Siggy’s Blurbs

I was surrounded by my three black animals, again, in bed.  “Cool Hand Luke”, my cat was somewhere on my bed, sometimes, arching her back nearby for my touch.  Then there were my two dogs:  Tilla was in his spot, to the left of me, on the bed usually within reach.  Coco, the other female, unassuming, most of time lay at the foot of the bed.  Although, yesterday, when I called her she jumped on the bed and lay close to me, so close I had to nudge her away a little bit:  I could not get enough of my blanket over me.  She then jumped off and lay at her usual spot.  At some point the animals move after I have fallen asleep.  This morning after Tilla heard me stir he jumped on the bed to greet me and half asleep I petted him and then he jumped off the bed, again.  Sometimes there are more creatures in my bedroom but these mentioned are the “regulars”.

Tags: animals, bed, bedroom, blanket, cats, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, dogs, fall asleep, foot of the bed, greet me, half asleep, pets, petted, Tilla
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“Cool Hand Luke”, my black cat I owned before even I married my wife.  Nothing seems to faze her, thus the name.  She is the only animal left from that period, nine years ago.  She is one of the few cats who will cozy up to me.  She is affectionate.  She has some idiosyncrasies:  she likes to go through doors.  Open one, she will dash  through and seconds later she might run back in.  She also likes to knock down things in her way.  Sometimes she will be on the window ledge and knock down everything in front of her.  She does not get along too well with all the other cats (we have seven) although she can be aggressive.  If you put out new cat food she is usually the first cat to hop on the counter.  Oddly enough the other two animals I brought into this marriage were both black.  I miss both of them, especially Daisy, the first dog I ever raised from a pup and also trained.  When we were in the same room, her eyes never left me.  She was my dog.

Tags: affectionate, cat food, cats, Cool Hand Luke, Daisy, dogs, idiosyncracsies, marriage, my dog, pets
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“Pumpkin” is a grey cat with white feet and large splashes of white under his neck and belly.  He occasionally sleeps on my bed and like his belly rubbed:  he will turn on his back as I do that and sometimes “tooth” me if I rub him too hard although he has never bitten me.  He is a mild mannered cat bigger than his mom, “Jasmine” but small, nevertheless.  He gets along with all the other cats, which is saying something for there are six others in the house.  He was the only survivor from “Jasmine’s” first litter.  It is not that unusual to see Mom and “Pumpkin” and his other three half brothers hanging out together.  “Pumpkin” is just a nice cat.

Tags: belly-rub, cats, grey cat, Jasmine, mild mannered, pets, Pumpkin, sleeps on bed
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I want to count my blessings.  It is so easy to center on what I call my “lack”.  I am so blessed–materially and all kinds of ways that have nothings to do with things.  I have a wife who loves me.  And all kinds of other people who are glad to see me.  And I have a history with them.  My four dogs and even my cats who really do not pay much attention to me but I appreciate them nevertheless.  My life is not perfect but then, again, whose is?  Of course, this is a short and incomplete list.  I can go on and on but I won’t.  I am just glad to be home.

Tags: appreciate, blessed, cats, count my blessings, dogs, friends, glad to be home, gratitude, my life, pets, wife
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All I could do was dust.  And listen to some music to counter my dark mood (the latest “Sugarland” CD).  Dusting is a mindless task.  In this house there is no lack of dust:  we have four dogs and seven cats.  Dusting is an unending job in this house.  In the process I changed a light bulb.  At least, I kept moving.  That is a good thing.  When I am depressed I don’t feel like doing that.  It can’t hurt.  And I may go on to something else after dusting.  Let us see what is going to happen next.

Tags: "Sugarland", cats, dark mood, depressed, dogs, dusting, keep moving, music, pets
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An animal does not know right from wrong–certainly not evil; a cat will chase down chipmunks and birds and mice.  They are just programed to do that.  A dog will automatically chase a squirrel or rabbit very seldom catching one.

My wife was yelling and screaming.  The dogs caught a squirrel that they trapped in my bird feed chest.  To make it worst, it was a squirrel we called “stubby”.  I was blamed for it for I was told to leave the food chest open so this would not happen.

A squirrel or some other animal gnawed a hole in the chest so they could enter from the outside.  I felt bad for the squirrel.  Our golden retriever and her two pups were blamed (and me) for its death.

I felt bad about the whole thing.  All I could do in the future was leave the chest open or possibly move it to the garage.

Tags: bird feed, birds, cats, chipmunks, dogs, golden retriever, mice, pets, rabbit, right from wrong, squirrel
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Two cats of ours were months overdue on their shots (we have seven).  Of course, they are the wildest and hardest to catch.  They did have appointments.  And I could not catch them.  All of a sudden, it had become my responsibility.

And I was taunted and critisized by my other when I could not find them no less catch them and then put them in the carrier.

Today, I was reminded, again, two cats are overdue for their exam and shots.  My wife previously caught them.  Somehow, it had become my responsibilty.

I refuse to be told I am less than a man becuase I am unsuccessful in locating them much less grabbing them and placing the squirming cat in the carrier.  This is all absurd.

She insisted I make an appointment for two at one time.  We save a little money.  I refused.  I remember my prior treatment by my wife.

I did not want to be critisized again.  We also have four dogs.  The dogs do not hide under furniture or can’t hide period!

Even my vet says it takes two to catch a cat.  This all seems very unfair and I refuse to make any further appointment for a cat until we work this out to my satisfaction.

Tags: argue, cat carrier, cats, couples, dogs, how to catch a cat, veterinarian, wife
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I have to thank both of my wives for one thing.  Both love cats and dogs.  When I was growing up I never had any pets.  My Mom simply was too fastidious.  She could not tolerate any messes they might make.  When I married Robin we usually had at least one dog and one cat.  And now I have a menagerie with Lynelle:  seven cats and four dogs.  I would not want to live my life any other way.  I love all my pets.  They daily enrich my life.

Tags: animals, cats, dogs, enrich my life daily, fastidious, love, love my pets, marriage, menagerie, my Mom, my two wives, never had pets while growing up, pets
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China, our more exotic looking black and white cat, likes to climb up our shower curtains for fun.  We have to keep a close eye on him when he is in the bathroom or any where near.  He has pretty sharp claws.  We don’t want him to tear up our shower curtains again.

Another thing we have to watch for is our toilet rolls and paper towels.  The cats (we have seven) love ripping into them and shredding them.  We now keep the paper towels in the cabinets.  That took care of that.  We were going through a lot of them.

Put an empty box anywhere and the cats will find them and curl up in them.  And they love (as anyone who has ever had cats has found out) to rest on your window sills.  If you leave your window open, they will find it.

This is just a few peculiarities of our cats.  It is amazing our seven get along as well as they do.  Though every once in awhile there is a cat fight although they are always brief.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly all seven disappear when a stranger enters their midst.  Most of the time, though, you do not see them.  They all have their favorite hiding places especially when it is time to capture one for a vet visit.  Cats are always fun.

Tags: bathroom, cat fight, cats, cats favorite hiding places, cats love empty boxes, cats love windowsills, China, paper towels, sharp claws, shower curtain, toilet paper, veterinarian
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I feel bad for our cat Slinky:  she is dying from a tumor.  I am not sure we can do anything about it.  She is a black female cat, somewhat timid but very affectionate, over eight years old.

We have a total of eight cats and four dogs.  That still does not make it any easier.  We could give her a cat scan, which might indicate whether the tumor is treatable but it is very expensive.

I am torn.  She was sitting on my lap just a few days ago and I realized how much I loved her.  It is so hard to let go.  I imagine some of my other pets dying.  I know they will but my mind is balking at the thought of any of them dying.

I love each pet.  Each pet is different and has a distinct personality.  And I have a special relationship with each.

I believe God has put pets in our lives to teach us to let go and love again.  We usually outlive them.  It is so hard to see any of them die.

Tags: 12 pets, affectionate cat, black cat, CAT scan, cats, death, dogs, dying from a tumor, each animal has a personality, God, love, love your pets, our cat, outlive our pets, Slinky, special relationship with pets, teach us to let go and love again, timid cat
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I was doing something this morning I was not looking forward to:  Replacing the urine stained newspaper and then getting rid of the poop in the dining room.  I simply did not want to this morning.  One of my dogs (we have four) still uses this room as a bathroom.

A little voice told me to thank God for doing that.  Most of my life I did not have pets.  I always wanted them although growing up my mother was simply too fastidious to even consider having them so I do not remember even asking her permission to have a pet.

The last twenty-two years I have had pets.  My two wives both loved dogs and cats.  So I decided to thank God for the task of picking up poop and handling soiled newspaper.

That is a small price to pay for the joy of having four dogs and eight cats.  Each pet has a different personality and are a joy to have.  All that is only by grace.  And cleaning up the dining room reminded me it is a privilege to have pets.  So thank you God for that!

Tags: cats, dogs, everything-is-by-grace, joy, pets, poop, thank God, urine
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Coco is a darling.  She is a mid-sized female mongrel, almost completely black with a small splash of white under her neck.  Her spirit is lovely:  she is gentle and loving.  She likes her privacy.  She will often spend hours outside by herself.  She is one of four dogs we own.

She is bowlegged and is “mouthy”:  she will grab you by her teeth although she does not bite.  She has never bitten anyone.  She is quiet and can be quite insistent when she wants to go out.

She is confident, will not beg for attention but of course likes it.  Once in awhile she will roll on her back to get a belly rub but only once in a while.

Her brother the infamous “Tilla” or “Atilla the Hun” as he is originally named, will want a belly hug almost every time he is approached but “Coco” will only ask for it once in awhile.

I love “Coco”.  Don’t tell me dogs don’t have spirits and personalities.  They all do.  Every pet I have ever had had a distinct personality.  Coco is one lovely affectionate dog.  She is just not as demanding as her brother.  I have fallen in love with Coco.

I love all my pets:  all eight cats and four dogs.  Yes, we have a menagerie.  As time goes on, I will write about the other pets, too.

Tags: affection, belly-rub, cats, Coco, dogs, dogs' personality, lovely spirit, menagerie, pets, privacy, Tilla
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