Tag Archives: cats and dogs

Grooming Doom Resumed

As close to the outdoors as he wants to get Recently we introduced Chrestomanci to outdoor grooming sessions. He was tense in my arms as I carried him into the front yard, but no worse than Cole usually is so I didn’t think anything of it. I should have. As soon as I placed him on the grass for my husband to brush, he bolted. Chihiro immediately took off after him. My husband ran after Chrestomanci, while I grabbed the dog and put her inside. While I doubt she was the sole or even a main reason why Chrestomanci ran, … Continue reading →

Introducing Chrestomanci

Knowing how lonely Cole is when we leave him alone, I decided it was time to get another cat. After putting a lot of thought into it, I picked one I’d met through my experiences volunteering at the local rescue. He’s around Cole’s age and gets along with other cats. He’s a love bug; when faced with the possibility of affection he goes for it with gusto, emitting a loud rusty chain purr and mashing himself within the arms of whomever’s holding him. He’s perfect, both for Cole and for the whole family. He’s called Chrestomanci, after a character in … Continue reading →

When Fur Flies

One of the first articles I wrote as pets blogger here was about how cats and dogs really can get along. I worked hard to make sure that my cat and dog, even if they’d never be fast friends, tolerated each other. I’m happy to say that while Chihiro and Cole don’t cuddle as much as I wish they would, they definitely seem fond of one another. Unfortunately, that’s made me complacent. It’s easy to forget that pets, like humans, have individual personalities. Just because one dog and one cat get along, that doesn’t mean all will. That’s the hard … Continue reading →

Cats and Dogs Really Can Get Along

They’re as universal an example of opposites as up and down, day and night, right and left. Even the line “cats and dogs getting along” is sometimes used as a turn of phrase for unbelievable events. Thus there’s an idea out there that one has to be either a cat person or a dog person. One can’t love both equally, or one certainly can’t have both as pets without inviting a fur-flying frenzy into the home. At best they’ll get along by avoiding each other for the most part, and at worst they’ll need to be separated. Except that simply … Continue reading →

Dogs and Cats Living Together: Gate Jumpers

In my six month update, I mentioned one of my worst fears: that one of my roommates’ cats will jump the gate and encounter the dogs. Well, it’s happened. Twice. A quick background for new readers: in January, I moved in with roommates. Roommates who have cats. I have two dogs who are known cat chasers, at least when we’re outside. The cats and dogs are kept separate thanks to a baby gate. I wasn’t home for the first gate jumping experience, but here’s the story: Kachiko hopped the gate and wandered into the office, looking for roommate M., her … Continue reading →

Dogs and Cats Living Together: Six Month Update

Wow, has it been six months already? By my calendar, it has. Back in January, the dogs and I moved in with roommates who have two cats. Want to catch up on the story? Introducing the roommates’ kitties, Shiro and Kachiko The first meeting (before we actually moved in) Dogs in residence! Animal body language translates between cats and dogs How each of the animals reacted to the stress of living together Animal behavior isn’t what we expected. I don’t know if the dogs and cats are ever going to be friends — as we’d hoped. Moose and Lally still … Continue reading →

The Dog at the B&B

Last week at the cats only boarding facility, I had a quick refresher on computer stuff — how to add a new client to the system, how to input various charges, how to check someone out, how to put a guest on the schedule. For practice, we pretended that I was a new client and added me to the system. Of course, you may notice that I don’t have any cats to add. So we used Moose. To my surprise, the computer program the boarding facility uses already has codes for dogs. It must be a program that any animal … Continue reading →

Yes, Virginia, It Is Possible for Cats and Dogs to Get Along

If you’ve been following the Tabby/Mr. Meow saga, you’re well aware that they’re not big fans of each other. Worse, Tabby’s been running roughshod over him, making sure he stays confined to his leather chair and isn’t free to roam anywhere else in the house. Murphy’s never been a problem. When we adopted him six years ago, I worried how he and Mr. Meow would get along. Murph proved to be sweet-tempered and uber gentle right from the get go. And Mr. Meow was delighted to have a new companion. So much so he’d break Murph out of the kitchen … Continue reading →

It’s Raining Cats And Dogs: Need An Umbrella?

Being caught in the rain can be either a pleasant or unpleasant experience, depending on the circumstances that surround your capture. If you are singing and dancing in it like Gene Kelly used to do, or running in or from it like other people who can’t sing or dance, you are more than likely to perceive the rain from very different perspectives. But what if you are a cat or dog? How does that fit into the proverbial scheme of things? Hopefully, we are armed with an umbrella most of the time when it rains, but if you are anything … Continue reading →