Even though I just watched a minor cat fight between Chris and Frankie, most of the time Chris tries to be friends with Frankie. Frankie, for his part, tolerates Chris but can quickly become annoyed by him. Here is one example of reserved tolerance.
Today is Chris’s sixth birthday. Actually, we don’t know his exact birthday but he was about six months old when we adopted him so I thought we would just celebrate his birthday six months from his adoption day. I thought it would be fitting to re-post some pictures of him at each year in his life.
This is Chris between Alex and Tigger in November, 2009.
Tigger washing Chris, June, 2010.
Chris between Abbey and Tigger, February, 2011
Chris the daredevil, November, 2012
Chris at the pool showing off his expanding belly, November, 2013
Chris showing he can still be bad, October, 2014
Chris with Frankie, showing off his catch, March, 2015
Unfortunately Chris has been sick with a cold and we have to work all day and then go to a wedding this evening so he won’t get the attention he deserves. Perhaps I will leave the bedroom door open for him tonight.
After the trouble Frankie caused for me during the last couple of cat outings, I decided it was time to put him back on a harness. The harness he had was just too hard to put on a struggling cat so I looked for a harness that was very easy to put on. I found one from a company called Bark Appeal. Judging by the name, I assume it is a dog harness but it also works for cats. This harness has two Velcro strips and putting it on is just a matter of wrapping it around his neck and abdomen.
Frankie seemed perfectly fine wearing it. He made no attempt to get out of it and gave no indication that it might be uncomfortable. I bought the mesh version because I thought it would be cooler and lighter but there were other fabric choices. I also got a size large and it seemed a little loose on him but if he wasn’t so excited about going outside I am sure I could have wrapped it a little tighter.
Rose did not want to partake in our little adventure so I had to leave Puck inside because watching two cats is hard enough if one cat is Frankie and the other Chris. I felt bad but Puck cares less about going outside that the other two boys. The outing was fairly short-lived because Chris disappeared on me and I had to bring Frankie inside so I could look for him. As soon as I got inside I saw him from the window peeking around the corner where I just was with Frankie.
What do you think? Anyone else have a harness that is easy to put on?
When Frankie relaxes he really likes to stretch out. Who else has a cat that does this?
A year after we adopted Chris, Rose was transferred back to Florida. That left us with a dilemma and we faced one of the most difficult decisions we ever had to make.
Sixteen months after moving to Myrtle Beach, it was time to go back to Florida. Rose was asked to manage the property she left when she was an assistant manager. It was another promotion for her since the Florida property was more than double the size of the Myrtle Beach property. More importantly, we really wanted to go back to where we belonged.
Since Rose did not want to live on the property, we ended up renting a condo at the same complex that we used to own. We knew it was nice there and did not want any unpleasant surprises, since we couldn’t see the rentals first hand.
The big problem was that renting almost always means two pets. This place had a two pet rule in their bylaws. When we owned it was easier to sneak in a few extra cats, but as a renter, forget…
View original post 709 more words
Ok Puck, it’s time to make the bed.
Aw Dad, I just got comfortable.
Oh good, I made it on time for the bed making.
Are you really going to make me move again?
Ok Chris and Puck, I’m here. What did I miss?
This is my favorite time of day.
Maybe now I can get some sleep.
I have to move again? Are you really not done yet? What’s taking so long?
Frankie has been in the spotlight too much lately and I wanted to show a photo of Chris that I really like. You have probably seen a similar one where he is playing with toys while in a baby’s carrier. This was taken at the same time and shows not only what he does best, being naughty, but also a priceless expression on his face. It was taken Easter Day, 2010.
A young couple came for dinner with their baby and Chris kept steeling the baby’s pacifier. We would take it away from Chris and then he would unzip the diaper bag and take another one. I think he made off with three of them. We had to buy them new pacifiers and we bought a spare pack for Chris. 
Recently, I started following a blog called One Drawing Daily. The author and artist, Thomas, committed himself to draw everyday to improve his skills.
I paused after writing that first sentence because I realized I never saw his first drawings and I wanted to see how much he has improved. After looking, I believe he has improved but he also started out 100 times more artistically talented than I am now.
Anyway, after following his blog I also liked his Facebook page where he mentioned he was taking requests for drawings. Naturally, I sent him a request and he responded yesterday with this beautiful drawing of Frankie. You may have seen it before on the post “Could This be the End of Outside Adventures?”
I think it is a beautiful rendition. What do you think? If you like it, perhaps you can leave a comment on his post here as well. Just for a reference, I have included the original photo below.
It seems our cat’s weekly romp in the back yard has come to an end, thanks to Frankie. The last couple of times we let them out, Frankie led me on a wild goose chase, hiding under cars along the way so I couldn’t catch him. Last week was the final straw and Rose decided she did not want to let them out again. Of course, not letting them out and not letting them get out are two different things.
Three times in the past week Frankie got out the front door when we were trying to leave or come in the house. Two of those times Chris ran out the door at the same time. They double team us. When we try to block one, the other cat sneaks around us and out the door and then when we shift our focus to that cat, we end up losing both of them.
It seems weird that I am saying this but Chris is good. He always stays close to the house, at least for a little while. Frankie runs like the wind. The first couple of times he got out I was able to grab him right away because he was distracted by a lizard. The last time was on the weekend when Rose and I were leaving to catch a movie. Frankie led us both on a long chase.
On my last post on this subject, Nellie suggested a Super Soaker might get him out from under the cars. With that in mind I grabbed the squirt bottle that we sometimes use to help us get into the house and to also stop Frankie from picking at the screen by the front door. I used it on him several times to try to dislodge him from the cars he was hiding under. Sometimes it would work but he would just run to the next available car. Other times I kept squirting him but he seemed not to notice.
I was starting to get worried because, despite our attempts to “herd” him the other way, he kept getting closer to the busy road we live near. Finally I was able to get him out in the open where Rose grabbed him and brought him home.
What concerns me now is we are planning to move to a new place. One without the big back yard and one that may be less tolerant of cats running around outside. I want to keep them inside but I also want to bring them out so that if they do escape they will know where home is.
I did Frankie’s profile four weeks ago and though I would show Puck’s profile this week. Puck is a difficult cat to photograph but I think this photo is pretty good. What do you think?
