Happy Friday to You!

| AnnaM

2013-06-22 08.00.09-1

Happy Friday!  It’s time to unwind from the week, get outside, and see friends.  Time goes by too fast to worry about the small stuff or spend the whole weekend doing chores.  Goya loved going outside.  She would spend all day on the deck or out in the yard watching for squirrels or birds.  While Henri was the boss inside the house (he only cares about food), Goya was the one taking the lead outside.  When we went for hikes, she was always out in front.  She had an incredible nose and when we would lose the trail during the winter due to snow, she would sniff out the way back, running back and forth between us and the next 100 feet of the path.  She recently lost her battle with melanoma after beating lymphoma a year earlier, but she made the most of every day all the way until the last one.

Anything for you, dear

| AnnaM

2014-09-10 08.36.33

B’s preferred drink is water straight out of the faucet.  She always drinks on the left side of the faucet.  If anything is blocking that side, she isn’t sure how to get to the water.  I have to move whatever it is on the counter, otherwise she will pace back and forth in front of the sink trying to figure out how to turn her head the other direction.  Does that make her left handed or right handed?  If I don’t get up to turn on the water, she’ll lick the faucet, which is completely pathetic.  I have actually gotten up in the middle of the night to turn the water on for her.  To make it worse, I have had to wait to get back in bed because the Hank is eating his midnight snack and has taken my spot (see Your Food is My Food for an explanation).  Even though it’s inconvenient, I would do anything for these cats if it means they get to be a tiny bit happier.

The last nice weekend in Seattle

| AnnaM

2014-09-05 11.49.58-2

In September in Seattle, you often hear people talking about the upcoming weekend and about how they need to take advantage of “the last nice weekend” before the weather turns.  You never know which weekend it’s going to be, which is why you might hear it a few weekends in a row.  It’s generally accepted that at some point the clouds will roll in and not leave until spring.  The cats love the sun and soak it up any chance they get.  It’s possible to predict which room they will be in based on the time of day.  You might find them hidden on the other side of the bed or underneath the dresser stretched out on a sun strip.  Once the sun goes away, that spot quickly shifts to any spare blanket.  Last winter I got myself a heating pad and it wasn’t mine for long.

Run Hard, Play Hard

| AnnaM

2014-09-08 19.49.32-1

Hank goes all out when he’s running after the string.  He takes his athletic training seriously but still makes sure to have fun at the same time.  He stops when he’s tired but not until then.  He isn’t thinking about pacing himself when he knows he has a long play session coming up.  Hank doesn’t dread his daily racing sessions where he sprints back and forth through the halls of the house.  He isn’t worried that by playing extra hard he’s shortening his overall playtime.  He’s making every minute count.   In fact, he doesn’t sleep the day away like most cats (read: B).  If it’s the weekend and there’s something to do, he’ll be up all day.  Ultimately, he’s chasing (literally) his passion and living in the moment, and that’s probably part of why his jumps are higher, his runs are more epic, and he’s having a little bit more fun than the rest of us.

Beware the Exposed Belly

| AnnaM

2013-01-01 10.37.33

One of the first things Hank does when you get home is run to his bed (the guest bed that he thinks is his) and flip onto his back with a sweet meow.  You can’t help but be enticed by the soft fur and the clear invitation to rub his belly.  But the second you do, he switches to attack mode and grabs your hand with both paws, pulling it to his mouth for immediate gnawing.  If you resist, his back paws get into the game, scratching you with a quick shredding motion.  I’ve learned to be strategic about petting Hank.  First, it’s best if he’s on his feet, that way his paws are otherwise engaged.  If he drops to the ground onto his back, you can usually get him back up with a quick scoop under his butt.  If he stays down, you’ll need both hands.  That way you can wave one hand safely above him as a distraction while you use the other hand to pet his side or belly.  When he realizes you are petting him and goes to bite the other hand, switch sides and wave the other hand above him, just out of reach. He must have abs of steel from all the crunches he does trying to reach you.  Sometimes, the draw to rub his belly is too great, so I sacrifice my hand to the bites and hooks of his claws in order to get a few seconds of softness.  Just be careful if you do it…it’s not always easy to get your hand back.

weekly-photo-challenge

Your food is my food

| AnnaM

2014-08-01 06.44.40-2

Dinner with friends is something I used to take for granted.  Now that I’m older I realize that good friends are precious since those relationships aren’t easy to build and happen gradually over time.  Then, due to life circumstances, one of them might choose to move away or switch jobs and suddenly you don’t see them as often.  Initially, B probably didn’t think so highly of her new dinner mate.  When Hank was younger he was food obsessed.  He would run back and forth between the food bowls, trying to commandeer all available resources for himself.  B was less confrontational and would surrender her spot, assuming there would be more later (see my previous post about B’s preference for snacks – Big is Beautiful)…she lost a lot of weight during this period of time.  Today things are better but get complicated again when Henri, my part-time dog, is around.  He never grew out of his food obsession so when he’s over the cats get breakfast and dinner in bed.  It works out more like having a newborn baby for me with the midnight feedings that are impossible to ignore as the wake-up call quickly turns into gentle taps on the head followed by hair yanking.  I don’t mind though because there’s nothing cuter than seeing those little mouths chow down up close, and besides, I don’t take that extra time with them for granted, right?

Unfazed by what life puts on her

| AnnaM

2013-06-02 13.40.26

Sometimes the weight of the world can be overwhelming.  It feels like the stuff keeps piling on and we can’t get out from under it.  Hopefully, we know most of the stuff put on us doesn’t mean shit and can ignore it.  B is particularly carefree.  She doesn’t like to be disturbed but she also doesn’t like to move.  I thought this was a pretty good number of things on top of her until I saw pictures online of cats with serious piles on them or buried entirely.  We could try for a bigger pile but I don’t think we are the type of family that makes an effort to keep up with the joneses.  That’s one more weight we don’t need.

*No cats were hurt in the making of this photo, and yes, that’s Henri in the background.

Don’t Disturb the Cat!

| AnnaM

2014-09-13 14.40.09

How many times have you been hanging out, watching TV on the couch, when you realize you want to grab a beer but can’t because you have an anchor on your lap?  In any other situation, it would be unacceptable to ask someone else in the room to get you that beer.  However, in this scenario, all you have to do is point at the cat on your lap and say you’d get it yourself if you could.  That person is likely to nod his or her head in total understanding.  Even worse is the bed shrinking effect when one of them decides to sleep in the middle.  Even so, I will let my legs go numb and wait until my side starts to ache before moving them.  Maybe if it happened more often, I would be concerned with my own comfort.  As it is, if anyone gets too close I put my hand up and say, “Don’t disturb the cat!”.

Big is Beautiful

| AnnaM

2014-09-09 20.29.07-1

Big is beautiful.  At least that’s what I think when I see B stretched out on the rug, posing like she’s sitting for a Renaissance painting.  She has no idea what size she is and doesn’t try to hide her big belly.  In fact, she loves to roll onto her side on the scratch pad for me to rub as part of the homecoming routine during the week.  Granted, she is now big enough that she often slides off the scratch pad and almost rolls onto her back.  It’s not like she gorges herself on food.  She usually only snacks for maybe 15 seconds at a time, but she likes A LOT of snacks.  The weight gain has been gradual but noticeable.  I have been trying to find ways to cut her back without penalizing Hank, but so far I haven’t found anything that works.  In the meantime, maybe I will try my hand at painting.

*P.S. This post was inspired by Tummy Rub Tuesday #TRT hosted by Katzenworld.  Go to this blog to see more tummy pictures!  https://wordpress.com/read/blog/id/65327588/

weekly-photo-challenge