One of the things I’ve been playing around with this summer is taking pictures of the cats hidden behind plants. This is Scout earlier in the summer in one of her favorite places in the backyard: behind the tub of catnip.
Category: Pets
Cat in a Tube
Sam has also really taken to the cat tree, preferring the middle perch that is covered like a tube. Scout is the only one who doesn’t often sleep in the tree, but she doesn’t change her sleeping spots so casually. Even the sweltering temperatures of a heat wave don’t drive her from her favorite locations in the upper floors.
So Em, Do You Like the Cat Tree?
Em? Emma? I’ll take that as a yes.
Pout All You Want Ellie, You Can’t Get in the Cat Tree
A forlorn Ellie watches Sam and Emma play in the cat tree. She often relaxes this way with her front legs splayed wide. Don’t feel too sorry for her, she got some gifts from the pet store as well.
Dining Room Furniture
For the past seven years, we haven’t had one stitch of furniture in the dining room. But it is empty no more!
We stopped by one of our local pet stores and picked up a cat tree with three perches. Of course, being cats, when we set it up in front of one of the big picture windows, they wanted nothing to do with this new thing in their lives. I sprinkled some catnip on each perch and walked away. Scout was the first to venture in, followed shortly thereafter by Emma (seen here in the covered perch).
Sam was a harder sell but after finally trying it out, he has rarely left it since. And he isn’t just sleeping on it, during the afternoon he was swinging all around the thing like a gymnast on the uneven bars.
Collared
While Sam enjoys his supervised outdoor time, he doesn’t understand why Scout is the only one of the pets that doesn’t have to wear a collar when they go outside. I pointed out that Scout was the only one who’s never tried to leave the yard. He didn’t see what one thing had to do with the other.
Which is exactly why you have to wear your collar Samwise.
Little Sam & Big Ellie
Ellie knows the bed is hers but apparently is willing to share.
Sam and Emma had been snuggling on the dog bed until Emma got up to curl up in one of the warm beds. That left little Sam all alone circle sleeping in the middle of the bed when Ellie came into my office. She sleeps on the bed frequently but rather than force Sam off, she lay down beside him with only her head resting on the bed.
What a sweetheart!
Little Sam & Little Ellie
I have a dog bed in my office that sees heavy use from more than just our dear Ellie. When my wife made it she didn’t have quite enough stuffing so peaks and valleys form, an irresistible draw for crevice-loving Sam. Emma often sleeps on it as well and with her black fur resembles a little Ellie. She’s rather fascinated with the dog and often snuggles in beside or behind me while I toss the hedgehog with Ellie.
Emma’s also been snuggling with Sam lately, although to be honest I didn’t see who snuggled up to who, it could be that Emma was just tolerating our Grade A snuggler.
Trouble, 12 O’Clock High
“I see you up there little hawk and I’m sure you’re mighty hungry, but know this: you come for my hedgehog, you come for me. My name is Ellie!”
This picture is for my wife who loves Ellie’s soft, floppy ears. I forget what drew Ellie to attention, probably a bird outside or little Sam jumping onto the windowsill, but for a split second she raised her head (and ears) before resuming the serious business of squeaking her hedgehog.
I love this dog.
Some Toys Should Come with a Warning
A few months back my wife picked up this hedgehog from Plush Puppies for our dog Ellie. If you bite its head it squeaks (who wouldn’t?), it grunts when you bite its hindquarters, and it even rattles when you shake it all about.
My advice to Plush Puppies? Put a warning label on your toy!
Something like:
Warning: After she plays with hedgehog, your dog will abandon all other toys. When you throw dear old goose, her first and favorite toy, she will look at you like you just stepped off the moon. Rabbit had a brief moment in the sun but no more. Poor mallard and pheasant never had a chance. It’s all hedgehog, all the time.
I have to say I’m surprised by how much she loves it. Goose was such a natural fit, it squeaks easily — Ellie has turned carry-and-squeak into an art form — and is the sort of quarry for which retrievers were bred. The round shape of the hedgehog makes it harder for her to carry and squeak at the same time, she often has to stop and place it on the ground for a proper squeaking before continuing. And I doubt very much that a dog has ever retrieved a hedgehog in real life.
But whatever it is, the hedgehog has it.
Boolie 