Tag: cat

Happy New Year!

Our cat Sam sits on our bed

As 2018 rings in, a picture from New Year’s Day a decade ago, about a week after we adopted Sam and Emma. Sam was allowed limited exposure to the house at large, which meant he also got to meet our oldest Scout face-to-face instead of under the door. She quickly became his hero. Today the roles have changed, he is our oldest and it is little Trixie who worships him. They are both curled up on my lap, but with fireworks in the distance he is too restless to sleep.

The Plot to Capture Santa

Our cat Trixie sits under the Christmas tree while holding onto a shoestring

Someone isn’t happy she didn’t get the pony she asked for. Fortunately Trixie doesn’t know Santa only comes once a year so she is lying in wait in vain. While her skills with the lasso are not to be underestimated, you have nothing to worry about Santa, I’m quite sure she’ll have calmed down by next year. I’m pretty sure. It’s certainly possible. I’m sure you don’t get to be Santa without knowing how to get out of being tied up. Right?

Just in Time Assembly

Our tortoiseshell cat Trixie sitting under the Christmas tree

We never do too much decorating for Christmas but this year the only decoration is the Christmas tree, with lights but no ornaments, and even that only went up a couple days before Christmas. Normally I assemble the tree, shoo the cats out of it, and put on the ornaments, reflecting on the memories they represent, but between dealing with Sam’s illness and the job search I ran out of both time and energy. Trixie has appreciated the tree the most, although she does not spend nearly the time under it that Emma did (who could?). She hasn’t tried to eat or climb the tree, a sign of her maturity I suppose at three years old, but that branch dipping down to the ground on the right was permanently bent by Emma during her many solo ascents of the tree. I used to hide deformities like those towards the back where they couldn’t be seen but now I embrace them as a reminder of sweet Em and her tree.

Rise of the Samwise

A close-up of our cat Sam curled up on top of the cat tree

The internal medicine specialist called yesterday and said all of Sam’s test results looked fantastic, and since he is doing so well on the new fiber-laden food, the plan is to keep him on it and see if that continues. The little fellow’s energy levels never dipped too badly but he is on full song now, tearing into his favorite catnip toy with abandon. This picture of Sam atop the cat tree with catnip sprinkled around him is from October, shortly before his health issues started.