She’s very sweet-tempered and as you can see from the picture above, she’s having a lot of fun playing with Honey. And even though she’s so much bigger than Chip and Honey (put together!) it’s obvious she respects their dominance:

She’s also a much faster mover than I’m used to — harder to take a picture of her than the smaller ones!

Even Turbo, who was understandably wary at first, has gotten over it and doesn’t even flinch when Lily comes up to sniff him while he’s lounging on the couch. The other two cats are staying safely tucked away in a bedroom, only venturing out when Lily’s in the backyard (which isn’t surprising). The kids, of course, are over the moon. It might be hard sending her back home at the end of the week!

Post from: Blisstree

Adventures in Dogsitting

Honey was the first to hunker down and snooze away an hour or so, just enough that the sun started to move away from her.

When she noticed that her patch was no longer comfortable, she got up and joined Turbo, who had previously shared his spot with Chip just a little while before.

This game of musical spots lasted several hours (until the kids got home from school), and this morning we opened the windows again. Turbo, Chip and Honey are now eagerly waiting for the first sliver of sun to make it to the carpet. Funny how they all tolerate each other if it means a nice nap!

Post from: Blisstree

A Sunny Spot

So, the best caption for the above picture will win a copy of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World:

“One frigid Midwestern winter night in 1988, a ginger kitten was shoved into the after-hours book-return slot at the public library in Spencer, Iowa. And in this tender story, Myron, the library director, tells of the impact the cat, named DeweyReadmore Books, had on the library and its patrons, and on Myron herself.”

The criteria is simple: make me laugh! I’m easily amused, though, so if I can’t decide on just one then my husband may need to be my tie-breaker!

Leave your submission in the comments of this entry, and you can enter more than once, though each caption needs to be different than one you’ve already submitted.

…..

U.S. only, contest ends Monday, February 8 at 5:00 p.m. PST. Multiple entries are ok as long as they’re different captions!

[image: amazon]

Post from: Blisstree

Caption my Cat and Win a Book

Our dogs are usually front and center since they need to be let out first thing to do their business. They’re not big enough that they disrupt anything and they also like to play around in the wrapping paper with one of the cats.

The other two cats might come out now and then to see what all the ruckus is about, and as you can see in the picture above Sage just made herself right at home in an empty box one year.

Where are your pets Christmas morning?

Post from: Blisstree

Where Are Your Pets Christmas Morning?

We live in the desert southwest U.S., and while it’s not unheard of to get snow here it just doesn’t happen very often. In the eight years we’ve been here I can count on one hand the number of snowfalls we’ve had.

So it was a very nice surprise for everyone (especially the kids) to wake up to big fat flakes falling to the ground. It took a few hours for it to stick but we’ve got about an inch now and it looks beautiful. I grew up much further north and have really missed the snow this time of year.

Of course, the dogs are the only ones not thinking the snow is the absolute best thing to happen all year!

When Chip needed to go out a little bit ago he was quite surprised to see the backyard covered in white stuff, and even more hesitant to go out into it. He kept as close to the house as he could manage to do his business and quickly scurried back inside. Honey, on the other hand, has not left the couch for about three hours.

Post from: Blisstree

Chip in the Snow

I think I (and the kids) had a little too much fun with this!

PetCentric allows you to custom create e-cards using your own pet’s mug, and you get to choose the outfits, the mouth and the tune!

Since the flash on the cards starts automatically I’ve put my full card under the cut, if you want to see it. If you create one and load it to your site, leave a link here so we can see it!

Post from: Blisstree

Custom Make Your Own Pet E-Cards

This has not been an unusual sight when you walk into my bedroom over the last week or so. A lump under the extra blanket on the bed… wonder what it could be?

He looks thrilled to see me (again), doesn’t he? I can’t stop myself from bugging him every time I go in. Poor harassed kitty.

What do your pets do to get warm?

(No pets were chilled during the taking of these pictures – we’re still hitting the low-70’s during the day!)

Post from: Blisstree

Chilly Morning Retreat

It’s no secret that I love pet stuff that doubles as furniture, or at least hides the pet stuff.

So, our two small dogs have been together now for four years and in only the last year or so have become comfortable enough to lay down and cuddle together, which is something I thought would happen a lot sooner than it did.

Anyway, we’re planning to take advantage of this development and get rid of the two small dog carriers that they sleep in every night and get something that will fit them both. Not only will it cut down on space but they’ll be able to keep each other warm as it gets cooler and cooler.

We were originally going to just go with a bigger carrier, until I started searching around and realized duh, it’s going in the living room next to the couch, what better to look for than something that’ll serve as an end table too?

I came across the crate pictured above and fell in love (we’d put a nice fleece bed in it with their blankets too, of course). As usual, the only problem is the price tag. Unfortunately, cute is usually costly, which means the search is back on.

[image: orvis.com]

Post from: Blisstree

Of Dog Crates and End Tables

My cats are, I swear, nothing short of cheap entertainment!

Two of the three have a habit of cleaning their litter boxes from top to bottom after using them. I don’t mean the usual “covering up” after their business is done – they stay in the box a minute or so more and scratch at every nook and corner of the box itself and then the lid.

Not surprising for a cat, I suppose, and it’s funny during the day but we can hear them at night too. Does your cat insist of scouring the box when he or she is done?

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Does Your Cat Clean the Litter Box?

We’re going camping next weekend and plan to take the dogs with us!

We went last summer as well and it was Chip and Honey’s first camping experience and they didn’t handle it well. We kept food and water available to them at all times but I don’t think either of them ate the whole weekend — it was rough!

We knew they were stressed after just a few hours but we weren’t sure how to calm them down and get them to eat. We gave them just as much attention as we usually do and brought their crates to sleep in, just like they’re used to. Nothing seemed to help.

This year we’re thinking of bringing a little bit of beef or chicken broth with us to maybe make their dry kibble seem a little more appetizing and jump start their appetites! We’re staying a day longer than last year as well and really don’t want them to go that long without eating since we know it can be really detrimental to such small dogs. Ideally we’d like them to get used to the experience because we’d like to head off to the mountains more often!

What would you do in this situation?

Post from: Blisstree

Feedback Friday: Calming an Upset Pet