Dogs And Cats

Sammy is playful and happy in his new home, though he still doesn't let me pick him up:

Each time I walk up the stairs, I have a welcoming committee at the top:

Bugsy, Daisy and Sammy, just outside my bedroom door:

Seamus in the bedroom:

All the dogs ready to sleep - except that Seamus hasn't yet moved to his big, green floor pillow:

Big Time Wrestling, starring Caspar and Sammy:

And Bugsy, quietly contemplating the nonsense which goes on here sometimes:

Daphne, Clover and Fergus in the kitchen corner:

Caspar, sound asleep:

Clover, sound asleep:

Daphne and Fergus:

Seamus and Fergus, looking mighty spiffy after their spring haircuts:

Cats In The House!

After many years of living with aged cats, I now find myself with four comparatively youthful felines and am finding it both fun and frustrating. But when they are sleeping outside my bedroom door, all seems right with the world. In this case it was just three of them - Daisy, Sammy and Bugsy:

Sammy is very shy and easily alarmed if I try to hold or restrain him. But when he relaxes, he does so with style:

Bugsy has owl-like eyes and is very cute:

Daisy has lovely calico colors and is friendly and sweet:

Little Caspar is best friends with Sammy, and they alternate cuddling and running wildly through the house like feline tornadoes:

Daisy now sleeps most of the day:

Little Caspar is still learning to be a cat. Always loving and gentle, he decided that I was a fun toy and began hooking my hand with his claws. I am now more careful, lest I encourage that behavior:

Bugsy is shy and retiring, but unlike Sammy, he likes to be held and cuddled:

And Daisy often follows me all around the house, sometimes getting in the way of my feet and making it difficult to walk:

She likes to sit on the windowsill, but this year I didn't feed the birds. There's not much activity out there for her to watch this winter:

Sammy is an expert at looking stylish even as he lounges on the cat tree:

Caspar's favorite pet bed is atop a green bureau and beneath a barn board painting. When he's awake, I imagine he's contemplating what mischief he can cause next:

Dogs And Cats At Home

Sammy and Caspar are still best of friends:

In fact, all four of my cats get along with each and with the dogs:

Caspar likes to sleep with Jack and Clover on the big green floor pillow:

And he's not embarrassed to stretch right out on that floor pillow while Clover is sound asleep:

Fergus really needs a haircut, but for the time being, I clipped his face:

Caspar is a rapidly growing kitten and often can be found by the cat food dispenser:

Daisy mostly sleeps all day and all night, a cat after my own heart:

Caspar and Clover again. They make a cute couple:

Jack and Sammy, my two sometimes problem pets due to their tough backgrounds. Jack has now become as good as any of the other dogs, and Sammy is sweet but panics if he thinks I might be going to pick him up or restrain him in any way. I don't know how I'll ever get him to the vet this spring:

Clover, Bugsy and Jack on the green floor pillow:

Fergus, Seamus and Daphne in the computer room:

Again in the computer room (they like to stay close to me): Seamus, Fergus, Daphne, Jack and Bugsy:

Dogs And Cats And Guinea Pigs

All four cats love the big cat tree at the top of the stairs. It is just outside my bedroom door and they usually wait there for me to emerge. I try to always pet them as I go by:

Little Caspar is plenty playful and loves his belly rubbed:

Seamus, Fergus and Bugsy often hang out together on the yoga mat closest to my computer chair:

And sometimes Daphne joins them:

Both Fergus and Seamus had grown so much hair that their faces were barely discernible. After Fergus bumped into my leg a couple times, I gave his face a haircut:

Seamus got one too, exposing his intelligent, loving face:

I was on my way to bed, accompanied by the dogs, when I snapped his photo. Seamus and Bugsy were still on the stairs at the time:

Each morning I have to sweep the floors and tumble the fleecy dog beds in the dryer. Caspar has learned that he can get a heated, vibrating massage by lying on the dryer while it's running:

Eek! There are ghosts in my kitchen! This blue dog bed was moving mysteriously across the floor:

But of course it was only Caspar, acting silly:

Bugsy, Sammy and Caspar at the community cat food dispenser (up where the dogs can't reach it):

Ruby and Meghan, along with the house plants and fish, are the reason the cats can't come into my bedroom. Both guinea pigs are healthy and happy. Meghan has lost weight and her excess thirst, so I think her diabetes was nipped in the bud:

Happy Dogs And Cats

Caspar and Sammy are best friends and one of my favorite things to photograph. Sammy, in his own shy way, has become one of the sweetest cats I've known:

The dogs pile up near my computer chair. The only reason Jack isn't in this photo is because he runs to be at my feet when I stand up:

And the kitchen corner is still a favorite resting place, though Bugsy no longer hangs out there as much as he used to. Caspar, however, now loves to snooze with the dogs:

Jack and Clover make a colorful couple on the big green floor pillow:

And Caspar has grown so much that he will soon be filling up the pet bed on the big green bureau:

Daisy sleeps most of the time and prefers the top shelf of the main cat tree (there are four cats and four cat trees):

In fact, all the cats like this cat tree. Caspar was missing from this picture, but he often sleeps there also:

A canine collection on the yoga mat by my computer chair: Daphne, Seamus, Fergus and Clover:

Daisy looked like she was judging me:

The fleecy dog beds sometimes move across the floor as if they were haunted:

The reason, of course, is that Caspar is burrowed underneath them and trying to get someone to play with him:

Bugsy remains shy and also, because of his color, difficult to photograph. He sure did look cute on the cat tree, though: