The Cat Castle

The other day I decided to get a new "cat tree" for our four furry friends. 

I ordered one and in a few days it was delivered. It then took two hours for hubby and I to put it together. I had read reviews that said it was hard to put together but wasn't expecting it to be this hard. Hubby was a mechanic and handyman before we retired and was good at anything he decided to take apart or put together or repair. His almost was his undoing. So much of it has to be done as if you are blindfolded. Long screws have to be put down, or up, through the different levels of the cat castle. Because of the way it was designed you have use three hands, or maybe four, and put the screws in places you can not see into. Oh, well, it kept us occupied on a cold day for a while. And while we were building this castle the four cats we were building far laid on the people furniture and napped. A few times they gave us an open eye as if to say "what are those dumb humans up to now." Finally it was done and our Siamese/calico cross Chantilly checked it out and decided the top bed was to her liking. 

Cassie our grey and white cat seemed to like one of the cubby holes. 

 

Chantilly's sister, Silky, wasn't about to leave her rocking chair to try out the new cat tree castle. Our forth cat, Twinkie, wouldn't go near it long enough to get her photo taken. 
 

Pets

 
The other day I was watching the local Louisville news and they were talking about a couple of flamingos at the zoo that they thought were about 50 years old. I thought that was amazing that a bird could be that old. Then I remembered that many parrots, macaws, and cockatoos live that long. I know that lots of reptiles like snakes such as the large pythons, and even alligators can live long lives.  Elephants can live 50 to 80 years. Giant Desert tortoises  are known for living a hundred years or more.
    All of these let me to wonder why dogs, cats, horses, and other animals that are common pets don't live that long. Some horses live to about 30 years but dogs and cats never live that long. 12 to 16 years is normal for dogs and cats with a few reaching 20.
     So why is it that our most beloved pets are short lived animals. Thinking back over my own pets I remembered that the longest I had a dog and a cat live was 16 years. I had a horse that made it to what the vet guessed was 30 but he was 20 when I got him.
     I did some more thinking and realized that there had been a considerable number of dogs and cats in my life as well as quite a few birds and horses. That thought caused me to think that if these pets had longer lives would I have had as many as I have had. Another words if a dog lived to 30 years would I have only had one or two instead of the 12 dogs that I have had? If a cat could live to 30 years would I have had the 25 purr critters I have had?
     Hummmmmm. I really can't answer those questions.
     I know I have had more dogs and cats than the average person has but I don't think having a shorter life would have made a whole lot of difference in my case but I do think it would make a difference with a lot of people. Not everyone wants to have a half dozen dogs in the house at once. Or --say--ten cats. I don't think I would want that many at once either.
    
Thinking of the pets I have had I usually did have at least 2 dogs most of the time. But I don't think I ever had more than 3 at once at any time. Although I only have one at this time. The same can be said for my sisters and most of my friends. Usually 2 or 3 dogs at a time. Most of my dogs were 13 or 14 when we lost them but a lab/collie cross I had was 17.
 
     As far as the cats are concerned I remembered I did have 7 of them for a number of years. And, yes, I agree that was too many. Another time I did have 6, and I have 4 at this time. I have know people that have had as many as 10 cats at once. I don't recommend it. Most of my cats made it to 13 or 14 years but one made it to 16. I know of 3 that are that old and still going strong.

   

And horses. That seems to be another critter that you can't just have one of. I started with one and got another soon. My highest count was 6 at once, but I have noticed that horse people just can't say 'no' when there is a horse needing a home. Many friends have as much as a dozen or so of the hay burners. I do still have 4 horses but they live with my son now. I miss them all the time and much preferred when I could walk out the door and visit with them even if it did mean having to feed them twice a day and clean pens and stalls. I have known several horses that lived 30 years and one that was 37.




     Not to be forgotten are the bird people. The first pet I can remember having was a parakeet. I think I was 2 years old when my parents got him for me. I had several parakeets and a canary while growing up. I got a parakeet for my son when he was about 4. We already had some zebra finches. During the next several years we had quite a few finches, canaries, and parakeets. I never got into the larger birds but have known a lot of people that have had then. A favorite older friend was a true bird lover having many in her lifetime. The longest I had a bird live was about 10 years.



   Of course there are those that prefer reptiles. I let my son have several lizards, and a couple of box turtles. I drew the line at a snake. Thank goodness he never asked for one. He did have a good friend that had a large collection of snakes.




   And then there are the fish. When I was about 8 my dad got a fish aquarium that we had for a few years. My sister had a small aquarium while we were in collage. My son asked for one when he was about 5 so I let him have one but he lost interest in just a few months. I, on the other hand, kept the aquarium going for over 20 years. It was only a 10 gallon aquarium tank so I was limited on how many I could have at a time. Many fresh water fish that people have in aquariums don't live more than a few years at most. I had guppies, mollies, swordtails, angel fish, zebra fish, and others. The 2 I remember the most were a pair of some sort of Plecostomus that I got when we first got the tank. These are fish that are some sort of sucker fish and eat a lot of the algae that grows in a tank. One of them lived about 10 years and the other was 19 when it died. I have heard that there are other fish that have very long lives if cared for properly.
      I think all parents should introduce their children to animals as much as is possible. Since I dad was in the Air Force we moved a lot so a parakeet was our best choice of pet for many years. When dad retired from the Air Force when I was 13 we got a dog and then a cat. My husband and I had 2 cats and 2 dogs when our son was born. We always seemed to have houseful of pets when raising our son. I am a firm believer that children learn a lot of love, responsibility, respect when they have pets in the home.
   

Murder?

 🐾    There was a murder committed in my house last night. When we got up this morning we found the victim robber/thief) laying dead in the living room floor. We never heard anything when the victim entered the house, (or maybe he/she was already here when we went to bed) or when the murder occurred. How could the murderer be so quiet we wondered. Or murderers.⚠
      We had four suspects to the dastardly deed. When we questioned them none of the four suspects would admit to anything. They just sat by the victim and stared at him and then at us. It was as if they were saying "See what I did." They seemed so proud of what they had done. But not one of them would admit to anything. In fact it was as if all four were claiming that they were the one to do the dirty undertaking, ,so that none of them would get in trouble for doing it. On discussing it we were sure they all four had a hand (paw/tooth) in the feat. But as to which one gave the final coup de grace? Well, no one was talking. (or meowing)
    It wasn't as if it was a really sad event. No one was crying or grieving over the victim. He hadn't been that well liked. In fact he hadn't been liked at all. Not him or any of his relatives. We were un-decided as to how he got into the house. Did he sneak in the door when it was opened? It might have been easy for him then especially if it was dark outside. Or was he under the house and able to climb up one of the plumbing pipes and squeeze through the flooring under one of the sinks. That is the only way we can find that he could have got into the house.
     Any way the victim was dead and a funeral was in order. A plastic bag would do for a coffin, followed by a trip to the trash can. While that was going on the four suspects watched with interest. They seemed to be trying to understand why we were not more enthused over their kill. One even reached up and pulled on the sack as it was being taken out to the trash.
    I have to admit I was kind of proud of them. Especially when I remembered that they had probably tried to tell me the robber was in the house. It had been about midnight when I needed to make a trip to the bathroom and I heard a little noise in the laundry room. I turned on the light. The four suspects were sitting around the door to the closet where the hotwater heater is. Every few seconds one would move up a few steps and look under the door which has about a one inch gap under it. I opened the door but couldn't seen anything and was to tired to find a flashlight for a better look. Instead I closed the door, told the suspects to behave their selves and went back to bed.
    I guess they continued to keep watch and when the little thief decided to chance coming out of the closet they all attached him. Or did just one attach him? Or did they take turns attaching him? And how long did they play with him both before they killed him and afterward?
    As I am sure you have guessed by now the victim was a mouse and the suspects were my four cats. I am puzzled by the fact that they were able to chase a mouse around the house and finally kill it and not wake myself or my husband. They did it with very little noise and without causing any damage to any thing that happened to be sitting on tables, cabinets, or bookcases.
   I am just glad they did get rid of the little monster and that they didn't put him in one of our shoes. Putting toys in our shoes is a favorite pass time. I remember finding a large (about 8 inches long and a good inch wide) centipede in one of my shoes when we lived in New Mexico. Thank goodness it was dead when I felt it under my foot when I slipped the shoe on.
    This is the second mouse we have had in the house here. Lee was able to catch the other one under a bucket and took it outside to meet a timely death. (Does that make him a murderer, too.)
   I had wondered why Ziva, our dog, hadn't waken us up when the cats were chasing the mouse. Or did she help them? I remember her killing a few injured mice, rats, and rabbits after our outdoor cat had brought them into the yard and dropped them right in front of her. Sure makes you wonder what our pets are thinking of when they do some thing like that.
    Later that morning I took Ziva for a walk. Suddenly she stopped and backed up a step. There in front of us was a black rat snake about three feet long. As with most people my first thought was what could I use to kill it with. Then I remembered what snakes mostly eat is mice and rats. As the snake worked its way into the brush at the edge of our yard I wished it well and told it to find lots of mice to munch on.🐁🐍🐈