out here. Unfortunately the photo is a little fuzzy and I had to look twice to see who was who. From left, Sadie, Angel, Spike and then Sebastian sneaking in cautiously from the far right.

There are actually seven "cats" in this photo, my hubby pointed out. Two metal cat caricatures in front of the window to the left and one cat planter to the right.

Just right for Sadie

The new cat tent has been sitting empty for several days post acquisition. After Spike checked it out, there seemed to be a general lack of interest on the part of the other kitties. We tried relocating the tent in several areas downstairs with no sniff of interest. I finally became tired of tripping over it in its last resting place and took it to the upstairs hall where it sat for a few more days.

Two days ago hubby was headed upstairs and thought he saw something inside the tent. Stopping to look inside, he saw a curled up Sadie snoozing away. The next day on my way by, I saw her tucked away looking totally contented. Now we are at the third day of finding her ensconced in the tent, so have concluded that she has taken ownership. I was surprised because she had to jump up onto a box which leaves very little paw space before hopping into the tent (regular readers know that her short legs means she is not as agile as the other kitties and typically hesitates to jump up when the height of the jump exceeds her comfort level). However, it is clear by the look of contentment on her face as we pass by her sleeping in the tent that any hurdles getting there are worthwhile!

Super size the cat bed

On a regular basis, the bedroom of the cat whisperer son attracts the attention of the three short-haired kitties. Spike has no interest in this bedroom..probably because it is the undisputed domain of Sebastian who claims it and its human as his own. He will allow Angel and Sadie in on occasion..but as you can see the prime spot by the lap top belongs to Sebastian, who is usually curled up right beside youngest son's arms. In spite of Sadie's short legs she is able to jump up onto this bed (no such luck in our bedroom where the platform underneath is higher). Angel is a sucker for a warm comforter so he will take any bedroom that has a warm body in it, preferably with outstretched legs so he can get comfortable. (I will admit we kicked the boy out of bed while hubby took this photo!) Often youngest son is working on his laptop with Sebastian keeping him company, when the other two sneak into the room and find themselves a spot to curl up on at the end of the bed.

Praying for more food?

If it is food..or a new cat bed..you can bet Spike will be first in line! Hubby was at the dollar store this morning, picking up some spare dog booties for the woofies (there are several centimeters of snow on the ground and the snow packs into the woofie paw pads if they don't have booties on). While he was looking around the store, he saw a fleece pad that looked just right for tucking in one of the many cat tents dotted around the house. As with many items that come in our house, the fleece pad was left on a "temporary" spot, waiting for someone to put it where it belonged.

A few hours later I came into the kitchen and found Spike with his front paws up on the fleece pad, looking like he was praying. I figured if the prayer was for food, he would be in luck since the pad was sitting on a case of cat food!

Another New Nest

We were shopping in Winners on Friday when we saw an interesting cat "tent". We were trolling the pet aisle and saw an oddly shaped pillow-like item stuffed into the shelf. When we pulled it out we saw it was actually a cat bed shaped like a tent. There was a small square cushion attached that goes into the base and helps the tent keep it shape. Discussion in the car on the way home...."Which cat will be in here first?". I was firmly convinced it would be Spike, but hubby thought Angel might be the one who would lay first claim. Well...yes and no. Angel was quick on the draw as soon as the tent came in the door...busy sniffing around and in the front. But he wasn't brave enough to actually go in. So the tent sat on the floor..waiting and waiting for the first official occupant. And no surprise here...hubby's camera caught Spike checking out the inside from the inside!

Halloween Treats

Halloween is quite routine for us these days now that we don't have to take the kids out ..or wait for them to finish their rounds. We buy 2 boxes of chips and several cases of drinks - knowing that none of the leftovers ever go to waste!

This was a point halfway through the evening when almost 30 trick or treaters had come by..and we had finished our quality control procedures (i.e. tasting a few sample bags of chips to make sure everything was OK!) I moved the empty box into the living room and within 5 minutes the first furry found his way in. Not long after that the nest napper decided it was his turn and as soon as Angel jumped out, Spike jumped in.

Spike in a Box

Spike has been a happy cat for several days this week. We picked up an HP printer at Costco for a great price last week and as soon as hubby had unpacked the printer, Spike quickly laid claim to the box. First, he jumped into the box from the coffee table and then flipped it over on the side. He sat for awhile, looking out, and then started to roll around in the box. We had to pull him out so we could move the box out of our way and then decided to put it in the dining room for a couple of days until he lost interest.

After four days, he was still going in there on a regular basis but unfortunately we had decided to return the printer and needed the box back. Again...tip the box...dump cat out on floor...and see aggrieved look on cat face!

The best places to stretch out in

It turns out that the great little wicker cat beds that Lady Gray and Fergie were sleeping in last week are actually wicker laundry baskets from Michaels. Take one wicker laundry basket, add soft blanket and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove look of surprise from face when furry inhabitant peeks out of basket!

I was mentioning this great idea to a friend at work ..who happened to have cats with a wide variety of taste in resting spots. Winston loves the plastic laundry baskets..and scorns the specially purchased cat tent right beside the laundry basket. Fynn has a soft spot for the great outdoors ..and enjoys the coolness of fresh, green grass. When they decide to kip down together - a cosy box is the abode of choice!

We are always watching

Curious cats...when they are not sleeping, they are watching what is going on.

Spike swivels around so that he can see any of the woofies ...but he is rarely close enough to them to worry. As you can see from the angle of the photo he is on one of his many "high" spots where he can look down upon us all.

Angel is more direct - he looks right at us when he sees the camera come out. He has such an "in your face" look that has been perfected over many years!

A lazy afternoon

Fall has started with beautiful, warm days ... just right for a quick cat nap here and there. My friend in Ontario is also lucky enough to have a great start to Fall and her kitties seem to have the same natural instincts as ours...find a warm nest or friendly human to curl up with.

Anniversary Bouquet

This past week I celebrated an anniversary at work and instead of receiving flowers or chocolates, I had the pleasure of receiving a cookie bouquet, especially personalized for me. My good friend knows my love for my four footed family members and she arranged with a local bakery to pull off photos from the blog and put them on large cookies (very tasty ones!)

I carefully brought them home and put them on the kitchen counter for hubby to take a photo. Less than five minutes after they were left unattended on the counter, I heard the sounds of plastic being crunched. Coming back into the kitchen I found Angel perched at the edge of the counter, busy trying to chew a hole in the plastic cover to get at the cookie. The evidence of this is shown in the last photo you see!

curious Angel

Angel often walks across the end table when he is on his way to the green cat bed by the door...or looking for a warm lap to curl up in, if someone is in the living room watching TV. Every once in awhile, in mid transit, he stops and looks up as if there is something interesting in the air. As long as it isn't a wasp that has slipped in, then we don't take any notice of what he is looking at. If it is a small flying insect, then sooner or later one of the felines will have it as a tiny snack. If it is something else that I can't see...then I probably don't want to know!

Almost a year now

It is almost the first anniversary for Sadie's Gotcha day..so time to post a few recent photos. She has picked up a few of Spike's habits in her time here ....taking over a recently vacated warm seat, claiming back part of the woofie territory and keeping watch at the front window with a woofie just beside.

In the first photo, it had been a cold morning (air conditioning in the house) so I grabbed a warm blanket to throw over the back of my chair. I went to get coffee and brekkie, and came back to a curled up, contented cat in my seat. Nest nappers come in various sizes and shapes around here!

In the second photo, Sadie has decided that she was going to make herself comfortable on the small carpet we bought for the dogs. Usually there is a woofie curled up on the carpet but this day it must have been empty long enough for Sadie to find a comfortable spot and fall asleep. This always surprises me because the smell of several woofies must be thoroughly blended into the carpet and I can't imagine that being appealing to any cat.

In the last photo, hubby and I came home to find two plaintive faces pressed up against the front window, waiting patiently for us to return from shopping. Usually Spike grabs the front window and will hip check any cat in the way but I reckon he must have been sleeping at this time.

New cat attraction

Why is Spike looking out of the front window so intently, totally oblivious to the sleeping dog at his left?

It is the most recent "cat attraction" set up by hubby in the front yard (who knew dogs would be equally interested in the visitors to the bird feeder?) This is a large bird feeder (almost 5 feet in height) that we found at Costco. After filling up the feeder with a wide mix of different seeds, we have seen a steady procession of birds, squirrels and rabbits (the latter eat the seeds that the birds kick off in their frenzy to get to their favorite seeds). This is an ongoing scene that seems to catch the attention of all the four footed furries in our house!

Remembering Romeo

R.I.P. August 1999 to August 2011

My friend R. has said goodbye to her beloved Romeo this week. He had renal failure and R. had to make the difficult decision to help relieve him from further suffering. A most handsome cat with an expressive face ....with an attitude that was so humanlike. I will miss his visits to the blog - but he will always be on here. His first visit was on January 14, 2009 ..followed up by one of my favorite ever photos where he is drinking out of the fish bowl without bothering the fish who lived there! http://ourfurryboys.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html

The first 4 photos above show him in one of his favorite places - in the yard outside his home (plenty of fresh air and insects to watch, along with a sun warmed resting place). The last shows a totally contented cat, curled up comfortably on his owners' bed, knowing he was loved and cared for.

If it looks like a box - it belongs to Spike

On Friday, we were putting together some items no longer in use to drop off at the the local thrift store. (Note: this cat was not one them!) We had hunted around the house for empty boxes and while we were filling a couple of smaller boxes, I had placed a larger box on the dining room table. You will probably see it doesn't look level and that is due to the fact it is precariously perched on several books we were deciding whether to keep or give away. This did not deter Spike one bit. We came back into the house after walking the woofies and this is the view that greeted us!

There are only two cats in the household that love boxes this much. Angel always tries to crawl in any empty box, then he chews on the outside edge before quickly climbing out. Spike prefers to get comfortable and stay there for some length of time. In fact, we have a box lid in the family room by the window where he likes to rest in the afternoon. I think he realized this box was too shaky to rest in and not long after the photo was taken he decided it was time to get out and look for another suitable sleeping spot.

A new decoration for the headboard

Our headboard has a variety of items that have caught our fancy at one time or another. This means there is no room for cats. Most times they respect the ban and stay away from the breakables but every once in awhile we catch Angel trying to cross from one side to the other late at night. Usually I am just falling asleep when I hear clinking sounds as Angel attempts to step through without knocking anything down. Once I realize what is going on, I haul him down beside me.

This time, Sebastian has decided that he is equally as handsome as any of the items we have displayed on the headboard. He simply looked over at hubby with a guilt free look when his photo was taken and stayed firmly planted in his spot.

Angel Keeping his Nose Warm

Recently, we have had 30+ degree weather and most of the residents of the house have been enjoying the air conditioning. The woofies are always glad to get back in the house after their walk and the cats aren't running to the door to get a sniff of warm humid air. However, Angel seems to find his nose is getting cold. He is curled up on our bed and has tucked his nose under his nice warm paw.

Spike eating his greens

Spike has not been happy with our ongoing enforcement of his diet. Dry food is being regulated although he still uses his keen sense of smell to alert him to the times I do try to put dry food down for the other three. He is close in weight to Mr Puddy (currently weighing in at 15.2 pounds) and looking to hang onto every ounce. Here you see the innocent look after we caught him chewing on some greenery in the house.

The other night hubby heard a thump in the kitchen and found that Spike had managed to chew his way into elder son's closed pizza box, the thump being two pieces of pizza being knocked onto the floor. With all the floof floating along with Spike, there isn't even a 1 second rule for food on the floor - it simply goes right into the garbage bin. Normally we don't leave any food out..and on the odd occasion we forget to put it away, we have never come back to see any bites taken or food missing. Now Spike is on the lookout for any unattended food and we do have to be more careful. Even the dog treats now have to be put away where Spike can't reach.

Doggy Picnic

When we first looked into adding a dog to our family, the first question was always whether the dog liked cats. When Girly (sable colored sheltie to the far right of the photo below) was featured on the rescue site, we were told she was tolerant of the three cats in her current home. And that trend continued when she came to us ...tolerant of three cats. As it happens, we had four cats to introduce to her and she was fine with 3 out of 4. The fourth, Sebastian, gave his thoughts of having a new dog in the family (hiss, growl) and now these two have a wary truce in most cases unless they get in close proximity.

The merle sheltie you see above came to us through the rescue about 3 months ago. She is 12 years old, has poor eye sight and is arthritic (also had to have 14 teeth pulled). She has also encountered Mojo before (one of the three grey cats living with the wonderful woman who runs the sheltie rescue) and as you can see, has a fascination with cats. She always has an eye on any of our cats who walk by her in the house here and yesterday, she was the only sheltie at the picnic who had an interest in a close up cat view.

The rest of the shelties simply saw Mojo as just another four legged furry running around the backyard.

Spike Praying to Get Out

Spike has been visiting the dry food dishes on a regular basis hoping to find some food waiting for him. We have been trying to reduce his daily food intake to help him take off some of the extra weight he has put on over time. Typically, I will put food out when he is asleep, since he won't hear the shake of the dry kibble coming out of the food container into the cat bowls (on the counter so that the dogs don't help themselves). That way, by the time he wakes up and lumbers into the kitchen there is just a small amount of food left for him.

When he is awake, he regularly comes into the kitchen looking for dry food in between the official wet food feed times. He sniffs at the bowl, sees there is nothing there and then plaintively looks at me with those sad, hungry eyes of his. (I think that might have been the cause of him getting too much food to begin with!). At this point he has given up trying to make me feel guilty and he is looking out the window, hoping to see a tasty morsel on the run outside. Now he just needs to be able to get outside and chase it down!

PS Sadie is back to her normal routine now and is coming downstairs for dinner with the rest of the furries. She still sleeps often during the day and can be found in various places around the house (just found her curled up in a wire basket this morning sleeping on some socks). I wonder if she might be older than the estimate we have...since she was originally found wandering on the street by her former owners several years ago.

Winston is a gorgeous floofy owned by a co-worker. She added her comments to the photo but I haven't been able to figure out how to add them in the appropriate places. Imagine a comment to the right of the photo which says: "note the double leg extension on the right". Then on the left it says "and the elegantly crossed front legs". Winston knows how to show himself off to best advantage...and just makes you want to scoop him up and cuddle him!

Happy July 1st

Our four kitties wearing white from the white and red colours of Canada Day (do pink noses count as light red??) are celebrating over on a fellow Canadian's blog, better known as Wendy's LOL spot. Please pop over to Wendy's blog and visit the other Canadian kitties celebrating today!

http://wendyslolspot.blogspot.com/

Sadie sleeping through dinner

If there was more room on this blanket I think I would be curled up by Sadie. She looks so content and has certainly decided this is her home - whether it be on my sweater by the table, on a box in the hallway or even on the toilet paper underneath the small table in the hallway. Yes - the latter place probably does sound odd. We put a large package of toilet paper rolls underneath the table to keep her away from the front door since she used to crouch under the table, looking out the door as soon as it was opened. She figured out how to squish herself between the top of the paper rolls and the underside of the table top so now sits in there on a regular basis. We figure by the time she extricates herself after the door is opened we will have time to close it again before she gets too far!

Lately she has been sleeping on top of younger son's gym bag in the upstairs guest bedroom and hasn't been coming down for the regular 6 PM dinner feeding. This is unusual but as long as she is down at some stage in the evening I won't worry yet.