Tag Archives: cats
2.21.12 Visiting Jazmine & Aunt B
Last weekend we went to visit my sister and her cat, Jazmine. So, I figured I would tell you their story.
Jazmine Adoption Photo
In the years post her kids, my sister, Aunt B, has lived by herself. For 17 years she had a little 10 lb. scrappy Cockapoo named ‘Rags.’ She will tell you that she is a dog person. After Rags died (about 5 or 6 years ago), I started trying to talk her into a new pet because I did not like the idea that she was coming home to an empty house. Getting her to consider a cat vs a dog however was the trick. I knew the right cat would make all the difference, but she was not a cat person. Though over the years she liked different cats in my menagerie (especially our Russian Blue, Zackary), she had never considered a cat of her own. And it kind of didn’t help when her son’s cat, Boots, lived with her for a year as a kitten (when he and his wife were getting started) and she figured all cats we independent and frisky, like he was, and that wasn’t terribly appealing to her.
Car ride to new home
Well, it just so happened that in the fall of 2009 someone at V’s office discovered that she was allergic to this little cat that she had rescued for her kids and they needed to give it up. I called my sister and told her that I was bringing her a new friend and that if she found it was not right for her I would come back and take the kitty away. So, we made the kitty transfer in a parking lot in Maryland, and my daughter and I took this terrified tortoise shell tailless kitty on a really long drive (it took 8 hours to get there that day). Welcome, Jazmine. She was a tiny maybe 9 month old kitten. A shy and quiet cat, she was crying so much in the carrier (which she probably never was in before) that we decided to let her out for a while during the drive (of course you know she went to the bathroom immediately under the driver seat and the car smelled for months).
Jazzy 2009
My sister has a pretty quiet life, and she likes it that way. She comes home from work and sits on the couch, has her glass of wine maybe, and reads or watches a little TV. Who know that Jazmine would be the perfect cat for her. Jazzy does not knock things over, she does not get into trouble, and she is very quiet and undemanding. She will sit by you for a little while but does not demand petting, or feeding, or basically anything. My sister is in love. Jazmine has lived with Aunt B for 3 years and they are best friends. Jazzy has changed somewhat though. No longer the demure little kitten, she has become quite the single ladies house cat.
Jazzy 2012
So we visited our cat cousin, Jazzy this weekend and can tell you that she lives the life that every house cat wishes they had. Endless love with a nice lady who plays with her and gives her lots of toy mice and snacks and love,
Queen Jazmine
Just another DogDaz morning on the road visiting Aunt B <3.
2.20.12 Fear and Loathing
Sometimes things in life can be very scary. Whether you are a dog or a cat or a human, sometimes you just come upon a place you don’t want to venture into, or hear a sound that makes you jump, or you just feel that something weird is in the air and it makes your hair stand up. I try to respect the ‘scaries.’ Now I know that my animals have a different sense of the scaries than I do. I am afraid of ballons, they do not seem to mind them. They are afraid of the vaccuum, me, no so much. I do find it interesting what makes the ruff on the backs of their necks stand up. I am not sure if that is a response to fear or for protection (or maybe both). I know sometimes the cats will run into a room, jump in the air, and high tail it out of there like something was on fire. Not always sure what spooks these guys, Sofie seems to spook really easy lately. The slightest noise gets her barking her head off. But, I really hate when the animals get the ‘hebbie-gebbies.’ When they get anxious, for what seems like no reason, barking at something I can no see, or Lulu moves away and cowers, then I start to get concern, and wonder what my human sense is missing that their animal sense is zeroing in on. This is making me think about the things that they are afraid of and the why. Louise, is fearful of new people and new animals. Tail will go down, hackles will go up. She will bark and show fearful behaviors so I do my best to be between her and her fear factor until she can get calm. I think it takes a long time to manage fears internally, so I do my best to stay with her through it and make sure she knows she is safe with me. I never force her into situations if she does not want to try it (except the Vet). Sometimes, she is just afraid of something she sees in the shadows (that I just don’t see) and she will jump in the air or bolt (pulling the lease out of my hand kind of bolting) and I do not know why. Sofie loathes white trash bags and will squirm out of the kitchen when I am putting a new one in the garbage can. In general, I have not found Sofie to be afraid of much else except the vacuum monster (or me leaving, but is that fear?). Me, one of my largest fears is the yard gate being open without me knowing and something happening to these 2 silly mutts in the street. The cats are afraid of getting eaten by the dogs (which is unfounded in the house but still a good natural response). Fear is a very health response and keeps us safe if managed. I try really hard to personally embrace my fears and listen to the animals about theirs. Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
The Hug Award: How Special !!!
Thank you Misty Shores Chesapeakes for honoring us with a very special Hug Award, you are tooooo kind. We were really in need of a hug today so it came at a wonderful time. This is a really interesting award and I was really glad to receive it. Receiving this award sent me to the site it comes from to see what it was all about (http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/) and I learned about A Hope For Today.
So, as the rules of many of the awards go, I will tell you more about me: Though I earn my pay in the corporate world, I try to live my life in service for the world good both locally and globally. To me that means providing hope of a better today for humans, animals, and the environment. I believe you need to be the change you want to see in the world. So, I drive a hybrid (with the license plate ‘GIVEBAK,’ so honk if you see me), I recycle everything possible, I rescue animals (you all know that part), I work with the River Keepers to try and restore and keep my river and the Bay healthy, I support wildlife (I am a Certified Wildlife Habitiat), I support certain human causes such as Lupus (which I have), Crohns & Colitis (which plagues my family), and all kinds of Cancers (which has robbed me of many family & friends), and currently I am a Commissioner on the County Commission for Women, to improve the lives of women and children. Yes, I must say that sometimes I do all this for the hugs, but mostly, I do it for the selfish reason that I believe in the law of cause and effect – what you put out there will come back to you 10 fold: to give is the greatest gift I get, and at the end of the day, the only one I want. I have hope today and everyday, so thank you Misty for reminding me of the greater value in that.
I will pass this along to 5 blogs I have not acknowledged before, who are teaching me something with every blog:
Hugs and Hope from the zoo at DogDaz ❤
2.10.12 The Blogger Noel
Noel likes to sleep next to me all day while I work. She is the office cat. Recently she decided that the thing that Mommy is always looking at (my screen) seems to have some cool moving things on it.
Noel sleeping on my papers
The other night when I posted the rodeo video of the “Corgi Cowboy,” Noel decided that it was time to take over the blog. She loved the moving stuff on the screen and started pawing at it. Please excuse me if I misspell or goof up from now on because I have a
Noel Blogging
cat in front of the screen which means that I am typing blind. Muffin has helped me on the computer by typing on the keyboard and he actually sent an instant message once that looked like “eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.” He also knows the exact combination of keys to walk on to make my screen go sideways. It took me several hours one day to figure out how to undo that. I guess I will have to get a touch screen so that Noel can start to compose her weekly stories to you directly on the screen. I never had an animal actually focus in on moving stuff on the screen before. I think it must be like the laser pointer movement that I play with them sometimes. I shine the laser dot around and they run after it. I asked Noel what she wanted to blog about, but she really did not have any ideas (deep thought is not her strong suit). She said anything as long as it has movement.
Noel Blog 2
There is definitely going to be interesting now that Noel has discovered that things move back and forth across the screen. She is now chasing the pointer. This is kind of fun but not very productive from a productivity stand point. Oh well, it is much more fun to play with the cat than get any real work done. How am I going to explain this to my boss though. “Sorry boss but my cat decided to block the screen so my reports all look like a monkey did them.” Well, I have heard that monkeys are very smart and actually that if you give one a typewriter they will actually end up writing a pretty good book, or something like that. So, when I become unemployed my hope is that Noel will be able to support the family. (She is giving me the evil eye now and she does not think that is very funny. “Mom,” she says, “you know that I just want to sleep and look pretty, don’t make me work for my supper.”) I guess I will have to make her stay in her pretty pink bed next to the warm computer, so that I can keep getting my work done, and she can stay in her diamonds and pearls. Just another DogCATDaz morning at the zoo! ❤
2.7.12 5:45: Let us in!!!
Sofie & Louise waiting with toys
The dogs have decided that it is time that they get to go in the safe room with the new kitties. So they are camped outside the door with their toys. There is a lot of whining going on from Sofie (the whiner), but I am resistant. And since the upstairs litter box is right outside the kittens door, ‘The Muffin Man’ has decided it is a great launching pad to get in the room as soon as a human opens it. Muffin has enlisted Miss Kitty to help him try and get inside. I think that between the whole group of them they may figure out how to actually turn the door knob. (I know that my Alice cat used to be able to get up on her back hunches and turn a knob years ago – so I am a little concerned.) 2 weeks is a very long time to have the kittens locked away, but we are not going to the Vet until Friday (which will be the first week). Then we need to let them out slowly to experience the mob on the other side of the door. I am thinking that I will let them out together, because there is safety in numbers, but I it has been a long time since I introduced 2 new animals at the same time. (Sofie is helping me type (whine whine whine) and wants you all to know that she is going to do everything she can to get over the barricade and see what is on the other side. Louise just wonders if it is food.) Sofie is actually whining extra bad because C’s boyfriend, whom she absolutely loves, is here and he is a cat person, so they immediately disappeared in to the kitten room. “No fair!” she whines, “Why is D not playing with me, I know he is here!” This is going to be an interesting 2 weeks for sure.
This is my house, let me in!
What is going on in there?
Why are we locked out, Muffy?
This is just too funny.
Just another DogDaz morning at zoo! ❤
DogDaz Zoo 