Tag Archives: Cats

The Next Installment of Feline Ghandi

Dogs & Other Animals, , ,

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Lacey is continuing with her goal of spreading love and acceptance throughout the canine world.  Former foster dog, Sky, is staying with us for a week. He is quite the canine presence. Does this bother Lacey? Not one bit! She just continues on with her quest.
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She reaches out to make a connection with him. Sky doesn’t know what to think but Lacey is not daunted.
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She even tries to rub her head on him in hopes of winning him over. He does tolerate her but seems confused by the whole thing. But Lacey is persistent. She comes and sits by him every evening. I imagine in time she will win him over. Yet another lesson to be learned from this little feline messenger with the heart of gold. Don’t give up.

Team Work Aborted

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

So it turned out that it was not a mouse that Harley and Morty were hunting. In fact it was a half grown squirrel. I  don’t know how he managed to fit in that tiny space. The cover had to be removed from the heating baseboard before Mr. (Ms.?) Squirrel would come out. No small wonder with two fierce hunters waiting.

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Well, when Harley found out it was a squirrel that was already half grown, he immediately lost interest. The wise old man seemed to know that this was more than he should mess with and walked away leaving it for the humans to deal with. Wisdom being the better part of valor and all that. See Harley below.

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Morty, being younger and less experienced, thought that he would handle the situation himself. The dastardly human intervened so as to keep our hero safe. Even now Morty keeps returning to the bathroom. I don’t know if he is looking for action or reliving his big adventure.

Morty at the end of a long day's work.

Morty at the end of a long day’s work.

Team Work

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, ,

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This is the sight I came downstairs to this morning. They are hunting. Something is obviously behind the baseboard heater cover. Most likely it is a mouse. I have been seeing evidence. Mortimer and Harley didn’t even leave their post when three of the dogs came in to see what was going on. On my way out I shut the door so all the drama and carnage would be contained.

Mortimer, aka Morty, is on the left. He is about 4 years old. On the right, in the shadows, is Harley. He is about 13 or 14 years old. These two cats are not related, both are male, and they vary greatly in age but Harley taught Morty to hunt. They both live in the house but as our house was built in 1830 there is often prey to be had. Harley has always been an excellent mouser although he is not limited to mice. He will also catch moles and baby squirrels. He taught Morty how to hunt when Morty was still young. Around a year old. They often work in tandem. Now after they make a catch Harley will usually let Morty have the prey after he has chewed on it a few times. I ponder over their relationship because none of our other cats would willingly hunt together. Hunting amongst the other cats usually involved much growling and hissing as they tried to defend their prize and would run away with it to keep it safe.

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We explain this by saying that Harley is Morty’s honorary uncle. In reality I have no idea why they work so well together. I can’t help but feel that if I could figure it out, I would have some insight as to how we could all get along better in the world.

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Saturday Mornings

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, , ,

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Saturday Mornings are a treat that doesn’t come often enough to suit me.  I don’t usually get to see animals in their sun worshipping poses. On weekdays I am gone before the sun is up enough to cast much of  a shadow. By the time I come home from work the sun is usually too far behind the trees to make a  sunbeam suitable for lazing in the house . I think we can learn something from the animals about meditation and relaxation.

Feline Ghandi

Dogs & Other Animals, ,

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Having numerous animals often involves playing nurse. Poor Lacey has been suffering with an abscess on her face for weeks.  After rounds of three different types of antibiotics and draining the abscess twice a day there was still little improvement. Finally the vet decided that a bacterial culture was necessary so we could identify the strain and get the correct antibiotic. Once we had the right medicine it started clearing up within two days. We are all very happy about this, especially Lacey. This picture was taken once she started to heal up. I didn’t want to take a photo before because it’s not something I want to remember!

Lacey must be the world’s nicest cat.  Through all of the pill and liquids I gave her, and all of the treating of the wound, and the ointments, she was always pleasant. She was an easy patient to work on.  And she would still come to sit with me and hang out even after all the “abuse” I had to put her through.

Lacey is 13 or 14 and has always been an extremely nice cat. If I had to give all of these treatments to some of our other cats, I would be covered in bites and scratches. Lacey is also the cat that loves dogs. She never runs from any of the dogs, even those who are new in residence. She just sits and looks at them and assumes they will be nice to her. She befriends our foster dogs, especially the older ones. She sits with them and gives and receives comfort in their company. Below, she is with Maizie our foster dog from last summer who was suffering from renal failure.

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Lacey is a peace loving soul. We could all stand to be a little more like her. The world needs more Laceys!

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