A Rare Sight in This House

I know many of you have cats that willingly cuddle together...and I have bemoaned the fact it doesn't happen here. But..to my surprise...I found a photo opportunity that I had to leverage quickly before the joy of proximity changed to the pain of personal space invasion.  Angel had been fast asleep on the cat bed when Spike came up and carefully stepped into the empty space left at the side (since this is actually a large dog bed it provides plenty of space). As Spike wiggled in that chubby body of his, the fur on his side must have tickled Angel's nose. Angel opened one eye warily but decided against a quick exodus. Instead he closed that eye and snuggled his face into the cushion in the cat bed.  Spike watched him for a few seconds and then put his head down to go to sleep.

Why I love my cats

Sometimes a sleepless night really brings home how much I love my cats. First ..at around 3 in the morning...a loud yakking sound at the end of the bed..a scramble to get up and see which dog was getting sick and make it there before next dog decided to jump on clean up duty.  Then, an hour and a half later, a couple of soft, piteous whines from the third dog at my side of the bed, looking for someone to carry her downstairs. (She can't climb stairs due to her age and arthritis so I carry her upstairs each night - although don't usually have the AM shift to come downstairs.)  After snuggling back under the covers and falling asleep, I heard the sharp yap of a wide awake puppy.  At this point all three dogs were downstairs with hubby (who is always up by 5 AM to feed dogs and cats) so the pup wanted someone to give him attention.  I hoisted him out of his crate, took him outside to take care of business then handed him over to hubby.

Now, over this time, Angel was sleeping at the end of the bed, not bothered by anything going on and not moving until he heard hubby heading downstairs for feeding time. Angel comes up at night time right after I head to bed, jumps on the end of the bed and spreads himself over my feet.  At some point during the night, Sadie saunters down the hall and curls up on the laundry basket just outside the room (well..not a functioning laundry basket anymore..now taken out of use and filled with a cat blanket). Spike occasionally sneaks up to sleep in the headboard...squishing his ample frame into a rather small bookcase section in the headboard, right by his adored "papa". And NOT at any time during the night, am I woken up by any of my sweet cats!   

  

Sadie and Seumas are sharing the couch in the photos above.  Sadie crawled up on Saumas' blanket just after it had come out of the dryer. She was fast asleep when Seumas was put on the couch to play with his toys..she opened an eye to see who it was and then went right back to sleep. Seumas followed suit shortly after!

A New Furry Boy ...but not what you think

Sadie, our well known "flopper", who will sit or lie anywhere that catches her fancy, has decided to sit on top of the new dog cage holding the new furry boy.  She has taken a sniff or two of the new pup without any real interest and is now ignoring him. She can easily ignore his little yips, being deaf, and he isn't eating her food so it is just another day in the household.  Spike and Angel have similar reactions..a sniff or two of puppy's face and then back to what they were doing.  Sebastian, ever wary of anything that might pose a threat, hissed and backed up.  But he keeps away from every four footed furry in the house and only has eyes for hubby and youngest son.

Lady Gray earns a nickname

Aaaah...the joy of being tucked into a snug cat bed with some warm Ontario sun rays streaming through the glass door!

My friend's silver kitty is certainly enjoying her life and I am sure is spoiled wonderfully now.  Apparently she loves to curl up and snooze much of the time during the day and she has recently been nicknamed "Lazy Gray" by the man in the house, who swears she is always sleeping.  My friend knows better since she sees the food in the Lady's dinner bowl has mysteriously vanished when no one was looking.

What Cats Do on a Holiday

The long awaited holiday weekend came...and all of us in the house took full advantage of a day of peace and quiet. Sadie made herself comfortable on hubby's leg. Angel stayed up in the bedroom tucked into a little ball.

And Spike....well, Spike was just being himself...nest napper on a large scale.  He decided that the dog bed would be just the spot to stretch out in.  He could probably smell a wee bit of himself from the last time he usurped this bed..but clearly the dog smell wasn't enough to deter him.

One Happy Spike

I am back from Vegas and just getting caught up on the To Do list (which does include cuddling a cat or two).  I enjoyed my visit with Trish at Katnip Lounge and had a great time relaxing in the catio with good company.  Trish sent back a "I care" package for the kitties here which included a new treat for them ...valerian. When I returned home, it took me a couple of days to get everything unpacked and I still had the treats tucked away in my suitcase, expecting to take it out for the weekend.  On Thursday, hubby noticed Spike rubbing up against the side of the suitcase, sniffing all around the zipper. That was our first hint we were going to have some happy kitties.  

This morning I walked by Sadie, all curled up on top of one of our boxes of Raisin Bran. The box was on its side and Sadie had squashed the part of the box in, probably to make it a more comfortable sleeping spot.  I thought this would make an interesting photo so was going to send hubby over to take a photo at some point. On my way back to the living room, I took the treats out of my suitcase and headed over to the chair to sit down for a few minutes with my coffee.  I heard the clicking of claws on the floor and looked up to see Sadie coming out, on a direct course for the valerian.  I let her sniff the package and didn't even have it open before she was rolling on the floor and looking decidedly silly!  

Spike came in to join Sadie within 2 minutes..and he had also been sleeping soundly last time I saw him. He was trying to bite through the bag, madly licking at the outside and desperate to get it opened. The first photo above shows his first lick of valerian.  Then I brought out one of the tickle feather treats and he put on his meerkat impression trying to grab the feather (all licked and chewed right now...I am glad Trish put in several more for all of the cats to enjoy!),  The next photo shows Sophie coming up to share the fun..she also wanted to sniff and taste the valerian ...but settled for a bite of the feather.

Last photo...a quick snap of Trish and I out in the catio...enjoying fresh air and cat company!

Enjoying the one sunny day this week

Although it is really hard to tell which cat this is, the sleeping pose might give it away.  Sadie will tuck herself away into any place she can fit into.  I probably mentioned in an earlier post that one time we found her squished in behind the bathroom door, curled up on a towel on the floor.  This time, her body was right up against the warm window and if you looked at her from the other side, you would see the pink nose and paw pads touching the window.  We haven't had a lot of sun lately ...but anytime we do, the two chairs up against the dining room window see their fair share of furry occupants.

And now.......what is better than four cats?   Thirteen cats, of course!  I am off to Nevada for a software training session and coincidentally, the session will take place less than 30 minutes from the Katnip Lounge. And I will have the pleasure of visiting the lounge tomorrow! After reading the blog for many years I am really looking forward to meeting Trish and the stars of the Lounge in person.