Category Archives: Pets

A Good Supervisor

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Life here has been exhausting lately so I really didn’t welcome the time change and the lost hour that came with it this weekend.

Since I was already tired, yesterday was not the ideal time to rearrange my living room. After all, I had been procrastinating this project for some time. It clearly could have waited one more week but I decided that this was the day.

You don’t realize how much is packed into a room until you have to move it all.

But I wasn’t alone! This guy supervised the entire operation. He kept a watchful eye as I pushed a 150 year old steamer trunk that I use as a coffee table and tugged the couch across the room. He wasn’t sure what was happening at first but quickly discovered there was great fun to be had.

In fact, it is possibly that Scout rode on every single piece of furniture and rolled up area rug as they were dragged, pushed and otherwise forced into position.

He weighs seventeen pounds. I didn’t need the extra weight but who can say no to that face?

He’s a good little supervisor.

Sleeping Late

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I slept late this morning.

Yesterday started in Colorado at 3:30 am. One short car ride, a flight, airport train ride, another flight, airport shuttle, and rides in two more cars brought me to my Ohio home on the ridge by about 8:30 pm.

Easy peasy!

As I turned down the bed, I couldn’t shake the sensation I was still in motion. Luckily, Scout curled up next to me and I was out like a light, sleeping through the night for the first time in longer than I can remember.

When I awoke this morning, I knew I was home before opening my eyes. The sound of the heat pump and even the feel of the bedding are unmistakable elements of home.

And when I opened my eyes, Scout was sitting at my right arm, staring at me. It’s hard to tell how long he was there. He didn’t make a noise and wasn’t asking for anything.

He just sat there watching me as though confirming I was really there. I scratched his ears and he settled in next to me for a nap.

I tried to go back to sleep but the dry nose I always bring home high western elevations made that impossible. But I have stayed in this spot, hurkle durkling for a while and luxuriating in the solace of my own home.

This is partly for me and partly for him. While he didn’t go on a journey, he’s had a rough week too. My parents take good care of him but that’s not the same as having me there and he doesn’t understand where I go or why I would want to leave him.

Our pets are our family but we sometimes have to leave them. Whether it’s for a few hours or a few days, they are left alone and wondering why you left in the first place.

They miss us. He misses me. It doesn’t hurt me to lie here with a stuffy nose for a while longer just so he can luxuriate in the moment of having his person home.

And The Horse I Rode In On

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Scout went to the vet yesterday for the second time in a week. He sang the song of his people all the way there and most of the way back. He clearly knew where we were going and he was not having it.

You see, we went for a routine annual visit last week but the dr found a heart murmur. We did blood work and it luckily isn’t cause by a heart condition. Instead, they are concerned about his high blood sugar and wanted him back for a glucose test.

So, in case you’re counting (because Scout sure is), I dragged him from home last week so he could be prodded by strangers who would stick him with a shot before sticking him with a needle to take his blood.

This week, things were less dramatic but he did get stuck with another needle.

Unacceptable.

He let me know that he would be speaking to Santa Claws about all this. He had some choice words for where I could go and what I could do with the proverbial horse I rode in on too.

He gets so anxious in the car and at the vet. Even his little paws are sweaty and clammy so that undoubtedly impacts his bloodwork. Poor guy.

Our pets are like our children and it’s hard to help them when they can’t verbalize how they’re feeling. So we just do our best and hope to not be murdered in our sleep after a vet visit.

Keep Them Safe

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The world is a mean place sometimes, especially where black animals are concerned. They’re typically the last to be adopted, the subject of superstition, and often the most at risk of abuse or torture.

My little bat cat is mischievous and temperamental at times but he’s also a sweetheart. I can testify that black cats really are the best little friends.

There are no evil cats but there are evil humans. Keep your black animals indoors and safe this Halloween. From me and my bat cat, have a safe and happy day.

Shop Cat

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I met a shop cat yesterday. I wish I had a picture to share with you because she was the sweetest little kitty you’ve ever met with the ideal temperament for a store.

Her name is Rue and she’s a tuxedo cat with beautiful markings for a little girl. She seemed full grown but small boned.

She was curled up asleep when I first encountered her but you know I couldn’t just walk past without giving her ears a good scratch. She stretched and purred, lazily opening one eye before amping up the purr to a light buzzing noise.

She meowed when I stopped scratching so I stayed a minute longer before walking away. By then she was wide awake and followed me. After rubbing around my legs and talking to me softly, I asked to pick her up and she let me!

It was the best time as she let me hold her like a baby, stretching and reaching, kneading the air and occasionally letting out the tiniest, most satisfied little mews.

The store was not great but, like any good employee, she convinced me to reconsider leaving and stay a little longer.

All shops should have such good employees!