animals Archives | Page 8 of 16 | Kate's Point of View

Winner! And Crazy Cat Lady

On June 7, 2011

I entered a photography contest a while back and won! Two photos I entered will be featured in a calendar and I, as my prize, get a free calendar.

The contest was for the Ohio Alleycat Resource and Spay / Neuter Clinic and I entered several photos of cats into the contest. (Only cat pictures were permitted.) Both our sweet Newton and ornery Addy will be Mr. July, which is the month for senior kitties, also known as the month of Old Man Cats.

I am up for a pleasant surprise when I get the calendar because I have no memory of what photo of Addy I entered. But the picture of Newton is my favorite of him. He’s sitting on the stairwell windowsill looking up at me.

Seeking Quiet and Sleep

By Kate

On April 30, 2011

In animals

Right now I am desperate for much-needed sleep to fall upon me. I’ve been on steroids to get asthma under control. I am breathing better but I have terrible anxiety and am sleeping horribly. A day or two of that is fine. A week? No way.

Tomorrow is my last day on steroids and tomorrow I have no reason I can’t sleep in so I am going to try my hardest.

Only one thing stands in my way.

He looks cute and innocent. Don’t be fooled.

Beast Versus Beast

By Kate

On April 28, 2011

In animals

This past weekend Wonder Boy and I hosted Easter lunch. My dad, two of my siblings and Songbird came over. We ate delicious black bean burgers from the local farmer’s market We had an indoor Easter Egg hunt, even though the youngest of us was 25.

A special guest at our festivities was Bruce (as in Springsteen), my sister’s 6-month-old (ish) Gooldendoodle. Bruce is a sweet dog who has yet to figure out that he’s huge. Not surprisingly, as soon as Bruce walked into the house Addy hid away for the day. Biggie was a little more curious.

In the match-up between a 43-pound puppy and a 20-pound adult cat, my money was on the cat. But, aside from a few good swats from Biggie to Bruce, the two got along reasonably well.

B.I.G. Gets Bigger

By Kate

On April 21, 2011

In animals

The Notorious B.I.G. is a big boy. It’s part of the reason he has the name he has. He weighs in at a solid, and I do mean solid, 18 pounds. When he got to the rescue from which we adopted him, he weighed 14 pounds.

A lot of the weight has been gained at our house while we were intentionally trying to fatten Newton up. While Newton, who was struggling to maintain any weight, didn’t really get any fatter, Biggie and Addy treated life like an all-you-can-eat buffet. So now Biggie has this taught stomach then when you pat it sounds like a drum. When he is on his side, his stomach folds in two, and looks a little too much like a vijayjay. Gross.

Long ago Wonder Boy and I realized that the smartest thing we could do as cat owners was to buy an automatic feeder. That way, when the magical hour of breakfast rolled around the cats wouldn’t be sitting on top of us in bed waiting for food. Instead they would stare intently at the feeder, waiting for food to magically pour out. It has worked wonders.

I believe that when the makers of our particular brand of automatic feeder planned their product, they didn’t do it with our fat cat in mind. Biggie has discovered that if you knock the feeder over, the lid pops off and you can eat half a tub of food — about five days worth of food. When Wonder Boy taped the feeder’s lid shut, Biggie just ate through the tape. So now it is quadruple-taped and that seems to be working. But somehow, Biggie’s gut just looks bigger and bigger.