Building a new exhibit

Between work and school, I hate to spend more time at a computer than necessary. This is bad for a blog. So, for a quick update... Sasha and Moira continue to settle in nicely. We are also working on a new exhibit named "Dog Palace" which will be big enough to shelter all three dogs from the weather at once. We do at least know they will all curl up pretty close when they want to, as is evidenced by the picture below.

Lest you think they don't get along after you watch the video. The kittehs get along great. And are super cute together.

'Course, Moira's supercute on her own. A little circle of kitteh.

Here is the new exhibit as it develops. Good to have a handyman in the house! I helped. I didn't mash my thumb.

Mya appreciates Sasha, who contributed the lovely lounging platform that Mya is using. She was bored being inside on housecleaning day. It was so nice outside...

As we can see, Sasha is now perfectly comfortable on all furniture. Cyrus' look of concern is from the fact that Sasha is clearly possessed by demons.

Now for the fun video from our local panther exhibit.

New to the Zoo

I believe one dog is too few and is destined to be lonely, especially when few families can make it on one income. Matt feels the same about cats. Although Quincy gets along great with the dogs (he frequently pounces on Mya or Cyrus to initiate play), there are stretches of time where the dogs are outside and Quincy is left by himself. Plus, let's be honest, Matt wanted two cats to begin with. So, without further ado, we welcome...

Moira.

Who can resist that face? Moira came to us from the Manteca Animal Shelter. I don't know how they do it, but they manage to lower the adoption fee on animals that have been spayed or neutered. I know the procedure is an expense for the city/county just like it is to us regular citizens, but I think that is a wonderful way of encouraging ownership of altered animals. We need more programs like this, less of the "mandatory spay/neuter" type.

Anyway, Moira, a.k.a Sugar Bell, had been previously adopted by a woman who apparently had not run the idea past her husband. When he got home, he made her take the cat back to the pound. Although there is a delay on owner surrendered pets before they can be adopted out again, the lady at the shelter allowed us to take Moira home. As corny as her name was, it totally fit her personality... this kitten is pure sweet. I think the shelter employee was just happy to see her go to a good home. So were we.

What does Quincy think of all this? I think he likes her. They're getting to know each other slowly. Cats, y'know. She's a little older than him, but only by a matter of a week or two. Matt reports that he has actually seen them playing together. I haven't yet, but it's mostly because the dogs follow me around, and they get all excited when the cats get excited and Moira's still a little shy about dogs coming over to sniff her. (She's a trooper, though. She stands her ground very calmly, then walks away. Totally opposite of Quincy's paw-to-the-face method, but still effective.)

The most unexpected thing? Take a look at this! Are they going to be friends? Or is Mya just keeping an eye on the new interloper? I like to think friends.

On a side note... Look! It's a real garden! Actual flowers that I planted myself! So pretty... (Some of my standards are woefully low...)

And let's not forget the home orchard. Isn't it a thing of beauty? These will be the best four mandarin oranges in the world. I just know it.

A New Page

Well, the house appraisal is done. Whew! One more step that we can check off our list. Since we had everything neatened up for the appraiser, I took some pictures. Look how far everything's come!

Living room from the left side.

From the right side...

Kitchen/Dining Room

And some fun stuff. A rare video of Mya and Cyrus playing tug-o'-war. My favorite part? When he pulls it away from her, he stops and holds it still, like, "Oh, grab back on. Got a good hold? Okay!" The growling is all Mya.

So, we did get a second cat for Quincy (and Matt). She's great, too - she'll get her own post a little later. But I wanted to highlight the fabulousness of Q-Ball, the Tailless Wonder. This cat has cajones and I'm so happy he ended up with us. He and Cyrus are great together.

New Arrival at the Animal House

Our newest member of the Zoo Family is Quincy. My cousin Keren found Quincy as a wee black puffball. He was around 4 or 5 weeks old and clearly abused (he had burned off whiskers and we suspect that his tail may have been pulled off rather than naturally manx). Even so, he has a lovely, friendly and brave disposition. My cousin kept him for us around 2 months while we prepped the new house, since we couldn't have a cat in the rental. She raised him well and her tiny chihuahua, Sugar, was Quincy's best buddy. They tousled and chased and Sugar taught Quincy a little about dogs. Now, an older Quincy has joined us. Here he is exploring his new digs.

From the beginning, he had little fear of (although a healthy respect for) the dogs, despite the fact that Cyrus, at least, is an order of magnitude larger than Sugar. We found that this bravery extends equally to a willingness to, say, attack feet carelessly left unattended at the edge of the bed. I hear that's a cat thing.

Here is a video of Quincy and the dogs. He will actually sometimes play with Cyrus (he likes to bat Cyrus' fringed ears), but he persists in swatting Mya. This is because Mya is determined to try and bite him at every opportunity. She's like the dog from Bunnicula, determined that our house is being overrun by the spawn of evil and she's the only one who can defend us...