I have four pets… in the same bedroom… all taking a nap. Three of them are on the bed (two cats and Zoe), and Zeeke is on his dog bed. I feel so blessed. Jo for some reason likes to cuddle up close to me on the bed, laying against my legs (on my mouse, actually).

We lost Jo the other day. I started panicking and looking everywhere I could think he might possibly be, and couldn’t find him. I was just pulling on my boots to look outside when I looked up and saw him sitting in the middle of the kitchen, yawning. I was relieved, but perplexed. He must have been in the kitchen - but he wasn’t in his cupboard. So the next time he wasn’t in his cupboard I started searching around the kitchen. In the far corner, tucked away against the radiator, is the little carpetted cat “hole” - a cylindrical thing with a hole in the side. I bought it for Jo, but he only would sleep on top of it, never in it. It ended up falling off the top of the cupboard where it was, and I just left it there. So I’m poking around and I stick my hand inside it and feel… fur. Yep. Jo had squeezed his way into the corner and wormed into the little cylinder. So cute! Maybe he liked the warmth of it, being up against the radiator? At least he’s using it now.

Today I got an email from Zoe’s sister’s adoptive parents! They sent along a little movie of Schatsie, and hopefully will be sending some photos my way too. The two dogs look very different - Schatsie has a white body with some dark spots, with a dark head - but the head and build is very similar. She said Schatsie too is around 30lbs, and has a big fluffy tail. Schatsie, unlike Zoe, doesn’t have any fear issues… they said she’s very friendly, no behavioral problems at all. Which only reinforces my opinion that the pups were NOT abused, Zoe’s just hardwired this way. Oh well, I love her just the way she is. Anyways, it’s just really neat to see how Zoe’s sister is doing. Sometimes I would think about her.

Oh by the way - I did a group weigh-in on our new digital scale the other day.
Zoe: 31.8 lbs
Jo: 11.2 lbs
Merlin: 11.8 lbs

Yeesh, no wonder Merlin has been feeling heavy lately!

This morning Den got up to get ready for work (yes, he’s working this weekend) and of course soon after he opens the bedroom door I get a purring cat in my face. I was barely awake, just put my hand out to pet him as I got headbutted and purred loudly at. I love my morning cat cuddles.

But for a moment there, in my half-awake state, I for some reason thought it was Jo. No, no, I told myself. It’s got to be Merlin purring that loud - and besides, he’s the one who comes running in the bedroom every morning for cuddles.

And then I realized I had a cat purring in my face - and a cat climbing on my back. It was both of them! I guess both had come running in the door when Den went out, and both were now pacing around my head purring. That was a lot of kitty love! I was in heaven. I love both my little men very much… I’m just so happy to have them both!

R.I.P. Jeremy. You will be missed.

(He was a Leukemia positive cat at work. He passed away Friday night.)

The two crazies (Merlin and Zoe) are playing rougher and rougher. They are both enjoying themselves, but Merl’s claws got stuck in her fur a few times - which means he’s using them to cling. She doesn’t seem to mind though so I’m not interfering. They are just having a blast, bouncing all over the bed, body-slamming each other into the soft mattress. Unfortunately just now Zoe half sat on Merlin, to which Merlin started biting her tail - a little too hard, apparently, as Zoe leapt to her feet with a “YIPE!” In response Merlin got up and walked off, I guess ready to end the game… but Zoe jumped at him to start it again. I guess she wasn’t hurt too badly. (I was half afraid that she’d suddenly be terrified of the cat for a little while, if she got hurt. But she’s a tough cookie, I guess!)

Today we had a big cleaning job ahead of us, and we weren’t looking forward to spending time breaking down and tearing apart all the huge boxes left over from Christmas. So I said, “Get Zeeke to do it.” So he did! He needed our encouragement to keep going at it and really tearing them up, but the look in his eyes when we told him it was okay to rip the cardboard to shreds was sheer excitement and disbelief. He just couldn’t believe that we said it was OKAY to do it. Destruction! Sanctioned destruction! What could be better??

Meanwhile, Zoe is having an absolute ball playing with Merlin every day. She just loves the attention, and loves to wrestle. I did note that she was doing several of the same moves that Zeeke does on her - such as squashing and head-biting. Merlin doesn’t seem to mind. Someone looking at the photos remarked that Merlin had his claws sheathed in all of them. They’re both pretty gentle with each other… they play hard, but they are definitely just playing.

I constantly remark to Den about how laid-back Merlin is. He’ll sleep anywhere, anytime, usually with all four paws in the air. He doesn’t care of Zeeke is practically trampling him… doesn’t really care much about anything. He’s a very happy-go-lucky cat. If you rough Jo up a bit or hold him longer than he’d prefer he tends to get grumpy and will bite you to let you know his displeasure. Merlin though? You can annoy the heck out of him and he just does an imitation of a rag doll. He’s a very energetic cat, though - always running around, playing with Jo or Zoe, sometimes even Zeeke. He definitely has his daily crazies. Jo appears a lot more sedate than Merlin… even though previously we thought Jo was a crazy one! Either he’s mellowed (because Merlin is tiring him out!) or just the contrast makes it obvious. Jo isn’t a kitten anymore.

Merlin’s getting fat, though. I haven’t gotten any pictures of just how chubby he’s been getting. I just can’t believe how much he eats - he’s always in the food dishes, and always telling me when they’re empty. I finally had to strictly ration the cats to a cup of dry in the morning, a half cup of dry in the evening, and an evening meal of 1 can of canned food. Right now I’m feeding the Wellness canned, it has excellent ingredients, and Dave’s brand dry food. The cats love it! I threatened them that if they continue to eat it like such pigs that I’ll have to switch to a brand they don’t like as much! But anyways, Merlin weighs at least as much as Jo does at this point. And he’s a bit chubbier in the midsection. So my goal is to get him slimmed down a little bit - no fat pets in this house.

I LOVE all my pets. I just adore them all. Despite anything else that goes on in my life, sometimes I think it was all meant to happen this way, because I was meant to get all these animals, these specific, particular animals. Merlin coming into our lives was such a circumstantial thing, we weren’t looking for another cat and Den certainly didn’t WANT another cat. But he came anyways, and we just love him. We’re amazed and thrilled with how well he gets along with all the others here. He’s changed Jo for the better - Jo is no longer quite so afraid to venture out of the kitchen, to sleep on the couch or play in the hallways. I put a little fleece blanket on my desk, and Jo frequently comes over to nap beside me while I work on the computer.

They are all just so special to me.

Interesting tidbit of information: Zoe gets snappy and possessive about her food with Zeeke, but not with the cats. And, obviously, not with us. The last few days Merlin has been very much in her face, sticking his head in her food bowl (in her crate!), and just now licking peanut butter out of the kong she is chewing. I watched carefully, and she either just continues eating around him or sits back and watches him. Weird. I wonder why she gets so snarky with Zeeke but not with anyone else?

Zoe was SO hyper last night when we got home late after a new year’s party. We just wanted to go to sleep, but she was spazzing hyper - and Merlin was her unwilling victim. She pinned him to the bed on his back and was growling, mock-biting (bitey face), licking him, pushing him with her paws, etc. She was very loud, and very physical - sometimes laying on him. He kicked her a little, bit her neck and just generally wrestled with her. It was so funny! Finally though I called Zoe off, since Merlin couldn’t get up even if he wanted to, lol. But they’ve been playing more and more often. It’s great!