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.
Tag: hardwood
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.
Fly High
If you’re a bird that happens to find yourself in our house, I suspect you’ll have to evade Emma, but here’s a little advice: fly high. Unlike our other cats, Emma isn’t so enamored with high places and she isn’t much of a jumper. She’s been getting a lot more comfortable in her jumping since we brought her home, though, so I’m not sure how long the advice will hold.
Going, Going, Gone!
It’s a home run!
Emma’s a real sweetheart, she really is, but not if you’re a feathered cat toy.
Swing and a Miss!
The feathered toy evades Emma’s deadly grasp.
Emma & Me
This wasn’t the portrait of the two of us I originally wanted. In the morning Emma was in bed with me and when I rolled over to curl up beside her, she wrapped her paws around my arm. I thought it would make a cute picture so I tried to ease away and get the camera but she followed me downstairs. Later in the afternoon we played with by far her favorite cat toy, the feathered one, I didn’t mean to get my hand in the picture but I like how it turned out.
The Legends Tell of a Creature that Strikes from the Shadows
Little Sam loved to play under our dressers as a kitten. Of the three cats, he was the only one small enough to fit under there. At first he could run under there pretty easily, then as he got a little bigger he’d have to wiggle to get in. Now he’s too big to fit under there at all.
Emma Shows Me Up
When Emma first came to live with us, she was immediately taken with our furry mice and convinced she could train them. I was equally convinced she couldn’t. So you can imagine my chagrin one day when I’m playing with Sam and look over and see that Emma had trained one of the mice to stand on its tip-toes.
She’s never let me forget it.
Has Anyone Seen Sam?
I can’t find him anywhere.
Boolie 