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With our household of critters having expanded to include three cats and a dog, I thought it fitting to join a meme related to pets. After searching around, I came across Awww….. Mondays. The one rule is: “Post a picture that makes you say Awww…. and that’s it.” Every photo seemed to feature a pet and so the meme is a perfect fit!

Yum! Any morning in the Frederick household, you can find three cats and one solitary dog patiently sitting on the recliner beside me. They’re all waiting for milk, leftover from my cereal. Any afternoon in the Frederick household, you can also find them circling me in the kitchen. About this time, I hide a pill in cheese to give to our senior dog. The cats aren’t about to let me get away with giving the dog cheese without their getting some too.

Ew! Bootsie batted at the new food in her dish. To me, it didn’t look much different from any of the other numerous flavors we had offered her. It was a brown soft meat pate. Oh, some of them were darker or lighter brown. And some of them were more packed with vegetables than others. But to my eye, it was just another tin of cat food. To her, it apparently had an ingredient that she didn’t like. With a careful and determined swipe of her paw, Bootsie pushed aside one pea, then another, until all the peas were piled to the side. Our dear Bootsie hates peas!

While on gross topics, Bootsie has one other quirk that our other cats don’t. She vomits at least once a month. The vet gave her a clean bill of health. To date, we have only a couple of guesses. One is that she gets sick when stressed. Such as after storms or emergencies. Another is that she has a food allergy or sensitive stomach. I’ve started tracking what foods cause her upset.

Bootsie’s quirks aside, Andy and I fortunate when it comes to our cats and food. They all love to eat! And their needs are simple. For example, Cinder and Bootsie most like cat foods, treats, and dairy products. As for Rainy, well, there’s very few foods she won’t try to eat. Trust me! She’s stolen dog food and treats, still in their wrappings, to eat under our bed. She’s also nabbed chicken and other people foods away from our plates. Despite how Rainy keeps us on our toes, after having lost a cat with a picky appetite to Chronic Kidney Failure, we’re tickled at how food-driven the Cat Trio is.

Want to start your week off with a smile? Visit Comedy Plus or Burnt Food Dude and see what others are sharing today.

With our household of critters having expanded to include three cats and a dog, I thought it fitting to join a meme related to pets. After searching around, I came across Awww….. Mondays. The one rule is: “Post a picture that makes you say Awww…. and that’s it.” Every photo seemed to feature a pet and so the meme is a perfect fit!

Bedtime came and Cinder remained on the cat tower in the living room. Using a footstool, I reached up and pulled her close to me. “I love you,” I whispered.

Cinder squirmed in my arms and squeaked. I sighed. Her message came across clear, “Why do you got to hug me?”

Although she’d showed all the signs of being a lap cat when we visited her at the shelter, within weeks of bringing her home, Cinder easily fit the stereotype of an aloof cat. Not being deterred, I stubbornly set about trying to win her over. Observing that Cinder liked to sleep on pillows, I placed one just for her at the foot of our bed. Knowing that she liked treats, I sprinkled them every night on our bed. My planned worked. Cinder would bound up next to me, gobble up her treats, and then curl up for a nap.

Food was proving a strong motivator for Cinder. Every meal time she’d hang out with us, maybe from a distance, but at least still within the same room. And if chicken or fish were on our plates, look out! Then Cinder would pace the back of our recliner or even plop herself next to Andy or me. Of course, if we weren’t careful, she’d grab our food and run. Obviously, Cinder wasn’t hanging out with us just because she loved our company. Still the more often she had positive associations with us, the more chance she’d eventually come to enjoy our mere presence.

And then we adopted Bootsie, which stirred up jealous feelings in Cinder. You see, Bootsie was the exact opposite of Cinder, which meant my lap suddenly stopped being free. If I typed on my laptop, Bootsie would snuggle tight against me. If I wrote in my journal, Bootsie would curl up on my free leg. If I watched television, Bootsie would claim my lap and fall asleep on it. Over time, I started to notice a change in Cinder. It’s not a consistent one. But it’s a change.

When I’d sit to work or to relax, sure enough, Bootsie would crawl on me. Then a short time later, Cinder would meander her way to the arm of the recliner next to me, where she’d stretch out for a nap. Or if I retired to the bedroom to read, sure enough, Bootsie would seek me out. And a short time later, Cinder would casually climb our pet stairs to the bed. A little jealously at work?

Bedtime comes and Cinder remains on the cat tower in the living room. Andy and I call out to her. Minutes later, there’s the light tread of paws on our bed. And then Cinder sniffs my husband’s face, before curling up by his feet for her nightly snooze.

Want to start your week off with a smile? Visit Comedy Plus or Burnt Food Dude and see what others are sharing today.

With our household of critters having expanded to include three cats and a dog, I thought it fitting to join a meme related to pets. After searching around, I came across Awww….. Mondays. The one rule is: “Post a picture that makes you say Awww…. and that’s it.” Every photo seemed to feature a pet and so the meme is a perfect fit!

Barnaby barks and then flies off the recliner after Cinder. She ducks under the dining room table and then escapes into the kitchen. He pursues and she sneaks past him back into the living room. She retreats to the bedroom and then hides under the bed. He follows and she barrels past him into the hallway. She flees into the living room again and heads straight up the cat tower. Barnaby races after her but stops at the foot of the tower. Their play ends. From the top, Cinder casually licks her paws. Barnaby waits for a minute, but then returns to the recliner to curl up with Andy and me.

Since the start, Barnaby and Cinder have gotten along. Part of the credit belongs to Barnaby. He’s never acted aggressive towards any of our cats. Even when they’ve tried to steal his food, and all of them have taken their turns at this, Barnaby has remained calm. He’s also respected their individual personalities. If either of our cats show through a hiss or a swat that he isn’t welcomed in their space, Barnaby will normally stay a safe distance. Consequently, he’s earned the right for that space to become smaller and smaller over time.

Part of the credit belongs to Cinder. It’s not like Barnaby plays with all our cats. In fact, she’s really the only one with whom he shares this relationship. Oh, our youngest has tried. The problem is that Rainy has limitless energy. She’s too much for a twelve-year-old dog, or for that matter sometimes even her adult pet owners. Rainy also has a very limited sense of control. As much as her sisters love to romp with her, at times even they demand their time apart from her. Barnaby has succumbed to letting Rainy nap with him, but for playtime he seems to appreciate Cinder’s quiet manner.

Why does a camaraderie exist between Barnaby and Cinder? You might think it’s because the two are about the same size, both in height and weight. Like I said though, Cinder is the only cat with whom Barnaby plays with. He’s even picky about the dogs he accepts. Poor Gizmo (who admittedly was a heavier set dog) never won Barnaby’s heart. I wonder if Barnaby and Cinder get along because they both share reserved personalities. Whatever the reason, Andy and I appreciate the camaraderie the two share.

Want to start your week off with a smile? Visit Comedy Plus or Burnt Food Dude and see what others are sharing today.

With our household of critters having expanded to include three cats and a dog, I thought it fitting to join a meme related to pets. After searching around, I came across Awww….. Mondays. The one rule is: “Post a picture that makes you say Awww…. and that’s it.” Every photo seemed to feature a pet and so the meme is a perfect fit!

Now that you know how the Cat Trio and the Solo Dog became my family, let me back up and tell you some of their individual adventures. Cinder is probably the one who had to most adjust to the new family members. She came to our home in time to usher in the year 2014. For two years, she had my husband, our dog, and me all to herself.

In this time, Cinder naturally grew used to quiet and uninterrupted meals. Also, if you didn’t count Barnaby, she was the only one coaxing for food. Cinder also liked to sleep wherever she wanted. Normally, that did not involve sleeping our the bed with us. To convince her to come anywhere near the bed at night, I had to lure her with treats. Even then, half the night, she preferred the tower in the living room or a spot by a window anywhere else in the house. Why not? She knew that whenever she wanted, she could get our attention.

Despite her disliking to snuggle, she did enjoy playtime with Andy and me. Cinder and I would run around the house, under and over furniture. My main obstacle, for which I felt bad, happened when Cinder would run behind furniture. Normally, I couldn’t squeeze into those narrow spaces. Well, another obstacle occured on those days when she decided to dart to the top of her tower. I couldn’t reach that high, a problem that Andy solved by buying a stool for me. From those heights, Cinder enjoyed wrestling with Andy and me.

When the other cats arrived, everything changed. Even though we gave all three separate eating areas, Rainy didn’t respect those boundaries. Should she deign to grace us with her presence at bedtime, Cinder could no longer trust that our bed would be available for just her. Finally, there was the matter that now two other cats wanted to play with her owners, with Barnaby, with her….

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Cinder turned into a sourpuss. That naturally led us to correct and scold her more, which led her to even further retreat. In response, we tried to push her into accepting more attention, which didn’t go over well either. Then one day, Andy and I talked, and we make two decisions. First, we began acting cheerful all the time to see her. Second, we backed off demanding time with her. And, miraculously, these two decisions seemed to make a difference. After a long day of Cinder hiding out in the basement, Cinder bounded up the stairs to play with us and the other cats. Our girl had adjusted!

Want to start your week off with a smile? Visit Comedy Plus or Burnt Food Dude and see what others are sharing today.