animal house

It’s been a rough few days for the cats…and it’s gonna be a rough few more.  Let’s just say they don’t like change.  Or baths.  Or haircuts.  Or the vet.  Or dogs…

But that’s exactly what they’re getting.  Rufus is growling in the corner as I type this, making it impossible to forget that I’m gonna be on his naughty list at least until next Monday.

Friday and Saturday of his week, both Rufus and Roger got haircuts.  Rufus also got a bath.  And Roger went to the vet on Monday for his annual checkup.  Now, you might be thinking that Frank’s gotten off easy in this deal.  While her wounds aren’t as physical as the boys’, her psychological wounds are wreaking havoc.  See, when one of the three gets a bath or goes to the vet, they end up smelling different.  For all intents and purposes, Frank is living in the house with two strange cats this week.  Typically this only takes a few days to right itself…but I through them all a curve ball when Trey and I agreed to dog-sit for our dear friends Mike & Rochelle for the entire week.

Monday morning around 10am, Rochelle dropped of Boo & Honey – two of the sweetest little pups you ever did meet.  Though I must admit, their sweetness also comes with a bit of hyperactivity that the felines of the house are less than thrilled about.  Based on my previous contact with the dogs, I assumed Boo (a grey Terrier-ish mutt who weighs all of 4 lbs) would fit right in.  He’s smaller than the cats first of all, and he’s always been the calm one (at least when I’ve been around him!).  Honey, on the other hand, I expected to go ape wild trying to “play” with her new roommates.  She looks a little Pomeranian-ish, is honey-colored and loves to jump to get attention.  I figured she’d scare the crap out of the cats and I’d have to keep a close eye on her all week.

Boy did I have those two mixed up!  I genuinely thought Honey would be my problem child and Boo would be easy as pie.  As it turns out, Boo is absolutely fascinated by the foreign furry creatures and he’s constantly trying to get a closer look (or perhaps a closer sniff).  And to my utter amazement, Honey seems to know that cats and dogs aren’t supposed to be friends and generally leaves them alone.  She must have had a cat family in her previous life because she’s quite content to go on about her business and pay them no attention whatsoever.  I’m absolutely flabbergasted.

One of my favorite things about watching this doggie duo is they (as a unit) remind me of the two dogs I grew up with:  Carrie (short for Caramel – a honey colored Pekingese, and Socky (I have no idea how to spell that, I just know it’s short for Socrates – a grey mutt with a beard who appeared to be much wiser than he actually was).  For that reason, all the madness this week is laces with a touch of nostalgia…and that makes all the hissing (Rufus is STILL sputtering and gurgling in the corner like a bad cappuccino maker) worth it.