Mom had the carpet cleaned. Oh my what a disruption that was! She had to pick up all our toys and the beds. And the carpet was moist for a few days so she didn’t want to put the beds back. Put Nine was not happy about that so he laid down where the dog bed usually is. That confused Louise. She was not sure what to do. So Mom laid a sheet on the floor and she liked that. But then Mom put the big bed back and Nine took it until Sofie chased him away. Finally, the beds are back and life is back to normal. If you call a cat sleeping in the dog bed normal, well it is around here.
Nine is absolutely crazy to give Sofie cat kisses. Most of the time she is menacing them and chasing them down the hall. Nine loves the dogs but I always worry with Sofie that she is going to turn around and ….
Lulu, on the other hand, is a cat’s best friend. She lets them play with her ears and give her kisses all the time.
Mini Cooper wants to lay with Charles all the time, but he only tolerates it if she keeps her paws off him. He does not like to share food and will growl and lunge at the cats if there is food around.
This is one of my favorite shots of the animals mirroring. Here is little Mini Cooper with Louise laying together on the bed under the blanket (I did the blanket thing, they didn’t). Humans mirror too.
Mirroring is a social phenomenon where animals mimic another’s posture. In humans, we may not only mimic posture but gestures and words. It is an unconscious behavior but it is a sign of being attuned and in sync with the other being. “It shows that there is comfort, trust, and rapport among them.”
Animals can be so funny, don’t you think? Charlie was waiting for V, who is in the bathroom which is the door to the right. So, Sofie and Nine decided to join him and wait too. I could not resist taking the shot. You would think that these goofballs actually like each other. What is it about a closed-door that makes animals want to knock it down?
There are lots of boxes and bows and things to play with.
All our people, large and small, are zooming this year.
We love Christmas morning. It is a special day. And we will let nothing stop it from being that way. We will still watch our loved ones open their stockings and wow at their gifts, even though it’s through a camera (so, we might send a gif).
Christmas day at the DogDaz Zoo humbles us every year, as we celebrate how lucky we are to be a family, to be together, to be warm, to be fed, and most of all, to be loved.
May the light of the season guide you and bring you peace.
Your friends at the DogDaz Zoo
(Clockwise from the top right)
Sofie Bear, Louise, Charles (the Mugwump), Nine, Mini Cooper, Stella, and Noel (the Christmas Cat)
Mini Cooper is one of those cats that has a need for touch. Charles, the dog, on the other hand, likes to be near humans and other animals but does not like to be on your lap or cuddled too close. That is what makes this picture so interesting. Lately, Mini has started reaching out and laying a paw on him when she can. Is this a sign of her primal need to keep track of a predator? I wanted to know more about a cat’s sense of touch so I did a little research and thought I would share it with you.
Cats have whiskers on their upper lip, on their cheeks, and above their eyes, but did you know that they also have whiskers behind their front wrists? These are called carpal hairs. The whiskers on a cat touch like fingers do.
According to Michael Broad in a post in POC (Pictures Of Cats.org), “A cat’s sense of touch includes sensing pressure, warmth, cold and pain. Touch is the first sense that is utilized in the newborn cat as it is the earliest developed sense.”
The cat’s paw has a large number of receptors that respond to pressure and the highest density of those receptors are found ‘between the foot and the toe pads.” (The Cat, Its Behavior, Nutrition & Health published by Blackwell Publishing – IBSN 978-0-8138-0031-9 — page 46 and 47)
But does Mini really have a need for touch? Experts say that cats enjoy and need contact, just like humans do. Most of that they get in the form of petting or grooming. In Mini’s case, however, she seems to have more of a need than other cats. Maybe it comes from the fact that we held her all the time when she was a kitten (and too young to be away from her mother).
The one thing I do know is that Mini loves to have her paw on Charles, or Mom, or any warm body. I want to believe that gives her comfort.
DogDaz Zoo 