Pets At Home

The house pets have been happy at home - and totally relaxed, as Caspar and Bugsy demonstrate here:

 Seamus is aging and his back legs are giving him more trouble. He finds it difficult to stand or maneuver stairs. And of course the reason for the yoga mats is to help him walk without slipping:

 Jack is still not totally housebroken, and I suppose he will always need to wear his belly band when I leave the house. But he is happy and totally sweet:

 Each morning the dogs and cats help themselves to dog food and water. In this case it was Clover, Bugsy, Sammy and Daphne. They never argue:

One morning I scrambled more eggs for them, putting it atop the dry dog food. Most of it was not eaten, but removed from the bowls and left on the floor for me to clean up. Later in the day, Jack got sick. I've learned my lesson now and will no longer feed eggs to the dogs or cats:

 But life is good, as when the dogs sunned themselves on their ramp while the aroma of apple blossoms drifted across the yard from the apple grove:

 And they love to keep me company when I'm at the computer. In this case it was Daphne, Seamus, Fergus and Jack:

 Little Caspar isn't so little anymore but he sure is sweet:

Fergus, Daphne and Clover:

 Sammy:

 Seamus and Bugsy:

 Each night before bed, I let the cats chase the laser pointer, running them in big circles around the stairwell. They get so wild that they're knocking paint off the walls. They sure look forward to it, though:

Pets At Home

The indoor pets live a life of warmth and comfort. Sammy and Caspar love to snuggle together and play together:

And lots of the pets like to hang out on the yoga mat behind the chair to my computer desk. In this case, it was Jack, Seamus and Caspar:

Daisy likes to hang out there too, and she often rolls over to ask me to rub her belly. Of course I recognize that as a cat trick older than the hills and I know better than to do it:

Now this was a typical collection on the yoga mat: Clover, Seamus, Fergus, Daphne, Bugsy and Daisy:

When it's bedtime, the dogs rush up to the top of the stairs and wait for me:

Some or all of the cats sleep in the cat tree closest to my bedroom door. In this case, it was only Sammy and Bugsy. Some day I'll have my camera handy when all four cats are sleeping there, but it hasn't happened yet:

Meghan and Ruby also live a life of ease, with fresh shavings, pellets, lettuce and water each morning. They also get petted each morning and sometimes picked up:

My old fighting fish is still alive but not very photogenic. This is the new fish. He's still young and colorful:

All the dogs and cats eat together during breakfast, though Seamus has to eat alone because of his diet. The cats have their own food and water where the dogs can't reach them, but of course taking food from the dogs is its own reward. Luckily, I have no food aggressive animals:

Sammy discovered a bit of twine tied to the top of the rocking chair. He thought it made a wonderful toy:

Another photo of Caspar and Sammy. I think it's so cute that I keep taking pictures of them together:

And lastly, a kitchen corner collection: Clover, Fergus, Caspar and Bugsy:

Focus On Fabulous Felines

Sammy, who I've had for about four months, has suddenly begun pushing water bowls away from walls, sloshing the water all over the floor. He seems obsessed with this behavior. The only other time I've ever seen such behavior was with Bramble, the cat who died this year. I keep getting the feeling that Bramble is paying me a friendly visit:

Daisy, who I've had for several years, suddenly decided she wants to sleep on the kitchen table - just like Georgette used to do. Furthermore, she purrs, rolls and cuddles when I lift her off the table to set her back on the floor - just like Georgette used to do. Again, I get the eerie but heartwarming feeling that Georgette is paying me a friendly visit. I've even accidentally called Daisy "Georgette" a couple of times:

As for Caspar, his life is filled with sleeping, eating and playing. He's not channeling anybody but himself:

Daisy is a friendly girl with beautiful colors:

Sammy took months to overcome his fear, but now seems happy and content here:

Caspar and Sammy are buddies and playmates, racing around the house chasing balls, leaping for curtains and knocking things off of tables:

They also sleep together a lot:

"Nothing to see here. Just keep moving:"

Caspar, like Daisy, is a glutton for affection:

Daisy wants to keep so close to me that I am in frequent danger of tripping over her:

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned Bugsy yet. He's been shy and retiring, possibly because of an upper respiratory infection which Caspar brought home from the shelter. He's beginning to come out of shell now, but I don't think he'll ever be an outgoing personality:

I bought two new cat foods, neither of which the cats liked very much. So each morning when I feed the dogs, the cats help themselves to dog food. It's a darn good thing all my pets get along so well. There's never been so much as a growl, much less a fight: