All Frank Wants For Christmas...

Frank (or Blue Max as he's otherwise known) had a typical cat Christmas morning.  He got up and did his usual routine... at least with cats they don't wake you up at 5am to open presents.  Frank only wakes us up at 5am when he's chasing Maxine through the house but that's another story.  Anyway, after we had done all the usual adult stuff of starting the day, it was time to open the few presents that we share here in our household.  We don't do much in the way of presents because there is so little that we need or want, it just doesn't make sense to spend money just for the sake of having presents to open but Ken and I always have something for each other and just for the purpose of making the gift thing last a little longer, we have presents for the cats and Maggie. 

Frank and Maggie assist Ken with his package... Maggie keeps her eyes down so as to not accidentally make eye-contact and thus bite Frank's head off.

Maggie and Frank were real excited about presents... Maggie thought the sausage dog treats were 'different' and wasn't sure she was ready to eat the one Ken gave her.  It required a bit of analysis first.  Frank represented the other Max cats at the gift opening, the others couldn't be bothered with something so human and while he wasn't overly excited about his extra large bag of cat treats (his favorite), he was real excited about the wrapping paper.

Frank winds up for an explosion of cat energy

 

Did I do that?  It wasn't me...

The wrapping paper has been properly subdued...

The job finished, Frank shot off to hide under the green footstool  back behind the rocking chair.  His work here is finished.

Naturally, all the pictures above were only a few of the many taken including many that just showed a white blur..  The whole wrapping paper episode was hysterical to say the least but there were just too many to show and besides, cats are like children, we always think that our are the 'cutest'.

Enough silliness. So, what can I say but Merry Christmas from the Horton household.
Cheers

Maggie Will Have A Latte, Please.

Of all the dogs that have shared my life, most of them were beer drinkers.  Peggy, a Boston Terrier liked a bit of wine at Christmas but mostly, the dogs that I've known have been beer drinkers.  Bridget, a Doberman/lab loved to drink beer and often went to visit our renter, they'd sit out on the picnic table and drink beer together on warm summer evenings.  But, Maggie has always been a coffee drinker.  Maggie was rescued by a friend of mine when her mother was shot while scrounging for food, Maggie was ten days old and my friend took the litter and eventually found homes for all the pups... Maggie was the last to get adopted but during the weeks before she came to live with us, Maggie went to work with my friend who owned a drive-thru coffee stand and I suspect Maggie had more than a few sips of coffee drinks during this time. My friend stopped by my house one evening to show Ken the cute little puppy... the rest is history

 

Maggie is a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd so she's has always been high energy, especially when she was young so she drinks decaf or half-caf... I can't quite imagine a Border collie on caffeine.  Scary.  For a long time, I thought Maggie liked lattes because of the milk but she'll also drink straight old Folgers... I can't bring myself to drink it but she will.

 

 

Maggie will stick her nose all the way down into a cup to lick out the last bit of foam.

 

 

On Saturday or Sunday, Maggie and I drive down to Rainier and get a latte and visit with Amy, Maggie's new best friend.  At first Mag didn't care for riding in my Subaru because she prefers the full-size bench seat in our old '76 Ford truck but she will tolerate the bucket seats to go get coffee.  The biggest problem is that she keeps turning on the seat warmers... hmmm. 

 

I know coffee isn't one of the better beverages of choice for dogs but Maggie can't afford too many lattes and naturally, she isn't allowed to order mochas.  I don't share especially well so she doesn't get much more than the foam in the cup.  Maggie loves the little bit she does get and she loves to go see Amy.

 

 

Life in a Cat House

Frank (Blue Max) has a new evening ritual.  Now, I've heard that it's good to have rituals, that they give your life order and structure.  Maybe it works for him but his newest ritual makes bedtime interesting for the people in his house.

This is the goal at the end of the day... having Frank asleep.  But Frank has other ideas and has decided that he likes to wrap up his days with a walk... outside...late... when the things that eat cats are out and around.  Now, you have to remember that Frank is an indoor cat, for his own protection.  I don't think I've ever known a cat that needed a keeper more than Frank.  But, Frank has learned that if he gets lined up to the front door 'just right', he can very casually stroll out the front door when Ken comes back into the house after taking Yellow Max out to the garage for the night which is usually about 9pm. We finally figured out that since Ken painted the front door a very light color, Frank doesn't show up against it and it helps him slip by, unnoticed. Sort of like cat suburban camouflage.

The latest episode happened last night.  I got ready to go to bed (midnightish) and realized I hadn't seen Frank for awhile and he hadn't done any zooming through the house for a couple hours.  So, I stepped out onto the front steps in my pj's and slippers and called him.  He strolled up to the gate in the rain and asked me to come open it for him... I told him to jump it like a real cat which he eventually did.  Then, he stopped to nibble grass and his body language told me that if I got any closer, he'd do a runner.  Now, you have to remember, Frank doesn't have a good 'outdoor' cat coat... he's a little thin in places, just like his brain.  You'd think he'd be happy to get in out of the rain.  So, I went and got the cat treats, shook the bag and zoom, Frank was back in the house.   It never hurts to have a bag of cat treats close by.

I'm going to have to go back to hanging onto Frank when Ken comes in at night...  he's a sweet cat but maybe a little brighter than I've given him credit for.  Gotta love him.

Just Frank

Spring is in the air and Frank has spring fever.  Frank is a bit of a blur... that's normal for him.

Franks's personal outdoor space is ready for him to use when the urge to get outside and get his nose in the air.

Looks harmless, doesn't he?  He can get more chaos going, faster than any cat I've ever known.  Gotta love him.

Dumpster Diving According to Frank (Blue Max)

Every household needs a comdedian and Frank is ours.  Frank lives in the house so he has a few extra activities that the outside cats could care less about and one of Frank's favorite amusements is his cat treat box or as Ken calls it, Frank's Dumpster.  The cat treat box sits in a corner of the kitchen and I think I may be the only person who tolerates a beat up cardboard box in the kitchen... just to keep the cat happy and entertained.  Frank enjoys his treats, the other cats could care less but they're important to Frank.  Before the box, I'd drop a few cat treats in front of him and he might get them but he might not... it turns out that that his dog buddy also likes cat treats. 

Anyway, one day a shipment of Maggie's dog supplements arrived and after removing the tub from the box, the box was set on the floor, in the corner of the kitchen and within seconds, Frank was in it... those blue eyes staring up as if to say "I'll have a cat treat now"  and the tradition was born.  But it isn't the end of the story, the box has become a place where Frank can do cat tricks like head stands and flips.  The box lets Frank feel like a hunter when he has to dig his prey out from under the cardboard flap in the bottom.  In short, the box is entertainment for Frank and for us. 

 

Sometimes Frank sends time in his box just thinking.

 

 

Frank likes to dive in from different directions... this is why Ken calls Frank's highly developed technique 'dumpster diving'.

 

 

 

 

In he goes... one of the few pictures that wasn't a blur.  Frank is a blur in most his pictures. He doesn't have a setting for 'slow'. 

Frank enjoys his box.  When we're in the kitchen, he sits in it and looks up at you with those big blue eyes which say "feed me treats"... it's a wonder Frank isn't a chubby guy but then he's very regular with his workout (several times a day) which can't be captured in pictures unless you like to look at blurs of white fur.  That's Frank and his dumpster which belongs in a dumpster.