Here in catland, the kitties are settling into a routine…maybe. Junior has happily moved into his castle. He has a cat tube (cat owners know what this is–for you dog owners, it’s a pet bed, only it’s a tube because cats like to crawl into spaces like that when it is cold.)

Mom Scamp practically disappeared for a week. She showed up for scant minutes once a day to eat, usually after dark–until Thursday when she showed up at 5. She hung around for a while, which is much more normal for cats. Their normal eating pattern is to eat a rather large portion, sit for a while and then top off the tank two or more times before being done eating. She stayed for an hour. During this hour, she hissed at and chased Junior when he got too close to her. She didn’t try to harm him, a huge relief for us. You’d think Junior would be greatly upset by this, but he mimicked a human teenager. “Oh, mom’s got some issue and she’s on my case *all* the time. I just stay out of her way and if things get too annoying, I go in my room.” Yes, like a teen, he went asking for trouble a couple of times, but both parties seemed to accept this as normal.

Once or twice, Mom Scamp chased him up a tree and then waited at the bottom, guarding it. She didn’t actually *do* anything when he came down. These exercises appear to be half game, half training. She wants him independent, but she tolerates him much better.

BMHusband actually was able to pet Junior Friday morning. Junior turned around to see what it was all about, backed away and then went back to eating. He doesn’t get petting, but he didn’t get particularly upset about it either. He’s starting to talk to us too–meow when we come out with food, complain to us when mom takes off–I think he’s beginning to believe we might just be cats despite our odd appearance! Tall ones with little fur, but almost acceptable as some mangy companion types.

As they settle, I should be able to get some better pictures of them (ones where they aren’t in motion, ducking into the castle, or too far away.)

I never use the giblets or the neck of the turkey. This year, we’ve been trying to get a little medicine down Junior because he exhibited some signs that he might be starting to get a urinary tract infection (going in one spot, then within minutes trying elsewhere.) This could easiliy be irritation from the surgery and nothing really wrong. Of course, we can’t catch him to find out. He is eating and playing so we know it is nothing serious.

We can’t catch him to give him any kind of prevention dose, and any kind of penicillin is difficult to get into food (have you tasted the stuff??? It’s pretty bitter.) I know Junior likes the kitten turkey and giblets catfood, so I figured…there sits turkey and giblets!

I simmered the neck and the giblets in mostly water with a 1/3 cup or so of canned chicken broth for a couple of hours. Did some reading on the web in the meantime. Do you know how many people just love the giblets? And the neck??? I knew you couldn’t give the neck to cats or dogs because the bones are small–big choking hazard. I had no idea there was actual meat on there. I had no idea anyone actually ate the meat off there either! Yes, I grew up on a ranch and yes, gramma put the giblets in the stuffing, and NO I did not eat that stuffing except for the bit that dad always made us “try.”

After boiling, I took the broth and made it into gravy–much to my surprise it was really, really *good* gravy. You’d never know it came from the giblets; it was full of rich turkey broth taste! I then took quite a bit of meat off the neck, stuck it and the rest of the giblets in the food processor and turned it into mush. Looks a lot like liver pate. I added some gravy and poof! It’s a smelly mess, just like the stuff that comes out of the cans, only no byproducts or corn products.

I doctored some medicine in there. Few hours later, I tested it out on Junior and guess what? He likes it!

I learned something from all of this–nevermore will I throw the giblets out. That gravy is darn good stuff. If I don’t have cats around that need it, I can use the broth in soups or for gravy for us!

Yeah, I’ll still throw the giblets out or give them to cats. Stinky. I’m not eating them. I know a lot of people give them to their dogs–just remember–DO NOT give them the neck. The bones are too small and sharp and can damage the dog’s throat and can also cause choking.

Thanksgiving. Treats all around!!!

This post should probably be called “Junior learns to play again.” He was pretty playful before events occurred that stressed him out. What with mom Scamp not around to protect his back, he’s much more wary of everything in his environment. It’s been very interesting to watch him.  When mom Scamp was around, he took his cues from her–he almost ignored his surroundings and instead watched for her reactions.  If she went on alert, he went on alert–but his attention was on her, waiting for instructions or cues.  If she ran or gave a bark, he ran.  If she didn’t appear worried, he just played and jumped about.

Now that she doesn’t provide the command center anymore, it’s up to him.  He tilts his head, swivels his ears, looks around at noises, etc.  The lack of a watchdog has prevented him from doing much playing before stopping to go on alert. Luckily lately, he’s begun to trust that he can also watch us for cues.

Since mom Scamp doesn’t want him clinging to her tail all the time, it leaves the little guy with time on his paws. He hasn’t quite figured out what to do with himself. Since we’re providing plenty of food, he doesn’t have to waste his time hunting.

We had a very good play session with him night before last and again last night.   I will say that it is very hard to tire a kitten out! I think within a week or so BMHusband will be able to pet him.  That’s the goal at least!

Scamp is looking awfully good with her full winter coat.  We haven’t had much time to “train” her or play with her–we’ve been pretty busy with Junior, trying to get him healthy and keep him that way.   As you may recall, he started out with constipation and he also had either a urinary tract infection or it came along the way shortly after.  We got the constipation cleared up (a tiny bit of aloe vera in his food) but the infection/irritation set in with a vengence.  Off to the vet we went.

The antibiotics helped, but not quickly.  Little guy was pretty uncomfortable for the better part of a week.  He was obviously getting used to us, as you can see by the picture (he’s always in motion, thus his pictures are always blurry!)  Once we had to handle him at the vet, he seemed to get used to the idea that we weren’t actually attacking. He still scampers if either of us make sudden moves, but he’s quite playful and generally trusting.

After almost a week of antibiotics, Junior got diarrhea…so it was off to Walgreens to get some yogurt and metamucil.  That is probably helping, although, keep in mind, he is a mostly outdoor cat so these things can be very hard to track.  And frankly, who wants to know that much about their pet’s pooping habits???  Yes, yes, I know.  It’s one of the only ways to monitor their health.  Still.

Junior has had a variety of “diets” as we try to get him balanced.  I’ve made him a batch of chicken and chicken livers with gravy (He loves that.  He will take any medicine in it without a single complaint, which is a LOT easier than trying to shove pills down or liquids).  He also gets plenty of fluids from this smelly mess of food.  (I didn’t even know they sold chicken livers in the store before this…)

We learned that giving cats medicine is actually easier if you get the regular medicine–not the stuff for children and pets, which tends to have banana or bubblegum flavor.  The smell is so strong, the cats instantly reject it.  The slight bitter taste of amoxicillin with no additives?  He never seemed to know it was there.  We also put some dried cranberry pills in his food–never a complaint.  We don’t know that craberry will help him at all (it never did a thing for me when I had such an infection!) but there are people that praise the stuff quite highly for soothing the bladder and helping keep certain bacterias from growing.

We also gave him some pumpkin, but either he wasn’t getting enough of it (how much do you give a 4 pound kitten anyway?) or it just didn’t help get his pooping system back to normal.  There are a number of people that swear by it for normalizing the poop.

So the feral cats aren’t *quite* so feral these days, at least the kitten.  Scamp has a ways to go.  She watches pretty carefully when we pet Junior, but does not look at all jealous.   She plays with the toy and the catnip, but not with a great deal of enthusiasm.  She’s a good cat, but she’s still all cat at this point–not crossing over into human territory just yet.

We were just going to catch a couple of feral strays, get them fixed and let them live happily ever after. But as you may have noticed, Junior hasn’t exactly been the fountain of great health. We’ve had him on antibiotics for two weeks to no avail. He’s got some issue with his urinary tract that refused to be fixed. On Tuesday, he plugged. We took him into the Vet, not really knowing what was going on, but knowing that howling in the litterbox wasn’t a positive. Even the vet was surprised he was plugged, given Junior’s energy levels and demeanor. Junior had also gone quite well throughout the night, so he couldn’t have been plugged for more than an hour or so.

Yes, well. It took a small operation and catheter insert to get things moving again. The vet, the Good Dr. Whitehill, highly recommended we leave Junior in the vet hospital until Friday or Sat. Hmm. That was going to run rather higher in expenses that we ever planned. Actually, at this point, let’s say we’ve already run higher than we imagined. But at any rate, we left him in overnight with plans to discuss again.

The follow-up call I received from Dr. Whitehill today informed me that Junior took matters into his own paws. Today, a mere 24 hours after his surgery, he pulled the catheter out, packed his bags and demanded to be sent home. Poor Dr. Whitehill. He really had no choice. What else could he do?

Home with us went bags of medicine and instruction sheets long enough to be a tax form…and a kitten that is rather annoyed to find the cat collar was *not* removed. Don’t worry though. He’s feisty and determined. We suspect that by morning, he will have figured a way to shred the “unbreakable, unshreddable” plastic.

Well, Junior plugged again the day after we got him home (Thursday). Really, it was somewhat expected. We thought it would be the end of the line for Junior–what else could possibly be done?

The vet at Premier Animal Hospital, the great Dr. Daigle, wanted to try perineal urethrostomy. There were a ton of issues with this surgery–cost being a huge factor, but also, I didn’t want Junior to suffer any further. The poor thing has had problems for over a month–never comfortable and just really too distressed. Dr. Daigle had only good things to say about the surgery; I admit, I was skeptical. P/U basically cuts the urethra off wherever the problem is (usually the very narrow end) and sort of extents things back out. This seemed…extreme.

Never mind how long we talked about the possible pros and cons. The bottom line: Junior did unbelievably well in the surgery. He looked good the day after when we went to see him. Well, he actually looked a bit like an orangutan–he is orange and his butt was shaved!!! He ran around a bit, sat and slept in BMHusband’s lap.

On Saturday, he was fritzing out, a combo of the pain meds and the very busy vet’s office. A little girl had gotten stung by a bee and she was screeching at the top of her lungs. In general, cats don’t care for that kind of thing. (Neither do some humans, but I won’t name-names.) Junior ran off some of his excess energy and then began to calm a bit. He’s hating the helmet they keep around his head so that he can’t pull stitches or otherwise cause himself death and destruction. The vet’s office calls us daily with updates–the main one being that “Junior is doing good. He hoovered his food again this morning/afternoon.” Yes, Junior and mom Scamp are both good eaters. I’ve never seen two cats plow through food like they do.  I’m not sure I’ve seen *anything* plow through food like they do.

Junior, the outdoor, live-feral-and-free is going to be a housecat under close supervision for at least two weeks.

Don’t worry about us–we obviously lost our minds, oh, about 3 months ago. The damage isn’t even hardly noticeable anymore…

Whoa. There really is nothing quite like bathing a cat. I suppose it could be worse. Bathing a skunk would be worse. Probably.

Junior has had a lot of partial baths in the last week. I can usually get a leg or a side done while BMHusband holds the squirming furball. He really needed a more extensive bath so we finally braved the waters. All of us, as it turned out. A change of clothing was necessary, Junior yelled “Torture” the entire time and the bathroom mirror was drenched…but the kitten is clean. Well, he was when he went tearing down the hallway yelling, “Freedom or bust!”

All of us are looking forward to the removal of the “lampshade” or helmet thingie. Then Junior can just give himself baths. I’m thinking God probably designed the whole procedure that way for a reason.

I keep reading other blogs that are talking about New Year’s resolutions. I’ve never been much for these sorts of things. That is to say, if I have a resolution or something that needs doing, I don’t wait for New Year’s to decide I’m going to do it. I’m either going to get it done, or I’m not. I know our neighbor has a NY Resolution–he’s going to quit smoking (again.) I know a few people that are going to lose weight–I’m all on board for that one, but I didn’t wait until NY. I’ve been working on that since…well, at least October. It went well. Then it didn’t. Then it went well. Then it didn’t. Seems related to stress. Well, yeah and food.

I’ve already started on the garden work, so I can’t resolve to do that.

I’ve also already started on getting the kitten better–and he’s an ongoing project. He got his stitches out yesterday. Boy was he MAD. It’s the first time he’s actively hidden from us since the beginning. Of course, as far as he is concerned, half his butt got ripped off (there was a scab on there before the episode of the stitches coming out…somehow…it is now missing. We figure that was the HUGE rebel-scream we heard while we were sitting in the waiting room.) He’s resting peacefully at the moment, but we get the eye-peering thing where he peeks at us from under the table–ready to run if we look suspicious. It’s very hard to look innocent and harmless even though we had nothing to do with the scab or stitches unless you count putting him in the carrier and taking him there. I assume he will forget (or forgive) in a day or so.

There’s probably some other things I could resolve. I could resolve to dust more (and cart the current dust out to the garden to be composted) but I know I won’t really do it. I’m not a duster. Those wheelbarrow’s full of dust are quite heavy. Seems like a job for a professional.

I think I’ll leave the resolving to those with more determination. I’ll just keep wandering around holding the dust rag and looking busy.

For any that missed it, I posted my top reads for 2008 a bit early this year, but you can find the post here: If you’re looking for some excellent reading suggestions, check it out!!!!

Okay, we’ll start with the big news. Junior needs a spanking! The cat went feral on us yesterday after acting a bit strange all day. Was it the fireworks over the last 3 days? The kids yelling next door yesterday? Just the general, “I can’t take it anymore?” We rushed him to the vet (I either need to get a job there or at least a cot, we’re there so often.) The vet agreed something was drastically wrong…but had no idea what. The cat drooled, wouldn’t settle down–he was in a complete panic attack. With no sign or reason. We had to leave him overnight. This morning, the little angel was eating and playing with the vet, the techs, anyone that came near him. The vet said he must have gotten into something toxic. Yes, well, we looked everywhere last night and can’t find anything he might have gotten into. He had the lampshade on, which makes it pretty hard for him to get into anything. Seriously.

So the vet thinks we’re bad parents because we let Junior find trouble. We think we’re bad owners because we somehow allowed that poor cat to be terrified out of his wits.

When he gets home, he’s getting a spanking, I tell you.

Gardening
There is probably something else going on in my life besides daily trips to the vet. I have to think hard, but I remember being a gardener once upon a time. Of course when I went to Wal-Mart they were still busy getting rid of Christmas–no onion starters yet. Not that I *need* more onions. It’s just warm out and I feel the need to plant something.

Since there were no onions, I planted some snap peas. And then some green onions. I’m thinking about expanding a section of my garden. No, I can’t keep up with a larger garden. Yes, I do this to myself every year. It’s out of control.

Reading

The Town Drunk has a new issue out. I’ve read the first story and I really liked it. It’s bizarre. It’s called Super Hero, Uncensored by Kabza. I’m pretty sure I had this job once, only no one referred to me as a superhero. I guess the only difference is that after Junior, I have no desire to work in a pet store…

Jim Hines’ new series comes out on Tuesday: The Stepsister Scheme. I started reading it and it’s good. Quite good so far.

The paperback version of The Vacant Throne comes out on Tuesday as well. It’s the third in the throne series by Joshua Palmatier. I haven’t started on the second one yet, but the first was a very good read–an orphan girl surviving on medieval streets. What made her stand out wasn’t actually her “talent” it was her sheer guts.

Do you think Junior misses the outdoors????   He found my plants yesterday and about caved in his ribs sniffing away at the dirt.  We decided on a short jaunt outside to see how he handled the stress…

All morning, we wondered if Scamp had been by.  The food had been picked at, but it was hard to say whether it was Scamp or birds.  Junior headed right for the food bowl when we opened the back door.  With a few sniffs, he knew whether Scamp had been by.  He didn’t tell US whether Scamp was there, but you just know he knows.  It’s amazing really that cats and dogs can discern so much.  For us, it’s just a bowl of food, no matter how hard I look–or sniff.  For Junior–I’d be willing to bet he knows whether blue jays, starlings or mom was by–or all three.

Junior did try to find mom Scamp, but we got just enough rain that the below ground drainage had too much water for a little guy like him.  We actually would not have let him out had we checked the drainage system first–we know all the cats use the tunnels as their personal highway system, but we didn’t really want to lose Junior to drowning in the first 15 minutes of freedom!

He tried several ways around the standing water and even went in up to his knees, but eventually, he gave up and came back into the yard.  We were pretty relieved.  The whole experience was a bit like watching a toddler try to ride a tricycle…with us overworried and the kitten supremely confident.

You’ll also notice he now is the proud owner of a collar.  He’s taking to it quite well actually because anything beats the satellite dish that was around his head.  He’ll be having more outdoor adventures soon.  He loves it out there, and I can always use the help chasing birds out of the garden.

As you can see from this bonus picture, he is not having any trouble relaxing.  This seems an odd position for a cat, but apparently no one told him, so he just lounges about sleeping and watching football with us.

Unbelievably, on Thursday Junior had another episode where he was drooling.  This time we knew to try and calm him, and watch him.  It wasn’t that bad–Friday morning, he was much more normal, but by Friday afternoon, the cat was seriously freaking out.  We gave him a remaining dose of the pain medication we had leftover from the surgery.  It did seem to help–the drooling stopped and he seemed calmer, but it was pretty obvious he was still distressed over something.   The vet was close to closing and we did not want to freak the cat out by taking him in and leaving him overnight for observation. The last time they gave him valium and watched him, but we felt that we did more harm by making him go than by trying to keep him calm at home.

At…midnight or so, we gave him sub-q fluids.  He didn’t seem as nervous and was resting.  He wasn’t all great and good and we didn’t know whether he’d make it to morning, but he didn’t appear to be in any pain and he wasn’t scared anymore.

In the morning, he was shaky, but he ate!  I swear this kitten is part piglet.  He was able to walk here and there, but did keep stopping and sitting because he didn’t have much strength (it was more of an oozing to the ground as he walked).  We called the vet to discuss.  Basically the vet repeated the same thing as before:  He had to be getting in something.  We went over various possibilities based on symptoms:  Could have been that he managed to lick some of the Revolution flea medication we put on him on Tues.  He could be allergic to it.  We had introduced a new dry food a couple of weeks back; he had just started to eat that over the last few days.  I keep tomato seedlings inside; it was possible that fertilizer or insecticide had leaked through the pots into the standing water in the bottom.  Junior had put his feet in there on Tues and Wed–he then might have licked this stuff off.   I didn’t realize I had even bought the kind of dirt that contains fertilizer pellets; I normally do not, but had gotten it by mistake.

I did some research on the web.  His symptoms match insecticide much more closely than fertilizer–AND, here is an important key:  It can get through his skin–doesn’t have to be licked off.   Of course there is the problem that the first time this happened…we don’t think he got his feet or any other body parts in the plants.  He had the hood on so he couldn’t really get to the ledge well.   Not to say it couldn’t have happened.  There’s also the problem that I have only used the insecticide one time…and I don’t remember when it was.  It would likely have already broken down, but there is no real way to know.  I had picked that insecticide to begin with because I thought it was safe for pets–turns out it is safe for DOGS, but not cats.  Pyrethrin is toxic to cats.  It’s used in dog flea powders and baths and is often labeled as very benign.  I remember reading about it being very safe for dogs–in my head that became, safe for pets.

We took away all his toys, the new food, the tomato plants.  We gave him a bath with dawn to get rid of any suspect remaining oils on the back of his neck from Revolution.  In case he is allergic to it, we can’t give it to him again (but keep in mind the first episode happened BEFORE the revolution.)

It remains a mystery, but the good news is Junior is doing quite well.  Again.  Lord, let’s keep it that way for a while, Please?

So it turns out the problem (probably all along with the weird actions and drooling) was the FOOD.  Kittens cannot have urinary tract diet.  We did not know this.  It does not say so on the bags of food or the general area of the website pages.  When the vet had us put him on canned, expensive urinary food, we noticed on the research page on the web that it was contraindicated in kittens.  We asked why.  The vet called them and from what we gather there was something about “nutritional needs, extra calcium, etc.”   No one mentioned acid reflux or farts that would register on the richter scale in Yellowstone.  Yes, the scientists there think there is renewed volcanic activity, but it’s just Junior’s farts.

Apparently kittens have very acidic urine already.  This acidity should have kept him from getting the crystals that caused him to plug way back when we were on his first illness.  NO wait, it was his second illness.  Anyway, giving them acidic food doesn’t agree with them.  The vet did tell us to go back to kitten food after a week of the urinary diet, but when the kitten food seemed to be giving him diarrhea (which was probably tapeworms) we decided to be extra careful with him and switch him to an over the counter urinary diet, one the vet recommended when he reached age one.  We just decided to be proactive and early.  And it gave poor little Junior such violent heartburn he was in enough pain that he fritzed and drooled.  Then he went to the vet.  The vet just fed him whatever they had on hand after treating him for the panic.  Good move–it was normal acidity and agreed with Junior’s system.

We got him home and he went back on the urinary diet.  Soft stool arrived and those farts I told you about.  They weren’t just showing up on the richter scale either. There was enough sulphur and rot in them to send the scientists running for gas masks.

We finally arrived at this conclusion because we had eliminated EVERYTHING else in Junior’s environment except the food.  We were sitting around two nights ago when the drool started.  There was nothing he had gotten into except he had just eaten.   That was it.  We’d tried two brands of urinary diet, so we didn’t think it was the manufacturer.  We went to the store and got some other stuff.  We had to try SOMETHING.

We trolled the internet.  We began to come across articles that discussed farts and acidity of foods.  We then found another food manufacturer site that mentioned that if you had a multi-cat household, not to let kittens eat the urinary diet.  Hmm.  Why???  They didn’t say, just like the original site we saw.  But I bet they know why.  And we are pretty sure we know why.

It’s been two days on regular food for Junior and 1/4 tablet of pepcid ac every 12 hours for the last 36 hours.  The drool has dried up.  Thank God the farts have too.  He is a much happier cat.  We are much happier people.   Thank God that one of the vets at Premier Animal Hospital mentioned he might have damage due to the first drooling session, and we should give him Pepcid in case the drooling was heartburn.  Cats can’t have most medicines so we never would have guessed.  We didn’t even know that he might be having heartburn.  We didn’t even know that cats could GET heartburn.  But we know how painful it can be.  And now, thankfully, he is eating right and doing well.   We’ll know that his insides are better when his meow returns to normal–right now he sounds a little hoarse.

So the moral of the story is that if you have really bad farts, try changing the acidity of your diet.  Or something like that.

If I weren’t going out of town next week, I’d be trying an early start on the cucumbers…cantaloupe…and any other seeds I still have!!  It’s another beautiful day out there.  Junior is doing very well these days–he’s off all medications and is starting to act a lot like a real cat.   He “helps” in the garden by digging arbitrary holes.  He likes to dig a LOT.  He also likes to roll around in the dirt for no apparent reason.  That’s okay, I like to play in the dirt too, so I sort of understand.  (I’m not into rolling in it, but by the time I get done out there, sometimes it looks as though I’ve been rolling in it!)

Scamp still comes around.  She and Junior tolerate each other and are mostly polite.  No sign that they will play, but they have to adjust all over again.  Scamp hasn’t been as interested in the garden, but she did come over to say hello when we were sitting on the porch.

As I mentioned–I’ll be out of town for a week and a half or so.  Next week, starting Sunday, I won’t post for about a week and a half.  Don’t worry about Junior and Scamp.  BMHusband will be here and I’ll either leave him or Junior in charge.  Probably BMHusband.   Junior tends to overeat when he is given too many responsibilities, such as monitoring how much goes into the food bowl.  

I know, it’s past time for an update on the critters in this family!  They are both doing fine.  Junior still fights diarrhea, but we figure that we’ll eventually get a handle on it.  Luckily he’s spending more time outside now so some of the rather goopy messes do not require anything by us humans.  The best news is that he is happy.  He doesn’t seem to notice that he goes to the litterbox 5 times a day on those days he’s having a problem.  He eats plenty, drinks plenty and plays like a maniac.   Scamp actually comes and waits for him to come out and play.  Oh sure, she still hisses at him and acts like she is boss lady, but they play chase and fence and pounce.   Mostly she pounces on him of course, and it does seem that she is the chaser more often than not.  Junior doesn’t mind.  He likes to climb trees and run about.  He taunts her by sitting inside the house, daring her to come inside.  She’s been in once or twice, but only about a foot or three.

Junior’s favorite game is “fence” or “door” during which he waits on one side and tries to grab hands or feet underneath.  If you’re standing next to a door, don’t be surprised if a paw slides under and grabs at you!!!   He never tires of this game.

Scamp is a little friendlier with us, but really, she’s probably just waiting for Junior.  The play does her good.  She has been putting on a little more weight than necessary now that she doesn’t spend time hunting for food.  Running around the yard will keep her healthy.

Junior is truly a people cat.  He loves to be near us–at our feet, under our chairs, right next to us.   If BMHusband goes to the back room (office) Junior will wait a minute or two, and then go check on him.  He likes to know where we are.   Even when out playing, he periodically comes back inside, just to make sure we’re around.  I wonder if he might outgrow this tendency as he gains confidence in his environment.  Who knows?

We’re glad that he and Scamp seem to be getting along better.  It’s good for both of them.  Scamp spends more time in the yard too, which is safer for her.

All in all, the last two weeks of cats has been easier than the last two months. 

You’ll note that Scamp refused to pose for a picture this morning.  She tends to come early when the light isn’t good.  She was here playing, but not near the house.   It’s also cloudy, so there wasn’t a good opportunity.   Junior wasn’t particularly helpful this morning either.  I wanted him to climb a tree–something he’s been doing a lot lately.  A helpful bird even showed up, but all he did was go into alert mode…he’s also trying to learn to open doors wider so that he can get through.  The problem is that he gets pushing and pulling confused because every door is different.  Mostly he tries to grab the door and hang on.  Weirdly, this usually works as his weight tends to move the door.  Then, when it opens enough, he lets go and scampers along his way.