Dolce's Scratching Tree

Sanjee of Hot(M)BC was asking Dolce about her awesome cat tree. The truth of the matter is that the tree has been handed down from Magoo to Smudge to Bella and finally to Dolce.

Magoo was not that crazy about it. He thought the dangling balls were fun, but he tried to sit on the upper ledge once with disasterous results. He was a little too big for this toy, and it dumped him onto the floor quite unceremoniously. Just think of it as a dunk tank for cats.

Smudge scratched on it very briefly. Too many dangling things. I think they spooked him.

Bella used to play on the cat tree like Dolce, but as she grew up she decided that it was too unladylike to cavort around it. She will still scratch on it though and her and Dolce will play a game of paw slaps around it from time to time.

Dolce has offically claimed the tree as her own. She will play and climb on it at least two three times a week.




As a kitten, she used it as her special spot where she could sit and watch the other cats.


This leads me to my two cents of the day. People who complain about cats scratching furniture are blaming the cat for doing what comes naturally to it. We have had four cats from kittenhood, and have had very few problems with our furniture getting scracthed up. When we got Magoo, we took him to the pet store and placed him amongst the collection of small scratching post. He sniffed several of them and finally settled on a green carpettesd teepee. That was the one we bought. He will still use it if he sees it. Of course he is far too big to fit inside anymore. We then bought him a large carpetted cat tree to satisfy his climbing and scratching instincts. As each subsequent cat came into the house, they saw the current members of the household using this cat tree. We had to use a little spray bottle correction to remind the cats what was not acceptable scratching, but our furniture has survived intact for ten years. Sure the leather sofa has a couple of scratch marks, but those are from kittens launching themselves off the couch as they played.




I think letting her use a climbing tree as a kitten gave her far too many skills. It also made her far too bold and daring for mine or my wife's tastes. Here is the little monkey on top of the roof.

Dear Dolce, Dolce (Que Sera Sera)

When I was just a wee kitty
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be furry, will I be cute
Here's what she said to me.



Dear Dolce, Dolce,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Dear Dolce, Dolce,
What will be, will be.

When I was young, I was adopted
I asked my human what lies ahead
Will I have cat toys, food every day
Here's what my human said.



Dear Dolce, Dolce,
Whatever will be, will be
Your future's with us, you see
Dear Dolce, Dolce,
What will be, will be.

Now I am all grown up and big
I tell my humans, come cuddle with me
Am I not playful, Am I not fun
I tell them tenderly.



Dear Human Bean,
Whatever will be, will be
The furniture's safe, you see
Dear Human Bean,
What will be, will be.

My, What big eyes you have!

Bella was once the baby of the family, but has since been usurped in that position by her little sister, Dolce. But she has something that none of our other cats have, eyes as big as saucers. It was her eyes that made her look kittenish for so long. Right up to the point when we got Dolce, Bella looked so very young and petite because of her eyes. Even now, she has to stand next to Dolce for us to think of her as a mature four year old.

As you can see, she has temporarily recieved her yard privileges back. She and Dolce got a visit in the backyard from this gentleman. I don't know if he actually came down into the yard for a visit, but I did catch him scrambling back along the fence. Magoo was in the house and was unable to protect his sisters virtue.

Grandpa is doing well!

Thanks for all the warm wishes. I just wanted to let everyone know that my Dad made it through his surgery fine. They kept him an extra day, since his appetite hadn't come back yet. For those of you who were curious, my Dad had an Admoninal Aortic Aneurysm (sp?). From what my Mom tells tell me it one more thing they gave besides blue eyes and high blood pressure.


PS. I found the black and white setting on my digital camera. I know there is not much logic in taking a black and white picture of a grey cat, but I think it makes Magoo look even more regal. Or is it grumpy?

Prayers to God

Dear God,

Please take care of my Grandpa. Guide the surgeon's hand and give him the skill to help my Grandpa.


Are you there God?
Protect my Grandpa during his surgery and bring him home to us safely.

Playing in the Backyard

It has been far too long since Dad let us at the computer. Actually, we weren't that interested, becuase it's summer here and the backyard is our favourite place area.



Dolce thinks no one can see her behind this dandelion. (As soon as I can I will try to get some video of her running around the backyard. She has two speeds, off and light-speed.)



This is Magoo's favourite sleepy spot in the backyard. He will lay here for hours in the shade, while his crazy sister is busy chasing bugs or Bella and Smudge.



Smudge wishes he had a sleepy spot where Dolce couldn't find him. Dolce loves to chase him or Bella around the backyard. Secretly, I think he enjoys it too.

If you want to know where Bella is, she is inside. It seems that she did not feel that being restricted to our backyard was acceptable and she went for a visit to our neighbors. Luckily, she picked the nice ones behind us who also have some furriends.