It's A Zoo Out/In There...

Today, I went upstairs to get my lunch and I ran into, first--our dog Patch. It's fitting I ran into her first. She's our oldest pet. She's blind and deaf and barks all the time. I think I would bark, too, if I were blind and deaf. She keeps surprising us with her ability to keep going.

I entered the house and was met warmly by Bec, our second dog. He's no longer officially a "puppy." but he's still got a lot of puppy instincts. He hears the basement door open and waits by the front door for me to walk through. He's been a wonderful companion for my son, and for all of us, really. Even though he's only been with us a little over a year, I can't imagine our home without him.

I came into the bedroom and was immediately seized upon by SamDean Winchester, the newest edition of the family. This little guy's a hand and leg-full. He torments Patch and Bec, along with the rest of us. I'm sure he loves every second of is as well. He's still a kitten. He no longer attacks us (very much...) and we think he might be mellowing. Time will tell if it lasts. But he's stolen our hearts.

As I leave the house, lunch in hand, I pass Teewinot, the pet we've had the longest. He's our hunter, our rock, annoyer of neighborhood--and our--dogs, and an animal that doesn't seem to give a crap what you think--he's going to lay down in the middle of the cul-de-sac and make you drive around him. We couldn't have asked for a better cat when we picked him up from my cousin's farm all those years ago. He's slowing down a little, which is to be expected.

Four animals and only Patch and SamDean can be in the same room at the same time. We have gates and closed doors, schedules and times when all the animals are asleep. It's truly a zoo both outside and inside. It's hard to imagine life with just one or two of these little guys. It seems like it would be so simple, but I'm sure it wouldn't be. Each one has their own personalities, their own traits, habits, quirks, and mannerisms.

Yes, it's a zoo, but one that makes life interesting.

The Stare Down...

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know we have two cats, one we brought home as a kitten from my cousin's farm in Idaho, and the second, we rescued from off the street.

They do not get along.

We keep them separated.

It's not as hard as it seems. The tabby--a male--sleeps most of the day upstairs in the kids' rooms behind a door. He then likes to go outside in the evening or late afternoon to hunt or do whatever cats do outside at night.

Our other cat--the female long hair--stays inside, mostly. She sleeps in various places throughout the day, and we put her in the laundry room at night behind a closed door. There have been times, very few times, when both felines have been together. It does not go well. It is the family consensus that the tabby is the instigator. 

The Taylor family has kept up this cat cold war since January 2012. Like I said, once you have a system it works out.

Last fall we introduced a new wrinkle in the system. It's a door. Normally, doors are a good way to separate the cats. This door, however, is different. It's transparent and the animals can see each other through it. We got the door last fall and didn't have many opportunities to use it before it got too cold. This spring we've used it a lot. When we first put it up, we had animals running through it. Thankfully, it's easy to fix. Still, I wonder what the cats think of the door. Do they think it will stop them? With enough speed they can go through it.

Tonight I watched a stare down. The tabby was outside and the other was in. I took out my camera and began taking pictures. My son built a box house for the cats and they've used it to a degree. The female sat inside staring out at the tabby.

My youngest thinks that if both cats could be near each other more, they might end up liking each other. I'm no cat expert, but I don't think that will happen, no matter how many stare downs the cats have. Still, it was fun watching our two cats interact, even though it was on opposite sides of a screen door.