Wordless Wednesday - A Morning with Onyx and Indiana

Monday Mischief: Indiana is a Fussy Boy!

After a peaceful Friday with Indiana at daycare, I was hoping to get some more work done with him around.  It didn't quite go as planned!  As I was doing some computer work, I was interrupted by this-

Teaching him "Speak" has apparently backfired right at this moment, and he would not give up until I satisfied his need to play.  He did eventually settle down after a game of toss with his football.

But, that didn't last long.  He decided to settle in Onyx's favorite cardboard box and eat it.

I decided I needed to give him a time out in his crate to settle down for real.  Soon, he curled up blissfully in his blankets for a much needed nap.

And Onyx got his box back.

Dogs That Warm Our Hearts (as well as our laps)

While I'm not a huge fan of Purina's dog food, this commercial made me very weepy.  The music and compilation of videos killed me.  (I've watched it about five times and am still almost crying.)

And to continue tugging on your heart strings, The Husband was on a two day business trip.  I was very excited to have him home, but not quite as excited as Indiana.  (Onyx was excited too, but likes to play it very cool.)

An Ode to my Black Cat on Friday the 13th

This Friday the 13th morning, Indiana and Onyx successfully napped on the bed together, and it warmed my heart them getting along, even if the dog was under the blanket and probably unaware of his proximity to the cat.  After adopting Indiana, things got a bit more exciting forOnyx and he didn't appreciate it for quite a while.  Now, I think that Onyx is finally getting used to his new dog sibling and he is finally going back to his old routines of snuggling the Husband and me in the morning and sitting in my lap.

I tend to look evil in pictures, but I promise I'm a sweetheart.

Unfortunately, not all black cats get such a cushy life.  Black cats get a bad rap.  They are seen as "unlucky" and "evil."  All of this is totally false, of course but they still have a hard time getting adopted from shelters according to the ASPCA.  This is terribly sad, and something I did not know when I went looking to adopt my cat, who turned out to by the aptly named, Onyx.  In fact, when the Husband saw Onyx in the cat enclosure when we visited Manhattan's ASPCA shelter, I thought I'd have to jump through more hoops to adopt a black cat, thinking shelters saw too many prospective adopters looking for back cats for nefarious purposes.  Turns out I was not wrong about black cats and some bad adoptions.

My Chat Noir

Now, my regal Onyx is one of my muses and just a great cat. My Black Cat crosses my path everyday and never causes any bad luck.


Some Positive Cat Myths

How to Keep a Dog Happily Tired and Not Eating Cardboard Boxes

Normally, Indiana likes spending a majority of the day buried under blankets, snoozing in a cocoon.  

Unfortunately, not all days are like this.  As a stay at home pet parent, it is my duty to entertain the animals when they get bored.  The consequences can be dire, but mostly annoying.  Chewed up cardboard.  Dog chasing cat.  Cat chasing dog.  Dog finding a cat toy and eating it.  Mostly dog finding something and attempting to eat it; a tactic Indiana knows is sure to get me out of my seat and giving him attention.

The Everlasting Fun Ball (for Breakfast Fun)

But, I have a few tricks of my own to keep Indiana calm and serene until Daddy comes home (which is when he lets out all of his reserved energy).  The best way to tire Indiana out is to never let him sleep in, which he loves to do.  If he had his way, he would stay wrapped up in blankets inside of his crate til ten, then waltz out seeking attention and harassing the cat all day.  So, I gently nudge him awake, until he stretches and huffs a little and is ready to go outside for a bit.

After his morning walk, I give him his breakfast in an Everlasting Fun Ball.  This is a great product to keep your dog entertained for a bit.  You pour kibbles in, put it on the ground and watch your dog push it around with his nose and eat kibbles that fall out.  However, it has some serious drawbacks, mostly getting the kibbles into the darn thing and how easily the kibbles fall out!  I've come up with a paper funnel that I carefully pour the kibbles into, after taping the bottom hole.  Then, I put some tape over the top hole so that only a few kibbles fall out as Indiana rolls it.  Otherwise, the holes allow way too much food to fall out with minimal effort from him, which doesn't mentally tucker him out at all.  I have to be careful about him not eating the tape though! It is a supervised activity, listening for crinkeling instead of crunching.  Also, it helps that Indiana is a Hoover Dog and will go over the whole apartment sniffing for missed crumbs.

This is usually enough to keep him napping til his lunch time walk.  But, on the days that he has some extra energy, I whip out the cat toy.  Yes, I've found that Indiana loves the feathers attached to a string that used to be reserved for the cat.   Of course the cat gets in too, and Indiana waits patiently for his turn to play.

You can hear his teeth click as he tries to catch it.  He's not as fast as the cat but jumps much higher.

Thankfully there is also a dog park a couple blocks from my apartment to make up for my lack of backyard.  However, with all the snow and lukewarm days, it has been a muddy mess recently and we are all suffering from cabin fever a bit.  That or muddy paws.  I'm not sure which is worse.

Are your dogs rambunctious during the day?  How do you keep them entertained?

Learning to Get Along

Indiana and Onyx managed to share the prime blanket space on top of the couch for a few minutes. Although this could be seen more as invading personal boundaries, by the look on Onyx's face.

The Indoor Cat Conundrum

"But he wants to go outside." "We live on a very quiet street." "It's cruel to keep her in." These are things said by people who would never dream of opening the door and sending toddlers to wander down the street on their own. - Why All Cats Should Be Indoor Cats

I came across an interesting article on the PETA website. While I'm not always too keen on their fanatically serious take on animal issues, I felt this article was a great policy for any cat owner. It explains the dangers of allowing a cat to go outside, and I couldn't agree more with their view on keeping cats indoors, unless under supervision. Onyx hasn't been outside while I've owned him, and I plan to keep it that way, until I can build him a little kitty enclosure in our future backyard. Or, the day comes that he learns to love the leash I purchased for him while trying to fulfill my desire for a dog.

He does occasionally get to wander into the hallway of our apartment building, but seems pretty relieved to be scooted back inside.

Does this face look like it could handle the great outdoors?

Sidenote: Image Googling "Cat Outdoor Enclosures" comes up with some brilliant, zany, totally over the top enclosures Onyx dreams of in his sleep. Check out some winners here.

A taste of the sweet feline life.