Spike has been busy this long weekend

The little granddaughter was with us from Sunday through Monday, enjoying the long weekend with us (shopping, breakfast at McD's, dog walking, cat petting). She has one of those Jetson like strollers where the seat is raised high off the ground and it is a necessary item when we take her on long walks. In between it sits in our hallway awaiting the next outing. Spike decided to check out the stroller more closely and spent a good 10 minutes sniffing around the base. He then decided it was time to check out the comfort level and climbed onto the foot rest. We thought we had a good pose here so hubby quickly snapped the photo and headed to the computer to upload it. Of course, once hubby was out of sight along with the camera, Spike decided he would try and fit his slinky body into the seat. I turned back to see him stretched upright, head and body already underneath the grey handle you see behind him in this photo. From the big toes firmly planted on the foot rest to top of his head on his outstretched body, he managed to reach up past the top of the seat, ears brushing against the canopy. But as soon as I called hubby to come back with the camera, Spike must have thought it was time to make a quick exit, stage left!

The peaceful rest is ending quickly

Sebastian's new sleeping spot is about to be invaded. Spike, displaying his alpha cat tendencies, is getting ready to displace Sebastian. Even if Sebastian hisses, that will not deter Spike. He will simply step into the cat bed and his close proximity will be enough to send Sebastian off in search of another safe haven.

Aah...the irony!

Sebastian and the woofie still dislike each other and often I have to referee when they come too close to each other. When Sebastian comes into the dining room, particularly by this window, the woofie runs out to start barking at him. If I catch her before she gets into the dining room, she will sit on the floor at the entrance, head erect and eyes staring at Sebastian. So I am sure you can already guess that Sebastian is not a relaxed cat when he heads into the dining room. Imagine our surprise when we came home from shopping today and found him fast asleep in the cat bed which actually sits on top of the woofie's travel kennel. Well...he was fast asleep until he heard the camera coming out of its case and then he slowly stretched out his legs, looking up at us with those sleepy eyes!

He is blissfully asleep..and I am envious!

A busy week so far...several deadlines cascading together and never enough hours in the day (or evening for that matter) After seeing this photo of Spike sleeping peacefully on one of his favorite boxes I thought that would certainly be a nice way to end the week - although on a couch instead!

Love me...love my cat

On Sunday we were watching a couple of episodes of Dog Whisperer which featured dogs who had been brought by their owners into a new relationship - they had been good pets with a single owner but developed behavioral problems when the other person joined the household. As one fellow said, the girlfriend and her dog were a "package deal" so he knew he was going to be marrying both!

So..on that note...my husband decided to track down photos of the cats we each brought into our relationship. As you might remember, my hubby-to-be brought over his grey fluff cat for a visit. In the first photo, Dusty has settled into becoming a full fledged member of the shared household. The second photo is my cat, Sushi, who always loved rolling on his back for a tummy scratch. Both cats accepted each other with no problems. While it has been many years since these two have been around, we still hold their memories dear ...and will never forget them.

A typical Saturday

We have just returned from our regular Saturday morning schedule. First stop is breakfast at McDonalds, where we enjoy some time to relax for about 30 minutes. Then we head over to the local Humane Society to cuddle a couple of the cats and check out the gift shop. In the photo above you can see the items that caught my eye over the past two visits. Today I found a set of recycled paper cards with colorful cat art which I thought would be perfect for sending a quick note to a friend. We also regularly visit a pet rescue place which sells a variety of great treats and other pet essentials for our cats and dogs.

We happened to see four kitties in one of the cat trees as we walked by one of the cat condos. It is always so cute to see them all cuddled in one spot even though there is plenty of room in each cat condo for them to run around. Even the large cats seem very content to curl up in these stainless steel bowls, with or without a blanket inside. We have not yet purchased a cat tree but have looked with interest at various ones on other blogs. Cat's Cats blog shows a recently added cat tree that looks very popular with the cats...and I think those cats at the Katnip Lounge have an incredible layout which would make any cat very happy! Hubby points out that we already have some choice high spots around the house...but I am so fascinated by these cat trees at the Humane Society that I would like to track down one of these. They are almost like a piece of art in their own right!

I am the favorite...says Angel

One of my friends was reading one of the earlier posts and asked me how I could have a favorite. "Don't you love them all?" she said. "Of course!" I replied. And I do love them all very much. But they have their own ideas on who is special for them. Sebastian is so bonded to my younger son that there is no one else in his sights. He will purr for me if I come and scratch his ears or under his chin..but if he sees younger son go by he is off like a shot, following him like a shadow. Spike is friendly to us all but he is definitely my hubby's cat. Just 10 minutes ago, Papabear saw him at the bottom of the stairs and gave him a "come hither" wave. Within a few seconds, I heard a deep rumbling purr and saw him cuddled in Papabear's arms, heading up to bed.

Angel divides his affections between hubby and me..with some love reserved for younger daughter when she visits. He will sneak onto the bed later at night and curl up on my legs. In fact, it doesn't matter to him where I am..if my legs are out, he cuddles up very quickly. The shot above is from the other night when I stretched out on the couch to watch TV. As soon as he saw the blanket being pulled up, he was on his way over. As you can see from the left side of the photo, he has a back leg up at an odd angle, as a result of pushing his body a little further forward.

He will follow me around, looking for an opportunity to have his ears and whiskers scratched and stroked. If I don't respond on a timely basis (i.e. right away!) he looks at me with those green eyes, making me feel guilty. He is the only one of the three cats who will actually stare at me for some length of time. And when he sits on my lap, being patted, he will turn his head and give me such a loving gaze. (Yes, this is the same cat that tries to bite me when I try to bring him back inside after he slips out the door!) I do feel a strong connection to this little white cat and I really hope he knows how much he is loved here. A stubborn - but very sweet natured cat….a true study in contrasts. I felt a sense of déjà vu a couple of years ago when reading one of the blogs I follow. The author had a special relationship with her Punkin during her cat’s time on earth and her descriptions of Punkin made me think of Angel several times. If you have some time to read this blog, you will find many heart warming stories (and some sadness too). http://houseofmanycats.blogspot.com/