Downstairs Neighbors

Last night, Snowball and her mom and I were having a nice, quiet Friday evening pizza dinner at the Homestead. We were enjoying our customary routine of guessing the puzzles on Wheel of Fortune and looking forward to watching baseball, Royals or Cubs, afterwards. Suddenly there was a knock that sounded just like someone at the front door except it was coming from the floor! […]

Dogs and Cats – Living Together

There’s a scene in the original Ghostbusters movie where Bill Murray’s character is trying to convince the mayor of New York how dire the situation is. He claims the city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions with dogs and cats living together in mass hysteria. In my opinion that mixture is a recipe for disaster in real life too. No one warned me that I would be living with a dog when they stuck me in a cat carrier and dragged me up here to the homestead. I’ve seen dogs before and Bast knows I could smell them at the rescue center. But this is the first time I’ve had to put up with one full time […]

I’m Not Happy About This!

A couple days ago the curmudgeon told you all about the move from the Compound to our new life here on the Homestead. He’s wallowing in blissful ignorance thinking my cell mate Roswell the Maine Coon and I are happy here. He thinks just because we have a sun room and an outdoor cage that we have to get to through a tunnel that we are happy kitties. Well I’m here to tell you it’s not so! […]

Summer Sensibilities

A couple days ago my ape went to the pet store to get food for me and my cell mate Roswell. He has to go to a pet store with an onsite vet because Roswell is overweight and needs special food – sort of Weight Watchers for cats. So sad for him, but anyway I digress.

After my ape returned he told me the tale of watching customers bringing their pets, mostly dogs, into the store with them. Now this is a very Good Thing. It helps the bond between animal and ape.  But there is something that bothered us both as he told me this story. When people drag their animals with them they need to consider among other things that the animals are barefoot!!

This is a shady spot on the porch. The concrete is always cool.
This is a shady spot on the porch. The concrete here is always cool.

While standing in the check out line, my ape watched two dog owners standing outside in front of the store and talking while holding their dog’s leash. It was a hot day and the concrete was sizzling. The dogs were literally dancing trying to keep their paws cool. One dog was even trying to stand in the shadow of his master’s friend but kept being pulled back because his actions were misinterpreted as an annoyance to other ape. The spectacle was over by the time my ape was leaving the store or he probably would have said something to the inconsiderate owners.AnimalsMatterScarf500x500

There are always plenty of warnings in the summer about remembering to not leave animals or even children in hot cars. There was an actual incident a week ago at a grocery store near our compound where animals trapped in a hot car were released by heroic passersby. But remember to be considerate to all of the conditions you inflict on to your animals. Not just hot cars but any man-made environment, like hot concrete, can be harmful to an animal if left there too long. And always provide fresh water.