I know it happens but I am not exactly sure why, but when cats get old, like really old, like 18 to 20, they waste away it seems. Muffin must be down to 5 lbs (2.2 kg) now, if that. I don’t like it. He was the king. The big Kahuna around here. He was the Alpha and kept everyone, even the humans and the dogs in line. 
The Muffin Man has become a little wisp of himself, and his front paws seem to have splayed out in a funny way that I never noticed before today. He is always hungry (especially at 4 AM) but never seems to eat much. He attacks everyone’s dinner and only wants people or dog food. “What ever you want, Muffy, we will get it for you.” Some nights he does not even come to my bed anymore. I think he starts to, but get tired on way so stops and just sleeps where he is. 
It is hard when your furry friends get so advanced in years. Everyday I check his breathing and kiss him and thank him for the one more day he has given me with him. Muffy’s time is coming – maybe tomorrow – next week – next month – one can not prepare – one can not ready themselves for the hole – the loss – the empty space on the couch. All I can do is try and cuddle his boney self and enjoy the moments of now. The togetherness of the present.
I am not sure if this blog is about Muffy or about my daughter, Peanut, leaving to college at the end of the week: difference is, she has her life ahead, he has his life behind. I am already missing them both in a weird way and they are not even gone yet.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Tags: Animal, animal awareness, Cat, Cat People, cats, dog, DogDaz, nature, Pet, Pet Loss, pets, postaday
Last year, I guess it was last year but maybe it was longer ago, both Noel and Muffin slept in my office under the window in their beds. As Muffin has gotten much frailer (he is 19 or 20 now I think), he does not come on my desk much anymore (accept late in the day sometimes when he wants to chew on my phone cord to tell me that he is hungry). Muffy mostly sleeps on the glass coffee table in the living room these days (I assume because it is central and cool and low to the ground). Noel mostly sleeps alone in my office. She gets to decide which bed she wants. Today she is in Muffy’s red (manly) bed, but mostly she is in the her pink (girly) bed. I have noticed that since my return from Australia she often sleeps in the next room (my den) on the couch during the day (I think it is much cooler in the den than my office, with all my equipment and lights. Also my office is the hottest corner of the house (of course it would be)). I like that she has branched out (at least one room over). Noel doesn’t get involved in the stupidness that goes on in the house with the other animals. Mostly, she is ABOVE it. Even the humans steer clear of her since she is not very approachable! The only one she lets pick her up is me. I pick her up like I did when she was a baby (upside down) and rock her in my arms and pet her face and her paws. She and I are pretty close I guess. She is my office cat. Everyone should have an office cat.
Noel and Muffy in the office window
April 2010
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Late Breaking News as I finish the post: OMG! Kitty is on my desk because no other cats are here (this never happened before).
Tags: Animal, animals, Cat, cats, DogDaz, office cat, Pet, pets, postaday
If you remember Miss Constance Kitty had lost her mind and was peeing everywhere. Then she went to a week at the Kitty Spa while we were on vacation in July and she seemed to stop for many weeks after that. But then V and K8 went away last week to the beach, she started up again (pissed that V, the mega snack giver, was not here probably). She peed on both couches and ruined a bunch of stuff. (Just as an aside, I discovered this product they make for kid’s that wet their beds called ‘GoodNight’ bed sheets. They are plastic/paper and adhere at all 4 corners to the bed. I put those on the couch under a blanket to save the cushions.) I also started to lock her in a bathroom with a litter box and her dinner. This helps a little. I think it is the alone time that helps here more than the availability of the box, but V thinks that the dogs and also Nine the kitten, keep her from getting to any of the 4 litter boxes I have throughout the house (maybe, who knows), and she really needs to go, so she does (as you can tell, I am not buying this theory much). I never know when she is going to slip up and what she is going to pee on, but it seems that any changes or commotion seems to set her off. After the major pee fest the first 2 days V was gone, I started locking her in the bathroom, especially if I went out of the house for any period of time. This seemed to help. She did not mis-pee anywhere inappropriate after that, that week. But, as soon as V got home, it started again (commotion?, I missed you? or just plain ‘CRAZY!’) We did get medicine that we are suppose to rub in her ears to calm her down, but I am not sure that that makes much of a difference. I think she takes after that famous actress that said ‘I want to be alone!’ To be continued…..
PS. As I am finishing this post, I hear Sofie wildly barking in the kitchen and cat screaming going on and when I go see what is happening Nine has Miss Kitty pinned on the kitchen counter in a corner, Sofie is on the floor, egging him on, and poor Kitty does not know what to do. Kitty is now in her bathroom having alone time and a nice snack. Ahhhh, life in a zoo.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, animals, Cat, cats, Cats and Dogs, DogDaz, Pet, pets, postaday
Let me start by saying, he is fine. But I am very upset by the whole thing. OK, I will start from the beginning. Today was just one of those days that went from bad to worse. I am not going to get into all the human stuff that created a really bad day, but there is one piece that I will tell you. Friday, the Pest Control guy was suppose to come to do his yearly termite inspection but he never showed up. Today he was suppose to come at 3 pm and he showed up at 9 am. I hate when people do that, and if I did not have to have this inspection as part of my contract, I would have told him to go away until another day. Anyway, the same guy has been coming for years. He is a strange older dude and rambles on and on, and does not watch what he is doing (or where he tries to put his hands – but that is for a different blog). To do this inspection he mainly checks the garage and the outside of the house. When we went from the house to the garage, I told him to shut the door behind him, but I saw that he did not, so I came back and closed it. Around 9:30 am he finished his inspection after much to much chatter, yada yada yada, and then he went. I went back to work and at 11:00 am I got the dogs ready for their walk with Mojo. When I opened the front door, who is on the front steps but Nine! I never knew he was out and I never saw him exit. It was really hot out and he was panting terribly. On top of that, Mojo hates cats, so I was really worried that they were going to be rounding the corner any minute and all 90 lbs of Lab would see 9 lb Nine and go after him. I approached Nine cautiously but he ran (which I did not expect). Nine jumped the fence (it was a really nice jump actually) and scrambled into my back yard. I called Peanut and together we were finally able to wrangle him and get him in the house (before Mojo arrived or any other disasters befell him (like meeting a fox)). All the other animals in the zoo were very concerned about him and gathered around; they even let him eat a snack without trying to steal it from him (which is unheard of with this group). Panting cats are a very bad sign and he had me very scared for a few minutes. Ice cubes and paw washing cooled him down pretty quick and then he slept for the afternoon. You would think that taught him a lesson but noooooooo!!!! Not Nine the Adventurer. Whenever I am at the door now, guess who is trying to have another adventure.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, animal awareness, animals, Cat, Cat People, cats, DogDaz, Pet, pets, postaday
Noel In Charge
The trouble with leaving Noel in charge of the zoo while I was gone, is that she actually took it very seriously. Here you see her taking over the dog bed in my office and forcing poor Louise to sleep on the floor. That is the trouble with animals of different species. They seem to boss each other around in funny ways. What I found really cute is that Louise actually listened to her and vacated the bed. Maybe it is an age before beauty thing; Lulu being the younger animal of course. I think that in my absence Noel was forced to deal with situations that she did not prefer; like having to be with people other than Mommy and actually being with the rest of the herd/pride. I noticed that she has been out more the last couple of days since I have been home. She was investigating ‘Syd,’ the platypus that I brought home from the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, for Peanut. Funny what happens to certain animals when you give then a sense of responsibility.
Maybe Noel will start being more social with the other animals now that she has been in the leadership role. I doubt it though. I do find it interesting that the dogs allowed Noel to be in their bed when they do not allow any other cats to even come close. They are really possessive about their spots usually. I have seen Sofie get extremely upset at Nine for trying to enter her kennel (she probably was protecting her lovey, Beaver, who was sleeping inside). The dynamics of my pack/pride are very interesting. When you change one thing, take out a member or add a member, even for a short time, the relationships seem to shift. Sometimes they come back to where they started, and sometimes, they don’t. I really hope the dogs don’t start standing on my desk and sleeping in Noel’s bed under the window. I don’t think I could deal with that.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, animal awareness, animals, australia, Cat, Cat People, cats, dog, Dog People, DogDaz, Dogs, nature, Pet, pets, postaday, Sydney, Taronga Zoo
My name is Nine and I am a big boy now (Mommy thinks I am about 17 months). I am a really silly boy. I like to make everyone laugh with my kitten antics. Lately I have been endearing myself to everyone with my “look at me I am really cute” poses. When I am not jumping on one of the older cats or beating up my little sister, Stella, I am try to hang with my best friend, Sofie Bear the dog, or swim in one of the fish tanks. Lately, the big tank in the living room has become my daily playground, chasing big fish around the glass and running from across the room and crashing into the glass to try and catch them. I also like to take things that people leave anywhere, like keys or wallets; they are so fun to play with, especially if they are shiny. At night Stella and I still have to stay in our special room because we seem to bother the humans. I am not sure why the humans sleep at night when we are awake and then are awake during the day while we sleep, but they don’t seem to like the way I play around their heads all night long. Oh well, I am so cute, they just need to get over it!
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Cat, cats, DogDaz, kitten, Pet, pets, postaday
This is Noel and Mom left me in charge of the zoo while she is gone. I know that everyone, especially the stupid dogs, have been asking why she would leave me, the beautiful quiet alpha cat, in charge, but I say ‘Boo’ to my doubters. Obviously, Mom recognizes my great capacity for leadership. I do not interact a lot with the other animals but if I have to tell Miss Kitty, or one of the pesky kittens to stay in line, I have no trouble doing that. As Muffy, poor old cat, got older and started to really slow down, I have stepped up and taken over the pride. I am really a one person cat and only like Mommy petting me or picking me up. I was so seriously ill when I was a young cat and Mommy rescued me and nursed me back to health everyday for months, so she and I are really close and she is the only human that I like to cuddle with – actually the only being at all that I get physically close to. I live in her office except when everyone is in the living room watching TV (which is when I sit on her chair or out of arms reach on the couch), or when it is food time. When Mom is not home I sometimes hang out in the big sunny window in the kitchen, because I really like to feel the sun on my fur. Somedays I blog for her, but I really don’t have a lot to say and other animals and humans don’t interest me very much. So don’t cross me or I will have to make sure you understand my leadership position in the zoo. I am boss, but when Moms home I let her think she is.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, Cat, cats, DogDaz, Pet, pets, postaday
DogDaz Zoo 