I lost a friend yesterday

Lucy, my friend and family member for 19 years, has gone on to her kitty reward.
Instead of rehashing it here, it is really just too sad for me right now, I will link to the post I did for work.
And I will say that she was really just a freaking awesome cat.
I love the others as well, but Lucy was really special.

Trash toys

Cats are such strange creatures.



George, well, he is a cat all right.

I have bought this cat real cat toys in the past. He has some little animals that he plays with on occasion. But his favorite thing is the ring from the milk jug. I call them trash toys. He also like plastic forks. But those hurt more when you step on them in the middle of the night.

So what is the deal with that? Lucy is the same way.

She loves to play with the milk ring. But instead of playing with the plastic bags, she licks them.

And of course as soon as I try to take a picture or get a snippet of video, off she runs.

Aspen... well, Aspen is not much for play of any kind. She is a weird, skittish creature.

And then there is the box thing. If there is a box around, they all have to try it on for size.


Some cats are better suited to some boxes.

Big George. Tiny box. No problem.


He totally smashed this one when he tried to get more comfortable and stretch out in it.

Sometimes I look at them and wonder "Why do we keep these odd creatures in our homes?"

Dog dishes

My neighbor took his dogs in for spaying and neutering last week.

Oh man.

Giant puppies in giant Elizabethan collars.

It was way too cute.

Poor things were so clumsy, bumping into each other and scraping the wall with the giant cones.

Yukon also was very funny trying to bite Sacha's cone.

But since they both had cones on, it was just comedy.

They looked like little satellite dishes.

Or giant coffee filters.

Puppies... Now with video goodness

I was going to post this with the pictures, but it was taking ages to process.

I finally got it to work.

Here are Sacha and Yukon.

With background vocals by George, who was not happy to be left in the house.

Sacha was starting to get upset by the camera, so I stopped.

But you get an idea of this lovely singing voice.

Oh, and he learned to howl a few days ago. Let's hope he limits that to times I am already awake.

Puppy update

It's amazing that it has only been a few months since my neighbor got his puppies, Sacha and Yukon.


These little fluffballs are now so big that when they stand at the wall for me to pet them, I no longer have to stretch to reach them.



Soon I think their paws will be up on top of the wall and they will be resting their chins on the edge waiting for me.

They are still very sweet and funny. Of course, they are. They are still puppies.

Sacha has become the more vocal of the two. So far the barking is minimal. Mostly he does that half whine, half bark thing.

Yukon is funny because sometimes she just sits there and looks at me just like she did that first day he brought her home. I have heard her back a few times; usually it is when she is wound up playing with Sacha.

I have made sure to let them see my face at all times of the day. I want them to know me so I can be in my own yard and not have them going crazy on the other side of the wall.
So far, so good. I have been over, with permission, to play with them a few times. They are clumsy and dopey and funny. So sweet.

Heavy petting

Get your minds out of the gutter now.

I was referring to George, my cat.

My big, fat, lovable, hateful, cuddly, bipolar, dog-like, couch-wrecking, sweet, funny, 23-pound cat.

We have an odd relationship, George and I.

I feed him, he abuses me.

I rough house with him, he cuddles up and purrs.

I really think he has multiple personalities.

About George:

He showed up at the front door one day about 7 years ago and made himself at home.

He's not fat, he's just big-boned. OK. He's fat. But he is also taller and longer than most cats.

He's afraid of loud music, especially classical music.

He's afraid of the tea-kettle whistle.

He's afraid of the throw rugs, but only in the kitchen.

He can open doors if they have handles instead of knobs.

He prefers dry food to wet food.

He also goes by the names Fatty, Jorge, Georgina, Georgelicious and Hey, You! Stop Biting Me!

He had surgery to remove a stone that developed in his bladder.

He has a strange fascination with my bedside lamps.

He loves to have his nose rubbed and makes a cute snorty noise when I do it.

He hates service people (cable guy, plumber, etc.)

He is a party cat, very social and flirty with the ladies.

He makes me laugh on a daily basis.

He infuriates and frustrates me on a daily basis. But I can't imagine not having him.