Here's the scoop:
Casey is incredibly tuned into me. Right now, I have all sorts of stuff on the ottoman that we moved where it is for the single purpose of allowing Casey to be near me while I'm still in the comfort and support of my special back chair. Basically, 90% of the stuff on the ottoman is related to my upcoming bariatric surgery - cookbooks, books written by patients and by doctors as well as a bunch of cookbooks.
It's been a tumultuous time around here. I had gone through all the prep for my surgery which didn't happen (you can read that tale here). I spent some time in a puddle on the floor before picking myself up and getting back on the program. During this time, Casey wound up climbing up onto my leather back chair more than once. He rests his head on the corner of the ottoman and gazes at me to the point where I feel guilty. There just isn't anything I can really move right now. I need all of those things at hand. Casey just didn't like it!
Poly... oh dear, dear Poly. We've figured out (for the most part) how to keep her from peeing in the house, but it's hard work. She'll be 6 years old and it's incredibly frustrating. She lives in her own little world and will sometimes cuddle up with Daddy. She'll find either of us when a thunderstorm is coming. There's very little else to comfort her (as I know I've said multiple times, we've tried a number of things, none of which help).
The twins are the twins. Not much has changed. Wait, that's not true. We have had to move their food and pile containers and crates up so that Casey can't reach it. Several attempts to stop him were a total failure and the poor little kids got cheated out of a lot of food. Bert is losing weight and we can't really figure out why. We don't think it has anything to do with the food displacement because he knows exactly where it is and how to get to it. I've seen him. Keith has noticed more urine in the litter box and it's difficult to determine if it's Tori or Bert. We worry that it's Bert and wonder if it's not a UTI, although unlike my Mom's kitty who had one, we are not finding pee all over the house (thankfully). The jury is still out on that one. We dread taking him to the vet -- again. He was just there in March (or April) and had to have a tooth pulled. Torturing him to "help" him in the carrier and the driving the 5-ish minutes to the vet and drop him gently onto the exam table. At the same time, we don't want anything to happen to him.
Neither of the kitties are fond of Casey sleeping upstairs, although I've woken up in the middle of the night to find Bert on the wedge at the top of my pillow. They manage. They love their cat tree and spend a lot of time in there. Frankly, I think Casey is more afraid of them, with their hissing and swatting (did I mention that they won't let us clip their claws.... yeah). They're figuring it out.
Yesterday I was on the exercise bike and can see the top half of the stairs and the lower half through the mirror on our curio cabinet. After Keith left for work, Casey wanted to stay downstairs. It turned out that he changed his mind and broke himself out of the downstairs "prison." Poly caught wind of this and took it upon herself to go partway up the steps (I'm still confused how I missed it). She grabbed poor little lambie (may he RIP) and I found stuffing and the catnip pocket on the rug at the bottom of the stairs. Lambie's outer shell was at the back door. We're pretty sure she was going to bury him when she went out. At least it wasn't Froggie - that would have been pure devastation for Tori.
Not much else to update right now....
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Snow Days! (and a few other things)
Casey and Poly go berserk over snow and we had nearly 3 feet a couple of weekends ago. Casey loves to romp in it, especially when it's so high. He is basically forced to romp since it was above his chest. He sure didn't seem to mind, though. Poly barks at it. A lot. She will follow the flakes as they come down and then attempt to find them on the ground. When it's early in the storm, she'll bark at them all. When there is any accumulation at all, she'll bark and then stick her little nose in the snow trying to find the flake she was following and comes up with snow on her nose. It's super cute, especially since she'll jump up and flip herself 180 degrees before landing. She really is adorable!
On the flip side, Poly will dig as soon as she can get to the ground. With the snow (obviously) being white, it's obviously how far she tosses it when she digs. Man, this girl can DIG! It's to the point where she has created crevices which freeze over to an ice rink when there is melted snow in there. Ok, well, a one person ice rink, but you get the idea.
Forgive me if I'm repeating myself, but Casey has begun sleeping in bed with us. He was opening the gates anyway (he's quite tenacious) and we didn't want him to get hurt. Poly sleeps downstairs, but she's been a good girl, especially since Grandmom got sofa covers. Poly does, however, enjoy digging away at the sofa and getting them out of her way (she did it with the blankets we had covering the sofas, too).
Ok, back to Casey upstairs with us. I promise this is related - Casey has been on Prozac for anxiety because he was consistently licking his paws until there were spots raw and bleeding. Well, Mr. Stubborn began refusing the pills in cheese, salami, and finally Pill Pockets. Don't get me wrong, these things have been amazing for nearly a year, but Casey is a stubborn dog. We were giving them to him before he ate and at first he loved his pre-dinner "treat" - it has such a strong scent and presumably a strong flavor, covering up the pill scent and taste. He began making that difficult and I would have to keep him from spitting it out. Then we started putting it in with his dinner, which worked for a bit, but our dear pup started eating that in his first bite, proceeding to throw it up. We gave in and stopped giving it to him.
So, back to upstairs.... in a minute. Since he stopped the prozac, he has returned to the dog we know and love. He had been lethargic, not wanting to run or play with his sister. He wasn't eating both meals every day. Well, he now has a voracious appetite. We have to keep guard on Poly's food when she decides she wants to eat it and we don't bother even putting it down until she's ready. Alright, now that Casey is upstairs with us *and is able to open gates* he will open the gate to the kitty's room, which we have gated, he will break in there and eat THEIR food! There is no stopping this guy. He is supposed to be losing weight and now we can't stop him from eating.
As far as sleeping in the bed with us, we try to beat him to the bed or whoever comes upstairs last will have no place to sleep. He gives no consideration to the fact that his people need space, too. Sadly, this also means that Bert doesn't get unlimited attention once the first of us climbs into bed. Don't get me wrong...the kitties have adapted to Casey being there. He and Tori can walk by each other without a glance. Bert still hisses sometimes, but both have been on the bed at the same time with no attempts to scratch out eyes or eat the other.
Well, that's the latest with our pups and the rest of our family.
How do your dogs do with the snow, be it large or small? Do your dogs sleep with you?
On the flip side, Poly will dig as soon as she can get to the ground. With the snow (obviously) being white, it's obviously how far she tosses it when she digs. Man, this girl can DIG! It's to the point where she has created crevices which freeze over to an ice rink when there is melted snow in there. Ok, well, a one person ice rink, but you get the idea.
Forgive me if I'm repeating myself, but Casey has begun sleeping in bed with us. He was opening the gates anyway (he's quite tenacious) and we didn't want him to get hurt. Poly sleeps downstairs, but she's been a good girl, especially since Grandmom got sofa covers. Poly does, however, enjoy digging away at the sofa and getting them out of her way (she did it with the blankets we had covering the sofas, too).
Ok, back to Casey upstairs with us. I promise this is related - Casey has been on Prozac for anxiety because he was consistently licking his paws until there were spots raw and bleeding. Well, Mr. Stubborn began refusing the pills in cheese, salami, and finally Pill Pockets. Don't get me wrong, these things have been amazing for nearly a year, but Casey is a stubborn dog. We were giving them to him before he ate and at first he loved his pre-dinner "treat" - it has such a strong scent and presumably a strong flavor, covering up the pill scent and taste. He began making that difficult and I would have to keep him from spitting it out. Then we started putting it in with his dinner, which worked for a bit, but our dear pup started eating that in his first bite, proceeding to throw it up. We gave in and stopped giving it to him.
So, back to upstairs.... in a minute. Since he stopped the prozac, he has returned to the dog we know and love. He had been lethargic, not wanting to run or play with his sister. He wasn't eating both meals every day. Well, he now has a voracious appetite. We have to keep guard on Poly's food when she decides she wants to eat it and we don't bother even putting it down until she's ready. Alright, now that Casey is upstairs with us *and is able to open gates* he will open the gate to the kitty's room, which we have gated, he will break in there and eat THEIR food! There is no stopping this guy. He is supposed to be losing weight and now we can't stop him from eating.
As far as sleeping in the bed with us, we try to beat him to the bed or whoever comes upstairs last will have no place to sleep. He gives no consideration to the fact that his people need space, too. Sadly, this also means that Bert doesn't get unlimited attention once the first of us climbs into bed. Don't get me wrong...the kitties have adapted to Casey being there. He and Tori can walk by each other without a glance. Bert still hisses sometimes, but both have been on the bed at the same time with no attempts to scratch out eyes or eat the other.
Well, that's the latest with our pups and the rest of our family.
How do your dogs do with the snow, be it large or small? Do your dogs sleep with you?
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