I think the photo speaks for itself.

I think the photo speaks for itself.

Frankie escaped yesterday again which has become highly annoying, especially since I just took him for a walk the day before. It happened as I was leaving to go to the store so I couldn’t leave until I got him back in the house.
The first thing he did when I tried to catch him was run across the street and under a vehicle that was parked there. I tried, unsuccessfully, to coax him out, or at least get him close enough to pull him out, but he is too smart for that.

After a while he became distracted with a lizard, which he caught and headed for home with it. I thought he wanted to bring it in the house but he went under my car with it instead.

Cats like to play with their prey so he let it go and recaptured it a couple of times before the lizard came out from under the car enough for me to catch it. I then moved it back a foot or two and let it go. I was hoping Frankie would come out to get it but both stayed motionless. That is when I gave the lizard a little push to get him moving which also got Frankie moving. He ran out from under the car into my waiting arms.
Now that, my friends, is how you catch a cat.
My wife found Chris sleeping on our bed one evening and covered him with a blanket.

He slept covered up for a long time until Frankie and Floki joined him.

Here is Frankie on one of his walks. Taking Frankie for a walk is less common these days because he escapes so often a walk on his harness is almost unnecessary.

Here is a photo taken in Late December, 2009. Chris was relatively new to our home and the other cats would typically exclude him in there little get-togethers. Unfazed by the slight, our Baby Huey would join them anyway.

We bought a new Keurig coffee machine recently and the cats love the box that it came in. It seems like the perfect size for them.


It has been in our living room for over two weeks, longer than a typical box usually hangs around. My wife was tired of tripping over and asked me to throw it out the other day, but then she left for Virginia for a week so the cats still have until Tuesday to enjoy their box before I have to trash it.
Since starting as a volunteer at the SPCA a few months ago, I have noticed a surprisingly high number of cats who spend there time lying in litter boxes. I don’t know why. The pods at the SPCA are about 100 square feet with plenty of vertical sleeping areas. Perhaps it is a reaction to stress. Considering there are between four and eight cats in each pod and the pods are constantly changing as cats come and go, I can understand why it would be stressful, especially for the more timid cats.

Sometimes they are joined by friends.







What do you think?
I think the one cat toy in our house that has really stood the test of time is the Turbo Scratcher. The one we have now is one of two that we bought well over fifteen years ago (I don’t know what happened to the other one). It has not only lasted for years, it has also remained one of the most played with toys in the house.
Not all of our cats have been interested in it. Some have ignored it completely while others played with it occasionally, but there has always been one cat that goes back to it again and again. When Chris was young, he was the one. Then it was Puck and now Floki loves the Turbo Scratcher.
I often hear the sound of Floki playing with it but I never have a camera around. When I do go and get my camera or phone, as soon as I come back he is done playing. I was lucky to get the above video before Christmas and then promply forgot I had it until now.
Do you have any pet toys that have stood the test of time? I would love to hear about them.
Here ia a classic photo of Abbey and Flash taken almost ten years ago on February 28, 2010. It was three months after we adopted Chris and two months before Flash died at the young age of five.

While we were busy with family on Christmas Day, Floki and Chris were hanging out together in the Florida room.

For some reason, my mother calls it an Arizona room. I don’t know why.