Our Cats

DH built a deck onto our shed this week and was taking pics of it when he decided to snap one of our DC2, Daniel. I try not to share realactual names on the blog, but after all, he is (just) a cat. Just don't tell him.

Daniel came to live with us 3 years ago. He was so tiny and afraid. He found an antique lowboy here in the house and climbed up through the bottom into the bottom drawer. We could not find him for a day or two -- were panicstricken -- when DH unearthed him.

Nowadays he is neither tiny nor afraid. He owns this end of the block and our house inside as well. At a hefty 12.5 pounds, he outweighs our DD Tucker.

Daniel and Tucker are best of friends. At night when I take Tuck out for her last peeps of the evening, Dan is waiting inside the door for our return. As Tucker walks in, Daniel rubs noses with her and off they go to play.

In the winter when we have a fire going in the fireplace, the two can be found sacked out in front of it, sleeping like spoons.

Dear old Francie has been with us about 22 years -- no one is quite sure, but DS2 brought her home when he was 8 or 9 and he turns 30 in a week. The pic is not very clear as Little One had the hiccups when I asked her to take a picture of her!

This is where Francie comes 2 or 3 times a day when she needs a little drink. She used to drink out of the sink with the water running, but now it's a little too hard on her back or something, so we fill a disposable cup for her and she takes her drink. She likes her water fresh and has never partaken of "pet water" standing in a bowl near the food bowls.

We have many, many stories about Francie and I may share some soon. Her health seems quite good, although she has definitely gotten a little crotchety in her old age. She likes to sleep with us, and in the old days she slept near the foot of the bed. As she has aged, she has crept up so that now she wants to sleep near my chest and shoulders. When I pick her up to move her to the foot of the bed, she loudly protests and sometimes gets so perturbed she leaves altogether and goes to see if LO will let her sleep where she wants, on her bed.

She weighs less than 6 pounds and when you rub her back, you can feel each individual backbone. She has been blind since the day we got her, or at least visually impaired, we're not sure as she can't read the eye chart, and nowadays she surely seems to be deaf as well. She used to run from the vacuum cleaner and now she doesn't even know when it's running.

She used to leap to the sink from floor level, but now heaves herself up to the tub and then with her front paws on the sink, pulls herself up from the tub. Likewise, she used to jump onto the bed, but now climbs onto the footboard and scrambles up the quilt from there.

I said above that ol'Dan is king of this end of the block and the house as well. He may be king, but Francie is Empress of this house, and Dan really respects her loud opinions when they are in the same vicinity.

Francie's days are surely numbered, but hey, I've been saying that for about 10 years now, so who knows? Maybe she'll outlive us all.