This is the video that goes with the post below...
PowderPuff found a cozy open drawer and seized the opportunity!
Saturday, March 14, 2015
It's been quite some time since I updated this blog. As you may know, it was originally started as a set of emails to my daughter about the crazy things going on as we rescued a number of pets and brought them into our home.
Although one of the things I enjoy about my life is how often unusual things seem to happen to me (or perhaps it's just a quirk of mine to notice things in a different way) eventually the novelty began to wear off and I stopped the blog. The odd bits of fun with pets have continued though, and Our daughter shared something about Powderpuff with a friend who asked about her, and I thought that if she wants to know about our pets, what could be a better place than here. so I'm adding a recent video which shows how Powderpuff can quickly seize opportunities at a moments notice.
Although one of the things I enjoy about my life is how often unusual things seem to happen to me (or perhaps it's just a quirk of mine to notice things in a different way) eventually the novelty began to wear off and I stopped the blog. The odd bits of fun with pets have continued though, and Our daughter shared something about Powderpuff with a friend who asked about her, and I thought that if she wants to know about our pets, what could be a better place than here. so I'm adding a recent video which shows how Powderpuff can quickly seize opportunities at a moments notice.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Time Flies
Wow its been so long since I've posted here it's probably time for a review. This blog got started because after rescuing some local cats, my daughter would ask us everyday about how they were getting along with our existing cat. People asked for copies of the emails and it ended up just being easier to do a blog.
So we now have 5 pets, all of them rescues of one sort or another. We arrived here in Satellite Beach, FL with one pet, Marley, a fiercely independent cat. When we moved in we found a number of cats patrolling the neighborhood that didn't belong to anyone. After two of them adopted us, we put them through the spay/neuter/shot process more for our and our pets' safety than anything, but after the recovery time they spent in our house, Powder puff and Lucky joined our household, and their effect on our lives started this blog. Next came Spike, a cockatiel that our son found when he was working at a client's home. She had to give up the bird, and we decided to give him a home.
Finally last July I saw a Parsons terrier (Update: it turns out she isn't a Parsons Terrier) up for adoption at the vets, and Mary Ann and I fell in love with her. Now Lilly makes up the latest member (and I hope the last...) member of our household.
Lilly is so cute and has such a spark of life that she is a joy to have around the house. Our biggest issue with Lilly is working to socialize her - she has a lot of fear from earlier in her life and is timid around strangers and outright scared in public.
We started her in dog training but she essentially flunked and has been moved to a special, one on one class. She was so intimidated in the public class that she needs special help in socialization. Things are getting better, but slowly. Its definitely hard to recognize the vivacious dog we have at home in the meek or defensive dog we take to socialization class!
So thats the update. I will upload a picture of Lilly here, and next time I will talk about how she interacts with the various cats!
So we now have 5 pets, all of them rescues of one sort or another. We arrived here in Satellite Beach, FL with one pet, Marley, a fiercely independent cat. When we moved in we found a number of cats patrolling the neighborhood that didn't belong to anyone. After two of them adopted us, we put them through the spay/neuter/shot process more for our and our pets' safety than anything, but after the recovery time they spent in our house, Powder puff and Lucky joined our household, and their effect on our lives started this blog. Next came Spike, a cockatiel that our son found when he was working at a client's home. She had to give up the bird, and we decided to give him a home.
Finally last July I saw a Parsons terrier (Update: it turns out she isn't a Parsons Terrier) up for adoption at the vets, and Mary Ann and I fell in love with her. Now Lilly makes up the latest member (and I hope the last...) member of our household.
Lilly is so cute and has such a spark of life that she is a joy to have around the house. Our biggest issue with Lilly is working to socialize her - she has a lot of fear from earlier in her life and is timid around strangers and outright scared in public.
We started her in dog training but she essentially flunked and has been moved to a special, one on one class. She was so intimidated in the public class that she needs special help in socialization. Things are getting better, but slowly. Its definitely hard to recognize the vivacious dog we have at home in the meek or defensive dog we take to socialization class!
So thats the update. I will upload a picture of Lilly here, and next time I will talk about how she interacts with the various cats!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Cat Kids are Kids Too!
We are in the process of having a bathroom floor replaced, and to repair one spot, they had to put thin set (essentially concrete) over a space of about two square feet around the toilet drain. that being done, Mary Ann and I went to the store to decide on the new tile. When we got back, Mary Ann went to check on how the thinset was drying. There she learned that cat kids are kids too ... because set into the thinset were about twenty paw prints. At least they didn't try to write their names.
Raising Feline Literacy
We've all heard a lot about the issues with literacy in the United States, and so I think that in this time of an upcoming election, its appropriate to be alert to opportunities to help with this issues. This morning I had one such opportunity, and Id like to share my thoughts with you on the subject.
Our bookcases have full length glass doors which help to keep them dust free and more attractive. Without them one of us (I wont mention my name) tends to do things like put books in the long way so they stick out if there is something that this person wants to remember. While this might be quaint, and works for Dumbledore, it is a real eyesore in an actual home. Anyway, since weve gotten these bookcases, the issue seems to have magically disappeared.
This morning however, Mary Ann was getting a book to show me something, and left the doors to one of the book cases open. I was quite surprised to see each of the cats go over to the open bookcase, look carefully at the selection on the bottom row, and even paw around to see if there was something of interest to them. None of them actually tried to pull a book out, but that could be because of the subject matter which is woodworking and home repair. So, Ive learned that cats do have a great interest in books, and that it may be that they are only interested in certain subjects.
So, Im going to think about what kinds of books they might like, and see what happens if I stock the shelves with them. Im thinking stuff like "The Cat in the Hat," "The Borrowers," "The Field Guide to Mice and other Rodents," and "Of Mice and Men."
Will let you know how this turns out. In the meantime, I'm not really feeling too bad about not working to increase their access to books in the past. Who knew they could even read?
Our bookcases have full length glass doors which help to keep them dust free and more attractive. Without them one of us (I wont mention my name) tends to do things like put books in the long way so they stick out if there is something that this person wants to remember. While this might be quaint, and works for Dumbledore, it is a real eyesore in an actual home. Anyway, since weve gotten these bookcases, the issue seems to have magically disappeared.
This morning however, Mary Ann was getting a book to show me something, and left the doors to one of the book cases open. I was quite surprised to see each of the cats go over to the open bookcase, look carefully at the selection on the bottom row, and even paw around to see if there was something of interest to them. None of them actually tried to pull a book out, but that could be because of the subject matter which is woodworking and home repair. So, Ive learned that cats do have a great interest in books, and that it may be that they are only interested in certain subjects.
So, Im going to think about what kinds of books they might like, and see what happens if I stock the shelves with them. Im thinking stuff like "The Cat in the Hat," "The Borrowers," "The Field Guide to Mice and other Rodents," and "Of Mice and Men."
Will let you know how this turns out. In the meantime, I'm not really feeling too bad about not working to increase their access to books in the past. Who knew they could even read?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Names
With three cats in the house, we have all kinds of confusion as if we didnt have enough already. Of course each of the cats have a name, but there are lots of combinations that occur. So that when Mary Ann asks who is crying (yes, they do cry a lot) it can be one or all or a combination. I wonder if it might be more efficient if we had names for the combinations, so it would make things more clear and efficient. For example, when I write to my kids and Alex Ive started signing my name as Chad (a contraction of Chip and Dad). So lets see what might be necessary and possible as an answer to who is making noise in the kitchen:
Potential Names
Marley:
Lucky:
Powder Puff: " or PP, or P Puff
Marley + Lucky: Mucky, LeeLee, Luckly, LucknLee
Marley + Powder Puff: Muff, PowderLy, Marpuff, MarleyPuff
Lucky + Powder Puff: Puffduck, Lucky Puff, PowPuck
Marley, Lucky and Powder Puff: MarLuckPuff, Lee the Lucky Powpuff, PP LeeLee, the 3 little piggies, Puffy, etc
So this could lead to perfectly efficient and clear responses like:
The 3 little piggies are ready to eat.
Mucky were chasing PP and she crashed into the door.
Puffduck were rubbing up against each other and knocked over the broom.
LeeLee were playing when PP arrived and Muff split off. So when Lucky Duck ran around the corner the 3 little piggies collided.
LeeLee learned that PP was wet.
Marley was in the cereal and knocked Lucky Puff over.
See how easy and clear this could be?
Potential Names
Marley:
Lucky:
Powder Puff: " or PP, or P Puff
Marley + Lucky: Mucky, LeeLee, Luckly, LucknLee
Marley + Powder Puff: Muff, PowderLy, Marpuff, MarleyPuff
Lucky + Powder Puff: Puffduck, Lucky Puff, PowPuck
Marley, Lucky and Powder Puff: MarLuckPuff, Lee the Lucky Powpuff, PP LeeLee, the 3 little piggies, Puffy, etc
So this could lead to perfectly efficient and clear responses like:
The 3 little piggies are ready to eat.
Mucky were chasing PP and she crashed into the door.
Puffduck were rubbing up against each other and knocked over the broom.
LeeLee were playing when PP arrived and Muff split off. So when Lucky Duck ran around the corner the 3 little piggies collided.
LeeLee learned that PP was wet.
Marley was in the cereal and knocked Lucky Puff over.
See how easy and clear this could be?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Feeding Change
Well, I think we may be evolving into a final feeding format (FFF). Most recent changes:
Marley is the most proactive about meal time. You've read before about him taking his alarm clock duties seriously and he is just as persistent with his interest in all things food. I should note that Marley is not offensive about food, but he is very interested, and thus wants to be in on the action until he is sure his food is being prepared. He will get up on the counter as his food is being prepared, and usually will get out of the way in the pass through and watch carefully until the food is being dished out. At that point he will carefully walk over to where the dishes are, take a quick sniff to make sure its his food, then jump down to the floor so as to be sure to guard his spot.
One quick side note - all the cats appear like magic in the kitchen if Mary Ann or I are in there moving around (and they have had some time to fight and sleep off their last feeding frenzy). Marley will watch or if he is really hungry get kind of annoying by following us from place to place trying to rub up against our hands and arms as we are trying to do something. This is also the time that Marley will be in non-stop purring mode, with brief pauses to give us a plaintive request for food. Lucky will find a high spot and watch to see what he might be able to get. (the other night I walked into the kitchen and he was sticking his head in a bowl of popcorn, grabbing some in his teeth, and eating it off the counter... then repeat.)
Powder Puff will pretty much remain on the floor, looking for any opportunity to rub up against the other cats (yes, Marley now lets her do that) and if they arent available, rubbing against solid objects. She is so timid that she doesn't often rub up against us.
Lucky usually stays at a distance of a few feet, but its also plain that sometimes he tries to take Marley's place of honor in the feeding pageant.
So Mary Ann discovered that they could eat together peacefully, and I refined the dish layout to ease tensions (Marley would have to stop and check the others out after each bite. This also makes the cleanup area smaller and a little quicker to those of us waiters who must serve the food with speed and finesse.
Unfortunately, there is still a little bit of a mad scramble to see who gets what bowl, but I can handle that ... so far. At this point the routine settles pretty quickly:
- Marley allows the others to eat near him (we hadn't tried before so this may not be a change)
- Lucky and Powder Puff eat in the kitchen with him
- I've had to try a couple of different feeding layouts
- They are all eating wet food, and the same kind (thank God!)
Marley is the most proactive about meal time. You've read before about him taking his alarm clock duties seriously and he is just as persistent with his interest in all things food. I should note that Marley is not offensive about food, but he is very interested, and thus wants to be in on the action until he is sure his food is being prepared. He will get up on the counter as his food is being prepared, and usually will get out of the way in the pass through and watch carefully until the food is being dished out. At that point he will carefully walk over to where the dishes are, take a quick sniff to make sure its his food, then jump down to the floor so as to be sure to guard his spot.
One quick side note - all the cats appear like magic in the kitchen if Mary Ann or I are in there moving around (and they have had some time to fight and sleep off their last feeding frenzy). Marley will watch or if he is really hungry get kind of annoying by following us from place to place trying to rub up against our hands and arms as we are trying to do something. This is also the time that Marley will be in non-stop purring mode, with brief pauses to give us a plaintive request for food. Lucky will find a high spot and watch to see what he might be able to get. (the other night I walked into the kitchen and he was sticking his head in a bowl of popcorn, grabbing some in his teeth, and eating it off the counter... then repeat.)
Powder Puff will pretty much remain on the floor, looking for any opportunity to rub up against the other cats (yes, Marley now lets her do that) and if they arent available, rubbing against solid objects. She is so timid that she doesn't often rub up against us.
Lucky usually stays at a distance of a few feet, but its also plain that sometimes he tries to take Marley's place of honor in the feeding pageant.
So Mary Ann discovered that they could eat together peacefully, and I refined the dish layout to ease tensions (Marley would have to stop and check the others out after each bite. This also makes the cleanup area smaller and a little quicker to those of us waiters who must serve the food with speed and finesse.
Unfortunately, there is still a little bit of a mad scramble to see who gets what bowl, but I can handle that ... so far. At this point the routine settles pretty quickly:
- Marley sets about like a man with a mission - head down, professional, and no wasted effort.
- Lucky attacks his wet food like a vacuum cleaner - I dont know if he has time to taste it. This is the same as he was with just dry food.
- Powder Puff is interested in her food, but follows a lady like routine. She doesnt gulp (although she does lick up all of the gravy first), she is quiet and more refined, doesnt like to eat the big pieces, and quits when she is full or is scared away (by things such as the trash can lid opening or almost anything else.
- Marley keeps going, looking as if he is trying to lick the surface of the bowl off. If Powder Puff leaves for any reason, he will abandon what he has left and go get hers, then come back to finish his own. When he finishes his own, he will then go to sniff at Powder Puffs if she is still eating. This will usually cause her to leave (he really doesnt force himself on her - she just is too skittish).
- Marley always finishes his wet food first, and then looks to see if he can get any more from the others dishes. As a last resort he goes to his dry food.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
