Here are Frankie, Chris, and Floki sleeping connected on our bed four years ago today.

Here are Frankie, Chris, and Floki sleeping connected on our bed four years ago today.

I get notifications from Google and Microsoft highlighting photos from this day. Today I saw this one that I didn’t remember from 2015.

I then noticed a video from the same time. I checked YouTube to see if I had posted it there. I did.
I also noticed another video from earlier that month that was still marked as a draft. It was a video of Frankie’s first time on a leash and harness. I don’t know why that video was older than the one above. Perhaps I had too much trouble with that harness so I decided to continue to let Frankie out without a leash. I did put it on upside down that time and didn’t notice until we were outside.
After these videos, Frankie proved too much of a wild spirit and would take off far beyond the backyard. Because we lived close to a main road, I had to start using a harness every time he went outside.
I usually get up early and work on my business before going to work. Sundays I can just sit up in bed and relax. It’s also a good time for Frankie to relax as only Frankie can.

Our neighborhood is having a community yard sale today. We wanted to get rid of stuff and planned to participate but after a long, hard day of work yesterday I told Rose I just wanted to relax and skip the yard sale. I said we could just donate everything and Rose agreed.
Early this morning I was awakened by a loud noise. It sounded like someone was dragging something heavy across the floor. A few minutes later Rose woke me up and said, “I changed my mind, we have too much (stuff) that we need to get rid of. We need to move our cars before all the spots are gone.” I looked at the clock. It was 5 a.m. Ugh!
I hurt my back a few days ago so moving everything outside was a bit of a struggle. Once everything was outside and my chores were done I decided to take Frankie for a walk. We left the house at 6:40, which is probably the earliest we ever went for a walk.

We were out for almost a half hour and ended up about a block from home. I didn’t want to go further because I almost always have to carry him home. So I picked him up and headed home. It was a struggle because not only was my back hurting, I developed a pain in my leg because of the way I was walking with my back pain. It was a struggle getting home and it didn’t help that Frankie was struggling and hissing for half the walk.
We are now sitting outside and Frankie is keeping watch at the window.

We adopted Frankie on February 15, 2014. I realized I forgot last week but I was busy and distracted. Pretty much normal for me.
I don’t think I ever published the first photo I ever took of Frankie. We saw him at a Petsmart in Clearwater, Florida. Rose was actually looking for a female cat but couldn’t resist Frankie’s charm.

Rose calls him a liar now because he put on the charm for her in the shelter and soon after we got home, when this photo was taken, but now he is my cat.
We don’t know much about Frankie’s history. He only had a number, no name. His chart said he was three years old, which means he is twelve now but he still acts like a kitten sometimes.
My wife and I usually sit up in bed for a while before turning in. This gives the cats time to visit with us before we have to lock them out. I have to cover myself with the blanket because Chris can be quite annoying with his scratching, which is why we have to lock them out.

I have known for a while that cats learn behaviors from other cats. In our house, Chris is always the teacher. Puck and Frankie learned about getting on my shoulders from Chris. Puck learned how to get on top of cabinets from Chris. Frankie learned from Chris that hiding under cars prevents capture. This morning, Frankie learned the lazy way to eat breakfast from Chris.

Before Chris, Frankie, and Floki, there were Tigger, Alex, and others. Here is a photo of Tigger and Alex taken on this day in 2007.

I first reviewed the Art of Paws Heated Pet Mat in February 2018. You can read that review here. Since then it has been chiefly used without the heating element. That changed when we spent some time in West Virginia. You can see that story here. Since we returned to Florida the heating element has been packed away and the mat was on one of the cat perches.
I brought in a pile of laundry on Saturday and put it on the bed to fold. Floki immediately made a nest in the laundry and decided to take a nap at that very moment. My wife said he likes the heat and I should plug the heated mat in for them. Since Saturday was a bit chilly, 68 for a high, I thought that was a good idea.
As soon as I plugged it in Chris was on top of it.

Rose thought it should be on the sofa so she moved it.

Soon Frankie was lying next to it. It seemed like he wanted to feel the heat but he did not want to get too close to Chris. It didn’t work. I found Chris with his head on Frankie’s butt. As soon I got my phone to take the picture, he sat up.

After a while, Chris got up to inspect his food bowls and Floki took his spot.

As I write this on Sunday evening Chris is sleeping on the mat. The last time I looked Floki was on it.
Does anyone else have a heated mat or pet bed? Is it popular?
Okay, so Frankie is not technically a polecat but he can be considered a pole cat.





I don’t know what kind of pole dance he was doing here. Since this was shortly after our encounter with the stray, perhaps he was trying to lure her back.