Samwise

Our cat Samwise sleeping in his heated bed

We have a couple of these heated cat beds, this one sits beside my desk. It was one of Templeton’s favorite spots when he was still with us and has now been claimed by little Sam. Scout sleeps here sometimes as well, but Emma prefers sleeping in the open on the floor or on the desk itself.

Portrait of the Accused

Our cat Sam yawns on our back porch

In case you think little Sam is all sweetness and light, this is what attacked my feet the other morning at 5am. Fortunately he soon kicked his foot fascination and since then he’s toed the line and been well-heeled, so I haven’t had to give him the boot and shoo him out of bed. If it wasn’t so late I could probably have thrown in a bad sock or slipper pun as well, but at least I worked in a homophone, so I’ll sleep well tonight (provided I don’t get Sammied again).

5 a.m.

It didn’t make the local news, but early one morning I was brutally attacked without warning and without mercy. The coward struck under cover of darkness, attacking my feet while I slept. I knew my attacker even before I rolled over — Scout used to attack my feet while I slept when she was a kitten but it’s been years since she’s done that, and Emma is the only one of the new cats to perform such a heinous act.

I’m nearly blind without my contacts in but I can see general shapes and colors. It was still dark but there was enough light for me to know that my attacker was orange and not black. I used my feet to push Sammy off to the floor but he jumped back up, assuming it was part of the game. After getting pushed to the floor a few times he broke off his attack and cuddled up against me and we both drifted off to sleep.

You can get away with such things when you’re so cute and cuddly.

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Birders

Our black cat Emma yawns while our young orange tabby Sam looks on as they watch a bird on the roof from the window in my office

Emma and Sam sitting in the window in my office watching a scrub jay that flew up to the roof of the porch. Emma is showing her sharp, pointy teeth but she’s not thinking about eating a tasty bird, she’s just yawning.

You were just yawning, weren’t you Em?

Em?

Emma?

A-ha! Caught You!

Our cat Scout cleaning herself while resting on a window seat

Scout is a tidy sleeper, sleeping either on her stomach with her legs and tail tucked up underneath or on her side curled up in a ball. But recently I walked into the living room and found her all sprawled out on the window seat, sleeping with one leg actually jutting out and hanging down. I went to grab my camera but by the time I came back she had woken up and was grooming herself, denying me the evidence that she had ever slept in such an untidy fashion.

I’ve been hoping to catch her again but she’s been on her guard.

I Don’t Think He’s Right But …

A petroglyph of a cat along the Rinconada Canyon Trail at Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico

Sometimes I think I take just a few too many pictures of my cats, but this glyph in the Rinconada Canyon at Petroglyph National Monument makes me think a kindred spirit once roamed these hills. Templeton thought it might be an image made of him, but I thought no since he was far too young. He said in human years yes but in cat years no. I don’t think that’s how it works, but on the other hand …

Bed Time

Our black cat Emma sitting at the edge of our bed

Photographing Emma is harder than the other cats because it’s difficult to balance her dark fur with the surroundings. I found her sitting on the edge of our bed on New Year’s Day and bounced the flash off the ceiling.